36-40

*Chapter 36: Shindai's Great Escape*

When Kakashi heard Shindai say that someone on the Cloud ninja side was looking in their direction and even pointing, his heart skipped a beat.

"What? Let me see quickly!"

Kakashi snatched the binoculars from Shindai's hand and looked towards the Cloud ninja encampment.

He shouldn't have looked. The moment he did, he was shocked to see three Cloud ninja sprinting towards their location.

Every hair on Kakashi's body stood on end. He lowered the binoculars and said hastily, "Quick, retreat! We've been di—"

Before Kakashi could even finish his sentence, a black shadow had already shot off.

This black shadow was none other than Shindai.

The moment Shindai heard Kakashi say "Quick, retreat," he knew they'd been discovered. Without the slightest hesitation, he bolted.

Because Shindai firmly believed in one principle:

When a team retreats, the slowest one becomes bait to attract enemy fire.

Kakashi, Obito, and Rin were stunned by how quickly Shindai retreated. A moment later, they also immediately followed Shindai in a hasty retreat.

The three Cloud ninja in the back pursued them relentlessly.

Rin, being a medical ninja, was the slowest and was about to be caught up.

One of the Cloud ninja threw a kunai at Rin. She dodged it, but was forced to step onto a very thin tree branch.

Crack!

The branch couldn't support Rin's weight and snapped.

"Rin!"

Obito abruptly stopped and turned back towards the falling Rin, catching her and landing her safely on the ground.

However, this delay completely allowed the Cloud ninja to catch up to Obito and Rin.

One of the Cloud ninja used the Body Flicker Technique and instantly appeared in front of Obito and Rin.

"Cloud Style Crescent Moon Slash!"

The Cloud ninja drew his ninja sword and swiftly executed a large, crescent-shaped slash towards Obito and Rin.

Obito shoved Rin out of the way.

Rin was extremely anxious and quickly began forming hand seals.

However, Rin's hand seal speed was clearly no match for the Cloud ninja's sword swing.

Just as the Cloud ninja's sword was about to strike Obito, Kakashi appeared like a godsend, his White Light Chakra Sabre blocking the Cloud ninja's attack.

"Ka... Kakashi."

Obito stared blankly at Kakashi in front of him.

Obito hadn't expected Kakashi to come back.

Because ever since Kakashi's father, Sakumo Hatake, had died, Kakashi had been extremely strict about missions and rules.

According to the current situation, Kakashi should have decisively abandoned him and Rin and immediately returned to the Leaf Village encampment to report the situation to Jiraiya.

Kakashi said to Obito with a serious expression, "Don't just stand there! Retreat while fighting!"

The three Cloud ninja charged towards Kakashi, Obito, and Rin simultaneously.

The three of them used the Body Replacement Technique at the same time and then fled towards the Leaf Village encampment.

While running, Obito asked, "What about Shindai? Did he just abandon us and run off like that?"

Kakashi replied very calmly, "What else did you expect? Did you really think he'd come to save you? After all, he's not from the Leaf, and he's a coward by nature. He'll definitely prioritize his own life completely and wouldn't take any risks."

Obito said somewhat angrily, "Seriously? And I thought he was my friend! He sure can run fast!"

Kakashi commanded, "Stop complaining! They're catching up! Use ninjutsu to hinder them! Rin, don't stop, keep running forward!"

Kakashi and Obito suddenly stopped and turned around, rapidly forming hand seals.

"Fire Style! Great Fireball Technique!"

Obito gathered chakra in his throat and expelled a massive fireball towards the front. Although it didn't hit the Cloud ninja, the resulting explosion slightly hindered their pursuit.

Meanwhile, Kakashi created a Shadow Clone, and the clone charged towards the Cloud ninja wielding a short blade.

After releasing their ninjutsu, Kakashi and Obito continued to retreat.

Kakashi's Shadow Clone was overwhelmed and defeated almost instantly by the three Cloud ninja.

"Rumoda, you're the fastest! Go ahead and intercept them!"

Rumoda stepped onto a tree trunk, bending his legs to their limit, and then shot off like a spring.

Obito was still feeling smug. "Kakashi, looks like we shook them off. Those Cloud ninja aren't so tough after all."

Kakashi's response was a swift kick to Obito's backside.

