By noon, Team Nine had returned to the village.
"Dismissed. I'll go submit the rep—"
Before Minato could even finish his sentence, Drake had already vanished like a streak of smoke.
"He's fast as ever," Minato chuckled helplessly before flickering away in a flash.
Hokage's Office
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the mission report in his hands, completely frozen.
Beside him, Danzo leaned over and began reading as well.
Then —
Danzo froze too.
Silence filled the room.
Only after a long moment did the two finally regain their senses.
"You may leave now, Minato," Hiruzen said, waving his hand.
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Minato turned and exited, gently closing the door behind him.
Once alone, both men let out long breaths.
Wood Release…
Drake was actually a Wood Release user?!
"I should've realized earlier..." Danzo sighed deeply, filled with regret.
Drake's ability to suppress Wood Release before — everyone had ignored it.
Now it was obvious.
"He wasn't countering Wood Release… he was overpowering it with a superior version!"
"That's why he suppressed Yamato's chakra during training."
Hiruzen murmured in realization.
"And it doesn't stop there!"
Danzo tapped the scroll.
"Look — Minato recorded that Drake used Wood Release to force back the son of the Third Raikage, the son of the Third Tsuchikage, and even the Sand shinobi!"
"Hiruzen... his mastery is already far beyond Yamato's!"
Danzo's heart ached.
That kid had been his undercover asset… and yet had never revealed Wood Release to him!
Clearly — Drake was wary of him.
Me, the great Hokage's advisor, not trusted by a brat?
Danzo roared inwardly.
"There's something strange though," Hiruzen said, tapping the table.
"What is it?"
"Could he really force all of them back using Wood Release alone?"
Hiruzen wasn't fully convinced.
After all, Drake couldn't even perform the Three Basic Techniques and had failed several academy tests.
And that Raikage's son — A — was no ordinary ninja.
Then Danzo sneered.
"Are you forgetting something?"
"What?"
"Minato was there."
It was a logical conclusion.
"With Minato protecting him, Drake could fully focus on using Wood Release."
This explanation was so convincing even Hiruzen nodded.
"In that case... Team Nine's combat potential is becoming dangerously high," Hiruzen muttered.
Minato, Kakashi, and now a Wood Release Drake —
that lineup was terrifying.
The other three? He didn't even bother factoring them in.
Danzo smiled.
"Preventing that is simple."
"Oh?"
"Transfer Drake to Root. Problem solved."
"No."
Hiruzen rejected it instantly.
"If anyone recruits him, it will be ANBU — not Root."
With Danzo's record of secretly hoarding Wood Release users, trusting him was impossible.
"Summon an ANBU operative."
Soon, a masked shinobi appeared.
"I want Drake's academy records."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Before long, the file was delivered.
Hiruzen scanned the entry test results.
"So that's it..." he murmured.
The listed natures were: Earth, Water, Fire.
"So he really does have Fire nature..." Danzo frowned.
"Then how did he awaken Wood Release?"
"It's possible," Hiruzen replied calmly.
"And the Fire nature might be why his Wood Release surpasses Yamato's."
"Fire enhances growth... catalytic properties?"
Danzo nodded slowly in understanding.
"Very well. We'll expand ANBU and conduct recruitment trials."
A perfect excuse to bring Drake into the fold.
"Then Root should also—"
"No need."
Hiruzen cut him off.
"Root will stay as it is."
"You—!"
Danzo stormed out in fury.
Hiruzen sighed.
"Danzo... it's not that I don't trust you. It's that I can't."
Drake's potential exceeded even Yamato's.
If Danzo gained control of him, the Hokage seat itself would become unstable.
And that was something Hiruzen would never allow.
Drake's Courtyard
Back home, Drake watered the saplings and the jujube tree before collapsing onto the wooden lounge beneath their shade.
Rustle… rustle…
The young tree radiated gratitude, while the jujube tree swayed cheerfully.
"By the way," Drake asked lazily,
"Did anyone enter the yard while I was gone?"
Jujube Tree: "Nope!"
Satisfied, Drake nodded.
The sapling was still too young to communicate clearly, but the jujube tree acted as the perfect security system.
Just as he was about to drift into sleep—
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Urgent footsteps approached.
BANG!
The gate flew open.
"Drake!"
Obito burst in, panic all over his face.
Before Drake could sit up, more figures rushed in.
"Drake, stop resting!!"
"This is serious!!"
"HUGE bad news!!"
The girls crowded around him, buzzing with energy.
"We just got back from a mission. Why are you all still this hyper?"
"And what 'huge bad news' are you talking about?"
Drake rubbed his eyes, still confused.
"Look!" Linn handed him a notice.
He glanced at it.
ANBU Selection Examination
Drake raised a brow.
"ANBU... recruitment?"
And for the first time that day —
the lazy smile on his face slowly shifted.
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