Doujin Artist: Huh?
Shark-Faced Guy: Misaka… You mean Railgun?
Scarlet Lotus Fairy: Wasn't Ruiko looking for Misaka's sister? How did she end up being targeted by Misaka Mikoto instead?
[System Prompt: Skirt-Flipping Maniac has added memories from "A Certain Magical Index" and "A Certain Scientific Railgun."]
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: Yeah, that's exactly what happened. Honestly, I'm confused too.
Doujin Artist: So you took down some delinquents, and Misaka Mikoto saw you and got all fired up for a fight? Why does this whole situation feel so weird?
This is an Actor: Ruiko just stole Kamijou Touma's storyline.
Curly-haired Guy: Whoa, now that you mention it, that's totally what happened! Ruiko just swiped the protagonist's role! Nice job! Now go all the way and win over Misaka Mikoto!
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: W-win over?
Saten Ruiko blinked in confusion, completely stunned.
Doujin Artist: Wait, what kind of "win over" are we talking about here? It's not… that kind, is it?!
Scarlet Lotus Fairy: What kind are you thinking of?
Shark-Faced Guy: Yeah, I'd like to know too.
Curly-haired Guy: Heh, heh. I think either kind works, honestly. Ruiko, I believe in you!
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: D-don't joke around! I'm seriously asking for help here!
Ruiko's face turned bright red. She had no idea what they meant by "win over," nor did she understand the implications! She was just an innocent middle schooler—she knew nothing!
This is an Actor: The safest method is to pretend to lose to Misaka Mikoto so she loses interest in you.
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: There's a way like that?! Thank you, Anzen-san!
Curly-haired Guy: Wait! That won't work! A true fighter can accept defeat, but faking it is unacceptable! Ruiko, if you do that, your warrior spirit will cry!
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: Warrior spirit? I'm just a middle schooler.
Doujin Artist: Everyone has a warrior inside them, no matter their age. It's okay to lose, but are you really okay with throwing a fight? Ruiko, keep your pride!
Scarlet Lotus Fairy: Do your best.
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: Uh… I…
Saten Ruiko's mouth twitched. She had no idea how to respond to this anymore.
She just wanted to get Misaka Mikoto off her back, and now they were talking about warrior spirits?! That made things way harder for her!
This wasn't some RPG game!
This is an Actor: I see now. Even Ruiko has come to this realization. I'm proud.
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: ?
Realization of what?! She hadn't said anything!
This is an Actor: Defeat Misaka Mikoto. Give her such a crushing loss that she develops a permanent psychological shadow! Make her realize the difference between you two is like the sky and the dirt! If you do that, I guarantee she'll never bother you again.
Scarlet Lotus Fairy: That's a brilliant idea.
Doujin Artist: I'm on board!
Curly-haired Guy: Hmph, this is exactly how it should be.
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: Wait, am I misunderstanding something? You all think I can actually defeat Misaka, who's a Level 5 Electromaster?
Saten Ruiko's small eyes were filled with big doubts. Was she really that strong now?
Curly-haired Guy: Of course! Believe in yourself, Ruiko-chan!
Doujin Artist: That's right, you're the best!
This is an Actor: Don't worry. It's just Misaka Mikoto. I'm sure you won't let us down.
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: I-I'll do my best.
Saten Ruiko seemed to be swept up by everyone's encouragement. She closed the chat and took a deep breath.
Doujin Artist: Ruiko logged off.
Curly-haired Guy: Yeah, she's off.
Scarlet Lotus Fairy: She'll be okay, right?
This is an Actor: It's fine. At the very least, Misaka Mikoto knows how to hold back. She won't seriously hurt Ruiko.
Shark-Faced Guy: Huh? So you all knew Ruiko didn't stand a chance against Misaka, but you still encouraged her to fight?
Kisame thought these people were unbelievable. Were they really just setting her up to fail? Didn't they feel guilty at all?
Doujin Artist: cough I was just going along with everyone…
Eiri quickly shifted the blame. No way she was going to admit she played along just because she found it amusing.
Scarlet Lotus Fairy: This will be a valuable challenge for Ruiko.
Curly-haired Guy: Exactly! If you have a strong sense of justice but don't have the right mindset and resolve to match, the weapon you hold will only end up hurting you in the end. Of course, in the end, the responsibility for all this still falls on the group leader. That's just how it is!
Doujin Artist: Ugh! After all that, you're just pushing the blame onto someone else, aren't you?
Curly-haired Guy: Nonsense! I'm just stating the facts!
This is an Actor: I'm not lying. If Ruiko can come up with a solid plan and properly use her Shunpo and Kido abilities, she does have a chance to defeat Misaka Mikoto.
Of course, given Ruiko's current battle experience… that chance is basically zero.
Shark-Faced Guy: Oh, so that's how it is. But honestly, the way everyone naturally played along with the group leader's idea… Is this what they call being in sync?
This is an Actor: No, it's just that everyone thought this would be fun to watch.
Shark-Faced Guy: *Pfft!*
After all that talk, it was still just a setup to mess with someone! These guys were all the worst! He needed to be extra careful from now on.
Amegakure Village's Angel: I'm back.
[Notification: Amegakure Village's Angel has restored parts of the Naruto memory archive.]
This is an Actor: Good work, welcome back.
Aizen glanced at Konan, who was sitting upright beside him, and silently praised her acting skills. She could almost maintain a completely straight face now. This girl was improving fast.
Doujin Artist: Yikes, Aizen is seriously terrifying! He's been playing Danzo and Orochimaru like complete fools.
Curly-haired Guy: He started planning all this when he was four years old? Is this guy just naturally a monster?
Amegakure Village's Angel: No! I think Aizen must have retained all his memories and powers from Soul Society. Otherwise, a lot of things wouldn't make sense.
Doujin Artist: So what you're saying, Konan, is that Aizen might have been reincarnated while keeping his past memories? If that's the case, then yeah, everything adds up.
Amegakure Village's Angel: Yes, and the scariest part is that he still has the Hogyoku! I saw it with my own eyes today. It's because of the Hogyoku that Danzo and Orochimaru's Hollowfication advanced even further.
Even as she sent this message, Konan kept her face cold and unreadable.
Curly-haired Guy: The Hogyoku?! That thing got reincarnated with him too? Holy crap!
Doujin Artist: This is insane! How are we supposed to deal with this? If he has the Hogyoku, then… even if we managed to time-travel and ambush him, there's no way we could actually kill him!
*Cough cough.*
Hoshigaki Kisame, who had been staring at the screen, nearly choked on his own breath at Eiri's message. He quickly tried to change the subject.
Shark-Faced Guy: I'm more curious… are Orochimaru and Danzo actually dead?
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