Chapter 22

The Forest of Death was eerily silent except for the occasional rustling of leaves and the murmurs of a certain group chat filled with the most absurdly powerful individuals across multiple worlds.

Sitting atop Kurama's massive head, Naruto gazed at the night sky, seemingly at peace while deep in thought.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Kurama finally broke the silence, his deep voice rumbling.

Naruto didn't even glance down.

"I want to see what they're capable of. Besides, Rias doesn't really need my help—I already gave her the pawn. I'll give them the option to learn some jutsu later, converted into magic for them."

Kurama rumbled in acknowledgment, but before he could say anything else, the chat exploded with a new topic.

Hybrid (Ichigo): "I wanna ask—Is it supposed to hurt when you unlock your power?"

Monkey King (Goku): "I felt really good when I unlocked my power."

Straw Hat (Luffy): "Mine was through a fruit, and it tasted really bad."

Glutton (Toriko): "I felt good and hungry."

Don (Tsuna): "Comfortable and invincible."

Oppai Dragon (Issei): "It hurt so bad."

(At this moment, Issei was hiding from Rias and Akeno, having barely escaped their sadistic training regimen.)

Death of the Endless (Didi): "I was just born with it."

Then Hybrid (Ichigo) dropped a truth bomb.

"So Lord Emperor of Mankind helped unlock my power… and it was REALLY painful."

At that moment, Neo One For All (Izuku) typed something that sent a shiver through the chat.

"Hybrid, it's the Emperor."

Hybrid (Ichigo): "What does that mean?"

Neo One For All (Izuku): "It means he will cause you pain even if there's a painless alternative. His motto is 'No pain, no gain.' He's basically sadistic when it comes to training."

Silence.

Then, out of nowhere…

Emperor of Mankind (Naruto): "LOL, that had me laughing so badly I might have just squished the Emperor. LOL."

Grand Scholar (Wang Lin): [Alarmed emoji]*

Silent Beast (Gohan): [Horrified emoji]*

At this moment, Gohan was seriously reconsidering his training schedule.

Golden Fox (Yasaka): "Kurama dear, Naruto is going to be angry."

Immortal Fox (Kurama): "I am the Immortal Kyuubi! Who dares to question my might?!"

Silence.

Dead silence.

Then:

Emperor of Mankind (Naruto): "I shall have my vengeance for this disrespect."

Kurama's massive ears twitched. His fur stood on end.

Then, Naruto appeared right in front of his face, floating with an unamused expression.

"Kurama… what are you doing? Do you want to know what it feels like to be run over?"

Kurama gulped.

"No."

His mighty and proud voice suddenly sounded sheepish, knowing full well that Naruto wasn't kidding—and whatever he had planned would be incredibly humiliating.

Emperor of Mankind (Naruto): "I didn't make it painful. But unlocking the power inside a mortal form that isn't used to it is both painful and lethal. I made sure you didn't die."

Hybrid (Ichigo): "You forgot to mention the pain."

Emperor of Mankind (Naruto): "Don't be a pussy. Take it like a man."

And then, to solidify his dominance, Naruto uploaded a video to the group.

[Attached Video]

🔴 Title: "The Moment They Realized Training With Me Was Hell"

The video opened with Issei and Ichigo screaming in agony, rolling on the ground while their bodies glowed with newfound power.

Issei: "IT BUUUUUURNS!!!"

Ichigo: "I CAN FEEL EVERY CELL IN MY BODY BREAKING AND REBUILDING!!!"

In the background, Naruto's voice was calm and collected.

"Pain is temporary. Power is eternal. Stop whining."

Then, cut to the next scene—Ichigo and Issei, half-conscious and twitching, their eyes blank as they lay on the floor.

The final frame? Naruto sipping tea while watching them suffer.

Naruto: "You should have just forgotten about it and trained like a nice kid, but you had to question me."

Hybrid (Ichigo): "…What have you done?"

Ichigo then sent a meme of a man with a shocked expression, as if realizing the depths of his mistake.

As the group chat buzzed with constant activity, the conversation took a serious turn when Glutton (Toriko) voiced his concerns.

Glutton (Toriko): "Joking aside, I feel that things are moving too fast. I only had the phone for just two days, and when I came back after an hour, it seems like a lot happened."

A moment of silence followed before Naruto casually explained.

Emperor of Mankind (Naruto): "All our worlds have different time flows, except for a few of us whose timelines coincide."

Don (Tsuna) was the first to question this strange phenomenon.

Don (Tsuna): "Then how do we talk to each other so naturally?"

Neo One For All (Izuku): [Question emoji]

Others followed, waiting for an explanation.

Then came Naruto's answer, one that sent a shiver down their spines.

Emperor of Mankind (Naruto): "The phone is a connection to me, and through it, I affect the world around you as my presence bleeds into your universe."

A cold silence took over the chat.

