The next day in the Hokage's office in Konoha, the Third Hokage was sitting with two fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.
"A large group of unidentified Rain ninjas have been heading toward the south," said the Third Hokage, setting down the intelligence report and gazing absentmindedly at the map of the shinobi world.
"Hokage-sama, Team One is chasing the mysterious black-clothed ninja who stole the Sword of Kusanagi. They're heading toward the southern part of the Land of Fire," Qing reported as he entered through the window.
"I see, Qing. Then why did Shen and his team also go south? The only places down there are the border regions of the Land of Fire and Uzugakure… Oh no!" The Third Hokage seemed to grasp something suddenly.
"Qing, immediately gather the Anbu and head for Uzugakure! Your mission has two objectives: one is to stop the intruders entering Uzu, and the second is, if you encounter Team One along the way, order them to return to the village immediately!" The Hokage stood up, slammed his hand on the desk, and quickly issued his orders.
"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Qing didn't hesitate even slightly before leaping out the window.
"I hope Hanzo isn't targeting Uzugakure… Tch, the delay in delivering this information was unacceptable!"
Though the Third Hokage knew that receiving the report within a single night wasn't actually that slow, at a moment where every second counted, he still felt the current intelligence network was far too outdated.
Having been inspired by a certain time-traveler's drama series, he had developed a deep longing for convenient communication devices like phones—capable of real-time messaging and easy to carry.
"As for the prototype vehicle parts, Elder Kazushi said we've got plenty of stockpiles. But the idiots in the village couldn't even make heads or tails of a child's blueprints! Looks like once this kid returns, I'll need to get him to design us some working phone prototypes right away." The Hokage muttered to himself, already arranging the next task for a particular troublemaker.
Of course, someone might not take kindly to being assigned fake missions just for such dubious purposes. So will Lord Third's grand plan actually work?
In the western region of Uzugakure, Team One—who had rested overnight—set off early in the morning.
"It's definitely me they want drawing here—not us," Shen observed while watching the fleeing black-clad ninja ahead. A bold suspicion formed in his mind: "No damage upon the ground, unusual stamina in carrying the Sword of Kusanagi, leading me directly to Uzugakure, which is about to turn into a battlefield. It seems Lord Madara has had his eyes on me all along."
True to his nickname of "young genius," Shen connected all the clues and arrived at a logical conclusion.
But he wore an eerie smile, seemingly unconcerned at all by this realization: "White Zetsu, you really are doing me a huge favor. I was just wondering how I could get in touch with Lord Madara… If I'm right, Black Zetsu should be near him—and hasn't yet discovered the stone tablet inside Naka Shrine has been swapped. Well then…" Shen developed an audacious idea.
He showed no fear at all even though he knew he was being targeted by the ultimate tool wielder. He continued pondering: "Since something as fantastical as transmigration has happened to me, why should I hesitate or worry? Anyway, with White Zetsu here — that Mole King — the worst that could happen is losing a few limbs, just like what happened to the second strongest tool wielder in the shinobi world."
Shen, who had already scripted everything out, slammed his foot on the accelerator and rammed straight into Zetsu, who was still disguised as a black-clothed ninja.
"Aaaaaaah!"
Feeling the cold, hard sensation against his backside, Zetsu immediately understood the situation.
Although he was already sobbing bitterly inside, he couldn't summon the slightest desire to resist against this certain "villain."
If that transmigrator discovered his inner thoughts, he would definitely name this symptom.
(Shen: Stockholm Syndrome. Is that short for 'psychological manipulation'? Pfft, yeah right — it doesn't have an abbreviation!)
Back in reality, after bumping into Zetsu once, Shen didn't feel satisfied and pressed down on the accelerator again.
"Pa pa!"
After several intense collisions, Zetsu's shattered mindset finally crumbled completely into dust.
Already not entirely human to begin with, he now finally got what people meant when they said "not being human" — and honestly, he was thriving in it.
"Hehehehe! Little buddy, what's wrong with you? Want me to give you another round?" Drama King Shen, performing freely and wildly, wasn't afraid of White Zetsu without Black Zetsu's possession.
"Kid, please stop fooling around. Uncle promises I won't run away anymore." White Zetsu quickly surrendered when he noticed they'd reached their destination.
"No way, old man! Of course we have to keep playing with something so fun!" Shen, expecting exactly this response, revealed a devilish smile.
Just about to turn around and say something, White Zetsu instantly quickened his pace upon seeing that smile. A cold dread shot down his spine — oh boy, here we go again.
"Pa!"
Well then! Drama King Shen clearly knew his opponent wouldn't dare to fight back, so he kept bullying him relentlessly. The scene resembled someone else's daily suffering far too much.
(Nawaki reveals his [Heavenly Lightning Arm]: Say that again? Author: No, no, I dare not.)
Meanwhile, Nayou, observing the surroundings using her Byakugan, noticed something unusual. "Shen, there are three shinobi in the northeast direction — they might be from the Uzumaki village."
"Hmm? The Uzumaki clan's Barrier Techniques are extremely powerful. But it's fine; our village maintains good relations with theirs anyway." Without taking it seriously, Shen stepped on the gas pedal.
Inside the Uzumaki village training ground, contemporary head of the Uzumaki clan, Shūya, was instructing the village children.
"Kushina, you're spacing out again! Remember, [Sealing Technique] is a profound discipline!" Shūya immediately displayed obvious dissatisfaction toward the red-haired girl hiding in a corner, absentmindedly drifting off.
"Sorry, Chief Uncle, but I really don't understand anything at all." The red-haired girl shot back confidently.
Finding himself somewhat overwhelmed in middle age, Shūya felt helpless indeed. This girl, always running wild through the village since childhood, didn't even grant the slightest respect toward him, their clan leader.
When addressing so many children, he figured he should act more kindly: "You kid, acting like this won't get you anywhere. You should know that Konoha, which maintains close ties with our village, produced three Chunin at the young age of six last year. If you kids don't work hard, what will become of the Uzumaki clan in the future?"
Four-year-old Kushina's eyes immediately lit up at hearing the name Konoha: "Do you mean that village with TV sets, Elder?" Her voice carried obvious excitement. "I've always been curious about that place!"
Shūya's stiff expression instantly collapsed: "Kushina, can't you ever just study properly? Always thinking about irrelevant things like this—this kind of behavior absolutely won't help someone your age!"
Kushina puffed out her cheeks indignantly: "Waaah! Elder's bullying little kids again!"
Shūya became so angry his vision momentarily darkened.
After taking several deep breaths, he spoke through barely restrained frustration: "Just focus on your studies and everything else will fall into place!"
From this exchange alone, we can see clearly that conversations like this had certainly happened more than once between them.
Should some headache monster and certain old man learn about such ordinary daily events, they would definitely exclaim how familiar it all sounded.
"All right then, Elder! I'll definitely study properly!" Kushina immediately straightened her small frame with renewed determination.
Seeing this, Shūya finally smiled: "Good good good. Now listen carefully Kushina—the Sealing Technique is a type of jutsu that..."
All things considered, it was no wonder "Scarlet Pepper" had become his most fitting nickname—the great head of the mighty Uzumaki clan being completely wrapped around this little girl's pinky!
No wonder Naruto picked up her hatred for studying.
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