On the street, Squad Nine walked proudly through Konoha.
After escaping disaster once again, Drake had gone from merely being the squad captain to the undisputed soul of Squad Nine.
His "mysterious intelligence" had become everyone's biggest curiosity.
Once or twice could be considered luck…
But every single time, Drake could magically solve the crisis.
This made the others secretly wonder:
Is our captain actually some hidden genius?
"Drake… did you eat some medicine that makes you smarter?" Anko suddenly whispered.
Her voice was soft, but every ninja here had sharp hearing.
Everyone immediately leaned an ear in.
"Medicine? No," Drake shook his head calmly.
"So… you mean you ate something else?" Kakashi's eyes lit up.
"Oh? Kakashi, you're pretty smart." Drake complimented casually.
"Drake! Come on, tell us! What did you eat? We'll eat it too!" Anko couldn't hold it anymore.
"Well~~"
Drake rubbed his chin, pretending to hesitate.
"Just tell us! We'll keep it a secret!" Yugao promised earnestly.
"Trust me, Captain Drake! I definitely won't say anything!" Yamato pounded his chest.
"…Alright."
Seeing them this curious, Drake slowly revealed:
"Grilled meat."
Everyone: "???"
"Eating barbecue… makes you smarter?"
"You're messing with us, right?"
If grilled meat really made you a genius, then the Akimichi clan should have been full of supergeniuses.
Clearly, Drake was just messing with them.
"I'm serious. Believe it or not."
Then he suddenly turned to Anko.
"Hey, Anko."
"Eh? Me?" Anko leaned forward.
"That bottle of snake venom… did you deal with it?"
"Oh, that? I threw it away ages ago." Anko answered casually.
"Where exactly?"
"Behind the mountain… left side… near some pine trees."
Drake paused.
Behind the mountain? Pine trees…
Before he could decide if that was a problem—
"Captain!" Yamato raised his hand nervously.
"What?"
"That pine forest… I know it."
"You know it?" Drake frowned.
"Yes… ROOT headquarters is right under it."
Drake: "…"
Anko: "…"
Everyone: "…"
A long silence.
"…Anko, you're… quite talented." Drake sighed meaningfully.
Anko looked conflicted.
Maybe… maybe she really threw it in the wrong place?
FWIP!
Suddenly, Minato appeared.
"Private room at the yakiniku restaurant."
One simple sentence.
Squad Nine's spirit immediately ignited—
Time to test the legendary
"Eat grilled meat, become smarter" theory.
At the BBQ restaurant
Squad Nine chowed down like starving wolves.
Only Minato and Drake remained calm and didn't touch the food.
"Drake, I already know the mission you were supposed to carry out," Minato said.
Drake blinked.
The others froze mid-bite.
"Oh no! We forgot the mission!!" Rin yelped.
"Yeah—I didn't remember at all!" Yugao covered her face.
"Don't panic. We can go after we finish eating," Anko shrugged.
After all, it was an S-rank mission.
Doing some "mental preparation" was reasonable.
"Sensei, if you didn't mention it, I would've forgotten completely," Drake said with a straight face.
"Perfect. You don't need to go anymore." Minato smiled.
"…Huh?"
"The Flame Princess—Kazehana Ruri—is already back."
Squad Nine exchanged confused glances.
She's back?
Then the mission was naturally cancelled.
"I ran into her earlier," Minato continued.
"But her reaction was… strange."
"Sensei, what does that have to do with us?" Drake asked honestly.
He didn't even know her.
"It may not matter to everyone else… but I think it matters to you." Minato said meaningfully.
Drake was confused.
"…How could it possibly matter to me?"
"She told me—first thing she said—'Tell Drake… thank you.'"
Drake: "???"
He made his conclusion:
She must be sick.
Back at the Hokage Building ruins
Ruri stood staring blankly.
"What… happened to the building?"
"An accident," Hiruzen replied with a straight face.
Then he praised her.
"You did well. Even though you didn't retrieve the intel, the fact that you returned alive from the Sand army proves your strength."
"But…"
Hiruzen suddenly paused.
"But what, Lord Hokage?" Ruri asked.
"…Shinnosuke is dead."
"Ah?"
Ruri froze.
She didn't love Shinnosuke, and they weren't even married yet.
But still — it was a political marriage arranged by the Hokage.
She leaves on an S-rank mission.
She returns.
And her fiancé is dead?
After speaking with Hiruzen awhile, she realized:
It was Orochimaru who killed Shinnosuke.
And not only that—
Most of ANBU was dead.
According to Hiruzen:
Among the entire ANBU, only Ruri (the vice-captain) and six brand-new recruits remained.
"Ruri, your next task… is to recruit more ANBU."
Hiruzen's voice was heavy.
"ANBU is weak. ROOT is strong. That is dangerous."
"I understand," Ruri nodded and left.
FWIP!
Danzo suddenly appeared.
Hiruzen almost jumped — Danzo never used Body Flicker before.
Danzo's face was dark as ink.
"Hiruzen! Something terrible happened!"
Hiruzen's heart skipped.
You already secretly blew up the Hokage building. What else could possibly be worse?
"My ROOT operatives… all died."
"You sent them to hunt Orochimaru?" Hiruzen asked.
"No. I only sent them to find him. But barely a few dozen kilometers outside Konoha… they were ALL slaughtered."
"All…?"
Hiruzen's pupils shrank.
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