That night, in one of the rooms at a Sunagakure guesthouse, Team One had gathered together, feasting on hotpot and singing songs.
"Light of moral superiority shining across the land!" belted out one self-proclaimed singing legend, trying to drown out the pain from his earlier emotional wounds.
As for the hotpot itself, it was all because Little Iceberg said she really wanted some—so what other choice did the rest of Team One have?
"For crying out loud! Can't you just eat like a normal person?" Iron-Boned Nawaki snapped, then scooped perfectly cooked beef slices straight from the pot into his own bowl.
"Righteous Light, you idiot Nawaki! How dare you steal the beef I just dropped in!" Shen shouted furiously into the microphone after catching movement from the corner of his eye.
Nawaki quickly stuffed every single slice of beef from his bowl into his mouth, chewing loudly while puffing up his cheeks several times their normal size, clearly proud of himself.
Seeing meat and broth splattered all over Nawaki's face, Shen immediately made a disgusted comment. "Ugh, dude, you're seriously grossing me out."
"Mmfh'g wha'?"
"Speak clearly!"
"Told ya t'eat wid yer mouf full too!"
"What's wrong with you, seriously?"
Hyouka [Ice Queen] and Ko the Mad Scientist watched in annoyance as those two hotheads reignited their fight after less than a minute of peace. Their glares could've melted ice.
"Mmfh'g on the right—" Just as Nawaki felt a chill from his left side and turned around, he instantly came face-to-face with Orochimaru's icy stare. He got so scared he swallowed all the meat in his mouth whole—"Gulp!"
"So? Can't argue with me, huh! Ha!"
Shen's laughter cut short when he suddenly sensed someone familiar from his right side. He'd never mistake this presence.
"Then let's keep going with our hotpot feast!" x2
"Why not?" x2
And just like that, the dinner table showdown ended in triumph for Nayou and Orochimaru. Neither Shen nor Nawaki dared to protest.
Wait—why would something like this even exist in Sunagakure?
"Doraemon Shen" chuckled proudly, explaining how his "mother dearest's" endless gadgets allowed him to travel freely across the shinobi world. Seriously, he could open his own department store with what she gave him!
Later that night, Team One gathered to go over how things turned out from the Sunagakure trip.
"We casually showcased a few practical home appliances to grab their interest, then introduced the concept of rail transit. This way, we test our first foreign trade venture while also boosting Konoha-Sunagakure relations. What do you think?" Shen, ever the genius strategist, had already worked out every detail during the hotpot party—somehow while still belting out tunes.
"I think—"
"I don't need your opinion; I need mine."
"But—"
"No buts about it. Listen to me everyone, follow my plan without question."
"However—"
"It's non-negotiable. You follow my lead."
"???..."
Defeated one by one by Tyrant Shen, the rest of Team One sat there, completely baffled, giant question marks floating above their heads.
"You were the one who said we should discuss properly! If you already had a plan, why even bring it up for discussion? Are you messing with us or what?"
Nawaki voiced his opinion first, only to get shot down, so he launched a three-part counterattack.
"Right, like this is actually fun, ugh, I'm not playing anymore. What high-level tactics do you even have? What else can you do besides eating and sleeping, huh? Pounding mountains?" A familiar sensation washed over Shen, who promptly corrected the inaccuracies with his own three-part counterattack.
"I-I-"
Nawaki faltered.
"What about me then? I genuinely have objections." Nayou cut in with an icy tone.
At this, Shen immediately slipped into his acting mode, pathetically countering her: "Nayou, you're my best friend—you'll definitely support me, right?"
"Well, but you should remember to behave properly next time," Nayou's expression softened.
Orochimaru saw it was his turn. Just as he wanted to speak, Shen raised two fingers at him, then calmly sipped tea. With a 20% increase in research funding, he felt offending the Money Godfather simply wasn't an option.
Feeling his dramatic flair returning, Shen spoke again: "I've finished speaking. So, who agrees and who disagrees?"
"I agree!" x2
Nayou and Orochimaru instantly agreed to the plan without hesitation.
After all, the person exuding charm before them was, to one, a close friend, and to another, their financial benefactor. Naturally, neither had reason to oppose.
"I-I agree."
Unable to think of a better alternative, Nawaki eventually agreed too.
After all, asking him to use his brain would be less painful than pounding mountains.
Seeing no response to his dramatic performance, Shen quickly lost interest.
He originally thought some impulsive youth would help him complete this iconic scene.
Adding another item to his to-do list, he returned to normal immediately: "Then I'll assign tasks. Snake Uncle will handle official contact with Konoha and Sunagakure, while we three continue pretending to be children."
"No problem." x3
Of course, the uncooperative trio had no objections. Could they really let a child make contact with Sunagakure?
In that case, the other party might suspect Konoha's Chengyi. If someone in Sunagakure possessed extraordinary intelligence, wouldn't they question who truly invented these things, potentially exposing the Uchiha prodigy's past through spies within Konoha.
Though most of these innovations were attributed to Orochimaru, there remained a chance this could raise Sand Village's suspicions. Maintaining stability appropriately—naturally everyone in Team One understood this principle.
"Aha, then I'll go rest now. Tomorrow I still need to keep up the act." Yawning, Shen walked out of the room.
Nayou and Orochimaru also felt somewhat fatigued, so after briefly greeting Nawaki, they headed back to their respective rooms.
"???"
Left alone, Nawaki sat looking dazedly at the room full of dishes and hot pot stains.
Realizing he'd been played, he immediately shouted loudly: "You three! Hurry back and help me!"
Late into the night, a voice rang out from Sunagakure's guesthouse.
The staff dared not ask anything or say a word because the cleaning fee provided by Orochimaru was simply too generous.
In the Kazekage office building, Gerissen reported today's events involving Team One to the Third Kazekage.
"Lord Kazekage, I believe this is a great opportunity to cooperate with Konoha. If this train can truly transport large quantities of supplies, our biggest problem—the food shortage in Sunagakure—will finally be solved."
"That's true. Take them on a tour of the village tomorrow first—I'll need time to think this over carefully." The Third Kazekage instructed Gerissen.
Suddenly recalling something, he added, "Also, no matter what decision I make, treat those four guests from Konoha well."
"Yes, Lord Kazekage!" Gerissen acknowledged respectfully, then exited the office.
"Three of Konoha's four main clans have already arrived, and the remaining one happens to be the current Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's personal disciple. This village now hosts four honored guests with impressive backgrounds indeed."
Alone in his office, the Third Kazekage began analyzing all the behaviors Gerissen had described about these visitors: "They obviously assume I won't do anything to them. Was this idea suggested by the Hokage? They must have some clue about our spies here. A cooperation between Konoha and Suna as preparation for the worst-case scenario?"
The Third Kazekage, wrestling with his own thoughts as if in mental combat, could never guess—even after racking his brain—that the whole incident was nothing but an accidental coincidence.
So, a spur-of-the-moment plan devised by a master thespian was mistakenly regarded as a signal of friendly intentions from Konoha toward Sunagakure.
And this misunderstanding eventually had an impact. It would not be felt until years later, during The Second Great Ninja War.
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