"Hehehe, how come I never thought of this kind of outfit before?"
"So cute!"
Jiraiya sat down, took out his sketchpad and brush, and began drawing with a lecherous grin.
His artistic style was peculiar—male characters looked rough and careless, while female figures were rendered delicately and in great detail, like contrasting protagonists from an art film.
"What exactly is he drawing?!"
Sakuma Yunlang gritted his teeth, trying hard to suppress his curiosity.
Last time Yunlang lost, last time Yunlang—
"So cute! Man, I'm just amazing!"
Inspired and focused, Jiraiya finished the initial draft in no time, leaving only the details left to complete.
As Sakuma Yunlang noticed him glancing at a poster for reference, a suspicious thought suddenly struck him—could it be that he's copying Akaba's artwork?!
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. Ignoring everything else, he hurried closer.
"Hey! Don't ruin it—waah!"
After taking just a few steps forward, Yunlang caught sight of the drawing and immediately turned bright red, quickly retreating in embarrassment, pointing a trembling finger at Jiraiya.
The character in the picture wasn't Temari—it was a female figure entirely imagined by Jiraiya himself.
Beside the kunoichi was also a strange puppet, both figures entangled together in a highly suggestive scene.
And if even Yunlang had a reaction, then just imagine how anyone else would feel!
The moment on the page, paired with imagination, was enough to make one's heart race.
Jiraiya proudly proclaimed with a triumphant grin, "Hmph! Hmph! Hmph! Admit it—you're stunned by my amazing artistic creation!"
This piece was born from sudden inspiration, and as soon as he'd drawn the characters, an entire storyline had instantly formed in his mind.
Truly, this guy was a genius.
"N-no way!"
Sakuma Yunlang stammered, clearly embarrassed.
How could he actually get turned on by something like that? Unforgivable!
"Big Brother Yunlang, lying isn't good. You must always be honest, you know?"
Jiraiya sneered mockingly.
He clearly enjoyed it and reacted physically, yet still pretended to hate it—it was such a shameful act.
"Shut up!"
Sakuma Yunlang blushed furiously.
"Tch!"
Jiraiya scoffed, confirming his suspicions.
An artwork capable of instantly captivating others held absolutely zero appeal for Teacher.
So the issue wasn't with the drawing itself, but rather due to Teacher's higher level of cultivation.
Now *that* was truly admirable!
He couldn't stop himself from admiring Teacher deep down.
"Hey, what are you doing? Stop drawing here!"
Ashamed and furious, Sakuma Yunlang tried desperately to stop Jiraiya from continuing his work.
Because just thinking about that image again…
In his mind, endless demons began to stir.
"Fine, I've already figured out the problem anyway."
Unfazed, Jiraiya happily whistled as he carefully packed away his tools and stored the sketchpaper, now pondering new questions.
How can I earn Teacher's approval?
Akaba sure gave me a tough challenge!
He sighed deeply, reflecting within himself.
To gain his teacher's recognition, there was no doubt that both the plot and drawing techniques needed to reach a higher level.
"Believe in yourself—you're invincible, the Legendary Jiraiya!"
He clenched his fist, cheering himself on, then happily ran out to find a place to quietly work on the storyline.
In the Hokage Office,
The Third sat down, letting out an involuntary sigh of relief.
Luckily he had been clever; otherwise, if Koharu Utatane had seen it, he wouldn't be able to explain himself at all.
Yet as he relaxed, a restless itch rose in his heart.
Although he had only glimpsed the cover earlier, he could roughly guess what the story inside might be like.
"To see or not to see?"
After hesitating briefly, The Third carefully considered for a moment before pulling out his crystal ball.
[Telescope Technique]!
Soon enough, images began appearing on its surface.
The scenes displayed by the crystal ball started from the Hokage Office and slowly moved outward.
Within moments, he had surveyed the surrounding area.
No one around for now.
The Third lit a cigarette calmly, trying to soothe his excitement, then fixed the Telescopic Technique on the hallway outside the Hokage Office.
"Hmph, drawing manga isn't easy for Jiraiya. Since he wants me to check it, I might as well help take a look and point out any strengths or weaknesses."
He silently reasoned with himself, quickly retrieving a sketchbook and placing it on the table.
The cover featured a kunoichi, bearing a noticeable resemblance to the heroine drawn by Akaba.
Clearly, this was an imitation work by Jiraiya.
As The Third flipped open the first page, he nodded approvingly—it had an independent storyline right from the beginning, which wasn't bad at all.
"The female lead is beautifully drawn—great job!"
Before long, he was completely absorbed.
At first glance, Jiraiya's drawings weren't very refined, and the character details paled in comparison to Kagami's.
Yet as the pages turned, the thrilling, captivating storyline got him increasingly excited, his heartbeat quickening.
Initially, he only gave it a "not bad" rating—but later on, those amazing chapters clearly made it a masterpiece worthy of full marks!
His eyes gleamed with excitement—he was ready to keep reading—
However…
"Hmph!"
A coughing sound interrupted the moment.
The Third stiffened, immediately sensing trouble.
