Naruto: IY Ch. 27

I am Hiruzen.

I deeply regret it.

If you're asking why, a few days ago, at the movie theater...

"Rin, look, that's Yahiko-nii, and next to him is Konan-nesan, right? She looks so pretty, but I still love you more."

"Ah, Obito, is that Yoake's leader you always talk about?"

Obito pulled Rin to the cinema to join the crowd.

At that time, the place was packed with people.

He hadn't seen Yahiko in a long time and was excitedly pointing at the movie poster.

Coincidentally, his grandmother had just given him some pocket money.

Even better, Kakashi was away on a mission!

So, he bought two tickets, a bucket of popcorn, and the two went in.

After the movie, Rin's eyes were red.

Obito's eyes were red too, with an extra tomoe in each one.

Yes, that's right!

He awakened his Sharingan!

At the final scene, seeing Ria jump into the sea, his emotions overwhelmed him, and he couldn't hold back.

At the age of seven, he awakened the single-tomoe Sharingan.

Some could only awaken their Sharingan after their entire clan was wiped out...

This immediately caused a huge stir among the Uchiha.

When asked why?

He saw a movie.

"Buy tickets! We must buy tickets! Get the best seats!"

The current Uchiha clan leader, Fugaku, immediately brought all the talented but unawakened clan members to watch.

In the cinema, the wealthy and proud Uchiha clan booked an entire screening.

[Ria, I'm warning you not to think of Jin again, or else...]

On screen, Yahiko playing the character Kato, with his back to the camera and red hair, threatened Ria as they prepared to be wed under noble scrutiny.

The Uchiha stared at the screen, falling into deep thought.

Even the proud Uchiha were silent in contemplation, this movie clearly struck a chord.

"Kato, you bastard!"

"Ugh! I can't take it anymore!"

"Fire Release...!"

"Lightning Release...!"

Unsurprisingly, by the end of the movie, more than half had awakened their Sharingan.

Something that wouldn't happen even on the battlefield with the death of comrades, happened just by watching a movie.

It wasn't just the film.

There was a netorare subplot.

After Jin's death, Ria was forced into a political marriage by her family to another man.

Keep in mind, all the Uchiha had projected themselves onto the handsome and noble Jin.

If only Kato didn't have red hair! Then maybe they wouldn't have been so emotionally triggered.

Seeing Kato's hair, they thought of their ancestor.

Seeing their ancestor's woman being forcefully taken, kissed, and monopolized by an Uzumaki for decades... they snapped.

"To hell with all cuckolds!"

The screening room, wrecked by the furious Uchiha, was left in ruins. The screen shattered, seats scorched.

Luckily, the place was booked, so no civilians were harmed.

Kakuzu jumped out of bed, rushing over in rage.

Outside the cinema, the Uchiha were still emotionally reeling from the film.

"Even though I awakened my Sharingan... I feel empty inside." one Uchiha said.

He couldn't feel happy.

"Me too."

All of them fell into a silent gloom.

"Who directed this? Find him for me. I'm going to kill him. I'll hang him from a streetlamp in Konoha!"

One Uchiha, his two-tomoe Sharingan spinning, roared in madness.

"Let it go, it's just entertainment."

Fugaku retracted his Mangekyō Sharingan, unconsciously clenching his fist. He hoped he wouldn't run into that director.

That damned director and the guy who wrote "Naka River," Pain, they would never be forgiven by the Uchiha.

Were they deliberately messing with the Uchiha?

Always stirring up trouble?

Making movies to annoy the Uchiha, Tobirama would be pleased. But the Uchiha awakening their Sharingan? That, he would not be happy about.

---

In the Hokage's office, smoke filled the room. No one knew how many pipes Hiruzen had smoked at this point.

Bang!

The door was kicked open.

"If I had known this would happen, I never would've approved opening that damn cinema! If the Uchiha start having dangerous thoughts, how are we going to handle it?!"

It was Danzō, raging furiously.

Over the past few days, the Uchiha had gained fifty to sixty new Sharingan.

Do you know what that means?

If this had happened back during the Warring States period, before Hashirama ever emerged, it might've rewritten the entire history of the shinobi world!

"Enough. I regret it."

This was the first time he truly regretted something. Hiruzen silently approved Danzō's upcoming actions.

After Danzō left, he half-heartedly dealt with the day's documents.

After a long day's work, he returned home expecting a warm domestic scene... wife, kids, a cozy fire.

But instead...

"Kurenai, if you and Father fell into a glacier at the same time, I'd definitely save you first."

