Minato Namikaze Became the First Victim (4K)

The next day, a little after ten in the morning, when the sun was nearly overhead, Uchiha Qi finally woke from his deep sleep, his entire body aching. Then he realized his bladder was about to burst.

His sleep had been so deep that even the biological urge of holding in urine had failed to wake him.

Only after rushing into the bathroom at the fastest speed of his life to take care of his bodily needs, leaving himself feeling completely relieved, did Uchiha Qi remember what had happened the previous night.

He was rather speechless about it, then decisively switched into blame-shifting mode. "Sure enough, the innately evil Uchiha bloodline affected me. Uchiha Clan is Uchiha Clan—always prone to extremes. Even a transmigrator like me with such upright values was influenced into wanting revenge on society, let alone the other Uchiha."

"When the innately evil Uchiha Clan runs into the even more evil Konoha higher-ups, it's like Mars hitting Earth, dry kindling meeting a raging fire, a mouse finding rice. One side is bound to get GG'd, and with the Uchiha Clan's track record, they'll most likely still be exterminated by Weasel. If I stay in Konoha, I'm doomed sooner or later. Sure enough, I need to get out of Konoha as soon as possible."

"Come to think of it, the game is finished. Has the system distributed the reward?"

With that thought, Uchiha Qi opened the system to take a look.

Then he saw the notification that the novice mission issued last night had been completed, along with the appearance of the novice reward.

Yet the reward left Uchiha Qi somewhat surprised and stunned, followed by a surge of intense delight.

Because the system reward was—an increase of 10% to his physical attributes!

A 10% increase to all attributes!

According to the system, physical attributes consisted of energy, stamina, strength, and agility.

A game development system was actually giving out rewards for physical attributes. That was downright absurd.

Was this system doing it on purpose, or had it made a mistake? Was it really an artificial idiot?

With that in mind, Uchiha Qi asked the system why it was giving physical rewards, and the system gave him an answer.

However, after learning the answer, Uchiha Qi was rendered completely speechless. He also confirmed that the system truly was an artificial idiot—and in some ways, an utter bastard.

The system's answer was that an outstanding game developer had to possess an excellent body and abundant energy. To create great games and grind other developers into the dirt, one had to work insane overtime and defeat competitors with the attitude of a true grind king.

Without an excellent body and sufficient energy, even if the host possessed outstanding abilities, he would be ground to death by the Chinese game market of 2024—damn it, even this artificial idiot system knew how cutthroat the Chinese market was.

Therefore, it was entirely reasonable for the system to provide body-enhancement rewards, all so Uchiha Qi could grind harder in the game market.

Furthermore, besides body-enhancement rewards, the reward pool included increased recovery, further enhancement of related game-development skills, increased mental agility and explosiveness, and every other buff capable of strengthening Uchiha Qi as the game industry's grind king. The goal was to turn him into the ultimate emperor of the grind industry someday—an invincible legend who would never need sleep and would possess endless energy, the ultimate workhorse physique that would make countless capitalists weep!

After learning all that, Uchiha Qi's silence was deafening.

In the end, Uchiha Qi slowly said, "System, are you sure you're a game developer system and not an innate workhorse-physique cultivation system?"

The system's answer was naturally affirmative. No matter how thoroughly exposed it was, it insisted that it was a game developer system.

Uchiha Qi had nothing to say to that.

However, after calming down, Uchiha Qi became excited again and even felt ecstatic.

Because this comprehensive enhancement to his physical attributes was practically heaven-defying in the Ninja World!

If he were still an Earthling, the system's reward would probably at most turn Uchiha Qi into a Captain America with incredible recovery. That would be absurdly powerful on Earth, sure, but it could not compare to the Ninja World!

After all, people in the Ninja World naturally had twice as many cells as Earthlings, and their innate attributes were already stronger. As a ninja, even though Uchiha Qi's talent was fairly ordinary and he was currently only an average Chunin, percentage-based enhancement was still incredibly overpowered.

For example, after carefully sensing his body, Uchiha Qi discovered that the bottleneck he had always been able to clearly feel had been forcibly raised. Though he could still sense its existence, he was much stronger than before.

Moreover, a 10% increase to all physical attributes was not merely a simple 10% enhancement for Uchiha Qi.

Because Chakra in the Ninja World was produced through the fusion of spiritual energy and physical energy—in other words, energy generated by combining mental strength and life force.

Since energy was also considered part of his overall physical attributes under the system's 10% enhancement, Uchiha Qi's Chakra increased as well. Combined together, his total Chakra had actually risen by at least 20%.

It might not seem like much, but for Uchiha Qi, it meant he could cast one more B-rank ninjutsu. And if used for low-level lifesaving techniques or escaping, the benefits would be even greater.

