A month has passed since then. By now, Satoru could speak at the level of a young child.
"Cassian, let's go out and play."
"You just went for a walk a little while ago. I'll ask Naruto to take you when he gets here."
"Hmph..."
Satoru had an abundance of energy, perhaps because he was still young. I wondered if I should just let him roam free. My Satoru doesn't bite, after all. Or wait... does he?
'Since there might be times he goes out alone, I should give him some training.'
The next day, the shop next door was finally finished being converted into a workshop. Since I had spent a significant amount of money on it, it was quite sturdy. It was also connected to the house, so I could go back and forth between the home and the workshop without actually stepping outside.
Moreover, considering it might get noisy, I focused on soundproofing and reinforced it once more using [Matter Manipulation]. Additionally, as the adjacent shop was connected to the house, the yard naturally became wider, making it a good spot for Naruto to practice.
'I should have done this sooner.'
Satoru also looked happy as he ran around the spacious yard.
Just then, the owner of the printing shop paid a visit.
"It's been a while."
"It has. I was wondering when the next novel would be coming out?"
"Isn't the printing shop still busy? I heard you're quite short on time."
"You're right. We are still swamped. However, the higher-ups have been badgering me, asking why the next novel isn't out yet. That's why I'm here to ask for one more about the length of a single volume, similar to 'The Boy and the Dog'. Between the pressure from above and our own lack of capacity, I'm left with no choice."
I thought the owner might be acting out of greed, but it seemed the printing shop had its own various circumstances. Those doing the badgering were likely the nobles under the Lord's command.
"I see. Very well. I already have a concept in mind, so it won't take too long."
"That's a relief. Understood then."
After the owner left, I decided to write 'A Christmas Carol (Scrooge)', which I had thought of before. This time, I changed the title and the protagonist's name to 'Sakurage' and began writing. Again, I was able to complete it in three weeks. I only refined Sakurage's emotional expressions a bit more delicately; as for the episodes, there was no need to change much from the original work, so it didn't take long even while writing at a leisurely pace. The cover featured an old Sakurage counting money.
Once it was finished, I showed it to Naruto again.
"This work is... how should I put it... it makes my heart feel warm. But the protagonist lived this time? Since someone who looked like a villain was the main character, I totally thought you'd kill him again, ya know?"
"Yeah, since you kept complaining about me killing characters, I let him live this time. Well? Do you like it?"
"Yeah, I think it's great."
Since Naruto seemed to like it, I immediately handed it over to the printing shop. The owner also read it and fell into thought for a moment.
"This is a fine piece of writing. It makes one reflect on their own life. Good! I'll print it immediately."
The novel 'Sakurage' became a major topic of conversation in the village as well.
"As expected, a person needs to know how to be a bit generous in life."
"I agree. It's not like we can take it all with us when we die."
"I don't want to live a life with nothing remaining, like Sakurage."
Even the village elders laughed hollowly after reading the novel.
"Ho ho ho, it seems I've lived my life in vain..."
"Tell me about it. But it's not too late yet."
"Right! Just like Sakurage, we still have a chance to look around at our neighbors."
I enjoyed their reactions and occasionally gave out autographs while grocery shopping with Satoru before returning home. That's when Naruto and a crowd of his classmates suddenly swarmed our house. Naturally, Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Kiba, and Shino—everyone was there.
"Eh? What brings you all to my house?"
When I asked, Naruto scratched his head and replied.
"Well, we were told to read 'Sakurage' and write a book report, but none of us have ever written a book report before. We have no idea how to start..."
"Then why didn't you ask your teacher?"
Then Sakura answered.
"Even the teacher said he doesn't really know. He said he's never written one either..."
"What? For goodness' sake... Anyway, come on in."
I was flabbergasted, but I guided the children to the living room first. However, Shino was standing there, unable to enter as if he were blocked by a wall.
"Aren't you coming in?"
"That's the thing... I can't get in."
Suddenly, I remembered. Shino was a ninja who used insects. Therefore, it seemed he couldn't enter the house because of the insect-repelling barrier I had set up. I hastily deactivated the barrier.
"Huh? I can enter now? Was something caught on my clothes? How strange."
Shino looked around at his clothes and surroundings before entering.
