Namikaze Minato Becomes the First Victim (4K)

The next morning, a little after ten o'clock, with the sun nearing its peak, Uchiha Kai woke up from a deep sleep, his whole body sore, and feeling like his bladder was about to explode.

Despite the intense urge to relieve himself, the deep slumber he had been in hadn't even allowed this biological need to wake him.

After sprinting to the bathroom in record time to resolve the issue, Kai finally felt at ease and recalled the events from the previous night.

Feeling a bit speechless about it, he quickly shifted into "cutting mode": "As expected, the inherently evil Uchiha bloodline is influencing me. Uchiha is Uchiha—it's easy for us to go to extremes. Even someone as morally upright as me, a transmigrator, is starting to want to take revenge on society. No wonder the rest of the Uchiha are even worse."

"When the inherently evil Uchiha collide with Konoha's even more evil higher-ups, it's like a comet striking Earth, or kindling meeting a blazing fire—it's inevitable one side will get wiped out. And with the Uchiha clan's track record, they'll probably get massacred by Itachi. If I stay in Konoha, I'm definitely doomed. I really need to leave Konoha soon."

"Speaking of which, the game is done. Did the system give me any rewards?"

At this thought, Kai opened the system to check.

Sure enough, the system had issued a notification about completing the beginner's task, and the reward was ready.

But when Kai saw what the beginner reward was, he was both surprised and amazed, followed by a surge of joy.

The reward was—an increase of 10% to all physical attributes!

That's right, a 10% increase to every attribute!

The system had categorized his physical attributes as stamina, endurance, strength, and agility.

For a game development system to give a physical enhancement as a reward was absurd.

Was this system doing it on purpose or by accident? Was it really an AI idiot?

With these doubts, Kai asked the system why it had given him a physical enhancement as a reward. The system's response left him speechless and confirmed that it was indeed an AI idiot—though, in some sense, a very logical one.

The system explained that to be an excellent game developer, one must possess an excellent body and stamina. To create top-tier games and outcompete others, one would have to work insane overtime, outlasting the competition by sheer willpower.

Without a strong body and sufficient stamina, even with top-notch skills, the host would be overwhelmed by the highly competitive 2024 Chinese game market—so competitive that even an AI system knew about it.

Thus, the physical enhancements were very reasonable; they were meant to help Uchiha Kai become more efficient in the game development market.

Additionally, the rewards not only included physical enhancements but also improvements to recovery speed, game development skills, mental agility, and other buffs designed to turn Uchiha Kai into a tireless, unstoppable force—a game developer who didn't need sleep and could outwork the entire industry, making even the greediest capitalists shed tears of frustration!

After learning all this, Kai was left in stunned silence.

Finally, he muttered, "System, are you sure you're a game development system and not a system designed to cultivate workhorses?"

The system, of course, insisted it was a game development system, no matter what.

Kai didn't know what to say.

However, after calming down, he grew excited and even ecstatic.

Because in the Shinobi world, this kind of full-body enhancement was game-breaking!

If he were still an ordinary Earthling, the system's reward might have turned him into someone with Captain America's level of recovery—impressive on Earth, but not nearly as remarkable compared to the Shinobi world.

After all, people in the Shinobi world already had twice as many cells as Earthlings, making them naturally stronger. Even though Kai's talent was considered average, being an ordinary Chūnin, the percentage-based enhancement was still immensely powerful.

For instance, upon carefully sensing his body, Kai realized that the limits he had always felt had been forcibly raised. Though he could still sense those limits, they had been pushed much higher.

And it wasn't just a simple 10% increase.

In the Shinobi world, chakra is a combination of mental and physical energy—spiritual energy and life force merging to create power.

Since mental energy was considered part of his overall physical attributes, the system's 10% boost had also increased Kai's chakra reserves, effectively raising his total chakra by at least 20%.

While it might not seem like much, for Kai, it meant being able to cast an additional B-rank jutsu, or even more when it came to lower-level jutsu for escaping or surviving.