Kakashi's kick sent Obito flying forward a couple of rolls before he stopped. Rubbing his rear, he was about to complain to Kakashi when he suddenly saw Kakashi flying backward.

Kakashi crashed into a tree trunk and fell to the ground, blood flowing from his right leg.

Just as Kakashi had kicked Obito away, Rumoda had slashed his leg.

Fortunately, Kakashi had retracted his leg quickly, otherwise, he would have lost it.

Kakashi stood up from the ground, his expression grim as he looked at Rumoda in front of him.

Rumoda charged towards Kakashi, as it was clear that Kakashi was the biggest threat among the three.

Obito took out a kunai and hurriedly tried to rush towards Kakashi to help him fight, but Obito was some distance away from Kakashi, while Rumoda was much closer, making it impossible for him to catch up in time.

"Summoning Technique! Rolling Log!"

A puff of smoke appeared in front of Kakashi, and a log materialized, hurtling towards Rumoda.

Rumoda was forced to abandon his attack on Kakashi and sliced the incoming log in half with his blade.

This log had been summoned by Rin. Rin, who should have been ahead, was too worried about Kakashi and Obito, so she had turned back and witnessed Rumoda attacking Kakashi.

Obito threw several shuriken at Rumoda, who retreated to the side, dodging Obito's projectiles.

Obito said seriously to Rin, "Rin, you heal Kakashi! I'll take care of this guy!"

Kakashi frowned. "Obito, you're no match for him!"

"Who says?! I am Obito Uchiha! Don't underestimate me!"

Obito leaped into the air, formed hand seals, and then placed his left hand in front of his mouth.

"Fire Style! Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Flames erupted from Obito's mouth, scattering in all directions and heading towards Rumoda.

Rumoda leaped left and right, dodging all the flames that Obito spat out.

Seeing Rumoda dodge the flames, Obito took out two kunai and threw them.

However, the aim of the kunai was ridiculously off; Rumoda didn't even need to dodge to avoid them.

Rumoda's primary target was still Kakashi. He ignored Obito, intending to deal with Kakashi first.

Right now, Rin was urgently treating the wound on Kakashi's right leg.

If the injury to his right leg wasn't treated, it would greatly hinder Kakashi's subsequent actions, and... there were still two more Cloud ninja behind them.

Seeing Rumoda ignore him and still try to attack Kakashi, Obito became annoyed. "I told you not to underestimate me!"

"Fire Style! Dragon Fire Technique!"

After forming hand seals, Obito released a straight line of extremely fast flames, heading towards Rumoda.

Rumoda used the Body Flicker Technique to evade Obito's attack, frowning as he looked at Obito.

Feeling that Obito was becoming troublesome, Rumoda decided to deal with Obito first. After all, his two comrades would arrive soon, and they could deal with Kakashi and Rin together later..

Chapter 37: The Dilemma

Because Obito repeatedly interfered with Rumoda's attempts to deal with Kakashi, Rumoda decided to handle Obito first. Then, once his comrades arrived, he'd take care of Kakashi and Rin.

Rumoda rapidly charged at Obito.

Obito felt incredibly tense, but he held his kunai tightly, his gaze fixed on Rumoda.

When he was just a few steps away from Obito, Rumoda swung his ninja blade down.

"Gotcha!"

Obito reversed his grip on the kunai.

Clink! Obito's kunai blocked Rumoda's ninja blade.

Obito couldn't help but let a smile creep onto his face. The guy wasn't so tough after all; he'd blocked that swing with ease.

But before Obito's smile could fully form, his expression suddenly froze.

"Cloud Style: Ascending Dragon!"

Rumoda delivered a direct elbow strike to Obito's face.

Obito was sent flying backward, landing face-first and tumbling several times on the ground.

"Obito!"

Rin's heart leaped. She immediately stopped healing Kakashi, pulled a kunai with an explosive tag from her ninja pouch, and hurled it at Rumoda.

As Rumoda prepared to retreat and dodge, the explosive tag detonated, creating an intense burst of flames.

At the same time, Rin threw a Wind Release tag.

The principle of Wind Release tags was the same as ninjutsu scrolls that could unleash various elemental jutsu.

The Wind Release tag generated a whirlwind, which, upon touching the explosive tag's flames, transformed. The flames and whirlwind merged, forming a swirling inferno.

