One minute later, everyone was in position.
Mitsuki settled into the driver's seat. "Hold on tight, you two. We're heading out."
Sarada perched awkwardly on Toneri's lap, her face burning. "They've already invented cars—would it kill them to add a few more seats..."
"Since it runs on chakra, we have to consider the driver's burden," Mitsuki said with a slight smile.
Toneri wrapped his right arm around Sarada's waist while his left hand slipped a kunai free from his pouch.
The message was crystal clear—one wrong move, Mitsuki, even at high speed, and this kunai's finding your spine.
Mitsuki's smile widened as he channeled chakra into the engine.
Vroom vroom vroom!
The scientific ninja tool vehicle roared to life and shot forward, kicking up a dust storm in its wake.
Toneri watched the landscape blur into streaks of color. "Damn, this thing's fast. Way faster than hoofing it."
"This is just a standard model," Mitsuki said. "The new ones are even faster. But even the most advanced car can't match half your father's speed."
"..." Toneri said nothing.
Halfway through the journey, Sarada started squirming on his lap.
Toneri's eye twitched. "What are you doing? You're making this really uncomfortable."
Sarada's face flushed deeper. "I—I need to pee..."
Nature calls. Can't argue with that.
"Number two?" Toneri asked bluntly.
"Number one," Sarada whispered. "Can we stop? I really can't hold it much longer..."
"If you don't mind the entire world watching," Mitsuki said flatly.
Right. For this second round, Naruto was using that 'Heaven and Earth Illusion' jutsu to livestream everything to the ninja world.
But something didn't add up. "I've never seen broadcasts like this before. Why now?"
"It only started with this tournament," Mitsuki explained. "Most people can't travel to Gekiyu City to watch in person, so they came up with this solution."
Toneri's mind raced. "An island this massive—they can't possibly cover every square meter in real-time, right? They'd need to focus on specific areas. Highlights. So they probably won't waste airtime on a bunch of kids."
Mitsuki nodded. "Fair point. So, should I stop?"
Sarada's eyes turned into spirals. "I really, really can't hold it! Do something!"
Toneri yanked out the map. "There's a house 5.2 kilometers ahead. Floor it."
Mitsuki grinned and slammed the accelerator. "Hang on!"
The car screeched to a halt in front of the house moments later. Mitsuki glanced around. "We should scout for danger first—"
"There's no danger here," Toneri said with absolute certainty.
Mitsuki's gaze lingered on him for a long moment.
The door flew open and Sarada bolted inside.
Silence settled over the car.
"Toneri," Mitsuki said quietly, "waiting until the last second to jump wasn't just about Sarada, was it?"
Toneri's eyes narrowed. "Get to the point."
"You mapped everyone's jump timing while we were still in the airship," Mitsuki said. "Calculated their approximate landing zones. Predicted the entire spread pattern before anyone even moved."
"So you did the same thing?"
Mitsuki shook his head, that faint smile returning. "No. I just wanted to stay with you."
Toneri's frown deepened. "What's that supposed to mean? If I didn't jump, you'd just... stay on the airship?"
"Probably," Mitsuki said softly. "You're my sun, after all."
Three minutes crawled by. Sarada still hadn't emerged.
"How long does it take to pee..." Toneri muttered.
"Girls are different," Mitsuki said simply.
Fair enough. Himawari always took longer in the bathroom than he did.
Two more minutes passed before Sarada finally burst out of the house and scrambled back into the car. "Found some explosive tags and compressed biscuits inside!"
"These houses are supply caches," Toneri said. "We'll hit them systematically."
Mitsuki resumed driving, and they passed several more houses along the route. They split up at each one to maximize efficiency.
By evening, they'd reached the edge of G District. The smooth road gave way to rugged mountain terrain.
"Stop here," Toneri said.
"This car handles off-road terrain just fine," Mitsuki pointed out.
"You've been driving for hours. Your chakra's running low. Switch with me."
"Oh? Not worried I'll stab you in the back anymore?"
"Being cautious doesn't mean ignoring reality," Toneri said evenly. "You're still a teammate. If your chakra bottoms out, you become dead weight."
Mitsuki unbuckled his seatbelt. "Honestly? I'm exhausted. All yours."
