After Drake left the back mountain, the frog-form Minato slowly climbed onto the riverbank.
Croak.
Another frog followed him.
Minato kicked it away.
"I guess I managed to fool Drake."
His frog eyes showed a complicated expression.
He didn't want to become a burden to his student.
He knew Drake was worried about him.
"He thinks I can't handle the shock…"
Minato had actually noticed Kushina arriving earlier.
He understood her reaction perfectly.
But he deliberately kissed the other frog.
Why?
To make Kushina give up on him.
No woman would accept a frog.
Instead of leaving her trapped in sorrow, it was better to force her to move on.
And if someone were to be with her—
Minato would rather that person be Drake.
Because only Drake could truly protect Kushina.
A Quiet Farewell
Minato hopped toward Drake's house.
When he landed on the wall, he froze.
Inside the yard—
Drake was reading a book seriously.
Minato squinted his frog eyes and saw the title.
It was a book about frogs.
Minato sighed emotionally.
"Drake… you don't have to do this."
He knew Drake hated studying.
Yet Drake was reading carefully—
All because of him.
Minato quietly disappeared from the wall and sank underground.
He left the village.
If Drake worried about him—
Then he should also help his student by staying away.
Land of Rain — Escort Mission
Thanks to their flight ability, Obito and Shisui reached the Land of Rain quickly.
They met:
Yahiko
Nagato
Konan
Yahiko immediately recognized them.
"I know you—Uchiha Obito!"
"And you must be Shisui the Teleporter."
Obito blinked.
"I'm that famous?"
Konan calmly explained.
"Uchiha Obito disappeared from Konoha, then returned with three-tomoe Sharingan and Wood Release."
Nagato added:
"Shisui the Teleporter. Master of body flicker and the strongest genjutsu user of the Uchiha."
Shisui wasn't surprised that their intelligence was known.
"We're here under orders from the Fourth Hokage," he said.
"To escort you to Konoha."
Yahiko's group exchanged looks.
The Fourth Hokage valued them so much?
He sent two Uchiha elites just to escort them.
Nagato nodded politely.
"Thank you."
Obito puffed up with confidence.
"With us around, anyone who blocks the road gets beaten to death!"
Yahiko whispered quietly.
"Strong but not very smart."
Nagato nodded.
"Agreed."
Konan nodded.
"Agreed."
They quickly classified the two escorts:
Obito → strength > intelligence
Shisui → strength + intelligence
Konan Begins Gathering Information
Traveling was boring.
So Konan began chatting with Obito.
"Obito, you and the Fourth Hokage were classmates, right?"
"Yeah."
"I heard you were the last place in class."
Obito scratched his head.
"Well… Drake was actually the real last place."
"I was second-to-last."
Konan gasped dramatically.
"You both started as the worst students and became top fighters?"
"Of course!"
Obito was proud.
Shisui frowned slightly but stayed silent.
Konan continued.
"I heard Drake first focused on taijutsu?"
"Yeah," Obito replied.
"He was lazy in class, but I bet he trained secretly and was exhausted."
Yahiko and Nagato nodded thoughtfully.
"So that's how…"
Konan continued probing.
"But how did he get Wood Release?"
Obito answered casually.
"Element fusion."
Seeing confusion, he explained:
"Water and Earth combine to create Wood Release."
"But intelligence reports say Drake didn't even learn basic ninjutsu."
Obito waved his hand.
"He was just too lazy to learn them."
"Even the Three Basic Techniques?"
"Why bother?" Obito said.
"After mastering Wood Release he used Wood Clones. His taijutsu is faster than body flicker anyway."
Konan smiled sweetly.
"So that's how it is."
The three Rain ninjas exchanged subtle looks.
They learned something important.
Drake had aimed for high-level techniques from the beginning.
Sudden Shift
Konan asked another question casually.
"Then how did you learn Wood Release?"
Meanwhile — Ruins of Loulan
Far away in the desert ruins of Loulan.
Space trembled.
A pillar of light shot into the sky.
A figure stepped out of the beam.
"…Step one."
"Retrieve the Rinnegan."
The man muttered to himself.
Then—
A gigantic Susanoo formed around him.
The figure soared into the sky.
An unknown enemy—
Had arrived.
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