"Is this all for today?"
"Why can't you update more? I'm so anxious!"
"By the way, what's the outcome of the Battle of Red Cliffs? Did Cao Cao successfully bring the Qiao sisters into the Bronze Bird Terrace?"
…
It had been five days since Yuto started serializing Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
The pre-release hype had fully taken effect.
Even the publishing houses and newspapers in Konoha had been lining up early at the shop entrance since the third day, hoping to secure the publishing rights.
Each time, Dosu had stopped them, saying, "Wait a little longer."
Even when the publishers tried to sneak up to the third floor where Yuto lived, Dosu and Zaku's sharp hearing exposed them.
As for the fans of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, not reading it for a day felt like having ants crawling all over them.
Entertainment-focused books were rare in this world, and Yuto's move had significantly enriched the cultural industry of the Ninja World.
---
Just before closing time today, Dosu announced, "In recognition of everyone's support these past few days, the book Romance of the Three Kingdoms will officially go on sale starting today. The price is... 1,000 ryo per copy."
As the sun was setting and customers were reluctantly preparing to put down the books and head home, Dosu's announcement sent them into a frenzy. They rushed forward, asking where they could buy it.
Dosu, overwhelmed by the noisy crowd, didn't appreciate the commotion, as his sensitive hearing made it even worse.
Having shed his initial nervousness, Dosu had found the right balance in his interactions. He raised his arm and let out a sharp, piercing sound.
"Everyone, quiet! I announce that starting today, Romance of the Three Kingdoms will be available at any publishing house in Konoha."
After Dosu's announcement, the Ninjas in the shop were overjoyed, though some were still skeptical.
"Really? Is it true?"
"Can it really be sold at so many publishing houses at once?"
"Just like Jiraiya-sama's books... maybe because it's too popular, the publishing house couldn't monopolize the copyright."
…
Jiraiya, who was mingling in the crowd, felt a wave of embarrassment.
After reading and studying the book over the past few days, he had also become a devoted fan of Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Now, hearing people compare his works to Romance of the Three Kingdoms...
Even someone as thick-skinned as Jiraiya couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed.
He realized that his writing was nowhere near the level of Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
"Who would have thought that the Manager is such a talented writer... Such a brilliant story must have taken a long time to craft, right?"
Jiraiya muttered to himself.
When he was still a young man, Jiraiya had once written a novel called The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja, but it had received little attention, far less than his later, more specialized work, Icha-Icha Paradise.
But after reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Jiraiya felt a surge of ambition.
Though he had never been interested in the position of Hokage, he now found himself entertaining the idea of... unifying the Ninja World.
After Dosu's announcement, the Ninjas rushed to the nearby publishing houses.
The most exaggerated of them all was Jiraiya.
Not only did he run fast, but he also summoned a toad to hop through the village.
The destruction he caused even surpassed Orochimaru's 'Konoha Crush Plan' from a while back.
After all, Orochimaru only managed to destroy a roof, and that was when he got hit.
---
Meanwhile, in a cold, dark basement...
The bandaged and humorless Danzo looked at the book his subordinate had brought him.
Confused, he asked, "Oh? Is this the book that's been so popular at that shop recently?"
"Yes, Danzo-sama."
Danzo didn't immediately read the book. Instead, he looked at his subordinate with disappointment, "Why did it take you so long to bring it to me?"
The subordinate quickly explained, "D-Danzo-sama, the book can't be taken out of the shop. It would be noticed... And there are so many Ninjas in that shop. Even Kakashi and Asuma are regulars. I even ran into Jiraiya-sama once."
"Oh? Jiraiya? What's he doing there? It's just a small shop. If I wanted, I could shut it down anytime."
Danzo spoke with dissatisfaction.
The Root's member fell silent. He looked up at today's Danzo silently and felt that he was quite 'wise'.
"You still dare to raise your head? What are you trying to do?"
"I dare not, Danzo-sama!"
"Get out."
"Yes, Danzo-sama!"
---
After making sure he was far away, the Root member removed his mask and murmured, "Bah, that old bastard. All he does is brainwash us. Don't think just because you control my body, you can do whatever you want. My mind will never be bound by this pathetic Root!"
As Danzo's loyal subordinate... this Root's member, in order to gather intelligence, risked his life to gather intelligence by reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
And then... he became completely hooked.
However, after reading about the benevolent yet ambitious Liu Bei and the cunning yet talent-recognizing Cao Cao, the Root's member had an epiphany.
He suddenly realized... following a leader like Danzo seemed like a dead end.
At that moment, he stomped on the dry leaves on the ground.
But it was still summer, so there shouldn't have been dry leaves.
He muttered bitterly, "A true man born between heaven and earth cannot remain subservient forever!"
"I've wandered half my life, regretting only that I've never met a true lord…"
---
Meanwhile, the humorless bandaged Danzo, after confirming his subordinate had left, casually opened the novel.
Then, from the very first sentence, Danzo was captivated, reading it as if he had discovered a treasure.
---
Yuto, seeing how well things were progressing, began considering developing a tabletop version of a certain card game.
As for why it was just a tabletop game, it was because Yuto felt it suited the current environment of the shop better.
'But with all three floors already fully utilized, there didn't seem to be any extra space.'
Then, Yuto glanced at the ground.
'Perhaps the basement could be developed.'
---
For the tabletop version of [Legends of the Three Kingdoms], Yuto decided to keep things simple.
He planned to use only the most well-known generals for the cards.
And for the version, Yuto intended to stick with the standard edition for now.
What was the standard edition? It was the version that required strategy, intelligence, understanding of the general cards, mastery of the game, and a little bit of luck.
Among the generals, Yuto felt the most iconic were Zhao Yun, who could use 'Kill' as 'Dodge' and vice versa, Guan Yu, who could use red cards as 'Kill,' and Zhang Fei, who came with a built-in 'Repeating Crossbow.'
Although these classic characters received significant buffs in later versions, it was mostly to keep up with the power level of newer characters, which took away some of their original charm.
In fact, as Legends of the Three Kingdoms evolved in Yuto's previous life, a peculiar phenomenon emerged...
Most of the time, the more famous a character was in the Three Kingdoms era, the weaker they were in the game.
But characters from the Jin period, or some obscure figures from the Jin faction, who were barely mentioned in history, had mechanics that were not only overpowered but also uniquely complex.
Their skill descriptions alone were longer than those of ten old characters combined.