I'm drawing manga in Naruto

"Ah, the teacher is still the same as before."

With a blade of grass dangling from his mouth and his legs crossed, Zi Xiao said, "I completed this mission exceptionally well; I can be promoted directly to Chunin."

"Oh, you might not know, but I'm a Special Jonin now."

Akabane said calmly.

"what?"

"By the way, Sakumo performed exceptionally well on the battlefield and may be promoted directly to Jonin."

"Nani!"

Zi Xiao was devastated.

He thought he had performed well enough to keep up with the two, but during his time lying in wait, his information had become severely outdated—

Both of his companions were already Jonin-level ninjas!

"Forget it, I probably can't catch up with either of you."

Zixiao, with a blade of grass in her mouth, told Chiyu about some of the things she had seen and heard during this time. Although it was a classified mission, she could still talk about some of the scenery she saw along the way.

He mentioned many countries.

From the Land of Earth, the Land of Birds, the Land of Wind, to the Land of Rivers—just hearing about these places, it's clear he's traveled almost the entire Land of Earth and the Land of Wind in this short period.

But at the end, he suddenly sat up and said, "By the way, why are your comics so expensive in the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind?"

"Expensive? How much?"

The Land of Lightning has caravans from the Land of Fire coming and going, so trade is handled by these caravans. The situation is different in the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind.

These two countries have no direct trade routes with the Land of Fire, and the Land of Wind has very strict control over its internal trade, so no merchants are willing to go to their country.

Simply put, both countries' comics are involved in smuggling and trafficking, so the high prices are within the normal range.

but……

“In the Land of Earth, one book costs ten thousand taels of silver. The Land of Wind is relatively poor, so they use gold for the transaction.”

what?

Akabane sat up instantly.

One side offers 10,000 taels, the other side offers direct gold transactions?

Kakuzu is really good at business.

"I heard that the comics that travel to these countries are controlled by a powerful ninja, so the prices are very high. The Land of Wind has internal supervision and control over the comics, so there are quite a lot of people buying them."

"What about the Land of Earth?"

Akabane was very curious.

"There are quite a lot. The people of the Land of Earth are richer than those of the Land of Wind. Many ninjas and wealthy people are willing to pay for them, so sales are quite good."

Zi Xiao said regretfully, reaching into her purse, "Someone as poor as me can only buy cheap goods when I go back to the village."

"Okay, for the sake of your stories, I'll treat you."

Akabane got up, patted his bottom, and led Zixiao back to the comic book shop.

Zi Xiao was enjoying his juice and reading comics in front of the door, sitting quite comfortably. While reading, he continued to talk about his experiences, and at this point, he had to mention the Land of Rivers. When he mentioned the Land of Rivers, he seemed quite surprised.

In the Land of Rivers, there is a river that flows into the sea, hence the name of the country. Originally, this country could have become quite wealthy thanks to the river, but long ago, powerful ninjas went to the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire, resulting in no ninja villages being established in the Land of Rivers.

Later, it became a buffer zone between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire, and could only become poorer and poorer.

However, the river has now been widened by wandering samurai and ninjas, becoming a wide river that allows two or three large ships to pass side by side, and the ships coming and going all fly pirate flags of various styles.

It practically became a pirate kingdom.

Kakuzu is really amazing. No wonder he was urged to update quickly. The fact that he could expand his territory to such a large extent is because those people who ran the ninja world pyramid scheme made a lot of money.

If an organization loses its source of continuous revenue, it will eventually collapse.

To prevent Kakuzu from coming to urge me to update, there will be more One Piece updates tomorrow.

Also.

With Zixiao back, the war in the Bird Kingdom must have ended.

Although these are all classified missions, one can guess what Zixiao's mission has been during this period. The only question is what the situation is like on the battlefield.

Zixiao lay on the chair, watching the Chunin Exams section...

"Hey, this girl who's just as clumsy as Naruto, could she be my daughter?"

Based on his understanding of Akabane, Kakashi is Sakumo's child, and Kurenai is Shinku's daughter, so this older sister-like woman named Mitarashi Anko is obviously the daughter in the original setting.

but.

Why is her personality so unreliable?

"Yes, you'll have to thank me if you have such a beautiful daughter in the future."

Akabane chuckled.

"No way! My child would never be like that. My child will definitely be a beautiful, gentle, and great ninja like Lady Mito."

Zi Xiao roared angrily.

pretty?

At its peak, it was about the same, but let's forget about the red bean dumplings that made me incredibly fat later on.

As for gentleness, is that word related to red beans?

Chapter 242 Scared by the Comic? [Bonus Chapter for Alliance Leader]

Zi Xiao resolutely refused to acknowledge that the female ninja playing with snakes in the comic was his daughter, because it was completely different from what he had imagined and shattered all his expectations for the future.

