After Yekura gave Shindai a big slap, she immediately slipped away, leaving Shindai stunned in place for a long time.
By the time Shindai came back to his senses, Yekura had already vanished without a trace.
Shindai, furious, stuffed five pieces of sushi into his mouth to vent.
"Damn it! That's too much! I was even trying to help her get through future crises, and this is how she treats me? My brain is so smart, what if I get dumb from being hit?"
No matter how angry Shindai was, it was useless. It was absolutely impossible for him to go out and seek revenge on Yekura.
After finishing the remaining sushi, Shindai lay on his bed, crossing his legs and thinking about everything and nothing.
"I'm so bored... Speaking of which, there should be televisions in the Ninja World now, right? It's a pity, Hidden Sand Village is too poor, there are no TVs for sale at all. If there were, I'd definitely make a few puppets to earn some money and buy one. Even if I had money here, it would be useless. Seriously, there's no entertainment at all."
After lying down for a while, Shindai got up again and sat in a chair, starting to tinker with parts on the table... Time passed day by day.
Yekura hadn't come back since that one visit; she must have gone on a mission. Otherwise, if Yekura were in the Village, she would come to see him every day.
One night, half a month later.
Shindai was sound asleep in bed when suddenly the door was violently opened.
The mechanisms in the room activated, and a large number of poisoned senbon shot towards the doorway, while Shindai was also startled awake from his sleep.
"Who!"
Shindai had already attached Chakra threads to his puppet 'Kannazuki,' and Kannazuki, who had been closing his eyes, had now opened them.
But upon seeing who was standing at the door, Shindai immediately released the Chakra threads, a fawning smile appearing on his face.
"It's Uncle Kaito, why have you come?"
The Third Kazekage stood at the door, his face full of black lines as he looked at the senbon on the ground, and asked, "Why are you setting traps in your own house for no reason?"
Shindai gave a dry laugh, "Isn't this just being prepared? Uncle Kaito, you know, I'm weak and not very capable. I might die if I'm not careful, so I'm just being cautious. But... Uncle Kaito, why are you looking for me so late at night? Is something wrong?"
The Third Kazekage walked into the room and said to Shindai, "Get up first. This time, there's something extremely important I need you to do."
Shindai's heart sank, and he suddenly had a bad feeling.
Him, a weakling, having something important to do? What could it be?
He wouldn't want him to fight again, would he?
With a nervous heart, Shindai got out of bed and walked to the chair in front of the table and sat down.
The Third Kazekage sat opposite Shindai and said sternly, "Shindai, the time has come for you to contribute to Hidden Sand Village!"
As soon as Shindai heard the Third Kazekage's words, his eyelids twitched violently, and he immediately realized that something big was amiss. The content the Third Kazekage was about to say would definitely be extremely troublesome.
Shindai immediately said, "Uncle Kaito, I also think the time has come to contribute to Hidden Sand Village. I will work overtime to make puppets in the future to enhance the strength of our Village's puppeteers!"
What Shindai was thinking now was how to somehow bluff his way out of this.
The Third Kazekage, however, waved his hand and said, "No need. You won't need to make puppets anymore. I plan to send you to Konoha as an undercover agent!"
Shindai's head buzzed, almost burning out his brain.
Send him to be an undercover agent? Undercover what?
Go to Konoha, find a bridge, and then lie under the bridge? Is that being undercover?
After coming back to his senses, Shindai quickly stood up and said excitedly, "Un-Uncle Kaito, I don't know how to be an undercover agent, and I'm particular about my bed; I can't sleep in a different place. Plus, I'm prone to getting sick in new environments; I'll definitely have diarrhea and vomit if I go to Konoha, so I can't be an undercover agent.
And you know, Uncle Kaito, I'm very weak, so weak that any Genin... no, even a Ninja Academy student could easily beat me. I can't go undercover; wouldn't I be harming the Village if I did? No, no, absolutely not!"
The Third Kazekage said in a deep voice, "Shindai, you cannot refuse this time. You are a Ninja of Hidden Sand Village, and you are my junior. Now that Hidden Sand Village needs you to go undercover, you must go. And you won't need to fight; you just need to successfully infiltrate Konoha."
Shindai was on the verge of tears: "No, Uncle Kaito, I can't do it. I don't even know how to lie. I'll be discovered very quickly if I go undercover. Please, find someone else, please."
Although Shindai did have a slight longing for Konoha, it was only slight.
Going undercover in Konoha at this point in time, wasn't that just seeking death?
Konoha and Hidden Cloud Village were already engaged in localized battles; how could they allow a stranger to enter Konoha?
Even if he successfully infiltrated Konoha, the Third Shinobi World War hadn't fully begun yet. If it did, Konoha, being so wealthy, would definitely be targeted.
At that time, if Konoha was short on manpower, they might conscript people to fight on the front lines, and someone with an unclear identity like him would definitely be chosen.
He couldn't go, absolutely couldn't go.
The Third Kazekage slammed the table and reprimanded, "Shindai, do you know what you're saying? As a Ninja, you are evading your duty, which can be considered desertion!"
Shindai said, feeling wronged, "But I never wanted to be a Ninja in the first place. It was Uncle Kaito who forced the Genin status on me."
A hint of awkwardness flashed across the Third Kazekage's expression.
The reason he gave Shindai the Genin status back then was because he saw Shindai had great talent in making puppets and thought Shindai's other talents were also good, so he directly gave Shindai the Genin status.
Originally, to become a Ninja, one had to study for several years at the Ninja Academy and pass an assessment to obtain Ninja status.
But the Third Kazekage didn't expect Shindai to only have talent in making puppets, with everything else being difficult to describe.
However, this hint of awkwardness quickly disappeared, and the Third Kazekage said with a stern face, "This is not a discussion, but an order. Even if you are not a Ninja, you are a part of Hidden Sand Village, and you are of my clan, my junior, the Third Kazekage. So even if Hidden Sand Village needs you to sacrifice, you must sacrifice. This is your responsibility!"
Shindai looked at the Third Kazekage in disbelief. Was he going to use the greater good to pressure him?
But... they were just relatives, wasn't this a bit too presumptuous?
He had also contributed to Hidden Sand Village; those two puppets he made, although hastily put together, if those puppeteers understood the craftsmanship within them, their strength would definitely increase by several levels.
Shindai still wanted to argue and struggle, but the Third Kazekage gave Shindai no chance to argue.
The Third Kazekage said sharply, "I said, this is an order; you have no choice. If you insist on a choice, you either go undercover in Konoha, or you will be imprisoned in a maximum-security prison forever on charges of desertion!"