Upon regaining consciousness, Shindai found himself tied up and carried over someone's shoulder, being taken to an unknown destination.
Shindai didn't dare to speak now.
These past few days, every time Shindai woke up and spoke, he would be knocked unconscious with a hand chop.
Shindai felt his nape was already swollen.
Shindai couldn't understand what was happening; why the Third Kazekage knocked him out, why they said nothing, and why they inexplicably forced him out of the Hidden Sand Village.
It was clear they were no longer in the Land of Wind, as the ground here wasn't sand, but had many rivers and forests.
The last few times he woke up, Shindai's first words were to ask where he was and where they were taking him.
However, these two Ninja never answered Shindai a single word; their only response was a hand chop.
After waking up this time, Shindai didn't say a word, analyzing the reason for such treatment.
But no matter how Shindai thought back, he couldn't figure out what wrong he had done.
He stayed at home all day, so he had no opportunity to do anything wrong.
Shindai felt the ropes on his body; he was bound very tightly, completely unable to move.
Shindai was on the verge of tears, wishing he had learned the Rope Escape Technique earlier.
The Rope Escape Technique is a basic Ninjutsu that all Ninja must learn.
The Rope Escape Technique is just a technique to untie knots or loosen body joints with one's hands behind their back; although very complex, it does not require the use of Chakra.
Because it involved dislocating body joints, Shindai was afraid of pain, so he didn't learn it.
When it came to learning Ninjutsu, Shindai was quite free; no one forced him to learn any particular Ninjutsu.
Something like the Rope Escape Technique, which was both painful and ordinary, Shindai didn't even consider.
Now look, when he needed it, he found he couldn't do it at all.
Shindai suddenly noticed that now there were not only the two Sunagakure Ninja, but three more.
And he heard their conversation.
"The Iwagakure Ninja have reached the Land of Rivers; we will proceed with the transaction now."
"Have you notified them?"
"Yes, the scroll for Iwagakure to ally with our Hidden Sand Village has fallen into their hands. They have dispatched a large number of Ninja to the northern Land of Rivers, surely to pinpoint the Iwagakure Ninja."
"Good, we'll retreat immediately after getting the military supplies."
Shindai, who had lost his memory, was completely confused.
This is the Land of Rivers?
Iwagakure and Hidden Sand Village allied?
What kind of transaction? Military supplies?
The alliance scroll fell into whose hands? Who are 'they'?
And why are they taking him?
Shindai felt his brain was about to short-circuit; he simply couldn't understand what was going on.
After traveling for some distance, the five Sunagakure Ninja, with Shindai, suddenly stopped in a forest.
One Sunagakure Ninja shouted, "Come out."
Five Iwagakure Ninja slowly rose from the ground, appearing before them.
The Sunagakure Ninja asked, "This is the Magnet Release Bloodline Limit Ninja, the one we promised to give you. So, where are the things we want?"
The Iwagakure Ninja unrolled six scrolls, summoning six large boxes.
"Two boxes of Kunai, three boxes of Shuriken, and one box of explosive tags. These are the military supplies we agreed to give you."
Hearing this, Shindai felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, shivering uncontrollably.
This was a transaction?
The Iwagakure Ninja were exchanging these six boxes for him?
Did the Third Kazekage think he was too useless, so he wanted to make use of him, ally with Iwagakure, and exchange him for supplies?
No matter how Shindai thought about it, this seemed to be the only possibility in the current situation.
Shindai suddenly felt so desperate, so sad.
He didn't want to fight, pretended to be useless, stayed at home all day, either researching Ninjutsu or puppets, just wanting to live a good life.
He never expected that even this wouldn't allow him to escape, and he was still treated as a sacrifice.
Shindai was indignant, thinking fiercely in his heart that once he reached Iwagakure, he would go completely dark and perform exceptionally well in Iwagakure, showing the Third Kazekage and the others just how amazing he, the one they treated as a sacrifice, truly was, and what a great talent they had lost!
The five Sunagakure Ninja opened and inspected the six boxes one by one. After confirming that the contents were fine, they re-sealed the boxes and stored them back into the scrolls.
The Sunagakure Ninja placed Shindai on the ground, signaling the Iwagakure Ninja to take him away.
While the Sunagakure Ninja and Iwagakure Ninja were conducting their transaction, four pairs of eyes were watching them from the surroundings.
These four pairs of eyes belonged to Minato Team.
Minato Namikaze used hand gestures to direct Kakashi, Obito, and Rin Nohara.
Kakashi, Obito, and Rin Nohara all nodded simultaneously and dispersed.
Rin Nohara, as a Medical Ninja, had very weak combat abilities, so she would not directly participate in the battle.
Kakashi had already reached his position.
However, as Obito was heading to the position Minato Namikaze indicated, he suddenly stepped on a rock and fell flat on his face.
The noise of Obito's fall immediately attracted the attention of the Sunagakure and Iwagakure Ninja.
"Who's there?!"
Two Sunagakure Ninja and two Iwagakure Ninja immediately rushed towards the direction of the sound.
Kakashi, Rin Nohara, and Minato Namikaze all covered their foreheads, looking exasperated.
"What a big idiot!"
Kakashi immediately used Instantaneous Body Technique, appearing instantly behind one of the Sunagakure Ninja. The short blade in his hand directly plunged into the Sunagakure Ninja's back, and blood splattered onto Kakashi's face.
The other Sunagakure Ninja immediately pulled out a Shuriken and threw it towards Kakashi.
Kakashi pulled out his short blade and leaped backward, dodging the Kunai.
At the same time, the two Iwagakure Ninja had already rushed towards Obito again.
Facing such a battle, Obito was overly nervous and afraid; his hands trembled as he formed hand seals. He barely finished forming the seals before the Iwagakure Ninja rushed over.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Obito gathered Chakra in his throat and spat a fireball forward from his mouth.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
After forming hand seals, the Iwagakure Ninja placed their hands on the ground, creating an earthen wall that stood in front, blocking Obito's flames.
After blocking the flames, one Iwagakure Ninja continued to charge towards Obito, who took out a Kunai, preparing to defend himself.
The hidden Rin Nohara shouted to Obito, "Obito! Watch out behind you!"
Behind Obito, an Iwagakure Ninja suddenly emerged from the ground, stabbing at Obito with a Kunai in his hand.
This attacking Iwagakure Ninja was one of the two Iwagakure Ninja who had just rushed towards Obito.
While one Iwagakure Ninja erected an earthen wall to block Obito's flames, the other Iwagakure Ninja used Earth Release: Earth Dragon Hidden Technique, which could turn soil into fine sand particles with flowing Chakra, allowing them to dig underground like an earth dragon and quietly approach Obito from below.
The Iwagakure Ninja suddenly appearing from the ground behind him startled Obito, leaving him frozen in place, watching helplessly as the Kunai stabbed towards his neck.