Land of Fire, Konohagakure.
Inside the Ninja Academy, Iruka stood at the front of the classroom, chalk in hand as he wrote across the blackboard.
“Pay attention in class!
The reason all of you can sit here and study without a care in the world is because the generations before you fought and died on the battlefield.
Their sacrifices are what gave us the peaceful lives we have today!”
He looked over the class seriously.
“So don’t waste a single day you spend at the Academy!”
Then—
Iruka suddenly hurled the piece of chalk at Naruto, who was dozing off at his desk.
“Naruto!
Repeat what I just said!”
Naruto rubbed his head and blinked sleepily.
“Uh…
Iruka-sensei said we shouldn’t waste a single bowl of Ichiraku Ramen.
Eat the noodles first, then drink the broth, and don’t leave a single drop behind.”
As he spoke, drool began dripping onto his desk.
The entire classroom burst into laughter.
“Naruto, that’s so like you!”
“Perfect answer!”
Choji rubbed his stomach and chuckled.
“Hehe…
Now I’m getting hungry too.”
Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
“What a hopeless idiot.”
Just as an irritated Iruka was about to order Naruto into the hallway as punishment, the dismissal bell rang.
Iruka sighed and knocked on the desk.
“Don’t forget what I told you.
Don’t waste your time, and don’t take the peaceful life you have now for granted!”
“Yeees…”
The entire class answered halfheartedly.
None of them paid much attention to Iruka’s talk about how fortunate their lives were.
After all, peace and stability were all they had ever known.
How were they supposed to appreciate something they had never lived without?
However—
Naruto and Sasuke both fell strangely silent.
Sasuke, in particular, understood better than anyone just how precious the life Iruka described really was.
If he could turn back time…
He would cherish every day he had spent with his parents.
And he would do everything in his power to stay away from that bastard Uchiha Itachi!
Outside the Academy gates.
Naruto sat alone on the swing with his head lowered, occasionally glancing toward Choji, Shikamaru, and the others.
Every time he saw another classmate happily leaving with their parents, the envy in his eyes grew a little stronger.
“Everyone looks so happy…
except me.”
He paused.
“No.
There’s still that annoying guy.”
Naruto glanced toward Sasuke, who was also standing alone.
For some reason, seeing that made him feel just a little better.
But the instant Sasuke turned and looked in his direction, Naruto immediately pulled an angry face.
There was no way he was letting that guy see him looking lonely and miserable.
Eventually, every other student left.
Naruto hopped off the swing, shoved his hands into his pockets, and walked away with an exaggerated air of indifference.
…
The next morning.
Morning sunlight cast a warm glow across the Hokage Rock.
At first glance, Konoha seemed no different from any other day.
And yet—
Something was very different.
A gigantic projection screen had appeared in front of the Hokage Building.
It was nearly a hundred meters tall and a hundred meters wide, occupying almost half of the entire plaza.
Its sudden appearance immediately drew the attention of the entire village.
Aside from shinobi on duty or away on missions, almost everyone in Konoha had gathered in front of the Hokage Building.
A crowd this large was normally seen only during the inauguration of a new Hokage.
Inside his office, Hiruzen Sarutobi stood beside the window, smoking his pipe as he paced back and forth.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand how something so enormous had appeared inside Konoha without anyone noticing.
“Report!”
An ANBU shinobi appeared before him.
“Lord Third, we’ve received messages from our operatives stationed near the other hidden villages.
Similar screens have appeared in Kirigakure, Sunagakure, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and several other shinobi villages.
Their sizes vary.”
“From what we’ve learned, none of the other villages know where the screens came from either.”
Hiruzen’s already furrowed brow tightened further.
If Konoha alone had been targeted, he could have assumed that an enemy had somehow planted the thing here.
But if the same thing had appeared in the other villages…
Then this was far beyond anything an ordinary shinobi organization could accomplish.
“To bypass the defenses of all Five Great Shinobi Villages and several smaller villages at the same time…
and place enormous screens of different sizes without anyone noticing…”
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.
“Who could possibly do something like this?”
A name suddenly crossed his mind.
“Could it be Orochimaru?”
“That bastard has always enjoyed researching strange things, and he’s been looking for an opportunity to throw the shinobi world into chaos again…”
While Hiruzen was still considering the possibilities, the massive screen outside suddenly lit up.
Three enormous lines of text appeared.
[Tragic Shinobi Ranking Video Loading…]
[Live Chat Group One Establishing…]
[Live Chat Group Two Establishing…]
“A ranking of tragic shinobi?
What is that supposed to mean?”
“And what’s the difference between Group One and Group Two?”
Fear and curiosity spread through the crowd gathered in the plaza.
Moments later, ANBU shinobi moved out and established a security perimeter around the enormous screen, forbidding anyone from getting close.
But their efforts were pointless.
Because at that very moment—
Naruto Uzumaki.
Sasuke Uchiha.
Kakashi Hatake.
Shikaku Nara.
Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Even Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku Ramen.
Every shinobi and ordinary civilian suddenly felt something like an electric current flash through their minds.
Then, to their astonishment, they discovered that their thoughts had somehow been connected to Live Chat Group One.
[Naruto Uzumaki: ???]
[Sasuke Uchiha: Strange.
I can send whatever I’m thinking into this chat without even opening my mouth.]
[Kakashi Hatake: Has everyone in Konoha been forced into this group?]
[Shikaku Nara: Looks that way.]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi: I’m afraid Group One contains far more than just the people of Konoha.]
[Ōnoki: Third Hokage, people from your village are here too?]
[Fourth Raikage: Hmph!
If I find out who’s behind this weird thing, I’ll make sure they get a taste of my Lariat!]
[Rasa: If this is part of some scheme, you’d better reveal yourself now.
Provoking all Five Great Shinobi Villages at once won’t end well for you.]
[Mei Terumi: Don’t rush.
Let’s see what happens first.]
At the same time—
Far beyond the reach of the living, in Jōdo, the souls residing there found themselves forcibly connected to Live Chat Group Two.
[Madara Uchiha: Someone actually started dancing before me?
Could he have succeeded?]
[Hashirama Senju: Madara, what exactly is going on?]
[Tobirama Senju: No need to guess.
This has to be the work of those damned Uchiha!]
[Izuna Uchiha: Stop blaming us for everything, Tobirama!
You Senju are the underhanded ones—especially you.
You’re a scheming bastard through and through!]
[Minato Namikaze: Whoever can do something like this must be incredibly powerful.
Still, I don’t think they mean us any harm.
Maybe they simply want us dead people to watch something.]
[Kushina Uzumaki: Exactly!
Doesn’t the screen already say that a “Tragic Shinobi Ranking Video” is loading?]
[…]
Before long, the enormous screens in both the living world and Jōdo changed once again.
A new title appeared.
[TOP 20 TRAGIC SHINOBI]
[NO.
20: SAKUMO HATAKE]
[Reason for Ranking: A shinobi who lost his life caught between the rules of the shinobi world and his loyalty to his comrades.]