Zombies, skeletons, decay, grotesque mutants, a world in ruin.
Jiraiya and the three watched, eyes wide in shock, as the apocalyptic scenes of *Left 4 Survival* overwhelmed them with dread.
A suffocating fear surged into their hearts, leaving the four unable to calm down for a long time.
Especially for Jiraiya and Yahiko—after all, Jiraiya had been searching for the Child of Prophecy under the Great Toad Sage's guidance, striving to bring peace to the Shinobi World.
Yahiko might not have had such lofty ideals, but he too longed to change the Land of Rain and bring order to the chaos—a man of great ambition and resolve.
Such people found doomsday visions unbearable.
Because in such a world, all their dreams, all their efforts, all their ideals—would mean nothing.
In the apocalypse, everything becomes meaningless. The only thing that remains is the primal instinct to survive.
Shaken, they fought their way through the game, slowly piecing together the backstory, eventually realizing that the world-ending disaster had been caused by spirits and demons unleashed in the Land of Demons.
Once he understood this, Yahiko asked, "Jiraiya-sensei, do such monsters really exist in our world?"
Jiraiya paused, then replied, "The Land of Demons does have a sealed monster called Mōryō. It's terrifying, but it's not as overwhelming as in the game."
"That monster did rampage once, but it was sealed away by a shrine maiden. It never caused anything as disastrous as what's shown in the game. So no, it doesn't possess that kind of power."
That part served as a bit of reassurance.
Hearing this, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan all breathed a sigh of relief. They had genuinely feared the game might mirror reality.
But then Yahiko said seriously, "Still, if something like Mōryō really exists in our world, we can't ignore it. We should monitor the Land of Demons before anything bad actually happens."
Nagato and Konan nodded immediately.
Jiraiya smiled. "Don't worry. Don't forget this game came from the Hidden Leaf. Once other nations experience this genjutsu-based game, they'll understand its value. They're not stupid. They'll start keeping an eye on Mōryō, just in case."
Reassured, the three disciples finally relaxed.
As citizens of a small country taught by a shinobi of a great nation, they naturally held a certain awe toward the Five Great Nations. They believed that if those nations intervened, no disaster would spiral out of control.
Only Jiraiya knew the truth: the great nations weren't as powerful as they seemed. If a disaster like in the game did occur, they'd fall just the same.
After that, they devoted themselves to the game—not just for the thrill of battle, but to study the post-apocalyptic setting and everything within it.
Especially for Yahiko's group, who had barely left the Land of Rain, *Left 4 Survival* was a revelation. Though not a massive game, its maps were expansive.
In this immersive genjutsu simulation, it was like a journey—one that opened their eyes to the world.
They asked Jiraiya about nearly everything they saw.
Which gave Jiraiya a headache. While he was more knowledgeable than 99% of the Shinobi World, he was still a product of it.
Uchiha Kei had designed many of these things by blending elements of the Shinobi World with knowledge from his past life.
Like those mechanical puppets that Sasori obsessed over—they didn't even exist in the current world. Not even Jiraiya could explain them.
So, Jiraiya had to start bluffing his way through, giving vague explanations and encouraging self-discovery.
Fortunately, Yahiko's team was sensible. Realizing that even Jiraiya didn't understand everything, they stopped pushing and started exploring on their own.
As a result, they uncovered quite a bit of lore—some of it tied to the Five Great Nations, some to the apocalypse itself. They were fully absorbed, loving every second.
After finishing *Left 4 Survival*, they tried two other games already released, gaining even more insight.
*Coming Home*'s horror atmosphere scared the life out of them—Jiraiya included. It was their first taste of terror in a genjutsu world.
But unexpectedly, Konan seemed to awaken a hidden trait: an addiction to horror games.
Yes, while the boys weren't particularly drawn to horror, Konan—the only girl—became obsessed. She gave *Coming Home* glowing reviews and eagerly anticipated future horror titles.
Of course, even though Uchiha Kei was preparing to release *Outlast*, due to poor communication infrastructure, only the Hidden Leaf and the Fire Country's central regions would hear about it immediately. Other regions would have to wait.
The further away, the longer the delay. Outskirts of the Fire Country would see a three-day delay; beyond that, it varied by nation.
After a day of gaming, Jiraiya and Yahiko's team returned with broadened horizons. They learned from the arcade that the Hidden Leaf didn't mind opening arcades in other nations.
Yahiko now had a new goal—one added to his long list:
To bring an arcade to the Land of Rain.
Not just for the benefits genjutsu games brought to shinobi, but because the arcade workers said they only opened in flourishing cities.
If the Land of Rain had an arcade, it would mean it had risen from decline into prosperity.
That, more than anything, was Yahiko's true goal—to change his homeland, to make it worthy of hosting an arcade.
Jiraiya saw this as a noble ambition. Laughing heartily, he encouraged Yahiko, promising that when the time came, he'd visit the Land of Rain and play with them again.
A promise.
A farewell.
Because the next morning, Jiraiya left.
Gracefully, he departed from the border town in the Fire Country where they had been staying. Yahiko and his group returned to the Land of Rain. Jiraiya headed deeper into the Fire Country, toward the Hidden Leaf.
You could tell—Yahiko's team was filled with determination and hope for the future.
Meanwhile, back in the Hidden Leaf, Uchiha Kei witnessed something that left him feeling complicated. He secretly recorded the footage.
Late at night, long after even the hardcore gamer Orochimaru had logged off, a certain someone quietly logged into the spiritual network.
It was none other than the Nine Tails—who had confidently declared days ago that he'd never enter the "illusion world" again.
Less than three days later, he was back, sneaking in at night to avoid being seen.
Uchiha Kei, staying up late to work on a new game, noticed the login thanks to his admin privileges over the network. Otherwise, no one would've caught the Nine Tails being so sneaky.
Curious, Kei used his admin powers to hide his presence and observe from a higher dimensional perspective.
Because of their different layers in the spiritual network, even the ultra-perceptive Nine Tails couldn't detect him.
And so, Kei saw everything.
"Hashirama, you're too powerful—you must be sealed!"
"Madara Uchiha, pathetic beast, be controlled by me!"
"Heh! Fight, fight, fight! You two losers were always destined to be crushed by me!"
"Heh heh heh, hahaha\~\~\~"
The Nine Tails laughed maniacally. In front of him were two NPCs he had spawned using the basic permissions Kei had granted him. He had made them resemble Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.
Clearly, this was revenge. Classic: "I can't beat the real you, but I can beat your action figures."
Compressed by the spiritual network into a "chibi" form, the Nine Tails looked delighted. Smashing those two small avatars brought him pure, unfiltered joy.
Watching him, Kei couldn't help but feel like the Nine Tails was bullying children. It left him speechless—and laughing.
He recorded the whole thing in secret.
Nine Tails' black history: get √.