A Willow Planted Without Intent Bears Fruit

"Do you still remember me?"

The man stopped before him, his expression sincere and expectant: "I am Ishida, you visited my stall just a few days ago!"

"Ishida?"

Hyuga Kiyonari frowned, struggling to recall as fragmented images gradually surfaced in his mind.

"Ah, I remember now. You're the vendor who sells game."

"Yes, yes, that's me!" Ishida nodded excitedly. "That's the one! You stopped by my stall back then and we chatted for quite a while; I even gave you a pheasant."

Just then, Hinata Hyuga noticed the situation, quickly set down the hairpin she was holding, and walked out of the accessory shop.

"Kiyonari, is something the matter?"

"It's nothing, just ran into an acquaintance," Kiyonari shook his head. "You two go ahead and keep shopping."

Ino followed closely behind, then pulled the other two over to where they were standing: "Let us listen in, too."

Ishida was clearly immersed in his memories and hadn't noticed Ino and the others approaching. His tone was filled with deep emotion: "It is truly thanks to your guidance that I found my goal. Now I'm full of drive and feel like I have endless energy!"

Kiyonari waved a hand: "It was just a casual chat."

"No, no, no!" Ishida shook his head vigorously. "It might have been a casual chat to you, but to me, it completely changed my life!"

"Changed your life?" Ino couldn't help but interject, her eyes sparkling with gossip. "That sounds amazing, what exactly happened?"

Ishida turned to look at them and bowed slightly: "Are these ladies friends of my benefactor?"

Hyuga Kiyonari nodded and introduced himself: "My name is Hyuga Kiyonari. There is no need to call me benefactor."

Benefactor? He didn't even know his name and was calling him that? What exactly had Kiyonari done?

Ino couldn't help but cast a curious gaze his way.

"Understood, Benefactor Kiyonari!" Ishida's attitude was essentially: I hear you, but I'm not changing it.

He took a deep breath, collected his thoughts, and began his story.

"Before I met the benefactor, I was just an ordinary person who had just moved to Konoha to sell game. Business was terrible, and it stayed that way for days on end. Just when I was at my wit's end, the benefactor told me the reason: for a ninja, hunting is a trivial matter, so I should try selling things that Konoha doesn't have."

"For example, some of the fresh, trendy items popular in the capital of the Land of Fire that are rarely seen in Konoha. If I could bring those back to sell, they might be very popular."

Ino's eyes lit up: "Wait! You don't mean those fashion magazines, do you!"

"Exactly." Ishida nodded.

Ino was so excited she nearly jumped: "It really was you guys! I knew it! There weren't any of those magazines in Konoha before, but suddenly a shop appeared recently selling them, and the selection is incredibly complete! So it was you!"

"It seems this young lady is one of our loyal customers?"

"Of course! I've read every single issue of Fashion of the Nations in your shop. I heard there are new arrivals today?"

Ishida bowed sincerely: "Then thank you very much for your support! Since you are friends of the benefactor, I'll take the liberty of gifting each of you a set of the new arrivals."

"No, no," Ino waved her hands in refusal. "Just set aside four sets for me, shopkeeper. I will pay for them."

"Uh... very well." Ishida wasn't sure what their relationship was, so he agreed and continued his story.

"After I finished talking with you that day, I went home and tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. Early the next morning, I immediately went to find a few old friends. They were just like me—running small, struggling businesses, barely scraping by."

"I told them exactly what the benefactor had said. Everyone felt their hearts racing, and after we put our heads together, we decided to take a gamble! We went to the capital of the Land of Fire together to see what kind of fresh, new things were there that couldn't be found in Konoha!"

"And then?" Sakura was listening intently, leaning forward slightly, unable to help but press for more.

"And then..." Ishida's face showed a look of deep emotion. "We pooled our meager savings, boarded a carriage, and after two days of bumpy travel, we finally reached the capital. I had never seen streets so wide and straight, or buildings so tall and grand. Shops were lined up one after another, selling all sorts of things. Coming from the countryside, we were dazzled; everything looked fresh and rare to us."

"The first thing I noticed that was different from Konoha was that the bookstores in the capital were packed with customers. I walked in to take a look and saw people crowding around all sorts of magazines. People said these were fashion, art, literature... I didn't really understand it, but a lot of people were buying them."

"I made a split-second decision and suggested we take all the money we had left to buy a huge batch of magazines!"

Ishida recalled: "My friends were nervous, worried that if they didn't sell, our entire capital would be wasted. But I insisted on trying! I firmly believed that what the benefactor said couldn't be wrong. Even if they sold slowly, just based on the novelty, we would surely sell some."

"And then you succeeded!" Sakura was so excited she couldn't help but clap in admiration. This experience was as wonderful as something written in a storybook.

"Yes, we succeeded!" Ishida's face beamed with a smile. "We returned to Konoha, carefully selected a small stall on the main street, and displayed the magazines. At first, no one paid much attention, but soon, a few girls were drawn in by the exquisite covers of the fashion magazines. As soon as they opened them, their eyes lit up."

Ishida laughed heartily, his tone full of admiration: "That we have what we have today is all thanks to the benefactor. You must accept our gratitude."

"What happened next?" Ino's curiosity was thoroughly piqued.

Ishida raised his voice in excitement: "The moment we got the money, I had a friend rush back to the capital without stopping to purchase a second batch! This time we were bolder, bought more stock, and chose a much richer variety!"

"Last night," his voice carried excitement and a hint of mystery, "my friend finally returned with the second batch! And... he brought back some incredible news!"

"What is it?" Sakura asked impatiently.

Ishida didn't answer directly, instead pointing to the building under renovation behind him: "That is a movie theater!"

"A movie theater?" Ino tilted her head, looking confused. "What is that?"

Sakura also looked blank: "I've never heard of it either..."

Hinata turned her gaze toward Kiyonari, and Kiyonari likewise gave a slight shake of his head.

Seeing their puzzled expressions, Ishida laughed: "I knew you wouldn't know; honestly, I'm just as confused myself. I only know it's something that can take novel stories, turn them into moving pictures, and play them for everyone to see!"

"Turn the story... into moving pictures?"

Ino suddenly realized. She had visited her father's workplace before, where there was a machine that could project distant images onto a screen, known as a monitor. She never imagined that such technology could be used to create "movies."

"I don't really understand the specific mechanics myself," Ishida said, scratching his head in embarrassment. "I only know that you use a machine called a 'camera' to record the actors' performances, and then use another machine called a 'projector' to cast those images onto a giant white screen. The audience sits below and can watch the entire story play out as if it were alive!"

"That sounds... so magical!" Hinata whispered in awe, her eyes filled with curiosity.

Hearing this, Hyuga Kiyonari narrowed his eyes slightly, looking toward the building that was still under construction.

Movies... actors...

He remembered.