When he opened his eyes, the sun had already risen past the treetops. Its rays filtered through the curtains and spilled onto Jingu Yo's body, a warm, gentle light that made him stretch lazily before finally dragging himself out of bed.
He sat for a moment, staring blankly at nothing, then slapped his cheeks and forced himself awake.
"Alright. Starting today, it's time to get serious."
Energy surged through this body. Greeted by JoJo wagging his tail, Jingu Yo swiftly went through his morning routine. He washed up, grabbed some bread from the fridge and toasted it, poured a glass of milk, and once breakfast was done, sat down in front of the computer to begin outlining his plan.
"...There's kind of a lot to do."
He clutched his head with a pained expression. First off, he needed to become known. And the simplest way to achieve that was to start serializing a manga. Even if it didn't blow up right away, a manga could keep paying dividends for years to come.
Next, he needed to release a game. But to reach the level of Fate, he had to start by laying solid groundwork — with Tsukihime. As for a novel, he had a particular title in mind that would be perfect.
It wasn't related to anime or otaku culture at all. In his previous world, it was categorized as a "keitai shōsetsu" — a cell phone novel, serialized in daily installments rather than published in full volumes. It resembled the Chinese web novels in its structure, and had even been adapted into a drama and a film. For the current Jingu Yo, it was a superb choice: it avoided the obstacles of traditional publishing while offering a massive boost in name recognition. Once he'd gained enough momentum, he could publish more niche works like the Monogatari series on his own.
The title of the novel was Koizora — Sky of Love. A story of family, friendship, and romance. In the Japan of his previous life, it had attracted tens of millions of views online, and when it was finally published in book form, it topped the year's list of bestselling literary titles.
"I'll serialize this directly on the newly launched NICONICO site. Once it goes viral, the traffic will feed back into the platform. With a hit novel leading the charge, I can establish the bullet comment video site in one stroke."
A smug grin curled on his lips. He was completely confident in this strategy.
"Might as well write Kara no Kyōkai too..."
Noticing that the novel wasn't especially long, Jingu Yo recalled the speed at which he used to type before his reincarnation. Copying it out would be no trouble at all.
Kinoko Nasu's work was steeped in philosophical ideas. Kara no Kyōkai in particular was profoundly layered — not in an academic sense, but in the way it resonated differently with each reader. It was an essential part of the Nasuverse, and its anime adaptation had become nothing short of legendary.
Unlike Nasu, who often let his imagination run wild, saying and doing whatever came to mind and only gradually refining the lore over time, Jingu Yo had the advantage of hindsight. Standing on the shoulders of giants, he could construct a fully coherent Nasuverse from the very beginning, eliminating any contradictions before they appeared.
Whether it was Tsukihime, Fate, or Kara no Kyōkai, each one was a vital fragment of the larger universe. Jingu Yo's goal was to release them one by one, until readers finally realized that all these separate works were chapters in a single, unified chronicle — a Nasuverse Epic.
"The parts Kinoko never explained… I can fill in with my own imagination. I'll treat them like fanfiction — though in truth, this is the masterplan. But that's for the future. First, I need to establish my base."
He thought about the descent of the Crimson Moon, the battles with the Magicians, and even the far future of the Steel-Earth — concepts Nasu had only ever mentioned in passing. Jingu Yo could flesh them out in full, turn them into games, even adapt them into anime.
"Aside from all that, I also need to set aside time each day to study programming so I can develop Tsukihime as a game..."
His planner quickly filled with dense writing. His goals spanned manga, novels, games, websites — every major domain of the ACG world. In the foreseeable future, he would become a full-fledged workaholic.
"Good thing I'm on leave from school this year. If I had classes, there's no way I could get all this done... This is worse than cramming for college entrance exams."
He groaned, holding his head. If it weren't for his reincarnated body's heightened stamina and enhanced capabilities, there was no way he'd choose such a masochistic path.
"But that's exactly why this reincarnation has meaning. Why this new life has value."
Clenching his fists tightly, he finished sketching out his master plan and sat resolutely at his work desk. He pulled out draft paper and all his tools, ready to begin.
He knew human beings were creatures of habit and laziness. If he told himself, "I'll start tomorrow," that tomorrow would never come. Day after day would pass, and nothing would be accomplished.
The first task on his list: draw the initial chapters of Naruto, and send them to Weekly Shōnen Jump, under Shueisha. If he could secure a serialization, all he'd need to do afterward was submit a new chapter each week. That would free up time to focus on his other projects.
Once Naruto stabilized, he could hire assistants and switch to using a drawing tablet. But for now, everything had to be done by hand.
Drawing manga was far more difficult than it sounded. Jingu Yo had the advantage of not needing to invent the story or plan the panels — he already knew them all. Naruto may have faltered in its later stages, but its early chapters were tightly constructed, exciting, and full of heart. That made his work much easier.
Still, background art and details were a major challenge. At roughly 20 pages per week, it was physically demanding.
For the first page, he not only drew the manga art, but also did the coloring himself.
A boy with short blond hair, a forehead protector on his brow, and six whisker-like markings on his cheeks. A scroll clenched in his teeth, a bright, open grin on his face. Just one look at him, and you could tell — he was someone full of fire, optimism, and determination.
Hands forming a seal, standing atop a toad. He added clouds in the background — and just from that one figure, that one motion, that single scene — the word "ninja" was brought to life with overwhelming clarity.
Finally, beneath the boy's feet, Jingu Yo wrote two bold kanji:
忍道 – The Way of the Ninja.
Beside him, in small, neat letters, he added the boy's name:
Uzumaki Naruto.