UK:GSW Chapter 430 – Uchiha Kei Anticipates Mental Network Mastery LV5, The Possible Awakening of the Rinnegan
Although there had been previous titles like Left 4 Survival with post-apocalyptic themes, those were more along the lines of complete fantasy—every scene was fictional, with not a single frame using actual shinobi world locations.
Even natural features like mountains, rivers, and forests were all made up, with no connection to the real shinobi world.
That's why The Last Ninja was a true first—using real-world locations that corresponded to reality. And right from the start, it dropped a nuclear bomb on the audience—showing the ruins of the Hidden Leaf Village.
The impact and immersion from such visuals made goosebumps erupt on countless people.
For the people of Konoha, it was especially overwhelming—they couldn't help but cry out in all kinds of ways, utterly stunned, with tingling scalps and chilled limbs.
The immersion was simply too strong. They had never before been subjected to such a "real" portrayal. Seeing it made them instinctively imagine: If Konoha were truly destroyed, would it look just like this?
There was no helping it—the genjutsu game platform specialized in realism, and when that realism was paired with an actual location that existed in reality—and was your own home—the sense of immersion welling up from within was something most Konoha citizens could not withstand.
The so-called "imperial banquet" wasn't just a metaphor—it was a full-spectrum sensory assault.
At the same time, many began to worry—wondering whether the Konoha Gaming Association releasing such a game would expose the village's secrets, and whether the higher-ups would object.
But for now, all they could do was speculate—because right after the Konoha ruins made their climactic appearance, the stirring BGM shifted again, and the scenes began to change rapidly.
What followed was a series of first-person glimpses into various settings.
Under a dark sky and on a filthy, polluted earth, the "player" faced a horde of twisted, corrupted black monsters.
In a jungle filled with enormous plants, a gigantic, mysterious beast roared, and the plants themselves turned out to be living predators, devouring passing creatures.
On treacherous mountain terrain, two mysterious figures blocked the "protagonist's" path.
Scene after scene flashed by.
Finally, as the BGM's intensity faded into a calm melody, the "protagonist" walked into a small town—poor, yet lively—depicting a backward, impoverished place where hope still lingered, symbolizing humanity's resilience in the apocalypse.
The game's title, The Last Ninja, then reappeared, marking the end of this information-packed promotional video.
After a brief moment of silence came a roar of chatter—people scrambled to discuss it.
Taverns, gaming halls, teahouses, red-light districts—anywhere people gathered was filled with debate. And on the genjutsu network, every forum and chatroom was ablaze with conversation.
Especially online—where many dared to voice explosive opinions they would never utter in reality. People were falling in love with the genjutsu network, with its unprecedented freedom in the shinobi world. Here, regardless of your real-world status or rank, everyone was equal—at least so long as you didn't reveal your true identity, you could say whatever you wanted, even curse out certain people, without fear of reprisal.
That was how users felt, anyway.
And since all it took to get online and play genjutsu games was money, user "quality" was not something to be counted on. Many genuinely believed the network was a place of complete freedom, where they could do anything possible within it.
Right now was no different—in forum discussions, many analyzed the game trailer's Konoha ruins. Some laughed and mocked the destruction of Konoha and the "exposing of secrets," claiming that clever players could explore the ruins in-game to uncover Konoha's hidden truths.
Absurd as it sounded, in the shinobi world, such a thing wasn't impossible—after all, shinobi excelled at intelligence gathering.
Of course, others mocked that notion, saying Konoha wasn't that stupid—that the "Konoha ruins" probably had little to do with the real village, and anyone who thought they could uncover secrets that way was overthinking it.
Soon, the two sides were arguing—proof that the internet's nature as a constant arena of quarrels and noise transcended worlds.
All this chaos over The Last Ninja began online, but quickly spilled into the real world, leading many to form opinions—some even objections.
For example, traditionalist Konoha citizens found it unacceptable. To them, Konoha was their home, their sacred charge—something they would die to protect. The very thought of its destruction was unthinkable. Now Uchiha Kei had directly depicted it in a game—they couldn't accept it, voicing opposition and doubt.
Even though many of these strong shinobi supported the Fourth Hokage Tsunade, it didn't mean they could accept this. As the classic saying went: "The laws of our ancestors must not be abolished!"
Even if Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju themselves had no issue with it, this was a case of "ancestral law must not be abolished—even by the ancestors."
Of course, these people didn't know that the Senju brothers had already been revived and were living quite comfortably—otherwise, that would've sparked an entirely different storm.
