"Is that person really me? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"How could I possibly be that stupid, that irrational, that naïve, that arrogant?!"
Sasuke roared in frustration.
His face burned with embarrassment.
Even though he was alone inside the virtual space, surrounded only by endlessly replaying scenes from ninja history, he still instinctively glanced around in panic, terrified someone might witness all those black-history moments.
He knew it was virtual.
He knew it was a parallel-world timeline.
He knew he had never actually done those things in reality.
But even so—
Sasuke still felt unbearably ashamed.
Then he suddenly realized something.
These historical stories of the ninja world would become core content in the virtual world.
And once the virtual helmets became popular…
Everyone would eventually see them.
Right now, only dozens of people had access during the closed beta.
But once public testing began—
These stories would spread everywhere.
Every single person in the ninja world would know them.
At that moment—
Sasuke felt like he would socially die on the spot.
Whether it was his childhood love-hate rivalry with Naruto…
Or his rebellious departure from Konoha…
Or the over-the-top arrogance and madness of his teenage years…
Every scene made him want to bury himself underground forever.
Even the Uchiha massacre barely affected him anymore compared to this overwhelming embarrassment.
After all, in reality, Sasuke had already experienced the horror of the massacre once before.
Even though it later turned out to be a false alarm, the hatred and trauma had still haunted him for years.
Compared to that—
These humiliating scenes felt even worse.
"No."
"I have to talk to Naruto."
"These stories are full of problems. They absolutely cannot become official Infinite Tsukuyomi content."
"There are way too many plot holes!"
Sasuke immediately slapped his thigh as he found the perfect excuse.
Although his real goal was avoiding public humiliation…
The reasoning itself actually sounded very convincing.
The biggest flaw in the entire story—
Was Naruto himself.
In reality, Naruto had swept through the ninja world, crushed all resistance, and even turned the legendary Ōtsutsuki Clan into helpless prisoners.
But inside the story—
The ninja world was chaotic.
Naruto himself was weak, clumsy, and honestly kind of dumb.
Just looking at the story version of Naruto made Sasuke's blood pressure rise.
The guy graduated from the ninja academy while barely understanding basic chakra control.
His grades were awful.
He constantly skipped class.
He barely learned any ninja-world common sense.
For an orphan screaming nonstop about becoming Hokage—
His attitude toward studying was basically nonexistent.
As the saying goes—
A child's future can already be seen by age three.
In reality, Naruto had started intense training at the age of three.
He pushed himself through insane exercises every day and graduated from the ninja academy at only seven years old.
That level of determination had been forged from childhood.
But story-Naruto?
Until age twelve, he still couldn't properly use the Clone Technique and nearly failed graduation.
Then suddenly—
He stole the Scroll of Seals, learned the Shadow Clone Technique, and instantly transformed overnight.
From Genin…
To Chūnin…
To Jōnin…
Then all the way to Six Paths level in less than three years.
It was absurd.
"Hmph."
"If story-Naruto didn't have protagonist plot armor, there's no way he would've improved that fast."
Sasuke became more convinced the more he thought about it.
His own growth speed had also been terrifying.
But Sasuke knew exactly where his strength came from.
Naruto had personally designed countless efficient training methods for him.
And his older brother Itachi—an absolute Uchiha genius—had guided him for years.
Every bit of strength he gained came from blood, sweat, and brutal effort.
But the Naruto in the story?
His growth curve made absolutely no sense.
He wasted six years doing nothing.
Then once the plot started, his power exploded upward like a rocket.
Completely disconnected from reality.
"The ninja history in this virtual world is way too low-quality!"
"There are plot holes everywhere!"
"Seriously, how could Lord Hokage possibly act like that in the story?"
"And Lord First Hokage's death was way too suspicious too. Even Uchiha Madara survived for decades after being heavily injured. How could someone with First Hokage's ridiculous vitality die so easily?"
"Exactly. Even Second Hokage's death feels strange. He could use Flying Thunder God. If he wanted to escape, nobody could've stopped him. Yet somehow he still died alongside the Gold and Silver Brothers from Cloud Village."
"Not just him. A lot of important ninja deaths are absurd. Take the Third Raikage for example. At first, everyone admired him for fighting ten thousand enemies for three straight days and nights before dying from exhaustion. But the more you think about it, the stranger it becomes. If he could fight for three days, then he definitely had enough strength to break through the siege after one or two days. That would've been enough time for his troops to retreat safely. But instead, he basically fought himself to death for no reason."
"And what about Sunagakure? The Third Kazekage disappeared because of Sasori, but instead of investigating properly, they blamed Konoha and started the Third Ninja War. Sunagakure was already the weakest of the Five Great Villages. Starting a war at that point was basically suicide. I seriously don't understand their logic."
At first, most people only watched the storylines they personally cared about.
But as curiosity spread, they began exploring the complete history of the ninja world.
And the deeper they looked—
The more flaws they found.
At first glance, the story seemed exciting and dramatic.
But after closer inspection?
The logic was completely broken.
Especially for the people obsessed with analyzing details—
The more they examined things, the crazier they became.
There were simply too many inconsistencies.
"No…"
"These events weren't fabricated."
"They really happened."
"At least… everything before Naruto turned three years old was real history."
"It's strange. Why do I also feel like I personally experienced many of these things?"
Tsunade and Jiraiya gradually frowned.
