Rewind time a little.
Right after Kakashi left the Hokage Tower, Shimura Danzo arrived at the Hokage's office.
He gave the arcade cabinet—labeled Shinobi King 52—a glance. Just from that, he already had a pretty good idea of why his old friend had summoned him today. But he said nothing and went straight to sit across from Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"..."
The room fell into a heavy silence.
Neither Hiruzen nor Danzo spoke first. One wore a gentle, grandfatherly smile. The other bore his usual dark and unreadable expression. The two simply stared at one another.
No one knew how much time passed.
"This… arcade machine, you've heard of it, right?" Hiruzen finally set down his pipe and gave Danzo a helpless smile. "Danzo, as one of Konoha's elders, you should understand exactly what this thing represents."
"Ninja intel."
Danzo remained expressionless, his tone flat.
"Intel on a majority of the shinobi in the entire world."
"In that case," Hiruzen said, rubbing his temple, clearly pained, "why did you have these machines placed all over the shopping district? You should know better than anyone how dangerous it would be if this information were widely circulated."
Jutsu, appearances—if enemies knew that much about a shinobi, they'd be easy to counter during missions.
"That's why I called you here. I want you to cooperate with me in recalling all units of Shinobi King 52, and have them all destroyed. Also, if possible, deliver a formal message to Sunagakure, stating that we want them to halt production immediately."
"..."
Danzo said nothing. He simply stared calmly at Hiruzen's serious expression.
He already knew exactly what was in these machines from the moment he received the shipment. As the first official player in the Land of Fire, he'd seen it firsthand: a database containing profiles and combat footage of most major ninja across the world—including their faces, jutsu, and fighting styles.
At first, he too considered destroying them. Maybe even threatening Suna into halting production.
But then… he got a letter.
After mulling over it for an entire night, he ultimately decided to go along with the suggestion from the Fourth Kazekage. That's why there was now a full-blown arcade in the village.
After a pause, Danzo finally responded, his voice calm.
"The data shown is information the shinobi world already knows. And the machines don't only include Leaf ninja—they include data on shinobi from all the major villages."
In other words, only the more famous or publicly known shinobi were represented.
"I don't think there's a need to forcibly destroy or suppress them. At this point, I imagine many of the other villages already have access. If Konoha is the only one restricting it, that'll just stir resentment."
He paused again.
"Besides… even if Shinobi King 52 didn't reveal this information, plenty of people in the shinobi world already know it."
And even if Konoha did destroy every unit they had, Sunagakure sure as hell wouldn't. Better that every village has access than just a few.
"You've played it yourself, haven't you? The version of yourself that appears in the game—your taijutsu and ninjutsu—it's all stuff already commonly known. Or techniques you've used publicly before. Maybe some with your personal flair."
And let's be honest... each machine cost a million ryo. He ordered fifteen of them.
And you want to smash them all?
Then you better cough up the money.
"..."
Well… he had a point.
Now it was Hiruzen's turn to fall silent. When he received the machine, he'd even popped in a coin and played a few rounds. He found that none of his "secret" moves—like his concealed hand signs or unrevealed techniques—were included.
As for the other characters, just as Danzo said, the techniques shown were all widely known.
Still…
Why does my character model look like some old geezer, while Danzo's looks like his younger self?!
Danzo was older than him by a couple of years!
And that damn Fourth Kazekage… why did his character model look so stylized and cool compared to theirs?
Hiruzen grumbled inwardly, then weighed the pros and cons of the machine's presence in Konoha.
Maybe I overreacted.
The information was already public. And shinobi didn't win fights solely through jutsu. Even if someone copied everything from Shinobi King 52, it wouldn't help them much in a real battle.
If anything, they'd probably just get themselves killed.
He sighed and glanced at the arcade cabinet again, then back at Danzo.
So Danzo had already considered all of this.
Sure, his old friend always had a few dirty tricks up his sleeve. And yes, he'd been meddling with the orphanage again lately. But his dedication to Konoha… was no less than Hiruzen's or Koharu's or Homura's.
After a long pause, Hiruzen rubbed his forehead, conflicted.
"Looks like you've thought this through. However—"
"???"
Still trying to have it destroyed?
Danzo's expression darkened slightly, his gaze growing colder.
But before he could speak—
"Honestly, I don't think I'm that old."
Hiruzen pulled a photo album out of his drawer and opened it to a black-and-white photo, placing it on the desk between them.
"Look here. This was from a mission we did together. I was way more handsome than you, wasn't I?"
He tapped the photo smugly.
"I know you've been dealing with Sunagakure more closely lately. You probably handed over a younger photo of yourself, which is why your game model looks like that. So..."
He slid the photo forward with a grin.
"Give this one to Sunagakure. Hahaha! I've still got confidence in my looks. If they update the model, I bet it'll attract more players. Seriously."
"..."
I have something I want to say… but I don't know if I should.
Danzo stared at Hiruzen, speechless. Then he stood up, his voice cold.
"You're old, Hiruzen."
With that, he turned and walked out the door—without even taking the photo.
Leaving behind…
Hiruzen, still holding the picture with a smile.
"That shameless bastard."
He just couldn't stand me looking better than him!
Hiruzen grumbled bitterly, then tucked the photo back into the album and shoved the whole thing back into the drawer. He turned toward the arcade cabinet.
"This thing…"
But before he could finish—
"Lord Hokage."
Two Konoha shinobi poked their heads in through the doorway, both wearing awkward smiles.
"Um…"
They pointed toward the arcade machine.
"Lord Danzo asked us to move the machine back to its original location."
"..."
…
...
Meanwhile, at the Grand Sail Restaurant in Konoha—
Kakashi sat at the table, eyes lifted toward the ceiling, across from Asuma, Kurenai, Ebisu, and Genma—all of whom were doing the same.
In front of him, Naruto beamed with pride.
Then Kakashi slowly lowered his gaze to glance at the bill sitting on the table.
Suddenly, he had a very strong urge…
To go to the bathroom.