"Stay calm, the future may not be like in the comics."

Akabane offered some words of comfort.

Children are always cute and pretty when they are first born. Hongdou was very pretty and cute when she was little, but she may not be as cute as she grows up.

Besides, Mitarashi Sweet Potato hasn't even appeared yet, and you're already giving up, bro?

Looking down from above, Zi Xiao felt increasingly depressed.

This guy doesn't look like the daughter he envisioned at all, and besides, why did he die before he even appeared?

No prestige.

He read through the Chunin Exams in one go, and then paused for a long time after the Third Hokage died, repeatedly reading those pages before continuing.

The plot was captivating and occasionally moved him deeply, especially the part about the death of the third generation. He felt as if he were part of the story, observing and explaining from outside the barrier as one of the Dark Guards.

Zixiao couldn't help but think of the Jinchuriki of Sunagakure, those terrifying Jinchuriki weapons. Although they didn't directly kill the enemy, even a single intimidating blow was incredibly powerful.

That single blow turned a mountain into a sand dune.

That sense of powerlessness and despair was exactly the same as what he saw before him, including the feelings Sasuke had when facing the Jinchuriki earlier. He could feel the same way.

No matter how hard you try, you can't do anything to people with special powers unless you risk your life.

Zi Xiao felt a heavy weight in her heart.

Until Akabane appeared...

"You even killed yourself off in the drawing, you're really ruthless. But aren't you afraid Tsunade will come after you for this?"

"Zixiao, you're outdated. Akabane and Tsunade..."

In the shop, Anma Yunlang was making hand gestures, but he was so frightened that he quickly stopped halfway through and almost fell under the counter.

A group of people turned their heads.

Everyone had originally intended to joke around, but upon seeing the newcomer, they immediately fell silent.

"What's the deal?"

Tsunade slowly walked over to their table and sat down next to Akabane. "Yo, isn't this Zixiao? You look like you've gotten a lot stronger."

"That's right, I'll be promoted to Chunin soon."

Zi Xiao said proudly.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, then smiled gently and said, "Is that so? What a coincidence. I just came back from Sarutobi-sensei's place today. It seems I'm a Chunin starting today too."

"what?"

Zi Xiao opened her mouth wide, then wished she could slap herself a few times.

What are you showing off for!

How could someone who is a disciple of three generations be mediocre?

No, wait, there's also Jiraiya.

He pondered for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Jiraiya...?"

"How could that idiot possibly be promoted? He can just wait for the Chunin Exams."

Tsunade pouted.

There are several ways to advance to Chunin; she, Sakumo, and Shishou all advanced through battle merit.

Jiraiya had no military achievements, so he could only be promoted to Chunin level by gaining the recognition of the Konoha allied ninja villages through the Chunin Exams.

Zi Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, not everyone is a Chunin. If everyone were to become a Chunin while he was still showing off everywhere, he would really be showing off to himself.

Keep it low-key~ Keep it low-key~

His long period of hiding had caused him to suppress himself, which is why he was so different after returning to the village—in other words, he became arrogant.

He'll get used to it.

"I've been too busy, let's all get together tonight, it's on me!"

Tsunade received a large sum of money as payment for her hospital job, and she spent it quite lavishly.

Akabane did not object.

It's impossible for Tsunade to save money here; treating others to meals is better than spending it at the casino.

In the evening, everyone gathered together, a rare occurrence.

Although Jiraiya was training at Mount Myōboku, he still managed to get notifications through the toads stationed at the Konoha Mushi Restaurant.

When everyone heard that Zixiao had returned, they quickly gathered together.

Of course, some companions were not there, such as Shinnosuke and Yoru, who were on a secret mission and were not in the village.

The seven of them gathered together, which could be considered a small class reunion.

As for the food, it was naturally a hot pot dish prepared by Akabane himself. Halfway through, the Third Hokage and Danzo arrived, freeloading off the food.

Although Mito Uzumaki was not present, Danzo and the Third Hokage tacitly avoided discussing any official business. They simply ate and drank together. However, before leaving, Danzo asked Akabane to visit him the next day.

Since Orochimaru and Tsunade's laboratory was moved, he has rarely come here on his own initiative.

The Anbu remained unchanged, always building strange and gloomy places that Akabane found hard to like. However, judging from the scale, this place had been expanded, and there were more people wearing new masks.

I walked all the way to the office.

Akabane activated the mechanism by the door and opened it himself, entering Danzo's office.

Danzo was sitting there working.

His eyes are still blind, and there hasn't been much improvement, but he seems to be able to "see" things on the right side.

I don't know how they did it...

Akabane was very curious. He was certain that this was not a perception ability like Kagura's Mind's Eye, but another perception method with a relatively small range.

"sit."

Danzo took a sip of juice.

Akabane sat down, watching Danzo's every move.