Naruto: IY Ch. 35

"Yo! Yahiko, as long as I'm here, nothing will go wrong. I'll sleep on the floor, oh yeah!"

It had been three weeks since the Oath of the Salamander.

For all three weeks, Yahiko had been driven nearly insane by B.

He insisted on learning how to rap.

In Yoake's office, B was already shamelessly setting up his bedding, he had no intention of leaving.

"Hey, are you staying here or not?"

Konan, who had come to deliver food, looked at B with pity, then gently tapped her finger to her temple, tactfully suggesting he might be a bit off.

"Oh... nah, he's not crazy. Just waiting for his brother to come pick him up."

Yahiko opened his lunchbox.

Cabbage. Again. More cabbage!

Just end me already!

He puffed up in frustration and glared at Konan, then suddenly remembered something.

"What were you muttering three weeks ago when you were squatting on the ground?"

Konan blushed deeply and gave Yahiko a gentle smack on the chest before walking away.

He was curious... He scratched his head and turned to B, who was silently practicing his rhymes. "Time to eat."

Konan had brought two portions, one for Yahiko and one for B.

"Oh! I love cabbage, this stew's not bad at all!"

B had no complaints, happily digging in.

Yahiko rolled his eyes. If A doesn't pay for his meals, I swear I'll...

Recruiting B... That really wasn't something he'd considered.

This big goof had somehow become the happiest among all the unlucky jinchūriki, pampered by the Raikage.

"Yahiko-sama! Hiruko says the thing is ready."

"Huh?"

Yahiko dropped his chopsticks and rushed to the research center.

B looked at his food container, completely licked clean, then glanced at Yahiko's half-eaten bowl.

Hmm.

Without hesitation, he dumped it into his own bowl and kept eating. While munching away, he spotted a script left on the table: The Yoake Chronicles.

The Eight-Tails suddenly boiled with rage, B! Let me use your body for a bit, I need to beat the hell out of that Yahiko!

B responded, Yo! What'd the teacher do? You're mad, but give me a clue. If you don't explain, I won't help you through.

You wanna know why? Bull-head this, bull-head that, did we bulls mess with you guys?!

Recently, the Eight-Tails had been fuming in inside B, hearing people insult "bull-heads" almost daily. What the hell, man.

---

"No!"

"The signal source has already been tested with the warden. Injecting a bit of chakra lasts for about seven weeks, just one of these can cover the whole village."

"I named the communication device... Call Brick."

Hiruko handed the device over with dark circles under his eyes and a face full of exhaustion.

A heavy, black machine, roughly the size of a brick, was placed in Yahiko's hands.

"Thanks a lot!"

Yahiko patted his shoulder with a grateful expression.

"Not at all." Hiruko was on the verge of tears. He was so tired. Researching tech during the day, and trying to sleep at night with Jiraiya snoring next door.

Thank God Kakuzu left early. Otherwise, he'd have to listen to him count money while doing experiments.

"Uh... you want to go outside for a bit?"

Yahiko didn't know how to reward this great contributor. The guy didn't seem to want anything. So he tentatively asked.

"I'm not really the outdoor type. Staying here's fine, peace and quiet. If you need anything, just ask."

Hiruko now couldn't even sleep without Jiraiya's snoring.

He wasn't doing animal experiments or any cursed bloodline transplant stuff.

He'd found something fun instead, thanks to Yahiko.

Saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur = explosion.

The shinobi world didn't really understand this chemistry, but ninjas had noses better than dogs. Bombs made from these ingredients had similar power to explosive tags but were way riskier due to their smell.

But Yahiko had said, Saltpeter + charcoal + sulfur + white sugar = Super Explosion.

Now that the phone was working, his next step was to explore this formula.

Hiruko often wondered, could there be a day where he invents a weapon so powerful that one of them could level an entire ninja village?

He looked at the thirteen-year-old Yahiko in front of him.

If it ever happens, he thought, let's call it "Little Boy."

But that was just crazy, right?

He sighed in disappointment.

He glanced at the two books of revolutionary thought on his desk, both written by Pain.

Yahiko had never once doubted him. Maybe Hiruko really had found his own path?

He fiddled with the brick-like device for a bit.

"You think... can this brick be made smaller? Best if I could hold it in one hand."

Lost in thought, calculating chemical ratios in his mind, Hiruko froze for a moment at Yahiko's suggestion.

