Yes, place it right there.."
"Be careful, please, place it symmetrical on both sides."
"…"
Akabane was busy ordering his workers to decorate his store.
"It looks like your hands are full? How long will it take to finish?"
Just when Akabane was busily ordering, a voice came from above him.
He looked up and saw Tsunade in her training uniform standing on the ceiling.
"I'm occupied right now."
Akabane swept his temples. Akabane has been renovating his store for a few days now. He had to use Shadow Clone Jutsu at least three times a day to reduce the workload. For these past two days, he had used more than 100 points to increase his chakra by 1 point and his physique by 5 points.
"I'm here to see your progress. Uhh, by the way, has Jiraiya visited you recently?
Tsunade's disdainful expression was somewhat worried.
She hasn't seen Jiraiya for two days since she last hit him after he showed her his comic.
"Jiraiya?"
Akabane was startled slightly, and he also misunderstood what he said last time when he parted and left with a look of excitement, did his feelings just disappear?
Tsunade noticed that Akabane's expression was slightly different, and immediately asked him again, "Have you seen him?"
"Yes, I've seen him, he showed me his drawing of two pages, and I tried to explain that he still has a lot to learn, but it looks like he misunderstood my words."
Akabane pondered for a moment and decided to tell his guess, "If you want to find him, you might as well check every woman's bathhouse in Konoha."
"Women's bathhouses?"
Tsunade was stunned for a few seconds. After thinking about it for a moment, she clenched her fist and said angrily, "That pervert! I must teach him some sense!"
Then she left angrily.
Akabane was speechless for a while.
He didn't expect that Jiraiya would be so enthusiastic after hearing his comment.
"Ahh! Forget it. I have other things to handle right now." Akabane thought for a while and decided to ignore it. He was already full at hand. Why bother thinking about anything else.
Besides, Jiraiya would still be fine even if he got caught.. right?
After a few hours of renovating, the store gradually became tidier and slowly getting closer to what he had planned.
"Akabane, there is a cart waiting outside that brought hundreds of your comic books. It looks like it wasn't sent from our clan."
Akabane's father notified him about his comic book shipment.
"Oh, it finally arrived! Thanks, father, would you help them to put the stuff inside please?"
Akabane looked overjoyed.
The printing factory delivered his order in time, which excites him a little. He wants to open the boxes immediately.
After a while, Ichiro Noda from the printing factory greeted Akabane personally while bringing boxes of books behind him.
Noda Ichiro bowed and greeted Akabane sincerely. "Nice to meet you again, Kurama-san, I've brought your order as we agreed upon. Where do you want us to put this?"
"The feeling is mutual, Ichiro-san, please arrange them accordingly at the cabinet over there."
Akabane talked as he pointed out the cabinets.
The word "draw" was written on the cabinets.
My greatest knowledge that I brought from my world was this draw method. This allows the customers to spend their money more than they should have.
"Understood, please let me and my workers do the unload, and you can rest assured."
Noda Ichiro nodded again, and the other workers started actively unloading his comics to the cabinets.
Akabane took a moment to observe their works. They have unloaded the boxes swiftly. After all, they are the printing agent that grandma Mito herself recommends.
Only by looking at how delicately they worked, Akabane felt relieved. Otherwise, It would take him more time if he does it himself.
Once they've finished unloading, Akabane has just finished arranging various rewards for the lottery. It will take a while for so many people to help. Once the comic books are all on the shelves, Akabane has just finished the various prizes in the lottery.
…
At this time, his comic store is fully decorated and ready to open.
Akabane once more checked his list, but he saw a figure slowly appear in front of his door.
It's Shimi!
As he approached, he looked up and saw Akabane holding a wooden sign.
"Akabane's Comic Store, huh? It seems that I'm your first customer then."
Shimi then greeted him.
"Yoh Shimi! Why are you so well-timed?"
Akabane wondered why Shimi always came at the right time.
"Yeah, I saw your store yesterday and decided to take a look."
Shimi answered honestly that when Akabane put up the sign.
He walked into the store, picked up a comic from the shelf, then brought it to the cashier.
"The total is 100 ryō, and there is a prize of a poster as you're my first customer, and you'll get one shot at the draw to get a chance for another prize!"
Akabane explained the detail as he thought of what poster he was going to give Shimi as his first customer prize.
Then he found a rolled-up poster of Shikamaru Nara, which he thought would be the most suitable for Shimi.
Shimi just came to the store to check how Akabane is doing and buy a copy of his comic. He didn't expect that there was another prize, so he took it by surprise, and then saw Akabane take out a box with "Draw" written on it.
"Should I take something from inside?"
Akabane replied with a nod.
Shimi froze for a moment and then reached out his hand for the lottery box.
Since he didn't hope much, he just takes the first thing that his hand touches and takes it out.
It was a piece of paper, Shimi curiously opened the paper, and there's a letter written on it that said: "Thank you for your patronage."
The letter doesn't satisfy his curiosity. He glanced at the text on the side of Akabane's cardboard box.
50% probability: Thank you for your patronage.
30% probability: a small poster
10% probability: a medium poster
1% probability: a special poster
"In other words, there is a 50% probability that I wouldn't get anything?"
Shimi felt somewhat upset and helplessly put away the note, then took out his first customer prize and spread it out.
It was a young boy with dreadlocks and a lazy face, and his appearance somehow resembled him.
"Who is this?"
Shimi was a little surprised, "This looks like someone from my clan, but I never knew him?"
"Ah, I created that character based on your look. Thus I thought that you might want it as your prize."
Akabane pointed to the lower right corner of the poster.
Here, the name of the character "Shikamaru Nara" is written.
"Shikamaru…huh? Well, thanks, I guess."
Then Shimi carefully rolled up and thanked Akabane.
After that, he turned and walked away slowly, as he hurriedly opened the first page and read it while walking home.
To be honest, Akabane did not expect that Shimi would be his first costume because he has someone else in mind that would rush as soon as he opens the store.
"Sure enough, it might be nice to have a teammate like Shimi.."
Akabane sighed slightly, and then he cast his seals to summon a clone.
"I'll leave it to you. I want to take some rest."
"I.. don't have a choice, don't I?"
The clone helplessly accepted the order. Although there was another staff in the store, they didn't know how to use the lottery.
Anyway, this was only the first day.
The clone sighed slightly and sat down and waited for the next customer.
There was a good chance of big waves of customers coming very soon.
, Shimi, Where are you from? And what are you reading?"
Chouki met Shimi on the streets. It felt a little weird that Shimi would go outside during the holidays instead of staying home.
"Oh Chouki, I just visited Akabane's comic store and went to buy his comic. Surprisingly I got a poster as a reward for being his first customer or something like that."
Shimi showed his poster to Chouki.
"Let me take a look."
Chouki leaned forward curiously. Although Shimi was in a hurry to get home, he didn't mind a chit-chat with his best friend.
Chouki's eyes widened.
"Wow, is there still any poster left?"
"I think so, but a lot of people might be there already."
Shimi seemed to get a little impatient.
"Ah, okay, then bye Shimi!"
After hearing it, Chouki hurriedly left Shimi and ran to Akabane's store.
It wasn't hard to found the comic store since Chouki knew where Shimi went before.
Not long after he arrived near the store, he saw several figures passing away behind him.
"That's…Sakumo? And, Orochimaru too!?"
Chouki became anxious and immediately quickened his pace.
However…
If it's about speed, Chouki has a disadvantage over his classmates, and he can only see both of them disappear out of his sight.
"Is this buying comics or competitions? Why are there so many people!?" he thought.
On the street, he saw another classmate run in the same direction.
Sakumo, Orochimaru, Murasaki, and even Ryo himself! They were like competitors that won't fall behind.
"Ahem… Ryo-kun, let's go get Akabane's comic!"
Chouki coughed excitedly.
"Hmph, I didn't go there for comics. Kurama Akabane has dishonored me last time, and I demand a rematch!"
Ryo said angrily while clenching his fist.
But soon, he noticed that it was just a distraction from Chouki to surpass him in an instant.
"Damn it, don't cheat!"
He hurriedly chased him.
Ryo had forgotten his first intention to take revenge on Akabane and only thought of competing with the other to get to the store as soon as possible.
This meaningless competition continued until they reached the store. After Shimi left, Akabane immediately received his second customer.
Unlike the first customer, the second one is someone who has the highest authority in the village.
"Hokage-sama, why are you here too!?"
Akabane was baffled by the fact that the Third Hokage himself became his second customer.
"Hahaha, I grew to like your comic and decided to come and buy one. And also Shinnosuke asks me so."
Hiruzen lighted his cigarette and said with a smile.
"Yeah, very convincing Sarutobi-sensei.."
