“Hiss—”
The sharp intake of breath behind him made Riku’s entire body stiffen.
He instinctively threw both arms over the manuscript on his desk before slowly turning his head.
“B-Big Sis?
You’re back early.”
Uzumaki Kushina narrowed her eyes at him without saying a word.
“Don’t get the wrong idea.
This is perfectly normal manga production!” Riku hurriedly explained.
“Why don’t you go ask the Third Hokage what he thinks of it?” Kushina replied expressionlessly.
“What choice do I have?” Riku sighed, looking genuinely helpless.
“Who knew the manga industry in the shinobi world would be this competitive?
If you don’t have something outrageous enough to grab people’s attention, nobody buys your work.”
“That isn’t ‘outrageous.’ That’s a declaration of war!” Kushina snapped.
“What publisher in the shinobi world would even dare print something like this?”
“The Land of Rivers News Cooperative.”
“…?”
Kushina froze.
Then her eyes widened in disbelief.
“You’re willing to gamble everything you’ve built there just to spread this kind of nonsense?”
She called it everything he had built because, in practice, Riku was now the man who controlled the Land of Rivers.
Ten months earlier, he had marched into the capital over the mistreatment of several farming families.
By the time he was finished, more than half of the country’s aristocracy—including the daimyō himself—were hanging from lampposts.
Most of the surviving nobles had been sent to rehabilitation camps.
With the overwhelming support of the population, Riku had subsequently become the country’s new leader, earning the title of President.
He had not become intoxicated by power, nor had he followed the former daimyō’s example and bled the population dry with taxes and exploitation.
Instead, he poured his efforts into infrastructure, welcomed displaced clans and refugees, and aggressively reformed the country’s social conditions.
The once-poor and neglected Land of Rivers had begun flourishing at an astonishing pace.
Kushina had watched all of it happen, and she could not have been prouder.
The young man before her had accomplished something even Senju Hashirama had failed to achieve.
In only a matter of months, he had built a country that came remarkably close to his ideal of genuine equality.
And now he wanted to use that country to publish this depraved manga?!
If the truth ever got out, forget how the ruthless Shimura Danzō might react.
Even the normally more restrained Third Hokage would never tolerate the humiliation of having someone publicly smear this kind of garbage across his reputation.
What would happen if Konoha retaliated against the Land of Rivers?
“Relax, Big Sis.”
Riku stood and gently placed both hands on Kushina’s shoulders, speaking in a soothing voice.
“The part about the Land of Rivers News Cooperative printing it is something only you and I will know.”
“Hm?” Kushina blinked.
“What do you mean?”
“The manga will technically be printed in the Land of Rivers, sure.
But the distributor can be an official publisher from the Land of Earth, the Land of Water…
or even the Land of Fire.”
Kushina stared at him as realization dawned.
“You’re planning to frame someone else?”
“How can you call it framing?
It’s simply ordinary commercial cooperation.”
“You really are a terrible person.” Kushina sighed.
“How did Mikoto ever raise you into something like this?”
Riku thought about that.
“If memory serves, Mikoto wasn’t really the one responsible for teaching me most of this stuff.”
“Shut up!
Your big sister is virtuous, gentle, considerate, and absolutely adorable.
There is no possible way I could have raised a delinquent who lusts after other men’s wives.
This is obviously Mikoto’s fault!”
“I don’t lust after anyone’s wife,” Riku protested weakly.
“What did you say?”
Kushina grabbed him by the collar.
Behind her, her long red hair began writhing in the air like a nest of furious tentacles.
Riku surrendered immediately.
“I said I’ve always been captivated by Big Sis’s unparalleled beauty!”
“That’s more like it.”
A satisfied smile appeared on Kushina’s face.
She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss at the corner of his mouth.
“Since your big sister is in a good mood today, I’ll give you a little reward.
But next time you open your mouth, remember to consult your conscience first.
Otherwise…
I’ll make you eat this instead!”
As she spoke, Kushina lifted one bare, pale foot and deliberately brushed it against the leg of his pants.
Gulp.
Riku swallowed on instinct, and his hand immediately started reaching for it.
“Ha!
There it is.
The little pervert finally showed his true colors!”
As though she had expected exactly that reaction, Kushina slipped away before he could touch her.
Her body dissolved into crimson mist and flowed back into Riku.
“If you want another reward, you’d better behave yourself.”
The blood-red glow faded, leaving the study quiet once more.
‘Oh, so that’s how we’re playing this?
Tease me and run?’
Riku drew a deep breath and turned his attention back to the group chat.
[Doujin Artist]: So White was only just created?
[I’m Not a Hair-Gel Guy]: Yes.
That is correct.
[Doujin Artist]: What a shame!
If that idiot group owner had seen this, he’d probably be devastated.
[I’m Not a Hair-Gel Guy]: Oh?
[Doujin Artist]: You know he has a thing for older women, right?
But Kurosaki Masaki hasn’t even had children yet, so she doesn’t qualify for his target demographic.
Imagine how miserable he’d be if he found out!
[Riku-sama] [Group Owner]: The hell I would!
[Doujin Artist]: Huh?
You were here?!
[Riku-sama] [Group Owner]: I literally just logged in and immediately caught you talking shit about me behind my back.
What is wrong with you?
[Doujin Artist]: Behind your back?
Please.
I say all of this to your face too!
[Riku-sama] [Group Owner]: Blondie, you’re sounding like someone who wants the mute button.
[Doujin Artist]: Do it!
Mute me!
I dare you!
[I’m Not a Hair-Gel Guy]: You two seem very close.
[Deathwish Count]: Indeed.
[Riku-sama] [Group Owner]: ?
[Doujin Artist]: Who the hell is close to this married-woman-obsessed pervert?!
[Riku-sama] [Group Owner]: Slander.
Absolute slander!
People like you, who can tell lies with their eyes wide open, are exactly why trust between human beings is disappearing from society!
[Doujin Artist]: I’M the liar?!
[Riku-sama] [Group Owner]: Am I wrong?
I’ve already sworn an oath, yet you continue persecuting an innocent man.
Why must you be so cruel?
[Doujin Artist]: That garbage counted as an oath?!
You used your great-uncle as a human shield!
Uchiha Madara must have committed some horrific sins in a past life to end up with a descendant like you!
[Riku-sama] [Group Owner]: I refuse to accept that accusation!
Great-Uncle has always been my idol and the guiding light of my life!
[Doujin Artist]: A guiding light you use to make money, you mean?
Shall we discuss Heartbreaking Romance again?
[Riku-sama] [Group Owner]: Sigh.
Why must you look at everything through such vulgar eyes?
I write these stories to carry on Great-Uncle’s legacy so he can continue contributing to the shinobi world even after death!
Eriri sneered at the screen.
[Doujin Artist]: If you’re so dedicated to enriching the shinobi world, why don’t you publish the story between you and Uzumaki Kushina?
[Riku-sama] [Group Owner]: That might be somewhat inappropriate.
[Doujin Artist]: Oh?
Even YOU worry about your reputation?
[Riku-sama] [Group Owner]: No.
I’m worried all the married women in the shinobi world would be so moved by my devotion that they’d fall hopelessly in love with me.
You know me—I’m a champion of pure love.
I simply couldn’t accept all of them.
[Doujin Artist]: …
[Deathwish Count]: …
[I’m Not a Hair-Gel Guy]: …