Obito thoughtfully carried the seemingly 'weakened' Shindai on his back.
Shindai, apparently 'exhausted,' said to Kakashi, "Kakashi, since our mission is complete, let's get out of here already. I need to crash—Chakra burnout feels awful, man."
Kakashi nodded with visible discomfort. "Alright, let's head back to base camp."
Once back at Konoha's base camp, Shindai suddenly perked right up. After eating, he immediately went to his tent for some sleep.
Meanwhile, Kakashi went to report their findings to Jiraiya.
"Lord Jiraiya, the investigation is complete. There are definitely Cloud Ninja stationed fifteen kilometers southwest of our position. In a small hill, there's a cave with one Cloud Ninja standing guard at its entrance and fifteen more inside—making a total of sixteen Cloud Ninja!"
Jiraiya responded in surprise. "So soon? And with such precision?"
Kakashi honestly replied, "This was thanks to one of Shindai's Ninjutsu techniques."
He explained how Shindai had used an advanced Ninjutsu to create a Third Eye for remote reconnaissance.
Stroking his chin thoughtfully, Jiraiya said curiously, "So there's such a powerful technique? That kid really is something."
Kakashi continued seriously, "Lord Jiraiya, there's something that concerns me though. While observing the Cloud Ninja's camp, Shindai noticed a map spread out on a table, covered in strange markings."
Immediately interested, Jiraiya asked, "Do you know what kind of map it was or what those markings indicated?"
Kakashi shook his head. "Shindai pretended to be completely drained of Chakra before we left, and I only realized afterward that this detail might be significant. I haven't had the chance to ask him about it yet."
Jiraiya paused briefly before saying, "Well, I don't have anything else going on right now, so I'll go with you to see him. If this map the Cloud Ninja had contains multiple markings, they could indicate possible attack routes against us or locations of other Cloud Ninja camps."
"So, as a precaution, we should confirm with Shindai exactly what he saw on that map."
Kakashi and Jiraiya proceeded toward the tent where Shindai was resting.
Well-fed and fast asleep, Shindai suddenly felt someone shaking him hard.
Still groggy, Shindai opened his eyes drowsily. The first thing he saw was an extremely large face looming close.
Startled awake, Shindai shot upright in bed. "What the hell?! Who's that ugly mug?!"
Straightening up, Jiraiya frowned in mock offense. "Hey! Show some respect! Back in the village, I'm known as a heartthrob! Loads of cute girls adore me!"
Still groggy, Shindai looked between the two men standing by his bedside. "Lord Jiraiya? Kakashi? What are you guys doing barging into my tent while I'm trying to sleep?"
Kakashi quirked his lips. Who in the world would want to peek at him sleeping?
"Lord Jiraiya has a matter for you," Kakashi said, pointing at Jiraiya. "It's about a map."
Shindai looked even more bewildered. "A map? What map?"
Jiraiya explained, "From what Kakashi told me, you discovered a marked map when scouting the Cloud Ninja, right? Do you still remember what that map looked like?"
Shindai recalled for a moment before replying, "I did see it and took a couple quick looks too. At that time, those Cloud Ninja were gathered around the map seemingly discussing something. But I didn't make an effort to memorize it, so I'm not very clear on its exact appearance."
Jiraiya pulled out several maps and placed them in front of Shindai. "Shindai, do any of these maps resemble the one you saw with the Cloud Ninja?"
Shindai picked them up one by one for identification. When he reached the third map, he confidently said, "This is it! This is the map!"
Jiraiya and Kakashi looked at the map in Shindai's hands, their eyes simultaneously narrowing.
The map Shindai held was the regional map where their Konoha base camp was located.
The Cloud Ninja had the regional map of Konoha's base camp, marked it with several notes, and were deep in discussion. It seemed evident now that the Cloud Ninja had some sort of operation targeting Konoha's base camp.
Jiraiya asked seriously, "Shindai, do you remember where those markings on the map were positioned?"
Shindai replied hesitantly, "How could I possibly remember all of them? I only took a couple quick looks at that map. There were about seven or eight marks total, but I can recall two or three, though whether they're accurate, I can't guarantee."
Jiraiya nodded. "Then just mark out the ones you remember, Shindai."
Shindai rose from the bed, walked over to the table, and spread the map across it.
"At that time, I was… Right, this was the view angle I had of the map. Then one was here, another one there, and the third… probably somewhere around here."
Shindai quickly annotated the three markings he knew onto the map.
Jiraiya and Kakashi looked at the map again.
One of Shindai's markings was off to the side of Konoha's base camp, while the other two were behind it.
Jiraiya's expression grew grim as he strode straight out of the tent.
Confused, Shindai asked, "Kakashi, what's wrong with Lord Jiraiya?"
Kakashi responded, "Lord Jiraiya probably suspects the Cloud Ninja are planning an attack on our Konoha base camp."
Shindai gasped anxiously, "What?! They're attacking here? Then we should get out now!"
Kakashi gave Shindai an exasperated look and said, "Get out where? We have Lord Jiraiya, Lord Orochimaru, and Lady Tsunade—Konoha's Three Sannin—defending our position here. Plus, the Konoha ninja stationed here are no easy targets either."
Besides, with Shindai marking the map, Jiraiya has surely become cautious and must have gone to discuss things with Orochimaru now. So there's absolutely no need to worry at the moment.
When Shindai heard Kakashi say this, he felt relieved.
If the Cloud Ninja launched a large-scale attack here, it would get too dangerous in the chaos.
However, an idea came to Shindai, and he said to Kakashi, "Kakashi, if everything's okay, then great! I'm going back to sleep for a bit."
Kakashi waved him off and said, "Then you keep sleeping," before leaving the tent.
After Kakashi left, Shindai took out a sheet of paper and a brush, wrote a letter, and quietly exited the tent. In a hidden spot, he summoneded a Ninja Hawk.
As soon as the Ninja Hawk saw Shindai, it flinched and stepped back a couple of paces.
Shindai frowned and snapped, "Why are you backing away? Are you afraid I'll eat you? Come here!"
The Ninja Hawk was visibly startled—it really was afraid of that!
Shindai tied the letter to the Ninja Hawk's body and ordered, "Alright, deliver this letter to Uncle Kaito. Get going!"
The Ninja Hawk immediately flew into the sky, darting away from Shindai as if fleeing from danger.
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