I've made some minor edits to Naruto Chapter 5. Unintentionally, Hiruzen was getting too much hate.
"About this sword. Sell it to the village. It's too dangerous for a civilian like you to keep. Now that rumors have spread because of this incident, someone might come looking for it. I'll make sure you're compensated fairly."
It seemed that in Hiruzen's eyes, many problems would arise if a blacksmith who didn't even know jutsu continued to possess this blade.
Actually, the reason I hung it in my room instead of putting it in my inventory was that I intended to give it to someone capable of wielding it if they ever appeared. I hoped the sword I created would be active out in the world rather than rotting inside my inventory. Though I hadn't wanted it to leave my hands in this specific way.
"Then, please make me one promise. I don't want to see this sword just sitting in a warehouse, so if someone appears who can use it freely, promise to give it to them. If you agree, I'll hand it over for just the cost of materials."
"Hmm... I understand. I promise."
At those words, Danzo's eyes sparkled. It seemed he was eyeing the sword. Seeing as Danzo wasn't wearing bandages yet, it appeared he hadn't transplanted Shisui's eye yet.
---------------------------------------------------
I headed home with Naruto. Naruto walked with his head down, fidgeting with his fingers, clearly feeling guilty.
"Big brother, I'm sorry. Because of me, the sword you worked so hard on was confiscated..."
"The sword doesn't matter. There's no one around here who can properly use it anyway. But you need to reflect on this. It was wrong to take it out and cause an accident knowing it was dangerous."
"I heard fire would come out and it looked so cool... I'm sorry. I messed up."
I could understand Naruto to some extent. I also caused a lot of trouble out of curiosity when I was his age. So, I figured he'd been scolded enough.
"At least no one got hurt, so that's a relief. Remember this well, Naruto. I can always make another sword, but I can't do the same with a person."
"I understand."
After wrapping things up that day, I hired people to repair the academy starting the next morning. The Uchiha clan offered to cover the costs, but I told them it was fine. Since the village had many people who could use Water Release, they put the fire out quickly, so it hadn't spread into a major blaze, and the restoration costs weren't that high. Moreover, since they called the ore a 'special meteorite,' I received a huge payment for the materials, and since the materials actually cost me nothing, I technically made a profit.
Then, something interesting happened. Hiruzen, who had taken the sword, couldn't withstand Danzo's greed and eventually handed 'Kagutsuchi-no-Ya' over to him. However, news reached me through my clone that Danzo suffered severe burns on his arm while practicing with the sword outside and was now recuperating in the hospital. Consequently, the sword was returned to Hiruzen.
"Pfft! I knew that would happen."
In my opinion, to use Kagutsuchi-no-Ya properly, one would need special sealing jutsu or Ice Release to protect their arm. Even if the handle didn't generate heat, the blade itself emitted heat intense enough to melt metal, so the wielder wouldn't remain unharmed. It was a very tricky sword to use. That was why I handed it over so easily.
Two months passed after that. The printing office, seemingly having some free time, asked about my next work. I thought about writing a long-form series this time.
'A series, huh...'
As I considered various works, the recent sword incident made 'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba' immediately come to mind, so I decided to write that.
'Demon Slayer will be easy to write. I can probably just keep the names as they are.'
Certainly, Demon Slayer had a historical setting before the modernization of that country, which wasn't much different from Naruto's world, so it seemed easy to write.
'Action will be important this time.'
I planned to include many illustrations throughout the novel. The printing office's equipment had improved, so there wouldn't be any issues printing drawings. Although the color printing was still a bit crude.
'I wonder if the printing office owner will be annoyed if there are too many drawings.'
I decided to write the first volume and see the reaction. For Volume 1, I wrote up to the point where Tanjiro's family is attacked by demons, he trains under Sakonji Urokodaki, defeats Sabito, and splits the boulder. I drew the cover with Tanjiro and Nezuko standing hand-in-hand with the rest of their family behind them.
"Finally, Volume 1 is finished."
