"Kurama, you wouldn't want everyone to find out about your late-night action figure sessions, would you?"
"You insolent little Uchiha brat!"
"Kukuku! You just admitted I was born evil! Obviously, I have to live up to that reputation."
"Damn it... will my lifelong pride really be ruined over this?!"
Inside the mental network world, Kurama slumped on the ground in an OTL pose, his entire massive fox form radiating despair and indignation. Uchiha Kei appeared before him with a flying pounce, beaming with joy.
"Yes, that's exactly the expression I wanted to see. That face full of resentment and jealousy toward me—hahahahaha\~\~\~\~"
As Kei laughed, the background of their setting transformed into a beach scene, a visual masterpiece worthy of the ages.
Well, that was all just Kei's imagination running wild. The sight of Kurama playing with action figures alone had been so ridiculous that Kei couldn't help fantasizing about the over-the-top dramatic scene that might unfold if he confronted him.
Of course, Kei would never actually pull something like that. Maybe after their relationship deepened—but right now, when they'd only just begun trusting each other, that would definitely ruin things.
Once Kurama had finished playing, Kei manifested before him. Kurama, caught in the act, froze in wide-eyed horror, breaking into a sweat waterfall.
Smiling, Kei used his authority to create a private space for Kurama—a forested environment.
"This is your own private zone. Whenever you come to the mental network world, you can directly enter this place. No one else will see you. And, you can fully return to your original size here."
"Also, I've upgraded your dummy refresh permissions. I added some modules—you can now spawn full-scale, realistic versions of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha."
As he spoke, he demonstrated: summoning young versions of Hashirama and Madara—one with his hand confidently on his hip, the other crossing his arms with unyielding pride. Perfect re-creations of how the two legendary shinobi once appeared.
Seeing them, Kurama paused, then burst into delighted laughter: "Hahaha! Interesting, very interesting!"
Without hesitation, he reverted to his original form. In an instant, the massive tailed beast emerged, nine tails swinging like monsters of their own. He grabbed the dummy versions of Hashirama and Madara and began rampaging through the forest.
To Kei, it looked like a giant husky frolicking madly with two action figures—tearing through the trees in utter bliss.
It made sense. Kurama had been imprisoned for so long. Even with recent peace, the games and limited space within the seal were restrictive. This new world Kei created—where Kurama could play freely, with near-lifelike Hashirama and Madara—was his paradise.
Or maybe... because Kurama now mistook Kei for the prophesied child of the Sage of Six Paths, he felt totally uninhibited, no longer embarrassed to act foolish in front of him.
Of course, having already been caught in an even more humiliating scene just moments ago likely helped.
After a few minutes of chaos, Kurama happily ran back to Kei and shrank down to his small form.
As for the dummy Hashirama and Madara—they were completely obliterated.
Even though they were fake, Kurama looked utterly satisfied, like he'd finally gotten revenge on those overpowered freaks.
In an uncharacteristic moment of honesty, Kurama thanked Kei and said he was very pleased with the space. From now on, it would be his place for fun and relaxation.
Kei smiled and nodded. "As long as you're happy. It's built just for you. No one else can enter. But... maybe don't play with Hashirama and Madara outside of this space. If someone sees you... it might not end well."
Kurama frowned. "Hmph. I know. If they saw me doing that with Hashirama—their precious First Hokage—they'd definitely lose it."
He scoffed, clearly holding a grudge against others.
Kei shook his head. "No, you misunderstand. I wasn't talking about Minato or the others. I meant the First Hokage's family—or even the man himself. Wouldn't that be awkward?"
Kurama froze. "Huh? The First Hokage's relatives? The man himself? What are you talking about?"
Kei looked puzzled. "Uh... Kushina came here last night. You didn't notice anything?"
Kurama: "I can't see what's happening in this illusion world from outside, even if Kushina enters. Plus, when she came in, I was busy gaming. Why would I care what was happening here?"
