Yes, "Naruko"—that was actually Nawaki in disguise.
That day, after Minato-sensei explained Nawaki's situation to his students, the three little genin had enthusiastically volunteered to help their senior. So, when they met "Naruko" again, they eagerly engaged her in conversation, earnestly trying to convey their goodwill to this Konoha senior who had supposedly passed away long ago.
Yes, even Kakashi—with his dead-fish eyes—acted uncharacteristically engaged. Though compared to the others, he still seemed cold, as if the world owed him millions of ryō. But given his usual demeanor, this was downright warm.
With the help and understanding of the trio, Nawaki no longer felt burdened by guilt over deceiving his friends with an alias. Instead, he wholeheartedly followed Uchiha Kei's strict warning: "You and your Grandfather's real identities must never be revealed. If exposed, it could bring great disaster to Konoha."
Reassured, he freely roamed the game world under his Naruko disguise.
Over time, Nawaki formed a deep bond with the three, adventuring together and strengthening their friendship. They had also completely gotten used to Nawaki playing a female avatar. It felt no different from friends playing female characters in online multiplayer games—at most, they'd comment on the avatar's design but thought little else of it.
In this kind of environment, Nawaki's happiness level soared. He was completely addicted to the virtual world—so much so, he lost interest in continuing the New Konoha construction and spent his days immersed in the game.
When the new game *Homestead* launched, he quickly invited the trio to join him. The four jumped in together, used the in-game player search, found one another, and instantly formed a party.
It was time to dive deep into gameplay mechanics—and Nawaki's hidden skills shined. He picked things up absurdly fast. Within a minute, he had mastered the basics, prompting the trio to gape in awe, praising him as a natural-born genius.
But Nawaki scratched his head in embarrassment. Genius? Not at all! He'd already played similar systems before. The large-scale spiritual network world had complex construction mechanics quite similar to *Homestead*. In fact, *Homestead* was a simplified version of that.
Having already mastered construction in the spiritual network world, Nawaki naturally found this much easier to handle.
Soon enough, "Naruko" was leading the trio through rapid building sessions. Thanks to having a pro in their team, things progressed at lightning speed, and the game suddenly felt a lot more fun.
In no time, the four had their own little base.
Along the way, they received a visit—from none other than Might Guy, Kakashi and Obito's old buddy. Konoha's future Blue Beast had returned from his mission.
First thing after returning, Guy had sought out his bros for some heartfelt catch-up time and, naturally, a passionate duel.
And of course, the duel happened—in *Ultimate Storm*. Ever since this game launched, passionate hotheads like him had been glued to it. After all, no need to hold back or worry about injuries—you could go all out.
So that's how Might Guy got to know Naruko. Of course, he only knew the surface-level persona. Her real identity? Absolutely classified. The reason the trio knew was because Uchiha Kei had personally allowed it, so they could become Nawaki's true friends.
As for Might Guy… well, for a guy like him, it was better not to know too much. Let him stay blissfully passionate.
To him, Naruko-san was a lively, kind, slightly ditzy but warm-hearted senpai, a friend of his eternal rival Kakashi—and that made her his friend too.
So when the new game launched, and he found out his buddies were playing, of course he jumped in to join them.
He mostly came to take a look—and maybe offer help if needed.
After confirming they didn't need anything from him, and being amazed by the magical construction mechanics, Guy eagerly ran off to start building a base with his own squad. His bond with his team was solid—maybe not as tight as the one he shared with Kakashi and Obito, but they were still reliable comrades.
Canonically, Guy's teammates looked down on him. After all, his father had been a lifelong genin—an "embarrassment"—and Guy himself had no ninjutsu talent, relying solely on taijutsu.
Even Guy had felt deeply ashamed, angry, and rebellious toward his father.
It wasn't until the Third Shinobi War, when Might Duy soloed the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, that the world finally reevaluated taijutsu users.
From that day on, Guy came to understand his father's true strength and resolve. He realized that even a taijutsu specialist could shine—and thus began his path of youthful passion.
But in this timeline, things played out very differently.
Here, Might Duy was already the head of security for the Konoha Game Chamber of Commerce, a position of high status. He was no longer "just a genin"—he'd been granted the special jōnin rank, a clear sign of respect and recognition.
And in *Ultimate Storm*, Duy could unleash the Eight Gates without reservation. Uchiha Kei had told him to log in under his real name, showcase his strength, and duel freely.
As a result, Duy's reputation in the village underwent a complete transformation.
People who had once looked down on him finally realized the terrifying power of this "eternal genin." It was true, unadulterated strength.
When taijutsu is pushed to its limits—even the elites, the so-called top-tier jōnin—can only fall in defeat.
With this newfound respect and rising status, Guy's life changed completely.
The mockery and scorn of the original timeline had vanished. Now, he was a figure of admiration—a taijutsu specialist with a powerful father, high income, and a background many envied.
Let's be real: even ninja from prestigious clans didn't necessarily have it easy. Unless you were born into the main family, the clan name only got you access to a few secret techniques—nothing more.
To enjoy real perks, you had to contribute, sacrifice, and often receive far less than you gave.
So in contrast, someone like Guy—who had a loving, respected father, stable income, and no siblings to compete with—was living the dream.
Did Guy understand this?
