Naruto: I Draw Power Into Reality

"Sensei, can I have that blade?" 

Jiraiya stared at the sword, practically drooling at the sight. 

"That blade is a death sentence. Be careful—you might live long enough to take it, but not long enough to keep it." 

Akaba couldn't help but warn him. Though just an ordinary blade, he had observed it—this weapon bore the personal insignia of that Jonin. 

"You idiot! Sensei definitely has use for the sword. There's no way you'll lay hands on it!" 

Tsunade snarled. 

If it weren't for the fact that this guy had just been injured, she would've punched him already. 

Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled quietly, glancing at them without speaking. His expression, however, silently confirmed Tsunade's words. 

As for its purpose, Akaba could roughly guess it involved the Yamanaka clan's secret technique, which could extract information from the mind of a Jonin, allowing Hiruzen to track down more Rogue Ninjas hiding in the Land of Whirlpools based on the information and the disguise. That blade was one of the props needed for his cover identity. 

Even if Akaba didn't deal with Mist Anbu himself, Hiruzen would do it anyway. 

"Sakuma-sama..." 

Kazama Zuo crept over stealthily and suddenly called out. 

Akaba shivered involuntarily. 

Since his reincarnation into this world, no one had ever addressed him as "sama" before. He turned around. 

"Oh, it's you. What's up?" 

He really wasn't fond of Kazama Zuo. 

Both times he'd been sent on missions were somehow related to him—it made him feel annoyed. At least maintaining this kind of attitude toward him is understandable. 

"Er…Sakuma-sama, we're about to enter Uzumaki territory. I wanted to ask how best to promote the manga?" 

Zuo asked respectfully. 

While purchasing the manga, he'd questioned Konoha locals about where they got their comics. Later, he'd also learned many details from Tsunade, eventually convincing himself that Akaba must be a commercial genius! 

After hearing this, Akaba shot Tsunade a glance—since the old man was asking this question, Tsunade probably said something. 

Ah well, it's for the Points! 

Taking a deep breath, Akaba calmly explained, "Uzumaki Village is different from Konoha Village. To promote effectively, first people need to know what makes this story great." 

"Please enlighten me, my lord." 

Zuo bowed deeply, showing profound humility. 

"It was Granny Mito's idea for you to buy the manga, right? She must've told you to show it to the Uzumaki leadership. So you should just show it to them directly—better yet, give each of them a free copy. Then tell the villagers that every village leader bought this book, and its reputation will spread naturally." 

Leaning lazily against the cart, Akaba tapped his foot while laying out his plan. 

At first, Zuo didn't understand fully, but later expressions of surprise and anxiety flickered across his face by turns. 

"What now?" 

"My lord, if this book truly impresses our leaders, would they even allow me to sell it freely?" 

Zuo clearly had good business instincts, yet this question was so foolish that Akaba couldn't even be bothered to reply. Instead, he simply pointed ahead at Hiruzen. 

"Eh... Right." 

Suddenly catching on, Zuo realized—the Hokage himself had come along. How could the Uzumaki Clan possibly refuse to allow sales? 

Besides, he had read through the content himself, and there was nothing suspicious in it at all. 

Zuo thought—if even he couldn't see anything wrong with it, most other customers wouldn't either. Only someone like Lady Mito would be able to uncover the secrets hidden within. 

With that realization, all pressure lifted from his shoulders instantly.

"It's fine. Mind your own business and don't stand beside me drawing attention."

Akaba glanced nervously at Tsunade, secretly thankful he wasn't in her team—otherwise life would be too tough.

"Master, please continue to guide me once we reach Uzumaki Village!"

"Hurry up already!"

Kazama left excitedly, running ahead.

Tsunade kept glaring at Akaba sideways from behind him, not looking away until he finally jumped off the cart.

Helplessly, Akaba could only disembark and walk instead. Fortunately, they were already quite close to Uzumaki Village, and soon he saw some scattered hamlets around its outskirts.

The villages here looked vastly different from what they'd seen earlier.

On both sides of the road, dozens of people worked busily in the fields, presenting a peaceful and happy scene.

If not seen with one's own eyes, it would be hard to imagine such a huge difference between the inside and outside, all due to war.

Orochimaru clenched his fist slightly, his gaze turning cold.

"This is war."

Sarutobi Hiruzen gently patted his head, filled with emotion. "It's precisely because war is so cruel that we have to do everything we can to stop it."

Jiraiya felt a pang in his heart.

Among his three apprentices, Orochimaru always received the most care from him.

"Teacher, we will help the Land of Whirlpools, right?"

Tsunade's mood had dropped.

This was her grandmother's hometown, yet now it was in chaos. Worse still, her grandmother couldn't even leave the village to return and rescue her homeland for certain reasons.

Just thinking about this made Tsunade feel deeply empathetic.

"Yes, we will help the Land of Whirlpools."

Hiruzen hesitated for a moment before taking a puff of his pipe and continuing.

"Wars are really troublesome."

Akaba sat on the cart without joining the conversation.

Help the Land of Whirlpools?

Yeah right. The fate of a whole country doesn't hinge on what Konoha decides alone.

Even if Konoha intervened, their help would extend only to Uzumaki Village or perhaps certain members of the Uzumaki clan.

Truthfully, none of that concerned Akaba—he was simply afraid Danzo and Hiruzen had ulterior motives, which would definitely keep him from relaxing.

"For now, I'll start drawing manga. Shadow Clone Jutsu."

His clone appeared and gave Akaba a disapproving look but obediently climbed onto the cart.

The group continued onward, eventually reaching the real gates of Uzumaki Village.

Since Uzumaki Village had never appeared in any official manga before, Akaba naturally felt curious too.

Looking closer, something about it seemed oddly familiar.

"Hey, Akaba, the style here looks just like Grandma's courtyard!"

Tsunade exclaimed in surprise.

Suddenly it clicked for Akaba.

No wonder it looked so familiar—the courtyard must have been built following the same architectural style.

However, after Tsunade shouted this out loud, Orochimaru eyed Akaba strangely, scrutinizing him carefully.

"You've actually met Lady Mito?"

"For certain reasons, I did meet her briefly."

Akaba gave a light cough, clearly avoiding elaboration.

After all, given Uzumaki Mito's status, it would probably blow a lot of people's minds if they found out she was actually one of his readers.

"Was it through the manga?"

"Exactly. Grandma read the manga—it was hand-drawn by Akaba himself."

Tsunade said smugly.

"That's incredible."

Orochimaru expressed genuine admiration. Uzumaki Mito was a living legend, someone he'd always longed to meet. Unfortunately, since the Senju clan stepped back from the political center in recent years, he hadn't gotten the chance to see her again.

Yet after a brief moment of envy, realization suddenly struck him like lightning, connecting all the dots in an instant.

"Could it be... our teacher came to the Land of Whirlpools just because of those few pages in Akaba's manga?"

"That's way too—"

What part of Akaba's drawings was worth such serious attention?

Orochimaru was confused, finding it utterly absurd deep down.

At nine years old, he didn't yet know what a jinchuriki was, and his understanding of the Nine-Tails Beast came only from legendary stories about the First Hokage.

"Orochimaru, why are you making such a shocked face? The teachers have already walked far away."

"Huh? Oh…"

After thinking for a while and still not making sense of it, Orochimaru immediately sprinted off when Jiraiya called him.

As he passed Akaba, he paused briefly, locking eyes for several intense seconds.

In that moment, even Orochimaru couldn't name his own feelings—he only knew that this person might one day become someone he'd follow relentlessly.

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