~ “One Piece: East Blue Arc—this one will work.” “Velvet Kiss… I can recommend this one to Ebisu next time he comes by.” Shendai felt the two draws were decent enough.
One Piece and Naruto were both manga that had taken the world by storm in his previous life.
Along with Bleach, they were known as the “Big Three” long-running shonen series.
With Bleach and Naruto having ended one after another, only One Piece remained.
Although this was merely the East Blue arc of One Piece, plenty of incredible Devil Fruits and top-tier powerhouses—like Garp, Hawkeye Mihawk, and Red-Haired Shanks—still made appearances.
He wondered who might pull something good from it.
As for Velvet Kiss, it was a manga decidedly not for children.
Read in the dead of night, it could certainly… cultivate one’s sensibilities.
Shendai placed the two new manga onto the shelf.
The manga shop now had six titles available.
Akame ga Kill!, Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon—Part 1, Digimon—Part 1, One Piece: East Blue Arc, and Velvet Kiss.
Shendai had just settled back into his seat, When Hyuga Hiashi, Hinata, and Hanabi—father and daughters—walked into the manga shop.
“Shendai-kun!” Seeing Shendai, Hinata blushed softly.
Hanabi mimicked her sister’s voice and teased, “Shendai-kuuun~” She had long known that Hinata liked Shendai, and she often poked fun at her sister about it.
Hearing Hanabi’s words, Hinata’s face grew even redder.
“Ahem!” Hyuga Hiashi couldn’t help but cough.
You two are princesses of the Hyuga clan.
Could you show a little more restraint?
Your father is standing right here!
Shendai smiled and said, “Would you like to read some manga?” Hinata blushed and said to Shendai, “Father and Hanabi heard about your manga, and they both wanted to come see.” Bringing my father to meet Shendai-kun… does this count as meeting the parents?
I’m so nervous, so nervous… “Sure.” Shendai pointed to the bookshelf and said, “The manga are all on that shelf over there.
Feel free to choose whatever you like.” “Here is the money.” After paying ten thousand ryo for the two of them, Hyuga Hiashi couldn’t wait to walk over to the shelf.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he picked up Dragon Ball.
He had come here specifically for the martial arts.
Hanabi hesitated.
She really wanted to see Sailor Moon—Part 1.
But she was also intrigued by the premise of One Piece: East Blue Arc, about setting sail as a pirate.
After deliberating for a long while, she finally decided to read One Piece.
She had never seen the ocean before and wanted to find out what interesting stories awaited there.
“Circulate inner strength through movement.
Traverse the sixty-four hexagrams as a microcosmic orbit, and the inner breath will naturally complete a full circuit?
Each completed cycle improves one’s inner strength by a degree?
This ‘Lightfoot Steps on the Waves’ is simply too exquisite!
The ‘Divine Art of the Northern Dark’ cultivated to its peak… Every acupoint in the body can absorb internal energy, converting it into Northern Dark true qi.
This true qi embodies both yin and yang… Isn’t the Carefree Sect way too overpowered?!
Why are all their martial arts this terrifying?!
And this Duan Zhengchun… Just how many lovers does he have?!
Why does a new one keep popping up?!” Hyuga Hiashi was like a martial arts fanatic.
As he read Dragon Ball, he was utterly engrossed, muttering to himself incessantly.
Whenever the plot reached a high point, he couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
Compared to Hyuga Hiashi, Hanabi was much quieter.
Still, she occasionally giggled or let out a gasp of surprise.
“Luffy’s so cute.” “This Buggy guy is really funny, too.” “Whoa!
That Hawkeye guy is so strong!
He cut a huge ship in half with one swing!” “The villagers all came out to help Nami… this part is really touching.” … Although the plot of One Piece revolved around Luffy’s quest to find the legendary treasure, the One Piece, the art style and storyline were both lighthearted and humorous.
The various bizarre and imaginative Devil Fruit concepts also fully showcased the author’s boundless creativity.
But the true reason this manga could capture readers’ hearts so firmly was the genuine emotion woven throughout the story.
For the sake of dreams, for the sake of friends, pressing forward bravely at any cost.
No matter the hardship, no matter the despair, there were always those willing to stand up and fight.
Several times, Hanabi found her eyes growing misty.
