Chapter 17 No Man Can Resist Naruto!

"Papaya again?"

Shiki picked up a slice of papaya with her chopsticks, a look of confusion on her face.

It wasn't that the papaya dish was unappetizing—the chefs employed by the Ryōgi family were so skilled that any one of them could easily become a head chef at a star-rated hotel. The taste of the food was beyond reproach.

What truly puzzled Shiki was that she had been eating papaya for every meal for an entire week. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner—papaya was always on the menu. Not only that, but her father had also insisted that she drink a certain amount of milk every day, claiming it was "for the sake of her physical development."

Shiki could understand drinking milk for her growth, but what was the deal with eating papaya at every meal? Was it to supplement her vitamins?

The maid standing nearby noticed Shiki's lack of enthusiasm and her disinterested expression. She stepped forward to console her. "Miss Shiki, please don't disregard the head of the family's good intentions. He's only thinking about your future married life."

"Married life? I'm only sixteen. It's too early to be thinking about that."

"Not at all. In my day, sixteen was old enough to be a mother."

Shiki gritted her teeth in frustration. The maid's reminder suddenly made her realize that her papaya-filled meals had started around the same time that Higashino Kanade had moved into the Ryōgi household. Was this all Kanade's doing?

Shiki glanced at the empty seat beside her. Normally, Kanade would be sitting there, eating with her. But today, the seat was empty. Had Kanade been sent out on another mission?

"Is Kanade out?"

Shiki turned to the maid, who thought for a moment before replying, "Young Master Kanade should still be in his room, sleeping. He's been busy with his own affairs these past few days and stayed up late last night. Staying up at such a young age isn't a good habit."

"Is Kanade drawing again?"

Shiki put down her chopsticks and stood up, heading toward Kanade's room.

"Miss Shiki, you haven't finished your meal."

"Leave it. I'll eat with Kanade later."

Shiki was fuming. She had decided to give Kanade a good beating and force him to eat all the papaya. After all, he wouldn't dare fight back.

The sound of determined footsteps echoed through the hallway as Shiki arrived at Kanade's room and slid the door open with a forceful pull.

The morning sunlight streamed through the window, and a gentle breeze stirred the curtains, scattering the sketches on the floor. On the wooden desk opposite the door, a long-haired, beautiful boy was fast asleep, his head resting on his arms. A white butterfly had flown in through the window and landed on his nose, as if it had found a sweet nectar it didn't want to leave. The entire scene looked like a beautiful painting, exuding a sense of harmony and tranquility.

For some reason, Shiki's anger dissipated the moment she saw this scene.

She tiptoed over to Kanade and watched his peaceful sleeping face for a while. Then, with a conflicted expression, she picked up a blanket and draped it over him.

She had come here to demand an explanation, but now she was taking care of him like a wife. It was undeniable that Shiki had undergone a noticeable change since spending time with Kanade.

"What's this?"

Shiki noticed a thick stack of sketches placed to the left of Kanade.

Ever since Kanade had returned from his last mission, he had locked himself in his room, drawing incessantly. He had even used something he called a "shadow clone" technique to create a copy of himself to help with the work. Aside from the thick stack of sketches on the desk—easily numbering close to a thousand—there were also a significant number of discarded sketches on the floor, a testament to the sheer volume of work he had been doing.

The sketches on the desk had already been bound into several volumes. Shiki picked up the top volume and saw the title: Naruto: Zero.

In the Japanese industry, "Zero" was often used to describe a prequel to a work. In other words, what Kanade had been drawing was actually the prequel to a larger story.

Shiki opened the first page, and a vividly colored, visually striking image caught her eye.

It depicted a forest where a massive nine-tailed fox clad in blue armor was engaged in a fierce battle with a wooden Thousand-Armed Buddha. Standing atop the fox and the Buddha were two individuals, their faces prominently featured in the upper half of the cover.

One of them wore red armor and had long black hair that reached his waist. His handsome face was marked with black patterns.

