Senju Hashirama opened his messaging app and reported today's events to Uchiha Kei.

Don't be fooled by Hashirama's dopey demeanor—when it comes to mission reports, he's still reliable. After all, he was a shinobi for decades. Naïve as he might be, his fundamental ninja discipline is solid.

Soon, Uchiha Kei received the mission log.

Hm… not the best written, but it was complete. The details and progression were all recorded, along with Hashirama's emotional notes.

Hashirama had written, "Just like you said, Kei-dono. I don't need to imitate others—I just need to be myself. And it's fine to call Madara 'senpai' when appropriate."

"I never thought Madara liked being called 'senpai' so much. I could tell after we fought together—he was actually happy and didn't resist the title at all."

"If I had known earlier, I would've made sure everyone in the village called him 'Madara-senpai' before he left the Hidden Leaf Village."

To that, Uchiha Kei could only mutter in his heart: No, you've got it all wrong, Hashi-ramama. Madara only enjoys it because you called him 'senpai'! He already sees you as his reincarnated other half!

Uchiha Kei sighed internally. From his feed, he was watching a playback of Uchiha Madara and the girl "muzi" teaming up in battle. With each enthusiastic "senpai," Madara sank deeper and deeper. The replay was stored via system permissions.

Nearby, Zetsu clones reported Madara's strange behavior post-logout.

Between the footage and their descriptions, Uchiha Kei was almost certain: that old geezer Madara had mistaken muzi for the reincarnation of Senju Hashirama.

Or rather, the old man had fallen into the exact narrative Kei planned.

Yes—Uchiha Kei had intentionally led Madara to this conclusion. Reincarnation existed in the shinobi world, after all. And Madara, while powerful, wasn't exactly hard to fool—Black Zetsu had made a sport of manipulating him.

Now if this were someone like Aizen from that other universe… Kei wouldn't dare try this.

Not that Madara lacked talent, but Aizen's life experience and sheer age gave him an edge Madara couldn't match. Aizen, despite looking young, could be Madara's ancestor with centuries under his belt. The wisdom from time alone had left Madara in the dust.

If Madara had lived just a few hundred more years, maybe he could've matched him.

For now, though, Kei's "training program" for Hashirama involved familiarizing him with Genjutsu-based games, learning to act under the muzi alias without slipping up, and adapting to habits not associated with Wood Style. Instead, he was to rely on Earth and Water Style.

After an initial awkward phase, Hashirama adapted quickly. After all, cross-dressing's just like missions—you do it once, or you do it endlessly.

And more importantly, it was all to save his dear friend Madara, who had been deceived by villains. So sacrificing a little dignity? Worth it.

As a shinobi of the Warring States Era, Hashirama had always been taught: the mission comes first. He might not agree with it, but once he accepts a mission, he commits.

This current deception? Righteous.

So Hashirama dove fully into the role of "muzi."

Uchiha Kei then had him take on missions as muzi through online promotion, already anticipating that Madara might mistake her as Hashirama's reincarnation.

Now? That setup had become reality.

Still, Kei couldn't help roasting their "bromance." He'd expected Madara to at least hesitate, to take his time before falling. But the guy got hooked in an afternoon—no, even faster.

Truly, the power of generational bonds in the Hidden Leaf was terrifying.

With a satisfied sigh, Kei rewarded the White Zetsus with a blast of "Intestinal Flavor Surge Jutsu." The delighted clones left, brimming with renewed zeal to conquer the world for Kei-dono.

Then Kei turned his attention back to his messages. He praised Hashirama and told him to keep it up, then started watching another video log.

This one featured Nawaki's side of things.

While Madara and Hashirama were having their little reunion, the game's digital world had its own side story unfolding.

It started when Obito's team returned to the village. Excited, the trio queued up for a game match. Learning about the online features, they decided to join forces with other players.

Originally, they wanted Might Guy too, but he was on an outbound mission with his squad. So the trio went in as a threesome.

They weren't into faction war mode and opted instead for a 36-player, 9-squad "battle royale" match with four players per squad.

That's when a girl named Naruko got paired with them.

A blonde, twin-tailed girl who looked about thirteen showed up—and all three boys were immediately intrigued.

