56-60

Chapter 56: The Outrage 

Shindai sneaked out of the tent and into a small grove, where he summoned a ninja hawk. He urgently tied a letter to its leg and pleaded, "Hurry and take this letter back to the Sand Village! If you're late, I'm finished! You have to be fast!" 

If the ninja hawk could show expression, it would definitely be smirking right now. "Finished?" It was practically hoping Shindai would be finished! If Shindai was done for, it would definitely go find a corpse and have a good meal. Oh, wait, if Shindai was finished, why not just eat him? If Shindai bit the dust, it would eat him until not a single bone was left! 

"What are you looking at? Go!" Shindai was practically frantic. This stupid ninja hawk was just standing there, staring at him. And from its eyes, Shindai felt like the bird was actually disrespecting him. The ninja hawk glared at Shindai, though its tiny eyes didn't make much difference, it made sure to convey its attitude. 

The ninja hawk flapped its wings and took off. As it flew, it felt like something was left undone. Suddenly, the ninja hawk's eyes went black. Before losing consciousness, the ninja hawk finally remembered what it had forgotten. And just like that, it was here. 

Minato Namikaze carefully cradled the unconscious ninja hawk as he rendezvoused with Jiraiya and Kakashi. He was extremely careful with the bird, as it was a precious asset now and couldn't be damaged. After they met up, Minato untied Shindai's letter and, without even looking at it, handed it directly to Jiraiya. Then, Minato began to write a new letter with practiced ease. 

Jiraiya, however, was curious and opened Shindai's letter, wanting to see what he had written. He didn't know what to expect, but what he read made his blood pressure shoot up. His entire face turned beet red, veins popping out on his temples. 

"That hateful brat! How could he say such things about me?! I'm going to beat him until his butt blossoms!" 

Kakashi and the others curiously gathered around Jiraiya, wanting to see what Shindai had written that made him so angry. 

[Uncle Kaito, that Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, is a total pervert. Everyone says he's a lecher, and I thought he only liked pretty ladies, but it turns out he preys on everyone—men, women, young, and old! Not only did he make me use our Sand Village's proud puppet techniques to satisfy his perverted desires, but he even tried to pull strings on me! Luckily, I was smart and he didn't succeed, otherwise, my honor would be lost. But I really don't know how long I can keep my honor intact.] 

"Pfft!" Obito couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. 

Jiraiya shot a displeased look at Obito. Obito cleared his throat, biting his lip to keep from laughing aloud, stifling a giggle. "Shindai is really going too far! How could he say such things about Lord Jiraiya?" 

Jiraiya flung the letter at Obito. "Don't laugh too soon. He wrote about you three too, and Minato!" 

Obito picked up the letter and started reading. In an instant, he turned as red-faced as Jiraiya, his blood pressure soaring. 

"What?! When did I ever drool? He's the idiot! He's the one with one eye higher and one lower, one big and one small! I, Obito Uchiha, am the smartest person in this world!" 

Kakashi and Rin Nohara also read Shindai's letter, and their expressions soured. In the letter, Shindai claimed that Kakashi had a crush on Jiraiya, and Jiraiya wanted to use his influence on Shindai but not on Kakashi. So, Kakashi was jealous of him, always giving him trouble, and constantly badmouthing him to Jiraiya, hoping Jiraiya would kill him. The letter also stated that Rin Nohara was smitten with him and harassed him daily, making him thoroughly annoyed and unable to get rid of her. 

Kakashi and Rin's fists were clenched, their breathing slowly becoming heavier, and their anger levels skyrocketed. Minato Namikaze, who was busy mimicking Shindai's handwriting to write a new letter, saw Jiraiya and the other two nearing their breaking point and suddenly became curious about what Shindai had written about him. 

After reading it, Minato regretted it. In the letter, Shindai claimed Minato was a sissy who dressed up as a woman every day and hung out with a bunch of female ninja, even going to the restroom and bathing with them. Minato's hand, holding the pen, tightened. Even someone as good-tempered as he was now wanted to storm into the tent and give Shindai a beating. 

