Chapter 22: Hiruzen Sarutobi

Inside a tempura restaurant in Konoha.

Shindai was holding the menu and placing an order.

However, every time Shindai checked off a dish, Minato Namikaze couldn't help but feel his heart tighten.

"Eel tempura sounds amazing! Let's get that!"

Just as Shindai was about to check off another item, Minato Namikaze could no longer hold back—he reached out and stopped Shindai's hand holding the pen.

Minato Namikaze forced a smile and said, "Shindai, you've already ordered quite a lot from the menu. Let's eat first. If we're still hungry, we can order more. Otherwise, it'll just go to waste."

Shindai nodded. "Hmm, that makes sense. You really think things through, Minato Namikaze."

Minato Namikaze called over a waiter and specifically instructed, "Don't bring everything at once. Once we finish the tempura on the table, you can fry the next batch for us."

The waiter replied, "Okay."

Minato Namikaze thought to himself that since Shindai had ordered so much, he probably wouldn't be able to finish it all. The uncooked orders could still be canceled later.

With the way Shindai was ordering, Minato Namikaze's wallet simply couldn't handle it.

Soon, the first round of tempura arrived at the table. Shindai looked at the dishes with excitement and turned toward Minato Namikaze expectantly.

After all, it was Minato Namikaze who was treating them, so he couldn't start eating without proper etiquette—only after Minato Namikaze gave the signal.

Smiling, Minato Namikaze said, "Alright everyone, dig in quickly before the tempura gets cold."

Shindai picked up a piece of sea bream tempura with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth.

The crispy texture and fresh taste of the fish overwhelmed Shindai—he hadn't had anything this good in ages. It was so delicious, he almost cried.

To hell with etiquette—just eat already!

Shindai devoured everything on the table like a vacuum cleaner.

Since sitting down made it hard for him to reach certain dishes due to his height, Shindai stood up directly.

Minato Namikaze, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin stared in shock at the sight of Shindai wolfing down his food, their chopsticks frozen mid-air.

Stunned, Obito stammered, "He, he already ate something while traveling today, right? Why does he look like he hasn't eaten in eight hundred years?"

Kakashi guessed, "He probably has never tasted food this good before. The Land of Wind is mostly desert with little vegetation, let alone rivers. Supplies are scarce there—people only care whether food is edible and fills the stomach, so taste isn't even considered."

"Man, exactly! It's so good I could cry," Shindai mumbled with his mouth full, making his words barely understandable.

Rin watched as Shindai stuffed his already-full mouth with even more food and reminded him, "Shindai, if you keep eating too fast, you might choke. Take your time; nobody is going to fight you for the food."

A quiet sadness crept into Minato Namikaze's heart.

At this rate, even if they couldn't finish all the food, the bill might still end up costing quite a bit.

I think I'm starting to regret this.

An hour later.

"I really can't... eat anymore. Ugh~hm!"

Shindai was almost choking on his food. Speaking nearly made him throw up, but he forced himself to swallow it back down.

Minato Namikaze, Kakashi, and another stared at Shindai with blank expressions.

I mean, the food's good, but does he really have to eat like that?

Sighing deeply, Minato finally watched as Shindai practically finished all the food by himself.

When paying, Minato felt his heart bleeding drop by drop.

After slipping his now-empty wallet back into his pocket, Minato said, "Alright, I've paid. Let's go. It's time to meet The Third."

Shindai, with a big belly in front, slowly followed behind Minato.

It wasn't that Shindai didn't want to walk faster—it was just that if he walked even slightly faster, a little jostling might make everything in his stomach come shooting out his throat.

He'd finally gotten to eat something this good—he wasn't about to waste it now.

What should have been a half-hour walk to the Hokage building took them a full hour.

Upon arriving at the Hokage building, Minato spoke to Kakashi and the others, along with Shindai: "Wait here in the lobby for a moment. I'll report the mission details and talk about Shindai to The Third first, then come get you all."

Minato alone headed toward the Hokage's office.

After knocking on the door, a strong voice came from inside:

"Come in."

Minato pushed open the door and entered. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in the chair, sporting a small black mustache beneath his chin and dressed in a white Hokage robe over a red ninja uniform.

Seeing it was Minato, Sarutobi greeted warmly, "It's you, Minato."

Minato said to Sarutobi, "Third, I've already brought that child back. He's waiting in the lobby of the Hokage building now."

Immediately, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned serious, "The child with the Magnet Release kekkei genkai? I've already read Aoi's letter. According to the mind-reading technique Aoi used to probe his memories, the boy should be fine. Therefore, I plan to accept this child into Konoha—have him recognize and become part of Konoha. What do you think, Minato?"

Minato shook his head, "Third, that child is actually a spy sent by Sunagakure to Konoha. He might have had certain memories sealed or altered by some secret technique. As a result, Aoi couldn't detect anything. His mission is to gather intelligence on Konoha's Ninjutsu and secret techniques."

"The Kazekage of Sunagakure, Kaito, plans to invade our village once war fully breaks out. This child will lead the way, helping them steal Konoha's Ninjutsu and secret techniques..."

As Minato revealed that Shindai was a spy, Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze instantly sharpened.

But Hiruzen sensed something amiss: "Minato, how did you find out that kid was a spy?"

Minato explained everything in detail—his earlier analysis, the subsequent probing, and even the letter from the Ninja Hawk.

At first, Hiruzen wore a serious expression with tightly knitted brows. As Minato continued speaking, his expression gradually softened, eventually shifting into one of confusion.

Hiruzen asked in confusion, "So that kid thought being a spy would be easier than going to the battlefield, which is why he agreed to it. Now he feels being a spy is actually harder, so he wrote a letter to Kaito asking to return? How could Kaito have chosen such an inexperienced child for this mission?"

Minato speculated, "Truthfully, I found it strange at first too—why send Shindai, who has absolutely no experience, as a spy. Later, I considered a possibility.

Sand Village lacks high-level fighters. The Kekkei Genkai bearers are generally much stronger than regular ninja. Kazekage probably wanted to lure us into a trap. He wouldn't risk sending any talented Kekkei Genkai bearers since they're valuable. Although Shindai possesses Kekkei Genkai, Kazekage likely sees him as untalented.

Therefore, if Shindai successfully infiltrated Konoha, great; if he got exposed and had to be abandoned, Sand wouldn't suffer any real loss.

Plus, Shindai is extremely shy—a reclusive person who rarely leaves his home. He knows almost nothing about Sunagakure, so we wouldn't gain useful intelligence through him anyway.

Moreover, since Shindai and Kazekage share the same clan, Kazekage trusts that Shindai won't betray Konoha. So he decided to take a chance by sending Shindai on this spy mission."

After listening to Minato's explanation, Hiruzen found it quite convincing.

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