Danzo arrived at Root's headquarters after leaving the Hokage Building.
Why didn't he go in?
Because right now, Danzo couldn't enter at all. The entrance was guarded by Anbu. All the Root ninja inside, along with researchers and documents, had been removed from Root.
Danzo trembled with rage, his eyes bloodshot red.
It was too sudden—suddenly, he had nothing left. The organization he'd painstakingly built over years was disbanded overnight.
Danzo's expression turned icy cold.
"Minato Namikaze! I haven't lost yet. Just wait and see!"
At this point, there was nothing Danzo could do.
But that didn't mean he had completely lost all chances.
The ninja of Root were personally recruited by Danzo himself. They were chosen for their special abilities or dark hearts.
Moreover, Root ninja were trained to eliminate their individuality; his commands were law.
This was the reason why he still had a chance to make a comeback someday.
Danzo turned around and left without looking back at this painful place.
...
After departing from the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze walked through Konoha together when they suddenly froze, staring wide-eyed at the shop sign ahead.
[Shindai's Dream Workshop]
And on the door hung a gigantic poster of Jiraiya kissing a doll.
Sarutobi and Minato gazed at the poster until their eyes burned.
That sight hurt so much to look at.
Inside the shop, though fewer people were around than before, it was still quite crowded. Everyone had gathered around the glass display cases, closely examining the puppets inside.
Inside the display case, Maria No.1 continuously changed poses, her voice seductive. "Please give your orders to Maria~"
Then there was Kato No.1, showing off his eight-pack abs, one hand resting on the glass case while the other flipped away some loose hair from his forehead. "My lady, I'll agree to any request you have~"
Sarutobi and Minato turned to face each other stiffly.
"Third Hokage," Minato spoke first, "I think we should go check out somewhere else."
"I was thinking exactly the same thing."
Sarutobi and Minato quickly walked away from the place as if something terrible chased them.
Pakura and Kushina Uzumaki had already run off—they couldn't stand being seen there.
Rin Nohara and Obito didn't stay long either—they left shortly after arriving.
Rin wasn't interested anyway—after all, she was always surrounded by handsome men.
Obito wanted to stay longer, but with limited money in his pocket, Rin mattered more.
Hikaku Uchiha and Kabuto Yakushi had also tried to sneak away, but Shindai caught them.
"One is the shop manager, and one is a staff member. If both of you run off, am I—the owner—supposed to deal with all these customers alone?"
Shindai used the fact that Kabuto Yakushi had once made a promise to him, forcing Kabuto Yakushi to stay behind.
As for Hikaku Uchiha, after Shindai took three punches and agreed to a bunch of unfair terms, he also reluctantly remained.
It was already evening. Shindai wiped sweat off his forehead and sighed, "Business is really booming today!"
Hikaku Uchiha and Kabuto Yakushi twitched their mouths.
Booming?
Did we sell anything at all?
"Alright, time to close up for today! Everyone worked hard. Let's do this again tomorrow. Tonight I'll treat everyone; come on, let's go have dinner at Minato-sama's house!"
Hikaku Uchiha finally lost his patience: "Can't you show at least a little dignity?"
Shindai shrugged, "I'd love to treat you guys at the shop too, but I haven't told Sister Pakura and Sister Kushina I won't be coming home for dinner tonight. I'll take you to eat at the shop tomorrow."
"I'm not going. The headmaster will worry if I come back too late. I'm leaving first!"
Kabuto Yakushi practically fled the scene. He hadn't felt this drained in ages.
Even during the war, when he helped heal injured ninja for money, he wasn't this tired.
Because back then it was just physical exhaustion—this time, it's all mental!
Shindai called out, "Don't forget to report for work at 9 tomorrow morning!"
When he heard Shindai's voice, Kabuto Yakushi ran even faster.
"Huff, Asu Natsuka, let's go. We're heading home."
Shindai and Hikaku arrived at Minato Namikaze's house. Just as they opened the door, they saw that besides Pakura and Kushina Uzumaki, Minato himself was there too.
Shindai greeted them cheerfully, "Hey look, everyone's here! You must've been waiting for me and Asu Natsuka before starting dinner, right? Now that we've arrived, let's eat! My stomach's just in time."
Minato pitied Shindai.
Meanwhile, Hikaku had quietly taken several steps back, distancing himself from Shindai.
[Adamantine Sealing Chains!]
Multiple chains of chakra extended from Kushina Uzumaki's back, directly binding Shindai.
Shindai stared blankly at Kushina Uzumaki, "What's going on?"
Pakura's voice was chillingly cold: "What's going on? You don't even know what you did?"
Suddenly realizing what happened, Shindai snapped back to reality. He shivered and quickly said, "I wasn't doing anything bad! Making puppets is my hobby, my dream! You should be celebrating me for pursuing my dream. Why are you treating me like this?"
Kushina Uzumaki yanked Shindai upside down with the chakra chains. Pakura and Kushina stared expressionlessly at him, saying, "We don't mind your dream chasing. Since the shop's already open, we can only support you. After all, even though it's a bit shameful, it's still a proper business..."
Shindai struggled slightly, but the Adamantine Sealing Chains could seal chakra, so Shindai couldn't possibly break free, "Then why are you doing this to me?"
"Let you be completely under someone's thumb? A big villain? Unreasonable? Feisty and fiery? Short-tempered? Going through The Change?"
With every word Pakura and Kushina Uzumaki spoke, Shindai Shindai felt his heart sink further.
Shindai's eyes filled with despair as he looked toward Hikaku Uchiha.
Hikaku Uchiha guiltily turned her head away and whistled, "I'm on Pakura and Kushina Uzumaki's side. I never said I was on your side."
Shindai turned back to face Pakura and Kushina Uzumaki, begging, "Just one request—don't get verbally clapped down!"
Kushina Uzumaki dragged the restrained Shindai toward the small room. Pakura followed behind Kushina Uzumaki and turned back to say to Hikaku, "Natsuka, want to come along?"
Hikaku originally wanted to pass, but recalling how Shindai had pinned all his misdeeds on her, immediately replied, "Coming!"
Soon, screams of protest erupted from inside the small room.
Minato Namikaze picked up his teacup for a sip and sighed, "Now that's some energy~"
Back at the dining table now.
The still trembling Shindai was serving rice to Hikaku Uchiha.
One of the conditions for convincing Hikaku Uchiha to become his shop manager was precisely to serve her personally.
But clearly, just serving one person wouldn't suffice anymore—he'd also have to serve Pakura and Kushina Uzumaki.
Pakura and Kushina Uzumaki nodded in satisfaction.
Minato Namikaze looked at Shindai expectantly.
Shindai pursed his lips and said bluntly, "Serve yourself!"
Not once backing him up—there was absolutely no way he'd serve Minato too!
Minato pursed his lips briefly and gave in with a shrug—fine, he'd serve himself then.
Just as Kushina Uzumaki was about to start eating, she suddenly dry-heaved.
Minato worriedly asked, "Kushina Uzumaki, what's wrong? Feeling unwell?"
Kushina Uzumaki frowned and said, "A bit, yeah. Recently I've had no appetite—just seeing greasy food makes me want to puke."
Pakura also looked concerned. "Come to think of it, Big Sis Kushina, you've been dry-heaving a lot lately. Tomorrow I'll go with you to the ninja hospital for a check-up."
Shindai froze, looking shocked at Kushina Uzumaki.
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