Still, he was a true prodigy. Even with someone present, he slowly closed the manga without hurry, remaining seemingly calm, took another puff of his cigarette, and said, "Danzo, do you need something?"
"Hiruzen, you're still so disgraceful."
Danzo coldly mocked, then sat down quite impolitely.
They were enemies—but also comrades.
He cleared his throat. "Anything urgent?"
The Third asked again.
"You've always been like this—using your despicable jutsu to do ridiculous things," Danzo continued grumbling.
The Third clenched his fist, muscles along his cheek twitching slightly.
This guy must've planned this on purpose!
He inhaled deeply, then regained composure, allowing Danzo to keep talking without reaction.
Seeing no response from him, Danzo glanced up, stopped teasing further, and changed the topic as though nothing had happened. "I just heard about Magnet Release."
"Oh?"
The Third took a puff of smoke to steady himself before signaling him to go on.
"I believe we should investigate Sunagakure and determine exactly how advanced their Magnet Release abilities have become."
Danzo said solemnly.
As a new type of power, the extent of its threat to Konoha remained uncertain.
So far, only Sankai had demonstrated this ability within Sunagakure, but would there be a second? Or even a third?
If such numbers grew while Konoha remained ignorant, they would face serious disadvantages in future wars.
"I understand your concern, but how do you suggest we proceed?"
"Through Anbu infiltration. Slow intelligence gathering."
Danzo answered.
"The development of Magnet Release jutsu originated with the Second Kazekage. To obtain valuable information, we must approach Shamon directly or target that child. But given the child's likely status as the next Kazekage candidate, what approach would you take that won't provoke a new war?"
The Third sighed.
He also wanted to know the truth, but clearly, this wasn't the right time.
Danzo understood this perfectly, which is why he emphasized "infiltration." However, such infiltration missions were extremely difficult and carried a high failure rate.
Infiltrating an enemy nation left little room for error—one misstep could mean death. At present, the Third couldn't accept such losses.
"War isn't something to fear. The Land of Wind faces greater difficulties than us. They'll back down first."
Danzo replied dryly.
"And then what?"
The Third placed the album beneath his desk, still disagreeing with Danzo's view.
At this moment, their dispute stemmed mostly from differing political opinions rather than anything else. After failing to reach consensus, both fell silent.
"Fine. If that's what you insist, I'll handle it myself."
After saying this, Danzo slowly walked away.
He remained unconvinced.
Feeling annoyed deep inside, the Third pulled the album out from under his desk and placed it back on the table.
Not only did their argument end in stalemate, but his reading was also cut short halfway through. He was about to pick up where he left off when he suddenly stood up, deciding to close the door first so no one would interrupt him again.
Only after completing these tasks did he return to his seat and continue reading.
"Jiraiya's manga is actually quite good, though I think I'll let him handle the publishing on his own this time."
After reading further, the Third carefully reconsidered before rejecting that idea.
"At Jiraiya's age, who'd take him seriously if he didn't lend a hand at all?"
Not everyone possessed Akaba's talent, he mused briefly before devising a plan for handling this matter.
What the Third didn't know was that Jiraiya had already started drawing his new manga series just beyond the Forest of Death.
[Kunoichi Chronicles: Desert Bloom]
"Teacher, just watch. I'll definitely create a work that will earn your recognition!"
Beside him lay several completed pages of the manga.
Full of energy!
If Akaba had even half this kind of enthusiasm, he could finish the manga chapters much faster.
After drawing several pages, Jiraiya felt somewhat tired and packed up to head home.
It was already afternoon, and apparently he hadn't eaten anything since morning.
He put his hand over his stomach. During the rush of inspiration, he hadn't felt hungry, but as soon as the excitement wore off, waves of hunger hit him hard.
"No good, I need to hurry up a bit more."
Jiraiya quickened his pace. As he passed by a manga shop, he noticed the delivery caravan had just arrived.
A group of workers were unloading fresh copies of newly printed manga.
Spotting the leading figure Izumi Yamano, he immediately brightened.
Akaba must have been looking to partner with him.
Jiraiya was about to approach when a hand clapped down on his shoulder.
"Jiraiya, what are you doing here?"
Akaba glanced toward Izumi Yamano in the distance and asked with a smile, "Don't tell me The Third allowed you to publish your book already?"
"No, not yet. I was just looking around."
Jiraiya lowered his head, clearly embarrassed.
After all, Akaba had personally taught him painting, yet he couldn't even impress Teacher—that was downright shameful.
"You need to work harder. If even The Third wasn't impressed, then it's obviously not good enough."
Akaba shrugged, feigning deep regret.
If someone at The Third's level couldn't be convinced, how could he hope to convince others?
"As for trash like Yunlang, I can win him over with just one painting. Probably Teacher is just on a completely different level."
Jiraiya said.
"Yunlang?"
Akaba looked surprised, turning his gaze toward the shop interior. Unexpectedly, Sakuma Yunlang—who looked so bold and rugged—had actually taken an interest in this sort of thing too.
Looks can be deceiving.
On second thought, maybe The Third had mastered his emotions completely, hiding every reaction from Jiraiya.
If that were the case, then Jiraiya's paintings probably hadn't been confiscated either.
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