"I'm sorry. I think my clothes were caught on something."
"I-I see. Everyone, take a seat. I'll get you something to eat."
Fortunately, it was overlooked naturally as he thought his clothes were stuck, but I had nearly exposed my abilities.
'I need to be careful.'
I first served the children drinks and snacks. Meanwhile, Kiba was playing with Satoru in the living room.
"So, your teacher told you to write a book report even though he doesn't know how to write one himself?"
When I asked the children, Sakura answered again.
"Yes, that's right. It was an order from the Hokage. By the way, Master Cassian, do you have a girlfriend?"
Sakura asked me with a blush on her face.
"No, I don't."
"Kyaa~! He says he doesn't! Ino, did you hear that?"
"Yeah, I heard. Then, could we perhaps know what the author's ideal type is?"
These kids... I don't know what these little ones, not even ten years old, are talking about.
"I don't know, I've never really thought about it. Anyway, you didn't come here for relationship advice, did you?"
At my words, Ino spoke up embarrassedly.
"Haha! T-That's true..."
The boys looked at Sakura and Ino as if they were pathetic.
Anyway, listening to the children's stories, it seemed the Hokage had ordered them to read my novel 'Sakurage' and write a report on it. But the real problem was that since there had been no proper novels for children until now, they didn't know how to write a report. Not even their teacher, Iruka Umino. So they had come to my house at Naruto's suggestion.
'Dear me... At this rate, I don't know if they'll even be able to evaluate the reports properly once they're written.'
Regardless, given the situation, I decided to teach the children how to write a book report.
"A book report is basically organizing your feelings, thoughts, and the lessons learned after reading a book and expressing them in writing."
"Then how should we start?"
"First, it's good to write down the basic information about the book, right? You have to let the reader know what book you read. Then, start by writing a brief summary."
"What comes after that?"
"After that, you write down what you felt and thought while reading the book. It's also good to include things you liked or things you found lacking."
Then Kiba suddenly stood up and said.
"Master's writing is perfect! There couldn't possibly be anything lacking!"
"I-I see..."
It felt as if Kiba had become a true hardcore fan of mine. Anyway, since they were already here, the children sat down and began writing their reports as if they intended to finish their homework before leaving. So after helping them out for a bit, I made them some gimbap, tempura, and a special cheese tteokbokki made a bit less spicy for dinner. Of course, I made plenty with Choji in mind.
"Wow~ this is delicious! Master Cassian, you're an amazing cook too."
"I agree. It's really tasty."
"Brother's cooking is incredible, ya know."
It was a good sight to see them all eating well. Once the meal was over and the reports were finished, the children began returning home one by one.
"Master, the food was delicious. We're heading out now."
"Thank you for helping us with our homework."
"Sure, everyone get home safely."
What surprised me about the children was that, unlike in the original story, they were all getting along with Naruto without any hesitation. In truth, this was something difficult to ask about, so I hadn't known, but seeing them get along made me feel quite good. Sasuke also didn't seem too bad, perhaps because it was still before the Uchiha clan tragedy.
'I'm glad they're all doing well.'
Another month passed, and news arrived from my clones that Shisui had died after one eye was taken by Danzo and the other eye was entrusted to Itachi, leading Itachi to awaken his Mangekyou Sharingan.
'As expected, Danzo never changes.'
To be honest, I had hoped for a little change, but trying to rehabilitate Danzo with a few novels was indeed an impossible task. The village remained as peaceful as ever, oblivious to such events.
I had rested enough, so I thought about releasing a new work, but the printing shop was still frantic churning out additional copies of my previous books. They asked for more time, so I decided to make a sword just as a hobby. I didn't plan on making as many as I did during the 'Lord of the Rings' days; I intended to focus on crafting just a few.
"Hmm... first, I should make the first sword a flame sword."
It wasn't just a simple flame sword. It was a blade that, when infused with the user's chakra, would be enveloped in flames powerful enough to melt an opponent's weapon. As such, ordinary metal was insufficient. After several failures, I had to create an alloy sword by mixing Mithril—a metal not found in the Naruto world—with a bit of Chitauri metal. I also added a self-repairing ability to it.