The other wore brick-red armor and bore a striking resemblance to Kanade, looking like an older version of him.

Why did Shiki think it was an older version of Kanade? Aside from the facial resemblance, the man shared the same crimson eyes as Kanade, though Kanade's eyes had a two-tomoe pattern, while the man's resembled a kaleidoscope.

Shiki turned to the next page, which introduced the world's background.

"In the distant past, during an era of war and suffering, there existed a colossal divine tree that had appeared at an unknown time."

"Every thousand years, the divine tree would bear a single fruit. A woman named Kaguya Ōtsutsuki ate this fruit and gained the power to change the world."

"Using the power of the divine tree, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki single-handedly ended the wars and gave birth to two sons, Hagoromo and Hamura."

"However, peace did not last. Over time, Kaguya became tyrannical and sought to sacrifice all of humanity to the divine tree. To stop her, her two sons engaged in a grueling battle and ultimately sealed her within the moon, restoring peace to the world."

"After Kaguya's reign ended, Hagoromo, later known as the Sage of Six Paths, dispersed the power of the divine tree and established the Ninja Sect to maintain peace."

"This story begins many years after the Sage of Six Paths' passing, as the world once again descended into an era of war."

The grand world-building, unique power system, and distinctive art style immediately captivated Shiki.

Eagerly, Shiki turned to the next page, where she was greeted by a scene of a black-haired boy who looked almost identical to Kanade skipping stones by a river.

Shiki became engrossed in the manga, her face occasionally showing expressions of surprise and admiration. The story was unlike anything she, a sheltered young lady, had ever encountered. When she saw techniques in the manga that Kanade had used in real life, her expression became particularly intriguing.

The manga followed a protagonist named Uchiha Kanade, whose experiences formed the main narrative of a story about pursuing peace.

As a young boy, Uchiha Kanade met his lifelong friend, Hashirama Senju, while skipping stones. Both of them dreamed of ending the era of war and establishing a peaceful village. However, their respective clans would not allow this to happen, leading to the first rift in their friendship.

Shiki continued flipping through the manga, and before she knew it, it was already noon.

When she reached the final chapters, where Uchiha Kanade, abandoned by everyone and having lost all hope after reading a stone tablet left by his clan, made a final stand with the Nine-Tails, only to be betrayed and defeated by Hashirama's brother, Tobirama, she couldn't help but slam her hand on the table.

"How could you kill off the protagonist, Kanade? Are you even human?"

"What? The protagonist was killed? Urobuchi, take this sword!"Chapter 26: No Man Can Resist Naruto!

Kanade Higashino was jolted awake by the sudden slap, and the butterfly resting on his nose fluttered away in alarm.

Rubbing his sleepy eyes, the first thing Kanade saw was Shiki Ryōgi glaring at him with a look of intense frustration.

Kanade tilted his head in confusion. He had been busy drawing manga these past few days and couldn't recall doing anything to upset Shiki. Was she angry because he hadn't been sparring with her?

As a responsible "soft rice man" (a man who relies on his partner for support), it was his duty to satisfy his partner's needs. Kanade immediately patted his chest and assured her, "Shiki, if you're itching for a fight, I'll spar with you this afternoon. I'll make sure you're completely satisfied."

Shiki's eyes lit up. Whenever she fought Kanade to the death, she felt a release of the deep-seated murderous desires within her. Especially when she destroyed Kanade's shadow clones, the feeling of release was particularly intense. So, whenever she felt the urge to kill, she would seek out Kanade to vent.

These past few days, Kanade had been too busy drawing to pay attention to her, causing her to accumulate a lot of pent-up desires. Kanade's offer was indeed tempting to her at this moment.

But her current anger wasn't something that could be resolved with just a sparring session!

Shiki pointed at the scene in the manga where Uchiha Kanade was killed and said angrily, "Why did you kill the protagonist? Kanade didn't do anything wrong!"

???

This tone... Are you really the Shiki I know?

