Night fell.
For once, no one from Team Nine went to sleep early.
Rin volunteered to "break the ice" again and went off to coax information out of Meinazu.
Kakashi stood with his arms crossed, leaning against a tree, gazing up at the star-filled sky.
Obito sidled over to Drake, his expression unusually serious.
"Drake."
"Yeah?"
"Do you… have someone you like?"
"Someone I like?"
Drake thought for a moment, then replied calmly,
"The person I like hasn't even been born yet."
"Huh?"
Obito blinked, confused — then quickly realized.
So that just means no one, right?
Why say it so poetically?!
Changing the subject, Drake asked casually,
"Hey Obito, if the team ran into enemies, what would you do?"
"Of course I'd charge in!"
"And if you couldn't beat them?"
"Then Kakashi goes."
"And if even Kakashi can't handle it?"
"Then…"
Obito fell silent.
If even Kakashi failed, wouldn't that mean total annihilation?
"So what would you do?" Kakashi's voice suddenly rang out.
He'd heard the entire conversation and was curious — what choice would Drake make?
But Drake didn't answer.
The night passed in silence.
Dawn Approaches
As the first light appeared, Team Nine set off again.
Drake wasn't in a great mood.
Today's system boost was Spirit, not Speed.
Spirit: 4 (x2) → Basic Immunity
To be honest, he didn't feel physically stronger at all.
The only noticeable change was how clear his mind felt — more focused, sharper.
Staring at the words Basic Immunity, he muttered,
"Does this mean I'm immune to low-level genjutsu?"
Whatever. No point overthinking it.
Preparations finished, they continued forward.
The day passed quietly.
When night came, Kakashi held the final mission briefing.
"Tomorrow, we'll enter the Land of Hot Water. If nothing goes wrong, we should reach the Daimyo's residence by evening."
"As long as Miss Meinazu arrives there safely, the mission is complete."
"So tomorrow will be critical."
"Let's hope my guess was wrong…" Drake sighed under his breath.
Then he opened his equipment pouch and tapped the stacks inside.
Over three hundred explosive tags.
"Still not enough," he muttered.
The Border
The chirping of birds heralded morning.
As usual, the first thing Drake did after waking was check his status.
Strength: Genin Level
Constitution: Chūnin Level
Speed: Jōnin Level
Spirit: (x2) → Intermediate Immunity
Overall Evaluation: Trainee Genin
He stared at it in silence for a long while.
"Drake, we're moving out!" Obito called.
The ox cart creaked forward, slowly approaching the border.
Every member of Team Nine was on edge.
Finally, a river came into view.
Beyond it… lay the Land of Hot Water.
"Wait!"
Drake suddenly spoke, his voice heavy.
"What is it?"
"Enemy?"
Obito and Rin instantly went on guard.
Kakashi hurried over, alert.
"Why is there not a single border guard ninja here?" Drake said coldly.
"This is normal," Kakashi replied after a pause.
"Normal?" Drake frowned.
He still couldn't accept that nonsense about jōnin not being allowed in neutral countries. But now even basic border defense was missing?
Kakashi explained,
"Konoha signed a 'good faith treaty' with Kumogakure."
"Good faith… treaty?" Drake was stunned.
"According to the agreement, Konoha won't station troops along the Hot Water–Fire border, and Kumogakure won't do the same at the Lightning–Moon border."
Drake almost lost his soul on the spot.
So if Cloud Village decided to ignore the treaty, this area was completely defenseless?
Who the hell signed this garbage?
"The Third Hokage drafted it to demonstrate sincerity and promote peace," Kakashi added.
Drake had no energy left to complain.
Peace?
Peace comes from strength — not wishful thinking.
From this alone, he could see how rotten Konoha's leadership had become.
Soft on enemies, ruthless to their own.
Hatake Sakumo's fate was the perfect example.
The Trap Closes
Crossing the river, Team Nine officially entered the Land of Hot Water.
The ox cart was left behind; it couldn't cross.
From here on, Meinazu had to walk.
Whoosh!
A red signal flare suddenly shot into the sky from the forest.
In the next instant, shadows burst from the trees, completely sealing their retreat.
Ten… twenty… thirty… forty…
More and more ninja emerged.
Obito and Rin went rigid with shock.
This was supposed to be a C-rank mission!
So why were dozens of armed ninja appearing?!
Kakashi's expression grew unprecedentedly grim.
Over fifty of them...
And they were all chūnin?!
"I knew it!" Drake cursed inwardly.
In one swift motion, he yanked out a massive stack of explosive tags.
WHAM!!!
Without hesitation, he hurled them forward.
"WHY ARE YOU STANDING THERE?! RUN!!!"
BOOOOOOM!!!
A chain of deafening explosions rocked the forest, flames and smoke swallowing everything in sight.
Using the chaos as cover, Team Nine bolted.
Even Meinazu gritted her teeth and ran — gradually falling behind.
"They still abandoned me…"
Watching their figures fade into the distance, despair filled her heart.
Whoosh!
A figure suddenly raced back toward her at breakneck speed.
It was Drake.
"You useless little chick! Get on!"
He bent down sharply.
He never planned on coming back.
But hey —
He did sleep hugging her all night, didn't he?
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