Uchiha Kei: Game Dev in the Shinobi World

"Congratulations, Kei-kun. Another genjutsu game that's a massive success. No, this is more than that—it's a genjutsu game that surpasses all others. It will bring immense profit to our Konoha."

"Excellent! Truly excellent! I knew I wasn't wrong about you. Kei-kun, you're one of the most gifted people in Konoha's history—an irreplaceable talent."

"I believe that with you and Minato's support, Tsunade will surely elevate Konoha to a whole new height."

"And Minato, your responsibilities will only grow heavier. Being the Hokage's advisor is no easy task."

After the press conference ended, Hiruzen Sarutobi approached Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Kei, his younger son Asuma in tow. The Third Hokage wore a beaming smile, visibly excited, as if he could already see the grand and prosperous future of Konoha.

The soon-to-retire leader delivered a string of cheerful remarks, concluding with instructions for Kei and Minato.

Despite sounding like a typical veteran leader, the message caught Kei and Minato off guard.

Because it meant that Hiruzen had fully resolved to retire—and likely sooner than expected.

Minato had already felt that Hiruzen was growing old and that retirement was due. But it was still sudden.

After all, Hiruzen had served as Hokage for decades. His authority loomed large. Even with Kei's influence, Minato wasn't completely immune to that.

He opened his mouth to say something, but Hiruzen raised a hand and cut him off with a gentle smile.

"Minato, no need to say anything. I've thought this through. What you need to do is prepare. If nothing unexpected happens, after the Uchiha change clan leaders next year, I will step down, and Tsunade will succeed me as the Fourth Hokage."

"So Minato, Kei-kun, I leave Konoha's future to you."

With those words—like a guardian entrusting his children—Hiruzen called over the dazed and confused Asuma and walked off with a flourish, exuding a sense of chivalrous ease, like a shinobi hero striding through time.

Minato stood silently for a while before finally saying, "Lord Third has indeed grown old. But he has not decayed—he is still the Hokage who protected Konoha for decades."

Uchiha Kei: "..."

He was speechless.

This Hiruzen Sarutobi was vastly different from the one in his memory. They seemed like two people on entirely separate paths.

Then again, that made sense. Hiruzen's path here was fundamentally different from the canon one.

As a transmigrator, Uchiha Kei understood that people are not immutable. Environment plays a huge role in shaping them. To believe that someone will never change just because of a character tag—that's true foolishness.

And so, Kei gave his own assessment: "A Third Hokage who can make this kind of decision… truly lives up to the title of 'Strongest Hokage,' at least in terms of Konoha's development."

After that, they met the three Legendary Sannin—who had come to say goodbye.

None of them planned to participate in the game trial session. Though each had some interest, they had other priorities.

Tsunade was already swamped with her upcoming Hokage duties. She had only attended the press conference to show support for Kei. With it over, she had to rush back to deal with pressing matters.

The conference had brought massive economic benefits and job opportunities to Konoha—but also a flood of administrative tasks. With Hiruzen dumping everything on her, the unofficial Acting Hokage had no choice but to take over.

Tsunade was furious, loudly cursing Hiruzen's irresponsible behavior.

Orochimaru had fewer burdens, but he too had work to do—and more importantly, study to continue at the Grand Library. If not for Kei, he would've sent a shadow clone instead of attending in person.

With the event over, Orochimaru promptly returned to the spirit network to resume his studies.

As for Jiraiya, he did want to stick around and enjoy the game. But with his two teammates leaving, he didn't feel like staying either. After all, the game was available at the arcades. He could play any time.

Besides, he had another kind of "battle" on his mind.

Inspired by everything he saw at the conference, Jiraiya was brimming with ideas and couldn't wait to unleash them in the genjutsu world. He left, eager to dive into the spiritual network.

Thus, the three Sannin said their farewells and departed.

Minato followed shortly after, taking Kushina Uzumaki with him. With Tsunade so busy, and Minato now stuck doing grunt work for her, he had no free time.

Kushina, for her part, had wanted to try "Ultimate Storm," but her status as a jinchūriki meant she didn't enjoy Naruto's future freedom. Her reconciliation with Kurama hadn't been shared with others yet.

Still, she could play the game at home. Although Kei hadn't yet created a full internet, his spiritual network functioned as a LAN.

Within the range of Kei's network, Kushina could connect from home and match with players at the conference or the arcade. It was a built-in backdoor function Kei had prepared in advance.

This would allow seamless integration of online matchmaking once the network was upgraded, letting longtime players enjoy PvP right away.

In fact, Kei was preparing to introduce a full ranking system—complete with matchmaking, tier ladders, and more. His goal? Bring the competitive gaming systems of Earth into the shinobi world, giving them the same sweet agony of ranked grinding.

After everyone left, Kei called over Kikyo Uzumaki and enjoyed some quality time with her. This delighted her—she hadn't expected such a private moment.

Ever since the genjutsu game was created, Kei had poured most of his time into his "career." They barely spent any time together—much less alone.

Kikyo was an understanding and considerate girl. She never complained, but that didn't mean she never felt lonely.

So having Kei all to herself on such an important day made her both surprised and happy. For her, this simple companionship was the greatest kind of happiness.

Kei knew this. That's why he didn't want to let her down. Today's time together was, in a sense, a date—a way to express his feelings without words.

———

Meanwhile, outside in the main venue, the general public was feverishly enjoying the standard version of "Ultimate Storm." Everyone who got a turn was thrilled, praising it endlessly, and wishing for more.

Those who didn't get a chance were green with envy. Most decided to head straight to Konoha's arcades—now officially offering the game—after leaving the venue.

As for the VIP guests? They got to experience a completely different version.

They weren't bound to groups of four using a single scroll. They were trying out a new feature—"remote matching."

It had limitations, of course. It only worked within a single spiritual network zone—Kei's signal range. Step outside that range, and it failed.

Still, for a test product, it was extraordinary. One specialized arcade hall could house 500–600 players, all connected in a local network with random matchmaking.

Before each match, no one knew who they'd be paired with. Modes ranged from 1v1 to 4v4, and they could even enjoy a "free mode."

This exclusive feature was for VIPs only—representatives from major clans, wealthy merchants, and even foreign shinobi village delegates.

Letting them experience the game in full ensured they had details to report. Once they realized the uncut version's value, negotiations with Konoha would follow. A perfect opportunity to extract benefits from other powers.

When handed individual genjutsu scrolls and briefed on the high-level gameplay, the VIPs were stunned. They couldn't comprehend how it all worked.

Sure, everyone understood entering a genjutsu world via a scroll. But linking different scroll-based worlds together? That was next-level.

Those in the know had no clue how this tech worked.