The manuscript was complete

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly at Tsunade's questioning.

He had never decided to cut the funding. Just yesterday, he had handed management of the orphanage over to Danzo.

Danzo had only recently asked him for authority over the orphanage. With the war leaving him no energy to manage so many affairs, he had handed it over to Danzo.

If the orphanage's funding had indeed been cut today, it had to have been Danzo's decision.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and explained, "Tsunade, the village's resources are strained during the war, but I never ordered any cuts to the orphanage's funding. Those affairs have been left to Danzo."

Tsunade snorted. "That scheming bastard Danzo again!"

Though dissatisfied, she understood that the Third might have been kept in the dark. After all, she too knew Danzo was a crafty old bastard who would never do anything decent.

"The orphanage's funding barely covers food and clothing as it is. It needs to be restored, then increased by another twenty percent!" Tsunade's stance was firm.

Hiruzen Sarutobi considered it for a moment, then nodded. "I will personally look into this and ensure the funding is delivered."

For the sake of his office door, at least, he had to agree to his violent disciple's demands.

Otherwise, next time, the office door would not merely be kicked open-it would be kicked clean off.

After watching Tsunade leave, the ANBU outside the door entered the Hokage's office with a sheepish smile.

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head helplessly. "All right, I don't blame you for failing to stop Tsunade. Go fetch Danzo."

"Yes, Lord Hokage!"

Before long, the ANBU brought Danzo over.

He walked slowly into the Hokage's office and asked in a low voice, "Hiruzen, what did you want?"

Rather than bringing up the orphanage directly, Hiruzen Sarutobi first asked:

"Danzo, has Root been short on funding lately?"

A trace of surprise flashed through Danzo's eyes. Sarutobi had always been stingy with Root. Why was he asking about its funding of his own accord today?

He seized the opening. "Indeed. Root needs more money to train ANBU and prepare for war."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened, and he finally demanded coldly, "Then why did you cut the orphanage's funding by seventy percent without permission? The children can barely feed and clothe themselves!"

Danzo's expression did not change. "The orphanage spends too much. Those children have no value to Konoha. Better to save those resources and invest them in combat strength."

He thought to himself that the funding cuts were only for Nonō, the Wandering Miko. Once he drove her into a corner, she would naturally return to serve Root.

"You bastard!" Sarutobi slammed the desk and stood, his anger erupting. "Restore the orphanage's funding immediately! Otherwise, I'll cut Root's funding in half!"

Danzo's pupils contracted, his tone dark. "Hiruzen, you're obstructing Root's operations..."

"That is an order!" Hiruzen Sarutobi refused to yield an inch. "No matter how urgent the war is, we must not sacrifice innocent children!"

Danzo fell silent for a moment, then finally snorted. "Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"

"Enough. I am the Hokage!"

Danzo slammed the door on his way out.

Looking at the door hanging precariously in its frame, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a pang.

Meanwhile.

At Yūto's home, the boy was writing furiously.

He had finished gathering material. Unaware that the orphanage's funding had been restored, he continued with his writing plan.

Yūto's pen raced across the paper, the scenes from the bathhouse lingering in his mind.

"Amid the swirling steam, her hair cascaded like a waterfall. Droplets slid down her slender neck, gathering into tiny, crystalline pools at her collarbones. The curves wrapped in her bath towel were faintly visible, rising and falling gently with her breathing..."

"Misaki was backed into a corner, wet strands of hair clinging to her pale cheeks. 'Fail your mission, and you must accept punishment...' The jonin Matsumoto pulled his collar open and approached with a vicious grin, his fingers roughly gripping her chin. Droplets slid down her trembling shoulder blades, splashing against the tiles... 'No... please, at least let me get dressed...' Her desperate pleas were drowned out by the splashing water..."

Yūto rubbed his aching wrist, the corners of his mouth lifting. "The brutal boss is done. Next..."

The days passed, and before he knew it, only one day remained before he left for the battlefield.

Yūto emerged from his room with dark circles under his eyes and disheveled hair.

Writing had left him a little dazed, and he walked toward the Konoha bookstore like a living corpse.

Yūto dragged his exhausted body into the Konoha bookstore, his clothes carrying a sour smell.

The bookstore owner glanced up, frowned, and waved him away. "Shoo, shoo! No beggars allowed!"

Without a word, Yūto pulled a crumpled manuscript from inside his clothes and slapped it onto the counter. "Take a look at this."

The owner glanced at the title, Icha Icha Paradise, on the cover and impatiently turned to the first page. He was just about to mock it when his gaze suddenly stuck to the paper.

The more he read, the wider his eyes grew. His fingers began trembling involuntarily. "Th-this is..."

"Sir! I must have been blind!" The owner abruptly dropped to his knees and grabbed Yūto's hand, his voice shaking. "I'll buy this manuscript outright for three million ryō! No, five million!"

Yūto's lips curled upward. What was this owner thinking, trying to buy it outright?

Nothing like this existed in the world of Naruto. Even if someone had a flash of inspiration and came up with a similar idea, they could never have as much experience as he did.

After all, Blue Star's internet was an ocean of smut!

Someone was posting something dirty every second!

Yūto pulled his hand back and shook his head. "I want a share. Seventy percent of every copy sold."

The owner rubbed his hands anxiously. "That's not how this works! How about sixty-forty? Sixty for you, forty for me?"

"Seventy-thirty." Yūto turned as if to leave. "If you don't want it, I'll find someone else. I don't think this is Konoha's only bookstore."

Seeing Yūto about to leave, the owner panicked. Watching a competitor make money would hurt even more than losing money himself!

"Deal!" The owner grabbed his sleeve, his face wreathed in smiles. "You're truly a genius! This book is going to sell like crazy!"

Yūto pushed the manuscript toward the owner and said earnestly, "Please give all my royalties to Director Nonō at the orphanage."

The owner looked up in surprise. "Why not keep them for yourself? You worked so hard to write this..."

Yūto scratched his head, his voice low. "War is coming, and the orphanage's funding has been cut... Those children don't even get enough to eat."

He shrugged. "I might not come back. At least let them have a few more full meals."

There was something Yūto left unsaid: he was planning to go to the battlefield to die, so he definitely would not be coming back.

The owner's hands trembled slightly, and his eyes grew moist behind his glasses. "I see..." He suddenly clasped Yūto's hand. "I stake this bookstore's century-old reputation on it! For every copy sold, seventy percent will be delivered to the orphanage on time!"

Yūto nodded, but inwardly, he thought:

Konoha was only founded forty-seven years ago. Where did this bookstore get a century-old reputation?