Uchiha Kei: Game Dev in the Shinobi World

The BGM roared with passion, a tune that lit a fire in any man's soul and adrenal glands. The healthier the body, the stronger the reaction. Age had nothing to do with it.

After all, this BGM was handpicked by Uchiha Kei. Sarutobi Hiruzen had approached him to design a battlefield map, and after hearing his plans, Kei selected this theme specifically.

It wasn't even from the Naruto series. It was a legendary track from *One Punch Man*—Saitama's battle theme, dubbed by fans as the "Justice Execution Anthem." Ironically, because of how epic the final boss appeared in Season 1, the fandom adopted it as *his* theme instead. Thousands rooted for the villain to charge at the unstoppable bald demon king.

Now, that same theme was blasting.

And the two newly rejuvenated old-timers were *pumped*.

With their bodies restored to youth in the game, adrenaline surged like they were back in their prime. And when the hot-blooded BGM kicked in, it was like a match to gasoline.

"Hiruzen!!"

"Danzō!!"

Boom! Fists flew. Each old man punched the other square in the face—no holding back.

And that was just the warm-up.

No weapons. No tricks. Just fists and kicks, like when they were kids. They didn't even bother drawing kunai. It was a straight-up taijutsu brawl, raw and real.

Their punches weren't just attacks—they were confessions:

"Hiruzen! I can't accept this! I lost to you—I *still* can't accept it! I was never less talented or capable, but I could never surpass you!"

"You basked in the sunlight of the village. I was just a root crawling in the shadows!"

"I won't let it go, Hiruzen! I can't!"

Shimura Danzō screamed, his roars echoing through the game world.

Hiruzen ducked his swing and landed a solid punch to Danzō's stomach. Danzō doubled over, gasping.

"So that's what you really think, Danzō?" Hiruzen's voice was calm. "I understand now. I already suspected it... but now I have your answer."

"Fine. Then let's do this. Let's settle it here—in this illusion world where we're young and whole again!"

"Here, we're just regular jōnin. I'm not the Hokage. You're not the terrifying head of Root!"

"We're equals. So let's see, Danzō—do you *really* have what it takes to be Hokage?"

He roared and launched a brutal kick, sending Danzō flying.

Danzō recovered quickly. After a rough roll across the ground, he landed a counterkick to Hiruzen's stomach. Hiruzen grunted and curled up, then took several more blows before rallying.

Despite years off the battlefield, Hiruzen's technique and experience hadn't dulled. He turned the tide and struck back.

Punch for punch, kick for kick—it looked less like a shinobi duel and more like two angry punks brawling in an alley. If not for their speed and power, it would've been laughable.

Neither used their signature tactics. They'd agreed, wordlessly, to fight like it was the old days. Like back when they were just two boys chasing dreams.

In the end, Hiruzen's taijutsu came out on top. He depleted Danzō's health bar first.

Danzō felt the sting of "death."

But that was just the beginning.

Hiruzen followed Uchiha Kei's instructions and instantly refreshed their states. Both men returned to full health.

Danzō was still stunned. That death had felt *real*—Kei had tuned the game's feedback to maximum immersion.

Then, Hiruzen changed their age settings. The two reverted from their sixties to around fifty.

Energy surged through them again—vitality like they hadn't felt in decades.

"Let's go, Danzō! Round two!" Hiruzen shouted. "This is us in the Second Great Ninja War! Before you were crippled. Before you turned extreme!"

Danzō snapped back to focus. Realizing Hiruzen had de-aged them again, he gritted his teeth.

"Hiruzen!!"

He attacked—Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Style: Great Breakthrough)!

Hiruzen countered instantly—Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu)!

Wind met fire in a roaring collision.

Now that they were evenly matched jōnin again, elemental affinities mattered. Fire beat wind.

Danzō's jutsu was overpowered by Hiruzen's flames, forcing him to use a substitution technique to escape.

First clash—Hiruzen wins.

And so began the second round: ninjutsu warfare.

