Nani?
Akaba was stunned. He thought she was angry about something serious, but apparently, she was just upset about not getting to play the game.
He wasn't the only one left scratching his head—Tsunade and Kyoyuki looked just as baffled.
At this moment, Mito Uzumaki noticed little Kyoyuki. Her demeanor suddenly changed as she returned to her usual gentle and gracious self. With a warm smile, she waved affectionately: "Come here, sweetheart! Come over here!"
"Granny~"
The little girl approached without hesitation, unafraid in front of Mito with her similarly red hair.
"Oh! Is that a puppet on your shoulder?"
Mito teased playfully.
"Mmhm, it's a present from my big brother."
The little girl nodded and gave a small twitch of her fingers, raising the Cat Puppet's left hand to wave at Mito.
Mito picked her up, giggling and showering her with exaggerated praise. It didn't take long before the two grew noticeably closer.
Watching them, Tsunade now understood exactly how Akaba felt back home.
After a while,
"Tsunade, why don't you take young Kyoyuki to find them and play?"
With a kind smile, Mito gently put the child down, using this opportunity to also send Tsunade away.
"Yes."
Tsunade readily agreed, then waved at Kyoyuki and led her out of the courtyard.
Akaba straightened his posture.
He sensed Mito hadn't said everything yet—she probably wanted to talk in private, which was why she'd sent Tsunade away.
Mito placed the manga aside, reclining in her chair and swaying gently. After a while, she said, "Akaba, I've read through all your manga volumes from this period today."
"And?"
Akaba asked, puzzled.
"So far, besides Sasuke, no other member of the Uchiha clan has appeared."
She sat up straighter. "Is that just coincidence?"
"No, definitely not coincidence."
Akaba chuckled lightly.
"While reading, I kept wondering why the only Uchiha shown was Sasuke. According to your story, didn't the Uchiha clan get wiped out?"
Mito held Volume 7 of the manga.
Unless the Uchiha hadn't really been eliminated, why hadn't they reappeared until now?
Moreover, during Shirayuki's battle with Sasuke Uchiha, Zabuza mentioned the descendant of a tragic clan.
She hadn't noticed it during her first read-through.
But upon rereading, these small details became apparent.
"That's right, those are foreshadowings for upcoming plot developments."
Akaba didn't deny it. The story itself contained numerous hints—anyone paying attention could notice them.
"You're stirring up another huge mess."
Mito said with a headache.
"Granny, who can say? I'm merely drawing pictures, and besides, maybe the Uchiha will actually thank me someday."
Akaba smiled faintly.
Since their last encounter, subtle connections had formed between him and the Uchiha.
The Uchiha side wasn't proving quite as difficult to handle as initially expected.
"I see. You've already made contact with the Uchiha."
Lying back down, Mito remained silent for a long while.
With age comes wisdom. With just a few hints, she had accurately predicted the coming developments.
Experience really does make all the difference!
"Erm..."
Akaba was taken aback, then almost wanted to slap himself in the face.
"Hmph, you needn't worry about me informing the Third."
Mito remarked calmly.
"I understand."
No matter what, Mito Uzumaki had only his best interests at heart to go out of her way and say all this.
Besides, he really did have a deal with the Uchiha clan. It was likely the Uchiha would come looking for him again soon.
Mito Uzumaki sat on the chair for quite some time, looking disheartened as she asked, "Uchiha Motonami wants to bring the Uchiha back. If they could truly let go of the past and integrate into the village, do you think the village would accept them?"
"Some people might not necessarily accept that."
Akaba shook his head, clearly unimpressed.
The policy toward the Uchiha began under the Second, and Danzo was the strongest believer in the Second's approach.
"Even within the Uchiha clan itself, things aren't so simple. Otherwise, Kagami rather than Motonami would've become the clan leader."
Mito murmured softly.
Though she never left her home, she saw through many matters clearly.
Akaba remained silent.
The Uchiha's stance had nothing to do with him.
"I'm too old to even help my own hometown, much less help any of you. But don't follow your Teacher's example."
Mito Uzumaki closed her eyes. "Just sealing things up and cracking down won't make people follow you willingly. Konoha cannot grow powerful by clinging stubbornly to the status quo. Your Teacher and Tobirama were just too inflexible."
"What I say doesn't matter anyway. You actually think I'll end up becoming Hokage or Anbu Commander someday?"
Akaba gave a bitter chuckle.
With how he was, he wouldn't even want to be Hokage, let alone Anbu Commander.
"Who can tell what the future holds?"
Mito tossed a stack of manga onto the stool. Though she didn't read them often, they still felt surprisingly heavy in her hands.
Sitting upright, she said, "Alright, enough small talk. Let me give you one important reminder."
"Please go ahead."
Akaba listened respectfully.
"If you're distracted outside, come here to draw manga instead. The Senju clan may not have much, but we definitely can afford meals for guests."
Mito spoke very seriously.
Was she planning to lock him up and force him to draw? That'd be brutal!
"Did you hear?"
"Yeah, yeah."
Akaba nodded repeatedly helplessly. After all, who could say no to Konoha's top authority?
"Then get going and do your drawing. Don't stay here being lazy."
Mito waved him off.
"Sure thing, please take care and rest well."
Akaba practically fled gratefully.
Every time he came to the Senju clan's place, he felt like stepping into a den of wolves.
