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*****
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly. He naturally understood that this was because Ximen Zhen's writing was excellent—he had perfectly captured Uchiha Madara's perspective.
But this wasn't the effect he had hoped for.
However, Hiruzen's furrowed brows quickly relaxed.
Because such a powerful Uchiha Madara still lost to Hashirama Senju and was ultimately captivated by Hashirama's charisma.
More importantly, the Hashirama in Ximen Zhen's writing was sincere and straightforward, yet he didn't portray that excessively kind and overly benevolent side that people often associate with him.
Ximen Zhen's depiction of Hashirama fit more closely with Hiruzen's own aesthetic, making him subconsciously nod in approval.
As for Madara's betrayal of the village, Ximen Zhen's handling of it also aligned with Hiruzen's expectations.
In Ximen Zhen's narrative, Uchiha Madara didn't have a personal grudge against Konoha or Hashirama. Rather, he simply didn't believe peace could be sustained and wanted to find a more permanent solution. That's what led him down the lonely and dark path.
In the end, the immensely powerful Madara was once again defeated by Hashirama, which further highlighted the correctness of Konoha's Will of Fire.
By the time Hiruzen put the book down, it was already around noon.
He rubbed his slightly sore eyes and looked at Ximen Zhen, who was sitting nearby with his eyes closed, cultivating chakra. A smile of approval appeared on his face.
"Ximen, your writing is excellent. I have no suggestions to offer."
"Soon, I'll assign someone to have your book printed and distributed. For now, we'll sell it within Konoha to gauge the public's reaction. If it's well received, we'll expand distribution to the entire Land of Fire."
"As for your royalties, we'll pay you based on Jiraiya's rate."
Ximen Zhen was a bit surprised. He hadn't expected Hiruzen to offer him such a generous share.
Paying Ximen Zhen by Jiraiya's standard wasn't just a matter of profit—it was a show of respect and recognition from Hiruzen.
Just as he was about to express his gratitude, Hiruzen waved a hand and said, "This is what you deserve. Besides, you've contributed a work that helps promote the Will of Fire. That's a merit in itself."
"If there's anything you want—or want to do—feel free to let me know."
At that moment, Ximen Zhen fully understood—Hiruzen was trying to recruit him.
From Hiruzen's perspective, he had no idea that he would be facing a life-or-death crisis in a few months.
So he wanted to rely on Ximen Zhen to help stabilize public morale in Konoha during its current unstable period.
Ximen Zhen didn't resent this at all.
Whether Hiruzen was a purely good person or just a shrewd, morally gray one, he had never wronged Ximen Zhen.
In fact, Hiruzen had even gone out of his way to help him. Naturally, Ximen Zhen wouldn't purposely disappoint someone who held such expectations for him.
However, thinking about the future events that might unfold, Ximen Zhen paused in thought, then shook his head and said, "Hokage-sama, I'm currently very satisfied with my life, my career, and my health. So, I don't have any special requests at the moment."
"How about this—please give me a month to think it over. Would that be okay?"
Hiruzen nodded. Though he was old, he could certainly wait a month.
"In that case, I won't keep you any longer. Someone will contact you regarding the follow-up matters."
"Then I'll take my leave, Hokage-sama."
After leaving the Hokage's office, Ximen Zhen immediately felt a wave of relief.
Before dealing with the upcoming attack on him, Ximen Zhen planned to temporarily suspend his book writing and his tea house story collection activities.
He had already come up with a public excuse.
The barbecue restaurant had just sent him his first month's profit share—just over 100,000 ryo.
Adding the 100,000 ryo that Tenten would deliver and the 50,000 ryo from the Hokage's office, Ximen Zhen's monthly income had stabilized at 250,000 ryo.
That was no small amount—most chunin earned about 1 million ryo per year.
Once the first batch of royalties came in a little over a month from now, his monthly income might soar to 400,000 or even 500,000 ryo, placing him on par with a tokubetsu jonin.
And despite having such a high income, he didn't have to undertake dangerous ninja missions or spend money on ninja tools, jutsu, or medical expenses. That meant he was already living at a standard equal to or even beyond that of a jonin.
Just two months ago, he was still a penniless orphan on the verge of starving.
Every time he thought about this, Ximen Zhen felt like it wasn't real.
But having experienced countless storms in simulations, he wouldn't let a bit of money go to his head.
Now that he had money, Ximen Zhen didn't plan to hide it.
As a soon-to-be well-known author, he couldn't hide it even if he wanted to.
He planned to completely renovate his courtyard into a front-shop, back-residence layout.
To do that, he'd need to expand the property, which meant filing a report for approval at the Konoha office.
Given his current relationship with the Hokage, these were trivial matters. The only potential issue was that the renovations would likely cost over a million ryo.
Fortunately, building a house didn't have to be completed in one day. During construction, he could pay in installments. Based on his income stream, he could afford it.
With a plan in place, Ximen Zhen submitted the report that afternoon.
But what he didn't expect was for the official to inform him that the land he wanted to expand onto technically belonged to the Uchiha clan.
Ximen Zhen would need to personally find a representative of the Uchiha clan and come to an agreement before proceeding with the paperwork.
And the only remaining representative of the Uchiha clan… was Uchiha Sasuke.
After thinking it over briefly, Ximen Zhen decided to meet Sasuke in person.
It was also a good opportunity—he had regretted not getting a chance to interact with the main cast. Now, the opportunity had arrived.
Ximen Zhen didn't plan to go directly, since Sasuke wasn't exactly known for his good temper at this stage.
He decided to ask Ino to act as an intermediary. At the very least, they were classmates, and with Ino around, Sasuke might be more receptive.
"You want to talk to Uchiha Sasuke?"
Ino, wearing an apron and tending to flowers with her mother and grandmother in the shop, looked at Ximen Zhen in surprise, her expression turning pale and odd.
"Did you… hear something?"
Seeing how nervous she looked, Ximen Zhen was momentarily confused. "Is there something I should know?"
Ino waved her hands frantically. "No! You shouldn't know anything… I mean, Sasuke and I aren't close. Not at all!"
She forced a laugh, her face so awkward it was almost tangible.
Her mother and grandmother watched them with great interest, their eyes moving between Ino and Ximen Zhen before settling on Ino with a gaze so scrutinizing it made her cheeks burn.
"I see…"
Just as Ximen Zhen was considering whether to ask Shikamaru or Choji for help, Ino, unable to bear it any longer, grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the Yamanaka house. Only once they reached a quiet alley did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Alright, I'll take you to someone who can help. She'll bring you to Sasuke."
"Her name's Haruno Sakura—she's a total Sasuke fangirl."
(End of Chapter)