Would dozens of chūnin really be afraid of a single genin brat?
Of course not.
It was just that no one wanted to be the first fool to charge in —
because whoever went first would eat the full force of the explosive tags.
Seeing his men hesitating like frightened mice, Akegawa Shinichi was forced to step forward himself.
"Brat, do you really think you can escape?"
He looked up at Drake with a cold, menacing gaze.
This kid was only fast, that's all. From the start of the pursuit until now, he hadn't fought back once. His only trick was explosive tags.
"So you're the leader, huh?"
Standing at the edge of the pit, Drake looked down calmly.
"How about we make a good-faith agreement?" he suggested casually.
"A good-faith agreement?"
Akegawa froze.
Wasn't that the nonsense treaty between Konoha and Kumogakure? This brat wanted to copy that?
Then he laughed.
Good faith? He didn't have even a shred of that.
Still, it didn't hurt to hear what this kid had in mind.
"Go on. Let's hear it."
"Simple," Drake said, smiling sincerely and showing bright white teeth.
"You let your men come up one by one, and I promise I won't throw any explosive tags."
Silence.
Then laughter erupted.
"One by one? So you can pick us off individually?"
"Is his brain broken?"
"Let's rush him together, see how many he can blow up!"
"Even if we get hit, we won't die that easily!"
Akegawa's smile widened.
This idiot had just unified his troops' morale for him.
"On my command — CHARGE TOGETHER!"
"Yes!"
Dozens of ninja leapt up simultaneously, rushing toward the edge of the pit.
"You think you can blow all of us up?" Akegawa sneered, following behind them, already savoring victory.
But in the next instant—
Before their feet even touched the ground, they saw it.
A long row of explosive tags, already sparking and hissing, laid out neatly along the edge of the pit.
Their faces went green.
"DAMN IT!"
"We've been tricked!"
"No foothold! I can't jump back!"
"He planted them beforehand!"
Regret flooded their eyes.
All because Akegawa insisted on charging together —
they had just volunteered for a group suicide.
Not everyone was completely helpless.
Those who jumped a moment later managed to grab onto the people ahead of them.
And just like that — human shields.
BOOOOOOM!!!
A deafening explosion tore through the forest.
The shockwave shredded bodies apart, blood and broken limbs flying everywhere.
Perched calmly on a treetop, Drake observed the carnage for a moment.
"Sigh… I clearly said it was a good-faith agreement. You broke it, got yourselves blown up — can't blame me for that."
With that, he turned and vanished into the forest.
Time to head back to Konoha.
If he kept running like this, he'd end up in the Land of Waves.
Two Days Later — Konoha
Team Nine had returned.
Inside the Hokage's office, after listening to Kushina's full report, the Third Hokage sighed deeply.
"Although Drake was only a genin, he displayed the true Will of Fire. He sacrificed himself to illuminate the path for others. He has shown us the genuine meaning of what it means to be a shinobi."
"This is the pride of Konoha!"
"His spirit must be publicized and passed on!"
And just like that, the deeds of the so-called 'dead last' Drake were formalized into educational material and written into the Ninja Academy textbooks.
So what if he was at the bottom of the class?
Even a dead last could draw away dozens of enemy chūnin alone, sacrificing himself to ensure the success of a mission.
This wasn't just inspirational —
it embodied the ultimate spirit of selfless devotion.
If Drake ever found out, his evaluation would probably be:
"Genin, learn from me well — become useful cannon fodder!"
"Even death must be meaningful. Offer everything to Konoha!"
"THIS is the Will of Fire!"
Training Ground No. 9
Kakashi stood silently before a large stone, as if mourning.
Rin gently wiped it clean, then placed a bento box on top.
Obito, somehow, produced a photo of a busty beauty and set it there as well.
"…Drake's story has been added to the academy textbooks," Kakashi murmured.
No one replied.
But what none of them knew was this—
Drake was very much alive.
And he was currently experiencing something rather bizarre.
Somewhere in the Land of Fire
He walked circles around a familiar old yellow cow, eyes wide in disbelief.
"This is just too coincidental…"
As if recognizing him, the cow let out a soft moo~
"Fate really works in mysterious ways, huh?"
With a grin, Drake hopped onto its back.
And so, the old cow carried him slowly toward the village.
Lying comfortably on its back, Drake opened his status panel.
Name: Drake
Age: —
Strength: (×) [Jōnin Level]
Constitution: [Jōnin Level]
Agility: [Jōnin Level]
Spirit: [Intermediate Immunity]
Chakra: —
Skills: None
Ninjutsu: None
Overall Evaluation: Trainee Genin
He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
"Even if my physical stats reach Kage-level or beyond, what then?"
"With no jutsu, no taijutsu, I'm just a fast brute."
Strength without technique.
Speed without finesse.
No matter how fast he was, could he outrun space-time ninjutsu?
"So after I return, I need to learn a powerful technique."
"One with massive destructive power. Large range. Absolute devastation."
The memory of being chased by dozens of people made his eye twitch.
If he'd had more explosive tags back then,
he would've blown every last one of them into the afterlife.
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