In short, the entire letter depicted all the Leaf ninja as abnormal, with only Shindai himself being a normal person. In the letter, Shindai expressed how much anguish and pain he was suffering there, and how he was on the verge of being driven mad. Finally, he wrote that this group of abnormal people planned to send four genin, including himself, to commit suicide by strapping explosive tags to themselves and attacking the Stone Village head-on. This mission, he claimed, would surely lead to his death, and he wanted the Third Kazekage to agree to end his spy career. 

"If I don't beat him today, I'm not an Uchiha!" Obito, nearly mad with rage, punched the ground and then furiously headed towards the tent to settle the score with Shindai. 

Kakashi grabbed Obito. "If you go to him now, aren't you just telling him that we read his letter?" 

Obito gnashed his teeth. "I can't swallow this!" 

Jiraiya's face had returned to normal, but the veins on his forehead hadn't receded yet. Jiraiya laughed in his anger. "Of course, we can't swallow this, but serious matters come first. We'll settle accounts with that kid once this is over!" 

Obito, Kakashi, and Rin Nohara nodded in unison. "Alright!" 

"Achoo! Achoo! A-a-choo!" Inside the tent, Shindai sneezed several times. Shindai rubbed his nose, annoyed. "It must be because of that mission that I feel so uneasy. May the gods protect me... wait, no, the gods here are the bad guys. So who should I pray to? Forget it, I'll believe in whoever works. No matter who it is, please protect me!" 

Minato Namikaze, having mimicked Shindai's handwriting, handed the completed letter to Jiraiya. "Sensei, this is the letter I wrote according to the Third Hokage's instructions. What do you think?" 

Jiraiya took the letter and began to read it. 

[Uncle Kaito, the Leaf Village's Sannin, including the Yellow Flash Minato Namikaze, suddenly gathered as if to discuss something. Seeing the situation was off, I secretly listened in and discovered extremely important intelligence. The Stone Village intends to use my name to provoke the Leaf, but this is just a pretense. In reality, the Stone Village has secretly allied with the Leaf Village and plans to lure our Sand Village into cooperating with the Stone to attack the Leaf. The purpose is to draw you out, then combine with Leaf ninja to severely cripple our Sand Shinobi. The reason for this is to allow the Stone Village and the Leaf Village to have no worries, then jointly attack the Cloud Village. Uncle Kaito, our Sand Village must be careful. We absolutely cannot fall for this trap, otherwise, the Sand Village will surely suffer a heavy blow!] 

Chapter 57: Vengeance is Mine! 

Jiraiya finished reading the letter Minato Namikaze had forged in Shindai's handwriting. He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, given Onoki's personality, after he makes a move on the Leaf, he'll definitely try to pull the Sand Village in with him. That old man never fights a battle he's not sure he can win. So, if Onoki announces an attack on the Leaf, he's absolutely going to try to get the Sand Village involved. But if his invitation isn't met with a response, he definitely won't act rashly, and the whole thing will likely just fizzle out." 

Minato Namikaze asked, "Do we need to add anything else? If it's good to go, I'll tie it to Shindai's ninja hawk and send it off." 

Jiraiya nodded. "No need to add anything else. Sometimes, being too detailed isn't good; it can raise suspicion. It's better to leave them a little room for imagination. Go ahead and tie it on, Minato." 

After Minato tied the letter to the unconscious ninja hawk, the five of them vanished from their spot. 

Five minutes later, the ninja hawk slowly regained consciousness. It stared blankly for about 30 seconds, then preened its feathers on its wings with its beak before taking flight. It was used to this by now; it didn't even care. It just prayed for Shindai to finally be finished with. 

Hidden in the shadows, the five of them breathed a collective sigh of relief as they watched the ninja hawk take off. Minato Namikaze prayed, "I hope Shindai's ninja hawk has a smooth flight and can successfully deliver the letter into the Third Kazekage's hands." Jiraiya and the other three nodded in agreement, also hoping for the ninja hawk's successful delivery. 

Jiraiya took a deep breath and then declared, "The fake intel issue is resolved, so now it's time to deal with that brat. Who wants to join in? Raise your hand." 

