Outrageous. Absolutely outrageous.
Cold sweat seeped down the foreheads of several ANBU operatives.
"That was the vice-captain… He actually killed the vice-captain?"
"Drake's got nerves of steel!"
"What do we do now?"
They exchanged terrified looks.
Leaving was already impossible.
Team Nine had sealed off the base entrance.
Compared to them, Team Nine was far calmer—after all, they'd lived through scenes like this more than once.
"So… Drake really killed another vice-captain," Kakashi Hatake sighed.
"Well, that settles it. He's the biggest boss in ANBU now," Anko clicked her tongue.
"Do we kill the rest too?" Rin clenched her fists.
"I'll watch them. Anyone moves, I kill them," Obito said coldly, Sharingan spinning as he stared down the remaining ANBU.
In the Hall
Drake shook his head and turned to Obito.
"Obito."
"Huh?"
"Kunai."
Obito instantly understood.
Taking the kunai, Drake glanced at the ANBU operatives.
"Come on. Time for the everyone-stab-once segment."
He tossed the kunai over casually.
No one moved.
If they didn't stab, they were still clean.
If they did… they'd boarded the pirate ship for good.
Boom!
Drake suddenly punched out.
The nearest ANBU stiffened—then his headless body collapsed to the floor.
"What?!"
The rest went pale.
Too fast.
They hadn't even reacted before one of their own lost his head.
"Those who keep secrets live. Those who leak—entire clans wiped out."
Drake spoke calmly, eyes sweeping over them.
Step—
The moment he finished speaking, the remaining ANBU rushed forward.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
In seconds, Luli's corpse was riddled with fresh wounds.
"White Zetsu. Handle the bodies," Drake said, gesturing.
"Leave it to me, Drake-sama!"
White Zetsu ran over excitedly.
His body split open—like a grotesque, blooming mouth.
Everyone jumped in shock.
"What the hell is that?"
"His body turned into a man-eating plant?!"
"A secret technique?"
Before their eyes, White Zetsu wrapped up the two corpses and slowly sank into the ground.
Moments later, he reemerged.
"Drake-sama, the bodies have been decomposed. Burp~"
He patted his stomach.
The others felt their scalps go numb.
Decomposed… or eaten?
Honestly, eating them was better. At least nothing could be traced.
"Drake, even if the bodies are gone, Luli's disappearance can't be explained," one ANBU said cautiously.
"Disappearance?" Drake smiled.
"Who said Luli disappeared?"
Zzz—
White Zetsu's body writhed—and in the blink of an eye, he transformed into Luli.
The hall went dead silent.
Several ANBU stared in disbelief.
"I can actually sense Vice-Captain Luli's chakra…" one of them said, voice trembling.
That meant—
This fake Luli's chakra was identical to the real one.
Unthinkable.
"Same old Drake," Team Nine muttered in unison.
Luli was dead… yet not dead.
Because White Zetsu had replaced her as ANBU vice-captain.
"White Zetsu, you'll be vice-captain for now," Drake said calmly.
"When another seat opens, we'll swap you out."
"Understood, Drake-sama!" 'Luli' nodded respectfully.
The remaining ANBU trembled.
They really didn't want to hear this conversation.
The implications were terrifying.
Drake then strolled through the ANBU base.
"What's this?"
He picked up a booklet and flipped through it.
"T-The attendance register," an ANBU answered softly.
"So that's what it is."
No wonder—every page had his name on it.
"Toss it."
Drake handed the booklet to someone nearby.
Attendance?
Did he need attendance?
Did Team Nine need attendance?
Let someone else handle that nonsense.
"From now on, don't come looking for me."
"Unless it's very important."
"Understood?"
His gaze swept over them.
"Yes—yes!" they nodded frantically.
After Drake led Team Nine out of the base, the remaining ANBU finally breathed again.
"Drake is completely lawless…"
"Then go report him?"
"…Forget it. Vice-Captain Luli's fine, isn't she?"
"…Wait. Where is Vice-Captain Luli?"
They suddenly realized the fake Luli was gone.
Zzz—
White Zetsu popped up from the ground.
"Looking for me?"
Hokage Office
Hiruzen Sarutobi was in a pretty good mood.
His talk with Obito hadn't gone anywhere—but Team Nine was still in ANBU.
Which meant he still held two—no, three—Wood Release users in his hand.
On top of that, ANBU had recruited a batch of fresh blood over the past two days.
"ANBU is steadily recovering. And village rumors have clearly weakened today."
A sharp glint flashed in Hiruzen's eyes.
He had dispatched Minato Namikaze, Choza Akimichi, Shikaku Nara, and Inoichi Yamanaka on an S-rank mission.
Since then, the rumors had noticeably decreased.
"So the source of the rumors was those people."
Hiruzen sneered.
"Banding together with clans to spread gossip… Minato, your courage is growing."
He tapped the desk, gaze deep.
Trying to shake his Hokage position?
Too young.
"Someone!"
Whoosh!
An ANBU appeared.
"Inform Luli. Accelerate ANBU recruitment. Restore numbers to their previous scale."
"…Huh?"
"Do I need to repeat myself?" Hiruzen frowned sharply.
Why are the newly recruited ANBU so slow-witted?
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