The King of Best-Selling Novels in the Ninja World, Jiraiya (Extra Chapter)

"Are you leaving too, Naruto?"

Sakura Haruno asked.

Her heart was in a state of turmoil.

She had assumed that after being assigned to the same small team as Naruto, he would be overjoyed.

But the reality was the exact opposite of what she had imagined.

Naruto couldn't even be bothered to say a single word to her.

This made Sakura Haruno, who had always considered herself a beauty, feel extremely uncomfortable.

To be precise, it wasn't discomfort.

It was that Sakura Haruno couldn't adapt to a life without Naruto acting as her sycophant.

Naruto ignored her.

He walked away straight ahead.

Sakura Haruno stood there, stunned and awkward.

She had been... ignored.

Ignored by the little boy who once liked her immensely, whom she had never liked back.

Second Pillar, who was standing to the side, also left.

In the village...

"Naruto, you look really good today. I made some popsicles at home, do you want to come and have some?"

"Eh? Uncle Sada, your attitude toward Naruto wasn't like this before. Why the sudden change?"

"Ah, didn't your son tell you? Oh right, your son isn't a ninja."

"What on earth is going on? Tell us quickly!"

"It's like this: actually, what happened back then wasn't Naruto's fault, it was the Nine-Tails..."

His companion hurriedly covered the uncle's mouth with his hand.

He didn't let him continue.

He looked around nervously.

Seeing no suspicious figures, the companion finally relaxed, though his expression remained tense. He whispered a scolding to the uncle: "Are you tired of living?!"

"Didn't the Third Hokage warn us that we must never mention this matter in front of Naruto?"

The uncle spat a few times, as if trying to spit out all the bacteria from his companion's hand, which had just been picking at his teeth.

"Don't worry, the Third Hokage was also at the scene yesterday. The situation was like this, let me tell you..."

Half an hour later.

The crowd of onlookers who had been in the dark suddenly understood.

Human hearts are made of flesh and blood.

They had lost relatives and friends in that catastrophe.

But...

They were still alive, weren't they?

What about Naruto?

The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and Kushina Uzumaki.

What about Naruto's parents?

To stop the Nine-Tails from continuing to ravage the village, they sacrificed their lives to save it.

The only child they left behind...

Not only did he fail to receive the treatment a hero's son deserved in the village, but he was also met with cold stares from the villagers.

Where was their conscience?

When Minato Namikaze was in office, he took great care of the village and its people.

He gave his all.

He served until his dying breath.

The more they thought about it, the more their faces turned pale with shame.

"It seems I need to change how I treat Naruto from now on."

"What did the Third Hokage say? Can we finally let the younger generation know about the heroic deeds of the Fourth Hokage?"

"My son teaches at the Ninja Academy, and according to him, the Third Hokage does indeed have that intention. The priority now is to pick an auspicious date before making the announcement. The Will of Fire of this village must be passed on!"

"Thank goodness, this outcome hasn't left us all disheartened! If the son of a hero were still treated like that, I'd tell my son to quit being a ninja right now. Risking your life for nothing, only to be humiliated by fellow villagers after death—what kind of nonsense is that?!!"

"..."

He arrived at the largest bookstore in the village.

He pushed open the door.

Naruto stepped inside.

"Welcome... oh? Is that little Naruto? Is there anything you're looking for? By the way, have you eaten lunch yet? If not, you can eat with me~"

The shopkeeper was a woman in her thirties, still possessing a charming allure.

She greeted him warmly.

It left Naruto feeling somewhat confused.

He recalled how things usually went.

Whenever these people saw him, they were afraid.

It was as if they were looking at some terrible jinx.

They acted as if they wished he would just die.

But... looking at her now.

There was absolutely no sign of that.

The warmth and concern on the woman's face were not faked.

Naruto could feel it.

"Hello, beautiful big sister shopkeeper, I'm here to buy some books for my teacher."

Naruto wore an innocent, harmless smile.

A child's smile was the most lethal weapon.

Even though he was thirteen now.

Compared to these people who were much older than him.

He was still just a child.

Everyone appreciates beauty.

Especially when it comes to women, it's even more pronounced!

That "beautiful big sister" comment made the shopkeeper tremble slightly.

The way she looked at Naruto became much more affectionate.

"Little Naruto, tell big sister what books you need to buy."

The shopkeeper beamed.

Beauty was one thing.

At first, she had referred to herself as "auntie."

But Naruto had called her "big sister" directly.

It undoubtedly lowered her age and seniority.

And women love being called "big sister" rather than "auntie"!

"Auntie" sounds so old!!

"It's like this, my teacher told me to buy ten copies of [Icha Icha Paradise]."

Naruto blinked his eyes, looking completely clueless.

Passing the buck to Kakashi was the right move.

When necessary, teachers are meant to be sold out.

Better him than me.

Rest in peace.

Kakashi, thanks in advance.

Everyone takes turns carrying the blame, and this year it's your turn.

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper froze.

Bang.

Her pretty face flushed red.

As the shopkeeper and the person primarily responsible for stocking the books!

She knew exactly what was written inside that book.

Such a good little child!

He mustn't learn bad habits from such a young age.

The female shopkeeper kept a straight face, feigning sternness.

"Little Naruto, be honest with big sister, is this something you wanted to buy yourself?"

"This book is not suitable for students of your age group to read."

Naruto's lips curled slightly as he tilted his head, putting on a look of confusion.

"Big sister, why is it not suitable for us to read?"

"Aren't books meant for anyone to buy?"

"Why can you buy them, but I can't?"

Three questions in a row.

The female shopkeeper's face flushed even redder as she gritted her teeth and insisted firmly.

"It just isn't allowed!!!"

"Besides, the book you mentioned sold out last week~"

What the hell???

Are the novels written by Jiraiya really that popular?

Naruto was a bit stunned.

With a soul from Blue Star, he was all too familiar with various forms of modern entertainment.

If he were to express himself through writing, it wouldn't be impossible.

He felt that if he wrote it himself, he could definitely do better than Jiraiya!

The student surpasses the master.

Cough, cough, cough...

He hadn't become Jiraiya's apprentice yet, so they didn't have a master-disciple relationship.

However, in the anime, Jiraiya's attitude and care toward him were beyond reproach.

In a word: excellent.

Naruto put on a troubled expression, his tone sounding incredibly dejected.

"I see... I guess I'll have to disappoint Kakashi Hatake again. I've already been to several shops and couldn't find it anywhere."

"Whatever, if it comes to it, I'll just go back and accept his punishment. Whatever he wants to do to me, so be it!"

He hadn't actually been to several shops.

Naruto said this on purpose, trying to bait her to see if there were any copies left in the bookstore.

He didn't hold much hope.

Just as he was about to leave, a pleasant voice called out to him.

"Wait, little Naruto! So it was Kakashi Hatake who wanted to buy it? You should have said so earlier~"

"Hmm, today is your graduation and team assignment day, time flies so fast~"

"I must say, little Naruto, you're quite lucky to be assigned as a student under Kakashi Hatake."