"I won!" a young teen screamed in pure joy, staring at his phone screen, which displayed the sight of Goku finally defeating a buffed-up Zeno. After years of grinding the same game, pouring countless hours into every strategy and attempt, he had become the first person to conquer the ultimate boss. This wasn't just Zeno—it was a nightmare 1v4 of threats: a grown-up Zeno, the God of the Ōtsutsuki, the Soul King at his absolute peak, and Imu. For most players, this challenge was impossible, but he had no friends, no social life, nothing else to distract him. That single truth gave him the time and focus to accomplish what no one else could.
Fighting all four of them at once had been nothing short of torment. Zeno alone, with his terrifying ability to erase almost anything, was enough to make most players quit. The God of the Ōtsutsuki brought overwhelming, relentless powers that seemed impossible to keep up with. The Soul King made it even worse, wielding the power to gaze into infinite futures, adapting instantly to any move he saw and gaining immunity—along with the very ability used against him in said futures. And then there was Imu, armed with every Devil Fruit power in existence, layered with toon force itself, casually pausing the game whenever her health dropped too low just to restore it back. Together, they had created a living hell inside the game.
It had taken him months of relentless attempts, but at last, he had done it. The impossible had been accomplished, and the joy swelling inside him was so overwhelming that he couldn't help but scream in triumph. What once felt like an unreachable goal was now behind him, and for a brief moment, he almost felt like crying. But the exhaustion from countless sleepless nights was catching up, and his body was already drifting toward sleep.
Just as he was about to set his phone down, a sudden notification popped up, freezing him in place. His eyes widened as curiosity overtook his drowsiness. With a tap, he opened it—only to be left completely stunned when he saw who it was from.
[Game Developer] – Congratulations on being the first person to clear the game. You've been playing for five long years, and all without ever spending a single cent of real-world money. I'm truly impressed.
[MC] – I really liked this game. It's rare nowadays to find a mobile game where someone clearly poured their heart and soul into it. A vast open-world experience with an anime theme—how could I not play it? Thank you for the five years of fun.
[Game Developer] – Lol, that was a bit cheesy. Still, I appreciate it. Before I say goodbye, how about I ask you five questions? Your answers will determine the reward you'll receive for clearing the game.
"Cheesy? I guess it really was cheesy," he thought, feeling a bit down. Maybe all those years without talking to anyone had dulled his ability to hold a normal conversation. Still, what he had said was the truth. This game wasn't some shallow mobile cash-grab—it was the kind of title you'd expect to see on a major console, yet here it was, on his phone. It wasn't turn-based or limited; it was a full, open-world adventure where players could choose between four main characters: Luffy, Goku, Ichigo, and Naruto.
He had gone with Goku, the obvious powerhouse, and it had carried him this far. Yet, a small part of him couldn't help but wonder—if he'd known back then that Luffy had Gear 5 hidden in his kit, would he have chosen differently?
[Game Developer] – If you had to pick two power systems, which would you choose? Dragon Ball's, One Piece's, Naruto's, or Bleach's?
[MC] – What do you mean by system? For example, if I pick Dragon Ball, would that include Super Saiyan transformations along with Ki and all the techniques tied to it? And for Naruto, would things like the Tailed Beasts and the Sharingan be included, or just the chakra system itself? Also, am I supposed to give you the list with the mindset of using the two together to birth the strongest power system?
[Game Developer] – That's a good question. Let's do it this way—give me two sets of answers. One set where you're only choosing the pure energy systems, and another where you include bloodlines and unique abilities. And yes, I want to know what combination you think would be the most overpowered when put together.
[MC] – In that case, the strongest energy system has to be Dragon Ball. It clearly shows the highest level of destructive power through pure energy, and it also has some tricky hax abilities like Buu's candy beam, along with powerful Ki-based techniques and power-ups like the Kaiō-ken.
The second choice would be chakra. With a jutsu like Dust Release or even something as simple as the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu, chakra is incredibly versatile and broken in its own way. Just imagine having the strength of Ultra Instinct Goku while being able to create a thousand clones like Naruto. In Dragon Ball, cloning techniques split power levels evenly, weakening each copy. But with chakra, the division only applies to the chakra itself, meaning each clone can fight with nearly the same strength as the original, just with less energy to burn through.