But the most important thing was…

"This is just the beginner's enhancement. If I keep completing system tasks, how strong could I become? Reaching Kage-level isn't a dream anymore—maybe I can even aim for beyond Kage-level!"

Kai muttered, grinning so widely he could barely contain it.

Well, Kai was only dreaming about Kage-level for now. After all, reality had beaten him down enough that he understood effort alone wouldn't surpass those who were born with game-breaking cheats.

Even though he had a cheat now, in the original Naruto series, those who reached levels beyond Kage were always overpowered—either through hacks or, as seen in Boruto, the godlike Otsutsuki clan.

Everyone was hacking the system, so Kai didn't think his cheat would outmatch theirs—after all, his was just a misplaced AI idiot. Give him a system from Dragon Ball or a fantasy novel, and then he'd have reason to dream big.

For now, Kai decided to ask the system for a new game development task.

Since making games made him stronger, he didn't mind working harder and becoming a mass-producer of games.

However, the system's response made him fall silent because…

Main Quest: Please promote your first game. Your goal is to collect at least 5,000 emotion points.

Emotion points are generated by players' emotional reactions while playing the host's game. The stronger the reaction, the more emotion points are generated.

Each player can generate between 1 and 4 emotion points per game session. Every player can only generate emotion points once per game, and playing for at least ten minutes will generate the minimum of 1 point. When the player either completes the game or quits, emotion points will be calculated.

In summary, the system was asking Kai to promote his game and collect emotion points from the players.

To collect 5,000 emotion points, he theoretically only needed 5,000 players to play his game.

If he were still on Earth, Kai could simply pay some streamers or influencers to play his game and promote it, easily completing the task. After all, the system's requirements were pretty lenient—play for ten minutes, and you'd get at least 1 point.

In other words, the system was being super reasonable. The task difficulty was essentially "next to nothing."

However...

This was the Shinobi world!!!

And there were no computers, game consoles, or mobile devices here.

Sure, Kai's game could be played, but only if he used his Sharingan to put people into it one by one, and he could only do it for one person at a time.

That instantly made things much harder.

Not only was it tough to promote games in the Shinobi world, but no sane person would willingly let an Uchiha cast a genjutsu on them!

At that thought, the light in Kai's eyes dimmed, and the hope he had felt turned into despair.

It seemed that his only real option was to run away from Konoha.

The aura of defeat settled over Uchiha Kai once again.

Just then, a knock came at the door of Kai's apartment.

A gentle voice called from outside, "Kai, are you home?"

Hearing the voice, Kai froze for a moment, then quickly responded, "Yeah, I'm here."

He made his way to the door.

Although Kai was an Uchiha, he had long planned on running away and had chosen not to live in the Uchiha compound. Instead, he lived alone in a small two-bedroom apartment.

Right now, the Nine-Tails Incident hadn't happened yet, and the Uchiha clan hadn't been ostracized due to a certain romantic's reckless actions. Their compound was still in the core area of Konoha.

Likewise, the Uchiha clan still had freedom of movement, so Uchiha members living outside the compound, like Kai, weren't uncommon and didn't draw attention.

When Kai opened the door, he was greeted by a tall, blue-eyed young man with golden hair, wearing the typical blue attire of Konoha ninjas.

Anyone familiar with Naruto would instantly recognize him—one of the most popular characters in the series, the man often called the most skilled of all, the future Fourth Hokage: Namikaze Minato.

Kai wasn't surprised to see Minato at his door, as they had been close friends since their days at the ninja academy.

Back when Kai hadn't yet been disillusioned by reality, he had been idealistic about his future. Driven by ambition, he had made a conscious effort to befriend Minato, someone he knew would go far. Minato, being the kind and open person he was, had accepted Kai's friendship without suspicion. Over time, they had become best friends.

Now, looking at Kai, who

radiated an aura of defeat, Minato couldn't help but ask with concern why he hadn't been at work today. In their conversation, Minato explained why he had come to see him.

