Konoha Game Hall

Konoha Game Hall?

What a strange name...

Has there always been a shop like this here?

Anko felt a hint of doubt flashed through her mind.

Then, she saw those little legged plants running straight into the store, and other children eagerly followed them inside.

This scene caused the slightly hot-headed Anko to slow her steps.

Although she might be able to uncover the secret behind these plants if she went in, she hesitated.

After all, not long ago, she had narrowly escaped being hunted down by a giant snake, so naturally, she would be cautious about these strange creatures.

Earlier, Anko had been fooled by their cute appearance, but now that she had calmed down, she realised this whole situation was quite bizarre.

Not to mention that these little plants could walk and run, it was also strange that the children had all discovered them at the same time and then simultaneously ran into this place. Something about it felt unusual.

— It was almost as if they were deliberately leading the kids here.

Even though this place was called a "game hall," it couldn't possibly be doing all this just to attract customers, right?

No one had asked Anko for her opinion, but she could sense something fishy about the situation.

So, as she watched the other children disappear through the door, Anko continued to hesitate.

Even if she told the adults, they probably wouldn't believe her so easily.

So, should she take the risk and go in to investigate, or just act like nothing happened and go home to do her homework?

Homework...

That hated sealing jutsuhomework...

That mountain of sealing jutsu homework...

It was as if, in her mind, she suddenly heard the sound of a heavyweight crashing down on one side of a scale.

In an instant, she made up her mind, sprinting in at full speed!

For Konoha, for peace in the ninja world, Anko decided to enter the lion's den and find out what was going on!

— And it definitely wasn't because she didn't want to do her homework!

…

While Anko resolutely charged into the Konoha Game Hall, a few small figures dressed in tight-fitting clothes of various colours were discussing on the rooftop of a nearby building.

"Why does that last little kid look kind of familiar..."

A boy in red battle gear rubbed his chin. "Oh well, at least we managed to trick another batch of kids into going in... Ow!"

He didn't get to finish before someone punched him in the side, letting out a strange yelp.

"Asuma, why do you have to say things so crudely?"

A girl in pink battle gear, who had just punched Asuma, put her hands on her hips. "Can you really call it 'tricking' when it comes to ninja matters?"

"And didn't our teacher say so? This is a test for us to see how well we've mastered projection techniques."

It was clear that Kurenai was quite enthusiastic about this test from their teacher, Natsuhiko.

After all, using projection techniques to trick—no, secretly guide those little brats' actions were very similar to how Kurenai liked to use genjutsu. Naturally, it piqued her interest.

So much so that, even though she usually wasn't fond of wearing battle gear, she was willing to put it on.

It couldn't be helped. Although they had mastered the basic projection technique, they still couldn't perform long-distance projections with the same precision as their teacher.

As a result, they had to rely on the built-in projection tracking feature of their ninja swords to achieve the same effect, secretly guiding the children through projections.

However, after transforming several times, Kurenai began to appreciate the advantages of the battle gear.

Whenever she wore tight-fitting clothes and masks, she felt a detachment from her usual identity as Yūhi Kurenai.

Things she wouldn't dare to say or do out of concern for her image became much more accessible than Peach Ninja.

After all… those were Kurenai's concerns, and what did they have to do with Peach Ninja?

So now, even when she interacted with the Hokage's son, Asuma, she no longer treated him as cautiously as before.

Asuma, being Kurenai's number-one fan, naturally noticed her change and was secretly mulling it over.

He had overheard his dad muttering to himself about whether his mom had entered menopause, which would explain her recent personality changes.

Could Kurenai also be going through some sort of menopause?

Maybe he should ask Kurenai how she was doing.

No, better yet, he should ask his mom first.

Asuma pondered.

But honestly, he didn't really mind Kurenai's changes; in fact, he was a bit pleased.

Kurenai used to always keep a subtle distance from him, making it hard to approach her. But now, as Peach Ninja, he felt like they were closer than ever.

After all… his mom often similarly scolded his dad at home.

He once asked his mom about it, and she said that such scolding was a sign of love.

So, Asuma secretly enjoyed it. In fact, every time Kurenai scolded him, it even gave him a strange sense of satisfaction…

…

Meanwhile, little Anko had walked down a long hallway after entering the building and was deeply stunned by the sight before her.

