70 km outside Konoha.
More than twenty ROOT operatives lay dead—
Some on the ground, some hanging from branches.
Hiruzen and Danzo stared silently.
Squad Nine — the "face of ANBU" — had barely finished their barbecue when they were summoned to accompany both leaders to the site.
Uchiha Fugaku and Minato were there as well.
"Fugaku, explain how you found this," Hiruzen asked.
"Our clansmen found them on their way back from the front line," Fugaku replied succinctly.
Danzo suddenly cut in:
"Interesting. The Uchiha defend the eastern Mist front.
So why would your people appear on the northern route where ROOT was?"
Everyone present understood the implication.
The direction didn't match at all.
Even if Uchiha shinobi returned from the front, they wouldn't detour here.
"My clansman got lost," Fugaku said calmly.
The air fell silent.
"…Hey, Drake," Anko whispered, "is the Uchiha clan head… stupid?"
"Agreed. I also think so." Rin nodded.
If Uchiha Fugaku had even one-tenth of Drake's cunning, he wouldn't give such a terrible excuse.
"This is going to be trouble," Kakashi predicted.
And indeed—
After a moment of silence, Danzo exploded.
He stared at Fugaku, his lone eye narrowing.
"Fugaku! You know what it means to kill ROOT operatives?"
"I don't understand what you are talking about," Fugaku replied calmly.
"But I'd like to ask YOU — when you used Uchiha clansmen as experimental material, did YOU think about the consequences?"
Both sides confronted each other.
One angry.
One unfazed.
"Are they gonna fight?" Anko hooked her arm around Drake's neck.
"If they fight… who do we help?" Rin asked quickly.
"Yeah… do we help Danzo or Fugaku?" Yugao also questioned.
Drake said lightly:
"We help neither."
"…Isn't that bad?" Yamato whispered.
"We're ANBU. We protect the Hokage. That's all."
The others suddenly understood.
Right—
As long as the Hokage wasn't in danger…
They could just enjoy the show.
Even Minato nodded internally.
This student has good political awareness.
"But what if the Hokage gets involved too?" Kakashi suddenly asked.
Drake thought seriously.
"If the Hokage has the upper hand, we don't move."
"And if he's losing?" Anko asked curiously.
"Then we retrieve the Hokage's corpse and arrest the murderer."
Squad Nine: "…"
Minato: "…"
They were speechless.
If that's how you behave…
Why did the Hokage even assign you to ANBU?
You don't help when he's winning.
You don't help when he's losing.
You only help when he's already dead?!
Truly—
letting Drake join ANBU was the Hokage's greatest misfortune.
"Seems like I still don't understand Drake's personality…" Minato sighed.
The tension in front was getting worse.
Like the confrontation in the Hokage Building earlier —
but this time, the two sides hadn't yet struck.
"Sigh, the Uchiha clan head just isn't bold enough," Drake shook his head.
If it were Drake himself, he'd walk up and slap Danzo a few times first just to break his rhythm.
Then discuss matters.
"You think everyone is as crazy as you?" Anko snorted.
"Little Red… do you like me? Why're you hugging me so tightly?" Drake said casually.
"You—shut up!" Anko blushed and pulled away.
"They're about to fight!" Kakashi warned.
Everyone stared at the two men.
Danzo moved first.
Killing intent peaked.
He used Body Flicker — FWIP — appearing behind Fugaku, wind-style chakra blades forming in his palm.
But Hiruzen flickered in instantly, grabbing Danzo's wrist.
"Danzo!"
"This needs to be investigated," Hiruzen said coldly.
Danzo nearly went insane.
Investigate WHAT?
It was OBVIOUS the Uchihas did it!
"Drake — take the corpses back," Hiruzen ordered, ending the clash before it started.
Squad Nine sighed.
"That's it? It's over already?"
They wanted a big battle!
But nope. Nothing.
Transporting corpses went fast.
Drake had Yamato use Wood Release to make a giant stretcher, and they carried all bodies back at once.
After that, Squad Nine disbanded temporarily.
Evening — The Happy Bathhouse
Drake and Rin entered the bathhouse again.
To Drake's surprise—
There was an extra woman eating inside.
"Come, we saved your seats," Kushina waved happily.
Drake and Rin sat.
Both glanced at Hyuuga Suzune, the clan's massage specialist.
She usually worked only three hours a day.
Why was she here?
"Don't stare too much," Kushina laughed softly.
"I'm just curious." Drake said seriously.
"From today on, Suzune will be living here," Minako explained.
"Oh, that makes sense."
"And tonight, Suzune will be giving me a massage," Minako added pointedly.
Drake understood.
She was secretly telling him:
Tonight—NO.
"I also have clan matters. I'll return after dinner," Mikoto added.
Drake understood again.
Another signal.
Rin brightened.
"So does that mean… I get my own room tonight?" she asked, glancing at Drake.
Drake rubbed his chin.
"…So I've become a signal receiver now?"
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