Kannabi Bridge.
This massive bridge lay within the borders of the Land of Grass, right next to the Land of Earth.
Early that morning, Drake, Minato, and Kakashi arrived at their chosen battlefield.
"What's the plan now?" Minato asked, looking at Drake and deliberately placing the decision in his hands.
"We stay here and wait. Anyone who crosses the bridge from the Land of Earth dies."
Drake flashed a bright, almost cheerful smile.
"That's it?" Kakashi asked.
"That's it."
Kakashi's eye twitched.
At this rate, they'd alarm Iwa's border forces in no time.
The three leapt into the trees and began their ambush.
With nothing happening for once, Drake opened his status panel.
Ability: Advanced Wood Release Control (Trait: Intimacy)
"Intimacy?"
"I'm… intimate with Wood Release now?"
Speechless, he focused and tried communicating with the tree beneath him.
"Good morning."
Tree: ???
Minato frowned slightly, watching Drake mutter to thin air.
"Was he… talking to me just now?" Kakashi asked quietly.
Then Drake spoke again, even more seriously.
"Has anyone passed through here recently?"
Tree: Aren't you standing here right now?
"Besides us."
Tree: A lot of people crossed from over the bridge earlier.
"Oh? Earlier? When exactly?"
Tree: Three days ago.
Drake: "???"
He felt thoroughly defeated.
This tree's concept of "just now" was wildly optimistic.
"So you really are communicating with trees…" Minato said in amazement.
"Yeah, but it's totally useless," Drake sighed.
"They said a huge number of Iwa ninja crossed three days ago. To them, that counts as 'just now'."
Minato chuckled softly, while Kakashi looked fascinated.
Suddenly, a lone Iwa ninja appeared and sprinted onto the bridge.
"I'll take this one!" Kakashi declared, standing up.
It was time to test his newly created jutsu.
"You sure you can handle it?" Drake replied skeptically.
"Don't underestimate me. I've already caught up to you."
There was unmistakable confidence in Kakashi's voice.
Crackle—
Lightning erupted in his left hand, blindingly bright and ferocious.
"Is that... a self-created Lightning Release technique?" Minato gasped.
"Chidori," Drake said flatly.
"…Nice name!" Kakashi's eye lit up. "Then it's called Chidori!"
He bent his legs and shot forward, lightning howling like a swarm of shrieking birds.
"Hmm?"
The Iwa ninja noticed him and immediately formed hand seals.
Earth Release – Earth Rending Technique!
Crack! Crack!
The ground split open violently, fissures racing forward as the terrain collapsed.
Kakashi dropped straight into a deep pit nearly ten meters down.
He tried jumping several times.
No luck.
Minato: "???"
Drake: "I knew something like this would happen."
Inside the pit, Kakashi was sweating bullets.
He'd rushed in too confidently, charging straight ahead just to show off his speed.
Thud!
A dull impact echoed.
The Iwa ninja stared in disbelief at the calm-faced boy before him.
"So fast…!"
A moment later, his body collapsed lifeless to the ground.
"Sigh... so you caught up to me, huh?" Drake murmured as he passed the pit, tossing the corpse inside before walking away casually.
When Kakashi climbed back up, he said nothing.
"Your jutsu is powerful," Minato said gently.
"But its biggest flaw is that your speed outpaces your visual perception. You can't fully track your surroundings."
Still, he smiled.
"But creating a technique like that... you really are a genius, Kakashi."
"A genius~~~" Drake echoed, clearly enjoying it.
Kakashi turned his head away, pretending not to hear.
Half an hour later, three more Iwa ninja appeared at the other end of the bridge.
Halfway across, they noticed the enormous pit and retreated instantly.
"They spotted it!" Kakashi exclaimed.
"That's normal," Drake replied calmly, not even considering pursuit.
"They're going to report this to the border outpost," Minato said grimly.
Sure enough, less than thirty minutes later, nearly fifty Iwa ninja gathered on the far end of the bridge.
"Captain Kuroiwa, look!"
Haitsuchi pointed at the massive crater.
"That was Tsuchiyama's Earth Rending Technique," Kuroiwa judged at a glance.
He had sent Tsuchiyama to gather intel earlier — and now no report had come back.
"Looks like he's dead."
His sharp eyes swept the distant forest, searching for enemies, but distance concealed everything.
"Haitsuchi, after we cross, take a squad and hide using Earth Concealment," he ordered coldly.
"The rest follow me."
With that, Kuroiwa led his men onto the bridge.
Up in the trees, Drake estimated silently.
Forty-seven enemies.
He cracked his neck and was about to move when Minato stepped forward, placing himself in front of him.
"This time, I'll handle it."
"I can do it too," Drake replied.
"No." Minato shook his head firmly.
"There are too many. If you get trapped by Earth Release, it'll be dangerous."
He had full faith in Drake's taijutsu, but against Iwa specialists, pure close combat was risky.
Especially when Drake had no reliable escape techniques.
No Body Flicker.
No Substitution.
Not even the most basic Three Techniques.
And that's why—
This time, Minato chose to protect him.
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