Dream Maker of the Hokage!The Sword Saint of Konoha
The screen went completely black.
The theater returned to its previous dim, silent state.
Sasuke and Sakura both looked utterly confused.
"That's... it?" Sakura blinked, still not quite processing what had just happened.
That dream was boring enough, but the ending was way too abrupt.
"Hmph. What a pointless dream." Sasuke crossed his arms with a cold snort, though a flicker of doubt still lingered deep in his eyes.
Who was that woman who suddenly appeared at the end?
Only Kakashi reacted differently.
The moment the screen went dark, he jolted upright as if struck by lightning. His body trembled slightly from sheer shock.
His ever-lazy single eye widened in disbelief.
That voice...
That flash of red hair... could it be...
No. No way. Absolutely impossible.
It was only for a split second, but that fiery red hair—like burning flames—and that familiar, furious shout...
But how? How could it be?
Sensei and Kushina-senpai both... on the night Naruto was born... to protect the village... when they sealed the Nine-Tails... they...
Naruto never even met his mother. There's no way he'd know what she looked like... or what her voice sounded like...
Then what the hell was that just now?
Could it have been some incredibly sophisticated genjutsu, pulling fragments from his own memories?
No...
If it was reading memories, why didn't Sasuke and Sakura react?
They've never met Kushina. They wouldn't recognize her at all.
Could it be Naruto's own subconscious... constructing an image of his mother through some kind of bloodline resonance?
No. That doesn't make sense either.
The subconscious can't create something with that level of clarity.
The voice... the hair... the way she moved... it was all too real.
Kakashi felt his brain spiral into utter chaos.
A storm of questions and suspicions battered his mind like a raging tsunami.
A bizarre dream, a mysterious space, and a person who should never have appeared there.
What the hell is hiding behind all of this?!
Ding! Emotional fluctuation detected from Hatake Kakashi. +2000 Emotion Points!
Hidden in the shadows, Shiyu chuckled with satisfaction as he watched the number on his system panel skyrocket.
I knew it. The moment Kushina appeared, Kakashi wouldn't be able to keep it together.
This was the finishing touch in Shiyu's plan.
Right at the peak of Naruto's happiness and satisfaction, suddenly cutting the dream short with his mother's appearance created a massive emotional whiplash. It struck Kakashi—who knew the truth—right in the heart, triggering a surge of emotional volatility.
While Kakashi was still reeling from the shock of Kushina's appearance—
BZZT
A blinding, soft white light suddenly filled the dim theater.
The light swallowed everything.
Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura were instantly overwhelmed by a wave of dizziness as their consciousness faded into the void...
The next moment—
Konoha Village, Hatake Residence.
HAAH...
Kakashi shot upright in bed, gasping for air. Cold sweat drenched his forehead.
He instinctively glanced around.
Familiar room.
The quiet night outside the window remained unchanged. Moonlight streamed through the window, casting soft silver shadows on the floor.
Back... home?
Kakashi shook his head, still groggy, trying to piece together that bizarre experience.
That dark theater... the enormous, eerie screen... Sasuke and Sakura in pajamas... Naruto's dream playing out on the screen... the villagers cheering... "Young Master Naruto"... and at the very end... Kushina-senpai.
It was all so vivid. So real. As if it had just happened seconds ago.
"Could... could that really have just been... a dream?" Kakashi frowned deeply, filled with uncertainty and confusion.
But if it wasn't a dream... then what was it?
The ability to silently drag him, Sasuke, and Sakura into some kind of shared space and broadcast Naruto's dream...
That's... that's practically divine. Completely unheard of.
And most importantly... Kushina-senpai.
How the hell does Naruto know...?!
Kakashi felt like his brain had turned to mush.
Something about this... is absolutely not normal.
At the same time, over at the Uchiha compound, in Sasuke's bedroom—
"Hmph. Stupid dream."
Sasuke sat up, scowling. His face was a mixture of annoyance at having his sleep disturbed and disgust at the overly soft version of himself from the dream.
He quickly shoved the absurd memory aside and lay back down without a second thought.
Meanwhile, at Haruno Sakura's house—
"AAARGH!! NARUTO, YOU STUPID IDIOT!!"
Sakura jolted awake, slamming her fist into her pillow with a WHUMP so hard that feathers exploded everywhere.
The memory of Naruto's "confession" from the dream was still fresh in her mind. Her face flushed with a mix of embarrassment and rage.
"I'm so mad!! I'm definitely beating Naruto up tomorrow!!"
In the small storage room next to the kitchen of Ichiraku Ramen—
Shiyu grinned with satisfaction, staring at the final tally on his system panel.
