Minato Namikaze could tell that Shindai was afraid of battle, but he still wanted to confirm the young man's ability with Magnet Release.
Minato reassured him, "Shindai, there's no need to be nervous. I'm not asking you to fight right now—I just want to see your Magnet Release in action."
Shindai looked at Minato pitifully. "For now? So you're saying I'll still have to fight later?"
Minato responded gently, "That depends on how you perform. You mentioned that you're more of a technical expert, right? If your skills are something Konoha truly needs, then there won't be any need for you to fight. So, can you show me now?"
Pouting slightly, Shindai nodded and began forming hand seals at an agonizingly slow pace before pressing his hands together.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Triangular Spike!"
Using his magnetic ability, Shindai gathered a large amount of iron sand from the ground and shaped it into a three-sided spike.
After maintaining it for a brief moment, the triangular spike crumbled back into iron sand, forming a small pile on the ground.
Shindai gasped dramatically. "Phew! Lord Minato, that's my limit! I'm completely out of chakra—I can't squeeze out a single drop more. I'm exhausted!"
Minato's eye twitched.
Was he trying to fool a ghost?
If he was going to fake exhaustion, he could at least make it believable!
Who pants like that without breaking a sweat? His face was still full of color, even looking radiant.
Minato now seriously doubted one thing—how on earth did Shindai manage to fool the Third Kazekage into believing he was useless?
Could the Third Kazekage really not see through such terrible acting?
With a quiet sigh, Minato said, "Since you're tired, you should rest. This tent will be your temporary lodging. It's already late, so get some sleep."
The moment Minato left, Shindai let out a long breath of relief.
Minato seemed friendly and spoke in a warm tone.
But just standing in front of him had put immense pressure on Shindai, making him incredibly tense.
Thankfully, his quick thinking had helped him avoid exposing his undercover identity. He had successfully fooled Minato.
But now, he had a bigger problem—how was he going to join Konoha?
If he wanted to avoid the battlefield, he had to make sure Konoha valued his technical skills.
However, the Third Kazekage had once told him that Konoha had no interest in Puppet Jutsu.
And with someone like Orochimaru—a top-tier scientist—already in Konoha, there were bound to be plenty of other researchers as well.
What was advanced technology in Sunagakure might already be outdated in Konoha.
Shindai felt troubled. He had no idea what to do.
"Forget it, I'll sleep on it. Maybe I'll come up with something after a good nap."
With that, the carefree Shindai plopped onto the bedding and quickly dozed off.
…
As Minato left the tent, he exchanged a glance with the two guards standing at the entrance.
Understanding his silent cue, the two Konoha shinobi followed him into the shadows.
Minato instructed them, "From now on, don't stand guard at the entrance. Hide in the dark and monitor him. If he makes any suspicious moves, notify me immediately."
"Yes!"
Minato returned to his own tent, where Kakashi, Obito, and Rin were waiting.
As soon as Minato stepped inside, Obito asked, "Sensei, what's the verdict? Is there something wrong with him?"
Minato's expression turned serious. "There's definitely something off—big time. It's highly likely that he's not some abandoned pawn of Sunagakure. His real objective might be getting close to Konoha."
Kakashi, Obito, and Rin were all shocked.
"What? Getting close to Konoha? Does that mean the deal between Sunagakure and Iwagakure was fake?"
Minato shook his head. "At this point, it's only a theory. But that kid is definitely suspicious. There's a chance Sunagakure arranged for him to enter Iwagakure under the guise of a trade deal to complete a secret mission there.
And there's an even bigger possibility that Sunagakure deliberately let us capture him—so he could get close to Konoha.
Right now, I'm also considering the possibility that the scroll our shinobi intercepted—the one regarding Sunagakure and Iwagakure's alliance—was intentionally leaked to us by Sunagakure."
Rin found it hard to believe. "They would go so far as to send someone our age to infiltrate Konoha?"
Minato's expression was solemn. "Rin, don't underestimate someone just because they're the same age as you. Take Kakashi, for example—he graduated from the academy at five years old and became a Chunin at six. In the world of shinobi, even a three-year-old can be deadly. That kid might actually be stronger than all of you."
Kakashi asked coldly, "Sensei, should we eliminate him?"
Minato recalled how Shindai had acted completely inexperienced and shook his head. "No, not yet. We don't know his true goal, so we need to gather as much information as possible.
That's why I had his guards withdraw. If he's really innocent, then realizing there's no guard will likely make him attempt an escape.
But if he has ulterior motives and intends to get close to Konoha, then even if he has a chance to escape, he won't take it.
Also, I'm planning to send a shinobi disguised as an Iwagakure ninja to test him. If his real objective is Iwagakure, he'll leave with them."
Minato laid out his plan to uncover Shindai's true intentions.
Obito eagerly asked, "Sensei, can we watch the test? You said he might be stronger than us, but I don't buy it. There's no way someone my age is stronger than me!"
Kakashi gave him a sideways glance. "Oh? Am I invisible to you?"
Obito scowled. "Don't tell me you actually think you're my match!"
Kakashi smirked. "Have you ever beaten me?"
Obito's face turned red. He insisted, "That's only because I was holding back! If I went all out, you wouldn't stand a chance!"
Seeing that the two were about to argue again, Rin quickly stepped in. "Alright, that's enough, you two."
Obito and Kakashi exchanged a glare before simultaneously huffing and looking away.
Minato chuckled helplessly before saying, "Since you're interested, you can come along, Obito. Kakashi, Rin—do you two want to watch as well?"
Kakashi nodded. "Sensei, I'd like to see it too."
Since both of them were going, Rin chimed in, "I'll go too."
Minato agreed. "Alright, then all three of you will come with me later."
........
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