Unlike the plain exterior, once Anko entered the main hall, she felt like she had stepped into a fairytale-like forest.

Soft, green grass covered the ground, towering trees stood proudly, and colourful clusters of flowers and softly glowing mushrooms were scattered all around.

On the grass, several cute little creatures, similar to the legged plants she had seen earlier, were also wandering around.

What amazed her even more was that when she looked up, she could see a blue sky with white clouds and a shining sun.

This dreamy scene gave Anko a strong sense of temporal disorientation.

It made her wonder if she had fallen under a genjutsu like the ones Orochimaru-sensei had told her about.

But she quickly dismissed that thought.

As a small plant strutted past her, she instinctively crouched down and reached out to touch it.

To her surprise, she realised that the plant had no physical form—it was like an illusion, a projection of sorts.

And it wasn't just this tiny plant. Anko soon discovered that most of the trees, grass, flowers, and mushrooms were all mere illusions.

This reminded her of the projection technique her teacher Orochimaru had once introduced to her to spark her interest in learning sealing techniques.

Could all of this be the effect of that so-called projection technique?

Pondering this, Anko continued walking forward.

She then saw a number of strange machines arranged in concentric circles, one after another.

The machines had wooden shells, and some even had buds sprouting on them, probably to blend in with the environment.

In front of most of the machines stood children around her age.

They were either intensely focused or shouting excitedly while pointing at the machines, though it was unclear what exactly they were doing.

At the centre of these concentric circles of machines was a raised platform, and floating above it was a semi-transparent image.

In the image, a cartoon character with long flowing hair was commanding various types of strange plants to fight against some decaying, grotesque creatures.

Below the image, there was a line of prominent, artistic characters that read:

"Plants(Mokutons) vs Zombies"

Although she didn't fully understand what the words meant, Anko recognised the cartoon character.

It was the First Hokage.

Apart from seeing his likeness every day on the Hokage Rock, her father had also bought her a plush toy of the First Hokage during the New Year, one that would even speak when squeezed. She treasured it.

This thought led her to think of her father again.

Although her mother had said that her father had gone far away and that she wouldn't see him for a long time, the concept of "a long time" didn't really resonate with Anko.

After all, her father often went on missions, and he'd return after being gone for "a long time."

But now, triggered by the sight of that cartoon character, little Anko began to miss her father again...

However, this feeling didn't last long.

As she got closer, Anko finally understood the true purpose of the machines.

Under the children's operations, miniature versions of small plants appeared on the machines' tabletops, battling monsters that constantly emerged from the mist.

On the opposite side, there was also a long-haired cartoon character wearing red armour, just like the one she had seen in the central platform's projection.

At this moment, Anko finally understood why this place was called an arcade.

It turned out that this was simply a place for people to play games on these strange machines!

Anko recalled that her father had once mentioned a peculiar tavern in the village where people could play a game called "Ninja Card" using strange machines. This must not be much different.

So, those walking plants were probably just a way to attract customers...

Having solved the mystery, Anko felt a slight sense of disappointment.

It seemed there weren't that many adventures in the world, and even if there were, she wouldn't always stumble upon them.

More importantly, now that the mystery was solved, it meant she should probably go home and do her homework...

Reluctantly, she thought about heading home.

But despite her thoughts, Anko didn't move. She kept staring at the children playing on the machines nearby.

Watching one of them place a carnivorous plant on the machine's table and seeing it swallow an enemy whole, Anko couldn't help but feel envious.

This game looked entertaining...

Unfortunately, she didn't have the time. She really should leave after one more look.

No, maybe just one more glance...

Several seconds passed, and Anko still hadn't moved an inch.

—The last glance didn't capture everything, just one more look.

—That person is about to win, one more look.

—Haha, that dancing zombie looks so strange; I'll take another look…

While Anko kept finding reasons to sneak one more look, a figure started walking toward her.

It wasn't until she noticed the area around her growing dim that she snapped back to reality.

Then she saw her shadow on the ground being overtaken by the silhouette of a tall, slender figure with long hair...

(End of Chapter)

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