After monitoring Itachi for several days, I confirmed that Itachi received orders from Danzō and was heading to the Uchiha clan.
Finally, the Uchiha clan massacre was about to occur. Since it was late at night, Naruto was already asleep. I switched places with my clone, put on a fox mask, and quickly caught up with Itachi.
I hid my presence and followed behind Itachi, then struck the back of his neck so quickly that he wouldn't even know why he lost consciousness, knocking him out instantly.
Then I put him into my inventory. After that, I used my [Transformation] ability to transform into Itachi, entered the Uchiha clan's compound, and began slaughtering the clan members.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
'I will spare you. Instead, I will take your Sharingan as payment.'
I killed the Uchiha clan members so quickly that they didn't even realize they were dying, stabbing a kunai into the back of each one's neck and putting the corpses into my inventory, repeating the process.
[(B) Sharingan] ability acquired.
[(A) Sharingan] ability acquired.
[(B) Sharingan] ability acquired.
[(B) Sharingan] ability is absorbed into [(A) Sharingan] ability, upgrading to [(S) Mangekyō Sharingan].
[(C) Sharingan] ability acquired.
[(B) Sharingan] ability acquired.
[(A) Sharingan] ability acquired.
[(A) Sharingan] ability is absorbed into [(S) Mangekyō Sharingan] ability, upgrading to [(SS) Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan].
[(C) Sharingan] ability acquired.
[(A) Sharingan] ability acquired.
[(S) Mangekyō Sharingan] ability acquired.
[(A) Sharingan] ability acquired.
[...]
[...]
[...]
[(SS) Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan] ability has reached its limit, acquiring [(SSS) Rinnegan] ability.
'Oh~ Rinnegan!'
I didn't expect to obtain the Rinnegan here. I had planned to get the Rinnegan from Pain. This was a complete bonus. And without even sacrificing the [(SS) Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan]. Moreover, I was also able to plunder the [Ninjutsu] ability and raise it to SSS.
While I was rejoicing at obtaining the Rinnegan, I sensed someone watching me from behind and then quickly running away. I hurriedly chased after them and was about to stab them with a kunai, but their identity was Sasuke. So I immediately stopped.
"Brother... Why…"
I thought for a moment about what to say, then simply struck his neck and knocked him out.
'He'll figure it out on his own. Sasuke was always that kind of guy.'
I moved around the village, killing all the remaining Uchiha clan members and putting them into my inventory. Afterwards, near the village, I took Itachi out of my inventory and, using my [Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan], [Mind Penetration (Cassandra Nova)], and [Omega Magic] abilities appropriately, I implanted into Itachi's mind the things I had done to the Uchiha clan as if he had done them himself. Of course, I left out the part about putting the bodies into the inventory.
I hid nearby and watched Itachi's behavior for a while. After some time, Itachi got up from the ground. Because of the memories I had implanted, he shed tears silently, seemed tormented, and then left the area.
'It seems to have worked properly.'
Confirming that the abilities had worked properly, I also returned home.
The next day, the Uchiha clan had suddenly disappeared, causing an uproar in Konohagakure. Based on Sasuke's testimony and the remaining bloodstains, the leadership deduced that they had been murdered and taken somewhere. The culprit was identified as the missing-nin Itachi.
Unlike the original story, it was no longer the Uchiha clan massacre but the Uchiha clan disappearance incident. News came from my clones that Hiruzen was furious about this incident and had dismissed Danzō from his position as Hokage's assistant.
"Why would he do such a thing to his own clan?"
"I wonder. Maybe there was some conflict with his family?"
The villagers, not knowing the details, either insulted Itachi or reacted with incomprehension.
After a long time had passed, I saw Naruto forcibly dragging Sasuke toward our house.
"Your name was Sasuke, right? Long time no see."
"Ah, hello, Author-nim."
Sasuke scratched his head and greeted me. Then Naruto spoke.
"Bro, can Sasuke also live with us from now on? This guy hasn't even been eating lunch properly. So I brought him here right away."
I was a bit flustered that he brought Sasuke without discussing it with me first, but I had to say it was just like Naruto. In the original story, Naruto himself was barely getting by, so he wouldn't have been able to pay attention to Sasuke's situation. But here, living with me and being much more stable, he had learned to care for others.
At Naruto's words, Sasuke looked very flustered.
"T-That's not it. This guy dragged me here against my will."
I didn't object; rather, I welcomed it.
"That's good. We have plenty of empty rooms anyway. Let's get along well from now on."
At my words, Naruto smiled and said to Sasuke, "See! I told you Bro wouldn't object. Bro, give him the room next to mine, okay?"
