"Sage Art: Goemon!"
"Ahh, you are so despicable, Pervy Sage! You actually used this super long-range skill to sneak attack me again!"
"Hehe, playing a couple of rounds of this game to relax is pretty fun!"
"Isn't that right? I was one of the first players! I started playing under Kakashi-sensei's guidance."
"Then why are you still so bad at it?"
"…"
Jiraiya looked at the little black square in his hands with delight.
Just two days ago, a kind-hearted Ninja, out of admiration for the great Jiraiya, had gifted him this fascinating device and even left 100,000 ryo in the account. This gave Jiraiya an excellent start.
Except for the Edo Tensei Hashirama and Tobirama, as well as Gaara and Kakashi, who have a hard recharge requirement, almost all other Ninjas were available.
Among the three Sannin, Jiraiya had been tempted by Tsunade [Byakugou], but after some thought... he ended up choosing Jiraiya [Sage Mode].
For now, Jiraiya would be spending some time training Naruto in the village.
As part of their daily routine, Jiraiya would also challenge Naruto to a few matches during their downtime.
"Again, again!"
Naruto, who had lost countless rounds, protested.
But Jiraiya shook his head. "No, no. It's almost the deadline for my manuscript. I need to finish updating my novel."
At that moment, Yuto happened to overhear Jiraiya's conversation.
"Oh? Novel? Is it Icha-Icha Paradise?"
Instantly, countless pairs of eyes in the shop turned toward them.
Seeing Jiraiya and Yuto, and recalling Yuto's words, the Ninjas couldn't help but feel a sense of reverence.
'It turns out that the Manager, who is so powerful, is also a man of culture!'
In the eyes of the Ninjas, Yuto, who could grant them abilities and foresee the future, was akin to the legendary Sage of Six Paths.
But the Ninjas were all cautious, and at most, they only discussed it in private, burying this idea, or the seed of doubt, deep in their hearts.
Jiraiya was momentarily stunned. He looked at Yuto, realizing this was the legendary 'Manager,' and immediately put on a cheeky grin, slinging an arm around Yuto, "Haha! So you're also..."
"No, I'm not. I don't."
Yuto quickly denied it, but seeing Jiraiya's 'I understand, no need to explain' expression, he knew further explanations would be futile.
"Actually, I wanted to ask you about the process of publishing a novel... How does it work?"
Seeing that Yuto wasn't here to discuss 'serious business' or exchange 'experiences,' Jiraiya lost interest.
"Ah, that. After finishing the novel, you submit it to nearby newspapers or publishing houses. They pay by the word count, and then it gets printed and published."
Yuto nodded, 'Pay by word count? Wouldn't padding the text be profitable?'
"Of course, if you want to write, I can help you through my channels."
Yuto shook his head, "I don't have such plans yet. By the way, how widely is your novel distributed? How many people read it?"
"Well... let me think. Closer places like the Land of Dogs, Land of Fang, and farther places like the Land of Snow, Land of Demons... my novels are popular there. As for how many people read them... I'm not sure, but there are definitely a lot of readers."
Yuto was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected such a risqué novel to be so popular!
'Then again, Jiraiya's novels were based on real 'research,' and in this era where entertainment was far less developed than in Boruto's time, if he could include pictures with a camera... Icha Icha Paradise might even sell on the moon.'
"I see. So how much do you earn from royalties?"
At this, Jiraiya thought for a moment.
"The standards vary from place to place. In Konoha alone, there are several newspapers and publishing houses. In reality, many books only circulate locally after publication. It's only because I've traveled to so many places that I've been able to sell my works in those areas. It's not as exaggerated as you might think!"
Yuto nodded, 'That made sense. Even with the printing press… wait, did they even have printing presses here?'
'But in the Ninja World, the main focus had always been on war. Cultural aspects like books didn't seem to receive much attention, and reading wasn't exactly a popular pastime.'
'Compared to reading, most people would probably prefer to train in Ninjutsu, right?'
"Actually, the core issue is the lack of books that the general public enjoys reading. While the literacy rate in the Ninja World isn't particularly high, most people can still read."
"However, they can't understand those overly scholarly books, which is why my Icha-Icha Paradise has such a wide audience."
Hearing this, Yuto understood the reason.
It wasn't that the cultural industry was neglected, it was just that high-level knowledge couldn't reach the grassroots.
'Well, that's fine. In that case, the idea I had last night might actually work.'
"Oh, sorry to bother you. See you later."
After saying that, Yuto rushed back to his room to start writing.
Or rather...
"Damn system, search for Romance of the Three Kingdoms! I'll spend resource points to buy the whole thing!"
100 resource points were nothing to Yuto now.
After purchasing the complete version of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Yuto began to implement the next phase of his plan.
---
One day later, inside the store.
"Phew, I'm exhausted. We don't have any missions today, so we've been playing games all day. Isn't it a bit too boring?"
"Yeah, the game is fun, but it gets boring after playing for too long."
"By the way, do you have enough points to exchange for items yet?"
"Not even close. It'll probably take me until next month to get a proficiency book."
"Impressive, impressive. I already exchanged for a Healing Pill, and the effect is amazing! It even healed some old injuries!"
…
After exchanging a few words, the two Ninjas noticed a book placed on the table.
Thanks to the recent expansion, the shop had much more space, and the overall layout was quite comfortable.
There was even some space between the tables.
However, as they looked around, they noticed that every table seemed to have a copy of the same book.
"How strange… This book wasn't even here yesterday."
"Whatever, I'm bored anyway. Let's just see what's written in it."
With that, one of the Ninjas picked up the book titled [Romance of the Three Kingdoms] and opened it to the first page, which read...
"In the grand scheme of the world, what has long been divided will inevitably unite, and what has long been united will inevitably divide."
"In an era long before the age of Ninja, there was a nation called Han."
"The Han Dynasty began when Emperor Gaozu slew the white serpent and rose in rebellion, unifying the land. Later, Emperor Guangwu restored the dynasty, but by the time of Emperor Xian, it had split into three kingdoms..."