Even after being completely drained from yesterday, he kept two shadow clones active to handle the day's tasks. On the way back from the hospital they had a brief chat, but while heading toward the bathhouse his shadow clone suddenly vanished, nearly causing Akaba to collapse in the bathroom.
Originally, he'd planned to take it easy today, but Motonami Uchiha was feeling particularly playful and showed up at his door the very next day with gifts.
The old man was clearly delighted, sipping on the Uchiha clan's special sake while pulling out a plate of unique snacks, cheerfully boasting about his fellow clansmen's heroic deeds from yesterday.
Yes.
Sure, it was called a thank-you gift, but basically it was just an excuse for him to show off — all the sake ended up being drunk by him anyway. At home, Sakuma Saiki didn't allow Akaba to drink alcohol.
Still, the Uchiha-made snacks were pretty good — much better than anything you'd find on the street.
Without drawing attention, Akaba sped up his eating pace and soon devoured everything on the plate. Since Motonami still had half a bottle left but no more food to go with his drinking, he stopped as well and sealed away the remaining alcohol.
Then, he remarked emotionally, "Akaba, I truly never expected this — originally, awakening our clan's power required deep emotional bonds and the pain of losing them. Yet now, even witnessing Sasuke's betrayal in the manga can trigger it."
In Motonami Uchiha's understanding, their clan's power came from first forming strong emotional ties, then enduring the pain of losing them — allowing one to evolve into something stronger.
But now, things seemed to have changed thanks to the manga.
"Things couldn't possibly be worse for him," Akaba muttered, recalling that strange request, unable to help himself from reiterating the point.
"Hahaha, I was just too excited yesterday when I made such a request to Chiaki. Anyway, moving forward, don't give Sasuke too little screen time."
Motonami totally got it — after all, these manga typically follow the protagonist's point of view for most of the story. Once Sasuke leaves the village, it naturally means his screen time will drop significantly for quite a while.
"Don't worry, he won't be shortchanged."
Resting his head in his hand, Akaba looked tired and uninterested. After all, both Six Paths bloodlines would eventually break the mold later on, plus there was an overprotective older brother willing to go to great lengths for his younger sibling. Sasuke actually appeared quite frequently during the later arcs.
Of course, his screen time would definitely drop off for a while.
"In that case, I feel relieved."
Motonami left behind many items, though not much money. He left behind a rather large package — no one knew exactly what was inside.
Once he had gone, Akaba rummaged through the bundle and found several Uchiha-made foods and drinks, along with some books.
Books—
Were they another Sharingan-related document?
He glanced around cautiously before picking them up and flipping through them. Upon seeing the titles, he felt somewhat disappointed.
[Uchiha Sword Techniques] and [Ninja Tool Manipulation].
It wasn't that these weren't valuable; although the Uchiha sword techniques weren't as famous as those of the Hatake Clan, they were still well-known in Konoha. The Uchiha also possessed considerable expertise in ninja tool manipulation.
However, these two volumes were clearly not meant for Akaba or the Sakuma Clan — they were teaching materials intended for the students under Akaba's instruction.
Now that's considerate — almost too much.
With a sigh, Akaba put the books away. While they weren't useful to him personally, having them was still better than nothing.
"What are these? Huh, did he already leave?"
Sakuma Saiki came out holding food, only to find Motonami Uchiha had already left.
"Ah, Mother, I'm heading over to the manga shop. I probably need to go to the hospital today too, so I won't come back for lunch."
"Hmm-hmm, you never really come back anyway."
Sakuma Saiki was quite accustomed to this, and showed absolutely no emotional reaction toward Chukaku's absence—he'd long gotten used to it, and whether or not he returned simply didn't matter much anymore.
Chukaku stood there blankly for a moment before silently walking out of the house.
No wonder things feel different after staying at home for too long.
He walked out of the Sakuma compound and encountered many people on the way. Everyone who saw Chukaku greeted him with cheerful teasing, saying things like "we want to awaken our Kekkei Genkai too."
Because the Military Police had opened recruitment across the village's ninja ranks—not just among the Uchiha themselves—and because the Uchiha actively promoted the idea, such news had spread throughout Konoha in less than a day.
Motonami Uchiha's plan was simple.
Previously, although several people had awakened their powers after the revelation of the Uchiha massacre night, these events hadn't occurred under everyone's watchful eyes.
This time was different.
Right under everyone's noses, they witnessed an Uchiha child arguing about the plot of a manga with Sakuma Chiaki, and awakening a double tomoe during their quarrel.
The story seemed ridiculous, yet remained undeniably true.
As the saying goes—seeing is believing. Using this case alone, most people could be convinced that hatred wasn't the only path to awakening an Uchiha's power; deep identification with and love for the village could also achieve the same effect.
Though such PR moves never really caught on in Konoha, Motonami Uchiha clearly got the idea.
Chukaku admired him inwardly. He couldn't help but admit—this guy really was impressive.
Of course,
people like Third and Danzo certainly understood his methods well.
However, the fact that the Uchiha could awaken their strength through reading manga had indeed surprised them, so instead of blocking the Uchiha from spreading such information, they actually cooperated quite willingly.
Spreading good vibes? That's everyone's job.
Once Chukaku reached the manga shop, he immediately left behind one of his Shadow Clones and quickly sneaked away to hide somewhere else.
Absolutely couldn't let himself get caught doing chores again today—it was also why he avoided going home, to stay hidden from Tsunade and others.
