Blue Pill

Although Shizune and Yuehua Ai knew each other well, they weren't close enough to casually visit each other's homes. Besides, Yuehua Ai lived with Jiraiya, and ordinary shinobi regarded the Sannin with more awe than anything else. Even though Shizune had a good relationship with Tsunade, that didn't mean she could let her guard down around the other two Sannin. So, not long after returning to the village, Yuehua Ai and Shizune parted ways at an intersection. Before they split up, she made a point of reminding him not to be late.

After giving Shizune a casual reply, Yuehua Ai dragged his exhausted body back to his lodgings. When he opened the door, he found that Jiraiya wasn't home. That didn't surprise him. Jiraiya had never been one to sit still; it would've been a miracle if he'd stayed cooped up in his room during a break between missions.

Cool water poured from the showerhead, making Yuehua Ai shiver and jolting him out of his daze. He felt much more alert. He tossed his dirty training clothes into a basin, not even having time to wash them, then changed into a clean set. After tidying himself up a little in front of the mirror, he was about to leave.

Just as he finished fastening his ninja tool pouch around his waist, he suddenly heard the front door open.

"Why are you back at this hour?"

Yuehua Ai knew who it was without looking. Since this was so unlike the man, he leaned out curiously to ask.

"Because of you, of course!"

Jiraiya changed his shoes at the entrance and replied casually.

"Me!?"

Yuehua Ai was puzzled. He'd been in Konoha for half a year. Hadn't he taken care of all the issues that needed sorting out?

As Yuehua Ai was still guessing, Jiraiya reached into his robes and pulled out something, then tossed it toward him without even looking.

"What's this?"

Yuehua Ai caught it and muttered under his breath. Then he saw what it was: a spiral and a bird's beak were engraved on the metal plate, with long straps hanging from either side.

"A Forehead Protector!" Yuehua Ai blinked at the abstract leaf symbol representing Konoha.

"I heard you'd be going on a mission soon, so I figured you'd need one."

Jiraiya sat down lazily, acting as if it were nothing more than an offhand gesture. Yuehua Ai was still grateful. Jiraiya might have seemed careless most of the time, but he was every bit as thoughtful.

When Yuehua Ai had first arrived in Konoha, Jiraiya could easily have gotten him a Konoha Forehead Protector, given his status. But he hadn't. Partly, it was because the Land of Rain was Yuehua Ai's home, and Jiraiya wanted to spare his feelings by not immediately giving him a Konoha Forehead Protector. He had also considered how the village would react. After all, not every shinobi who came to Konoha was accepted by the village.

Yuehua Ai had now studied and lived in Konoha for half a year. Jiraiya felt that he must have come to accept the village to some degree. During their time together, Yuehua Ai had behaved well in Konoha and never crossed the line. Without realizing it, the people of Konoha had come to accept him, too. So Jiraiya felt the time had come to give Yuehua Ai a Konoha Forehead Protector. It wasn't just a piece of protective gear; more importantly, it was a sign that Yuehua Ai had fully integrated into Konoha and become one of its people.

"Not bad, this Forehead Protector. Since it's the thought that counts, I'll do you a favor and accept it!"

Yuehua Ai flicked the Forehead Protector with his finger, then put it on in front of Jiraiya.

Jiraiya snorted disdainfully, but seeing his student wearing Konoha's symbol still made him happy. Konoha and his student were both important bonds to him, and seeing them brought together filled him with joy. In fact, when he'd left Amegakure years ago, he'd hoped to bring Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan back with him, too. But they were older, and their ties to the Land of Rain were too strong.

"Jiraiya-sensei, your unrequited love is gathering us. Sort out your own lunch—I'm off!"

Yuehua Ai smoothed his hair down beneath the Forehead Protector, waved to Jiraiya, changed his shoes, and headed out.

Hearing his student bring up his unrequited love again, Jiraiya bristled. He couldn't help shouting at him in exasperation:

"Unrequited love? How could I, the great Toad Sage Jiraiya, handsome and dashing, ever have an unrequited love? Every beauty I've ever met has fallen under my irresistible charm!"

"Sure, sure. You're so charming you're super, cosmic, invincibly handsome. Every woman falls at the sight of your red underwear!"

Yuehua Ai didn't argue. He laughed and played along, waved again, then closed the door behind him, leaving Jiraiya standing there, glaring.

