The Third at least knew to change his appearance. Although the transformed look wasn't carefully planned, it was at least more discreet.
This guy was different.
He announced himself with a loud shout upon entering, completely open and fearless.
"You really gonna buy this?"
"Big brother Yunlang, is it weird for me to buy a manga?"
Uchiha Ryo felt confused—he had been nothing but friendly, so why did this guy keep giving him such a hard time just for buying a comic book?
Weren't they supposed to be one big ninja village family from now on?
Sakuma Yunlang turned around to get it, feeling bitter inside. He had genuinely meant well, only to end up getting criticized in return.
Uchiha Ryo glanced at the cover and confirmed it was the right one.
That's right—this was the one!
Unfortunately, the first volume was already taken by the Clan Leader and hadn't been returned yet.
Thinking about the first volume made him hesitate slightly.
Who knows if he could get it back from the Clan Leader? If he couldn't, he might as well just buy another copy.
Therefore, Uchiha Ryo said, "Let me take the first volume too."
"The first volume as well?"
Sakuma Yunlang opened his eyes wide. What's up with this guy? He wants to buy something he's already read? Did he not get enough alone time before?
"Just give me one," Uchiha Ryo said while flipping open the second volume.
Since all the books he previously bought had been seized by Motonami Uchiha and never returned, he didn't actually know their contents. He had only ever seen the Clan Leader reading them privately during visits to his house.
Meanwhile, since being held back after Akaba and others graduated, he hadn't kept up with Jiraiya's transformation into an artist.
Flipping to the first page, he hadn't even boarded the train yet.
Sakuma Yunlang handed over the book, thinking how admirable it was that even kids five or six years younger dared to openly read artistic comics on the street.
Real brave guy!
However, after flipping through several pages, Uchiha Ryo suddenly blushed, his breathing quickened.
The train had arrived!
"Huh? How come this... this is..."
Uchiha Ryo was stunned.
Before reading, he hadn't known what kind of book this was.
It was super interesting and all, but reading this kind of stuff out in the open in broad daylight felt kinda wrong.
Now he finally got why Kakashi always had those books on him.
Icha Icha Paradise, Icha Icha Tactics...
He had originally thought these were manga spin-offs related to Hokage. As it turned out, they were indecent publications unsuitable for children.
What the heck!
"Ryo, do you still want this manga?"
Sakuma Yunlang realized—the kid probably hadn't read this manga before. The previous volume might have been confiscated by elders.
"Nah, I'm good."
Uchiha Ryo quickly shut the manga, threw money down, and ran off.
Even though he refused verbally, he still obediently took away the second volume.
Pfft—never saw that coming back in school. That guy's such a hidden perv!
[Mutiple Shadow Clones] chuckled oddly.
Uchiha Ryo perfectly embodied the classic personality of the Uchiha clan. At school, apart from his own clique, he rarely communicated with outsiders.
Therefore, Akaba didn't actually know much about him.
He also had no idea that beneath that emotionless and cold exterior beat the heart of such a secretly passionate soul.
"Keep working."
After watching the commotion, Akaba returned to his seat to continue drawing.
He had already completed one chapter's worth of work, and the One Piece manga was now up to Chapter 30.
According to the initial plan, that should have been enough for a volume ready to release, but now Akaba intended to add five more chapters.
At Chapter 35, Captain Kuro would finally reveal his true intentions and engage in a full-blown confrontation with Luffy's pirate crew.
Simply put—
Right when things were about to get most exciting.
"Since you worked pretty hard today, I'll stay overtime a little longer," said the Multiple Shadow Clones calmly. "But later, you gotta let me take a break and go out for a stroll."
As a Multiple Shadow Clone, his lifespan was short. Many previous clones had been created purely for work-related purposes, and they died after completing their tasks. But he was different—he was a Multiple Shadow Clone with dreams.
"That works. Just help me deliver the update—conveniently on your way for that little outing," Akaba replied offhandedly.
"..."
Still work again.
The Multiple Shadow Clones sighed deeply, saying, "Later, you have to give me a break so I can go out for a walk."
Still, getting to leave the village wasn't bad. Most Multiple Shadow Clones might not even get to leave the village once in their entire existence.
That thought gave him a little peace.
Compared to those other clones whose sole purpose was to die uselessly, they were already quite lucky—even Akaba himself saw it that way.
With both the original and clone working hard together, five chapters could be finished in no time at all.
As for the other side...
After completing the Hokage manga's five updated chapters and delivering them over here, Akaba quickly finished the remaining five chapters for One Piece. After all, two people drawing simultaneously while keeping each other accountable made their overall efficiency triple what it normally was.
Since Izumi Yamano's caravan had not arrived yet, Akaba kept his promise and sent the clone to submit the comic updates, conveniently allowing it to explore a bit too.
