Naruto: I Draw Power Into Reality

"What? Jiraiya climbed up the Hokage Rock?"

Akaba was stunned by the news.

Didn't that kid get badly beaten up earlier? How can he be leaping around like a spring chicken and scaling the Hokage Rock already?

"Yes, Master."

Sakuma Yunlang was still catching his breath. He heard it from a guy who was buying manga and came running right away.

"I'll go check it out. You keep running the shop."

By the time Akaba left the Nara compound and reached the street, nearly everyone seemed to know about Jiraiya.

A whole crowd was rushing toward Hokage Rock!

"What kind of trouble has that idiot gotten into now!"

Akaba muttered in shock.

It must've stirred up the whole village by now!

After passing through several streets, he looked toward the distant cliffside.

There was a tiny figure drawing on the wall next to the Hokage Rock. From the traces visible, it appeared to be a portrait head.

"This guy is actually doing street graffiti on the Hokage Rock! Now that's guts!"

Akaba murmured to himself.

No one had ever dared to draw on the Hokage Rock before—and probably only the future Hokage would dare do such a thing.

In front of the Hokage Rock.

"Jiraiya, what are you doing? Get down right now!"

The Third roared in anger.

"Teacher, I want you to see it!"

Jiraiya shouted from above. "My art! My progress! And me!"

"Jiraiya, you..."

The Third was originally furious, but after hearing these words, his expression suddenly froze.

At this point, Akaba had already arrived below the Hokage Rock.

With his acute hearing, he could catch Jiraiya's voice—even though it was faint, it was clear enough to understand.

"Huff... huff..."

Akaba turned his head at the sound of heavy breathing and saw Haku standing beside him, doubled over and gasping for air.

"What got into Jiraiya this time?"

"Who knows? Maybe someone touched upon a certain weakness deep in his heart."

Actually, Akaba didn't know either.

Something definitely happened this afternoon that prompted Jiraiya to climb the Hokage Rock all of a sudden.

"Someone touched his heart?"

Tsunade was stunned.

A hidden weakness?

All along, Jiraiya had been so carefree. Except for that time when Akaba said Haku was male, there hadn't been anything else that truly shattered his mindset.

So even such an open-hearted person had inner vulnerabilities?

"The Third hasn't paid Jiraiya enough attention. His focus..."

Thinking about Orochimaru's intelligence report, Akaba swallowed the second half of his sentence.

Tsunade froze in place for a few seconds before glancing up at the cliff.

"That's true."

She suddenly understood.

Because everything Jiraiya did—training, improving, even taking on Orochimaru—was just to prove a point to the Third.

"What a fool."

Tsunade spoke sharply without letting up, yet her expression softened.

"But if this continues, things will become problematic."

Akaba sighed.

Right now on the cliff face, Jiraiya's drawing was beginning to take shape—it was a self-portrait.

From a purely artistic perspective, Jiraiya's work wasn't exceptional, but compared to Naruto's level of graffiti, it was much better.

At least anyone with half an eye could tell it was a self-portrait.

"Jiraiya, come down first. Although you haven't graffitied directly onto the Hokage Rock itself, drawing on this adjacent cliff wall is also not allowed."

The Third was smoking. He already understood the crux of the issue, but his immediate priority was convincing this troublesome kid to come down first.

"Teacher, look at my painting skills!"

Jiraiya felt quite pleased. For the first time, he felt like his teacher was paying attention to him, not just focusing on Orochi.

"I understand your painting skills quite well. Come down now."

The Third let out a sigh.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Tsunade blinked slightly. Did their teacher really know much about his painting skills?

Akaba didn't answer, though his expression appeared somewhat strange.

In a sense, the Third wasn't lying exactly—just that the truth was a bit odd and not suitable for direct explanation.

At the same time, though, he noticed a shadow stretching downward from atop the Hokage Rock.

[Shadow Imitation Technique]!

"Jiraiya's painting probably won't be completed."

Akaba smiled. With that single-track mind of his right now, it'd be a miracle if he noticed the shadow above.

"The Nara clan has acted. The Yamanaka clan is likely involved too."

Tsunade relaxed with relief. With both clans working together, Jiraiya would definitely come down safely.

But now another matter needed consideration.

"I hope Teacher will spare him afterward."

Tsunade sighed.

"The Third Lord is feeling guilty right now. He'll be fine."

Akaba turned and left.

Putting all these pieces together, he had already guessed part of what happened.

Thinking it through, the only person who could've possibly provoked Jiraiya like that was probably Orochimaru.

"You seem to have figured it out. Tell me what's really going on."

Tsunade gave a sideways glance and immediately followed close behind.

"I'm not entirely sure either. Just a guess."

As Akaba spoke, he glanced back toward the cliff wall behind them. Jiraiya's painting skills were indeed progressing quickly.

"Tell me even if it's just a guess. I'm dying to know!"

Tsunade jumped in front of him.

"I suspect maybe Jiraiya went looking for Orochi for a duel, and Orochi unintentionally provoked him."

Akaba shrugged.

"That might actually be true."

After hearing his explanation, Tsunade found herself quite convinced.

"Orochi might have wanted to help Jiraiya, although you should know better than me how he is."

Akaba smiled without elaborating further.

"He does appear quite cold and ruthless, and probably isn't good at comforting or helping others."

Tsunade sighed. Though it was just speculation, she felt this possibility was very high.

Meanwhile, Orochi probably hadn't anticipated that Jiraiya would do something so extreme to prove himself.

"Aaaaaaah! How did I end up down here already?"

From not far away, Jiraiya's surprised shout could be heard.

"You idiot! There should be limits to your nonsense! If you pull another stunt like this again, just wait until I deal with you!"

The Third raged. "Now go clean up your painting!"

"Alright, I got it."

Jiraiya scratched the back of his head with a soft sigh.

"Move along, nothing more to see here!"

The ninja began clearing the crowd.

When Jiraiya tried to fetch water, he struggled with just one usable hand.

"Let's go help him."

Tsunade rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward, but Akaba stopped her.

"Let's go. Let the Third have some time alone with him."

"Eh, I guess you're right."

Tsunade realized, turning her head to see the Third standing beneath the Hokage Rock, looking up at Jiraiya wiping away the ink from his drawing.

Akaba started to walk away, letting out a quiet sigh in his heart.

Something one person painstakingly tried to escape was precisely what another person desperately wanted.

No matter how he looked at it, it felt somehow ironic.

Fortunately for Jiraiya, he had already gotten what he wanted.

"Oh right, Akaba, when exactly is the Manga Con going to happen?"

Tsunade caught up and asked.

"That's no longer in our hands. It depends on what our teacher and the Third decide."

Akaba shook his head.

Tsunade's question jogged his memory — he had something he needed to tell her.

After a moment of thinking, an idea popped into his head.

"Oh right! Do you have anyone in mind for the Uchiha Sasuke role?"

"I've decided on Orochimaru, and he agreed."

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