Chapter 278 Drawing Tablet

Breaking into someone's home is undoubtedly unethical, but Hattori wasn't about to hold back when it came to uncovering the secrets of his potential transmigration.

The apartment spanned over a hundred square meters, a spacious layout by any standard. Hattori strolled through, taking in the open, well-lit space illuminated by sunlight streaming in from the balcony.

The various rooms lined up in an orderly manner, hinting at a high cost of rent, especially given its luxurious furnishings and cozy carpeting.

The layout was rectangular, complete with a kitchen, bathrooms, master and guest bedrooms. Hattori committed the living room's details to memory, but nothing particularly unusual caught his attention.

After a few moments, he approached and opened a door.

From here on, Hattori knew he was violating the privacy of a complete stranger, and doing so thoroughly. Still, his actions didn't falter.

The door opened to reveal a room stacked neatly with books, chairs, and miscellaneous items. Its tidy arrangement suggested it had gone unused for quite some time, which is a storage room.

Hattori picked up a book from a pile, carefully brushing off the thin layer of dust on its cover before flipping through it. It was a beginner's guide to creating manga.

Hattori's gaze swept the room, noting that most other books followed the same theme: instructional guides on manga techniques and some vintage single-volume comics. He rummaged through the drawers, uncovering only expired magazines and newspapers.

Finding nothing of note, he exited the room.

One by one, Hattori inspected the kitchen, bathroom, master bedroom, guest bedroom, and even the entryway, leaving no corner unchecked. The excitement from his investigation began to wane as time passed, as every room turned up empty.

The Manga Author's bedroom was his main suspect, as it likely contained personal items. Hattori examined the wall calendar, desk schedule, and notebooks, hoping to find personal thoughts or a diary that might hint at the mysteries of his transmigration. Yet nothing in the room suggested the person knew anything about a parallel Ninja World identical to the one in the manga.

The lack of evidence left Hattori feeling frustrated. After all, the two days of reconnaissance seemed wasted.

"Honestly, finding something like 'I'm creating a world… I'm a god,' or 'I can manipulate fate at will' would just prove the person is delusional, right?" Hattori muttered, trying to console himself.

Though it seemed the mission would yield no results, Hattori steeled himself and opened one of the remaining doors.

Standing at the threshold, he surveyed the interior and murmured, "This must be where the manga magic happens."

The room rivaled the master bedroom in size, likely a converted study. Dominating the space was a large, polished wooden desk, which is practical and aesthetically pleasing. Its surface was meticulously organized with pens and papers.

The other desks were simpler, resembling typical office workstations, cluttered with piles of manuscripts and drawing tools.

Hattori flipped on the light, bringing the chaotic yet functional workspace into sharper focus. While the main desk, which is clearly belonging to Masashi Kishimoto, had been tidied with care, the rest of the room showed signs of frequent use.

Carefully navigating the mess, Hattori avoided disturbing anything as he stepped further inside.

"This must be where Kishimoto and his assistants work." Hattori murmured, sidestepping a few stray pencils on the floor. His curiosity drew him to one of the assistants' desks, where he picked up a stack of drafts.

The sheets depicted still-life studies and minor background scenes. Flipping through, Hattori recognized a few familiar scenes of Konoha, though they were still not inked.

"This is..." Hattori moved to a smaller desk where a laptop sat. The screen was active, and as the screensaver faded, a completed illustration of Naruto, holding a kunai with a determined expression, filled the screen.

In the silence of the studio, Hattori's breathing was the only sound.

Seeing an unreleased Naruto illustration from this perspective felt both surreal and eerily intimate.

There were not many files in the laptop. Hattori clicked on them and most of them were completed artwork. After finding nothing noteworthy, Hattori returned to the desktop and continued to check everything around him.

Suddenly, his gaze landed on two makeshift bedding mats tucked into a corner. Realizing their purpose, he clicked his tongue in understanding, "They're really working themselves to the bone… Must be the editors breathing down their necks."

Hattori meticulously searched the desks belonging to the three assistants, taking care not to disrupt the chaotic order of their workstations. Finally, he turned his attention to Kishimoto's desk.

From the doorway, the desk had seemed tidy, but up close, it was a different story. Sheets of paper, half-drawn and covered with rough, chaotic lines… were hastily stacked to one side. Pen holders and the surrounding space bristled with tools: fountain pens, pencils, dip pens, carbon pencils, and G-pen nibs.

The only distinctly different aspect was the desk's apparent centerpiece. Nestled along the edge near the wall, Hattori spotted an organized lineup of Naruto manga volumes… commercial releases and special editions alike.

Hattori clicked his tongue in mild amusement at the display but shifted his attention to the desk's center.

"What's this?" Hattori muttered. At first, he mistook it for a blank sheet of paper, but upon closer inspection, its texture revealed it to be something else entirely… a flat, smooth tablet.

Hattori thought about it for a while and recalled a conversation with David, "A drawing tablet?" He murmured.

Also known as a graphic tablet, it was a modern tool widely used by illustrators. With the evolution of technology, digital drawing had become the norm, a far cry from traditional pen-and-paper techniques.

Indeed, next to the tablet, Hattori spotted a USB cable and a stylus pen designed for pressure sensitivity, confirming his suspicion.

Though the manga tools scattered across the workspace had intrigued him earlier, their sheer variety had overwhelmed him.

The drawing tablet, however, stood out as a modern relic among the analog chaos.

Hattori devoted considerable effort to searching Kishimoto's laptop but found little beyond two impeccably edited animation files. Seeing that there were no other significant discoveries, Hattori moved on.

The workspace and the bedroom had been Hattori's primary targets, and he felt a pang of disappointment at how ordinary they seemed. Nothing here hinted at anything supernatural or extraordinary, and everything was mundane, grounded in reality.

"Maybe I should've brought some high-tech scanners or something..." Hattori muttered, letting his mind wander as he exited the studio.

At the doorway, Hattori suddenly paused, his hand on the doorknob. Something made him hesitate. Slowly, he turned back, his gaze instinctively drifting toward Kishimoto's desk.

The faint ticking of a hidden clock filled the quiet room.

On impulse, Hattori retraced his steps, approaching the desk again. Feeling slightly foolish, he scratched the back of his head before extending a hand toward the drawing tablet.

His fingers hovered over the surface as if compelled by something he couldn't quite name. Slowly, carefully, he reached out…