The moon hung high and pale, the stars dim and scattered.
Outside a desolate mountain cave, Uchiha Madara sat silently at the entrance, watching Obito train under the cold night sky.
"This brat… really is persistent," Madara muttered, eyes unfocused.
This was not what he expected.
Ever since Obito had been brought here, he had neither tried to escape nor asked troubling questions.
He simply ate, slept, and trained.
Sometimes, he would sit quietly beside those tiny saplings Madara planted and… stare at them in a daze.
Madara found this extremely strange.
Zzzt—
Black Zetsu rose from the ground.
"What did you find?" Madara asked without looking back.
"It's strange. Iwagakure and Kumogakure have not launched any surprise attacks," Black Zetsu reported.
"…What?" Madara froze.
Impossible.
The Sand frontline had already coordinated with reinforcements from both Iwa and Kumo, fully tying down the majority of Konoha's elite forces.
This was the perfect moment for a large-scale strike.
Yet those two great armies… didn't move?
Have the Tsuchikage and Raikage lost their minds?
"Any further intelligence?" Madara frowned.
"A Konoha ninja attempted to steal alliance intel but failed… he escaped unharmed," Black Zetsu added.
Madara's expression darkened.
"That's not intelligence. I need to know WHY they're not attacking."
"Those orders came personally from the Third Tsuchikage and Third Raikage… it's difficult for me to probe further," Black Zetsu said carefully.
Should I walk up and ask them myself? he wanted to say.
Madara's mood soured.
Something was off. The shinobi world was deviating from his expectations.
Konoha's defenses were hollow—
Yet Iwa and Kumo refused to move.
"How am I supposed to execute my plan if they refuse to cooperate?"
Madara wanted to slap Ōnoki across the face.
That coward. Even now, still the same useless lump of mud.
Annoyed, Madara got up and returned into the cave.
Black Zetsu sank back underground.
Meanwhile, Obito…
"Finally… the two pests left."
Obito wiped sweat from his forehead, stopped training, and sat down.
Under the moonlight, he looked up at the towering cliff wall, trying to estimate its height.
"…If I spread chakra to my palms and feet, maybe I can climb it."
He would rest first—restore strength—then try to escape during the night.
With that resolve, Obito lay down beside the small saplings.
"I've been missing for so long…
I wonder how Squad Nine is doing."
"Rin must be worried about me…"
"I hope Drake is taking good care of her…"
At the Happy Bathhouse…
Pa! Pa! Pa!
Inside the massage room, Rin was attempting to give Drake a massage.
"You're hitting the wrong way," Drake sighed.
"Huh? But it makes sound," Rin said confidently.
"Just because it makes noise doesn't make it a massage. Luckily it's me. If it were anyone else, you would've shattered their spine!"
"But Suzune massages like this…" Rin argued.
"That was Gentle Fist. Yours is pure violence."
Drake flipped over and glared.
"You've been hitting me for half the night. Now it's my turn to knock some sense into you."
"Ah~~!"
Rin let out a soft cry, face flushing pink.
And so, Drake continued this "massage session" until midnight.
When he finally walked out of the room—
He froze.
Standing in the hall, Hyuuga Suzune had her Byakugan activated, staring stiffly toward the room Drake just exited.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Drake strode over quickly and pressed his face close to hers.
"…What did you see?"
"Ah?!" Suzune panicked and immediately deactivated her Byakugan.
She shook her head frantically.
"I—I saw nothing!"
"Really?"
"Really!"
Without warning, Drake's hand slipped into her collar.
"You—?!"
Suzune nearly screamed.
Drake… groped her?!
"Remember. If you talk…
I talk."
He squeezed once for emphasis, then slowly withdrew his hand.
Suzune stood frozen in place even after he left.
"He… he… just now…"
On the street…
Drake walked home, reviewing his actions with satisfaction.
Smooth. Efficient. Perfect execution.
He had leverage over Suzune now —
and she, unfortunately, had leverage over him.
Balance restored.
When he pushed open the courtyard gate—
"Hm?"
He spotted a familiar figure standing under the jujube tree.
Kakashi.
Drake immediately activated sensory perception.
Chakra signature confirmed. Not an imposter.
He approached.
"Kakashi?"
Hearing movement, Kakashi turned around, his expression full of respect.
"You work so hard… training until so late every night."
He said it earnestly.
In the day, Drake always acted lazy, uninterested, carefree.
Who could imagine he'd be secretly training until midnight?
Drake coughed lightly.
"So… what's up?"
"I brought you something." Kakashi took out a scroll.
"Hmm? Intel?"
Drake opened it casually—
Then his expression twisted.
"…Kakashi, this is your clan's Kenjutsu notes?"
"Yes." Kakashi nodded.
Drake frowned.
"Why give this to me?"
This scroll contained notes from Sakumo Hatake.
An extremely precious heirloom.
Kakashi took a deep breath.
"I want to trade… for one of your secret techniques."
"…Trade a secret technique?" Drake was puzzled.
Did he even have one?
Wood Release? Kakashi couldn't learn that.
"You avoided the Yamanaka clan's lie-detection jutsu today," Kakashi reminded softly.
"Oh… you mean that."
Now Drake understood.
Kakashi mistakenly believed Drake used some profound secret technique to bypass the lie-detection jutsu —
and thus came in the middle of the night, seeking to learn it.
Drake: "…"
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