Once Hiruzen and Kakashi had left, Naruto’s expression returned to normal.
He casually tossed the thirty thousand ryō he had just received onto his bed.
Thirty thousand ryō?
How generous.
If Hiruzen truly cared about him, why hadn’t he simply increased Naruto’s monthly allowance?
He merely wanted to keep Naruto trapped in darkness.
After ruining Naruto’s life, Hiruzen wanted to play the benevolent saint and present himself as the sole ray of light in the boy’s miserable existence.
In the terminology of Naruto’s previous life, this was nothing more than PUA-style psychological manipulation designed to induce Stockholm syndrome.
The Naruto from the original story had probably fallen for exactly that.
After cleaning some of the rancid broth from his doorway, Naruto sent his consciousness into the sealed space.
He passed through a corridor resembling a sewer and arrived before the enormous cage.
The fox with nine colossal tails slowly opened its eyes.
It parted its jaws to reveal sharp fangs as a violent aura radiated from its body.
Naruto appeared exceptionally small before the Nine-Tails, but he displayed no fear whatsoever.
“Nicely done, Kurama.
Do you prefer eating fish or mice?
If I get the opportunity, I’ll bring you some.”
Kurama’s expression darkened.
It abruptly rose and slammed an enormous paw against the bars.
“Naruto, stop treating me like some ordinary fox!
I am a tailed beast!
A tailed beast—do you understand?”
Naruto rubbed his chin and smiled.
“Don’t say that.
Foxes naturally eat fish and mice.
Or do you prefer rabbits and snakes?”
Kurama fell silent.
The Nine-Tails angrily waved its nine enormous tails.
“Naruto, once I get out of here, the first thing I’ll do is tear that mouth of yours apart.”
Naruto burst into laughter.
Throughout all of Konoha, Hinata was the only person who offered him even a trace of warmth.
But the only one in the village who could bicker and argue with him was Kurama, who was just as lonely as Naruto himself.
A long while later, Naruto returned to his chair.
He picked up his pencil and resumed writing.
He was unwilling to accept his current circumstances.
He was angry.
However, Naruto understood rationally that he lacked the power to change any of it right now.
Inside the Hokage’s office, Hiruzen wore a solemn expression.
“Kakashi, what did you see with your Sharingan?
Were there truly no signs that Naruto was about to awaken the Adamantine Sealing Chains?”
Kakashi shook his head. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“No.
There were absolutely no signs of the Adamantine Sealing Chains awakening.”
“The Adamantine Sealing Chains are a physically manifested kekkei genkai.
If Naruto were on the verge of awakening them, the Sharingan would have detected something.”
“However, the Nine-Tails’ chakra inside his body was unusually active.”
Hiruzen ignored Kakashi’s final statement.
Naruto was the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki.
Wasn’t it perfectly normal for a tailed beast’s chakra to be active inside him?
“Then how do you explain Naruto’s recent physical changes?”
Kakashi considered the matter briefly.
“I suspect it’s because of the Uzumaki bloodline he inherited from Lady Kushina.”
“Although Naruto’s hair is blond, half of his blood still comes from the Uzumaki clan.
It isn’t particularly strange for him to possess greater physical strength than an ordinary child.”
Only then did Hiruzen relax completely.
He knew that Kushina Uzumaki had possessed tremendous physical strength.
Naruto had likely inherited that aspect of his mother.
“Very well.
You may leave.”
The following day, Naruto strode into the bookstore with dark circles beneath his eyes and a thick stack of paper tucked beneath his arm.
“Sir, this is a book I wrote.
I would like to have it published.”
The bookstore’s proprietor looked at Naruto with disgust.
He had no desire to serve the monster despised by everyone in the village.
Nevertheless, his professional integrity compelled him to accept the manuscript and begin reading.
Once he started, his eyes gradually widened.
Wider.
And wider.
Finally—
Pfft!
Two streams of blood erupted from his nostrils.
The sheer force launched him backward and sent him crashing into one of the ceiling beams.
The proprietor collapsed onto the floor with blood continuing to flow from his nose.
Despite that, he clutched the manuscript as though it were a priceless treasure.
“This will definitely become a massive success!
This book is guaranteed to become popular!
If it fails, there is no justice in this world!”
“Dear heavens!”
“How could such an incredible work possibly exist?
Reading it feels as though you’re experiencing everything yourself…”
“…”
“D-Did you write this?”
Naruto nodded slightly.
The proprietor immediately forgot his disgust and excitedly seized Naruto’s hand.
“Naruto Uzumaki, you must publish this book through our publishing house!”
“Our distribution network spans the entire shinobi world.
If you entrust this book to us, we will make it famous everywhere!”
Naruto frowned.
The proprietor had said many things, but not one of them was what Naruto wanted to hear.
“Money.”
Naruto no longer bothered pretending.
“How much are you going to pay me?”
Only then did the proprietor calm down.
He looked at Naruto with a troubled expression.
“Th-The book hasn’t been published yet, so there’s currently no way for me to…”
Naruto immediately reached for his manuscript.
“Then forget it.
I’m certain another publishing house will be interested in my work.”
The proprietor paled in alarm and hugged the stack of pages tightly against his chest.
“One million ryō!”
“I’ll give you an advance of one million ryō!”
“That is my absolute limit.
If your book weren’t so exceptional, I could never offer such a large advance.”
“No other publishing house would offer you as much as I am.
Please publish it through us!”
A faint smile appeared on Naruto’s face.
“Very well, but you must conceal my identity.”
The proprietor gave him an understanding look.
This was an erotic novel, after all.
Many authors in the genre were unwilling to reveal their real names.
“Then what pen name would you like to use?”
Naruto considered the question briefly.
“Call me… Menma.”
“Yes, Menma.”
Menma Namikaze!
The proprietor naturally didn’t understand the significance of that name, but he wisely refrained from asking questions.
Before long, a thick stack of banknotes was placed in front of Naruto.
Every note contained currency recognized throughout the Land of Fire and could be exchanged anywhere in the country.
Naruto carefully counted the money.
“One million ryō.
Exactly.”
“Once I improve my strength, I can use whatever remains to buy Hinata some gifts.”