As Akaba approached the outskirts of the Senju clan's territory, he felt increasingly uneasy—the closer he got to the courtyard, the stronger his anxiety grew.
Mito Uzumaki was just too sharp. Nothing escaped her notice. Standing before her felt like being completely transparent—there was nowhere to hide.
He took a deep breath just outside the door.
"Inhaling like that—who do you think I am? I'm not going to eat you," came a voice from within.
Akaba immediately smiled and quickly stepped inside, politely saying, "You're joking. I was just adjusting my appearance out there."
"Hmph. You've been deliberately avoiding this area lately—you think I don't know?"
Mito bluntly called him out.
"Hehehe…"
Faced with such bluntness, Akaba could only let out an awkward chuckle.
He glanced up briefly.
It had only been a few days, but Mito looked visibly tired.
"You, of all people, haven't even stopped by to check on your own sister who's been here for days," she said.
"Kyoyuki is with you, so she must be perfectly safe," Akaba replied confidently. After all, in today's Konoha, who would dare cause trouble here?
Mito sat up straight, surrounded by several books. Among them was a sample copy of her self-published manga titled *Daily Life of the Goofy Hashirama*.
Hmm, straightforward title indeed.
No wonder Izumi Yamano hesitated to print it at first—the title alone might get it published, but by the next day, the Daimyo's ministers would likely pay him a visit over it.
"Take a look," she said, smiling as she handed it over.
"Would that be appropriate?" Akaba said while readily accepting the book anyway.
The daily life of the First Hokage surely must be interesting.
After all, judging from the original Naruto series, Hashirama Senju inherited the goofy personality of Asura's reincarnation. Compared to the Second Hokage, he often seemed less dignified.
"No problem. Manga is meant to be read, after all," Mito said, remaining very open-minded.
If she hadn't wanted others to see it, she wouldn't have sent it to the press in the first place.
Akaba flipped to the first page.
The artwork was still exquisite, depicting nothing more than some of Hashirama Senju's everyday routines.
So, what do you think?
Leaning halfway back in her chair, she stared at Akaba with eager anticipation.
Thinking for a moment, he responded, "The content is quite interesting and drawn beautifully, although if you're feeling low on energy, maybe you should try a different art style."
More detailed drawings required more effort.
Though Mito appeared young, she was actually quite old by now—her vitality and spirit couldn't match those of youth. One could imagine how much labor went into producing this single volume.
"Other styles exist? Hurry up and teach me!"
Mito straightened up, looking just like an attentive student ready for class.
"Just a second."
Akaba took out paper and a pen, referencing her original sketches before starting to draw.
Before long, he completed a figure illustration.
"That's really cute."
Mito Uzumaki's eyes lit up. Her drawing wasn't delicate, but the head-to-body-to-leg proportions were nearly 1:1:1, giving the character an oversized head and comically big eyes. Yet overall, it was surprisingly captivating.
Indeed, what Akaba had taught her was chibi-style art.
Since her artwork focused on humorous daily life, using chibi art made sense given her limited energy.
"This is exactly the style you should go with. You can simplify the background patterns too — after all, you're just showing First Hokage's daily life, not trying to create something fancy," Akaba explained.
"Totally right! Definitely smart having you come over personally."
Mito Uzumaki was very satisfied.
When it came to manga, Akaba knew a lot more than them—latecomers like herself.
"But for this volume..."
Akaba pointed at the finished copy in his hand.
The binding and printing were already done, so throwing it away and starting over would be a bit of a waste.
"Redraw it. I like this style better."
Mito Uzumaki decisively abandoned the previous art style. After all, she didn't have much else to do every day—recently taking care of kids had just used up more energy than usual.
"As long as you're happy," Akaba replied indifferently.
After all, these were Mito Uzumaki's drawings. What she did with them was entirely her choice.
Of course,
From his personal perspective, he wouldn't want to redraw either. This volume was equally well-made and beautiful—it just had a different artistic style.
At that moment, Mito Uzumaki looked as joyful as a child.
She gleefully clutched the chibi illustration, flipping through it and studying every detail for quite a while before finally setting it down.
Beside her, Akaba dared neither speak nor leave.
He waited patiently until she finally snapped out of it, at which point she continued, "Right, where were we?"
"You liked this style better," Akaba answered.
"Oh yeah! You know, your little sister has been training here and you haven't even bothered to visit or check on her," Mito Uzumaki chided playfully.
"..."
How long ago had that conversation been?
Akaba could only respond with a look of complete exasperation. He felt completely at a loss around this old woman—maybe Mito Uzumaki had been getting forgetful?
"All right, I'm just teasing you. Little Kyoyuki has completed her Yin Seal training, though her chakra had remained unstable recently, so she'll stay with me for now."
Mito Uzumaki explained.
"No wonder she needed to train under your guidance to complete the Yin Seal."
Sealing with the Yin Seal took a massive amount of chakra.
