Inside the tent.
Shindai didn't know how long he had been unconscious, but he slowly woke up.
However, when Shindai opened his eyes, he could only see a tiny bit.
Because Shindai's eyes were swollen, he could only open them a slit.
"Shindai, you're finally awake!"
Shindai turned his head with difficulty and found Kakashi, Obito, and Rin Nohara sitting on chairs by his bed.
Shindai wanted to get up, but his body was in so much pain that he let out a painful groan.
Rin Nohara 'caringly' said, "Shindai, don't move around. You're all swollen right now, and it'll hurt a lot if you move. You should rest well. Tell us if you want anything to eat or drink. If you need to use the restroom, Kakashi and Obito will help you."
Shindai said with a slightly slurred speech, "I was beaten… the kind where I was pinned to the ground with no power to fight back. Do you know about it?"
Obito replied, "Of course we know."
Shindai opened his eyes to their limit, staring directly at Obito, and asked through gritted teeth, "You guys did it, didn't you? I had a feeling then that you, you brat, were definitely among that group!"
Obito, feeling extremely guilty, quickly waved his hands and said, "No, no, no, it's not like that. Let me finish!"
Kakashi, afraid that Obito would expose them, interjected, "That's right, Shindai, Obito didn't do it. You almost died. Minato Sensei saved you."
Shindai asked in confusion, "Minato saved me? But those damned bastards at the time were just simply beating me. They didn't seem to want to kill me."
Hearing Shindai call them 'damned bastards', a vein instantly popped on the foreheads of Kakashi and the other two.
Kakashi tried to keep his voice gentle as he said, "Before, some Cloud Ninja secretly infiltrated the Konoha Garrison, intending to abduct a Konoha Ninja with a secret jutsu. But it seems they captured the wrong person and took you. In their rage and frustration, they beat you to vent. Finally, when the Cloud Ninja tried to kill you, Minato Sensei arrived in time and rescued you."
Shindai was a little puzzled, "Really?"
Kakashi's tone was certain, "Of course it's true. Otherwise, who do you think did it? Could Obito have beaten you?"
Shindai agreed, "That is a fact."
Just as Obito was about to retort, Rin Nohara pressed down on Obito's thigh, signaling him not to speak nonsense.
Obito's face immediately turned red.
'Rin's hand is on my leg! I can't wash these pants for a month!'
But Shindai still didn't quite believe it, because he always felt that this incident was done by his own people: "That brat Obito is no match for me, but there was more than one person at the time. If you all ambushed me together..."
Rin Nohara looked seriously into Shindai's eyes and said, "Shindai, you are our comrade. How could we hit you?"
Kakashi echoed, "That's right, Shindai. And think about it, did you do anything to reveal your identity before that made the Cloud Ninja realize they caught the wrong person?"
Shindai thought about it and suddenly remembered that he seemed to have said earlier that he was a Konoha captive, not a Konoha Ninja.
Did he really misunderstand them?
Kakashi said with a serious expression, "If you don't believe us, we can call Minato Sensei over. If you don't trust us, you must trust Minato Sensei, right?"
Kakashi got up as if to call Minato Namikaze.
Shindai quickly stopped Kakashi, "No need to call Minato. I believe you. I trust you guys the most, most, most. I believe everything you say."
However, Shindai still felt strange inside. This strangeness was psychological, just an intuition.
His intuition told him that these three guys in front of him were all involved in him getting beaten up.
But then they brought up Minato Namikaze.
Minato Namikaze would beat him? Shindai wouldn't believe it even if he died.
Speaking of Minato Namikaze, Minato Namikaze arrived.
Minato Namikaze entered the tent, saw that Shindai was awake, and asked with a gentle smile, "You're awake, Shindai. Are you alright?"
Shindai said with a bit of a wronged expression, "Not at all. My whole body hurts."
Minato Namikaze apologized to Shindai for the first time against his conscience, "I'm sorry, Shindai. If I could have arrived earlier, you wouldn't have been injured."
Hearing Minato Namikaze say this, Shindai's doubts were dispelled.
These three guys in front of him, or that bad guy Jiraiya, might lie to him, but Minato Namikaze would never lie to him.
Minato Namikaze continued, "Oh, and I have another piece of news for you. Didn't Kakashi and the others come to find you earlier about attacking the Stone Ninja troops in the Land of Earth? That mission has been canceled because the risk is too great."
"Really... Hiss~ Ow, ow, ow!"
Shindai was so overjoyed that he aggravated his injuries.
But even though it hurt now, he was happy about the pain!
He didn't have to go to his death. It was simply wonderful.
"Alright, Shindai, you rest well. Kakashi, Obito, and Rin, you take good care of Shindai. I have something else to do, so I'll be leaving now."
Minato Namikaze felt his conscience hurting a bit now and quickly left the tent.
Shindai, in a good mood now, felt his stomach rumble again.
He had left the tent earlier to find food, but he hadn't eaten and had gotten a severe beating. Now his stomach was still empty.
Rin Nohara heard Shindai's stomach rumble and got up, saying, "Shindai, you're hungry, aren't you? I'll go get you some food."
Shindai didn't refuse; he was truly hungry now: "Okay, thank you, Rin."
Shindai squinted at Kakashi and Obito: "I need to pee. You two help me pee."
Kakashi and Obito simultaneously twitched their lips, feeling a bit helpless.
What could they do? They could only help him.
Kakashi and Obito helped Shindai up from the sickbed, one on each side.
Shindai's elbow accidentally hit Obito's abdomen.
Obito gasped sharply.
Due to Shindai's headbutt, Obito's abdomen was completely bruised.
Shindai said disdainfully, "Why are you so weak, Obito? It was just my arm accidentally touching your stomach. Do you need to make such an expression? Are you rewarding yourself every night?
How old are you now? Around 10, right? You haven't even grown all your hair yet. Take my advice, reward yourself less. Look how weak you are, your face is even pale."
Obito rolled his Byakugan at this.
His face was pale now, wasn't it thanks to him?
With Shindai's headbutt, Obito almost thought his intestines had been crushed.
He only relaxed after Rin Nohara checked him and confirmed he was fine.
...
Now injured again, Shindai resumed his life of not leaving the Konoha Garrison.
And Shindai's Shinobi Hawk, after a few more days, finally arrived at the Hidden Sand Village and delivered the letter to the Third Kazekage.
After the Third Kazekage unsealed and read the Shinobi Hawk's letter, his expression instantly changed, and he immediately ordered the Ninja behind him to invite Ebizo and Chiyo over for discussion.