Outside the desolate mountain cave—
Uchiha Madara stood at the cliffside, frowning deeply.
Below the cliff…
Obito lay in a pool of blood, one leg broken, one shoulder shattered, bleeding uncontrollably.
He was barely alive, yet his eyes still held a faint glimmer of hope.
"Just a bit more… just a little bit more…"
Obito muttered weakly.
At dawn, full of determination, he had tried climbing the cliff to escape.
He had nearly succeeded.
Nearly.
But in the final few dozen meters, he had exhausted his chakra.
He grabbed a small branch jutting from the rock wall—
But it was too thin.
It snapped.
He plummeted.
And ended up like this.
Holding a handful of leaves, Obito realized—
This time, he was probably going to die.
"Take him back into the cave."
Madara finally spoke.
"Yes, Lord Madara," said White Zetsu.
He wrapped Obito's bloodied body and dragged him inside.
At the Happy Bathhouse
When Drake arrived with Anko for free breakfast, it was no surprise that Kushina and the others were already discussing the rumor about the frontline ninja deserters.
"You guys know too?" Drake was surprised.
The shop wasn't even open yet—how did they already hear?
"Everyone outside is talking about it. How could I not know?" Kushina waved them over to sit.
Since Lady Mikoto wasn't present, Anko happily took her seat.
"By the way," Kushina teased, "isn't Squad Nine supposed to have another girl? Bring her next time."
"Okay! Okay!" Rin nodded energetically.
Drake sighed.
"She's mocking you. Why are you acting happy?"
Kushina laughed.
"I wouldn't dare mock the shop's biggest freeloader."
She had expected at least one of the girls to show jealousy…
But instead—
Rin apologized to Drake for misunderstanding the joke.
"I'm kind of slow sometimes… sorry. I won't do it next time."
And Anko said gratefully:
"Thank you, Drake, for bringing me to freeload food."
Kushina was dumbfounded.
"…Do these girls not like him at all?"
"But Rin definitely likes him… why isn't she jealous?"
After breakfast—
Rin and Anko each held one of Drake's arms as they left.
"…This Drake is impressive," Kushina admitted.
"Girls nowadays don't even get jealous," Minako added.
"Speaking of which, Suzune isn't awake yet?" Kushina asked suddenly.
"She went to sleep very late. Probably adjusting to the new environment," Minako explained.
Indeed, Hyuuga Suzune had barely slept at all—
Every time she closed her eyes, the scene of Drake grabbing her chest replayed in her mind.
She spent half the night tormented before finally falling asleep.
On the street
Drake had barely walked a few steps when an ANBU appeared.
"Drake, the Hokage summons you."
"Get lost."
Yamato flinched.
He really was delivering a genuine message from the Hokage, but Drake still scolded him immediately.
"Captain—Hokage seriously called us. It seems urgent."
"…Fine."
Rin and Anko covered their mouths, giggling at how easily Drake bullied Yamato.
Hokage's Office (What's left of it)
When Drake's group arrived at the open-air "office," Kakashi and Yugao were already present.
Hiruzen was looking at a scroll with a frown.
"Yamato."
Suddenly, Drake barked loudly.
Yamato jumped violently.
Even Hiruzen flinched and nearly dropped the scroll.
"C-Captain?"
"You're a Wood Release ninja. Look at this building—collapsed! And you didn't help rebuild anything?"
Drake's tone grew accusatory.
"All that training, and THIS is your output?"
"I'm disappointed in you… deeply."
Yamato lowered his head, looking crushed.
PAH!
He clapped his hands together.
"Wood Release—Four Pillar House Technique!"
BOOM!
A full wooden house burst out of the ground.
In the next moment—
The newly formed house roof catapulted the Hokage skyward.
"HUFF—HUFF—"
Yamato panted weakly.
"Captain… how was that?"
Drake sighed.
"…Good luck surviving."
He and the others quickly took several steps back.
Yamato blinked.
What did that mean?
He had done exactly what Drake wanted!
He turned back—
THUD!
The real Hiruzen dropped from the sky, landing right in front of Yamato.
"Ah—L-Lord Hokage?!"
POOF!
The Hiruzen on the ground exploded into smoke.
"A shadow clone?"
Drake's eyes widened.
So the Hokage had been using a clone to work in the ruins?
A few seconds later, the real Hiruzen arrived.
"You've all heard the rumors spread this morning," he said gravely.
They nodded.
"Your mission is to track down the source. Find who spread them."
"And then?" Kakashi asked.
"Bring them back. If they resist… execute immediately."
Squad Nine departed.
Drake had expected some thrilling mission.
But no—
they were solving a rumor case.
"Kakashi, this shouldn't be hard," Drake shrugged.
"It is hard," Kakashi warned.
"Hard?" Drake scoffed.
He walked straight toward the village gate.
Kakashi suddenly understood.
"Ah! Drake wants to commune with trees to gather information!"
But then he hesitated.
"…But trees wouldn't know who spreads rumors… right?"
Outside the village
Drake placed his hand on a tree trunk and began "communicating."
Suddenly—
Drake's eyes narrowed sharply.
"…Found you."
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