Regarding his captain’s wicked sense of humor, Tezuka sometimes felt utterly helpless.
He immediately spoke up to change the subject:
“Speaking of which…
The way you handled that sudden crisis this time, Captain, was clean and decisive.
In just a few words, you made the entire issue vanish into thin air.
Plus, with Shisui apprehending the thief and officially reporting it to the Police Force, that counts as a solid achievement.
Who knows, Captain, you might be getting promoted again.”
As soon as those words were spoken, the lazy, lackadaisical expression on Uchiha Shingen’s face largely vanished.
Promoted?
Are you kidding me?
Something like that absolutely cannot happen!
Shingen was highly satisfied with his current position.
A squad captain in the Police Force wasn’t exactly a high-ranking role, but it wasn’t a bottom-tier grunt either.
It was considered a management position, meaning he didn’t have to handle everything personally, and he had a few subordinates he could “squeeze” for labor.
His days were carefree and comfortable.
And because it wasn’t upper management, whenever a major incident occurred, he could just report it straight up the chain of command, and the Jonin of the Konoha Military Police Force would naturally step up to deal with it.
It was the absolute perfect position for slacking off, coasting through work, and peacefully waiting for retirement.
If possible, Shingen would rather stay in this squad captain seat for the rest of his life.
After a brief moment of thought, Shingen reached out and patted Shisui’s shoulder:
“The one who put in the most effort was this kid, and all of you as well.
Naturally, the credit for this achievement belongs to you guys.
On the bright side, your bonuses at the end of the month will be a bit heftier.”
“This…”
Shisui blanked, feeling an even deeper wave of shame.
He knew perfectly well in his heart that if he hadn’t acted so impulsively, yesterday’s crisis wouldn’t have even occurred.
Yet now, not only had Shingen brushed off the solitary confinement punishment with a single sentence, he was even willing to share all the credit with everyone…
Such spirit and willpower…
he had only ever seen it in members of the Senju clan.
This was the Will of Fire!
Wait…
is this what Make-Out Hell taught?!
Those scandalous illustrations actually hid such a profound manifestation of the Will of Fire?
Staring at the magazine in Shingen’s hands, a brilliant light flickered in Shisui’s eyes.
On the street, people came and went, and the sun hurried across the sky.
Soon enough, it was time to get off work.
Shingen clocked out exactly on time.
Shisui stood in place, hesitating for a moment before turning around and slipping straight into the bookstore Shingen frequently visited.
At a glance, he spotted Make-Out Hell displayed in the most prominent position on the shelf.
The cover illustration featured a seductively dressed woman leaning slightly forward, exposing astonishingly curvaceous proportions.
Shisui’s small face instantly flushed crimson.
Biting the bullet, he reached out, grabbed the book from the shelf, and tiptoed over to the counter, stammering shyly:
“Little boy, don’t try exploring taboos that don’t belong to your age group!”
The owner’s teasing words made Shisui blush so hard his ears turned red.
He wished the ground would swallow him whole, but his feet felt like they had taken root.
Summoning his courage, he spoke up:
“Captain Shingen said that the secret to becoming Hokage is hidden in this book, so I…”
“You actually believe that kind of nonsense?!
Look here, this book is strictly prohibited from being sold to minors!”
The bookstore owner pointed to the top left corner of the Make-Out Hell cover.
Following the owner’s finger, Shisui saw a remarkably conspicuous “18+” logo.
Prohibited to minors?
Then why could Captain Shingen buy it?
If I remember correctly, he’s only thirteen this year too…
The Transformation Jutsu?!
When Shisui figured this out, he immediately felt a wave of deep frustration.
If he had realized this earlier, why would he have had to suffer such embarrassment?!
As expected of Captain Shingen!
He’s even masterful at buying banned books!
Thinking of this, Shisui took a deep breath, placed Make-Out Hell on the counter, and prepared to leave the bookstore to switch into an adult’s appearance before re-entering.
