Kaguya felt as though she had returned to the era when she constantly lived on edge, where one careless mistake could cost her life.
A half moon hung high in the night sky.
The wind was cold and biting, sending chills through her entire body.
The dense jungle swayed in the darkness like countless monsters baring their fangs and claws.
"An illusion… this has to be an illusion!"
"There's no way I escaped that prison."
"I met that boy, Uzumaki Naruto, and then…"
Kaguya hugged her arms tightly while trembling nonstop.
She wasn't stupid.
No matter how realistic the environment around her felt, once she thought carefully about it, she could immediately conclude that she had fallen under Naruto's illusion before suddenly appearing here.
Because of that assumption, Kaguya firmly believed everything around her was fake.
Yet—
Everything looked so real.
So real that she couldn't distinguish illusion from reality.
"What does he want?"
"This illusion is so realistic I can't even tell what's real anymore…"
"Is he trying to torture me another way?"
Thinking of this possibility, Kaguya didn't even dare move.
She curled up beneath a massive tree like a frightened quail.
After witnessing Naruto's strength firsthand, she no longer possessed even the slightest courage to resist him.
In truth—
Kaguya had never been especially brave.
Because she feared the arrival of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, she launched a world-ending plan.
She created countless White Zetsu soldiers.
She even turned against her own sons in pursuit of security.
And in the end—
She was sealed away for thousands of years.
Kaguya was exactly that kind of person.
In front of ordinary humans and regular ninjas, she could naturally act proud and invincible.
After all, with her power, sweeping through the entire ninja world was effortless.
But whenever she faced someone stronger than herself—
She immediately became a frightened girl trembling in fear.
"Well…"
"Lord President…"
"She seems completely terrified of you."
"If this continues, the experiment won't reveal anything meaningful at all."
Uchiha Itachi smiled bitterly.
The reason they chose Kaguya as the test subject was precisely because of her strength.
The stronger the subject, the easier it should've been to detect flaws in the illusion.
But instead—
Kaguya had been scared so badly by Naruto that she barely reacted to the illusion itself.
The experiment couldn't progress.
"Then change the illusion."
"Give her some stimulation."
Naruto rubbed his nose awkwardly before speaking.
If the mountain wouldn't come to him—
He'd simply go to the mountain instead.
Itachi nodded and immediately began adjusting the machinery.
Soon—
Inside the illusion, a wandering rogue ninja appeared.
A desolate hillside.
A beautiful woman alone at night.
The wandering ninja grinned lecherously like a complete creep.
BOOM!
Kaguya finally reacted.
With a single slap—
The unlucky rogue ninja died instantly.
"Chakra fluctuation detected."
"Output range between one and three chakra units."
"The machine is approaching its upper safety threshold."
"Increase the neural blocking waves."
"Ensure the illusion can no longer affect the user's physical body."
"Blocking waves increased."
"Chakra output has dropped below one unit."
"Continue the experiment."
Itachi focused completely on the data.
The surrounding Konoha researchers monitored every signal with absolute concentration.
Naruto silently watched from nearby.
He didn't fully understand every technical detail of the project.
But he understood the overall concept.
Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Virtual reality helmets.
The project's main purpose was to create an outlet for the ninja world after unification.
Ninjas were creatures born for battle.
If their desire to fight and kill had nowhere to go after peace arrived, instability would inevitably follow.
So Naruto intended to create a virtual world—
A massive online illusion realm where ninjas could battle freely, slaughter enemies endlessly, and satisfy all their violent impulses without harming reality.
But several major problems existed.
The first problem was creating a realistic enough illusion world.
They couldn't rely entirely on illusion-type shinobi to maintain such a gigantic system forever.
The world had to be simulated through machines.
Now, the illusion engine had finally reached its final stages and was already capable of satisfying nearly all ninja-level requirements.
The second problem was consciousness transfer.
People needed to fully enter the virtual world mentally and interact naturally.
That issue had been solved by Orochimaru.
After all, his Living Corpse Reincarnation technique already involved transferring consciousness between bodies.
No one understood that process better than him.
The third and most dangerous problem—
Was separating consciousness from physical reaction.
Ordinary ninjas required hand signs to cast ninjutsu.
But powerful experts could trigger chakra instinctively with mere thoughts.
That meant if someone like Kaguya used a massive ninjutsu inside the illusion—
Her real body might unconsciously activate it in reality as well.
So the final problem was crucial.
No matter what happened inside the virtual world—
The real body absolutely could not react physically.
Otherwise—
A ninja fighting happily inside the illusion might wake up to find their real body had already blown itself apart.
"Whew…"
"That was dangerous."
"If we hadn't used Ōtsutsuki Kaguya as the test subject, we never would've realized the machine's chakra tolerance was only around five units."
The researchers stared at the smoking machinery with lingering fear.
The image on the giant screen disappeared completely, replaced only by static.
"Ultimate Expansive Truth-Seeking Ball—!"
Kaguya suddenly opened her eyes.
Terrifying chakra erupted wildly from her body.
"Wake up already."
"Stop trying to destroy the laboratory."
Naruto instantly pressed her chakra back down.
If she really released the Expansive Truth-Seeking Ball here—
The lab itself might survive.
But everyone else definitely wouldn't.
Kaguya finally regained her senses.
She looked at Naruto blankly before glancing around the laboratory.
The smell of burnt circuitry still filled the air.
Sparks flickered around the damaged machine.
"AHHHHHHH!"
Kaguya's pupils shrank violently before she suddenly screamed.