Obito was the first to raise his hand, with Kakashi and Rin following suit immediately. Minato Namikaze was still a bit conflicted. After all, they had just used Shindai's ninja hawk, and it felt a bit like burning the bridge after crossing it. 

Obito scoffed, "That bastard Shindai called you a sissy, Sensei Minato." 

Rin chimed in, "Yeah, Sensei Minato, he also said you hang out with female ninja all the time!" 

Kakashi's voice took on a strange tone. "That guy even said you go to the bathroom and bathe with female ninja, Sensei." 

A vein throbbed on Minato's forehead, and he slowly raised his hand. Shindai's rumors were truly outrageous! Where did he look like a sissy?! 

Led by Jiraiya, the group quickly discussed and reached a consensus on their plan for Shindai. 

Soon, another three days passed. For these three days, Shindai had been on edge. Although he knew the ninja hawk definitely hadn't reached the Sand Village yet, probably not even halfway there, Shindai couldn't help but wonder if it had arrived. For these three days, Shindai stayed cooped up in his tent, not going anywhere. 

Only twelve days left. In twelve days, he was supposed to be a suicide squad member attacking the Stone Village. Shindai racked his brain, wondering what to do if the Third Kazekage didn't agree to end his spy career. If he just abandoned his spy mission and fled back to the Sand Village, he might be locked up in that man-eating prison. The Third Kazekage was certainly capable of such a thing. Flee somewhere else? But Shindai didn't know where to go. 

"Sigh~" Shindai let out a deep sigh. His stomach rumbled loudly. No one had visited him these past few days. Food was brought to him by the medical ninja ladies when they came to check on him. Even though Shindai had social anxiety, it was only with strangers. With people he knew, Shindai was a social butterfly, incredibly sweet-talked. The medical ninja ladies had been coming to his tent daily to check on him, so it was hard for Shindai not to know them. So when Shindai asked, the medical ninja ladies, perhaps seeing how handsome he was, readily agreed. 

But today, the medical ninja lady was late coming to check on him, and Shindai was now starving. "Fine, I'll go forage for food myself." Shindai got out of bed, left his tent, and headed towards the logistics area to see what there was to eat. 

"Tsk, that kid finally came out, huh? He can really stick it out. Three whole days, and he didn't set foot outside that tent." 

Standing on a tree trunk were Jiraiya and Obito. As for Kakashi, Rin Nohara, and Minato Namikaze, they weren't that idle; they had their own things to do. So, the task of monitoring Shindai was given to the bored Obito and Jiraiya. 

Obito guessed, "I bet that Shindai only came out today because no one brought him food and he was starving. Otherwise, he could stay in that tent for a month." 

Jiraiya suddenly turned his head to Obito. "What did you say?" 

Obito didn't understand why Jiraiya was suddenly so agitated, so he repeated what he had just said. Jiraiya looked at Obito with an indescribable expression. "Why didn't you say something sooner? If we just stopped sending him food, wouldn't he have come out on his own? All those days wasted waiting!" 

Obito thought about it, and Jiraiya seemed to be right. He gave a dry laugh. "Sorry, Lord Jiraiya, I didn't think of it." 

Jiraiya sighed, then said with firm eyes, "Never mind. Go quickly and find Minato and the others. I don't want to miss this chance. He's had it easy for three days. This time, we'll get our revenge and settle our grievances!" 

"Alright! I'll go right now!" Obito excitedly ran off to find Minato and the others. 

Before long, Obito returned with Minato Namikaze, Kakashi, and Rin Nohara, and they met up with Jiraiya. Obito squinted, looking at Shindai in the distance, who was holding food and preparing to return to his tent. "Lord Jiraiya, I'll leave it to you." 

A 'brutal' smile curled Jiraiya's lips. "No trouble at all; on the contrary, I'd be delighted. Just don't make a sound, you guys." 

Jiraiya used the Transformation Jutsu to become a stranger, then used the Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of Shindai. Shindai stared blankly at the 'stranger' before him. "Who are you?" 