I didn't have to change many settings, but there were many illustrations, and because I put a lot of effort into depicting the demons as terrifying and making the action intense, it took a whole month.
"Oh~ Is it finally finished?"
Naruto, who always waited with bated breath for whenever I finished a novel, ran into my room the moment he heard it was done.
"I didn't even say it that loudly, your ears are sharp."
"Haha, I've been waiting for a long time."
"Really? Just wait a moment."
"Eh? Is there still something left?"
I couldn't show the first edition directly to Naruto. It would be very troublesome if it got ruined like last time. So, I turned around and used [Material Copy] to duplicate it quickly, put the first edition into my inventory, and handed the copy to Naruto.
"Done. I just forgot to put the cover on."
"I see. I can read it now, right?"
"Go ahead."
Naruto read Volume 1 of Demon Slayer for a long time.
"Huh? Big brother! Why did the story stop here? Is there no more?"
"That's because it's a series."
"I wanted to see Tanjiro in the Final Selection already. That's so mean! When is Volume 2 coming out?"
"I don't know, maybe in about two months?"
"That's too late! Write it faster!"
"Whoa! Pestering me won't make an unwritten novel appear. You have to learn to wait."
Naruto looked extremely disappointed at those words.
"Sigh... How am I supposed to wait two months..."
Seeing Naruto's reaction, it seemed the reception was quite good.
"By the way, I included some illustrations this time. What did you think?"
"It was great! It made the scenes feel so much more vivid."
"That's a relief."
I was worried that including many illustrations might hinder the reader's imagination, but it seemed it wasn't bad. Since I put a lot of focus on drawing the illustrations this time, my [Painting] skill even rose to rank B. Of course, Nano helped a lot.
The next day, I took the book to the printing office. As expected, the owner grumbled a bit after reading it because there were so many drawings.
"There are a lot of illustrations this time, it's going to be a struggle."
"Well, then I'll take some out..."
"No, no! I enjoyed reading it so much that I'm against taking any out. It'll be hard, but we'll manage. But when's the next part coming?"
"It'll probably be in about two months."
"Can't you do it faster? I'm curious about the next part."
The owner said the same thing as Naruto.
"It's because it's a long series this time."
"I see... That's a shame, but I guess it can't be helped."
A few weeks later, once Volume 1 of Demon Slayer appeared in the village bookstores, the reaction was explosive.
"Whoa... Do monsters like this really exist?"
"No way... It's just a novel, right?"
"Strengthening the physical body through just breathing? That's an interesting concept."
"I'd like to try fighting a demon once."
Since this was the Naruto world, some people looked at it from a unique perspective.
"Anyway, when will the next part be out?"
"Tell me about it. I bet Tanjiro will do something awesome in the Final Selection. Ah~ I want to see the next part fast."
After Volume 1 was published, whenever I went out for groceries or to take Satoru for a walk, people would swarm me to ask when the next part was coming, making it quite a hassle. But given the huge interest, it looked like the long-form novel was off to a good start.
"I guess I can call this a success."
I immediately began writing Volume 2. Tanjiro struggles during the Final Selection against the Hand Demon, who has a grudge against Sakonji Urokodaki, but eventually manages to defeat it using Water Breathing, fulfilling the long-held regrets of Sakonji's students who were killed by the demon.
Then, after receiving his Nichirin Sword and his first mission, he faces the Swamp Demon. I ended the volume exquisitely at a critical moment where Nezuko suddenly jumps out of the box to counterattack a surprise strike intended for Tanjiro.
"This right here is the true Master of the Cliffhanger."
I drew the cover of Volume 2 showing a scene of Tanjiro using a cool Water Breathing technique.
Because I was writing while anticipating the villagers' reactions, I ended up writing it much faster than planned. Originally, I was going to take a leisurely two months, but I finished it in one. Naruto was absolutely thrilled.
"Wow! You finished Volume 2 already? I thought it would take longer, but anyway, show it to me quickly!"
"I'm releasing this next month, so if you spoil the content to people like last time, I won't show you anything in advance again."
