Two days later, Second World, Kannabi Bridge Allied Shinobi Force Base, "Frog House."
Ding-dong~
"Hello, may I help you? Frog, …?"
The one who opened the door was the Child-Yahiko from the Main World. He froze at the sight of the two visitors and hurriedly said,
"Link-san, Jiraiya-sensei, please come in."
With that, he moved aside, revealing the foyer and hallway inside.
Jiraiya stepped in with large strides, curious about the surroundings.
"What about Konan and the others?" he asked.
Child-Yahiko walked behind him on his short legs, explaining what had happened lately.
Several days prior, the two versions of the "Akatsuki" had officially merged—essentially the Main World's trio (Yahiko, Konan, Nagato) and the Second World's trio (Yahiko, Konan, Nagato) forming a new group called "Frog House," sending home most of their original members to Amegakure, leaving a five-person core that stuck together.
The main reason was that the Second World's older Yahiko, now knowing the future events and seeing the rise of the Allied Shinobi Force, actively gave up on Akatsuki, deciding not to return to war with Hanzō to the bitter end.
First, they were not confident of winning; second, the Second World's Nagato had already died, and Yahiko didn't want Konan in danger again.
The Allied Shinobi Force wasn't limited to the Five Great Shinobi Villages; any small village or group could join—indeed, anyone who was a shinobi could join unconditionally. Under these circumstances, the five-person "Frog House" joined the Allied Force. They managed themselves while taking on the Allied Shinobi Force's commissions to earn "contribution points," make a living, and gradually gather enough to resurrect or "Reincarnate" their Second World Nagato someday.
Overall, the Allied Shinobi Force at this stage was loosely structured. The Main World's Konoha was severely understaffed and needed managers, and although the Network existed, it couldn't monitor every grassroots detail. So in the end, they maintained a looser arrangement, using a contribution-points system to hold it together. Through commissions, each group, clan, or village handled its own internal affairs; if a problem arose, the Allied Force could hold them accountable later.
Tobirama wasn't in a rush. Destroying all old institutions in one go might feel good, but it would lead to massive chaos; better to take small steps. By his count, he was still under four years old in this new body, and there was plenty of time to cultivate a new generation of shinobi who believed in peace. As for everyday civilians, that was still beyond their scope for now. Even just establishing a single "Ninja Academy" across worlds was complicated, and they were still in the midst of negotiations with the various daimyō, aristocrats, etc.
In short, "Frog House" had decent strength among the small group organizations. As Tobirama had some trust in them from past experiences, they'd received quite a few missions. Of the five members, four had taken a relief mission to the Third World and would be gone for about half a month, so only Child-Yahiko remained.
As for Child-Yahiko himself, lacking Sage Mode, he was basically powerless in his Reincarnated kid body. After a few months of training, he could maybe handle a chunin due to experience, but that's it—still better than nothing, thanks to the past guidance of Jiraiya. Essentially, he was a noncombatant.
"This is all so nice," Jiraiya said contentedly, settling onto a tatami mat and taking a sip of tea.
Seeing his old disciples having found a place in the new era truly warmed his heart.
Link cleared his throat:
"Actually, I'm here to invite you all to work in the Main World."
"Ma… Main World?" Child-Yahiko repeated, quickly realizing the meaning of that term. His expression turned serious as he shifted into "work mode," saying: "Alright. What sort of task is it?"
Jiraiya watched the kid's face go rigid with forced maturity and felt like laughing. Then he recalled his disciple's death and couldn't help feeling sadness.
Link explained,
"It's effectively a permanent posting. Because you guys in 'Frog House' have organizational management experience, I—I mean, the Sixth Hokage—wish to hire 'Frog House' to help manage the Main World's Konoha."
This was, in fact, Jiraiya's suggestion.
After a few days back in Main World Konoha, Jiraiya had been driven half-crazy by the administrative workload. Once he realized the structure of the new era and the Allied Shinobi Force, he quickly went to Link with an idea.
Anyway, Konoha didn't lack contribution points. Instead of begging Tobirama for manpower, why not go through the Allied Force's official mission/points system and hire people? Yahiko, for instance, had experience leading an organization, as did both Konans, both Nagatos, etc. They were trustworthy enough. They could definitely fill a big chunk of Konoha's staff needs. Better yet, they had enough skill that they wouldn't need Link for every little thing.
Link seized on this, since it directly addressed his biggest headache. So here they were.
Child-Yahiko froze, then sincerely said,
"If it's you who needs help, we won't charge any contribution points."
Everyone in "Frog House" was deeply grateful to Link, so how could they accept payment for helping?
Link's face took on a complicated look. He vaguely recalled that when he had first Reincarnated this younger Yahiko in the Main World, that kid had spat words like, "No matter what, even if I die, I would never do anything for you."
~~~
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