At the same time, in the very heart of the Hidden Leaf Village—backed by the Hokage Rock that symbolized the village's history—inside the Hokage Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, still at the tail end of his prime with jet-black hair and beard, received a report from the Anbu.
Upon reading its contents, Hiruzen furrowed his brows slightly, then turned his gaze out the window toward the Uchiha district, which was even faintly visible from the Hokage Office. That massive core zone belonged to the Uchiha clan.
This was one of the founding families' rights and privileges.
However, at some point, the Uchiha clan—who possessed a great deal of resources and benefits—had become a thorn in the side of the village leadership.
And now, this very clan had done something unexpected today, which forced Hiruzen to pause and seriously contemplate.
The report detailed an incident the Anbu had observed earlier: Uchiha Kei entering the Uchiha compound, greeted with extraordinary respect by a group of clan members.
There was no further information. Konoha's surveillance extended only to the perimeter of the Uchiha grounds; everything beyond that was shrouded in mystery.
"Uchiha Kei... I remember that kid," Hiruzen muttered. "An odd one among the Uchiha. A close friend of Minato, also on good terms with Kushina. He even helped Minato rescue a wandering member of the Uzumaki clan—Uzumaki Kikyo."
"Unlike most of his clan, he doesn't follow their orders. Despite having no apparent talent as a shinobi, he rejected the family's arrangements and enrolled in the Academy on his own. He always excelled in academics, but his practical skills were mediocre at best. Compared to the other Uchiha prodigies, he was worlds apart. Hence, they called him the disgrace of the Uchiha."
"Maybe due to his childhood experiences, he lacked any strong sense of clan pride. After graduating, he even moved out of the district. Now, he works for the Konoha Police Force—a Chūnin performing unremarkable clerical duties."
"The Uchiha have always been indifferent toward him. Only a few showed him any kindness."
"But today... the Uchiha clan welcomed him back with the kind of ceremony reserved for foreign dignitaries. Even dispatched the young genius Uchiha Chiri to greet him personally."
After reading the entire report, Hiruzen furrowed his brows deeply. He could not understand why the Uchiha had suddenly chosen to elevate a so-called black sheep and mediocrity like Kei to such high regard. It was utterly absurd.
Even Hiruzen, who understood the eccentricity of the Uchiha, found today's events completely baffling.
Worse still, this wasn't the future—this was the present. Hiruzen didn't yet have the likes of Shisui Uchiha or Itachi Uchiha to act as informants. He had no means of knowing what was truly happening inside the clan.
With no clear path forward, Hiruzen decided to set the matter aside for now.
Not because he intended to ignore it—but because he trusted his old friend Danzo Shimura, who had been monitoring the Uchiha. If anything suspicious emerged, Danzo would surely investigate and bring the truth to him.
Wasn't that what the Foundation was for?
Yes—Hiruzen still had full trust in Danzo back then, before any assassination attempts.
In fact, at that very moment, deep within the forest behind the Hokage Rock—in the underground base of the Foundation—Danzo himself had received the same intel.
He had learned of it through his direct subordinates. As someone who held deep prejudice against the Uchiha and coveted the power of the Sharingan, Danzo always had them under surveillance. When the Uchiha acted abnormally, he knew almost as quickly as Hiruzen.
Upon reading the report, Danzo narrowed his remaining left eye. Beneath the bandages on his wrinkled face, a cold malice spread.
"Uchiha Kei..."
A Uchiha once deemed irrelevant had now entered Danzo's line of sight.
————
Meanwhile, inside the Uchiha clan's meeting hall, the game demonstration had already begun.
"This... is the genjutsu game's world?"
As the first tester, Uchiha Meiji looked around the eerie scene within the game and instinctively felt a surge of fear.
(Lent by book friend "Uchiha")
Just like Namikaze Minato and Uchiha Fugaku before him, the unknown horror evoked by the game's netherworldly environment caused even this 40-something veteran—who prided himself on his composure in any situation—to realize he had underestimated it.
He had heard the young clan leader mention that the game might be unsettling, but to be honest, Uchiha Meiji had always thought the clan head was just a figurehead—never out on actual missions.
Though Fugaku had lived through the Second Great Ninja War as a child, he had remained safely in the village. Hardly the kind to have seen true battlefields.
Meiji respected Fugaku's lineage but not his vision. So when Fugaku described the genjutsu game as lifelike and terrifying, Meiji paid no mind.
Now, confident and ready, he entered the game—only to be overwhelmed before it even began. Cold sweat broke out almost instantly.
At the same time, six observers—including the clan head and the elder—watched the game's interior.
Uchiha Kei had positioned their perspective right beside the player, allowing them to touch the buildings, feel the atmosphere, and even perceive their own phantom bodies within the illusion.
Though they couldn't influence the game world, and Meiji couldn't see them, the experience was astonishing.
"Sugoi!!!"
"So real!!!"
"Is this really genjutsu? Are you sure this isn't the real world?"
"Ah\~ this light\~ Ah\~ this door\~ Ah\~ this green fire\~ and these people... This unbelievable realism—this is genjutsu?!"
The Uchihas exclaimed without care for appearances. Only the clan head and elder maintained composure, though their eyes betrayed their awe.
Hearing those reactions, the Uchihas outside the illusion exchanged glances, curiosity growing stronger.
Only Uchiha Fugaku remained calm—he had already experienced this.
Inside, however, he brimmed with pride.
Pride from early access. Pride in Uchiha Kei stunning the others. It was the joy of being the one who recognized Kei's talent before anyone else.
As for Uchiha Masanobu and Elder Uchiha Setsuna, though composed outwardly, their eyes too could not hide astonishment.
All they could do was sigh internally: "No wonder Fugaku praises him so highly. This genjutsu world Kei created far surpasses any genjutsu ever born from a Sharingan. Even the Mangekyō Sharingan might not be able to reach such levels. Kei-dono is a once-in-a-century prodigy of our clan!"
Awe, admiration, curiosity, and excitement filled the hall.
For the current sole player—Uchiha Meiji—it was a different story. Standing on a mist-shrouded path into the abyss, feeling his frail avatar body and the intensely realistic sensory immersion, his heartbeat raced. Sweat drenched his back.
The third victim had realized something was wrong the moment he entered the game—and now, he didn't even want to keep playing.