Vacation—for vacation!
He hid deep in the forest, basking in the dappled sunlight that slipped through the leaves, feeling surprisingly at ease.
It was wonderful being able to enjoy peace without interruptions—
"How did you end up here?"
"I had just returned to the village and was heading toward your manga shop when I happened to spot you here, so I came over to check it out."
From atop a tree, a masked ninja jumped down.
Though partially covered, Chukaku easily identified the other person based on their chakra signature—Mitashigo Shishio, a long-missing comrade.
He approached Chukaku, looked around briefly, then removed his mask.
"Have you reported back to Teacher yet?"
"Yeah, Teacher remains exactly the same as usual."
Shishio stuck a blade of grass between his lips, crossing his legs casually. "I performed exceptionally well on my mission this time—I'll likely be promoted directly to Chunin."
"Oh? You might not know yet—I'm currently a Tokubetsu Jonin now."
Chukaku replied calmly.
"What?!"
"And by the way, Sakumo did amazing on the battlefield—might get promoted straight to Jonin."
"What?!"
He thought he'd kept up well enough to stay in step with the two of them, but during his time in hiding outside the village, his information had become seriously outdated.
His two companions had already become Jonin!
"Forget it, I guess I can't keep up with you two anymore."
Shishio lay back with a piece of grass in his mouth, telling Akaba about some of the things he'd seen and heard during this time. Although it was a secret mission, he could still share some of the scenery and interesting sights along the way.
He talked about all the places he'd visited—The Land of Earth, Bird Country, the Land of Wind, and finally the Land of River. Just from listening, he'd practically traveled all over the regions of the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind during this time.
But suddenly sitting up partway through, he said, "Oh right, why are your manga selling for so much in the Lands of Earth and Wind?"
"Expensive? How much?"
The Land of Lightning had trade handled by caravans from the Land of Fire, so commerce was taken care of through these traders. But the situation in the Lands of Earth and Wind was different.
There were no direct trading caravans between the Land of Fire and these two countries, and the Land of Wind maintained especially strict control over internal trade, making merchants unwilling to enter that country.
In short, the manga in those two countries were considered illegal contraband; their high prices fell within a normal range.
However—
"In the Land of Earth, each volume costs ten thousand taels of silver, while in the Land of Wind, which is relatively poorer, they transact directly with gold coins."
What?
Akaba sat bolt upright immediately.
One side charging ten thousand taels per volume, the other transacting directly with gold coins?
Kakuzu had a real head for business.
"They say the manga entering these countries are controlled by a powerful ninja, hence the extremely high prices. The Land of Wind has implemented strict monitoring and control measures on manga internally, which only increases demand."
"And what about the Land of Earth?"
Akaba asked curiously.
"Quite high as well. The people there are wealthier than in the Land of Wind. Many ninja and rich aristocrats are willing to pay top dollar. The sales have been excellent."
Saying so, Shishio sighed and patted his empty pockets. "A poor guy like me can only buy cheap stuff back at the village."
"All right then, just for sharing these stories with me, I'll treat you to some."
Akaba stood up, brushed off his pants, and led Shishio toward the manga shop.
While drinking juice and reading manga, Shishio sat comfortably in front of the store's entrance, continuing to tell Akaba more stories from his travels. At one point, he brought up the Land of River, and he seemed genuinely astonished as he spoke.
There was a river flowing into the sea within the Land of River, which is where the country got its name 'Land of River.' Originally, this nation could have grown quite prosperous by leveraging the river. However, long ago, powerful ninja shifted to the Lands of Wind and Fire, leaving the Land of River without a Ninja Village established within its borders.
Eventually, it became merely a buffer zone caught between conflicts of the Lands of Wind and Fire, and thus gradually grew increasingly impoverished.
Yet now, the river had been widened by wandering samurai and ninja into a wide waterway capable of allowing two or three large ships to pass abreast, and countless vessels floated flags bearing various pirate insignias.
The area had nearly turned into a land ruled by pirates.
Kakuzu truly was impressive. Now he understood why Kakuzu urged him to update quickly—the organization had successfully expanded operations across such a vast territory thanks to accumulated funds from their previous Ninja World pyramid scheme activities.
Without a steady income, the organization would eventually collapse anyway.
To avoid Kakuzu showing up in person demanding an update, tomorrow he'd put out an extra chapter of *One Piece*.
Shishio has returned, so the war in the Land of Bird must have ended by now.
Although these were all confidential missions, one could easily guess what Shishio's assignment had been lately. It was just unclear how the battlefield situation turned out.
Leaning back in his chair, he read the section about the Chunin Exams and thought,
"Hey, this guy who's as reckless as Naruto... couldn't possibly be my daughter, right?"
Based on what he knew of Akaba, Kakashi was Sakumo's child, Kurenai was Shinku's daughter, so this confident and alluring older woman known as Anko Mitarashi obviously existed as a daughter figure in the storyline.
But...
Why is her personality so unstable?
"You'll owe me big time if you ever end up with a daughter this hot."
Akaba chuckled.
"No way! My kid won't have that kind of personality. My child will definitely be a gorgeous, gentle, and legendary ninja—just like Lady Mito!"
Shishio protested.
Gorgeous?
Maybe during her prime it was somewhat accurate, but later on when she ballooned up after binging on too many anko dumplings, forget it.
Gentle? Since when has that word ever applied to Anko?
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