"Once more!" Kakashi Windseer said coldly.
"Hold on," Akaba replied, rubbing his temples. Constantly casting jutsu had left him mentally fatigued.
However, the reason he called for a stop was mainly due to an unexpected visitor.
Kakashi Windseer slightly hesitated before sensing the same—the arrival of someone from Sunagakure Village.
"All right, everyone rest," Kakashi Windseer waved his hand, signaling them to go back and recover their energy.
Akaba lay down, planning to catch a quick nap on the bench before Sankai arrived.
He admitted—he had underestimated Kakashi Windseer.
As the Clan Leader of the Hatake Clan, when it came to training and mentoring, he was thoroughly comprehensive. Even though Akaba claimed to help Shinku Yuhi train in genjutsu, he couldn't escape Windseer's grasp.
That's right, [True Illusion].
Throughout this day or so, as long as the others could endure, he had no choice but to repeatedly use True Illusion, under the so-called guise of pushing limits.
Yet, he couldn't deny that his chakra control had become subtler.
Knock knock knock.
The knocking sound rang out, prompting Akaba to snap his fingers.
However, this wasn't Konoha—his family caravan had gone out to set up stalls while the others went upstairs to rest. Only Akaba and Kakashi Windseer remained downstairs.
The knocking continued, reminding Akaba only then of this matter.
Just as he rose, Kakashi Windseer had already reached the door.
"Apologies, Mr. Windseer; I didn't expect you to come personally," Sankai politely apologized. Bowing low upon entering, he noticed the person opening the door had much longer legs and completely different attire compared to Akaba and the others.
When he looked up, he finally recognized it was Kakashi Windseer.
"It's fine. Everyone's tired," Kakashi Windseer responded after opening the door, turning around to return and sit back down.
Sankai glanced inside, discovering only Akaba and Kakashi Windseer on the first floor.
Where were the others?
"Oh, it's you, Sankai! Sorry, I just fell asleep—I didn't hear anything at all," Akaba said with a drowsy expression.
His fatigue was half-pretend; actually, he still had enough strength to release two or three more rounds of [True Illusion] affecting eight people.
"No problem at all. Seems like you've been through some intense training," Sankai observed the training ground, puzzled.
There wasn't the slightest sign of practice or activity.
"No, I just feel sleepy every day," Akaba sat up, looking dazed. He gave one glance toward Sankai, pointed lazily at the seat, too exhausted to speak further.
Sankai steadied himself, choosing not to scrutinize his surroundings lest they become suspicious.
He sat down and, after a moment's thought, said, "To promote manga, Teacher has decided to place display shelves full of manga books on the first floor of this building for public viewing. He sent me over to seek your opinion."
"That's indeed a great suggestion. If you don't mind, I'd be happy to donate all the manga I brought here this time—it's just a small token of appreciation."
Akaba naturally had no objections.
Ever since departing for the Land of Wind, he hadn't intended to make any profit off these tight-fisted merchants anyway.
"Eh...that's really too generous..." Sankai was stunned.
What use did he have for a hundred manga books? At most, they'd only be worth ten thousand ryō—the local currency—combined.
And concerning intelligence gathering—he hadn't picked up a single useful piece of information.
"It's nothing really. The friendship between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire shall last forever. A few manga books are nothing at all."
Akaba smiled politely as he spoke his diplomatic reply.
Sankai was momentarily speechless, unable to refuse. After a moment's hesitation, he asked again, "Then may I ask a personal question?"
"The manga were brought into the Land of Wind by me. Please feel free to ask anything," Akaba replied generously.
"I heard you held a Manga Con in the Land of Fire. What exactly is that?"
As Sankai asked, he kept observing carefully.
Unfortunately, aside from Akaba—who appeared visibly exhausted, as if his chakra and mental energy had been heavily drained—he hadn't laid eyes on anyone else at all.
What the hell are they hiding now!
Kakashi Windseer coldly smirked and stood up, heading upstairs.
Going upstairs?
So they really are secretly training. They don't want us to know, so they're hiding inside the house.
Sankai thought silently to himself.
His anxiety was so obvious that even those upstairs could sense it—not to mention Akaba and Kakashi Windseer who were directly facing him.
After waiting for Sankai's gaze to return from Hatake Windseer, Akaba smiled slightly and explained, "A manga con is basically a gathering for manga enthusiasts where they share their creations, do cosplay, and perform skits."
"Ooh, I see—cosplay and performances, huh? Sounds quite interesting."
Wait, I came here to observe them, not get interested!
Sankai shook his head, trying to push the fantasy images out of his mind.
Before he could change the topic again—
"If you're worried about not knowing how to organize one, there's no need. I have an expert here who thoroughly understands the process of hosting a manga con. You can borrow him, if needed."
Akaba said.
"An expert…a talent?"
Sankai was confused. How did the conversation suddenly get here?
"That's right—the white-haired ninja named Jiraiya."
Akaba smiled. "Don't let his appearance fool you. He's actually quite reliable when it comes to manga."
A white-haired ninja?
Sankai tried hard to recall who Jiraiya was.
Is that guy even remotely reliable?
Letting someone who draws such inappropriate comics host a manga con? Who knows what kind of chaos Sunagakure would end up with.
Thinking this, Sankai shuddered involuntarily, his lips twitching as he hastily replied, "We aren't planning any manga cons in the village for now. I just asked out of personal curiosity. We'll reach out if the need ever truly arises."
"I see. Then anything else?"
Akaba yawned casually, as if reminding Sankai it was time to wrap things up.
"No, that's all. I apologize for interrupting your rest."
Sankai stood up and turned to leave.
He knew his plan had been completely exposed. There was no way he'd be able to gather any useful information now.
Sticking around longer was just wasting time and energy. It'd be better to give up and return to focus on his own affairs.
"Carry on," Kakashi Windseer's voice drifted down from upstairs the moment Sankai left, offering absolutely zero chance for a break.
"Awesome! Awesome! I've been itching to defend Konoha for ages!"
Jiraiya rushed out first, followed closely by the rest of them, soon gathering downstairs after exiting the room.
Akaba sneered slightly and said, "Protecting Konoha Village? No, I just came up with a new idea—one that will definitely satisfy you all."
"What kind of idea?"
Shishio felt a sudden dizziness the moment he opened his mouth.
Genjutsu?
Had it already begun?!
He secretly marveled at Akaba's genjutsu—it was getting harder and harder to defend against.
After regaining his senses, Shishio focused and reopened his eyes. He now found himself in an endless desert.
They'd gone through this several times by now—they'd grown used to it.
"This challenge: Desert Survival."
"Food, weapons, and clues—all are hidden somewhere in this desert. Go find them! Find them to earn the right to survive!"
The voice sounded exactly like those from previous virtual illusions.
But this time felt entirely different.
Shishio scanned his surroundings and quickly identified his location—it was a spot along their journey from the Land of River to Sunagakure.
He understood food and weapons well enough—but what the hell did "clues" mean here?
As he silently pondered, he remained on high alert. Since survival was the goal, enemies could appear anytime.
"I'll head toward Sunagakure first. There might be some leads there."
Shishio made up his mind quickly.
Situations like this were unfolding simultaneously across various illusionary locations.
"So the early bird gets the worm."
Orochimaru chuckled and summoned numerous small snakes using Summoning Jutsu to begin searching the desert.
"We need to find those clues first, or we'll be flying blind."
Everyone decided quickly—even Jiraiya, usually the most unreliable, swiftly determined his position before heading toward Sunagakure.
Though they didn't know exactly what this illusion entailed, judging from the hints, the clues were clearly the most important element.
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