There was no doubt—Uchiha Kei was putting pressure on his good brother.
He couldn't help it. It's always easier to push others than yourself. If the people around him weren't strong enough, wouldn't they just get blasted into pieces by some terrifying enemy in the future?
Besides, even if Uchiha Kei wanted to push himself, it was no use. After strengthening himself through the system, he tried training on his own again and quickly realized that his strength had improved, but that didn't mean his talent had.
His talent was still the same as before—hard work paid off, but not by much, and the upper limit was clearly visible.
Still the same conclusion: instead of grinding through training, it was better to complete system missions and let others generate more Emotion Points so he could keep dumping them into Deep Blue points.
Of course, Kei wasn't sharing this information with his good brother just to stress him out—it also felt like the right time to reveal more secrets.
After all, the villainous final boss of Shippuden, Madara Uchiha, was now completely absorbed in his two-person world with "Muzi," acting like "Even though the Eye of the Moon Plan is important, spending time with Konoha is also OK."
To such a Madara, Kei gave full respect and trust—as long as things continued at this pace, once the timing was right, he could reveal the truth about Black Zetsu and the Eye of the Moon Plan. At that point, Madara wouldn't even have to fully believe it; just a little doubt would be enough to dig out Black Zetsu's secret.
So now, Kei wasn't worried about Madara anymore.
With the threat of that final boss out of the way, he could reveal even deeper secrets hidden in the Shinobi World.
This way, even though they knew more, Namikaze Minato and the others wouldn't develop that "the enemy is gone, now we can enjoy peace" attitude like Sima Yan.
Sure, there were still other nations in the Shinobi World, but honestly, with Konoha's current pace of development, if they kept growing for another two and a half years, they could steamroll the entire Shinobi World without any pressure.
Basically, the moment the Strategic Deception Bureau successfully misled the other villages, Kei stopped worrying about them. Their only real chance to crush Konoha was now—and they missed it. By using outdated thinking to analyze today's Konoha, their defeat was inevitable.
Then again, you couldn't really blame them. Before entering the industrial era, human wars were full of examples of the weak defeating the strong, the few defeating the many. Konoha's strength hadn't yet exceeded their understanding—at least, not on the surface.
Given that, they naturally relied on historical experience to interpret the present, believing Konoha had declined and would continue to decline. Sure, they'd get richer, but also weaker.
After all, even though the history of the Shinobi World was vague, over a thousand years, many similar cases had occurred. When you have history to reference, you're bound to rely on it.
But in a Shinobi World still playing by agrarian-age rules, Konoha secretly switching to the industrial-age script was destined to write a new chapter in history.
———
"Did you hear? A new game is launching soon. This time, it's a truly brand-new game with a massive scope."
"I know, I know! It's called a real-time strategy game, right?"
"Yeah, that's the one! I don't really get it, but it sounds awesome!"
"Real-time strategy… that means it's about war, right?"
"No kidding. The game's name is *Shinobi World War*."
"Shinobi World War… that doesn't sound like something to be happy about…"
"Definitely not. The Shinobi World Wars… It's terrifying. It's been over ten years since the last one, right? At this rate, the next one could be just around the corner... sigh."
"Come on, does thinking about that help? Whether another war breaks out isn't something small fry like us can decide. All we can do is live our own lives."
"Heh, maybe not! This new game could make us into big shots!"
"Huh? Explain."
"I heard it from my neighbor's sister-in-law's cousin's friend. In this game, you don't just play as a person—you control an entire faction!"
Suddenly, so-called insider news spread everywhere. People who were already used to the existence of Genjutsu Games were eagerly discussing the new game, full of excitement.
Even though only promotional posters, game genres, and plot previews had been released, the previous Genjutsu Games had already earned people's full trust. To the still-backwards Shinobi World, every Genjutsu Game was a classic, a masterpiece, a life-defining experience.
The idea that "Genjutsu Games are always high quality" had deeply taken root in everyone's mind.
Of course, once Uchiha Kei released development rights to others, allowing more talented individuals to create games, that belief would naturally be shaken. After all, with more games, quality would vary, but that was just a necessary step in the industry's evolution.
Still, for Kei, that wasn't a bad thing. Although bad games could be annoying, diversity is what makes an industry thrive.
Besides, Kei hadn't established an official brand yet because there was no need. All the legit Genjutsu Games were his, and all the 18+ ones were made by Jiraiya.
Just the two of them, and the Genjutsu Games were already associated with the Konoha Game Association. So having or not having a brand didn't matter.
When the time came to open access and let others join the industry, then he could establish his personal brand.
Also...
Don't forget, Kei himself was a gamer. Even though he played his own games, as a player, trying games made by others was also extremely fun.
Kei hoped to one day enjoy games made by others and looked forward to someone becoming a super game developer, so he too could enjoy a top-tier masterpiece.
