Mom, I Can't Tell Them Apart, I Really Can't Tell Them Apart

Just as Sasuke in the audience was about to explode with rage, a new change occurred in the dream on the screen.

Naruto Uzumaki was currently being watched by Sakura Haruno, whose eyes were filled with pink bubbles, her gaze shy and adoring.

With a bashful blush on her face, Sakura kept her hands behind her back and walked up to Naruto shyly, her voice sickeningly sweet.

"N-Naruto-kun... Ah, no! Young Master Naruto!"

At the same time.

In the audience.

Sakura: "????"

Inner Sakura was covered in rage marks and was already rampaging wildly inside Sakura's mind.

On the screen.

Dream Sakura continued in a voice so sweet it seemed ready to drip. "Young Master Naruto... You were so cool just now! Sasuke-kun was no match for you at all! As expected, you're the strongest ninja in Team 7... no! In all of Konoha!"

Naruto was overjoyed. He scratched his head bashfully, narrowed his eyes, and said with both pride and embarrassment, "Well, well... I'm only so-so. Sasuke was just too careless, that's all."

"No! You don't need to be modest!" Dream Sakura shook her head vigorously, her eyes growing even more heated. "To me, you've always been the greatest ninja. Actually... actually, for a very long time now... I've... I've already liked Young Master Naruto very, very much!"

As she spoke, she actually gathered her courage, stepped forward, and grabbed Naruto's hand. Looking up at him with eyes so tender they seemed about to melt, she boldly confessed, "I like Young Master Naruto the most! Let's date!"

Naruto: "!!!!"

His entire body froze on the spot as if he had been struck by lightning!

His mind went blank!

L-Likes me?

Sakura... she actually said she likes me the most?!

Th-This is real?!

I'm not dreaming, am I?!

The enormous surprise swept over him like a tsunami!

For a moment, he even forgot how to breathe!

Several seconds later, Naruto finally came back to himself. His face was flushed bright red with ecstasy. Looking at Sakura, who was gazing at him with such affection, he felt as if his whole body were about to float away.

Happiness had come too suddenly!

He tried hard to maintain his cool young master persona. Clearing his throat, he said as calmly as he could, "Ahem... S-Since Sakura-chan, y-you've put it that way... then, seeing how sincere you are... I-I suppose I could consider it... Wahahaha!!"

In the end, he could not hold it in any longer. With his hands on his hips, he threw back his head and let out earth-shaking laughter.

Boom!!!

In the audience, Sakura Haruno in reality felt the last remnants of her sanity vanish.

She shot to her feet. Veins bulged on her fair forehead, and her emerald-green eyes nearly spewed flames!

She looked as though Inner Sakura had possessed her. Her delicate-looking pink fists clenched with cracking sounds, her knuckles turning white!

"NARUTO!!!! YOU HOPELESS IDIOT LOSER!!! HOW DARE YOU DREAM ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THAT?! AAAAAAHHHHH!!! I'LL KILL YOU!!!"

The girl's roar was filled with endless killing intent!

If she had not been trapped in this bizarre space, she would have rushed over and beaten Naruto into a pig-headed mess.

[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Sakura Haruno detected! Emotion Points +1000!!]

Compared to Sakura's furious rage, Sasuke beside her looked disgusted and repulsed, as though he had seen something utterly filthy. He even unconsciously shifted away from Sakura.

Boring...

Those two idiots...

Kakashi merely shook his head helplessly and held his forehead.

[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Naruto Uzumaki detected! Emotion Points +400!]

The dream on the screen continued.

Having had her confession "reluctantly" accepted by Naruto, Dream Sakura now clung tightly to his arm like a little bird nestling against him. In a cloyingly sweet voice, she coquettishly said, "That's wonderful! Young Master Naruto, then... then let's go on a date now. I want to go shopping!"

"Of course! Wherever Sakura-chan wants to go, I'll go with you!"

Dream Naruto felt like the biggest winner in life. With a grand wave of his hand, he agreed boldly.

Thus, the two of them left the training ground hand in hand, sweetly making their way to the bustling streets of Konoha Village.

Before long, Naruto noticed something even stranger.

Whenever he had walked through the streets in the past, the villagers had always looked at him with fear, disgust, wariness, or indifference.

As though he were some kind of plague or monster, everyone avoided him.

But today...

"Oh my! Isn't that Young Master Naruto? You're looking quite well today." A vegetable-selling auntie spotted him and immediately greeted him warmly, even stuffing a large, red tomato into his hands.