Akabane complained silently.
As a high-ranking ninja, Hiruzen could arrive faster than his son Shinnosuke.
"Shinnosuke, he umm.. asked me to buy one copy and the poster.."
Akabane who was listening to the Hokage suddenly took notice of some commotion in the distance.
He saw Sakumo was in the lead, followed by Orochimaru, Chouki, and Murasaki. Behind them were also Akabane's classmates who he didn't recognize.
Shimi was the first one to arrive, as he was about to ask Akabane for a copy. He saw the Third Hokage walking out of the store.
"Uhh… Sarutobi-sensei?"
Then, Orochimaru and the other arrived together
Hiruzen paused for a moment, then he lifted his smoke pipe and cleared the way for Sakumo and others to enter.
"Is Sarutobi-sensei here to buy Akabane's comic?"
Orochimaru asked lightly
Hiruzen looked embarrassed, and he didn't know how to reply.
"Do you still want the poster prize Sarutobi-sensei?"
Akabane's clone enjoyed the scene in front of him, he saw how an old man came to the comic store to buy a comic and fight for the prize poster with other children.
Hiruzen coughed and said hesitantly, "Of course not. I just came to buy a comic for my son and support Akabane. I.. I'm not… going to take the poster.."
"As expected from the Third Hokage, here is your comic Hokage-sama."
Akabane's clone smiled and gave the comic.
Hiruzen took the comic and left silently.
As a highly respected Hokage, he can't be seen snatching a poster from a bunch of children.
After watching him leave, Orochimaru glanced at Sakumo, then looked back at Akabane. Then he said, "I've managed to save one poster from getting snatched by Hokage-sama. Do I get a reward for it?"
"Of course you can't!"
Sakumo rebukes him.
"Please remain calm… I'll consider the Third Hokage as a special guest, and the next customer must still obey the rules that the first come first to serve."
Akabane's clone said.
Orochimaru nodded silently and said with a disappointed tone, "Well, then that makes me the third customer. "
Orochimaru accepted it without resistance. At least he was in the top three…
Since when did this become a competition?
Chouki coughed a few times before he could argue, but Orochimaru had already stepped forward to get the comic.
"Line up one by one, don't worry, there is plenty for everyone."
If these people make trouble, the store will become very noisy.
As a clone, he can't waste his energy to stop them.
"Huh!? I don't care about any of your rules. Akabane, come out and have a rematch with me!"
Ryo finally arrived and shouted from the front door.
Akabane's clone frowned slightly.
He is a clone after all, but just like the real Akabane, he didn't like trouble, and Ryo Uchiha was indeed a big trouble.
"Akabane, don't pretend you didn't hear me! Come out and fight with me. I didn't prepare well last time, and I wouldn't lose this time!"
Ryo continued to exclaim.
Sakumo and Orochimaru looked back on Ryo.
The two didn't interfere because this was Akabane's store, but if he asks for their help, they will stop him without hesitation.
"What's the matter? I'm here for a rematch, not making trouble!"
Whether Sakumo or Orochimaru, they had the best at combat prowess. Even if Ryo was from the Uchiha Clan, he has no confidence if he has to fight with either of them.
"Um… I don't mind the rematch, but since you've already here, why don't you buy my comic first? I'll treat you the same as the other customer."
Akabane's clone pointed to the comic shelf.
"what?"
Ryo didn't expect this kind of response and didn't know how to reply.
The clone smiled inwardly while Ryo sat on the ground, thinking about his request.
"If I bought your comic, you would fight with me?"
Ryo looked fierce and murderous.
"Yep.."
The clone nodded lightly.
Anyway, he was only a clone, and when the time comes, Akabane himself will have to deal with Ryo.
At this time, Orochimaru and Sakumo had picked their comic and asked for the prize poster.
"Since you both are the top first three, you will get a free medium-size poster, umm… wait, let me see…"
The clone chose what poster was suitable for the duo, then finally gave Sakumo and Orochimaru their prize poster.
Sakumo excitedly took it over.
He had been waiting for it from the first he heard about the prize and rushed as soon as he knew that Akabane's store had opened.
"Come come! Open it now!"
Murasaki ranked fifth, and when he saw Sakumo get the poster, he immediately asked him to show it.
Sakumo planned to open it at home, but since the store has hyped up for a few days now, everyone wants to take a look at everyone's prize.
Ryo looked disdainful, but he couldn't help to also look curiously.
The poster portrayed a masked man leaned against a big tree while reading a book called "Icha-Icha Paradise."
On the lower right, there was his name.
"Kakashi Hatake!"
"This… this is awesome!"
Exclaimed all the children who saw the colored pictures of Kakashi.
"Orochimaru, let us see yours."
Chouki looked at Orochimaru expectantly, but what he got was
"Nope, I'll go back and open it alone."
Orochimaru kept the poster unopened and shook his head.
Hearing this, everyone was disappointed, including Ryo, who couldn't help but felt disappointed too.
Orochimaru wasn't affected by their curiosity. He knew how to endure his urge to open it. Although the others were upset, they couldn't force him.
Akabane's clone smiled faintly and tried to lighten up the mood.
"The first 100 customers got a chance to win another prize at the lottery."
"Lottery?"
Orochimaru saw the text on the box and understood it quickly.
"I wish you good luck!"
He doesn't know what the other poster is, but the portrait of the painted person has aroused his heartstrings.
"I wonder who is in his poster..?"
Ryo was secretly curious but didn't dare to ask.
He hadn't read Akabane's comic because he was too busy underestimating him until he realized he was the one who took the loss. But after seeing the poster of Kakashi Hatake, he suddenly forgot his revenge and also got carried away by the situation.
Orochimaru reached in and took out a piece of paper quickly from the box.
"Third prize, small poster…"
Akabane's clone congratulated him. He took out a small size poster from the shelf and handed it to Orochimaru.
This time it was a truly random selection, without prior thought.
This time he couldn't help but take a look. Rolling down the poster, Orochimaru saw a fairly handsome male. He had jet black hair and red blood eyes. He wears a symbol of a red fan with a white handle. Orochimaru searched for his name.
Itachi Uchiha.
The clone glanced at it and looked confused. Among many other posters, Orochimaru got him by pure chance?
"what happened?"
Orochimaru found that Akabane's face was a bit strange, and thought there was something wrong with this poster, so he took the drawing of Uchiha Itachi and looked at it carefully, but couldn't see why.
"Nothing, this is a picture of Itachi Uchiha…"
Itachi Uchiha?
The name grabs Ryo's attention, but he tries so hard not to get noticed. Otherwise, they would think that he took an interest in comics.
"Well, I like it a lot, thank you."
Orochimaru bowed politely.
Looking at Orochimaru's poster, Sakumo became excited and also took out his lottery expecting to get something, but unfortunately, it wrote, "Thank you for your patronage."
"I'm sorry, Sakumo, and thank you for your patronage."
Hearing Akabane, Sakumo took out his comic, and the prize poster then stepped aside.
He was jealous of how lucky Orochimaru was, but looking at the poster he got, he didn't think too much about it anymore.
Then, it was Ryo's turn.
He struggled for a long time; there is a clash in his heart.
Look, why was I here again?
I didn't come to buy a comic, and now I felt stupid.
"Look, I'll read it first if I'm not satisfied, I won't pay for it!"
Ryo said with arrogance.
He took a copy from the shelf and turned the first page.
Nine-Tailed Fox!?
"Nine-tailed fox? Isn't this the strongest tailed-beast in the legend?"
Ryo was baffled and couldn't help but keep reading.
On the second page, there was the Third Hokage.
"Is this… an imaginary character?"
Looked uncanny!
The Third Hokage has aged in the comic.
How did he do that?
Ryo was easily absorbed by the story, and he continued for a few pages, didn't bother by his surroundings.
"Ryo-kun, could you first pay for that?"
The clone asked with a smile.
"Ah… right!"
Ryo responded subconsciously and then tried to maintain his calm. After a bit of thinking, he said, "Remember, I came here to challenge you not to buy the comic!"
"Well, then, Ryo-kun, you can still draw a lottery, do you want to use it?"
Akabane's clone pointed to the box.
"I… I'll buy it!"
Ryo shamelessly took out his money and paid the comic.
Please, please let me win a poster…
"Please…"
Ryo reached out and took out a piece of paper.
"Third prize: small poster."
Ryo almost jumps in excitement, but he holds it for fear of being seen by the other.
Akabane handed him the poster.
Ryo opened it up and his eyes gleaming, it was a poster from the same Uchiha Clan, a boy somewhat has a similar face with Itachi Uchiha, and his name is,
Sasuke Uchiha.
"Sasuke?"