Most importantly...

"This is only the novice enhancement. If I keep completing system missions, how far can I go in the future? Kage-level shouldn't be just a dream. Maybe I can even dream about Super Kage?"

Uchiha Qi muttered, the corners of his mouth lifting so hard they were practically impossible to suppress.

Well, forgive Uchiha Qi for only thinking as far as Super Kage. After all, he had long since been beaten by reality and recognized the truth: in many cases, hard work simply could not compare to having cheats.

Although he had a cheat now too, in the original Naruto story, without exception, those who surpassed Super Kage and reached the Six Paths level were all cheaters. Otherwise, they were members of the Otsutsuki Clan, an entire clan of cheaters that appeared in the sequel Boruto.

Everyone was using cheats. Uchiha Qi did not think his cheat could surpass anyone else's—after all, no matter how one put it, his cheat was merely an artificial idiot that had landed in the wrong world. Give him a Dragon Ball or fantasy-system setup, and see if he would dare dream this big.

Right now, Uchiha Qi wanted the system to issue a new game-development mission.

Since making games could make him stronger, then becoming a workhorse and a mass-production game developer was not entirely unacceptable.

However, the system's feedback left Uchiha Qi silent, because...

Main Mission: Please promote the host's first game. Objective: collect no fewer than 5,000 Emotion Value.

Emotion Value is generated from the emotional reactions players experience after playing a game created by the host. The greater an individual's emotional response, the more Emotion Value they generate.

A normal person can generate 1 point of base Emotion Value each time, with a theoretical maximum of 4 points. Each player can only generate Emotion Value once per game. As long as they enter the game and play for ten minutes, they can generate the minimum amount of Emotion Value. Emotion Value will be settled after the player clears the game or gives up playing.

That was the system's feedback. In summary, it wanted Uchiha Qi to promote the game he had created and complete the mission by collecting Emotion Value generated by players.

Theoretically, 5,000 Emotion Value only required at most 5,000 players to play Uchiha Qi's game.

If he were still on Earth, Uchiha Qi could easily complete the mission by spending some money to hire streamers or video creators to play the game and promote it. After all, whether the game was good or bad, the system meant that as long as someone played for ten minutes, they would generate at least 1 point of Emotion Value.

It could be said that the system was quite user-friendly. The difficulty of the mission was undoubtedly at the level of "very easy, would fill this out again next time."

But...

This was the Ninja World!!!

And the Ninja World did not have computers, game consoles, phones, or similar devices.

Others really could play the game Uchiha Qi created, but he had to use his Sharingan one-on-one to bring someone into it, and only one person could play at a time.

The damn difficulty had skyrocketed in an instant.

Not only was promoting a game in the Ninja World extremely difficult, more importantly, normal people would not let an Uchiha use the Sharingan to cast genjutsu on them!

At that thought, the light vanished from Uchiha Qi's eyes. The hope that had just arisen instantly turned into despair.

Sure enough, the only path suited for him was the path of running away.

An aura known as "loser" settled over Uchiha Qi.

Just then, someone knocked on Uchiha Qi's front door.

Then, a gentle male voice sounded from outside.

"Qi, are you home?"

Hearing that voice, Uchiha Qi froze briefly before immediately replying, "Yeah, I'm here."

As he spoke, he had already headed toward the door.

Although he was an Uchiha, he had planned on becoming someone who ran away since long ago, so he did not live in the Uchiha Clan compound. Instead, he lived alone in a small two-bedroom apartment with a living room.

The Nine-Tails Attack had not happened yet, and the Uchiha Clan had not become a target of public criticism because of some love-struck fool's antics. Thus, the clan compound was still located in Konoha's central district.

Likewise, the Uchiha were not restricted in where they could go and were not under surveillance. So, there were other Uchiha like Uchiha Qi who had left the clan compound to live alone. He was not an exception, nor did he stand out.

When he opened the door, Uchiha Qi found a blue-eyed young man before him, dressed in Konoha ninja's signature blue outfit, with blond hair and a handsome face.

Anyone who had watched Naruto would recognize the man before him. He was one of Naruto's most popular characters, known as the man with the flashiest moves in the Ninja World—the future Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

Uchiha Qi was not surprised that Minato Namikaze had come to see him, because they had been classmates at the Ninja Academy and close friends who had grown up together.

Back when he was young, before reality had beaten him down and while he was still full of fantasies about the future, Uchiha Qi had proactively befriended Minato Namikaze out of the utilitarian desire to invest early in a future big shot. Minato Namikaze had always been a kind person and held no guard against Uchiha Qi, so the two naturally became close friends.

