Blood splattered. Flesh flew.
That single punch from Drake stunned everyone — including his own teammates.
"Th-this has to be a joke… right?"
The one-eyed man stared in disbelief, eyes bulging.
He'd been looking forward to watching this brat die horribly. Instead, in the blink of an eye, his boss was gone.
"One punch… just one punch?"
"His entire chest… it's gone…"
"Gulp…"
"Is this kid a taijutsu specialist?!"
The surrounding ninjas panicked and scattered, retreating in all directions.
They weren't fools. If even their leader was dead, staying would just mean dying alongside him.
Drake didn't chase them. He simply crouched and began looting the corpse.
Over a hundred thousand ryō — and three scrolls.
That was everything their "boss" had on him.
Night fell.
Inside the inn room, Team Nine sat in a row on the edge of the bed.
Since Drake had punched their enemy leader to death, not one of them had spoken a word.
Now, taking out the scrolls, Drake prepared to check what was inside.
"Drake…" Kakashi finally broke the silence, his expression complicated.
"Hmm?"
"Why is your taijutsu… so strong?"
"Taijutsu?" Drake chuckled quietly.
"I can't use ninjutsu. Am I not allowed to compensate by being a little strong in taijutsu?"
…He had a point.
"So you've been secretly training your body all this time?" Obito said, as if he'd uncovered the truth.
"You going to the back mountain wasn't slacking off, was it? You were doing extreme training, right?" Rin's eyes sparkled as if she'd solved a mystery.
Drake: "..."
You two are geniuses. Truly.
"But if that's the case," Kakashi continued seriously, "we've probably scared off everyone. Gathering more intel will be much harder now."
"That's what you think?" Drake looked at him, surprised.
He actually thought Kakashi was smarter than this.
Dragging a chair over, Drake sat opposite them.
"Let me ask you something. How much money did you bring for this mission?"
Obito: "I've got a thousand ryō."
Rin: "I brought a little over two thousand."
Kakashi: "None."
"One room in this inn costs five thousand ryō a night," Drake reminded them calmly.
The message was clear.
Together, they couldn't even afford one night.
"With what you brought, we'd be begging on the streets after two days."
If he weren't the captain, and Kakashi were in charge instead, they'd probably already be sleeping in an alley.
As the three fell deep into thought, Drake opened the first scroll.
"So Grass Country already knows Suna attacked the Land of Rivers?"
Scanning the contents, he couldn't help but admit it — their intel was fast. Too fast.
"That means they have their own unique channels for gathering information…"
He tossed the scroll to Kakashi and opened the second.
"This is… Konoha's military movements?"
His expression sharpened.
"They even know Orochimaru was appointed as front-line commander. That decision was made just two days ago… This has to be a leak from inside the village."
He opened the third scroll.
Silence.
[Genjutsu: Gou…]
"Why would a genjutsu linked to the First and Second Hokage be here… and in the hands of a Special Jōnin from Grass?"
Even Kakashi was shaken when he saw it.
"This is impossible. This jutsu should be sealed inside the Hokage Tower's restricted chamber," Kakashi said firmly.
"You've seen it before?" Drake asked.
"I've never read it, but I know for certain it belongs in that vault."
Drake believed him. After all, Kakashi's father had been the legendary White Fang.
After thinking it through, Drake reached a conclusion.
"The ninjas of Grass aren't just selling information. They're selling stolen techniques too."
"And not just ordinary techniques," Kakashi added gravely.
"A shame there was still nothing about the Iwa border forces…"
The night passed in silence.
Morning came.
As captain, Drake enjoyed the luxury of the bed — the others slept on the floor.
As usual, he checked his status panel.
Name: Drake
Age: 12
Strength: 456 (228 × 2) — [Super Tier]
Vitality: 144 — [Kage Level]
Agility: 184 — [Kage Level]
Spirit: 80 — [Mid-tier Immunity]
Chakra: 864
Skills: None
Ninjutsu: None
Overall Rank: Trainee Genin
"Strength doubled again?"
Joy surged through his chest as he clenched his fists.
This power… it felt explosive.
Leaving the others asleep, Drake headed straight to the inn's front desk.
The owner, a chubby man in his thirties named Kenjirō, was squatting behind the counter, eating breakfast.
"Boss, do you know where I can buy higher-level intel?" Drake asked politely, slipping over a high-value banknote.
Kenjirō's eyes lit up instantly.
"High-level intelligence? I've got that right here!"
"I see…" Drake nodded — and calmly pulled the note back.
Kenjirō: "???"
"Kid, you're trying to provoke me so you can kill me like the Special Jōnin, aren't you?" Kenjirō said sharply, seeing through the trap.
"Since you already know, what are you going to use to buy your life?" Drake replied, courteous yet menacing.
"Heh… after seeing you one-punch a Special Jōnin, I know I couldn't take that hit," Kenjirō sighed.
"But if you do me a favor, I'll give you the intel you want."
"Oh?"
After a pause, Drake nodded.
Ecstatic, Kenjirō pointed across the street.
"Kill the owner of the inn over there, and I'll give you everything you want."
Drake blinked.
So this was it?
A request to eliminate a rival.
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