Ryo was dazed for a moment, as this is his first time seeing Akabane's drawing.
Was he from the Uchiha Clan?
"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I hate a lot of things and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan and destroy a certain somebody."
"what did you say?"
Ryo looked blank.
"It's nothing. Just a line suddenly came to mind."
Akabane's clone said lightly.
"Kill?… by the way. Now you should accept my challenge!"
Ryo suddenly remembered his original purpose and quickly put down the comic and poster he just bought, with a solemn expression on his face.
"Hey, you've read the comic right, don't you have any insight? For example… a peaceful talk?"
The clone sighed, a little helpless.
"Peaceful, my ass! I want to challenge you!"
His tone became firmer.
"All right, all right, but fighting is not my job task. Wait a minute. I'll bring you to the real Akabane."
Ryo followed the clone unwillingly.
Orochimaru and the others were planning to leave, but seeing there is a drama going to happen they hold their step and follow the two.
Then…
"Well, Ryo-kun, since you've bought my comic, I'll accept your challenge."
Akabane came out from inside. He still looked half-awake and yawning.
Ryo already put his fighting stance.
'Now is the time to witness Akaba's true prowess.'
Orochimaru thought inwardly.
He acknowledges Akabane as his dearest friend and also a strong opponent. This interesting match was the one he couldn't skip because Akabane has never shown strength.
If he can, Akabane doesn't want to get into trouble this time. He just finished opening his store and hasn't had a good sleep the past few days.
That damn clone, why did he allow this kid to cause trouble?
Akabane glanced at the clone and sighed inwardly.
After being humiliated in front of everyone from their last battle, Ryo took a cautious approach. He wouldn't let Akabane take advantage of him this time.
"let's start…"
As soon as Akabane said it, Ryo threw his kunai swiftly.
"Gotcha!"
He saw an image of Akabane taking a clear hit with his kunai.
However, Akabane's body disappeared instantly.
what?
Uchiha Ryo was baffled and watched the surroundings closely
Behind!
He noticed Akabane's position, quickly turned around.
The atmosphere suddenly changed, then he saw Akabane holding kunai, ready to kill him. He felt the pain but no marks or scratches appeared.
"This. this must be an illusion!?"
Ryo was a little too late to notice.
When?
They rushed toward him from another direction, slashing at him with his kunai dreadfully.
"Argh!…"
Feeling the touch of death slicing through his throat, followed by fear, pain, and agony. He couldn't help but scream.
The situation suddenly became silent…
He slowly opened his teary eyes, saw Akabane standing in front of him.
"This is… Hell Viewing Jutsu!"
Ryo's face was pale, and his legs trembled.
The Genjutsu itself was the three basics of chakra usage that lies on yin release, but since Ryo just found that out, he couldn't cancel it immediately.
The Kurama Clan, who has these traits as they are a Kekkei Genkai user, is rare.
" I lost.."
Everyone looked surprised.
"As I said earlier, I don't want to fight.."
Akabane handed over Ryo's comic and posters and lent his hand.
The fight was too fast. He lost again in mere seconds for the second time.
Shame and embarrassment filled his heart, Ryo picked up his comic and posters silently, nodded in thanks, turned around, and hurriedly left the store.
From the very beginning, Akabane had already cast his genjutsu. That's why he accepted the match lightly.
"Akaba-kun… when did you learn Hell Viewing Jutsu?"
Orochimaru was baffled.
"I just learned it.."
Akabane didn't tell a lie. He just finished chapter six and exchanged his points for Hell Viewing Jutsu.
How did he become this strong in a short time?
Everyone secretly thought in their hearts.
"Akaba-kun, you are a prodigy."
Orochimaru sighed lightly.
He used to be the most talented student among his peers, but now he acknowledges someone equal or even above him. It was Akabane Kurama. That's why he needs to work harder.
"Hey, let's go back."
After the rematch, Chouki and Murasaki prepared to leave.
Akabane turned around and was about to go back to sleep, but he heard a cough: "Cough cough…Did you forget, I haven't drawn a lottery yet!"
Yoriko Gekko, A petite girl, was dressed in black that made her look gloomy, and she also doesn't speak that much, and also the reason why she is easily forgotten.
Like a certain someone from a certain. Anime who have close to zero presence.
"Ah, haha… sorry about that.. come and take a draw."
Akabane's clone awkwardly took out the box and let her take her chance…
Yoriko grabbed a paper and read it with a disappointed tone.
"Thank you for your patronage…"
"Well… if you are willing to buy another copy, I can give you another chance."
The clone shamelessly tried to persuade her to buy another copy.
"Huh? Really?"
"Yep."
He nodded.
He is not certain of her luck, but that's the purpose of his lottery, to let people buy comics more than once.
Yoriko hesitated for a moment, then took out another hundred taels.
The clone handed the box again, and she got another one,
"Thank you for your patronage…"
Yoriko looked over him, her eyes full of sorrow. She is almost about to cry.
"Ah, this… I tell you what, if you buy another copy, I'll give you a small poster as compensation."
The clone said awkwardly.
Her luck must be at rock bottom…
"Ughh, why do I need more comics?"
Yoriko sighed. But she still paid although a little grumpy.
Akabane, who was helping to load the goods, heard this and nodded with a look of approval.
However…After her third chance, she finally won the third prize.
"Yeay! This means I get two posters, right? Cough.."
Akabane handed her poster himself.
After taking a look at her posters, she cheerfully smiles.
"Thank you, Akaba. I'm leaving too."
Holding the posters, she turned to catch up with the others.
One of his staff, who was loading the goods on the side, looked at them. He hesitated for a while but then asked: "Akabane-sama, why did she want to buy more than one copy?"
"Of course, one comic is enough for her, but after seeing her friends get another prize from the lottery, she couldn't help but feel jealous of them. It's just human nature."
Akabane knew it well.
Every game that he played in his previous life had this kind of marketing strategy to let people spend their money more than they should have."
Besides, 100 Ryō per copy was already a low price for a comic.
Before long, many customers came to buy his comics, and soon there were only a few more left for the 100th first customer.
…
Until the last moment, Akabane was there waiting for his last customer for the day.
The moment he was about to fall asleep due to waiting, but he heard footsteps coming at him…
The last customer?
Wanting to greet the person, Akabane slowly saw the person from the bottom to the top. He saw a pair of wooden sandals that were worn by a black-coat man.
Slowly moving his gaze to his face, he saw a man with a cold and fierce face.
Who is this?
Akabane felt familiar, but couldn't remember who he was.
"I want one."
His tone was indifferent.
Akabane immediately picked out a book and handed it to him, hoping that he would leave soon, but unfortunately, the man didn't intend to leave, so he took the book and stood by the door quietly reading it.
After reading a few pages, he closed the comic and coldly asked "Is this telling about Naruto Uzumaki or yourself?"
"Of course, it is about Naruto Uzumaki, and I am not a Jinchuriki."
Akabane answered with a smile.
But at the bottom of his heart, he became more and more certain that this man is not a good person.
"Not really, there is history about the Kurama Clan having a monster of their own."
He replied aggressively.
Akabane suddenly felt a terrifying chakra rushing toward him, making him unable to move.
Is this a murderous intent?
"My clan having a monster?"
"Yes, I'm aware that you knew about it."
The man's eyes became firmer. "looking at you, and knowing that you're not a hardworking person, why did you spend your time on such a useless thing as drawing a comic?"
"How can it be useless? This is a form of culture and moreover.."
Akabane finally understood the identity of the man whom he talked to and dared not to open his mouth again.
"You need a strong physique and mind to control your chakra Akabane Kurama! Why are you slacking like this?"
He sharpened his eyes and scolded Akabane.
At this current time, there is only one person on Konoha who was this stiff and bloodcurdling, the founder and the leader of Roots and notorious as the Darkness of the Shinobi.
Danzo Shimura.
Of course…
At this period, Danzo hasn't gained such a reputation as the Darkness of the Shinobi.
But his characters were always the same, cold and stiff.
"To be honest, I just have a passion for drawing and story-telling."
"If you want to make a scene, I already wasted my stamina on the previous one."
Knowing that he was talking to Danzo, he could uncover any layer of his heart, so it was better to just tell the truth.
"You are smarter than I thought."
Danzo nodded approvingly.
Then, he dropped a hundred Ryō, took the comics, and left the store.
Danzo did not reveal his identity, nor did he say everything, but he seemed certain that Akabane would notice to whom he talked to.
"huh.. not that I have genius friends now I have a genius mentor. I just want to live at ease…"
Akabane lamented in his heart.
Now that he had seen Danzo in person, he must agree that the rumor was precise, and the name of the Darkness of the Shinobi for him was well deserved.
But Danzo didn't come for his comic. He just wants to see his new student.