[Game Developer] – So, you're combining raw destructive power with chakra's endless versatility, giving yourself countless techniques and skills to work with.
[MC] – Exactly. I didn't even bring up genjutsu, the Eight Inner Gates, or countless other broken techniques. Flying Thunder God, the Reaper Death Seal, Summoning Jutsu—and on top of that, the ability to create entirely new jutsu with enough skill and knowledge. Chakra really covers just about everything.
[Game Developer] – Alright then, let's take it a step further. What if we add races and unique abilities into the mix? For simplicity, assume you'd have access to every race and every ability from their respective verses.
[MC] – Okay, then I'd go with Bleach first. Abilities like The Almighty or Toshiro Hitsugaya's "Flesh Freeze" are simply too overpowered to ignore. And that's not even mentioning powers like "The Visionary," which allows imagination itself to become reality. The Bleach verse is overflowing with abilities that completely break the balance.
The second choice is honestly more difficult. Dragon Ball has its transformations and raw destructive power, One Piece brings Devil Fruits with some absurdly broken abilities, and Naruto's Ōtsutsuki clan is stacked with techniques that push them to godhood. At first, I wanted to say One Piece—Toon Force alone, combined with Imu wielding every Devil Fruit, was terrifying enough to control even the game itself. But when I think it through… if I already have something like The Almighty, then the smarter choice is Dragon Ball.
Two reasons: the sheer, overwhelming power that pushes them into multiversal levels, and the innate growth. Infinite talent, the ability to grow stronger after every injury, and transformations like Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego—when combined with the broken abilities from Bleach, that would create the most overpowered being imaginable.
[Game Developer] – I like the way you think. Now, moving on to question number two. From the list below, which cheat would you consider the most useful?
{1,000x}, {Infinite Stamina}, {Hyper Growth}, {Instant Mastery}, {Immortal (Limited)}, {Infinite Money}, {Endless Growth Potenital}.... Etc
[MC] – I'd have to pick the 1,000x cheat. I'm assuming that's the one where every action gives you a thousand times the reward, right? If I do a single sit-up, I'd get a thousand times the result. If I receive a paycheck, it multiplies by a thousand. If that's the case, then that's my choice. But if I'm wrong about how it works, then I'd pick Instant Mastery instead. The ability to master anything instantly is just far too broken to pass up.
[Game Developer] – Since you never spent a cent on in-game purchases, I'll give you both, think of it as a hidden mission you completed. Now, question number three. From both the Bleach and Dragon Ball verses, I want you to do a mix-and-match of races. You can pick a total of three. If you don't know the exact race name, just name the character who represents it.
[MC] – Ichigo, Broly, and the Grand Minister.
[Game Developer] – Haha, smart choices. Now for the fourth question: if you were to start off in any of the four anime worlds, with everything you've listed so far, and take the place of the main character right as their story begins, which world would be the hardest and which would be the easiest? Remember—you're being dropped into their role without their memories or experiences.
[MC] – That's a tough one… I'd say Goku's world would probably be the easiest. With 1,000x and Instant Mastery, I wouldn't struggle to become overpowered. My power level would multiply instantly, and by the time I reached the Saiyan saga, I'd already be far beyond where Goku was at that point. Honestly, it would be almost unfairly easy.
As for the hardest… that's where I get stuck. With Luffy, most of the early game threats before the New World wouldn't be much of a challenge, especially if I take time to train. Naruto had years to prepare and improve before the major threats appeared, so that doesn't seem too bad either. And Ichigo… the moment I take Rukia's sword, wouldn't I already be at least a thousand times stronger than Ichigo was? Maybe even more than that? To me, they'd all be relatively easy—Dragon Ball just happens to be the easiest because of how much time is available to grow.
[Game Developer] – I like the honesty… and you're right, in some ways those cheats make things deceptively harder to measure. But if you had to choose one, which do you believe would still be the hardest?
[MC] – Luffy or Naruto… either one could be considered hard. I'd say they're equally tough, but if I had to choose, I'd go with Naruto. Luffy's journey is dangerous, sure, but East Blue is far too weak to really pose a challenge early on. Starting from nothing, like Naruto did, feels closer to what I'd call genuinely difficult.
