"If Motonami truly has this resolve, I won't slight the Uchiha."
The Third declared firmly.
For Konoha, complete integration of the Uchiha would definitely be a good thing.
Their powerful Kekkei Genkai, Fire Release techniques, and numerous secret techniques could elevate Konoha's overall strength by an entire level.
If that's the case, then what reason would there be to refuse them?
Trained personally by Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, his basic ideology aligned mostly with his teacher's, though with subtle differences.
Provided there was trustworthiness, he wouldn't mind involving the Uchiha in village governance.
Of course, becoming Hokage was out of the question.
"Lord Hokage, you're speaking to me about this for nothing. You should say these words directly to the Uchiha."
Akaba stood up.
With the big show over, what came next were just expected developments — not worth watching anymore.
The Third took a puff from his pipe but didn't reply.
He believed Motonami Uchiha understood his meaning: if he disagreed, he would've already acted long ago for the stability of the village.
Still, seeing Akaba's movement, he tapped his pipe on the table and asked, "Where do you think you're going?"
"Going back home."
As soon as Akaba answered, he felt something was off.
This situation...
Does this mean I'm getting drafted in?
"Sit down."
The Third pointed at the seat in front of him.
Akaba regretted coming inwardly. To see some commotion, he might have gotten himself dragged in deeper than expected.
He plopped back into his seat, bracing himself for what The Third would say next.
"I heard from Danzo that Root has been handed over to you for command?"
"Yes, but I haven't officially taken control yet."
Akaba hurried to clarify, hoping to avoid having this responsibility fall directly on him.
The Hokage narrowed his eyes slightly before sighing helplessly, saying, "What's the rush? Even I wouldn't dare entrust such an important matter to a brat like you."
"Right right right. Please continue."
Akaba nodded quickly.
"What I'm saying is, not only must the Uchiha prepare themselves tonight, we also need to ready some personnel — if anyone tries to escape—"
The Third stopped mid-sentence, but his implication couldn't have been clearer.
Anyone who leaves the designated zone — kill without mercy!
"You don't mean... me?"
"You'll be involved in tonight's defensive deployment. Use your genjutsu in coordination with others."
The Third pulled out a map of Konoha, specially marking significant locations such as the Hokage Tower, the Uchiha clan compound, and the Forest of Death. He had also charted every possible route the Uchiha might use to either flee or launch an attack.
The different colored lines probably showed how likely the Uchiha were to take each route.
It was incredibly thorough!
And there was even more to it than that.
Based on Akaba's knowledge of ink quality and how aged the maps looked, this one must've existed for at least over a year.
Judging by the timeline, it most probably originated around the time when Senju Tobirama and Kagami Uchiha fell in battle.
These old tricksters — none of 'em had clean hands.
Akaba thought silently to himself.
The Third glanced at him, seemingly guessing his thoughts, and explained, "This map was originally drawn by The Second. What you're looking at is merely a copy."
"I understand. Please continue."
Akaba made a gesture with his hand. After all, The Second's long gone — off selling tofu snacks on Sacred Mountain. There's no way I'm bringing him back through Impure World Reincarnation just to double-check. So yeah, whatever you say goes.
The Third fell silent for a moment, then spread out the blueprint and pointed at a red-marked route.
"You'll guard this path with others later. Watch for anyone escaping."
"I understand!"
Akaba inhaled sharply, steeling himself.
The entire outer perimeter of Konoha had been locked down tightly; it was said not even a single bug could crawl out without first answering to the Aburame clan.
"All right, go rest now."
The Third waved his hand dismissively. With the task assigned, keeping that lazybones around was just annoying.
Better to let Akaba rest up now—he'd need all his strength for what was coming tonight.
As he walked back to the manga shop, Akaba's mind kept returning to what would happen tonight. The Uchihas trying to escape were already finished, and he wasn't the type to feel pity for anyone.
Quite the contrary, he was thinking about how to profit from this situation.
From what he saw during the Uzumaki clan's physical trials, blood from someone with a Bloodline Limit truly granted significant point deductions (used during clan trials or special evaluations).
If he got his hands on Uchiha eyes, trading in the Sharingan might fetch him a huge profit.
Of course,
he needed to consider the cost issue.
If the price meant those eyes would be destroyed outright, then he couldn't make a move.
Such a valuable treasure yet completely unreachable!
Akaba sighed softly and before realizing it, had already returned to his store.
"The Uchiha clan has been wiped out?"
"This storyline is pure dynamite. The Uchihas are gonna lose it completely."
"Boss, you should run while you still can, or else the Military Police might come and demolish your shop."
Just as he arrived outside the shop, he overheard people discussing near the entrance—many half-jokingly advising Sakuma Yunlang.
Akaba turned the corner and saw the group speaking. Most were ordinary villagers and Genin from Konoha, all highly respectful—and afraid—of the Military Police.
So what exactly *did* the Military Police do anyway?
Politely speaking, they protected Konoha's villagers and ensured peace and order. Not so politely? They were Konoha's very own enforcer squad.
According to what he saw through the [Telescope Technique], if Motonami Uchiha failed to maintain control and a group came out to "teach him a lesson," the result might indeed turn into what those villagers described—as demolishing stalls.
