Under the impact of terrifying power, Drake's punch shattered the figure before him.
Yet his expression tightened slightly.
"Not the real body?"
The lightning dispersed — what he had destroyed was merely a Lightning Release clone.
Whoosh!
From the side, a fist wrapped in crackling lightning shot toward him at incredible speed — no slower than Drake's own.
Snap!
But it was still caught effortlessly in Drake's single hand.
"You actually caught it?" A's face filled with disbelief.
From the very start, he had used a Lightning clone to disrupt this kid's reaction timing — yet Drake still managed to grab his real attack?
"You're using clones to lure me," Drake narrowed his eyes, "but who said I wasn't luring you too?"
The strength in his grip increased.
Crack.
A bone-twisting sound echoed.
The next instant, Drake released his hand and flashed sideways.
Killer B's punch smashed into empty air.
"Big brother… your left hand," B said in shock as he noticed A's fist had deformed.
How much raw strength did that require?
"It's fine! This kid's power is monstrous," A said grimly, shaking his arm.
Then he spoke in a low voice.
"Use that move."
The situation turned extremely tense.
From Kakashi's perspective, Drake had the upper hand in a one-on-one situation.
But the problem was clear — the two Cloud ninjas had realized the danger and were about to cooperate.
"Once they work together, Drake won't stand a chance."
That was Kakashi's judgment.
So when the standoff began, he rushed forward without hesitation and stood beside Drake.
"Why did you jump out again?" Drake said casually, keeping his eyes fixed on the A-B duo.
"I'll hold one of them back. You finish it quickly," Kakashi said firmly.
"Good intention, but you can't help here."
Drake tilted his head slightly.
"Go protect Yugao and retreat from this area."
"Remember — the further away, the bet—"
"Liger Bomb!!"
A furious shout erupted as A and B appeared in front of Drake as if they had teleported.
"Watch out!" Kakashi's face went pale.
It was his fault — if he hadn't distracted Drake just now—
Snap!
Drake was still turned sideways, yet his hands had already perfectly seized both of their arms.
"This is impossible!"
"He blocked it again?!"
B's eyes widened as A also stared in disbelief.
He was distracted, yet still reacted in time?
What kind of inhuman reflexes were these?
"Kakashi, remember what I said."
Drake finished his sentence calmly before slowly turning his head back.
"You two useless idiots. I gave you a chance and you blew it."
A drop of cold sweat slid down A's face as an immense sense of danger surged through him.
A pure taijutsu specialist… could actually be this terrifying?
He was certain — this kid was using nothing but raw physical strength.
"Even our Lightning-enhanced speed was stopped…?"
"Big brother!" B shouted, already preparing to unleash his Tailed Beast power.
But then — the pressure on their arms suddenly vanished.
Drake released them and stood proudly before the two.
"It seems you've realized that your Lightning taijutsu alone can't defeat me."
He stared straight at them, eyes cold and commanding.
"So I'll give you one chance."
"Use your strongest forms… and face death!"
Inside the forest.
Kakashi was rushing toward Yugao at full speed.
Halfway, he glanced back at the battlefield.
That single look made his eyes widen so hard he nearly tripped.
He saw something completely incomprehensible.
The two overwhelmingly powerful Cloud ninjas were — running away.
"What the hell is going on?!"
Not just Kakashi — even Drake froze for a brief moment.
I told you to use your strongest forms… not to run, damn it!
Yet reality was undeniable.
The A-B Duo had truly fled — and at terrifying speed.
"Lord B and Lord A… ran away?"
Once they fled, the remaining Cloud ninjas panicked.
Without waiting for orders, they scattered and fled in all directions.
Deep in the forest, A's face was more serious than ever.
"Big brother, why are we running? I haven't even released my Tailed Beast yet!" B protested.
"If we didn't run, we might have died there," A replied grimly.
"No way! I still had the Eight-Tails' power!"
"It wouldn't matter!"
A shook his head.
"My father once told me — Konoha has a forbidden taijutsu technique. Once activated, it multiplies physical power dozens of times over."
"Huh?"
"If that kid mastered such a technique, the two of us would definitely die."
This wasn't blind speculation.
Because Drake had been far too calm.
"Haah…"
Drake let out a long sigh.
He had wanted to witness the Eight-Tails' power firsthand, then seal the two of them using Chibaku Tensei.
But the enemy's survival instincts were just too strong.
Whoosh!
Kakashi returned, still looking confused.
"Drake, why did they suddenly run?"
"I told them I wanted a fight to the death. And then… they ran."
He shook his head in deep disappointment.
"I…" Kakashi also felt speechless.
What kind of situation was this?
The two most fearsome Cloud elites, scared off by a single sentence?
After thinking a little, he arrived at what seemed the most reasonable explanation.
"They probably weren't confident they could beat you… so they chose to retreat."
"Maybe."
Drake had already lost interest.
Meanwhile — At the Borderline Hills
Minato Namikaze stared across the river at the Cloud outpost, worry surfacing on his face.
"Yesterday, Drake still didn't activate the mark. Today, still nothing…"
He had given Drake a special kunai etched with his Flying Thunder God formula, yet it remained unused.
"What is he thinking?"
"Did he run into danger…?"
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