Pakura had successfully obtained Shindai's transmitter and was now back home, thinking about her next move.
Inside the Kazekage Building...
Rasa sat alone in his dimly lit office, his expression extremely grim.
He had already learned that Pakura was trying to gain the support of the advisors, hoping to compete with him for the position of Kazekage.
The previous joint raid on the Land of Fire with Kumogakure had ended in failure—they were driven out by Konoha ninja after only one battle. Sunagakure never had large numbers to begin with, and many had died during that fight—the Hidden Sand Village had suffered heavy losses.
Because of this, some voices of doubt had begun to spread within the village.
Although Ebizō told him not to pay attention to such talk, Rasa still cared deeply.
Rasa himself had never become Kazekage through conventional means, so he had hoped to prove himself through achievements during this Great Ninja War—but unfortunately, he hadn't achieved anything at all.
Furthermore, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind had already started questioning his leadership.
Now locked in conflict with Kiri, the Daimyo demanded that he deal with the Mist problem as soon as possible and strictly forbade him from initiating further attacks.
Currently, the Daimyos of various nations were discussing ending the war, and once it officially concluded, the Daimyo ordered Rasa to further reduce the number of ninja and cut Sunagakure's budget again.
To say that Rasa was already troubled would be an understatement—now with Pakura stirring things up, he only felt worse.
Deep down, Rasa knew perfectly well that the reason he could sit so securely in the Kazekage seat was mainly due to the support of Chiyo and Ebizō.
But earlier, both Chiyo and Ebizō had told him that after this war, they planned to retire—in other words, once those two retired, his biggest supporters would be gone.
Right now, the advisors who opposed Pakura did so mostly because of Chiyo and Ebizō's influence.
As for this war, he hadn't achieved anything at all, while Pakura, on the other hand, had performed exceptionally and gained great battlefield honors.
Therefore, without Chiyo and Ebizō's backing, the outcome might no longer be certain.
A flash of ruthless determination flickered across Rasa's eyes as he murmured, "I hope you know your place... or else don't blame me!"
...
Time passed day by day.
Before long, three months had flown by.
Shindai, assigned to border patrol duty, had Akimichi Tsubaki, a Chunin, as his teammate.
Regarding this partner, Shindai was extremely satisfied.
What the Akimichi clan was most famous for wasn't even their secret technique—Expansion Jutsu—it was their love for food!
Tsubaki's ninja gear pouch was filled mostly with different sauces.
Catch something in the wild, brush on some sauce, grill it over a fire—it was absolute heaven!
With Tsubaki around, Shindai never worried about meals.
During this time, Shindai grew increasingly close with Orochimaru.
(Shindai's perspective...)
Shindai had joined Orochimaru on several missions. Regarding the Magnet Release techniques Shindai performed, Orochimaru was always able to point out some flaws in their execution.
Whenever Shindai had questions, Orochimaru would patiently answer each one, often elaborating and even actively testing Shindai with in-depth questions.
However...
Orochimaru had asked more than once whether Shindai was interested in exploring the mysteries of life.
Each time, Shindai refused flatly, insisting he had no interest whatsoever.
This was because Shindai feared that expressing any interest in life's mysteries would lead Orochimaru to drag him into studying human anatomy and conducting human experiments.
Though Shindai knew that showing interest would probably earn him a place as Orochimaru's apprentice, he had never truly wanted to become one.
Still, despite Orochimaru's odd personality, he was genuinely kind—granting almost every request Shindai made, except when it came to questions about gossip, where he remained stubbornly tight-lipped.
Such a good person... how come he got involved in human experimentation?
In truth, human experimentation wasn't hard to understand—it played a crucial role in advancing medicine and science, especially in developing Medical Ninjutsu, which required human trials.
Couldn't you at least factor in ethics? Or ensure the experiments are conducted safely within a legal and moral framework?
He could never wrap his head around it. Absolutely never.
Shindai finished his patrol duties for the day and, before returning to rest, visited Orochimaru to report on the patrol's outcome.
"Orochimaru-sama, nothing happened today. I've completed my patrol. May I go rest now?"
"Hold on, Shindai. Sit down. There's something I'd like to discuss with you."
Shindai found an empty seat and looked at Orochimaru with slight confusion.
Orochimaru didn't speak immediately but instead stared at Shindai for a moment.
Orochimaru had given Shindai many chances already. He didn't want to keep probing endlessly anymore.
Through these repeated tests, Orochimaru had practically confirmed that Shindai must know something about him—and remained cautious.
During normal conversations, this caution wasn't obvious, but whenever topics related to life arose, Shindai would quickly change the subject with a joke or playful comment.
When Orochimaru's snake-like eyes fixed on Shindai, making him feel deeply uneasy, he finally spoke: "You're wary of me, aren't you?"
A faint sense of unease crept over Shindai as he let out a forced laugh. "Huh? How could that be? Why would I be wary of you, Orochimaru-sama?"
"You know about my experiments, don't you?"
Orochimaru's blunt question hit Shindai like a straight shot, leaving him completely confused.
Shindai's pupils widened slightly. He fidgeted like a restless child, scratching his head, occasionally touching his nose, and glancing nervously at Orochimaru. After clearing his throat with a few awkward coughs, he tried to explain, "How would I know anything? I seriously don't know a thing. I never saw Orochimaru-sama conducting experiments, right?"
A slight smirk curved Orochimaru's lips. Shindai's reaction alone was already enough to betray him.
"Heh... so you do know something. That's why you've been so careful around me."
"No way! I'm being sincere here…"
The more Shindai spoke, the less confidence he had in his words, and his voice gradually became softer.
"While I'm curious how you found out, what interests me more is your actual mindset. If you had truly opposed it deeply, there wouldn't have been any need to risk following me. Back then, when Sarutobi-sensei was present, you could've outright refused becoming my apprentice or subordinate. Besides, you've had plenty of chances to tell Sarutobi-sensei everything you knew."
A cold sweat broke out on Shindai's back. No matter what he said, Orochimaru seemed convinced he already knew everything.
Was his lie really that obvious? He'd been perfect during his undercover days!
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