Several days later at the entrance to the Uzumaki village, Team One was saying goodbye to someone known as "The strongest among the weary souls stuck in this world."
"You're really leaving now, sir?" Shen asked politely, though secretly eager for the other to leave.
White Zetsu, still in disguise, flashed a big smile. "No need to worry about me, Shen. I'll manage to deal with the Rain ninjas on my own."
"Alright then." Shen paused before pulling out a small scroll and handing it over. "Here you go, sir. This is something I invented myself."
"Oh? What is it?" White Zetsu, receiving his first ever gift, looked very interested.
"I'll tell you later," Shen said mysteriously. "Just open it when you reach a safe place." After that, he turned around to head back inside.
"Wait a moment, Shen..." Looking conflicted, White Zetsu stopped him after only a few steps away and took out a tiny scroll. "Consider this a return gift. It's our little secret."
Shen grabbed the scroll thrown by the other and immediately responded, "This is called mutual respect. Farewell, sir!"
Suddenly, a strange emotion stirred within White Zetsu—a hard-to-define feeling that made his smile even brighter than usual.
At the Uzumaki clan's practice field—currently repurposed into an open-air laboratory for a certain enthusiastic scientist—several members of the Uzumaki clan busily worked at blacksmithing.
"The bone marrow composition of Subject No.1 contains unknown substances; the cellular tissue of Subject No.2 can actually liquefy. That explains why even if cut in half, it could regenerate slowly," Orochimaru excitedly noted down on his pad while observing.
Originally believing biological research couldn't possibly be more interesting than mechanical projects, he had now completely revised that judgment.
"There's scientific reasoning behind every phenomenon. Looks like my previous view was too narrow. From now on, I must..."
"I'm back, Snake Uncle!"
"Ah—" Before the overly enthused scientist could finish expressing his thoughts, a young genius interrupted his mood with a cheerful greeting.
"So, what do you think, Snake Uncle? Didn't I say you'd find these two white lab mice absolutely fascinating?" Shen waved the scroll in midair repeatedly while throwing it between his hands.
He wore an especially odd grin that looked almost like slapstick comedy.
Orochimaru wasn't impressed in the least. "It's okay, I guess. But the equipment here isn't great. We'll definitely need to go back to the lab for further research."
"Fine then. At this speed, building fifty buses in about half a month should be enough to carry all members of the Uzumaki clan."
"Very good." Orochimaru nodded in satisfaction before commenting on naming choices. "But, Shen, why did you name that large vehicle 'bus'? And what does 'bus' even mean?"
Bus? Naturally refers to some certain things... *ahem*... which unfortunately cannot be mentioned aloud.
Shen sighed inwardly, once again bearing the lonely burden of understanding jokes no one else could catch.
However, while giving the correct answer, he added: "The full name of a bus is public transportation automobile. It might not be as fast as a train, but it doesn't rely on tracks to move."
"Public transportation? Are you planning to start this business in Konoha, Shen?" Orochimaru immediately thought about profitability.
Shen, the big capitalist, replied: "Snake Uncle, you're thinking too small-scale. We should aim to establish the biggest bus company in the entire shinobi world! Why bother earning chump change in Konoha when we can travel the world and screw over suckers everywhere?"
Orochimaru absolutely despised this 'evil-doer' look on Shen's face.
Back when he was young, he himself had been 'poached' by this guy just like that.
Now, faced with this major investor before him, naturally he could be furious but dared not speak out.
"Clap clap clap, great job, Shen! What you said was simply brilliant!" The chief consultant of the Uchiha Corporation immediately clapped his hands, demonstrating his understanding of the rules of survival in the workplace.
"Today is a happy day, so the research budget for these two White Lab Mice will be fully covered by me!"
"Long live the boss!"
Watching the scene nearby, Shūya, who was supervising his clan members, was instantly stunned. He now began to wonder who among Team One was truly the one calling the shots.
"You don't need to doubt anymore, Shūya Clan Head," masked Qing suddenly spoke up, seemingly able to see through everything. "Shen Uchiha is unquestionably the ultimate authority in Team One. Even in Konoha, there are many formidable figures who back him."
"Is that so? Then it seems our decision to collectively relocate to Konoha was a good choice," Shūya, whose thoughts were seen through, dryly responded.