"Forget it, take one step at a time, you want to do something to me, don't blame me if I take it personally."
Akabane said secretly.
His idea is very simple. Just for the sake of having a peaceful life, whoever tried to cause him trouble, he'll take it seriously.
"That comic would be the 100th sale today, Tsunade, I'm afraid you won't be able to get your prize.."
Akabane glanced at the lottery box.
"Ahh, but yeah… I forgot I promised her one extra lottery…"
There was only one lottery left, which was specially left for Tsunade.
Hmm… this would only mean cheating.. but after all, she wouldn't care.
However, the longer Tsunade left, the more worried he was for Jiraiya. If he did according to what he guessed, Akabane must soon visit him at the hospital.
"Poor Jiraiya.."
As Akabane was about to sigh, suddenly, there was a figure in green clothes leaping down from above.
"Gyaaah!"
Tsunade jumped in front of Akabane and almost gave him a little heart attack.
Judging from the bloodstains on the corners of her clothes, Jiraiya must've been sent to the emergency room.
Akabane didn't dare to ask the details, but smiled slightly and said, "rest assured. I left one for you. It's your turn to draw."
"Really?"
"Yep, you happened to be the hundredth, because the last person didn't take his lottery."
And there indeed was one last lottery. When she took her lottery aggressively, Akabane almost dropped the box.
At first glance, she couldn't help exclaiming, "Only one last poster left!?"
But when she saw the prize…
"Wow, you are really lucky. Congratulations on your first prize."
In an exaggerated tone, Akabane gave her his biggest poster that was stored on a paper tube looking fancy.
"Woaaw.."
She just stared at the rolled-up poster for a while. Just by looking at the size of it, she knew that the poster was special.
She spread it out, and her eyes were gleaming in excitement.
"This.. this is!!!"
The poster was huge. She spread it out all over the tabletop.
It was a gigantic thousand hands of the wooden statue, covering almost all the poster portion. It looks even more terrifying against the mountains. Underneath the statue stands the God of Shinobi proudly.
Hashirama Senju.
The title: Sage Art, Wood Release: True Thousand Hands.
"I heard that the First Hokage had this jutsu as his distinctive features, so according to my research, I drew this. I hope you like it."
Akabane certainly was a fan of Hashirama Senju. It showed how he delicately drew the poster.
Tsunade retracted her poster with excitement.
"Akaba-kun, thank you, this means a lot to me."
"It's just your lucky day today. This is your comic book."
Akabane gave her the comic.
Tsunade took it but remains speechless.
The poster was made only for her, so the lottery was just Akabane's idea to hide his purpose. After all, Tsunade was his first fan and was the one who accompanied him from time to time. Thus it just felt right to give her something like gratitude.
She held the poster and remained silent long enough for Akabane to feel a bit awkward.
Since childhood, Hashirama Senju has been her favorite ninja and a beloved grandfather. Tsunade thought that her grandpa would always stand tall on the Ninja World.
However, one day, the hero she admired fell in a battle…
"Since I was a child, I haven't seen my grandpa on the battlefield, so I don't know if his ninjutsu would look like this, but I'll ask grandma Mito."
With such a gift from her friend, Tsunade will be forever grateful for his kindness.
"Well, bring another copy for Grandma Mito."
Akabane handed over another copy, "Take it as my thanks to her."
"Heh, you sure are a grateful person.."
After being moved for a while, Tsunade returned to her original nature, loaded the comic, and the posters then left happily.
"Kasumi, the lottery is over, so I just need to collect the money…Well, if some children come to want to buy the comic but don't have the money, just give them some copy for free. It's just 100 Ryō, I've sold enough for today."
Akabane stood up and explained, ready to get back some sleep, it has been a long day for him.
"Yes, Akabane-sama."
Kasumi Kurama nodded and knew how to serve customers.
Moreover, as Akabane said, even if they're giving some comics for free, it's only just 100 Ryō.
In the past few days, Akabane was indeed tired.
These are the few days he has worked hardest in Naruto's World, comparable to the previous exam period. He would pass out anytime soon.
…
At Senju's courtyard.
"This day should be the opening day for his comic store. Why hasn't he sent me his comic? Did he forget something?"
Uzumaki Mito reclined her chair as she waited for Akabane to send her his comic.
Even though she was patiently waiting, she had already finished reading the first three chapters within three days.
"Grandma, look what I brought you!"
Hearing her granddaughter's voice from outside, before Tsunade entered the door, Mito got up and snatched everything on Tsunade's hands with her ninjutsu, and sat back again in a blink of an eye.
"Grandma, that's mine! How are you stealing from your granddaughter!"
Tsunade got anxious and rushed in to take back her belongings.
They both shamelessly fight for the comic and poster.
"Tsunadeee! Grandma just wants to take a peek.."
"woo woo woo woo..."
Tsunade wanted to talk, but she was hit by Mito's sealing Jutsu, and she couldn't talk properly or use her chakra.
Uzumaki Mito ignored her granddaughter, wailing, and continued to read the comic pages by pages. Then she carefully opened the poster tube.
A roll of posters came from the tube.
"Oh… there is a poster inside this. I'll gladly accept the gift."
Uzumaki Mito deliberately teases Tsunade.
Tsunade was still struggling to open her mouth, but the seal was too strong even for her.
Without Tsunade noticing, the sealing jutsu has been lifted.
But when she witnesses her grandma looking at the poster with appreciation, she no longer wants to vent her anger.
"He used this jutsu in the Valley of the End, exactly like this."
Her voice was slightly sad.
Now that Hashirama Senju has gone, leaving only a lingering memory of his glory days. No one on Konoha understood about him more than her, his beloved wife, Mito Uzumaki.
And she knew that his Jutsu, the wood release Jutsu was only possessed by him and no one else.
"At that time, grandpa was at his peak of handsomeness.."
Tsunade said it as she wants to lighten the mood.
And Mito couldn't help but giggle. After a moment, she rolled it up and stuffed it back to the tube, then handed it to Tsunade.
"Please take it. I'm afraid I can't keep it myself."
Tsunade took the poster happily.
Uzumaki Mito picked up the comic and read it all over again from the beginning. Reading is just a regular thing in her daily life, but for Akabane's comic, she felt something special about the book.
It's different for Tsunade.
This is Akabane's gift!
"Grab the bell… Tsk, it's an old trick, but Akabane knew this trick."
"By the way, who is Kakashi Hatake?"
When Uzumaki Mito reached the fourth chapter, she suddenly asked.
"He is the son of Sakumo Hatake."
"Sakumo? Isn't that the boy from your class?"
Mito laughed. As expected, he used the character's appearance based on his classmates.
For her, this comic is just to kill boredom, this kind of fun she rarely experienced after the death of her husband.
"By the way, I heard that you put a classmate into the hospital today?"
When Mito saw Naruto being beaten, she suddenly thought of the news just now.
"Yep, just an idiot friend of mine, who went to the woman's bathroom just to do something perverted, so I couldn't help but knock some sense into him."
Tsunade clenched her teeth when she started talking about Jiraiya.
Of course, she admires how mentally retarded Jiraiya was, but his ninjutsu can't be underestimated. On the earth release jutsu, he has well mastered.
"Tsunade, when Hiruzen Sarutobi was a kid…well, this guy knows how to use his telescope jutsu… Forget it. I don't want to badmouth him since he is now the Hokage."
Uzumaki Mito stopped midway.
"What do you mean?"
Tsunade couldn't understand at all.
It is a pity that Uzumaki Mito has no interest in continuing to explain and concentrates on her comic.
The Third Hokage… Telescope Jutsu?
Tsunade didn't quite understand and didn't want to think about it anymore. She packed her things and wanted to read the comic in her room.
She carefully took the comic and especially the poster.
After all, this was the first gift she received from Akabane.
Ahh.. what a great sleep I had.."
Akabane slept until morning and skipped his dinner.
When he got up, he glanced at his system panel.
[Points: 646]
646 points in one day!
Akabane jumped up from his bed after he saw the points. He could hear his heartbeat so fast.
This is only the first day since my comic store opened…
"But yesterday there was Danzo, the Third Hokage, and Uzumaki Mito bought it on the same day, the points might gain slower next time."
Akabane carefully planned his points gaining.
While wondering, it might be cool to gain 1000 points every day.
I might not need to train anymore!
But all ninjutsu on the exchange list has been learned. Thus he needs to start working on chapter 7, which has a lot of ninjutsu used. But since he just got his rest time after the comic store opening and a rematch against Ryo Uchiha, Akabane just wants to slack for the time being and doesn't want to fight anyone.
Besides, I am going back to the academy today to get assigned to a new team, so it's impossible to draw chapter 7 today.
