Shisui lowered his head and looked at his reflection in the water.
Looking at his current appearance, he laughed. "If I had a couple more nasolabial folds, I'd look even more like Itachi, wouldn't I?"
Just after Shisui finished customizing his face, the space around him seemed to blur.
By the time Shisui came to his senses, he was standing on the familiar streets of Konoha.
Although these streets were familiar, Shisui was certain this wasn't Konoha.
Konoha's streets would never be this deserted.
Just then, a voice called out from Ichiraku Ramen a short distance away.
"Shisui, I'm over here."
Shisui followed the voice into Ichiraku Ramen, where he saw a young man holding a bowl and wolfing down ramen.
Seeing the young man, Shisui frowned and asked uncertainly, "Are you... Naruto?"
The young man eating noodles turned to Shisui and smiled. "Of course it's me!"
"Right now, you're the only person in this world besides me!"
"Also... Konoha isn't what this world originally looked like. I was worried about scaring you, so... I recreated the Konoha you're most familiar with!"
Any Naruto fan present would have recognized him immediately: the Naruto standing before Shisui was Naruto from the Shippuden era.
"Is this really genjutsu, or..."
As he spoke, Shisui pinched his thigh hard.
Shisui didn't go easy on himself. That pinch made him suck in a sharp breath.
Seeing this, Naruto laughed. "This isn't a genjutsu world. It's... a virtual world!"
"Virtual? Isn't that pretty much the same as genjutsu? But... this pain feels far too real!"
Shisui spoke while rubbing his thigh.
"No... virtual space is fundamentally different from genjutsu."
"Genjutsu is short-lived. It doesn't last. Once you break free, if you're caught in it again, everything starts over."
"But virtual space is different. You can treat this place as a real world. Even if you log out and come back in, everything will still be here. Your legend will remain, along with the traces of your life!"
"Of course, it's not as though no genjutsu can compare to a virtual world. Infinite Tsukuyomi can create an imaginary space, too. But... once you enter Infinite Tsukuyomi, you're in it for life! Getting out is practically impossible!"
"Infinite Tsukuyomi? What's that?"
Seeing Shisui take an interest in Infinite Tsukuyomi, Naruto waved a hand. "Didn't you just want to play a game of Ninja Sparring with me? I accept! Come on!"
Shisui frowned at that. "Sure, but... I don't have a single bit of chakra in my body!"
"Chakra? No problem!"
As he spoke, Naruto snapped his fingers.
Before Shisui could figure out what Naruto meant, he felt his old power awakening within him. There was no mistaking it-that was chakra.
As chakra surged through him, Shisui instinctively activated his Sharingan.
He wanted to see whether his Sharingan could see through this world, but it turned out to be fucking useless.
Then he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, but he still couldn't make anything out. To his Sharingan, everything here was real.
Only now did he realize that Naruto had been telling the truth!
"A virtual world, huh?" As he spoke, Shisui drew the short blade from his back and looked at Naruto.
Seeing that Shisui was ready, Naruto set down his large bowl, stood up, and smiled. "Let me show you how terrifying an MG can be!"
(MG refers to a Game Administrator. A Game Administrator can freely modify parameters within a game, making them even more absurd than a hacker.)
As his words fell, Naruto slowly floated into the air. Then... Truth-Seeking Orbs began appearing behind him, and his eyes transformed into the nine-tomoe Rinnegan.
Hovering in midair, Naruto snapped his fingers again. Then... figures began appearing throughout Konoha's streets.
They were... all Konoha residents Naruto had seen before.
Shisui was puzzled by Naruto's actions.
Feeling the oppressive aura Naruto now gave off, Shisui instinctively swallowed.
"Naruto... what are you..."
"How many floors must a bag of rice be hauled?"
"A bag of rice must be hauled to the second floor."
"A bag of rice is so exhausting."
"A bag of rice is so exhausting."
"There's mud in every mouth."
"Who's giving you a bag of rice?"
"Spicy heavenly forest!"
One devastating Shinra Tensei annihilated all of Konoha, Shisui included.
Watching the terrified Muggles screaming below, Naruto felt much better.
As the saying went, "In real life, I love showing off; online, I come out swinging."
Although Naruto wasn't bloodthirsty, letting loose in a virtual world... did feel pretty good.
Poor Shisui, though. He had experienced what it felt like to die.
After flattening Konoha, Naruto snapped his fingers again, and the ruined village below became the lake where they had created their accounts earlier.
Shisui lay on the lake's surface, gasping for breath.
"Just now... what was that power... Surely only a god could possess power like that!"
Shisui was stunned! He hadn't even had time to use Susanoo before Super Shinra Tensei had descended upon him, giving him no chance whatsoever to react.
"Well, Shisui! Pretty realistic, right?"
Naruto returned to his Little Naruto form, walked over to Shisui, and asked with a smile.
"R-realistic... I feel like I really died once..."
Seeing that he had awed Shisui, Naruto continued, "So? With this Metaverse, settling the conflict between your Uchiha clan and Konoha will be a piece of cake!"
"Next, I'll open two Metaverse Experience Centers, one in the Uchiha compound and one in central Konoha!"
"I'm not worried about the one in central Konoha. The main concern is the one over in your Uchiha compound. I'd like you to be the Internet Cafe Attendant... and look after the place while you're at it!"
"Naruto... this plan of yours..."
Seeing that Shisui still seemed inclined to refuse, Naruto pointed at himself. "Do you know who I am?"
"Naruto Uzumaki!" Shisui answered matter-of-factly.
"Wrong... I'm the Shinobi World's king of ideas. Trust me, and you can't go wrong!"
Shisui Uchiha: ...
Seeing that Shisui was still hesitating, Naruto continued coaxing him. "Think about it... You can keep working on your own plan while carrying out mine, too!"
"As the saying goes, don't put all your eggs in one basket!"
"Tell me... am I right or not?"
Shisui felt that Naruto's latter remarks made a lot of sense. He nodded. "Let me think it over when I get back! After all, this concerns the entire Uchiha clan!"
Just as Shisui finished speaking, two figures appeared at the Starting Point-the lake they were on.
One looked like Ahri from League of Legends, while the other was a handsome man wearing a worn-out beret (a human).
Naruto was speechless at the sight of them.
He didn't need to think to know that one was Kurama, hopelessly hooked on Ahri, and the other was Wolffy.
"Yo... Naruto, this Metaverse is pretty great! I can feel freedom in the air!"
Kurama, in Ahri's form, smiled as he spoke to Naruto.
Except his voice wasn't Ahri's. It was... the Nine-Tails' own voice.
"Ahem, ahem... Sorry! I forgot to turn on the Voice Changer!"
As a man's voice changed into that of a sultry woman, Shisui, who had never been exposed to the internet, found it a little hard to adjust.
Seeing this, Naruto waved a hand, bringing up the Options Bar in front of him, then logged Shisui out.
"Shisui, give it some serious thought! Whether you agree or not, let me know! Whether all the Uchiha can become internet addicts... Pah, I mean, whether they can survive is up to you!"
Before you continue