"Let's face it—Teacher must be jealous of my talent."
Akaba stepped out of Anbu headquarters, secretly muttering in his mind.
Truthfully, he didn't care much about it. In fact, leaving earlier than expected meant avoiding getting dragged into dealing with the pile of documents waiting on his desk.
Handling intelligence reports did have its advantages—like getting exclusive details, such as the full story behind the Land of Bird's war. Without reading that scroll, there was no way anyone could know so many specifics.
But handling this kind of stuff really taxed the brain. If he actually helped out, this wouldn't be the only job thrown his way. There were follow-ups to Whirlpool Country's war, some decisions made by Mist's Third Kage, and plenty more equally complicated affairs.
All brain-draining work. Sometimes Akaba truly admired Danzo for working overtime day and night like that—why wasn't there even a hint of baldness shown in the manga?
Could it be that Hashirama Cells had hidden benefits in that regard?
As Akaba's thoughts drifted, they inevitably got carried away. As one of the ultimate tools later on, the abilities of Hashirama Cells were definitely worth further research.
But this kind of study, the Third would most likely never approve. Unless Orochimaru could somehow present a detailed and reasonable plan.
He returned to the manga shop, ready to continue drawing for the One Piece series.
He had been behind on updates for the past couple of days, so to avoid Kakuzu chasing him for drafts, he should really push himself to release extra chapters today.
However, given the renovations happening next door, staying inside the manga shop would be quite noisy. "'It would seriously impact' his creativity and slow down his drawing pace."
So Akaba simply took his things outside, drawing new manga pages right on the street.
It had been a while since he last worked in such an environment—it felt surprisingly nice. Especially with many customers around, flipping through manga books or discussing them. The atmosphere was very pleasant.
Sitting outside naturally led to chatting with readers, which Akaba welcomed—it gave him the perfect excuse to take a break now and then.
Of course, judging purely by appearance, he still seemed quite focused.
"By the way, your latest chapters were awesome, Akaba. I had no idea the Akimichi clan had so many interesting stories..."
"Shhh!"
Someone was about to say "big guy," but another person quickly covered his mouth.
Akaba turned his head and saw a big, muscular "gentle giant."
Was this guy Torifu Akimichi?
Akaba immediately stood up, not daring to remain seated.
"Lord Torifu, I'm truly sorry."
The Chunin who nearly mentioned the Akimichi clan stood up apologetically with a deep bow.
"No problem at all. This is just how our Akimichi bodies are built."
Torifu Akimichi could guess what the man originally intended to say. If he couldn't match Choza's level of grace displayed in the manga, how could he possibly deserve being called a clan leader?
"Thank you so much, Lord Torifu."
The Chunin sat back down again, continuing to read his manga. But he definitely lacked the guts to mention words like "big guy" directly in front of Lord Torifu now.
"Lord Torifu…"
"Hahahaha! You're Danzo's disciple, right? Just call me Uncle!"
Torifu Akimichi laughed heartily and sat down comfortably. Clearly familiar with how this place operated, he pulled out some money and handed it to a child hiding slightly aside, too shy to approach.
"Be a good kid and buy me some grilled meat, sushi, and juice. Keep the change as payment."
"Yes, thank you very much, Lord Torifu!"
The boy looked about ten years old—barely more than a civilian without any ninja training yet. He deeply respected someone like Torifu, the leader of such a major clan. Yet, to his surprise, Torifu was unexpectedly kind-hearted.
He quickly took it and rushed to the street, starting his search for the foods that Torifu Akimichi had mentioned.
"Uncle Torifu, I'm sorry for drawing our clan's secret technique without your permission."
Akaba had never met Torifu Akimichi in person, but thanks to his connection through Danzo, he could easily interact with Torifu without any awkwardness, though certain formalities were still necessary.
"You're just like Danzo—phony to the core. We Akimichis are straightforward and hate all that formal nonsense."
Torifu Akimichi casually roasted his old teammate.
Akaba gave an embarrassed chuckle, not daring to respond directly since one side was his teacher, and the other... well, himself. No matter how he answered, it wouldn't go well.
Obviously not expecting Akaba to take the bait, Torifu continued, "The Akimichi Expansion Technique is essentially a form of chakra nature transformation. It consumes massive amounts of chakra when used, but we have another secret technique that converts fat and calories directly into chakra. That's why we intentionally eat a lot to gain weight."
"Didn't expect it to be like that."
The surrounding onlookers all wore expressions of realization, nodding along.
"Ninjas of the Akimichi clan are all like Choji—not much to look at at first, but rock-solid allies once the battle starts."
A ninja who had previously worked with the Akimichi clan remarked thoughtfully.
"Hahahaha, too kind, too kind!"
Torifu Akimichi was clearly delighted.
Even though they themselves were characters from a manga, having their clan praised still felt like an honor.
"Lord Akimichi, do members of your clan really transform into someone as handsome as Choji when they undergo butterfly transformation?"
A civilian villager asked curiously.
"Handsome? Of course! All the young men in our family are good-looking—it's just that some of us carry a little extra weight. But butterfly transformation [the ultimate Akimichi secret technique] is our ultimate secret technique, only used in critical moments."