Rather than waiting for the next chapter, he exchanged it for stats instead.
[Successfully Exchange!]
[Chakra has increased 12 points!]
[Physique has increased 4 points!]
Akabane spent all his points at once.
[Physique: 24]
[Chakra: 63]
Wow! I didn't notice it. My chakra level already surpassed a Chuunin that has an average of 50!
Akabane got up early, and after eating breakfast, he went out to the academy.
On his way to the academy, he met Shimi on the side of the street.
"Hello, Shimi!"
Akabane greeted him, and they both walked together to the academy.
As always, Shimi is never late, even on the last day.
Shimi glanced at Akabane and asked.
"Akaba, have you finished your next chapter?"
"not yet, maybe next week."
Akabane had finished the sixth chapter, but since he wants to sell per volume that consisted of five chapters each, he doesn't want to spoil the plot.
Even Tsunade hasn't read the sixth chapter.
"That's it… I'll give you a suggestion. Next time, don't cut the story halfway, it's bothering me you know!?"
Shimi said angrily.
The story of chapter five ended where Kakashi handled Naruto and Sakura and faced one by one with Sasuke, so people normally couldn't help but wonder what happened next.
But the reason was to let the reader get excited and made them buy the next volume.
It seems that Shimi did not sleep well last night…
Akabane whispered secretly, even though he said that he had planned to change it.
The two walked slowly towards the academy. When they got to the class, they saw the class had already started, and Arata Sarutobi stood on the podium and looked at them with an angry look.
"How dare you come late on the last day!"
Akabane was taken aback for a moment and then remembered.
Shimi was in a bad mood and had poor sleep quality last night. I'm afraid that he miscalculated the time.
"How long are you two want to stand there!? Hurry up!"
On their last day at the academy, Arata didn't want to be harsh but seeing some students were still late, he couldn't help but sigh.
As a ninja, punctuality is very important.
Akabane bowed slightly, and then quickly ran to his seat with Tsunade sitting next to him, and Jiraiya also came to class and sat in front of him. He looked miserable that his arm was in plaster, and the part of his face was wrapped as well.
…
"Everyone has officially graduated today. This is your headband. Now I will announce the team."
"The first team, Shimi Nara, Chouki Akimichi…"
"Second Team..."
The list goes on until the sixth team
"The sixth team, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and lead by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Arata paused when he said that, and there was a commotion in the class.
"What? Hokage-sama as the leader.."
"This is too much!"
Many students are shocked, and many others are envious and jealous.
A good teacher can give open the full potential of his students. For now, the strongest teacher is undoubtedly Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Moreover, he was the current Hokage of Konoha, what an honor it is!
Everyone couldn't help but look at Shimi and Akabane. They are also amongst the geniuses in the class, but unfortunately, they didn't get the chance as the Third Hokage students.
"The seventh team, Sakumo Hatake, Murasaki Mitarashi, Akabane Kurama, lead by Danzo Shimura."
As Arata continued to assign, there was silence in the class.
Danzo Shimura is another big boss!
"No wonder they got a genius mentor, but…"
Many people looked at Jiraiya with jealousy. Among the six people, only Jiraiya was the one that everyone thought didn't deserve his place.
Jiraiya, who overheard his classmate talking about him, made him angry and wanted to throw a tantrum. But someone from behind punched him on the head, causing him to cry in pain.
"Don't act recklessly!"
"Aghh, you flat chest, I'll beat you 10,000 times after I become stronger, just you wait.."
Jiraiya cursed Tsunade with a low voice.
All because of Tsunade that he got hospitalized and failed to take a peek at the bathhouse.
Akabane knew from Tsunade's prior information that his mentor would be Danzo, so it didn't surprise him.
Sakumo and Murasaki will soon be his teammates, with a strong ninja team like them wouldn't need him to take the fight hand to hand, and just stay back with his genjutsu.
Hmm… this is not bad at all…
Thinking about it, Akabane felt that being a disciple of Shimura Danzo wasn't so bad.
At least Danzo was a ninja with high capability, although he has a dark philosophy for now.
When Akabane was paying attention to his teammates, Shimi and Murasaki were also looking at him at the same time.
"Team 1, follow me."
"Team 2..."
Several teams were called by their teacher for a briefing.
In a short time, most of the classmates had walked out with their teams, leaving only a few teams left—the Sixth and the Seventh.
"Speaking of which, why should I be on the same team as the flat-chest Tsunade?"
Jiraiya also sighed helplessly.
"Come on, Jiraiya, do you want to be beaten again?"
Orochimaru put down the book and stretched.
"It is normal for Jiraiya to be selected. As far as the ability to get beaten, no one in the class is better than him."
Akabane joked lightly and said, "For example…what happens if you get a few punches from Tsunade?"
Hearing these words, everyone glanced at Tsunade.
They looked at her face, then at her hands, and finally shook their heads together with a terrified expression.
The strength that the Senju Clan inherited couldn't be tolerated by someone ordinary, you must be dead by now if you took the same damage as Jiraiya, but he survived, barely…
"I am indeed impressed by his will to live ahahah…"
Even Tsunade herself couldn't help but agree that no one could handle her punch better than Jiraiya.
Danzo Shimura walked to the class and yelled briefly.
Sure enough, it was the angry man who bought my comic yesterday.
Akabane sighed lightly, feeling sad for the days to come.
"Come, hurry up!"
Murasaki got up and walked out first.
Danzo didn't wait for them and he disappeared at the end of the corridor when he got out of the class.
"Uhh, where he could be?"
Akabane sighed helplessly.
"This must be our test. We need to pass this test if we want to be in this team."
Murasaki said in a deep voice.
"Let's take a look ahead; there will be clues."
Akabane said calmly.
Danzo can't leave unsolvable problems, because this was just the way to test their teamwork, rather than deliberately rejecting them.
When they reached the top stairs, Murasaki glanced around and quickly fixed his eyes on a corner, saying, "Here look! This must be our clue."
"There's a piece of cloth here, obviously left deliberately."
Sakumo bit his finger, and then with both hands, he pressed it on the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Puff!
A cloud of fog came out, followed by a dog in front of everyone. Although it was still very young, it was indeed a ninja dog.
"Kenma, help us find the owner of this cloth."
"Oof."
The little dog was swiftly searching for the owner of the cloth.
Akabane felt relieved about how reliable his teammates are. Now he felt less worried about finding Danzo's trances. He could rely on them for now.
Going to the second floor, Kenma stopped.
"Hold on. There is probably a trap set here. Please be careful."
Murasaki put up his guard, and immediately Kenma got up again and went upstairs.
"It seems to be an illusion. Let me handle this."
Seeing his capable teammates, Akabane volunteered himself. He took one step into the trap, then in an instant, dozens of shuriken flew up towards him.
"Genjutsu Cancel!"
With Akabane's powerful chakra he easily canceled the genjutsu on their way.
"Let's move on."
The academy consisted of 5 floors, and they estimated that there would be one clue on each floor. If they can solve it all, they can find Danzo and pass the test.
The third and fourth floors are all traps, and everyone passed them easily.
"The third floor is the shuriken trap. The fourth floor is Genjutsu. The traps gradually increase in difficulty. We must be prepared on the fifth floor and might be more dangerous."
Murasaki explained the possibility calmly.
The first four floors are not difficult with their current strength and teamwork. But the fifth floor might be the real deal.
How strong Danzo Shimura is?
During the First Shinobi World War, Danzo and Hiruzen were side by side and fought in the same team, and still survived despite all the horrible things that happened there. Then he became the leader of Anbu, the secret operative ninja of Konoha, which should tell how strong he is.
Akabane seemed lazy, but in fact, he was extremely vigilant.
When they got to the fifth floor, which was the rooftop, they only saw one man carrying his kunai. They saw No traps or genjutsu around.
"My test is very simple, those who can survive to fight against me will pass the test."
Danzo said in the end. His tone was cold and murderous.
With terrifying killing intent, the three of them feel like there's a knife on their neck, and fear crept into their hearts.
"Now!"
Murasaki shot several shurikens instantly, flying towards Danzo.
However…
"Wind Release: Vacuum Blade."
Suddenly Danzo turned into three and parried all the shuriken.
Smoke Bomb!
Akabane and his two teammates threw smoke bombs simultaneously.
Then the rooftop was covered by a thick cloud of smoke.
"Silly."
Danzo's voice came from outside the smoke.
Such smoke may be able to obscure the sight of ordinary ninjas, but for someone like him, such a smoke bomb was too simple and they can't hide from his vision.
He could sense that a figure was moving upward.
However…
On the ground, there is still the presence of three people.
Shadow clone?
Only one of the three would use the shadow clone. Danzo knew what was going on, but didn't flinch at all.
