Chapter 221: Smartphones Arrive — and Breaking the Sky Premieres
"I understand. Anything else?"
White Zetsu was currently in control of the shared body. Wearing his usual harmless smile, he looked at Konan while asking the question.
Konan, however, knew exactly what kind of creature Zetsu really was — two beings in one, outwardly divided into black and white, and inwardly just as split.
White Zetsu had a cheerful, eccentric, overly social personality.
Black Zetsu, on the other hand, was quiet, introverted, and often unsettling.
Honestly, Konan preferred Black Zetsu's silence.
White Zetsu's nonstop chatter was enough to drive her mad.
He was curious about everything.
He even once tried to peek at her in the restroom — something she thankfully detected in time and stopped.
"No. That will be all," Konan said flatly.
"Got it~"
White Zetsu grinned, then merged into a nearby tree, vanishing into the bark.
After watching him disappear, Konan also went on her way.
…
Half a year later — Land of Fire, Konohagakure.
A tall signal tower now stood proudly in the village.
Underneath it, Hokage Uchiha Fugaku held a newly developed smartphone, turning it over in his hands with a thoughtful expression.
Orochimaru hadn't bothered crafting an old-style brick phone or a button phone.
He had directly jumped to touchscreen smartphones.
After all, the underlying technology already existed in the ninja world — it simply hadn't been applied to communication devices yet.
The smartphone produced by Orochimaru's research team looked almost identical to a mid-range 2021 model from Fugaku's previous world.
The only difference was the lack of applications.
At the moment, it came with only the essentials:
Camera, Gallery, Phone, Contacts, Settings, Calendar…
No games yet — to Fugaku's quiet disappointment.
Still, he wasn't discouraged.
This was the first generation, built in under six months.
Considering the low cost he had invested in Orochimaru's R&D team, this was already an incredible start.
Once smartphones existed, games would inevitably follow.
Fugaku opened the dialer and began pressing numbers.
Today's goal: test whether phone calls worked properly.
Orochimaru, dressed in his research uniform, stood nearby with several researchers — the science team Fugaku had placed his hopes on.
Their mission: develop mobile phones, computers, games — a new tech foundation for the entire shinobi world.
And in less than half a year, they had already created a working smartphone.
It proved bringing Orochimaru back to Konoha for research had been a brilliant decision.
The phone number format was the same as in Fugaku's previous world: 11 digits.
A personal request from him.
For Orochimaru, implementing it had been trivial.
Fugaku input the numbers and pressed the green call button.
Beep… beep…
A soft, crisp tone rang out.
Across the testing field stood Hoshigaki Kisame, also holding a smartphone. Both men felt a flicker of tension.
After two rings, Kisame's phone emitted a simple "ding ding ding" — a placeholder ringtone until the actual ringtone system was fully developed.
Once everything stabilized, music and custom tones would be added.
Kisame waited a few seconds, then answered and placed the "smartphone" against his ear, following Fugaku's earlier instructions.
The next moment, he heard the Hokage's voice clearly through the device.
"Hello? Kisame, can you hear me?"
Kisame's eyes widened.
The Hokage was physically several meters away, yet his voice sounded as if he were speaking directly beside him…
This was astounding.
"Yes, Hokage-sama. I hear you — very clearly," Kisame replied, trying to contain his excitement.
"Good."
Fugaku smiled faintly as Kisame's voice came through the speaker. After exchanging a few more words without issue, he handed the device back to Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru, excellent work. Continue optimizing it."
"Yes, Hokage-sama," Orochimaru replied respectfully, leading his team back to the research base.
The laboratory was intentionally built far from the crowded part of the village, at Konoha's northern edge.
Constructed entirely by Yamato, it had outstanding soundproofing.
Some of the equipment inside cost more than eight digits.
This alone showed the intensity of Fugaku's determination.
If the ninja world wanted a comfortable future, its skewed technological tree had to be rebuilt — and scientific development was the only way forward.
With the test complete, Fugaku glanced up at the signal tower, feeling a surge of emotion, then headed back toward the Hokage Building with Kisame.
There was more good news today.
Tonight, at 8 p.m., the much-anticipated live-action series Breaking the Sky would air its first episode.
After half a year of filming, it was finally complete.
A week earlier, promotions had already swept across the village.
In Konoha alone, nearly everyone knew it was premiering.
After work, Fugaku picked up his two children from the Academy.
They ate dinner at home, and afterward, Uchiha Itachi took Sasuke and Naruto to the training ground as usual.
As the clock neared 8 p.m., Fugaku went downstairs to turn on the TV — only to find Sasuke and Naruto already sitting in front of it.
Surprised, Fugaku asked, "Itachi, why are you all back so early today? Don't you usually train until after ten?"
Itachi replied calmly, "They wanted to watch Breaking the Sky. So we ended early tonight."
Fugaku blinked.
Right — both boys were fans of the original novel.
Naruto used to run around shouting, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river — don't bully the young and poor!"
Fugaku lay back on the sofa.
There was one minute left until 8 p.m.
The commercials were fading out.
He wanted a cold beer from the fridge… but didn't feel like getting up.
He also didn't want to ask the kids.
So he simply used a Shadow Clone.
The clone fetched a beer, snacks, sunflower seeds, and even cut a plate of fruit in the kitchen.
8 p.m. arrived.
A gentle, melodic theme music flowed from the TV.
The four large words Breaking the Sky appeared on the screen.
It had begun.
Naruto and Sasuke leaned forward, eyes shining.
The story they had waited half a year to see was finally on television.
"Wife! Hey, what are you doing? Come watch!" Fugaku shouted toward the staircase.
Naruto and Sasuke snapped in unison:
"Father! (Uncle!) Don't talk — we can't hear!"
Fugaku pouted.
"Can't you two just turn up the volume?"
---