"Loe, you're actually out today—what's that in your hand?"
Yizhong Akimichi was puzzled. Seeing Loe on the street during a holiday truly felt like a miracle.
"Oh, Akaba's manga shop just opened. I bought one, and they even gave me a poster."
Loe casually raised the poster in his hand.
"What kind of poster?"
Out of curiosity, Yizhong leaned closer. Although Loe found it slightly annoying, he couldn't refuse such a small request from one of his few good friends.
Instantly, his eyes lit up with excitement.
"Are there any left at Akaba's place?"
"Yeah, but there're already lots of people heading over."
Loe sounded somewhat impatient; along the way, everyone who recognized him had asked the same question, and he'd held back his irritation with great difficulty.
"Aaah!"
Upon hearing this, Yizhong immediately sprinted toward Akaba's manga shop.
As for the address, Konoha Village wasn't that big, and since Akaba bought the land from Loe before, figuring out where the shop was wasn't hard.
Soon enough, he saw several blurred figures flash past ahead of him.
"That's Sakumo Hatake! And... Orochimaru too!"
Yizhong panicked and hurried his pace.
Yet,
when it came to speed, Yizhong had absolutely no advantage and could only watch helplessly as his former classmates disappeared from sight.
"Geez, are we here for comics or a race? Why so many people!?"
Kids were bolting down the street in typical ninja running style.
Sakumo Hatake, Orochimaru, Mitashigo Shishio, and even Uchiha Ryo showed up. None among them wanted to fall behind.
"Ehem," Gekko Nightdance coughed excitedly. "Uchiha Ryo, we're rushing for posters—we're trying to get top spots. Why are you competing too?"
"Hmph! I'm not here for some stupid manga. Sakuma Akaba defeated me unfairly last time—I must fight him again, defeat him openly and honorably!"
Uchiha Ryo snapped angrily.
However, he soon realized that while he was speaking, Orochimaru and others had already rushed far ahead—even Nightdance, who had just spoken to him moments ago.
"Tch! What a dirty trick!"
He quickly sped up, chasing after them.
At that moment, Uchiha Ryo completely forgot—he'd come to seek revenge on Sakuma Akaba. Why bother racing alongside Orochimaru and the rest?
This chaotic chase continued until they finally reached Akaba's manga shop. In fact, not long after Loe had left, Akaba received his second customer.
Unlike the first customer, this next visitor carried considerable prestige.
"Hokage-sama, why did you come here too!?"
Akaba exclaimed, surprised but also slightly helpless.
"Hehehe," Hiruzen Sarutobi, chuckled, holding his smoking pipe. "Your manga is quite interesting. I came to buy a copy and also grab one of those posters for Shinnosuke."
"You're cheating," Akiba dryly commented.
As a Kage-level expert, Sarutobi Hiruzen's Shifting Body Technique surpassed ordinary ninjas by a tremendous margin.
"Shinnosuke isn't fast enough," Hiruzen shrugged helplessly, grabbing a random copy.
Now I get it...
That's why he bothered coming personally—to pick up something for his kid.
Otherwise, this guy would've simply used his Telescope Technique for a peek instead of making an actual trip.
At that moment, distant dust clouds rose from afar.
Sakumo Hatake was far ahead, with Orochimaru, Gekko Nightdance, and Mitashigo Shiso closely following behind. A few classmates who were especially close to Akaba, like Taka and Mū, trailed along further back.
Sakumo Hatake dashed forward, landing in front of the store just as he was about to ask Akaba to grab him a copy. He looked up and saw Hiruzen Sarutobi walking out from inside.
"It's the Third Hokage."
Moments later, Orochimaru and the others arrived together.
Hiruzen paused for a moment, then lifted his pipe slightly, stepping aside to let Sakumo Hatake's group pass through.
"Did the Third Hokage come here for the poster too?"
Orochimaru sighed softly, his gaze somewhat resentful.
Hiruzen's expression stiffened briefly, at a loss for words momentarily.
Could he really admit he had come to claim posters for his son?
Akaba smirked; as a clone, this was one of the rare moments worth savoring.
