As the protagonist, Yuto hadn't made an appearance for several chapters, which left him feeling a bit depressed.
But the main reason for his frustration was... ever since the White Zetsu invasion, the entire timeline of the Ninja World had been thrown into complete chaos.
The story mode of the game was clearly no longer feasible, and as for the game characters...
Unlike before, these game characters could now directly influence the players in real life.
Playing the game could make you stronger, which led to many Ninjas spending most of their free time in the shop, sparring with others, aside from their necessary training.
Although there were still plenty of White Zetsu threatening civilians outside, the situation in Konoha was much better compared to other parts of the Ninja World.
But other Ninja Villages, big and small, were no longer as clueless or overwhelmed when dealing with the White Zetsu as they had been at the beginning.
The reason was simple: since the ability to grow stronger by playing the game became public knowledge, the phones spread throughout the Ninja World without any resistance.
After acquiring the abilities of high-level Ninjas in the game, many Ninjas and even civilians who were previously average in strength saw significant improvements.
But now... Yuto looked at the two 'new' guests in his shop, unsure where to even begin with his complain.
"So, you two are Kakato and Tobito?"
Yuto looked at the two young men with defeated expressions on their faces.
The Konoha flak jackets and forehead protectors they wore were no different from those of regular Konoha Ninjas.
So much so that when they entered the shop, they didn't attract much attention from the other players.
As for why they ended up in Yuto's shop, it was because the battle between Kakato and Kakashi had caused such a massive disturbance that Yuto, with his heightened sensing abilities, couldn't help but notice.
Therefore, Yuto asked Jiraiya, who happened to be in the shop at the time, to investigate and, if possible, 'invite' Kakato and Tobito to the shop as guests.
At first, Jiraiya wasn't too pleased about being interrupted during his ranked match, but after Yuto promised to speed up the development of his new form, Jiraiya happily went to check things out.
The result is...
Jiraiya arrived and joined the fight.
Teaming up with Kakashi, they faced off against Kakato and Tobito, two formidable opponents.
However, the battle remained evenly matched, which left Kakashi somewhat exasperated.
Before Jiraiya arrived, he had been holding his own against the two. After Jiraiya joined, they were still evenly matched. So did Jiraiya even make a difference?
But this stalemate didn't last long.
Because after observing Kakato and Tobito for a while, Jiraiya began recalling some information.
'Hatake Kakado, from a parallel Ninja World, specializes in short swords, has mastered the Hatake swordsmanship to perfection... Counter method: break his sword...'
'Uchiha Tobito, from a parallel Ninja World, excels in Fire Release, possesses the Mangekyo Sharingan, with abilities such as... Counter method: don't let him achieve perfect intangibility, prevent him from...'
The longer the fight went on, the more useful information Jiraiya gathered.
And when it came to prolonged battles, Kakashi was an expert.
So, the two of them joined forces and, after going all out, managed to subdue Kakato and Tobito, bringing them back to Yuto's shop.
Normally, such a bizarre incident, one that even posed a threat to the village, should have been handled by locking them up in Konoha's prison for interrogation by professionals or by the Hokage in the Hokage's Office.
But since it was Yuto who had informed Jiraiya, he couldn't just bypass Yuto and report it directly to the Hokage.
When it came to Yuto, a powerful figure with unfathomable abilities, even Jiraiya approached him with a sense of reverence.
However, Kakato and Tobito, who were now being interrogated, were clearly uncooperative.
Yuto sighed and asked, "Who sent you here? How did you get here? And what's your purpose?"
Kakato, much like Kakashi in his younger days, gave Yuto a dead-fish stare and said nothing.
Tobito, on the other hand, was more lively. His eyes darted around as if he were looking for an escape route.
Seeing that the two weren't cooperating, Yuto tried to reason with them, "Hey, this is just a basic inquiry. If you don't want to answer, I won't force you. But at least tell me why you came to our world?"
Earlier, during the battle, Jiraiya had already figured out that these two weren't from this world but rather from a Ninja World with the command called 'Perfection.'
Jiraiya thought to himself, 'Maybe if I observe them a bit more, I can gather some intel about their world.'
Finally, Tobito couldn't hold it in any longer and sighed, "Ah, it's not really a secret anyway. I don't think it's a big deal to talk about it. What do you think, Kakato?"
Kakato, however, remained unmoved.
Seeing this, even Kakashi felt that this guy, who looked just like him, had a personality that was just as problematic as his own when he was younger.
So, Yuto and the others turned their expectant gazes to Tobito, waiting for him to continue.
After a moment of hesitation, Tobito began, "Well, it's like this. During the Warring States period, various Ninja Clans fought endlessly for their own interests."
"That was until the appearance of a white, pig-tailed plant-like monster forced the clans, who were once mortal enemies, to join forces and fight against it. Those monsters were called White Zetsu, just like the ones appearing in your world now."
"Then what?"
Someone urged him to continue, so Tobito went on, "Then... among the top clans at the time, Senju Hashiro of the Senju Clan and Uchiha Madao of the Uchiha Clan stood out."
"The two were also the closest of friends, and along with their younger brothers..."
"The four of them worked together, eradicated the White Zetsu within the Land of Fire, and founded the Konoha Village."
"Wait, you said the four of them worked together? Wasn't Uchiha Madara always at odds with Nidaime-sama?" Jiraiya, who was more familiar with history, asked in confusion.
After all, Madara's younger brother had been killed by the Second Hokage.
Tobito looked visibly surprised. "How could that be? Madao-sama was on very good terms with Nidaime-sama. He often had his younger brother learn from Nidaime-sama."
"How... how could that be?" Jiraiya was visibly bewildered. It was clear that from this point onward, the history of their worlds diverged.
'Was it because of the White Zetsu?' Then Jiraiya caught another key point.
"Wait, you just referred to that Uchiha Madao as 'sama.' Wasn't he a traitor to your Uchiha Clan?"
Tobito was startled at first, then his face showed clear anger.
"How is this possible? Uchiha Madao-sama is the greatest clan head of our Uchiha Clan! He was also the strongest contender for the position of Nidaime Hokage. If it weren't for Madao-sama voluntarily stepping aside..."
Jiraiya scratched the back of his head, 'Why did this sound so confusing?'
'Uchiha Madara and Nidaime-sama were friends? And the Nidaime-sama's position was something Madara willingly gave up?'
Although he knew there would be differences between the two worlds, he hadn't expected... the differences to be this absurd.