Chapter 3: Making Money
Only nobles have surnames!
And he…
Kusa… Hikaru!
His surname was Kusa!
It signified living tenaciously like grass, and that even a single blade of grass must radiate its own light!
But what kind of person was he?
Who cares about nobles or non-nobles!
He was going to personally write the textbooks for the Land of Grass from now on.
He called the shots here!
Therefore, a new era for the Land of Grass… it seemed that having the commoners change their names was also an important step.
After receiving the gratitude of Kuma and his father, he continued walking forward with Kana, inspecting the state of the Land of Grass's reconstruction.
Then.
He finally returned to his own home.
Due to Kana's special circumstances, she was temporarily living at his house. This was convenient for work, and secondly, she could also take care of him.
Next up…
The task of rebuilding the Land of Grass, the "Project Heaven's Deception" in the Land of Rain, and making money… all of these were top priorities, so he was going to be quite busy.
As for making money?
What other way was there?
In a god-forsaken place like the Land of Grass, there was no other way to make money besides writing books and selling intelligence.
Even if Kusagakure wanted to accept missions, no one came to commission them.
He couldn't just start a live stream to promote how beautiful the Land of Grass is and then trick people into coming over to harvest their kidneys.
Even if he wanted to, he didn't have the means to do it!
After all, this was still the era of the Second Great Ninja War.
There was no internet!
Besides, the technology in the world of Naruto was quite baffling. It wasn't until the Boruto era that the Kaminarimon family invented the Thunder Rail, becoming wealthy in the Land of Fire, and Denki Kaminarimon… had only just proposed the idea of long-distance wireless communication.
But before the start of the Fourth Great Ninja War, the Daimyo of the Five Great Nations were already holding video conferences via television, using old CRT models at that.
Of course, that might have been a wired transmission.
After all, the cables behind the five TVs back then were remarkably thick!
But being able to display color images was still quite impressive.
And in other areas… Orochimaru was already creating a Mecha-Naruto in the later stages.
The technological leaps were simply mind-boggling.
"I need to work quietly now," Kusa Hikaru said to Kana with a serious expression. "If you need to come in, please be sure to knock!"
At his words.
Kana nodded with an equally serious face, placed her hands in front of her waist, and bowed. "I will definitely not disturb your work!"
She had grown accustomed to this scene. Although she was curious about what Hikaru was doing inside, why he always gave such instructions before going in, and why he always came out looking exhausted after finishing his work, she knew one thing…
Hikaru must be very tired, working very hard!
Otherwise.
How could he possibly obtain a large sum of money after every strenuous session?
When no one was looking, Hikaru was also silently working hard for the Land of Grass.
A smile appeared on her face as she said softly, "If there is anything I can do to help, please be sure to tell me! Well then… I won't disturb you! I will have dinner and hot water ready!"
"Thank you for the trouble."
With that said.
Kusa Hikaru walked into the room.
And Kana, outside the door… waited until the door was firmly shut, then patted her cheeks and said with determination, "I must prepare a delicious dinner tonight!"
She.
This was the only way she could help.
Oh, and also…
Her face turned slightly red as she sniffed her own arm. "I should take a bath first, so that when Hikaru is tired, it'll be convenient to… replenish his energy!"
Meanwhile.
Hikaru, having entered the room, began his work.
And what was his work?
Culture… what else could it be?
Right now, all he could do was write stories.
And you know what… in these chaotic times, everyone's heart was filled with anxiety, and they began to seek relaxing stories. That's how he had managed to earn a lot of money the last few times, enough to fund his pacification of the Land of Grass and its initial construction.
"The stories of 'Uchiha Kenji and the Old Hyuga Gatekeeper' are both finished!" Kusa Hikaru muttered to himself as he scrolled through his system. "Thinking about it, this cultural export is so embarrassing! Thankfully, I used a pen name!"
Otherwise.
It would be too mortifying if he were found out.
He was probably the most pathetic leader ever.
However, since he commissioned publishers in other countries, his royalties were also relatively low. Of course, given the current situation of the Land of Grass… there were no publishers with the ability to operate across the Five Great Nations.
After searching for a while, he finally found something good. Looking at the screen, Hikaru hesitated for a moment. "Maybe… I should switch it up? A full-color comic should be more popular, right?"
Thinking of this, he immediately exchanged for it!
Interspecies Reviewers!
I choose you!
That evening.
Kusa Hikaru walked out of his room, looking weak. The sight of him made Kana's heart ache.
Hikaru… he works so hard.
After all, the Land of Grass had just been established, and everything was on his shoulders.
And she… having received such a great kindness from him, could do nothing to help.
This further strengthened her resolve to take good care of Hikaru!
Three days later.
A re-energized Hikaru arrived at the place he had arranged to meet with the publisher.
This was the largest publisher in the Land of Fire, with shops spread throughout the Five Great Nations and various smaller countries, making them quite powerful.
"Mr. Oki! You've arrived!"
"Alright! Take a look at this!" The disguised Hikaru waved off the enthusiastic branch manager, then directly took out the book and slapped it down in front of him. "Look first, talk later!"
"A new book? Please allow me to worship it firsthand!"
The manager took the book with great solemnity. He held Mr. Oki in high regard; after all, this was a cash cow!
A moment later.
His face was filled with utter shock!
This is…
Erotica?!
It can be drawn like this?
Toad-girls?! Snake-girls?! Slug-girls?!
That tongue! That figure!
He even added some elements that an old man like him couldn't understand!
For example, angels, demons…
What an eye-opener! A true eye-opener!
The manager quickly wiped his nose, carefully put the book away, and looked at the remaining half of the manuscript with some regret. "This book… it's damaging to one's health!"
"..."
Such a narrow perspective.
It's only because the culture is so barren right now that they think anything they see is a masterpiece.
As for him… he was different!
He was the creator!
His body was weak… because of mental exhaustion!
Hikaru said flatly, "Let's talk terms."
"The... usual deal?"
"..."
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't go~" The manager quickly stopped him. Looking at Hikaru with a pained expression, he said, "Mr. Oki, your rate is already the highest. We don't make much! After all, the printing! The promotion! It's all on us! We'll lose money!"
"Then I'll go find the publisher from the Land of Lightning. Wouldn't want you to lose money. They just so happened to contact me recently! Let them take the loss."
"Damn it! Those brutes from Kumo actually extended their reach over here?!" the manager cursed, then quickly forced a smile after seeing Mr. Oki's disdainful look. "No loss! No loss! How about I raise it by three..." Seeing Mr. Oki about to leave, he changed his tune. "Five! Five! Alright? This is the absolute highest! You know it, Mr. Oki! No one can offer a higher rate than us!"
"Five it is! At the same time, I hope you can help me procure a batch of food supplies."
The upcoming reconstruction work would require a lot of food, and the Land of Grass… was only so big. Food supply has always been a problem for the nation.
After settling all the details, he left.
Next, it was time to prepare to head for the Land of Rain.
(End of Chapter)