After sitting cross-legged on the floor and thinking for a long time, Naruto murmured to himself, "Maybe... I should find a suitable time—one when there's absolutely no chance of anyone spying on me."
The night was dark and silent.
Three thirty in the morning.
Naruto suddenly jolted awake and sprang up, clutching his stomach as he rushed to the bathroom.
A moment later, the toilet flushed with a series of loud gurgles.
Outside the window, the two Anbu assigned to watch him whispered to each other.
"Is this kid... having diarrhea?"
"Of course he is. He ate all those random snacks yesterday."
"True..."
Neither Anbu thought much of it. They had no intention of sneaking in to spy, and even wanted to move farther away so they wouldn't have to smell anything.
The bathroom.
"At this hour, the Third Hokage shouldn't be spying on me, right..."
If he was still spying at this hour, Naruto would accept defeat. It would only be right for his Rinnegan to be discovered.
After all, he was a normal person, and normal people... couldn't beat perverts.
Naruto activated his Rinnegan and used its ocular technique.
—Kamimusubi!
A vibrant green orb, brimming with life, appeared in midair and sank into the wooden carving of the Raiden Shogun.
A few seconds later, as Naruto watched expectantly, the carving moved.
It lifted its head, its hollow, lifeless eyes meeting Naruto's.
After staring at each other for several minutes, Naruto couldn't take it anymore. "Come on, move a little!"
The carving obediently moved once, then went still again, like a stiff puppet.
Naruto blinked, seeming to understand. He said to the carving, "Say something."
In a voice utterly devoid of emotion, the carving said, "Something."
"Walk."
The carving walked forward, each step perfectly measured.
"Jump."
The carving hopped into the air.
"Do the dance from 'Hanachirusato.'"
That seemed to be beyond the carving's understanding. It stood motionless.
"So that's how it is... Life and a soul—you really can't do without either one."
—Ukanomitama!
A white orb of soul energy appeared in midair. It contained Naruto's memories of the Raiden Shogun, including—but not limited to—the game, the anime, and even fanfiction.
The soul orb entered the carving. The first thing to change was its eyes.
The hollow gaze turned confused, then bright and lively, then cold and emotionless.
After that, the carving's expression kept alternating between cold indifference and lively awareness. Naruto was completely dumbfounded.
"What's going on?!"
The carving suddenly answered, "Creator, the Shogun and I are fighting for control."
"Creator? Is that what you're calling me...?"
Naruto understood, then asked, "What do you mean, fighting for control?"
"You created two consciousnesses. I am Raiden Ei, Beelzebul, while the other is the Shogun, the puppet's consciousness. We're fighting over which of us will be in control from now on."
So it was my fault... No, this wasn't a screwup. This was a cosplayer of the highest caliber.
Ei and the Shogun together were the Raiden Shogun Naruto had in mind.
"Then I'll call you Ei from now on. Ei, does that mean you're in control right now?"
The carving—no, she should be called Ei now—nodded. "That's right. According to my settings, I was supposed to be the dominant consciousness. The Shogun overstepped."
Naruto's gaze turned thoughtful. "Settings? So you understand your own nature... Then do you think you're truly Raiden Ei?"
"I..."
As a creation, Ei knew that she had come into being only minutes ago. She was not the exalted Narukami Ogosho.
And yet her memories told her, beyond a doubt: You are the Raiden Shogun, the most supreme and honored being in the mortal realm.
Torn between her memories and reality, Ei was at a loss, unable to speak.
Just then, the Shogun's voice sounded in her mind.
"Let me handle this."
Ei froze, then readily yielded control.
According to her settings, the Shogun was supposed to handle the things she wasn't good at.
So she wasn't avoiding the problem; she was just following her settings.
Yes, that was it.
In an instant, the Raiden Shogun took over. Looking at Naruto with an impassive expression, she said, "Creator, she may not be Raiden Ei, but I am certainly the Raiden Shogun, because..."
She had been a puppet before, and she was still a puppet now. Other than their strength, there wasn't much difference.
The Shogun never got to finish, because Ei took over again.
Ei grumbled in her mind, "What are you talking about? Weren't you supposed to help? Why are you suddenly stabbing me in the back...?"
The Shogun calmly replied, "I didn't stab you in the back. I was just telling the truth."
Ei decided to ignore the Shogun and turned to Naruto. "Creator, I believe I am the real Raiden Ei—at least... in this world."
When the original did not exist, the only copy in the world became the original.
Besides, Ei had already figured it out: her purpose in being born was to become Raiden Ei.
Since that was the case, why keep agonizing over it? That would only bring her needless trouble.
"That makes sense." Naruto nodded in agreement. A cosplayer had to believe in the role wholeheartedly.
If you didn't believe it yourself, how could you expect anyone else to?
"By the way, don't call me 'Creator' from now on. And don't be so respectful. It ruins the immersion. Just call me Naruto and treat me like an ordinary friend."
At that, Ei searched her memories and ventured, "Naruto, are you an enemy of eternity?"
Naruto wasn't satisfied. "Your tone's too gentle. Make it colder. Act superior and dignified, with an air of untouchable majesty..."
Got it. Her creator was a pervert. Ei understood.
Her expression turned cold and impassive. She glanced at Naruto and said flatly, "The eternal way is vast, and the Narukami is eternal! I am the Narukami Ogosho. Naruto, insolent fool who dares to offend the divine, are you ready to die?"
Naruto was thrilled. He clapped his hands. "That's it! That's exactly the feel. Let's do it again."
"N-Naruto-kun, um... did you not sleep well last night?"
Hinata looked worried as Naruto leaned over his desk, yawning.
After getting to know each other for over a month, the little girl had finally started to act a bit more normally.
She was still shy and easily fainted, but at least she could now get out a complete sentence.
Naruto nodded, looking listless. "Yeah, I didn't sleep well. I woke up in the middle of the night with a stomachache and was up for ages."
It was his first time creating a person, and he'd been so excited that he'd played around until dawn before falling asleep. He'd only slept for a little over an hour, and now he was exhausted.
Hinata didn't know the whole story. Hearing that Naruto had had a stomachache, she immediately grew anxious, blushing as she said, "Um... do you want to see a doctor? My family has a doctor..."
Go to your house?
Don't be such a dutiful daughter and get your father into trouble. If I went to your house, who knows who might die this time.
Naruto shook his head. "Thanks, but I'm fine now. I'm just a little tired, so I need to get some sleep."
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