The screen went completely dark.
The theater returned to its dim gloom.
Sasuke and Sakura blinked, baffled.
"Th-that's it…? It's over?" Sakura asked, still processing. The dream had been dull, but the ending was absurdly abrupt.
"Hmph. What a boring dream." Sasuke crossed his arms, though he was just as confused. Who was that woman at the end?
Only Kakashi—
the instant the screen went black, he jolted to his feet like he'd been electrocuted.
His body trembled from shock.
That voice.
That flash of red hair—
No. Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
It had only been a brief glimpse, but the blazing long red hair and that unmistakable scolding roar…
But how could that be?
Sensei and Kushina-senpai had died that night, sealing the Nine-Tails to protect the village.
Naruto had never met his mother.
There was no way he should know her face. Her voice.
So what was that in the dream?
A genjutsu so advanced that it read images from Kakashi's deepest memories?
No.
If it was memory-reading, why didn't Sasuke and Sakura react?
They didn't know Kushina at all.
Was it Naruto's subconscious?
Some bloodline echo building a mother's image?
That didn't make sense either.
Subconscious constructs wouldn't be that clear.
The voice, the hair, the motion—too real.
Kakashi's mind spiraled into chaos.
Dreams. A shared theater. A forbidden presence in the final scene.
What was hiding behind it all?
[Ding! Emotional fluctuation from Hatake Kakashi detected! Emotion Points +2000!]
In the darkness, Shigure watched the number spike and smiled.
He'd known Kakashi would lose it the moment Kushina appeared.
Cutting the dream at Naruto's happiest moment with the image of his mother—creating a brutal emotional whiplash—was a perfect stab into Kakashi's pain point.
While Kakashi was still shaking…
Bzzzz—
A soft yet blinding white light blossomed through the theater.
It swallowed everything.
Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura were hit by a dizzying wave. Their consciousness blurred again.
…
Next second—
Hidden Leaf Village, Hatake residence.
"Hah!"
Kakashi shot upright in bed, gasping. Cold sweat soaked his forehead.
He swallowed and looked around.
His room.
The same quiet night outside, moonlight spilling onto the floor.
Back…?
He rubbed his still-foggy head, forcing himself to recall the absurd experience.
The dark theater. The giant screen. Sasuke and Sakura in pajamas. Naruto's dream. The villagers' cheers. "Naruto-sama." And finally—
Kushina-senpai.
Everything was so clear, so vivid, it felt like it had happened a heartbeat ago.
"Was that… really just my dream?" Kakashi frowned hard.
But if it wasn't, then what was it?
Some power that could silently pull Team Seven—including him—into a shared dream space and broadcast Naruto's dream…
It was beyond anything he'd ever seen.
And most importantly—
Kushina.
How did Naruto know?
Kakashi's thoughts turned to sludge.
He felt, deep down, that this wasn't simple.
…
Elsewhere, in the Uchiha compound—
Sasuke sat up in bed with a scowl.
"Hmph. What a stupid dream."
Displeasure from lost sleep and disgust at that dream version of himself twisted his face.
He tossed the whole ridiculous dream aside and lay back down.
…
At Sakura's home—
"AAAAH! Naruto, you idiot!!!"
Sakura jolted awake and slammed her fist into the pillow, sending fluff flying.
The dream scene of Naruto "accepting" her confession was still burned into her eyes.
She was mortified and furious.
"I'm so mad! Tomorrow I'm definitely beating Naruto up!"
…
Back at Ichiraku Ramen, in a tiny storage room behind the kitchen—
Shigure admired the final tally on his system panel.
[Dream Target: Uzumaki Naruto]
[Audience: Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi]
[Total Emotion Points Gained: 6450!]
"System. Open the shop!"
A virtual interface only he could see appeared.
The categories dazzled: Bloodlines, Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Items, Special Abilities…
Shigure had to force himself not to click Bloodlines right away to see the prices for Sharingan, Rinnegan, Wood Release.
Calm down.
Survival and foundations came first.
He was a zero-talent start. Without chakra and basic ability, even a Rinnegan would just drain him into a corpse.
He inhaled, opened Ninjutsu → Basic and Special Abilities → Physique.
[Chakra Extraction Technique: Guides mental and physical energy to combine into basic chakra. Price: 500 Emotion Points.]
[Chakra Extraction Technique (Advanced Pack): Includes extraction technique, grants random chakra affinity, improves efficiency and quality. Price: 1500 Emotion Points.]
[Chakra Extraction Technique (High-Tier Pack): Includes extraction technique, grants three random chakra affinities, greatly improves efficiency and quality, optimizes affinities. Price: 3000 Emotion Points.]
…
[Chakra Extraction Technique (Ultimate Deluxe Pack): Full chakra affinities, huge boost to efficiency and quality, deep optimization. Price: 300000 Emotion Points.]
"Ultimate deluxe really means ultimate—I can't afford it."
"High-tier is 3000? Expensive… but worth it. Fine. Strong basics mean everything. Buy!"
[Basic Physical Enhancement (Lv1): Increases strength, speed, endurance by 5. Price: 1000 Emotion Points.]
[Basic Physical Enhancement (Lv2): Increases strength, speed, endurance by 15. Price: 2500 Emotion Points.]
[Basic Physical Enhancement (Lv3): Increases strength, speed, endurance by 30. Price: 5000 Emotion Points.]
"Physique matters too. I'll take Lv1!"
[Body Flicker (Lv1): Basic high-speed movement. Price: 800 Emotion Points.]
[Three Basic Jutsu (Lv1): Substitution, Clone, Transformation. Price: 1000 Emotion Points.]
"Oh? Bundle discount? Clone and Transformation aren't super useful yet, but they're fundamentals. No harm learning them."
[Purchase successful: "Chakra Extraction Technique (High-Tier Pack)" — 3000 Emotion Points spent. Open now?]
"Open!"
[High-Tier Pack opened. Congratulations, host has obtained chakra affinities: Water, Lightning, Yang.]
[Purchase successful: "Basic Physical Enhancement (Lv1)" — 1000 Emotion Points spent.]
[Purchase successful: "Three Basic Jutsu (Lv1)" — 1000 Emotion Points spent.]
[Purchase successful: "Body Flicker (Lv1)" — 800 Emotion Points spent.]
[Remaining Emotion Points: 650.]
A torrent of information surged into Shigure's brain.
Knowledge of how to combine mental and bodily energy, how to extract chakra efficiently—it all downloaded into him instantly.
At the same time, the seals, chakra circulation, techniques, and countless practice experiences for Substitution, Clone, Transformation, and Body Flicker imprinted into his instincts.
A warm, powerful current flowed through his body.
His muscles tightened. His nerves sharpened. Every cell felt more alive. His previously frail frame grew noticeably stronger.
"Hah…" Shigure exhaled, eyes blazing with excitement.
He swallowed the urge to celebrate and kept browsing.
[Mangekyō Sharingan: The ultimate Uchiha dōjutsu, evolved from the Sharingan. Immense power, immense cost. Price: 1000000 Emotion Points.]
[Rinnegan: One of the strongest dōjutsu, the Eye of the Sage. Price: 2000000 Emotion Points.]
[Ōtsutsuki Bloodline: Power of the "god clan," near-eternal life and overwhelming strength. Price: 5000000 Emotion Points.]
…
Yeah. No chance.
Not even close.
But now he had chakra and a basic body. He finally had a foothold.
-------
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