She was pretty. Blonde hair, blue eyes—she reminded them of their teacher.

"If Minato-sensei had a little sister, she'd look just like this," Rin said in awe.

No surprise there. Namikaze Minato was one of the most popular people in the village. A few months ago, he was the most popular among the younger generation. Now, he had competition: Uchiha Kei.

Obito and Kakashi nodded in agreement.

Then, noticing the trio whispering among themselves, Naruko raised an eyebrow.

"Hey. What's with the whispering? You trying to exclude me?"

They froze. That did sound kind of like bullying in hindsight.

Rin quickly bowed, "Sorry, Naruko-senpai. We queued as a group—it wasn't intentional."

Naruko relaxed and struck a bright, confident pose, hands on her hips. "Ohh, got it, got it! No worries at all! Leave the fighting to me—I'll protect all of you!"

Then she glanced at their usernames and blinked. "Kakashi? Obito? Rin? Uh… those are your real names? You're using your real names in-game? Wait… are you three Minato-nii's students?"

The trio stared, wide-eyed.

She knew them? And she called Minato "Minato-nii"?

Wait… could she really be Minato-sensei's sister?

Kakashi stepped forward, "Yes, we're part of Minato-sensei's squad. Pardon the question, but… what's your relationship to him?"

Naruko's eyes sparkled. She chuckled. "So you are! Haha\\~ Then that makes you my juniors! I know Minato really well. We're pretty close, actually. As for our relationship… well, that's a secret\\~"

Suddenly, she realized—she was using an alias. And her actual connection to Minato was… complicated. He always called her 'senpai,' but in terms of mental age, he was older than her.

Trying to explain that would've been a mess. The trio hadn't entered the "Genjutsu World," so they couldn't understand.

So Naruko ended up looking awkward and conflicted.

The kids noticed her expression and their curiosity soared.

Why was she being so vague? Was it really just a sibling relationship?

But if it was, why hide it? Were they half-siblings? Separated at birth? Divorced parents?

But… Minato was an orphan!

Their overactive minds generated dozens of theories, most of which they discarded on the spot.

They glanced at one another. Unspoken understanding passed between them.

They wouldn't ask. Not now. Not when they just met Naruko-senpai. It'd be rude to pry.

Well… Rin thought that. Sweet, polite Rin.

Obito and Kakashi? Their brains were already buzzing like Naruto trying to unmask Kakashi-sensei in the old days.

Beneath calm faces, they were itching with curiosity.

Soon, the match began.

The trio didn't adjust their in-game avatars—they stayed as they were physically. That meant they were shorter than everyone else.

Still, Minato had once advised them: "Train in your true form." It paid off with real-world experience.

So unless they were messing around, they avoided avatar modifiers and only used skill-balancing systems to raise themselves to average jōnin power.

Thus, a team of one thirteen-year-old girl and three ten-year-old boys entered a 36-player, 9-squad battle royale.

To everyone else, they looked like easy prey.

Two-squad encounters were manageable.

But when three squads met? The other two always teamed up to beat on the kids.

Now, the four had taken cover behind a massive boulder.

"Damn it!" Obito growled. "Three squads and they all gang up on us? Seriously?!"

Kakashi replied coolly, "Because we're four kids. Even Naruko-senpai's just thirteen."

"What do we do?" Rin asked nervously.

Naruko slapped her chest proudly. "Relax! I told you I'd protect you, didn't I? Just watch me! Time to show you what I can really do!"

The three stared at her, eyes shining with anticipation.

After all, she might be Minato-sensei's little sister. And Minato-sensei's power was off the charts—even among the Sannin, he stood out. Of course they'd expect a show.

They didn't yet know Minato's true strength, nor that with the Nine-Tails' power, he now surpassed the Sannin and rivaled even Lord Third.

Even so, to them, Minato was already a legend.

And Naruko-senpai, his sister? No way she'd be weak!

So… they braced for a spectacular display.

Feeling the weight of their hopes, Naruko charged out with a bold yell.

And then…

BOOM BOOM BOOM\\~\\~

Trap mines detonated.

Miss Naruko got blown sky-high.