A jolt ran through Yahiko's heart, but his expression remained composed as he greeted both men in turn, maintaining proper courtesy on the surface.
Hiruzen Sarutobi pointed to his old friend beside him and was about to introduce him. "He is—"
"Shimura Danzō."
Danzō spoke his own name, his voice low. "This isn't our first meeting."
"Yes, Lord Danzō."
Yahiko lowered his head.
Hiruzen showed no surprise. He took a puff from his pipe and said, "I called you here this time mainly to talk about Naruto."
"About Naruto… I'm very sorry."
Yahiko immediately apologized.
Hiruzen smiled and shook his head. "This isn't your fault. I didn't call you here to make you responsible for taking care of Naruto either."
"Yes!"
Yahiko lowered his head, adopting the posture of someone awaiting a reprimand.
Hiruzen continued, "Naruto behaved himself for a while recently, but today he started causing trouble again."
Yahiko explained the decision he had made the day before.
Hiruzen pondered for a moment, then nodded lightly. "You did the right thing. Naruto needs to learn to grow stronger on his own. How long can someone else carry him?"
Danzō narrowed his eyes slightly, a faint smile on his lips, but he said nothing.
Hiruzen glanced at Danzō.
Danzō understood immediately. He stood up and said calmly, "I have other matters to attend to. I'll take my leave."
Yahiko stepped aside to see him off.
After Danzō left, Hiruzen took out a book.
"These are some notes I wrote when I was younger. Take them. They might be of some help to you."
He placed it on the table.
Yahiko's eyes widened in surprise. "This is too valuable!"
"A book is meant to be read. Keep it."
Hiruzen shook his head, then added, "I appreciate your efforts with Naruto, but you mustn't neglect the other students either."
"Yes, I understand."
Yahiko naturally agreed.
Hiruzen nodded, signaling that he could leave.
Yahiko stepped out of the office.
Looking at the booklet in his hand, he took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his chest.
Although the Third Hokage was old, his knowledge reserves and understanding of most ninjutsu were unquestionably the greatest in the world.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's notes!
To him, their value was immense.
As Yahiko was thinking, a voice suddenly rang in his ears, followed by lines of text appearing one after another—
["Naruto: The Prequel" Episode 3 Filming Completed!]
[Editing in progress…]
[Production successful!]
[Total screen time: 12 minutes 2 seconds]
[Screen presence: 57.1%]
[As a villain character, exceeding 50% screen presence greatly increases your compensation.]
[Notice: "Naruto: The Prequel" will air tonight at 8 PM. Playback and comment features will be enabled.]
[Please adjust your acting and character direction based on viewer comments.]
The third episode was completed?
It seemed Naruto had been released.
Yahiko smiled faintly, but he had no intention of interfering with Naruto any further.
Everyone walks their own path.
He could offer some guidance and correction, but in the end, Naruto would have to walk it himself. No one else could do it for him.
Besides, he could barely take care of himself right now. He needed to focus on his own survival first.
…
Blue Star, 8 PM.
Inside a brightly lit room, two computers sat on a desk, with a tablet and other devices placed below.
The two computers displayed different screens.
One showed line art of a character, while the other displayed Aiku's streaming interface.
After refreshing once more, finally—
"Episode 3" appeared!
The man sitting in front of the computer let out a breath and stared at the screen and the scrolling comments.
Moments later—
"First!"
"So slow. Can't they release episodes faster?"
"Is Naruto still being tortured?"
"I have a question. If Naruto keeps training like this, what happens in the main story? Will he still be this weak?"
Seeing that comment, the man in front of the screen froze.
The main story…
How would he know?
This so-called "Naruto: The Prequel" paid extremely well, but even he, the original author, had no control over it. The production company couldn't even be found.
The only fortunate thing was that the production quality was top-tier, arguably the best animation in the world.
The explosive popularity of "Naruto: The Prequel" had also pushed his manga into the spotlight.
But problems came along with it.
How was the content of the prequel supposed to connect with his main story?
And more importantly…
Was this character a good person, or a villain?
On the screen, snippets of Naruto's daily interactions with Yahiko flashed by.
Soon, the pace slowed.
At the school gate, Naruto waited eagerly. After quite a while, Yahiko finally appeared.
The man frowned slightly as he watched.
This character seemed…
"Let's keep watching."
After a moment, his eyes grew brighter.
The scene showed another afternoon, Naruto once again waiting on the swing.
But what happened next shocked everyone—
Yahiko appeared, but this time he brought a gift and even offered to treat Naruto to a meal.
"Damn! That's top-tier manipulation!"
"Naruto grew up lacking love. This would hit him hard!"
"Insane!"
"This guy is handsome and evil. Could he be working for some major villain?"
The comments exploded.
The man at the screen suddenly felt inspired. He picked up the tablet and began sketching rapidly, refining the character design.
Halfway through the sketch, the scene on the screen changed again—
Naruto was at the Hokage building, wildly graffitiing and "creating art"!
What followed was a chaotic chase.
He held a pen between his teeth, quietly relieved, but the next moment, the scene shifted again—
In the forest, Yanagiya Yahiko formed hand seals, and a massive fireball surged from his mouth.
Just as he focused, a figure rapidly approached from behind.
Yahiko reacted instantly, counterattacking. The two clashed.
Fists and kicks exchanged.
Though it lasted only an instant—
"?"
"Who's this Gekkō Hayate?"
"A Chūnin?"
"Looks like Yanagiya Yahiko isn't weak at all!"
The comments filled with speculation.
The man stared at the screen, then switched the tablet display to look at the draft that followed, falling completely silent.
Gekkō Hayate…
He hadn't even introduced that character yet, but the anime had already done it.
And—
"Who is Shimura Danzō?"
As the manga's original author, he was completely at a loss.
Because—
He hadn't even planned such a character yet.
Unlike him, the general audience in the comments reacted differently.
They began speculating about these new characters—who they were, whether they would appear in Kishimoto's manga, or if they were simply anime-original.
In fact, some had already asked Kishimoto directly.
But Kishimoto himself hadn't figured it out yet. How could he possibly answer?
At that moment, he was thinking—
Should Gekkō Hayate be given more storylines?
Or should he follow the original plan and have him exit during a later conflict?
And beyond that—
Many plots and characters now needed to be reconsidered.
He bit the end of his pen, unable to decide.
In the end, he decided to finish the character draft first.
Lines formed rapidly—
And soon, a refined image of Yanagiya Yahiko, handsome and seemingly gentle, appeared on the tablet's projected screen.