"Is this Shiki?" Kanade asked tentatively.

"Ryōgi Shiki" nodded. A mere manga wouldn't be enough to provoke the usually cold and detached Shiki to such anger. The only explanation was that Shiki's male personality, Ryōgi Shiki (織), had emerged. After all, no man could resist Naruto!

Compared to the aloof Shiki, the more approachable and easygoing Ryōgi Shiki (織) made Kanade feel more at ease.

Kanade sat cross-legged on the chair and said seriously, "It's necessary for the plot."

"Ugh—"

Ryōgi Shiki (織) let out a long groan. He couldn't understand why Kanade had decided to kill off Uchiha Kanade. He had already fallen deeply in love with the character.

A smile crept onto Kanade's lips. Ryōgi Shiki's (織) reaction was exactly what Kanade had hoped for. After all, his original intention was to portray Uchiha Kanade as a tragic protagonist that readers would love.

That's right. What Ryōgi Shiki (織) was reading wasn't the original Naruto storyline but Kanade's adapted version. As for why he did this, it was related to a sudden idea that had popped into his head.

In the world of Type-Moon, Servants could be historical figures who existed in reality, mythical characters from epics, modern fictional characters, or even urban legends and heroes from the future.

Kanade thought to himself: If Servants like Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper could exist, could he create a Servant of his own?

Kanade wasn't just idly daydreaming. He was preparing for the future Fifth Holy Grail War and the incineration of human history. The "Sima System" would never let him off easy, so he needed to prepare an insurance policy for himself.

If Kanade could really summon a Servant he created in the future Holy Grail War, not only would it increase his chances of winning, but as the Master, he would also gain immense benefits, such as freely using various forbidden jutsu.

And even if he failed, it wouldn't matter. In the Type-Moon world, there were Servants stronger than Gilgamesh. If worse came to worst, he could always dig up some relics and summon one of them.

The money and social status he gained from drawing manga could also serve as capital, allowing him to stand on equal footing with Shiki.

In a marital relationship, the most dangerous thing is when one side becomes too dominant. Although Kanade was determined to live off Shiki, he wanted to do so on his own terms. He didn't want to be seen as a useless pretty boy.

"Kanade, can you bring Uchiha Kanade back to life? Even though it's wrong to trap everyone in a massive genjutsu to achieve world peace, his desire for peace isn't wrong," Ryōgi Shiki (織) pleaded, grabbing Kanade's arm.

"Did I make Uchiha Kanade too perfect?" Kanade rubbed his chin.

In his original plan, Kanade intended to summon Uchiha Kanade, who was based on himself, in the future. After all, who could be more reliable than himself? So, he had portrayed Uchiha Kanade as a tragic character torn between good and evil, with immense power. He also planned to shift some of the more unsavory plot points onto Uchiha Obito in the future.

Nothing could move people's hearts more than a tragic character. Kanade was confident that his popularity would soar in the future, and the higher his popularity, the greater the chance of successfully summoning him.

Kanade reached out and patted Ryōgi Shiki's (織) head, comforting him, "Don't worry, he'll appear again later. This is just a prequel."

"Really? You better not be lying to me," Ryōgi Shiki (織) said, relieved. Then he pointed at Kanade's hand, which was still resting on his head, and added, "Shiki says she doesn't like you touching her like this."

"Do you like it?" Kanade asked in return.

"Hmm... I don't dislike it," Ryōgi Shiki (織) replied with a bright smile.

It had to be said that Shiki's smile was truly beautiful. Kanade felt his heart being soothed, so he increased the intensity, petting her like a cat.

After a while, Shiki's eyes changed. She slapped Kanade's hand away, a rare hint of embarrassment and anger on her face.

"Do you think I'm a cat?"

Kanade immediately realized that Shiki's dominant personality had taken over. He quickly apologized, "Sorry, it felt too good. I won't do it again."

"Hmph!"

Shiki snorted coldly, turned around, and stormed out of Kanade's room.

"Why can't I control my hands?"

