The explosion roared, shattering countless wooden planks.
Smoke billowed into the air, sparks leaping along with it.
Several charred boards flew to the team's feet, as if protesting their fate.
"Kakashi!" Drake called out.
Whoosh!
Kakashi sprang forward, rushing in the direction the strange wind had come from.
Ten minutes later.
Team Nine and Morino Ibiki stood around an empty sealing scroll lying on the ground.
"So you searched all around and only found this?" Drake frowned.
"Yes. And I didn't find anyone at all," Kakashi explained.
At first, Drake had thought it was simply his lack of sensory abilities that prevented him from detecting the enemy, which was why he sent Kakashi to investigate.
But now even Kakashi had found nothing.
"So my initial judgment was right. There are no enemies nearby."
His gaze dropped to the sealing scroll.
The answer was obvious.
"Using Wind Release within a sealing scroll, combined with explosive tags… a pre-set sabotage trap?" Drake muttered.
"That's most likely it. Sand ninja are well-known for puppet mechanisms and traps," Kakashi nodded.
"This is troublesome…" Ibiki sighed.
The enemy never even showed their face. Just a mechanism set in advance had blown up the supply station again.
Even more frustrating — they had just started rebuilding. The walls weren't even secured yet.
"All the planks are destroyed. How are we supposed to rebuild now?" Obito scratched his head.
"I checked too. None of this wood can be reused," Rin added.
Everyone turned to Drake.
This only deepened Ibiki's confusion.
Shouldn't they be asking the genius Kakashi?
Why were they all staring at the so-called dead last, Drake?
Was he… actually the brains of the team?
Thump!
Drake stood up and began giving orders.
"The priority right now isn't rebuilding the supply station. It's finding that Sand ninja squad!"
"As long as the threat exists, it'll just get blown up again even if we rebuild it."
Team Nine nodded collectively.
Even Ibiki had to admit that made perfect sense.
But the problem was — how?
"There are only five of us. We can't split up. In this situation, finding that Sand squad is almost impossible!" Ibiki argued.
After he finished speaking, no one responded.
Instead, Drake suddenly put an arm around his shoulder and led him aside.
"Little Yibi."
"Call me by my full name," Ibiki corrected him again.
"There's a very important task for you."
Drake patted his shoulder seriously.
"What task?"
"Write slogans. Insults against the Sand ninja. The more vicious, the better."
"…And then?"
"Then nail those slogans onto the trees around here. The more, the better."
Ibiki understood immediately.
This was bait.
But… would something like this actually work?
Next, Drake went to Kakashi.
"Kakashi, send word to Supply Station No. 2. Tell them to send a cart of supplies here."
"On it." Kakashi nodded and left at once.
He wasn't worried about the team's safety. With Drake around, things somehow always worked out.
"What about me?" Obito rushed over, afraid of being left out.
"You? Help Little Yibi come up with even more insulting phrases."
Rin also asked for a task and was eventually sent to help write slogans too, since Ibiki's injuries made it hard for him to move around.
As evening fell, scorched wooden planks covered in slogans were nailed to nearby trees.
Drake inspected them and had to admit Obito's creativity was… impressive. Truly worthy of a master essay writer.
[Sand ninjas deserve extinction]
[Sand ninja, your mommy is gone]
[Useless Sand ninja, only good at sneak attacks]
[The Kazekage and Chiyo are shameless lovers]
[Sand ninja, kneel down and call me dad]
"Well? How is it?"
Obito ran over proudly.
"In terms of venom, you're unmatched," he declared.
"Hmm… a bit low-class, but acceptable," Drake commented.
Rustle… rustle…
Suddenly, Drake turned toward the road.
Footsteps. Hooves. A wagon.
Moments later, Kakashi returned — and with him, a cart full of supplies.
What surprised Drake was the person transporting them.
Mitarashi Anko.
"I hadn't even gone far when I ran into Green Bean," Kakashi explained calmly.
"Hey! Don't push your luck, Kakashi!" Anko snapped, hands on her hips.
Then she noticed the entire Team Nine staring at her.
One versus four?
Yeah… not favorable. Better to endure it for now.
After some brief conversation, Drake learned her destination.
She was supposed to go to Supply Station No. 5 and had taken on this supply mission along the way.
"You weren't attacked on the road?" Drake asked.
"Heh~ Your teacher escorted me for a stretch. Smooth sailing," Anko grinned.
"I see…"
So Minato had probably been sweeping the area and guarded her along the way.
"Rest tonight. Tomorrow, we escort the supplies together." Drake announced as if everything was natural.
"That's… seriously okay?" Anko stared in disbelief.
Since when was Drake this generous?
Not only was he not mocking her, he was letting Team Nine escort her too?
The most baffling part?
Kakashi didn't object.
"Wait a second!" Anko finally snapped.
"Who exactly is the captain of your team?"
"Does that really matter?" Drake replied calmly.
Night fell.
By the campfire, Drake and Kakashi reviewed the plan for tomorrow.
"The Sand squad's goal is to block supply transport by destroying Station No. 3."
"Because Station No. 3 is the farthest from the village and also the farthest from the front lines. It sits right in the middle. Therefore—"
Drake concluded:
"This Sand squad must be very small in number."
Kakashi listened carefully.
"So tomorrow, we escort the supplies and use that to lure them out."
"Wait," Kakashi interrupted.
"If we're using bait, wouldn't fewer people be more effective?"
"Heh… fewer people?" Drake smirked.
"If you were a Sand ninja, would you think that was safe?"
Kakashi fell silent.
He already knew the answer.
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