When Team Nine finally woke up, the first thing they noticed was that Drake was gone.
"Where's Drake?"
"He didn't run off again like last time, did he?" Obito guessed boldly.
"That's impossible. He probably just went to buy breakfast," Rin said, still believing in him.
The three walked out and headed to the front desk.
Kakashi was just about to ask the innkeeper when—
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion erupted from the inn across the street, followed by violent tremors.
Then—
CRASH!!
The entire building collapsed, dust and debris rising into the air.
A figure came sprinting out of the smoke, coughing.
If it wasn't Drake, who else could it be?
Team Nine froze on the spot.
"He… demolished their inn?"
What exactly did Drake just do?!
Even Kenjirō stood there dumbfounded, heart aching.
He'd told this kid to eliminate the rival innkeeper — not wipe out the entire inn, damn it!
With the building gone, how was he supposed to take it over?
"Careless…" Drake spat out a mouthful of dust, looking slightly regretful.
He truly hadn't expected one punch to bring down the load-bearing wall.
But the innkeeper was dead, which technically fulfilled Kenjirō's request.
At the counter, Drake grabbed a towel and wiped his face before looking at him.
"I did what you asked."
Kenjirō felt a chill run down his spine and nodded rapidly.
Collapsed or not, the competitor was gone — that was what mattered. Now this whole street belonged to him.
"What intel do you want?" he asked cautiously.
"The movements of the Iwa border forces," Drake replied without hesitation.
"I see…"
Kenjirō bent down and rummaged beneath the counter, soon pulling out a scroll.
"This is from yesterday afternoon," he added as a reminder.
"Yesterday afternoon?"
Drake opened it and skimmed through the contents. Kakashi and the others leaned over to read as well.
The information was simple:
As of yesterday afternoon, Iwagakure's No.4 border outpost has increased its forces by ten combat squads.
On the surface, it didn't seem like much.
One squad was only three ninja — ten squads meant thirty.
But that was just one outpost.
What about the others?
If every outpost had reinforced by ten squads, the numbers would be significant.
"Is this all?" Drake asked again.
"For border movements? Yes, only this," Kenjirō replied honestly.
"Oh? So you have other intel on Iwa?" Drake's eyes lit up.
Kenjirō's face darkened. His information was worth serious money — and giving it away this cheaply hurt.
But circumstances were circumstances.
He pulled out another scroll, clearly unwilling, and placed it on the counter.
Iwa Jōnin Heishi is currently searching for the Box of Ultimate Bliss within the Land of Grass.
Just one short line.
Drake didn't care much. It wasn't related to their mission anyway.
Technically speaking, Team Nine's mission was already complete.
Still, he made a deal with Kenjirō.
"If you get new intel about Iwa's border forces, pass it on to me."
"And what do I get?" Kenjirō narrowed his eyes, ready to negotiate.
"For every piece of intel — I'll eliminate one person for you," Drake promised calmly.
"Deal!"
Kenjirō's eyes gleamed.
Hiring this taijutsu monster for the price of information? Absolute profit.
He then pulled out a piece of paper.
"Write your real name and address. My people will need it to deliver messages."
"No problem." Drake agreed smoothly.
He wrote down Minato's name and address.
Kenjirō's face instantly turned green.
"Are you trying to screw with me?! You think I don't know who Minato Namikaze is?!"
"Ah… my mistake." Without the slightest embarrassment, Drake crossed it out and wrote Kakashi's name and address instead.
"Kid! Hatake Kakashi has silver hair! I'd believe it if you said it was that boy behind you, but you? Don't joke with me!" Kenjirō snapped, convinced this brat was playing games.
After being exposed repeatedly, Drake finally sighed and wrote his own real name and address.
Once outside, Obito couldn't hold it in anymore. He burst out laughing.
"Drake, you're seriously shameless! Hahaha…"
"Shameless?" Drake raised his fist gently, his voice calm and warm.
"Obito, think carefully before choosing your words."
"Wait — not shameless! I mean smart! You're smart!" Obito instantly corrected himself, raising both hands.
A single punch from that fist was a guaranteed death sentence.
But Kakashi remained serious.
"Drake, aren't you worried Kenjirō will sell your information to Iwa?"
Seeing his strength firsthand, Kenjirō clearly knew his value. If that got leaked, other villages would surely analyze him.
And taijutsu users… had many exploitable weaknesses.
Drake understood Kakashi's concern.
"For the sake of the village," he said solemnly, "sacrificing my privacy means nothing."
He sounded noble, righteous, almost heroic.
As for what he truly thought inside… only he knew.
Just as Kakashi feared—
The moment Team Nine left, Kenjirō packaged all information about Drake and sold it to Iwagakure.
And for a very handsome price, at that.
After seeing off the Iwa informants, Kenjirō squatted behind the counter and sighed quietly.
"Ah… Drake, don't blame me. This is my job, after all."
Then he glanced across the street, supervising the cleanup.
Several hired ninja were already clearing the rubble, preparing to build a brand-new inn.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 60 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/SwipeSage