Shindai carried his gear bag and headed toward Konoha's main gate to meet with Orochimaru.
Upon arriving at the village entrance, Shindai noticed a suspicious-looking man standing in front of Orochimaru. The man wore a black cloak and sunglasses, with a purple tattoo on the right side of his face. He looked completely untrustworthy, yet he seemed to be conversing with Orochimaru.
However, judging by appearances, it looked like only Orochimaru was doing all the talking while the other man simply nodded occasionally, giving Shindai the impression that this guy wasn't even really paying attention to Orochimaru.
Shindai felt curious. Who was this person? How could he act so self-important, ignoring one of Konoha's legendary Sannin?
Orochimaru noticed Shindai had arrived and turned his gaze toward him.
The man facing Orochimaru also glanced at Shindai before saying something to Orochimaru and then walking away.
Shindai could swear—he truly had no intention of being nosy, but sometimes his mouth just acted without thinking.
Approaching Orochimaru, Shindai asked curiously, "Orochimaru-sama, who was that smug guy just now? He totally ignored you! That's seriously disrespectful! If it were me, I'd never stand for that!"
Orochimaru emotionlessly asked, "Are you asking about who he is… or are you trying to stir things up?"
"Uh… Just out of curiosity, I swear. No bad intentions at all. Why would I go adding fuel to the fire~"
Shindai mentally slapped himself—habits really were terrifying things.
"You don't need to know. Follow me."
Coolly, Orochimaru turned around and headed toward Konoha's main gate.
Muttering to himself, Shindai said, "So secretive indeed."
Orochimaru and Shindai made their way toward the border between the Land of Fire and the Grass Country.
To be honest, in just two days, Orochimaru had already started regretting his decision.
This kid—was just too fucking annoying. His mouth hadn't stopped talking the entire journey.
What annoyed Orochimaru most was how ridiculous the boy's questions were—it was like his head wasn't wired right.
"Orochimaru-sama, I heard Jiraiya-sama once got his ribs broken by Tsunade-sama for peeping into the women's bath. So did Jiraiya-sama ever peek at Tsunade-sama taking a shower?"
"Orochimaru-sama, they say Tsunade-sama always loses whenever she gambles. Would you mind helping me set up a game with her? How about we split the profits ninety-ten?"
"Orochimaru-sama, is your pale complexion natural? It looks kind of cool. Do you think my skin could turn pale like yours?"
"Orochimaru-sama, are your snake-like eyes real or are they colored contacts? They look pretty... unique."
"Orochimaru-sama…"
...
"Shut up!"
Just as they reached the border, Orochimaru finally snapped.
Immediately, Shindai covered his own mouth, signaling that he'd keep quiet.
Orochimaru exhaled slightly before saying to Shindai, "From now on, as my subordinate, your first order is this: stop asking me nonsense questions like that. You may ask questions related to the mission or matters concerning your research."
"Aww, okay~"
Shindai pouted with a pitiful expression. He still had so many questions left to ask, and not one of them had Orochimaru even answered! At least answer one question!
What a cheap answer!
Seeing Shindai's expression, Orochimaru felt an unexplained surge of irritation.
It was him who had been harassed, yet this brat acted like he was the wronged party?
Telling himself there was no need to get angry, Orochimaru ignored Shindai and continued walking.
Shindai finally stopped asking those questions that made Orochimaru feel like he was being harassed, and instead asked some professional questions.
But weren't these questions just a bit too many?!
Orochimaru tossed a scroll toward Shindai, "This is my latest ninja tech research documentation I'm preparing for the village. Read through it first, then you can ask me if you have any questions!"
"Thank you very much, Orochimaru-sama! You're so generous, Orochimaru-sama!"
Shindai happily took the scroll. This was indeed a great treasure!
Though Orochimaru was dangerous, he was still quite generous!
Eventually, Orochimaru and Shindai arrived at the Border Stationed Camp.
Though called a stationed camp, it was built merely from simple tents, looking quite shabby.
Furthermore, aside from the ninja away on missions, there were only about thirty people in total.
Orochimaru said to Shindai, "From now on, Shindai, you'll take turns patrolling with the others. If I have any operations, I'll bring you along. I'll assign you a teammate tomorrow. For now, go find the support personnel to show you to your tent for rest."
"Okay, then I'll be leaving first, Orochimaru-sama."
Shindai left alone to find the support personnel.
Watching Shindai leave, Orochimaru sighed with relief, strangely feeling a sense of liberation within his heart.
...
Sunagakure.
Pakura had just finished talking with an advisor from Sunagakure and left.
Her mood was terrible because during this period she'd approached four advisors in total; three had explicitly refused to support her, while one remained indecisive.
There were ten advisors in total within Sunagakure, excluding Chiyo and Ebizō, leaving eight others.
In other words, even including that neutral advisor, securing support from four others would only equal Rasa's current backing—not to mention how much more weight Chiyo and Ebizō's opinions carried.
Therefore, Pakura's path to challenging for the Kazekage through advisor support had already crumbled.
Pakura felt troubled. If things continued like this, bringing Shindai back to Sunagakure would become increasingly distant.
Just as Pakura prepared to return home, a kunai flew toward her.
Pakura dodged backward, avoiding the kunai.
"Who's there!"
Pakura tried to chase after the attacker, but they had already vanished.
Looking at the kunai, Pakura noticed a small pouch tied to its end.
She untied the pouch and found a tiny rectangular box and a note inside.
As she picked up the note, her eyes met the crooked handwriting.
Recognizing it immediately, Pakura raised an eyebrow—it was definitely Shindai's writing.
Shindai's handwriting could only be described as...distinctive. Having seen it countless times before, she identified it right away.
[Pakura, once you get this box, hit the blue button first to activate the device. Then, if Sunagakure assigns you—especially if Rasa personally assigns you—to carry out a single-person covert operation, press the red button on this small box. Always carry the box with you. And if such a mission comes up, make sure you press that red button.
You'd better take this seriously! Otherwise, when we meet next time, I'll hang you upside down and beat you until you cry for your mother!
Got it!]
After reading the note, Pakura let out a dry chuckle.
Upside down? Please. Who beat who the last time they met on the battlefield?
Pakura pressed the blue button on the small box before carefully storing it in her ninja gear pouch.
Sighing, she steeled herself—she still had to visit the remaining advisors and come up with alternative plans.
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