Inside the pavilion, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado were trying to persuade Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Hiruzen, since you've stepped down, you should enjoy your retirement peacefully," Koharu advised.
"Yes," Homura nodded. "With Drake in power, it might not be a bad thing for the village."
Hearing this from the two advisors, Hiruzen slowly raised his head, his brows tightly knitted.
If anyone else had said such things, he wouldn't have been surprised.
But coming from these two?
"You took benefits from Drake?" Hiruzen asked coldly.
"Of course not," Koharu and Homura shook their heads in unison.
"Then this really doesn't suit your usual style," Hiruzen sneered.
"Sigh… you really are stubborn," Homura sighed.
He glanced around, then lowered his voice.
"We secretly investigated Drake. His growth rate is unprecedented in history."
"I already know that," Hiruzen replied grimly.
"What I mean is—Drake must be hiding an enormous secret," Homura said quietly.
"Bullshit!" Hiruzen snapped.
"Anyone with half a brain knows he has secrets!"
Twelve years old, overpowering all Five Great Villages—
Such abnormal strength didn't even need investigation.
The real problem was this:
No one could suppress Drake anymore.
Trying to pry into his secrets was impossible.
"You know," Hiruzen said bitterly,
"I almost strangled him in the cradle."
His voice was icy, filled with regret.
"But he's still alive," Koharu and Homura said helplessly.
Almost?
What good was almost?
"It's all because I was too soft-hearted," Hiruzen growled.
"If I had ordered ANBU to kill him back then, today wouldn't exist."
His hatred surged.
Bang!
He slammed his palm onto the stone table, shattering a corner of it.
Looking back now, Hiruzen wished he could slap his past self repeatedly.
Back then, he personally wrote Drake into the textbooks.
Later, when Drake returned, Hiruzen planned for him to die on a mission—
to become a heroic legend.
But mission after mission, the brat survived untouched.
Eventually, Hiruzen gave up and tried to recruit him instead.
Who would've thought—
That the one he tried to pull closer would pull him off the throne instead?
"Hiruzen," Koharu warned,
"don't give rise to dangerous thoughts anymore. Your situation is already good enough."
"Exactly," Homura added.
"Think about Danzō's fate."
At the mention of Danzō, Hiruzen fell silent.
Indeed—
Danzō wasn't dead, but his fate was far worse.
Alone, on the run, clinging to the dying Uchiha Madara.
"By the way," Homura continued,
"you'd better maintain good relations with Drake. Do you know that all clan heads now have flying abilities?"
Seeing no reaction, he pressed on.
"Think about it—other clans can fly.
What about the Sarutobi clan?"
"I understand," Hiruzen nodded slowly, his expression still ugly.
One ability—flight—was enough to widen the gap between clans.
A simple example:
The enemy can fly, dodge freely, and attack from the air.
That alone placed them in an invincible position.
"We've said everything we needed to," Homura said.
"We'll take our leave."
The two stood up.
"You—"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Before Hiruzen could speak, both of them leapt into the air and flew away.
"Damn it!"
Hiruzen slammed the table again, cursing under his breath.
Moments Later
Footsteps approached.
Sarutobi Konohamaru ran over.
"Clan head, secret letter."
"Hm?"
Hiruzen took it and unfolded it.
"Danzō again?"
Recognizing the handwriting, he read quickly.
Hiruzen, you did well.
I heard you contacted the Four Great Villages for peace talks.
I know you—you must be plotting something else.
You're targeting Drake, right?
Kill him. You must kill him.
If you succeed, I'll return to assist you.
If you fail, come join Madara. His time is nearly up.
He seems to want to experiment on me… I might die soon.
There's money in the Root vault. Send it to the Hidden Hot Springs.
—Your closest friend, Danzō
Hiruzen crushed the letter to ashes.
Too late.
He was already out of power.
What use was this now?
"Who's there?!" Konohamaru suddenly shouted.
Thud.
An ANBU dropped from the tree—
silver hair, mask.
Hiruzen didn't need to think.
"Kakashi… what do you want?"
"Third Hokage," Kakashi said coldly,
"we suspect Sarutobi Asuma of colluding with the enemy."
"What?!" Hiruzen's voice shot up.
That was absurd.
Asuma barely left the village—how could he betray it?
"Evidence?" Hiruzen demanded.
"We don't have any," Kakashi admitted.
"Then how dare you accuse him?!" Hiruzen roared.
"But we do have a witness."
Kakashi gestured.
A Kirigakure shinobi walked out from the shadows.
"…Ao?" Hiruzen recognized him instantly.
"Should we let him speak?" Kakashi asked calmly.
"No."
Hiruzen waved his hand.
He knew this was Drake's scheme.
If Ao spoke, everything would collapse.
Silence meant leverage.
"Unfortunately," Hiruzen sighed,
"Asuma has already left for the Fire Daimyō's residence to serve as a guard."
"I see," Kakashi nodded.
"Then I'll take my leave."
Outside the Compound
Kakashi and "Ao" stopped in a deserted area.
"Thanks, White Zetsu."
"No problem."
Ao's body distorted, transforming into White Zetsu, who then sank into the ground.
"This way, we can capture him outside the village," Kakashi murmured.
Drake's plan—written clearly on the scroll—had predicted everything.
Hiruzen would definitely send Asuma away.
And once Asuma left the village—
ANBU and the Uchiha Police Force could capture him quietly.
No sound. No trace.
Sarutobi Compound
Hiruzen confronted his son.
"You useless brat! You're still picking flowers?!"
He stepped forward and slapped Asuma.
Slap!
Asuma stumbled straight into the flowerbed.
"What the hell was that for?!"
He got up—then froze.
"…Why is your face swollen?"
"Get out."
Hiruzen roared.
"Konohamaru—escort Asuma out through the back mountain.
Send him to the Daimyō immediately!"
"But I didn't say I wanted to go!" Asuma protested.
"I'm still trying to court Kurenai Yuhi!"
"You trash—can't even win a woman's heart!"
Hiruzen clutched his chest, furious.
Dragged away, Asuma left unwillingly.
"Wait for me, Kurenai… I'll come back!"
Hokage Office
Drake sat behind the desk.
Kurenai Yuhi paced beside him, stunned.
"You've got nerve, Drake—sitting in the Hokage's seat?"
"I am the Fourth Hokage."
"You expect me to believe that?"
Drake kept reviewing documents.
Suddenly—
ANBU appeared.
"Hokage-sama, Asuma has been captured," Kakashi reported.
Kurenai froze.
"…You're really Hokage?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Drake smiled.
She stared at him, panicked.
"This has to be a genjutsu!"
Drake pulled her into his arms.
"Testing it is easy."
"…How?"
"Like this."
His hand slipped into her chest.
"Feel the warmth. Genjutsu can't do that."
Kurenai's face turned scarlet.
She fled.
River Country Border · Battlefield
Drake's Wood Clone landed with a thunderous crash.
Surveying the battlefield, he nodded.
"Iwa and Suna are locked together…"
He raised both hands.
A black sphere formed.
"Chibaku Tensei."
The battlefield collapsed.
Shinobi from three villages were dragged into the sky.
Below—
The counteroffensive was over.
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