Shindai and Naruto returned home, where Kushina Uzumaki stood with her red hair flying wildly, looking like a full-fledged demon.
"Just look at the time! Where have you two been?"
Seeing Kushina's terrifying appearance, both Shindai and Naruto felt chills run down their spines.
Shindai, being his usual shameless self, immediately shifted the blame to Naruto. "Sister Kushina, ask Naruto! It was all his idea!"
Naruto suddenly felt as if a giant pot had truly landed on his back.
Stuttering nervously, Naruto replied, "I-I was hungry, so I asked Brother Shindai to take me out for a snack..."
Kushina exploded instantly. "What? Don't you know eating late at night is bad for your health?"
Naruto trembled slightly as he said, "M-Mom, just listen first—we didn't even get to eat the snack because something came up. Me and Brother Shindai met several suspicious people who kidnapped Hinata, so we went to rescue her."
Kushina's wild hair settled down at once.
As for Hinata, Kushina had already met her several times before.
Plus, although Kushina had some idea of what Shindai was up to, she hadn't stopped him. After all, they were childhood friends—two hearts growing up together. What could be better than that?
As for the future, well, she believed in letting nature take its course. She was extremely confident in how charming her son would become!
Her tone softened slightly, "Ah, I see. Is Hinata alright? Was she hurt?"
Waving his little fist proudly, Naruto declared, "Mom, I was super awesome! I took out two ninja all by myself. If it wasn't for Hinata's dad, I could've taken down the third one too!"
Kushina looked surprised. "You defeated two ninjas? How?"
Naruto began vividly retelling the incident—but with plenty of embellishment.
For instance, when he'd been too scared to move at first, he described it instead as him arrogantly ignoring them and letting them make the first move.
Listening to Naruto exaggerating, Kushina grew increasingly unimpressed. He hasn't even officially started training yet—how could he use any Ninjutsu or fight Cloud Ninja?
But then again... this must've been entirely Shindai's doing.
Kushina decided not to scold further. "Alright, since you did it to save Hinata, I'll let it slide this time. Shindai, don't spoil Naruto too much—it was dangerous. Promise me no more of this next time."
"Sure thing!"
Shindai agreed promptly and decisively—which was precisely why Kushina twitched her lips slightly.
She could tell he hadn't taken her words one bit to heart!
...
The next day.
After a night of relentless questioning by the interrogation unit, they uncovered Kumogakure's plan.
The desire of Kumogakure to acquire the Byakugan stemmed from Ao's possession of it in Kirigakure. During the Third Great Ninja War, Ao obtained the Byakugan from the Hyuga clan of Konoha, and he remains on Konoha's wanted list to this day.
Kumo and Kiri have frequently clashed, and due to Ao's Byakugan, many Cloud ninja operations failed. The Byakugan's immense strategic value prompted Kumogakure to consider seizing it from Konoha.
According to their plan, after abducting Hinata, they would immediately leave Konoha and rendezvous with hidden Cloud ninja outside the village to make their escape.
Minato Namikaze immediately drafted a formal protest and dispatched it to Kumogakure via a ninja messenger. Then he began preparing, first sending an elite squad of ninja to the border of the Land of Lightning.
If war were declared, this elite squad would enter the Land of Lightning first to secure a foothold. Once the main force reached the Land of Lightning, they would establish a central front and resolve the conflict swiftly to contain its spread.
Shindai, who excelled in large-scale group battles, was naturally included in the squad as well.
When Shindai learned what had happened, he was completely stunned.
What's going on? Why are we suddenly getting ready for war?
"Uh… Do I really have to go?"
Inside the Hokage's office, Shindai tried to negotiate for one final time with Minato Namikaze.
Minato sighed helplessly. "What do you think? The orders have already been given. Don't worry though—this battle won't take long."
"Fine…"
Since Minato put it that way, Shindai could only agree.
"So when are we leaving?"
"We must reach the Land of Lightning's border as soon as possible. We're gathering ninja now, and once assembled, we'll depart immediately—likely within about three hours."
"Then I'll go tell Pakura and Hikaku."
Shindai hadn't expected things to be this urgent. He quickly left the Hokage Building and headed straight to the handicraft shop where Pakura worked.
"Oh? Nonou Yakushi is here too?"
Nonou smiled and asked, "Come to see Pakura, huh? Perfect timing—I was just planning to give Pakura a few days off. She's been working hard lately, so you two can spend some quality time together."
"No, that's not why I'm here. Pakura, I need to leave Konoha for a while—I've been assigned to a mission in the Land of Lightning," Shindai explained, looking directly at Pakura.
Pakura looked surprised. "The Land of Lightning? What kind of mission requires you to go that far?"
Shindai glanced around. Since no one else was in the shop besides the three of them, he said, "Last night, Cloud ninja attempted to kidnap Hinata—their target was the Byakugan. Lord Minato was furious and decided to hold Kumogakure accountable. We'll take position at the border of the Land of Lightning. If the Raikage refuses to cooperate, we'll proceed with immediate action."
Both Nonou Yakushi and Pakura were shocked—they hadn't heard anything about this incident yet and were completely caught off guard by what had happened the previous night.
Pakura thought for a moment and said, "Since I'm already off work, I might as well come with you on this trip."
"That's awesome!" Shindai was delighted. With Pakura offering to join, turning him down would just be stupid.
"Then let's go find Hikaku."
After bidding farewell to Nonou Yakushi, they made their way to the Puppet Shop.
Once they explained everything to Hikaku Uchiha, he simply replied, "If you two are going, I might as well tag along. It gets lonely sitting here alone."
Shindai glanced at his shop anxiously and asked, "What do I do about the shop?"
Hikaku Uchiha replied casually, "Just close up shop for now. You're the only one selling puppets around here—worried someone's gonna take your customers?"
Shindai looked at Pakura, who also chimed in, "Come on, just join us."
Pakura sighed inwardly. With these two so determined to stick together, who was he to try and separate them?
"Fine then, I'll go too."
After packing their things, Pakura, Hikaku Uchiha, and Shindai once again headed to the Hokage Building to meet Minato Namikaze.
When Minato learned that Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha were joining as well, he naturally agreed. Although they weren't official Konoha ninjas, their strength was beyond doubt.
With Shindai, Pakura, and Hikaku Uchiha working together, their combined combat strength would be nothing short of formidable.
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