Hot & Steamy still sells well.
There are quite a few old perverts in the village. Even after settling down with families, they haven't given up this little hobby of theirs—especially since Jiraiya's artistic skills have improved. His depictions of Human-Beast Hybrid Females are vivid and imaginative.
Thanks to that, as soon as the new manga volume arrived, Hot & Steamy sold out in no time.
This wasn't limited to Konoha alone.
In other places, the situation was much the same. In short, Jiraiya had walked a unique path that nobody else had managed to take.
Akaba could only say: Gold will always shine eventually.
Take yesterday for example.
As soon as he returned to Konoha, Jiraiya was chased and beaten by a group of angry women again—so badly that it landed him straight in the hospital.
It wasn't because Jiraiya's stealth techniques were lacking; he'd just been unlucky. A kunoichi from the Akimichi clan happened to be taking a bath at the bathhouse—and what a build, what strength she had...
In short, for Jiraiya, yesterday had been a nightmare—both physically and mentally.
As for this, Akaba expressed absolutely no sympathy.
As the saying goes, it's hard to walk by the river without getting your shoes wet. It's not just Jiraiya—the Third himself got his fair share of beatings back in his youth. It was once a laughing matter around the village, but now that he's Hokage, people rarely bring it up anymore.
So in a way, can this be called passing on the family tradition?
Akaba thought with a strange feeling.
Today, he had replenished quite a bit of chakra, so there was no longer a need to carve out large chunks of time like yesterday just to refill the chakra inside his Yin Seal.
Therefore, today he finally had enough time to focus on drawing.
Setting everything else aside, at least he needed to pick up the pace on drawing Naruto's chapters. He needed to finish ten chapters today—one cohesive arc centered around Sasuke's battle with Danzo.
Yes, dear "Teacher," you'll die latest by tomorrow. No more enduring the unbearable weight of being hated every time.
Still...
After finishing the drawings, Akaba thought he might need to leave the village for a vacation—to avoid an enraged Danzo.
"Oh right, shouldn't we also write off Homura Mitokado? Letting him live until the end always makes me uncomfortable."
One of his Shadow Clone suddenly spoke up.
Whether Homura Mitokado was strong or not, Akaba didn't know—he hadn't fought at all, never really demonstrated his power. Even during the First Great Ninja War, his performance was merely that of a decent jonin.
Such a character...
"Whatever. Just eliminate him along the way. Probably not even needing a full chapter."
Akaba mused for a while and decided it wasn't worth overthinking.
Jonin may be powerful, but against Sasuke with his Susanoo awakened, they weren't impressive at all—they could probably be crushed with one hand. Don't let the embarrassing death fool you; Danzo had truly reached Kage-level strength and was definitely no pushover.
After all, he had spent his entire life chasing The Third.
Too bad the man in the original manga had been somewhat extreme. Compared to that version, this current Danzo was slightly better—not nearly as radical.
His thoughts drifted elsewhere, which naturally slowed his drawing pace—but the quality didn't suffer a bit, still as sharp as ever.
Neither The Third nor Danzo showed up looking for him today.
Everyone gave Akaba some time off so he could catch his breath — they all knew a big fight was probably coming soon.
When that time came, Akaba, as a high-level fighter, would definitely have to step in.
The Yin Seal was filled with chakra and vital for everyone in Konoha. If Akaba could become even stronger — physically or spiritually — during this downtime, it would be ideal.
Physical strength and spirit points were both important attributes.
Once you reached a certain level of strength, weaknesses like physical stamina needed improvement. Yet on the other hand, Akaba felt his 240 spirit points still wouldn't be enough to handle Madara.
Most of his abilities revolved around genjutsu.
Although Sharingan possessed the ability to counter illusions, ultimately it came down to a contest of spiritual power and mastery of illusion techniques. Only by improving his spiritual energy and surpassing Madara in attributes could he fully utilize his greatest advantage.
Otherwise,
no matter how hard he fought, it'd just end up being a clash of Rinnegan powers.
That undoubtedly meant fighting the enemy's strength with his own weakness — an extremely foolish strategy.
Therefore, without hesitation, he poured every point he'd earned recently into boosting his spirit points. Nearly twenty thousand points were spent until only a few thousand remained, which earned him an additional 15 spirit points.
Why fifteen?
Two hundred and five sounded unpleasant to him. Plus, Akaba had slight obsessive tendencies regarding numbers, hence choosing this specific value.
After reaching two hundred, gaining even one more point in spirit was extremely difficult, let alone fifteen.
He just didn't know yet whether this boost would actually be enough to take on Madara.
Akaba couldn't simply go directly before Madara and ask for a sparring match — he feared Madara would instantly activate his Susano'o and invite him to a deadly dance.
So after consideration, he decided to visit the Senju clan first.
Of course,
before that, he needed to finish current tasks; otherwise these shadow clones wouldn't allow him to leave.
By mid-afternoon, Akaba completed three chapters worth of work.
Once the manga was done, he activated Flying Thunder God and teleported straight to the Senju clan's grounds. By sensing chakra, he quickly located Mito Uzumaki at her usual place.
She wasn't within the compound but instead at the small forest where she'd previously been with Akaba. From this grove, one could clearly see the Naka River flowing alongside Konoha.
Besides her, there were also Tsunade and eleven children from the Uzumaki family.
Hesitating for half a moment, Akaba didn't enter immediately.
What if they were reminiscing about ancestors? Wouldn't his intrusion ruin the atmosphere?
Yet he didn't hesitate long, since Tsunade emerged from inside and landed beside him, asking, "Why're you here without coming in? Enjoying the scenery?"
