Oliver sat at his desk, surrounded by scattered sketches and unfinished pages of Clarke Kent's story. His manga was taking shape, but there was one problem—he couldn't do this alone.
The sheer amount of drawing, inking, and writing was exhausting, not to mention the difficulty of making multiple copies by hand. He needed help.
And he knew exactly who to ask.
The First Recruit: Naruto Uzumaki
Oliver knocked on Naruto's door late in the afternoon. The sound of hurried footsteps and a crash from inside made him sigh.
A second later, the door swung open, revealing a grinning Naruto. "Yo, Oliver! What's up?"
"I need your help with something."
Naruto blinked. "Huh? Like a mission?"
"No. Something… different. Something big."
Oliver stepped inside, clearing a spot at Naruto's small table. He pulled out his manga pages, spreading them out.
Naruto's eyes widened. "Whoa… this is… cool! Wait, you drew all this?!"
Oliver nodded. "It's called manga. It's a way to tell stories through pictures and dialogue. I've been working on this for a while, but I need help."
Naruto scratched his head. "Uhh… I'm not really good at drawing, y'know?"
"You don't need to be," Oliver said. "I need someone to help copy the pages, spread the word, and—most importantly—test the story."
Naruto's face lit up. "Oh! So you want me to read it?"
"Yeah. I need an honest opinion. If you don't like something, tell me."
Naruto picked up the first page, his expression serious for once. As he read, his eyes darted from panel to panel. His brow furrowed at intense moments, and he grinned during Clarke's first big fight.
When he finally finished, he slammed the paper down. "THIS. IS. AWESOME!"
Oliver smirked. "So you liked it?"
"Are you kidding?! Clarke is like—he's so cool! And the way he figures things out instead of just punching his way through problems… I love it!"
Oliver chuckled. "Then help me get this out there."
Naruto grinned. "You got it!"
Expanding the Team
Over the next few days, Oliver met with more friends.
• Tenten agreed to help redraw and refine the artwork. She had steady hands and was used to handling delicate weapon inscriptions—inking clean lines was no problem for her.
• Shikamaru wasn't much of an artist, but he had a strategic mind. "If you wanna sell this, you need a system. Printing each one by hand? Way too much work." He started brainstorming ways to mass-produce copies.
• Ino had connections through her family's flower shop and could help spread the word. "People love a good story. If you get this into the right hands, it'll sell."
• Kiba and Choji were the first test readers, giving feedback on action scenes and humor.
• Shino didn't say much, but after reading the first draft, he nodded. "This has potential."
And lastly…
• Sakura, the best writer among them, volunteered to help with dialogue and story flow.
"You can fight, you can draw, but your grammar? Ugh, you need me," she teased.
Oliver didn't argue.
The Next Step
With a team behind him, Oliver's manga project finally started moving.
Naruto ran around showing people the pages. Word spread quickly—even some of the older genin and chunin started taking notice.
Shikamaru worked out a copying method using ink duplication seals, though it wasn't perfect. They still had to handwrite and redraw some parts.
Tenten and Sakura helped refine the artwork and story, making everything flow smoother.
As the first few completed books were stacked on Oliver's desk, he exhaled.
This was real.
And now… it was time to see if the world was ready for manga.