She even felt a sudden urge to become a companion to Luffy and Zoro and set sail with them on a grand adventure at sea.
Meanwhile, Hinata, who wasn’t reading a manga, sat off to the side.
Her gaze drifted toward Shendai from time to time, looking a bit restless and shy.
“Have some black tea.” Shendai offered to Hinata.
“Huh?” Startled, Hinata blushed, but she sweetly moved to sit down.
Picking up the teacup, Hinata said, “Shendai-kun… you seem to really like drinking black tea.” “Mm.” Shendai chuckled.
“I’m quite fond of the taste of black tea.” “Oh.” Two rosy clouds appeared on Hinata’s cheeks.
Holding the cup in both hands, she secretly filed that piece of information away in her heart.
… Elsewhere, After parting ways with Ebisu, Konohamaru was walking home, hugging Pochi.
He happened to run into Inuzuka Kiba coming from the opposite direction.
Inuzuka Kiba had Akamaru perched on his head, hands tucked in his pockets as he walked.
When Akamaru spotted Pochi, he sensed a dangerous aura emanating from the small dog and let out a fearful yelp.
“Woof!
Woof!” Akamaru cried out.
Pochi, however, merely glanced at Akamaru with an air of disdain.
He then closed his eyes again, utterly indifferent.
Seeing that the other dog didn’t “dare” to bark back, Akamaru’s fear vanished in an instant.
He leaped straight off Inuzuka Kiba’s head and planted himself in Konohamaru’s path, barking furiously.
“Hey.” Seeing that the dog in Konohamaru’s arms wouldn’t even bark back, Inuzuka Kiba raised his chin and said smugly, “Hey, Konohamaru, isn’t your dog a little too gutless?
Won’t even bark back?” The Inuzuka clan was a family in Konoha Village that specialized in raising ninja dogs.
Even their fighting style was modeled after their canine partners.
Every shinobi of the Inuzuka clan, upon reaching a certain age, would receive a ninja dog of excellent pedigree.
From that point on, they would live inseparably with their ninja dog, nurturing a bond of friendship and understanding akin to brothers, becoming partners who would entrust their lives to one another on the battlefield.
Thus, the pride of the Inuzuka clan lay in their ninja dogs.
Seeing that Konohamaru’s dog was completely outclassed by his own Akamaru, Inuzuka Kiba was naturally quite pleased.
Hearing this, Konohamaru let out a light snort.
“Pochi just doesn’t care to acknowledge Akamaru.
He’s got zero interest in a weak little puppy like yours.” He knew very well how strong Pochi was.
If Pochi truly unleashed its power, even an average jonin would be no match.
Naturally, it would have no interest in a newborn pup like Akamaru.
“What did you say?!” Inuzuka Kiba flared up, ready to teach Konohamaru a lesson.
The people of the Inuzuka clan were all hot-blooded by nature.
He didn’t care if Konohamaru was the Hokage’s grandson or not.
“Woof!
Woof!” Akamaru’s barking grew even more ferocious.
Konohamaru huffed.
“Pochi, show them what you’ve got.” Pochi, who had long been itching to act, leaped from Konohamaru’s arms.
Its size suddenly swelled, transforming into a monstrous, dog-like creature standing four to five meters tall.
The dog-shaped beast rose up, baring its fangs.
Its fur stood on end, and its scarlet pupils glared down at Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru, radiating a terrifying, bloodthirsty aura.
“GROWL!” The beast opened its jaws and let out a thunderous roar.
Akamaru, who had been barking merrily moments before, instantly fell silent.
With an innocent, terrified expression, he crouched down on the ground and began wagging his tail placatingly.
“Wh-What is this?!” Inuzuka Kiba was equally stunned by Pochi’s sudden transformation.
An undisguised look of fear spread across his face.
Although the Inuzuka clan specialized in breeding ninja dogs, they had never seen a dog that could suddenly morph into a monster like this.
Konohamaru folded his arms and grinned smugly.
“Well?
Still think Pochi’s a coward?” “Hmph!” Inuzuka Kiba quickly wiped the fear from his expression.
Feigning calm, he snorted, “Where’d you get a ninja dog like that?” Konohamaru said, clearly annoyed, “Pochi’s not a ninja dog!
He’s a biological Imperial Arm!
Beast Transformation: Hundred-Armed Giant!”