Thirty thousand Ryo? That's a lot.

Once the two had left, Uzumaki Naruto's expression returned to normal. He casually tossed the thirty thousand ryo he'd just received onto the bed.

Thirty thousand ryo?!

How generous.

If you truly cared, why wouldn't you just raise my monthly living allowance? All you want is for me to sink into darkness.

Giving me thirty thousand ryo—isn't that just you playing the whore and then putting up a memorial arch, wanting to be my ray of light?

In my past life, we'd call this PUA and Stockholm Syndrome.

The Uzumaki Naruto in the original story probably went through the same thing.

After a quick clean-up of the soup spilled by the entrance, Uzumaki Naruto sent his consciousness into the sealing space.

Passing through the sewer-like area, Uzumaki Naruto arrived before the massive cage.

The fox with nine tails that blotted out the sky slowly opened its eyes, baring its fangs with a wide snarl, and a tyrannical aura radiated from it.

Before Kurama, Uzumaki Naruto seemed especially tiny, but he showed no fear, smiling as he spoke:

"Nice one, Kurama. Do you like fish or mice? If I get the chance, I'll bring some for you."

Kurama's face darkened. It suddenly stood up, slammed a paw on the seal, and roared, "Naruto, don't treat me like a fox! I'm a Tailed Beast, understand?!"

Uzumaki Naruto rubbed his chin and chuckled, "Don't say that. Foxes are naturally fish and mouse eaters. Or do you prefer rabbits and snakes?"

Kurama: "..."

Kurama waved its nine massive tails, its face dark. "Naruto, when I get out, the first thing I'm going to do is rip that mouth of yours to shreds."

Uzumaki Naruto couldn't help but burst out laughing.

In all of Konoha Village, Little Hinata was the only one who brought him a glimmer of warmth.

But in Konoha Village, the only one he could argue and bicker with was Kurama, who was just as lonely as himself.

A good while later, Uzumaki Naruto sat back down in his chair, picked up a pencil, and resumed writing.

Though he was unwilling.

And somewhat angry.

Uzumaki Naruto rationally knew he had no way to change any of this right now.

In the Hokage building, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression was serious as he said in a deep voice, "Kakashi, what did your Sharingan see? Was there no sign of Uzumaki Naruto awakening the Adamantine Chains?"

Kakashi shook his head slightly.

"No, there was no sign of him awakening the Adamantine Chains at all."

"The Adamantine Chains are a tangible Kekkei Genkai. If Uzumaki Naruto were about to awaken them, your Sharingan would definitely have seen it. However, the Nine-Tails Chakra within Uzumaki Naruto is quite active."

Sarutobi Hiruzen ignored Kakashi's last sentence.

Uzumaki Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Wasn't it normal for the Tailed Beast Chakra to be active?

"Then how do you explain Uzumaki Naruto's recent changes?"

Kakashi mused for a moment:

"Well... I think it's probably the Uzumaki clan's bloodline, just like his mother, Uzumaki Kushina."

"Although Uzumaki Naruto's hair is golden, he still has half Uzumaki blood. It's normal for him to have a bit more strength."

Only then did Sarutobi Hiruzen finally relax.

He knew that Uzumaki Kushina was very strong, and Uzumaki Naruto must have inherited that half from his mother.

"Alright, you can go back now."

The next day, Uzumaki Naruto, sporting dark circles under his eyes, strode into the bookstore clutching a stack of white paper.

"Boss, these are books I've written. I'd like to publish them."

The shop owner looked at Uzumaki Naruto with disgust. He didn't want to deal with this monster, detested by everyone in the village, but his professional ethics still made him pick up the white paper and start reading.

It was fine at first.

But the shop owner's eyes grew wider and wider, until with a "poof," two streams of blood shot from his nostrils, and he was propelled backwards, crashing into the ceiling beam.

The shop owner lay on the ground, blood continuously streaming from his nose, his hands tightly clutching the stack of white paper as if it were a treasure. He spoke feverishly, "This is definitely going to be huge! This book is absolutely going to be huge! If this doesn't blow up, there's no justice in the world…"

"Oh my god!!!"

"How can there be such an outstanding work? It's simply immersive…"

"..."

Coming back to his senses, the shop owner hastily wiped the blood from his nose, his eyes gleaming as he looked at Uzumaki Naruto.

"Th-th-this… you wrote this?"

Uzumaki Naruto nodded slightly.

The shop owner completely forgot any aversion he might have had, grabbing Uzumaki Naruto's hand with eyes full of excitement.

"Uzumaki Naruto, please, you must let us publish this book!"

"Our publishing house has branches throughout the entire Ninja World. If you give us this book, we will definitely make it famous all over the Ninja World."

Uzumaki Naruto frowned.

The shop owner had said so much, but not a single word was what he wanted to hear.

"Money!!!"

Uzumaki Naruto didn't bother to feign politeness. He calmly stated, "How much money will you give me!?"

Only then did the shop owner calm down, looking at Uzumaki Naruto with a slight hint of difficulty.

"Th-this book hasn't been published yet, so for now, there's no way to…"

Uzumaki Naruto reached directly for his stack of white paper.

"Then forget it. I believe other publishing houses will definitely be interested in my work."

The shop owner was greatly alarmed. He quickly hugged the stack of white paper to his chest and loudly declared, "One million!!!"

"I'll give you a one million advance first."

"This is the absolute limit. If your book wasn't exceptionally good, there's no way I'd advance you this much money."

"Even if other publishing houses offered, they couldn't give as much as me. You absolutely must publish it here with me."

Uzumaki Naruto showed a slight smile.

"Alright, but my identity must be kept a secret."

The shop owner gave a knowing look.

After all, it was an Erotic Novel, and many authors weren't willing to reveal their real names.

"Then what is your pen name?" the shop owner asked.

Uzumaki Naruto thought for a moment, then said, "Just call me… Menma!"

"Yes, Menma!"

Menma, Namikaze Menma!

The shop owner certainly didn't know the origin of that name, but he didn't pry further.

Soon, A stack of bank notes was brought before Uzumaki Naruto. They were currency circulated throughout the Land of Fire and could be exchanged anywhere.

Uzumaki Naruto carefully counted them:

"One million, exactly!"

"After I improve my strength a bit, I can also use it to buy some gifts for Little Hinata."