On the way back, Tsunade was uncharacteristically quiet and seemed unhappy.
Akaba strolled slowly ahead, but after a while, Tsunade still hadn't caught up to him, so he couldn't help turning around to look.
"What's with that face? Did my dashing figure leave you speechless?"
"Pfft. Shameless creep."
Tsunade muttered before letting out a soft sigh.
At the manga printing site, Akaba's demeanor reminded her so much of the late Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju.
She remained silent for a bit longer before suddenly asking, "Akaba, do you want to become Hokage?"
"Hokage? Only an idiot would take that job—too tiring with no real perks. My dream is for a world without ninja wars, where my manga sells worldwide, and money just pours in while I lie at home doing nothing."
Akaba replied without hesitation.
"Hahaha! That's just like you, Akaba."
A youthful, cheerful laugh echoed through the woods.
Akaba slightly pursed his lips.
At this time, Tsunade's younger brother hadn't even been born yet, so she wasn't weighed down by grief as much. Still, it was better that she laughed.
Kids deserve to smile more, after all.
He felt a tinge of emotion and slightly quickened his pace.
"As soon as we get back, where should we go?"
Once her mood lifted, Tsunade immediately began brainstorming places to visit.
"No going out. I'm pretty busy these two days—I need to draw some illustrations for the grand opening in three days."
Akaba refused flatly.
By the time they returned, the manga printing had already begun. Once the shop finished renovation, they could start setting everything up properly.
"What? You're actually going to work hard?"
Tsunade was shocked when she heard that. Her expression clearly showed she didn't believe Akaba would really work.
"…"
It's kinda sad no one ever believes me, even when I'm telling the truth.
Akaba sighed helplessly.
A manga store couldn't survive on just comics alone; they also needed promotional posters. These next few days really required a little extra effort.
Sometimes in life, you gotta do things whether you like them or not.
"You went quiet. I know you'll just head back, lie in bed, and let your clones do the drawing. Nope, I'll supervise you myself!"
Tsunade's eyes sparkled as she quickly added.
"Do whatever you want. I really am busy these two days."
Akaba didn't care whether Tsunade supervised or not because he genuinely wasn't planning to slack off anyway. He was truly going to work.
For the grand opening, give it everything!
When they got home, Akaba really did grab his tools and left for the nearby woods to draw.
If it weren't for Tsunade following him, he wouldn't have gone to the woods at all.
After all, it was quite a walk from Akaba's place to the woods. Walking that far was just too exhausting. But Tsunade wanted to avoid Sakuma's odd stare, so she dared not step anywhere near the Sakuma clan.
That made Akaba wonder why so many men in his past life were in such a rush to find girlfriends. Wasn't being single better?
In the small woods, Akaba created a clone. The True Self and the clone both started drawing together.
He drew large posters—not all featuring Naruto. Akaba also drew promotional posters for other manga like One Piece and Bleach.
At first, Tsunade really did supervise nearby, but later, seeing Akaba was genuinely working, she left the woods to practice taijutsu in the grassy area outside.
The entire morning, Akaba spent drawing.
However, large illustrations consumed too much energy. By noon, when Saiki came over with lunch, Akaba had only finished two drawings.
As for Tsunade, nobody knew where she had wandered off to before noon.
During the afternoon, Akaba continued drawing quietly, until evening approached and he saw a familiar figure approaching.
Outside the Sakuma clan's compound, Jiraiya sat on a roadside chair, looking extremely dejected and depressed.
"Jiraiya, what are you doing sitting here?"
Akaba asked curiously.
Hearing his voice, Jiraiya immediately looked up excitedly and said, "Akaba, you're finally back!"
"You were waiting for me?"
Akaba carefully placed his tools and completed illustrations on the chair and eyed him suspiciously.
Then he noticed two crumpled pieces of paper tightly held in Jiraiya's hand.
"I-I drew two pages. C-could you take a look?"
Jiraiya asked somewhat shyly.
Drawing?
Akaba was taken aback for a moment, then quickly understood.
Apparently, Jiraiya couldn't resist his creative impulses and had jumped onto the manga-drawing bandwagon.
Jiraiya may have been destined to become a great writer, and his imagination deserved applause—but making manga took more than just imagination.
Akaba took them and glanced briefly, instantly feeling his eyes had been assaulted—what exactly was this?
He took a deep breath and slowly lifted one corner of the page.
"Well? Do you think my drawings are okay?"
Jiraiya asked nervously.
"Jiraiya, did you show these to Tsunade first?"
Akaba observed his hair and stated confidently.
"Yeah..."
Speaking of Tsunade, Jiraiya sighed gloomily.
"You got hit, didn't you."
"Akaba, I'm really curious about what you experienced. At such a young age, you actually created something this impressive!"
Akaba struggled to find the right words.
You could say these were the first ever adult-themed doujinshi in the Fire Shadow World, but honestly, they were all over the place with no depth at all.
Well, technically speaking, it was average for someone his age.
But!
Why was the content at a censored level?
"Well, I also think my art is amazing—it must be that flat-chested Tsunade simply has no appreciation!"
After hearing Akaba's comment, Jiraiya excitedly snatched back his two pages, stood up, laughed loudly, and appeared extremely pleased.
He didn't catch the sarcasm in Akaba's voice at all.
"No way! I'm a clean-cut manga artist—I'd never support something like this—"
Akaba was about to express his disapproval when he looked up and realized Jiraiya had already run a good dozen steps away, radiating smugness.
That could only mean one thing—he really was destined to become the author of *Make Out Paradise*.
Akaba stood there frozen for a moment, then sighed, sat back down on the chair, and contemplated life.
Truth was, Jiraiya wasn't talentless—just needed a bit of guidance, and he could've gone far in any artistic path he picked.
Thankfully, at least his ninjutsu seemed relatively normal—
"Wait, no! Jiraiya's ninjutsu isn't normal anymore either!"
Akaba froze for a few seconds.
Thanks to the Naruto manga, Jiraiya got his hands on [Sexy Technique] way earlier than he should've!
Well then, his ninjutsu path was off track too.
"Good grief, what have I done!"
"My apologies, Third… your workload is bound to increase again."
Akaba let out an emotional sigh and quietly prayed for The Third.
If Jiraiya just couldn't improve his manga drawing skills—well, that might not be such a big deal. But if he seriously studied painting techniques and truly reached the level of the adult manga scene in his previous life, then Lord Third would really need to focus on proper nutrition.
For a Hokage to fall ill due to physical exhaustion—that would be a huge embarrassment.
Thinking further, he realized the chances of changing Jiraiya through The Third were slim to none. He could only hope that Jiraiya still entered Mount Myoboku like before.
Perhaps living with the toads for some time might help him focus his skills elsewhere.
But here's the problem—if Jiraiya becomes too obsessed with manga and neglects the Toad Sage's prophecy about the Child of the Prophecy, what then?
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Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** on the weekend!