[A 50-50 Split!]

The next morning.

"Ugh..."

"Where am I?"

Hyuga Bin painfully opened his eyes and looked at the unfamiliar surroundings before him.

He remembered going drinking with Jiraiya last night, and he remembered getting drunk.

But no matter how hard he tried, he could not recall anything that happened after he got drunk.

Last night had been his first time drinking the Naruto world's shochu. Before that, he had only ever drunk beer.

He had thought the Naruto world's shochu would be about the same as Western liquor, but he had not expected it to be quite strong. He got completely wasted after only a few bottles.

And since he could not remember what happened after getting drunk last night, he had clearly blacked out.

"Drinking really causes trouble!"

Hyuga Bin rubbed his aching, alcohol-addled head, got out of bed, left the room, and entered the reception hall.

At that moment, Jiraiya was writing furiously, as though he were composing some sort of article.

"Lord Jiraiya is up this early to create?"

Somewhat puzzled, Hyuga Bin walked toward Jiraiya. "Lord Jiraiya."

The instant he saw Hyuga Bin, Jiraiya stood up, smiling as he pulled Hyuga Bin over to sit in a chair. "Bin-kun, let's continue talking about that story you told me last night..."

"Which one?" Hyuga Bin was a little confused. He did not remember telling Jiraiya any story last night.

"That one... the story about Uchiha Jiebai."

"Uchiha Jiebai?" Hyuga Bin was even more confused.

Was there anyone in the Uchiha Clan named Uchiha Jiebai?

Besides... Uchiha Jiebai was such an awkward name. Remove the surname Uchiha and read it backward, though, and it sounded somewhat familiar.

"Bin-kun, I thought about it all night. I want to turn your idea and plot into a book. We'll co-author it, and split the profits fifty-fifty. What do you think?" Jiraiya did not notice that Hyuga Bin had no idea what he was talking about and continued on his own.

He simply loved Hyuga Bin's story too much. And since Hyuga Bin had clearly said last night that he could not write it himself, Jiraiya wanted to write it down.

Hyuga Bin's story was far better than all the ideas he got while gathering material at the Women's Bathhouse every day.

"Lord Jiraiya, was Uchiha Jiebai, from the story I told you last night, a teacher at the Ninja Academy?" Hyuga Bin probed cautiously. It was the only story he could think of that matched.

"That's right. Her partner is the principal of the Ninja Academy, Sarutobi Yoshitaka." Jiraiya nodded.

He had been drunk at first last night, but after hearing Hyuga Bin's story, he had sobered up for a while.

Both protagonists' names matched when reversed, so Hyuga Bin had figured out what story it was. He immediately told Jiraiya what he thought. "Lord Jiraiya, if you want to write this story, go ahead. You don't need to put my name on it, and you don't need to give me any of the profits."

If his name was attached to that book, his reputation in the ninja world would be utterly ruined.

A romance novel writer—one mainly responsible for providing ideas, at that. What girl would dare date him then?

"How could that be?" The moment Jiraiya heard that Hyuga Bin wanted neither credit nor money, he rejected it outright.

"How about this, then? Lord Jiraiya, I won't put my name on the book. If there are any profits, just give me ten percent." Seeing this, Hyuga Bin could only ask for a token ten percent.

"No. Do I, Jiraiya, look like someone who enjoys taking advantage of you?"

After hearing Hyuga Bin's words, Jiraiya had no intention of haggling any further and made his decision directly. "The most important, most essential things in a book are its idea and plot. Without a good idea and plot, you cannot write an outstanding work. Since it's a 'romance' novel, it's fine if you don't want credit, but the split must be fifty-fifty."

"Then I'll do everything as Lord Jiraiya arranges. But Lord Jiraiya, please do not tell anyone about this." Seeing Jiraiya's serious expression, Hyuga Bin could only accept.

"Don't worry, I understand." Jiraiya smiled and patted Hyuga Bin on the shoulder. "Now tell me the rest of the plot."

"Hm? Where did we get to yesterday?"

"Uchiha Jiebai and Uchiha Qian went to a tavern for drinks, then met eighteen-year-old Uchiha Jian..."

"Oh..."

Hyuga Bin nodded and began recalling the rest of the plot.

It was not until noon, after Jiraiya had recorded the entire plot of Ninja Teacher—Uchiha Jiebai, that he and Hyuga Bin went out for breakfast.

Jiraiya intended to finish writing this book as quickly as possible, then have the publisher release it as quickly as possible.

Because with a book this excellent, every day it was delayed from publication was a loss for the readers.

Of course, the male and female leads' surnames had to be changed. Otherwise, the Uchiha Clan's Red Eye would definitely come knocking for an explanation.

"Lord Jiraiya, do you know where Lord Tsunade is? I've recently hit a bottleneck in learning Medical Ninjutsu, so I want to find Lord Tsunade and ask her for some private tutoring." During their brunch, Hyuga Bin asked Jiraiya.

Tsunade had only arrived at Tanzaku Street after Year 60 of Konoha, so her current whereabouts were unclear.

After several years apart from Tsunade, Hyuga Bin had learned all the techniques he was supposed to learn, so he wanted to go find Tsunade and get a little more out of her.

Especially since Tsunade had most likely already mastered the Yin-Yang Seal, which was precisely what he wanted to learn.

Although everyone who mastered the Yin-Yang Seal in the original work had been women, nothing throughout the Naruto storyline ever stated that only women could cultivate the Yin-Yang Seal.

And even if, at this stage, only women could cultivate the Yin-Yang Seal, that did not mean it could not be modified into something men could cultivate as well, like the Yang Seal, Yin-Yang Seal, or Yin-Yang Harmony Seal.

Having lived for so many years, Hyuga Bin had always believed there were more solutions than difficulties.

"She's been moving between the major cities of the Land of Fire. I only know which cities she's visited, not which one she's in now." Jiraiya shook his head. He could not help with this matter.

"I see. Then tell me which cities Lord Tsunade has been to, Jiraiya." Hyuga Bin continued.

Being able to narrow down the range would make it easier for him to find Tsunade.

"Black Rock City, the Capital City, and Qingfu City. She's been to all three."

"Okay, thank you, Lord Jiraiya." Hyuga Bin memorized the names of those three cities.

"Oh, right, Bin-kun. I seem to remember you telling me last night to give up on Tsunade." Mentioning Tsunade reminded Jiraiya that, when he had been at his drunkest last night, Hyuga Bin seemed to have said something about Tsunade not being an ordinary woman and that he could not handle her.

He wanted to ask Hyuga Bin why he thought he could not handle her.