The range of the flames suddenly expanded, catching Rumoda off guard. His body was engulfed in the burning fire.

Just as Rumoda was trying to extinguish the flames and counterattack, he suddenly felt his body tighten, and then he was completely bound.

Rumoda looked at himself in disbelief. He was ensnared by transparent threads.

Rumoda sharply turned his gaze to Obito.

Obito's right cheek was swollen, but a smile spread across his face.

Transparent threads were wrapped around Obito's hands.

Obito spat out a mouthful of blood. "You thought my last two kunai missed? I'm an Uchiha! How could I possibly miss? I purposely missed, you idiot!"

The ends of the two kunai Obito had seemingly missed with earlier had transparent threads attached.

He hadn't had a chance before, but now, with Rin's help, Obito seized the opportunity to use these threads to bind Rumoda.

Rin shouted to Obito, "That was amazing, Obito!"

A faint curve appeared under Kakashi's mask.

Obito proudly puffed out his chest.

He must look incredibly cool right now!

Rumoda, an elite Chunin, was now filled with shame and anger.

He had underestimated Kakashi and his team, thinking they were just kids, and now he was getting rolled over.

"It's over!"

Obito formed hand signs and then brought his hands to his mouth.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Obito unleashed a massive fireball from his mouth towards Rumoda.

Rumoda's pupils constricted to pinpoints.

Just as Rumoda thought he was finished, he suddenly felt the threads on his body loosen.

Rumoda's comrades had arrived!

Rumoda's comrades severed the threads binding him and quickly pulled him out of the Great Fireball's range.

Obito stared blankly at Rumoda and the two Cloud Ninja not far away.

His cool finishing move... had failed?!

Rumoda glared at Obito with extreme displeasure. "That brat is mine! I'll kill him myself!"

One of Rumoda's comrades reminded him, "Let's finish this quickly. We have an hour before our operation. No time to get entangled with these three brats."

Hearing "an hour before the operation," Kakashi's eyes immediately narrowed.

An hour... The Cloud Ninja had been lined up at their outpost earlier; it was highly likely that in an hour, they would attack the Leaf base.

He had to get this message back to the Leaf base immediately.

But right now...

Kakashi's brows furrowed. If he ran, Obito and Rin would surely not survive.

Rumoda's strength was far superior to Obito's and Rin's.

It was only due to Rumoda's overconfidence and Rin's timely assistance that Obito had managed to bind him successfully.

Such an opportunity would only come once; there wouldn't be a second time.

Moreover, there were now two more Cloud Ninja.

Even if one of Obito or Rin were to flee immediately, Kakashi couldn't stop all three Cloud Ninja.

The distance to the Leaf base was still considerable, and the Cloud Ninja were notoriously fast. Obito or Rin would definitely be caught.

Logic told Kakashi that abandoning Obito and Rin now and returning to the Leaf base alone was the most correct choice.

But his legs felt like they were filled with lead; he couldn't move them at all.

After a moment of internal struggle, Kakashi took a deep breath, his eyes hardening with resolve.

Kakashi pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it on the ground.

In an instant, smoke enveloped Kakashi.

Inside the smoke, Kakashi quickly formed hand signs and pressed his hands to the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

His ninja dog, Pakkun, reappeared.

"Pakkun, hurry back to the Leaf base and tell them the Cloud Ninja are about to launch a sneak attack!"

Pakkun barked and dashed out of the smoke, sprinting towards the Leaf base.

Then, Kakashi gripped his short blade, burst out of the smoke, and actively charged towards Rumoda and the two other Cloud Ninja.

In this situation, simply retreating was not an option. Only by actively attacking could he hope to find a chance to retreat.

Seeing Kakashi proactively engaging the Cloud Ninja, Obito and Rin immediately moved to assist him, attacking the three Cloud Ninja together.

---

Meanwhile, far from the battle between Kakashi's team and the three Cloud Ninja.

Shindai stood still, his expression utterly conflicted.

"Do I really abandon those three? Kakashi is the future Sixth Hokage, Obito is the man who will possess Six Paths Power in the future, and Rin... she's the future Three-Tails Jinchuriki. This is just a small crisis. For them, it should be easy to resolve, right?

Yes, that's right! So there's absolutely no need to be conflicted!"

