A perfectly ordinary pebble tore through the air, ripping it apart with a sonic boom.
BOOM!
The sudden explosion startled Team Nine.
The next instant, the fleeing Danzō Shimura felt his right arm suddenly go limp. His body staggered.
"Holy—!" Obito Uchiha gaped in disbelief.
"How did his arm just fall off?!" Kakashi Hatake stared, dumbfounded.
"Was Danzō attacked?" Anko Mitarashi was completely confused.
They hadn't seen anything hit Danzō.
There was only the explosion—then his right arm was gone.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
Danzō lost his balance and slammed into the ground.
"ANBU—someone from ANBU attacked me!"
He reached a conclusion instantly.
That impact had clearly come from the direction of the ANBU.
"Damn it! These ANBU blocking the road—it was all a setup!"
"They blocked me and ambushed me!"
Struggling to his feet, fury surged through Danzō.
He shot the ANBU a venomous glare.
"Just you wait, ANBU!"
Branding them all for death in his heart, Danzō glanced at his severed arm on the ground—
And didn't even bother picking it up.
There was no time.
Staggering, he plunged into the forest and continued fleeing.
Moments later, Fugaku Uchiha led his men straight into the woods in pursuit.
"Drake… where's the pebble you were holding?" Obito suddenly asked.
"Hm? Sharp eyes," Drake said with mild surprise, turning to him.
Obito had already activated his Sharingan and was staring right at Drake.
Drake was speechless.
It's just watching a fight. Was opening the Sharingan really necessary?
"If Danzō makes it back to the village, we're in serious trouble," Kakashi said gravely.
"Why?" Drake replied calmly.
"He'll expose us!" Obito said anxiously.
"Expose us for what, exactly?" Drake smiled.
"Drake, don't pretend you don't know!"
"This is obvious!"
They didn't believe for a second that Drake was unaware of the consequences.
Colluding with the Uchiha.
Leaking Danzō's route.
Blocking his escape.
Any one of those could doom Team Nine—let alone all of them together.
Seeing everyone so tense, Drake shook his head.
"ANBU is clean," he said firmly.
"So ANBU won't accept any slander."
"And if someone insists on slandering us?" Anko asked.
"Then we eliminate the slanderer," Drake replied seriously.
BOOM—!!!
A massive explosion erupted deep in the forest.
Team Nine looked over simultaneously.
A gigantic silhouette briefly emerged amid the trees.
"That's probably Danzō's summoning beast," Kakashi judged.
"Looks like the fight's ending soon."
And indeed, it did.
Minutes later, Fugaku led his clan members out of the forest, his expression grim.
"I underestimated him. I didn't expect Danzō to escape using a summoning beast."
"…What?"
Team Nine fell silent.
So many Uchiha elites surrounded one Danzō—and he still escaped?
"Drake, I'm afraid your ANBU will be implicated next," Fugaku said apologetically.
ANBU had already "released" Danzō this much, yet he still failed to kill him.
Fugaku felt deeply embarrassed.
"Clan Head Fugaku, I think you've misunderstood," Drake said calmly.
"From start to finish, you were the ones attacking.
What does that have to do with ANBU?"
Then his gaze shifted downward, expression turning strange.
"And I suggest you stop the bleeding."
He was looking at Fugaku's lower body.
"It's fine," Fugaku waved it off casually.
"Just one or two inches. Nothing serious."
After the brief exchange, Fugaku departed with his clan.
Only ANBU remained.
"What do we do now?" Obito was panicking.
Drake replied calmly,
"What do you mean? Pick up that arm. We're heading back to the village."
"Wait—Drake," Kakashi stopped him.
"How are we reporting this?"
"Simple."
Drake rubbed his chin, relaxed.
"ANBU escorted Danzō along the route and encountered an attack by unknown ninjas."
"And then?" Kakashi pressed.
"Then Danzō abandoned us and escaped alone using a summoning technique."
Team Nine: "..."
They seriously doubted whether this would pass.
"And how do we explain the arm?" Anko asked.
"That's easy," Drake replied cheerfully.
"Because Danzō suddenly lost an arm, he panicked and ran."
Afternoon · Hokage Office
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the severed arm on his desk, falling into silence.
According to Luli and Team Nine's report, Danzō had been attacked by unknown assailants. His right arm was severed, after which he escaped via summoning.
But Hiruzen quickly spotted the flaw.
"The attackers didn't attack you?" he asked Drake and the others.
"No," they all shook their heads.
"How many attackers?" he asked again.
"Sixteen."
After the questioning, ANBU withdrew.
Hiruzen tapped the desk slowly, already guessing the attackers' identity.
"The Uchiha clan."
"They didn't attack ANBU because Obito is in ANBU."
"…Their nerve is far too great."
Evening
Team Nine dispersed.
Drake headed home.
"Hm?"
At the alley entrance, he noticed a stranger peeking around.
"Drake! Your letter!" the man called out excitedly.
"My letter?" Drake was mildly surprised.
I don't have any family left…
Could it be mail from the Pure Land?
Inside the courtyard, Drake reclined on his wooden chair and opened the letter.
Drake, I've discovered something very strange!
The Iwa main force already crossed through the Land of Grass—
but suddenly withdrew!
There's definitely something wrong here.
This information is worth a life.
—Kenjirō
After reading it, Drake let out a soft chuckle.
He casually crushed the letter to dust and fell into thought.
"Iwa launched a surprise attack… so why retreat now?"
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