The screen went completely dark.
Inside the screening room, the previous dimness and silence returned.
Sasuke and Sakura were both a little bewildered.
"It's... over?" Sakura blinked, still a bit slow to react.
Even though that dream was boring, the ending was too sudden, wasn't it?
"Hmph, a boring dream," Sasuke snorted, crossing his arms, but a hint of doubt lingered in the depths of his eyes.
Who was that woman who suddenly appeared at the end?
Only Kakashi!
The moment the screen turned black, he suddenly stood up from his seat as if electrocuted, his body trembling slightly from extreme shock.
His dead-fish eyes were wide, filled with disbelief.
That voice just now?
And that flash of red hair, was it...
No! Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
Although the image flashed by, that long red hair burning like flames, and that unique roar...
But how could this be?
Sensei and Kushina-senpai, on the night Naruto was born, in order to protect the Village and seal the Nine-Tailed, had already...
Naruto couldn't possibly have met his mother! He couldn't possibly know what she looked like, or what her voice sounded like...
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So what exactly happened in the dream just now?
Was it some incredibly sophisticated Genjutsu that read images from the depths of his memory?
No, that's not right!
If it was reading memories, why didn't Sasuke and Sakura react?
They don't know Kushina at all!
Could it be Naruto's own subconscious...
Because of the bloodline connection, he vaguely constructed his mother's image in his dream?
That's not right either!
Subconscious construction couldn't be so clear.
That voice, that hair color, that action... they were all too real!
Kakashi felt his brain fall into chaos.
Countless questions and conjectures crashed into his perception like raging waves.
The bizarre dream, the mysterious space, and finally, the person who shouldn't have appeared.
What exactly was hidden behind all of this?!
"Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Kakashi Hatake have been captured! Emotional value +2000!"
Shigure, hidden in the darkness, saw the numbers on the system panel instantly soar and smiled gleefully.
I knew it, Kakashi would definitely lose his composure the moment Kushina appeared.
This was the finishing touch in Shigure's plan.
At Naruto's happiest and most content moment, suddenly interrupting the dream with his mother's image, creating a strong contrast and emotional impact, precisely hitting the pain point of the informed Kakashi, and triggering his violent emotional fluctuations.
Just as Kakashi was still reeling from Kushina's appearance.
Buzz—
The entire dim screening room suddenly lit up with a soft yet dazzling white light.
The white light instantly swallowed everything.
Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura only felt a strong sense of dizziness wash over them, and their consciousness once again blurred...
...
The next second.
Konoha Village, Hatake's home.
"Whoosh!"
Kakashi suddenly sat up in bed, gasping for breath, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
He subconsciously looked around.
It was his familiar room.
Outside the window, it was still a quiet night, with moonlight spilling onto the floor through the window.
He was back?
Kakashi shook his still-dazed head, trying to recall the incredible experience he had just had.
That dim screening room... the huge and eerie screen... Sasuke and Sakura in their pajamas... Naruto's dream playing on the screen... the villagers' cheers... Young Master Naruto... and finally, Kushina-senpai.
Everything was so clear, so real, as if it had just happened a second ago.
"Could it be... those things just now... really were just my dream?" Kakashi frowned, his heart filled with doubt and surprise.
But if it wasn't a dream, then what was it?
That ability to silently pull himself, Sasuke, and Sakura into a shared space, and then play Naruto's dream.
It was simply miraculous, unheard of.
And, most importantly... Kushina-senpai!
Naruto... how did he know?
Kakashi felt his brain turn into mush.
He vaguely felt that this matter was far from simple.
...
At the same time, in the Uchiha Clan compound, in Sasuke's room.
"...Hmph, a boring dream." Sasuke sat up from his bed, a hint of annoyance at having his sleep disturbed on his face, and an extreme disdain for his cowardly self in the dream.
He quickly dismissed this absurd dream from his mind and lay back down.
...
Sakura Haruno's house.
"Ahhh! Naruto, you big idiot!!!"
Sakura suddenly woke up, punching the pillow next to her fiercely, sending cotton flying.
The scene in the dream where Naruto "accepted" her confession was still vivid, making her both embarrassed and angry.
"I'm so mad! I'm definitely going to beat Naruto up tomorrow!!"
...
Inside Ichiraku Ramen, in the small storage room next to the kitchen.
Shigure looked at the final settlement numbers on the system panel with satisfaction.
"This dream-fulfillment target: Uzumaki Naruto"
"Viewers: Uchiha Sasuke, Sakura Haruno, Kakashi Hatake"
"Total emotional value earned: 6450 points!"
"Hehehe..." Shigure rubbed his hands excitedly.
"System! Open the store!"
As his thought moved, a virtual interface, visible only to him and resembling a game store, appeared before his eyes.
The interface was dazzling, divided into various categories: [Bloodline], [Ninjutsu], [Taijutsu], [Items], [Special Abilities]...
Shigure suppressed the urge to immediately click on the [Bloodline] section to see how many points Mangekyo Sharingan, Rinnegan, and Wood Release cost, forcing himself to calm down.
Don't rush!
The most important thing now is self-preservation and building a foundation.
