[Ding! Congratulations, host, for killing the first Traveller. All of his jutsu knowledge has been stored in the system storage bag.]
Naruto, who had been fast asleep, jolted awake as the familiar rush of his shadow clone's memories hit him all at once. His eyes snapped open, and in an instant, he understood what had happened — his plan had worked.
It had to. He'd prepared meticulously. Using Shadow Clone and Transformation Jutsu, he'd spread out his clone network across the village, purchasing explosive tags from various shops under different disguises. It had drawn some attention, sure, but he'd dispelled the clones immediately after hiding the tags safely in the system's storage.
Thankfully, the Uzumaki bloodline had awakened something new within him: a bloodline technique — Chakra Suppression. It not only allowed him to hide from being sensed, but also completely erased his chakra signature. Without it, being caught would have been inevitable. And with the level of chakra control required, none of it had been easy.
[Congratulations, host, for killing a Traveller. His cheat has been obtained. Do you wish to merge with it or convert it into points?]
"Yeah, merge it," Naruto replied without hesitation.
[Ding! Merge successful. The 'Chat Group System' has been integrated. Host has been made group admin.]
A smirk crept onto Naruto's face.
"Ohh... then, let's open the chat group," he said, activating the system.
[Mito Uzumaki]: What happened? The chat group was suddenly shut down for a while... and now the group leader's changed?
[Tobirama Senju]: Yeah, sister-in-law, wait— that's Naruto in the group leader icon. The Fourth Hokage's son?
[Hashirama Senju]: What?!
[Kushina Uzumaki]: Naruto! Is that really you, my son? Have you been eating properly? You look so thin!
[Minato Namikaze]: Naruto… What's going on? How did you become the group leader? And what happened to Haruto?
[Madara Uchiha]: Interesting.
[Izuna Uchiha]: Curious.
The chat erupted into chaos.
Kushina was overwhelmed with emotion at the sight of her son. Minato was quietly happy too, though unsure of how to approach Naruto. Madara, on the other hand, was secretly pleased — if Haruto was truly gone, it was a win in his eyes. He had always felt that Haruto was suspiciously informed, possibly even aware of his plans. Now, Naruto was in control — a naive boy still loyal to the Will of Fire, in Madara's mind.
Tobirama's thoughts were elsewhere. If Haruto really did died from explosive tags, then perhaps his plan had worked after all. But now the Chat Group was in the hands of a Jinchūriki — the Nine-Tails host, the Fourth Hokage's son — and someone clearly loyal to the Hidden Leaf. That was a good thing.
Then came a message from the new group leader.
[Group Leader]: Hello everyone. I think you're all mistaken. I'm not Naruto Uzumaki. I'm Monkey D. Luffy — the man who will become the Pirate King.]
[Kushina Uzumaki]: WHAT?! What happened to my son? Did you hit your head?! Minato, this is all your fault!
[Tobirama Senju]: I always thought this child was a bit of a fool... but now it seems his brain is completely scrambled.
Tobirama was sweating. Naruto's tone didn't sound like he was joking.
Madara, on the other hand, grinned. If Naruto had gone crazy, maybe it was the Chat Group system's fault. Maybe he couldn't handle it. Good — less threat for him.
[Minato Namikaze]: Naruto, what happened to you? What nonsense are you talking about?
Naruto watched their confused chatter with an indifferent expression. He no longer cared to keep up the charade. As for the "gifts" the group members could offer? He didn't even need to ask — they'd give them themselves eventually.
[Group Leader]: Shut up. From now on, as the group leader, you're free to talk among yourselves — but don't talk to me unless I permit it. As for gifts... I'll think about it.
The chat fell silent.
Only then did the group — some of the most intelligent and perceptive shinobi in history — realize they had been fooled. The "foolish" Naruto they'd seen through Haruto's eyes had all been an act.
Now Tobirama was truly concerned.
What would Naruto — someone who had faced discrimination and been neglected by all of Konoha — do with this kind of power?
Naruto closed the chat group screen without another word.
"Alright, System. Open the package and unlock all the jutsu Haruto had."
[Ding! Acknowledged.]
**[Congratulations, host! You've received the following jutsu:Fireball Jutsu,Fire Phoenix Technique,Shadow Clone Jutsu, Basic Sealing Techniques,Five Elements Seal,Uchiha Shuriken Throwing Technique
,Senju Basic Swordsmanship,Explosive Tag Creation,Three Body Technique,Body Flicker,Rasengan]**
A torrent of experience, battle knowledge, and chakra control theory rushed into Naruto's mind. The overload was too much — he collapsed into unconsciousness.
Meanwhile, inside the Hokage Office...
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at the main seat, puffing calmly on his pipe. To his right sat Danzo Shimura, and on the other side, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane had gathered.
Danzo was the first to speak, his tone cold and accusing.
"Hiruzen, all of this... it's the Uchiha's fault. Village security is their job. If they had done it properly, an attack on an academy student wouldn't have happened."
Hiruzen let out a heavy sigh but rejected the claim.
"Danzo, it is the Uchiha's duty to handle internal village security, but no one could've predicted someone from inside the village would attack a child. This wasn't a typical threat."
Homura leaned forward, adding, "Danzo, Hiruzen is right. It wasn't a straightforward case. The suspect we tracked had recently purchased a large number of explosive tags — but the man we cornered turned out to be a shadow clone under a transformation jutsu. When it dispersed, there was no trace of the tags — not in any seal, not even a residual chakra signature. Completely erased."
Koharu followed up, "Exactly. It could be the work of a spy from another village. Their goal may have been to eliminate promising students before they became threats. Remember Kumo's arrogance years ago? They tried to kidnap a Hyūga heiress, and when they failed, they had the audacity to demand the head of the 'murderer.'"
Danzo scowled, his fingers drumming against the table. He didn't want to admit it, but the logic was sound. He couldn't argue against it.
"Tch. It's only because you've gone soft, Hiruzen," Danzo thought bitterly. "If I were Hokage, none of this would've happened."
But he said nothing out loud.
[Author's Note]
[If you're wondering why Naruto suddenly turned cold and ignored the people in the chat group — it's because this is going to be a traveller-hunting story.]
[Also, let's be honest — writing a full-on chat group novel is a massive headache. So, to put it simply, the real reason is that the author (me) is being lazy.]
[As for why I didn't just convert the chat group system into points? Well, our protagonist needs opportunities to show off. Since he can't do that in the real world just yet, he'll do it in front of those dead people in the chat group.]
[That said — no, I'm not removing the chat group completely. It'll still be part of the story… just not the focus.]