After leaving home, Sora headed straight for the commercial district.
"Hey, this must be the dango shop Uchiha Itachi always went to in the future," he muttered, rubbing his chin as he stepped inside.
After browsing for a bit, he walked out holding two skewers of tri-color dango. Taking a bite, he murmured, "Hmm… tastes pretty average, nothing too special."
He quickly devoured both skewers, then began examining the shops seriously.
There was already a barbecue restaurant, a clothing store, even a casino.
"Even though they're all here, things like hot pot shops are still missing. And these clothes—seriously? The styles are way too outdated!"
But when he reached into his pocket, Sora discovered his startup capital consisted of just 100 ryo.
Glancing at the price list hanging at Ichiraku Ramen, he saw that a bowl cost 80 ryo. His face immediately fell.
A measly 100 ryo—what could he do besides eat a single bowl of ramen?
And besides, the ninja academy was starting in just three days. He didn't have much time to work either!
"Waaah! What an adorable little boy! Are you standing here because you're hungry? Big sis will treat you to a bowl of ramen!"
Suddenly, a little girl around Sora's age burst out of Ichiraku Ramen and gasped at the sight of his gloomy face.
"I..."
Although he didn't recognize her personally, judging from the situation, it was obvious this girl was Ayame.
Before he could explain, Ayame cut him off, saying, "You don't need to be shy, little guy! Ichiraku Ramen is my family's shop, and I can treat you to a bowl!"
"Father, let's treat this little brother to some ramen!" she said as she pulled Sora inside.
"Hahaha!" The still-young Teuchi laughed heartily and agreed, "No problem at all!"
"I wasn't standing outside because I was hungry..." Sora finally had a chance to speak, but Teuchi was already busy preparing ramen. There wasn't much point explaining anymore.
Worst case, he could just pay for it. Besides, he was a little hungry anyway.
So Sora stopped worrying and began thinking seriously about how to make money.
Minato and Kushina had taken him in and cared for him with utmost kindness—he didn't have the face to ask them for money.
After paying for the ramen, his allowance would be down to just 20 ryo—barely enough to buy some paper or a pen.
"Hoo..." Taking a deep breath, Sora made up his mind.
Just then, Ayame arrived with a bowl of ramen, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Your ramen's here. Please enjoy!" she said cheerfully as she placed the bowl in front of him.
Then she shyly hid to the side, though her eyes kept stealing glances at Sora's face.
What a cute little guy! I really want to squish his cheeks!
No, no! Ayame, how could you think such rude thoughts?
She shook her head vigorously and forced herself to look away from him.
Of course, Sora had no idea what the little girl was thinking. Focused on launching his career, he slurped down the ramen in a flash.
"I'm full. Thanks for the meal!" he said politely, placing 80 ryo on the table and quickly leaving.
He still had things to do. Sure, little girls were cute—but did they compare to money?
Maybe once she grew into a big girl, they could talk again.
After leaving Ichiraku Ramen, Sora pushed his body to the limit, bought a pen and notebook, and spent the remaining 20 ryo.
"Sigh… maybe I handed over that money to Kushina a little too soon. Would've helped to keep some on hand."
Patting his now-empty pockets, Sora sighed.
Actually, he still had a little money. Not much—but around four to five hundred thousand ryo. He had given it all to Kushina earlier.
She didn't want to accept it, but under his insistence, she agreed to put it aside as his future wedding fund.
That's why he was broke now.
"But it's fine. I wouldn't have time to run a business anyway, and I don't have trustworthy people to help yet."
Shaking his head, Sora cleared his thoughts and picked up his pen with determination.
This was the foundation of his potential fortune—he had to take it seriously.
The words "Shinobi Breaks the Heavens" appeared at the top of the notebook.
That's right—Sora planned to become a copycat author, bringing best-selling novels from his previous life into this world.
He'd read Jiraiya's Tale of Gutsy Ninja at Minato's place—and honestly, it wasn't that great.
If that could become a bestseller, there was no way his stories from the previous life wouldn't succeed!
Scratch, scratch, scratch...
Relying on memory and some creative rewriting, Sora's pen didn't stop. The small boy lay across the desk, writing furiously.
By the time Minato returned home that afternoon, Sora was still immersed in his work.
In the living room, Minato and Kushina began discussing Sora.
"I've already finished registering him for the academy. When school starts, we'll send him off together!" Minato said proudly, waving the admission form in his hand.
"But… Sora's chakra is already so strong. Is sending him to school really..." He didn't finish, but Kushina understood his concern.
She smiled gently. "It's fine. Sora said before that he wanted to go to the academy."
And just like that, with a few simple words, they sealed Sora's fate for the next six years.
Whether Sora would one day learn this and be so devastated he'd throw himself on tofu remains to be seen.
True, he had said he wanted to go to the academy—but that was before he got that purple Nine-Tails card. Things were different now!
Still, even if he found out, Sora would only be more grateful to Minato and Kushina.
Did people really think it was easy to get into the ninja academy? The admission slip in Minato's hand was incredibly rare.
Otherwise, the school would've been overflowing with students—why would there be so few?
While they were discussing Sora, rumors had begun circulating around Konoha.
With the help of some influential people, Orochimaru's reputation continued to decline, while Minato's popularity soared.
The previously one-sided support began to shift. Minato quickly caught up and even overshadowed Orochimaru.
Ordinary citizens didn't know what had happened—but the clever ones understood all too well.
The death of Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake, was not as simple as it seemed.
Meanwhile, the wife of Hyuga Hizashi, head of the Hyuga branch family; the owner of Konoha's biggest weapons shop; and a civilian woman were all pregnant.
Three members of Konoha's future Twelve Ninja Guardians were already on their way.
Of course, they wouldn't be born for another ten months.
Sora knew none of this—nor did he care. After a full afternoon of writing, his notebook had already filled with over 20,000 words.
A true cause for celebration!