[Dear readers, could you add this book to your shelf?]
[No conspiracy-theory plotlines here—if that's what you want, you might want to skip this one.]
Konoha Year 85.
Sarada sat in the village library, a book open and a sigh caught in her throat.
"I really want to see Dad…"
She was full of curiosity about the Uchiha,
yet all she had were the sparse entries in dusty volumes.
The Uchiha had been wiped out for reasons no one would say aloud.
Now, only she and her father remained.
As for the Sharingan… wasn't the highest level just the three-tomoe?
(Please don't tell Sasuke she thought that.)
Before she could drift further, the ground trembled—hard.
"Eh… what was that? An earthquake?"
All across the new generation, faces tightened.
Konoha Year 64.
The Chūnin Exams were underway.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Rasa were watching from the stands.
The final bout—Naruto Uzumaki versus Neji Hyūga.
Driven by pure stubbornness (and zero quit), Naruto toppled the resident prodigy.
Just as the victor was about to be announced, the arena shuddered.
Everyone looked up.
At some point, a colossal curtain of light had unfurled across the sky, blotting out the sun.
"What is that?"
Sweat gathered at Sasuke's brow.
Kakashi's Sharingan flicked open; his expression turned serious.
The Fourth Raikage, A, stood up, gaze locked on the distant brilliance, shock in his eyes.
Rasa had come to Konoha; in Sunagakure's stead, Chiyo was serving as acting Kazekage for the moment.
She stared at the sky-screen, lips trembling.
"Could this be… Konoha's doing?"
The Mizukage also watched, stunned.
"'Konoha's doing?'" The thought flashed uninvited.
Far away, the godlike Pain narrowed his eyes at the vision above.
"What is this? A sign from the divine…?"
His hand lifted.
"Banshō Ten'in!" — Universal Pull.
A gust swept the arena, but the sky-screen didn't budge.
At his side, Konan steadied Nagato, who was weak and shaking.
Tobirama Senju studied the distant phenomenon, eyes like ice.
"Interesting… a technique researched by our juniors?"
"Big brother," Hashirama blinked, baffled, "can you figure out how that thing works?"
Tobirama quietly shook his head.
[Boruto Uzumaki]: Uh… what is this screen supposed to be?
[Nara Shikadai]: Calm down, Boruto. Might be an enemy genjutsu…
[Sarada Uchiha]: Wait, we can type into it?
Sasuke stared up at the bespectacled girl, a strange familiarity tugging at him.
Another Uchiha?
[Sasuke Uchiha]: The name behind you… are you Uchiha as well?
[Sarada Uchiha]: Dad?!
Sarada froze.
Dad… is in this chat?
And judging by the avatar… was that Dad when he was a kid?
"Why is Master Sasuke in this chat group?" Boruto spluttered, starry-eyed.
Sasuke was his hero, after all.
"If Sasuke's here, does that mean the Seventh Hokage is here too?"
Yuino Iwabe gawped with envy.
"Boruto, what does Lord Seventh do at home, like, off-duty?"
Boruto's mouth twitched.
If he admitted the Seventh sometimes put his clothes on inside-out…
Yeah, maybe not for public consumption.
[Hiruzen Sarutobi]: Sensei? First Hokage? Are you in here as well?
[Tobirama Senju]: We are, Monkey. Is this your jutsu?
[Hiruzen]: I'm not that talented, Lord Second…
[Hashirama]: So who's Hokage now?
[Hiruzen]:Ahem. Still me.
[Hashirama]: Third Hokage, at your age you're still doing the job?
[Hiruzen]: …
Rain pattered steadily.
Under a paper umbrella, Itachi looked up at the sky, cool eyes thoughtful.
He'd tried to disrupt the display with genjutsu—no effect.
Kisame chuckled beside him.
"Fate's got jokes, Mr. Itachi… that girl named Sarada? Not someone you… erased."
Itachi fell silent.
The more he looked at her face, the more it resembled Sasuke's. His mind moved quickly.
The instant the screen appeared,
Hiruzen canceled the Chūnin Exams and mobilized every available shinobi to guard Konoha.
Across the other villages, each Kage did the same.
Faces were grave.
No one could say what this screen was—or who controlled it.
[Boruto]: So… is Dad in the chat, too?
[Naruto Uzumaki (youth)]: Boruto, don't type for a sec. This thing's weird. Sai, you there?
[Sai Yamanaka (youth)]: Lord Seventh, the sensory team is investigating the chat. The situation is… unusual.
[Sasuke Uchiha (youth)]: If I had to guess, this isn't conventional shinobi tech.
[Naruto]: Sasuke? Why are there two Sasukes on screen?
Naruto squinted at Sasuke in confusion.
Sasuke met his eyes—and promptly looked away.
"Yeah, the screen shows two Sasukes, and that Sarada girl called one of them 'Dad'…"
Sakura's brows knit as her brain whirred.
Given her intellect, a chilling hypothesis clicked into place:
this chat could connect to their future selves.
[System]: Greetings. I am the Shinobi Editing System.
The voice rolled through the air.
The sky-screen radiated a crushing pressure,
as if a single gesture could erase everyone watching.
Swallowing hard, they listened to the rules.
A live-broadcast system: everyone could watch the chosen shinobi,
and interact via chat to earn… rewards.
[System]: Introduction complete… Initiating random selection!
[System]: Selection complete: "Ranking the Top Ten Strongest Uchiha!"
[Sarada]: The top ten strongest… Uchiha?
Sarada's heart pounded.
The strongest Uchiha… they had to be Kage level, right?
In her world, even jōnin were terrifying.
"Why rank the Uchiha? Aren't they… gone?"
Murmurs of disdain rippled through the crowd.
Sarada clenched her fists.
She wanted to argue—but facts were facts.
[Yuino Iwabe]: How strong can the Uchiha even be?
[Boruto]: Strongest is clearly Master Sasuke!
[Naruto]: The guy above—are you my long-lost dad or what?
[Minato Namikaze]: ???
[Kushina Uzumaki]: ???
The "Tomato-and-Egg" duo—Minato and Kushina—stared, baffled.
Someone explain who this Boruto kid is?
(Also, readers… how about adding this book to your shelf? The author is begging—politely! (ó﹏ò｡) )
And then—the sky-screen brightened, the first name taking form in blazing letters.
Every eye lifted.
Even Itachi's umbrella didn't feel like much shelter anymore…
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