No way, are you still not done with this?

"I believe in you, keep grinding!"

Before Hiruko could refuse, Yahiko took off running.

"If you need anything, just tell the warden! Gotta go!"

Leaving behind only that sentence.

"Sigh..." Hiruko shook his head helplessly. Seriously now, I'm a wanted criminal in Konoha. Is it really okay to trust a fugitive this much?

...Still, being trusted like this doesn't feel bad at all.

That night, he slept poorly.

Where the hell was Jiraiya? Had he dropped dead somewhere?

---

Turned out, Jiraiya had behaved well and been released early. While in prison, he had experienced his own kind of enlightenment. He wanted to redeem the shinobi world, to give its people the courage to challenge hardships head-on.

Pain's words still echoed in his mind:

"Fate is not written in stone, it moves with the will of those who act. No master holds our leash; the world is not theirs to command. It does not belong to the old, nor to the strong. It belongs to us... yet still, in the end, it is yours. Hope lives in those who choose to carry it."

But finding the Child of the Prophecy was still Jiraiya's long-held obsession.

This time, though, he didn't wander off to look for some prophecy from the Great Toad Sage. Instead, he was trying to change the shinobi world with his own power.

"Yahiko! Look at the script I wrote while staying up all night!"

"Get hyped! Be passionate!"

In the office, Jiraiya handed Yahiko a script, squeezing himself onto Yahiko's chair and almost knocking the boy off.

He patted Yahiko on the back, pat pat pat, looking nothing like a man fresh out of prison. He was practically glowing with youth.

"Jiraiya's Redemption"

Yahiko's face went dark as he looked at him. He had to brace hard with his thigh to avoid falling over.

He flipped through the script.

It was about 70% similar to that old classic from his previous life.

It told the story of one of the Sannin, Jiraiya, being framed and thrown in prison. He taught the guards and warden ninjutsu for protection, never gave up on the pursuit of freedom, and spent over a decade digging a tunnel to escape. Along the way, he exposed the warden's corruption.

Themes of hope, freedom, and institutional critique.

That's what Jiraiya wanted to tell the shinobi world.

But... he didn't set the story in Konoha. So he used a fictional setting, a corrupt prison village, as the backdrop.

Good.

He made Kakashi the warden. Yahiko definitely wasn't going to let his trusted ally be insulted, even in veiled writing.

He wasn't some pushover like Hiruzen, letting Danzō run wild doing shady stuff unchecked.

So he handed Jiraiya a different script, one he had already prepared: Rounders.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow and studied Yahiko's face.

"Do you think I am that simple? Sure, your script has potential. But does it have the depth of my writing?"

"But Tsunade likes it."

"Hmm... fair point."

Jiraiya was persuaded. He wasn't a fan of gambling, but if Tsunade liked it, well, what could he do? Off he went to form a film crew.

He was going to become an overnight sensation! He didn't take the original script with him. Yahiko revised it himself.

Jiraiya's Redemption? Nope.

It was Yahiko's Redemption now.

He would direct and star in it himself, once the Yoake Chronicles craze died down in a few years.

---

The next day, Yahiko allocated funding to build another production line in Yoake.

Wishing health and prosperity to its workers, he named it: Prosperous Health Tech.

Once the factory opened, he transferred the most skilled and dexterous villagers there.

It would specialize in mass-producing brick phones.

Many of the workers were ex-prisoners who had made toys behind bars. After release, they seamlessly transitioned into the factory, contributing to Yoake's economy.

The moment the brick-phone store opened, it instantly became a trend. Demand far outstripped supply.

Holding one of those bricks to your ear? Total flex. First question out of anyone's mouth: "Yo, do you have a Call Brick?"

Strap the brick to your belt? It even became a stylish accessory.

"Hello? Nagato, guess who I am?"

"Heh, what do you want?"

Even though calls could currently only be made within the village, it was super convenient.

The village leadership all had phones already.

"Tell Genno I want fish for lunch."

With a phone, it was easy. Before noon, Yahiko could arrange his meals right from his office.

"Phones are trendy in the village now. I just hope they don't explode. A phone this big kinda freaks me out... oh yeah!"

B had one, too. First thing he did?

"Gotta call my bro and let him know I'm safe!"

Uh... turns out his brother doesn't have a phone.

Yahiko thought for a bit and made another call.

On the other end, Ikkaku, prepping his lesson plan, wore a grim look.