Chapter Thirty-Seven: A Leisurely Chat with Kushina

When the tea was brought in, Karn raised his eyebrows, sensing something was amiss. How had Kushina managed to tag along so naturally? Not only that, she had taken the initiative to brew the tea herself and serve it, then sat quietly to the side, her eyes glinting with curiosity.

“Karn, sir, your three books are selling remarkably well. The first print sold out in no time, and the second batch is almost gone too. When I left, the boss was already preparing a third print run,” said the assistant of Spring Blossom Bookstore’s owner. He presented samples of the three books, along with the sales dividends from the previous batches, placing them on the table and sliding them toward Karn. The bookstore’s proprietor had already deposited the money, so what was handed over was a bankbook.

“It seems your bookstore has made quite a profit. Are you here for the contents of the second volume?” Karn opened the bankbook and glanced at the numbers—dividends from the first two batches amounted to roughly twenty-five million taels. Calculating from that, Spring Blossom Bookstore had earned nearly seventy million taels; such revenue surely meant the books weren’t only sold within the Land of Fire.

In the ninja world, few people read novels, and unlike decades later, the bookstore’s owner must have had great confidence in Karn’s works. He would hardly be satisfied with selling only in the Land of Fire. With his channels and connections, Karn’s books were likely sold in the Land of Lightning, the Land of Earth, and various smaller countries.

“We did make some money, but it’s all thanks to your writing, Karn.” The assistant smiled obsequiously, then asked with anticipation, “Karn, sir, about the second volume…”

“Wait here a moment,” Karn replied, immediately rising and heading inside. He soon returned with the second and third volumes of all three novels, handing them over to the Spring Blossom Bookstore representative.

“These are the contents of the second and third volumes. There are seven volumes in total for these three novels. If your bookstore continues to perform well, there will be further opportunities for deep cooperation with upcoming titles.” Tossing out a few novels and waiting to collect the money—such a transaction was simply too effortless.

The assistant’s joy grew at Karn’s words, and he promised to report everything thoroughly to his boss upon returning. With the new volumes in hand, he departed swiftly.

Bookstores across the land had already received numerous inquiries; readers were desperate for the next volumes. Having never encountered such novels before, they were captivated as if discovering a new world.

Once the Spring Blossom Bookstore staff had left, Kushina’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Karn. “Boss, you’re actually a writer? That’s amazing!”

To be treated so respectfully by the bookstore staff was impressive in Kushina’s eyes. Though she didn’t fully grasp the stature of Spring Blossom Bookstore, writers were generally held in high regard throughout the ninja world.

This reverence was an impression passed down from the daimyo and nobility, who themselves respected writers; so the ninjas followed suit.

“If you study hard, you could become a writer too, Kushina,” Karn said, waving his hand. He was merely a plagiarist, but in the cultural wasteland of the current ninja world, gaining fame was easy—just write novels that were bold and violent, and the impact would be strong.

“I don’t think I can. Even the ninja school classes are tough for me…” Kushina said, then pointed to the three sample books on the table. “Boss, can I have a look at what you wrote?”

“No, these are for adults. Children are strictly forbidden from reading them,” Karn refused without hesitation. “For you, these books are like forbidden jutsu among ninjas—never read them or there will be serious consequences… But to satisfy your curiosity, let me show you what a writer earns.”

With that, Karn showed Kushina the bankbook from Spring Blossom Bookstore. When she saw the numbers, her eyes widened, her mouth dropping open in astonishment.

“That… that’s so many zeroes!”

She had asked Tsunade for a hundred thousand taels, making her the richest student at the ninja academy, but the bankbook before her had eight digits—and this was just her boss’s income as a writer.

“Boss, you’re so rich—why did you still trick me?”

With that thought, Kushina’s happiness faded; it felt wrong.

“That was compensation for my wooden boards and weapons, and you gave me quite a scare—plus there’s the psychological medical fee afterwards,” Karn replied, feeling no guilt at all. His money was his own, and being careful with every penny was what made him wealthy—if he’d always played the generous benefactor, he’d be a saint!

These two thousand five hundred taels would be invested back into the business, to quickly establish a snowball effect. Compared to native ninja world merchants, Karn was like a downgrade strike, profiting from products thirty years ahead. Once he’d had his fill, he could afford to reward others a little.

…

It was late when Kushina returned to the Senju compound. Not only had she played games today, she had even managed to snag a pastry—a milestone compared to before.

Upon returning home, the joy on Kushina’s face faded somewhat. Granny Mito was old now; though there was plenty of interaction, most of it was urging her to study sealing techniques or family matters.

Since Nawaki came back to recuperate, he had been in low spirits and spoke little, while Tsunade was busy with other things.

At ninja school, Kushina’s status as an outsider and her fiery temper meant her relationships with classmates were poor—she had almost no friends. That was why she liked going to Karn’s food shop; at least Karn never mocked her appearance, and their conversations were always lively.

She spent money quickly, but most of it was Tsunade’s, so she didn’t really mind.

After returning, Kushina chatted with Tsunade for a while, mostly talking about Karn, since the ninja world was full of things that upset her and she instinctively avoided them.

“That guy is a novelist too? He’s earned over twenty million taels in royalties?” Tsunade was shocked upon hearing this. She’d need to complete at least twenty S-rank missions to earn that much. When Kushina mentioned adult novels, Tsunade recalled the kind Jiraiya used to sneak at home, which she’d caught him with, and looked at Kushina with distaste.

“Kushina, he’s right—you shouldn’t be curious about those novels. Kids aren’t allowed to read them.”

So he wrote that kind of novel, but with twenty million taels, the books must be selling well!

After chatting for a while, Tsunade noticed that Kushina often talked about Karn, so she teased, “Kushina, have you been visiting him a lot lately?”

But this question made Kushina fall silent. After a few seconds, she spoke softly, “Nobody at school likes me…”

Ever since she fought and won against a classmate’s ninja brother, her peers had deliberately avoided her, or talked about her behind her back.

Those brats… Tsunade, thinking of Kushina’s troubles, couldn’t help but pat her hair gently and said, “If anyone bullies you again, teach them a lesson. If anything happens, come to me—not even Old Man Sarutobi can scold you!”