Jiraiya rapidly formed hand signs. The next second, the light in Shindai's eyes completely vanished, as if he were in a world of darkness, covered by black silk. Jiraiya had cast Genjutsu: Bringer-of-Darkness Technique on Shindai. When cast, it creates a dark environment, blocking the opponent's vision. In this dark environment, only the caster and their allies can see what's inside. In other words, Shindai was as good as blind, and only Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze, and Kakashi could see. 

Looking at the panicked and shouting Shindai, Jiraiya and Obito exchanged 'kind' smiles. While Kakashi, Rin Nohara, and Minato Namikaze weren't as exaggerated, a slight curve also appeared on their lips. 

Next, it was playtime! 

Chapter 58: The Beatdown 

Shindai, under Jiraiya's Genjutsu: Bringer of Darkness, was now completely blind and frantically yelling. After calling out a few times with no response, Shindai's expression immediately turned serious. Was that stranger just now an enemy? Is this an enemy attack? 

Shindai quickly pulled out the scroll containing Kannazuki, intending to summon her. However, before he could even unfurl the scroll, his hand suddenly felt light—his scroll had been snatched! 

"What the heck!" 

Before Shindai could react, his right eye socket suddenly throbbed with pain. Shindai clutched his eye and stumbled back a few steps. 

Jiraiya, holding Shindai's scroll, blew on his left fist. That punch felt great! 

Fuming, Shindai formed hand signs, aiming to manipulate the iron sand underground with his magnet release. But before Shindai could finish his hand signs, his left and right hands were suddenly grabbed, forcibly interrupting his jutsu. And the one who grabbed Shindai's hands... was Minato Namikaze. 

Minato deftly tied Shindai's hands tightly with a rope, preventing him from using any more jutsu. Shindai was utterly bewildered. This isn't fair! 

"Who's there?! I'm a Konoha captive, not a Konoha ninja! You've got the wrong person if you're looking for revenge! I can give you... Ow!" Shindai felt a punch land on his right cheek, abruptly cutting off what he was about to say. 

Then... countless punches rained down on him, not just fists, but kicks too! And it definitely wasn't just one person; there were at least three! 

"Ugh~ Oh~ Ah~ Hey~ Ow, ow, ow, wait, who are you guys, what are you doing?!" Even with Shindai's slow reactions, he finally realized these guys weren't trying to kill him; they were purely here to beat him up. If they were trying to kill him, with his scroll stolen and hands tied, he'd be a lamb to the slaughter, they'd have finished him off in an instant. 

But his assailants didn't speak, and Shindai couldn't see them. Shindai could only try calling out, "Obito?" 

Obito, who was about to throw another punch, froze, looking at Shindai in disbelief. Just as Obito was about to ask, "How did you know?", two figures quickly rushed forward and clapped their hands over Obito's mouth. These two figures were none other than Jiraiya and Kakashi. Jiraiya and Kakashi shook their heads seriously at Obito, signaling him not to speak. 

After getting no reaction from calling Obito's name, Shindai then called out Jiraiya, Kakashi, Rin Nohara, Tsunade, and other names. Only then did Obito realize that Shindai was just guessing, and he almost gave them away. 

Minato Namikaze suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Shindai had named almost everyone, but he hadn't mentioned Minato's name. Perhaps in Shindai's mind, it was because he trusted Minato and believed he wouldn't do such a thing. Although Minato had only tied Shindai's hands and given him a good slap, he hadn't actually beaten Shindai himself after that. Still, Minato felt a bit embarrassed, like he had betrayed Shindai's trust. 

Actually, Minato's guess was spot on. Shindai wouldn't believe Minato would do something like this even if his life depended on it. After all, Minato was such a good person, so gentle; how could he be so deranged as to beat him up? 

Shindai was once again beaten black and blue, just like the time Tsunade got to him. 

The second to stop punching was Rin Nohara. After a while, she felt a bit sorry for Shindai and stopped. 

The third to stop was Kakashi, who simply felt that beating Shindai when he couldn't fight back was a bit boring. 

And the fourth to stop was surprisingly Obito. Obito's reason for stopping wasn't because he felt sorry for Shindai or found it boring, but because his hands were starting to hurt from punching. 

