This is way too draining!
Akaba gasped for breath. Just a few seconds of connecting to the network had consumed nearly thirty percent of his Spirit Points.
At this rate, when would he ever finish building the local network?
Headache!
But after thinking for a moment, he suddenly sensed something was off.
Didn't Yumekuma feed on spiritual energy and draw strength from dreams?
Logically speaking, it should be able to channel the absorbed Spirit Points back into the dream, maintaining the required consumption. So why was he using up all his own energy this time?
He pieced it together and immediately glared viciously at the little one, demanding, "Did you use up all my Spirit Points and keep all the extracted energy for yourself?"
"This...this definitely isn't the case! You're misunderstanding me!"
The Little Yumekuma nervously darted its eyes around, clearly guilty as charged.
"I knew it. You skimmed off the top for yourself. There's no way the consumption should've been this high otherwise."
Akaba raised one eyebrow and closed the manga the creature was reading.
Knowing it had acted shamelessly, the Little Yumekuma shrank back on the table, wearing an obviously pitiful look.
But that was just an act!
This creature was extremely cunning and already calculating slyly in its head. If left unpunished, the LAN and virtual network plans would face endless delays.
He sat down and said, "If you do this again, no more manga, got it?"
"You always threaten me like this."
The Little Yumekuma pressed down on the manga, afraid Akaba might take them away. After locking gazes with Akaba, it realized its young master wasn't joking.
So, it gave in. "Fine, I just ate a little extra. Besides, eating more helps me grow faster anyway!"
"Alright, normally you can eat as much as you want, but not during battles or techniques."
Akaba petted its head.
The lost Spirit Points could regenerate. With his spirit capacity, giving it a bit now and then wouldn't be a problem.
"Really?"
The Little Yumekuma became ecstatic, instantly jumping up to nuzzle Akaba's hand before settling down happily to continue reading its manga.
It hadn't come out for quite some time and had accumulated a mountain of manga to read, barely having enough time to keep up.
"Alright, if there's nothing else, go back first. If you want to take a set of manga with you, ask Master Yunlang. I'm very busy right now."
Akaba tiredly massaged his temples.
After consuming so much Spirit Points, once the Multiple Shadow Clones returned, he might not be able to endure that moment of fatigue.
At least the local network came online, even if only briefly.
"I hope next time lasts longer. If this guy hadn't skimmed off the top, the consumption definitely wouldn't have been this bad."
Akaba inwardly grumbled.
More people meant greater consumption, but also more Spirit Points to harvest.
In a sense, by acquiring others' Spirit Points, his own consumption could be significantly reduced.
Provided, of course, that certain beasts didn't skim off the top.
He softly sighed. Though he'd already warned it once, the more he thought about it, the less reliable it seemed.
The Little Yumekuma returned.
From its expression, it had obtained quite a lot of manga, clearly showing visible satisfaction on its beastly face.
"Don't forget to tell your kind about me."
Akaba specially reminded.
This little creature may be smart, but some of its habits are quite troublesome. He had to remind it repeatedly.
"Yeah yeah, by the way, when you update, make sure to summon me again!"
Little Yumekuma said unwillingly.
For it, this manga shop was like a treasure trove—filled with endless comics to devour. If only it could live here forever.
Unfortunately, that wasn't possible.
Boom!
With a bang, it returned through the summoning technique back to the Yumekuma clan.
"Master, your Yumekuma took away a full ten sets! Does it really need that many?"
Sakuma Yunlang counted the missing sets, wincing slightly at the loss.
He originally thought that creature wouldn't be able to take much on its own, never expecting it would use a jutsu to store them all at once.
"Just ten sets? That's only about two or three thousand coins' worth. Don't be such a miser."
Akaba consoled him.
After all, they were free giveaways in the first place. The Yumekumas could contribute a lot of points simply by reading, and combined with their use of "Dream Manga" to spread viral advertising, this was definitely a profitable deal.
Just didn't know how many summoning beasts would take an interest in comics.
Well, no need to think too much about it for now. Still, priorities came first—he needed to finish updating the latest chapter. Today's *One Piece* chapter would have to be drawn by himself; otherwise, he might not finish in time.
Meanwhile at Mount Myoboku, Jiraiya studied Kaihime Manga during his training break.
He had borrowed it three days ago.
Within these three days, he continuously analyzed its strengths, trying to grasp its most essential elements.
It was difficult, but recently he'd made decent progress.
"What's the point of studying such nonsense all day long?" A large toad jumped over, its tongue coiled around a freshly caught insect.
"Gamata, this is humanity's highest form of art. Oh right, you're just a toad—you can't possibly understand human artistic expression."