As more kids gathered, Hiruzen coughed lightly and said, "Of course not. I simply came to buy a manga to support young Akaba. The posters are yours."
"Third Hokage, that'll be one hundred silver pieces please."
Akaba grinned while holding out his hand.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took the manga silently and walked away.
As the highly respected Hokage, there was no way he could face these children and fight over manga posters—he couldn't bear to lose face like that.
After watching him leave, Orochimaru glanced at Sakumo Hatake before looking toward Akaba and said, "Since I drove off the Third Hokage, shouldn't that open spot go to me?"
"Absolutely not!"
Sakumo Hatake rarely showed such fierce anger.
"Don't argue, don't argue. The Third Hokage can only be considered as voluntarily withdrawing. Those who arrive later should still respect the order of arrival."
Akaba explained.
Orochimaru wore a disappointed look but nodded quietly. "Then I guess I'm third in line. Not bad."
Even though he was still a kid, he always knew the score.
Previously, without driving off Hiruzen, he was fourth. Now, at least, he had entered the top three.
Gekko Nightdance coughed a couple times, barely getting a word in before Orochimaru rushed in first to grab a book.
"One by one, line up. No need to rush."
If they all started acting wild, the small manga shop would become chaotic.
And as a clone, he didn't have the presence to keep the peace.
"Hmph! What lineup? Akaba, come out! Challenge me one-on-one!"
Uchiha Ryo finally arrived, loudly shouting from the doorway.
The clone frowned slightly.
Although just a clone, he inherited the original's aversion to trouble—and Uchiha Ryo was nothing but trouble.
"Stop pretending you're not here, Akaba! Come out and fight me! I lost carelessly last time, but this time I absolutely won't lose!"
Uchiha continued pressing on.
Both Sakumo Hatake and Orochimaru turned their heads simultaneously, directing their gazes toward Uchiha Ryo.
They didn't step outside—not because they lacked courage—but since this was Akaba's territory. However, if Akaba asked them to help, both friends would unquestionably rise to the occasion.
"What do you think you're doing? This is a one-on-one challenge—I'm not here to cause chaos!"
Whether it was Orochimaru or Sakumo Hatake, both ranked among the top combat experts in class. Though gifted, Uchiha Ryo truly had no confidence facing off against either of them directly.
"Well, one-on-one isn't a bad idea—first, though, you should go buy a manga."
The clone pointed towards the shop.
"What?!"
That response went far beyond Uchiha Ryo's expectations. He felt caught off guard and didn't know how to react.
Kids these days...
His clone chuckled inwardly, calmly sitting down.
"So you think just because I bought manga, you have the right to challenge me?"
Uchiha Ryo's eyes turned fierce with murderous intent.
"Exactly."
The clone nodded in agreement.
After all, he was just a clone. If they really fought, it would be the lazy bum inside who ended up doing the work. Not his problem.
At this point, Orochimaru and Sakumo Hatake had already picked their manga and were coming out.
"The top three will each receive a free medium-sized poster. Let me see..."
After browsing for a while, the clone finally took out two posters and handed one each to Sakumo Hatake and Orochimaru.
Sakumo accepted it, happiness apparent on his face.
He'd rushed over as soon as he heard about the posters. Lucky he arrived just in time.
"Hurry, let's see what it is!"
Mitashigo Shishio, who ranked fifth, eagerly asked Sakumo to open his as soon as he saw Sakumo get a poster.
Though still a child at heart, Sakumo naturally kept his composure. However, under peer pressure from his classmates, even he couldn't resist opening his poster to have a look.
Uchiha Ryo feigned indifference on the surface, but couldn't help glancing over with his eyes.
It was a large illustration. In it, a masked man leaned casually against a tree reading Make Out Paradise.
In the bottom right corner was written: Kakashi Hatake.
"This... this is a drawing?!"
Instantly, his eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Orochimaru, what's yours?"
Gekko Nightdance turned toward Orochimaru, wanting him to show his too.
Unfortunately, Orochimaru folded his poster and shook his head. "I'll look at it at home."
Hearing that, everyone looked disappointed—including Uchiha Ryo, who couldn't help but wear a disappointed expression too.
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~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** on the weekend!