Team Nine returned to the village.
Originally, Drake planned to go straight home and lie flat in bliss, but Obito quietly came over.
"Drake… I'm really sad."
The Obito who had been silent the whole way finally spoke.
"Huh? What are you sad about?" Drake asked, confused.
"You don't know… Yesterday at the outpost, I overheard Rin and the others whispering…"
"Whispering what?"
"They said you're a genius." Obito lowered his head.
Drake was genuinely puzzled.
They praised me, so why are you depressed?
As a good brother, shouldn't you be happy for me?
"They said you're a genius, fine… but I also heard them say I'm useless."
Obito sounded utterly dejected.
Drake: "..."
So that's it.
"Drake, we used to be useless together… how did you abandon me like this?"
Faced with such a sharp question, Drake seriously thought for a moment.
"Maybe… you're just moving too slowly?"
"I'll train hard! I'll definitely catch up to you!" Obito clenched his fist.
"Oh, good luck." Drake encouraged him expressionlessly.
"Just wait!"
After declaring that, Obito ran off in a flash.
No sooner had he left than Rin and the other two girls approached.
"Drake…"
"You guys too?"
"Well… could you guide our training?" Rin asked shyly.
Drake looked at Rin, then at Yugao and Anko.
It felt like these three had grown… in just two days?
"You're sure you want me to train you?" he asked again.
"Yes! Just teach us using your usual training methods!" Anko said decisively.
Drake went silent.
His "usual training method" was… lying flat.
If he taught them that, they'd get even worse.
"But I charge for tutoring," he added.
"No problem!" all three nodded together.
Even the mention of fees couldn't stop them. Seeing this, Drake reluctantly agreed.
"Alright. Bring several sets of clothes. Remember — ultra-thin and breathable! Meet me at the back mountain."
He waved and left.
The three girls stood there, completely stunned.
"D-Did he just say bring extra clothes?" Rin's brain short-circuited.
"And ultra-thin, breathable ones!" Anko panicked inwardly.
"And also the back mountain…" Yugao grew uneasy.
Is training supposed to involve clothes like that?
Is he really planning to guide their training?
The three looked at each other.
"Are we still going?" Rin asked.
"Of course! What's there to be scared of! I don't believe Drake would dare do anything to the three of us…" Anko snorted, not finishing her sentence.
"But what if…" Yugao countered.
"By the way!" Rin suddenly remembered something.
"Do you know how Drake got his private bath?"
Hearing gossip, Anko and Yugao immediately leaned in.
"How?"
"Apparently… he slept while hugging the Lady Daimyo of the Land of Hot Springs — Mineko — and got it that way," Rin whispered.
Anko: "WHAT?! He slept with a daimyo?!"
Yugao: "Drake is that kind of person?!"
Hokage Office
The Third Hokage stared at Minato's mission report, the pipe in his mouth dropping to the floor.
Seeing this, Danzo stepped in and scanned the contents as well.
Then—
His left eye widened.
"Uchiha Madara… still alive?!"
The two spoke almost in unison.
Their shock was obvious.
Minato had expected this reaction. After returning, he had already confirmed some details with Kushina before reporting.
After a long silence, both finally came back to their senses.
"Unbelievable… Madara was clearly killed by the First Hokage," Danzo muttered.
"Minato, can you guarantee that man was truly Madara?" the Third asked.
"Yes," Minato replied firmly.
"And he even attacked our squad."
He worded it this way on purpose — to downplay Drake's role and protect the boy's secrets.
Hearing this, the two elders exchanged looks.
"Then that means Madara was trying to abduct someone…" the Third reasoned.
"He must've been targeting the Wood Release user, Yamato!" Danzo added.
The Third nodded in realization.
"That's it! Madara wanted to seize Yamato, but he didn't realize Yamato wasn't on this mission. So upon discovering that, he retreated!"
Everything now seemed to make sense.
Minato silently admired the Hokage's logical leap.
"No wonder the Stone Shinobi withdrew as well," Danzo continued. "They must've sensed Madara's presence and chose to observe instead."
