[New equipment material detected]
[Manuscript of “The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja”]
[Estimated Quality: Green]
[Refinement Cost: 30,000 Ryo / attempt]
[Special Condition: Requires complete manuscript; must be personally gifted by Jiraiya]
[Condition not met.
Cannot refine equipment.]
……
[New equipment material detected]
[Jiraiya’s “Oil” Headband]
[Estimated Quality: Green]
[Refinement Cost: 30,000 Ryo / attempt]
[Special Condition: Become a Mount Myoboku contractor]
[Condition not met.
Cannot refine equipment.]
…..
[New equipment material detected]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi’s Pipe]
[Estimated Quality: Green]
[Refinement Cost: 30,000 Ryo / attempt]
[Special Condition: Must be personally gifted by Jiraiya]
[Condition not met.
Cannot refine equipment.]
….
[New equipment material detected]
[Mount Myoboku Summoning Scroll]
[Estimated Quality: Blue]
[Refinement Cost: 60,000 Ryo / attempt]
[Special Condition: Requires Gamamaru to recognize you as the Child of Prophecy]
[Condition not met.
Cannot refine equipment.]
Yakiniku Q.
Four consecutive notifications made Gekko Ryun’s head spin.
Well, well, Jiraiya, you’re actually a hidden treasure trove!
Four equipment materials in total.
Three Green Quality, one Blue Quality.
This was the first time he was fighting such a rich battle.
Suppressing his excitement, he sat back down in his seat.
Kushina, Jiraiya, and Minato were discussing what the protagonist’s name should be.
He chimed in occasionally, but his mind was completely focused on the system prompts, beginning to ponder them.
The Mount Myoboku Summoning Scroll had the highest quality, but that special condition was impossible to fulfill.
He knew very well that the Child of Prophecy Mount Myoboku awaited was Naruto.
The manuscript of The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja could indeed become a material, but unfortunately, it wasn’t finished yet.
Even the cleverest housewife can’t cook without rice.
Jiraiya’s “Oil” headband…
the special condition was to become a Mount Myoboku contractor.
However, the three holy lands—Mount Myoboku, Shikkotsu Forest, and Ryuchi Cave—were exceptionally strict in selecting contractors.
Perhaps only by becoming a disciple could one get that opportunity.
‘Hiruzen Sarutobi’s Pipe.’
He silently repeated it in his mind, though he wasn’t sure why Hiruzen Sarutobi’s pipe would be on Jiraiya.
The special condition was still that Jiraiya had to personally gift it.
Difficult, but less so than the others.
Currently, this material seemed the most promising for him to obtain.
‘How can I get it?’
‘Need to think of a proper method!’
The trio’s discussion about the name continued.
“I think the protagonist being named Ryun sounds very nice,” said Kushina.
“Using the senior’s own name would be more fitting,” said Minato.
Jiraiya felt a headache coming on.
“Ryun, you tell us.
What should the protagonist’s name be?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Kushina and Minato both looked over.
“How about Naruto?”
Gekko Ryun said it offhandedly.
“Naruto?” Jiraiya asked curiously.
“What’s the meaning behind this name?”
Minato thought for a moment, uncertain.
“It sounds a bit like the narutomaki in ramen.”
As an orphan, his wallet wasn’t exactly flush.
Ramen was his favorite food—tasty, filling, and not expensive.
Of course, that was his opinion a few hours ago.
Now, his favorite food was yakiniku.
“Naruto?
Doesn’t sound as nice as Ryun,” Kushina muttered softly.
Gekko Ryun glanced at the girl with some amusement.
She could be shy sometimes, yet other times she’d confidently shoot straight without even realizing it.
He nodded.
“Minato is right.
The name Naruto is indeed taken from the narutomaki in ramen.”
Seeing the visible confusion on their faces, he continued.
“Based on what you said, senior, I’m guessing the protagonist you want to create is someone ordinary yet steadfast, right?
Narutomaki is a very common ingredient.
It seems unremarkable but is essential in ramen…
Also, the name Naruto is very catchy, isn’t it?”
Jiraiya pondered for a moment.
