The Shocking Experience of 'The Ninth Art'

Watching Namikaze Minato's reaction from a god's-eye view, Kai couldn't help but nod in satisfaction. His little "surprise" had worked remarkably well—if someone as composed as Minato was scared, weaker-willed ninjas wouldn't stand a chance.

Still, Kai found Minato's reaction completely understandable.

It wasn't that Minato had suddenly become cowardly. The horror game Kai had created was simply too advanced for the Shinobi world, pushing all the core elements of fear to their limits.

Fear comes from many sources, but the most primal fear is the fear of death—a survival instinct that all living beings share.

Beyond that, there's the fear of the unknown.

From ancient times, humans have feared wild animals, then nature's wrath, later turning to reverence for imagined deities and superstitions about spirits, darkness, and the abyss. All of these boil down to the fear of the unknown.

Often, turning the unknown into something known dramatically reduces fear.

For example, players on Earth who love horror games would experience a mix of terror and excitement, as the fear would trigger a rush of adrenaline and dopamine, bringing them pleasure.

But the problem was that Kai's horror game was something the Shinobi world had never encountered before, and its immersive experience was cranked up to the maximum.

When Minato was immobilized and choked by the ghostly woman, he felt both the fear of death and the fear of the unknown at once.

The unfamiliar environment, the terrifying experience, and the unexplainable "woman"—all these elements combined to fully trigger Minato's fear, even though he was Konoha's greatest talent.

After recovering, Minato gave a wry smile. "Is this really just a genjutsu game? It feels a bit too real. And that woman… she didn't seem like a ninja, or even human. Was she supposed to be an evil spirit from one of those old tales?"

The Shinobi world had its share of ghost stories, but these were mostly folklore told among civilians. For ninja, who had seen all sorts of strange things and were superhuman themselves, such tales were hardly scary.

In fact, most ninja believed these stories were born from civilians' ignorance, mistaking sneaky, stealthy ninjas for evil spirits or summoning beasts for monsters.

And to be fair, that was often the case.

So while the Shinobi world had plenty of ghost stories, they were typically bland and uninteresting to ninja. None of them could compare to the horror game Kai had created.

Minato now realized that the woman he had encountered was probably modeled after a ghost or evil spirit from those civilian tales.

Just then, Kai spoke, having remained silent up until this point. "Yeah, I based her design on some of those old folklore stories. So, Minato, what do you think? It's a whole new experience, right?"

Minato couldn't help but laugh wryly. "It's definitely a new experience. I felt like I was about to die."

Kai reassured him, "That was just your perception. It's a game, not a lethal genjutsu. I've set up safety protocols in the game—if anything truly life-threatening happens, the game will automatically shut down."

He then muttered to himself, "Come to think of it, the world has plenty of reckless types who ignore warnings even though their bodies can't handle it. If someone were to get seriously hurt or worse while playing, I'd be the one who gets blamed, right?"

"That's no good. That's a huge bug that needs fixing. I should probably add some medical ninjutsu integration, so if something goes wrong, it can intervene and save the player."

Though Kai was mumbling, his voice was loud enough for Minato to hear. While it made him want to laugh, he also realized that Kai wasn't wrong in his thinking.

After some consideration, Minato nodded in agreement. "You're right. The game is so realistic that it could be too intense for a lot of ninjas. Adding safety measures would be smart."

Kai then asked, "So, Minato, are you still good to continue, or do you need a break?"

"Are you still good?"

Of course, he was good!

A man can't admit he's not good!

Especially not in front of a close friend!

Despite his gentle nature, Minato wasn't about to say no to such a question.

He immediately stood up. "Of course! It might've been intense, but after that rush, I'm actually feeling exhilarated. I'm curious and excited about what's going to happen next!"

"And besides…"

His smile faded as he added seriously, "Going through something like this, feeling so 'weak' in the face of such fear, is actually great training for me. If I ever face something like this in real life, it won't shake me as much."

He wasn't joking. In the Shinobi world, ninja had to deal with all kinds of strange and terrifying enemies, many of whom used fear as a weapon. There were techniques designed to tap into one's inner fears and other sinister methods. More than a few powerful ninjas had fallen victim to such tactics.

Kai's horror game, while spooky, was actually an excellent training tool to help Minato steel his mind. It would prepare him to face future foes who used fear and intimidation as weapons.

With this in mind, Minato pressed forward in the game.

This time, the road ahead split into three different paths, each one a different color.

One was black, one was gray, and one was red. Each seemed to represent something different.

Kai didn't offer any hints, and Minato didn't ask. Clearly, this was part of the game's "exploration" and "puzzle-solving" aspect. Knowing the answer ahead of time would ruin the fun.

After some thought, Minato chose the black path on the left, sprinting down it in true ninja style.

It wasn't reckless. He had realized that moving cautiously hadn't helped him deal with the ghostly woman earlier. So if "slow" wasn't the answer, perhaps "fast" was the way to go.

In fact, the three paths did have distinct meanings.

The black path represented death, the gray path symbolized suffering and sorrow, and the red path stood for bloodshed. These were the fundamental challenges faced by all ninja.

They also represented the past and inner turmoil of the character Minato was playing.

Using a game to probe the soul—this was a common trope in many games.

Of course, for the Shinobi world, this was still incredibly advanced and cutting-edge.

If this had been a full-fledged game, Kai would've been happy to dig deeper into these themes, giving the Shinobi world a real taste of the "ninth art"—gaming's power to challenge and reflect the human condition.

For now, though, he would let Minato enjoy a "light" experience.