As it stood, while the promotional animation stirred up a fuss, that was all it was. Some shouted about it being "improper," but Tsunade and the ruling powers ignored them, and the old guard led by Hiruzen Sarutobi stayed silent. Without backing from either side, the noise-makers couldn't cause waves.
Ironically, this only fueled discussion and hype, increasing awareness of the game and achieving its promotional goal.
Many among the common folk learned of it—and many were tempted to buy it when it released.
Yes, even commoners.
They, too, wanted to try genjutsu games.
Genjutsu games had been out long enough to become a household name—everyone knew of them.
In the past, commoners might know of them but couldn't afford to buy—at most trying them in gaming halls. More often, they could only imagine playing.
But times had changed. The past year's great development in Konoha had triggered an economic boom, expanding industry and commerce, letting many people earn far more than before.
Now, many workers in Konoha had savings and disposable income, and inevitably wanted to improve their quality of life.
And the trendiest lifestyle upgrade in the shinobi world?
Genjutsu games, of course!
In fact, over 90% of Konoha's workers had at least tried genjutsu games in gaming halls—only a small minority still saved every coin or had other expenses.
Thus, when The Last Ninja released, most were already guaranteed players.
The key was that after Konoha quietly took control of the Land of Fire's daimyo, the ensuing development poured huge sums into the economy.
Countless commoners, especially those once struggling in the capital, now had stable jobs—and relatively generous pay.
While shinobi might see it as cheap labor, for those who once barely ate, this income was incredible.
Most of them would save their money, but a significant number would become new genjutsu game customers.
Even just 1% would mean hundreds of thousands of new players across the Land of Fire.
And it wouldn't stop at 1%—with Konoha's direct involvement, the economic effect was too strong. That initial 1% would soon become 2%, 5%, even 10%—millions of potential new users.
If that conversion succeeded, Uchiha Kei would have no worries about sales, and the long-stalled system main quest would see explosive progress.
In fact, he might not even need those new players—the new market in the No. 2 World alone could fulfill the quest.
So Kei was confident. His only questions were whether completing the quest would bring extra rewards—and whether it would let the mental network system upgrade again.
He had waited too long. If he could advance from Mental Network Mastery LV4 to LV5, he was sure it would be a super upgrade.
Not just the skill itself—every ability linked to it, including the Uchiha clan powers tied to it through his Sharingan.
He hadn't forgotten—Mental Network Mastery was deeply bound to his Sharingan. From the regular Sharingan stage to the Mangekyo, it had always been mutually enhancing.
When he reached LV4, it directly gave him the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, with numerous related abilities, and even eliminated the Mangekyo's side effects and cooldowns.
So he was full of anticipation for LV5—so much so that he'd even imagined the possibility: that the skill might directly unlock the Uchiha clan's ultimate bloodline state—the Rinnegan!
It wasn't impossible. After all, LV4 had auto-upgraded his Mangekyo to Eternal Mangekyo—so upgrading again to unlock the Rinnegan wasn't far-fetched.
For now, all he had to do was wait for the game's launch.
Meanwhile, in the No. 2 World, Konoha was also experiencing a stir over the trailer.
As in the main world, the new game was being promoted—and thanks to network access, those in the No. 2 Konoha-controlled areas could watch it directly.
The reactions were a mix of amusement, awkwardness, and disbelief.
For the No. 2 Konoha, such content was far ahead of their time. Unlike the main world, much there was still preserved, and genjutsu games were a recent arrival—their thinking hadn't shifted yet, and most perceptions were still rooted in the past.
Thus, the Konoha ruins scene drew considerable criticism.
Thankfully, the main world Konoha had intervened early, preventing the Pain's Assault on Konoha from happening there. If it had, the No. 2 Konoha would have had severe PTSD on seeing this, taking it as a humiliating mockery—likely triggering fierce resistance and even diplomatic fallout between the two Konohas.
But since they had never experienced that destruction, their dissatisfaction stayed well below anger or trauma.
With Fifth Hokage Tsunade's firm stance, the dissenting voices were suppressed, and promotion for the new game continued.
Of course, where there were detractors, there were also eager, impatient fans.
The marketing was simply too good—so good that even those who had never tried a genjutsu game were intrigued.
In fact, in the No. 2 World, discussion of The Last Ninja was now eclipsing talk of the recent Five Kage Summit and Akatsuki's hunt for the Tailed Beasts.
The "Konoha ruins" was an irresistible hook—especially since genjutsu games had only just begun to spread there. The publicity and buzz were enormous.
Many who had never even heard of genjutsu games now knew what they were—much like in Kei's previous life, when a console-exclusive game could become such a hit that it boosted console sales, bringing the system into the public eye.
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