When Shindai heard Minato Namikaze say that Sunagakure had declared war on Iwagakure, his mind went completely blank with shock.
Sunagakure had absolutely no reason to start a war with Iwagakure. After all, the Third Kazekage had sent him to Konoha as a spy specifically to guide their forces when Iwagakure and Konoha eventually fought, so they could steal valuable resources from Konoha.
The Third Kazekage avoided risks whenever possible—a man of extreme caution.
Therefore, the sudden declaration of war by Sunagakure clearly couldn't have come from an order by the Third Kazekage.
It was obvious at a glance that Sunagakure stood no chance against Iwagakure—especially since they were the ones who initiated the declaration.
In other words... something must've happened to the Third Kazekage!
Only such a possibility could explain why Sunagakure would take such an aggressive action.
Shindai quickly turned to Minato Namikaze and asked, "Minato, who's currently leading Sunagakure as Kazekage? Has it already become the Fourth Kazekage?"
Minato looked at Shindai in astonishment. He was just as baffled.
According to logic, Shindai—who'd always been stationed here—shouldn't know anything about Sunagakure affairs.
So how did Shindai know Sunagakure's current Kazekage was the Fourth?
No, since Shindai asked if it was already the Fourth Kazekage, this indicated that Shindai was only guessing—he himself wasn't certain either.
But... what exactly led Shindai to make this guess?
Sunagakure's selection of a new Kazekage had been very sudden. Even Minato had only just received this intelligence from Jiraiya—there was no way Shindai could have known.
Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Minato finally asked directly, "Shindai, how did you know the current Kazekage of Sunagakure is the Fourth?"
Shindai suddenly stiffened and quickly realized the danger.
He shouldn't know about Sunagakure affairs. Oh no, he might be exposed!
After hesitating for a moment, Shindai finally came up with a way to fool Minato Namikaze.
Shindai told Minato, "You know I have the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai. Since we're from the same clan as the Third Kazekage, I understand his nature pretty well. That guy, the Third Kazekage, is incredibly timid—he'd shriek at the sight of a single mouse. With such a cowardly disposition, how could he possibly dare to declare war on another ninja village?
Therefore, I guessed that the current leader of Sunagakure probably isn't the Third Kazekage anymore. Maybe a new Kazekage has recently taken office."
Minato gave Shindai a strange look.
If Shindai hadn't added that detail about the Third Kazekage shrieking at the sight of a mouse, Minato might have believed him.
But with that addition, Minato found it hard to buy the story.
After all, how could he tell whether that was just Shindai exaggerating rhetorically or genuinely trying to fool him?
Though Minato remained skeptical, he was inclined to think it was just rhetorical exaggeration based on Shindai's real knowledge of the Third Kazekage.
Minato Namikaze couldn't figure out how Shindai had managed to discover this.
As for the Ninja Hawk, Minato hadn't sensed Shindai summoning it lately at all.
Minato nodded and said, "You're right, Shindai. Sunagakure's current leader is indeed the Fourth Kazekage. His name is Rasa."
Shindai frowned.
Well then, Rasa has taken over, which means the Third Kazekage was definitely killed by Sasori.
Sigh, such a pain—he'd have to start building contact with a new superior from scratch now.
Kakashi asked Minato, "Sensei, now that Sunagakure has declared war on Iwagakure, do we have a course of action?"
Minato replied, "We don't have any immediate action planned. Konoha has already sent people to check the situation. We'll continue guarding this position. Our main enemy is still Kumogakure."
Obito picked up the sunglasses lying on the ground and coolly said to Rin Nohara, "Rin, I messed up back there."
Rin twitched her lips helplessly and replied, "Obito, you should really reduce the swelling on your face. If you leave it like this, it'll only get worse."
Obito slapped his swollen cheek. Though he winced visibly in pain, he still tried to act cool: "I'm perfectly fine."
Rin rubbed her slightly throbbing temple, then pushed Obito onto the ground and said, "Your gums are bleeding from the punch Shindai gave you. Stop being stubborn and trying to play it cool. Don't move—I'll help reduce the swelling."
Feeling Rin's small hand gently touch his face, Obito felt like his heart was soaring.
After Minato dismissed everyone, they returned to their tents.
Still uneasy, Minato went looking for Kakashi and asked, "Kakashi, recently, Shindai hasn't summoned the Ninja Hawk, right?"
Kakashi nodded and confirmed, "Yes, exactly. Ever since that last time when we used Shindai's Ninja Hawk to transmit false intelligence, I haven't sensed its presence again."
Hearing this, Minato finally felt reassured.
Curious, Kakashi asked, "Sensei, what's going on?"
Minato answered, "You heard my conversation with Shindai earlier. I was quite puzzled how Shindai knew Sunagakure had a new Fourth Kazekage without having contacted them via the Ninja Hawk.
Now that we know Shindai didn't summon the hawk, it's clear he came to that conclusion himself. It seems Shindai truly knew the Third Kazekage inside and out."
Kakashi continued asking, "Sensei, why would Sunagakure suddenly declare war against Iwagakure? Weren't they previously considering an alliance with Iwa?"
Minato Namikaze sighed. "It's because the Third Kazekage from Sunagakure has gone missing. Sunagakure believes Iwagakure is responsible, so they've declared war. Get ready, Kakashi. From the moment Sunagakure officially launches its attack, the curtain will rise on the Third Great Ninja War. Days this peaceful will become rare until the war ends."
...
Deep within a grove,
Shindai held a freshly penned letter in his hand and furtively glanced left and right to ensure no one else was around.
This letter was meant for those inside Sunagakure who knew about his covert identity—excluding the Third Kazekage.
His superior was gone now, so he needed to establish contact with a new handler to maintain communication.
Shindai performed [Summoning Jutsu]. Smoke rose, but the ninja hawk failed to appear.
"Huh? Did it fail? I've never failed before!"
He tried again. Smoke filled the air once more—but still, no ninja hawk appeared.
Unwilling to give up, Shindai tried repeatedly, but that accursed ninja hawk refused to appear.
Shindai was repeatedly bewildered—what on earth was going on?
Had his ninja hawk...died?
His ninja hawk hadn't actually died. With war about to break out, summoning beasts used for communication were too vital to remain unregulated. Rasa had gathered all the village's summoned beasts for centralized deployment.
The ninja hawk Shindai used had originally belonged to the Third Kazekage—it was a village asset, not Shindai's personal property. Therefore, Shindai no longer had any summoning beasts at his disposal.
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