“An interesting perspective.
I think I understand what you mean.”
Kushina didn’t speak.
She still felt they should use Ryun’s name.
Minato repeated the name Naruto a few times and sighed.
“It really is catchy.
It seems Ryun-kun’s naming skills are not inferior to mine.”
Hearing this, the others’ expressions turned odd.
In the Ninja World, practically everyone’s naming skills are better than yours, aren’t they?
A smile appeared on Gekko Ryun’s face.
This feeling of personally participating in history gave him a unique sense of satisfaction.
They chatted a bit more about the book.
Seeing it was getting late, the four of them got up and left Yakiniku Q.
Gekko Ryun’s gaze wandered.
Where exactly did Jiraiya put that pipe?
He couldn’t see any hint of it, making it hard for him to broach the topic proactively.
He thought for a moment and proactively suggested, “How about we all go for a walk together?”
Jiraiya asked, “Minato, Kushina, what do you think?”
“I’m fine with it.”
“Yay!”
“Alright then, I’ll show you around Konoha.”
Konoha’s commercial street was bustling, still lively and noisy even at night.
Jiraiya and Minato walked ahead.
Gekko Ryun and Kushina followed behind.
Kushina looked at the lively scene, her eyes reflecting the lights, and murmured, “It’s so nice.”
Usually, she rarely had the chance to go out shopping.
Last time she sneaked out, if she hadn’t met Gekko Ryun, she might have gotten beaten up by those troublesome Konoha villagers again.
Pleasant laughter occasionally echoed in her ears.
Gekko Ryun glanced sideways.
The girl before him was like a lively, spirited red-haired fairy.
“What’s this?”
Up ahead, Jiraiya stopped, pausing in front of a newly opened storefront.
A huge hand-painted poster was displayed at the store entrance.
The background was a castle covered in snow.
In the center of the image was a woman in a black trench coat, looking heroic and dashing.
At the top were the large characters: “The Scroll Thief.”
Below it was noted:
“Starring Kazahana Sakura, the most famous young actress of the Land of Snow!”
“Shocking release in two months!”
“So pretty!”
Kushina exclaimed, pulling Gekko Ryun over to look at the poster.
Jiraiya examined the portrait on the poster carefully and smacked his lips.
A few people were handing out flyers at the store entrance.
One of them, noticing the headband on Jiraiya’s forehead, had a thought.
He proactively approached and said politely, “Honorable ninja, would you like to learn about our movie?”
Gekko Ryun felt a momentary daze.
Movie?
The words the bookstore owner said the other day echoed in his ears.
Movies from the Land of Snow…
He hadn’t expected them to have already opened a shop in Konoha so quickly.
“Movie?
I feel like I’ve heard of it somewhere.” Jiraiya was very interested in the female lead on the poster.
“Does this person have any other works?”
“Uh…” The clerk fell silent.
Jiraiya asked, puzzled, “I want to see her other works.
Is there a problem?”
The clerk coughed lightly twice, gesturing towards two more lines of small text in the bottom right corner of the poster.
Jiraiya moved closer, crouching down.
Sure enough, he saw two lines of small text, nearly the same color as the background and very inconspicuous.
“‘Most famous young actress of the Land of Snow’ is an exclusive event held by this establishment.
Number of participants evaluated: 1 person.”
“This title is for promotional use by the Land of Snow Cinema only.
All rights of interpretation belong to this establishment.”
After reading these two sentences, Kushina asked somewhat confusedly, “What does this mean?”
Minato shook his head, indicating he didn’t know.
Jiraiya stared blankly, muttering, “You can even do this?
Can my book do something like this too?”
Gekko Ryun: “…”
Good grief, they’re pulling this trick in the Ninja World too?
Too advanced!
And Jiraiya, how did you become enlightened just from the incident with Minato naming the book?
Is the rising star of the borderline genre about to stray off the path and become a marketing master?
His gaze swept over Jiraiya.
Due to the crouching posture, a distinct bulge resembling the shape of a pipe appeared in the pocket at his waist.
Instantly capturing his attention.
‘This outline…’
‘Found it!’