It's been a little over a year since I arrived in the Naruto world. My clones have been relaying various bits of information, and I recently heard the news that Itachi has finally joined the Anbu.
'The major events are finally about to start.'
With my abilities, I could save Shisui Uchiha. However, if I did that, Itachi wouldn't be able to awaken his Mangekyo Sharingan. So, I plan to just let things play out. But the Uchiha clan massacre was a different story.
'Rather than letting those eyes go to Danzo, it's better if I get them myself. Do I have about a year left?'
While I was lost in thought, someone came to my house. When I went down to check, it was Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"I don't think it's time for you to give me Naruto's living expenses yet. What brings you here?"
"I'm not here for that today. I came because I have some business with you."
"With me?"
I first guided Hiruzen to the living room and served him some tea. Hiruzen sat down, sipped his tea, and began to speak.
"It's nothing major, but you have quite a lot of money tied up. Please, spend some of it so the economy can circulate."
I wondered what he was getting at. Essentially, he was telling me to spend money for the development of the village. It seemed like several problems were arising because a lot of money was coming in but none was going out.
"I see. Understood."
"And also, could you perhaps write a warmhearted novel for the children?"
Hiruzen requested that I write a novel for the kids.
"I can write one, but why such a request..."
"I've seen your novels change the village. That's why. I want our village to become a place with a bit more human warmth."
I wondered what was gotten into this old man who supposedly 'pocketed the funds.' This was the same guy who neglected Naruto and likely swallowed his inheritance. Furthermore, a ninja village was effectively on the front lines of a country, so 'warmth' was practically a luxury. From a Hokage's perspective, it was a difficult request to make.
'Is it that he wanted to develop the village for the better but couldn't? Well, he does have elders next to him who talk nonsense, and then there's Danzo, who knows what he's plotting.'
After a brief moment of thought, I agreed.
"I see, I'll do it. I'll give it a try."
"I'm glad to hear it. And could you sign these for me? I'm quite a fan myself."
Hiruzen looked a bit sheepish as he held out Volumes 1 and 2 of the adult version of 『Ryoma and Yurie』. I chuckled inwardly as I signed the back of the covers.
After our conversation ended and Hiruzen left, I thought for a moment.
"Where should I spend the money? I have nowhere to use it..."
The money I earned from the novels was astronomical, but I really had no use for it. I already had a house, and if I needed anything, I could just make it. Moreover, if I just donated it, I had no way of knowing where the money would actually go.
"How troublesome..."
So, for starters, I purchased the small shop building right next to my house. The owner had been trying to sell it for a while because they were too old to run it anymore. I bought it immediately and hired people to rebuild it into a sturdy two-story workshop. I planned to use it as a space for my hobbies.
Next, I bought snacks, books, notebooks, stationery, kunai, and shuriken, and sent them to the Ninja Academy in Naruto's name. I didn't donate cash directly. As I mentioned before, the higher-ups couldn't be trusted.
"This should be enough."
When evening came, Naruto returned home and started complaining to me.
"Big Brother! Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was at the Academy today?!"
"Huh? Why?"
"A ton of snacks suddenly arrived during class, and the whole group shouted, 'Naruto, thanks for the food!' Was it you who sent that, believe it!?"
Listening to Naruto's story, it seemed he was incredibly embarrassed because of the snacks I sent. I found the mental image hilarious.
"Pfft~ Was it that embarrassing?"
"Yeah! It was super embarrassing! Don't send stuff like that anymore!"
"Sure, sure."
I mentally decided right then to send snacks to the Academy regularly once a month.
The next day, I thought about the fairy tales or children's novels I knew.
'A novel that warms the heart...'
I thought of 『A Dog of Flanders』, 『Anne of Green Gables』, 『3000 Leagues in Search of Mother』, 『A Christmas Carol (Scrooge)』, and so on.
'Hmm... I feel like 『3000 Leagues in Search of Mother』 might produce rogue ninjas, so let's skip that. 『A Dog of Flanders』 and 『A Christmas Carol』 would probably be best. Let's start with 『A Dog of Flanders』.'
Once the work was decided, I changed the settings again. First, I wanted to change the title. Since 'Flanders' is a place name, I tried things like 'Dog of the Land of Fire', 'The Land of Fire Puppy', or 'Dog of the Hidden Leaf Village', but they all sounded cheap. In the end, I simply titled it 『The Boy and the Dog』.
I changed the protagonist, Nero, to 'Rentaro', and Patrasche to 'Hachiro'. Instead of milk, they delivered agricultural products, as delivering milk didn't seem quite right in the Naruto world. For the cover, I drew Rentaro smiling happily while hugging Hachiro.
This work was a reconstruction of the original story to fit the Naruto world, while pouring even more depth into the emotions. Since I borrowed most of the original story and wrote it as a single-volume piece, it didn't take long—I finished it in three weeks.
I called Naruto over and showed him the finished version of 『The Boy and the Dog』. Upon reading it, Naruto burst into tears.
"Wahhh~! Rentaro~ Hachiro~"
"Hey, hey! The book!"
I quickly snatched the book away as Naruto's tears and snot started falling on it, but I was too late. The book was already covered in a mess.
"Why! Why would you kill the main characters?! Bring Rentaro and Hachiro back to life!!"
Naruto grabbed me and shook me while demanding answers. I tried to calm him down first.
'Whoa... is it okay to publish this? Naruto's reaction is way too intense...'
