This Naruto is too easily persuaded.

Closed beta testing begins

With a surge of energy, Naruto and his two companions' consciousnesses were pulled out of the dimension inside the Golden Tree and returned to their bodies in the real universe.

Orochimaru opened his eyes and breathed heavily for a moment.

He felt a little tired after creating a world in the mental space.

"Naruto-kun, your idea is indeed incredibly grand."

Orochimaru gazed at the sapling radiating a soft light, his brow furrowing deeply. "But the problem returns to square one: how can we get others to willingly relinquish their spiritual power, or even their souls after death?"

"We can forcefully promote it to the people of the Snow Country, but to people from other countries—"

"If we rely on force to plunder, not only will it be inefficient, but once exposed, we will instantly become the enemy of the world."

"It is unwise for us to be so weak and inexperienced."

"Who said we were going to just plunder?"

Naruto calmly rose from his throne, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"This demonstrates the significance of the existence of light."

"As long as we use the Eight Thousand Spears' eye technique to mark the target..."

That way, their scattered spiritual energy can be continuously transferred to the Golden Tree for expanding its spiritual dimension.

A calculating glint flashed in Naruto's eyes: "And after they die, that mark will serve as a coordinate. Their souls will no longer belong to the Pure Land of the Underworld, but will be directly drawn into the tree, becoming permanent residents of our new world."

Orochimaru's eyes lit up, but he immediately asked, "Then, how do we directly implant the mark into them?"

"That depends on you."

Naruto turned to Orochimaru, adjusted his glasses, and said, "Orochimaru, I need you to develop a helmet as quickly as possible."

"On the surface, this is just a VR-assisted training device."

"It is claimed that as long as you wear it, you can experience the joy of being a ninja. You can also engage in 100% realistic simulated battles in the virtual world, greatly enhancing your combat experience and chakra control."

"Whether they are commoners or ninjas, they would never be able to resist the temptation of becoming stronger without any risk."

Naruto paused for a moment, then continued, "But inside the helmet, the summoning runes of the [Eight Thousand Spears] must be connected."

"The moment they put on the helmet and enter the virtual world, they will be instantly marked, whether they like it or not."

This is a trap disguised as something sweet.

Orochimaru froze for a moment, then covered his face and let out a chilling laugh: "Hehehe—hahahaha! Perfect! Absolutely perfect!"

"Let all the ninjas in the entire ninja world pay exorbitant prices for our helmets, and then willingly become your batteries and fuel! Naruto-kun, you are a true genius!"

A month later.

On the border of the Land of Snow, there is a remote town that is covered in snow all year round.

As night fell, the atmosphere in the only tavern in town with its lights on was unusually oppressive and strange.

Several commoners, dressed in thick cotton-padded coats, sat around a stove in the corner, shivering and whispering among themselves, clutching cheap liquor in their hands.

"Feed—have you heard?"

A bearded man lowered his voice, glancing cautiously around to make sure no one was watching before continuing, "These past few days, the adults from the mutual aid society have been running around town, buying up the personal belongings of those who have just died of illness or accident at exorbitant prices—"

"That's nothing!"

Another gaunt man shivered, took a big gulp of liquor to bolster his courage, and said in a trembling voice, "The night before last, when I was coming home from get off work late at night, I saw that group of security guards actually going up to the mass grave on the back hill!"

"I saw it with my own eyes from under the snow—they dug up those graves and took a piece of bone from them!"

Upon hearing this, the people around gasped and felt a chill run down their spines.

"Digging up dead people's graves—what kind of evil ritual is this?"

"Shh, don't talk nonsense! Are you out of your mind?"

One of them whispered a reprimand.

"The adults must have their reasons. Maybe—maybe they're researching some kind of secret weapon."

The atmosphere in the town became unusually eerie.

No one knows why those high-ranking rulers would suddenly become interested in the skeletons of the dead.

In the deepest underground laboratory of the Northern Base.

On the cold floor lay piles of tattered clothes, mud-covered hair, and some stark white bones.

These are the items containing the deceased's DNA that the security team has collected over the past few days.

On a table not far from these relics were a dozen or so newly made, simply designed game helmets.

Orochimaru stood before the experimental table, looking at the bones and relics, and couldn't help but let out a sinister laugh: "To cast the souls of the dead into the spiritual world—Naruto-kun, I can't wait to see the results of this experiment."

Naruto stood under the Golden Tree, his expression as calm as ever: "Before the helmets are used on a large scale, we must first conduct closed internal testing."

"I prefer to use the souls of the dead rather than the living."

"At least—even if they die again, no one will know."

After saying that, Naruto raised his hands and began to form hand seals.

Orochimaru was very familiar with this set of seals; it was the forbidden technique developed by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju—the Impure World Reincarnation.

But Naruto did not prepare any offerings.

The moment he finished the hand seals, Naruto summoned his entire soul to the Golden Tree.

"So let these undead pave the way for the others."

Meanwhile, in another dimension, in the netherworld.

This place was originally a dark and eternally silent space.

Dozens of ordinary souls who were sleeping suddenly felt an irresistible and terrifying suction force.

That force brutally crossed the boundary between life and death, forcibly dragging them back to the present world.

Then, in an irresistible manner, they were cast into the spiritual dimension of the Golden Tree!

The world inside the Golden Tree was originally empty and silent.

Suddenly, a golden ripple appeared in mid-air.

Immediately afterwards————

clack.

It was accompanied by a slight thud.

Dozens of figures dressed in their own clothes appeared one after another in the newly built, empty square.

They looked around blankly at the magnificent but empty place, then looked down at their hands, which were no different from those of living people, and each of them seemed somewhat at a loss.

Their memories of life are still stuck in the painful or desperate moments of death.

But at that moment, they miraculously "woke up".

Closed beta testing has officially begun.