What did he mean, "falling for my red underwear"? Jiraiya tugged at a few hairs on his chin, feeling a little conflicted. But when he thought about how much he liked wearing red underwear, Ai did have a point...

Coming downstairs, Yuehua Ai looked up at the dazzling sunlight and felt a little dizzy. He'd forced himself to act lively in front of Jiraiya, but he was in pretty bad shape. The side effects of training by fighting with a shadow clone were simply too severe. Even with his freakish mental strength, he only dared to try it once every half month or so.

He reached into his ninja tool pouch and took out a medicine bottle. Opening it, he removed a black pill about the size of a longan.

He tossed the pill straight into his mouth. Looking at the three pills left in the bottle, Yuehua Ai sighed helplessly, then put the cap back on and returned it to his pouch.

Yuehua Ai had barely finished adjusting his pouch and taken a few steps when the pill dissolved in his mouth and began to take effect.

A cool sensation spread from his mouth straight to his mind. Yuehua Ai shivered instinctively, then felt his spirits lift. He also sensed a strange, cool current flowing through his body, and his fatigue quickly faded beneath its influence.

Phew—

Yuehua Ai let out a long breath, suddenly feeling full of energy. He looked like a completely different person from the sickly figure he'd been moments ago. It was all thanks to that jet-black pill. It was one of Yuehua Ai's biggest achievements from his half year of studying with the Medical Corps, and he'd named it the Blue Pill.

Calling a black pill the Blue Pill might seem odd to others, but Yuehua Ai thought the name suited it perfectly. In the games of his previous life, blue pills restored mana, a value tied to mental energy. Since this medicine restored both mental energy and chakra, what could be more fitting than calling it the Blue Pill?

The Medical Corps was still essentially a crash course, so the medical knowledge it covered over those six months was limited. The little they learned might have taken all the effort others could manage, but it was nothing difficult for Yuehua Ai, who was already starting from a high level.

Once the Medical Corps' lessons could no longer keep up with his needs, he left a shadow clone there and focused all his attention on the library. During the half year he spent there, he learned about countless medicinal herbs and their properties. Later, as the Medical Corps' lessons progressed, the students gained access to the medical laboratory. Yuehua Ai used it to extract the active ingredients from many herbs.

Later still, he used his knowledge of pharmacology, along with what he'd learned about making Military Rations, to successfully create some restorative pills. But they still couldn't compare to the Blue Pill. The effects of ordinary medicines were simply weaker, and they took longer to work.

Because of the drawbacks of using nothing but herbal extracts, Yuehua Ai couldn't resist the urge to experiment and secretly combined the medicine with biological research.

Using information from books about the traits of certain fungi and other organisms, Yuehua Ai spent a month finding a suitable strain. Its secretions could quickly bond with human cells. He used ingredients that helped restore mental energy to grow the strain, and its products not only inherited the strain's original properties but also brought out the medicine's full effects. Then Yuehua Ai used cultivation techniques from his previous life to grow the strain. To keep those techniques from being exposed, he did it very secretly. He also grew only a tiny amount, so after more than a month of working at it, he'd managed to make only five Blue Pills.

Yuehua Ai hadn't been the first to use a Blue Pill. A little punk he'd come across had had the honor of serving as his human test subject. He'd already used plenty of test subjects in his experiments, but no matter how good they were, how could they compare to a real person?

After secretly observing the punk for a long time and confirming that he was unharmed, Yuehua Ai finally dared to try one himself. From this first use, he could tell that the Blue Pill worked even better than he'd imagined.

The Blue Pill didn't stimulate the body's potential or burn it out. The ingredients it contained were all essential to human cells; the fungi's products simply served as a carrier.

The best and most direct way to restore mental energy was to replenish the energy in the brain cells. But ordinary medicinal ingredients and general cell-energy supplements couldn't produce the best results. The best way to replenish brain cells was to extract energy directly from the brain cells of a living creature, and human cells were naturally best suited to human cell energy.

For now, Yuehua Ai only entertained certain crazy ideas in his mind. Though he was obsessive about science, he still couldn't bring himself to go as far as Orochimaru. At least for now, his moral boundaries remained high.

The Blue Pill took effect quickly. In just a few minutes, Yuehua Ai's mental state had mostly recovered, and his physical condition and chakra had recovered considerably as well. It wasn't long before the time Tsunade had set for them to assemble. With time short, Yuehua Ai headed straight for the Medical Corps without stopping along the way.