Hybrid (Ichigo): "That sounds… ominous."

Neo One For All (Izuku): "Agreed. That sounded like something a villain would say."

Emperor of Mankind (Naruto): "I know, but it's the truth."

Even with Naruto's casual tone, the weight of his words was not lost on anyone.

Hybrid (Ichigo): "But what does that mean?"

Naruto's next words were nothing short of terrifying.

Emperor of Mankind (Naruto): "It means I will end up controlling your universe if there is no competition. For now, I just align the time for all of us when you hold the phone and operate it."

It took exactly one second before Glutton (Toriko) responded.

Glutton (Toriko): "HORY SHIT, ARE YOU SERIOUS, BRO?"

The chat was dead silent for a moment, everyone processing what Naruto had just revealed.

Hybrid (Ichigo): "You're saying… if you wanted, you could just take over our worlds?"

Neo One For All (Izuku): "Wait, wait, wait. Are you messing with us right now, or is this an actual possibility?"

Naruto didn't immediately respond, almost as if he wanted them to think about it. Then his reply came, casual yet undeniably heavy.

Emperor of Mankind (Naruto): "I'm not messing with you. This is just the nature of my power. If I'm connected to something, my influence will slowly seep into it. If nothing pushes back, I will eventually rule it."

Silent Beast (Gohan): "...That's... kinda scary."

Don (Tsuna): "Kinda? Bro, that's terrifying. Imagine waking up one day and realizing Naruto's laws control our universe."

Golden Fox (Yasaka): "My lord, you could have phrased that differently. This makes you sound like an eldritch horror."

Death of the Endless (Didi): "I mean... he kinda is, isn't he? No offense, Naruto."

Emperor of Mankind (Naruto): "None taken."

Glutton (Toriko): "Bruh, is this why we understand each other even though we speak different languages? Your 'presence' just overrides reality?"

Emperor of Mankind (Naruto): "Pretty much. I make it so that you all hear my language as your own. The longer you use the phone, the more your world shifts towards my standard."

Hybrid (Ichigo): "This is giving me some serious final boss vibes."

Oppai Dragon (Issei): "Wait, does that mean my world is already changing?!"

Emperor of Mankind (Naruto): "A little bit, yeah. Nothing major unless I actively push for it."

Neo One For All (Izuku): "Define 'nothing major' please."

Emperor of Mankind (Naruto): "For example, the more you interact with me, the more your world's 'power scale' adjusts to match mine. If I leave it alone, the process will be slow, but if I want, I can change your world's entire system overnight."

Hybrid (Ichigo): "Okay. This is beyond broken. We're talking about reality-bending at a cosmic level."

Silent Beast (Gohan): "So, Naruto… have you done this before?"

Emperor of Mankind (Naruto): "Not fully. I've only adjusted certain places to match my standards. If I had fully taken over a world, you would no longer call it your own."

Another wave of silence hit the chat.

Glutton (Toriko): "We should be thankful he's not actually a villain."

Don (Tsuna): "Yeah, because if he was, we'd all be doomed."

Hybrid (Ichigo): "Actually, hold up. Does that mean your empire is expanding every time we interact with you?"

Emperor of Mankind (Naruto): "Yes. But don't worry, it's not like I plan to make you all my subjects."

Oppai Dragon (Issei): "I feel like you kinda already have, though..."

Golden Fox (Yasaka): "I find it romantic that my lord's presence is so powerful it reshapes reality itself."

Hybrid (Ichigo): "Yasaka, please. We're having an existential crisis here."

Neo One For All (Izuku): "So what happens if someone tries to resist your influence?"

Emperor of Mankind (Naruto): "They would have to be strong enough to push my presence back. Otherwise, my influence would simply continue spreading until it becomes the dominant force."

Death of the Endless (Didi): "Sounds like a universal infection."

Emperor of Mankind (Naruto): "You make it sound so bad."

Silent Beast (Gohan): "…So uh, what do we do with this information?"

Glutton (Toriko): "Pray."

Don (Tsuna): "And train, just in case."

Hybrid (Ichigo): "I don't even know if training will help against something like this..."

Oppai Dragon (Issei): "I suddenly feel very, very small."

Emperor of Mankind (Naruto): "Relax. It's not like I'm going to take over your worlds. I have more important things to do."

Silent Beast (Gohan): "That doesn't exactly make it better, you know?"

The chat continued in a mix of panic, jokes, and disbelief. Meanwhile, Naruto sat atop Kurama's head, watching the night sky with an amused smirk.

Kurama: "You know you scared them, right?"

Naruto: "Of course. But hey, it's better they know now rather than later."

Kurama sighed, shaking his head.

Kurama: "You really do enjoy messing with them, don't you?"

Naruto: "Only a little."

The chat continued buzzing with arguments, theories, and panic, while Naruto simply leaned back, enjoying the chaos he had unleashed.