Jiraiya was the last to stop. He mainly stopped because Obito and the others had stopped, and as one of the Legendary Sannin, it felt a bit embarrassing to continue beating up a kid. Anyway, his anger was out, so it was fine to end it. 

"Hmph." Obito let out a satisfied breath. 

That "hmph" allowed Shindai to pinpoint his location. Fuming, Shindai gritted his teeth, stood up, and launched a powerful headbutt towards the source of the sound. 

Obito, completely off guard and unprepared, was slammed hard in the abdomen by Shindai's headbutt. 

"Cough~" Obito's eyes nearly popped out from the heavy blow to his abdomen. He rolled on the ground a couple of times before coming to a stop. Shindai, meanwhile, had knocked himself unconscious. 

Jiraiya stepped forward to check on Shindai. After confirming he was unconscious, he dispelled the Genjutsu: Bringer of Darkness. 

"Ow, ow, ow, that hurts!" As soon as he was sure he could speak, Obito immediately clutched his stomach and wailed. 

Kakashi said disdainfully, "Shindai could still hit you even with his hands tied?" 

Obito's face was ashen. "I-I just wasn't paying attention!" 

Rin Nohara stopped Obito and Kakashi from arguing. "Alright, alright, stop fighting. What are we going to tell Shindai when he wakes up and asks?" 

Jiraiya stroked his chin in thought. "That's a good question. That kid was calling out our names earlier, which means he already suspects us. But that makes sense, after all, this is Konoha's camp, and we only beat him up, didn't kill him. It seems only we could be the culprits, our suspicion will be very high." 

Rin Nohara suggested, "We could say that there really were enemies who attacked us, and since Shindai wasn't wearing a Konoha headband, he was accidentally injured by our Konoha ninja." 

Kakashi clicked his tongue. "That's not a good excuse. It was clearly a beatdown, how could it be an 'accidental injury'? We were so focused on revenge that we forgot about cleaning up the mess." 

Minato Namikaze thought for a moment and then said, "How about this: we say that some Cloud Ninja secretly infiltrated the Konoha camp to capture Konoha ninja, but they got the wrong person. The Cloud Ninja, enraged, then beat him up. And just as the Cloud Ninja were about to kill Shindai, we arrived just in time to save him. How does that sound?" 

Jiraiya clapped his hands. "That's a great idea! Let's go with that. And we'll say it was you, Minato, who saved him. We'll tell everyone that." 

Minato Namikaze said to Kakashi's team, "Kakashi, you guys take Shindai to the tent. Rin, help treat him." 

Rin Nohara nodded. "Okay, I understand, Minato-sensei." 

Because Obito's abdomen had been severely hit by Shindai's headbutt, the task of carrying Shindai fell to Kakashi. 

Watching Kakashi's team and Shindai disappear into the distance, Minato Namikaze sighed. 

Jiraiya nudged Minato with his elbow, wiggling his eyebrows. "Why the sigh? Aren't you satisfied?" 

Minato pursed his lips and replied, "Actually, I... kind of regret it." 

Jiraiya scoffed. "Regret? Regret what? That kid called you a sissy and said you bathed and went to the restroom with female ninja. Can you really stand for that?" 

At the thought of that, Minato's fists clenched tightly. It seemed... there wasn't much to regret after all. No, wait, he did regret it. He should have given Shindai one more good slap. 

Chapter 59: Against Conscience 

Inside the tent. 

Shindai didn't know how long he'd been unconscious, but he slowly came to. When he finally opened his eyes, he could only see a tiny bit. His eyes were so swollen, he could barely peek through a slit. 

"Shindai, you're finally awake!" 

Shindai laboriously turned his head and saw Kakashi, Obito, and Rin sitting in chairs by his bed. He tried to get up, but his body was in excruciating pain, and he let out a pained groan. 

Rin "cared" for him, saying, "Shindai, don't move around too much. You're all swollen, and it'll hurt a lot if you move. Just rest well. Tell us if you want anything to eat or drink. If you need to use the restroom, Kakashi and Obito will help you." 

