The following morning, the bell above the door of Golden Quill Publishing chimed as Kenji entered the office. He carried a thick manuscript under one arm and placed it on Akane's desk.
Akane looked up from her ledger and pulled the manuscript toward herself without asking whether it was worth her time.
"Another novel already?"
"Something faster," Kenji said.
Akane opened the manuscript expecting pages of prose. Instead, she found rows of illustrated panels, speech bubbles, and carefully placed narration.
She turned one page, then another. Her reading speed increased as she understood how the panels guided her eyes.
"This is different," she murmured.
Kenji leaned against the edge of the desk. "Pictures, speech bubbles, cliffhangers, and shameless covers."
Akane reached the end of the first scene far sooner than she expected. She flipped back several pages and studied how the action had been divided.
"A reader could finish an entire volume in one evening."
"Exactly."
"And then immediately demand the next one."
Kenji smiled. "Now you understand."
Akane pulled a fresh sheet of paper from her drawer. "This first volume is ready to print," Akane said. "But if it sells, readers will demand the next one immediately. We need an illustrator who can match this style before that happens."
She began writing names before Kenji had finished nodding. "We start with Konoha and the Fire Capital. If those copies disappear quickly, the second run doubles."
Voices rose from the front room. Kakashi had apparently stopped by to replace his battered copy of Kunoichi's Forbidden Heat, and Jiraiya had followed him inside after hearing Kakashi suggest that the novel would work better with illustrations.
The office door opened. Kakashi entered first with the damaged book beneath one arm. Jiraiya followed directly behind him, looking personally insulted.
"I only said the novel would work well in this format," Kakashi said.
"And I am telling you that illustrated smut will destroy literary standards!" Jiraiya declared.
He leaned across Akane's desk while speaking, trying to see the open manuscript. Kakashi shifted his shoulder and blocked his view.
"A proper novel leaves room for imagination," Jiraiya argued.
Kakashi opened his battered book to a folded corner. "This scene spends three pages describing one torn blouse."
"Atmosphere."
"The manga could show it in one panel."
"That is exactly the problem!"
Kakashi glanced at the manuscript. "Perhaps a two-page spread."
Jiraiya stopped protesting long enough to consider it. "The angle would matter," he admitted.
Akane set her pen down hard and pointed toward the door.
"Out."
Jiraiya blinked. "You cannot throw out one of the legendary—"
"Come back when both of you are prepared to sign promotional copies."
Kakashi closed his book and left without protest. Jiraiya followed, still arguing that his signature was worth considerably more.
Akane shut the door behind them and returned to the manuscript. She flipped to a fight scene, studied one panel, then tapped the kunai in the heroine's hand.
"We need someone to check the weapons. Readers will forgive impossible bodies before they forgive a kunai being held backward."
"Readers forgive impossible bodies before they forgive a kunai being held backward."
Kenji thought of the workshop. "Tenten."
"The weapons specialist from Guy's team?"
"She knows blades and seals, and yesterday she built a launcher from broken Snow equipment and fired a spear through three targets."
Akane wrote down the name. "Ask whether she wants paid consultation work. If she agrees, bring her here tomorrow."
Akane handed him the advance before he left. The envelope was heavier than the one she had given him for his first novel.
Kenji weighed it in his palm. People could finish a manga volume in one evening. If Akane kept feeding them cliffhangers, they would return just as quickly.
His smile widened.
Books had made him rich. Pictures might make the problem worse.
Outside the publishing house, a blue notification appeared.
[Business Milestone — First Manga Contract]
[Reward: +2,000 SP]
[Current Balance: 36,490 SP]
Kenji had barely dismissed it when a small messenger hawk descended toward the wall beside him. A folded note was tied to its leg beneath the Senju crest.
He untied the message and recognized Karin's neat handwriting.
The new barrier was ready. She wanted him at the Senju estate that evening to test the sound seal and see whether he could cross the room boundary without triggering its warning marks.
Kenji reached the final line and read it twice.
Come alone. I want the barrier to keep everyone else out.
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