The next day, after making breakfast for Naruto, packing his lunch, and sending him off to the Academy, I sat in my room and thought a bit about my next work.
"Hmm... Should I write a novel with a twist this timeā¦?"
For a twist, there was Robert Louis Stevenson's novel 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'. But since it deals with drugs and psychological aspects, I wasn't sure how it would be received in the Naruto world, where human experimentation is already rampant, so I decided to put that on hold for now and thought about other works.
'It doesn't have to be limited to novels. There are movies and comics too.'
Thinking quietly, I realized I didn't have to restrict myself to novelsāI could also adapt various works with good scenarios into novel form.
'Movies... Ah! There's 'The Sixth Sense'.'
'The Sixth Sense' is a 1999 film by director M. Night Shyamalan, one of the most famous movies with a twist.
To briefly explain the story: child psychologist Malcolm Crowe treats a boy named Cole Sear who can see ghosts. Cole says that dead people come to him seeking help. Malcolm doesn't believe him at first, but gradually comes to believe in his ability and decides to help him.
Cole overcomes his fear by resolving the unfinished business of the ghosts, and Malcolm also reflects on his own life. But in the final moment, the shocking twist is revealed that Malcolm himself is already dead. He realizes his existence, leaves a final goodbye to his wife, and then passes on peacefully.
'The revelation at the end that the protagonist was a ghost was truly shocking.'
As soon as I decided on the work, I changed the title and settings. I kept the title as a direct translation of 'The Sixth Sense' into 'Rokubanme no Kankaku'. I changed the protagonist, child psychologist Malcolm, to a Hokage-directly-attached Jonin, and the boy Cole, who can see ghosts, to a child with such exceptional chakra sensitivity that he can see spirits.
'This should be sufficient.'
I changed the protagonist's name from Malcolm to Takahashi, and Cole Sear to Kouta. Kouta is a child who has caught the Hokage's attention due to his exceptional sensitivity, but Kouta himself hides the fact that he can see ghosts, fearing he'll be treated as strange.
However, when ghosts, knowing Kouta can see them, start causing various problems, Takahashi, a Hokage-directly-attached Jonin dispatched to the scene, ends up staying with Kouta and experiencing various incidents. That was the gist of what I planned to write.
'The important thing here is to hide the fact that Takahashi is a ghost until the very end, right?'
Since that was the most important twist point, I needed to hide it naturally so that no one would suspect.
'Hoo... I've got the basic framework.'
By the time I finished working on various settings, it was already evening, and Naruto had returned from the Academy.
"Bro! I'm home!"
Naruto came into the house with his booming voice and flung my door wide open.
"You brat! Knock and come in."
Naruto ignored my scolding and seemed only interested in what I was writing.
"Oh~ Is it a new work? Can I see it?"
"No, if you read it now, the fun will be greatly reduced when it's finished."
At my words, Naruto looked quite disappointed.
"That's a shame. But when it's finished, promise you'll show it to me first."
"Of course. No matter what anyone says, Naruto, you're my first reader."
At that, Naruto was overjoyed.
In the end, it took three months for the novel to be completed. 'The Sixth Sense' was a total of three volumes.
In Volume 1, the story unfolds from Takahashi's perspective, describing Kouta. The readers receive incomplete information, leaving them uncertain whether Kouta can truly see ghosts, and they become increasingly confused.
Furthermore, when it's revealed that Takahashi's girlfriend is cheating on him, his confusion deepens, and the story flows into an atmosphere of tension.
In Volume 2, as Takahashi experiences various incidents with Kouta, it becomes increasingly clear that Kouta's words are true. Eventually, Takahashi himself acknowledges that Kouta can indeed see ghosts and begins actively helping him. He works together with Kouta to solve the cases, and through this process, Kouta's unstable mental state gradually heals.
In Volume 3, Takahashi learns the shocking fact that he himself died during a mission. He falls into confusion, unable to accept the reality that he is just one of the ghosts Kouta sees. But after hearing Kouta's story, he finally accepts it, leaves a final goodbye to his girlfriend, and passes on peacefully, bringing the story to a close.
This novel required careful depiction of Takahashi's subtle emotional expressions and his shifting perspective, while simultaneously trying to naturally hide the fact that he was a ghost, so it took quite a long time. As such, the work was not easy and required considerable effort. Perhaps because of that, [(A) Literature] rose to S-rank.
I also put care into the covers. For Volume 1, I drew Takahashi and Kouta together. For Volume 2, I drew them walking apart. For Volume 3, I drew Takahashi looking at Kouta from a distance.
When 'The Sixth Sense' was completed, I showed it to Naruto first, as promised. Naruto sat in his room and read the novel with intense concentration.
"Wow~ Bro, thisā¦ it's like suddenly being hit on the back of the head."
"Is it interesting?"
"It's interesting, but Bro, you make the protagonist too pitiful, ya know."
"Instead, Kouta becomes happy, right."
"Well, that's true, but Takahashi is too pitiful."
I warned Naruto not to spoil the story. Because this work has a twist, preventing spoilers was very important. So, I planned to release not all three volumes at once, but one volume every few weeks.
"Okay, I'll be careful."
After warning Naruto, I took Volume 1 and went to the printing press. In the meantime, the printing press had been expanded, and they had acquired various printing equipment.
When I arrived at the printing press, the owner and employees greeted me warmly. I immediately showed the owner 'The Sixth Sense' Volume 1. After reading it, the owner wore a satisfied expression and said, "This one is also very interesting. Might I know what happens next?"
The owner, curious about the next volume, asked me to spoil it, but of course, I didn't tell him.
"It's a secret."