As veterans who had lived through much of ninja history themselves, they recognized countless events from the virtual world.
At first, they hadn't thought much about it.
But now—
Viewing everything from a detached perspective—
They suddenly noticed how bizarre many events truly were.
The history they had personally lived through…
Was full of holes.
"Brother… do you remember how you died?"
"Hm? Now that you mention it… I don't really remember clearly."
"Tobirama, how exactly did you die?"
"My memory's blurry too."
"Looking back now, with my abilities, escaping should've been incredibly easy. As long as I avoided fighting recklessly and used Flying Thunder God to retreat, survival shouldn't have been difficult at all."
"But somehow… I still died."
"It feels almost as though fate itself demanded my death."
Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama connected to each other inside the virtual space.
The brothers stared silently at one another.
Hashirama remained relaxed as always.
But Tobirama—
Usually calm and analytical—
Now looked increasingly irritated.
"Danzo…"
"How exactly did Konoha become like that?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked dazed.
Danzo remained silent.
Back then, they had made a promise.
Hiruzen would become Konoha's leaves.
Danzo would become its roots.
Together, they would protect the village.
Yet somehow—
By the time of the Second and Third Ninja Wars—
Konoha had gradually declined under their leadership.
Eventually, even a few ninjas from Cloud Village dared to openly humiliate them.
"How did it end up like this…?"
Hiruzen looked lost.
Danzo couldn't answer either.
No one questioned them directly.
But deep inside their own hearts—
The questions never stopped.
Looking back now as outside observers, they suddenly realized how many unbearable mistakes they had made during their years in power.
Even Danzo—
As stubborn as he was—
Couldn't avoid reflecting on himself anymore.
The Danzo inside the story had used every method imaginable to become Hokage.
He could assassinate Hiruzen.
He could spread rumors until Sakumo Hatake committed suicide.
He could stand by and watch Konoha get destroyed by Pain without lifting a finger.
Yet even until his dying breath—
Story-Danzo still firmly believed he was protecting Konoha.
That he had sacrificed everything for the village.
That he was Konoha's guardian.
That unwavering conviction…
Actually moved the real Danzo watching from outside.
But from the perspective of a bystander—
He suddenly realized something horrifying.
Everything he had done had only damaged Konoha further.
He himself had become Konoha's greatest cancer.
His death…
Had actually been the greatest contribution he ever made to the village.
"This shouldn't be happening…"
"There's something fundamentally wrong here…"
"I feel like I've been trapped…"
Inside the virtual space, Danzo muttered painfully to himself.
During the two years he spent imprisoned in Konoha Prison, he had already changed significantly.
The early madness and rage had gradually become calm numbness.
But none of those changes had truly touched the deepest part of his soul.
Now, however—
These scenes inside the virtual world were directly tearing apart his beliefs.
"I see now…"
"The two of us really were Konoha's greatest sinners."
Hiruzen sighed bitterly.
The two old men—
Who had spent their entire lives tangled together in conflict and cooperation—
Now sat inside the virtual world embracing each other while crying in regret.
Of course—
While most beta testers were busy criticizing the flaws in ninja history…
Others completely ignored the logic and simply replayed certain scenes over and over again with warm smiles on their faces.
"So Naruto-kun got bullied by other children when he was little?"
"But wow… little Naruto-kun is so cute. Even after losing a fight he still refused to admit defeat. That stubborn face is adorable…"
"Snowy night… streetlights…"
"I fell down…"
"And Naruto-kun appeared like a prince from the sky…"
"My heart's beating so fast…"
"Even little Naruto-kun was unbelievably cute…"
"Ugh…"
"Naruto-kun said he was used to being alone…"
"Looking at him trying to act strong while secretly hurting inside…"
"That expression…"
"It hurts so much to watch…"
"Wait…"
"Was I secretly stalking Naruto-kun back then?"
"Oh no…"
"That's so embarrassing…"
"But why is Naruto-kun so dense?"
"He likes Sakura?"
"Impossible."
"Naruto-kun would never like Sakura."
"She's way too flat."
"Waaah…"
"Naruto-kun actually fought such terrifying enemies all by himself…"
"He got hurt so badly…"
"If it were me, I definitely would've stood beside him."
"Even if I died, I'd still protect him…"
"…Ah."
"I really did stand beside him."
"Why are you so weak?!"
"What trash!"
"If I were there, I would've killed Nagato myself!"
"Naruto-kun got angry for my sake…"
"Hehe…"
"Why does that make me so happy…"
Inside the virtual world, the white-eyed girl constantly shifted between emotions.
Shock.
Excitement.
Tenderness.
Anger.
Shyness.
She had completely immersed herself inside the story.
To her—
Everything happening there felt real.
The Hinata inside the story chased Naruto with the same stubborn devotion she herself possessed.
Different worlds.
Different paths.
Yet at their core—
They were still the same person.
In reality, her relationship with Naruto had progressed smoothly without obstacles.
But because Naruto advanced too quickly—
Hinata constantly felt pressure to catch up.
So she trained desperately.
Worked endlessly.
Refused to give up.
The two versions of herself were practically carved from the same mold.
Even if the stories differed—
The feelings in their hearts never changed.
Hinata replayed the scenes again and again while smiling foolishly to herself.
Her eyes sparkled with endless warmth and happiness.
Another memory with Naruto-kun.
How wonderful.
-------------------------
For advanced chapters, visit patreon.com/Varnok