Shindai had been trying to sleep inside the tent, but after half an hour, he still hadn't fallen asleep and decided to get up.
That was because Shindai was starving—extremely hungry, in fact.
Shindai patted his pants pockets, but found nothing except the scroll containing Kannazuki.
"I should've brought a few Military Rations Pills... I'm dying of hunger. Am I even considered a prisoner or someone here? Minato Namikaze seems pretty friendly; I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask him for something to eat..."
Shindai stood up and walked out of the tent.
"Huh? How come there's no one around? Where is everybody? These guards are way too lax!"
...
Inside Minato Namikaze's tent.
A ninja who had been observing Shindai under Minato Namikaze's secret orders arrived at the tent.
"Lord Minato, that prisoner has left his tent, but his behavior is quite strange!"
Minato Namikaze immediately asked, "Strange? What exactly did he do that was so odd?"
"He kept shouting 'Anyone here?' as if he were looking for us. We didn't dare act rashly, so we came immediately to report to you."
Hearing this report, Minato's eyes narrowed slightly.
After a brief pause, Minato decided, "Yamayama Taiseki, disguise yourself as an Iwagakure ninja and pretend to take him away. If he refuses to go with you, attack him—but don't kill him."
Yamayama Taiseki accepted the order and left the tent to carry out the mission.
Minato then said to Kakashi and the others, "Come with me, and make sure you stay hidden!"
"Yes! Sensei Minato!"
...
Shindai shouted outside his tent for quite a while, but nobody showed up.
"This doesn't make sense… Something feels seriously off. This is Konoha's base camp, right? There's no way their security would be this lax.
Sure, maybe they suspect me and are worried I might gather intel on Konoha ninja operations here, which is why they placed me at the edge of the base camp. But honestly—I was captured! Shouldn't they have assigned at least one or two guards outside my tent just for appearances?
Are they really being this disrespectful? Or… could it be that they already see me as one of their own and felt no need for guards?"
Shindai was completely confused.
They definitely shouldn't trust him that quickly yet, right?
"Whatever, I'll set this question aside for now."
Shindai planned to summon a Ninja Hawk to contact the Third Kazekage and negotiate—perhaps switching out his undercover mission.
If he had to handle both espionage and battle, he'd rather return to Sunagakure.
Right now, he had no idea how to gain Minato's trust and get inside Konoha.
The pressure was just too much—he felt like he was losing his hair faster every day.
He definitely didn't want to end up bald at such a young age.
Just as Shindai decided to move farther away, midway along the way, a figure suddenly appeared directly in front of him.
Shindai thought at first that a Konoha ninja had heard his call and come looking for him.
But when Shindai got a clear look at the person before him, his eyes narrowed in shock.
This guy in front of him was wearing a forehead protector from Iwagakure.
Yamayama Taiseki's face was tightly swathed, leaving only his eyes visible.
With his mouth hidden behind a cloth mask, Yamayama Taiseki's voice came out muffled: "You're the Kekkei Genkai bearer our village received through exchange with Sunagakure. Come with me right now."
Shindai stared at this ninja in disbelief.
Have Iwagakure gone insane? They actually sent a ninja to Konoha's base camp to find him? Are they trying to get themselves killed? Minato Namikaze is here after all!
Shindai suddenly looked toward his left: "Oh? Minato, you've arrived!"
Yamayama Taiseki instinctively turned his gaze toward the left.
However, there wasn't a single soul there. When Yamayama Taiseki turned back around, Shindai was already running toward Konoha's base camp.
Hidden in the shadows, Kakashi saw Shindai running toward Konoha's base camp and confirmed, "Looks like what my teacher said was right. His target is most likely us Konoha ninjas."
Obito asked blankly, "Huh? And we're sure about that already?"
Kakashi explained, "First of all, no one was guarding him, yet he called out for our ninja while leaving his tent. Now, upon encountering an 'Iwa ninja' coming to take him away, instead of going with this 'Iwa ninja,' he ran toward Konoha's base camp.
This shows he doesn't want to return to Sunagakure nor go to Iwagakure, so his only purpose must be Konoha."
Obito speculated hesitantly, "But… couldn't he really have turned over a new leaf?"
Kakashi rolled his eyes at Obito. "How naive can you be? Turn over a new leaf? Think about it—yesterday was the first day we brought him back; how fast could he really have switched sides? Besides, if it were you, would you call out for help in enemy territory like Konoha's base camp?"
After thinking it over, Obito shook his head. "No, I wouldn't."
Minato Namikaze agreed. "Kakashi's analysis makes sense. This child's intention seems to be getting close to us Konoha ninja. Next, let's see his abilities. Aoi wants to peek into his memories—this kid really is a genius."
When Yamayama Taiseki noticed Shindai running toward Konoha's base camp, he immediately realized Shindai was trying to call for reinforcements.
But… Could it really be fair for Shindai—a Sunagakure ninja—to turn against him by calling on Konoha ninjas for help?
[Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!]
After forming hand seals, Yamayama Taiseki slammed both hands onto the ground, creating an earthen wall that rose directly along Shindai's path, blocking his escape route.
[Earth Release: Tearing Earth Turning Palm!]
Yamayama Taiseki focused chakra into his palm and struck the ground, causing the earth to crack and attack Shindai.
Yet Shindai continued evading, showing no sign of fighting back.
Yamayama Taiseki kept attacking relentlessly, while Shindai kept fleeing.
Unfamiliar with Konoha's base camp, Shindai eventually found himself running deep into a forest.
Yamayama Taiseki continued chasing Shindai relentlessly.
Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze, along with Kakashi and the others, kept following and observing the battle.
Obito, seeing Shindai do nothing but evade, regained his confidence: "That's all? Sensei Minato must've made a mistake. That guy only knows how to run. He must be really weak!"
Minato Namikaze, however, replied seriously, "No, Taiseki is an elite chunin. If Shindai were really weak, how long do you think he could keep managing to escape under Taiseki's relentless pursuit?"
Kakashi also wore a serious expression: "Right. His movements seem chaotic, even panicked, yet he somehow always dodges the attacks. But..." He paused. "Why isn't he fighting back? There's no one else around except us. If he's trying to hide his strength, there's absolutely no reason to do it now."
Minato stared intently at Shindai, who wove between trees as he fled through the woods: "From Aoi's stolen memories, we know he fears battle greatly."
Indeed, Shindai was genuinely terrified—terrified enough not to risk his life. Battle always meant danger.
So Shindai would escape at every opportunity—there was no reason to take unnecessary risks.
But now… Shindai had been surrounded by several earthen walls. He was completely trapped—with nowhere left to run.
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