The form of the sword was a black, somewhat long katana. I made it that way thinking the user might not be able to withstand the heat if it were different. There was another issue: its chakra consumption was high. It turned out this way because I had made it so extreme, but I decided the user would just have to figure it out and finished it there.
While crafting the sword, another month slipped away.
'Hmm... what should I name the first sword...'
I thought about it for a moment, then combined the name of the Fire God with 'sword' to name it 'Kagutsuchinoya', engraving it on the scabbard.
"Oh~ is it finally finished, ya know?"
Naruto, who had been watching me make it for the past few days, asked.
"Yeah, it's done. This is 'Kagutsuchinoya'."
"Wow~ the name is cool! Can I take a look?"
"No. This sword is dangerous. It's a sword that catches fire when you put chakra into it."
"Wait, then isn't that really dangerous, ya know?"
"It is. If you're not careful, the house could burn down in an instant, so don't touch it."
I warned both Naruto and Satoru before hanging the sword in my room.
A few days later, while returning from grocery shopping with Satoru, I saw people running urgently in one direction.
"Did something happen? Why are they like that?"
"Fire!!"
"Eh? A fire?"
I looked where the people were running and saw smoke rising from the direction of the Academy. I picked up Satoru and ran toward the Academy. When I arrived, I saw Naruto and Sasuke holding their hands up as punishment, while 'Iruka Umino' was scolding them. Looking around the Academy, I saw one side of the building had been charred black, though the fire seemed to have been put out already.
I approached Iruka to hear the story.
"What happened here?"
"Ah, Master Cassian, you're here. Well, the thing is..."
According to the story, that rascal Naruto had taken the sword from my room and brought it out to show off to the other kids. Then Sasuke asked to try it once, but when he drew and swung it, the heat was so intense that he dropped it, causing this accident.
I immediately gave Naruto a sharp rap on the head.
Smack!
"Ouch! That hurts!"
"You brat! I told you it was dangerous and not to touch it! What if someone had been hurt!"
Then, a man standing next to us, whom I had never seen before, also rapped Sasuke on the head.
Smack!
"Ugh!"
"You foolish boy, touching a weapon you don't even know how to use and starting a fire!"
"I'm sorry, Father."
Seeing Sasuke call him 'Father', this man appeared to be 'Fugaku Uchiha'. Also, because of the fire at the Academy, Hiruzen, the elders, and Danzo, who were nearby, had arrived. They were inspecting the sword I had made, 'Kagutsuchinoya', and called me over when they noticed me.
"You there, come see me for a moment."
I approached Hiruzen as he called.
"Where did this sword come from?"
I brought out the story I had prepared in advance.
"This sword was made using a manufacturing method passed down through my family for generations. Since I had some time recently, I tried making one."
"Does that mean it can be produced in large quantities?"
"That is impossible. It requires a special meteoric iron, and I used up all the meteoric iron I had just to make this one sword."
"I see... 'Kagutsuchinoya'... it's a magnificent sword. No, is it a demonic blade that even burns its owner? You truly possess many talents."
"Well, my family were originally blacksmiths. In any case, I'm sorry for causing such trouble. I should have stored it more carefully... I will compensate for the Academy building."
I reached out to take the sword back, but Hiruzen did not return it.
"About this sword. Let the village buy it. It's far too dangerous for a civilian like yourself to hold. Now that rumors have spread due to this incident, someone might even target you for it. We will pay you handsomely for it."
From Hiruzen's perspective, he must have thought that if a blacksmith who didn't even know ninjutsu continued to possess this sword, various problems would arise.
In truth, the reason I hadn't put it in my inventory and had hung it in my room instead was that I wanted to give it to someone who could use it. I hoped that the swords I made would play an active role in the world rather than rotting inside my inventory. Although, I didn't want it to come out in this manner.
"Then, please make me a promise. I do not want to see that sword rotting in a storehouse. If an individual appears who can use that sword freely, you must grant it to them. If you promise that, I will hand it over for just the cost of materials."
"Hmm... understood. I promise."
At those words, Danzo's eyes sparkled. It seemed he coveted the sword. Seeing as Danzo was not yet wearing bandages, it appeared he had not yet transplanted Shisui's eye.