At the bathroom doorway, Drake leaned casually against the frame, hands in his pockets, looking perfectly calm.
Inside, Rin stood completely bare, frozen in shock, her expression blank.
Would Drake feel awkward in such a situation?
Of course not.
He firmly believed that as long as he wasn't embarrassed, then the embarrassed one would be someone else.
Besides — this was all for Rin's safety.
"H-Have you seen enough?" Rin asked weakly, her cheeks flushed pink.
"For your safety, I can't let you leave my line of sight," Drake said solemnly, his tone flawless.
Hearing this, Rin panicked, quickly wrapping the towel around herself and rushing out with her head lowered.
Bam!
She crashed straight into Drake.
The towel slipped. She stumbled.
"Ah!!"
With a soft cry, she ended up kneeling right in front of him.
Afternoon
Perhaps because the weather was so stuffy, Rin took several more showers.
"You call this close protection, huh…" she muttered.
"Drake? Why aren't you saying anything?"
Seeing him remain silent, Rin's heart plunged from heaven to hell.
Was he… already tired of her?
"Someone's coming," Drake suddenly said, turning his head toward the door.
"Huh?"
Rin's heart instantly lifted.
So he wasn't ignoring her — he was listening to the outside.
Step… Step… Step…
The footsteps grew clearer.
Then the door opened, and Red Bean poked her head in.
Seeing Drake lying on the sofa and Rin kneeling on the floor, Red Bean finally relaxed.
"The teacher wants everyone to assemble."
Training Ground No. 9
Under the tree.
Once everyone had gathered, Minato tossed a scroll to Drake.
"Read it."
They opened it, and Team 9 scanned the contents.
"Three villages formed an alliance?"
"And they're gathering at the Sand front?"
"That's shameless!"
Red Bean and the others were furious at the blatant tactics.
The intelligence clearly stated that Cloud and Rock ninja had appeared within the Sand frontline camp.
Drake wasn't surprised.
After all, Konoha now had two Wood Release users — that alone was enough to alarm other villages.
"Drake, give us your opinion," Minato said.
Drake stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"When was this information sent?" he asked.
"Just now. I made a copy," Minato replied.
"I see."
He nodded and continued,
"The Cloud and Rock villages likely haven't sent their main forces. These are just small units."
"And their purpose?" Minato pressed.
"To restrain us," Drake replied simply.
"Restrain?"
"Yes. The three villages are working together. Sand is being used to pin down the majority of Konoha's forces."
His reasoning was cold and precise.
In Drake's view, this was an extremely effective — and despicable — strategy.
By increasing pressure on Konoha's frontline, Konoha would have no choice but to keep reinforcing its defenses.
Then…
"Once most of our forces are tied down, Cloud and Rock's main armies will move," Drake added.
Minato felt the weight of those words instantly.
He agreed with Drake's deduction.
A three-village alliance meant an incoming assault on the Fire Nation.
And Konoha's strength was being dragged to the Sand front line.
This was an open conspiracy — a battlefield trap using numbers to crush them.
"I'm going to see the Third," Minato said, collecting the scroll and leaving quickly.
The mood within Team 9 became heavy.
"Looks like our ANBU exam might be cancelled," Kakashi muttered.
"Not necessarily," Drake shook his head.
He simply had zero confidence in the Third Hokage's judgment.
Hokage Office
Minato urgently reported Drake's analysis to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
After listening, the Third frowned slightly.
"Minato, if we don't reinforce the frontline, the Sand will break through. It's better to stabilize the current battle than to prepare for an attack that hasn't happened yet."
His tone was earnest but dismissive.
To be honest, he didn't fully agree with Minato's conclusion.
After all, Konoha had just signed a temporary ceasefire with the Cloud Village — in exchange for sending Team 9 to the Grass Country.
Konoha had fulfilled that condition. Cloud had no reason to attack.
"I'll take my leave," Minato said quietly.
As he turned away, Hiruzen felt displeased.
You keep coming here with your opinions — anyone would think you're the Hokage.
Disrespectful.
Back at the Training Ground
When Minato returned, Team 9 could tell from his expression that things hadn't gone well.
"Looks like he got lectured," Drake muttered.
"Seriously?" Rin's curiosity lit up.
"Go ask him if you don't believe me," Drake teased.
"I'm not doing that…"
Standing before the team, Minato steadied himself.
"Tomorrow is the ANBU entrance exam. You've already received the theory manuals. As for combat… that depends entirely on your own abilities."
"Wait, sensei," Drake spoke up,
"Did you tell the Third about Obito's disappearance?"
"Yes. He believes Obito has defected," Minato sighed.
Defected?
The entire team fell silent.
With Obito's level of ability… betraying the village?
Konoha was safer than anywhere outside.
"He's the Hokage, yet he doesn't even care whether Obito lives or dies," Kakashi sneered.
"That's awful… Obito was clearly taken by Madara," Red Bean protested.
"I told him that theory," Minato admitted, "but he didn't believe it."
Minato had deliberately hidden Drake's special abilities. He knew that even if he revealed them, the Third would still refuse to accept that Madara was involved.
"This… is the tragedy of the insignificant," Drake said quietly.
The sorrow of being small and powerless.
He slowly stood up, his expression unreadable.
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