It's finally here! Welcome to the start of my next really big Naruto project, Boruto: Online! I've been really excited to get this started since Eleven Fifty-Four ended. This is the first work I've done in quite some time that didn't have romantic elements, and the first one to have a T rating as well. :P Knowing me, this could very well change to M later, but for right now, the plan is to keep this story T-rated and emphasize more action-packed, adventurous elements.

The prologue took me quite some time to get through. It was hard finding a start to the story that I liked, but I'm finally happy with the end result, and I hope you enjoy it as well! It's a bit short, but it's just a prologue. Subsequent chapters will be a bit longer, especially once we start getting deep into the game.

Yes, this is a gamefic. Inspired by other games with a somewhat similar formula, I've decided to try it out for myself. It seemed like it'd be fun to write, and all the ideas I'm having for this story are definitely encouraging. Tell me what you think and how I might be able to improve along the way! Reviews are even more encouraging!

This story will be peppered with little references to other games. A fun little challenge for you, readers: there's a couple of references just in this chapter. Read carefully and see if you can find them. :D

"Ladies and gentlemen, gamers worldwide, we are minutes away from ushering in a new era of gaming. That's right; in just a few minutes, at noon today, the premiere patch of Chronicles of Nin: Unlimited Quest will go live, and owners of the state-of-the-art Bacharugan headset will be able to jump right in, create their own character, and join thousands of other players across the globe as they fight and explore together in a fully immersive virtual world!"

Even with his eyes and ears mostly trained toward the MOBA before his eyes, Boruto could still hear the chatter of the too-excited male announcer on TV, reiterating the same hype that most of the gaming community had been being fed for almost two whole years now, about Chronicles of Nin: Unlimited Quest, 'the game to end all games'.

Quietly developed with experimental technology for quite a few years even before its first public appearance as a concept, according to the developers, this 'latest and greatest' installment in the popular Chronicles of Nin franchise, by and large Boruto's favorite series of games, was the first of its kind.

"It is a game unlike any that have come before it," the lead developer, Akari Nara, had said during his first interview. "The details of our exact methods will remain secret, of course, but what I can say is that, using a massive and complex array of genjutsu carefully integrated into our systems and hardware, we have created the ultimate gaming experience."

Needless to say, Boruto and the group of friends he often played online with after training or missions, had been keeping track of this game for quite some time. It was among the premiere software being released that was compatible with another of Akari Nara's revolutionary inventions: the Bacharugan, Virtual Eye Headset, and it was by far the most anticipated and talked-about.

Much of the game's plot was kept under wraps, but from the various screenshots, trailers, and other interviews, a lot of research into the world's greatest battles and wars went into the game's development, and the plot represents an alternate telling of history, implying that Unlimited Quest might be the first Chronicles of Nin game to take place in a realistic setting and not the fictional continent featured in other games.

"Remind me again why I'm listening to this?" Boruto spoke into his headset, the red-haired caster-nin he was playing as clearing a lane of enemy ninja minions with a single Fireball Jutsu as they charged the Left First Gate. He hung back to watch the poor, underleveled sod opposing him in his lane backpedal as he dealt with the oncoming mobs with a roll of his eyes. "We've heard all this 'state-of-the-art', 'fully immersive' hype before. What's different?"

"You're giving their left-laner pity EXP? So disrespectful, Bolt," Shikadai's voice snickered. "What are you doing, Yodo? Stay at R1G."

Boruto glanced up at his map, noticing the player dot in the right lane starting to pull into the middle lane, stopping, then heading back to the Right First Gate.

"Ugh, why are we farming these crabs and playing so defensively? They have no gates left, and their Gatekeeper base is defenseless since they're so behind," complained the voice of Shikadai's cousin. "We could have won this five minutes ago."

"Because Shikadai is a point whore who's hungry for a perfect win with no gate damage," Inojin's voice chimed in matter-of-factly.

"Hey, I'm not a point whore!" Shikadai scoffed in retort. "There's nothing wrong with going for style. Perfect win opportunities are so rare, even against average players like these."

"No one has answered my question yet…" Boruto sighed, shaking his head as he took notice of two incoming enemy players for a gank attempt. "Left lane incoming… I'll need some help if I'm gonna beat these guys without letting them touch the gate."

"I gotcha."

Just as two enemy players leaped from the jungle into the lane, a barrage of senbon began to rain from the trees as well, forcing them to immediately stop and retreat as it quickly drained their health.

