Kushina Uzumaki suddenly used a Sealing Technique on Shindai. He was instantly immobilized and slammed to the ground.
Shindai lay there looking confused for a moment before shouting angrily, "What was that for?! Why did you use a Sealing Technique on me?!"
Kushina knelt in front of Shindai and grinned, "Sorry about this, Shindai, but we can't let you cause trouble. This counts as fraud, you know. We've got a duty to stop you."
Shindai defended himself, "Fraud? That's slander! How sincere I've been!"
Pakura squatted down in front of Shindai and said with a smirk, "Fine, I'll admit you sounded sincere, but how many of those words were actually true? As your sister, I can't let you go down the wrong path~"
Shindai struggled but couldn't move even a single finger. He snapped furiously, "Sister? Pfft! Let me go right now, or else you won't get away with it!"
Pakura reached out and patted Shindai's face mockingly, saying, "You'll make me regret it? But… look at you, you can't even move right now. How exactly are you going to threaten me? If anything, if you keep provoking me, you'll be the one who ends up in trouble first."
After stuffing a piece of cloth into Shindai's mouth, Kushina stood up and said, "Pakura, don't waste your breath on him anymore. The charity event is about to start—we need to leave quickly."
Kakashi teased mockingly, "Don't worry, Shindai. After the charity event, I'll give you a detailed description of everything that happened."
Obito also grinned and said cheerfully, "We'll watch with your share in mind too. Rin, let's go~"
"Waaah! Wahhh!"
Shindai could only watch helplessly as Pakura, Kushina Uzumaki, and Obito walked away.
Shindai felt incredibly frustrated.
What was all that about? It's not like they were asking for donations! Why treat him like this?!
At the charity event venue...
Minato Namikaze, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and many clan leaders had already arrived.
Since this charity event was jointly organized by Minato Namikaze and Hiruzen Sarutobi, they naturally came to show their support.
The outdoor venue was surrounded by ninjas and villagers.
Spotting Pakura and the others arriving, Kabuto Yakushi approached them quickly.
"Excuse me, did Brother Shindai not come?"
Pakura smiled and shook her head, "Nope, Shindai isn't feeling well—he has an upset stomach and is resting now."
Kabuto looked slightly disappointed, "Is that so? I wanted to thank Brother Shindai again."
Kushina gently ruffled Kabuto's hair, "Next time will do."
Minato Namikaze and Hiruzen Sarutobi stood on stage giving speeches, recounting the history of the orphanage and sharing stories about the children's parents, hoping to inspire respect and compassion from the audience.
Once the emotional atmosphere had been built up sufficiently, it was Nonou Yakushi's turn to speak.
Nonou Yakushi didn't resort to playing pitiful, contrary to what Shindai had implied. Instead, she honestly spoke about some small, everyday moments at the orphanage.
Though simple and plain like water, it touched people more deeply.
Everyone gazed at the children behind Nonou with pity in their eyes.
Finally, Minato Namikaze spoke: "We hope everyone can contribute a bit of love for the orphanage within their capabilities, helping these children live better lives. On behalf of the orphanage, I'd like to express our gratitude to every person who offers their kindness."
Rin Nohara stared at Minato with sparkling eyes: "Wow, Hokage-sama looks so cool right now!"
Kushina Uzumaki proudly straightened her back: "That's right!"
Obito muttered quietly to himself: "I'm not bad-looking either... Why does no one ever say nice things about me?"
Obito felt extremely anxious inside. He wanted to get closer to Rin Nohara but didn't know how to make his move.
Shindai had promised to help him win Rin's heart, but now there hadn't been any progress at all. Shindai had even been absent most of the time anyway.
Guess I'll just have to do it on my own.
After Minato finished speaking, villagers gradually began donating money.
Pakura, Kushina Uzumaki, and Obito also took out their wallets to donate money for the orphans.
Nonou Yakushi, Kushina Uzumaki, and Obito also took out their wallets to donate money for the orphans.
The villagers' donations were just small change—the real funds came from the clans' donations.
They were giving millions of ryo at a time. Soon the total surpassed 17 million ryo... Well, actually, that was already enough to cover half of Asuma's bounty.
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched this scene with satisfaction: "Minato, this is also a manifestation of Konoha's unity."
Smiling, Minato Namikaze replied: "That's true. By the way, Shindai mentioned earlier that he wanted to give a speech too. Where is he now?"
Jiraiya sarcastically remarked: "If that brat gets up here to speak, it definitely won't be anything good, am I right Orochimaru?"
Orochimaru didn't say anything, but the mocking curve of his lips already said everything.
Meanwhile, Shindai was slowly crawling forward like a worm toward the charity event site, wriggling his body along the ground.
The seal Kushina Uzumaki had placed within Shindai wasn't very strong, so now he could move slightly, though only a little.
Shindai felt resentful inside. This had been his plan after all—he deserved to gain some benefit from it.
"Hey, who do we have here?"
Shindai lifted his head and saw Asuma Sarutobi, who already had a cigarette hanging from his mouth.
Ugh, talk about bad luck!
Knowing that his current posture was embarrassing, Shindai had specifically chosen an unoccupied route. However, he still ran into someone in spite of this.
Asuma had also stopped by the charity event briefly, then asked Kurenai Yuhi to make his donation on his behalf. Afterward, he came here alone for a smoke break.
Asuma Sarutobi currently had no desire to see Hiruzen Sarutobi.
This was because Asuma Sarutobi, who was currently going through a rebellious phase, had a strained relationship with Hiruzen recently.
As the Hokage's son, everything Asuma did inevitably drew comparisons to Hiruzen. It felt like his every success was only possible because of his father, completely negating all his personal efforts.
He originally planned to attend this charity event with Kurenai Yuhi and others to cheer himself up. Unfortunately, since Hiruzen was here too, Asuma asked Kurenai to make the donation for him and came here alone to take a smoke break.
Right now, Asuma was exactly what people would call a troubled youth.
When he heard Shindai mutter "Bad luck!", Asuma immediately frowned and retorted, "Whose bad luck are you talking about? I was here first—this line should be mine to say!"
"Too lazy to deal with you!"
Shindai gave Asuma Sarutobi the cold shoulder with a dramatic eye-roll before continuing toward the event venue.
But after just a few steps, a coin dropped right in front of Shindai.
Asuma Sarutobi mocked, "You're welcome~ Lame Shindai."
As soon as Asuma finished speaking, he quickly slipped away.
A vein throbbed angrily on Shindai's forehead as he tightly gripped the coin in front of him.
Seeing the coin in his hand made Shindai burst out laughing in anger.
"Perfect! Absolutely perfect! Haven't even dealt with you cutting in line last time—might as well handle both old and new grudges at once!"
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