Chapter 28: A Tale of a Gutsy Ninja

Seeing how excited Jiraya was acting, Yujin momentarily thought that maybe he should have left without mentioning anything about a book recommendation, but now it was too late. He could only blame his own friendliness for wanting to chat a bit and not appear rude.

“Here are the best books.”

In a well-hidden corner of the store, a place Yujin had never been before, he found a small shelf with some books. Jiraya picked one and handed it to him.

“Her Needs?”

Yujin read the title aloud and didn’t understand what it was about. The book’s cover was brown, without any art or photo, very simple, only the title and the author’s name. On the back, it was blank, with no introduction to the book. When Yujin was about to open the book, the shopkeeper approached and commented.

“Checking again? I already told you it’s going to take a while, don’t keep insisting.”

Jiraya quickly approached the manager respectfully and spoke with his best smile, which wasn’t much.

“Don’t talk like that, Manager. I’m an old customer of yours. Just give me a hint. Just a little hint if the editor liked it. I need to know if the idea is good to continue writing.”

The manager crossed his arms and looked at Jiraya with narrowed eyes.

“I already told you, no. I handed the outline of your book to the editor, and he will decide if it’s good or not. If I were you, I’d focus on finishing writing instead of pestering me here.”

He then quickly left, not giving Jiraya any more opportunity to speak.

Jiraya seemed disappointed, but still turned to Yujin and commented.

“This book is really good, I recommend it. I’ll be going, Yujin, take care.”

Jiraya then turned to leave, but seeing him so disappointed, Yujin sighed.

“What was that about? Did you write a book?”

When his supposed expression of disappointment quickly disappeared to be replaced by an expression of extreme interest, Yujin sighed; he made it again.

“So, you noticed? Haha, yes, I’m writing a book. It’s not complete yet, but I sent an outline to the village editor through the manager to see if he’s interested in publishing my story, but so far, I haven’t received a response, and I’m afraid to continue writing without knowing the editor’s opinion.”

Yujin nodded slightly, understanding Jiraya’s dilemma.

“If you want my opinion, I-”

“But of course, thank you for offering. Come, I’ll show you what I’ve written so far, and you tell me your impressions.”

Yujin just wanted to say that Jiraya should patiently wait for the editor’s response while writing the book, just like the manager said, but he couldn’t finish.

Unable to finish his sentence, Yujin paid for the book recommended by Jiraya and was practically dragged to a nearby restaurant. Jiraya offered to pay for a meal in exchange for his impressions of the book, and Yujin accepted while taking a manuscript that Jiraya handed him.

“This is just the beginning. I already have the whole book outlined, but I only wrote a few chapters seriously so that I could send them to the editor.”

It was only about twenty or thirty pages, so Yujin felt comfortable reading while waiting for the meal.

The title of the book is “A Tale of a Gutsy Ninja.”

The story is set in a world similar to the ninja world, and the main character is named Musasabi Naruto. As he began reading the introduction, Jiraya explained.

“I based the protagonist a bit on my personality.”

Yujin started to worry about what he was reading. Jiraya’s personality is no secret; the pervert of the village. Carefully, Yujin continued reading. Sometimes, when he didn’t understand a word, he would ask Jiraya.

“Don’t you know how to read?”

Yujin shook his head without feeling ashamed.

“A bit. I can write, but in another language. I can speak, but I have difficulty understanding the writing of these lands. I’m studying to improve.”

Jiraya didn’t know much about Yujin or his past. Although he was curious, he wasn’t close enough to ask about such a sensitive topic, so he kept his curiosity to himself.

Yujin continued reading and began to understand a bit about how the protagonist thought.

The protagonist was a good person and believed that one day people could communicate, thereby ending war and hatred among them.

This was somewhat similar to Yujin’s philosophy, so he felt sympathy for the character. Consequently, he began to realize that maybe Jiraya wasn’t such a bad person. If he had beliefs similar to Naruto’s, he could see a common ground between them, which might be enough to form a friendship.

In the middle of the story, the food arrived, and they began to eat. While eating, Yujin continued reading. An hour later, they finished eating, and Yujin continued reading while sipping a glass of water.

Jiraya felt how slow Yujin was reading, but he didn’t get impatient. He was excited to hear his impressions of the story.

An hour later, Yujin finally finished reading and handed the manuscript back. The first thing he did, however, was ask a question.

“You said Naruto’s personality was influenced by yours. Do you share the same philosophy of breaking the cycle of hatred, and that one day we can have lasting peace?”

Jiraya raised an eyebrow upon hearing this but answered nonetheless. He didn’t expect him to ask that.

“No ... I mean, yes. Initially, I didn’t have that opinion. I never thought deeply about these issues; I just did what I was told, it’s my ninja duty. Recently, however, a situation made me rethink my life. That’s when Naruto was born. While I questioned my life, choices, consequences, and life as it is, the character of Naruto formed in my mind, and eventually, I came to the same conclusion as the character; we can’t continue like this, we have to be better, we have to stop hating so that we can break the cycle of hatred and destruction.”

...

Yujin was silent for a long time, thinking about the past and his beliefs. Although he didn’t like the story of the book much, he liked Naruto’s character and his idealism.

“It’s quite idealistic.”

Jiraya smiled bitterly upon hearing that, immediately understanding Yujin’s perspective. He understood it himself. Naruto Musasabi is an extremely idealistic character, and one thing about ideals is that reality always destroys them.

“Yes ... I also think it’s not very realistic, but I believe we must have ideals, even if we don’t have the ability to act on them.”

Yujin nodded in agreement with Jiraiya’s statement and commented slowly while drinking water.

“I don’t say it’s bad. Ideals are important because they are our concrete ideas of a better future. It’s important to dream of a better future, but it’s not enough just to dream; we have to act. And that’s where idealists suffer. When you act based on your ideals, reality knocks on your door and tells you how insignificant you are.”

Yujin was never very idealistic. He was raised by a Martial Arts Master but received a good education. He knew how to read and write. He read dozens of books while training under his master.

This is an impressive feat considering that where Yujin came from, books were extremely rare. There were no bookstores selling books. The books that did exist were created by wealthy people or feudal lords and usually kept for themselves in their private libraries.