"Sora, was that illusion your doing?! That was insane!"
Naruto blurted it out, loud and blunt as ever.
"Uh… I'm just as shocked as you are,"
Aoki Sora replied, as if he'd only just come to his senses, his expression full of disbelief.
Because he was genuinely shocked.
Shocked that the video he had spliced together—his own personal fantasy edit—had suddenly gone public. Just like that.
And worse, it had only played a small portion before cutting off.
What the hell was going on?
Would more be broadcast later?
Or was that it?
If it was the latter, then this could actually turn into a huge problem for him.
After all, without further footage to put things in context, it was almost guaranteed that everyone would start suspecting him.
Sure, technically speaking, he was the root cause of all this…
But still, how could he have expected this to happen?
He'd made that video for fun, for himself. He didn't upload it online. He didn't try to stream it to the whole ninja world.
It was like making a modded save file in a single-player strategy game, creating custom female generals based on popular idols and designating them as your wives purely for your own amusement. But then the next day, those same celebrities suddenly sue you for attempted assault.
What the actual—?!
Forget getting a system cheat or becoming famous. What worried Sora most right now was the massive amount of suspicion that had just landed squarely on him.
Still, even knowing that, there wasn't much he could do.
All he could do now was try to deflect attention through logic and analysis.
"You're surprised too?" Naruto asked, confused.
"No kidding," Sora replied. "From the looks on everyone's faces, it's obvious we all saw that video. Which means, if that was genjutsu, then someone cast it on all of us at the same time. And anyone who can put everyone under an illusion like that is seriously powerful."
He paused, then raised his brows. "And if someone that strong really exists, why would they target me and Hinata of all people?"
"It makes no sense."
"So it wasn't you?" Naruto asked.
"If I had that kind of power, do you think I'd still be wasting my time in ninja school with you guys?" Sora shrugged. "Someone who can pull off that kind of genjutsu could probably solo ten Sasukes without breaking a sweat."
"Mmm… true!" Naruto nodded, clearly warming up to that last part.
Especially that final line. It really hit the spot.
"Excuse me?! What do you mean 'solo ten Sasukes'?!" Sakura snapped as she suddenly stood up, clearly offended.
"More like solo ten Narutos!" she huffed.
"...Ugh." Naruto felt a jab to the heart.
Sakura...
In her heart, Sasuke and Naruto were clearly in two totally different leagues.
Still, Naruto didn't hold it against her.
After all, in his mind, Sakura could do no wrong.
This was all Sasuke's fault for always acting cool and stealing the spotlight.
Though, honestly, if Sora really was behind that video, Naruto kinda wanted to see him actually beat up ten Sasukes. That would've been awesome.
"Well," Sora continued, "if we're being logical, then there are only two explanations. Either the caster is incredibly strong, and if that's true, I don't know why they'd target me and Hinata specifically, or…"
"Or what?" Naruto asked, eager to change the topic and escape the sting of Sakura's earlier insult.
"Or maybe it's not genjutsu at all," Sora said. "What if it was a message from the future, projected into the present? Like… some kind of time-space anomaly?"
"That sounds way too convenient…" Naruto muttered, but the idea did plant a seed in his head.
Still, if future footage was getting projected into the present, then he'd much rather see the moment he beat Sasuke someday. Now that would be a worthwhile sneak peek.
"Eh, whatever. No point guessing. We don't even know if we were the only ones who saw it. Let's just wait and see what happens," Sora concluded.
"Mm-hmm!" Naruto nodded.
—
While Sora was delivering his "analysis," a very different kind of analysis was taking place at the Hokage Residence.
In the observation chamber, the Third Hokage had just been using his crystal ball to monitor Naruto and Sasuke, two of the village's most watched rookies.
He wasn't alone. Standing beside him were the Jonin instructors assigned to this year's graduating class: Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai Yuhi.
And all of them had seen the same thing.
The projection had been visible to everyone, even here in the heart of the village.
That meant this wasn't just an illusion affecting the academy. It had a range that stretched from the ninja school all the way to the Hokage's tower.
Could any known genjutsu possibly cover that kind of distance?
Impossible.
Not even the Third Hokage himself could do something like that.
And even the Leaf's top genjutsu specialist, Special Jonin Kurenai Yuhi, wouldn't come close.
Let alone the fact that the "targets" included elite-level shinobi like the Hokage himself.
If someone truly could pull off a genjutsu of that scale and affect even Kage-tier individuals, it would mean they were beyond Kage level.
But if such a person did exist, why would they waste that much chakra just to show a future Hinata confessing to a future Sora?
If they really did go through all that trouble, then everyone here had only one thing to say:
"Do you seriously have nothing better to do?"
"Sora... do you really think he could've done this?" Hiruzen asked, turning to Kurenai.
After all, Aoki Sora was technically a distant relative of the Yuhi family and currently one of her neighbors.
"No way," Kurenai said firmly. "I don't know him that well, but just from what I've seen, he doesn't have the strength to pull this off. Even if he were hiding his full abilities, he couldn't possibly cast something of this scale."
"Even if he's secretly talented, this isn't something anyone his age could manage," Kakashi chimed in. "And if he could do it, why make it so public? Even we up here in the tower saw it."
If his goal had been to charm or manipulate Hinata, it would've been way more effective and discreet to cast a personal genjutsu on just her.
There'd be no reason to broadcast it across the village, unless he had power so overwhelming that subtlety didn't matter.
But as Sora himself had said, if he were that strong, why would he still be stuck in school?
"Yeah," Hiruzen nodded. "I'm inclined to agree."
It was oddly reassuring to eliminate the idea that Sora might secretly be an ultra-tier powerhouse.
"In that case… that leaves only one real possibility, right?" Asuma asked slowly.
A temporal distortion.
A future event had been projected into the present.
As bizarre as it sounded, it was the only explanation that remotely fit the facts.
"What possibility are you all talking about?"
A new voice called out from outside the room, calm but authoritative.
"Lord Hokage, Hyuga Hiashi is requesting an urgent audience!"
A Leaf shinobi entered to announce the arrival.
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Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 450,800,1200 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch!