Shindai, who had been joyfully celebrating his successful clash against Chiyo, was no longer in high spirits.
The way Kakashi was staring at him felt ominous, almost predatory.
Shindai gave Kakashi a forced smile and said, "I was just channeling Sakumo, a simple tribute! Kakashi, could you loosen that glare? You're kind of scaring me..."
Kakashi's brows were already furrowed, his gaze turning increasingly hostile. "Hmph, scared? Just now you were so bold and arrogant, even slapping Chiyo across the face. Now you're telling me you're scared?"
Shindai chuckled nervously while explaining, "But she was an enemy, and I was flying too high for her to reach. But now I've got absolutely no strength left, so…"
Kakashi sneered coldly, "Is it because you're helpless now and have no way to fight back that you're suddenly afraid?"
Shindai quickly shook his head, "No, no, no! It's because I trust you, Kakashi! I know you wouldn't do something like this!"
Kakashi reached out a hand. Shindai flinched shut his eyes tightly and said nervously, "Alright alright, remember—you don't hit the face! Hitting the face hurts pride! Just one punch will do, don't overdo it!"
But the pain he expected never came.
Cracking one eye open, Shindai realized Kakashi hadn't come to hit him at all—he was offering a hand to pull him up.
"You idiot, what are you still lying there for? This place is behind the Sand ninja's stationed camp—it's risky! Chiyo might come back with others searching here. Let's get out of here fast!"
Shindai grabbed Kakashi's hand to stand up, muttering softly, "You gave me quite a scare—I thought you'd gone mad."
Kakashi was extremely speechless: "Gone mad?! Are you done yet? Can that trap of yours shut up for once?"
"Here, Kakashi. This is for you."
Shindai tossed something out. Instinctively, Kakashi caught it. Looking at Chiyo's tooth lying in his palm, he immediately developed dark lines across his face.
"What the hell am I supposed to do with a tooth?"
Shindai grinned proudly, "This isn't just any ordinary tooth—it's from that old hag Chiyo!"
Kakashi frowned, "Whose tooth it is or not, I don't want it!"
With a serious expression, Shindai replied, "Eh? How can you say that? This tooth has great commemorative value! Thanks to imitating Sakumo, I managed to slap Chiyo right across the face. So part of this honor definitely goes to Sakumo!"
Both Kakashi and Obito, along with Rin Nohara, twitched their mouths involuntarily. He had a gift for bending logic into knots.
Looking at Chiyo's tooth lying in his palm, Kakashi recalled what Shindai had said earlier. His voice turned somewhat somber, "Hey, Shindai, you probably don't even know about my father, right? If you knew everything about my father, maybe you wouldn't think of him as a hero anymore."
Obito and Rin Nohara immediately started giving Shindai meaningful looks, silently urging him not to blurt out anything inappropriate.
They were both afraid that Shindai might provoke Kakashi again with his words and make him withdraw into himself once more.
Shindai casually slung an arm over Kakashi's shoulder and grinned, "I get it now! Learning about Lord Sakumo's story only made me admire him even more. He really is a hero—he's definitely my idol!
"The iron rule of ninja is to obey orders; breaking the rules can lead to serious consequences and even jeopardize the entire mission.
"But this rule isn't wrong—it's just that we can't follow it blindly either. For example, if the village assigns us a supply delivery mission—which absolutely must be completed—and along the way we encounter an enemy Jinchuriki trying to stop us, should we still insist on completing the mission instead of escaping?"
Kakashi shook his head and spoke quietly while keeping his gaze lowered, "It's different. My father actually could have completed the mission. However, because he chose to save his teammates, the mission failed and caused significant losses to the village."
Shindai looked directly into Kakashi's eyes and continued seriously, "Obito once said something very wise: [In the ninja world, people who break the rules are called trash, but those who don't value their comrades aren't even trash!]
"If Lord Sakumo had abandoned his comrades, he would have lost the humanity that defines us as people and merely become a machine focused solely on completing missions. But humans are different from machines—we have emotions and thoughts, each person has something precious they hold dear.
"Even though my Kannazuki looks incredibly realistic and almost human, she's still just a puppet—she needs commands to move at all. People aren't like that. We feel, we think, and we cherish what matters most.
"What Lord Sakumo valued most was the bond between comrades. He was willing to break the rules for their sake. He protected his friends and proved himself a true hero. So, Kakashi, you should feel proud of your father!"
Obito tilted his head slightly, his eyes filled with confusion.
Since when had he ever said such a philosophical line as 'those who don't value comrades aren't even trash'?
Rin Nohara looked at Obito in astonishment, "Obito, I never knew you held such deep insight."
Then Rin gazed earnestly into Kakashi's eyes and declared, "I agree completely with what Obito and Shindai just said—Kakashi, I've always believed that Lord Sakumo was a hero too!"
Hearing Rin praise him, Obito gradually straightened his back, growing more confident.
If Shindai insisted it was his quote, then surely it must have been his!
"Ahem!" Obito coughed pointedly before declaring proudly, "That's right—I've always possessed deep wisdom. And there's no doubt whatsoever that Lord Sakumo is a hero!"
Shindai glared fiercely and growled, "If anyone dares say Lord Sakumo isn't a hero, we'll stuff them in a sack and beat them senseless! We won't stop until they admit it too!"
Kakashi silently observed Shindai, Obito, and Rin Nohara, his gaze flickering with subtle emotion.
Kakashi felt the sting in his heart gradually disappearing.
Shindai patted Kakashi on the shoulder and said with a smile, "So, Kakashi, you should follow Sakumo's example. I'm your comrade—you can't bully me. You need to care for me, protect me, rush ahead of me when danger comes, or cover my retreat. Got it?"
The faint warmth Kakashi had just felt vanished instantly as he rolled his eyes dramatically.
Bully Shindai? If Shindai didn't team up with Obito to mess with him, that would already be a relief.
Kakashi took a deep breath and said, "Alright, stop talking nonsense. Keep this tooth yourself."
Kakashi handed Chiyo's tooth back to Shindai.
Shindai then turned to Obito and Rin Nohara, promoting this tooth: "How about you two take it? This is Chiyo's tooth—the high-ranking advisor of Sunagakure, once known as the Flower of the Ninja World, and the archenemy of Sanshouo Hanzo, the one who gave Jiraiya and the other two Sannin their titles! It's a great souvenir. A shame to throw it away."
Obito and Rin Nohara retorted, "Take a tooth as a souvenir? Have you lost it?"
"Tsk, no appreciation for treasures. Then I don't want it either. Come on, let's go."
Shindai casually tossed the tooth onto the ground and walked back with Kakashi and the others toward Konoha's encampment.
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