Jiraiya was looking at Shindai, and the longer he stared, the more he found himself liking him. He had started to feel like they were kindred spirits.
It just felt a little strange for Jiraiya that this kindred spirit happened to be a ten-year-old kid.
Obito stood there with his arms crossed, sulking like he was genuinely upset.
Shin was showing blatant favoritism and being shamelessly unfair.
Why would he agree when Jiraiya asked but refuse Obito?
He, Obito Uchiha, was also a Konoha ninja, someone who was contributing to the village!
When he was in a good mood, he could get twice the results with half the effort, benefiting Konoha even more!
Initially, Obito had wanted Shin to create a life-sized puppet of Rin Nohara so he could cuddle it while sleeping—now *that* would have been something special.
But now...
Obito gave an exaggerated 'Hmph!'—he was furious!
"Right right, so these are all Master Jiraiya's requirements regarding body proportions? What about the face then? Does Master Jiraiya have any specific ideas?"
Shin was already deeply engaged in discussion with Jiraiya. Jiraiya began explaining his preferences, which Shin carefully noted down one by one.
As soon as Shin asked about facial features, Jiraiya immediately envisioned a stunning face marked by a diamond-shaped symbol on the forehead.
Jiraiya suddenly blushed.
Shin instantly caught the subtle flush on Jiraiya's face—he knew exactly what was going on inside his head.
The person Jiraiya was imagining must definitely be Tsunade, another member of the Sannin.
Shin smirked with a sly grin, teasing, "Master Jiraiya clearly has someone particular in mind! So who is she?"
Jiraiya struggled for words, unable to articulate his thoughts properly.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "Tell you what—I'll take you to see her later. But whatever you do, don't blow my cover. She has quite the temper; I can't even imagine what terrifying things might happen if she finds out."
Upon hearing this, Shin gulped hard. Everyone knew Tsunade wasn't someone you wanted to mess with—beatings were basically guaranteed, and maybe even worse.
Then Shin suggested, "Master Jiraiya, I think just giving me a rough description should work. If I make the resemblance close enough, you can always play dumb later."
Jiraiya frowned, "You've got a point, but I just don't know how to describe her. That's why I'd rather bring you to meet her in person—you just need to make the puppet look almost identical."
Shin nodded. As long as nothing blew back on him, he didn't really care.
Suddenly, Jiraiya slammed the table, exclaiming, "Ah, right! I almost forgot the main thing!"
Shin and Obito both jumped in surprise, blurting out in unison, "What main thing?"
Jiraiya said to Obito, "Obito, go get Kakashi and Rin. I came here to give you a mission today, but I got so caught up talking with Shindai that I completely forgot."
The moment he heard about a mission, Obito immediately lit up and rushed out of the tent to find Kakashi and Rin Nohara.
At this point in time, Obito was the kind who was weak but couldn't help wanting to get involved—he might've been low on power, but he never missed a chance to chase after missions, especially ones involving combat.
Shindai glanced at Jiraiya, his eyes subtly shifting.
We got along pretty well back there, he thought. We were having such a great chat earlier... So, seeing as I've already agreed to be your puppet, surely you wouldn't refuse a little favor from me?
A fawning smile spread across Shindai's face as he said, "Lord Jiraiya, I know an extremely refined massage technique. Would you like to try it out?"
"Oh?" Jiraiya replied in surprise. "You actually have this skill?"
Shindai answered humbly, "Yes! I don't have much talent when it comes to fighting, so to survive better, having multiple skills never hurts."
Jiraiya raised one of his eyebrows and smiled. "Well then, let me test your massage technique."
Shindai began massaging Jiraiya's shoulders with an extremely 'professional' air.
But the moment Shindai's hands touched him, Jiraiya realized the truth—Shindai clearly had no massage skills whatsoever. He was just squeezing Jiraiya's shoulder muscles with brute strength.
Not professional at all.
After all, Jiraiya had probably visited more pleasure houses than Shindai had eaten meals in his life.
The girls in those places gave massages so delicately—it felt amazing.
As for Shindai… Let's not even talk about it. At this point, it'd be a win if he didn't charge him for the session.
Jiraiya could already guess what came next—Shindai definitely had a request in mind.
Based on Minato Namikaze's description of Shindai, Jiraiya could even predict roughly what it would be.
Smiling smugly, Shindai asked, "Lord Jiraiya, are you comfortable?"
Instead of answering whether he was comfortable or not, Jiraiya asked directly, "Shindai, you must want to tell me something, right?"
Grinning, Shindai replied, "No wonder they say you're the wise and mighty Lord Jiraiya. Indeed, there's a small matter I'd like to offer my opinion on.
Since I can't help Kakashi and the others with their mission anyway, I think I should stay behind and assist Lord Jiraiya in crafting the puppets instead. What do you think?"
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Jiraiya's mouth—he knew exactly what was coming.
Just as Jiraiya was about to respond, Obito had already brought Kakashi and Rin Nohara into the tent.
When Obito, Kakashi, and Rin saw Shindai giving Jiraiya a shoulder massage, all three of them froze for a moment.
Obito glared at Shindai through gritted teeth—what a sycophant! He couldn't stand him!
Kakashi recalled how Shindai had previously tried to avoid joining their mission by insisting on taking the role of logistics and even claiming he could offer massages.
It seemed like Shindai hadn't given up yet, hoping to stay behind as logistics by currying favor with Jiraiya.
But how come Shindai and Jiraiya seemed so close lately? Wasn't that their very first meeting when they arrived at Konoha's base camp?
Ignoring Shindai, Kakashi turned to Jiraiya and asked, "Lord Jiraiya, what mission are we about to carry out next?"
Jiraiya started explaining the mission. "This time your task is reconnaissance. According to intelligence reports, there's a secret Cloud Ninja outpost roughly fifteen kilometers to the southwest. Your objective is to verify whether this information is accurate.
"If the Cloud Ninja truly have set up a covert camp there, it would pose a major threat to our Konoha base camp. We must immediately destroy this hidden enemy base."
Kakashi nodded seriously and replied, "Understood, Lord Jiraiya. Then we'll move out right away—Obito, Rin, and Shindai, let's go!"
Shindai gave Jiraiya a desperate, pleading look.
Clearing his throat, Jiraiya said, "Shindai, I'm afraid the mission comes first. You can get back to your puppets anytime after completing this assignment. Right now, you're part of Minato's team, and I really can't interfere. Well then, I'll be off."
Jiraiya immediately vanished using the Shifting Body Technique, leaving Shindai completely stunned.
So he was just going to leave Shindai hanging like that without lifting a finger to help?!
What a rip-off! He'd been promised a free massage too—figures!
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