"Yeah. Well then, since we have a new family member today, I'll have to show off my skills. Go in first and organize your room, then come out. Naruto, help Sasuke."
"Okay."
Naruto, excited, took Sasuke and went into the room. Sasuke, being dragged along, said, "But my opinion is…"
While they were organizing the room, I made a generous amount of fried chicken and seasoned chicken. Just then, they finished organizing and came out to the living room.
"Wow~ It looks delicious, ya know~"
Naruto immediately sat down and began eating the chicken deliciously. But Sasuke, looking awkward, hesitated.
"Eat before it gets cold. Chicken isn't good cold."
At my words, Sasuke picked up a piece of chicken and took a bite.
"Gasp! It's delicious…"
After eating the chicken, Sasuke was impressed. Then Naruto, who had been eating hard next to him, said to Sasuke, "Right? Bro is unbelievably good at cooking, ya know. If you don't eat it, I will."
At that, Sasuke also began eating quickly. They were children at their peak growth period, so it was nice to see them eating so well. Of course, I also gave chicken to Satoru—not fried, but grilled, with the bones removed.
The day passed like that. The next day, I packed lunch boxes for them. Receiving the lunchbox, Sasuke seemed about to say something, but then stopped and went with Naruto to the Academy.
Sasuke was still very young and needed care, so he didn't outright refuse, but it seemed he had a lot on his mind.
A few days passed like that, and just as the village was stabilizing after the Uchiha clan disappearance incident, 'Demon Slayer' Volume 2 was published.
"Why does it end here! I'm going crazy!"
"I want to see Nezuko's performance!!"
"Aargh! Give me the next chapter!!"
"By the way, isn't Nezuko cute?"
"Huh???"
There was a strange comment mixed in, but the villagers were properly suffering from the cliffhangers. This time again, I didn't go outside and stayed home writing Volume 3 until the situation calmed down. Instead, because Satoru couldn't go for a walk, he whined a bit until Naruto came home.
A peculiar phenomenon occurred in the village thanks to 'Demon Slayer': there were occasionally people practicing 'Water Breathing' with wooden swords, like Naruto. At first, I thought the kids were just following along for fun after reading the novel, but there were even ninjas doing it in earnest. Among them was Tenten. Every day, she would come to our house and look at me with sparkling eyes, calling me 'Master'.
"Master! Teach me again today!!!"
"Really! I'm a novelist, not a martial artist."
"Please don't say that. If you truly knew nothing about swordsmanship, you couldn't write such realistic depictions."
"Huh... Honestly."
Of course, since I did know swordsmanship, it was true that I had written the depictions in the novel in a logical way. But what Tenten wanted was 'Water Breathing', one of the total concentration breathing techniques from the novel. I couldn't teach her something I didn't know.
'I'm sure there was someone in the Sand Village in the Naruto world who did something with breathing... 'Shira of the Seven Mist Blades'?'
For the time being, I fed Tenten some dumplings and sent her home. Then I immediately sent a clone to the Sand Village, but the response came back that he was just a kid who hadn't learned any techniques yet and was training crudely by smashing rocks.
"Ah, damn it! I'll go myself."
I immediately opened Playful Life, found 'Demon Slayer' in the work list, and selected it.
[Currently playing within the Naruto world. Do you wish to pause?]
Since I was in the middle of Playful Life, this message seemed to appear. I said yes.
"Yeah."
[Avatar is being created.]
Kamado Tanjiro
Age: 15 years old
Gender: Male
Traits: Very warm-hearted and kind. Loves his family.
Starting point: Beginning of original work
Kamado Nezuko
Age: 14 years old
Gender: Female
Traits: Kind, mature, and self-restrained.
Starting point: Beginning of original work
Go directly.
Settings: 20 years old, doctor
Starting point: Beginning of original work
I hesitated briefly here. Should I just go in and ask about 'Hinokami Kagura' and breathing techniques from Tanjiro, or should I spend points and go back about five years to learn directly from Tanjuro?
'I think it's better to learn directly from Tanjuro, right?'
I changed the settings immediately.
Settings: 20 years old, traveler
Starting point: 5 years before the original work
(Points: -1045)
[Proceed as this?]
"Yeah."
I arrived at a Japanese village I had never seen before. My attire was a suit. It seemed the setting was that I was a traveler from the West. I immediately took out [Jack Sparrow's Compass] to find Tanjiro's house. Fortunately, Tanjiro's house was in the mountains, not too far away. I immediately knocked on the door.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Who is it?"
The first person to come out was 'Kamado Kie'.
"Hello. I've come to see Mr. Kamado Tanjuro."