Her shrill voice echoed throughout the entire facility.
"Quiet."
Naruto spoke calmly.
Her scream stopped instantly.
Kaguya lowered her head timidly, secretly glancing at Naruto from the corner of her eyes.
"That's enough for today."
"Take her back."
Naruto scratched his head awkwardly, suddenly feeling slightly guilty.
A Konoha ninja escorted Kaguya out of the laboratory.
This time, she remained completely obedient the entire way.
Her eyes darted around nervously.
"In terms of illusion realism, the machine is already successful."
"At first, Kaguya remained wary."
"But once the stimulation increased, she became fully immersed in the illusion and completely forgot reality."
"If the final ninjutsu hadn't exceeded the machine's tolerance limit, the simulation could've continued indefinitely."
Itachi continued discussing the experiment's results with the research team.
"Run additional tests."
"We need complete safety guarantees."
"Also…"
"Start preparing mass production."
"The virtual system will eventually need to spread throughout the entire ninja world."
"And the background settings for the virtual world itself must also be finalized."
Naruto discussed details with Itachi for another half hour before finally leaving in satisfaction.
Once the ninja world was fully unified and reorganized—
He planned to launch the Infinite Tsukuyomi virtual world across the entire planet.
And the very first world setting he intended to create—
Was the original destiny of countless parallel ninja worlds.
From the friendship between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara…
To the founding of Konoha.
The creation of the One Country, One Village system.
The battle at the Valley of the End.
The death of the Second Hokage.
The First, Second, and Third Great Ninja Wars.
The Nine-Tails Incident.
The Uchiha massacre.
Naruto's birth.
Sasuke's hatred.
Obito falling into darkness for love.
Black Zetsu's thousand-year plan to revive his mother.
Nagato's pain.
The Fourth Great Ninja War.
Madara's downfall.
Kaguya's resurrection.
And finally—
Naruto and Sasuke sealing Kaguya together with the power of the Six Paths.
After traveling through countless parallel ninja worlds, Naruto had become extremely familiar with this "original" timeline.
Recreating it through illusion wasn't difficult at all.
What interested him most now—
Was imagining everyone's reactions after experiencing these virtual stories.
That would definitely be entertaining.
"So…"
"That really was an illusion generated by machines?"
"How fascinating."
Back in her room, Kaguya finally relaxed enough to mutter to herself in amazement.
In front of Naruto, she behaved like a frightened mouse.
But once he was gone—
Her true personality slowly returned.
After being sealed alone for thousands of years in endless darkness and loneliness, her spirit had nearly petrified completely.
Now—
Even if she was technically imprisoned—
She could still move freely.
Talk freely.
Fight freely.
Watch TV.
Do whatever she wanted.
Compared to the barren sealed void she once endured—
Konoha Prison practically felt like heaven.
At least for the next three to five years—
She definitely wouldn't get bored.
"Lord Hokage."
"These are the minutes from the Ninja World Conference."
"Using the framework proposal you provided, the conference has already created a preliminary draft."
"As long as you approve it, they can proceed with detailed revisions and finalization."
"What did Shisui say about it?"
Naruto asked casually while flipping through the documents.
"Lord Shisui agrees with the current framework."
"Then tell them to continue with it."
"Finalize everything as quickly as possible."
"Stop wasting time arguing in meetings."
Naruto signed the documents with a red pen and tossed them aside.
The ninja respectfully accepted them before leaving.
Naruto lazily reclined in the Hokage chair.
Looking around the office—
He suddenly felt emotional.
This office probably wouldn't exist much longer.
And his position as Hokage was nearing its end too.
Even his role as President of the Red Sun Society—
Naruto intended to eventually step away from that as well.
As for what the final structure of the unified ninja world would become—
Naruto honestly didn't care very much.
As the victor who unified the world, Konoha naturally possessed overwhelming influence at the conference.
Under Shisui's leadership, Konoha's representatives held enormous authority and would undoubtedly secure enough benefits for both Konoha and the new world.
Most importantly—
Naruto himself held absolute veto power.
No proposal could pass without his approval.
If he rejected something—
The conference would be forced to revise it repeatedly until he was satisfied.
That was why Naruto remained so relaxed.
"Naruto!"
"What do you think the title of the Ninja Alliance leader should be?"
"Maybe Emperor?"
Uzumaki Kushina slammed the table excitedly while laughing loudly.
Minato smiled helplessly beside her, his eyes full of affection.
"Emperor sounds kinda lame…"
Naruto muttered quietly while stuffing food into his mouth.
He definitely didn't dare argue with Kushina directly.
At this dinner table—
He had none of the overwhelming dominance he displayed against enemies.
As for the title of the future leader of the Ninja Alliance—
Naruto had already crossed "Daimyo" off the list immediately.
That outdated garbage belonged in the trash heap of history.
He absolutely refused to wear such a ridiculous title himself.
After all—
The position of first leader of the Ninja World Alliance could only belong to him.
No one else even dared compete for it.
"Kushina, honestly, I think 'Chief' sounds pretty good."
"Chief Naruto."
"Chief Uzumaki."
"That sounds cool."
Minato smiled warmly.
"But 'Daimyo Uzumaki' sounds even better!"
"Our Uzumaki Clan finally produced a genius like this."
"Daimyo is the most honorable title in the world!"
Kushina argued passionately.
The two continued bickering noisily.
Naruto simply lowered his head and silently ate his food.
Keep talking all you want.
In the end—
I'm the one making the final decision.
And in this round—
I'll win.
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