Naruto: I Draw Power Into Reality

Tsunade pretended to casually flip through a book, though her full attention was on Jiraiya's face.

Big sis?

Heh, just wait—you won't be smiling for long!

"That cute-looking Haku dressed so nicely, and so gentle and kind—ahhh, I'm in love!"

Jiraiya completely got into character, fully immersed in his own fantasy, not minding the fierce woman beside him at all.

She'll definitely settle the score later.

Akaba glanced at Tsunade, silently feeling sorry for Jiraiya.

"Eh?!!!"

In just one second, Jiraiya's expression went through three stages:

Shock, disbelief, then an existential crisis.

His dream shattered.

At this moment, he shared the same spirit as The Third.

"Hahahaha!"

Tsunade burst into laughter, almost crying with it.

After a while, Jiraiya laughed and cried at the same time, looking completely devastated: "This is clearly a female character!"

"There's something called ambiguous gender—Haku, for instance."

Sighed Akaba.

Back when he read the manga and watched the anime, he had felt the same way. Exactly because of that, he chose to draw him exactly like this.

"No, no! This isn't really my work—it can't be! My works!"

Jiraiya was practically on the verge of tears.

"Your work?"

Sakuma Yunlang was somewhat curious, and even more puzzled—why did Haku being male have anything to do with Jiraiya's artwork?

"You wouldn't understand."

Jiraiya kept his head low, completely deflated, muttering miserably to himself, "I endured so many days on Mount Myoboku thanks to White Big Sister... but now... now... waaah!"

He actually started crying.

Akaba looked surprised. What exactly had this guy been fantasizing about back on Mount Myoboku?!

"Jiraiya, what exactly is your 'work' anyway?"

Tsunade carefully asked.

Since getting to know Jiraiya, this was the first time she'd seen him so heartbroken, weeping so bitterly.

"It doesn't matter anymore."

Jiraiya pulled a drawing from his robe, spread it open moodily.

Is this some kind of… questionable image?

Akaba wore an indifferent look, yet stole a glance with his eyes.

Oh well, it was just Haku in a yukata, looking all flustered and cute.

"Tsk, didn't expect this—Jiraiya, you thick-browed guy, you're into men now too?"

Tsunade mocked mercilessly.

"Lies! She's a girl, a girl!"

Jiraiya shouted several times, then gloomily stood up, holding his manga and preparing to leave without bothering to pick up the scattered posters on the floor.

Seeing that, Tsunade secretly felt delighted.

Once he left, she could go collect them herself—

After taking about a dozen steps away, just as Tsunade stepped forward, she saw Jiraiya suddenly wake up and turn around.

"My posters! Dammit you flat-chested witch—you're not stealing them!"

Angry, he rushed back, grabbed the posters on the ground before anyone else could, then dejectedly turned again to leave.

Tsunade froze, momentarily stunned into stillness.

Only once Jiraiya was gone did she finally snap back—furious but utterly helpless.

Then Tsunade sat down, suspiciously muttering, "Why'd he suddenly remember now?"

"He didn't remember—it just reacted to your movement."

"He was too slow—I couldn't wait anymore."

Tsunade let out a frustrated sigh. Who would have thought that guy would be so slow, barely managing to walk a dozen steps away.

With a heavy heart, she picked up a new comic book.

There were already several kids living with the Senju; might as well buy a few more and test her luck.

"Nope."

"Nope."

"Still nothing!"

After a series of painful cries, she slumped onto the chair, just like Jiraiya, questioning her life choices.

Same purchase method—why was Jiraiya so lucky?

"No, I don't believe in fate!"

Gritting her teeth, Tsunade took out her last bit of savings—but then—

"The final chapter of Wave Country is coming out in a few days. Don't you want to save some money?" Akaba said calmly.

Tsunade hadn't taken any missions recently, and most of her previous earnings had already been gambled away on just two or three comic books. She was probably nearly broke.

Tsunade quickly checked her wallet and immediately fell into hesitation.

The money was indeed running low.

"Princess Tsunade, maybe you should stop buying comics," Sakuma Yunlang suggested softly, somewhat sympathetically.

Being the "Tsunade-hime," having to scrape together money just for posters like this—her luck really was terrible.

"No way. If it comes down to it, I can always catch cats or carry water again."

Tsunade paced back and forth inside the manga shop.

Akaba shook his head. That woman was clearly obsessed now. But seriously, how unlucky could she get? Jiraiya randomly grabbed one comic and scored a hit. She bought ten, and got absolutely nothing.

Ten or so seconds later, she solemnly pulled a book from the very top shelf.

Page after page…

"It's useless."

Nothing significant had happened lately. For Tsunade to get lucky, something must have drastically changed—like if Akaba's influence had become so great that even the Third or Mito died early in the story.

As expected.

Tsunade buried her face on the chair, close to tears.

"Master, shall we give up and go back to basics?" Sakuma Yunlang couldn't help but feel pity. This was still the princess of the Senju clan, after all—how pitiful was this?

"No. Only this way will she learn her lesson," Akaba said coldly. "Next, you'll be chasing dogs, or carrying water, or helping with farming."

"Not catching dogs! Absolutely not!" Tsunade immediately flared up at the mention of dogs.

That wasn't an ordinary dog—it was a Ninja Hound Ninken purchased at great cost and favor from the Inuzuka clan by a wealthy merchant. But judging by how often it kept running off, it seemed the merchant clearly lacked the skill to take care of it.

If one wanted to be cynical, maybe Konoha had planned it that way from the beginning.

"Oh right, how are those kids living with your Senju clan doing?"

"They're fine. Grandma gathers them together every once in a while to read comics and discuss the plots."

Tsunade's tone darkened slightly as she spoke.

Although they lived with the Senju clan, every child from the Uzumaki clan longed for home.

What if, one day, the truth about Uzumaki Village actually surfaced—

She couldn't bear to imagine how the children would react to such devastating news.

"I see. Then I might know another way you can make some cash." 

A faint glimmer of excitement flickered in Akaba's eyes before he returned to his usual calm expression. "Have you heard of a Manga Con?"

"A what?"

Tsunade paused, puzzled by the term.

"Master, what exactly is a Manga Con?" Sakuma Yunlang also looked confused.

"To put it simply, it's people cosplaying manga characters and even acting out full storylines."

"Cosplaying?" Tsunade asked, starting to get it but still a little confused. "Is everyone at the Manga Con supposed to do that?"

"No," Akaba patiently explained. "Only some of them need to imitate and perform. The rest who just want to come in and watch have to pay for admission. Moreover, everyone can prepare some custom merchandise, like fan art or character figurines, which can also be sold for profit."

"I see," Tsunade said, her eyes lighting up.

"So, what do you think? Are you guys going to do it?"

"Of course! Such a fun idea sounds too good not to happen. And since your last volume only covered part of the story, I can start preparing for the Manga Con ahead of time."

Tsunade caught on fast. As soon as she got the idea behind a Manga Con, she already knew how to run one.

Once the Manga Con got started, money wouldn't be a problem!

Unable to contain her laughter, she slapped Akaba hard on the shoulder. "Thank you so much, Akaba! You're truly the best to me! I'll go prepare right away!"

"Hmm."

Akaba raised his eyebrow slightly and nodded indifferently.

Still excited, Tsunade hugged the manga and left. As soon as she disappeared from sight, Akaba's face immediately twisted in pain. He clutched his arm and hissed through his teeth.

That woman had zero control when she got excited. So damn annoying!

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