Shindai took a few steps, then stopped again.

Because he heard the sounds of distant combat.

Shindai's expression grew even more conflicted. "But... what if? What if they actually die? To be honest, the Leaf Village has been pretty good to me, especially Minato Namikaze. I practically dismantled all the electronics in his house, and he didn't say a word to me.

Kakashi and the others treat me as a comrade. Would I be too inhuman to abandon them like this?

But if I go to help them, my strength would be exposed! I've hidden it so well; it would be such a waste to reveal it now."

Shindai hesitated, then a flash of inspiration struck him.

"I've got it! If I do this, I should be able to avoid being discovered."

Shindai unrolled the scroll containing "Kannazuki" (his other name / a reference to the Kannazuki Bridge mission), summoned Kannazuki, and then headed towards Kakashi's team.

*Chapter 38: You're Really Putting Me in a Bind Here*

Kakashi, Obito, and Rin were now locked in a fierce battle.

All three of them had sustained injuries to varying degrees.

And the most severely injured was Kakashi.

Deep cuts from a blade ran across Kakashi's left arm and back, and blood was gushing out.

Kakashi, breathing heavily, said to Obito and Rin, "You two, retreat immediately!"

"Kakashi!"

Obito and Rin shouted Kakashi's name in unison, clearly unwilling to abandon him and flee.

Kakashi said in a low voice, "If this keeps up, we'll all end up dead here! You two split up and run! If even one of us can escape, that's better than nothing!"

Not giving Obito and Rin any more time to hesitate, Kakashi threw two smoke bombs at them.

Smoke enveloped Obito and Rin.

Of the three Cloud ninja, one charged towards Kakashi, while the other two tried to rush into the smoke to stop Obito and Rin from leaving.

Kakashi threw kunai at the two Cloud ninja who entered the smoke, then raised his short blade, intending to counterattack the Cloud ninja charging at him.

Suddenly, all three Cloud ninja immediately retreated.

Several kunai were embedded in the ground where they had just been standing. If they hadn't retreated in time, those kunai would have hit them.

Kakashi and the three Cloud ninja simultaneously looked into the smoke.

Because those kunai had been thrown from within the smoke.

Kakashi's brow furrowed deeply.

Could it be that Obito and Rin hadn't left?

This was reckless!

He was trying to buy them a chance to escape with his own life.

As the smoke cleared, two figures appeared: one large and one small.

It was impossible to make out the faces of these two figures.

Because both of them had cloths wrapped around their faces. The smaller one had two holes cut out for the eyes, while the larger one simply had a whole piece of black cloth covering its face.

And the identities of these two were obvious.

It was Shindai and his puppet, Kannazuki.

This was the method Shindai had come up with. As long as no one saw his face, no one should recognize him.

"Shindai!"

Obito called out in surprise.

Shindai's scalp tingled, and he looked at Obito in disbelief. "Seriously? You recognized me even like this?!"

Obito asked in confusion, "It's pretty easy to recognize you. Nothing else changed except your face. Speaking of which, why are you covering your face?"

Shindai rolled his eyes at Obito in exasperation. "Obito, you're really putting me in a bind here."

Shindai hadn't expected his flawless disguise to be discovered so easily by Obito.

When Kakashi saw Shindai return, he breathed a huge sigh of relief. If Shindai joined the fight, then they would be safe.

But Shindai was conflicted. Should he reveal his strength in front of Kakashi and the others?

That might not be a good idea. If Kakashi and the others reported it, he might end up getting dangerous combat missions in the future.

Seeing the conflicted expression on Shindai's face, Kakashi guessed that Shindai was probably debating whether or not to reveal his abilities.

If only Obito had pretended not to recognize Shindai earlier.

Kakashi called out to Shindai, "Shindai, we can't see anything right now!"

Obito looked at Kakashi in confusion. "I can see just fine. Rin, you can see too, right?"

Rin had already understood Kakashi's intention and chimed in, "Yeah, I can't see anything at all right now, Obito. You shouldn't be able to see either!"

Obito's brain was a bit overloaded. What was going on?

Seeing Kakashi and Rin looking at him intently, Obito could only say, "I... I can't see anything either."

Shindai raised an eyebrow involuntarily when he heard Kakashi and the others.

Hearing Kakashi say that... it seemed like he was trying to help him hide something?

