"Huh, looks like something's on fire over there."
"Yeah, probably a forest fire caused by some accident."
Shindai and his group had just reached the edge of the forest when they saw the distant red sky filled with smoke.
Many animals were fleeing from the forest too.
Quick as lightning, Shindai grabbed a rabbit, twisted its neck skillfully, and hung it at his waist.
Later he could roast it to improve their meals. Eating nothing but Military Rations Pills every day without any real food would make Shindai feel like his blood had turned into diluted Military Rations Pill soup.
Looking at the map, Kakashi frowned, "This is really unlucky. If we take the far right path, it'll take us straight to the frontline without any detours. Going around would take much longer—we might be delayed by more than a day."
Obito asked, "So what do we do then?"
Shindai shrugged helplessly, "What else can we do? Go around! It's a damn forest fire—we gonna walk in there and roast ourselves?"
Kakashi glanced at the sky and made a decision. "We're crossing the forest!"
Shindai reached out and touched Kakashi's forehead, "Kakashi, your head isn't burning hot, is it?"
Annoyed, Kakashi slapped Shindai's hand away, "I'm serious! Look at the sky. The massive fire has heated the air rapidly, creating an updraft. This updraft will cause cumulonimbus clouds, so once the temperature rises further, it should start raining soon."
Shindai looked toward the skies above the forest. Dark clouds had gathered—he had to admit it really did seem like rain was about to fall any minute.
Obito looked confused, "Kakashi, how come you know all this stuff?"
Putting the map away, Kakashi replied with a hint of sarcasm, "You'd understand if you spent less time on pointless things and actually read a book once in a while."
Obito snapped back, "Who spends time on pointless things?"
Kakashi shot Obito a sideways glance, "Do I really have to repeat what you and Shindai talked about?"
Taken aback at first, Shindai quickly straightened up, "Hey, I didn't say anything! This has nothing to do with me!"
Under Shindai's meaningful look, Obito realized Kakashi already knew everything and caved in instantly, "I'm sorry!"
Rin Nohara curiously asked, "What happened?"
Since both Obito and Shindai had admitted fault, Kakashi decided not to press further and simply said, "Move out."
Both Shindai and Obito exhaled in relief simultaneously.
Shindai glared at Obito unhappily, "Hey, was it you who gave us away?"
Obito immediately shook his head, "I definitely didn't leak anything!"
Tsking, Shindai muttered, "Then Kakashi must've eavesdropped on our conversation. That's rude! We'll need to be more careful from now on, got it?"
Obito nodded again. "Understood!"
Lately, Shindai had been thinking about his future.
Now that he had nowhere to go except Konoha, once the war ended, he wouldn't want to work as a ninja on missions and would have to earn money himself.
So Shindai was pondering how to make a living.
He certainly didn't want to work under someone else; running his own business was definitely the way to go.
What kind of shop should he open?
After thinking it through, inspiration struck immediately—something aligned with his hobbies and skills.
His idea came from Jiraiya.
That is, puppets.
Specifically, adult Human Puppets designed to keep lonely bachelors company—let's just say, fulfilling *special* needs for men without companionship.
His target market? Future lonely bachelors like Kakashi or Iruka.
As for funding, if he approached Jiraiya for investment, he was sure Jiraiya would be very interested.
Start strong in Konoha, expand gradually across nations, and ultimately establish Human Puppet franchises spanning the entire ninja world!
This—was Shindai's ambition!
Since this was still just a concept, during nighttime rests, Shindai would often talk with Obito about what kind of girls he liked—of course carefully avoiding mentioning Rin Nohara—just to gather ideas for crafting future Human Puppets.
Of course, Shindai still felt a bit embarrassed about this plan and wanted to keep it between himself and Obito.
Following Kakashi's lead, Shindai, Obito, Kakashi, and Rin Nohara entered the forest.
True to Kakashi's prediction, not long after entering the forest, torrential rain began to fall, halting the wildfire's spread and gradually drowning out the flames.
But as Kakashi and the others ventured deeper into the forest, they all suddenly stopped in unison.
"Doesn't it sound like fighting?"
"I hear it too, seems pretty intense."
"Could those guys fighting over there have caused this forest fire?"
Shindai and Obito exchanged comments.
Rin Nohara looked toward Kakashi. "Kakashi, whoever is fighting here must be our Konoha ninjas versus Rock ninjas. Should we go help them?"
Kakashi frowned deeply—their mission was supply delivery, but now they knew nothing about the situation ahead. Approaching recklessly might bring danger.
After considering for a moment, Kakashi decided, "Our mission is to deliver supplies. Mission first—we'll bypass their battlefield, hurry up and get these supplies to the frontline, then inform our comrades there to provide assistance."
Shindai shot Kakashi a thumbs-up. "Solid call, man!"
However, before Shindai could even bring his thumb back down, a massive fireball hurtled from the sky, landing dangerously close to Shindai and the others.
The fireball smashed into the ground, splattering magma everywhere.
Shindai, Kakashi, and Rin Nohara managed to dodge just in time, but Obito wasn't so lucky. A bit of magma landed on his butt, sending him hopping around in pain.
It wasn't that Obito didn't try to dodge—it was that Shindai's method of dodging involved yanking Obito right in front of him, putting him straight in the blast radius.
With one of his divine kicks, Shindai stamped out the flames burning on Obito's butt.
Rubbing his butt furiously, Obito grumbled, "What the heck?! Why did a chunk of magma fall out of the sky?!"
Kakashi stared grimly at the burning magma nearby and announced grimly, "This is ninjutsu!"
Shindai looked up at the sky and warned, "Look up there—now!"
Kakashi, Obito, and Rin Nohara all looked up, where countless red dots filled the sky.
Obito activated his Sharingan to get a closer look and shouted in shock, "They're fireballs in the sky—but no! They're the same kind of magma fireball as the one before!"
An avalanche of magma fireballs rained down from the heavens.
Kakashi scanned the trajectories of the falling magma balls and said urgently, "We won't be able to dodge the scattered magma if they strike the ground! Shindai!"
Getting what Kakashi meant instantly, Shindai rapidly formed hand seals and slammed both palms onto the ground.
[Magnet Release! Iron Sand Spinning Top!]
Under Shindai's control, the iron sand beneath the ground rose up. Unlike the spinning top he had previously created around Tokujuku, this time Shindai summoned a massive gyro formation of iron sand that rotated around them, intercepting the magma fireballs and blocking the scattered molten droplets.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>