[Game Developer] – Alright, fair answer. Now for number five. Do you prefer things to be randomized, or would you rather have everything manually chosen by you?
[MC] – Let's go with random. Nothing you expect ever ends up being fun anyway.
[Game Developer] – Oh… then I'm sure you're going to hate me for what's about to happen. Well, good luck—until next time.
With that, the phone suddenly shut off, the screen going black. He clicked his tongue in mild annoyance, then sighed and set it aside. Plugging it in to charge, he slid onto his bed, letting his body sink into the mattress. His mind kept racing with everything that had just happened—the strange conversation with the developer, the odd questions, and the cryptic farewell. What kind of game was waiting for him now?
Reaching under his pillow to get comfortable, he froze. His fingers brushed against something hairy—small, but alive, squirming rapidly beneath the fabric. Confusion tightened in his chest as he slowly lifted the pillow… and then his soul nearly left his body.
Dozens of tiny baby spiders scattered across the sheets, skittering in every direction, while a massive mother spider emerged from the nest and lunged forward, crawling straight across his bed.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed, bolting out of the bed and sprinting for his life. He didn't even bother with the handle—he slammed straight through the door, crashing it open in blind panic. Still shrieking at the top of his lungs, he tore through the house and out to his car, his voice echoing into the night.
Neighbors and passersby shot him strange looks, but none of them could ever understand the horror he had just gone through—or the sheer violation of having his hand assaulted by a swarm of spiders.
He dove into his car, slamming the door shut, and sat trembling, refusing to let the hand that had touched the spiders come anywhere near the rest of his body. Every nerve screamed at him; he could feel phantom legs crawling over his skin, creeping into places they had no right to be. The sensation alone was enough to drive him mad.
He sped to the nearest gas station, finally forcing himself to stop screaming as he staggered inside. Grabbing a container of gasoline, he paid with shaky hands before hurrying back to his car. The moment he opened the door, however, his terror returned in full force, and he let out another piercing scream as he floored it back home.
His steps trembled as he approached his room, only for his heart to nearly stop at the sight awaiting him. Spiders—countless spiders—were pouring out of his room, coating the walls until they seemed pitch black, a living carpet that writhed and crawled. His legs weakened, every fiber of his being consumed by horror.
In blind panic, he hurled the gasoline forward, splashing it across the walls, the floor, anything in his path, desperately trying to drown the infestation as he backed away. But why—why were the spiders so fast? They scurried toward him with terrifying speed, closing the distance as if mocking his efforts.
Frantic, he spun toward the kitchen, twisted the knobs, and cranked the stove to full blast. One burner flared to life while another kept clicking, leaking gas into the air. Without looking back, he bolted from the house, running as though his very life depended on it.
Tears blurred his vision as he stood outside, watching his home erupt into a raging inferno. The flames roared higher and higher, feeding off the gasoline, refusing to die out. He could only hope the fire consumed everything inside—every last one of those crawling monsters.
But then his gaze dropped to his hand—the one that had touched the spider. His stomach twisted, and a weak, broken cry slipped past his lips. He didn't have the courage to cut it off, though a part of him desperately wished he did.
Instead, he staggered to his car, his mind clouded with revulsion. Without another thought, he slammed the accelerator and drove straight toward a bridge, ignoring the police that were driving after him. Metal groaned as the car sailed over the edge, plunging into the dark ocean below. Water rushed in, icy and merciless, swallowing him whole. He pressed his hand into the current, as though the river itself could cleanse him, wash away the filth, the crawling sensation, the shame. But no matter how much he told himself otherwise… he still felt dirty.
{A/N: I once had a huge spider crawl on me—not some harmless daddy long-legs, but a real monster. The feeling left me absolutely disgusted, like my very skin had been tainted. I've never felt so dirty in my life. It's like waking up to find out you slept with the one person you swore you never would, and somehow everyone knows about it. For days, I couldn't even bring myself to use that hand. I had to do everything with my left, and I'm right-handed. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. To this day, I'm terrified of spotting a spider, going to grab something to kill it, and then having it vanish. But you know what? I'll gladly wish that cursed fate upon anyone who refuses to give me powerstones. After all, I'm a wonderful author—why would you even hesitate to read my novels? It's not like I go around dropping stories or anything…
What worlds would you guys like seeing down the line?}