Torifu Akimichi didn't look down on the ordinary person asking but instead kindly answered him.
Encouraged by this, others grew bolder, beginning to chat and exchange thoughts as fellow manga readers, gradually forgetting the gap in their identities.
While chatting, Torifu flipped through the manga, occasionally sharing his insights about the Chronicles of the Hokage storyline.
Akaba noticed that this guy was actually reading it from the very first chapter.
So you're enjoying such an enthusiastic conversation with everyone else, even though you've never actually read the Hokage manga before? You probably only know names like Choji from what others told you.
Such a poser fanboy.
He quietly watched Torifu reading the manga, then set up an easel nearby and began sketching on his own.
Knowing better than to point things out was the key to getting along well with people.
Meanwhile, Torifu kept reading while chatting with everyone. Even though many parts of the story were brand new to him, nothing stopped him from passionately sharing his "unique" opinions on the manga.
"Choji's personality is way too... something. Can't he change at all?"
Torifu leaned over and whispered.
"Uncle Torifu, people change slowly from childhood to adulthood. Were you always this tough back when you were young?"
Akaba whispered back.
"Hahahaha! You brat! You're even slipperier than Danzo!"
Torifu roared with laughter, appreciating the younger man's wit without bringing up words like "hypocritical" or "cunning" again.
Outside, a group of kids came back carrying large bundles on their backs.
Akaba glanced sideways.
Wrapped barbecue, sushi, and juice—each of the seven or eight kids was carrying them.
"Torifu-sama, are you treating everyone today?" Sakuma Yunlang asked in surprise.
Wow, how much did he even buy? Torifu Akimichi was indeed being too generous.
Torifu Akimichi himself happily helped unload the barbecue, sushi, and juice. Hearing this, he paused slightly, then smiled and said, "Kids, can you run another errand? Take this money."
"Huh? We need to buy more?"
The few kids felt somewhat confused. They had already bought so much food—how could they finish all that?
"Oh, this is all for me. I forgot to buy food for the others, so just distribute this first, then get some more for me."
Akaba facepalmed. This was exactly the style of the Akimichi clan—the stronger they were, the bigger their appetites. Fortunately, their business selling military ration pills and special pills was doing great; otherwise, they might literally eat themselves into poverty.
Everyone was blown away.
That the Akimichi clan could maintain such figures while eating like this meant they belonged to those rare types who simply didn't gain weight.
If someone else ate like this...
They would have to say goodbye to their ninja careers in a month. Thus, naturally, admiration arose among them.
Once the food was split up, Torifu dug right in.
He was very devoted to his meals. While eating, he didn't read manga. Instead, he had Yunlang pack away all the comics, planning to read them at home later.
Then he laughed and joked with everyone enthusiastically. Outside the Manga Shop, an atmosphere full of joy filled the air.
Eventually,
Torifu patted Akaba's shoulder, indicating that he wanted him to walk with him.
Out on the road, Torifu sighed emotionally, "Akaba, I've heard both Danzo and Hiruzen speak of you many times, but it's been difficult for us to meet until now. Meeting you today, I can feel that you're truly a good kid who really understands food and the true essence of the Akimichi clan."
"Thank you for your kind words, Uncle."
Akaba blushed slightly with embarrassment.
"By the way, I heard you also know how to make *hot pot*. Actually, another purpose for my coming here today was to buy the secret recipe for *hot pot* from you at a high price."
Torifu said.
"Eh, you're interested in the *hot pot* recipe?"
Akaba was momentarily taken aback.
"Yes, we're willing to accept any price."
"Forget the price first. May I ask if you're planning to open a restaurant or just want it for personal use?"
"A restaurant?"
Torifu blinked once, then his eyes lit up, "Right! Opening a restaurant actually sounds like a great idea!"
"If you're opening a restaurant, then I won't charge you anything upfront. Just share a portion of the profits from the store with me. Besides, it's not just the *hot pot* recipe I can provide—I know how to make many other delicious dishes as well."
Akaba grinned.
"Many delicious dishes?"
Excited, Torifu said, "Akaba, you're truly a child who understands gourmet food! How about someday you even create a *food battle* manga?"
"A *food battle* manga? Well, I do have some ideas about that. However, recently I'm quite busy and probably won't have time to work on it. Even if I start drawing, the update schedule may be rather slow."
I actually thought about gourmet-themed stories because Torifu Akimichi mentioned it.
The classic [Chinese Little Housekeeper!], the wildly popular [Food Wars!], and many other iconic culinary manga series.
This genre is pretty popular too. Haven't you noticed how those two shameless Konoha big shots always gatecrash our hotpot parties?
The more Akaba thought about it, the more promising the idea seemed. If time was tight, he could draw some segments sporadically, later compiling them into a full season's worth of content like an anime series.
That could definitely work!
"Seriously? Once you finish drawing, our entire Akimichi clan will back you. I'll even get one for every newborn in the clan."
Torifu Akimichi beat his chest with pride.
"I'll give it a try soon, but I'll also need to gather some reference materials first."
Akaba had seen both [Chinese Little Housekeeper!] and [Food Wars!] before. However, since [Chinese Little Housekeeper!] was from a long time ago, his memory of it was rather vague. It'd be better to go with [Food Wars!].
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