Sarutobi Hiruzen's brow was slightly furrowed. He of course understood this was because Nojuro Ryun's writing was very good. He had adopted Uchiha Madara's perspective.
But this was not the effect he wanted.
However, soon after, Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyebrows relaxed.
Because even a powerful figure like Uchiha Madara still lost to Senju Hashirama, and was ultimately won over by Senju Hashirama's charisma.
More importantly, while the Senju Hashirama under Nojuro Ryun's pen was sincere and straightforward, he did not portray the side of Senju Hashirama that felt overly kind and benevolent.
The Senju Hashirama under Nojuro Ryun's pen better matched Sarutobi Hiruzen's aesthetic, making him unconsciously nod in agreement.
The subsequent incident of Uchiha Madara defecting from the village was also handled by Nojuro Ryun in a way that pleased Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The Uchiha Madara under Nojuro Ryun's pen did not hold a grudge against Konoha or Senju Hashirama. Instead, he did not believe peace could be maintained and wanted to find a more permanent solution, which is why he embarked on that lonely, evil path.
In the end, the incredibly powerful Uchiha Madara lost to Senju Hashirama once again, further highlighting the correctness of Konoha's Will of Fire.
By the time Sarutobi Hiruzen put the book down, it was already noon.
He rubbed his somewhat tired and sore eyes, looked at Nojuro Ryun who was resting with his eyes closed and refining chakra, and showed an appreciative smile.
"Nojuro Ryun, your book is very well written. I have no suggestions to offer."
"I will have someone print your book for sale. We'll first gauge the reaction within Konoha. If it is well-received by everyone, we will expand the scope to the entire Land of Fire."
"As for your royalties, they will follow Jiraiya's standard."
Ryun was somewhat surprised. He didn't expect Sarutobi Hiruzen to offer such generous terms.
Calculating Ryun's royalties according to Jiraiya's standard was not just a concession, it was also Sarutobi Hiruzen's attitude towards Ryun.
Just as Ryun was about to express his thanks, Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand and said, "This is what you deserve. Furthermore, as a staff member, you completed a book that helps promote the Will of Fire. That counts as a meritorious deed."
"Is there anything you want or would like to do? You can tell me."
By now, Ryun fully understood. Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to win him over.
From Sarutobi Hiruzen's perspective, he certainly didn't know that in a few months he would face a life-or-death crisis.
Therefore, he still wanted to rely on Ryun to stabilize the morale of Konoha during these years of transition and lack of talent.
Ryun was not opposed to this.
Regardless of whether Sarutobi Hiruzen was purely good or a refined shade of gray, at least towards Ryun, Sarutobi Hiruzen had not wronged him.
In fact, Sarutobi Hiruzen had even actively helped him. Ryun naturally would not deliberately betray the expectations of the person before him.
But thinking about what might happen later, Ryun pondered for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "Lord Hokage, currently, I am very satisfied with my life, my career, and my health. So, I don't have any additional requests."
"How about this, Lord Hokage, please give me a month to consider it, is that alright?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded. Although he was old, he could still wait a month.
"In that case, I won't keep you any longer. Someone will contact you regarding follow-up matters."
"Then I will take my leave, Lord Hokage."
After leaving the Hokage's office, Ryun immediately felt a sense of relief.
Before resolving the matter of him being attacked later, Ryun would pause his book writing and his story collection work at the storytelling hall.
He had also already thought of an excuse for the public.
The yakiniku restaurant had already sent the profit share for the first month, a little over one hundred thousand ryo.
Adding the one hundred thousand ryo Tenten would send later, and the fifty thousand ryo from the Hokage's office, Ryun's monthly income had stabilized at around two hundred and fifty thousand ryo.
This was no longer a small sum. The average annual income for a Chunin was about one million ryo.
Including the first batch of royalties expected to arrive in a little over a month, Ryun's monthly income would likely break through to four or five hundred thousand ryo. By then, Ryun would have an income comparable to a Tokubetsu Jonin.
While having such an income, he did not need to undertake dangerous ninja missions, and had no expenses for ninja tools, ninjutsu, or health issues. This meant he already enjoyed living conditions not inferior to a Jonin.
Two months ago, he was still an orphaned poor boy who almost starved to death.
Every time he thought about this, Ryun felt it was somewhat unreal.
However, having experienced great storms in the simulations, he wouldn't become arrogant or complacent because of this amount of money.
With this money, Ryun did not plan to hide it.
As someone about to become a writer, he also couldn't hide his income.
He planned to completely renovate his small courtyard, transforming it into a front-shop, back-courtyard model.
To achieve this goal, he also needed to expand his small courtyard, which required filing a report for approval at the Konoha office.
Given Ryun's current relationship with the Hokage, these were trivial matters. The only remaining problem was that Ryun's expenditure on this would likely exceed one million ryo.
Fortunately, building a house didn't need to be completed in one day. During the construction period, Ryun could make installment payments. His income flow should be sufficient to handle all this.
After forming his plan, Ryun filed the report in the afternoon.
What Ryun didn't expect was that the administrator told him the land he was about to occupy technically belonged to the Uchiha family.
Ryun needed to first find the relevant party from the Uchiha family, reach an agreement with them, and then proceed with the formalities.
And the relevant party from the Uchiha family... wasn't that only Uchiha Sasuke left?
After a brief moment of thought, Ryun decided to personally meet Sasuke.
Coincidentally, he also regretted not having a chance to contact the main characters until now. Wasn't this opportunity coming?
Ryun didn't go directly to Sasuke's door. After all, Sasuke at this time was not known for having a good temper.
He planned to have Ino act as an intermediary to contact Sasuke. At least Ino and Sasuke were classmates. With Ino present, Sasuke might be more amenable to conversation.
"You want to find Uchiha Sasuke?"
Ino, who was wearing an apron and helping her mother and grandmother tend to the flowers and plants in the flower shop, looked at Ryun in surprise, her expression turning strangely pale.
"You... did you hear something?"
Seeing Ino's nervous appearance, Ryun was confused for a moment and said, "Is there something I should know?"
Ino waved her hands repeatedly and said, "No, you shouldn't know anything... No, no, I mean, Sasuke and I aren't close at all, not close at all!"
Ino forced a laugh, the awkwardness on her face almost becoming tangible.
Her mother and grandmother looked over with interest, their eyes shifting between her and Ryun's faces, finally turning into scrutinizing looks that made Ino's face heat up.
"I see..."
Ryun was still considering whether to ask Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji for help. Ino, unable to bear it any longer, grabbed Ryun's hand and ran out of the Yamanaka house. Only when they reached an empty alley did she let out a sigh of relief.
"Alright, I'll take you to find someone. She can take you to Sasuke."
"Her name is Haruno Sakura. She's Sasuke's obsessed fan."
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