When Uzumaki Naruto and Sakura Haruno finished their ten d-rank missions and arrived at the internet café, they saw their friends furiously complaining about a game.
"What's going on here?"
This was the first time Naruto and Sakura had seen everyone collectively rage about a game.
So, after greeting Gaara, he and Sakura went behind Sasuke to ask what was happening.
"Naruto, Sakura, you're finally here."
Seeing his teammates arrive, Sasuke first sighed to collect himself, then smiled and spoke to the two of them.
"Do you two want to try this new game?"
"I'm telling you, this game is absolutely amazing."
"The reason we were swearing is just because the game is so fun, we couldn't help ourselves."
Adhering to the principle that 'if I get tricked, you must also get tricked,' Sasuke immediately changed his expression, shifting from a look of deep contemplation to a sunny smile.
Sakura couldn't resist Sasuke when he acted like this, and immediately said she definitely wanted to play.
Naruto, however, was very wary of Sasuke acting like this, as it was too strange.
Naruto was already surprised when Sasuke changed from his usual cold face to a normal face.
Now he had changed into a sunny face.
If there wasn't a trap here, Naruto absolutely wouldn't believe it.
"Naruto, this guy is full of malice towards you."
See? Even the Nine-Tailed Guy warned Naruto; one can imagine how much resentment Sasuke held toward this game, wanting desperately to drag everyone down with him.
"Don't worry, Naruto, this game is really fun."
"Exactly! Can't you see we're all playing it?"
"Yeah, yeah, this is the most fun game in the whole internet café."
Seeing Naruto hesitate, Shikamaru and the others quickly spoke up, trying to dispel his doubts.
However, it would have been better if they hadn't spoken; as soon as they did, Naruto became even more suspicious.
Seeing all his friends display similar sunny smiles, Naruto felt it was extremely bizarre.
Damn, even Shino, who was usually cool and rarely spoke, was smiling at Naruto. Doesn't that sound creepy?
Ge Liang, watching from the side, was utterly impressed by their actions.
Just how much hatred did each of them harbor to insist on dragging Naruto into this trap?
"Alright, I believe you. After all, we're comrades."
Naruto ignored the Nine-Tailed's warning and chose to trust everyone instead.
In his opinion, it was just a game. Even if the difficulty was high, could it possibly be harder than Hell difficulty in diablo ii?
Naruto, a battle-hardened warrior, thought a mere game was nothing... One hour later, when the little bird controlled by Naruto crashed into a pipe again, he flung his mouse away, stood up, and immediately erupted in a Nine-Tails Chakra cloak.
Following Naruto's outburst, and sensing the malevolent Nine-Tails Chakra, the previously 'lively' internet café immediately fell silent.
"Immobilize."
Seeing the situation turn sour, Ge Liang quickly hit Naruto with a Body Immobilization Technique.
"Holy crap, Naruto, are you trying to cause trouble here?"
After being immobilized by Ge Liang, Naruto instantly snapped back to his senses.
"Uncle, don't! I wasn't causing trouble, I was just... right, I just wanted to stretch my muscles. My butt hurts from sitting too long."
Goddamn 'wanted to stretch his muscles'.
Who stretches their muscles by unleashing Nine-Tails Chakra?
This was only acceptable because it happened inside Ge Liang's internet café; if the Nine-Tails Chakra leaked outside, it would be a major incident.
"Your butt hurts? Do you want me to rub it for you?"
"No need, no need, I can do it myself."
Naruto wouldn't dare let Ge Liang rub his butt, so he quickly refused.
"Hmph, just play your game, don't cause trouble."
Releasing Naruto, Ge Liang didn't continue to make things difficult for him.
"Thank you, Uncle. I won't do it again."
Sitting back down, the calmed-down Naruto wiped the sweat from his forehead, looked at the computer screen, and thought about choosing a different game to play.
But somehow, thinking about that silly, adorable little bird, Naruto started playing pixel bird again.
As Naruto continued the game, the quiet internet café returned to its 'lively' state.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi were to pass by at this moment, he would surely lament that the Konoha Ninja were getting worse with each generation, truly a sign of declining morals, depraved hearts, and foul language... "Sasuke, what do you think of this game?"
Six hours later, Sasuke logged off. Ge Liang, who had been watching him, immediately came up and asked for his opinion on the game.
"Boss, are you sure this is a game, and not something you specifically created just to mess with us?"
'The System created this, not me.'
After silently making a mental note, Ge Liang said with a smile, "Look at you, why would I specifically create a game just to mess with you guys?"
Sasuke clearly indicated that he didn't believe Ge Liang's explanation.
"Then tell me, Boss, what purpose does this game serve besides infuriating people?"
"Isn't the purpose of a game just to play? If it's fun, that's enough. Why does it need any other meaning?"
Hearing this, Sasuke replied with a wry smile, "The problem is, this game isn't fun."
"Not fun? Then why did you play for six hours?"
Hearing that, Sasuke was stunned.
Yeah, if it wasn't fun, why the Hell did he play for six straight hours?
"No, no, something must be wrong here."
Sasuke fell into deep thought.
Initially, he just wanted to get first place, and then the game infuriated him beyond measure.
Watching the little bird die over and over, every time he said 'just one more round,' and that he would quit after that one.
As a result, after experiencing things like smashing the keyboard, dropping the mouse, activating his Sharingan, and tricking Naruto, he had unknowingly played for six hours.
"Boss, this game of yours... is addictive."
"Haha, all fun games are addictive."
Ge Liang smiled and continued, "Let's not talk about unhappy things. Tell me, what is your current score?"
When scores were mentioned, Sasuke immediately looked happy.
"My score has broken a thousand, leading Haku, who is in second place, by over three hundred points. If nothing unexpected happens, first place will definitely be mine in a week."
Thinking of the thousand-plus points he had earned, Sasuke felt that his six hours of'suffering' had been worth it.
"How did you get such a huge lead?"
Ge Liang was slightly surprised. By his estimation, even if Sasuke activated his Two-Tomoe Sharingan, he should only be leading Haku by about a hundred points.
After all, Haku had a very good gaming mentality; after cursing a bit at the start, he adjusted later and stopped using foul language.
For this game, mentality was undoubtedly crucial.
"I don't know either. Originally, I was only ahead of Haku by eighty-something points, but later, for some reason, my judgment and control over the bird's flight improved significantly, which allowed me to widen the score gap."
"Did your Sharingan evolve?"