Inside the tent, Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya were discussing how to get Shindai to summon the Ninja Hawk.
Minato suggested, "We can casually make up some rumors about our supposed plans against Sunagakure. I think Shindai will immediately summon the Ninja Hawk to inform the Third Kazekage."
Jiraiya agreed, "Sounds good then."
Minato stood up from his chair and said to Jiraiya, "Alright then, Master Jiraiya, please get some rest. I'll go find Shindai at his tent right now and resolve this matter as soon as possible."
"Wait a second, Minato."
Both Jiraiya and Tsunade called out to stop Minato at the same time.
Minato turned around in confusion and asked, "What's wrong?"
Jiraiya replied awkwardly, "Shindai probably isn't in his tent right now. Am I right, Lady Tsunade?"
Tsunade answered emotionlessly, "Hmm, that little brat is right here."
Minato exclaimed in surprise, "Shindai is here too? Did he come under the guise of helping just to dodge his mission?"
Jiraiya coughed dryly and said, "No, actually Shindai got injured and is here getting patched up."
"Hmm?"
Minato was now riddled with questions.
Shindai got injured too? Judging from Jiraiya's reluctant expression, it seemed like Shindai's injury had something to do with both Jiraiya and Tsunade.
What had happened during the time he was away?
Without overthinking, Minato said to Tsunade, "Lady Tsunade, please take me to see Shindai, and I'll need your cooperation afterwards."
Tsunade nodded and led Minato towards the tent where Shindai and Obito were.
Before they even entered the tent, Minato could already hear Shindai and Obito arguing.
"You weren't involved in this at all! It's all your fault we got beaten up by Lady Tsunade!"
"Don't give me that crap! You were the one who blindly spilled the whole truth without thinking! Why didn't you at least spin it and dump all the blame on Master Jiraiya? If you'd thrown all the problems onto Master Jiraiya, neither of us would've been beaten up!"
"What was I supposed to say in that situation?! And am I really wrong for telling the truth?! This is totally your and Master Jiraiya's fault! I'm completely innocent!"
"Innocent my ass! You knew about the puppet thing too, so keeping quiet makes you an accomplice, which doubles your guilt! You deserved that beating—serves you right!"
After hearing their argument from outside the tent, Minato already had a rough idea about what had really happened based on his understanding of Jiraiya.
It must have been that Jiraiya had Shindai create an improper puppet, which was discovered by Tsunade, resulting in both getting beaten up by her.
Minato sighed.
One after another... these guys were impossible to keep up with.
Although he had braced himself mentally, when Minato Namikaze entered the tent and saw Shindai and Obito with faces swollen as a pig's face, he still couldn't help being startled.
Just how brutally were they beaten!
When Shindai and Obito spotted Minato-sensei, their eyes immediately lit up.
Before Obito could say anything, a familiar dark figure darted out quickly.
Hmm… Just like last time, when Kakashi started retreating before he'd even finished speaking after being discovered during the surveillance on the Cloud Ninja—Shindai had already darted off by then.
Shindai lunged toward Minato-sensei and wailed dramatically, "Sensei Minato, you're finally back! I've been bullied here! I've been bullied not only by Obito, but also by Master Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade!"
"It was clearly Master Jiraiya who did all the wrongdoings, yet he framed me for everything. Lady Tsunade believed his lies and beat me mercilessly—I'm in excruciating pain!"
"Waaah! Sensei Minato, my injuries are really serious. You're the only one here who's kind to me. I'd like to request permission from Minato-sensei to return to Konoha Ninja Hospital for more thorough treatment!"
Obito stared in disbelief at Shindai's over-the-top performance.
Since when did he ever bully Shindai?!
As Obito was about to protest, he suddenly noticed someone standing behind Minato-sensei. Just then, he pulled the blanket over his head, pretending to be fast asleep.
Minato-sensei now felt quite awkward as well. When someone starts talking nonsense, shouldn't they at least check who's around?
"Shindai, come on, get off me first…"
Shindai clung tightly onto Minato-sensei's clothes without letting go. "No way! I won't come down unless Minato-sensei agrees to my request!"
"Oh? I bullied you? And Master Jiraiya blamed everything on you? You think I actually believed those rumors?"
At the sound of this sarcastic voice filled with mockery, Shindai's swollen face twisted in fear.
Shindai climbed off Minato-sensei, shut his eyes tightly, and swayed unsteadily as if in a trance, muttering, "Sigh, it's all because Obito used his Sharingan on me, casting a Genjutsu that made me talk in my sleep. Right now, I'm asleep. Whoever heard those words, they were just sleep-talk caused by Obito's Genjutsu. Nothing to do with me—it's entirely Obito's fault…"
Shindai shuffled his feet toward his own sickbed, then quickly jumped onto it, wrapping himself completely in the blanket and trembling violently.
Obito grew instantly anxious. Who in their right mind shifts blame like that?
Quickly pulling the blanket off himself, Obito hurriedly explained, "I never cast any Genjutsu on Shindai! Besides, I haven't even awakened the Sharingan yet! Sensei Minato, Lady Tsunade—you must believe me!"
Minato-sensei sighed helplessly and said, "I believe you, Obito."
Then he turned to Tsunade and said, "Lady Tsunade, as a favor to me, please don't hold anything against these two anymore."
Tsunade responded with a heavy humph.
Minato Namikaze exhaled in relief. Tsunade didn't say anything, just gave a soft "hmph," meaning she was giving him face.
Otherwise, Tsunade would've punched Shindai again, and Minato wouldn't have had a clue how to stop her.
Minato turned to Obito and said, "I came to let you know I'm back. I'll take you to another tent. Better avoid unnecessary conflict with Shindai."
Obito immediately agreed, "You bet!"
Truthfully, Obito couldn't care less about staying in the same tent as Shindai. Who knows what kind of trouble that guy might stir up next, getting him beaten up by Tsunade again.
Nowadays, Obito lived by one golden rule:
"When there's no danger, Shindai himself is the greatest threat!"
So for his own safety, he chose to preserve his life by keeping a safe distance from Shindai.
Then Minato turned to Shindai and said, "Shindai, I'm taking Obito to another tent. Let's not cause any trouble. You rest well."
Shindai popped his head out from under the covers and waved goodbye, "Good night, Lord Minato!"
Minato picked up Obito onto his back, then exchanged a meaningful glance with Tsunade. She nodded in understanding and followed Minato out of the tent.
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