Butterfly Effect

Hinata glanced at the pile of Naruto manga and replied in a weak voice, "I... I drew them myself."

She was naive, gentle, and kind, but she wasn't stupid.

Much of the content described in these books was true and real; calling them a Book of Prophecies wouldn't be an overstatement.

Ino and Sakura had lent her the Book of Prophecies—that was their trust in her.

Hinata decided that no matter what, she wouldn't betray that trust!

"You drew them yourself?" Hinata's old father gave her a half-smile look.

"Mm."

The little girl answered in a soft voice.

"Nice hobby. You can draw something normal, don't go down the wrong path."

Hearing her father's words, Hinata's face flushed red.

She knew that the path she was taking would face a lot of criticism from others, even harsh insults.

But she would walk it unwaveringly!

Because this was truly what she wanted to do herself!

Hyuga Hiashi asked abruptly, "Did Sakura Haruno give them to you? Or Ino Yamanaka?"

"Huh?"

A flicker of panic flashed in Hinata's eyes, her expression shifting slightly before she immediately tightened her small face.

"Mm, I understand."

An old fox is hard to fool; with that one bluff, Hiashi immediately got the answer he wanted.

"You... from now on, draw less of that messy stuff. That set of Naruto manga isn't bad..."

With a sigh, Hiashi paced away.

He was desperate too!

His daughter had the same temperament as her mother—soft on the outside, firm on the inside. If he actually resorted to physical punishment, he'd probably be hated for life.

All these years of educating Hinata had been wrong. Was he supposed to stubbornly refuse to change and keep making mistakes?

Choose the lesser of two evils!

Even though the Hyuga clan head felt awkward as a man reading Naruto, between Danmei and Female Supremacy, he chose the latter.

Recalling the content he'd seen in the Book of Prophecies last night, Hiashi, about to head back to his study, stopped in his tracks.

"I didn't expect that kid Neji to think that way... I'll go see him first."

Land of Wind, Sunagakure.

For two straight days, the three little ones of Team 7 had been wandering around, completely idle.

Although the Sand lineage existed in the Shadow Breaking the Firmament Virtual Reality game, the scenery and local customs were still quite different.

"The food here is pretty good, but it's a shame there's no Teuchi's ramen!"

Naruto kept shoving food into his mouth; around him, several shadow clones held all kinds of food.

Chestnuts, Koya tofu, takoyaki, hamburger steak...

Sakura had bought a lot of girls' daily necessities, and her mood seemed to have improved a lot, temporarily suppressing her longing for her parents.

With her Meticulous Mind, she thought of a problem: "Every native in the virtual world is made incredibly realistic, each with their own thoughts and emotions. If I hadn't brought my real-world memories in, I'd probably think I was in That world."

"Thinking about it that way, why did Mentor Wang Yan insist on the three of us going in?"

Naruto's mouth was stuffed with food, and he mumbled something that no one could understand.

Sasuke pursed his lips: "Tempering! That one year in That world honed our mental fortitude. Compared to our peers, our minds are much stronger! Haven't you noticed that even this idiot Naruto is way more reliable than before?"

Deep down, he vaguely had other thoughts.

Like Gaara—in the Book of Prophecies, that guy was the future Kazekage.

Maybe Mentor Wang Yan was playing a chess game, using the Five Great Nations as pieces!

Hearing this, the Little Blonde forcibly swallowed the food in his mouth and was about to retort.

But Sasuke didn't give him a chance to speak and directly cut him off: "Mentor is summoning us, let's go!"

Moments later.

Sunagakure Conference Hall.

"You're right on time."

Wang Yan nodded slightly, giving the three little ones an approving look. "After all, Real time and virtual game time flow at different speeds. Being late by One hour in the Shadow Breaking the Firmament world is equivalent to half a month."

Without further ado, his Telekinesis flowed, and three helmets of different colors landed on their heads.

The three of them entered the Virtual Reality game world simultaneously and successfully linked up with Rasa and Gaara.

At that moment, Wang Yan suddenly noticed that the Resource Points stock had abruptly surged by ten thousand.

"These Resource Points have nothing to do with Sunagakure. Let me trace their origin."

After a brief search, Wang Yan's expression turned strange.

"Hyuga Hiashi and Neji Hyuga... I haven't arranged anything for them yet... This must be a change brought about by Hinata."

Such was the Butterfly Effect—many things, when one thread is pulled, the whole body moves.

"One hundred eleven thousand Resource Points—not a bad supplement."

A faint glimmer flickered in Wang Yan's eyes.

Game world, Shadow City.

"Finally... back to this place."

Gaara rode the wind, standing in midair, gazing down at the city below. His heart churned with a thousand emotions.

Three years!

Three full years had passed. Driven by humiliation, he had trained with all his might, fought, explored ancient ruins, and brushed death countless times. At last, he had surpassed Kage-level strength!

"Your mastery of Scientific Ninja Tools has reached a state of perfection. You even have many hidden cards left. Your strength far exceeds mine from back then."

From within his necklace, Rasa's lingering soul spoke in a low tone: "Even so, don't underestimate your opponent! Sasuke Uchiha is the greatest genius Konoha has ever produced. Perhaps these three years have brought him progress as well."

"Understood." Gaara nodded in acknowledgment.

Because his real memories were sealed, Gaara and his father had no blood connection in this world. They had initially loathed each other, only forming a reluctant alliance out of necessity, forcing themselves to support one another and move forward together.

Three years—over a thousand days and nights of life-and-death companionship—had finally forged a strong bond between them, part teacher, part friend.

Just as Gaara was about to follow Rasa's advice and sneak into the city to thoroughly investigate Konoha's faction, a tall figure abruptly appeared before him.

A blue short-sleeved shirt, a red-and-white fan crest, an arrogant and defiant expression...

Who else could it be but Sasuke Uchiha?!

In the city below, Sakura Haruno blinked with starry eyes, looking like a lovesick fool: "Sasuke's even cooler than before!"

Hearing that woman's voice, Gaara's expression twisted with rage.

The scenes of humiliation and trampled dignity from three years ago surfaced one by one before his eyes.

The angrier he grew, the calmer he became.

He had finally tempered himself through experience.

"The Three-Year Pact—let's settle it today."

Gaara stared coldly at Sasuke, his tone chilling enough to send shivers down one's spine.

The Kage-level powerhouse who had been Sakura's backer had already been eliminated by him.

His current strength far exceeded the definition of "Kage," and he had full confidence in defeating Sasuke Uchiha.

His only regret was that his sole friend had been missing for two full years, with no news at all—likely dead.

In Gaara's eyes, the culprits were almost certainly that pair of scumbags, Sasuke and Sakura.

"Naruto, I'll avenge you."

He silently vowed in his heart.

But then...

"Hey! Gaara! Go for it! Win, and I'll treat you to ramen!"

Following that somewhat goofy voice, a Little Blonde came into Gaara's view.

"??"

Gaara's face was full of shock, his mind racing like a herd of alpacas stampeding.

You're actually not dead?

So where the hell have you been for the past two years?

Are you sure you're not a spy sent by the enemy?

The momentum he had painstakingly built up to its peak instantly collapsed...