Hiruzen Sarutobi thought of a way to keep Shindai and also resolve Ōnoki of Iwagakure's challenge.
Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately wrote a letter and summoned a Ninja.
"This letter must be delivered to Jiraiya or Minato as soon as possible."
"Yes!"
After the Ninja took the letter, he immediately left Konoha and rushed to the Land of Hot Springs.
...
Three days had passed since the last battle.
Shindai was lying on the bed with his legs crossed, humming a song.
As for what he was humming, Shindai didn't know; he had only heard Pakura hum it, and the melody seemed quite cheerful.
Because of the 'high-intensity' battle the day before yesterday, Shindai was 'tired', so he stayed in his tent and didn't go anywhere.
As for food, Obito was there; Obito basically came to his tent every day, so he just asked Obito to help bring some.
Inside Kakashi's tent.
After the matter with the Cloud Ninja was concluded, Jiraiya, who learned of Kakashi's injury, came to visit Kakashi.
"Kakashi, how are you? Are you alright?"
Kakashi, who had rested for three days, was not as pale as he was initially, but he still looked a bit weak.
Kakashi leaned against the edge of the bed and replied, "I'm fine. After Lady Tsunade's treatment, I'll be fine after a few days of rest."
Jiraiya nodded, "That's good. When I saw your Ninja dog report that day, I guessed you might be in danger, and I immediately sent a team of Ninja to rescue you. Not long after, I heard that you had already returned to the base. Thankfully, everything is fine."
Kakashi thought of that day and still felt a lingering fear: "If Shindai hadn't returned to save us, we might have truly been in grave danger."
Jiraiya's eyebrows twitched: "Oh? Returned to save you? You didn't retreat together at first?"
Kakashi thought of how Shindai had vanished in a flash at the beginning, his mouth twitching, and he replied to Jiraiya, "Yes, at first, after our location was discovered by the Cloud Ninja, I hadn't even finished talking about retreating when Shindai ran off.
Later, we were caught up by three Cloud Ninja and fell into a bitter struggle. At that time, I was seriously injured, and Obito also suffered significant injuries. If Shindai hadn't come, we would have been completely wiped out.
Later, Shindai returned to save us, killing those three Cloud Ninja, and we were rescued.
However, Shindai initially wanted to conceal his identity, covering his face and his puppet's face with two black cloths. But he was immediately exposed by Obito. Shindai was still debating whether to reveal his strength at the time. I said I would help him conceal it, and that only by killing those three Cloud Ninja could we escape successfully. Only then did Shindai truly begin to fight.
Those three Cloud Ninja were no match for a fully serious Shindai at all. They were quickly killed one by one by Shindai, who then led us in a successful retreat."
Listening to Kakashi's description, Jiraiya's expression was subtle, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Jiraiya stroked his chin and said, "Since Shindai chose to return to save you after escaping, it means he considers you comrades. And because of his undercover identity, he doesn't want to expose his strength..."
Kakashi interrupted Jiraiya: "Uh... Lord Jiraiya, Shindai doesn't want to expose his strength, it shouldn't be because of his undercover identity, but because he's simply afraid of trouble, afraid of fighting, afraid of danger."
Jiraiya's hand, stroking his chin, suddenly stopped. The atmosphere in the tent suddenly became a bit awkward.
Jiraiya chuckled dryly: "It seems Shindai is quite... quite cautious. But this also means that, for someone so cautious, to be willing to come back and save you after escaping proves that this child is someone who values his comrades."
Kakashi nodded in agreement.
In that situation, Kakashi was even prepared to sacrifice himself for Obito and Rin Nohara's chance to survive.
And even then, Obito and Rin Nohara's chances of survival weren't high.
The fact that Shindai, who had fled, returned, showed that he truly regarded them as comrades.
Otherwise, Shindai could have completely ignored them.
Kakashi reminded him, "Lord Jiraiya, don't let him know about this. The official story is that he took advantage of the Cloud Ninja's inattention and escaped with us from their grasp."
Jiraiya nodded in agreement: "Mm, I understand. Although Shindai considers you comrades, he is still an undercover agent for Hidden Sand Village right now. I will maintain the facade where necessary, until the day Shindai becomes a Konoha Ninja."
Suddenly, Jiraiya changed the subject, revealing a somewhat lewd smile to Kakashi, and asked: "Kakashi, so Shindai has already met Tsunade?"
Jiraiya's sudden question almost made Kakashi's mind stop working. After a pause, he replied, "Yes, he has."
Jiraiya's smile grew brighter and more lewd: "Kakashi, get some good rest. I won't disturb you. I'm leaving now."
After Jiraiya left Kakashi's tent, he immediately went to Shindai's tent.
Seeing Shindai lying on the bed humming a song, Jiraiya greeted him, "Yo, quite leisurely, aren't you?"
Shindai shot up from the bed, very obsequiously helping Jiraiya by the arm to sit on the chair: "Lord Jiraiya, for you to personally come and visit me, it truly moves this injured person greatly.
Lord Jiraiya, I'm not trying to gain sympathy or claim credit, but I've been in terrible pain these past few days because I bravely and fearlessly rescued Kakashi and the others from the Cloud Ninja. During the escape, I suffered very severe internal injuries, cough, cough.
But! Even though I'm injured, I have no regrets, because I am a part of Konoha! When comrades are in danger, even if it means sacrificing myself, I will go to save them without hesitation!
*Cough, cough, cough*~"
Shindai coughed as if he was about to cough up his lungs, looking extremely weak.
Jiraiya's eye twitched.
When Shindai got up from the bed just now and rushed to his side to help him sit down, he didn't look weak at all.
And who with severe internal injuries has a ruddy and glowing complexion?
Not trying to gain sympathy? Not trying to claim credit?
He might as well have written 'gaining sympathy' and 'claiming credit' all over his face!
Jiraiya seemed to have caught Shindai's bug, and after a cough, he said, "Shindai, Kakashi told me that you were intelligent and resourceful, and that you rescued the severely injured Kakashi when the Cloud Ninja were off guard, successfully retreating with Obito and Rin. You did very well, and Konoha will remember your contribution."
Hearing Jiraiya say this, Shindai immediately grinned. It was good to have credit; this brought him one step closer to joining Konoha.
After joining Konoha, he would be able to go undercover in Konoha Village.
He had been worried that Kakashi might have been misleading him, but it seemed Kakashi was quite reliable.