Shindai and Asuma were arguing with each other on the street.
Kurenai Yuhi, who felt a headache coming from their argument, stopped them.
Since Shindai was heading the same way as Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi, the three walked together for a while.
Asuma said to Shindai, "Be careful recently."
Shindai snorted, "What? You threatening me? Trying to pull something on me? Got the guts to back it up? Don't you know my name carries weight in Konoha!"
Asuma smirked coldly, "If I'd been in Konoha back then, do you think you'd even have a place there? Besides, this time I'm giving you a genuine warning. That item you gave to my old man has already been discovered by my mother."
Shindai immediately halted his steps, shock evident on his face, "Huh? It's been discovered?!"
Kurenai Yuhi asked curiously, "What got discovered?"
Asuma exhaled a puff of smoke and scoffed, "This guy opened a shop, you know that already, Red."
Kurenai Yuhi turned her gaze toward Shindai, realization dawning on her.
Ah… those *special* puppets Shindai makes~
Who would've thought that Hiruzen Sarutobi was into stuff like this?
But they also couldn't help but feel impressed — he actually sold his wares right under the Third Hokage's nose.
Shindai cautiously asked, "Did the Third Hokage say anything about me?"
Asuma teased, "Oh, scared now, are you? The old man didn't reveal your name..."
Before Shindai could breathe easier, Asuma quickly added, "...because whether he does or not makes no difference at all. Who else could even make something like this?"
Shindai's heart tightened instantly, "Then what's going on now? What happened to the Third? He told me everything would be fine before!"
Asuma shrugged helplessly, "Looks like my mom forgot her money when she went shopping, so she returned home to get it and just happened to bump into him. I personally witnessed the old man being scolded so badly he couldn't even breathe loudly. So I'm just giving you a heads-up — my mom gets scary when she's mad."
Wiping a cold sweat from his forehead, Shindai muttered, "I'll definitely need to improve things from now on. Maybe install a device that triggers an alarm when someone approaches."
Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi both broke into a cold sweat looking at Shindai.
This guy's first thought was about improving his setup — figuring out how to avoid getting caught again instead of quitting?
The trio reached the fork in the road where they needed to part ways.
Asuma bade farewell to Shindai, saying, "Alright, we won't see each other for a while. See you later."
Shindai frowned, "What's going on? Are you running away from home again?"
Asuma snapped, "Who do you think I am? I've never run away from home — not once! I'm simply searching for myself! Moreover, I'm leaving this time for real business. The Daimyo is establishing the Twelve Guardian Ninja specifically tasked with protecting him, and I've been selected."
"Twelve Guardian Ninja? That doesn't even make sense! Sounds like the Hokage's personal guard unit. Anyway, have fun and later!"
Shindai scoffed with a smirk, then turned left and walked away alone.
Asuma grumbled, "This guy never changes. He's really annoying!"
Kurenai Yuhi asked curiously, "Come to think of it, Asuma, why do you always start arguing with Shindai as soon as you see him? I think he seems pretty decent."
Asuma warned Kurenai, "Don't let him fool you, Kurenai! That guy's got a rotten personality. When I'm not in Konoha, stay away from him—I'm afraid he'll corrupt you!"
Kurenai replied, "Stay away from Shindai? I barely interact with him anyway. He hardly ever goes out and rarely takes missions."
"That's good then. I'm leaving tomorrow, so be careful when doing missions with other people from now on."
Originally, Kurenai had always done missions with Asuma, but without him around, she would inevitably have to work with others, and Asuma felt rather concerned about this.
Smiling, Kurenai said, "Don't worry, don't underestimate me. My genjutsu techniques are quite powerful!"
...
Time passed day by day.
All damage caused by the Nine-Tails' attack had now been completely rebuilt.
During this period, Tsunade returned once to help treat severely injured patients.
After the injured were mostly recovered, Tsunade left again with Shizune.
Under Minato Namikaze's leadership, Konoha had resumed normal operations.
After Jiraiya left, he hadn't returned, continuing his search for Yahiko and Konan while maintaining communication with Minato through the messenger frogs.
Since they couldn't find Yahiko and Konan in Amegakure, Jiraiya went to search in other countries.
Half a year later,
Nagato finally completed the Six Paths of Pain. On the day of completion, he controlled the six Paths to infiltrate Hanzo's hideout, killing all of Hanzo's guards before finally slaying Sanshouo Hanzo himself.
Amegakure was now under Nagato's control and had become Akatsuki's forward base.
As Akatsuki expanded its organization, new members began joining.
Pakura reopened her shop at the orphanage.
Shindai's adult puppet store also reopened, though currently only had Hikaku Uchiha as staff since Kabuto Yakushi had caught Orochimaru's attention and was now following him.
At Hikaku Uchiha's strong insistence, Shindai created two 'staff' puppets specifically for product introductions and sales promotions.
Hikaku Uchiha simply sat there doing paperwork and collecting payments.
Shindai would occasionally spend time at the puppet shop, though being a Konoha ninja meant he sometimes had missions to do as well.
Sometimes he went on missions with Obito and the other two, while at other times, when Obito and the other two weren't around, Shindai handled missions alone.
The Uchiha clan's reputation had greatly improved after their conduct during the Nine-Tails' attack (the catastrophic incident in which the Nine-Tails demon fox rampaged through Konoha). In addition, the current Konoha Military Police Force was no longer an exclusive department controlled by the Uchiha. Fugaku Uchiha had been continuously striving to change the Uchiha's image, and results had already started to show.
Now, the villagers of Konoha held a much better impression of the Uchiha clan, no longer fearing or despising its members.
Moreover, Uchiha clansmen serving in various departments across Konoha were fulfilling their duties well, and their relationships with others had become quite harmonious.
Of course, there were still some radical Uchiha who believed that Fugaku, as clan leader, had betrayed the clan, damaging its honor. These individuals constantly opposed Fugaku and attempted to incite other Uchiha clansmen to make mischief.
However, life was good for everyone else, so who in their right mind would join them? Fugaku certainly wouldn't tolerate them either. He excluded them from all internal clan affairs, deliberately marginalizing them.
If they felt dissatisfied, let them keep it to themselves. Anyone attempting to cause trouble would face immediate punishment.
Since the Nine-Tails' attack, Danzo had kept a low profile, staying at home without making any moves.
But it would be strange if Danzo stayed quiet for long—it simply wasn't like him. A full year had already passed since the Nine-Tails' attack, and Danzo was starting to look for ways to cause some unrest of his own.
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