Back in his tent, Shindai felt a bit uneasy.
Although he had a showdown with Orochimaru, and Orochimaru had promised not to interfere with him, who knew if Orochimaru would break his word.
As for whether Orochimaru would listen to what he said, Shindai truly didn't dare to think.
Shindai merely expressed his own perceived philosophy.
Different philosophies are the biggest divergence, making it difficult to persuade the other party.
Because Orochimaru definitely had his own set of philosophies, which related to his behavioral principles, values, and goals, thereby influencing how he viewed and handled problems.
Shindai did not agree with Orochimaru's philosophy, and similarly, Shindai did not believe his own philosophy could influence Orochimaru.
In Shindai's view, the best outcome would be for Orochimaru to make appropriate concessions in order to conduct his research more comfortably.
The research environment is very important; having support is much better than working stubbornly alone. How troublesome it would be if he had to procure funds, materials, and so on himself.
Like Shindai, when he needed materials for research, he would give the material list to Obito and the others, letting them handle it, or he would dismantle useful things from Minato Namikaze's house to make do. Money wasn't important; he had no money anyway, and his main approach was to get something for nothing.
So, although Orochimaru's research would be restricted after making concessions, preventing him from wantonly treating people as less than human for experiments, it would also make his research much easier, freeing him from constant worry and furtiveness.
Unless... Orochimaru enjoyed that furtive feeling.
Hmm, not necessarily. Perhaps Orochimaru really did like that sneaky feeling.
Shindai slapped himself on the forehead.
"What time is it? What am I thinking about? But... which part went wrong? Why did Orochimaru see through me? My acting has always been good. This is really strange. Forget it, I'll just peek at Pakura's location."
Shindai pulled out a screen from his Ninja tool pouch. On the screen was a small dot, which was Pakura's location.
"Hmm, her location hasn't moved much; she's still within Hidden Sand Village. When does Rasa plan to make his move? Is he really that patient?"
Shindai was a bit anxious, wanting Rasa to act on Pakura quickly. The sooner it started, the sooner it would end. Once Pakura was safe, he would be relieved, and he could even bring her to Konoha.
Shindai's following days were somewhat torturous.
Worrying about Orochimaru and then worrying about Pakura nearly caused Shindai to have a nervous breakdown.
Under these circumstances, two days passed.
On the evening of the second day, a team of about 15 Stone Ninja launched a surprise attack on the encampment.
"Shindai!"
Shindai's teammate, Akimichi Tafu, called out to him.
Shindai began forming hand signs: "Let's go, I'm ready!"
"Alright!"
Akimichi Tafu also immediately formed hand signs.
"Partial Expansion Jutsu!"
Akimichi Tafu increased his body size.
"Magnet Release! Sand Iron Spikes!"
Shindai manipulated Sand Iron, gathering it behind Akimichi Tafu to form sharp Sand Iron spikes.
"Human Bullet Tank!"
Akimichi Tafu attacked the raiding Stone Ninja by rolling and crashing into them.
Anyone hit by Akimichi Tafu would absolutely be impaled with several holes.
Akimichi Tafu rampaged through the Stone Ninja.
Meanwhile, Shindai used Sand Iron Wings to fly into the air, raining down attacks on the Stone Ninja from above.
Cooperating with Orochimaru and the other Konoha Ninja's counterattack, they quickly repelled this team of Stone Ninja.
Shindai helped the injured Akimichi Tafu to the Medical Ninja for treatment.
Akimichi Tafu's injury was self-inflicted; he spun too fast, got dizzy, and bumped his head on a tree, breaking it open.
When Shindai helped Akimichi Tafu to the tent where the Medical Ninja were, Shindai awkwardly said, "Hey, Tafu, I think your minor injury can wait."
Akimichi Tafu, holding the large bump on his head, saw only two Medical Ninja busy in the tent. There were about ten injured, and three of them looked very serious. The two Medical Ninja were frantically busy, and he also felt a bit embarrassed.
"I also think my injury doesn't need treatment. Shindai, help me back to my tent to rest."
After Shindai helped Akimichi Tafu back to his tent, he went to Orochimaru's tent and found Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru-sama, we only have two Medical Ninja here, and there are quite a few injured. They're a bit overwhelmed."
Orochimaru said to Shindai, "I have already requested reinforcements from Konoha, a batch of combat Ninja and Medical Ninja. However, even if they rush here, it will take about three days. So, if the Stone Ninja launch another surprise attack within these three days, we'll have to find a way to hold them off ourselves.
I've summoned many snakes to be on alert around us. Shindai, your Ninjutsu is suitable for group combat. You should also set up your Sand Iron in advance so that you can immediately launch large-scale area attacks after the enemy arrives."
Shindai nodded: "I understand, Orochimaru-sama."
After Shindai left the tent, he used Magnet Release to draw the Sand Iron from underground to the surface, preparing for battle in advance.
On the third day, the Stone Ninja indeed came again, and their numbers were even greater than last time, almost 30 people.
This time, Shindai did not cooperate with Akimichi Tafu in battle, but rather with Orochimaru.
"Myriad Snake Net!"
Orochimaru crouched on the ground, spewing out a large swarm of snakes from his mouth to continuously attack the enemy.
Seeing Orochimaru spewing out so many dense snakes from his mouth, Shindai shuddered and let out a retch.
Orochimaru glanced sideways at Shindai next to him: "Don't just stand there."
"Oh."
"Magnet Release! Sand Iron World Method!"
Shindai utilized the Sand Iron already covering the ground to form a large barrier with long spikes for piercing attacks.
Shindai felt something was off; these Stone Ninja were quite tough. Most of them should be at the Jonin level. They very skillfully used their respective Earth Release Ninjutsu to evade Shindai's Sand Iron barrier.
Shindai summoned Kannazuki, soaring freely within the Sand Iron barrier via the Sand Iron Wings on his back, then manipulated Kannazuki to engage the Stone Ninja.
Orochimaru formed hand signs and used the Summoning Technique, summoning many large snakes to assist in the battle.
The battle lasted for over half an hour, and under the combined resistance of Shindai, Orochimaru, and the Konoha Ninja, they barely managed to repel the Stone Ninja once more.
Shindai clutched his arm, which was bleeding. He had been moving too fast during a dive and was accidentally grazed by a Kunai flying in the air.
At the same time, Shindai also felt a very resentful gaze. Shindai looked in the direction of the perceived gaze and found it was Akimichi Tafu.
Akimichi Tafu was also covered in wounds now.
Even though they were teammates, Shindai didn't stick with him. How could Akimichi Tafu not feel resentful?
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