Inside the tent.
Shindai didn't know how long he had been unconscious, but he slowly came to.
When he opened his eyes, though, he could barely see anything.
His eyelids were swollen, leaving only a narrow slit through which he could peer.
"Shindai, you're finally awake!"
Straining, Shindai turned his head and saw Kakashi, Obito, and Rin Nohara seated on chairs beside his bed.
Shindai tried to sit up, but his body ached too much. He groaned in pain.
Rin said with feigned concern, "Shindai, don't move around. Your whole body is swollen right now—moving will hurt a lot. Just rest well. Let us know if you want to eat or drink anything. If you need to go to the bathroom, Kakashi and Obito will help you there."
Shindai mumbled through swollen lips, "I was beaten... beaten while pinned to the ground without any chance to fight back. You know that, right?"
Obito replied, "Of course we know."
Shindai forced his eyes open as wide as they would go and glared at Obito, gritting his teeth as he asked, "You guys did it, didn't you? At that time I had this feeling—one of those rotten scumbags who deserve a thousand deaths was definitely you!"
Clearly flustered, Obito waved his hands frantically, "No, no, no! It's not like that! Hear me out first!"
Fearing Obito might reveal the truth, Kakashi quickly cut in, "Shindai, it wasn't Obito. You nearly died—Minato-sensei saved you."
Shindai asked doubtfully, "Saved by Lord Minato? But those rotten scumbags who deserve a thousand deaths just beat me up. They didn't seem like they wanted to kill me at all."
At hearing Shindai call them such names, Kakashi and the others felt their foreheads twitch with visible anger.
Kakashi softened his tone as he explained, "Earlier, some Cloud ninja secretly infiltrated our camp, trying to kidnap a Konoha shinobi who possessed secret techniques. But they grabbed the wrong person—you—and got furious after failing. So they beat you out of frustration. When the Cloud ninja tried to kill you, Minato-sensei arrived just in time and rescued you."
Shindai looked puzzled, "Really?"
Kakashi affirmed firmly, "Of course it's true. Who else would do something like that? Do you really think Obito could even handle beating you up?"
Shindai nodded, "That actually makes sense."
As Obito started to protest, Rin gently pressed her hand on his thigh, signaling him not to speak recklessly.
Obito's face immediately flushed bright red.
'Rin touched my leg! This pair of pants can't be washed for a month, no way!'
Still unconvinced, Shindai muttered, "Obito here isn't my match. But there were more than one of them at that time. What if all of you attacked me together..."
Looking directly into Shindai's eyes, Rin earnestly said, "Shindai, you're our comrade. We'd never raise a hand against you—how could we?"
Kakashi added, "Yeah, Shindai. Think carefully—have you done anything that might have revealed your identity, causing the Cloud Ninja to realize they had the wrong person?"
Shindai pondered for a moment and suddenly recalled that he had indeed mentioned being a Konoha prisoner rather than a Konoha Ninja.
Had he actually misjudged them?
Kakashi's expression turned serious. "If you don't believe us, we can call Sensei Minato here. If you won't trust us, surely you'll trust Sensei Minato, right?"
Kakashi stood up as if about to go fetch Minato Namikaze.
Shindai quickly stopped Kakashi. "No need to call Lord Minato anymore! I believe you—I trust you guys the most! Whatever you say, I believe it!"
Still, something in Shindai felt off—an instinctive sense of unease deep inside.
His gut feeling told him that these three guys in front of him were somehow all involved in his getting beaten up.
But then again, they had even brought up Minato Namikaze.
Would Minato Namikaze actually hit him? Not in a million years would Shindai ever believe that.
Speak of the devil—Minato Namikaze arrived just like that.
Minato entered the tent and, upon seeing Shindai awake, smiled gently and asked, "You're awake, Shindai. Are you okay?"
Shindai replied somewhat pitifully, "Not okay at all. My whole body hurts."
For the first time in his life, Minato lied straight-faced to Shindai as he apologized, "I'm sorry, Shindai. If only I had arrived sooner, you wouldn't have gotten hurt."
Hearing Minato speak like this, Shindai's suspicions finally disappeared.
These three guys here—or even that bastard Jiraiya—might possibly lie to him, but Minato Namikaze would never deceive him.
Minato continued, "By the way, let me tell you another thing. The mission where Kakashi and the others originally went looking for you was supposed to involve attacking a Rock Ninja unit in the Land of Earth, but due to high risks, it has been canceled."
"Really… Ouch, ouch, ouch!"
Shindai had become too excited and unintentionally aggravated his injuries.
Yet despite the pain now, he felt happy!
He didn't have to go off to die after all—this was seriously great news!
"Alright then, Shindai, get plenty of rest. Kakashi, Obito, and Rin, take good care of him. I have something else to do, so I'll go ahead and leave first."
Then, feeling a bit guilty, Minato quickly walked out of the tent.
In a great mood now, Shindai's stomach started growling loudly with hunger.
Earlier, he had left the tent precisely to find something to eat. He hadn't managed to eat anything and instead got severely beaten—he was still starving.
Rin Nohara heard Shindai's stomach growling and stood up. "You must be starving, Shindai. I'll go bring you something to eat."
Shindai didn't refuse; he really was very hungry. "Okay, thank you, Rin."
With narrowed eyes, Shindai looked toward Kakashi and Obito, "I gotta pee. You two help me go take a leak."
Kakashi and Obito both tugged at their lips, looking somewhat helpless.
What else could they do? They had no choice but to support him.
Kakashi and Obito each took one of Shindai's arms, helping him up from the hospital bed.
Shindai's elbow accidentally bumped into Obito's stomach.
Obito immediately sucked in a sharp breath.
Because of that headbutt from Shindai, his abdomen was already covered in bruises.
"You're such a weakling, Obito," Shindai said mockingly. "It was just an accidental bump with my arm. Do you really need to make such a face? Have you been 'rewarding' yourself late at night again?
"How old are you now? About ten? Your hair hasn't even come in fully yet. Listen to my advice—lay off those late-night activities a bit. Look how weak you've become; your face has turned pale."
Obito rolled his eyes.
Wasn't this exactly because of him?
At that time, from Shindai's headbutt alone, Obito almost thought his insides had been ripped to shreds. It wasn't until Rin Nohara checked him and confirmed he was fine that he finally relaxed.
...
Now injured again, Shindai had returned to Konoha's base camp, cooping himself up indoors once more.
Meanwhile, several days later, Shindai's Ninja Hawk finally arrived at Sunagakure, delivering the message straight to the Third Kazekage.
After reading the message attached to the hawk, the Third Kazekage's expression changed instantly. He immediately ordered the ninja behind him to summon Ebizō and Chiyo to convene an emergency meeting.
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