Consciousness Space, Exchange Items

After everything had finally settled down, Toji found himself once again drifting into the white void of his consciousness space.

In the Naruto world, everyone technically has one. Think of it like a mental apartment—two bedrooms, one living room, plain white everywhere. For most people, this space is pretty basic. The doors are open, everything flows smoothly, and the "main consciousness" has full control. they just don't know any of it at all well except for the jinchuricki's

But for people with more going on—split personalities, sealed beasts, or systems like Toji—this space gets a little more complicated. 

In those cases, the "extra rooms" in the consciousness space can hold other personalities or entities. Normally, they stay locked up unless the host is unconscious, mentally overloaded, or emotionally shut down. Then, depending on the situation, the doors open, and someone else takes the reins.

Toji, of course, wasn't exactly "normal" anymore.

Thanks to the system bound to him, he had full access to his own consciousness space—and even more than that, he could link it to Naruto's. It let him slide in like a secondary personality and even control when Naruto entered this shared space. He could open and close those mental doors however he wanted.

He could've just walked up to Naruto's inner world, knocked on the door, and said hi. But he hadn't—on purpose.

Toji didn't want Naruto to recognize his "voice" in real life. If Naruto ever figured out who was whispering in his head all these years, the game would be over. Naruto trusted that voice. If Toji showed his face, Naruto might obey him blindly.

And that would ruin the entire plan.

The goal wasn't obedience.

It was corruption.

Naruto had to fall on his own terms—not because he was tricked or commanded, but because the world itself drove him there. That's what made it real.

So, for years, Toji had only spoken to Naruto as a voice in his mind—an invisible ally, always just out of reach.

And as always, time in this space worked differently. What felt like hours in here passed in an instant in the real world. Like the time he walked Naruto through his sealed inner world and had him meet Kurama… and Minato. Long scene, deep impact—but blink and you'd miss it in reality.

This time, Toji wasn't here to play mentor.

He had points to spend.

Big ones.

The system had given him some serious blackening rewards after pushing Naruto further down the path. But the item he wanted to exchange for couldn't exist in the physical world. It would be too obvious—too fragile, too easy to trace in this type of world.

And besides, he'd been saving his points up until now for emergencies. He needed to make sure he stayed alive long enough to actually see his plans through.

But now… it was time.

He opened the system menu:

[System Interface]

Host: TojiTarget for Corruption: Uzumaki NarutoSoul Value: 6/40Darkening Level: 8%Blackening Points: 39,000Mall: [OPEN]

Naruto's soul had strengthened with each emotional blow—rising from 5 to 6 in under a month. But that also made him harder to twist. Toji was starting to realize turning Naruto into a true villain was going to take more than pain and isolation.

He needed intel.

He scrolled through the system store, ignoring the flashy jutsu and exotic tools. What he needed was surveillance. Insight. Control.

And there it was.The infamous crystal ball of Sarutobi Hiruzen—paired with the Telescope Technique.

Every Naruto fan knew this thing. It could spy on anyone in the village, so long as you had their chakra signature. People joked about how much Hiruzen used it for, uh, "non-professional purposes."

Toji wasn't interested in peeping.

Okay—maybe one peek. For research. ONLY

But seriously, this was about strategy. Knowing who was doing what, when, and where could mean the difference between shaping Naruto's future and falling into someone else's trap.

Toji hesitated.

8,000 points felt… suspiciously cheap for something this powerful.

Still, he clicked "purchase."

In the blink of an eye, a glowing crystal ball appeared in his consciousness, resting on a small velvet pillow.

He gave it a test run.

Konoha's streets? Crystal clear.

The academy courtyard? Sharp resolution.

The market district? Perfect audio, too.

The hot springs?

...

Let's just say it worked too well.

Cough. Anyway—

After flipping through a few screens, Toji finally understood why the price was low.

It had limits, just like any other jutsu.

You had to know someone's chakra signature to find them.

You couldn't see inside protected areas—like the Uchiha compound or Root's hidden base. probably because of sealing jutsu

And basically, most major clans had anti-surveillance seals in place.

Ah. So that's why Hiruzen didn't catch Danzo doing shady stuff.

But here's the kicker:

Toji had something the Third Hokage didn't.

A system.

A cheat

And systems could fix everything.

So, he did the obvious thing—spent another 5,000 points to upgrade the crystal ball. Just like that, the range expanded. No chakra signatures needed. The fog over blocked locations cleared. Hidden compounds, secret hideouts—he could see it all now.

The next upgrade would cost 25,000 points, but for now, this was enough.

With intel secured, it was time to move to phase two: power.

He couldn't stay weak forever. If things really hit the fan, he needed to be able to protect himself—and more importantly, stay in the game long enough to win.

And right now, the board was wide open.