It turned out Minato had just completed an S-rank mission and wanted to invite Kai, his close friend, to his house for a celebration that evening.

Originally, Minato had gone to the Konoha Police Force to find Kai, but since Kai had overslept and never showed up, Minato had worried something might have happened and had come straight to his apartment.

After hearing all this, Kai was deeply touched, feeling a wave of emotion. Though his initial friendship with Minato had started from selfish ambition, over the years, their bond had grown genuine. If only he had the strength to resist the shadowy figures pulling the strings from the background, he wouldn't have to resort to running away one day.

Still, Kai had a backup plan—when he eventually ran, he would leave Minato a letter explaining about Madara and the impending Nine-Tails Incident.

Whether Minato could survive the deadly ordeal alongside his wife was beyond Kai's control.

After all, as a mere Chūnin, in the face of the disaster that was the Nine-Tails Incident, Kai was nothing more than cannon fodder—just one breath from the Nine-Tails would kill him.

Moreover, at that time, Danzo would also order the Uchiha clan to be placed under surveillance, preventing them from fighting.

After mulling all of this over, Kai assured Minato that he would show up that night for the celebration.

But just after agreeing, Kai suddenly thought about his game and switched gears: "By the way, Minato, I've made a game. Could you help me playtest it?"

Minato: "A game? What kind of game?"

Kai spoke solemnly, "Don't worry, it's not some childish game you're thinking of. It's a miracle I created using my Sharingan, enhanced with genjutsu."

"This project took a lot of effort, and I only just finished it last night. So, I hope you, as my best friend, will be the first to try this groundbreaking game!"

After hearing this, Minato scratched his head, then flashed his signature bright smile. "I don't really get what you're talking about, but since you're asking, of course, I'll help."

That 100% trust moved Kai deeply. "As expected from my best friend. Come on in and lie down on the bed."

Minato's eyes widened. "Huh? Why do I need to lie down? What kind of game is this?"

Kai explained, "Don't overthink it. It's just that since this game requires me to use genjutsu with my Sharingan, you'll be transported into a world within the illusion. If you're standing or sitting, any sudden movement or reaction could make you fall and hurt yourself."

Minato let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, I see. That makes sense."

Kai clicked his tongue. "I said I'm using genjutsu, and you don't even question it?"

Minato smiled warmly. "Well, it's you, Kai. I trust that you wouldn't do anything harmful to me."

Kai smirked. "Tch, you're too trusting. Shame you're not a woman."

Minato chuckled awkwardly. "Ahaha…"

That was a comment Minato didn't know how to respond to. Continuing the conversation might just make things weird.

Thankfully, Kai didn't say anything else strange. After Minato lay down, Kai activated his Sharingan and cast the illusion to start the game.

Minato didn't resist at all, allowing the weak genjutsu—something that could have been easily dispelled—to take effect.

In an instant, Minato felt the world spinning around him, and he vaguely heard strange phrases like "Link Start," though he had no idea what they meant.

When the dizziness passed and he regained his senses, he found himself standing on the streets of Konoha at night.

However, the streets were completely empty, and the farther away he looked, the more everything was shrouded in a thick, gray fog. Lanterns emitting eerie green light hung from the houses lining the road. In the windows, he could see bloodstains and bloody handprints smeared across some of the glass.

What made his skin crawl even more was the unsettling background music, as if it were announcing that he had entered a nightmarish version of Konoha.

Suddenly, bloody words appeared before him, spelling out the game's title—"Returning Home."

At the same time, a haunting, ethereal female voice echoed in Minato's ears, reciting the name of the game, sending shivers down his spine.

An unprecedented sense of dread surged through Minato's heart. Within just ten seconds of entering the game, this elite Konoha Jōnin broke into a cold sweat.

It couldn't be helped—last night, when Kai was developing this game with the intent of taking revenge on society, he had designed it specifically to torment the superhuman shinobi of the Ninja World.

And now, Namikaze Minato had become the first victim.