Morning.
Drake was still sound asleep.
A circle of people stood around him, all utterly speechless.
"Are you seriously not going to wake him up? Aren't we escorting the supplies today?" Anko asked in disbelief.
It was clearly Drake who insisted on today's escort mission, yet now he was the only one still sleeping.
Even more baffling — no one else seemed eager to wake him.
Did the dead last of Team Nine really have this kind of privilege?
Faced with Anko's questioning, Kakashi looked up at the sky.
Obito returned under a tree, ready to close his eyes again.
Rin hesitated, then decided to wait a little longer.
As for Ibiki, since he wasn't part of Team Nine, he chose not to interfere.
And so…
Drake slept for over another hour before finally waking up.
Only then did the group set off.
On the road, Drake noticed Anko looked especially irritated today.
Which, for some reason, greatly improved his mood.
Spirit: 320 (160×2) [Super Immunity]
Glancing at his status panel, Drake stroked his chin.
"Super Immunity… what kind of nonsense is that? So there are even 'super genjutsu' now?"
After thinking for a moment, he felt it wasn't impossible.
"If normal genjutsu has beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels… then super genjutsu must be on the same level as ocular techniques."
It was just speculation — he still didn't fully understand it.
After half an hour of travel, Drake raised his hand.
"Let's rest."
"Are you serious? We haven't even walked thirty minutes yet!" Anko exploded.
"You sleepy again?"
"Hm? I'm worried about the ox getting tired. What does that have to do with me?" Drake replied innocently.
Then he added, "Did you forget to drink mung bean soup before bed? Your temper's pretty fiery today."
"You…!"
Anko turned her head away, nearly choking on rage.
Throughout the morning, they stopped and rested four or five times, all thanks to Drake's pace control.
Just as Anko was about to erupt completely—
The Sand ninja appeared.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Three Sand ninja emerged ahead, arms crossed, sneering at the supply convoy.
"Heh~ Konoha's got guts. Sending a few academy brats and one Hatake Kakashi, thinking they can escort supplies safely?"
Fengchuan mocked coldly.
"Children of Konoha, once you meet me, Pakura, your end has arrived."
The female ninja's eyes were icy.
"Enough talk. Just kill them!" Maki urged impatiently.
Beside the ox cart, everyone tensed up instantly.
"That's him. He killed my teammates."
Ibiki pointed at Fengchuan.
"Don't rush in! That woman is probably Pakura, a Scorch Release user, and the other is Maki — both very dangerous!" Kakashi warned.
Instinctively, he glanced sideways.
"Hm? Where's Drake?"
He was clearly here just a moment ago.
How did he vanish?
In the next instant—
Drake became a blur.
He flashed in front of Fengchuan and threw a punch.
BOOM!
A terrifying force erupted, blasting a hole clean through Fengchuan's abdomen.
"Taijutsu monster!"
"Fall back!"
Maki and Pakura were horrified and leapt backward immediately.
Against a taijutsu specialist, getting close was suicide.
But unfortunately—
They had barely taken a single step when Drake reappeared before them.
Crack! Crack!
Both his hands shot out, easily gripping their throats.
"Don't move. Move even once, and I'll crush you."
He grinned, teeth gleaming chillingly.
Drip… drip…
Blood trickled down Maki's neck — Fengchuan's blood.
His pupils shrank violently.
"This kid… how is his taijutsu this monstrous? And his speed—"
"From killing Fengchuan to grabbing us… not even a second passed."
Just one step.
They only managed one step before their throats were seized.
Since when did Konoha produce such a freak of nature?
Not just the Sand ninja — even Anko and Ibiki stared in total shock.
"No wonder you all listen to Drake…" Ibiki muttered, suddenly enlightened.
"Wasn't he the dead last? He's been hiding and secretly training taijutsu?" Anko's expression grew complicated.
Trash talk? She couldn't beat him.
Now even his strength crushed hers.
Dragging the two Sand ninja along, Drake walked back to the ox cart and tossed them to the ground.
"Obito, tie them up."
"Ah? Got it!"
Obito snapped back to reality and hurriedly pulled out ninja wire.
"I'm telling you now, Drake can smash a jōnin's head with one punch, so don't think about resisting!"
Even while tying them up, Obito issued a clear warning.
He was worried they might fail against Drake and try to retaliate against him instead.
Luckily, neither Maki nor Pakura dared to struggle.
Because Drake was watching them with an amused smile — as if hoping they'd try.
"Drake, why not just kill them?" Kakashi asked, gripping his blade.
"If we kill them, the Sand will just send another squad to sabotage the station," Drake shook his head.
"So… you already have a plan?"
"Not really a plan," he replied casually.
"More like… a threat."
Drake calmly revealed his strategy.
"We send these two Sand ninja to the front line and use them to threaten their commander."
"If they keep sending people to sabotage the supply stations, we kill these two."
"If they stop, they live."
A relaxed smile crept onto his face.
Obito and the others tried hard to understand, but their brains nearly overheated.
Even Kakashi only half-followed.
Would something like this actually work?
Drake sighed deeply.
"You people really don't use your heads."
He explained more plainly.
"If their commander ignores our warning and continues infiltration, he'll gain a reputation for abandoning his own men."
"Today he discards infiltrators. Tomorrow, he'll discard frontline soldiers too."
"And once that doubt spreads… Sand's frontline morale will collapse."
Realization struck all of them at once.
"So that's it…" Kakashi murmured.
"I never noticed before — you're actually brilliant, Drake." Anko's eyes shone.
"Back off." Drake waved her away coldly.
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