After finishing the report, Minato departed.
Danzo soon left as well, his eyes fixed on Minato's back, expression dark and calculating.
With a gesture, a Root ninja appeared.
"I want every piece of intel on the Uchiha clan's Sharingan. EVERYTHING."
"Yes, sir."
As the subordinate vanished, Danzo murmured:
"The First Hokage never makes mistakes… Madara must have died back then…"
"And yet… here he is alive."
"Is this some Sharingan technique… or a forbidden jutsu?"
Bonus – Training Disaster Begins
For the first time in his life, Drake was actually guiding others in training.
To avoid embarrassing himself, he carefully wrote out a "training & pricing plan" at home.
Water Walking Demonstration – 10,000 ryō
Tree Climbing Training – 10,000 ryō
One-Punch Rock Smash (Demo) – 10,000 ryō
Chakra Shape Control – 100,000 ryō
Unrivaled Power Showcase – 10,000,000 ryō
Satisfied, he felt this was more than enough for teaching three beginners.
Back mountain, by the stream.
When Drake arrived, Rin and the others had been waiting a while.
"You're late!" Anko complained.
He noticed Anko holding a net bag with very light training clothes inside.
"Good preparation," he commented.
Yugao nervously clutched her bundle. "You're not allowed to look."
"Rin, what about you?"
"I'm already wearing mine…" Rin said, lifting her clothes slightly to show another layer underneath.
Drake facepalmed.
"I'll warn you now — with that setup, you might end up with no clothes left."
"You pervert…" Rin muttered, blushing.
Drake ignored the misunderstanding and presented the price list.
"You're really charging us?!" Anko stared.
Despite owning a bath worth over a hundred million, he still charged this strictly?
"I'll learn water walking," Yugao said calmly, immediately paying.
"I… I'll try too," Rin followed.
"Don't be fooled! You don't need to pay for walking on water — just practice!" Anko tried to save them.
"And remember how he tricked Yamato into talking to trees like a lunatic!"
Drake snapped.
He stepped close to Anko, staring her down.
"If you keep slandering me… I might just throw you into the stream."
Being so close, Anko's heart pounded wildly, her face flushing bright red.
"Y-You're too close… fine! I'll learn!"
Thus, all three purchased the lesson.
Chaos Ensues
Drake demonstrated once, calmly walking across the stream.
"Watch my feet carefully!"
Anko tried first.
"Watch this!"
Plop!
She fell straight in.
"I knew it…" Drake sighed, pulling her back up.
She grabbed her clothes and ran behind a tree to change, face burning red.
Next was Yugao.
She managed better, wobbling but staying afloat—until she panicked.
"I'm gonna fall!"
Drake instinctively grabbed her waist.
Plop!
Straight into the water.
"And you were doing fine until I helped…" he muttered.
Red-faced, Yugao fled behind the trees too.
Finally, Rin.
"Wait! I'll take this off first!"
From behind the trees, Anko and Yugao peeked, watching Rin boldly removing layers in front of Drake.
"She's doing this on purpose…"
"So shameless…"
Suddenly—
Drake flashed behind the trees to hide.
"It's fine if I stay here, right…?"
The next second, his eyes were assaulted by an unexpected view.
"They weren't done changing yet?!"
"AAAAAA!!!"
A scream echoed through the mountains.
Later, at the BBQ restaurant…
"What a terrible day…" Drake sighed.
"Oh, let's eat!" Rin and the two others cheered happily.
He ended up paying as "compensation" for the earlier misunderstanding.
"Three万 ryō earned, but I spend double on BBQ…"
"I'm never teaching again."
Just then, a familiar low voice sounded.
"Drake."
He turned.
Danzo was beckoning him from a private room.
Inside, Drake sat opposite him once more.
"I already know everything about this mission," Danzo said coldly.
Then why the hell did you call me here? Drake cursed internally.
"So what is it, Lord Danzo?" he asked politely.
Danzo glanced toward the three girls outside and smirked.
"You're quite impressive… taking on three at once."
Drake: "???"
◇ 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