As for whether the clone would cause any trouble—
Who could tell? After all, Multiple Shadow Clones possessed relatively independent consciousnesses.
[Multiple Shadow Clones] left the village.
With inherited memories, locating the arms factory wasn't hard. So after leaving the village, he walked straight there without difficulty, reaching the arms factory shortly afterward.
"You're Mr. Akaba—why did you come personally?"
No need for announcement, as the two guards recognized him immediately.
Nowadays at the arms factory, someone might not recognize visiting ministers, but no one could miss Akaba—or so they thought.
Because although weapon business profits went upward, the manga revenue sharing benefited everyone directly.
"I came here because I have something to handle. Is Mr. Yamano around?"
The Multiple Shadow Clone asked calmly.
"Oh yes indeed! You can just go find him yourself."
The two guards warmly welcomed him without suspicion, promptly opening the gates to let Akaba through.
If anyone else came, thorough verification would probably be required.
"Thank you."
Akaba entered, familiarly navigating his way through until he found Yamano Izumi deep inside the compound.
Yamano Izumi looked genuinely surprised.
Even when chapters needed updating, Akaba seldom visited in person—unless it was something really important.
Was this really a Multiple Shadow Clone—or was someone impersonating him?
He pondered inwardly while keeping a calm yet eager expression on his face, quickly rising to speak. "Mr. Akaba, I didn't expect you to come in person."
"Director, there's no need to test me anymore. You can just call me Akaba directly now, can't you?"
The Shadow Clone sat down calmly, seeing through Izumi Yamano's attempt at politeness, then took out several manga volumes from his backpack.
Izumi Yamano gave an awkward smile and apologized. "The weapons I make are pretty valuable—I have to be careful."
"I understand. The reason I came this time is mainly about the manga updates."
The Shadow Clone divided the manga into three stacks and pointed at the thickest one, saying, "This stack is the latest One Piece update, this one is Naruto, and this one—"
"What's this one?"
Izumi Yamano leaned closer, curious as he glanced over them.
Kaihime Muzan?
"This is my newest short story experiment. Print some copies of it, but there's no need to print in Konoha. Focus on distributing and selling it to foreign countries like the Land of River, Amegakure, Land of Water, and other places."
The Shadow Clone said casually.
"So we're only selling it overseas? Got it, I understand."
Izumi Yamano nodded in comprehension before flipping that particular volume over for a quick look.
One glance was all it took—he was instantly hooked.
This art style...
It was delicate and graceful, with clothing inspired by traditional Japanese Warring States period fashion.
But most importantly!
Opening the first page revealed a beautifully detailed and blood-pumping full-color character illustration.
He threw his head back instantly.
The Shadow Clone asked "concernedly," "Mr. Yamano, are you alright?"
"No, no, it's just that recently I've been feeling unwell—it seems like I'm about to have a nosebleed."
Izumi Yamano hurriedly covered the cover again while secretly suppressing the inner demon threatening to emerge and wreak havoc.
"As long as you're okay. Publishing these comics will trouble you a bit, but the profits will remain the same as usual."
"You'll see—this manga will definitely become a hit. If it doesn't, I'll eat it myself in front of all the factory workers."
Izumi Yamano declared solemnly.
It was an excellent book; otherwise, just seeing one page wouldn't have disturbed his usual calm.
With such a great title, how could it not be a success?
"You handle it however you see fit. Just make sure the speed is relatively fast."
After saying this, the Shadow Clone took another stack—the separate updated chapters of One Piece—from the pile. "There are ten new chapters here. Bind them together into one volume for printing."
"Understood."
Izumi Yamano nodded.
The Shadow Clone gave a slight nod, then said earnestly, "Mr. Yamano, if your health feels off, make sure to rest more. Lately, eat better food and get enough nutrition. Otherwise, should you collapse suddenly, I would find myself in quite a difficult position too."
"Of course, of course."
Izumi Yamano let out a dark chuckle, unbothered, while Akaba's clone remained unperturbed, leaving after placing the manga updates down.
There was still some chakra remaining in his body, enough to last for a little longer.
If he ended things now, the original would receive the news immediately, potentially causing all his painstaking efforts to go to waste.
After he left, Izumi Yamano excitedly picked up Kaihime and carefully examined its cover, finally noticing that the name on it wasn't Sakuma Akaba anymore—it had changed to Nobusuke.
Not that he cared all that much anyway. When drawing this kind of manga, changing the name to something unrelated to oneself was indeed easier for foreign audiences to accept. His focus wasn't on the author's name, but rather on the content itself.
He flipped to the first page, studied it carefully, then turned to the next and kept reading.
"I thought Akaba couldn't draw like this. Guess I was naïve."
Izumi Yamano felt his heart pound as he kept reading.
This was amazing!
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