Obito was living every day in constant anxiety, unsure when Shindai would come to beat him up. After being tormented like this for so long, Obito finally decided to take matters into his own hands—he came looking for Shindai, basically begging for a beating.
Yet even though he'd braced himself ready for the punch, Shindai surprisingly didn't seem interested in hitting him at all.
It was clear that Obito could sense Shindai's anger.
Testing cautiously, Obito asked, "Shindai, aren't you mad at me?"
With a bright smile, Shindai replied, "Mad? Why would I ever be angry with you? What you did was totally right! If I say you're not wrong, then how could you possibly be wrong?"
Inside, Obito felt completely chilled. Not mad yet?! If that wasn't anger, then he'd willingly rip his own head off and let Kakashi kick it like a soccer ball!
Frowning unhappily, Obito said to Shindai, "Shindai, I really messed up. Please, just hit me already—I'll let you punch me freely without fighting back."
Shindai eyed him sideways. "Do you really know what you did wrong? Then tell me, where exactly did you mess up?"
Pouting, Obito confessed, "I shouldn't have encouraged Kakashi and Rin to go peeping on you secretly with me. And I shouldn't have claimed you were sweet on Pakura..."
Shindai slightly narrowed his eyes. "Now that we're talking about it, I really don't get it—why did you even think I liked Pakura?"
"Uh... Because I told Kakashi and Rin that I knew everything inside-out, so..."
Obito spoke increasingly softer until, eventually, Shindai could barely hear what he was mumbling anymore.
Still, despite not catching the rest clearly, Shindai could pretty much guess what Obito meant.
Shindai burst out laughing angrily. "So let me get this straight—you lied straight to Kakashi's and Rin's faces about my supposedly being sweet on Pakura just to show off how insightful you were?"
Hurriedly, Obito replied, "Actually, I genuinely thought you seemed quite fond of Pakura, so it wasn't purely made up!"
Shindai's teeth were grinding audibly now. "Fond of Pakura? Of course I like her! We've known each other for six or seven years. She's literally my only friend in Sunagakure! Should I hate her instead?!
"And besides, do you think I'm some kind of f***ing coward like you? If I really did fall for someone, there's no way I'd keep it hidden! I'd go straight after them! Who actually wants to suffer through secret longing anyway?!"
Obito forced a laugh. "R-really? You're amazing, Shindai. Anyway, it's not like you lost anything here, right? So maybe just give me a couple punches, and we'll call it even?"
Shindai roared at him furiously, "Lost nothing?! Don't you know how awesome I am?! What if Pakura actually fell for me when we grow up?! My dream is to marry two wives—one who gives me shoulder rubs and another who massages my legs!
"If my future wife ends up being Pakura, okay fine, forget about getting two wives—but worse than that, I'd be the one doing the massaging and pampering *her* instead! Do you even understand what you've ruined, you bastard!"
Obito stared blankly at Shindai.
Just how shameless could one person possibly be to say such things?!
Then Shindai had already tackled Obito down and started to give him a righteous scolding.
An hour later.
The tent where Kakashi and Rin Nohara were staying.
Obito, black-eyed and swollen-faced, strode proudly into the tent: "Now you guys finally know how professional I am, right? I wasn't bluffing at all! Shindai definitely likes Pakura. She even said she'd consider it once Shindai grows up!"
Although he might have caved in front of Shindai, since he already took the beating, Obito needed to compensate elsewhere.
For example, making Kakashi and Rin Nohara clearly recognize his professionalism!
Kakashi sarcastically remarked, "Oh, look who's being smug again after getting beaten up by Shindai."
Obito huffed, "Hmph, let me tell you, Shindai was just embarrassed because I saw through his thoughts. Actually, when he heard Pakura say she would consider it once he becomes a man, he was really happy!"
Rin Nohara pursed her lips and said to Obito, "I think, Obito, it's better for you not to talk now."
Obito confidently replied, "Why shouldn't I speak? Didn't you both doubt me before? You can't doubt me anymore now, right? For Pakura to say she'll consider it once Shindai grows into a man, obviously she doesn't just see Shindai as a younger brother!"
"Really? Then what does she see me as? Like my son? Or maybe my dad?"
"Of course not... M-Mom?!"
Obito was so scared his hair nearly stood on end.
Obito looked back fearfully at Shindai behind him and stammered, "Y-You came... when did you get here?"
Shindai's voice was extremely cold: "So Pakura sees me as her mother? Seems like the previous beating didn't teach you any lesson. Still daring to spout nonsense here. Looks like I need to shut you up for good!"
Obito quickly covered his mouth and shook his head frantically.
Seeing the trembling Obito, Shindai rolled his eyes: "If you're scared, why are you still talking nonsense? Got a thick skull or something? I'm tired from beating you today, we'll continue next time."
Kakashi asked curiously, "Shindai, I've wanted to ask this for a while. That day, you mentioned someone named Sasori. Was it really him who killed The Third Kazekage?"
Shindai sat on the chair, drank some water, and answered, "Yes, it was him."
Kakashi questioned, "But, how did you know that?"
Shindai responded, "Because, I guessed it."
"Huh? Guessed it?"
Kakashi was slightly confused by this answer.
Shindai naturally continued, "Yeah, since childhood, I always thought he was a bad seed, so I just guessed it was him."
Shindai had no proof, so he could only reply that way.
Kakashi and Rin Nohara grimaced; this seemed too casual.
Obito asked puzzledly, "But what if you guessed wrong?"
Shindai firmly stated with conviction, "Not even slightly wrong!"
"That's him! If it weren't for him, I'll eat my hat!"
But even with Shindai's confident tone, they didn't believe him the slightest bit since there was no evidence at all.
Rin Nohara frowned and asked, "Then... did you guess the part about the human puppet too?"
"Not really. I've seen his puppets before. From some subtle clues in his puppets, I could spot some hints."
This time, Kakashi and the others actually believed Shindai's nonsense.
After all, they didn't know anything about what happened in Sunagakure. They had no choice but to believe whatever Shindai said.
Obito curiously asked, "Using live humans to make puppets? How exactly is that done? Do you hollow them out and install parts inside their bodies?"
Shindai scoffed with disdain. "If it was that simple, he wouldn't be the genius puppet artist second only to me. Anyway, forget the live humans thing—I made that up. Dead bodies are enough. I just wanted Pakura to understand how utterly insane Sasori truly is."
Kakashi and the others stared at Shindai speechlessly. He practically never told the truth. And seriously, can you stop harping on about how powerful a puppet master he is? It's getting so repetitive it's driving them nuts.
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