Seeing the grand scene, Sakuma Yunlang couldn't help but walk into the house to discuss his thoughts with Akaba. "Master, should we rent out that side room?"
"Do we have enough money?"
The warehouse next to the manga shop also belonged to the Nara clan, and they still stored some medicinal herbs there even now.
It was huge—perfect for storage space, really.
Initially, they hadn't considered renting it—it was way too big, and way too expensive.
Coincidentally, Akaba didn't have the funds.
"Recently, our overseas business has been picking up. With the foreign market offering much higher profits, even after splitting revenues, we've still made quite a bit—enough to cover the cost of renting the warehouse along with our regular income."
Sakuma Yunlang whispered.
Manga sold overseas fetches fifteen times the domestic price. Even after splitting the profits, Akaba still pockets far more than he could make locally.
Recently, caravans have become increasingly frequent, boosting their profits. Otherwise, they wouldn't even have the capital to purchase such a vast warehouse.
"What would you use it for if you rented it?"
Akaba's shadow clone couldn't help but ask.
"There are plenty of possibilities," Sakuma Yunlang said convincingly. "Our store's gotten too cramped lately—we're due for an upgrade. And part of the space can be turned into a lounge area, like those spots outside. Customers can sit, read, chat… We could even partner up with food vendors later on."
Sakuma Yunlang laid out his plan with confidence, clearly he'd spent real time thinking through all this.
In short, his plan was basically to set up a small manga lounge—the comics were more like a bonus. The main draw would be food and snacks through vendor partnerships.
Whether this model would work remained to be seen, but as manga, figurines, and similar products kept growing, expanding the shop was inevitable.
Therefore, Akaba gave it a moment's thought, then nodded. "You take care of it. If you really want to go ahead, get in touch with the Nara clan through ours. Just tell them it's on my behalf."
"Yes!"
Sakuma Yunlang lit up instantly.
This was the first time he had expressed his own opinion about the manga shop. Gaining approval made him feel like all his recent efforts weren't in vain.
With permission granted, he immediately wanted to head out and start working on everything.
Since decisions had been made, better sooner than later. Akaba could only sit outside while letting him handle the communications.
"Oh right, aren't you going to the Preparatory Division today? Ah, right, Sakumo went off to work for you."
Nightdance must have just finished her morning practice, completely drenched in sweat.
Seeing Akaba sitting here, she was genuinely shocked at first, but then remembered Sakumo rushing off earlier and quickly understood.
"You say that like it's a bad thing. Sakumo working with him actually benefits both parties. Don't I deserve some gratitude for that?"
Akaba rolled his eyes.
"Yes yes yes."
Nightdance nodded seriously afterward, pretending to wholeheartedly agree.
Sakumo couldn't match Akaba, so he trained under him. But honestly, Sakumo still couldn't beat him either.
Thankfully, Sakumo recently received new tasks; otherwise, stuck in daily training with no break, when would he ever have time to come out for a stroll and conveniently check out the latest manga updates?
She looked around, suddenly brightened up, and darted into the store to grab the latest issue of One Piece.
Wow, that's one hefty volume!
Nightdance couldn't help but feel a bit teary-eyed. Since Pirate King began its journey, this was the first time he'd seen such a thick volume!
Eager to dive in, he moved aside and started reading, casually asking a poor genin to fetch him a bottle of Nara's healthy juice. By the time the juice arrived, Nightdance had already finished several chapters.
"Six-Sword Style? This seems extremely difficult; humans probably can't achieve it."
Nightdance muttered as he read.
[The Arlong Arc] mainly revolved around Nami's struggle. Naturally, the ending involved helping her overcome her troubles and officially joining the Straw Hat Pirates.
But what intrigued him were Zoro's and Luffy's physical techniques and swordsmanship—these subplots were just extra bonuses.
Three Swords vs. Six Swords
From what he saw, the Six-Sword Style seemed surprisingly weak. Although there were more blades, they lacked real power.
This reminded Nightdance of his own battle with Sakumo.
He had combined Sword Clone with Dance of the Sword, creating a synchronized offensive maneuver. Yet Sakumo blocked attacks from three swords using only one blade and then defeated him with a second.
Although Nightdance admitted his Three-Sword Style wasn't fully refined yet, in a way, Sakumo's Dual-Blade Style was indeed stronger—but still hard to accept emotionally.
The gap was too vast.
Plus Sakumo kept improving while Nightdance had barely mastered combining Sword Clone with Dance of the Sword. Sakumo had fought on real battlefields, while he remained stuck in the Hidden Village.
Thinking about this, Nightdance tightened his grip on the manga.
Well, better finish reading first.
Page by page, he flipped onward. Zoro appeared quite prominently in [the Arlong Arc], but the actual fights weren't particularly thrilling—nowhere near as intense as his duel against Dracule Mihawk.
Granted, Dracule Mihawk's attack had been nothing more than a single slash, hardly even a proper sword technique.
Soon enough, he finished all the chapters.
Sighing, he picked up the [Naruto] manga and skimmed through it.
The plot was intriguing. Though the climactic event—the legendary Three Sages (Sannin) Battle—had already happened, watching Tsunade ascend as the Fifth Hokage offered everyone a fresh experience.
Still, his thoughts began to drift.
Sakumo had fought on real battlefields. Akaba's jutsu kept coming endlessly, and his mind was sharp. In contrast, Nightdance felt inferior at everything. If he didn't go out and train soon, he feared he'd fall permanently behind.
