From his god-like vantage point, Uchiha Kei watched Namikaze Minato's reaction and nodded in satisfaction. The "little surprise" he had arranged worked wonders—even someone as composed as Namikaze Minato was clearly shaken, let alone those with weaker nerves.
That Minato reacted this way was no surprise to Uchiha Kei.
It wasn't that Minato had suddenly turned cowardly. Rather, the cursed game Kei had crafted was simply too far ahead of its time for the Shinobi World. It maxed out every core element of human fear.
The root of fear comes from many places, but the purest form is fear of death—a universal instinct across all life forms. The phrase "will to live" explains a lot.
Next in line is fear of the unknown.
From primitive worship of animals, to awe of natural phenomena, to belief in fictional gods and man-made cults, to fears of darkness or the abyss—these all boil down to fear of the unknown.
And often, simply turning the unknown into something partially known drastically reduces fear.
For example, players on Earth who enjoy horror games might still be scared, but the rush of adrenaline and dopamine gives them intense pleasure.
The problem here was, Uchiha Kei's cursed game was something the Shinobi World had never seen—and it was fully immersive.
When Minato was choked by the ghost and couldn't move, he simultaneously felt the fear of death and the fear of the unknown.
Unfamiliar visuals. Unfamiliar sensations. An inexplicable "woman."
All of it compounded into a perfect storm of terror—even someone like Minato, the Hidden Leaf's golden boy, couldn't hold up.
Once Minato calmed down, he forced a bitter smile.
"Is this really just a genjutsu-based game? It felt a little *too* real, didn't it? And that woman... she didn't seem like a shinobi. Or even a human. Was she supposed to be the vengeful spirit in the story?"
While ghost stories existed in the Shinobi World, they were mostly folk tales passed around by civilians. Shinobi, who had seen much and were far from ordinary, didn't fear such things. They viewed spirits and monsters as mere superstition—usually mistaking stealthy shinobi or summoning beasts for ghosts.
In truth, civilians often did confuse assassins with spirits, and exotic creatures with monsters.
So while the Shinobi World had tales of demons and ghosts, they were dull and mundane to ninja—hardly comparable to Uchiha Kei's creation.
Only now did Minato realize—the woman in the game was likely a ghost straight out of folklore.
Kei finally spoke up: "Yeah, I based her on some of those local legends. So? Pretty unique experience, right, Minato?"
Minato exhaled helplessly. "Definitely unique. I really thought I was going to die back there."
Kei grinned. "That was just your perception. It's a game, not a jutsu meant to kill. I added a safety lock—if it ever actually threatens someone's life, the game auto-terminates."
Then he muttered, "Still, this world's full of people who don't know their limits. If someone tries to power through despite warnings and gets seriously hurt... I could end up liable."
"That won't do. That's a huge bug. I need to fix that. Maybe I should stitch in some emergency medical ninjutsu. That way if someone triggers a life-threatening scenario, they can be stabilized immediately."
Though he mumbled, his voice wasn't exactly low. Minato overheard everything. While he wanted to laugh at Kei's logic, he couldn't deny it made sense.
So Minato nodded seriously. "You're right. The game feels incredibly real. For a lot of ninja, it might be too much. Adding safety measures is definitely necessary."
Kei asked, "So Minato, you good? Want to rest?"
Good? Of course!
A man never admits he's not okay.
Especially not in front of his best bro!
Even with Minato's usual calm demeanor, there was no way he'd say no.
He jumped to his feet. "Of course! It was intense, sure, but after that shock, I felt something new. The sheer adrenaline rush was... strangely pleasant. I'm actually looking forward to what's next."
"And besides..."
He dropped his smile, expression turning serious. "Going through that level of fear while in a 'weakened' state—it's a great trial. If I ever face a similar threat again, I'll be mentally prepared."
He wasn't joking. In the Shinobi World, ninja were fragile spellcasters in disguise. Many possessed strange jutsu designed to drag out one's deepest fears or use cursed tricks. Plenty of powerful shinobi had fallen to such tactics.
Uchiha Kei's cursed game, though terrifying, was an excellent training tool—an emotional forge. It helped Minato strengthen his resolve so he could face sinister enemies with composure in the future.
With that, Minato dove back into the game.
This time, he was presented with three paths, each a different color.
One was black.
One was gray.
One was red.
Each clearly symbolized something different.
Kei gave no hints. Minato didn't ask. This was obviously part of the puzzle—spoiling it would ruin the fun.
Eventually, Minato chose the black path on the left, charging in at ninja speed.
Not because he was reckless, but because moving cautiously hadn't helped against that female spirit. If "slow" didn't work, then maybe "fast" would.
In fact, each path represented something symbolic.
Black stood for death.
Gray for sorrow and hardship.
Red for bloodshed.
These were the things every ninja faced.
They also reflected Minato's past and his inner struggles.
Using a game to interrogate the soul—classic design trope.
Still, for the Shinobi World, this was way ahead of its time.
If this were a full-fledged game, Uchiha Kei wouldn't hesitate to dive deeper into these settings—to show the ninja world just how brutally honest the "ninth art" could be.
But for now, Minato would just get a taste.