After settling down, Karin suddenly remembered something. She gave a soft hum, then hesitated before speaking.

"But… the Naruto in my dreams feels a little different from the Naruto in reality."

Sakura instantly slapped her cheeks and pulled a dramatic face.

"Ah! Karin-chan, you think so too, don't you? The Naruto in the dream is super handsome, right? Gentle, reliable, sunny and bright ah, that smile! I could never get tired of it!"

She clasped her hands together with sparkling eyes. "And he's so strong, even Sasuke can't match him!"

[Ding! Haruno Sakura's emotional fluctuations detected! Emotion value +200!]

Naruto nearly toppled over. "Sakura-chan's at it again! Damn it!"

Good news: Sakura-chan's obsessed with Naruto.

Bad news: That Naruto isn't me!

His face crumpled in despair.

Karin, unconsciously clutching at his arm, shook her head. "Actually… I think that Naruto is kind of hard to approach."

"Huh? Hard to approach?" Sakura blinked, clearly confused.

"No, it's just… the Naruto in my dreams is always polite and gentle. I've almost never seen him angry. He's always smiling," Karin explained softly. Her red eyes lingered on the sunny image of Dream Naruto on the screen. She shook her head, voice quiet but serious. "But that very gentleness feels… distant. Like he's far away from us, hard to truly reach."

"Distant?"

Sakura scratched her head in puzzlement. "No way! The Naruto in my dreams was considerate, gentle, polite never lost his temper. How could that be anything but wonderful?"

Her gaze drifted back to the handsome figure of "Master Naruto" on the screen, her expression saying plainly: Why don't I feel that way at all?

If that was called "distant," then what about the real Sasuke?

After Karin voiced her thoughts, she stole a shy glance at the Naruto sitting right beside her.

Her cheeks flushed pink as she added in a whisper, "On the contrary… I think the real Naruto is better. He makes people feel close and at ease."

Her words were soft, but Naruto heard them clearly.

His whole body jolted. He turned toward her, eyes wide in disbelief.

Karin bowed her head quickly, fingers twisting nervously at the hem of her clothes, her ears turning scarlet.

For two seconds, Naruto just stared blankly. Then, an overwhelming surge of warmth and joy filled his chest.

[Ding! Uzumaki Naruto's emotional fluctuations detected! Emotion value +200!]

His eyes brimmed with tears. He almost wondered if he had misheard.

How long had it been?

Ever since they first started gathering in this dream world, both Sakura and Ino had gushed about the "Naruto" they saw on the screen how much better he was than the real thing.

For so long, Naruto himself had started to believe he was inferior to his dream counterpart.

But today at last someone had said it.

Someone finally affirmed that the real Naruto, himself, was better.

"Karin-chan, you "

Naruto suddenly seized her hands in both of his, his eyes sparkling like stars.

"Karin-chan! You're amazing!"

[Ding! Uzumaki Naruto's emotional fluctuations detected! Emotion value +400!]

Karin's whole face flushed crimson. Being suddenly held by both his hands left her completely flustered. She ducked her head, her little face red all the way to the tips of her ears.

But she didn't pull away.

Instead, in the tiniest, almost mosquito-like voice, she whispered, "Naruto… be gentle… you're hurting me…"

[Ding! Karin's emotional fluctuations detected! Emotion value +400!]

Sakura froze, mouth agape. What are those two doing?

[Ding! Haruno Sakura's emotional fluctuations detected! Emotion value +200!]

Kakashi stroked his chin, replaying Karin's remark in his mind. He glanced back at the image of Naruto on the screen and watched him for a long moment, a thoughtful look settling over his single visible eye.

He murmured to himself, "When you look at it that way, the Naruto in the dream really does resemble Minato-sensei."

[Target of this dream: Uchiha Sasuke]

[Viewers: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi, Karin]

[Total emotional value gained: 13200 points!]

[Current emotional value balance: 358,431 points!]

Current Dream Level: Level 4 (412,931 / 400,000)

[Dream Master System upgrading...]

[Dream Master System upgrade successful!]

[Congratulations to the host for reaching Level 5 and unlocking the second dream instance]

[Please select one of the following enhancement effects:]

[1. Number of dream-fulfillers +1]

[2. Dream Dungeon Expansion Pack: Rurouni Kenshin]

[3. Number of viewers +2]

Aren raised an eyebrow as the prompts scrolled through his mind. Surprise flickered across his face. "So the Dream Dungeon slots unlock by system level. No wonder I couldn't pull those rewards before," he said under his breath.

He smiled faintly and chose the first option without hesitation: increase the number of people whose dreams can be fulfilled by one.

[Current Dream Level: Level 5 (412,931 / 500,000)]

[Target number of dream-fulfillers: 3]

Number of viewers: 4

[Dream Instance Limit: 2]

[Current dream instance: "Eternal Flash"]

A faint mechanical chime echoed in his mind. Aren felt as if a new door had opened inside his head. He clenched his fist excitedly. With the additional dream-dungeon slot unlocked, he could craft a new plot line with a timeline different from "Shining Eternal."

Several candidates from Team 7 flashed through his thoughts before he fixed on one particular figure.

With the new increase in dream intensity, the system now permitted choosing a Jōnin as the dream's target. In other words, he could drag Kakashi into the dungeon.

As the most troublesome, most infuriating star of the entire Naruto world who should have gone bad but remained strong and patient.

Kakashi… it's your turn.

Over the next few days, Team 7 remained inside the tower to rest. Other teams that had passed the second round began to arrive at the finish line and make their way to the tower.

Early the following morning, the third team reached the tower.

When Naruto and Sakura saw Rock Lee and his companions appear, both of them wore incredulous expressions at the entrance.

"They are the third to arrive?" Naruto pouted in disbelief.

"Hmph. I am not surprised." Sasuke folded his arms, eyes lingering on the green-clad boy with the thick brows and earnest gaze. He analyzed aloud, "Don't mistake him for a fool. His taijutsu is among the best of the genin. Even without mentioning Neji and Tenten, just based on Rock Lee alone, their team will not be an ordinary genin team."

Naruto snorted and scoffed. "So what if he's good at taijutsu? I'll beat him to a pulp when I get the chance!"

Sasuke shot him a warning look and offered a quiet reminder, "Do not underestimate people. That thick-browed kid is very strong."

Even Sasuke admitted that, without the Sharingan's insight, it would be hard to gain any advantage over Rock Lee.

Naruto fell momentarily silent at that assessment. Then he noticed Rock Lee waving cheerfully at them, his face lit with earnest excitement. Lee's enthusiasm was contagious; Naruto felt his own competitive spirit spike.

He turned away with a snort and swore inwardly that he would have a proper fight with Lee when the chance came.

....

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