Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze had received orders to evacuate the Land of Hot Springs and proceed to the Land of Grass.
They also became aware of the rumors, which left Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze utterly speechless.
Jiraiya asked with a wrinkled face, "Is Hidden Sand Village's shamelessness just like that brat Shindai's?"
"Uh... Shindai should be much better than them."
Minato Namikaze thought for a moment before defending Shindai.
After all, Shindai would be their comrade in the future, so how could he speak ill of his own comrade?
Jiraiya inquired, "So, does Shindai already know about the disappearance of the Third Kazekage?"
Minato Namikaze shook his head, "Shindai himself guessed that Hidden Sand Village had a new Kazekage. I haven't told Shindai about the Third Kazekage's disappearance yet."
Jiraiya's expression was a bit subtle as he suggested, "Hidden Sand Village claims to have found some so-called evidence, and Shindai has been portrayed as an utterly evil sinner who abandoned his family and country.
I think you should go tell that brat now. At least give him some time to digest this news. We'll probably be fighting immediately after arriving in the Land of Grass. If he only finds out then, with his personality, it's unlikely he won't make a fuss."
Minato Namikaze felt that Jiraiya's concerns were very reasonable.
Absolutely, Shindai would definitely make a fuss after learning about this, and it would be a big one.
Minato Namikaze sighed, "I'll go find him now and tell him about this."
Jiraiya nodded, "Okay, I'll go find Tsunade, then gather all the Ninja. After everything in the base is packed up, we'll depart immediately. Minato, just come to the assembly point before you leave."
Minato Namikaze left the command room and headed to Shindai's tent.
Shindai, who was unaware of the 'big surprise' awaiting him, was currently tinkering with the wiring inside Kannazuki's body.
As soon as Minato Namikaze entered the tent, he saw a nude Kannazuki. Although it was a puppet, it was so lifelike that it made the pure-hearted Minato Namikaze blush a little.
"Ahem, Shindai, put away your puppet. I have something very important to tell you."
"Oh my god~"
Because Shindai was too focused, he didn't notice Minato Namikaze entering the tent.
Minato Namikaze's sudden voice almost scared the soul out of Shindai.
Shindai saw it was Minato Namikaze and complained, "Minato-sama, why are you like Obito? But Obito at least makes some noise. Why don't you make any sound at all? Scaring people like this will scare them to death!"
Minato Namikaze chuckled dryly, "Sorry, because this matter is really urgent, and we're about to leave here, so I just came right in."
Shindai said in surprise, "We're leaving here? Does that mean we're going back to Konoha?"
Minato Namikaze looked at Shindai with some pity and shook his head, "No, we're going to the Land of Grass. If nothing unexpected happens, Hidden Sand Village and Iwagakure will soon declare war on our Konoha together, so we must immediately rush to the Land of Grass to prepare for battle."
"Huh?"
Shindai was dumbfounded. Didn't Hidden Sand Village and Iwagakure fight each other? Why are Hidden Sand Village and Iwagakure suddenly coming to fight Konoha together?
Could it be that he didn't sleep well last night and his ears were acting up?
Minato Namikaze grabbed Shindai's arm, forcibly pressed Shindai into a chair, and said to Shindai seriously, "Shindai, what I'm about to tell you might be hard to accept, but it's the truth, so... you need to be prepared!"
Seeing Minato Namikaze so serious, Shindai nervously swallowed.
What kind of truth could make Minato Namikaze, who always had a gentle expression, so serious?
Suddenly, he didn't want to know... knowing it would definitely be troublesome.
"The Third Kazekage has disappeared..."
"Huh?"
Shindai tilted his head, his eyes turning into dots as he looked at Minato Namikaze.
This is the important thing?
He already knew about this. He knew it when Rasa was appointed as the Fourth Kazekage.
He even knew who killed the Third Kazekage.
Shindai breathed a sigh of relief. He thought it was something big. What's so hard to accept about this?
Minato Namikaze looked at Shindai with a strange expression. Shindai breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that the Third Kazekage had disappeared?
It felt like... the Third Kazekage and Shindai didn't have a very good relationship.
Shindai also noticed Minato Namikaze's strange expression, his heart skipped a beat, and he quickly explained, "The Third Kazekage only disappeared. If he died, that wouldn't be good."
Minato Namikaze's expression became even stranger.
Died... and it's just 'not good'?
The way Shindai said it, the Third Kazekage's disappearance didn't seem like a big deal at all.
Shindai felt increasingly guilty; he didn't know what to say.
Shindai then thought, wait, that's not right. In Minato Namikaze's eyes, his relationship with the Third Kazekage was already bad, wasn't he sold to Iwagakure?
So why was he feeling guilty?
Minato Namikaze shook his head, almost getting sidetracked by Shindai. He hadn't gotten to the main point yet.
Minato Namikaze continued, "The Third Kazekage disappeared. Initially, Hidden Sand Village's investigation found an Iwagakure headband. Hidden Sand Village declared war on Iwagakure, claiming that Iwagakure Ninja attacked the Third Kazekage. Now, Hidden Sand Village has re-investigated and found some so-called evidence.
First, there's a scroll. The content of the scroll is: 'Uncle Kaito, I have very important Konoha intelligence that I must report to you in person. Please come to the outskirts of Hidden Sand Village to meet me now.'
Then, a large amount of Sand Iron was found in one place, along with fragments of puppet combat and fragments of Konoha Ninja uniforms.
Hidden Sand Village used this to conclude... that you, who were intercepted by us, were turned by Konoha, and using your identity as a fellow clansman of the Third Kazekage, you lured the Third Kazekage out of the Village, where our Konoha Ninja assassinated the Third Kazekage, and then disguised it as Iwagakure's doing.
The people of Hidden Sand Village don't seem to know who you are, but they issued an order to kill any Ninja using Magnet Release among Konoha Ninja, at all costs.
In other words, Shindai, you have been wanted by Hidden Sand Village, and according to Hokage-sama's judgment, Hidden Sand Village will soon cooperate with Iwagakure to declare war on our Konoha.
So we must immediately rush to the Land of Grass to intercept and fight Iwagakure Ninja there."
Shindai listened, dumbfounded, his mouth wide open.
Minato Namikaze waited for Shindai to recover, but after a long while, Shindai showed no reaction.
Minato Namikaze called out to Shindai a few times.
Shindai came back to his senses and asked with a somewhat dry voice, "Minato-sama, you're not joking with me, are you?"
Minato Namikaze said with a heavy expression, "I'm not joking, this is the truth, Shindai."
Shindai felt his brain had crashed and he couldn't think anymore.
"Shindai..."
"Minato-sama, can, can you let me be alone for a moment?"
Minato Namikaze nodded, "Okay, I'll come find you when it's time to leave."
As soon as Minato Namikaze left the tent, he heard Shindai's wild laughter from inside the tent.
"Hahaha... Hahahahaha..."
Minato Namikaze was a bit worried about Shindai's mental state. Had he gone crazy?
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