I'm Inside Naruto Manga

As the music started playing, a few people in formal attire were led through a special passage by badge-wearing staff into the rest area behind the exhibition stage.

David and Nicholas started dancing excitedly after hearing the energetic music, "Isn't this the OP song for Naruto's October Anime!?"

From several dozen meters away, Logan's eyes scanned over the crowd, clearly capturing the faces of the men entering the backstage. He had seen their photos before, as these were the Japanese representatives working with the domestic company to promote the Anime.

After the OP song ended, the host appeared on stage. Just as Logan was about to look away, he spotted a familiar figure.

It's the pretty girl he had run into at the Doujinshi area yesterday.

Because the other party almost 'recognized' him, Logan had a strong impression of her. He watched as she, dressed in a cute yet revealing outfit, and another companion were led into the rest area by a staff member.

'Is she a performing cosplayer?' Logan mused. However, despite looking at the schedule for the whole event, he never saw anything about cosplayers taking stage.

"Oh, this OP is really good!" Nicholas remarked as he looked at the bustling stage.

David nodded in agreement. He wiped the sweat from under his forehead protector. Even with fewer people, it was still hot. The fan group stood near the area selling Naruto merchandise, not far from the stage.

Sophia curiously picked up a kunai, which was obviously a highly refined prop of the same proportion. She also examined several shurikens, while Julia grabbed a few explosive tags covered in scribbles, reveling in their nerdy fun.

There was a wall where fans could throw kunai and shuriken. The soft black weapons embedded themselves in the wall, and the staff stayed well away from the enthusiastic fans, some of whom theatrically tucked the kunai into their belts before dramatically throwing them, almost missing the wall entirely.

After a brief internal battle with their embarrassment, the fan group's members excitedly joined in the fun. Logan watched as David, with a serious expression, gripped a kunai in reverse and shouted a line from the show before tossing the prop, only to hit his own chin. Logan tried his best to hold his laugh.

"Damn it, I knew those drawn poses were fake. And jumping from tree to tree with hands behind your back? Not scientific! Not scientific at all!" David explained with a blushing face amidst Julia and Sophia's laughter.

Logan casually picked up a prop from the table. It had some weight to it. The target wall was no more than five meters away, and the large bullseye painted on it seemed easy to hit, yet few managed to do so.

With a flick of his wrist, Logan threw the prop, which firmly embedded itself in the bullseye, standing out among the other attempts that barely grazed the smallest concentric circles.

Seeing this, a staff member quickly brought over a prize. Logan accepted the surprised looks calmly, even feeling a bit embarrassed. After all, he didn't enjoy being the center of attention from doing such a simple thing.

David, feeling competitive, claimed Logan was just lucky and that his own well-prepared 'hercules arm' could easily win a prize. However, his next throw barely stuck to the wall. This time, Logan didn't hold back and joined the fan club in teasing him.

"Is this the real level of your 'hercules arm'?"

Amidst the laughter, they were surrounded by many cosplayers, colorful posters, and a shared sense of camaraderie. When picking up manga, they could see the same passion in the eyes of strangers, and the cute headgear others wore brought mutual shy smiles. The beautiful elements of the work called out to them, bringing them here.

In the intense atmosphere of the convention, Logan felt a resurgence of the joy he had when he first discovered the ACGN culture. In the steel jungle and the dull, monotonous environment, finding a whole new world to explore was as refreshing as ever. It made him laugh and cry, and the sensation of opening a door to a sunlit world flooding his heart with warmth was an indescribable, unforgettable joy.

Suddenly, the lights dimmed, and the stage began the synchronized premiere of the new Naruto October Anime.

The curtain lifted, and the crowd moved closer to watch. Logan saw the incredibly familiar first episode being played out in a more refined form before him. The joy of seeing him in the screen for the first time became more intense. The graffiti chase, the loneliness under the swing, the scenery softening to hardness frame by frame, and 'Wakiagaru Toushi' started playing. Naruto's dedicated battle BGM still stirred up passion. He thought of many names like 'Heaven-Shaking Event' and 'Silhouette', starting from Konoha and returning to the epic battle at the Valley of the End. The scenes flashed by, and at some point, he even saw his own appearance in the storyline.

'I had become part of this story.' As the credits rolled, listing the production staff, Logan came back to his senses.

The lights came back on, and after a brief moment of silence, the crowd erupted into enthusiastic applause. The fans were deeply captivated by the extended 48-minute episode.

"Another 'shut up and watch' Anime is born." David clapped his hands and murmured.

Seventeen years after its original popularity, the animation production company hadn't wasted their resources. Logan couldn't see any of the poor quality that plagued older series, which now seemed so outdated. The battle scenes had already prompted many fans to shout, 'They're burning the budget.'

With the advancement of technology, it is reasonable to invest in high-quality production. After Logan's initial complex emotions subsided, he felt a sense of peace. Witnessing this premiere allowed him to nostalgically revisit his childhood in a magical way. Even if he had come just out of idle curiosity, it was worth it.

However, Logan hadn't expected to actually win a prize.

"Then, let's move on to the next segment. Oh, it's a mysterious, unannounced activity..." The host teased the audience, who were tiptoeing and craning their necks in anticipation. After the explanation, they realized that it was actually the somewhat cliche activity of selecting audience members for onstage interaction. The host's pitch rose as she began calling out the numbers.

"What numbers?" David said, looking bewildered as he listened to the host. Despite being an old timer, getting picked and winning a figurine or a limited-edition item would still be great.

"Idiot, didn't you look carefully at the poster at the entrance?" Julia said, "It's the forehead protector! There're prizes for participating in the activities!"

'There were indeed overpriced forehead protectors being sold at the entrance...' David touched the cheap product on his own forehead. He obviously didn't buy it on the spot, so it didn't have a number. "Damn it, so it's all about spending money!"

"If you had better aim with the shuriken, you could've won. Too bad your 'hercules arm' isn't up to par." Julia covered her mouth and sneered. Then, she thought of something, and suddenly everyone in the group turned their eyes to Logan.

"Hey, what are you looking at me for?" Logan said and picked up the prize he had just received. Sure enough, there was a number sticker on it. He sighed and showed it to everyone, "It's not like I'd be that lucky..."

"Next is number 48! Let's welcome this lucky fan ~"

David and the others' expressions froze.

"Is number 48 here? If you have this number, please raise your hand. A staff member will bring you up..."

Seeing everyone's expressions, Logan felt a sense of impending doom, 'No way, right…'

"Here, here! Number 48 is right here!" David was excited and overjoyed. He grabbed Logan's hand and held it up high.