Drake's "performance" had redefined the meaning of dead-last — and pushed it to an entirely new realm.
"T-This is just too embarrassing…" Obito covered his face, unable to bear watching any longer.
Sensei asked for combat ability, not wordplay!
"He's definitely going to be punished, right…?" Rin thought anxiously.
She could kind of understand why Drake did it.
After all, he really didn't know taijutsu or ninjutsu… so this was the only way he could respond. Right?
"...A true talent."
Even the usually cold Kakashi couldn't resist commenting.
Clearly, this was reverse praise.
In the center of the field, Minato took a slow, deep breath, struggling to keep his emotions under control.
As a jōnin, what scenes hadn't he witnessed?
But still...
Drake had come dangerously close to breaking his composure.
"Drake, has your kunai throwing improved at all?" Minato tried to salvage the situation.
"Oh. My sense of direction isn't very good," Drake replied earnestly.
"And your Three Basic Jutsu?"
"I've been trying really hard… but I still haven't figured them out."
"Then since graduating, what exactly have you mastered?"
"Hmm..."
Drake pondered for a long time.
"Hm…"
There was no follow-up.
"I refuse to believe this."
Minato simply couldn't accept it.
Even a dead-last had to have something, right?
If he could find even a tiny spark and nurture it, maybe this child would regain his fighting spirit.
With that thought, Minato pulled out a chakra testing paper.
"Here. Let's test your chakra nature."
"Oh."
Drake accepted it, circulating chakra and channeling it into the paper.
And then—
Nothing happened.
Not even the slightest reaction.
"…What?"
Minato froze.
No attribute?
This…!
No wonder.
No wonder Drake couldn't learn the Three Basic Jutsu.
For a shinobi, chakra nature was crucial. Without an elemental attribute, one simply could not learn elemental ninjutsu.
In the ninja world, chakra was generally divided into five natures:
Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, Lightning.
Without one of these, elemental techniques were impossible.
"Let's call it a day."
Minato waved his hand, his tone noticeably heavy.
He'd taken severe emotional damage.
No matter how he looked at it, Drake was beyond saving.
"To be precise… Drake is the victim here."
Watching the squad leave, Minato let out a helpless sigh.
Someone like him should've been an ordinary civilian, not forcibly thrown into the rank of ninja by wartime policies.
Was it a lack of effort?
No.
It was simply the cruel truth — Drake had no innate talent as a shinobi.
Leaving the Training Ground
The four walked side by side in silence.
Finally, Obito couldn't take it anymore.
He felt he should comfort his brother.
"Drake… I believe in you." His voice was sincere, without his usual joking tone.
"Is that encouragement?" Drake asked casually, glancing sideways.
"Of course!"
"Mm."
Drake nodded, acknowledging it.
"You should keep trying!" Rin added before heading home.
"I suggest you focus purely on taijutsu," Kakashi remarked, then walked off without another word.
One by one, his teammates left.
Drake also returned home.
This time, however, he didn't lie down immediately.
Instead, he pulled out a dust-covered test card from his room.
Sitting on the chair in his courtyard, he stared at it in silence.
"No chakra attribute?"
"No. That's impossible."
He clearly remembered.
Two years ago, when he enrolled, his chakra test result had shown three attributes.
Fire.
Earth.
Wind.
And it was recorded right here on this card.
"Three attributes back then… and now nothing."
"Did I regress?"
After thinking it through, that seemed entirely possible.
He hadn't refined chakra in a very long time.
"A ninja's chakra nature isn't fixed forever. With enough development, new attributes can emerge."
This wasn't random guessing.
There was evidence.
Plenty of chūnin had two chakra attributes — and after advancing to jōnin, developed a third. This was perfectly normal.
Working backwards from that logic—
"If chakra isn't refined for too long, then weakly developed attributes could regress."
Resting his chin on his hand, Drake continued thinking.
It was just like farming.
A cared-for field might produce new crops.
But neglect it too long, and it turns into barren land.
Having understood this, Drake returned to the house and grabbed paper and pen.
As he thought, he began writing.
Not training plans — but detailed notes on the weaknesses of taijutsu-based shinobi in real combat.
Yes.
He had temporarily categorized himself as a taijutsu specialist.
And so, he needed to understand the risks that came with that path.
Minato's Residence
After returning from the training ground, Minato locked himself inside his room.
He reviewed every ninjutsu scroll he owned, then slumped into his chair, lost in deep contemplation.
When Kushina knocked and entered, she noticed immediately — he wasn't smiling.
That could only mean one thing.
Minato had run into a serious problem.
"Trouble?" she asked gently, sitting across from him.
"Yes." Minato gave a bitter smile.
"You can tell me. I may not be able to help, but I'll listen."
"Are there any ninjutsu in the ninja world that have no elemental attribute?" Minato asked.
"…No-attribute ninjutsu?"
Kushina frowned in thought.
Then her eyes lit up.
"Of course there is."
"What is it?" Minato leaned forward eagerly.
"Tailed Beast Bomb."
And in that moment —
Minato's eyes shone.
He had found it.
Finally.
He could copy the structure of the Tailed Beast Bomb and develop a non-attribute ninjutsu of his own.
If he succeeded…
Then Drake would finally be able to learn ninjutsu.
"As expected of me…"
"I really am a great teacher."
◇ 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