New Game: "Simple" Fruit Ninja

Chapter 32: A New Game—the 'Simple' Fruit Ninja

At Uchiha Qi's home, all five members involved in the research and development gathered for a meal prepared by Uchiha Qi and Minato Namikaze.

After a delightful meal, Kikyo Uzumaki and Uchiha Jiri volunteered to do the dishes and headed into the kitchen together. Kushina Uzumaki actually wanted to join them, but the kitchen wasn't very big; two people were already a bit cramped. If Kushina Uzumaki went in too, moving around would become genuinely difficult, so only the two of them ended up in there.

The two young women cooperating on the dishes had quite a pleasant atmosphere. Although Uchiha Jiri was a proud Uchiha, she wasn't the type to always have a stern face; she did smile, albeit a more reserved one.

As for Kikyo Uzumaki, a classic member of the Uzumaki Clan, she was warm and generous, actively engaging Uchiha Jiri in conversation. The atmosphere between them was very lively, with happy laughter often echoing from the kitchen.

Anyone unaware might have thought they were sisters who had known each other for many years. In reality, when Kikyo Uzumaki first met Uchiha Jiri, she was quite nervous and wary, given that she was a stunning beauty appearing by Uchiha Qi's side. It wasn't until she learned that Uchiha Jiri was sent by the Uchiha Clan to protect Uchiha Qi that Kikyo Uzumaki's attitude towards her instantly changed.

Outside, Kushina Uzumaki watched this scene with a subtle expression. Then, while the girls in the kitchen weren't paying attention, she slipped out to the balcony.

There, Uchiha Qi and Minato Namikaze were lazily leaning back in two chairs, sipping sake and enjoying the comfortable night breeze.

Then, Kushina Uzumaki's arrival broke the relaxed atmosphere of the two men.

As the two men turned to look at her in confusion, Kushina Uzumaki furtively whispered to Uchiha Qi, "Qi, what do you think of those two? Are you planning to marry both of them?"

The opening salvo was a direct hit, igniting a blaze of gossip.

In an instant, Uchiha Qi looked speechless, while Minato Namikaze understood what his girlfriend meant and looked at Uchiha Qi with intense curiosity.

While most ninja practice monogamy, the Ninja World isn't strictly a monogamous society. It's perfectly normal to marry multiple partners if one wishes—you can't expect a world with a feudal system of Daimyo and a strict hierarchy to adhere to the concept of one partner for life.

Ninja rarely marry multiple partners because they are generally responsible for their offspring, and raising children is expensive. Furthermore, ninja themselves spend a lot of money, as much of their equipment needs to be purchased. Therefore, based on considerations of resources and future prospects, few ninja choose to marry multiple wives.

However, "few" doesn't mean "none." If Uchiha Qi were to indeed marry both Uchiha Jiri and Kikyo Uzumaki, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, as his friends, would only offer their blessings. At most, Kushina Uzumaki might express a token amount of displeasure as Kikyo Uzumaki's family representative.

Glancing towards the kitchen, Uchiha Qi swirled the sake in his cup and said, "When it comes to such matters, I've always been one to let fate decide. Besides, you two grew up with me—when have you ever seen me actively pursue a girl?"

Upon hearing this, the two thought about it and realized that Uchiha Qi was indeed like that. Even now, with Kikyo Uzumaki clearly fond of Uchiha Qi, it was always Kikyo Uzumaki who made the moves; Uchiha Qi had never been proactive.

Uchiha Qi looked up at Konoha's night sky. "When it comes to matters of the heart, my mindset has always been quite Zen; I just let things happen naturally. Kikyo's current affection for me is just the result of a childhood hero rescue, a mere suspension bridge effect. Whether we end up together in the future, we'll see when the time comes."

"As for Jiri-senpai, the clan hopes that she and I will unite to produce excellent offspring. But again, my attitude towards such things is Zen; I won't spend much thought on it."

"Compared to these romantic entanglements, what I'm more concerned about right now is the promotion and release of the Genjutsu Game."

His words, full of an almost obsessive drive for success, left Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki silent.

The two seemed to want to say something but held back, and Uchiha Qi knew what they wanted to complain about. Before his system awakened, Uchiha Qi's main approach was to muddle through at the Konoha Military Police Force, with a very strong slacker mentality. His sudden transformation into an extremely ambitious workaholic truly left them unsure of what to say.