Shindai slurred a bit, "I got beaten up... like, held down and beaten with no way to fight back. You guys know about it, right?" 

Obito replied, "Of course we know." 

Shindai widened his eyes as much as possible, staring directly at Obito, and gritted his teeth, "You guys did it, didn't you? I just had a feeling that you, you little brat, were definitely among those people!" 

Obito, feeling incredibly guilty, quickly waved his hands. "No, no, no, it wasn't us! Let me finish explaining!" 

Kakashi, afraid Obito would spill the beans, quickly interjected, "That's right, Shindai, it wasn't Obito. You almost died, it was Minato-sensei who saved you." 

Shindai was confused. "Minato-sensei saved me? But those evil bastards, they were just beating me up; it didn't seem like they wanted to kill me." 

Hearing Shindai call them "evil bastards," a vein instantly popped on the foreheads of Kakashi's team. 

Kakashi tried his best to keep his voice gentle. "Before, some Cloud Ninja secretly infiltrated the camp, wanting to capture a Konoha ninja with a secret technique. But it seems they got the wrong person and grabbed you instead. They got angry and beat you up to vent their frustration. Finally, when the Cloud Ninja were about to kill you, Minato-sensei arrived just in time and saved you." 

Shindai was a bit puzzled. "Really?" 

Kakashi's tone was firm. "Of course, it's true! Otherwise, who do you think did it? Could Obito even beat you up?" 

Shindai agreed. "That's fair, actually." 

Obito was about to retort, but Rin pressed on his thigh, signaling him not to speak nonsense. Obito's face immediately turned red. 

Rin's hand is on my leg! I can't wash these pants for a month! 

But Shindai still wasn't entirely convinced because he had a nagging feeling that this was an inside job. "That kid Obito isn't my match, but there was more than one person back then. If you all ganged up on me..." 

Rin looked seriously into Shindai's eyes. "Shindai, you're our comrade. Why would we ever hit you?" 

Kakashi chimed in, "Yeah, Shindai. And think about it, did you do anything before that might have exposed your identity, making the Cloud Ninja realize they grabbed the wrong person?" 

Shindai thought about it and suddenly remembered saying something about being a Konoha captive, not a Konoha ninja. Could I have really misjudged them? 

Kakashi's expression was serious. "If you don't believe us, we can call Minato-sensei over. You might not trust us, but you have to trust Minato-sensei, right?" Kakashi got up as if to go call Minato. 

Shindai quickly stopped him. "No need to call Minato-sensei! I believe you! I trust you guys the most, I believe everything you say." 

However, Shindai still felt a strange intuition, a gut feeling that these three guys somehow played a part in him getting beaten up. But they brought up Minato. Would Minato beat him up? Shindai wouldn't believe it for a second. 

As they spoke of Minato Namikaze, he arrived. Minato entered the tent, saw Shindai was awake, and asked with a gentle smile, "You're awake, Shindai. Are you alright?" 

Shindai replied somewhat pitifully, "Not at all, I'm hurting all over." 

Minato Namikaze, for the first time, apologized against his conscience to Shindai. "I'm sorry, Shindai. If I had arrived sooner, you wouldn't have been injured." 

Hearing Minato say that, Shindai's doubts vanished. These three guys, or that bad old Jiraiya, might lie to him, but Minato Namikaze would never lie to him. 

Minato continued, "Oh, and another piece of news. Remember how Kakashi and the others were going to attack an Iwagakure unit in the Land of Earth? That mission has been canceled because the risk was too high." 

"Really... Hiss~! Ow, ow, ow!" Shindai yelped in pain as his excitement caused his injuries to flare up. But even with the pain, he was happy! Not having to go on a suicide mission was fantastic. 

"Alright, Shindai, you rest well. Kakashi, Obito, and Rin, please take good care of Shindai. I have other things to do, so I'll be leaving now." Minato Namikaze felt a pang in his conscience and quickly left the tent. 

Shindai, now in a much better mood, heard his stomach rumble. He had originally left the tent to find food earlier, but instead of eating, he got a terrible beating and was still hungry. 

Rin Nohara heard Shindai's stomach growl and stood up. "Shindai, you're hungry, aren't you? I'll go get you some food." 