Akabane's Genjutsu was indeed strong, but that doesn't mean he can't be found, but Danzo had a better plan. He didn't target Akabane first.
Slowly the smoke disappeared. Three figures were standing in the middle and another one was hiding in the dark, not sure which one is real or clone.
"Your ninjutsu usage was commendable."
There was laughter, but in an instant, it became a fierce killing intent.
Danzo was observing his surroundings.
Those kids might already set one or two traps, but as their teacher, I can't hold back, can I?
Kunai strikes like lightning.
He was targeting his three students.
He has a good chance to kill more than one person by a single kunai thrown. He intended to kill them all, there are no lies about it.
But at the moment when the kunai was thrown, Akabane cast hand seals "Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Jutsu!"
The ninjutsu hits Danzo in an instant and pushes the other two to make their moves.
Now!
When the kunai fell, the shadow clone that was replaced turned into dust.
At the same time, Sakumo unsheathes his saber, and he attacks Danzo with flashy lighting.
Murasaki was stunned for a moment, before making a move without any hesitation, making seals on both hands.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
Sakumo's saber, Murasaki's fire dragon, and Akabane's genjutsu attacked Danzo at the same time, wishing that they could make slight damage to prove their strength.
But for Danzo, he has been through hundreds of life and death battles. This fight was only a small matter.
"Wind Release: Great Breach!"
Although it's only C-level ninjutsu, it was like a terrifying tornado when it came to Danzo's mouth, with a wind that cut like a blade.
It Swept everything, and was unstoppable, Sakumo and Murasaki wanted to dodge, but it was too late.
Akabane was using his genjutsu and unable to move. Although it was released in time, suddenly, a kunai was directly pointed to his throat.
Just when the three of them
thought that they were about to get hit, all of this disappeared in an instant.
"All of you passed the test."
The clone disappeared, and the wind release that was cast by Danzo also disappeared.
Sakumo and Murasaki stood speechless.
Madman!
Akabane's forehead was sweating bullets. At the moment when the Kunai was on his throat, he could feel the coldness of the knife and the killing intent on it.
"Thank you, sensei."
Murasaki bowed respectfully to Danzo.
Akabane appeared from the dark, standing in a row with his teammates.
"Just now was my first lesson. Never believe the rules the enemy said because they can overthrow the rules at any time."
Danzo said lightly.
"The rules are determined by the upper rank."
Sakumo learned something from their fight.
"I can take back my rules and make a move that can kill all of you, but I cannot kill you because I am under Konoha's rules."
Danzo continued.
Akabane nodded gladly and said that he understood that Danzo at this time was indeed different. He still had the will of fire in his heart and the bottom line, instead of the dark and unscrupulous person in the later period.
"Take your rest today. We'll start the mission tomorrow."
It ended unexpectedly for Akabane.
Unlike Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo's teaching was simple and ruthless, which impressed him.
"It seems I need to train more when I get back."
Murasaki sighed lightly
Just one lesson was enough to tell them their level differences and see that their teacher was not like any other, he is dreadful and ruthless.
Sakumo was speechless. His hand holding his saber was trembling, obviously wasn't satisfied with his current power.
"I have to go back to rest and draw comics. I'm beat.."
Akabane yawned and said lightly.
"Don't you two want to train too?"
His other teammates were speechless for a while.
Akabane's shadow clone wasn't a secret anymore within Konoha because the Third Hokage had told the other clans beforehand.
Not only his Jutsu but his physique and chakra as well are strong; otherwise, he couldn't withstand using his clones for a long time.
Even Murasaki and Sakumo felt jealous of his talent.
…
Back home, Akabane's clone works on chapter seven, while Akabane laying on his bed with his eyes closed, thinking about the previous battle.
"If it was a real fight, I should be dead by now. Being in the Naruto World is really dangerous."
Akabane sighed lightly.
At this moment, he finally knows the severance of being a Ninja. This is the real battle. Usually, those competitions are small fights…
"What I'm facing before was just a clone but it could beat the three of us easily.."
"I need to become stronger!"
He made up his mind secretly.
Akabane imagined his future that he would be one of the legendary shinobi like Hashirama or Madara.
"Ahh, stop daydreaming! Let's draw some posters."
Akabane struggled to sit up and helped draw a few posters with a pen.
Today is the second day after the opening of the comics house, and Kasumi has been helping him to sell his comics as a clerk, so today, there are more than 300 points he earned.
As long as chapter 7 finishes today, he can exchange the points for two new ninjutsu- Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu and Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu.
…
The next day, in front of the Hokage Building.
Murasaki and Sakumo arrived earlier than the allotted time, but Akabane hasn't come yet. It was only until half an hour later that they saw Akabane's figure in the street in the distance.
"Today is our first day, and you were late again…"
Murasaki was a little helpless.
"Practicing ninjutsu last night was too tiring, I got up a little late."
Akabane yawned and said.
"Liar…"
Sakumo sneered, obviously not convinced.
"it is true..."
Akabane was helplessly explained his late since he was well known to everyone as always late, no one would buy his words.
Yesterday until late at night, he cooperated with the clone to complete chapter seven. With the points added yesterday, he has now exchanged Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu and Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu.
The extra points are all exchanged for chakra.
——————
[Name: Akabane Kurama]
[Rank: Genin]
[Physique: 24 (+)]
[Chakra: 70 (+)]
[Chakra attributes: Yin, Fire, Earth] [Equipment: Drawing pen, Drawing board]
[Ninjutsu:
(1) Five senses control,
(2) Three-body Jutsu,
(3) Substitution Jutsu,
(4) shadow clone Jutsu,
(5) Demonic illusion: Hell viewing Jutsu, (6) Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu,
(7) Fire Release: Fireball jutsu.]
[Points: 7]
——————
Once he learned two new ninjutsu, Akabane automatically gained a lot of information and learned the two chakra attributes of fire and earth.
The fire release is extremely destructive, and each type of fire release ninjutsu has extremely powerful destructive power. At this stage, five senses of control alone are enough to complete most of the attacks.
But the more ninjutsu he possessed, the greater his chance of surviving the mission.
…
"So, everyone has gathered up.."
"This is your first mission, go to the location I order."
"Beat everyone that you see there."
Danzo walked to their meeting place, dropped a note, and then left with the Substitution Jutsu.
Murasaki took it, and a coordinate was drawn on it, showing a certain location.
Akabane knew that his teammates would be able to handle it, and he was too lazy to lead. Sakumo took note and watched carefully. After a moment, he said, "Forest of Death."
"Off we go!"
Murasaki swiftly went to the Forest of Death.
"What the hell is this our first mission.."
Akabane was helpless, and on the first day, he had an inexplicable mission.
Sakumo kept up and followed the route to the Forest of Death.
…
The Forest of Death.
Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya sat on the ground, waiting boredly.
Jiraiya couldn't help but say, "Could the old man be late today too?"
"The bell test is a tradition in the teacher's line, and it is probably unavoidable today."
Tsunade lay on the grass while entertaining herself out of boredom.
Orochimaru was the least bored, since he was reading a book quietly, and said, "Not really.."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Jiraiya immediately got up and looked curiously at Orochimaru, who was the most talented student amongst them.
"If I Explain it to you. It would only waste my time."
Orochimaru did not look at him, but said to Tsunade, "Team 7 had completed the test yesterday. The teacher hasn't been here yet, so there might be a chance that we need to fight them as our test."
A few unrelated words, but Tsunade understood clearly.
"That being said, we are likely to meet them soon, I've wanted to fight them for a long time."
The will of fire was flowing in her body, Tsunade can't wait to test her strength.
"I just hope that this pervert wouldn't cause us more trouble.."
Orochimaru put away the book and sighed softly, "I was just guessing before, but now I'm sure that they are here."
"I'm not troublesome! Look at me. I will defeat them…"
Jiraiya said angrily.
As soon as the voice fell, he disappeared in thin air.
"This idiot!"
Tsunade froze for a moment, then couldn't help but yell.
"You look for Sakumo, I look for Akabane, be careful."
Orochimaru's face was solemn, and immediately got up and ran towards the sound.
"Sakumo…huh, I must teach him some lessons."
Tsunade hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she made the decision.
Although she was reluctant, she has to admit that she has no way to counter Akabane's Genjutsu, and perhaps Orochimaru was better at this field.
On the other side, Akabane and the other two entered the Forest of Death boundary together.
"Be careful. I feel a hint of chakra."
Akabane notified his teammates.
His perception of his surroundings has increased since he improved his chakra.
The other two nodded to express their understanding, and after a few steps forward, Murasaki also felt something.
"This dumbass.."
Sakumo's voice was indifferent and made an accurate evaluation of Jiraiya's actions.