Another player sprang from the jungle and landed in front of Boruto's character, an assassin-nin with black garbs and a white porcelain mask. No sustain, but all skillshots and traps, a very devastating, but difficult ninja to play as, without superb technical skill. Luckily, Boruto didn't need to worry about that; Sarada was playing this character.

"You guys need to stop chit-chatting and focus so we don't screw this up!" Sarada scolded. "The lead developer has some final words for the players before launch, Boruto. That's why we're all listening in."

Boruto glanced at the corner of his screen. "Well, there's only six minutes left until launch… I vote we finish this quick."

He scrolled through his chat options for a moment, finally throwing up a ready-check for the rest of his team:

.: XxInsaneBoltxX :. has initialized a ready check:

"VICE Maneuver?"

.: CommanDEER :. : _

.: Y0doKom0do :. : _

.: SaladGirl404 :. : _

.: Inojin :. : _

Within a few seconds, check marks popped into view for all four of his fellow teammates, and Boruto smirked. "Alright, let's show'em why we've been the #1-ranked War of Walls team for three seasons in a row."

Boruto and Sarada's characters advanced forward, decimating the enemy minions and causing heavy damage to the two enemy players in their lane. As they began to retreat backwards, Boruto used his second ability to wall off the lane's path and force them to take a side route into the jungle and toward the middle lane. He watched his map as he gave chase, seeing Yodo's character moving backwards towards their team's base, while Inojin and Shikadai began pushing their own opponents into the middle lane.

Just as planned, they had sparked a four-on-five teamfight on the enemy's side of the middle lane, and even though they were outnumbered, they were holding their own well, especially considering they had the level advantage. Sarada kept wisely out of the melee and poked at the enemy with poisoned senbon. Shikadai led most of the fighting with the insurmountable health pool of his toad ninja character and Boruto backed him up with a large damaging presence. Inojin kept the team sustained with support through healing, his character being a stereotypical medic-nin, wearing a surgical mask with white garbs and wielding syringes in place of kunai and shuriken.

"Ult charging, three seconds," Yodo announced, and Boruto and Inojin both acted quickly, with Boruto casting his third ability to cast a slowing area of effect spell on the ground, and Inojin's character using one of his own abilities to instantly swap places with one of his teammates, in this case, Yodo.

The moment Inojin made the switch, Yodo's ultimate ability had finished charging, allowing her to unleash a large burst of chakra in a circular area around her. Boruto, Shikadai and Sarada wisely jumped out of range, conscious of the friendly-fire capabilities of the chakra bomb. The other team, slowed down by Boruto's previous attack, wasn't so lucky. All five of the enemy players, unable to get out of the way in time, were vaporized, a simultaneous penta-kill, and a perfect execution of the VICE Maneuver.

"Ha! Who says that move's for gate damage?" Yodo cheered into her headset, her character doing a quick dance animation before they all regrouped and stormed through their enemy's shattered gates.

"Time for your ult, Bolt. Let's rush down their Gatekeeper while they're all respawning and seal this perfect win," Shikadai ordered.

"Yeah, yeah," Boruto muttered, glancing off-screen at the TV as he triggered his own ultimate ability with just a few clicks, casting a buff on the four of them which increased damage and attack speed, and brought the enemy gatekeeper from 100% health to zero in less than a quarter-minute, before any of their opponents even had a chance to respawn, sealing their victory with fanfare.

"Hopefully, Unlimited Quest will be more challenging than this," Boruto commented once they were taken back to the game lobby. And with nothing else to focus on, he turned his full attention to the television.

"The dev's on!" Boruto realized with an excited grin. "Everyone shut up!"

Sitting on screen with his signature casual stance and neutral, cryptic expression was Akari Nara. Best known as the father of the Chronicles of Nin franchise, he was also responsible for many other highly-successful games following his departure from the Leaf Village to form his own company, Entertainment, and construct his own development studio along the eastern shore of the Land of Fire's borders.

Like most Nara men, he was tall and lean, his dark hair held back in a short, loose ponytail. He wore thick-rimmed glasses over dark, narrow eyes, with the logo – a power button symbol used in place of the dot in ' ' – etched into one arm of the frames. He was dressed simply, in a simple green shirt and black pants with a black labcoat, also carrying the logo.

"Mr. Nara, your game, your greatest work yet, is mere minutes away from being flooded with excited gamers from all over the world. For those players who don't know, tell us what we're going to expect logging in for the first time," the announcer asked.