Akaba hesitated: should he step out among so many people?
What if he got chased by fans?
Such was the burden of being famous!
After thinking for a moment, he ultimately stepped forward anyway. However, unlike what he imagined, everyone gathered in front of the store suddenly scattered upon seeing him.
That was just plain awkward.
His half-raised hand paused midair, then awkwardly patted down his hair as he forced himself to stroll calmly toward the store.
"Master, you're back?"
Sakuma Yunlang looked somewhat embarrassed, pointing at the direction the people ran off. "They were just chatting randomly. Don't take it seriously."
"It's nothing. It's just manga—don't treat it like real life."
Akaba replied casually.
Then he cautiously glanced around before quietly asking, "Has Jiraiya come by?"
Instead of answering immediately, Sakuma Yunlang carefully pointed toward a "child" inside the room idly walking around holding a manga book.
Through constant practice, Jiraiya's [Transformation Jutsu] had become highly refined.
However, while his appearance could change, his demeanor couldn't be hidden.
That guy kept stealing glances at Intimate Desert in the corner, looking extremely interested yet too scared to stare openly. In short, he looked utterly despicable.
"Excuse me!"
As soon as Akaba saw Jiraiya, he turned around, preparing to leave.
Jiraiya could no longer pretend. He immediately jumped out from inside the store and shouted, "Akaba, why did you put my manga in that corner!"
"First of all, it was Yunlang's idea. Secondly, store layout is entirely Yunlang's responsibility—it has nothing to do with me. And by the way, your manga wasn't unsold—it's already been bought."
Akaba's words left Sakuma Yunlang speechless.
His idea?
Didn't Akaba give the order originally?
He was sitting quietly in the shop when suddenly a burden fell from the sky. He opened his mouth, turning things over in his mind again and again, but in the end, still couldn't bring himself to speak the truth aloud. He silently took the blame for his superior.
Jiraiya angrily retorted, "Brother Yunlang, are you seriously saying you can't make decisions? You've been lying to me this whole time!"
"Your drawings are just too unconventional. Considering the store's image, I had no choice but to make some adjustments."
Sakuma Yunlang stammered nervously.
Jiraiya nearly burst into tears. He had come here full of excitement, eager to see if his manga could sell. Yet after searching the entire store, he finally found his lone copy shoved into a corner.
And get this—the cover was facing *down*!
"Jiraiya, what Yunlang said makes sense, but I have authority here. I can give your manga several more spots."
As Akaba spoke, he gave Sakuma Yunlang a meaningful look.
Sakuma Yunlang wanted to cry, but could only obey Akaba's silent command. Wordlessly, he pulled out three more copies of Intimate Desert from beneath the counter.
Then Akaba lined those three up next to the original one.
"Now it's three times more than before. Isn't it noticeable enough?"
Akaba pointed toward the corner.
From outside, Jiraiya spotted the four books at a glance—but in reality, unless someone was specifically looking for them, nobody would notice.
Previously, the single book had been placed with its back facing outward on the shelf—unless someone already knew what it was and actively searched for it, they'd never notice.
Now things were different.
With four volumes lined up together, at least they stood out clearly from their surroundings.
But in reality, unless someone specifically came looking for this manga, nobody would pay attention to the odd-looking book tucked away in this obscure location.
After all, there were simply too many books in the store.
"This time, once your manga's print run increases, I'll clear an entire shelf for it. That's the most I can do. After all, normally Yunlang runs the shop—I shouldn't interfere."
Akaba stated solemnly.
"Hmm, yeah!"
Jiraiya felt vaguely uneasy about something, yet he couldn't find fault with anything said.
Meanwhile, Sakuma Yunlang suffered inwardly, holding back his complaints.
The boss took both the credit and the blame—what else could he do when Akaba was his direct superior?
In that moment, he truly understood the cutthroat nature of office politics.
To be fair though, although Akaba limited where the Intimate Desert could be displayed in the manga shop, he had secretly arranged for Izumi Yamano to reach out to merchants from other caravans.
Those traders had eagerly agreed, predicting that sales wouldn't be too bad.
As for Jiraiya himself, money wasn't even his main concern.
To him, selling his manga at Akaba's shop felt like achieving real success.
If it became a huge hit, that'd prove he'd really made it.
However, although works like this wouldn't be outright banned, becoming the absolute mainstream would probably be quite difficult.
A single conversation with Akaba successfully convinced Jiraiya.
He stopped worrying about where his manga would be placed. Instead, he happily felt like he'd come out ahead.
After all, without Akaba's store, who would even know he'd drawn such books?
At least one copy had already sold!
So he left in high spirits, probably off to brag to everyone he met.
"Master, next time you're gonna pull one over on me, could you at least explain clearly first?"
"Cough, I'll try."
Akaba let out a dry chuckle, then quickly excused himself saying he needed rest and slipped off.
Sakuma Yunlang didn't bother trying to stop him.
Both titles had updates today, and the store was packed. He hadn't even finished counting the day's earnings yet—who had time to dwell on this kind of thing?
Plus, if not for this approach, knowing Jiraiya's personality, he'd probably insist on putting that adult-only book front and center for all to see.
"That's right, I forgot to ask them about the Uchiha massacre."
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