Shindai, weighed down by humiliation, slowly made his way to the venue of the charity event.
However, the charity event had already ended and everyone was dispersing.
"Aniki Shindai!"
Kabuto Yakushi immediately spotted Shindai and ran over, reaching out to support him.
"Aniki Shindai, if you had an upset stomach, you should've just rested properly. Everything went smoothly here—there was no need to worry," Kabuto said, assuming Shindai had come all this way despite being unwell because he was concerned about how the charity event turned out.
Kabuto imagined the scenario in his head and was deeply moved.
Where else could he find such a devoted older brother!
Upon hearing Kabuto's call, Pakura, Kushina Uzumaki, and Obito—who were still there helping with the cleanup—turned their heads toward Shindai at once.
Right now, Shindai looked even worse, glaring furiously at them with bloodshot eyes.
Shindai clenched his teeth and growled, "Oh great! Just freaking great! How could you do this to me!"
Obito and the others felt slightly embarrassed and looked away—they knew one glance at Shindai's current state might send them into fits of laughter any moment.
Kushina raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Wow, you managed to break free from my seal so quickly? Not bad~"
Intense fury caused Shindai's inner cosmos to erupt. Though he still couldn't use chakra, his body had finally regained mobility.
With his neck stretched forward aggressively, Shindai charged straight at them.
"Take this, headbutt!"
Just as he approached Kushina, who stood at the front, Shindai suddenly leaped into the air and rammed his head directly toward Kushina.
Pakura and Obito's group flinched visibly. Was Shindai seriously this brave today?
Looks like he was truly furious.
Meanwhile, Kushina's expression turned strange; facing Shindai's headbutt, she wasn't nervous at all—in fact, she seemed slightly excited.
Kushina rubbed her wrist, swung her arm around once, then spread her palm wide and slapped it hard against Shindai's head with pinpoint accuracy.
Shindai was instantly stunned by the slap and fell flat onto the ground.
"Hiss..."
Several sharp intakes of breath reached Shindai's dazed ears.
Kushina snorted. "Getting brave, huh? Daring to attack me now? Pakura, he's all yours."
Pakura pulled Shindai up from the floor and playfully prodded the swelling lump on his head. "Does it hurt?"
Shindai shot her a resentful glare. "What do you think!? My entire plan is completely ruined!"
Sighing helplessly, Pakura said, "Come on, take it slow. Why are you rushing so much? I've already spoken with Headmaster Nonou. I'm going to work at the orphanage starting soon. Once the orphanage opens its store, Headmaster Nonou said I can be the manager. When I start getting paid, I'll invest in your shop, won't that be enough?"
Shindai scoffed, "Wages?"
The orphanage definitely doesn't pay well. You'd be better off waiting for me to open my shop and then working for me. I'll give you a super high salary then."
Pakura smirked, "No way am I working for you. Every time I ask what kind of shop you're going to open, you refuse to say. I know you too well—you're definitely up to something sketchy, right?"
Now Shindai was the one feeling slightly uneasy, "It's not some shady business! You guys shouldn't look at things with bias. This could actually be about protecting people's mental health—men and women alike!"
Kushina Uzumaki stepped forward curiously asking, "Then tell us already! What exactly are you planning to open? If it really turns out to be a legitimate business, I might even invest in it. Let me whisper this to you—I'm actually pretty rich, okay?"
Shindai struggled free from Pakura's grip on his hand and stubbornly declared, "I don't need your investment! Even if we didn't get anything out of this charity event, I can still handle things on my own."
There's no way he'd ever say it out loud.
Shindai firmly believed that if he did dare to reveal the truth, Kushina Uzumaki and Pakura would probably beat him up together.
So Shindai planned to cook the rice before announcing it—open the shop first, and by then even if they wanted to hit him, there'd be nothing they could do since the shop would already be established.
Pakura and Kushina Uzumaki narrowed their eyes at Shindai—in unison, they now absolutely believed—the shop Shindai intended to open was definitely not a proper establishment.
Behind Shindai, Kabuto Yakushi's eyes turned into a dead-fish stare.
So that's how it is. It wasn't about worrying over the charity event's progress at all—he simply wanted to make some money.
Such a thick-skinned Aniki!
Shindai said to Kushina Uzumaki, "Sister Kushina, quickly remove my seal! I want revenge!"
Kushina Uzumaki asked confusedly, "Revenge? Who are you seeking revenge against?"
Thinking back to Asuma Sarutobi's hateful face, Shindai instantly became furious, grinding his teeth: "Just a little punk!"
After removing Shindai's seal, Kushina warned him, "Don't go causing trouble."
"Hmph! Trouble? Me? Never! I just want him to realize nobody messes with me and gets away with it!"
Shindai turned around and left immediately—staying here is useless—he didn't make any money, and later he might even have to help with chores.
Pakura watched Shindai's retreating figure. Once Shindai had completely disappeared from sight, she decisively told Obito, Kakashi, and Rin Nohara, "Please keep an eye on him. He's got a short fuse—his so-called punk might be in big trouble. Try to stop him if necessary."
Obito patted his chest confidently, "Leave it to us, Sister Pakura! Kakashi, Rin, let's move out!"
...
Asuma Sarutobi walked alone down the forest path deep within Konoha's woodland.
Asuma Sarutobi grumbled in frustration, "Aniki was willing to sacrifice himself for Konoha, and I can do the same! Why won't they admit I'm capable of standing on my own? Why say I'm still not ready? They never even give me a single compliment. Every time we meet, all they do is scold me. This is so frustrating!"
In his anger, Asuma slammed his foot into the nearby tree trunk.
Meanwhile, Shindai had already tracked down Asuma.
Shindai stood silently on a branch far away from Asuma, watching him.
Elsewhere...
"Did Shindai mean Asuma when he called someone a troublemaker?"
"But... how did Asuma even offend Shindai?"
"Do you remember before we went to Loulan? After Shindai was dragged away by us, Asuma took his place in line. Don't you remember Shindai vowing to settle the score with Asuma back then?"
"You're kidding? Is Shindai seriously holding a grudge over something that minor? How can one person be so petty?"
"Well, with Shindai, pettiness is just normal. The day he starts acting generous is when we should really start worrying—because he'll definitely be plotting something big."
Obito, Kakashi, and Rin Nohara observed the situation from another location, analyzing everything.
Rin asked hesitantly, "So what do we do now? Should we stop Shindai?"
Kakashi immediately shook his head, "Absolutely not. Shindai's already mad at us as it is. If we go against him now, we'll only make things worse for ourselves."
Obito nodded, "Yeah, given Shindai's personality, we'd probably end up next on his revenge list too."
"Then what should we do?"
Kakashi thought for a moment before saying, "Let's just wait and see. Asuma's no pushover, you know."
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