Otherwise, why would Kakashi say "we can't see anything"? It was clearly a statement meant to cover for him.

But he hadn't even made a move yet. Kakashi and the others didn't know his strength. So why would they say that?

Could it be... that Kakashi had already sensed his powerful aura?

That must be it!

There's an old saying, isn't there? Strong individuals always recognize each other.

Because he was strong, Kakashi had sensed it.

Shindai nodded in satisfaction. "Kakashi, you really get it. It's best if you guys can't see, otherwise, I would have run away."

Kakashi let out a small sigh of relief.

Thank goodness he had a moment of quick thinking. If Shindai had run off again, the three of them would have been in serious trouble.

However, Kakashi hadn't expected the cowardly Shindai to actually return.

Just as Shindai was about to boast a bit more, the three Cloud ninja charged at them.

Two Cloud ninja were targeting Kannazuki, and one was targeting Shindai.

Because Kannazuki looked so incredibly realistic, the Cloud ninja hadn't bothered to sense it carefully and assumed it was a real person.

And since Kannazuki had the build of an adult, they prioritized it as the target to deal with first.

"Kannazuki: Needle Rain!"

A gap opened in Kannazuki's chest, and a dense barrage of high-speed senbon needles shot out from within.

The two Cloud ninja charging at Kannazuki were shocked to see its chest open up. When they saw the large number of senbon being fired, they immediately dodged.

However, because it was so sudden, one of the Cloud ninja was a little slow to react and was pierced by several senbon.

Shindai's senbon were naturally poisoned.

The poison acted quickly. Soon, the Cloud ninja who had been hit by the senbon began to feel his body gradually become numb.

However, the poison wasn't very potent and wasn't lethal. He would recover after a while, so it could only paralyze him temporarily.

There was no helping it. Shindai didn't study poisons much. These poisons were obtained for him by Pakura.

Because Shindai stayed home alone and didn't go out, Pakura was worried that if Shindai accidentally ingested something poisonous or got a cut and was poisoned, no one would discover him. So, she didn't dare give Shindai any powerful poisons.

The Cloud ninja charging towards Shindai happened to be Rumoda, and he was already close, in a striking stance.

Shindai sharply pulled back his right hand.

Kannazuki returned to Shindai's front with lightning speed.

Under Shindai's control, a ninja sword popped out of Kannazuki's right hand, blocking Rumoda's slash.

"Kannazuki: Blade Whirlwind!"

Blades popped out from all the joints on Kannazuki's body.

Shindai's fingers danced rapidly, and under his manipulation, Kannazuki continuously spun its body, making various postures that humans could hardly or couldn't do at all. The blades on its joints became like a swirling whirlwind, attacking Rumoda.

Rumoda initially tried to block.

However, Kannazuki's sharp offensive and attacks from various bizarre angles made Rumoda realize after a brief block that he couldn't defend against it, and he chose to retreat.

Seeing that Shindai wasn't under much pressure in his fight against the Cloud ninja, Rin immediately ran to Kakashi, whose injuries were the most severe, and began to treat his wounds urgently.

And Obito... just watched, mainly because he couldn't intervene.\

Chapter 39: Shindai's Battle

Shindai faced three Cloud Ninja head-on.

Shindai's initial thought was to draw the attention of the three Cloud Ninja first, let Kakashi and the others escape, and then he would follow.

But looking at Kakashi's injuries, he wouldn't be able to run even if he wanted to.

And right now, Obito was a hot-headed idiot. If Kakashi didn't leave, Obito definitely wouldn't either.

As for Rin, if Kakashi and Obito stayed, she certainly wouldn't leave.

This was troublesome. These three Cloud Ninja clearly weren't easy to deal with, and it was a one-on-three situation. The numbers were completely against him.

Kakashi saw that Shindai had already repelled Rumoda but wasn't allowing Kannazuki to pursue, instead hesitating in place.

Kakashi immediately realized Shindai was conflicted.

As for what he was conflicted about, what else could it be but running away?

Kakashi shouted to Shindai, "Shindai, their strength isn't that great! You can beat them!"

Shindai shot back, annoyed, "Not strong? If they're not strong, why haven't you three taken care of them yet? It's easy to talk when you're not the one fighting!"

Kakashi was choked by Shindai's words.