"Rin, me too."

A few kids were playing in the yard, reenacting scenes from the movie. Hiruzen's already sour mood grew worse.

He was ticked off.

So, he headed into the inner room to find Biwako. The movie had clearly affected her too.

"Hiruzen, if Danzō and I fell into a glacier, who would you save?"

She had just rewatched the film, and couldn't hold back, this was the first thing she asked when he walked in.

There it is again.

"Biwako... you're asking a very obvious question." Hiruzen rubbed his temples, helpless and exhausted.

---

With rumors spreading, it became impossible to hide the fact that over fifty Uchiha had awakened their Sharingan.

The whole shinobi world was dumbfounded.

What, so just because they were not Uchiha, they didn't get to enjoy a movie in peace?

Even Madara in the underground caught wind of it.

He was silent for a moment, even he was a little shaken. Back then, it had taken his fallout with Hashirama to awaken his first tomoe.

But you all... You awakened your eyes watching that kind of thing?

"Madara-sama, shall we go take a look?"

White Zetsu jogged over and asked politely.

"No. I absolutely will not watch that nonsense. I'd rather die than watch it," Madara snorted coldly, arms crossed with disdain.

A man and woman embracing? What the hell is that?

"Oh..." White Zetsu lowered his head, disappointed.

"Then... do you want to play chess?" He looked up again, eyes sparkling with hope.

Madara's hand twitched. "You have a chess set?"

A moment later...

"Do you even know how to play? Why the hell is your pawn retreating?" Madara scolded White Zetsu sternly.

"Ahhh~ Madara-sama, is that not how you play chess?"

"Why don't you teach me~" White Zetsu poked his finger to his lips and twisted his body annoyingly, speaking in a disgustingly flirtatious tone.

That pale, creepy face...

"Ugh..." Madara hadn't eaten or drunk anything in years, but he still reflexively tried to vomit.

"Get out! GET OUT!"

"I'd rather look at that brat Yahiko than deal with you!"

---

While the entire shinobi world was caught up in movie talk, Yahiko was focused on military planning.

The poor prioritize survival when they lack wealth.

But now that Yoake had money, plenty of it, enough to do as they pleased, they naturally invested in training talent, preparing for the next great war that would erupt following future conflicts.

Great wars were meat grinders for ninjas.

After a few months of development, his village grew from 17 genin and 2 chunin to around 50 genin and 19 chunin.

Still humble by comparison.

Most were from the Uzumaki clan.

There were two with Kage-level power: Kakuzu and Sakumo.

As for Shuzen, he was a bit of a wildcard. Yahiko still didn't know his true level.

Nagato, he knew well, wasn't fully developed yet.

In their newly renovated meeting room, all the leaders were present, Kakuzu had returned, and this was Sakumo's first high-level meeting since joining Yoake.

As the warden, he sat near the front.

Each person had a bottle of mineral water in front of them.

Nice touch.

Sakumo's heart warmed.

Yahiko sat at the head of the table. He discreetly placed earplugs into his ears and looked at everyone with a focused expression, as if listening intently.

Sakumo couldn't figure out why he was acting this way.

Then Shuzen stood up and spoke with a hoarse, aged voice, "I'll begin. I propose that we support the elderly and lonely in the shinobi world. Don't assume it's a waste of money! How do you know some elder doesn't have special skills? Or a descendant with great potential?"

"Approved!" Yahiko, who hadn't heard a word, clapped immediately.

Shuzen sat down contentedly.

Kakuzu wanted to object, but he had lived too long and was too wise to cause trouble. The Uzumaki were known for their explosive personalities, and one wrong word might trigger a fūinjutsu. Better to just toss him 50 ryō and let it be.

Sakumo nodded, it wasn't an unreasonable point. He knew of one taijutsu master, Might Duy. If someone like Duy aged and was forgotten, all his martial arts experience could vanish with him.

Then Genno stood up and said, "I still maintain: the cafeteria needs more funding. Also, we should gather every regional specialty dish in the shinobi world and create a food street to attract people, and for our own enjoyment."

"Approved!" Yahiko clapped again.

Even Kakuzu nodded, he liked the food street idea, money, but not the cafeteria budget increase, cost.

Nagato coughed twice. "My intelligence corps needs to expand. We need funding to recruit missing-nin."

This time, before Yahiko could even clap, Kakuzu slammed the table. "Damn it! No money! Take my life instead! Look at me, how much am I worth? Chop off my head and sell it on the black market!"