Naruto: We Agreed on a Simulation, But They Actually Came to Life?

Chapter 68: Chapter 68: I Have a Friend

"I’m not sure."

The moment the words left her mouth, Tsunade froze.

What did she mean, *not sure*?

She was wearing the thing. She had either bought it herself or someone had given it to her. How could she not know?

Kushina blinked, waiting for the rest of the explanation.

Tsunade’s brow furrowed. It was as if she had choked on her own answer and was now forced to dig herself out of the hole.

"...Something like that."

The more she tried to fix it, the worse it got.

Irritated, she let go of the necklace and grabbed the teacup on the table, taking a large gulp to suppress her awkwardness.

Kushina’s eyes instantly lit up, and she leaned forward, clutching her cushion.

"Oh? Does Lady Tsunade have someone on her mind? Who is it? Since when?"

"I don’t."

"You’re blushing."

"It’s hot in here!"

Tsunade slammed the teacup onto the table, splashing a few drops of water.

"Your teapot is boiling too hot!"

Kushina glanced down at the teapot. The tea had been steeping for nearly half an hour.

She looked up, resting her chin in her hand, her blue eyes brimming with a "I know exactly what’s going on" sort of smile.

Silence fell between them for a while.

Tsunade stared at the tea stains on the table, her lips pursing and then relaxing. She took another sip from her cup and set it down.

"Let me ask you something."

"Hmm?"

"I have a friend—"

Kushina’s lip twitched.

"She told me that she had a dream. A very long dream."

Tsunade slowed her pace, as if carefully weighing every word.

"In the dream, she grew up with someone. They went to school together, went on missions together. What they ate, the things they said, where they were injured—she remembers it all. Not a single detail is forgotten."

She paused.

"And then... she woke up."

"She discovered that this person seems to exist in reality as well."

Kushina stopped smiling and listened intently.

"The most absurd part is that things from the dream started appearing in reality. Not just a feeling or a sense of déjà vu, but actual, tangible objects."

Having said this, Tsunade looked up at Kushina.

Kushina slowly tilted her head.

"This ’friend’... isn’t that just you?"

Tsunade’s expression instantly tightened.

"No! I said it was a friend! Were you even listening to that whole explanation?!"

"Ohhh—"

Kushina dragged out the sound, her face screaming *I don’t believe a word you’re saying.*

Tsunade glared at her. Seeing that the other woman was about to explode, Kushina wisely dropped the act and hugged her cushion back to her chest.

She thought about it seriously for a moment.

"About your... friend’s situation."

She intentionally emphasized the word "friend," but didn’t tease her further.

"Things from a dream appearing in reality." She repeated the phrase, her brow furrowing slightly. "I think... I’ve heard the older generation talk about something like this."

Tsunade didn’t speak, but she leaned in slightly.

"The Uzumaki clan has a concept called ’Soul Tether.’ I don’t remember the specifics clearly, but it basically means that the connection between chakra is sometimes more than just a matter of power."

Kushina hugged her cushion, her wording hesitant.

"If the chakra of two people produces a deep resonance under certain conditions... even if they’ve never met physically, a mark is left on their spiritual level. The elders said these marks are sometimes transmitted through dreams."

She paused, sounding uncertain herself.

"It’s like spiritual energy remembering something on behalf of the physical body."

Tsunade’s frown deepened.

"Are you saying... it wasn’t a normal dream?"

"I’m not sure," Kushina shook her head. "Old people’s stories are a mix of truth and myth. But as for your friend—if things from the dream really appeared in reality, you can’t just pretend it didn’t happen, right?"

She looked up, her blue eyes uncharacteristically serious.

"If you want to figure it out, the best way is to find that person. Meet them face-to-face and find out."

Tsunade didn’t respond.

By the time she left Kushina’s house, it was already dark. The streetlights stretched her shadow long across the ground. She walked quickly, a single thought looping in her mind.

*Meet them face-to-face and find out.*

It was exactly what she had been thinking. But it was much easier said than done.

She exhaled sharply and turned into the alley leading to her home.

That same night, Kushina sat at her low table, writing a letter to Minato.

She wrote about what she ate today, how the price of dorayaki had gone up, and how the neighbor’s cat had climbed onto the roof and couldn’t get down.

At the end, she paused and added one more line.

"Lady Tsunade seems to be thinking about someone lately, though I don’t know who. She was distracted when she came to visit me and lost every game of cards. Though, of course, she won’t admit it."

She folded the letter, tucked it into an envelope, and placed it by the door to be mailed tomorrow.

***

The next morning.

Kitahara Kaede pushed open the door to his apartment and found a manila envelope lying on the ground.

He crouched down and opened it.

It was official stationery from the Hokage Tower, stamped with a red seal.

"Notice of Special Chunin Promotion Examination..."

Kitahara Kaede folded the notice and tucked it into his shirt before changing his shoes and heading out for his morning run.

As usual, Guy caught up from behind.

After completing six hundred laps, Kitahara Kaede stopped at the starting point. Guy strode over to him.

"Kaede! How about a set of youth-filled sparring?"

"No thanks."

"You’ve already rejected me five times!"

Guy counted on his fingers, his thick eyebrows knitting together, his voice tinged with grievance.

"Why? Is the fire of my youth not burning bright enough?"

"It’s too bright," Kitahara Kaede wiped away some sweat. "I can’t keep up."

Guy fell silent for two seconds, then suddenly slammed his fist into his palm.

"Then we’ll compromise! Three times a week! Basic physical training only!"

"No."

"Twice!"

"No."

"Once!" Guy’s voice now carried a hint of pleading. "Once has to be enough, right?!"

Kitahara Kaede glanced at him.

If he didn’t agree, this man would ask again tomorrow. And the day after, and the day after that.

"Once."

Guy’s body froze for half a second. Then, he suddenly bent at a ninety-degree angle, his voice trembling.

"Once is plenty! This is your promise! I will cherish every single opportunity to burn the fire of youth with you!"

He straightened up, eyes gleaming.

"Then this afternoon—"

"No," Kitahara Kaede interrupted. "The Chunin exam is tomorrow. I’m resting today."

"The exam is tomorrow?!"

Guy grabbed Kitahara Kaede’s shoulders, his round eyes widening like dinner plates.

"So soon?!"

"Things are streamlined for wartime."

Guy let go and took a step back, looking at Kitahara Kaede.

"Give it your all."

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was heavy with sincerity.

Kitahara Kaede nodded.

"Yeah."

Guy turned and bolted. The green blur vanished around the street corner, seemingly rushing off to put in extra training to prepare for their next spar.

Kitahara Kaede retracted his gaze and walked back toward his apartment.