Jiraiya put on an air of aloof mastery.
Gamata glanced at it disdainfully before replying, "I'd rather not understand something like this at all. If you focused your energy on training, you'd have surpassed that guy Orochimaru ages ago."
"No, no—it's not people like Orochimaru I want to surpass now, but him—Nobusuke!"
Jiraiya pointed at the comic's author.
Gamata paused briefly, clearly failing to understand Jiraiya's peculiar obsession.
Yet—
The next moment, Jiraiya rapidly drew a picture.
Two toads—one male and one female—in a very 'fast-motion,' suggestive position.
"Pfft! Stupid Jiraiya, what kind of crap did you draw!"
Gamata backed off, brandishing its weapon.
You couldn't tell from the toads' faces alone, but their voices made it clear—they were definitely worked up about it.
"Wahahaha! Although taste varies, art is shared across species—the power of artistic expression knows no bounds!"
Jiraiya proudly declared.
Of course! My brilliance truly transcends all boundaries—even these toads are utterly captivated by my artistic genius!
"Stupid, stop drawing nonsense like this."
As Gamata spoke, something seemed to be forming within its mouth.
"Wait, don't—oh no!"
Realizing the danger instantly, Jiraiya rushed forward regardless of everything else, grabbing the Kaihime volume tightly into his arms.
[Water Release: Great Ball Technique!]
A massive glob of spit blasted straight out, completely shattering the sketchpad into dust.
He quickly checked the book he was holding, exhaling in relief when he found it completely unharmed.
Good thing it's not broken!
Gamata squatted casually with one hand resting on his katana while smoking.
Pfft, we're already this close—why even bother acting serious?
Jiraiya muttered as he carefully put away the manga. The fact that Gamata had come looking for him meant that another painful training session was about to begin.
First, complete your ninjutsu training!
Alright, alright, I got it.
Jiraiya sighed and began practicing nature transformation for fire-type chakra.
Gamata perched nearby.
At this point, Jiraiya was still far from being Gamata's equal. That's exactly why Sage Fukasaku felt confident enough to let Gamata supervise Jiraiya's training alone.
Otherwise, given Jiraiya's laid-back personality, if left alone to train, half an hour later he might end up wandering into some Konoha bathhouse instead.
**Ryuchi Cave**
Michishima Himei lay in her lodging, entering a deep dormancy like usual.
Yet this time, she found herself trapped within a strange dream.
In the dream, there was a gigantic demon fox releasing terrifying chakra across its body. It howled toward the sky before violently destroying everything around it.
The scene was grand and spectacular.
But what kind of dream was this?
By their current cultivation level, ordinary dreams were no longer capable of disturbing their sleep.
Thus, she understood almost instantly.
It's those annoying flies again!
She gritted her teeth. For serpents who valued deep dormancy, dreams were undoubtedly the most detestable things.
Unfortunately, even she could do nothing within the dream world but gradually try to break free.
While deciphering the dream, Michishima Himei also observed its details, trying to figure out what trickery these annoying Yumekuma were pulling this time.
Soon, a book appeared.
At the same time, a man's voice echoed throughout the dream.
One ninja sealed the demon fox at the cost of his life, dying himself from exhaustion.
Following this, the dream shifted.
A massive statue appeared in the distance, covered in paint that made it look rather ridiculous.
Mwahahaha! Is this the human world? Still every bit as chaotic as I remember.
She watched silently, gradually finding this book quite interesting indeed. If such services existed, letting the Yumekuma absorb a bit of mental energy wouldn't be so bad.
With her strength, the mental energy dispersed within the dream would recover very quickly, so the Yumekuma-induced dream wouldn't significantly affect her powers.
Combining the manga with the dreamlike vision, Michishima Himei became engrossed, eventually praising, Not bad—you Yumekuma have finally caught up to offering decent service. No longer those mind-numbingly dull, soulless dreams from before.
If you liked it, then I'll be back next time!
The Yumekuma chuckled mockingly.
Eh? Wait—
Michishima Himei had barely begun reacting when the dream suddenly collapsed, the book and every image shattering instantly.
At the same time, she woke up.
This can't be over already—I just got started!
She retracted her previous thoughts; those Yumekuma were just as annoying as ever.
Damn it! A Yumekuma's one-track mind couldn't possibly come up with something this clever. I must find out who manipulated them into doing this!
Michishima Himei clenched her teeth angrily.
Naruto?
The people of Konoha have been erased from record, but once you find anything related to Konoha, it won't be hard to figure out who's behind it.
"It seems Manda has made a contract with a brat from Konoha. Have him find out which brat is causing all this mess, and bring them all back together."
After that, she left her lodging and headed toward where Manda was.
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