Konoha Village, Ichiraku Ramen.
Behind the counter, Shigure quietly summoned his system panel. A pale blue screen only he could see appeared in front of him.
His gaze locked on the number in the corner.
His accumulated emotion points—only a little over ten thousand away from leveling up.
Shigure's eyes flashed with glee. He forced his excitement down, scanned the shop to make sure only Teuchi was around, then slipped into the back to focus on the interface.
His heart was practically bouncing out of his chest.
Once the system upgraded, would it unlock something new?
Probably not just increasing the target limit. Maybe a new dream mode, or some other absurd ability—
With a thought, he opened the system shop.
Rows upon rows of goods filled the display: jutsu scrolls, bloodlines, physical enhancements, special items… almost anything you could imagine.
He flicked to "Physical Enhancement." After buying the basic upgrade earlier, the "Intermediate Physical Enhancement" option was now available.
He clicked it—and immediately sucked in a breath.
Even Intermediate Lv1 cost way more points than he had.
"Tch. Next time," he muttered, and backed out.
He wasn't planning to pour more points into attack jutsu yet either. He hadn't even had a real chance to test the ones he'd bought.
Once he tried them out, then he'd decide what to upgrade.
With no urgent purchases, he closed the panel again.
Outside, the sky was already darkening. Shigure stretched, smiling faintly.
At least for now, he had enough to protect himself. No need to rush.
"All right," he murmured. "Tonight, I'll work hard. Let's hit that level-up."
He walked back out, wearing his usual shy, harmless smile, waiting for customers.
…
Night fell.
Naruto trudged back to his small apartment. He turned on the lights, ate a cup of instant noodles for dinner, and stared blankly into the empty room.
What happened earlier wouldn't leave his mind.
Kakashi-sensei looked lazy and indifferent, but he carried loneliness too…
Naruto scratched his messy blond hair and whispered to himself:
"So Kakashi-sensei is alone, just like me…"
That fleeting shadow of sadness on Kakashi's face made Naruto's chest ache.
And then it hit him—maybe he was already pretty lucky.
Because in his dreams, Mom and Dad were there for him.
And in real life, he still had Iruka-sensei, the people at Ichiraku, and his teammates.
Thinking that way soothed something inside him.
He looked out at the deep blue night sky through his window, rubbed his cheeks, and forced himself to cheer up again.
"Crap!"
Naruto slapped his forehead.
"I forgot to ask Kakashi-sensei about Rasengan!"
He'd gone there to get advice for the second stage, but the photo had totally derailed everything. He hadn't asked a single useful thing.
Naruto could only laugh bitterly.
"Whatever… I'll just ask Dad in the dream tonight! Dream Dad's amazing—he must know the trick."
He tossed the empty cup aside, jumped into bed, and pulled the blanket up.
Lying on his back, his blue eyes lit with determination again.
Tonight, no matter what, he'd get the second-stage method.
Tomorrow he'd keep training, and soon enough he'd nail Rasengan and shock Sasuke and Sakura.
Thinking that far made him grin. He rolled over, tucked in tight, and shut his eyes.
"Dad… wait for me," he murmured. "Teach me tonight, okay?"
Crickets hummed outside. Naruto's breathing steadied, and he fell asleep.
Darkness spread—
Rows of seats emerged.
Sakura opened her eyes and found herself back in the dream theater.
After several nights like this, she wasn't scared anymore. Her first instinct was to look for familiar faces.
"Phew." Seeing Kakashi-sensei sitting beside her, she relaxed and gave him a trusting smile.
Kakashi nodded back, calm as ever.
They took seats near the front and waited for the screen to light up.
But minutes passed.
The giant screen didn't come on. The theater stayed dim and silent.
"Why isn't it starting?" Sakura whispered.
Kakashi scanned the room, frowning.
"Wait… where's Sasuke?"
Only then did they realize—
Sasuke hadn't arrived.
Sakura's expression tightened with worry.
"I didn't really see him today either. Wh-what if something happened to him?"
Kakashi shook his head lightly.
"Don't worry. He went back to the clan grounds to train. He's not in danger."
After a pause, he added, "He probably… didn't sleep tonight. That's why he isn't here."
Sakura's eyes widened.
"Not sleeping? But his body can't take that…"
Kakashi didn't answer. He only sighed, looking at the empty seat.
Sasuke was avoiding sleep to resist the dream.
His heart-knot was deeper than Kakashi had thought.
In the last row's deep shadow, Shigure watched the empty seat too, eyes flickering.
A cold system notice appeared:
[Uchiha Sasuke is not in a sleeping state. Target cannot enter dream space.]
"So he's really resisting by not sleeping," Shigure muttered, brows knitting.
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (180 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (110 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (170 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (68 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (110 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (60 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (100 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (50 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (50 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (50 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it