"I know! I'll be careful!"
Once again, Naruto sat in the living room and began reading Volume 2 intently.
"Ah! Why!! Why does it end here?! What about Nezuko's moment?!!"
The reaction was exactly as expected.
"I had to manage the chapter length. Just read it when the next volume comes out."
"What?? This is driving me crazy!"
Naruto was tearing at his hair in agony.
'This is the terrifying power of the cliffhanger.'
A few days later, news arrived from my clone that Itachi had been appointed as an ANBU Squad Leader. Seeing as things weren't much different from the original timeline, it seemed likely that everything would follow the original plot.
'Hmm... The Uchiha Clan Massacre will likely happen as scheduled.'
While I was briefly contemplating the Uchiha's situation, I heard a strange noise from the yard and went outside. There, Naruto was swinging a wooden sword and shouting while practicing.
"Water Breathing First Form! Water Surface Slash!"
Whoosh!!
"What are you doing?"
When I called out, Naruto hurriedly hid the wooden sword and spoke with an awkward laugh.
"Haha! Nothing..."
"Doesn't look like nothing. Were you practicing Water Breathing by any chance?"
Naruto looked embarrassed.
"Yeah... I wondered if I could do it too, and it looked so cool."
"Geez, how could that be possible... Oh, wait a minute..."
I paused for a moment after watching Naruto's antics. Realistically, controlling blood circulation and heart rate through breathing was nonsense. Blood vessels aren't that strong. There's a reason people fear high blood pressure; vessels can easily burst under high pressure, and if a vessel bursts in the wrong place, you could just die. Cerebral hemorrhages are a prime example.
I figured the people in the Demon Slayer world must simply have fundamentally stronger bodies. But then, a thought suddenly struck me: 'What about the Naruto world?' This was a battle-oriented world too, and with the world's corrections, perhaps it might be possible.
So, I observed Naruto's body with my [Naked Eye] and did some calculations with Nano's help.
"Big brother, why are you doing that? It's embarrassing to have you stare like that."
"Just stay there for a moment."
"Huh? You're acting weird today."
Naruto stood still for a moment as I asked. Since he'd made mistakes lately, he was being well-behaved.
[It is calculated that bodies in the Naruto world would be able to withstand the increased blood flow from accelerated circulation and heart rate. Although there is a limit, the heart would likely encounter issues before that limit is reached.]
'Then that means Total Concentration Breathing is possible in the Naruto world too!'
Then Naruto asked me impatiently.
"Big brother, how long do I have to stand here?"
"Hmm? Oh, I'm done."
I ate dinner with Naruto, and then sat in my room, opening the Leisurely Life Shop to look for the [Water Breathing] ability from Demon Slayer.
[(B) Water Breathing]
Sword techniques using Total Concentration Breathing (A derivative of Sun Breathing).
Price: 53,000 Points
Since it was Rank B, the price wasn't completely outrageous, but it was still expensive. 53,000 points was enough for 50 consecutive gachas.
'Ugh, forget it...'
I gave up and just went to sleep.
A few days later, my clone reported that the Uchiha clan's movements were becoming suspicious. It seemed they were plotting a coup, just like in the original story.
After the Nine-Tails incident, the Leaf Village suspected the Uchiha clan might have been behind it. Using this as a pretext, they excluded the Uchiha from the village's central affairs and forced them to relocate to the outskirts. They didn't stop there, deploying ANBU to constantly monitor them, causing the Uchiha to become increasingly isolated within the village.
I found it ridiculous that they would push an entire clan into a corner based on suspicion alone without clear evidence. In a way, it might have been an unavoidable choice for the Uchiha clan.
'If I were the head of the clan, I would have taken the clan and left the Leaf Village, even if it meant giving up national support.'
The fact that they didn't engage in politics until things reached this point was also a problem. They should have participated in politics to ensure at least a minimum level of defense.
Regardless, I instructed my clone to keep a close watch on Itachi's movements.
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