Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 280 tells a story

"Sasuke, it's Chunin Exams again. I can't believe I, someone who's only taken the exam once, am in charge of planning it. My brain's not up to par. Suddenly I remembered, didn't Kabuto say he took the exam seven times? Maybe you could interview him and get some ideas? No need for interviews for the second and third rounds, just ask what tricks he can come up with for the first round. Ibiki's giving me another tough challenge. Just how obsessed is he with incorporating torture into the exam?! He should really care about the mental health of the examinees!"

Oh, right, heard about that doomsday theory from a while back? The one about the resurrected demons and the ghost army destroying the world. Guess who killed that guy? Ta-da! It was me! I only read in the newspaper that the Konoha ninjas escorted the priestess to the shrine and successfully eliminated the demons. Seriously, those old fogies must have been trying to erase our achievements while I was away. Poor communication is such a pain; the Land of Demons is practically hailing us as heroes, our names are all over the local newspapers!

If you were still here, our Class 7 would definitely have arrived in full force.

It's not that I'm rushing you back, just do things your own way. But if Orochimaru treats you badly, you absolutely must tell me. We'll create another story of successfully rescuing someone, and those old fogies will have nothing to say.

Late at night is his usual time for writing letters, because he's genuinely too busy during the day. These past few days, he's not only been attending meetings that feel like he's rediscovered the feeling of when "Hui" was first established, but he's also been working overtime studying the manuscript of "Intimate Paradise." Actually, he'd seen it before, but honestly, he found the content rather boring. He didn't understand the kind of plot where people fall head over heels in love for no reason, and then give up for no reason.

If you truly love someone that much, how can you give up? Of course, you must hold on tight, even if it means being shattered to pieces!

However, he was not qualified to say such things. He had only ever been in love once. The gentle Hinata had liked him since childhood and gave him the warmth of home. Everyone said that was love, so he fell in love in a daze and then got married under the arrangement of his elders.

Haha, if his definition of love is like what he thought when he read these books... wouldn't I be the scumbag in the book, using my career as an excuse to so easily give up on love?

Naruto felt he'd probably been too busy these past few days, actually starting to think about these kinds of things again. Compared to the survival of the entire world, personal gains and losses, and emotions, were utterly insignificant; he shouldn't be distracted by them. But... the sequel he was supposed to give to the Perverted Sage was still in the works, and the tender, romantic scenes he used to be able to write so easily were now completely impossible for him.

Is it because he's getting old and has developed a sense of shame? But isn't that lecherous immortal even older than him? How did he overcome it?

Finally, Naruto, unable to bring himself to do it, gave up. He decided to forgo the romantic plot and instead go for a more realistic style. For example, a scholar who fails the imperial examinations will starve if he doesn't return home to farm. Or, a beautiful woman who secretly loves him is drugged by a brothel madam just to get an exorbitant reward.

However, in the short time it took to travel for the imperial examination, the scholar's land was gone, and the beauty was heartbroken by the departure of her beloved and the forced loss of her virginity. Meanwhile, the son of a high-ranking official swaggered out of the teahouse. His family had already arranged everything, waiting for him to return and copy the examination paper so he could secure an official position. The handwriting on the paper on the table was neat and somewhat familiar. Upon closer inspection, it was none other than the scholar's name.

"...No way." Jiraiya immediately refused, pointing to the four large characters handwritten on the cover and saying, "This book is called 'Icha-Tsu-Tsu-Tsu-Tsu-Tsu-Tsu-Tsu-Tsu!' What do people want to see? Romance, of course! What have you written?"

Naruto, stroking his chin, declared matter-of-factly, "I never dated!"

"Can't you imagine a relationship if you've never been in one? Write down your imagined romance!"

"...I can't think of anything."

"Is it that you can't think of anything or are you too embarrassed to write it?" Jiraiya grinned mischievously, looking at Naruto's eyes which were still avoiding his gaze. "Kids your age are usually pretty innocent. I was hoping you could write some sweet scenes~"

Naruto raised his hands in surrender, "Spare me, I really can't do this job!"

"Giving up already? Who said they wanted to learn to write? Didn't they say they were a person of their word?"

Naruto, having dug himself a hole, scratched his head and ran away. Was this old guy really lacking in imagination, unable to write anything? No, let's try again, what if we can?

At that moment, Naruto was unaware that Jiraiya, behind him, instantly suppressed his smile and quietly began to flip through the hideously ugly manuscript. Ninjas must avoid getting involved in politics, especially the politics of the Daimyo. But Jiraiya was no ordinary person; his journey had been far too long, so long that even without consciously trying to understand it, he had still witnessed countless terrible things.

Jiraiya didn't know how Naruto wrote such a thing, but he had indeed seen such unlucky people, and more than one.

"Who is the real traitor?"

The question remained as deafening as ever. He already knew the answer in his heart, but dared not say it or do it. However... Naruto seemed to be a man of action and words, to the point that he inevitably worried about the child's future.

If you're too straightforward, you'll lose your life.

"Let's change direction, what should I write about?" Naruto lay on the sofa, letting his mind wander.

"I think you've been poisoned by official documents for too long. Maybe falling in love could really help you break free." After a long period of cold war, Nine-Ra finally couldn't stand it anymore.

“What I wrote is clearly a true story! It’s from the Land of Fire. The young couple are now members of ‘Radiance,’ and I even helped the beauty fake her death and escape.” Naruto said indignantly, “I didn’t write the rest because I was afraid of being found out, right? Reality is obviously more exciting than fiction, so why didn’t I write it?”

Nine-Tailed Buddha was so angry he almost laughed. He called this guy a workaholic, but the guy wouldn't admit it!

"Then you can spend your whole life with 'Hui'!"

"That's what I planned all along, isn't it? My whole life... well, I don't know how long it will be, but I certainly won't be able to fulfill 'Hui's' ultimate dream. Now I'm a little worried about whether the younger generation can take over the responsibility. Sigh, I'm really getting old..."

Kurama, having reached its limit, unleashed a devastating barrage of attacks on Naruto, with its nine tails taking turns delivering an endless wave of devastation.

"Let's fight to the death! The winner will control the body, and the loser will forever remain in the mental realm!"

"Nine Lama, what's gotten into you again!"