"He didn't try to hide his chakra and want to attack us upfront?"
Akabane covered his face and felt ashamed for Jiraiya. For a shinobi, he has many other options to launch an attack but instead conspicuously attack them upfront.
"We handle him first."
Murasaki's tone was cold and merciless.
"They are all our old classmates, don't you have mercy?"
"We put our mission first."
Sakumo also agreed with Murasaki's words, making Akabane helpless, and he seemed to be out of options.
"Fine."
The three moved together and were not prepared to divide their forces.
Of course…
Every one of them had a different reason.
Murasaki believes that teamwork in combat is the most important, and Sakumo puts the mission of accomplishing the top priority. As for Akabane, he simply doesn't want to be left alone.
Those who are alone will be ambushed, just like Jiraiya.
"I don't want to be the bad guy.."
Akabane sighed inwardly.
Jiraiya was also ahead. I hope he will not be too stupid to be alone…
"Gotcha!"
At this moment, a loud shout came from the ground, and a figure jumped out from the ground, attacking Murasaki from the bottom up.
He was extremely fast, and instantly stabbed Murasaki
However...
Poof!
"ah? damn! Substitution jutsu!"
Jiraiya jumped his feet with anger and turned around to retreat, but at this time, Murasaki blocked his way out, Sakumo and Akabane were on his side each, and Jiraiya was stuck between those three.
"Jiraiya, I have to say you are so stupid. This will cause Sarutobi-sensei a lot of trouble to send you back to the academy on your second day."
Akabane sighed softly.
"You are so cunning. You ambush me!"
What???
Murasaki, Sakumo, and Akabane looked dumbfounded. This boy was indeed stupid!
Ughh… Let go of me!!"
Jiraiya, who was being tied like a caterpillar, shouted angrily.
"Let's find his other teammates."
Murasaki then tied Jiraiya onto the tree.
"I'll stay here to keep watch on him so he won't get rescued by his team."
Akabane knew that Tsunade and Orochimaru wouldn't take a risk to rescue Jiraiya knowing that it is only meaningless, that's why he wants to stay here to take some rest while the two work their asses off.
"Don't try to fool me Akaba.."
But it seems Sakumo knew his true intention.
"Okay, okay, you caught me. In that case, let's not waste any time. Otherwise, they might plan one step ahead of us."
Akabane got up reluctantly since his true intention was seen through. He could only settle the battle as soon as possible.
"Let's go!"
Hearing the signal, and team 7 disappeared deeper into the forest.
"Hey, wait! let me down, don't go!"
Jiraiya who saw them disappear begged desperately for mercy because he knows that it's possible that after the test, he could be sent back to the academy.
"Aaah! damn Murasaki, you tied me too tight!"
…
Within the forest of death, Orochimaru began to continuously set his traps.
"Aren't we going to save Jiraiya?"
Tsunade was a little worried. According to that idiot's character, he would face team 7 alone and will fail miserably.
"It's useless to save that idiot. Our best chance is to counter their attack when the opportunity comes."
Orochimaru said lightly.
Tsunade was speechless for a moment, and thinking about it for a second she still then agreed to Orochimaru's plan since it's the only plausible plan for both of them.
Now that they are at disadvantage, even if they're technically two of the best students in the academy, but since Jiraiya acted on his own, they need another plan.
…
"I could detect some traps. We are getting closer."
Akabane warned and stopped on a branch, Murasaki and Sakumo also stopped and listened to his warning.
" The ground below us must be full of traps.
Who knows how many traps there are here? In the academy, Orochimaru scores perfectly in all subjects. Thus his knowledge and ability on traps can't be underestimated." Murasaki explained.
"I go first."
Without hesitation, Sakumo approaches forward.
"I'll follow Sakumo from behind. You can support us, depending on the situation."
Murasaki said calmly.
After their test against Danzo yesterday, they've grown better at teamwork with each other. Sakumo is flexible, swift, and has great offensive prowess. He is suited for reconnaissance.
Murasaki is versatile and a jack of all trades. Akabane, on the other hand, is passive and lazybones but has the strongest ninjutsu and a great tactician.
"Okay, I'm fine with that.."
Akabane responded, secretly rejoicing in his mind.
The position assigned to him is his favorite, as long as he stays in the back and doesn't need head-to-head combat. It's the best position for someone slacker like him.
Sakumo ran between the trees swiftly, looking for the traces of Orochimaru and Tsunade.
After a while, he stopped, he looked around with his keen eyes and made use of a jutsu.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Poof!
"Kenma, help me scan the surrounding."
Kenma is a young ninja dog that Sakumo contracted, and it's been specially trained since he was a child and had considerable abilities.
Kenma started sniffing around for scent and quickly found something after a moment.
Woof! Woof!
"That direction? Thank you!"
Sakumo sent Kenma back, carefully holding the handle of his sword that was on his back, he cautiously moved where his ninja dog smelled something.
Akabane who was waiting yawned lazily, but his eyes suddenly became serious the moment he instinctively felt someone coming at him.
"Come, let's s…"
Before Akabane managed to finish his words, Orochimaru suddenly appeared using substitution Jutsu and tried to give him a surprise attack.
"Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!"
"Damn.."
Orochimaru didn't expect Akabane to learn it and felt that he was one step behind,
and knowing that he failed his surprise attack, he escaped with substitution Jutsu the moment Akabane tried to drag his body on earth.
"What a fast reaction!"
Akabane was shocked by Orochimaru's fast reaction.
But even if he got a surprise attack, Akabane managed to inject chakra into Orochimaru's body. Normally to cast a genjutsu he didn't need to use it, but since Orochimaru wasn't an ordinary person he needs to add insurance for his genjutsu to work.
"Genjutsu: Five sense control!"
Orochimaru fell within his Genjutsu in an instant. However, Orochimaru had an experience of breaking free from his Genjutsu, so without delay, Orochimaru forced himself to become comatose so that he can be free from Akabane's Genjutsu.
And besides him was the clone that he prepared before he lost his consciousness to drag his body to a safe position first.
"Shadow clone!"
'So he already planned ahead before he attempted to ambush me. What a cunning move' Akabane thought.
Akabane rubbed his temples, he didn't want to fight again since he was lazy…
"It's really difficult to deal with an opponent, who knows how to break my Genjutsu in one try."
However, since Orochimaru attacked him, he needed to fight back. So Akabane used his clones to block their escape route and follow them in a haste.
"Don't chase after him; we need your help to handle Tsunade."
Murasaki wanted to ask for help from Akabane but he was too late since Akabane was already gone chasing Orochimaru.
"Ughh.. well, change of plan, me and Sakumo will handle Tsunade."
Murasaki fastly adapted to their situation and continued to hunt Tsunade.
…
Akabane used Body Flicker Jutsu to chase them, but for a moment, he saw
Orochimaru Clone stopped running because the real body had awakened.
Akabane also stopped on his track and stared at his opponent who was still groggy from being awakened.
Seeing Orochimaru who finally got his bearings Akabane couldn't help but praise Orochimaru with emotion.
"You can learn the shadow clone in a few days. You are indeed a talented person."
"Ahh… that goes the same for you."
Hearing Akabane compliment Orochimaru couldn't help but smile bitterly. He thought that although Akabane was good at genjutsu, his weakness would be his physique and other ninjutsu, but Akabane had improved tremendously within just a few days that it almost led him to his defeat earlier.
If it wasn't for his cautious personality, the move Earth Release Akabane used almost made him buried and lost.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With a loud noise, a tree in the distance trembled three times and almost fell.
"Tsunade is also in trouble."
Orochimaru licked his lips, his fighting intent surge, "It seems that I must settle with Akaba-kun first."
"Keep fighting with you has wasted my chakra a little too much."
Akabane sighed lightly, and then continued, "But if I go to Tsunade, you will save Jiraiya."
Even if Jiraiya is an airhead, his physique and earth release would be troublesome if he managed to escape.
"Go on."
Orochimaru dispatched his clone instantly, heading towards Akabane to kill.
Here he comes!
Akabane was not so foolish to let his opponent attack him first. In fact, what stays in place is just a clone, not even a Shadow Clone.
"Something felt wrong.."
After a few steps, Orochimaru noticed something was wrong and immediately jumped back towards where his traps were set.
However...
Suddenly, two figures shot out from his side.
"Why is Murasaki here? He should be fighting Tsunade right now…No! It's Hell Viewing Jutsu!"
Orochimaru immediately tries to break the genjutsu.
But nothing has changed, the two figures in front of him did not stop, and continued to run towards him.
"Body Substitution Jutsu!"
Orochimaru's instinctive reaction to the crisis caused Orochimaru to avoid the attack, but the next second he saw the two of them run past his substitute.
