Naruto initially intended to turn around and leave, but then he felt the few remaining coins in his pocket.
“Well, there’s no harm in taking a look…”
Naruto stepped into the bookstore.
If he weren’t confined to Konoha, his Scorch Release kekkei genkai would allow him to accept missions and earn money.
Even if he couldn’t undertake A-rank missions, completing a few B-rank missions would be more than enough to support himself.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t currently an option.
His identity was far too sensitive.
The slightest unusual action could produce extremely serious consequences.
Even the earlier fight and his confiscation of the brats’ money could attract Hiruzen Sarutobi’s attention, let alone leaving the village to undertake dangerous missions.
In the best-case scenario, Hiruzen would merely visit and give him a warning.
In the worst-case scenario, Naruto might find himself under surveillance around the clock from that day onward.
Naruto reached one corner of the bookstore and briefly examined its contents.
A faint smile appeared on his face as he finally understood what kind of establishment this was.
Icha Icha Paradise.
A Young Man and an Older Woman.
My Secret Love Affair with a Kumogakure Ninja.
“…”
“So this place sells erotic novels.”
Naruto surveyed the shelves.
Everywhere he looked, he saw different varieties of adult literature.
Business appeared to be booming.
Some of the display shelves had already been almost completely emptied.
An idea formed in Naruto’s mind, but he still needed to conduct some careful market research.
He casually picked up a book from the shelf, opened it, and began examining its contents.
“Icha Icha Paradise… Ugh!”
Naruto shook his head as he stared at the book in his hands.
“This is unbelievably tame!
An erotic novel without a single explicit scene costs five thousand ryō?”
“The limited edition costs tens of thousands of ryō—equivalent to half a year of my living expenses.
It’s ridiculously expensive.
Would anyone actually buy a book like this?”
Icha Icha Paradise was exceptionally expensive.
An explosive tag cost approximately one thousand ryō, while a single kunai cost around five hundred ryō.
One copy of Icha Icha Paradise cost five thousand ryō.
That was equivalent to five explosive tags or ten sharp kunai forged from refined iron.
The limited edition was even more expensive, costing an astonishing sixty thousand ryō.
That was equivalent to sixty explosive tags—or half a year of Naruto’s stipend.
An explosive tag could save someone’s life at a critical moment.
What could Icha Icha Paradise do?
Wipe their ass?
Just then, a voice came from the store’s entrance.
“Boss, where are the latest limited-edition copies of Icha Icha Paradise?
I want five of them.”
Naruto frowned.
“That voice… Kakashi Hatake?”
At the bookstore’s entrance stood Kakashi Hatake, Kotetsu Hagane, Izumo Kamizuki, Aoba Yamashiro, and Raidō Namiashi.
Aside from Kakashi, the other four shinobi furtively glanced around, terrified that someone might recognize them.
At the same time, they looked toward the bookstore’s proprietor with expressions filled with anticipation, curiosity, and excitement.
The proprietor had already seen this countless times.
He gave them an understanding look, pointed toward a corner of the bookstore, and whispered, “I understand.
The books are over there.
Go and collect them yourselves.”
Kakashi was already accustomed to the situation.
Kotetsu, Izumo, Aoba, and Raidō, however, released long sighs of relief.
“Icha Icha Paradise… Where is it?”
Kotetsu searched through the surrounding shelves with burning eyes, determined to uncover the legendary forbidden book.
According to the rumors, that book contained the most “wonderful” material imaginable.
It was supposedly the most explicit book currently available in Konoha—no, in the entire shinobi world.
“It’s over here.”
At the same time, a pale hand offered him a copy of Icha Icha Paradise.
Kotetsu’s eyes lit up, and he instinctively accepted the book.
“Thanks!”
Then…
Kotetsu, Izumo, Aoba, and Raidō stared at Naruto as though they had just seen a ghost.
“Naruto Uzumaki!”
Kotetsu’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
“Y-You… Why are you here?!”
Izumo, Aoba, and Raidō reacted no better.
They almost leaped straight into the air.
Dear heavens!
Why was Naruto Uzumaki here?
For some inexplicable reason, the four men felt as though they had been caught in the middle of a secret affair.
“Hmph, hmph!”
Naruto crossed his arms and pretended to scrutinize the five shinobi.
“Kotetsu Hagane, Izumo Kamizuki, Aoba Yamashiro, and Raidō Namiashi… Hmph, hmph.
You’re all shinobi of our glorious Konohagakure.”
“And yet you’ve come here to purchase this sort of book.
How indecent.
Absolutely indecent!”
“If word of this spread, what would outsiders think of Konoha’s shinobi?”
Kotetsu, Izumo, Aoba, and Raidō lowered their heads in shame.
If word of this got out…
How were they supposed to find wives in the future?
Kotetsu’s face turned as red as a monkey’s backside.
Lowering his head, he stammered, “I-I only wanted to appreciate it.
I was simply examining it from an artistic and literary perspective…”
Naruto chuckled.
Who did he think he was fooling?