I Have a Friend

Monday morning, in a small grove outside the house.

Hikawa had called Yuhi Kurenai to train together—she practiced genjutsu, while he worked on ninja tool throwing.

But what troubled him was that he still didn't know which three remaining tools to choose.

There were plenty of ninja tools. The most common and simplest were kunai, shuriken, senbon, and the Fuma Shuriken.

As for the rest, the difficulty skyrocketed.

For example, longswords, short swords, greatswords, staffs, nunchucks, and so on.

Exploding Tags technically counted as ninja tools and were very simple to use, but they were too expensive—he couldn't afford them.

As Hikawa mulled it over, his thoughts drifted to how to make money.

For a child, there weren't many ways to earn.

He pondered for a moment, then suddenly thought of Tsuchihashi at the Konoha Knowledge Bookstore.

In the original story, Jiraiya once showed Uzumaki Naruto his bankbook.

He wasn't the richest man in the world, but he was certainly among the wealthiest.

His money undoubtedly came from the bestselling Make-Out Paradise.

Hikawa had read plenty of classic works in his past life.

He even had a ready-made pen name: Thunder Fire Sword.

But he didn't necessarily have to write it himself.

In the end, Hikawa decided his remaining two ninja tools would be Exploding Tags and a longsword—or rather, a sword.

In the Land of Fire, swords and blades weren't strictly separated.

The reason he chose a longsword was simple: Konoha-Style Swordsmanship.

In Konoha, most swordsmanship was passed down through ninja clans, and outsiders could never learn it.

Take Hatake Swordsmanship, for example.

But there were exceptions—Konoha-Style Swordsmanship.

In the original story, Maruboshi Kosuke, Hayate Gekko, and Uzuki Yugao had all used it.

As for the last ninja tool, Hikawa already had a target in mind: a scalpel.

It just so happened he'd learn it when he studied Medical Ninjutsu.

"I'm going out for a run, Kurenai."

Hikawa suddenly had an idea.

He was short on money—why not ask Tsuchihashi for some?

As a spy from Kumogakure, he needed operational funds, didn't he?

Asking for a little money—that was perfectly reasonable, right?

Hikawa first jogged two laps around the streets, then entered the Konoha Knowledge Bookstore.

"Number 9527, I'm glad you haven't been exposed yet."

Tsuchihashi saw Hikawa and, just like last time, offered his blessing.

"..."

The corner of Hikawa's mouth twitched.

He'd rather not hear that kind of blessing again—it was like an old general on a stage, covered in death flags.

"Hikawa, do you have any intel for me?"

Tsuchihashi's face lit up with anticipation.

Hikawa was momentarily taken aback.

When it came to Konoha's intel, he actually had quite a bit—all secrets gleaned from the original story.

"No."

Hikawa stretched out his hand and said bluntly, "I need operational funds."

"Operational funds?"

Tsuchihashi blinked, then caught on.

He just wanted money—why put it so fancy?

"You're still young, so you really don't have a source of income."

Tsuchihashi stroked his chin and said, "From now on, I'll give you five thousand ryo every month."

Five thousand ryo was an astronomical sum for a child.

Ninja mission ranks were divided into five levels, with D-rank missions starting at five thousand ryo.

But D-rank missions were split four ways, so an ordinary genin might not even take home a thousand.

"Thanks, Uncle Tsuchihashi."

Hikawa was satisfied.

After all, it was five thousand ryo he'd picked up for nothing.

"Money comes with work."

Tsuchihashi suddenly changed his tone, his face stern. "Kumogakure has a mission for you."

"I guarantee I'll complete it!"

Hikawa's voice was serious.

"Show off your talent freely at the Academy, and when you graduate, choose a Konoha High-Ranking as your teacher."

Tsuchihashi patted him on the shoulder, speaking earnestly. "Right now, you're Kumogakure's only hope of planting a spy among the Konoha High-Ranking."

"I understand!"

Hikawa nodded firmly.

As long as he could become Tsunade's disciple, this mission would be as good as done.

"If you manage that, you'll become the Raikage's nominal disciple, with the right to learn Nintaijutsu."

Tsuchihashi's expression softened, and he smiled.

I get it.

Dangling a carrot.

But this carrot was good—he was willing to bite.

"Uncle Tsuchihashi."

Hikawa scratched his head and asked, "Here's the thing—if a friend of mine wanted to publish a book, could he do it through you?"

"Of course."

Tsuchihashi paused in thought, then said, "Since he's your friend, I can give him an extra twenty percent of the profits."

"Twenty percent?"

Hikawa asked curiously, "What's the usual split?"

"Seventy-thirty."

Tsuchihashi paused to explain, "Seventy for the Bookstore, thirty for the author."

Only thirty percent?

Might as well be begging on his knees.

But luckily, he—no, his friend—could get fifty percent from publishing.

"If my friend provides the ideas and an outline, how would the split work?"

Hikawa thought a bit more and came up with another approach: co-writing a book.

He'd read plenty of classics, but he only remembered the gist of the plots, and writing a book took way too much time.

"This kind of arrangement is a first for me."

Tsuchihashi frowned slightly.

He looked at Hikawa, lost in thought.

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be allowed.

But Hikawa was a Kumogakure spy, and a promising one at that—worth befriending and investing in.

"If sales are poor, one percent. If they're very high, four percent."

Tsuchihashi spoke after a moment of silence.

Hikawa's eyes lit up at that.

Four percent—that was doable.

"I'll bring my friend's ideas and outline next time."

Before leaving, Hikawa took a stroll through the Bookstore.

He found that the so-called Adult Books weren't as steamy as he'd imagined—just borderline stuff.

Thinking about it, that made sense.

In the original work, Make-Out Paradise had even been adapted into a movie for release.

After leaving the Bookstore, Hikawa didn't head back to the Academy but went to the Ninja Tool Shop next door.

He asked the owner about the price of Exploding Tags.

An Exploding Tag, simply put, sealed a Fire Style ninjutsu into a talisman, then detonated it.

The power was immense, and the price was sky-high.

In the original work, Shikamaru Nara could only afford two right after being promoted to Chunin.

But Hikawa discovered that Exploding Tags came in several grades.

The expensive kind cost tens of thousands of ryo and packed the power of a jonin-level Fire Style ninjutsu.

He figured Shikamaru Nara had bought that type.

The cheapest Exploding Tags were three hundred ryo each—good enough for blowing up fish.

Hikawa mainly wanted to grind for traits, and on top of that his wallet was thin, so he bought fifteen of the cheapest Exploding Tags.

Even so, the five thousand ryo he'd just gotten his hands on was down to just five hundred.

Hikawa went home and headed to the Ninja Academy with Yuhi Kurenai for class.

As for the Exploding Tags, he planned to find an open spot after school to test them out.

"Kakashi, I'm definitely gonna beat you in this afternoon's physical training!"

In the classroom, Obito Uchiha's passionate declaration rang out.

"You can't even break the top ten."

Hatake Kakashi glanced at him and said.

"I'll make it this time for sure!"

Obito Uchiha crossed his arms. "As the one who bears the name of the future Hokage, I won't lose again!"

School courses were divided into theory and practical training.

Practical training wasn't just simple 1v1 man-to-man fights; it included ninjutsu instruction, Ninja Tool Throwing, physical training, and other events.

"Ah, physical training... that's brutal."

Yuhi Kurenai puffed out her cheeks at the news, looking very unhappy.

Hikawa could understand her.

Because a ninja's physical training was even more brutal than a college student's fitness test.

Last time during physical training, he and Obito Uchiha both failed to make the top ten.