Toneri and Sarada climbed out.
Sarada hesitated. "So... do I sit on Mitsuki's lap now?"
"Unless you've figured out how I'm supposed to drive with you on mine," Toneri said.
"But I—"
"Stop whining. What kind of ninja are you?"
Thud, thud, thud!
Kunai with explosive tags attached rained down in front of the car!
Sarada's body locked up. "!"
"Shit!" Toneri exploded forward, but Mitsuki's hand clamped down on his shoulder. His other arm shot out.
—Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!
Serpents burst from his sleeve, coiled around Sarada, and yanked her backward. More snakes erupted from his body, wrapping around all three of them in a protective cocoon.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
The explosion tore through the vehicle, reducing it to twisted, smoking wreckage.
The snakes dispersed. The three of them crouched behind what was left of the car.
"There shouldn't be anyone else in this sector yet," Toneri said, eyes scanning the terrain.
"Ninjas move at different speeds," Mitsuki said calmly. "Different priorities. You're not the only one calculating angles."
Toneri's jaw tightened. His strategic mind was sharp, but his lack of field experience showed.
He adapted fast, though. Grabbed a shard of the shattered rearview mirror and angled it carefully beyond their cover, using the reflection to search for movement. "They're using the terrain. Sharingan can't see through solid rock. Without visual confirmation, we wait for them to make the next move."
"If it's one enemy, that works," Mitsuki said. "Multiple enemies in different positions? That's a problem."
"I can find them," Sarada said suddenly.
Both boys turned to her.
"Sensing is my specialty."
She formed hand seals and closed her eyes.
—Mind's Eye of the Kagura!
Her eyes snapped open. "Three enemies. Nine o'clock, ten o'clock, and eleven o'clock—behind the cliff walls."
Hidden in the shadows, all three enemy ninjas jolted. A sensor type!
"Hit them now!" one hissed.
They burst from cover as one, blades drawn, closing the distance at terrifying speed.
Mitsuki moved to intercept.
Toneri's hand shot out, pressing down on his shoulder. "Save your chakra. I've got this."
He stood and formed seals.
Poof poof poof!
Three shadow clones materialized around him.
Brilliant blue lightning erupted from each clone's palm as they launched simultaneous strikes in three directions.
—Lightning Release: Three-Way Chidori!
"What the—!?"
The enemy ninjas reacted on instinct.
Poof poof poof!
Three substitution logs clattered to the ground as the Chidori strikes obliterated empty space.
Toneri's clones dispersed in puffs of smoke.
The three enemies clung to the cliff wall, eyes wide with shock.
Toneri leaped onto the car's roof and locked eyes with the center ninja.
"Sharingan—!"
The man tried to shut his eyes. Too late.
The genjutsu slammed into his mind like a sledgehammer. His grip went slack and he plummeted.
Toneri's hands blurred through seals.
—Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
WHOOOOSH!
A massive sphere of flame roared toward the cliff face.
The remaining two ninjas moved fast—one dropped to catch their falling comrade while the other formed seals mid-air.
—Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!
SPLASH!
In this barren wasteland, a colossal water dragon erupted from nothing, swallowing the fireball whole and surging forward.
Toneri didn't flinch. His hands moved again.
—Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!
BOOM!
An earth barrier shot up, intercepting the water dragon.
Crackle...
Lightning blazed to life in Toneri's left hand—brilliant, blinding blue. He thrust it through his own earth wall, and the Chidori extended into the water like a living thing.
—Chidori: Lightning Transmission!
CRACKLE CRACKLE CRACKLE!
Electricity surged through the water, following its path straight to the jutsu's user.
"GAAAH!" The ninja's scream echoed off the cliffs as he fell.
The third ninja caught him, too, staring up at the small figure on the car roof with naked shock. Who the hell is this kid?
"We can't win this. Fall back!"
Poof!
A smoke bomb hit the ground and the three vanished into the haze.
Sarada's jaw hung open. "That was... holy crap, that was incredible."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📚 BOOK COMPLETED ON PATREON!📚
This story has reached its conclusion on my Patreon!
🔥 Full story available now
💎 Exclusive bonus content & early access to new books
👉 Join my Patreon community today!
[✨patreon.com/DarkGolds]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━