But as soon as he turned around, he slammed right into a wall.
Feeling the texture of fabric, Shisui finally realized that what he had bumped into wasn’t a wall at all, but a tall, broad-shouldered, middle-aged man with messy, long white hair.
“Lord Jiraiya?!”
Recognizing the man’s identity, Shisui’s face instantly turned an even deeper shade of red.
Jiraiya’s name was naturally known to absolutely everyone in Konoha, but because he spent most of his time traveling all over the shinobi world, very few people had actually seen him in person.
He was one of the Third Hokage’s direct disciples.
During the Second Great Ninja War, alongside Orochimaru and Tsunade, he had joined forces to fight the leader of Amegakure—Hanzo, the man known as a demigod.
It was in that very battle that they earned the legendary title of the Sannin.
He was also universally recognized throughout Konoha as one of the powerhouse shinobi most likely to inherit the seat of Hokage after the Third stepped down.
Getting caught trying to buy a banned book by a big shot like him…
at this moment, Shisui truly wanted to just die and end it all.
“Yo!”
Jiraiya grinned broadly, adopting an incredibly familiar and outgoing demeanor.
He reached out, draped an arm over Shisui’s shoulder, and said with a hint of smug pride:
“Has my writing gotten so good that even young boys your age can’t resist the allure of Make-Out Hell?!
It seems my soaring popularity as a best-selling author can no longer be contained!”
“Hehe~”
Shisui laughed awkwardly.
“Captain Shingen said that the secret to becoming Hokage is hidden in this book.”
“Huh?”
Jiraiya’s face scrunched up into a giant question mark.
people are actually saying that?!
The inspiration for this volume of Make-Out Hell came straight from the landlady of a hot spring inn in the Land of Hot Water; it had absolutely nothing to do with the Will of Fire!
For a moment, his interest was thoroughly piqued:
“The book I wrote actually has that kind of function?!”
“Yeah.”
Shisui responded subconsciously.
He was just about to turn and leave when Jiraiya’s words fully registered.
His footsteps ground to a halt:
“This is your work?!”
“Of course!”
Jiraiya nodded, admitting it with profound pride.
“I am the hottest best-selling author in the entire shinobi world!
I travel year-round specifically to gather inspiration from all over.”
“Is that so…”
Shisui revealed a look of sudden realization.
No wonder!
No wonder Captain Shingen specifically reads this book!
If it was a piece of work written by Lord Jiraiya, then everything made perfect sense!
As one of the shinobi closest to the position of Hokage in Konoha, Lord Jiraiya naturally had the qualifications to weave his own profound comprehension of the Will of Fire right into the pages of his book.
After all, a book is fundamentally the manifestation of an author’s spiritual core!
“If it’s your masterpiece, then I completely understand why Big Brother Shingen was reading it with such intoxicating devotion.”
“Intoxicating devotion~”
Jiraiya keenly latched onto the key phrase, his mood brightening instantly.
He couldn’t help but feel a surge of interest toward this “Captain Shingen” Shisui mentioned.
As an author, now was the perfect time for zero-distance communication with a devoted fan!
“So, what exactly did this Captain Shingen of yours say about it?!”
Shisui lowered his head in deep thought, beginning to recall the exact words Uchiha Shingen had said to him.
After a long while, he managed to squeeze out one sentence:
“The illustrations are pretty good.”
“…”
“That’s it?”
Jiraiya waited for a few seconds.
Seeing that Shisui had no follow-up, he couldn’t help but press for more.
Shisui nodded honestly:
“That’s it…
Oh, wait, no, he also said something else.”
“The pacing is off, the emotional build-up is lacking, it just relies on cheap fan-service the whole time, a third-rate plot…”
The more he spoke…
The quieter Shisui’s voice became.
Even though his head was bowed at this moment, he could still vividly feel the expression on Jiraiya’s face gradually turning completely stiff.
“Evil Uchiha brat, what do you know about appreciating the masterpiece of this great Sage!”