Of course, they also understood. After all, the old Uchiha Qi hadn't developed the Genjutsu Game yet, nor had he fully unleashed his incredible talent for developing Secret Techniques.

Now, with the opportunity and conditions set, the past three days of Genjutsu Game porting had allowed them to fully experience Uchiha Qi's terrifying abilities.

This led Minato Namikaze, who knew Uchiha Qi best, to suspect that the old Uchiha Qi had been hiding his true capabilities, appearing to slack off while secretly working incredibly hard like a genius student.

Moreover, even when he was holding back, Uchiha Qi had already displayed astonishing talent in developing the Rasengan.

Now, Uchiha Qi likely felt there was no longer a need to hide his abilities. With achievements and a platform, and even the support of the Uchiha Clan, he was beginning to freely showcase his talents.

As a close friend, Minato Namikaze was actually very happy about this, as he had always believed Uchiha Qi was a brilliant prodigy whose talents were simply buried in a Konoha that centered everything around ninja aptitude.

Therefore, Minato Namikaze followed Uchiha Qi's lead and asked him about the Genjutsu Game's release, also expressing some concerns.

"Qi, even though we've solved the problem of porting the Genjutsu Game to Sealing Scrolls, Sealing Scrolls are still quite expensive."

"From what you're implying, you want Konoha's civilians to be able to play the Genjutsu Game, but if the cost doesn't come down, that'll be very difficult to achieve."

Uchiha Qi nodded. "Don't worry! I'm prepared for this, and I have a complete plan."

"It's true that the cost is too high right now; one scroll can only hold one game and can only be used once. But these are just issues of insufficient technology. Once we have ample funds in the future, we can continue to invest in relevant technological research, and eventually, all these technical problems will be solved."

"Compared to these matters that need to be addressed later, Minato, what we need to do now is first establish the reputation of the 'Genjutsu Game' and then gather enough funds to support further research and development."

"At the very least, we need to make sure the major Ninja Clans understand the concept, so we can open up the market. Only then can we invite the major Ninja Clans to join us and expand this entirely new market."

"So, Mr. Minato Namikaze, the lifelong spokesperson for our Genjutsu Game Guild, are you ready to promote the Genjutsu Game?"

Minato Namikaze scratched his head, looking a bit troubled. "I don't understand anything about business. In short, Qi, you just want me to play the Genjutsu Game in front of everyone, right?"

"And then, you'll use a special method to let others see me playing the game, right?"

Uchiha Qi nodded. "Yes, I plan to livestream it using the projection feature that was accidentally developed yesterday while we were working on the porting technology. Although it won't be as immersive as directly entering the Genjutsu Game to watch, our main goal is to let more people see it."

"So, live broadcasting is a pretty good option."

It's well-known that developing new technologies often leads to unexpected but useful research outcomes. This is true for technological research on Earth, and it's also true for 'Secret Technique' development in the Ninja World.

Yesterday, Uchiha Qi and his team developed an incredibly impressive projection technology that could directly project the content of a player using a Sealing Scroll to play a Genjutsu Game, allowing those not in the game to see it directly—a classic live broadcast feature.

After listening to Uchiha Qi, Minato Namikaze nodded. "Live broadcast, huh? That's a very fitting term. So, do you want me to stream Homecoming?"

Uchiha Qi shook his head. "No, I want you to stream another new game."

Minato Namikaze was surprised. "Huh? A new game? Qi, when did you make a new game?"

Uchiha Qi replied, "Just yesterday. I've been developing new Genjutsu Games when I get home these past few days, and I finished it last night."

Minato Namikaze exclaimed, "That's so you! Developing new Secret Techniques during the day, and then going home to develop new games at night—your energy is truly incredible."

After a moment of admiration, he asked, "So, what's the new game? Is it like Homecoming?"

Uchiha Qi smiled. "No, it's different, and it's very simple. There are no puzzle elements; it's quite straightforward and brutal. It's called Fruit Ninja."

Of course, it was the Ninja World-exclusive version with super hell difficulty and an inferno mode.

Black Myth: Wukong is really fun.

It just doesn't have a map, which made me get lost and dizzy, sadly.

I've decided to watch playthroughs, or wait for someone to make a map mod.