Chapter 9: This Comic Was Drawn by Su Li?
Looking at the book "The Inventory of the Strongest Pupil Techniques" in front of him, Kakashi was silent for a long while.
After a few seconds of silence, he finally asked again,"You said your clock ability was learned from this comic?"
No way—this answer was really hard to believe.
"No matter how much I explain, you won't believe me. Why don't you just read it yourself?"Seeing that Kakashi still couldn't be completely convinced, Sasuke simply stopped talking.Anyway, once Kakashi learned a pupil technique himself, he'd have no choice but to believe it.
"Alright… I see. I'll give it a try."
Kakashi finally nodded.After all, the one saying this was Sasuke—someone with strong pride. It was hard to imagine him lying.Since Sasuke was so confident, it wouldn't hurt to take a look.At the very least, it was a lead.
From Kakashi's perspective, Sasuke wouldn't waste time on nonsense.
Sasuke then directly entered the world of the comic.
"Hmm?"
Seeing Sasuke's figure suddenly vanish, Kakashi quickly looked around, but still couldn't find any trace of him.
If this had been before, Kakashi might've been completely confused.But after witnessing Sasuke's earlier teleportation, he understood.
"So it's that golden clock's ability again…" Kakashi muttered, shaking his head.He put aside his doubts about Sasuke's whereabouts and looked down at the comic instead.
After entering the comic world, Sasuke soon followed Tokisaki Kurumi to continue developing the Emperor Keke's abilities.So far, Sasuke could use the abilities from the first to fourth bullets.
The next goal: develop the Fifth Bullet.
The Fifth Bullet possessed the power to foresee the short-term future.Its practical value in combat was no less than that of the Fourth Bullet.When used together, the combination was practically invincible.
However, the stronger the ability, the harder it was to develop.
It had taken Sasuke a week just to master the Fourth Bullet, and he had no idea how long the Fifth would take—let alone the Eleventh and Twelfth Bullets, which could send their targets to the past or future.
Fortunately, the flow of time in the comic world differed from reality, so he didn't need to worry about time slipping away outside.
Time flickered.
Sasuke had now been training in the comic world for a month.
During this time, he finally succeeded in mastering the Fifth Bullet, gaining the power to predict the short-term future.
"Cool!" Sasuke shouted cheerfully.He never thought becoming stronger could be this easy.
After mastering the Fifth Bullet, Sasuke wasn't in a rush to start on the Sixth.A month had passed for him inside the manga, which should only be a few hours in the real world.
He visualized the real-world scene in his mind and thought of returning—then willed himself out of the manga.
Sasuke returned to reality.
Coincidentally, Kakashi—who had just finished reading "The Inventory of the Strongest Pupil Techniques" at home—looked both amazed and contemplative.
"There are so many incredible pupil techniques in the world… hard to imagine they could exist," Kakashi murmured, genuinely shocked by the sheer variety of eye powers introduced in the manga.
Swish!
Suddenly, something appeared beside him. Years of battle instinct instantly made Kakashi alert.
"Huh? Sasuke?"
Seeing Sasuke appear out of thin air, Kakashi blinked in confusion.
When Sasuke had disappeared earlier, he assumed it was Emperor Keke's doing—but after reading the manga, he had learned how the Emperor Keke worked.While the First Bullet could indeed teleport, Sasuke hadn't used it just now.
Seeing Kakashi's astonished look, Sasuke realized something.
"Oh, right—I forgot to mention. I can enter this manga to train. During this time, I've become even stronger!"
That explanation only left Kakashi more dumbfounded.
"Wait—what? You can enter the comic to train? And it's only been a few hours, but you've already gotten stronger again?!"
Sasuke nodded."Well… even though only a few hours have passed here, I've spent a full month practicing inside the manga world."
"A month?!"Kakashi nearly fainted from disbelief.
This was too outrageous.Not only could Sasuke enter the comic world, but one month inside was only a few hours outside…Wasn't this basically cheating reality itself?!
"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke continued, "you've finished reading this manga, right? You should've awakened some kind of pupil technique. I can teach you how to enter the comic world to train."
Sasuke, having gone through the experience himself, wanted to pass on his knowledge so Kakashi wouldn't waste time figuring it out on his own.
However—Kakashi was stunned by Sasuke's words.
"Wait… who told you I awakened any pupil technique?"
"Huh?" Sasuke froze."You didn't awaken anything? But didn't you just finish the comic?"
"I did finish it," Kakashi replied helplessly, "but I didn't awaken anything. Should I have?"
"Of course!" Sasuke frowned. "Shouldn't you awaken a suitable pupil technique right after reading it?"
"No? Are you joking?"
"…" Sasuke was speechless.Was Kakashi's situation somehow different from his?
He couldn't figure it out.
"No, you've seen my Emperor Keke—it's real, not a trick. I did get it after reading this comic!"
"That's true…" Kakashi sighed, rubbing his temples.He understood Sasuke's words, but… he hadn't gained anything himself.
If Emperor Keke really existed in this world, it would've already shaken the entire ninja world.And yet—he had nothing.
Maybe… the problem lies with me?
Kakashi grimaced at the thought.Could it be that he simply lacked the insight to awaken it?
The possibility made him feel oddly deflated.
Seeing his teacher's expression, Sasuke also fell deep into thought.
Where did the difference come from?Why had it worked for him but not for Kakashi?
After a moment, Sasuke suddenly had an idea."Kakashi-sensei, why don't we just ask Su Li-sama? He's the one who drew this manga—he might know the reason."
"Ah, I see…" Kakashi mumbled distractedly, nodding.
But suddenly—he froze, his eyes widening.
"Wait… what did you just say?!"
"You said this manga was drawn by Su Li?!"