He really couldn't refute that.

So Kakashi could only try a stronger tactic on Shindai, otherwise, Shindai wouldn't have any fighting spirit.

Kakashi shouted again, "Shindai, those Cloud Ninja are already surrounding us from all directions! We have to finish this quickly and kill them, otherwise, if they chase us and the surrounding Cloud Ninja close in, we won't be able to escape at all!"

Shindai stiffly turned his head to look at Kakashi, his expression almost tearful. "Hey, can I just abandon you guys and run?"

Obito retorted, annoyed, "Hey, Shindai, you've already abandoned us once! Are you going to abandon us a second time?!"

Shindai argued, "I didn't abandon you! I was just scouting ahead for you before!"

---

Kakashi cut in, "Alright, no more idle chatter, Shindai! We have to be fast! Even if you try to run alone now, it's too late. Only by quickly killing these three can we successfully retreat!"

Shindai took a deep breath. "Seriously, you guys are going to get me killed!"

However, Shindai's eyes had changed. If he didn't kill these three Cloud Ninja, he couldn't escape. To escape, he had to kill these guys.

Shindai looked at the Cloud Ninja whose body was paralyzed from his poisoned senbon.

The paralysis effect should still be active, so he needed to prioritize eliminating that paralyzed Cloud Ninja.

Shindai's finger moved, retracting all the blades on Kannazuki's joints.

At the same time, an opening appeared on Kannazuki's back, and a large amount of *Iron Sand* emerged from within Kannazuki's body.

"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Shower!"

As Shindai completed his hand signs, large amounts of Iron Sand formed into projectiles and rapidly shot towards the three Cloud Ninja.

Rumoda immediately rolled behind a tree to take cover.

The paralyzed Cloud Ninja frantically shouted to his comrade nearby, "Karotto! Help me!"

Karotto wanted to help the paralyzed Cloud Ninja, but Shindai was already controlling Kannazuki to charge towards them.

If Karotto went to save him, he would have to block Kannazuki's ninja blade.

But doing so would leave him unable to dodge the Iron Sand raining down on them.

Karotto assessed the situation and decisively dashed behind a tree to avoid the Iron Sand.

In this situation, there was no time to save anyone. Saving someone would likely result in injury, or even loss of life.

The paralyzed Cloud Ninja stared in shock as Karotto hid behind a tree, realizing he had been abandoned.

Now, both Kannazuki and the Iron Sand were heading straight for him. Even if he miraculously survived the dense Iron Sand, he would still be attacked by Kannazuki.

Am I going to die?

A strong will to live caused the paralysis to rapidly recede from the paralyzed Cloud Ninja.

Before the Iron Sand and Kannazuki reached him, the paralysis completely vanished.

This filled him with immense joy.

"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"

The Cloud Ninja quickly formed hand signs and pressed his hands to the ground.

An earthen wall instantly rose before him, blocking the Iron Sand.

However, he was still hit by a small amount of Iron Sand, and blood slowly trickled down his body.

But compared to death, a few injuries were a much better outcome.

Yet, before the Cloud Ninja could even breathe a sigh of relief, he noticed something wrapping around his legs.

The Cloud Ninja looked down, and all the hair on his body stood on end.

It was black *Iron Sand*. These Iron Sand particles wrapped around his legs and rapidly climbed upward.

The Cloud Ninja tried to shake off the Iron Sand, but it clung tightly to his legs, making it impossible to break free.

In a flash, the Iron Sand had reached his waist.

Even more terrifying to the Cloud Ninja was that Kannazuki was now directly above him.

Kannazuki charged towards the Cloud Ninja, his ninja blade slashing down.

The Cloud Ninja wanted to block with his own ninja blade, but his upper body was now also entangled and bound by the Iron Sand, leaving him completely immobile.

The Cloud Ninja could only watch as Kannazuki's ninja blade descended, severing his head.

The Cloud Ninja's head dropped to the ground.

As his consciousness faded, the Cloud Ninja's last thought was... I should have just stayed paralyzed and died immediately.

---

At this moment, Shindai's Iron Sand Shower ended.

Kakashi, Obito, and Rin were instantly invigorated upon seeing Shindai kill one of the Cloud Ninja.

As long as Shindai had the will to fight, they could do this!

