Shindai stared blankly at the people before him, a dull ringing in his ears.
No wonder there had been so many inconsistencies—the reason why Scorpion and Hiruko had originally stood separately outside the window finally made sense now. Logically, Scorpion's true form should have been hidden within Hiruko.
Why had Scorpion appeared so openly in Konoha? How had he casually stationed himself by the window of a house directly adjacent to Minato Namikaze's residence?
Why had Scorpion used Earth Release and Lightning Release techniques? And how had Hiruko fought against Kannazuki independently, without being controlled through Chakra Threads?
Why hadn't Deva Path used Shinra Tensei to repel the incoming attack?
Everything had just been fake.
Shindai's dull gaze shifted toward Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha.
Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha looked uneasy as they admitted, "We actually only found out not long ago ourselves... We were wrong, Shindai."
Rin Nohara had already removed the iron sand that had invaded Obito's body and finished bandaging his wounds.
Obito, still unaware of the seriousness of the situation, hadn't stopped laughing. He walked up to Shindai and mocked him, "How does it feel getting tricked? Pretty frustrating and anger-inducing, huh?"
Kakashi interrupted Obito, "You idiot, stop laughing! Something's clearly wrong with Shindai!"
"Huh?"
Obito turned to look at Shindai's face. The veins on Shindai's forehead and neck were visibly throbbing. He pulled out two cards from his pants pocket and slotted them into his Ninja-Ware device.
[Recognition successful: Wind Release – Dragon Twister!]
[Recognition successful: Fire Release: Roaring Flame Technique!]
Cyclonic winds merged with roaring flames, forming a blazing tornado of destruction.
Minato Namikaze immediately activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, swapping Kakashi and Obito away from near Shindai, then quickly ran off with Kushina Uzumaki and the others.
Obito's scalp prickled as he watched the forest burning, muttering, "Was that really necessary?"
Minato scolded, "What you two did was going way too far! How could you deceive Shindai like that!"
Naruto and his four companions, hiding within the underbrush and secretly watching everything, were stunned into silence.
Naruto stiffly whispered, "Uh… I think we've seriously messed up."
Shikamaru sighed, "I wouldn't say things are completely ruined yet, but this time, Shindai really seems furious."
Right now, Naruto felt deeply concerned—if Shindai came looking for revenge later, what should he do?
Shindai then pulled out a Scroll, performing a Summoning Technique that materialized a pair of glasses. Originally intended for Kakashi, these upgraded glasses possessed enhanced features.
But now, he no longer wanted to give them away—he'd use them himself!
Putting the glasses on, Shindai pressed a small button on the frame.
Immediately, outlines highlighting Obito and his group appeared within his vision.
With that, Shindai surged forward alongside Kannazuki.
"Kannazuki, stop! It's over!" Rin Nohara hurriedly said.
"Not until I give you brats a proper lesson today! Call me anything but Shindai if I don't!"
Shindai's mind was filled with the urge to beat them severely. He had never been made a fool of like this before!
Shindai and Kannazuki had already rushed in front of Obito and Kakashi.
Shindai launched an elbow strike at Obito.
Obito raised his forearm to block. As he lifted his right arm to counterattack, the trajectory of his movement appeared in advance on Shindai's glasses.
Predicting the path, Shindai intercepted Obito's attack one step ahead and kicked him away.
Kakashi struggled under immense pressure facing Kannazuki, controlled by Shindai.
Because when directly manipulated by Shindai, Kannazuki's attacks became even more unpredictable.
When Kakashi slashed his tanto at Kannazuki, Shindai had Kannazuki swing his iron sand blade to meet Kakashi's tanto head-on.
However, what Kakashi didn't expect was that Kannazuki suddenly shot out a third arm, punching Kakashi straight in the chest. Kakashi staggered back two steps. Shindai moved like a shadow, appearing at Kakashi's side, and kicked him away effortlessly. Kakashi rolled on the ground several times before finally stopping.
Both Kakashi and Obito stared at Shindai in shock. "What's going on? Why did Shindai's Taijutsu suddenly get so strong?"
Hikaku Uchiha reminded them, "It's not his Taijutsu—it's his new invention, those glasses. They can predict your movements."
Kushina spoke to Minato, "Minato, why don't you go stop them?"
Minato shook his head helplessly, "You kids really need to know where to draw the line with jokes. Fine, fine."
Minato body-flickered behind Shindai. Even with the assistance of his glasses, Shindai couldn't react—Minato's speed exceeded the prediction limit.
Placing a hand on Shindai's shoulder, Minato said, "Shindai, they definitely went too far this time. I'll speak for them and apologize. Let's stop fighting."
Shindai grabbed Minato's forearm and said with a pitiful expression, "Minato, they've truly gone too far. I feel so upset inside~"
Sighing, Minato was just about to comfort him when his expression suddenly turned shocked—and then his entire body went limp.
Attached to Minato's arm was a small amount of iron sand.
Shindai had paralyzed Minato using the Iron Sand Binding Field.
The pitiful look vanished instantly from Shindai's face. His face twisted into a savage snarl as he growled, "This isn't over today! Not even Minato coming to persuade me will change anything!"
From within the bushes, Naruto and Sasuke exclaimed in unison, "Holy crap! A sneak attack? What a cheap trick!"
Glaring viciously at Obito, Shindai sneered, "This was definitely your doing, wasn't it?! Today, I'll make sure both you and Kakashi end up hospitalized for a few days!"
"Well then, you four..."
Shindai's gaze shifted toward Kushina Uzumaki, Pakura, Hikaku Uchiha, and Rin Nohara. He didn't say anything, just let out a snort.
Shindai beckoned toward Obito and Kakashi with his finger. "You wanted to fight me, right? Then bring it! I'll grant your wish. Hikaku, give your chakra to Obito so he can activate the Mangekyo Sharingan against me! Today, I'm going to show them what it means to be beaten within an inch of their lives!"
Hikaku Uchiha looked at Pakura and Kushina Uzumaki. "What do you two think?"
Pakura sighed helplessly. "Let's just go along with what Shindai said. Otherwise, we won't have any peace."
Kushina Uzumaki agreed as well. They hadn't expected Shindai to become this furious.
Obito still wanted to explain that he hadn't planned any of this. It was clearly Naruto... Well, strictly speaking, Kakashi set all of this up. He himself was barely even an accomplice.
But Shindai and Kakashi wouldn't give Obito a chance to explain.
Kakashi assumed a fighting stance. "It seems today's battle is unavoidable! Then let's begin!"
Obito shot Kakashi a dead-fish stare. That bastard! He definitely wanted to clear himself of all blame!
Kakashi channeled Chidori into his right hand and aimed it directly at Shindai.
[Chidori Light Sword!]
Kakashi hurled the lightning-based spear-shaped jutsu he had developed straight toward Shindai.
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