It had been a little over a year since I arrived in the Naruto world. The clones had been sending me various information, and I could hear the news that 'Itachi' had finally joined the ANBU.
'Finally, the major events will begin.'
With my abilities, I could have saved 'Uchiha Shisui'. But then Itachi wouldn't awaken his Mangekyō Sharingan. So I planned to leave it as is. However, the Uchiha clan massacre was a different matter.
'Rather than Danzō getting his hands on those eyes (Sharingan), it's better that I obtain them. About one year left?'
While I was thinking about this and that, someone came to the house. When I went downstairs, it was Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"It's not yet time for Naruto's living allowance, so what brings you here?"
"I'm not here about that today. I came because I have business with you."
"With me?"
I first guided Hiruzen to the living room and served him tea. Sitting in the living room, drinking tea, he spoke.
"The thing is, you have too much money tied up. You should spend some—that's how the economy moves."
I wondered what he meant this time. In short, he was asking me to spend money for the sake of the village's development. With a lot of money coming in but none going out, it seemed to be causing various problems.
"I see. Understood."
"And also, could you write some heartwarming novels for the children?"
Hiruzen asked me to write novels for children.
"I could, but why such a request…"
"I've seen how your novels are changing the village. That's why I ask. I want our village to become a place with a bit more humanity."
I wondered what 'Embezzlezen' was up to. This was the man who had neglected Naruto and embezzled his assets. Moreover, a ninja village is on the front lines of a country, so a warm heart might actually be a luxury. Therefore, it was a difficult request for the Hokage to make.
'Maybe he wanted to develop the village for the better but couldn't, with the advisors whispering strange things and Danzō, who might be plotting something, beside him?'
I thought for a moment, then agreed.
"I see. Understood. I'll give it a try."
"I'm glad. And, please give me an autograph here. I'm a fan too, you see."
Looking slightly embarrassed, Hiruzen held out the adult versions of Volume 1 and Volume 2 of 'Ryoma and Yurie'. I laughed inwardly for a moment, then signed the back of the covers.
After the 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 enormous, but I truly had no place to spend it. I had a house now, and if I needed something, I could just make it. Moreover, if I just donated it, I had no way of knowing where the money would be used.
"This is a dilemma…"
So for now, I purchased the small shop building right next to my house. That shop was one the owner had been trying to sell for a while, as he was too old to continue running it. So I immediately bought it and hired workers to rebuild it into a sturdy two-story workshop. It was to become a space for my hobbies.
Also, I bought and sent snacks, books, notebooks, writing utensils, kunai, and shuriken to the Ninja Academy, all in Naruto's name. I did not donate money directly. As I said before, I couldn't trust the higher-ups.
"This should be enough."
When evening came, Naruto arrived home and confronted me.
"Bro! Do you know how embarrassed I was at the Academy!!"
"Huh? Why?"
"Suddenly, snacks arrived in the middle of class, and everyone shouted in unison, 'Thanks for the snacks, Naruto!' That was from you, wasn't it?"
From Naruto's story, it seemed he was very embarrassed because of the snacks I had sent. Imagining the scene was hilarious to me.
"Puhuhuh~ Were you that embarrassed?"
"Yes! I was super embarrassed! Don't send things like that anymore!"
"Yeah, yeah."
I resolved to faithfully send snacks to the Academy once a month from now on.
The next day, I thought about fairy tales I knew and novels for children.
'Heartwarming novels…'
I thought of things like 'A Dog of Flanders', 'Anne of Green Gables', 'Marco: 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother', 'A Christmas Carol' (Scrooge), and others.
'Hmm… 'Marco: 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother' feels like it might foster missing-nin, so I'll pass. I think 'A Dog of Flanders' and 'A Christmas Carol' are good. I'll start with 'A Dog of Flanders' for now.'
Once I decided on the work, I changed the settings again this time. First, I tried to change the title itself. Since 'Flanders' is a place name, I tried things like 'Land of Fire Dog', 'Land of Fire Woof-Woof', 'Konohagakure Dog', but they all looked so shabby that I settled on just 'The Boy and the Dog' as the title.
I changed the protagonist, Nello, to 'Rentaro', and Patrasche to 'Hachiro'. I also changed the delivery from milk to agricultural products. In the Naruto world, delivering milk wasn't very plausible. For the cover, I drew Rentaro happily smiling while holding Hachiro.
For this work, I recreated the original 'A Dog of Flanders' to fit the Naruto world while deepening the emotional nuances. Since I borrowed the original story almost unchanged and wrote it as a single volume, it didn't take much time—I was able to complete it in just three weeks.
I called Naruto over and showed him the completed 'The Boy and the Dog'. Naruto burst into tears, sobbing heavily.
"Kruhuhung~! Rentaro~! Hachiro~!"
"Hey, hey! The book!"
I quickly snatched the book away as Naruto's tears and snot dripped onto it, but it seemed too late. The book was already covered in tears and snot.
"Why! Why do you kill all the main characters!! Bring Rentaro and Hachiro back!!"
Naruto grabbed and shook me, demanding. I first calmed Naruto down.
'Wow... Is this okay to release? Naruto's reaction is so intense...'
