Mount Myōboku.
Drake stood in front of Minato, arms folded, expression calm.
He lifted his eyes toward the towering toads.
"Come."
"Let me see what you're capable of."
The moment his voice fell—
Fukasaku spoke.
"Bunta!"
"Got it!"
Gamabunta drew his massive blade.
To him, it was merely a short sword.
To a human, it was a sky-cleaving greatsword.
The blade tore through the air with a deafening whistle.
It descended toward Drake's head.
Minato flashed away instantly.
He expected Drake to evade as well.
But—
Drake barely moved.
He only raised one arm.
"Drake, move!" Minato shouted, rushing forward.
Too late.
The blade had already reached Drake's crown.
CRACK!
The sound rang across the battlefield.
Minato's steps halted mid-stride.
His eyes widened.
Gamabunta screamed.
"That's impossible!"
Fukasaku and Shima stared in disbelief.
Jiraiya's eyelids twitched.
"…Is that taijutsu?"
Drake's small fist remained raised.
The giant blade had shattered upon it.
The broken half spun through the air and crashed far away.
"My sword splits boulders!" Gamabunta stared at the remaining hilt in shock. "He's just a human!"
"Taijutsu won't work. Use ninjutsu!" Fukasaku barked.
Gamabunta dropped the broken hilt and formed seals.
"Water Release — Iron Cannonball!"
A massive compressed water sphere shot from his mouth, roaring toward Drake.
"Sensei. Watch yourself," Drake said lightly over his shoulder.
BOOM!
The sphere exploded against the ground.
Minato evaded again, searching frantically for Drake—
There he was.
Standing exactly where he had been.
Unmoved.
"No!" Jiraiya shouted. "He moved at high speed, dodged it, and returned instantly!"
Gamabunta's eyes narrowed.
"…Too fast."
"Ninjutsu won't hit him," Fukasaku muttered.
"Then we use genjutsu," he decided coldly.
Mount Myōboku's sound-based illusion was lethal.
Once caught—certain death.
"Wife!"
Shima leapt beside him.
"Interfere with him. We'll prepare!"
Several giant toads jumped simultaneously, crashing downward.
Drake looked up, unimpressed.
"So that's all Mount Myōboku can offer?"
His expression cooled.
"You may die now."
He clapped his hands together.
"Wood Release — Four-Pillar Binding!"
Four colossal trees erupted from the earth and shot skyward.
In an instant—
Four giant toads were wrapped midair.
The trunks split into countless branches, constricting violently.
"What kind of trees are these?!" Gamaken struggled in vain.
"I can't break free!" Gamahiro grunted.
Fukasaku shouted desperately.
"Hurry! We'll be crushed!"
Jiraiya rushed forward.
"Fire Release — Flame Bullet!"
A sea of fire swallowed Drake.
"Drake!" Minato's face tightened.
He knew Drake would survive.
But Jiraiya's action—
It cut deeply.
"Jiraiya-sensei… you forced my hand."
Minato's chakra flared.
He vanished.
Jiraiya's eyes widened.
Minato appeared beside him in a blink.
Rasengan formed instantly—
BOOM!
Smoke burst.
Jiraiya vanished into a substitution.
"You think you can escape?" Minato roared, hurling a marked kunai.
He reappeared again—
Another Rasengan detonated.
Jiraiya barely leapt back in time.
Blood sprayed from his shoulder.
"Minato! You dare attack your teacher?!"
"You attacked the Fourth Hokage!" Minato shouted coldly.
Suddenly—
Four grotesque sounds echoed from above.
Jiraiya and Minato looked up.
Blood rained down.
Chunks of flesh fell to the ground.
"…He killed all four?"
Even Jiraiya's voice trembled.
The Four Great Toads of Mount Myōboku.
Gone.
"Geeeeh—!"
Fukasaku and Shima's sound genjutsu finally began.
Frog calls reverberated through the air.
They targeted Drake—
Who walked calmly through the fading flames, untouched.
The sound waves battered him.
No response.
He stepped closer.
Fukasaku's eyes widened.
Shima intensified her voice.
Nothing.
"Old man! It's not working—run!" Shima screamed.
Too late.
Drake appeared before them like a phantom.
"So this is your famed sound genjutsu?"
He sounded disappointed.
His hands shot out.
He grabbed both toads.
"You brat! We admit you're strong—release us!"
"We are sages!"
Drake smiled faintly.
"Frogs indeed."
"You see only the sky from the bottom of a well."
CRACK. CRACK.
Both toads went limp.
He crushed them effortlessly.
Jiraiya staggered.
"You can't kill them!"
Drake glanced at him.
"Relax. You'll join them soon."
"Will I?"
A new voice echoed.
The air trembled.
The Great Toad Sage leapt forward and landed beside Jiraiya.
Smoke drifted from his pipe.
"I believe…"
He exhaled slowly.
"…it is you who will die, tumor."
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