Fortunately, Kyoyuki was still only six years old. Plus, members of the Uzumaki clan naturally had more chakra than others her age. Outside of occasional chakra shortages during everyday activities, there hadn't been serious side effects.
Akaba thought for a moment. Now truly was the best time window. Once war broke out in the Land of Whirlpools, she probably wouldn't have the peace of mind to learn this technique anymore.
"Glad you understand. Also, after returning, remember not to let her use chakra too often."
Mito Uzumaki reminded him earnestly.
"I understand."
Akaba nodded repeatedly.
During the Yin Seal process, excess chakra would be sealed inside the Yin Seal, leaving absolutely no spare chakra. Therefore, recklessly using chakra could lead to unpredictable consequences.
However, it differs from the Strength of a Hundred Technique. It doesn't take years to master. After stabilizing chakra for just a short period, one can use it as normal.
"I heard from Tsunade that you've been researching Medical Ninjutsu lately," said Mito Uzumaki. "That's actually a great idea—better than staying home sleeping all day. I have some old reference materials you might find useful."
Mito Uzumaki reached into the pile of books and pulled out several documents.
Never thought Tsunade would learn how to fib.
She was just scared Mito wouldn't let her train in Sage Mode, so she passed the blame onto him. But with someone as sharp as Mito around, how could such a tiny scheme possibly work?
She's eaten more salt than we've eaten rice. (meaning, she has far more life experience than us.)
Akaba muttered internally and took the documents, flipping through them briefly.
The author of the book was Tobirama Senju, the former chief researcher of Konoha.
Turning the first page revealed notes analyzing Hashirama Senju's physical body and chakra composition.
It also included partial analyses related to [Monstrous Strength].
"As you can see, these are some of Tobirama's daily notes," Mito explained calmly. "The more restricted sections have already been removed by me. Feel free to read without concerns."
"Thank you very much," Akaba replied sincerely.
He understood the significance of this book. Though it contained no actual techniques, its insightful analysis on ninjutsu, chakra properties, and bodily constitution offered valuable lessons for future generations.
For Orochimaru, this book would be an ultimate treasure.
For Tsunade, it helped her better understand the physical constitution of the Senju clan, especially those of Hashirama Senju.
As for Akaba—
Well, apparently the only benefit was that drawing became slightly easier, with fewer excuses needed.
Akaba flipped through a few more pages and quickly revised his previous thoughts.
The book didn't only include those analytical notes—it also covered usage strategies of Water Release techniques and some advanced application skills.
"Oh right," Mito suddenly continued, "your recent manga feels kind of weak. Although there are plenty of setups for later plots, for scenes like this, a simple sketch should suffice. Why dedicate so much space?"
"This is actually my best effort already. The remaining details are all connected to future storylines."
Akaba scratched his head.
He'd already cut the part where Sakura and Ino played out their fake-friend rivalry. However, certain character development aspects couldn't be deleted, which frustrated him quite a bit.
Besides that, to prevent abrupt transitions, he'd expanded Tenten and Temari's battle sequence—a part that originally occupied only one page in the original version.
"How's your progress with the Strength of a Hundred Seal technique?"
"Not bad. Just started learning."
As he spoke, Akaba activated the technique, channeling chakra using its specific method.
Mito sensed his chakra for a moment before giving a slight nod. "Your pace is acceptable. Keep pushing forward. By the way, not only Nightdance can practice Puppet Techniques—you should give it a try too."
"You mean remote control?"
[Puppet Technique]'s biggest advantage was allowing the user to hide safely in shadows while manipulating puppets via chakra threads to complete missions.
Would this really benefit him?
Thanks to Mito's suggestion, he found himself lost in thought once again.
"Of course it's useful. The Puppet Technique allows you to work on multiple drawings at the same time. Once you master controlling five or even ten puppets, drawing ten manga chapters a day will be no problem at all."
Uzumaki Mito said earnestly.
She even gave a live demonstration as she spoke, using chakra threads to control the brushes and draw on two sheets of paper at the same time.
Akaba wasn't sure how to respond. He had prepared his question carefully, only to get this unexpected reply.
However...
When casting the Sakuma clan's genjutsu, if you perform multitasking operations, will they both take effect simultaneously?
That was an interesting question.
Akaba fell into contemplation. If you multitask, you can cast faster and create more intricate illusions.
Actually, it was quite a brilliant idea.
Thinking to this point, he nodded enthusiastically and said excitedly, "You're absolutely right. The Puppet Technique is indeed very useful."
"Glad you understand. Once you master this skill, your update speed will surely reach a whole new level."
After saying that, Uzumaki Mito casually added a threat, "So remember — your updates need to come faster!"
"Well… it really depends on the situation. Anyway, I'll head back and get started now."
Akaba began to sweat, nodding repeatedly. That was exactly why he never wanted to come here in the first place.
Uzumaki Mito nodded, waving her hand dismissively.
[Shifting Body Technique]
After slowly leaving the courtyard, the moment Akaba was more than ten steps away, he immediately activated his Shifting Body Technique and vanished in an instant.
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