Chapter 295. Begins!
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"Otogakure, a new ninja village that just joined this year," said the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, who was currently pretending to be an ordinary civilian, as if he had sensed Yuto's seriousness. "It's a small village from the Land of Rice Fields. What's the matter?"
As soon as he finished speaking—
Yuto shot him a suspicious look. "How do you, a so-called ordinary person, know so much?"
"Hahaha~" Minato laughed twice, then turned his head away, chuckling. "Let's just watch the race! Watch the race!"
"..."
Yuto rolled his eyes and glanced around again.
However—
He didn't notice anything unusual.
Still, the sudden appearance of Otogakure here... he didn't believe they were just here to race.
Could it be...
The Fourth Kazekage's done for again?
"Not satisfied? What do you an, not satisfied? Boss Yuto, do you have so big move planned? Just say the word! Our Sunagakure will absolutely cooperate. Pakura is also in Kumogakure! If there's anything to discuss, you can go to her. How about I ask her to co to your room to discuss it in the evening after the ga?"
"It's nothing." Yuto hung up the phone. It was indeed the Fourth Kazekage's voice, and he didn't sound upset... He didn't look like he was going to start a war~
So then... who was it?
Yuto frowned slightly in thought, then looked up—only to find a bunch of gossip-hungry faces leaning in with their ears. He froze. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing!"
Everyone shook their heads.
Suzune and Kana were smiling, Honoka looked helpless, Minato wore an awkward smile, and Fugaku... looked like he was about to disown soone out of sheer disappointnt.
"???"
How strange.
He just made a phone call to the Fourth Kazekage, that's all.
Why did it feel like he'd done sothing indecent?
Of course—
Yuto didn't think too much about it. He looked around again.
Minato, Fugaku, the 'Demi-God'... and down below were the Third Hokage, Jiraiya, and even Tsunade, who had shown up too... and Orochimaru... With that guy's nerve, would he really dare stir up trouble here?
Maybe he really was just here for the race.
The research funds running dry—maybe he needed that 10 million prize!
And so—
Yuto turned his attention back to the race.
No big problems!
It's totally safe!
"I didn't expect Tsunade-sama to show up for the race," Minato said, also spotting Tsunade in her green and white racing suit, and the figure that was quite eye-catching. "I rarely see news about Tsunade-sama during this period."
Ever since the Mahjong Cup a few years back, Tsunade-sama hadn't returned to the village.
Though—
Yuto Arcade still had her na topping the leaderboard as the [Gambling God of Konoha], so the village hadn't thought much of her absence.
And now she turns up here of all places!
"Jiraiya-sensei must be thrilled."
"That old simp." Yuto jerked his chin toward the track. "See? He's already word his way over."
As he spoke—
Minato silently watched his teacher shalessly approaching Tsunade-sama, then quickly laughed it off. "Haha, I'm just an ordinary viewer. I know nothing!"
Seriously!
Don't ask.
If you don't ask, you're a long-ti fan here!
...
"Huh, you're racing too?"
"What's so surprising about that? What surprises is you showing up here—a guy running around everywhere would co to participate." Tsunade, dressed in green and white, reached out and poked Jiraiya in the chest, nearly popping his eyes out. He blocked it casually with his arm, but she didn't care, scoffing, "I heard there's so new dance leader showing off in Konoha's Square Dance team. Don't tell it's you?"
"You flatter . I just dance with the old folks sotis, show respect for the elderly, that's all!" Jiraiya laughed. "Nice outfit, by the way. Real tight—cough—I an, really stylish!"
"Hmph~" Tsunade scoffed.
She'd known him for years—how could she not know what kind of guy he was?
Then she turned toward Sarutobi Hiruzen in his black racing suit, holding a black helt in one hand, and imdiately got sarcastic.
"Hey, old man, you actually ca to this silly race? Have you paid off your debts?"
Back when she heard that old man Danzo went bankrupt and ran away, she'd honestly wondered if she'd fallen into a Genjutsu.
After confirming it was real—
She laughed hard!
"You didn't pay off your debts by shooting comrcials, did you? If you're a brother, co fight !"
After saying that—
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed helplessly. He didn't take Tsunade's words to heart, hesitated for a mont, and asked, "When are you planning to return to the village?"
"Return? Not happening! Not in this lifeti! It's way more fun out here." Tsunade waved him off. "Don't bother trying to persuade ."
"Alright, let's not talk about that. I heard you've sold off quite a bit of the Senju clan estate these past years. That was left behind by the First Hokage and sensei. Are you that short on cash?"
"Not at all!" Even though she was a bit embarrassed at being called out for selling off the family property, Tsunade still said boldly, "They're all gone anyway! What's the point in keeping those things? They're mine now! What's wrong with selling them if I want to?"
"No, what I ant was... Konoha's urban planning project not long ago originally included the Senju clan's land. They were going to compensate at a 1:3 ratio, but out of respect for the Senju clan, they shelved the plan." Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed and looked at Tsunade with so regret. "If you were going to sell it, you should've sold it to the village! You... you're so stupid!"
And then—
"???"
Tsunade froze, dumbfounded as she stared at the old man in front of her.
"Hah?"
For a mont—
It was too much to process. She didn't even know what to say.
One-to-three ratio...
But then—
"Please, all racers, complete vehicle checks and enter your cars to begin race preparations!"
The announcent repeated three tis.
Everyone snapped back to focus. After their vehicles passed inspection, the racers quickly got into their cars.
Next—
They proceeded to the designated starting points.
Only in the mountainous terrain of Kumogakure could they set up simultaneous starts from multiple locations. Otherwise, with this many cars, it wouldn't have been feasible to start all at once.
The track maps had already been distributed to all racers the day before, and there were signs placed at regular intervals—so getting lost wasn't really a concern.
Yuto and the others also quieted down, either watching the scene below or checking the other starting points via screens.
Once everyone started, they'd et later along the converging track sections.
Still—
Seeing this many cars together was seriously impressive!
"Five!"
The countdown had begun.
The Fourth Raikage stood on a slightly higher hill, waving the starting flag. All mountain starting points began their countdowns too.
"Four!"
"Three!"
Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!
Powerful engine roars filled the air!
All the racers held their breath, listening to the countdown and straining to keep their cars from jumping ahead. Everyone was poised and ready to rush out!
"Two!"
"One!"
As soon as the words left the announcer's mouth—
The Fourth Raikage swung the flag down with force, and the starting cannon roared.
Boom!
The engines, which had been held back, suddenly exploded with thunderous force, like a tidal wave crashing down. Even the mountain trembled, and the spectators felt a slight shake beneath them.
In the blink of an eye—
Under everyone's gaze—
Swoosh!
All the cars shot forward!
Instantly—
"Waaaah~~~"
"Let's go!"
"Co on!"
Cheers erupted.
The first Ninja Racing Grand Prix had officially begun!
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Read upto [Chapter 335] in advance! - /kurato6180
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