A light drizzle fell from the grey sky.
A figure wearing a wide straw hat stepped into a roadside inn.
"Room rate — ten thousand ryō per night."
Kenjiro didn't even look up as he named the price, still slurping noisily from his bowl of noodles.
Bang!
The straw hat was tossed onto the counter, revealing the visitor's face.
"Kenjiro… I didn't expect you to still be alive."
A hoarse, chilling voice echoed through the room, making Kenjiro shudder.
He snapped his head up, pupils shrinking.
"L-Lord Orochimaru?!"
He never imagined Orochimaru would turn up in the Land of Grass.
Weren't you supposed to have fled the Leaf's frontlines?!
Why are you here?!
Orochimaru seemed quite pleased with his reaction and calmly explained his purpose.
"Bring me the latest intelligence on Konoha."
"Y-Yes!"
Kenjiro nodded furiously, though inside he was cursing up a storm.
Another freeloader…
Squatting down, he pulled out a scroll from beneath the counter and respectfully placed it in front of Orochimaru.
Orochimaru picked it up and scanned the contents.
The next instant, his expression darkened.
"Are you toying with me?"
"Eh?"
Kenjiro froze, completely confused.
This really was the latest Konoha intel!
Then it hit him like lightning.
Damn it! This is the report about Orochimaru defecting!
His face turned green.
The biggest news from Konoha right now was the defection of Orochimaru, the frontline commander, causing the collapse of the battle line…
And the man responsible was standing right in front of him.
"Misunderstanding! This is definitely a misunderstanding!" Kenjiro rushed to explain.
"Let your next information not be another 'misunderstanding'…" Orochimaru said coldly.
Swallowing his fear, Kenjiro reached down again.
Damn it! Even that brat Drake at least paid properly! But this damned snake — freeloading and still acting like a king!
He pulled out a second scroll.
This time, Orochimaru simply frowned as he read.
"Minato Namikaze led nine genin squads out of the village… headed toward the Land of Hot Water?"
He instantly understood.
The Cloud Village had made its move.
"They really know how to seize an opportunity. The moment I defect, they couldn't hold back anymore…"
"But Minato alone can't possibly stop an entire Cloud army."
As for the nine genin squads, he didn't even bother considering them.
Before leaving, Orochimaru paused.
"Collect information on one more person for me."
"Huh? Who?"
"A Konoha genin… Drake."
With that, he left the inn.
Kenjiro narrowed his eyes, confused.
Drake was practically his "trusted business partner."
Why was someone like Orochimaru suddenly interested in him?
On the rain-drenched street.
Orochimaru's face was dark, fury smouldering in his eyes.
He still couldn't figure it out.
Who was it that had blown open his secret research facility?
Because of that incident, he had been forced to defect, losing everything — status, power, position.
"From beginning to end, only Drake of Team Nine ever came close to the outer perimeter of the lab…"
"But he's just a taijutsu-focused brat. There's no way he could use a forbidden technique of that magnitude…"
"So did he hide something… or was Minato responsible?"
"Ah-choo!"
Deep in the morning forest, Drake sneezed hard.
Not seeing Kakashi nearby, he guessed the guy was out scouting the surroundings.
Yugao, however, was still there—
Wait.
Drake looked down at the rock.
His shirt was gone.
"…Didn't I lay it here to keep it dry from the dew? How did it end up in her hands?"
He wasn't imagining it.
Yugao was quietly stitching his clothes.
Ah… so that's what was happening.
"You're awake," she said, glancing over with a small smile, her needle still moving. "Almost done."
"…Thanks."
After a brief word of gratitude, Drake leapt into a nearby tree and instinctively opened his status panel.
Name: Drake
Age: 12
Strength: 458 [Super-tier]
Constitution: 2304 [Sage-tier]
Agility: 186 [Kage-level]
Spirit: 640 [Ultimate Immunity]
Chakra: 3588
Skills: None
Ninjutsu: Planetary Devastation (S-Rank) [Quality Evolution]
Ability: Wood Release
Overall Combat Rating: Genin
He froze.
"…My constitution doubled again. Sage-tier."
"But what's this… Wood Release?"
Drake stared at the glowing text in disbelief.
He had never learned Wood Release. Never even touched anything related to it.
So how did this ability awaken?
For someone who avoided unnecessary ninjutsu, this was almost insulting.
He took a slow breath and forced himself to remain calm.
"Everything happens for a reason."
He began piecing it together.
"First, my physique upgraded to Sage-tier. That's basically like possessing a Sage Body…"
"But that alone doesn't explain the emergence of Wood Release."
His thoughts raced.
Then suddenly—
His eyes lit up.
"Wood Release is a Kekkei Genkai formed from the fusion of earth and other elements!"
"I remember during academy tests, my chakra had fire and earth among its attributes."
"But when Minato tested me after graduation, those attributes had 'disappeared'…"
"What if they never vanished — but fused instead?"
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense.
"And when my constitution evolved to Sage-tier, that fused attribute transformed… and matured into Wood Release!"
That was the only logical explanation.
He had never lost his affinity.
It had merely been waiting to awaken.
Closing the panel, Drake neither felt ecstatic nor disappointed.
He had never sought ninjutsu.
And yet, Wood Release had found him.
Life sure is strange.
Just then—
Whoosh!
Kakashi returned, landing lightly nearby. His gaze flicked to Yugao sewing Drake's clothes, expression turning subtly strange before he leapt up beside him.
"I found over a dozen Cloud shinobi approaching from the direction of the Hot Water Daimyo's estate."
"Oh?" Drake raised a brow. "Only a dozen?"
A faint, dangerous smile appeared on his lips.
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