"Firstly," Akari started, clearing his throat. "Keep very aware that this game is more than a game. It is an experience. Games of yesterday, even those that have tried to flimsily simulate virtual reality, have only been able to appeal to the eyes and ears. Chronicles of Nin: Unlimited Quest appeals to all five senses, in a way that is closer to reality than any game before it. Eating and drinking will feel like eating and drinking as it restores your health and chakra. Being hurt or wounded will cause you to feel something close to pain. The situations you will find yourself in as you quest through this fully-immersive ninja world will seem real. But keep in mind: they aren't."

Akari leaned forward in his seat a little, wearing an expression as serious as he's ever appeared. "Players. Before you log into Chronicles of Nin: Unlimited Quest for the first time, take a long, deep breath and take a long, hard look at your surroundings. Immerse yourselves freely in the game, but keep your thoughts somewhat anchored to the real world as well. This game can't hurt you. But if you think it will, that's just as bad."

Boruto furrowed his brows and rolled his eyes. He might not have been lucky enough to beta-test the game like Shikadai was, but he was confident he could tell the difference between what was real and what wasn't without being careful about it, or whatever he was talking about.

"Secondly," Akari continued, returning to his casual stance just as quickly as his personality had taken a serious turn. "There are no guidebooks to success in this game, no rigidly defined classes that must follow a specific pattern of moves in order to maximize their potential, no essential weapons or gear that are required to succeed in the top tiers or highest levels. Unlimited Quest is a skill-based game. As high as your level and as rare as your gear, you will only be as good as you are."

Boruto smirked. It was reassuring to hear that, and it made him that much more determined to become the best at it. He took a quick glance over toward the shelf of other games over his bed as well as his handheld, and the myriad of icons and shortcuts on his computer screen. Old conquests. He was more excited than ever to step into this new territory, and it killed him that he had to wait four more minutes.

"And finally," Akira's voice drew Boruto's attention back toward the television. "There is an entire world of content in Unlimited Quest, a nearly endless land to explore and countless unique secrets to discover in well-hidden nooks, which will only spawn once, and can only be used by the first person to find them. But the biggest secret, and the greatest challenge, lies at the end of the line, with the highest-tier boss currently in the game. To the first party of players in the world who manages to defeat the final, end-tier boss, untold wealth, power, and greatness awaits in-game, and to some extent, outside of the game as well. I would share more, but… it's untold for a reason."

Akira winked at the camera before glancing up and away, off-screen. "I hope you all are ready. You'll all be free to experience the beginning of a new era of gaming in only two minutes and forty-seven seconds."

"Target acquired, guys," Boruto said with a grin. "We know what we're shooting for! For sure, we're about to be the best team of players ever!" He rose to his feet and shut off his television, moving toward his computer and quickly bringing up the launcher for the game. "Use the face scan; don't waste any time in character creation. We need to meet up immediately and start leveling like crazy. We should be close to the level cap by the end of the week, alright?"

Shikadai snickered into his mic as Boruto watched the Bacharugan glow to life. It was a curious little headset with lit nodes and panels along the inside of the padded metal and plastic cap, rounded cups over the ears, and a glowing visor over the eyes. Just like all products, glowing blue power button symbols decorated the ear cups.

"I thought you were keeping up with this game, Bolt. First of all, there is no level cap. Second, we can't meet up immediately because the tutorial is supposed to be single-player," Shikadai explained.

"You've beta-tested this, cous'," Yodo started. "What's the quickest way through the tutorial?"

"No idea. The tutorial wasn't part of the beta-test. What I tested was just a separate demo, I think. Which makes sense. Wouldn't want beta-testers having too much of an unfair advantage."

"Thirty seconds," Inojin announced. "See you inside, guys."

Inojin has disconnected.

"Let's try to enjoy ourselves as we play." Shikadai advised. "Our road to the top doesn't have to be a blitz, Bolt. And not everything needs to be taken so seriously, Sarada. Seeya inside, cousin."

CommanDEER has disconnected.

Y0doKom0do has disconnected.

"You ready for this?" Sarada asked as Boruto loaded the game's launcher. "If this is really a skill-based simulation of something close to reality, our skills as a ninja could really come in handy and give us the advantage."

"I was thinking the same thing," he agreed with a nod. "And I'm more than ready. Just try to keep up with me, Salad Girl."

"Remember who's who, Blunder-Bolt. We agreed I'm going for the tank role. I'm covering your ass."

SaladGirl404 has disconnected.

