Konoha Military Police Headquarters.
Fugaku Uchiha sat behind his desk, brows tightly knit.
On the table was a glass jar. Inside it, his little brother was soaking quietly.
To be honest, losing that thing wasn't such a big deal to him.
After all, he already had children.
The only person he felt he'd wronged… was his wife, Mikoto.
Looks like I'll have Mikoto stay at the Happy Hot Springs from now on,
If she's with Kushina, at least she won't be lonely.
With that thought, Fugaku reached out and squeezed the jar slightly.
Crack!
The glass shattered.
The jar—and its contents—were instantly reduced to ashes.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
A clan member rushed in.
"Clan Head, Minato Namikaze and Drake have just left the village."
"Oh?" Fugaku stood up at once. "Which direction?"
"Toward the Land of Grass."
Hearing that, Fugaku immediately understood.
"So they've taken over Danzō's mission… going to negotiate with Iwagakure."
After a moment's thought, doubt crept in.
Shouldn't Drake be on high alert right now, guarding against Danzō's return?
Why would he leave the village at a time like this?
Isn't he worried that Danzō will come back and retaliate?
No matter how much he thought, Fugaku couldn't figure it out.
So he stopped thinking.
If even Drake isn't worried, why should the Uchiha be?
His mood instantly cleared.
This incident involved the Ninth Squad—possibly even the entire ANBU.
The implications were huge, and there might even be the Third Hokage's shadow behind it.
With stakes that high, what am I afraid of?
Fugaku wasn't worried anymore.
But elsewhere, Hiruzen Sarutobi very much was.
Hokage Office
Hiruzen summoned ANBU once again.
"Any news of Danzō?"
"No."
"The Uchiha clan?"
"No abnormalities."
"Liu Li?"
"She's still at the ANBU base."
Hiruzen waved them away.
The old Liu Li was a complete mission maniac. Why has she been staying in the base lately?
A flicker of doubt appeared—only doubt.
After all, ANBU was recruiting heavily these days.
It made sense for the vice-captain to stay behind and oversee things.
Then another question surfaced.
When Danzō was attacked… why didn't Liu Li act?
Why didn't ANBU act at all?
Hiruzen tapped the desk, deep in thought.
At last, he reached a conclusion.
So that's it… Liu Li did it to protect my position as Hokage.
With a bitter smile, everything suddenly made sense.
She deliberately didn't support Danzō, all to safeguard my authority.
In that case, how could he possibly go scold such a loyal subordinate?
Land of Grass
Kenjirō squatted at the inn counter, looking downright sleazy.
A "refreshing" magazine lay open in his hands, his face practically buried in it.
At a particularly exciting page, he slapped his belly in excitement.
Tap. Tap.
Footsteps approached.
"Rooms are ten thousand ryō per person!"
Kenjirō shouted without even looking up.
"Kenjirō, hasn't it only been a while? Since when did your prices double?"
"Huh?"
That familiar youthful voice made Kenjirō snap his head up.
"Drake!"
His face lit up immediately.
After all, Drake's reputation was solid—far better than most.
Inside the Room
Kenjirō produced a fresh intelligence scroll.
"Just got this at noon."
Drake opened it and skimmed the contents.
"So the one who led the border raid was Huangtu."
"That guy?" Minato chuckled. "Back in the Mist Mountains, he was scared stiff by you."
"His strength is average," Drake commented casually.
In Drake's book, anyone who could be slapped to death in one hit was average.
"But we still don't know why the Iwa forces withdrew," Minato reminded him.
"If we don't know—then we'll just ask them directly," Drake said bluntly.
"Directly?" Minato froze. "Ask… how?"
The Iwa forces had already pulled back to the Land of Earth's border.
Ask them where?
"Simple."
Drake smiled, flashing white teeth.
"We wipe out the Iwa forces stationed at the border."
"Then they'll come looking for us."
"And when they do—won't we be able to ask them?"
Minato's eyelid twitched violently.
Kenjirō, meanwhile, looked ecstatic.
This is huge.
Absolutely top-tier intelligence!
"Drake," Minato said seriously, "Iwagakure is different from the other villages. Do you know why?"
"Oh?" Drake tilted his head. "How are they different?"
"Numbers," Minato replied gravely.
"Iwa has the largest ninja population of all the villages."
"And their combat style gives them an advantage in prolonged engagements."
"A single Iwa ninja isn't scary," Minato continued.
"But once you're dealing with squads, their destructive power far exceeds other villages."
"In large-scale battles, it's even more terrifying."
After listening, Drake still looked puzzled.
"Sensei… what does that have to do with me wiping them out?"
Minato: "..."
Minato was completely defeated by his student's confidence.
"Drake," he said earnestly, "your strength is unquestionable. But if you get careless, you could be swallowed by layers of Iwa encirclement."
"At that point, even I might not be able to save you."
Drake stroked his chin, conceding that Minato had a point.
So he offered a solution.
"In that case… I'll just kill all the Iwa ninjas around the area at once."
"Wouldn't that solve everything?"
"Drake, don't underestimate your enemy," Minato urged again.
"Sensei," Drake replied seriously,
"my strength… is actually very strong."
Beside them, Kenjirō leaned in, ears stretched wide, committing every word to memory.
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