Now, seeing Uchiha Qi radiating the aura of a loser, Minato Namikaze could not help but ask after him with concern. During their subsequent conversation, he also explained why he had come to find Uchiha Qi.

It turned out that Minato Namikaze had just completed an S-rank Mission and intended to invite Uchiha Qi, his close friend, to his home that evening for a celebration.

Minato Namikaze had originally gone to the Konoha Military Police Force to look for Uchiha Qi. But because Uchiha Qi had slept until now, he had not reported to the Konoha Military Police Force at all that day. Worried that something had happened to him, Minato Namikaze had come straight to Uchiha Qi's home.

After learning all this, Uchiha Qi was deeply moved, followed by a wave of melancholy. Though his initial motives had been utilitarian, after more than a decade, the two had truly become close friends. If his own strength had not been insufficient and he had not been utterly powerless against those old schemers lurking in the shadows, why would he choose to become someone who ran away later on?

Still, Uchiha Qi had already prepared a backup plan. When he fled, he would leave Minato Namikaze a letter telling him about that old bastard Uchiha Madara and the Nine-Tails Attack.

As for whether Minato Namikaze could survive the deadly crisis with his wife, that was beyond Uchiha Qi's control.

After all, as a mere Chunin, he was cannon fodder in a disaster like the Nine-Tails Attack. The Nine-Tails could kill him beyond dead with a single puff of breath.

What was more, that old bastard Shimura Danzō would send people to keep the Uchiha Clan under watch and forbid them from joining the battle.

After a moment of inward melancholy, Uchiha Qi said that he would arrive at Minato Namikaze's home on time that evening.

But after agreeing, Uchiha Qi thought of his game and suddenly changed the subject. "Oh, right, Minato. I made a game. Come help me test it out?"

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

Uchiha Qi solemnly said, "Don't worry, it's not the childish kind of game you know. It's a miracle I created by using my Sharingan, combining it with genjutsu, and improving upon it."

"I put a great deal of effort into this project. Last night, I finally completed it. So, I hope you, my close friend, can be the first player of this era-defining game!"

After hearing that, Minato Namikaze scratched his head, then revealed his signature bright smile. "I don't really understand what it is, but if it's something you're asking me to do, Qi, then of course I'll do it without hesitation."

That absolute trust deeply moved Uchiha Qi. "As expected of my close friend. Come on, come on, let's go inside first. Lie down on the bed."

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

Uchiha Qi said, "Don't get the wrong idea. It's simply because this game requires me to use the Sharingan to cast genjutsu. Once you enter the illusionary world, if you're standing or sitting and suddenly make some intense movement or reaction, you'll fall to the floor."

Minato Namikaze sighed in relief. "I see. Then it's fine."

Uchiha Qi clicked his tongue. "Tch, I already said I'd be using genjutsu. Aren't you going to ask more questions?"

Minato Namikaze smiled. "Because it's you, Qi. I believe you wouldn't mean me any harm."

Uchiha Qi curled his lip. "Tch, you bastard. What a shame you're not a woman."

Minato Namikaze gave an awkward laugh. "Ahaha..."

There was no way to respond to that. It felt like the atmosphere would become very strange if he continued.

Fortunately, Uchiha Qi did not say anything else outrageous afterward. Once Minato Namikaze lay down, he directly activated his Sharingan and used the genjutsu that launched the game on Minato Namikaze.

Minato Namikaze offered no resistance whatsoever, allowing the genjutsu—which would have completely failed if he resisted even slightly—to take effect successfully.

In an instant, Minato Namikaze felt the world spin, and he vaguely heard meaningless phrases such as "Genshin, Activate" and "Link Start."

When he came to his senses, the scene before Minato Namikaze had completely changed. He was standing on a Konoha street at night.

However, the street was completely deserted. A little farther away, everything was shrouded in thick gray fog. Lanterns emitting green light hung from the buildings lining the road, and many of the visible windows bore bloody handprints or lingering bloodstains.

What made his scalp tingle even more was the extremely eerie background music, as though it were declaring that he had arrived in a ghostly place entirely unlike normal Konoha.

Then, terrifying words painted in blood appeared before Minato Namikaze. Their name was—"Homecoming."

An eerie, ethereal female voice also sounded beside Minato Namikaze's ear, announcing the game's name and instantly raising goosebumps all over his body.

An unprecedented sense of unease surged into his heart. In less than ten seconds after entering the game, Minato Namikaze, Konoha's Elite Jonin, had already broken out in a cold sweat.

It could not be helped. When creating the game the previous night, Uchiha Qi had genuinely made it with the mentality of unleashing ghostly psychological attacks on the Ninja World's superhumans, fueled by his desire for revenge on society.

Now, Minato Namikaze had become the first victim.

Please keep reading!