Shindai didn't refuse; he was truly starving. "Okay, thank you, Rin." 

Shindai squinted at Kakashi and Obito. "I need to pee. You two, help me go." 

Kakashi and Obito twitched their lips simultaneously, looking a bit helpless. What could they do? They had to help him. 

Kakashi and Obito helped Shindai up from the bed, one on each side. Shindai's elbow accidentally bumped Obito's abdomen. Obito immediately gasped. His abdomen was completely bruised from Shindai's headbutt. 

Shindai said disdainfully, "Why are you so weak, Obito? It was just my arm accidentally touching your stomach. Do you really need to make that kind of face? Are you rewarding yourself every night? How old are you now? Around 10? You haven't even grown all your hair yet. Take my advice, reward yourself less. Look how weak you are, your face is pale." 

Obito rolled his eyes. His face is pale now because of him, isn't it? Shindai's headbutt had made Obito almost believe his intestines were ruptured. He only relaxed after Rin checked him and confirmed he was fine. 

Now, injured again, Shindai returned to his shut-in lifestyle within the Konoha camp. 

Meanwhile, Shindai's ninja hawk, after a few more days, finally arrived at Sunagakure and delivered the letter to the Third Kazekage. The Third Kazekage read the letter, his face instantly changed, and he immediately ordered a ninja behind him to summon Ebizo and Chiyo for a discussion. 

Chapter 60: I Know You're in a Hurry, But Don't Be Just Yet 

After the Third Kazekage received the letter from 'Shindai', he immediately sent a ninja to summon Ebizo and Chiyo for a discussion. When Ebizo and Chiyo arrived at the Kazekage's office, Chiyo asked, "Third Kazekage, is there something urgent that you called us here so quickly?" 

The Third Kazekage handed the letter from 'Shindai' to Chiyo and Ebizo. After reading the contents of the letter, both Chiyo and Ebizo became very serious. Ebizo asked, "Is this letter from the ninja you sent to infiltrate the Leaf Village?" 

The Third Kazekage nodded. "That's right. What do you two advisors think about this letter?" 

Chiyo cautiously inquired, "Is it possible this information is false? For example, did your spy simply hear some false intelligence? After all, the possibility of the Stone Village and the Leaf Village cooperating isn't very high." 

The Third Kazekage pulled out another letter and handed it to Chiyo and Ebizo. "This letter arrived the day before yesterday, from Onoki. He intends to provoke the Leaf Village under the pretext of them trying to seize a Magnet Release kekkei genkai user. Onoki hopes to ally with our Sand Village, so when he confronts the Leaf, the Sand Village will immediately respond, and we'll jointly attack the Leaf. To show his sincerity, Onoki will send us a batch of military supplies. However, I don't trust that cunning old fox, Onoki. I planned to tell you about this only after his military supplies arrived at the Sand Village." 

Ebizo took both letters and carefully examined them. Ebizo analyzed gravely, "Based solely on these two letters, we can't determine which is true. However, comparatively, I lean towards the information from our spy being more credible. Firstly, the relationship between the Stone Village and the Cloud Village is very poor. Although Onoki greatly covets the Leaf's resources, if Hiruzen Sarutobi actively seeks cooperation with Onoki and promises him benefits, there is indeed a certain possibility for them to cooperate. And if they do cooperate, then our Sand Village, located behind them, becomes a major concern. They would worry that we might attack them when they send ninja forces to attack the Cloud Village. Therefore, the possibility of luring us out, severely crippling us, and forcing us to withdraw from this war is quite high." 

The Third Kazekage angrily slammed his hand on the table. That Onoki truly lacked honor, planning to deceive their Sand Village and ambush them! Although they had also deceived the Stone Village before, that Magnet Release kekkei genkai user wasn't for them, but if it wasn't discovered, it didn't count as deception! 

Just as the Third Kazekage was about to say something, Ebizo interrupted him. Ebizo continued, "Third Kazekage, I know you're in a hurry, but don't be just yet, because this is currently just speculation. After all, it's also possible that our spy received incorrect information, and Onoki might genuinely want to cooperate with us to attack the Leaf." 