After he left, a sealing scroll slipped from Mito's sleeve, followed by a sketchpad, brush, and several drawings materializing.
"I hope I can finish drawing this before I die. At least leave something behind in this world."
Then she picked up her brush and began drawing. The title read: "The Comedic Daily Life of the Ninja God."
When Akaba exited the Senju estate and passed through a courtyard, he overheard Tsunade's voice coming from inside.
He snuck over and peered over the wall.
A dozen children were sitting in the yard, with Tsunade right in the middle telling them stories about the Land of Wind.
Since it was a story, naturally there was a bit of embellishment involved.
In Tsunade's version, she became incredibly wise, making every decision brilliantly and heroically.
"Pfft, real smooth bragging."
Akaba muttered under his breath as he climbed down the wall.
If the kids caught him, he wouldn't be able to leave anytime soon. Might as well sneak away during this time.
Akaba left the Senju compound and returned to Konoha Village.
There wasn't anything important planned for today, and Akaba had initially wanted to just laze around at home. But since he might get scolded for coming back too early, he decided to stay out a little longer.
After some thought, he decided to take a nap in the manga shop's break room.
However,
When he arrived at the shop, he found quite a crowd.
Most were there to buy manga, but one person clearly wasn't—Uchiha Ryo.
"The Hyūga clan delivered an invitation this morning—already the Uchiha can't sit still?" Akaba mused inwardly but kept walking toward the manga shop without hesitation.
Uchiha Ryo was calmly picking through manga titles, pretending not to notice Akaba approaching. But as their eyes met, Akaba noticed a sudden flash of red within Ryo's eyes, followed by a tomoe spinning rapidly.
In the next instant, Akaba was suddenly pulled into an illusionary space.
Surrounded entirely by flames, though clearly, it was just a basic genjutsu.
"The Sakuma clan isn't anything special either, huh? Even they fall for illusions."
Uchiha Ryo stepped into the illusion.
Since his awakening, he had been eager for a chance to defeat Akaba, and now that opportunity had finally come.
"You called me out here just for this?"
Akaba remained unfazed.
Ryo's mental energy was far too weak; breaking free from the illusion was effortless. If Ryo attempted further attacks using genjutsu right now, Akaba could even reflect them back.
A single-tomoe Sharingan truly wasn't impressive.
"Hmph. If you're so tough, break my genjutsu first, then talk!"
Finally succeeding with the technique, Ryo was frustrated to see the opponent remaining calm and composed.
Akaba exhaled softly, then concentrated his spiritual energy, exploded forward, and made hand seals.
Uchiha Ryo startled slightly, only to realize suddenly that shackles had appeared on his body.
"Isn't this enough already?"
Akaba conjured a lazy chair, leaned back on it swaying gently, and asked, "You came here just to buy manga and throw a genjutsu at me?"
What? His illusion had already been countered?
Uchiha Ryo's face flushed with shame. For the Uchiha clan, this was undoubtedly deeply humiliating—especially since he was the one who initiated first.
He felt embarrassed, yet completing his mission mattered most now, so he said, "The Clan Leader says he wants to meet you."
"Oh, is that all?"
Akaba wasn't surprised. The Hyūga and Uchiha clans had long been at odds, and with the Hyūga reaching out now, Motonami Uchiha definitely couldn't stay idle.
"What do you mean by that attitude?!" Ryo snapped angrily, struggling fiercely, but his strength paled in comparison to Akaba's.
Even after activating his single tomoe, ultimately, it was still only a single tomoe.
"Nothing much. Just let him know I understand."
As Akaba spoke, he waved his hand, dispelling the illusion.
That was such a weak genjutsu—it wouldn't even hold up against most experienced ninja. Pathetic.
Clutching a pile of books, Ryo bowed his head and stormed off.
Sakuma Yunlang saw Akaba and hurried over immediately. "Master Akaba, today has gone really well. But quite a few people came asking to rent books."
"Oh right, I forgot to tell you. It was part of my new idea: older books which aren't updated anymore can be rented cheaply to villagers—but of course, they mustn't damage them, or they'll have to pay damages."
Akaba couldn't help letting out a sigh by the end of his speech.
The Multiple Shadow Clones technique's consequences always ended up falling on the original user, and besides, this plan benefited him without any harm.
"So then, what about the pricing?"
Sakuma Yunlang was puzzled, but as his subordinate, there was nothing he could do but follow through with this sudden order from the boss.
"One silver coin per day," Akaba replied.
"Oh! Thank you Mr. Akaba, thank you so much."
A few ninja continued to express their gratitude repeatedly, which actually made Akaba feel pretty awkward.
Scratching his head apologetically, he said, "It was my mistake for not informing Big Brother Yunlang beforehand, causing this misunderstanding. As a result, you can borrow them for free today, but please return them within one day."
"Mr. Akaba, we're truly grateful, but since we all know each other, just one set will be enough!"
They kept bowing deeply as they expressed their heartfelt thanks, then took the manga offered by Sakuma Yunlang before quickly leaving in a group of four or five people.
Watching them go, Akaba felt somewhat emotional. For these regular ninja, even a hundred silver coins were incredibly valuable, and borrowing wasn't always an option if you didn't know the right people. At one silver coin per day, though, it remained within their means.
"Young Master, would you mind telling me first next time you have a new idea?"
Sakuma Yunlang said weakly.
"Sorry, sorry. This time was an exception."
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