[Naruto World Online – Updating...]
[3%, the progress bar's glow flickers like fireflies caught in a breeze, inching up slow as molasses.]
Uchiha Makoto was sprawled out on his bed, sleep hitting him like a tidal wave, his eyelids glued shut and fighting hard to stay open.
But he was still forcing himself to stare at the pale golden panel floating in front of him.
The edges shimmered with tiny golden sparkles, like someone had tossed a handful of stars on it. Every time the progress jumped 1%, little flecks of light would sprinkle down, blooming into faint spots on his bedding that only he could see—gone in a flash.
He let out a massive yawn, his jaw practically unhinging, thinking this update was slower than a snail crossing the road. Figured he'd crash for the night and it'd be done by morning.
The super-safe setup he had going, plus the revival token giving him all the confidence in the world, let the drowsiness creep up from his toes, along his legs, and take over.
Makoto rolled over, burying his little face in the pillow. He nuzzled the soft cotton for a couple seconds before he was out like a light.
Sunlight crept across the window, up the wall, and out the door. By the time moonlight hit the Uchiha compound's rooftops, night was thick as ink spilled from an inkstone.
[Ding—]
The crisp alert chimed only in his head. Makoto's eyes snapped open—he nearly shot off the bed.
The pale golden panel had finished updating, now sporting a shiny new tab.
The frame glowed brighter than before, and at the bottom, the brand-new [Quests] tab stood out like fresh-steamed mochi, steaming with hot light.
[Player: Makoto]
[Backpack][Shop][Achievements][Titles][Quests]
[More features unlocking soon...]
Makoto's brows furrowed a bit.
Back in his past life reading novels, he hated these quest systems the most—forced missions turning the main character into a puppet with zero freedom.
But when his eyes hit the fine print under the quests tab, his frown smoothed out, and a grin tugged at his lips.
It straight-up said:
[Quests pop up randomly. No obligation to do them. Rewards for completing, zero penalties for skipping.]
He mentally clicked open the [Quests] tab to check out the one active mission.
[Snag the Past Hokages' First Times]
Makoto's pupils shrank—he almost did bounce off the bed for real.
He blinked hard, leaned in closer till his nose nearly bumped the virtual panel, even popped his Sharingan, wondering if he was still dreaming.
He knew each word, but strung together? Total gibberish...
At this point in time, all the past Hokages were old dudes...
Then he tapped into the quest details on "Prank the Hokage Rock," and he smacked his forehead.
"Whew, I totally misread that." Makoto thought to himself—he wasn't into guys, that's for sure. He double-checked the notes.
[Right now, Naruto hasn't defaced his dad's face on the rock yet. Prime time to claim these Hokages' "firsts."]
[Reward on completion: Random S-Rank Ninjutsu]
Seeing that reward, Makoto had to admit he was tempted.
S-Rank ninjutsu—outside a few rare cases—the strongest stuff in the ninja world. Think Reaper Death Seal, Edo Tensei, Flying Thunder God... total game-breakers.
This quest? Killer value for the effort.
Not like those Naruto fanfics from his past life, handing out Great Fireball as a reward—cheapskates.
He scrolled it a few times, confirmed the bang-for-buck was insane, and decided: Screw it, fortune favors the bold.
Not dangerous, but kinda risky. Risky, but not really.
As the Uchiha clan's second young master, the family should... probably... maybe have his back on this, right?
If not, worst case? Death. Whatever—he had the revival token. No fear meant big gains.
Life lost? Respawn. But passing up an S-Rank jutsu? That'd get him struck by lightning.
He'd already mapped his backup: If Konoha pushed him too far, he'd pop the token, random respawn, then grind low-key outside till he was OP.
Dragon return style—those who offed him would pay big time.
With that, hyper-motivated Makoto bolted to the storage room, rummaging like a maniac for his "props."
......
Uchiha Sasuke woke up to a full bladder.
He'd passed out in the living room earlier; Itachi finally remembered and carried him to bed. Mikoto had been racking her brain, wondering what she'd forgotten...
He sat up groggy, rubbing his eyes and yawning, brain foggy—until he spotted the photo of the three brothers on his nightstand. Memories from before the blackout exploded in his head.
The Sharingan in Makoto's eyes, glowing like a red-hot branding iron, burned into his mind. He muttered,
"No way! Impossible!!" He pounded his little fists on the bed, his babyish growl cracking with a sob.
"I'm the genius, and I haven't awakened mine yet—how'd Makoto beat me? Gotta be a dream! A nightmare!"
Right then—thud thud thud—footsteps outside. Makoto hustled by with a huge pile of stuff, his shadow stretching long under the hall light.
Worried Makoto heard him, Sasuke's face flushed crimson from his ears to his chin—like a tomato tossed in the fire.
He didn't even grab shoes, bare feet slapping the floor as he chased after, short legs pumping. He threw his arms wide in front of Makoto like a puffed-up kitten blocking the path.
"W-Wait a sec!"
Makoto stopped, eyeing Sasuke—hair a total mess, one ahoge sticking straight up.
"What's up?"
Sasuke's eyes bugged out like a spooked deer's, voice shaky: "Did you... awaken your Sharingan?"
Makoto arched a brow, drawing it out: "Nahhh..."
Then he blinked. His black pupils flared crimson—a single-tomoe Sharingan lazily spun, its eerie glow reflecting in Sasuke's eyes.
Sasuke's jaw dropped—you could fit an egg in there. Makoto just said no, so what the heck?
"Am I still asleep? Is this a dream? I can't tell!!"
Sasuke scrubbed his eyes, nearly yanking out his lashes.
Seeing Sasuke on the verge of meltdown, Makoto almost cracked up. Casually: "Got lucky and awakened it. No biggie."
Sasuke stammered forever, tiny hand clutching Makoto's shirt—knuckles white. He whispered, "How'd you awaken so early... Makes me look talentless..."
"Just promise not to show it off anymore, and I'll do anything!"
"Wait for me... please? Name your price, I'll say yes."
"Pretty please, I'll do whatever."
Makoto, in a great mood and amused, ruffled his hair. Teasing:
"Cool, since you're down for anything—awaken yours right now."
Sasuke jumped back, face beet red, eyes huge. He stomped: "You're kidding!"
Watching Sasuke spin in circles like a lost kitten, Makoto held back laughter and booped his forehead hard.
"Sorry, Sasuke. Go bug Itachi—got stuff to do."
Sasuke clutched his forehead, frozen. By the time he snapped out of it, Makoto was gone around the corner.
He stomped at the empty hall, cheeks puffed like walnuts, grumbling: "Makoto, I'm never talking to you again!"
Muttering done, he dumped all his pocket candy in his mouth—he'd been saving half for Makoto.
When Makoto stepped outside with his props, the moon was napping behind clouds, stars half-asleep.