Most thought he didn't. He laughed too much, shouted too loud, and acted like a lovable idiot. Surely he had no clue.
But the truth?
Heh… Guy would say his Path of Youth doesn't require overthinking. Just train hard, stay passionate, and keep getting stronger.
His father had earned Lord Kei-dono's recognition through sheer effort and burning spirit—and their entire family's fate had changed.
Compared to his canonical self, this timeline's Might Guy was more idealistic, more focused, and firmly believed in one thing:
Serving Kei-dono was the highest honor—and the best way to repay his family's debt of gratitude.
After all, different experiences shape different beliefs—even in the same person.
Thanks to Nawaki's efforts as the group's master builder, it took just a single day to finish the foundation of Minato-sensei's squad's private base.
A main hall, central building, garden, training grounds, recreation hall, farmland, forest, fish pond, and livestock pen—everything you'd expect from a well-rounded base, even if it was compact in size.
With the essentials complete, they could now upgrade or expand based on need.
Of course, how those buildings looked depended heavily on the builder's aesthetic sense.
Obito, for example, had none. As soon as he figured out how to build, he rushed to try it himself—and ended up constructing what looked more like a prison cell than a living space. It was stark, boxy, and gave off serious "interrogate-your-enemies-here" vibes.
Kakashi was ruthless in his critique, dryly noting Obito's lack of artistic skill and calling his creation an abstract nightmare. He even suggested Obito stop building entirely to avoid wasting materials.
After all, the game required players to collect resources—wood, stone, metal—to build structures. Those materials didn't just spawn in your inventory; they had to be gathered manually.
During the base's construction, the others handled material collection, allowing Nawaki to focus solely on building. That's how the base went up so fast.
Without that team dynamic, even someone as experienced as Nawaki wouldn't have completed the job so quickly.
After a full day's hard work, the satisfied team decided to take a break and visit the neutral zone market to see if other players were active.
Turns out—there were a lot.
By the time they arrived, hundreds of players were already bustling around the large market, each immersed in different activities.
Some were hammering away at structures, testing if anything could be dismantled for parts. Others were chatting up NPCs, seeing if they had unique personalities or hidden features.
And some… well, some had more curious interests.
The NPCs here were well-designed—visually appealing, lifelike, and, unlike other games, not locked behind preset scripts or hostile behavior. Naturally, this intrigued the players.
They began interacting, testing reactions, watching behavior—especially with the prettier NPCs, who quickly drew crowds.
This market was opening players' eyes to a whole new way of playing. It was their first real taste of true, dynamic interaction with NPCs.
In older games, NPCs were basically part of the stage set: they'd show up, deliver a line or two of story, then disappear. No actual interaction.
Even in *Ultimate Storm*, where players could challenge AI opponents, those "NPCs" had fixed lines before the fight began—after which it was straight into battle.
But in *Homestead*, every NPC could be talked to. And not just generic replies—each had a distinct personality, way of speaking, and conversation style. It felt like talking to an actual person.
Even experienced players from outside the Shinobi World were impressed. Sure, the NPCs still felt a bit robotic, but their depth of interaction was on another level.
For natives of the Shinobi World, this was mind-blowing.
It wasn't long before the more imaginative players started forming attachments. Some bonded quickly with kind or quirky NPCs, especially the beautiful and friendly ones—who always seemed surrounded by hopeful suitors.
Disagreements even broke out between players competing for an NPC's attention. And amusingly, the NPCs would intervene, telling everyone to calm down.
The whole vibe had this surreal, rom-com feel: "It's raining! Don't fight, everyone!"
Because this game didn't allow player-versus-player combat in safe zones.
If you wanted to duel, you had to use the in-game 2+ battle mode, go to a different game, or settle things in real life.
"Wait—would all this player interaction mess up NPC trading?"
Nope. Merchant NPCs were designed differently. When you approached one, a dedicated transaction panel would open, and you could buy and sell items there.
Their inventories were limited to basic supplies, though. The real trading economy came from players.
That's where the marketplace came in.
In the designated player trading area, a chorus of voices shouted out deals, and special NPC vendors handled sales. These vendors didn't talk or interact—they simply opened access to a selling terminal, where players could list their goods.
When Obito and the others arrived, there were already over a thousand items for sale, sorted neatly by category. Players could search by name, category, or both.
It took a bit of experimenting, but the group quickly figured it out. They couldn't stop praising how convenient it was.
"If only real life had something like this!" they exclaimed—much like anyone discovering online shopping for the first time.
Yeah… *Homestead* was turning out to be a game-changer.
Poll: What should replace Teaching Kendo in Tokyo 1980 (TKT)?
Hey everyone,
I've decided to put Teaching Kendo in Tokyo 1980 (TKT) on hiatus for now. In the meantime, I thought it'd be fun to run a poll to see what you'd like me to work on next. Can't wait to see what you all pick!
Options:
A brand new fanfic (picked by me)
Continue a recommended fanfic (suggested by Readers and will be voted on Again)
Two chapters a day for Uchiha Kei: Game Dev in the Shinobi World
Two chapters a day for My Game Studio is Full of Valkyries?!
Two chapters a day for Monster Hunter Grand Assembly
📅 Voting will be open on Patreon for one week!
Heres the link to the poll
https://www.patreon.com/posts/poll-on-what-to-137136810?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkpatreon.com/BestElysium