Chapter 293. Chasing Trends
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Yuto narrowed his eyes at Minato. "That guy holding the camera that night—was that you?"
"???" Minato looked at Yuto in confusion, then smiled faintly. "Yuto, you must be joking. That night I was busy until very late before going home. I only found out about what happened on the Hokage Rock afterward."
"But someone said they saw a golden flash that night."
"Maybe it was the reflection of the streetlamp~"
"…"
As expected of the Hokage—his face was really thick.
Who was the guy standing next to me, holding a glow stick and cheering "Come on!" at the start of the race that night?
Yuto shot Minato a disdainful glance but didn't press the issue.
Thinking back on what happened after that…
Due to a major oversight in the Konoha Police Force's management, the head of the police—Uchiha Fugaku—carried out a reform of the entire department. He raised the standards and fired quite a few people.
Silently, the Konoha Police Force underwent a major overhaul.
Impressive!
Yuto was starting to suspect the whole street race incident was intentional~
"It really was just an accident," Minato said with a helpless wry smile. Of course, he knew what Yuto meant. "Fugaku came to me about it. Otherwise, why would I ever let Kushina participate in something like that?"
She'd come home afterward all worked up, yelling about wanting to watch the race.
He had just gotten home and then had to head out again.
Sighing, he leaned on the railing, gazing out at Konoha's evening glow. After checking the time, he said, "I'm heading back. I promised to take Naruto out for ramen tonight." Stretching, he added,
"What a relaxing day~"
This guy had clearly just come out for a stroll.
Yuto didn't mind, shrugged, and figured Suzune had probably finished making dinner by now, so he started heading home too.
But then—
Halfway there—
"Skrrt~"
A harsh drifting sound rang out.
He stared in surprise at the tall, black SUV that screeched to a stop in front of him.
Big and imposing!
Spacious and powerful—no wonder it's a favorite among many men!
But—
Who the hell…
Dared to drift right in front of him?
Just as he was wondering—
"You punk!" An old man stepped out, wearing jeans and a brightly colored shirt, dressed super fashionably.
"…"
Oh—it's the Chief Elder…
Well then, never mind!
He still had to show some face to the Chief Elder.
But what was he doing here at this time?
Yuto looked at him with a puzzled expression, then glanced at the car. "Tsk tsk, never thought you'd buy a car, Chief Elder~"
"I bought it not long ago, even got a discount from that girl Suzune." The Chief Elder flicked his thinning gray-white hair with flair—surprisingly dramatic. "You don't know? That discount was massive!"
"…I don't bother with little things like that."
He vaguely remembered Suzune mentioning it, but he never paid attention to small discounts like that.
"Why are you driving yourself? At your age, can you even see the road clearly? If you need a ride, just have someone drive you!"
"Hmph! Just a lousy tool—why wouldn't I be able to drive it? Back in the day, I fought alongside the First Hokage and Madara-sama, charging through seas of blood seven times, surrounded by the four great ninja villages, and didn't even frown! And now this?" The Chief Elder scoffed. "As for why I drive? Because driving is cool! See that? How's my one-handed driving pose?"
"…Impressive! Truly impressive!"
"With my driving skills, I could easily take the crown in that so-called Ninja Grand Prix."
"…Amazing, amazing!" Yuto muttered with emotion, looking at the proud Chief Elder. With driving like that, if he wanted to win the race, he'd probably need to spend a lot of money to bribe the Raikage first…
Although—
"You're not actually planning to enter, are you?"
This car… is completely stock. Winning would be dangerous~
"A bunch of kids playing games. Why would I bother joining?" The Chief Elder waved it off. "So boring!"
"Then why'd you come find me?"
"I just saw you on the road and called out, that's all."
As he spoke, the Chief Elder suddenly seemed to notice something—his face briefly lit up with a pleased grin before returning to his usual calm. He looked behind Yuto… at Elder Hyuga Hana, who was approaching with a suitcase.
"Didn't I tell you to pack light? What can't you buy in the ninja world these days? Even in remote places, if I've got the money, courier or takeout will get it there."
"What? Are you unhappy that I brought more?"
"Nonsense! Hand it over—I'll put it in the trunk!"
"…"
Indeed.
The couriers and food delivery workers of the ninja world are insanely capable.
As long as you provide an address, there's no place they can't deliver to—even treacherous zones are no problem.
And if there is a problem…
Might Duy will show you what it means to be the God of Delivery.
There's nowhere he wouldn't dare deliver to.
Yuto stared speechlessly at the Chief Elder, who coldly placed Elder Hana's suitcase into the trunk.
Was I… just ignored?
But what exactly are these two old folks up to? Heading out on a long trip?
"All right, let's go!" The Chief Elder opened the passenger door for Elder Hana, then got in the driver's seat himself. As if remembering something, he rolled down the window and looked out at Yuto.
Leaning his arm on the window frame, wearing sunglasses from who-knows-where—
He said with great flair, "This old man and Elder Hana are going on a little journey. The Uchiha clan's in your and Fugaku's hands now."
As soon as he finished—
Before Yuto could respond, the window rolled back up with a "Whoosh!", and the car zoomed off.
Yuto stared blankly at the car speeding away. He had to admit that his driving skills weren't bad at all~
But what do you call this?
An aged couple's dog food?
A spontaneous trip just because they're old?
"Even the elderly these days are this wild?" Yuto shook his head. "Admire! I admire you!"
Good thing the motorcycles hadn't been rolled out yet.
Otherwise—
He might be seeing something like: the Chief Elder in a leather jacket, trendy helmet and sunglasses, upper body leaning slightly forward gripping the handles, while behind him… the white-robed madam sits sideways, holding his waist tightly!
The Chief Elder sure knows how to stay trendy!
"Hiss~" Yuto shivered, rubbed his arms, said nothing more, and continued walking home.
After all, the Chief Elder had awakened the Mangekyo. His body was still in decent shape, so there probably wouldn't be any issues!
It's just…
From the founding of Konoha to now, he's even older than the Third Hokage. In a few years, he might be heading off to join the First Hokage and Madara.
Back at home—
He was a bit surprised to see Honoka and a once-again loud and carefree Hanabi at the door. "You're back?"
"We're back~" x2
…
Time slipped by quickly.
Soon—
The Ninja Grand Prix was finally about to begin.
Racers from each ninja village were setting out, heading toward Kumogakure.
At that moment—
In a certain cave somewhere in the ninja world—
It was dark, damp, yet filled with all sorts of bizarre equipment.
A man with a soft, feminine voice extended a long tongue for a light lick, then narrowed his eyes at the piece of paper in his hand. As if discovering something amusing, he muttered, "How interesting~"
With that—
He folded the paper, summoned a flame—
And burned it to ash.
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