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He instinctively wanted to initiate the second guidance, but reason forced him to calm down.
Since Tenten had remained single all this time, it meant that Ximen Zhen still had many chances to try again.
Even if he waited until the end of the Ninja World War and the sealing of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, it wouldn't be too late for Ximen Zhen to pursue Tenten afterward.
What Ximen Zhen needed to do now was to first live like a decent human being.
[Half a month later, you're discharged from the hospital, but you don't even have enough money for a meal.]
[After a painful reflection, you decide to work part-time while turning the artistic works from your previous life into novels. However, the barbecue shop's lady boss refuses to rehire you, and you're on the verge of starvation.]
Ximen Zhen hurriedly selected the option to initiate the second guidance.
He had set the character style as an unyielding yet melancholic and frail literary youth. But now, everything looked like he was moments away from starving to death.
Ximen Zhen had no idea where to find another excellent kunoichi willing to spend an hour with him, so this simulation had to succeed!
What should he do...?
Ximen Zhen pondered seriously and concluded that his simulated self would probably not be able to find a job.
Given his weak constitution and stubbornness in protecting his dignity, to most employers, he looked no different from a troublemaker or a walking bomb.
If he abandoned his dignity... well, even if shamelessness could somehow help him survive, would Tenten really fall for someone with no bottom line?
"Sigh, living is truly difficult."
Ximen Zhen let out a deep sigh. Where exactly was the key to breaking this deadlock?
He touched his face again... vaguely recalling the life stories of many great writers.
How does a young man, arrogant yet lacking the basic ability to survive, manage to complete his literary work?
Answer: Find a wealthy woman to sponsor him!
Like Rousseau and Madame de Warens, Balzac and Madame Hanska, Tchaikovsky and Nadezhda von Meck, or Liszt and Princess Carolyne!
Ximen Zhen suddenly understood.
He wasn't looking to be kept by a rich woman—he just needed a patron to help him finish his literary creations and contribute to the cultural development of the ninja world!
So... which wealthy women were there in Konoha?
Ximen Zhen counted on his fingers but, to his dismay, realized that Konoha didn't actually have many rich women.
Moreover, if he tried to approach any of them, he'd most likely be one-shotted by a kunai before he even got a chance to speak, let alone write anything.
Ximen Zhen looked once more at the sleeping Tenten and gritted his teeth. He decided to take his chances with her.
He silently vowed that if Tenten helped him, even if she remained unaware of the simulation, he would become her most loyal friend.
With everything set, the simulation resumed.
[Using your last bit of money, you buy a sheet of paper and borrow a pen from the stationery shop owner to write a plagiarized, heavily modified story. You plan to give it to Tenten.]
[After some investigation, you find Tenten's house. As a ninja who throws away tools like they're free, her family is actually quite well-off.]
[The butler informs you that Tenten is on a mission, but he doesn't refuse your manuscript. Mistaking you for her former ninja school classmate, he accepts it.]
[You return home, starving and dehydrated. You try to follow Naruto's example and forage for wild vegetables and fruits, but collapse at your doorstep before making it out.]
Ximen Zhen closed his eyes. He felt this simulation was bound to fail.
In fact, after this round, he began to doubt his own real-life prospects—what if he really couldn't find a job in the future?
If things ever got that bad, he might as well go find Naruto and become the ultimate spoiler machine.
He didn't know exactly how he would die for that, but at least he'd get a full meal beforehand.
Just as Ximen Zhen was considering whether to use his final guidance to help his simulated self survive, hope suddenly lit up his face.
[After completing her mission, Tenten receives your manuscript and comes looking for you. She finds you passed out from hunger and brings you home. She feeds you meat porridge herself, and you soon recover your strength.]
[Tenten expresses her fondness for your adaptation of Snow White into the story of the Ninja Tool Princess. She curiously asks who the protagonist is.]
[Facing the shy rich girl, you confidently reply that it's Tenten herself. Tenten is delighted, and you immediately sense that your relationship has shifted.]
[Ding! Tenten now considers you a friend.]
Ximen Zhen let out a long sigh of relief—he hadn't expected it to actually work.
Just moments ago, he had been wondering if the story he hastily adapted would even be accepted by Tenten.
Turns out the artistic standards of the ninja world were pretty low—especially when it came to handsome guys writing stories just for them. Tenten had no resistance at all.
[Tenten decides to support your dream, but she can only provide food and writing materials. She cannot give you money because her parents don't approve of her actions.]
[Aware that your situation is still unstable, you decide to create another adapted literary piece.]
[You write The Uchiha Clan in the style of The People of the Toyotomi Clan. Just the opening biography of Uchiha Madara stirs a sensation throughout Konoha.]
[The Third Hokage himself visits Tenten's home to meet you—now no longer frail, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, dressed in white like fallen snow—and invites you to work at the Hokage's office.]
[You look at Tenten, who is clearly happy for you but also a little flustered, and you make a life-changing decision.]
Even without the system's prompt, Ximen Zhen knew this was a critical moment.
He quickly used his third guidance and laid out the next steps of the simulation.
The simulation resumed shortly.
[You decline the Third Hokage's offer but agree to write biographies for several Hokage. He's pleased and appoints you as an honorary teacher at the ninja academy. You now have stable government support.]
[With Konoha's backing, your books become bestsellers across the Land of Fire. Even the daimyo personally requests your autograph. Every student in the Land of Fire is required to read your Tales of the Hokage series to cultivate patriotic spirit.]
[With fame and fortune at your feet, you could have moved out of Tenten's house—but you never mentioned it. Instead, you discovered a new passion: designing ninja tools for Tenten.]
[In Year 65 of Konoha, you successfully invent the Shrapnel Kunai. In Year 66, the long-range assassination weapon. In Year 67, the Manipulative Tool: Heartless Cannon. And in Year 68, you develop the Extreme: Cloudburst Scroll, which plays a critical role in the Great Ninja War.]
[After the war, you are hailed as the Father of Modern Ninja Tools and awarded the First-Class Honor Medal of the Land of Fire. Yet, you still shamelessly refuse to leave Tenten's house.]
[In Year 70, a fed-up Tenten drunkenly decides to kick you out. But you tell her there's still one final ninja tool—one that requires two people to complete. Tenten agrees without hesitation.]
(End of Chapter)