Naruto: Puppet Master Undercover in Konoha

Obito had assumed Shindai was dead. Discovering that he was not only alive but speaking with such energy left Obito frozen in place like a statue, his eyes locked on Shindai.

Shindai summoned Kannazuki and used it to block the kunai flying toward Obito.

Before Shindai could even show off in front of Obito, several uniquely shaped kunai landed right in front of some Iwagakure ninja.

"Poof~"

Minato Namikaze made his dazzling entrance.

"Poof! Poof! Poof!"

Each time the "poof" sound rang out, another Iwa ninja's life came to an end.

Soon, all the Rock ninja were completely eliminated by Minato Namikaze.

Minato scanned the area, looking at Obito, Kakashi, Rin Nohara, and Shindai. He smiled and said, "I'm glad you're all okay. I made it just in time."

Obito continued to stare intently at Shindai, who felt chills running down his spine under the gaze of [Spinning Three-Tomoe Sharingan].

Shindai forced a strained smile and gave Obito a thumbs-up. "Hey, Obito!" he said with fake cheerfulness. "Congratulations on awakening your [Mangekyo Sharingan]. That's amazing. You're so awesome~"

Minato looked at Obito in surprise. "Obito, did you awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan?"

Obito nodded and then asked Shindai, "Why?"

Scratching his cheek, Shindai chuckled nervously. "Well, I thought about pretending to be injured to test whether there were any other hidden enemies nearby. That Iwa ninja could become invisible, so maybe others are hiding too, right? I didn't mean to deceive you intentionally. Before, when Rin called you over, she wanted to tell you I was fine. Who knew things would turn out like this..."

Obito rushed toward Shindai.

As Shindai was about to run away, he suddenly changed his mind and stopped.

He decided to let it go—Obito had been so distraught earlier. Maybe taking a beating would actually help him cope. If he doesn't get to vent, he might go dark.

Obito rammed straight into Shindai. Before Shindai could even cry out in pain, Obito tightly embraced him, his voice trembling as if about to cry: "I... I really thought you were dead... I'm so glad you're not gone... So glad..."

Minato, Kakashi, and Rin Nohara smiled while watching Obito and Shindai.

Seeing how worried Obito was about him, Shindai definitely felt touched inside. But no matter how moved he was, it only further confirmed his suspicions.

With an expression hard to describe, Shindai advised gently, "Obito, you know my dream is to have two ideal wives—beautiful and gentle. Putting aside the fact that you're male, you don't qualify for either beauty or gentleness. You don't fit my criteria for a partner at all! How about reconsidering Rin instead?"

Kakashi and Rin Nohara's smiles immediately vanished without a trace, soon replaced by a dead-fish stare.

The smile on Minato's face also turned into a helpless one.

Obito released Shindai and stared at his face for a few seconds, then...

"Die, damn!"

Obito suddenly headbutted Shindai, forehead against forehead.

A "Duang" echoed.

Both Obito and Shindai simultaneously became dizzy, spun around in place a few times, and then plopped down onto the ground.

...

After a while, Rin Nohara was tending to the wounds of Obito, Shindai, and Kakashi.

"Shindai! Don't move!"

While Rin was dressing the wound on Shindai's right chest caused by a blade, he kept poking Obito's back with his finger — something that annoyed Rin greatly and prevented her from properly treating the injury.

Shindai lifted his right arm to allow Rin easier access, but continued talking nonstop: "Obito, don't be angry. I didn't intentionally pretend to be dead. The situation was urgent back then, plus I wanted to check whether there were any more enemies left. I did it for the team."

"Hmph! You don't even know what I'm really mad about!"

Obito was truly furious with Shindai. He regarded him as his closest friend, yet Shindai actually thought he was lusting after his body!

Wasn't Rin lovely enough? His heart had always belonged to Rin alone. He could never fall for anyone else, let alone another man!

Kakashi asked Minato Namikaze, "Sensei, why have you come here?"

Minato explained, "An elite Rock Jonin named Hidan led fifty skilled Rock ninja into the Land of Fire. The Konoha frontline defense unit commanded by Jonin-level Leaf ninja Nemura Hayato was defeated, leaving only four survivors. When I arrived, I killed all those Rock ninja and obtained intelligence indicating that a Rock ninja unit of twenty is heading toward your location to reinforce three Rock ninja guarding the Kannabi Bridge.

I suspect one of those three might be the Rock ninja previously killed by Kakashi using [Chidori], so I immediately rushed over here."

Shindai turned to ask, "Lord Minato, will you leave again next?"

Minato shook his head, "No, from now on I'll accompany you together to destroy the Kannabi Bridge!"

Shindai felt extremely delighted, "That's great!"

With Minato present, there was no longer any worry about Obito's safety. Once they destroyed the Kannabi Bridge, this war would finally begin winding down.

And once the war ended, he wouldn't need to worry anymore about Madara Uchiha capturing and manipulating Obito.

"Hmph!"

Just when Shindai was filled with joy, Obito loudly snorted through his nose.

Right now, Obito couldn't stand seeing Shindai happy. Didn't he look upset? Why wasn't Shindai trying harder to placate him?

"Come on, Obito, stop being gloomy. It's not a big deal at all. Look, you've even awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan — your very own Mangekyo!"

"The Uchiha clan's strongest eyes — anyone who's awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan... Well, except maybe you. Or maybe not even them! Either way, right now, you're the real deal in the Uchiha clan! Who'd dare call you a failure now? Right?"

Suddenly, Shindai recalled Shisui Uchiha, famously known as "Shisui the Teleporting Phantom," whose name was still quite well-known. However, Shindai had never actually met Shisui Uchiha and didn't know whether he had already awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.

There was also Fugaku Uchiha — no one knew for sure if he had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan either.

If both of them had indeed awakened it, then aside from Madara Uchiha, Obito would currently be the third person in the Uchiha clan to possess the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Upon hearing what Shindai said, Obito's mood immediately improved significantly.

Indeed, with his Mangekyo Sharingan awakened, how could any of his clansmen dare call him a failure anymore?

"Hmph, hmph."

From those two "hmphs" by Obito, Shindai clearly sensed the happiness behind them.

So Shindai seized the moment to keep flattering Obito, piling on compliments that made Obito feel like his hair was floating ominously into the sky. Having successfully lifted Obito's mood, Shindai playfully started bantering back and forth with him.

After resting through the night, Minato Namikaze once again led the team to destroy Kannabi Bridge.

Since the Rock ninja originally assigned to guard Kannabi Bridge had already been completely eliminated by Obito and Minato Namikaze, there were absolutely no guards left at Kannabi Bridge.

Shindai and the others covered the bridge in Explosive Tags before detonating them.

As Kannabi Bridge exploded, Shindai noticed an area that seemed to have unusual patterns carved into it, which caught his attention.

However, the patterns were quickly buried under the falling rubble — though Shindai managed to remember exactly what they looked like.

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