"Young Master Naruto, isn't it time for some new clothes? Come take a look at our shop. We'll give you twenty percent off!" The owner of a clothing store also smiled and waved him over.

And even...

A gentle woman in a red kimono, holding the hand of a five- or six-year-old boy, took the initiative to approach Naruto. Her face carried a deeply respectful and admiring smile.

"Hello, Young Master Naruto." The woman first gave him a respectful bow, then pulled the somewhat timid little boy beside her forward. "Ryota! Look, this is Young Master Naruto. You must take Young Master Naruto as your role model in the future. Train hard and become an outstanding ninja like him! Do you understand?"

The little boy nodded as if he only half understood, staring at Naruto with worshipful eyes.

The woman then turned to Naruto and asked after him warmly, "Young Master Naruto, has your training been difficult lately? You must take good care of yourself!"

Naruto was completely dumbfounded.

He stood there at a loss, feeling as though his heart were about to leap out of his chest.

Th-This... what is going on?

The villagers... are all smiling at me?

They're... concerned about me?

They're... praising me?

And they're calling me... Young Master Naruto?

Th-This...

Ever since he could remember, he had never experienced such treatment.

He had always been the one rejected, isolated, and treated like a monster.

An indescribable sense of happiness and fulfillment flooded over him like the warmest tide, instantly swallowing him whole.

His eyes uncontrollably grew moist, and his vision began to blur.

He could not even tell whether this was reality or an overly wonderful dream.

Though he vaguely found it strange that everyone was calling him "young master," compared to that small question, the dramatic change in the villagers' attitudes brought him far too much joy and happiness!

"Yes! Yes! Thank you for your concern, Auntie! I feel great! Training isn't hard at all!"

Naruto came back to himself and vigorously wiped his eyes. The brightest, most sincere smile of his life blossomed across his face as he somewhat awkwardly, yet incomparably happily, responded to every villager who greeted him or showed him kindness.

He walked and wandered through the streets, warmly greeting every villager and savoring this longed-for warmth and recognition.

[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Naruto Uzumaki detected! Emotion Points +2000!]

In the audience.

Sakura and Sasuke did not feel anything special about the sight of Naruto being so beloved.

Sasuke had grown up surrounded by praise from his clansmen and adoration from girls. He had long been used to such scenes and was even somewhat tired of them.

After her initial anger faded, Sakura also found the scene before her rather boring.

"Honestly... isn't it boring to just keep greeting people like this?" she muttered quietly, even yawning.

Only Kakashi, watching Naruto smile like a fool on the screen, felt a complicated mix of emotions.

He sighed softly. His exposed eye was filled with complex feelings.

There was relief, sympathy, helplessness, and bitterness.

As one of the few people who knew Naruto's background and how he was truly treated in the village, Kakashi understood better than anyone how ironic everything in Naruto's dream was when compared to reality.

This false happiness only made reality's cruelty stand out even more.

[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Kakashi Hatake detected! Emotion Points +500!]

Naruto in the dream was still immersed in immense happiness.

He felt as if he possessed the entire world, as though he had become the most popular person in the village.

The feeling was so wonderful that he could not bear to wake up.

He happily interacted with the villagers and shared his joy, while time seemed to fly by.

[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Naruto Uzumaki detected! Emotion Points +100!]

[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Naruto Uzumaki detected! Emotion Points +100!]

[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Naruto Uzumaki detected! Emotion Points +100!]

[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Naruto Uzumaki detected! Emotion Points +100!]

Emotion Points poured in like running water, making Shigure, who was hidden in the shadows, grin from ear to ear.

Just as Naruto's happiness reached its peak and the sky gradually darkened.

A sudden change occurred!

Just as Naruto cheerfully prepared to bid farewell to the last enthusiastic villager and head home,

A hand suddenly reached out from behind him without warning and grabbed his ear!

The force was so great that Naruto bared his teeth in pain.

"Ow! Who is it?! That hurts, that hurts!"

Just as he was about to turn around and see who was bold enough to tug on "Young Master Naruto's" ear, an angry yet indulgent female voice exploded beside his ear like thunder.

"NARUTO—!! I TOLD YOU TO GO BUY SOME SOY SAUCE! WHERE DID YOU GO?! IT'S ALREADY DARK, AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T COME HOME!!"

Along with that furious roar, the scene before Naruto's eyes...

Instantly went black, like a television whose signal had been cut off.

The dream ended.