Uchiha Kei: Game Dev in the Shinobi World

"Ooooh! So this is *Ultimate Storm*? Fascinating! You can change your appearance? What? Even your gender?! As expected of the access granted by Kei-kun—it's amazing! Hehehe\~ If that's the case, let me disguise myself as a man and play! Hmph! I'll show those guys that I, Uzumaki Kushina, am totally badass!"

Inside the spiritual network, Kushina gleefully used the privileges granted by Uchiha Kei to modify her avatar.

She switched her gender to male and shortened her hair. Though she retained the signature red hair of the Uzumaki clan, her entire appearance transformed into someone else entirely.

Kushina then found herself thoroughly enjoying the process of character customization. As she continued tweaking her male form, the image grew increasingly refined. If Kei had traveled twenty years into the future and then returned, he would've been shocked to see that the avatar Kushina created looked about 80% like Naruto during the Fourth Great Ninja War.

The only major differences were the red hair—and the lack of whisker marks.

Once the design was complete, she carefully chose a voice line that also bore a striking resemblance to Naruto's future voice. It felt as if mother and son were spiritually connected, even before his birth.

After thirty minutes of meticulous setup, Kushina finally entered the game under the nickname "Menma."

Not long after, Kurama also entered the game with a custom avatar.

Whether due to some bizarre synchronicity with his jinchūriki, Kurama also chose to gender-swap.

Of course, Tailed Beasts technically have no gender. But Kurama's deep, gruff voice and ferocious demeanor had always made him seem like the alpha male of the bijū—a dominating presence.

Initially, Kurama had planned to create a human male avatar. But after seeing Kushina's gender-swapped form, it was like a door to a new world opened before him. A voice in his head whispered, "So this is possible too?"

In that moment, Kurama entered what could only be described as a "born anew" mindset. A torrent of knowledge surged into his mind, and he began to think.

He recalled everything that had happened since he met Uchiha Kei—the wonders of the spiritual network—and the retro games Kei had given him.

Some of those games featured monkeys with staves battling bizarre monsters. Others included seductive fox spirits, all female, many of whom were nine-tailed kitsune.

This expanded Kurama's worldview dramatically. He realized that in other worlds, beings like him existed—and many of them were... vixens.

He had never understood why all the fox spirits were female. Where were the male fox spirits? Did they not exist?

But after Kushina opened his eyes to this new realm, Kurama embraced it. Why question it? Why not join in?

After all, this was just a game.

Creating a fox spirit avatar in *Ultimate Storm* via the genjutsu system? Nothing strange about that.

It was no different than players choosing a different gender in MMORPGs just because they liked the aesthetics. It didn't mean they were weird in real life.

If Uchiha Kei saw this, he'd probably sigh and say, "Kurama, your thinking is way too advanced… just like Kushina."

Back during the early internet era in China, male gamers playing female characters were often mocked as "ladyboys." Players usually assumed that in-game avatars matched the real person's gender. Many embarrassing misunderstandings followed.

If you were lucky, the player clarified the situation. If not...

Well, online catfishing was practically a national sport.

(Author's note: All of this is based on true stories—100% real. I was there.)

Back to the point—thanks to this forward-thinking enlightenment, Kurama created a visually stunning avatar.

Long white hair. White fox ears. A simple white robe. Nine fluffy white tails swaying behind. The design centered around purity and had a sacred, divine quality to it.

Less "demoness," more "goddess."

Clearly, Kurama understood human aesthetics. White wasn't even his usual color, but it aligned with the image of the Sage of Six Paths—Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo—his "father." That memory lingered strongest in Kurama's heart.

And so, Kurama entered *Ultimate Storm* with divine flair, closely following in Kushina's footsteps.

This was his first time playing a genjutsu game. Up until now, he had only played the traditional-style games Kei had developed.

To Kurama, beating up humans in *Ultimate Storm* was irresistible.

Sure, he had reconciled with Kushina and the others thanks to Kei, but it wasn't like all his resentment had vanished. Now he had a chance to vent. Of course he wouldn't pass it up.

Meanwhile, as Kushina and Kurama entered *Ultimate Storm*, Kakashi and Obito were already facing Uchiha Madara for the fifth time.

Yes—fifth.

The first four times, the two of them got wrecked.

But Madara treated them differently than others. Though still arrogant, he had actually acknowledged their skills—especially after they managed to fuse Lightning and Fire Release into a combo jutsu that nicked him.

He wasn't hurt much, but that they *hurt* him at all was shocking.

Instead of getting angry, Madara became intrigued. He praised them, then proceeded to beat them down in full-on drill instructor mode—brutally, but with genuine pointers about combat.

Just before killing them, he even encouraged them: if they wanted to fight him again, go queue for 8-player melee mode.

And so, once they respawned, Kakashi and Obito dove back into queue.

They were pissed. Being thrashed by Madara was humiliating—they had to redeem themselves.

Plus, his advice was legitimately valuable. Not just for the game—but for real-world combat.

It was experience forged in a thousand battles.

No way were they going to let that go to waste.

After their second loss, they even ran to recruit Might Guy. Together, they queued again—only to be destroyed.

They considered inviting Shisui Uchiha too. After all, he was part of their original four-man test team. But he was still in class at the Ninja Academy and hadn't attended the press conference, so they had to give up.

Thus, from two to three, they continued to be smashed into the ground by Madara—and trained by him.

Every time, Madara would eliminate all the other players first, then save the final round for them. It was nostalgic, and therapeutic—a taste of a long-lost rhythm of combat.

But after five rounds, even Madara grew tired of it. 8-player battles took too long. Fewer people were queuing.

The trio was disappointed but didn't complain. They were grateful Madara had taken the time at all. He didn't owe them anything.

That's when Obito had a brilliant idea.

Why not team up?

Madara clearly enjoyed "dancing" with multiple opponents. What better format than 4v4—where teammates didn't get in the way?

Solo-queuing meant random teammates might interfere. But if Madara teamed up with them, the three could just watch and cheer while Madara soloed the enemy team.

Madara thought it over—and agreed.

Thus, Kakashi, Obito, and Might Guy officially formed a squad with the Demon of the Shinobi World.

They entered squad battle mode together. The queue was fast—almost instant.

And so began a new arc: Madara soloing enemy teams while his three companions shouted "666" from the sidelines.

Translator's Note

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to give you all a quick heads-up. From now on, I'll be posting 1 chapter a day instead of 2.

I recently graduated, and as much as I'd love to keep up the double uploads, I need to start looking for a full-time job to help with the bills. Translation is something I really enjoy doing, and having Patreon support has definitely helped a bit, but it's not quite enough to make ends meet right now.

That said, I'm still committed to finishing this story and putting out regular updates. The pace might slow down a little, but the passion behind it won't change.

Thanks for sticking with me and for all your support so far. Really appreciate it.