Looking at Naruto's reaction made me a bit worried, but I'd written it, so I had no choice.
The next day, since the book Naruto had cried and sneezed on was unusable, I took out the first copy I had stored in my inventory and duplicated it again. Anticipating this kind of thing, I had naturally kept the first copies in my inventory, and I used the [Material Duplication] ability to make copies to show Naruto or hand over to the printing press.
When I handed the book to the printing press owner, he also read it and, crying similarly to Naruto, said to me, "Why do you kill all the main characters! Isn't that too harsh!?"
Certainly, all the protagonists in the novels I had published so far had died.
"W-Well... In the next work, I'll let the protagonist live."
"That's a promise!"
Thus, 'The Boy and the Dog' was published. As expected, before long, the bookstore posted a 'Sold Out' sign.
"Rentaro~~~!!! Hachiro~~~!!! Kruhuhung!!!"
"Kruhuhuk... Rentaro, Hachiro..."
"Why do these poor children have to die!!!"
"The author is really too harsh, killing all the protagonists!"
The entire village was drowned in tears because of my novel. From everywhere, cries calling out for Rentaro and Hachiro resounded.
'Ugh... I'd better not go outside for a while.'
Given the atmosphere, if I wandered around outside, I'd probably get grabbed by the collar and shaken endlessly, so I decided to stay home for the time being. Then Naruto came home carrying candy, crackers, bread, and such.
"Hmm? What's that?"
"The villagers gave them to me and said they were sorry. I said it was fine, but they forced them on me, so I just brought them."
"Oh~ Really?"
This was quite unexpected. I had thought the pathetic leaves would never change, but it seemed that my novels were causing some people to change. And not just Naruto. Various donations also continued to pour into the Konohagakure orphanage. Some people even left bags of rice secretly at night.
'I feel good that my novels are having a positive effect.'
As I was spending several days like this at home, someone came to the house with Naruto. This kid was unmistakably 'Inuzuka Kiba'.
"Huh? Who's this?"
I pretended not to know for a moment. Then Naruto introduced him.
"He's a classmate I met at the Academy. He said he absolutely wanted to meet you."
"It's an honor to meet you, Author! My name is Inuzuka Kiba! I found 'The Boy and the Dog' truly moving!"
Kiba's eyes sparkled as he spoke. I found that gaze a bit burdensome.
"R-Right. Come in first, and let's talk."
I guided them to the living room and put out snacks and drinks.
"Author, you must really love dogs. Otherwise, it would be hard to write such a wonderful novel."
"I do. They're cute, aren't they? Also, humans and dogs have been friends, building a long friendship."
At those words, Kiba seemed moved.
"As expected, my guess was correct. If it's not too much trouble, could I get an autograph?"
Kiba took out a book from his pocket—naturally, it was my novel 'The Boy and the Dog'. I immediately opened the front page and wrote, along with my signature, 'To Inuzuka Kiba, the boy who loves dogs. May you always build good friendships.'
"Wow~ Thank you so much! Author, this book will be my lifelong treasure—no, I'll pass it down as a family heirloom for generations!"
"T-That's not necessary…"
Overjoyed at what I had written, Kiba carefully placed the book back in his pocket. Naruto, standing beside him, looked at Kiba with an expression of disbelief. Anyway, Kiba went home excited.
The next day, Naruto came home carrying a puppy.
"Hmm? A puppy?"
"Well... Kiba said you would take good care of it, so he gave it to me?"
"What?"
I was flustered. The puppy looked just like Akamaru, but without the black spots on its ears, it was entirely white. I suspected this puppy was perhaps Akamaru's uncle or something.
"But can you just give away a ninja dog like that?"
"Ah, don't worry about that. He said this one fell off the ninja dog roster, so it's no problem to take it."
It seemed there were selection standards for ninja dogs too. A hard world where even dogs have to take exams.
"I see. Then, what's its name?"
"He said to come up with one ourselves."
"Really? Then... let's call him 'Satoru'."
"Okay."
I named it simply because its whole body was white. Anyway, our family had grown. First, I bathed the puppy, then made porridge from ingredients at home and fed it. I wondered if it might reject it if it didn't like the taste, but it ate quite well. Perhaps because it was trained, it even went to the yard to relieve itself.
The next day, I went around the village looking for dog supplies, but there were none in this world. It seemed they just gave them people food. So I took out dog beds and toys I had bought long ago in the Marvel world to give to Cosmo, and set up a corner in the living room for Satoru to rest. When I gave him dog treats and snacks, he ate them very well.
"He's cute."
"Cute."
"Huh, did you just say that?"
"Say what?"
Come to think of it, I had seen a setting that ninja dogs can speak human language. But Akamaru, whom Kiba takes around, doesn't speak. Of course, since Kiba can understand dogs, it's not a problem, but it seems the abilities of ninja dogs vary.
From that day on, I taught Satoru to speak. Since I have the [Teacher] ability, Satoru's vocabulary grew very quickly.
"Satoru, what is this?"
"Apple."
"And this?"
"Socks."
"Good job! Satoru!"
I patted Satoru. I also have Horry from One Piece and Cosmo from Marvel, but Satoru had a different kind of cuteness.