Ebizo's sudden pause made the Third Kazekage unsure whether to be angry or not angry at Onoki. When it came to fighting, the Third Kazekage was a professional. But when it came to strategy, ten of him couldn't compare to Ebizo. 

The Third Kazekage, having a clear understanding of his own intelligence, humbly asked, "Then, in Advisor Ebizo's opinion, what should our Sand Village do?" 

Ebizo pondered in silence. Chiyo picked up her teacup and took a sip. Such matters were best left to her brother to figure out; after all, she wasn't good at this sort of thing. After a long moment, Ebizo spoke, "The war hasn't officially begun yet, and we absolutely cannot make a mistake. So, whether Onoki genuinely wants to cooperate with us or not, we cannot cooperate with Onoki. If Onoki wants to send us supplies, we'll accept them all. Whatever Onoki wants to say, let him say it; he definitely won't send ninja forces into the Land of Wind to attack us. Onoki will just have to swallow that loss. However, we can't let the Leaf Village off too easily either. If our spy's information is wrong, and Onoki genuinely wants to cooperate with us, then the Leaf Village will have avoided a crisis. Third Kazekage, you should write a letter to the Leaf Village now, stating that the Stone Village wants to cooperate with the Sand Village, but we don't want to break our alliance treaty with the Leaf. Therefore, we refused the promised military supplies from the Stone Village, and then emphasize Shindai's situation." 

The Third Kazekage immediately understood Ebizo's intention. "Advisor Ebizo means to extort some military supplies from the Leaf Village as well, right?" 

Ebizo nodded. "Exactly. Because if we were to cooperate with the Stone Village, it would be a disaster for the Leaf Village. So, the Leaf Village would definitely provide these military supplies; paying for some supplies to resolve a crisis would be very cost-effective for the Leaf. And if the Leaf Village plans to cooperate with the Stone Village, as long as we don't fall for their trick, they won't have any leverage over us, and this matter will simply die down. And to prevent us from knowing about this and actively attacking the Leaf, the Leaf Village would also have to offer some military supplies to keep us silent. Furthermore, the fact that the Leaf Village stole the Magnet Release kekkei genkai that we originally promised to the Stone Village is undeniable; they are in the wrong. So, no matter what, the Leaf Village must give us these military supplies." 

At this point, Chiyo, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up. "Regardless of what the Stone Village and the Leaf Village are planning, we will benefit, and our Sand Village will be in an absolutely safe position. This is indeed an excellent method. If we make a mistake before the war officially begins, we won't be competitive once it starts. So, Third Kazekage, I think Ebizo's suggestion is very good, and you should consider it carefully." 

The Third Kazekage tapped his fingers on the table, lost in thought. Ebizo's suggestion was indeed excellent. No matter what schemes the Stone Village and the Leaf Village might have, they would remain unharmed and receive two sets of supplies for free. 

Moreover, the Third Kazekage still largely trusted Shindai's intel. After all, Shindai's previous letter stated that he had completely gained Minato Namikaze's trust, and Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, had no doubts about his identity. He was currently trying to gain Jiraiya's trust, and his infiltration was going very smoothly. Therefore, the intelligence Shindai had heard was likely true. 

What a scheming fellow, Onoki! And he dared to use Shindai as a pretext to provoke the Leaf? He didn't even bother to check if Shindai belonged to them before shamelessly making demands! 

The Third Kazekage immediately wrote a letter and sent five Sand Shinobi to deliver it personally. After settling the matter, the Third Kazekage let out a long sigh of relief. Fortunately, Shindai's intelligence arrived in time. Otherwise, if the Stone Village's supplies had arrived, he might have genuinely allied with Onoki and jointly attacked the Leaf. If the Stone Village and the Leaf Village had indeed cooperated and planned to lure them out and severely cripple them, that would have been a disaster. 

The Third Kazekage now felt more and more that sending Shindai to infiltrate the Leaf Village was a very correct decision. Next, they just had to wait for the military supplies from the Stone Village and the Leaf Village to arrive. Free gains always taste the best!