Most importantly, the Mental Network always belonged to Kei, and all Genjutsu Games were built on top of its functionality. That meant that even after opening up game development, as long as those games were released to the public, Kei could still earn Emotion Points from them. It's just that he could only collect 30% of those points, and they couldn't be used to complete official system-issued missions.
So no matter how you looked at it, Kei was winning—completely dominating!
And so, the launch event for the new game was scheduled.
This time, there was no rush. The release conference was set a month later, giving the Shinobi World enough time to react and more people the chance to attend in person.
In addition, it allowed time to set up network signal towers. This new game release event wouldn't just be for attendees—it would be live-streamed via the network.
Anywhere within signal range, members of the Konoha Game Association would stream the event locally.
Moreover, the television signal tech tree had been unlocked. The broadcast would also air via television signals—thanks to the Land of Snow's Daimyō, Kazahana Sousetsu, for delivering the relevant technology. Among the tech he provided was a prototype for television broadcasting in the Shinobi World, though it was far from mature.
After Kei handed it over to Orochimaru and Sasori, neither even used their main bodies—they sent clones to study it and quickly developed an improved, mass-producible version.
To them, who had studied extensively in the Mental Network World, this tech was outdated. They just weren't interested in it before. But now that they had a foundation, they simply optimized it instead of starting from scratch.
Most importantly, this kind of optimization didn't require physical-world resources. Everything could be reconstructed and tested inside the Mental Network World.
And so, the "TV" tech, not yet seen in the Shinobi World, was easily brought to life by two geniuses and had already been submitted.
Now, under the hands of trained technicians, many experimental TV units had been produced, and TV signal testing had succeeded. The signal range exceeded even the Genjutsu Network's coverage.
However, this kind of broadcast required stable and massive signal towers, and the livestream had latency issues.
Without satellites, the delay was quite high: every extra 20 kilometers added 1 second of lag. A few thousand kilometers away, and the delay reached hundreds of seconds.
It was a disaster for online games and live broadcasts.
But since it was just TV, and livestream delays weren't critical, it served as a good transitional product before the Genjutsu Network became household tech.
Right now, the Shinobi World didn't even have TV programs. So these televisions had no real market yet. Only after more film and entertainment content emerged would TVs show their true worth.
Unfortunately, building that industry from scratch would take talent and time—resources Konoha lacked at the moment. So for now, TVs would be auxiliary tools used in various Konoha Game Association stores.
It was under these circumstances that Kei's Summon the Dead skill came off cooldown, and he prepared to summon the fourth deceased individual.
The target was the same as before, someone already confirmed. After reaping the benefits from summoning Tobirama Senju, Kei's intentions were clear. Once the summoning was done, the man would be tossed into a game world to farm gold coins.
And so, that day, a new "victim" was summoned.
A white-haired young man, as sharp as a blade, appeared.
Wearing the standard Jōnin uniform of Konoha, his left sleeve bore the half-sleeve of the Hokage's ceremonial robe. Though expressionless, his piercing gaze carried shock and thought as he immediately surveyed his surroundings.
A forest he didn't recognize. Dense trees all around. Through the woods, he could faintly make out mountains.
Then, the man spoke: "Where is this? Who are you? And also... I remember I was already..."
Uchiha Kei interrupted him: "Yes, you died, Hatake Sakumo-senpai."
Upon hearing this, the man—or rather, Kakashi Hatake's father, known for donning the Hokage's half-sleeve and overshadowing even the Legendary Sannin in his youth, once Konoha's strongest of his generation—fell silent.
Then, a look of confusion crossed his face. "So... is this the land of the dead?"
Uchiha Kei shook his head. "No, this is the land of Ashina."
Sakumo was puzzled. "Ashina? What is that?"
Uchiha Kei smiled. "A nation full of fantastical stories, with the power of Dragon Heritage. Here, in this world, a new story belonging to you is about to begin."
"Sakumo-senpai, are you ready to become the 'Wolf'?"
With those cryptic words, Sakumo slightly furrowed his brows, seemingly sensing a strange malice.
And Kei's words only confused him more.
Instinctively, Sakumo tried to ask, but at that moment, Uchiha Kei vanished before his eyes like a mist, leaving him stunned.
Then suddenly, the world spun.
When he abruptly woke, daytime had turned to night. The forest had become a damp, decaying wooden hut. In the dim room, only a single oil lamp gave off weak light.
Sakumo realized his outfit had completely changed. He wore rough armor under a brown outer robe. His once-powerful body had grown "weak"—at least, his chakra was gone, replaced by an unfamiliar force surging within him.
Before he could figure out what was happening, a flood of memories rushed in. Flashbacks played out before his eyes. He saw many things and suddenly understood his current situation and the background of this "new life."
"That's right... I am the Wolf, the Wolf of Ashina... a ninja sworn to protect his master... I must... rescue my lord!"
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