I'm starting from scratch, so I need to get Chakra and basic abilities first.
Not to mention whether I can even exchange for it, even if I exchanged for Rinnegan, I'd probably be drained into a mummy.
He took a deep breath and opened the [Ninjutsu] - [Basic] category, as well as the [Special Abilities] - [Physique] category to browse.
"Chakra Cultivation Technique: Guides the combination of mental energy and physical energy to cultivate the most basic Chakra. Price: 500 Emotional Value."
"Chakra Cultivation Technique (Advanced Pack): Includes Chakra Cultivation Technique, randomly grants affinity for one Chakra nature, and additionally improves Chakra cultivation efficiency and quality. Price: 1500 Emotional Value."
"Chakra Cultivation Technique (High-Grade Pack): Includes Chakra Cultivation Technique, randomly grants affinity for three Chakra natures, significantly improves Chakra cultivation efficiency and quality, and optimizes Chakra nature affinity. Price: 3000 Emotional Value."
...
"Chakra Cultivation Technique (Ultimate Luxury Pack): Includes Chakra Cultivation Technique, randomly grants affinity for all Chakra natures, vastly improves Chakra cultivation efficiency and quality, and deeply optimizes Chakra nature affinity. Price: 300,000 Emotional Value."
"The Ultimate Luxury Pack is too ultimate, just can't afford it."
"Hiss... The high-grade one also costs 3000 points? A bit expensive... But the effect must be good. Forget it, a shaky foundation leads to collapse! Buy!"
"Basic Physical Enhancement (Lv1): Comprehensively enhances physical strength, speed, and stamina by 5 points. Price: 1000 Emotional Value."
"Basic Physical Enhancement (Lv2): Comprehensively enhances physical strength, speed, and stamina by 15 points. Price: 2500 Emotional Value."
"Basic Physical Enhancement (Lv3): Comprehensively enhances physical strength, speed, and stamina by 30 points. Price: 5000 Emotional Value."
...
"Physical fitness is also very important! Let's get Lv1 first!"
"Body Flicker Technique (Lv1): Basic technique for high-speed movement. Price: 800 Emotional Value."
"Three Basic Jutsu (Lv1): Includes Substitution Jutsu, Clone Jutsu, and Transformation Jutsu. Price: 1000 Emotional Value."
"Oh? There's a bundle discount? Not bad, not bad! Although Clone Jutsu and Transformation Jutsu aren't very useful right now, they're still basic, so there's no harm in learning them! Buy!"
"Purchase of 'Chakra Cultivation Technique (High-Grade Pack)' successful! Consumed 3000 Emotional Value! Open immediately?"
"Open!"
"Chakra Cultivation Technique (High-Grade Pack) has been opened. Congratulations to the host for acquiring Chakra Natures: Water, Lightning, Yang."
"Purchase of 'Basic Physical Enhancement (Lv1)' successful! Consumed 1000 Emotional Value!"
"Purchase of 'Three Basic Jutsu (Lv1)' successful! Consumed 1000 Emotional Value!"
"Purchase of 'Body Flicker Technique (Lv1)' successful! Consumed 800 Emotional Value!"
"Remaining Emotional Value: 650 points."
...
Instantly, a massive stream of information surged into Shigure's mind.
Knowledge and experience on how to combine mental and physical energy, and how to efficiently cultivate Chakra, were absorbed and mastered by him instantly, as if he had been enlightened.
At the same time, the hand signs, Chakra flow routes, casting techniques, and countless practice experiences for Substitution Jutsu, Clone Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu, and Body Flicker Technique were also ingrained into his instincts.
Immediately after, a warm and powerful energy flowed through his entire body.
He could clearly feel his muscles becoming firmer and stronger, his nerve reactions faster, and his limbs filled with unprecedented vitality.
His originally slightly weak body instantly became much stronger.
"Phew..." Shigure let out a long breath, feeling the tremendous changes in his body and knowledge, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
He spread out his palm, and with a thought, tried to activate the Chakra Cultivation Technique he had just mastered.
A faint blue energy, like a newborn stream, slowly flowed along his meridians, finally converging in his palm.
Although the quantity was still very small, this was truly his own Chakra.
"It worked! I can finally cultivate Chakra!"
Shigure suppressed his excitement and continued to browse the store.
"Mangekyo Sharingan: The ultimate Dojutsu of the Uchiha Clan, an evolved form of the ordinary Sharingan, possessing extremely powerful strength, but also accompanied by a heavy price. Price: 1,000,000 Emotional Value."
"Rinnegan: One of the most powerful Dojutsu, known as the 'Eye that Controls Life and Death' or the 'Eye of God,' symbolizing the power of the Six Paths Sage, possessing the ability to create and destroy worlds. Price: 2,000,000 Emotional Value."
"Ōtsutsuki Bloodline: The bloodline power of the 'Clan of Gods,' capable of possessing near-eternal life and immense power, the origin of Chakra. Price: 5,000,000 Emotional Value."
...
He couldn't afford it.
With only 650 Emotional Value remaining, he simply couldn't afford it.
But with Chakra and basic physical fitness, he finally had a foundation for self-preservation.
As long as he kept earning Emotional Value, his future was promising.