Kei understood, then explained the technique: summoning souls of the dead and preserving them in the mental network.
Shocked, Kurama exclaimed, "You can even do that?! Isn't that something only the Sage of Six Paths could manage?"
Then, realization dawned on him. "Ah, right. If it's you, it's not that surprising. I guess I overreacted."
Clearly, he'd convinced himself again that Kei was the prophesied one. Having Sage-level powers wasn't surprising.
Still, it troubled Kurama.
According to Kei, more souls would soon arrive—next was the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
If Tobirama could come, so could Hashirama—and Madara.
The moment all the people Kurama feared most arrived, this illusion world might become his personal hell.
Thankfully, Kei had given him a private domain. He could just hide there.
Even Hashirama couldn't do whatever he wanted in this space.
Feeling much better, Kurama suddenly thought of something. He hesitated, then said, "Kei brat, give me your fist."
Kei blinked. "You want to do a fist bump?"
Kurama rolled his eyes. "As if! You're not my Jinchūriki. Why would I do that? I'm transferring some chakra to you."
Kei was stunned. "Uh, why?"
Kurama: "As thanks. And... I have a request."
Kei understood. "Tell me. If I can do it, I will."
Kurama said seriously, "It's nothing much. Since you know what we tailed beasts have been through, you understand our pain. We've always wanted salvation and help. If you ever meet the other tailed beasts, please make sure they have a place in this illusion world too."
"In a shinobi world completely overtaken by humans, this might be the last safe haven for us."
Kei nodded with a smile and raised his right fist. "Don't worry. Even if you hadn't asked, I would've done it."
As chakra creatures, the tailed beasts could, in theory, serve as massive servers in the spiritual network—a possibility Kei had discovered through his system's knowledge.
However, the related functions were still locked. He needed to keep upgrading his spiritual network skills.
The moment their fists met, pure chakra surged into Kei's consciousness.
In an instant, he exited the illusion world. His body was surrounded by a massive cloak of crimson chakra—shaped like a fox, with three tails. It was the tailed beast cloak form.
But this cloak wasn't corrosive. It resembled the version used by Naruto during the Fourth Great Ninja War when he shared Kurama's chakra with others—just more concentrated, at three tails' worth.
Kei quickly absorbed the powerful, life-filled chakra into himself. Luckily, his house was protected by a barrier set up by the Uchiha clan, so the chakra hadn't leaked out. Otherwise, any ninja with decent sensing ability across half the village would've noticed.
Still, it was enough to alert the Uchiha guards, who rushed in.
"Don't worry! I'm fine. Just conducting an experiment. Sorry for the disturbance," Kei explained, calming the flustered guards.
Then, Uchiha Naori noticed something about Kei's eyes. "Lord Kei... your eyes—"
Kei blinked, realizing his Sharingan was still active—and it felt incredibly powerful, his vision far sharper than before.
No mirror needed. Kei knew it had evolved into the Three Tomoe Sharingan!
Yes, thanks to the pure, non-hostile chakra from Kurama, Kei's eyes had advanced directly into the three tomoe form.
The Uchiha guards were dumbfounded. None of them understood how Kei had upgraded so suddenly. In the end, they could only marvel: "As expected of Lord Kei. Achieving what others couldn't with such ease."
As for Kei, while thrilled, he wasn't surprised. After all, that was Kurama's chakra—purified, harmless, and in massive quantity. Three full tails' worth.
Even if it would be consumed eventually, it was more than enough to upgrade his eyes.
But that was the limit. To unlock the Mangekyō Sharingan would take more than Kurama's chakra. Even if he had the complete Nine-Tails, he'd only reach the golden chakra mode, like Naruto—not the Mangekyō.
The true Sharingan cheat still required Uchiha blood—or the crazy gamble of Hashirama cells.
Still, alongside his new Three Tomoe Sharingan, Kei discovered that the functions of the mental network had evolved yet again.