Chatting with Kushina

Only after the tea was served did Karn raise an eyebrow, realizing something was off. How had Kushina managed to follow him upstairs so naturally?

She had even taken the initiative to brew and serve the tea, then sat down beside him, curiosity flickering in her eyes.

"Mr. Karn, your three books have been selling exceptionally well. The first print run sold out in no time, and the second is almost sold out too. When I left, the owner was arranging a third printing."

The speaker was the Spring Beauty Bookstore owner's assistant. With a respectful expression, he took out sample copies of the three books and placed them on the table, along with Karn's share of the first two print runs, then slid them toward him. The bookstore owner had already deposited the money, so what he handed Karn was a bankbook.

"Looks like your bookstore has made quite a profit. Are you here for the second volumes?"

Karn opened the bankbook and checked it. His share of the first two print runs came to roughly twenty-five million ryo. By that calculation, the Spring Beauty Bookstore must have earned close to seventy million ryo. Revenue that high certainly couldn't have come from sales in the Land of Fire alone.

There still weren't many people in the shinobi world who read novels, and things were nothing like they would be a few decades later. With so much confidence in Karn's books, the Spring Beauty Bookstore's owner certainly wouldn't settle for selling them in just the Land of Fire. Given his connections and distribution channels, Karn's books might already be on sale in the Land of Lightning, the Land of Earth, and some smaller countries.

"We have made a little, but that's all thanks to your writing, Mr. Karn."

The bookstore owner's assistant smiled ingratiatingly, then asked with anticipation, "Mr. Karn, about the second volumes..."

"Wait a moment."

Karn immediately got up and returned to his room. He then brought out the second and third volumes of all three novels and handed them to the bookstore's representative.

"These are the second and third volumes. Each of these three novels has seven volumes in total. If the Spring Beauty Bookstore performs well, I have some other good novels we can work together more closely on."

All he had to do was toss out a few novels and wait for the money to roll in. This business was almost too easy.

Hearing Karn's words, the bookstore owner's assistant became even more delighted. He excitedly promised to report everything to his boss once he returned, then hurried off with the new volumes.

Bookstores everywhere had already received plenty of inquiries. Readers were desperate for the next volumes. Having never encountered novels like these before, they were enthralled, as though they had discovered a whole new world.

After the bookstore's representative left, Kushina looked at Karn with shining eyes and asked, "Boss, you're a writer too? That's amazing!"

To Kushina, anyone who could make a bookstore's staff treat him with such respect was truly impressive. Although she didn't yet understand the Spring Beauty Bookstore's standing, people throughout the shinobi world generally respected writers.

That ingrained attitude had spread from the daimyo and nobles to the ninja. If even nobles and daimyo had to respect writers, then ninja ought to follow their example.

"If you study hard, you can become a writer someday too, Kushina."

Karn waved a hand as he spoke. He was merely copying other people's work, but the shinobi world was such a cultural wasteland that making a name for himself was easy. Novels with enough sex and violence would do the trick, as long as they packed a strong enough punch.

"I couldn't. I even struggle with my classes at the Ninja Academy..." Kushina then pointed at the three sample books on the table and asked, "Boss, can I read the books you wrote?"

"No. Those are for adults. Children aren't allowed to read them."

Karn refused without hesitation. "For you, these books are like forbidden jutsu among ninja. You absolutely mustn't read them, or there'll be very serious consequences. But to satisfy your curiosity, I'll show you how much a writer earns."

With that, Karn showed Kushina the bankbook the Spring Beauty Bookstore had delivered. When she saw the numbers, her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped.

"Th-that many zeros?"

The hundred thousand ryo she had asked Tsunade for had already made her the richest student at the Ninja Academy. Yet the bankbook in front of her showed an eight-digit sum, and that was only the boss's income as a writer.

"Boss, you're already so rich. Why did you still have to rip me off?"

At that thought, Kushina couldn't feel happy anymore. It just wasn't right.

"That was compensation for my wooden boards and weapon. Besides, you gave me quite a scare, so there were follow-up mental health treatment costs too."

Karn said this without the slightest guilt. His money was his own. It was precisely because he counted every last coin that he could become this rich. If he kept pretending to be generous, he'd have to be a saint!

These twenty-five hundred ryo needed to be invested in his businesses to get the snowball rolling as quickly as possible. Compared with the shinobi world's native merchants, Karn was practically punching down, making profits from products thirty years ahead of their time. Once he had skimmed off most of the cream, he could toss the others a little.

It was very late by the time Kushina returned to the Senju Clan Compound. Not only had she played games for free for a while that day, she had even scored a pastry. Compared with before, that was a milestone.

After returning to the compound, some of the happiness faded from Kushina's face. Grandma Mito was getting old. Although they talked quite often, most of their conversations were either reminders to study Sealing Jutsu or ordinary family exchanges.

Nawaki had been in low spirits since returning to recuperate and rarely spoke, while Tsunade was focused on other matters.

At the Ninja Academy, Kushina's status as an outsider and her fiery temper had always left her on poor terms with her classmates. She had practically no friends. That was another reason she liked going to the Karn Food Store. At least Karn hadn't mocked her appearance when they first met, and later they had hit it off in conversation.

Although she spent money quickly, most of it belonged to Tsunade, so Kushina didn't feel much of a sting.

After returning, Kushina sought out Tsunade and chatted with her for a while, but most of what she talked about concerned Karn. Her life among ninja was full of things that upset her, so she unconsciously avoided the subject.

"That guy's a novelist too? And he earned over twenty million ryo in royalties?"

Tsunade was shocked by the news as well. She would have to complete at least twenty S-Rank missions to earn that much. Then, when Kushina mentioned adult novels, she recalled the sort she had once caught Jiraiya secretly reading at home. With a look of disgust, she told Kushina,

"Kushina, that guy was right. Don't get curious about those novels. Children shouldn't read them."

So he wrote that kind of novel. Still, over twenty million ryo... They must be selling pretty well!

After they chatted a little longer, Tsunade noticed how often Kushina brought up Karn, so she asked teasingly, "Kushina, have you been going to see him a lot lately?"

But that question made Kushina fall silent. A few seconds passed before she said quietly, "Nobody at school likes me..."

Ever since she had fought and beaten a classmate's ninja older brother, the students at school had deliberately avoided her or whispered about her nearby.

Those little brats... Thinking of what Kushina had been through, Tsunade reached out and stroked her hair. "If anyone bullies you again, teach them a good lesson. Come to me if anything happens. Even that old man Sarutobi won't get to scold you!"