More and more shinobi gathered in the square
—until Minato Namikaze appeared and stood before all the squads.
"I am the overall commander of this mission. The details will be explained on the way."
His gaze swept across the crowd, his expression unusually serious.
"All squads, restock your ninja tools. Assemble at the village gate in one hour."
As soon as he finished speaking, the various teams dispersed.
Taking advantage of the gap, Drake found Danzo and secured approval for a fifth member for Team Nine.
"Drake, you're doing well."
When he heard that Anko Mitarashi was to join Team Nine, Danzo praised him lightly and approved without hesitation.
"Remember, if Minato shows any unusual behavior—"
"Don't worry, Lord Danzo. I'll report everything truthfully."
Drake smiled with perfect sincerity.
An hour later, nine squads gathered at the village entrance and headed toward the Land of Hot Water.
Along the way, intelligence scrolls were passed around.
[The Cloud Village vanguard has gathered at the border between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Fire.]
Drake didn't even need to think to understand —
their mission was to station themselves directly opposite the Cloud forces.
At the border river.
At noon, during a short break, Drake moved beside Minato.
"Sensei, how is the daimyo of the Land of Hot Water?"
"What, worried?" Minato chuckled as he chewed on a dango.
"Ah, just asking."
"She's fine. She escaped to the village last night and is staying with Kushina."
"I see…"
Reassured, Drake stepped back.
In the afternoon, the squads continued marching.
The atmosphere grew heavy — oppressively so.
Even Team Nine walked in silence.
"It's just a battlefield. Why does everyone look like they're walking to their own funeral?"
Drake muttered.
Night fell.
Several campfires flickered as each squad gathered and whispered amongst themselves.
Drake wandered over and found Obito… writing a will.
If I die in battle, there are 80,000 ryo under my bed.
10,000 goes to Drake.
The remaining 70,000 goes to the Academy...
Drake: ???
This idiot actually has a heart.
He stood up and wandered around, noticing:
Kakashi staring at the night sky from a tree branch
Rin dazing out by the fire
Anko already fast asleep near the flames
Eventually, he stopped beside Minato again.
"You came just in time. I was about to look for you," Minato said.
"For me?"
"Sit."
They sat down by the fire.
"The Cloud Village vanguard numbers around three hundred."
Minato unfolded a map and pointed to the eastern side of the border river.
"Wait… isn't this the route to the daimyo's residence?" Drake frowned, recognizing the terrain.
This was the same path they'd taken when escorting Minae —
the same mission where he'd been chased by dozens of Chunin.
"Correct. The rest of the Hot Water terrain is mountainous forest, so the Cloud forces chose this route."
Minato drew a straight line from the Cloud encampment toward the Land of Lightning.
"This will likely be their main advance route — both for the vanguard and the main army."
Drake nodded.
Straight lines were faster, especially when an established road existed.
The Cloud wouldn't detour into mountains for no reason.
Then came the real problem.
"Sensei… our mission is just to defend the border line?" Drake asked.
"Yes."
He frowned.
Thirty Genin
Defending against three hundred Cloud shinobi
Plus the possibility of reinforcements at any moment.
Was this defense… even viable?
The Cloud weren't some third-rate village.
They specialized in Lightning Release — brutal, direct, destructive.
Sending nine Genin squads to stall them?
This felt like a joke. A bad one.
Minato sighed bitterly.
"You saw the problem too."
"Sensei… this is insane."
"This comes straight from the Third Hokage. We are to delay the Cloud forces — at any cost."
Drake was speechless.
Before leaving, Minato added softly,
"I know you're fast, Drake. But don't grow overconfident."
"Some Cloud shinobi can boost themselves with Lightning Release to reach Kage-level speed."
The next morning, the squads resumed their march.
Rarely this solemn, Drake washed his hands and calmed his breathing before opening his status panel.
Name: Drake
Age: 12
Strength: 458 [Super]
Constitution: 1152 [Sub-???]
Agility: 186 [Kage-tier]
Spirit: 640 [Ultimate Immunity]
Chakra: 2436
Skills: None
Ninjutsu:Chibaku Tensei (S-rank) [Mass Evolution]
Overall Rating: Genin
"Ninjutsu doubled again?"
"Chibaku… Tensei?"
His heart trembled slightly.
From Rasengan → Gravitational Sphere → Chibaku Tensei.
Now it made sense.
That so-called Gravitational Sphere… was just a defective version of Chibaku Tensei.
Unlike before, this version no longer required continuous chakra supply.
Once formed, it sustained itself.
A true planetary-level technique.
By noon, they were nearing the border river.
Every squad grew tense.
And then—
BOOM!! BOOM!!
Sudden explosions obliterated three squads instantly.
"Retreat!!"
Minato shouted.
All remaining squads leapt backward.
"Explosive tag trap?" Drake stared at the massive crater.
The Cloud had crossed the border just to bury bomb traps in advance.
How disgusting.
Explosive tags buried underground were nearly impossible to detect,
triggering the moment stepped upon.
"No wonder most shinobi prefer traveling through the trees…"
Drake muttered darkly.
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