"I see. But he is currently unwell and cannot move."
Fortunately, it seemed he wasn't dead yet.
"Then you must be his wife. I know some medicine. May I see him?"
"Is that so? Then I entrust him to you."
At the words that I knew medicine, Kie's expression brightened, and she guided me inside. I was guided in and looked around the house. It didn't seem to be in very good shape. And why were there so many children?
'This guy, despite being unwell, certainly has a lot of energy.'
But Tanjiro was nowhere to be seen. I was curious, but I didn't ask because I didn't want to cause any strange misunderstandings. Anyway, I entered the room and saw Tanjuro lying down. When I checked his condition with my [Naked Eye], he was on the verge of death.
I quickly infused energy into Tanjuro and used [Heal] to repair his damaged body. Of course, with his family watching, I pretended to practice medicine.
"Hmm... For now, he's over the critical point."
At my words, the family, who had been watching from behind, was overjoyed.
"All the other doctors had given up. Thank you so much, Teacher."
Kie, with tears in her eyes, held my hand and bowed her head in gratitude.
"He'll need to eat well to recover, but judging by your circumstances, that seems difficult."
"Well... to try and save him, we've spent too much of the household's money…"
From what I heard, they had spent a lot of money trying to save Tanjuro, which had depleted the household.
"I understand. Wait a moment."
I left the house, quickly went to the town, exchanged a gold ingot for money, and bought about fifty live chickens, putting them into my inventory. Then I returned to Tanjiro's house and began building a sturdy chicken coop next to the house, one that wild animals couldn't disturb. At the noise, all of Tanjiro's family came out to watch what I was doing.
"What are you making?"
"A chicken coop. Please wait a moment."
I was able to build a large chicken coop in no time. At this size, it seemed like it would be fine even with more than fifty chickens. I pretended to go down to the village, loaded chickens onto a cart, and arrived again at Tanjiro's house, releasing the chickens into the coop. Then, pretending to come back again, I brought vegetables, rice, and other supplies. This seemed more than enough for them to eat for a while.
"Why are you showing us such kindness…"
Kie seemed a bit flustered when I brought the chickens and ingredients.
"I have something to learn from Mr. Kamado Tanjuro. Think of it as a prepayment."
"I-I see."
I first killed three chickens and made chicken porridge for the family to eat. Kie and young Nezuko tried to help, but I told them it was fine and quickly made it, then served it to the children. The children, having been hungry for a while, ate very well. Nezuko, who must have been hungry herself, was feeding porridge to her younger siblings with a spoon. Seeing that, I unconsciously smiled and patted Nezuko's head.
"You're very mature even though you're still young."
"That's right. We're really fortunate to have such a good daughter."
When Kie smiled and praised Nezuko, Nezuko looked embarrassed. As it grew dark, Kie offered me a room. I didn't refuse, lay down, and fell asleep.
The next day, Tanjiro returned home.
"Mother, I'm home. By the way, what are all those chickens outside... Oh, who are you?"
Tanjiro discovered me in the house and asked. Kie explained instead.
"He came to learn something from your father. Fortunately, he knows medicine, so he treated your father. He also bought all those chickens outside."
"I see. And Father?"
"His complexion has improved, and he's much better."
"Wow~ Thank you so much!"
Tanjiro bowed his head repeatedly and thanked me. Tanjiro went to see his father and then talked with his family. From what I overheard, it seemed he had gone to the village to sell charcoal. A ten-year-old was already responsible for the family.
'He's a commendable kid.'
Around lunchtime that day, Tanjuro regained consciousness and got up from his bed. So I examined him again.
"Hmm... There's no problem with your body now. As I said yesterday, just make sure you eat well."
"Thank you."
His family was very grateful again this time. Today, I also killed a chicken and made chicken porridge for Tanjuro, and made a simple chicken soup so the children could eat some meat as well.
After a few more days like that, Tanjuro finally regained his strength, got up, and began walking slowly. Seeing that, his family shed tears.
"You've finally gotten up."
"Thank you. It's all thanks to you, Teacher Jin, that I was able to recover. But what did you come to learn from me?"
"I came to learn the Hinokami Kagura and breathing techniques."
"H-How do you know about that…"
I told him the story I had prepared in advance.
"Our family also had a connection with the Tsugikuni family long ago. The dance has been lost in our family. So I came all this way to learn it again."
When I mentioned the Tsugikuni name, he understood immediately.
"Ah~ So that's how it is. I see. Then, when I recover a bit more, I'll teach you right away."
"Please don't overexert yourself. You can teach me slowly."
"I understand."