"I just thought you might be discussing private matters and entering wouldn't be appropriate."
Akaba scratched his head.
"You're so dramatic. Grandma was telling us stories about old conflicts between Senju and Uchiha clans."
Tsunade rolled her eyes at him, then dragged Akaba deeper into the woods.
They hadn't gone far before reaching the spot.
It was a place he knew all too well.
Previously, Mito Uzumaki had subtly hinted here that she already knew Akaba held certain secrets, telling him not to guard too much — she'd always back him up.
So upon arrival, past scenes surfaced in Akaba's mind.
But this time, Mito Uzumaki had grown even more beautiful.
Her appearance had reverted to youth—every glance and movement exuding elegance reminiscent of the princess from the Land of Whirlpools. Clearly, she had ultimately accepted the power of the Vampire Fruit.
As for how many years of lifespan she had absorbed from the cultists, that was none of Akaba's concern.
Cultists deserved death!
He instinctively extended his Sensor and Observation Haki, carefully checking up on Mito Uzumaki's condition.
Indeed, she had grown younger.
It wasn't just her looks—it was her physical state.
Previously, although Mito appeared youthful outwardly, her body had continued deteriorating. She never possessed the [Strength of a Hundred Seal] like Tsunade did.
Now, things were different.
She was practically indistinguishable from a young woman—her body brimming with powerful energy, her chakra far more abundant than before. Without doubt, this was truly her peak form.
A single finger might flick out a series of Kongo Chains.
What astonishing power!
Akaba took a deep breath, his thoughts deepening further.
The stronger Mito became, the safer he would feel in their future decisive battle. Moreover, her increased strength enhanced the reference value for testing genjutsu.
Of course,
Someone must be really suffering.
Kurama.
He had originally hoped that after Mito's death, he could find a compatible host—a good "friend" who could communicate with him, avoiding once again living in the Black Room with only "one window."
But now, one night later, Mito had become young again.
Gone.
That beautiful future was gone. From now on, he'd have to accompany this old pervert until death.
Wait—he was a Bijū; he couldn't die!
Kurama felt desperate beyond words, lacking even the strength to struggle anymore.
This despair even penetrated through the seal strong enough for Akaba, using his Sensor and Observation Haki, to clearly sense.
Such a pitiful Nine-Tails.
"Sigh, back then Hashirama once invited the Uzumaki clan to join Konoha. At that time those stubborn old men thought the Land of Whirlpools was safe enough and refused. Now look what happened."
Akaba stood by and listened.
There was no expected warmth—only irritability, fierce curses, and sighs. Come to think of it, if the Uzumaki clan had joined Konoha, things probably wouldn't have been easy for the Uchiha side either.
More precisely, Madara Uchiha likely wouldn't have agreed at all.
While the stronger the village, the better, there still needed to be balance. With Mito Uzumaki marrying Hashirama Senju, the Uzumaki and Senju clans were practically inseparable allies.
Outnumbered two to one—it was impossible to match them. And to top it off, Hashirama's second-in-command brother Dan had always harbored suspicions toward the Uchiha.
Therefore, matters weren't as simple as they sounded.
Mito herself intentionally ignored these complexities, merely telling stories to the children.
Akaba stood by and listened.
After chatting for quite a while, she suddenly turned and asked, "Why are you here?"
Blunt and impolite.
Akaba felt speechless. This woman seemed kind and gentle before, but now that she's young again, she's completely turned cold on him.
Internally grumbling, he replied, "I noticed my spiritual power improved, so I wanted to test it on you."
"Use genjutsu on Grandma? Sakuma Akaba! You've got some nerve!"
Tsunade lost her temper instantly.
The Genjutsu of the Sakuma clan was no ordinary illusionary technique; each one could inflict genuine, tangible damage.
"Although my ability to counter Genjutsu isn't as strong as Madara's, with Kurama's help, I do have a decent resistance. Just use your Genjutsu directly."
Mito Uzumaki sat down cross-legged.
Akaba hesitated for a moment, glancing at the children nearby.
Was it really okay to use it in front of them?
"Big brother, it'll be fine," Kyoyuki assured him with a thumbs-up gesture. After all, this was peak Mito Uzumaki — they were about to see exactly how strong a Jinchuriki can be. No average injury could ever threaten her.
Nodding, Akaba began his test with the basic version of his Genjutsu first — the one without drawings.
In Sakuma clan Genjutsu, pictures served as mediums for constructing the illusionary world. With enough spiritual power, one could bypass the need for these visual aids and directly create the Genjutsu world.
When facing Madara, there wouldn't be much time available for drawing.
But honestly, the effect was nothing special.
He put his full strength into it. While he did manage to carve several wounds onto Mito, the injuries weren't fatal. They quickly healed thanks to her Nine-Tails Chakra and Uzumaki Bloodline ability.
Next, he tried using drawings in his Genjutsu. This time the damage was slightly stronger. If he poured his full power into it, he might be able to inflict serious injury.
After finishing his test, Akaba immediately apologized to Mito Uzumaki.
The other children were shocked, but held their fear in check. With Tsunade's assistance, Mito Uzumaki's injuries didn't last long before completely healing.
"Not bad, but it's probably still not enough to take down Madara," Mito Uzumaki offered an objective assessment after some thought.
Though Akaba's spirit points were now almost on par with Madara's, Madara had the Rinnegan — and his command of Genjutsu was just as deadly.
Akaba himself also had the Rinnegan.
But he knew that even with this eye technique, he'd likely only reach a stalemate against Madara's Genjutsu — it wouldn't truly threaten him. It was best to continue strengthening his spiritual powers further.
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