At Training Ground No. 9, Yamato squatted beneath a tree, whispering earnestly as if speaking to an old friend.
[My past was miserable.]
[That incident left a deep shadow in my heart.]
[Tree... you also have shadows, don't you? Are we the same kind of people?]
Rustle... rustle...
A gentle breeze swept through the leaves. They swayed softly in reply.
Yamato's eyes widened in pure excitement.
[Tree! Were you responding to me just now?!]
Not far away, the entire Team Nine stood in a crooked line, heads tilted, staring at him like they were witnessing something otherworldly.
"Oi... Drake, you've really messed this kid up, haven't you?" Obito muttered, unable to look straight.
"Don't talk nonsense. I'm just sharing some life experience," Drake said solemnly.
"Your 'life experience' is talking to trees?" Kakashi snorted.
"Oh? Kakashi, feeling brave today, are we?" Drake raised an eyebrow.
Mounting concern spread among the three girls instead.
"Isn't this a bit cruel? He's only six…" Rin worried aloud.
"What if the higher-ups find out? Drake's definitely getting chewed out," she added.
"Talking to trees? I almost died laughing. And that kid actually believed it?" Anko scoffed.
"Still feels kinda sketchy…" Yugao murmured.
But when Drake sat down and opened the Wood Release secret manual, the other five instantly swarmed over.
"Huh? Not condemning me anymore?" Drake glanced at them with disdain.
"Let's see, let's see!" they urged.
After reading through the techniques, Drake fell into thought.
To him, the essence of Wood Release was simple:
Shape transformation + chakra control.
Attack, defense, restraint—everything was just a different manifestation of form.
"So it's basically: form manipulation and chakra," he summed up clearly.
Lifting his head, he noticed the rest were also feigning deep contemplation.
"I'm thinking because I can actually learn this. What the hell are you five thinking for?"
Especially Obito, who was stroking his chin like a seasoned scholar.
"Hmm… I see… makes sense…"
"Right… understood…"
"You're not actually getting any of this, are you?" Kakashi stabbed through the act mercilessly.
"But Drake looks like he understood!" Obito immediately dragged him down too.
"He doesn't even know ninjutsu. You really think he gets it?" Kakashi pinched his brow.
"Oh… yeah!" Obito suddenly realized.
So Drake had just been pretending all along too.
Compared to the boys, the girls were genuinely analyzing.
"Isn't this just shape transformation? What's so hard?" Anko snorted.
"Yeah, it's clearly Wood chakra form manipulation," Rin nodded.
"Unless you actually have Wood affinity, you can't use it anyway," Yugao added.
At a private barbecue booth...
Danzo picked up a slice of meat when a Root operative silently appeared and handed over a list.
"Lord Danzo, this is everyone who entered the Hokage Tower yesterday."
"Hm…"
Danzo examined it carefully. He was hunting the traitor who sold him out.
Then suddenly, his eyes fixed on a name that appeared twice.
Minato Namikaze.
"If I remember correctly, his first visit was to submit the mission report... so what about the second time?"
Cross-referencing the time stamps, Danzo's expression darkened.
Minato's second entry perfectly matched the moment before he himself was summoned.
"Investigate who Minato met after returning to the village yesterday."
"Yes!"
The operative vanished.
"Minato alone couldn't have known... someone must've tipped him off."
Danzo tapped the table rhythmically, unease growing.
Then his eyes flared.
"Wait… why don't I use that spy I planted?"
He almost forgot he'd placed an insider near Minato.
"As captain of Team Nine, Drake might know something."
Danzo waved his hand.
"Go fetch Drake. I want to see him."
Half an hour later, Drake arrived.
The moment he stepped in, he noticed Danzo's expression was an exact replica of yesterday's.
"You're here. Sit."
Danzo's tone was strangely gentle again.
"Today, I called you for something important."
"Wait, my bathhouse is really already given to Kushina-senpai," Drake said quickly, blocking the path preemptively.
"…This has nothing to do with your bathhouse," Danzo snapped.
"Oh. Then what is it?"
"Did Minato meet anyone yesterday?"
Drake gave it some serious thought.
"Nope, no idea."
"You don't?" Danzo frowned.
"Yeah. I got dragged here by you the moment I returned, remember?" Drake reminded him helpfully.
Not to mention, yesterday this old man was still trying to rob his bathhouse.
"What about recently? Anyone besides your genin circle?" Danzo pressed further.
"Well, that's a long list," Drake replied honestly.
"Oh? Go on," Danzo's eyes lit up.
"Kakashi, Rin, Obito, Yugao, Anko, Ibiki, and… Gekkou Hayate…"
Drake rattled off names like a grocery list.
Danzo's face slowly twisted.
"What I meant was — anyone other than your fellow genin?" he clarified stiffly.
"Ah! Yes!" Drake snapped his fingers.
"Who?"
"The Third Hokage!"
Drake was promptly escorted out.
As the door slammed behind him, he glanced back at Danzo's thunderous expression.
"Yup… today's Danzo really does look exactly like yesterday's."
Hands tucked into his pockets, Drake strolled off in a great mood.
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