When it came time to choose their own titles, every group member had been full of swagger and confidence.
Unfortunately for them, Furukawa Ryu had smacked every last one of those ideas straight into the ground.
Under the crushing weight of the group leader's authority, they could only accept the ridiculous titles forced onto them.
While everyone else was depressed, the mastermind behind it all—Ryu himself—was absolutely delighted as he looked at the colorful mess of tags in the chat.
Then he clapped his hands and brought the topic back on track.
[Furukawa Ryu]: Ahem. Alright, enough of that. Listen up. Next, I'll explain the main functions of this network.
The moment he mentioned serious business, everyone's attention sharpened.
[Furukawa Ryu]: This network has quite a few functions. Other than basic chatting, all of you can also enter the arena for simulated battles.
That feature, however, did not get much reaction from most of the group.
[Hatake Sakumo]: I fought more than enough when I was alive. Now that I'm already dead, I really can't bring myself to care much about fighting anymore…
Even the legendary White Fang of Konoha sounded tired of battle.
Only Madara's eyes lit up instantly.
The man was a full-blown battle maniac. If he went too long without a fight, he got restless.
[Uchiha Madara]: Hahaha! Hashirama, just wait!
[Senju Hashirama]: Like I'm afraid of you!
Seeing the lukewarm response from everyone else, Ryu did not get discouraged. He continued calmly.
[Furukawa Ryu]: Besides that, through this network, all of you can pass your ninjutsu, combat experience, and even your bloodline abilities on to me.
Silence.
A strange, heavy silence.
Even the two biggest chatterboxes in the group—Hashirama and Madara—went quiet.
Which made perfect sense.
They had only just met him. None of them understood what kind of person Furukawa Ryu really was yet.
There was no way they were going to casually hand over all their skills that easily.
Ryu gave a helpless smile.
Sure enough, squeezing benefits out of these people was going to be a long-term project.
Still, he had expected this.
In fact, he had already prepared a plan.
Grinning, he dropped the real bomb.
[Furukawa Ryu]: Heh. But the most amazing function of this network is this—if I allow it, I can share my vision with all of you. Through me, you can see the outside world again.
[Namikaze Minato]: Is that really true? That's incredible!
[Uzumaki Kushina]: That's great, Minato! Then we might get to see Naruto! I wonder how he's doing…
[Uchiha Mikoto]: Fugaku! Then we can see Sasuke too!
…
[Furukawa Ryu]: I'll be honest—don't get excited too soon. I know exactly who each of you is worried about.
[Furukawa Ryu]: But I can tell you this much: most of them… aren't doing well.
The moment those words appeared, the chat fell silent again.
If what Ryu said was true, then that was very bad news for them.
[Senju Hashirama]: Oh-ho! Don't get all gloomy, everyone! No matter what, this is still a pretty amazing function!
[Senju Hashirama]: That means I can finally see how the ninja world changed after all these years. I wonder if true peace was ever achieved.
[Senju Tobirama]: Heh. Don't be so naïve, Big Brother. True peace?
[Senju Tobirama]: You really thought handing the tailed beasts out to every village would keep them in check and create peace? That was naïve from the start.
[Senju Tobirama]: Honestly, Big Brother, sometimes you're too naïve.
[Uchiha Madara]: Tobirama, for once in all these years, I actually agree with you. Handing out the tailed beasts? Hah. That idea was a joke from the start.
[Senju Tobirama]: Don't lump me together with an ambitious lunatic like you.
[Uchiha Izuna]: Tobirama! Do you always have to start trouble? Want to fight?!
[Senju Tobirama]: Heh. Fight, then. You think I'd be afraid of a loser I already beat once?
[Uchiha Madara]: Come on! Two-on-two! Didn't the brat say there was some kind of arena? Good timing. My hands are itching.
Ryu pinched the bridge of his nose.
Sure enough, the moment those two pairs got together, they started bickering again.
Thankfully, this time someone stepped in to calm them down.
[Namikaze Minato]: Ahem… seniors, we have plenty of time. There's no need to rush into fighting, right…?
[Hyuga Hizashi]: Yeah, yeah. Why don't we follow the group leader's lead first and take a look at the ninja world as it is now?
[Hatake Sakumo]: That makes sense.
[Uchiha Madara]: Hmph. These youngsters actually said something reasonable for once. Fine. I'll let you two brothers off today. We'll fight another day.
[Furukawa Ryu]: Good. Then I'll begin vision sharing now.
The next moment, he activated the feature.
At once, every group member saw the outside world again.
What they could see was limited—Ryu's face, his tiny room, and a sliver of the outside world through the window.
Of course, they did not care about any of that itself.
What mattered was that it proved the network really could let them see through Ryu's eyes.
[Senju Hashirama]: What an incredible function! I want to take a good look at Konoha… at the entire ninja world!
[Senju Tobirama]: I wonder what kind of state Sarutobi has developed Konoha into.
[Uzumaki Kushina]: Wow! It's real! Naruto! Mommy's coming! Group Leader, hurry and take us outside so we can see!
…
They were all dead.
And now, after so many years, they could suddenly see the outside world again.
Every last one of them was excited.
And then—
Click.
The sound was not loud.
But to the people in the chat, it was painfully sharp.
Because the moment that small sound rang out, their vision went dark again.
[Uchiha Madara]: Ryu brat, what are you doing?!
[Uzumaki Kushina]: What happened?!
…
Watching how anxious they all became, Ryu's smile turned sly.
This was his plan from the start.
First, show them what the system could do.
And then…
[Furukawa Ryu]: Heh. There's no such thing as a free lunch.
[Furukawa Ryu]: If you want to see the outside world, shouldn't you be giving me a little something in return?
Back in the Pure Land, every member's expression became extremely colorful.
This brat…
He really knew how to squeeze people.
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