Coming clean

Hearing Kurapika's words, Zeff, who had been lost in thought, suddenly realized something.

"Wait! Why do I feel like... this Kurapika looks so much like the character in Hunter x Hunter I've been watching? And... even his name is exactly the same!"

Zeff hadn't recognized Kurapika earlier because he had been inside the dimly lit cage.

Besides... the Kurapika before him was much more mature, clearly the version from later in the story who had already learned Nen, while Zeff had only watched as far as Kurapika taking the Hunter Exam in Hunter x Hunter.

Hearing Zeff's words, Naruto, who had still been planning to trick Kurapika with his usual spiel, froze as well.

But he soon gave a wry chuckle. "Heh... I forgot... the computer has internet access. You can watch anything you want!"

That was right... Zeff now led a very fulfilling life in the Sealing Space.

Besides training Naruto and Rock Lee, he trained himself in the Sealing Space, read books, played games, and watched anime, TV shows, and movies...

Although Naruto had used his administrator privileges to delete the One Piece and Naruto anime, along with Weslie and Wolffy, all the other anime were still available.

Moreover, everyone who appeared in the Sealing Space's cages was a fictional anime character. Perhaps someday, characters from TV shows or movies would appear too...

If that happened, Zeff and the others would discover the truth sooner or later.

With that in mind, Naruto decided to come clean.

"Sigh... Teacher Zeff, I actually lied to you!"

Hearing Naruto's words, Zeff frowned, but he didn't ask anything. He simply looked at Naruto.

Even with his past and present lives combined, Naruto wasn't half Zeff's age. With all his experience, Zeff had actually known for some time that Naruto was hiding something from him.

But as far as Zeff was concerned, whatever Naruto was hiding wasn't all that important. After all, he already saw Naruto as the person who would inherit his dream of being a hero and carry on his will.

Still, if Naruto wanted to reveal his secret, Zeff had no intention of refusing to listen.

Seeing Naruto's current expression, Wolffy instead revealed a knowing smile and glanced at Zeff.

The look Wolffy gave him immediately reminded Zeff of something Wolffy had once said.

Wolffy had said it while drunk.

"Heh... Zeff, you're lucky. Whatever else happens, you have a chance to learn the truth, and you've escaped the fate your world assigned to you."

"Sigh... I'm lucky too, actually, but I don't want that kind of luck. I just want to be with my wife and child. Even if I never catch a sheep in my entire life, I'd accept that!"

"We were both at fate's mercy. The fact that Naruto brought us here means fate no longer has any hold over us!"

"I'm no longer thinking about going back to Green-Green Grassland. I'm thinking about how to bring my wife and child here too!"

Recalling Wolffy's words, along with that knowing look just now, Zeff took a deep breath. He felt as though he was beginning to grasp something...

Naruto hadn't noticed the looks exchanged between Wolffy and Zeff.

He looked at Zeff and said, "Teacher Zeff, the reason I know about you and Wolffy isn't that I have some ability to see the past and future. It's because... you're characters in anime!"

"Of course... being anime characters doesn't mean you aren't real!"

After speaking, Naruto looked at Zeff, wanting to see his expression after hearing the news.

Zeff, meanwhile, sank into thought. He now understood what Wolffy had meant when he was drunk.

"So, does that mean I've already escaped the fate laid out for me?"

As he spoke, Zeff looked at Wolffy.

Seeing this, Naruto also turned toward Wolffy in confusion.

Wolffy shrugged. "No need to look at me. I already had my suspicions about my situation, Zeff's, and even Kurama's!"

"I once used the Dimensional Shuttle to enter the Real World, and I watched the cartoon Weslie and Wolffy there!"

"Back then, I felt lost. I wondered whether I truly existed!"

"But after thinking it over for a bit, I made peace with it. I am who I am. I am King Wolffy of Green-Green Grassland, and no one can deny my existence!"

After hearing Wolffy's words, Zeff smiled as well.

"That's right. I'm Zeff, and no one can deny my existence!"

Hearing Zeff and Wolffy say this, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

Beyond that, Naruto's opinion of Wolffy rose even further. He truly lived up to his reputation as a Bug Wolf from a comedy cartoon. He had even managed to break through dimensional barriers.

"I'm relieved you can see it that way. The main reason I kept it from you was that I was afraid you'd deny your own existence!"

With that, Naruto snapped his fingers, lifting the restrictions on One Piece, Weslie and Wolffy, and the complete Naruto series.

Kurapika looked utterly bewildered by their conversation, unable to understand what they were talking about.

Kurapika wasn't the only one. Kurama, who had been listening to everything happening over here, was also rather confused.

Seeing this, Naruto decided to give Kurapika and Kurama a proper explanation of the current situation. More precisely, he would come clean.

When Kurapika learned that he was actually a character in an anime, he initially felt as though his entire worldview had collapsed.

But after taking a brief moment to steady himself, Kurapika accepted the idea. Like Zeff, he had never denied his own existence.

Kurama, on the other hand, found it rather hard to accept.

"Then... Naruto, who exactly are you? Are you still Naruto?"

Naruto nodded. "I am Naruto, but I wasn't in my past life. Kurama, Teacher Zeff, Wolffy, Kurapika, you're all characters from anime I watched in my previous life!"

"That's exactly why I know so much!"

"The Sealing Space has internet access now too. If you want to learn more, you can search on Baidu!"

As he spoke, Naruto looked at Kurapika. "The anime you're from is called Hunter x Hunter. You can go watch it right now. If you want to learn about the world we're currently in, watch Naruto!"

"Teacher Zeff is from One Piece. As for Wolffy, I don't need to say any more!"

After successfully coming clean, Naruto felt much more at ease.

Naruto knew that one lie required more lies to cover it up. Both Zeff and Kurapika were advantages he had been given, as well as his assurance of survival in the Hokage world.

Although he knew the plot well... the world he was in now was, after all, a real Hokage world.

The anime might not have shown even a tenth of how cruel the Hokage world truly was.

So... his companions in the Sealing Space would have to learn about these secrets sooner or later.

Even setting aside Wolffy, that Bug Wolf who had known everything all along, anyone else who entered the Sealing Space would be an unpredictable factor.

There was no guarantee that the next person to appear in the Sealing cage wouldn't have watched One Piece or Hunter x Hunter...

So, the sooner he came clean, the better.