That thought alone made him sigh involuntarily.
These ideas had nothing to do with the manga itself. Lately, he had constantly debated whether to travel for training or combat. But reading these comics hit harder than expected.
"I'm heading off."
Nightdance said after finishing his juice.
"Hmm."
Akaba replied briefly. After a pause, he added, "If you're heading out, don't forget to train in evasion jutsu."
"Don't worry. I'm no pushover like Hayate Gekko."
Nightdance waved dismissively with a teasing jab.
May the wind be at your back.
Akaba murmured inwardly.
He didn't know where Nightdance aimed to go, but seeing his comrade determined to grow stronger could only make him silently wish him well deep inside.
Someone like Shishio, for instance.
Since joining Anbu, he vanished completely.
Akaba didn't know where he went, but occasionally heard rumors through Sakumo, learning that Shishio remained safe and well.
As Sakumo always said it best—everyone's growing stronger.
"Now that I think about it, Shishio might actually be in the Land of Bird."
He mused inwardly.
Such a top-secret mission could only be related to the other battlefield.
The war in the Land of Whirlpools had ended, but Sunagakure's invasion against the Land of Bird had just begun. Both Iwagakure and Amegakure had already joined the war.
Still, Sunagakure's strategy made sense—they were targeting the Land of Bird, a remote country with terrible geographical conditions. With both Amegakure and Iwagakure still weakened from their recent wars, Wind Country had an extremely high chance of winning this battle.
In the future, there might not even be a Land of Bird anymore, let alone a Daimyo named Egret.
As for whether someone like Naruto would even exist at all—that was still an open question. Not to mention those minor characters who barely showed up a few times anyway.
"Now that I think about it, old Homura Mitokado really grates on my nerves. Even Koharu Utatane has focused entirely on medical system work without meddling in command anymore, yet he still does nothing useful while creating endless trouble."
Akaba felt irritated thinking about it.
"Old age without wisdom becomes a curse"—this perfectly described people like Homura Mitokado. Although right now, Mitokado wasn't actually old at all—he was in his prime.
Just to make sure he wouldn't get poisoned by Danzo later, he should plan something for that old fart. It would be best to force him off his advisor position sooner rather than later.
Unfortunately, lately there hadn't been any convenient scapegoat storylines available.
The next volume of Naruto would involve setting up Sasuke's betrayal and Lee's difficult decision regarding surgery. Then following that would be the assembling of Shikamaru's pursuit team.
That part of the story was also very exciting.
He drifted into deep thought.
Lately indeed, Konoha didn't have many missions. One entire country getting directly eliminated, plus Fire Country needing time to digest and reorganize internally—there would probably be a transition period.
So why not take advantage of this opportunity to host another Manga Con?
"Forget it, I'll wait until after the arc of Sasuke's betrayal finishes. Then hold a vote deciding whether or not to do a manga convention."
Akaba lay down listlessly.
Now that he thought about it, he wondered how those Uzumaki clan members who returned to the Land of Fire were faring—and especially that playful little sister. How was she doing?
He had already mastered the [Yin Seal] technique but hadn't visited the Senju side yet.
It wasn't until afternoon nearly evening when Sakuma Yunlang finally handled the warehouse issue. Throughout this day, Akaba sat in the manga shop responsible for sales, deeply realizing that working behind a counter wasn't easy at all.
The next day,
Akaba brought some snacks and gifts to visit the Senju clan.
These items were mainly for those children of the Uzumaki clan since they were also Kyoyuki's friends.
"Thank you, Brother Akaba."
"I'm so jealous of Kyoyuki having such a great big brother."
...
The kids were lively and cheerful, completely lacking any previous darkness or shyness. Akaba got stuck entertaining them for quite a while, telling several stories before finally managing to slip away and reach the small courtyard where Mito Uzumaki resided.
"The kids can be pretty clingy, huh?"
"A little."
Mito Uzumaki smiled warmly. Toward her fellow Uzumaki clansmen, she always maintained a gentle and patient attitude, unlike Akaba—who found himself with a splitting headache after only a short while of being surrounded by children.
Sitting down before her, Akaba quietly asked, "Grandma Mito, how's the Uzumaki clan doing?"
"Not much going on. They just can't use the surname 'Uzumaki' anymore and must protect the daimyo's life safety."
Grandma Mito lowered her voice.
No one else was aware of this information, since everyone assumed that no member of the Uzumaki clan had returned to the Land of Fire.
Akaba hesitated slightly after hearing this.
Protecting the Daimyo's life?
Isn't that exactly what the Guardian Ninja are for? With the Uzumaki clan here, the Twelve Guardians might not even be needed—their Uzumaki Sealing Technique and advanced Ninjutsu are unparalleled.
Before he could finish his thoughts, Mito Uzumaki added, "The clan chose to leave behind some of our sealing scrolls, keeping only the most powerful forbidden techniques and advanced seals. If we can survive in the Land of Fire, it'll all be worth it."
It would be a tragedy—but at least it wouldn't end with the whole clan wiped out and scattered across foreign lands like refugees.
In the manga version, the rest of the Uzumaki clan besides Kushina had it really rough—like, beyond words. But come to think of it, according to the original story, Kushina wouldn't even be born for another three or four years.
Armed with his knowledge of the manga, Danzo's early preparations caught the other ninja villages off guard, forcing them into premature war.
If things kept going like this, it was anyone's guess whether Kushina would even be born.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>