Is it Clone Jutsu?
But at this moment, a kunai came from behind.
"Still clone?"
Orochimaru thought to himself, but before his eyes, he realized that it was not.
This is real!
Substitution Jutsu! Smoke bomb!
Combining ninjutsu and smoke bombs, Orochimaru panted and fled away from his original position,
"Agh… I don't know which one is real or not."
Orochimaru was hiding with cold sweat on his face.
He knew that Akabane had combined his Shadow Clone Jutsu and his Genjutsu to attack him. But all he could do was receive it without fighting back.
Genjutsu is to produce an illusion, while the Kurama Clan could amplify its effect using their five senses control, which turns the illusion into reality.
When facing Akabane, it's too difficult to distinguish between the two, but what about my teammates who are still out there?
Orochimaru couldn't help but feel worried.
"En? The movement stopped, did Tsunade get caught?"
"No, this must be an illusion!"
He immediately reacted.
But Orochimaru suddenly becomes worried. And though "Is this an illusion or a reality!?"
Akabane's understanding of genjutsu is beyond my imagination."
In Hokage's office, Hiruzen watched the test using his crystal ball, while holding his pipe.
At first, he was confident enough with his team's skill, even if he knew that Jiraiya would be captured, Orochimaru and Tsunade must have another way to plan a counter-attack.
But with this current situation, it would seem impossible for them to turn the table.
"The basic usage of genjutsu was to deceive, using genjutsu and combined with shadow clones and Kekkei Genkai at the same time was unnecessary.."
Danzo had a very subtle expression of admiration on his face, and then he sighed lightly, "It's a pity."
"Maybe after more experience, he will change."
Hiruzen said lightly.
In their view, Akabane's laziness was his biggest enemy.
At this time, the battle situation they saw in the crystal ball changed again, and the unmoving Orochimaru in the image finally took action, but he was facing a different enemy.
…
Murasaki!
"Is he real or not?"
Orochimaru snaps out of his mind. He doesn't have much time to think and must react with his instinct.
Murasaki launched towards him swiftly.
Following his instinct, Orochimaru threw multiple shurikens, and the shuriken shuttled past Murasaki.
"Clone!"
Orochimaru got up and wanted to escape to a better spot, but another Murasaki appeared, stopping his plan.
What is it now?
There was a continual perception bending of which one was real and which one was not, without the slightest room for respite.
"Wind Release: Great Breach!"
A strong wind came from his mouth.
However, Murasaki, whom he thought was a clone, jumped up to the branches and prepared to cast hand seals
"Damn.. that one's real?"
Orochimaru panicked, suddenly he felt a presence below his feet.
"Earth Release: Headhunting Jutsu!"
Earth Release!?
"No wonder Akabane managed to follow me closely."
"Substitution Ju—"
Before Orochimaru managed to use his substitution Jutsu, he was dragged down to the ground, leaving only his head outside.
Poof!
"It was a shadow clone all along!? Ahh… I lost badly.."
The one figure that he thought was Murasaki was only a shadow clone, that's why it managed to avoid his ninjutsu, and the real and only opponent he had has always been Akabane, who lurked underground.
"Uhh, hello there, my friend.."
Akabane smoothly greeted Orochimaru, who was stuck halfway in the ground.
Orochimaru hasn't learned any earth-release ninjutsu. Thus he could only stay there and wait.
He looked up as if he was thinking deeply, then sighed and said, "The choice I made to fight with you was a mistake. If I prioritize saving Jiraiya first, we won't necessarily lose this test."
"You do underestimate our team 7, but I've almost depleted all my chakra. If you could hold on to the fight a little longer, maybe it will be my loss."
Akabane smiled lightly.
Orochimaru closed his eyes. There was a lot to learn from this battle.
In that short time, Akabane had used two shadow clones, two genjutsu, two kekkei Genkai, demonic illusion, and finished it with earth release. That amount of chakra used has far exceeded the scope of an ordinary genin.
Hah.. he is indeed a prodigy…
As for Tsunade, she gave up her chance of attacking to save Jiraiya, but her strength alone couldn't pass Murasaki and Sakumo easily, and she will eventually run out of stamina.
"Don't think too much about it. It will be very troublesome for you to run away. It would be better for everyone to stay still."
Akabane glanced at Orochimaru, not wanting him to escape.
Orochimaru is still very immature now, but he will have a high probability of trying to escape.
"Akaba-kun, you are a tough one to fight, it's lucky that we're from the same village.
Orochimaru sighed lightly.
"Same goes with you.."
The praise from someone who would be the Three Legendary Shinobi made Akabane a sense of satisfaction, but that was it.
A compliment is completely out of proportion to the hard work they have done today.
"Let me come out. I won't try to escape."
Orochimaru's head moved, "It's uncomfortable to stay here any longer, and I can't read my book."
"Um… wait a minute."
Akabane got up, looked at the sky, then waved his hand, and said, "Sarutobi-sensei, are you seeing us? I've made Orochimaru admit defeat. I'll get him out, okay?"
After saying this, he pulled Orochimaru out of the ground.
Orochimaru looked up in surprise, then asked, "Is Sarutobi-sensei here?"
"Not here, but he can see us."
Akabane sat down and explained.
"Through the telescope Jutsu? I thought it was the ninjutsu you made up?"
Orochimaru only has seen the Jutsu from Akabane's comic, so he thought it wasn't real.
Then Orochimaru sat down and started to read seriously.
"Why are you studying every day?"
Akabane was a little curious. He glanced at Orochimaru's book, but he immediately avoided it, staggering his eyes, as if he didn't want him to see the title and content of the book.
"It's just some knowledge of ninjutsu."
Orochimaru's eyes were a little flustered, but his voice was still calm.
"Okay.. fine."
Akabane does not need to continue to dig deeper. After all, he was just simply curious.
One reads a book, and the other one is resting. They wait quietly to get called.
They don't know how long but a sudden call was heard.
"Orochimaru, Akabane, come here."
The sound of Hiruzen Sarutobi spread throughout the forest, and the final battle seemed to have ended.
"Then again, being Shinobi is a troublesome profession."
After finally having time to rest, He was called up again.
"Come on, Akabane.."
Orochimaru put away his books and went out to search for Hiruzen, which was where they gathered the first time.
Akabane followed Orochimaru slowly from behind.
"Give it to me. I haven't had breakfast… Ahhhh, Tsunade, you flat-chest!"
Before they arrived, Akabane heard Jiraiya's voice from afar.
Orochimaru left the forest and saw that Jiraiya was tied to a wooden stake, while Tsunade was eating a boxed lunch, teasing Jiraiya while eating.
"Orochimaru, this is yours."
Tsunade pointed her finger to a lunch box lying on the ground. Beside her, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura had already been waiting for them.
Hiruzen did not speak a word, but Danzo smiled coldly and said, "Do you think you are qualified to eat?"
"I…I'm sorry, I'm not.."
Orochimaru said with a shame expression.
"Hahahaha, The mighty Orochimaru seems to be scared of Danzo-sensei."
Jiraiya laughed wildly, and then struggled on the stake, "So give me the box lunch, I'm so hungry."
"Oh, why should I?"
Hiruzen asked curiously.
Orochimaru didn't expect that Hiruzen would question that because, according to the rules, people tied to a tree would be sent back to the academy.
The box of lunch represents not only a meal but also an apprenticeship.
"Umm…"
Orochimaru glanced at Jiraiya but hesitated again.
"I will speak on his behalf. Simply put, he thinks that Jiraiya is so stupid that it is understandable, and he cannot be forgiven for being defeated carelessly."
Akabane explains for Orochimaru.
"What??"
Jiraiya confused for a moment and glanced at Orochimaru, his face undoubtedly agreed.
"That being said, so was I. After all, I was defeated."
Tsunade hesitated for a moment.
"The mission is over. Team 7 can go back and self-train."
Danzo turned and left coldly.
"This…well, let's go back."
Murasaki understood that this was the internal affair of team 6 and had nothing to do with them.
Akabane was so happy that it finally finished, and he could take some rest. And The rest was not his problem.
[TL/n:
{[Mission for all readers][Sir, Yes Sir!!]}
{[•1st Mission][1st on Monthly Ranking = 1 chapter]} Status: Complete.
{[2nd Mission][500 stones]} Status: 98%
{[3rd Mission][1k Stones]} Status: 45%
{[Last Mission][Being 1st for a whole week without dropping from the 1st rank]
Status: -1%
][Doing this for fun. So don't mind me.][
I know we can reach the first three mission.
But for the fourth one, I'm still worried since one rank down means no 5 chapters.
The enemy is strong. It seems we will lose xD.
btw, not me but you guys. ??