Watching Naruto's reaction made me a bit worried, but since I already wrote it, I had to see it through.
The next day, since the original copy was unusable due to Naruto's tears and snot, I took out the first draft I had stored in my inventory and duplicated it. I had expected something like this, so I naturally kept the original manuscripts in my inventory and used my [Matter Duplication] ability to make copies to show Naruto or give to the printer.
When I handed the book to the printing shop owner, he read it and started crying just like Naruto.
"You, why on earth did you kill all the main characters?! Don't you think this is too much?!"
It was true that all the protagonists in the novels I'd released so far had died.
"I... I'll let the protagonist live in the next one."
"Is that a promise?!"
And so, 『The Boy and the Dog』 was published. Just like before, it didn't take long for 'Sold Out' signs to appear in front of bookstores.
"Rentaro~~~!!! Hachiro~~~!!! Sob!!!"
"Sniff... Rentaro, Hachiro..."
"Why did these poor children have to die?!"
"The author is really too much, he kills off all the main characters!"
The entire village became a sea of tears because of my novel. Everywhere you went, you could hear people calling out the names of Rentaro and Hachiro.
'Yikes... I should stay inside for a while.'
Sensing the atmosphere, I realized that if I wandered around outside, I'd probably be grabbed by the collar and shaken, so I decided to stay home. Eventually, Naruto returned home, carrying candy, cookies, and bread in his arms.
"Hmm? What's that?"
"The villagers said they were sorry for how they acted before and gave these to me. I said I was fine, but they insisted on shoving them into my hands, so I just took them."
"Oh~ Really?"
This was quite unexpected. I thought this petty village would never change, but it seemed my novel had moved some people. And it wasn't just Naruto. Various donations began to pour into the Hidden Leaf Orphanage as well. There were even people who left bags of rice secretly in the middle of the night.
'I feel good knowing my novel is having a positive effect.'
I spent a few more days at home like that until someone came by with Naruto. This kid... looking at him, it's obviously Kiba Inuzuka.
"Hmm? Who's this?"
I pretended not to know for now. Naruto introduced him.
"He's a classmate from the Academy, and he said he absolutely had to meet you, believe it!"
"It's an honor to meet the author! My name is Kiba Inuzuka. Your work, 『The Boy and the Dog』, was incredibly moving!"
Kiba spoke with sparkling eyes. I found that gaze a bit burdensome.
"I-I see. Let's head inside and talk."
I guided them to the living room and served some snacks and drinks.
"I can tell you truly love dogs, Mr. Author! It would have been impossible to write such a masterpiece otherwise."
"I do like them. They're cute. And humans and dogs have been friends building bonds of friendship for a long time."
Kiba seemed moved by those words.
"I knew it! My guess was right. If it's not too much trouble, could I get an autograph?"
Kiba pulled a book from his clothes, and of course, it was 『The Boy and the Dog』. I immediately opened the front page and wrote my signature along with the message: 'To Kiba Inuzuka, the boy who loves dogs. May you always build a wonderful friendship.'
"Whoa~ Thank you so much! Mr. Author, this book will be my lifelong treasure—no, a family heirloom to be passed down through generations!"
"Y-You don't need to go that far..."
Upon seeing what I wrote, Kiba was overjoyed and tucked it carefully into his clothes. Naruto, who was standing beside him, looked at Kiba with an exasperated expression. Regardless, Kiba excitedly headed back home.
The next day, Naruto came home holding a puppy.
"Hmm? What's with the puppy?"
"Well... Kiba said that since it's you, you'd raise it well, so he gave it to me?"
"What?"
I was baffled. The puppy looked exactly like Akamaru, but it was entirely white without the black spots on its ears. This puppy was likely something like Akamaru's uncle.
"But is it okay to just give away a ninken like this?"
"Ah, he told me not to worry. This one failed the ninken selection and was just staying at their house, so it's not a problem."
It seemed even ninken had selection criteria. It was a harsh world where even dogs had to take exams.
"I see. What's its name?"
"He told us to name it ourselves?"
"Really? Then... let's call him Satoru."
"Got it."
I just named him that because his whole body was white. And so, our family grew. I first bathed the puppy and made some porridge using the ingredients at home. I wondered if he might refuse if it wasn't to his taste, but he ate quite well. And perhaps because he was somewhat trained, he even went out to the yard to relieve himself on his own.
The next day, I walked around the village looking for dog supplies, but there was nothing like that in this world. It seemed people just fed them the same things humans ate. So, I took out a dog cushion and some toys from my inventory—items I had bought for Cosmo in the Marvel universe—and set up a resting area for Satoru in a corner of the living room. I gave him some dog chews and special dog treats, and he devoured them.
"He's a cute little guy."
"Ute... guy."
"Whoa, did you just speak?"
"S... peak?"
Thinking back, I recalled seeing something about ninken being able to speak human language. However, the Akamaru that Kiba carried around couldn't talk. Of course, Kiba understood dog speech so it wasn't a problem, but it seemed like different ninken had different abilities.
From that day on, I started teaching Satoru how to talk. Since I have the [Master] ability, Satoru's speech improved incredibly fast.
"Satoru, what is this?"
"Apple."
"And this?"
"Sock."
"Good boy, Satoru!"
I patted Satoru's head. While I have Holy from One Piece and Cosmo from Marvel, Satoru had his own unique brand of cuteness.