Naruto: Puppet Master Undercover in Konoha

Kakashi was surrounded by Sand and Cloud Ninja, but Shindai's technique, [Kannazuki], arrived just in time to rescue him.

Unfortunately, the way he was rescued embarrassed Kakashi deeply. He had essentially been caught under Shindai's Kannazuki technique—and by extension, trampled over by Shindai himself.

"Kakashi!"

Shindai and Obito ran over.

Before Kakashi could even speak, Shindai and Obito were already scolding him.

"Kakashi, what's going on with you?! Have you forgotten the meaning of 'teamwork'?"

"Yeah! As team leader, how could you act so recklessly? Jiraiya-sama clearly said this isn't the time for individual heroics anymore—you let it go in one ear and out the other!"

"We're revoking your leadership rights effective immediately! After this battle, you'll be punished by writing the word 'teamwork' a thousand times for Obito and me to review!"

"That's right! I'll personally check every single character. If even one is misspelled, you'll have to write it another thousand times!"

Kakashi's face turned completely dark.

These two bastards actually had the nerve to accuse him of lacking teamwork?

Back when the fight hadn't even started, he'd specifically told those two idiots to stick close and follow his lead. They'd agreed enthusiastically at the time—now they were blaming everything on him!

Obito panicked and whispered to Shindai, "Commander, another group is charging straight toward us! They're definitely targeting us—it must be Kakashi drawing their attention!"

Shindai declared seriously, "Obito, Kakashi—prepare to move out with me!"

Kakashi gritted his teeth hard enough to draw blood, barely holding back his urge to punch one of them into next week.

Had these two bastards gotten so smooth about snatching leadership away from him?

Under Shindai's command, along with Obito and Kakashi, they fought fiercely against the enemy.

After some time passed…

"This doesn't feel right—the more we fight, the more enemies keep coming!"

Wiping sweat from his forehead, Shindai looked ahead gravely, breathing heavily.

It wasn't just Shindai—Kakashi and Obito were exhausted too.

Kakashi's expression grew extremely serious. "Seems like we've been cutting through too brutally. They now see us as major threats and are prioritizing eliminating us."

Actually, Kakashi and Obito were still fine—it was mainly because Shindai's Magnet Release techniques were absolute slaughterhouses in large-scale battles.

Looking toward Shindai beside him, Obito asked, "Commander, what should we do now?"

Shindai frowned and replied, "No good—we're getting worn down. At this rate, all three of us will eventually be dragged to death. Maybe we should fall back for now?"

Shindai was incredibly frustrated. He had originally planned to take it easy anyway. After all, Konoha was sure to win—whether they took part or not wouldn't change the final outcome.

If that's the case… why bother trying so hard?

Obito and Kakashi are totally to blame for making him work this hard! He just wanted to flop down and do absolutely nothing!

Kakashi and Obito wondered whether they should step back a bit, since both had used up a lot of physical energy, and their chakra reserves were nearly depleted from continuously releasing ninjutsu.

"You two head to the rear and rest for a bit!"

"Exactly! Go regain your strength—we've got this!"

"Our turn now!"

Thanks to Shindai, Obito, and Kakashi's relentless efforts, the pressure on the surrounding Konoha ninja was greatly relieved.

They also noticed that Shindai and his team's combat effectiveness had clearly weakened since the start. Realizing how exhausted the three must be, they stepped forward to take over.

Obito and Kakashi felt moved, just about to speak, but Shindai suddenly grabbed their collars and ran backward. "Then we'll leave it to you guys! We'll be back in action soon after recovering a bit!"

Shindai was truly afraid—afraid that Obito and Kakashi might actually say something like, "No worries, we can still hold on!"

Arriving at the rear, Shindai immediately dropped onto the ground and swallowed two unpleasant-tasting Military Rations Pills. "Man, I'm beat. There's no way—I really need a good rest!"

Kakashi said seriously, "Let's recover a bit, then get back into battle."

Obito nodded, "Yeah, three minutes of rest should be enough."

Shindai stared at Obito and Kakashi with a look of pure disbelief. "Are you serious? Three minutes? Who recovers in that time? You can't even catch your breath in three minutes!"

Obito replied dryly, "Shindai, do you even know what metaphors are, seriously?"

Shindai snapped back, "Come on! We should at least rest for thirty minutes!"

Kakashi immediately rejected the idea. "Absolutely impossible. The battlefield changes every second—the battle could already be over in thirty minutes!"

Shindai grumbled, "Then at least ten minutes! Come on, there are so many people out there. Our efforts won't tip the scales anyway. Why push ourselves so hard?"

Obito spoke up earnestly, "Shindai, I gotta say something here. Sure, we might not change everything, but if we push harder, maybe one or two comrades won't have to die. If everyone thought like you, who would fight? Who would protect Konoha?"

Kakashi nodded firmly. "Obito is right, Shindai. Konoha is our home. We must protect it well."

Shindai opened his mouth, trying to respond, but couldn't think of anything—he simply couldn't argue against that logic.

Suddenly, an explosion echoed from a distance, followed by cries of pain.

Kakashi looked ahead with slightly furrowed eyebrows. "Seems like a powerful enemy has appeared up front. No time to rest anymore—we need to reinforce them now!"

"But it's only been one minute!" Shindai looked utterly defeated as he reluctantly followed Kakashi and Obito.

[It's her!]

Kakashi and Obito both looked toward Shindai at the same time when they saw this person.

Shindai was also gazing fixedly at the figure before him.

It was Pakura.

Upon seeing Shindai, a faint smile tugged at Pakura's lips. "Earlier I thought I might have mistaken. I came specifically looking for you but couldn't find you."

Shindai regarded the battle-ready Pakura with a wry smile. "So tell me, did you come here specifically to fight me?"

Four fireballs whirled behind Pakura. She held a kunai in her hand, adopting a combat stance as she said to Shindai, "That's right. I just want to see how much progress you've made after leaving for Konoha!"

"Can't you take it easy for once? I just finished an intense battle not long ago. Coming charging in recklessly like this could get you discovered! What'll you do then?"

Even as Shindai spoke, Kannazuki had already appeared and hovered above him.

This battle couldn't be avoided. After all, he was still a well-known rogue ninja from Sunagakure. If they met without fighting, it might raise suspicions from Sunagakure, which would put Pakura in a difficult position there.

Shindai told Kakashi and Obito, "I'll settle this one-on-one with her. You two go help the others."

After glancing at Pakura, Kakashi and Obito nodded. "Alright, take care out there, Shindai."

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