Dream Target: Uzumaki NarutoViewers: Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Hatake KakashiTotal Emotion Points Gained: 6450!
"Hehehe..." Shiyu rubbed his hands together excitedly.
"System! Open the shop!"
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, a game-like virtual shop interface appeared in front of him—visible only to him.
The screen was filled with countless categories: Bloodlines, Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Items, Special Abilities...
Shiyu resisted the overwhelming urge to immediately check the price of Sharingan, Rinnegan, or Wood Release in the Bloodlines tab. He forced himself to stay focused.
No, no. Survival first. Foundations first.
I'm starting from absolute zero. I need chakra and basic abilities before anything else.
Even if I could afford the Rinnegan, I'd probably end up drained into a dried-up corpse just trying to use it.
Taking a deep breath, he opened the Ninjutsu – Basic category and Special Abilities – Physique tab.
[Chakra Refinement Technique]: Combines spiritual and physical energy to extract basic chakra. Price: 500 Emotion Points.[Chakra Refinement – Advanced Bundle]: Includes Chakra Refinement Technique plus a random chakra nature affinity, significantly boosts efficiency and quality. Price: 1500.[Chakra Refinement – High-Grade Bundle]: Includes Chakra Refinement plus three random chakra nature affinities, greatly boosts efficiency and optimizes affinity. Price: 3000.[...][Chakra Refinement – Ultimate Deluxe Bundle]: Includes Chakra Refinement plus ALL chakra nature affinities, with massive efficiency and quality boosts, and perfect affinity optimization. Price: 300,000.
"No wonder it's called 'Ultimate Deluxe'... who could even afford that?"
"Tsk... even the High-Grade costs 3000? Pricey... but the boost is tempting."
"Whatever. Solid foundations are everything. Let's go."
[Basic Physical Enhancement (Lv1)]: Increases strength, speed, and stamina by 5. Price: 1000.[Basic Physical Enhancement (Lv2)]: Increases those stats by 15. Price: 2500.[Basic Physical Enhancement (Lv3)]: Increases them by 30. Price: 5000.
"Physical stats are super important too! Let's grab Lv1 first."
[Shunshin no Jutsu (Lv1) – Body Flicker Technique: Basic high-speed movement skill. Price: 800.[Three Basic Techniques (Lv1) Bundle: Substitution, Clone, and Transformation Techniques. Price: 1000.
"Oh? A bundle deal? Nice. Clone and Transformation aren't super useful right now, but they're fundamental. No harm in learning them. Buy!"
[Purchase: Chakra Refinement – High-Grade Bundle. -3000 Points. Open Now?]"Open."
[Bundle Opened. Congratulations! You've gained chakra nature affinities: Water, Lightning, and Yang.]
[Purchase: Basic Physical Enhancement (Lv1). -1000 Points.][Purchase: Three Basic Techniques (Lv1). -1000 Points.][Purchase: Shunshin no Jutsu (Lv1). -800 Points.]
[Remaining Emotion Points: 650.]
In an instant, a massive flood of knowledge poured into Shiyu's mind.
How to merge spiritual and physical energy, how to efficiently refine chakra—it all became instinctual, as if he'd trained for years.
Simultaneously, the hand seals, chakra flow, and execution methods for Substitution, Clone, Transformation, and Body Flicker Techniques were engraved into his muscle memory.
A surge of warm, powerful energy then spread through his body.
He could clearly feel his muscles becoming stronger, his reflexes faster, and every part of his body brimming with vitality.
His once frail body now felt significantly tougher and more capable.
Hoo...
Shiyu let out a long breath, his eyes shining with excitement as he felt the dramatic change both physically and mentally.
Opening his palm, he focused... and for the first time, guided his newly mastered chakra refinement technique.
A faint stream of soft blue energy slowly flowed along his meridians, gathering in his palm.
The amount was tiny, but this... this was real.
Real chakra. His very own.
"I did it... I can actually refine chakra now!"
Fighting back the rush of excitement, Shiyu immediately scrolled back to the shop.
[Mangekyō Sharingan: The ultimate evolution of the Sharingan, powerful but with a heavy cost. Price: 1,000,000.][Rinnegan: The Eye of God, embodying the power of the Sage of Six Paths, capable of creation and destruction. Price: 2,000,000.][Ōtsutsuki Bloodline: The divine clan's genetic power, grants near-immortality and immense chakra. Price: 5,000,000.]
...
Can't afford.
Not even close.
With only 650 points left, there was no chance.
But... with chakra and basic physical enhancement... he finally had the foundation to survive.
As long as he kept farming emotion points... the future was bright.