Dropped into Naruto, Breaking the World Apart

Itō Hidenaka didn't pay any attention to Tsunade's reaction. He was flipping through some documents—who knew what he had in his hands—then let out a long sigh.

"In the original timeline, Uzumaki Naruto was a very important historical figure."

A semi-transparent projection screen appeared in front of Itō Hidenaka. On it was none other than Uzumaki Naruto himself.

Pointing at Naruto, Hidenaka continued, "He was supposed to become the golden child of this era. From an outcast nobody believed in, he would grow into a powerful hero who stood tall in the world—and with relatively little black history, I might add."

Tsunade stared at the screen, as if she still hadn't recovered from the shock.

"As for you, Tsunade-san," Hidenaka said seriously, "you were supposed to be the Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure. But clearly… something unexpected has happened."

Tsunade let out a cold chuckle, completely unconvinced. She had already seen through the truth of this game world. This guy was clearly just trying to fool her with nonsense.

She firmly believed that she had transmigrated into a manga world. There was no question in her mind—after all, she had the memories of her past life. If she was right, this world was probably some restricted R-18 game, where a bunch of horny players ran around pretending to live harmonious lives.

Pretending to be taken in by Hidenaka's words, Tsunade played along. She gently cupped her chest with both hands and asked sweetly,

"Now that Naruto is dead, won't that mess up the future?"

Her eyes sparkled with faux tenderness, but inside she was screaming—Time for my honey trap! Say what you need to say, then scram!

Hidenaka calmly replied, "Don't worry. The future won't be affected at all."

Tsunade kept smiling sweetly. Ha! Idiot. Gotcha!

History had been changed—how could the future not change?

That's the butterfly effect!

If Naruto, the protagonist of the era, had died, who knew what weird back alley of history they'd end up in?

Hidenaka went on, "I know you don't believe me. But this involves very complicated knowledge—something ancient people who didn't experience the Chakra Tech Explosion just wouldn't understand."

Tsunade closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Seriously? He's looking down on me now?!

"Naruto dies and you're telling me that has zero effect on history? A game is still a game, but why lie to a delicate woman like me?"

Hidenaka answered lazily, "Oh no, you caught me. Well then, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

A mighty punch came flying toward him, bringing a blast of wind. Tsunade had been holding that one in for a while. This GM didn't seem very smart, so she had to give it a shot—at least try to carve a path for herself.

But Hidenaka just burst out laughing. "Rasengan Flash Ultra Wheel Roar Style Three!"

Tsunade's heart sank. Crap! He's going all out!

A glowing orb condensed in Hidenaka's hand. Its brightness intensified rapidly until it exploded in a blinding flash—

...

And then… nothing. Tsunade was completely unharmed. Not even a strand of her hair was singed.

Hidenaka had disappeared. Time, which had been frozen, resumed. The frozen scenery came back to life.

Tsunade was stunned. Wait… he didn't kill me?

It wasn't that she was masochistic. She just couldn't understand. An NPC developed self-awareness—or maybe even got taken over by a transmigrator. Shouldn't they have dissected her for research?

Leaving her here like this with no follow-up—what was the meaning of that?

Could it be… something even bigger is going on?

"Wait, did the tag above my head change to 'Boss'? Are they keeping me around so players can farm me for loot?"

Tsunade's imagination ran wild. Too much had happened in one day—her mind was in chaos.

"No matter what happens… I will never surrender!" Tsunade gritted her teeth. The outcome was still uncertain. She'd read novels where NPCs overthrew their destinies before. If it came to it… she'd just kill all the players!

"You look downright terrifying right now," a devilish voice suddenly whispered in her ear.

Tsunade jumped. A curse was about to escape her lips but she swallowed it back—this was not someone she could afford to offend. Asking where this demon had gone just now was pointless. If he could disappear under a GM's nose, his strength was undeniable. And Tsunade, weak as she was, didn't have the guts to challenge him.

If she wanted to rebel against this world, she had only one option—cling to someone powerful.

"You still think this world is a game?" the demon asked unexpectedly.

Tsunade nodded solemnly.

"Even though I transmigrated into a manga, I don't get why it suddenly turned into a game. But transmigration itself is already so confusing—no point obsessing over the details. Let's just get through the next crisis first."

"The game company probably sees us as bosses now. NPCs with self-awareness act unpredictably, giving players a fresh experience every time—and we don't even need salaries or programmers pulling all-nighters to maintain us…"

"The game setting has a lot of flaws," the demon said, picking Tsunade up and carrying her away from Konoha.

"Flaws? What flaws?" Tsunade asked, startled. She thought for a moment. Before the demon could respond, her brain kicked into high gear.

Back when she was panicking, her mind had been a mess. But now that she'd calmed down, her intelligence had returned.

"If this is really a game, then humans here should fall into two groups: players and NPCs," she reasoned.

"Clearly, we're not players—we don't have experience bars or skill menus. And if we're NPCs, then our only purpose should be getting killed by players or handing out quests. There's no reason for us to know about the players' identity tags…"

The more she spoke, the more excited she became—as if she'd stumbled upon a massive secret.

"I just had a crazy thought. Hey, have you ever read those novels?"

"Heh." The demon glanced sideways at her. "You really are something else."

Tsunade raised her chin smugly. "Hmph. Don't underestimate me—I've read enough webnovels to fill a library."

Based on her deductions, maybe someone had gained the power to travel between worlds, transformed this world into a "game," and then guided native-world players to log in using full-dive helmets—invading other worlds under the guise of entertainment…

That idea lasted all of five seconds.

Then Tsunade fell silent. Even that kind of setting had too many logical flaws and inconsistencies.

She looked up at the demon's half-smiling expression.

"Don't tell me… Itō Hidenaka was actually telling the truth? Then how do we explain the Grandmother Paradox?"

(T/N: The Grandfather Paradox is a thought experiment in time travel that explores the potential implications of altering the past. Specifically, it asks what would happen if someone traveled back in time and killed their own grandfather before he could have children, potentially preventing the time traveler's own existence. )

The demon replied, "The Grandmother Paradox is just a theory. Who knows if it's even real?"

Tsunade groaned and yanked at her hair in frustration.

"You know what, I hate people who speak in riddles the most!"

Calling him "old pal" had just been to build rapport—but this guy wouldn't stop acting mysterious. What the hell was she supposed to do with that?

She already thought becoming the heroine of some smutty manga was bad enough. Now there were a bunch of new mechanics and hidden settings suddenly dumped on her. Wasn't there a regulatory department for this kind of nonsense?!

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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