"That's a shameā¦ Anyway, I'll have it printed quickly."
I handed the book to the owner, and a few weeks later, 'The Sixth Sense' appeared in bookstores. Thanks to my first work, this time it sold like wildfire from the very beginning, and within a few days, a 'Sold Out' sign was posted. Although the printing press had expanded and hired more employees, they couldn't keep up with the sales volume.
"Wow... I'm scared to release Volume 2."
The villagers also had a lot to say about the novel's content.
"Ghosts? Kouta is just doing it to get attention!"
"No, if his senses are that sharp, he might be able to see what we can't."
"That's unknown. I wonder when the next volume is coming out?"
People debated whether Kouta could truly see ghosts. They also talked about Takahashi's girlfriend, mostly just insulting her.
"Isn't the protagonist's girlfriend infuriating?"
"Right! Cheating while her boyfriend is on a mission? And the affair partner is the protagonist's friend?"
"Exactly, what a terrible woman."
While I was enjoying people's reactions and preparing to release Volume 2, suddenly rumors began to circulate that Kouta could really see ghosts. The only people who knew the content of Volume 2 were Naruto and me. Since there was no way I would spoil it, this was definitely Naruto's doing.
'That brat!'
I waited until Naruto returned from the Academy.
"Bro, I'm home."
"You, come here for a moment."
"Huh? Why?"
"You're aware that rumors are circulating in the village that Kouta can really see ghosts, right?"
At my words, Naruto, feeling guilty, began to stutter with an awkward smile.
"Ahaha... W-Well, you see..."
"Tell me the truth right now. Otherwise, no snacks today."
At that, Naruto finally confessed.
Naruto said that when his Academy friends insulted Kouta, calling him an attention-seeker, Naruto, perhaps a bit angry knowing the story, argued back, "Kouta isn't like that!" and eventually admitted that it was true that he could see ghosts, thus spoiling it. Since everyone knew that Naruto and I lived together, his classmates knew his words were true, so they spread the rumor, and it quickly spread. Fortunately, he hadn't spoiled the later content.
Hearing that, I immediately flicked Naruto on the head.
Thwack!
"Ouch!"
"If you know the content in advance, the enjoyment of the novel drops significantly! Don't do that from now on."
Rubbing his head, Naruto said he understood.
"Ugh... Okay. Sorry, Bro."
"If your friends ask about the novel's content, just tell them what I told you."
"Okay."
Since things had turned out this way, I asked the printing press to release Volume 2 a bit sooner. From that day on, Naruto said he was suffering because his friends kept asking him about the novel's content.
'That's karma. Nothing you can do.'
Several weeks passed, and finally, Volume 3 was released. As soon as it was released, the whole village erupted.
"No way! Takahashi was a ghost???"
"Hey, man! I haven't read it yet!"
"Takahashi was a ghost!! That's impossible!!!"
"You bastard!! I said I haven't read it!!!"
The content was shocking enough due to the twist, but the people going mad from being spoiled made it even more chaotic. They even started fighting. Seeing this, Naruto was dumbfounded.
"Bro... Spoiling the story is really bad, isn't it."
"Right?"
Furthermore, due to the twist that Takahashi was a ghost, his girlfriend was also re-evaluated.
"So she was suffering psychologically after losing her boyfriend, then got together with a friend. I feel a bit bad for insulting her now."
"I know, right. She wasn't a bad person."
"But I still think Takahashi is too pitiful."
"He did a good deed and left, isn't that enough?"
"I'm not sure. By the way, when is the next work coming out?"
"I wonder."
For several days, the entire village was in an uproar because of my novel. Then suddenly, a letter of commendation and a reward arrived from the DaimyÅ of the Land of Fire.
I hold in high regard your contributions to the development of our land's culture. From now on, set aside your smithy work and dedicate your efforts to the advancement of literature, to further enhance the dignity of our land. I believe your talent will enrich the knowledge and art of the new era.
In other words, it meant to quit the blacksmithing business and focus on writing novels.
'Huh...'
The messenger who delivered the letter added that another blacksmith was on his way to Konohagakure to assist in my place. So, I was to vacate the smithy house and forcibly move to another residence. That was probably why the reward was so large. Essentially, they were telling me to buy a new house outright.
"Bro, does that mean we have to move?"
"It seems so."
"That's a shame. I got attached to this house."
"Can't be helped. Well, since we're moving anyway, let's go somewhere a bit bigger."
"Okay."
The next day, Naruto and I walked around the village looking for a house. Eventually, we found a vacant three-story building located between the town center and Ichiraku Ramen. I quite liked it.
However, because it was close to the town center, the front of the building directly faced the main road, while the back had a small yard. Worried that this might be uncomfortable for Naruto, I asked him, but Naruto happily agreed, saying he liked it because it was close to Ichiraku Ramen.
So I bought it immediately and hired carpenters to repair it. Because the building was quite large, it took time, so we temporarily stayed at Naruto's old house. Since the Hokage had been maintaining it, there was no problem living there.
Several days later, I was informed that the repairs were complete. I first went to the repaired house and used [Material Manipulation] to reinforce it further, fixed the bathroom and toilet, and set up a barrier to block insects. Then I took Naruto and we moved into the new house.
"Wow~ Bro! My room is huge! The bath is huge too!"
Naruto marveled as he looked around the house.
"Are you that happy?"
"Yeah! I totally love it!"
It was certainly close to the town center, and the building was large. Although I spent far more than the reward money, I had already made a fortune from the novels, so this level of expenditure was hardly noticeable.
"Shall we go to Ichiraku Ramen to celebrate the move today?"
"Great!"