Drake once again placed his hand against the tree trunk, carefully sensing the jujube tree's condition.
A moment later—
"So that's how it works."
Muttering to himself, he borrowed the jujube tree to activate Wood Release.
Sizzle—
A thick branch condensed directly from the jujube tree and extended across the courtyard.
After finishing the test, Drake returned to the wooden chair and fell into thought.
"Trees normally can't move. But once infused with my will and chakra, the jujube tree gains mobility."
"And through chakra transmission, I can even use the jujube tree as a medium to cast Wood Release."
"There's only one issue—its power is reduced."
With that in mind, he ordered the jujube tree's roots to make contact with the nearby sapling.
Underground, the roots of the two trees intertwined and connected.
"Lord Drake, the roots are connected," the jujube tree reported.
"Good."
Once again borrowing the jujube tree's body, Drake activated Wood Release—
But this time, the jujube tree itself didn't react.
Because Drake's will was directed at the sapling.
Whoosh!
A brand-new trunk rapidly condensed from the sapling's body and shot outward.
After canceling the jutsu, Drake left home.
Back Mountain
Under a tree, Drake repeated the same process.
Hand on the trunk, chakra surged rapidly into the tree.
"Wood Release — Fourfold Wood Extension!"
After the technique was cast, everything went quiet.
At the same moment—
Several kilometers away, deep within a pine forest, four massive trunks burst from the ground, thrashing wildly.
Sensing this, Drake nodded.
"The farther the chakra transmission distance, the greater the loss."
"At only a few kilometers, Wood Release power is already reduced by around thirty percent."
This didn't surprise him.
Using roots as a medium inevitably caused loss, and the tree's own structural limits naturally weakened the jutsu.
"If I cast Wood Release at the village entrance and transmit it all the way to the border…"
"I probably wouldn't even manage to grow a sapling."
After that reflection, Drake began experimenting with infusing his will into other objects.
For example—
Stones.
By the Stream
He carefully selected a smooth, high-quality pebble.
Will infused.
Chakra injected.
Bang!
The pebble exploded.
Drake stroked his chin, not discouraged in the slightest, and picked another stone.
This one was nearly a meter in diameter, blue-green in color, and had been soaked in the stream for years.
"Come alive."
His will condensed as he poured it into the stone, followed by a small amount of chakra.
The next instant—
A delightful scene unfolded.
The blue stone trembled.
Within Drake's perception, a faint trace of life appeared inside it.
Splash—
Drake lifted the stone from the stream and placed it on the ground.
"Hey."
Gurururu—
He called out once, and the stone rolled forward.
"You can't talk?" Drake froze.
Gurururu—
The stone rolled a few more times—
then rolled straight back into the stream.
Drake: "..."
Hokage Office
Hiruzen Sarutobi was in exceptionally good spirits.
"Minato! Take a look at this scroll."
He tossed it over while taking a deep puff from his pipe.
啪!
Catching it, Minato Namikaze scanned the contents.
"This is… the Third Tsuchikage wants to negotiate in the Land of Grass?"
"That's right!" Hiruzen smiled.
"Ōnoki was clearly scared stiff by Drake."
The scroll had come directly from Iwagakure, written personally by the Tsuchikage, inviting the Hokage to negotiations in the Land of Grass.
Minato wasn't surprised.
According to Drake's original intent, the Tsuchikage was supposed to come to Konoha to negotiate.
But clearly—
Ōnoki didn't dare.
"Minato, go inform Drake. We leave today," Hiruzen instructed.
"Understood."
Minato nodded and departed immediately.
Drake's Courtyard
After crossing several streets, Minato arrived at Drake's home.
The moment he entered the courtyard, he froze.
Drag marks everywhere.
Pitted, uneven ground.
"…What happened here?"
"Did Drake roll around on the ground or something?"
Perplexed, Minato entered the house.
No one.
That shocked him.
He knew Drake very well—
when it came to oversleeping, this student was a professional.
At this hour, Drake should've been asleep.
"Training ground?" Minato wondered.
After a moment's thought, he decided to check.
After all, he'd never been able to predict Drake's movements.
When Minato stepped out of the house—
The jujube tree moved.
"He's here to find Lord Drake!"
"I have to go warn him at the back mountain!"
Pop!
The jujube tree ripped its roots free and began scuttling across the courtyard.
At the wall, its roots spread out and it climbed straight over.
Rustle—
Dropping into the alley, the jujube tree sprinted toward the back mountain.
"Hmm?"
Minato sensed movement and turned around.
What he saw left him completely stunned.
A tree vaulted out of Drake's courtyard, its roots scratching wildly at the ground as it ran toward the back mountain.
"…Isn't that the jujube tree?"
Minato's head filled with question marks.
What did Drake do this time?
And why could a tree… run?!
Driven by sheer curiosity, Minato followed after it.
Fortunately, it was early morning.
Hardly anyone was on the streets.
Otherwise, this scene would've caused an absolute uproar.
Back Mountain
In front of the towering cliff face—
Drake withdrew his hand and stopped supplying chakra.
After successfully enlightening the blue stone, he'd conceived a bold idea:
To enlighten a small mountain.
And the towering back mountain was the perfect test subject.
Now—
His will had already been infused.
Chakra fully delivered.
"Come on!"
"Accept your father's love!"
Drake spread his arms and shouted at the rock wall.
The mountain responded.
RUMBLE—!!!
Countless boulders broke free from the summit and came crashing down toward him.
"DAMN IT—!!!"
Drake cursed out loud.
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