Kanade looked at the hand that had just been petting Shiki's head, then sniffed it and said with a陶醉 (intoxicated) expression, "So fragrant!"

Creating a fictional character as a Servant required many conditions, with popularity being the decisive factor.

Servants like Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper had immense popularity across human civilization. If you asked random people in a civilized society, they would likely recognize these names. Therefore, Kanade's plan to create a Servant required popularity—lots of it.

"Someone like you, a young master, shouldn't be short on money, right? Is this just a hobby?" Bottle Light (瓶倉光溜) was a bit confused about Kanade's intentions. Someone with such mysterious abilities like Kanade, would he really care about worldly matters?

"Don't ask. It's for the sake of dreams."

"Haha," Bottle Light chuckled. Kanade, who could spout nonsense with a straight face, was quite different from the terrifying person he had seen that night. Perhaps Kanade wasn't as scary as he had thought.

"How popular do you want it to be? Enough to win a newcomer award?"

"Preferably so popular that all seven billion people on Earth will think of this manga when they hear the name Naruto."

Bottle Light's face darkened. He was now seriously怀疑 (suspecting) that Kanade was deliberately finding excuses to torment him.

"Of course, I know this will take time, so let's set a small goal first: make all 100 million people in Japan fall in love with Naruto," Kanade said, patting Bottle Light on the shoulder.

"Manpower and money aren't issues. I've discussed it with the head of the family, and the entire Ryōgi family will fully support this endeavor. Don't let me down."

After receiving assurances of funding and manpower, Bottle Light breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed this eccentric boss wasn't completely clueless about the market.

"I'll do my best."

Bottle Light took the manuscript. With money and manpower, his powerful future sight could potentially turn Kanade's vision into reality. All he needed now was time.

"By the way, your manga still needs a pen name. Have you thought of one?" Bottle Light suddenly asked.

Kanade thought for a moment and said, "Let's call it Masashi Kishimoto."

Although he had made significant adaptations, Kanade didn't have the audacity to claim all the credit for the original author, even if there was no manga artist named Masashi Kishimoto in this world.

After discussing some details with Bottle Light, the latter left, not forgetting to remind Kanade before he left, "Don't forget about my Mystic Eye Killers!"

"You're leaving again? How long will you be gone this time?" Shiki asked, lying on the bed.

"What? Will you miss me?"

Kanade smiled and asked in return. Shiki didn't answer, using silence to express her feelings.

Perhaps even Shiki was starting to fear loneliness.

Kanade lay down next to Shiki, inhaling the faint fragrance emanating from her body, and sighed softly, "It won't be long. A week at the shortest, a month at the longest. I'll be back soon after I finish my business."

Shiki extended a hand, her fingers clenched into a fist, with only her pinky finger sticking out.

Kanade hooked his pinky around hers and said seriously, "It's a promise."

"Master Kanade, everything you asked for is ready."

A short-haired, black-suited servant of the Ryōgi family placed a fully packed backpack on the ground.

"The head of the family and his wife have business to attend to tonight and cannot see you off. Please forgive them."

The servant bowed deeply to Kanade, who waved it off indifferently and began checking the contents of the backpack.

Today was the last day of the preparation time given by the system. In a few hours, it would be midnight, and Kanade would soon be leaving.

Inside the backpack were medical supplies, food, water, gold, gems, and other hard currencies, as well as a handgun with over fifty rounds of ammunition—all requested by Kanade.

After confirming that everything was in order, Kanade slung the backpack over his shoulder, bid farewell to the servant, and headed deep into the bamboo forest to wait for the appointed time.

At exactly midnight, the system's prompt sounded.

[Ding! Preparation time has ended. Beginning world transfer now.]

[Five, four, three, two, one.]

A black hole suddenly appeared beneath Kanade's feet, and a sense of weightlessness filled his mind as he fell into it.

After a dizzying whirl, Kanade's vision cleared, and he found himself lying on a patch of fern-covered grass.