Meanwhile, as blacksmithing work was underway in Uzumaki Village, in Hidden Leaf Village, a troublemaker received a mysterious letter.
"Question: Who exactly is Shen Uchiha?"
Upon picking up the encrypted letter, Lord Third's temple bulged with anger: "You're nothing but a trouble magnet!"
"Wrong answer!"
With a chilling expression, Lord Third immediately crouched behind his desk.
His reflexes were way better than that of his younger self back then.
"Splosh!"
A massive splash of dark ink splattered all over the Hokage office.
Although Lord Third's face didn't have a single drop of ink on it, his current expression was much darker than the ink itself.
"That brat must be trying to mock this old man for being slow! If I'd dodged just a second later, even one or two drops on my ceremonial robe would've caused a huge embarrassment!"
Guards from Anbu stationed outside the office, hearing the commotion inside, initially assumed an enemy attack had occurred.
But after peering through the window and seeing what was going on inside, they silently backed off.
"Do you still have two more chances? That brat!" Lord Third immediately realized what was happening, and lunged toward the corner of the room in a flash.
The agility he displayed was something no one would expect from someone nearly forty years old.
Outside the Hokage office window, several Anbu agents were quietly chatting and slacking off.
"Hey, do you think Lord Third managed to dodge the second attack? You know, when we first got our Hidden Blades, the whole Anbu squad was defeated badly without a single survivor. Without our masks, none of us would've been seen in public for a month."
"Who knows? Originally, Lord Third said everyone needed to open it using their own abilities. Even Captain Qing took almost a week to figure it out."
"Lord Third is so powerful, he should be able to unlock it soon, right? But I'm really curious what the correct password actually is."
"Same here. Want to place a bet?"
"I'm all in! My entire salary for this month."
Before these Anbu could place their bets, a single sentence from inside the office froze them solid.
"Shen Uchiha is a genius."
One Anbu member who had just pulled out a thick stack of cash slightly loosened his grip upon hearing these words.
Still stunned by the first blow, he was hit even harder when he heard what came next.
"My salary..."
Inside the Hokage office, completely ignoring the commotion outside, the Third Hokage picked up and began reading a letter from that troublesome individual.
"The Uzumaki clan relocating to Konoha as a whole? The Uchiha providing housing? Has this kid set his sights on them? Although if they weren't allowed to relocate here..."
He made his decision immediately, even though he knew there would be arguments with the elders.
"The Uchiha gaining such an ally will surely give Elder Kazushi a headache."
The Third Hokage, smiling in a strange manner, continued reading. One section detailing casualties shocked him greatly.
"Thirty-six enemy prisoners captured? Twenty-eight severe injuries in the Uzumaki clan? Two hundred sixty-eight enemies suspected to be Rain ninjas eliminated?" The Anbu authentication seal beneath the confidential message made the Third Hokage start doubting the authenticity of this world.
For the Uzumaki clan, severe injuries weren't much different from minor ones. With their tremendous vitality, they'd all be bouncing back soon enough.
"In other words, this attack only resulted in significant structural damage to Uzumaki village? Never imagined these ninja tools could be this effective, although it's probably due to the Uzumaki constitution..."
Putting down the letter, the Third Hokage picked up a blank sheet of paper ready to draft a reply.
However, pen in hand, after carefully thinking it over, he instead retrieved a brand-new encrypted scroll from his drawer and spread it across his desk.
As he wrote, the Third Hokage muttered through clenched teeth, "Even so, today I'm going to show that troublemaker what it feels like when his own techniques are used against him!"
Yet, recalling he was scheduled to visit Sunagakure village next month for a groundbreaking ceremony, he felt another ominous premonition: "This kid wouldn't dare cause trouble while I'm away on business, right? But moving such a large group won't take less than three to five months no matter how fast they go?"
The overly optimistic Third Hokage brushed off the matter and continued writing furiously.
As for the alliance between Uchiha and Uzumaki, he had no intention of intervening. No prominent families would voice objections openly anyway.
Who rescued the Uzumaki clan? Konoha's Anbu? These objecting families? Or some schemer? None of the above. It was Team One, completing their first mission ever outside the village.
Meddling with this matter was obviously politically inappropriate.
Moreover, the arrival of the Uzumaki clan would significantly enhance Konoha's strength. Even a child can see they should be properly courted.
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