Zetsu jogged leisurely, seemingly in no hurry at all.
After all, he was the master of disguise himself—none other than Zetsu.
"Ahhh, this is so boring," Zetsu complained while running. "At this pace, we'll need about three to four days just to reach Uzugakure."
He'd never been happy with these never-ending dull missions.
"I shouldn't have eliminated that guy earlier; now I'm stuck taking them on some stupid field trip... Field trip—that's what Shen called it. A field trip—that's how Shen put it. How utterly appropriate!"
Ever since following Shen, Zetsu hadn't even noticed how much his vocabulary had expanded.
"So slow! Could they possibly be lost? Hmm, well, going back might risk an ambush anyway." He asked and answered himself aloud.
Apparently, during these two years, he'd also picked up many new tactics.
"Buzz—"
Just as Zetsu was about to turn back to remind Team One, a roaring sound came from behind him.
He glanced over his shoulder and instantly panicked, immediately quickening his pace into frantic running.
That pitch-black prototype vehicle was now merely thirty meters away.
"Do you really have to do this to me?" Zetsu grumbled bitterly, unwilling to reveal his identity by diving underground.
Inwardly, he deeply resented someone's disproportionate response—shooting at a mosquito with an anti-aircraft gun!
"Give it up already! You can't outrun my ride!"
"Oh yeah? Then come catch me if you dare!"
Car God Shen didn't reply but simply shifted gears to accelerate further.
His eyes full of contempt, he asked, "Don't you think this guy might've messed up his head?"
"You think anyone knows this thing can actually go this fast?" x3
Their three simultaneous questions left the car god quite exasperated.
He then decided this would be the perfect moment for the trio to learn the true meaning of 'lightning speed': "Hold on tight, everyone! It's time for your car god to take off!"
"You're not thinking about flying again, are you?" Nawaki tightly gripped the seatbelt across his chest.
This wasn't unexpected at all.
"Not exactly," Orochimaru replied, his expression suddenly recalling something.
"Shen, are you planning to overclock the prototype? Remember, prolonged overloading could lead to unpredictable consequences."
Car God Shen casually gave a hand signal, dismissing any concerns as trivialities: "Relax, Snake Uncle. The Uchiha clan has more money than we know what to do with. Right now, gathering overclock data will help improve the next prototype."
Orochimaru nodded approvingly after swiftly taking out a small notebook from his pocket.
"Not a bad idea. Let's go for it."
Nayou's lips twitched at the corner—she clearly didn't buy a word the car god said.
In her eyes, the man was obviously sulking about having lost possession of the Sword of Kusanagi—he just wanted to play games and have a little fun at someone else's expense.
Meanwhile, silently observing everything from the backseat, Nawaki tightened his grip on the safety belt even harder.
Right now, he deeply regretted his earlier refusal to get into the vehicle.
If only he had gotten in the car earlier, maybe they wouldn't be stuck in this uncertain mess—no clue what might happen if it overloaded—with him as the only one worried.
Shen, the Car God, flipped open a hidden cover plate just in front of his steering wheel. The bright red button inside was immediately pressed under his right thumb.
Then he shouted to the other three passengers: "Hold on tight—we're launching!"
As for that White Lab Mouse who'd been crushed beneath the seat by Orochimaru? He had no say in the matter. As long as he wasn't dead, their dear Snake Uncle didn't really care either.
With a "click," Shen slammed the overclocking switch.
A sudden burst of acceleration hurled Team One into liftoff, making them feel every second of it. The prototype vehicle shot up to 500 kilometers per hour, letting them truly experience what it meant to fly like the wind or flash like lightning.
"Screee!"
The high-speed friction noise from the gears underneath the prototype sounded absolutely grating—it made everyone inside, already enduring terrifying G-forces, tremble with fear.
They were all terrified that any second now, the entire car might just fall apart.
As for Shen, the Car God, there was naturally nothing surprising about what he was doing. While using his ears, eyes, hands, and feet to record data simultaneously, his brain wasn't completely overwhelmed—but still consumed seventy to eighty percent of its processing power.
He'd worked damn hard just to avoid crashing like some rookie driver.
Up ahead, Zetsu saw the pitch-black prototype behind him suddenly speed up and surge forward again, so he quickened his leg movements once more.
"What the hell? How can this car be so damn strong?"
At this moment, [The hardest-working employee in the shinobi world] finally understood exactly what bitterness tasted like.
"Wahahaha! Run faster, or I'll totally catch up to ya!" Shen leaned his head out the open window arrogantly, taunting.
Zetsu desperately sprinted forward, regretting not learning the Body Flicker Technique properly. If only he could master such a technique—he wouldn't have to run like this, exhausting himself to death.
"Faster! Even faster!"
Taunted yet again, Zetsu's face paled until it matched his usual complexion. "I've already seen through your plan! Don't think I don't know you're trying to chat with me and waste my energy, right? But you won't trick me!"
"? ? ? ?"
Inside the car, the four people couldn't help but reply aloud—and collectively hesitated slightly in shock.
"Nawaki, is this guy also your relative?"
"Get lost! Don't go around calling every idiot you see my cousin. Let me tell you, I absolutely am not that stupid!"
"Well then how come he has the same strange logic pattern as you?"
"How should I know? This fool is as dumb as a pig!"
Through the car window, overhearing their loud exchange, Zetsu nearly blacked out on the spot. He knew full well the noise was intentional—meant specifically for him to hear.
Still, swallowing this insult wasn't something he could easily do.
He turned around mid-sprint and spat back furiously, "Let me tell you—I've already figured out your little tricks! Just save your breath!"
"Pfft," Nayou couldn't hold back and burst into laughter.
She thought that calling someone an idiot actually insulted actual idiots.
"What else are you if not an idiot? You've become even stupider than the goof behind me!" The Car God Shen accelerated further, relentlessly continuing his mockery without any intention of letting go.
Zetsu nearly choked with rage when someone compared him to Nawaki.
He absolutely hated hearing those "truths" that implied he was even more foolish than a big idiot.
So he turned his head and shouted, "Give it up! Your words have zero impact on me!"
"Wahahahaha, look everyone! There's a big idiot running ahead!"
"I told you, you won't succeed!"
"Big idiot, I call your name—do you dare respond?"
"Who's the big idiot?"
"Psst, big idiot says hi!"
Zetsu was sprinting for all he was worth, ready to burst—though it was rage, not running, that nearly tore him apart.
"You're the big idiot! Your whole family's full of big idiots!"
"Oh, so you're the one throwing insults? Then let me show you what real despair feels like!" This sentence seemed to hit Shen's nerve. His previously playful expression disappeared completely.
Now dead serious, he gently pressed down on the accelerator.
"VROOOOOM!!"
The prototype vehicle's engine roared like never before.
Zetsu quickly glanced over, deeply regretting his decision inside: "How is this thing still able to accelerate? Was this brat just playing with me earlier?"
That day, Zetsu finally knew exactly how Konoha's victims usually felt when he treated them as nothing more than a cruel joke.
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