Just at that moment, the clock struck noon, and the 'Play' button was finally clickable. With excitement running through his impatient fingers, Boruto launched the game, skipped the opening sequence, and took in the sight of the title screen. The name of the game, 'Chronicles of Nin: Unlimited Quest', was prominent, with the symbol of the fictional Land of Nin behind it. The scene behind the title was an aerial view of a cloudy sky, overlooking a war-torn continent that looked noticeably to Boruto like the actual ninja world. Maybe this was the first Nin game to take place in a realistic setting…

"Guess I'll see when I play," Boruto muttered as he moved to click 'Start'.

"Hey, bro! I need help!"

Hearing his sister's voice gave Boruto immediate pause, and annoyance briefly flashed across his bright blue eyes before he turned his head to look at Himawari, standing in his doorway and holding the gamepad for the console set up in the living room. Like Sarada, Himawari had only recently gotten into playing video games in her spare time. Unlike Sarada, Himawari wasn't very good at them.

The few times they invited her to play War of Walls when Yodo wasn't available were disastrous. She didn't have the mind for serious competitive gaming, and what typically saved her from being yelled out by Shikadai or Sarada was the fact that Boruto wouldn't have tolerated it, and Himawari's attitude, even when she was losing badly, was just too positive to be really mad at her without being uncomfortable with yourself.

"I'm trying to learn a new character that just came out in Ultra Clash Brethren. She's sooo cute, but is really hard to use! Can you help- Oh! Did Unlimited Quest come out today?"

"Yeah," Boruto responded quickly, trying to finish up the conversation as quickly and politely as possible. "I was just about to start playing and trying it out. Maybe I can help you with Clash later?"

Himawari nodded her head. "Maybe you can help me set up the Bacharugan later, too. I really want to play it with you guys!"

The thought of Himawari trying to play this game, if it was truly skill-based, made him cringe inwardly. He replied with a smile, however. "Maybe, sure. We're going to be moving pretty fast through the game, though. We won't have time to enjoy all the sights until later."

"Aw, well that's no fun," Hima pouted.

"We're one of the best gaming teams in the world, sis; we have a reputation to uphold. Don't worry about it, though. I'm sure that within a week, we'll have beaten the final boss, boosted our fame in the gaming community, and then you can play with us all you like. I'm about to start this up, so I'll talk to you later," Boruto told her, looking back at his screen.

"Alright, bro! Have fun," he heard her call as he clicked 'Start' on the main menu.

Welcome to Chronicles of Nin: Unlimited Quest.

The soothing, synthesized female voice in Boruto's ears made him lift a brow and smirk as he was taken to a new screen with two options, 'Character Creation' and 'Face Scan'.

Please choose how you would like to build your in-game avatar. 'Character Creation' allows you to decide your character's appearance manually. 'Face Scan' will make use of the Bacharugan's capabilities and base your character's appearance on yo-

Boruto quickly chose the 'Face Scan' option, and the screen slowly faded to black, all except for a simple glowing blue logo in the center.

Warning: While the Bacharugan headset is in use, your body will sit still in a trance-like state that cannot easily be broken. You will be automatically alerted in-game if there is a significant change in your immediate surroundings. Take a few moments to assure that you are secure and comfortable where you are sitting or lay-

Ple-

If-

Th-

N-

Wh-

Boruto rapidly pressed the space bar, skipping through much of the introductory spiel that the game was giving him.

"It's just a game; how many warnings do I need?" he muttered to himself, skipping through the voice clips until he hears the one he wants to.

Please put on your Bacharugan headset now.

"Finally…" Boruto sighed, placing the comfortable device on his head and securing its locks and straps. At first, he was immersed immediately in disorienting darkness, but there began a humming in his ears, and a countdown began before his eyes.

10 seconds to immersion…

Every passing second, the humming grew in intensity, lights began moving in wireframe patterns before his eyes, a curious… mechanical odor and flavor touched his nose and tongue, and brief tingles began racing down his neck. In the distance, a bright light seemed to be racing toward him in the darkness, coming closer with each passing second.

Sensory attunement complete. 5 seconds to immersion…

4…

3…

2…

1…

Enjoy.

And Boruto lost consciousness.

And there you have it! The start of something amazing! Hopefully. :3 As of now, the second chapter is currently about halfway done, and will very likely be going up next week! I'm going to try to hold myself to weekly updates, especially since this semester of college is coming to an end and I'll have a lot more free time opening up soon. Look forward to that. :D

In your review, if you decide to leave one, tell me what your favorite game is! My favorite game right now is Super Smash Brothers for the Wii U. Binding of Isaac is a close second. Both games are so addictive!

I hope you all enjoyed this prologue; leave a fave, a follow, and/or a review if you did!

~M.H.C~

May all your~

Hearts beat with~

Calamity~!

Till next time!