"Let me tell you something—you know what? I was actually scared back then. If Chiyo had gotten her hands on me, I'd have been done for! My close-range combat skills aren't all that strong to begin with. Originally, the safest move would've been to let my Iron Sand Body Clone take that slap.
But why did I take such a huge risk? Because I believed wholeheartedly in one thing—what they say is true: Only Those Who Haven't Lived Truly Fear Death. So what was there to be afraid of? The moment we met, it was time to go all out!
It was precisely by holding onto such powerful belief that I succeeded. And what does that prove?
Hmm? No one's answering? You're definitely waiting for me to give the answer, right? Then let me tell you—it proves that I'm an incredibly courageous person, a genius-level individual who perfectly combines wisdom and bravery!"
It had already been nearly a month since Shindai slapped Chiyo with a single palm strike.
Kakashi, Obito, and Rin Nohara had also been enduring Shindai's endless ranting for almost a month now.
Obito groaned in frustration, "Shindai, will you just shut up for a second? You're giving me a headache!"
Shindai shot Obito a look of disdain, "Obito, you're just not made for this kinda stuff. Look at Kakashi over there—he's totally focused!"
"Huh? What's going on? Did Shindai finish speaking already?"
Kakashi pulled something out from his ears and asked confusedly.
Shindai's mouth twitched involuntarily, his left fist already clenched tightly.
"This Kakashi guy is exactly the kind of slippery, double-dealing type you always run into!" Shindai turned his attention toward Rin on the other side. "Obito, don't imitate him. Learn from Rin Nohara instead!"
Kakashi slightly frowned, looking at Shindai with a somewhat puzzled expression.
Why did he suddenly start scolding him?
Rin Nohara snapped out of her daze as soon as she heard her name. "Ah? Shindai, did you call me?"
A vein popped up on Shindai's forehead. "Rin, did you stuff something into your ears too?"
"Nope, I was just spacing out."
Shindai annoyed her so much with his endless rambling that Rin Nohara's mind had become somewhat numb under such high pressure. In this situation, she figured out how to completely clear her mind. Once her thoughts went blank, everything around her faded away—finally, some peace and quiet.
His right hand clenched unconsciously as well.
Seriously, why was everyone so infuriating?
He'd pulled off an incredible feat—who cares if he just wanted to brag a bit?
Obito asked, "Shindai, do I still need to keep practicing?"
"Practice my ass!"
Shindai stormed off in a huff, turning his back on the three of them and leaving them staring at the back of his head.
Kakashi and Rin Nohara exchanged confused glances before turning to Obito and asking, "What's his deal this time?"
Obito shrugged helplessly. "Who knows?"
Kakashi clapped his hands together. "Alright, we're almost at the stationed camp. After we report in, let's rest for a day before picking up a new mission tomorrow."
Back at the stationed camp, they found Guy sitting on the ground, looking utterly dejected. Irōka and Ebisu were trying to comfort him.
Obito rushed over and asked, "What happened? What's going on?"
Irōka spoke with heavy sorrow in his voice, "While we were carrying out our mission, we encountered Mist's Seven Swords. At the very last moment, Guy's father showed up. To protect us, he confronted those seven alone, allowing us to retreat safely. But Guy's father..."
Ebisu took off his sunglasses and rubbed his red-rimmed eyes as he said, "Guy's father engaged the Seven Swords by opening the Death Gate of the Eight Gates Formation. Without him, we definitely would've died."
Kakashi, Obito, and Rin Nohara all wore expressions of deep solemnity.
[Eight Gates Formation: Death Gate] — Once activated, death is unavoidable.
Shindai wasn't familiar with Guy and his companions, so he stood silently behind Obito without speaking.
However, upon hearing that Might Duy, Guy's father, had faced off against Mist's Seven Swords after opening the Death Gate, Shindai couldn't help but feel curious about what the scene must've looked like. It must've been spectacular.
After all, even Madara, known as the Dance Master, acknowledged the dancing prowess of future Guy.
Although extremely curious about the power of the Eight Gates Formation: Death Gate, Shindai wouldn't learn it under any circumstances, even if he could master it.
There's no way he could endure that kind of pain.
Wiping away his tears, Guy stood up with determined eyes and said firmly, "There's no need to be sad. My father devoted his life to protecting what was most precious to him. I'm proud of my dad! And I'll continue walking forward, inheriting my father's will!"
Obito gave Guy a big thumbs-up, "I believe you can definitely do it, Guy!"
Returning the gesture with a thumbs-up of his own, Guy gave Obito a smile that looked more painful than crying. His gleaming white teeth momentarily dazzled Shindai's eyes as he said, "Thank you, Obito! I firmly believe I can do it too!"
This sudden overly emotional bro bonding moment gave Shindai goosebumps all over.
A ninja approached them, "Team Kakashi, please report to the battlefield command room. Orochimaru is waiting for you."
The four members of Team Kakashi arrived at the battlefield command room.
Orochimaru addressed the four of them, "Now that the Sand ninjas have withdrawn from this border area, the remaining threat from Mist isn't significant enough to worry about. Therefore, there's no need to keep so many people here. You'll return to Konoha next and wait for new assignments. It seems Minato Namikaze is currently in Konoha. Eventually, you should be operating alongside him."
Hearing that they'd reunite with Minato Namikaze, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin Nohara all felt extremely happy.
But Shindai couldn't share their joy.
Because now the war had reached its final stages. Now that they were rejoining Minato Namikaze... It meant the dramatic changes within Team Kakashi were about to begin.
And what followed would be the real test for Shindai.
Shindai followed Kakashi and the others out of the battlefield command room.
Obito was excitedly telling Rin Nohara and Kakashi that once they met Minato Namikaze, he would definitely give Minato a detailed report about his progress.
But as Obito kept talking, he started to feel something wasn't quite right.
Based on his understanding of Shindai, he should already be even more excited than himself, loudly recounting everything he did to Chiyo, reflecting deeply on his inner journey, and finally declaring how he'd tell Minato all about it. So why was he so quiet? This silence didn't seem like Shindai at all.
Obito turned around to look at Shindai behind him and noticed that Shindai had a furrowed brow, looking unusually serious.
Puzzled, Obito asked, "Shindai, what's wrong with you? You don't seem happy… We're about to meet Sensei Minato, you know!"
Snapping back to reality, Shindai shook his head and replied offhandedly, "No, I'm just thinking about Guy's father. He was truly great and selflessly brave—a remarkable ninja. It's such a shame he died."
Obito, Kakashi, and Rin Nohara looked at Shindai's expression in confusion.
When they had learned about Guy's father's death earlier, they hadn't sensed any particularly strong emotions from Shindai—there had been curiosity, maybe, but not sadness. So why had he suddenly become emotional after leaving the command room?
That emotional reaction took quite a while to kick in, didn't it?
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