Danzō, a wind style master, had such precise control over his chakra nature that he once enhanced his kunai with it to pierce Sasuke's Susano'o.

Sure, it was a basic Susano'o, but still—it proved Danzō's prowess.

Against lightning-style users like those from the Hidden Cloud Village, Danzō was a nightmare. His wind chakra trumped theirs, making him the perfect countermeasure during the Second Great Ninja War.

But this time, he was up against Sarutobi Hiruzen.

The man was a true "grand magus" of the five elements. While he hadn't mastered any one style to the extreme, his proficiency across all five made him versatile and dangerous.

Hiruzen didn't just spam Fire Style. He used Earth, Water, and even Wind techniques fluidly, linking his jutsu in perfect combos.

Danzō was getting steamrolled.

"Impossible!" Danzō snarled as he retreated. "Hiruzen, how are you this good?! Were you holding back all those years we sparred?!"

"No," Hiruzen answered, calmly unleashing another Fire Style jutsu. "I never lied to you. I just never stopped training."

"Even as Hokage, I kept studying, improving. I wanted my jutsu to be sharper every day."

"This... this is the result of all those years."

Danzō froze. Then he clenched his teeth, fury and frustration flashing in his eyes.

He'd spent decades recovering from his wartime injuries, but Hiruzen had quietly kept grinding away. It made Danzō feel like he was being outdone by a perfectionist—a "grind junkie."

His rage made him reckless. He attacked harder.

But the harder he fought, the easier it was for Hiruzen to read him.

In the end, Hiruzen won again.

Even with equal health, youth, and experience, the difference in technique and mentality was clear.

Danzō just couldn't keep up.

Yet Hiruzen still didn't stop. He refreshed them once more—this time setting their ages to thirty-something. Their *true* prime.

This was when they served as the Hokage's personal guard—when their pride and power were unmatched.

Hiruzen summoned his companion beast: Enma.

Technically, it was a simulation. But Enma still transformed into a massive staff and fought like the real deal.

Danzō responded by summoning his own creature—Baku, the dream-eater. It looked like a monstrous blend of tiger, elephant, and bull.

For a moment, Danzō thought it was real.

But no. It was a copy. Still, it fought and obeyed like the real thing.

And so the battle escalated.

New BGM. Fresh adrenaline. Full-power summon showdowns.

It was an all-out clash, like a Naruto-era throwback to the golden days of shinobi duels. The kind you'd see *before* the Pain arc.

They weren't just trading blows—they were trading beliefs. Each jutsu was a declaration. Each strike, a message.

And they went *all in*.

Over and over again, Danzō died.

Over and over again, Hiruzen revived him.

And slowly, Danzō started landing wins too. Not many—but enough.

Still, Hiruzen had the upper hand. He dominated the stats.

Their emotions ran wild. Roars. Screams. Explosions of raw feeling.

This wasn't like the youthful fire of Kakashi and Obito.

This was something deeper—tempered by age and regret. A lifetime of baggage crashing down in glorious chaos.

Watching from his mental network, Uchiha Kei was thrilled.

He even collected four Golden Spirit Points, nodding in satisfaction at their drama.

"Beautiful," he muttered, munching on sunflower seeds and watermelon like a true spectator.

Yes, Kei had been watching this whole time. When Hiruzen requested his custom version of Ultimate Ninja Storm, Kei had been counting the seconds for this exact showdown.

And man, it delivered.

Golden Spirit Points flowed in. Each win, each breakdown, each triumphant roar—it was perfect.

He just hoped they wouldn't stop.

Inside the game, the two kept fighting.

Sometimes Danzō slit Hiruzen's throat. Sometimes Hiruzen caved Danzō's skull in with Enma. Sometimes it was mutual annihilation.

No hesitation. No mercy. Pure destruction.

They used every feature of the illusion game to its fullest.

Finally—after over a hundred cycles—they both collapsed in the middle of the street.

Their bodies could reset.

But their minds were exhausted.

They were done.