Hiruzen Sarutobi came up with a plan that could both keep Shindai around and deal with Onoki of Iwagakure.
Immediately, Hiruzen wrote a letter and summoned a ninja.
"Deliver this letter to Jiraiya or Minato as soon as possible."
"Yes!"
After receiving the letter, the ninja left Konoha right away, heading for the Hot Water Country.
...
Three days had passed since the last battle.
Shindai was lying on his bed, legs crossed, humming a tune. As for what exactly he was humming, even Shindai didn't know—it was just something he'd heard Pakura sing before, and it seemed pretty cheerful from the melody.
Because of the "intense" battle two days ago, Shindai was "tired," so he stayed in his tent, not going anywhere.
As for meals, Obito usually visited his tent every day, so Shindai simply asked Obito to bring him food.
Inside Kakashi's tent.
After settling the matter with the Cloud Ninja, Jiraiya had learned about Kakashi's injuries and came personally to check on him.
"Kakashi, how are you feeling? Are you okay?"
Kakashi, who had been resting for three days, no longer looked as pale as he did at first, though he still appeared somewhat weak.
Leaning against the edge of the bed, Kakashi replied, "I'm fine. After Tsunade-sama treated me, I just need a few more days of rest."
Jiraiya nodded. "Good. When your ninja hounds reported back that day, I guessed you might be in danger, so I immediately sent a squad of ninjas to help. Not long after, I heard that you'd already returned to the stationed camp. Good thing everything turned out okay."
Thinking back to that day, Kakashi still felt uneasy. "If Shindai hadn't come back to rescue us, we probably wouldn't have made it."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Oh? He came back to save you? You didn't retreat together at first?"
Kakashi recalled how Shindai had vanished without a trace at the beginning, twitching his lips slightly as he answered Jiraiya. "Actually, when our position was discovered by the Cloud Ninja, before I even finished speaking about retreating, Shindai had already run off.
Later, we were caught by three Cloud Ninja and got stuck in a difficult battle. At that time, I was seriously injured, and Obito was hurt quite badly too. Without Shindai coming back, we would've been completely wiped out.
Then Shindai returned and saved us, killing those three Cloud Ninja, allowing us to survive.
Initially, though, Shindai wanted to hide his identity—he covered his face and his puppet's face with a piece of black cloth. But Obito quickly saw through it. Back then, Shindai was still hesitating whether to reveal his true strength. I told him I'd keep it a secret for him, and also that only by defeating those three Cloud Ninja could we successfully escape. That was when Shindai finally decided to fight seriously.
Those three Cloud Ninja stood no chance at all against the fully serious Shindai—he killed them one by one, and then carried us to safety.
After hearing Kakashi's account, Jiraiya wore a subtle expression, a slight smile creeping onto his lips.
Rubbing his chin, Jiraiya remarked, "Since Shindai fled but still chose to come back and save you all, that means he truly regards you as comrades. And because of his undercover identity, he probably didn't want to reveal his strength..."
Kakashi interrupted Jiraiya, "Uh...Lord Jiraiya, the reason Shindai didn't want to expose his strength probably wasn't due to his undercover status, but simply because he fears trouble, combat, and danger."
Jiraiya's hand froze mid-rub, and an awkward atmosphere filled the tent.
Forcing a chuckle, Jiraiya said, "So Shindai is quite... cautious indeed. But this also proves that someone so cautious would still return to save you after fleeing—this kid genuinely values comrades."
Kakashi nodded in agreement.
At that moment, Kakashi had already been ready to sacrifice himself to give Obito and Rin Nohara a chance to survive.
Even then, their chances hadn't been high.
The fact that Shindai—who fled—returned proved he truly regarded them as comrades.
Otherwise, Shindai could've easily ignored them entirely.
Kakashi cautioned, "Lord Jiraiya, don't let him know about this. The official story should be that he took us and escaped from the Cloud Ninjas when they weren't paying attention."
Jiraiya nodded in understanding, "Hmm, got it. Although Shindai sees you as comrades, he's still an undercover agent for Sunagakure. I'll maintain the act until the day he becomes a Konoha Ninja."
Suddenly shifting topics, Jiraiya flashed a grin that looked somewhat mischievous to Kakashi, asking, "Kakashi, does this mean Shindai has already met Tsunade?"
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Kakashi almost couldn't process it at first, hesitating slightly before replying, "Yes, he has."
Jiraiya's grin widened, becoming even more unsavory, "Alright then, Kakashi, you rest well. I won't disturb you any longer. I'll take my leave now."
After leaving Kakashi's tent, Jiraiya immediately headed to Shindai's tent.
Seeing Shindai lying on the bed humming a tune, Jiraiya greeted casually, "Hey, you seem pretty comfortable in here."
"Shindai!" Shindai shot upright from his bed with a start, grabbing Jiraiya's arm eagerly and guiding him to sit on a chair, "Lord Jiraiya personally visiting me? This poor wounded soldier is truly moved beyond words!
Lord Jiraiya, not that I'm trying to pity myself or boast, these few days my body has been hurting like crazy! Because I fearlessly rescued Kakashi and the others from those Cloud Ninjas, I sustained severe internal injuries during our escape, cough cough.
However. Despite being injured, I have no regrets whatsoever—because I am part of Konoha! When comrades face danger, even if it might cost my life, I must rush forward without hesitation to save them!"
"Cough cough cough~"
Shindai seemed to be coughing up his lungs, appearing extremely weak.
Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched.
Earlier when Shindai had gotten up from the bed and rushed over to support him while sitting down, he didn't look weak at all.
And who has such severe internal injuries yet maintains a rosy, glowing complexion?
Still not acting pitiful? Still not going to brag about your contributions?
He's basically shouting "I'm suffering" and "reward me"!
Jiraiya seemed to see through the act as well, so he coughed once before speaking: "Shindai, I've heard from Kakashi. He told me how clever and resourceful you were—taking advantage of the Cloud Ninja's carelessness to rescue Kakashi when he was severely injured and successfully retreat with Obito and Rin. You did well. Konoha will remember your contribution."
At Jiraiya's words, Shindai grinned widely. A reward meant one step closer toward joining Konoha.
Once he joined Konoha, he could enter the village to carry out his undercover mission.
He had originally worried that Kakashi was trying to trick him, but now it seemed Kakashi was actually playing along.
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