Rumoda and Karotto hid behind trees, finding the sudden appearance of Shindai very troublesome.

They had suffered a great disadvantage initially because they didn't know Kannazuki was a puppet, leading to their comrade being paralyzed by the poisoned senbon.

If it were just a puppet, it wouldn't be so bad. With three of them, two could hold off the puppet while the other attacked Shindai.

But they hadn't expected Shindai to also be a *Magnet Release bloodline limit* ninja, catching them off guard once more.

Rumoda and Karotto exchanged glances. Karotto nodded to Rumoda, then charged out.

Rumoda's heart lurched.

What's he doing?! He just nodded at me and then charged out?!

He hadn't understood what Karotto meant!

Karotto charged towards Shindai.

Shindai immediately recalled Kannazuki and stood ready.

"Lightning Style: Flashing Lightning Blade!"

Karotto unleashed a stream of electricity forward, attacking Kannazuki.

Shindai and Kannazuki both dodged the electrical attack, but as Karotto released the electricity, he immediately used the *Body Flicker Jutsu*, appearing next to Shindai and swinging his blade at him.

Kakashi, Obito, and Rin gasped in alarm. The electricity obscured their vision, preventing them from clearly seeing Karotto's movements.

The lightning attack was merely a feint; the true killer move was using the strong light from the electricity to cover a sudden Body Flicker Jutsu to deliver a powerful strike to Shindai.

Karotto's face twisted into a sneer. "Got him!"

Karotto's ninja blade directly struck Shindai's chest.

"Shindai!"

Kakashi, Obito, and Rin couldn't help but shout.

However, the sneer on Karotto's face immediately froze.

The imagined scene of blood splattering didn't occur. This Shindai's entire body turned black, transforming into *Iron Sand* that flowed onto the ground.

Karotto's heart gave a violent leap.

This is an Iron Sand Clone?!

*Chapter 40: End of the Battle*

Karuto's blade struck Shindai, but to his surprise, this Shindai was a Sand Iron Clone!

Shindai's voice echoed from above.

"Idiot! As if I'd actually put myself in harm's way!"

Shindai was now standing on a tree trunk high above.

He had already completed his hand seals and opened his palm, aiming it at Karuto.

"Magnet Release: Sand Iron Coffin!"

Shindai manipulated the sand iron that had fallen to the ground after his clone dispersed, sending it rushing towards Karuto at incredible speed.

Even though Karuto reacted quickly and immediately tried to dodge, he was too close to the sand iron on the ground.

Shindai controlled the sand iron, successfully ensnaring Karuto's ankles.

Karuto lost his balance and fell to the ground.

The sand iron rapidly spread over Karuto's body.

Karuto was shocked and roared at Rumoda, who was still hiding, "Rumoda, what are you doing?! I told you to attack with me! Why are you still hiding? Do you want to watch me die?!"

Rumoda's eyelid twitched.

So that's what Karuto's nod earlier meant.

"Shadow Lightning Thrust!"

Lightning crackled all over Rumoda's body as he used it to stimulate his muscles, charging towards Karuto.

Rumoda intended to use his ninja sword to cut through the sand iron covering Karuto.

But Shindai naturally wouldn't just stand by and watch Rumoda rescue Karuto.

Shindai took out three kunai and threw them at Rumoda.

The incredibly fast Rumoda sidestepped three times, easily dodging the three kunai thrown by Shindai.

Rumoda quickly reached Karuto and raised his ninja sword high, preparing to strike.

Karuto closed his eyes, not daring to move, afraid that Rumoda's strike might go astray.

However, Karuto didn't feel Rumoda's attack. Instead, he heard a muffled grunt from Rumoda.

Karuto opened his eyes and looked at Rumoda, his gaze filled with disbelief.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?!"

Rumoda's expression was distorted in pain, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Three kunai were embedded in his back.

Shindai immediately manipulated Kannazuki, sending it rushing towards Rumoda, its ninja sword aimed at him.

Ignoring his injuries, Rumoda immediately raised his sword to block.

But another unexpected event occurred.

Kannazuki's ninja sword slashed downwards vertically. After being blocked by Rumoda's horizontal blade, the tip of Kannazuki's sword suddenly extended, piercing Rumoda's throat.

Rumoda clutched his neck, his mouth moving as if trying to say something, but no words came out. He collapsed to the ground, convulsed a few times, and then went still.

