Rage.
Pure, overwhelming rage.
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi was drowning in fury.
He was still kneeling in the office, his entire body trembling.
"Stand up—get up already!"
With a furious roar, he forced himself to break free of the suppression and finally stood.
"Huff—"
He let out a long breath, his fists clenching so tightly they crackled.
"Drake… you've gone completely out of control!"
"I will definitely make you pay."
Cursing nonstop, Hiruzen vented the humiliation he had just suffered.
No matter how he thought about it, he still couldn't accept how terrifyingly strong Drake had become.
"He must have suppressed me using sheer willpower…"
As the so-called Professor of Ninjutsu, Hiruzen quickly deduced what Drake had done earlier.
Pure spiritual will.
But that made no sense.
Such terrifying willpower should only belong to veterans who had survived countless battlefields.
So why did Drake have it?
"He's only twelve… how could his will be this monstrous?"
Tap, tap, tap.
Urgent footsteps echoed from the corridor as Sarutobi Yakumaru rushed in.
"Hokage-sama, your confidential letter."
The moment he handed it over, Yakumaru froze.
The desk was gone.
Documents were scattered everywhere across the floor.
Hiruzen opened the letter.
"Danzo's handwriting?"
Recognizing it instantly, he scanned the contents at once.
[Hiruzen, we've been deceived by Drake.]
[He's not loyal. He's a traitor hiding beneath the mask of loyalty.]
[The Back Mountain explosion was his doing. It directly caused Orochimaru's defection.]
[He's definitely colluding with the Uchiha. Root being wiped out by them was due to him leaking intel.]
[My own ambush by the Uchiha was also Drake selling me out.]
[You must be wary of your ANBU—Root has already fallen under Drake's control.]
[Drake drove me out of the village. You'll be next.]
[If all else fails, defect to Uchiha Madara. We can dominate the shinobi world together.]
[Final advice: there's a member of your clan named Sarutobi Yakumaru. Kill him—his name is unlucky.]
—Your close friend, Danzo
Hiruzen crushed the letter into ash.
His expression was dark as he slowly turned toward his clansman.
"Yakumaru."
"Yes, Hokage-sama?" Yakumaru answered respectfully.
"Change your name."
"…Huh?"
Yakumaru was completely confused.
This name was chosen painstakingly by his parents—why change it?
"Hokage-sama, my name—"
"Change it when I tell you to! Now get out!" Hiruzen snapped.
"Tch—fine!" Yakumaru muttered under his breath and hurried away.
After his clansman left, Hiruzen fell into deep contemplation.
He had to deal with Drake—otherwise, he would be the one dealt with.
Brute force was no longer an option.
The only path left was righteousness and public opinion.
If he seized the moral high ground and made the entire village stand with him, then no matter how strong Drake was, it would be useless.
Because Drake would be rejected by everyone.
"I refuse to believe you'd dare slaughter the entire village."
With a plan in mind, Hiruzen gradually regained his confidence.
When it came to internal power struggles—
He had never feared anyone.
Drake's Courtyard
Drake lay back lazily on a wooden chair.
Squad Nine had surrounded him in a circle, all of them staring with bright, expectant eyes.
"Oi—if you keep looking at me like that, how am I supposed to sleep?" Drake complained.
"Drake, we just want to experience flying once," Kakashi Hatake said.
"Yeah! Just take me for one flight and I'll leave immediately," Obito chimed in.
Drake glanced at them—then at the rest.
Clearly, everyone felt the same.
He sat up and beckoned.
Whoosh!
A straight sword shot through the air and floated before them.
"So cool!"
"It's just hovering there—how are you doing that?!"
"Drake, where did you get such a divine weapon?!"
Everyone's eyes lit up, practically drooling.
A flying sword like this was something they'd never seen before.
Seeing their reactions, Drake smiled faintly and waved his hand again.
The sword spun once in midair and stabbed neatly into the ground.
"Well," Drake said casually,
"this flying artifact was forged by me—at a tremendous cost."
Instantly—
Everyone's eyes burned even brighter.
"You made this yourself?" Kakashi asked urgently.
"Correct," Drake nodded.
"Then… can you make a second one?"
"Of course I can."
Drake paused, then sighed with difficulty.
"But forging another one would cost me an enormous amount."
"My father left me 37 million ryō. Is that enough?" Kakashi went straight to the point.
Silence.
Everyone was stunned.
Thirty-seven million.
Kakashi had opened at hell difficulty, completely blocking everyone else's path.
"Kakashi, that's too much!" Obito scoffed.
"This is a divine artifact—how can you measure it with money?!"
"Yeah! If you do that, what are we supposed to do?" Anko complained.
Drake hadn't even stated his terms yet—and Kakashi had already thrown down this monster bid.
"Hm… fine."
Drake nodded reluctantly.
"Since you're that sincere, I'll tailor-make a flying artifact just for you."
"…WHAT?!"
Everyone else was dumbfounded.
That price was absurd.
Thirty-seven million!
Even if they pooled everything they had, it still wouldn't be enough.
"Don't panic yet," Obito said calmly.
"Let's first hear how Drake plans to make it."
Drake then explained briefly.
"A flying artifact doesn't have to be a sword—it can be something else."
"You'll be standing on it, after all. A larger surface area is more stable."
"And most importantly—
the material must be extremely durable."
Kakashi nodded seriously.
"I'll go get the materials and the money. I'll be right back."
With that, he vaulted over the wall and vanished.
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