Inside the tent, Shindai suddenly clutched his forehead and burst into wild laughter, laughing until tears streamed down his face.
Of course, Shindai wasn't laughing out of happiness—he was actually laughing from rage.
"Sensei Minato Namikaze, is Shindai okay?" asked Obito from outside the tent. Already aware of what had happened, he felt worried upon hearing Shindai's maniacal laughter echoing out.
Minato Namikaze, upon hearing the maniacal laughter, also became concerned that Shindai might really be going crazy. Without delay, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique to bring Obito, Kakashi, and Rin Nohara over.
Minato hoped that letting these three peers talk some sense into Shindai might calm him down a bit before he truly lost it.
Rin Nohara frowned with concern. "Just listening to his laugh, something's definitely wrong. Normally Shindai's laugh sounds mischievous, but this one sounds... sorrowful."
Kakashi gave his signature dead-fish stare toward Minato. "Sensei, let me guess—you want us to go in there and talk him down?"
Minato smiled awkwardly. "Well, you're all around the same age, and you get along well with him. He'll probably listen better to you than anyone else."
Obito raised his fist enthusiastically and punched his palm. "You got it! Leave it to us—we'll handle this perfectly. Come on, Kakashi, Rin, let's go!"
Leading the way proudly with his chest puffed out, Obito marched confidently toward Shindai's tent, Kakashi and Rin trailing behind him.
Suddenly—
Inside the tent, after apparently finishing his laughter, Shindai slammed the table furiously and roared, "Holy crap! Rasa, we're done! Thirty years in the same village—east side, west side, who cares? Now you're bullying me?! Then I'll just bully your kids right back!"
This sudden roar startled Obito so much that he jumped back several steps in fright, immediately hiding behind Kakashi and Rin.
Kakashi and Rin turned their heads simultaneously, giving Obito an unimpressed look.
Where had that boldness gone?
Still hiding behind them, Obito muttered awkwardly, "Umm... I think maybe we should wait a little longer before going inside. I'm afraid Shindai might beat me up right now—and worse, even our future kids might get beaten up too..."
Kakashi and Rin exchanged glances, then said together, "I agree."
From Shindai's furious shouts alone, it was obvious he was completely enraged. Trying to reason with him now would be like walking straight into gunfire.
Shindai hadn't stopped cursing yet either. "Ebizō, may you die young—scratch that, just sink into the ocean already! Chiyo, may you end up seducing Onoki, that old wrinkled pervert, wearing nothing but a swimsuit! And may each and every one of you get turned into human puppets by Sasori—whose puppet skills don't even come close to mine!"
Obito, Kakashi, and Rin didn't know who Ebizō or Chiyo were, so they weren't sure exactly what Shindai was ranting about.
But Minato Namikaze certainly did.
Tch… That's harsh…
Minato Namikaze let out a sharp breath through his teeth. It seemed like Shindai was truly furious this time.
But what the hell were Sasori and the Human Puppet?
A scorpion in the desert? A Human Puppet?
Shindai's chest heaved violently with rage.
Since when did he write a Scroll telling the Third Kazekage to leave Sunagakure?
Since when was he aware that he had been turned by Konoha?
Since when did he know that after drawing out the Third Kazekage, he allowed Konoha ninjas to attack him?
He had been working here as a spy—living each day in fear, facing off daily against powerful ninja like Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya. Did no one even consider how hard it was for him?
In the end, he became the Traitor?
This definitely came from Rasa, Chiyo, and Ebizō conspiring together—there's no need to even think twice about it.
After all, declaring war on Konoha was a huge decision for Sunagakure, something no single individual could have decided alone.
Besides, becoming the sudden scapegoat? That definitely came from that bastard Rasa.
Although Shindai had never met Chiyo or Ebizō before, the Third Kazekage and Pakura had told him about them.
Chiyo and Ebizō treated people from their own village quite well.
But Rasa? That guy was ruthless enough to even send assassins after his own son.
Framing someone this maliciously? Yeah, that's exactly the kind of thing Rasa would do.
Shindai glared viciously, looking ready to eat someone alive.
Truthfully, he never wanted to be a spy from the start—it was the Third Kazekage who forced him into this role.
Now the Third Kazekage sat there blinking his eyes indifferently, doing nothing, while he—the spy—was branded a traitor by force.
That bastard Rasa really was a despicable man.
Originally, these underhanded tactics were meant for Pakura—but now they had been turned on him instead.
Shindai felt deeply wronged inside.
Who the hell does something like that?!
When he heard that the Third Kazekage had gone missing, he was even planning on contacting others in Sunagakure.
Even though he couldn't summon the Ninja Hawk anymore and all contact from Sunagakure had vanished, he still believed they'd reach out to him eventually.
Never did he imagine that what awaited him was being declared a traitor.
Gritting his teeth furiously, Shindai spat out, "No blood ties, no Sharingan—just like me, a disposable pawn. What makes you any better than me? If you don't want me, I don't want you either! Even pawns have different ranks. One day, you'll see just how powerful a pawn you threw away!
I'm so angry I can't even stomach this insult! Watch out—I might send Masked Obito to haunt you next time!"
Outside the tent, when no noise came from within, Kakashi and Rin Nohara both turned and looked back at Obito, who stood behind them.
Obito felt a bit creeped out with Kakashi and Rin Nohara staring at him. "Why are you staring at me like that?"
"We should head in now," said Kakashi. "Let's go."
Obito had been so full of confidence earlier, but now it had completely disappeared. He was actually quite nervous.
Obito coughed nervously. "Kakashi, why don't you go in first? I'll stay behind and think about how to talk to Shindai."
Kakashi gave Obito a sharp, scrutinizing look. "Obito, you're not...scared, are you?"
At Kakashi's words, Obito froze. With Rin standing right there, how could he possibly admit he was scared?
Obito shot back defiantly, "Scared? Me? Hah! Who do you think you're talking to? Watch me—I'm the bravest man in the world!"
With those words, Obito steeled himself and marched forward at the front.
Underneath his mask, Kakashi's lips curled upward slightly.
Got him—the psychological ploy worked!
Truthfully, Kakashi didn't want to be the first one to step inside either. Even dealing with a normal, irritated Shindai was hard enough—let alone an enraged one?
Besides, convincing people wasn't exactly Kakashi's strong suit. Sarcastic remarks were more his style.
Rin Nohara, walking behind Obito, whispered encouragingly, "Come on, Obito!"
Suddenly energized by Rin's support, fragmented thoughts of Shindai's earlier comments about being "cool" flickered through Obito's mind again.
Suppressing the urge to smile, Obito said coolly, "Watch me be cool, Rin!"
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