Karuto was completely stunned by this sudden turn of events.

Why? Why were there suddenly three kunai in Rumoda's back?

There was clearly no one else around. Who threw those three kunai?

Those three kunai that pierced Rumoda's back were naturally Shindai's handiwork.

And these three kunai were the very same ones Shindai had thrown earlier and which Rumoda had dodged.

The reason the kunai returned to pierce Rumoda's back was because Shindai had used Magnet Release: Magnetization Technique before throwing them.

After using the Magnet Release: Magnetization Technique, Shindai could magnetize anything he touched, and he could also transfer the magnetization from something he touched to another object, then use the magnetic force to attack enemies.

Just now, Shindai had touched the kunai, giving them magnetic properties.

Then, because Shindai himself possessed magnetic properties due to using the Magnet Release: Magnetization Technique,

the three kunai, after being dodged by Rumoda, were attracted back by Shindai's body's magnetic force, piercing Rumoda's back.

Finally, using Kannazuki's ninja sword, he unexpectedly extended the blade, piercing Rumoda's neck and successfully eliminating him.

Kakashi stared at Shindai in astonishment.

Kakashi hadn't expected that Shindai, once he decided to fight, would actually have such high combat intelligence.

By this point, Karuto's entire body was covered in sand iron, encased in a high-density layer that made it difficult for him to breathe.

Shindai extended his palm again, aiming it at Karuto.

"Magnet Release: Sand Iron Funeral!"

The sand iron encasing Karuto squeezed inwards, and the muffled sound of bones breaking echoed.

Karuto was crushed to death by the sheer force of the sand iron.

The three Cloud ninja had been dealt with by Shindai.

Shindai wiped a nonexistent sweatdrop from his forehead, took a deep breath, and said, "What an incredibly difficult battle!"

"Uh..."

Kakashi, Obito, and Rin looked at Shindai with somewhat speechless expressions.

Difficult?

No matter how they looked at it, this battle didn't seem very difficult for Shindai, did it?

He had been practically overwhelming them from start to finish. What was so difficult about it?

Kakashi now had a fairly accurate understanding of Shindai's strength.

If Shindai wasn't thinking about running away, and fought like he did just now, he definitely had the strength of a Jonin.

These three Cloud ninja included one Elite Chunin and two Chunin. Facing a Jonin-level opponent like Shindai, they were definitely no match.

However, if Shindai was thinking about escaping, the strength he could display was uncertain.

Shindai walked up to the nearest Obito, looked at his swollen cheek, and said with a complicated expression, "Obito, you look terrible right now, like a squashed pumpkin."

Obito retorted angrily, "You're the pumpkin! If you had come to help earlier, we wouldn't have gotten injured!"

Shindai immediately countered, "Hey, don't put that on me! Kakashi himself said to retreat! I was just following Kakashi's orders!"

Obito rolled his eyes at Shindai, then ran to Kakashi's side and asked Rin, "Rin, how's Kakashi?"

Rin looked worriedly at the wounds on Kakashi's body and said, "Kakashi's injuries are quite severe. I can only give him emergency treatment for now to stop the bleeding. He'll need proper treatment back at the encampment."

Shindai also came to Kakashi's side. Seeing Kakashi's miserable state, he remembered Kakashi's earlier words about being surrounded by Cloud ninja and said anxiously, "Rin, are you done? Hurry and let's get out of here! We'll be done for if the Cloud ninja surround us again."

Rin nodded. "I'm done."

Shindai directly commanded Obito, "Obito, carry Kakashi on your back! Let's hurry and get out of here!"

Obito pointed at himself incredulously. "Hey! I'm injured too! Shindai, you're not injured, can't you carry him?"

Shindai said righteously, "Me? I'm completely drained of chakra and exhausted! Hurry up, stop talking nonsense! If we don't leave now, I'm running off first and leaving you guys behind!"

"Tch, talking so loudly, you don't look drained of chakra at all."

Obito grumbled with a dark expression while carrying Kakashi on his back.

Kakashi said weakly, "Let's retreat quickly. I've already had Guruku head back to the encampment to report. Jiraiya-sama and the others should have already started moving."

Shindai, with Obito carrying Kakashi on his back, and Rin hurried towards the Leaf Village encampment.