UK:GSW Chapter 437: The Last Ninja Release Date and Press Conference
According to the plan, what comes next will be the long-term contest of wits and strength between the Allied Shinobi Forces and the Akatsuki.
The Allied Shinobi Forces would continue to exist in this form, earning their own funds while also receiving funding from the nobility and wealthy, then taking on various missions and combating the Akatsuki.
The Akatsuki's task was to occasionally jump out and kill a few nobles or daimyō, then clash with members of the Allied Shinobi Forces.
It was a classic case of creating a powerful enemy to force people to unite and gain massive support. Honestly, it was a rather crude tactic—but it suited the Second Ninja World perfectly: a world with extraordinary powers, a bold and unruly people, and an outrageous culture, yet lacking the political and civilizational maturity as well as the qualified management talent needed for stable governance.
The Second Ninja World was always different from the Main World; achieving rapid reform as in the Main World was far from easy. Although the Second Hidden Leaf Village would strive to make it happen, before success was reached, this manufactured state of unity and peace would be needed to maintain the basic framework.
At the very least, when the Ōtsutsuki Clan invades, the Ninja World must be able to instantly mobilize overwhelming force—rather than going through formalities, holding a Five Kage Summit, and then forming the Allied Shinobi Forces.
By the time they finished all that, it would already be too late.
Therefore, maintaining a long-term, powerful alliance capable of acting as one and quickly mobilizing most of the Ninja World's resources was absolutely necessary.
Of course, humans are forgetful creatures. Some would always think they were safe, while others would resent or even oppose the Allied Shinobi Forces.
Naturally, the Allied Shinobi Forces had their own rules for handling internal dissent. As for those daimyō and nobles outside the alliance, it was simple—if they jumped out in opposition, they would simply be declared outside the alliance's protection.
At that point, whatever havoc the Akatsuki wreaked in those areas would have nothing to do with the Allied Shinobi Forces. After all, those people opposed the alliance, so the alliance withdrew; naturally, they would have to bear the risks themselves.
This was an open strategy—blatantly displayed, with the intention laid bare. It was simply a question of whether those nobles and daimyō valued their lives enough not to court death.
In any case, if they did court death, the Akatsuki would be more than happy to pay them a visit—Nagato currently wished he could kill every single noble and daimyō.
If not for the fact that Nagato had now learned much and understood that killing alone could not solve all problems—and would only bring more chaos and casualties—he truly would have slaughtered all the nobles and daimyō in the Second Ninja World.
As for the Main World, it was the same in principle—but the Main World's Hidden Leaf already had a complete reform plan in place and was steadily pushing forward, changing the world. Therefore, Nagato's stance there was to gladly join this reform, rather than take action on his own.
The Second Ninja World was different—it lacked the conditions of the Main World and still faced the Ōtsutsuki threat. Naturally, Nagato's methods there were more impatient.
Fortunately, Nagato was open to persuasion. His actions were completely under the control of the Main World's Hidden Leaf, and through learning, he came to understand much. Thus, he only killed those he was permitted to kill.
A pure tool.
But Nagato didn't mind—in the moment he pledged himself, he had already accepted that fate.
To Nagato, as long as he could see the world improve, achieve true peace, and ensure that all true exploiters received the punishment they deserved, he was willing to do anything—even if it meant becoming an Asura, a criminal in history, a butcher cursed and reviled by countless people in the future.
In the learning space, Nagato came across a poem called the "Seven Kill Poem."
Though it contained extreme ideas, when its will was directed solely at the nobles and daimyō, Nagato found it entirely fitting.
Don't bother saying that "there are good people among the nobles and daimyō." Nagato only believed this: if disaster does not touch your family, then benefits will not reach your family. Since those nobles and daimyō enjoyed the benefits obtained by exploiting the people, then they all deserved to die!
Yes, the key word was "extreme"—turning "let the world feel pain" into targeted strikes.
Of course, this was nothing unusual. After all, if one sought reform, bloodshed was inevitable. Those with such resolve might personally hesitate, but would never stop others from doing the dirty work.
In short, that was the situation. Due to this series of maneuvers, the Second Ninja World, in a sense, entered a state of peace.
At the same time, the promotion of the Genjutsu-based game industry now faced no obstacles—under such circumstances, no faction could refuse the Second Ninja World's Genjutsu game market development.
Among them, the Hidden Sand Village and Hidden Mist Village, due to their good relations with the Hidden Leaf, were very proactive, voluntarily helping Konoha expand into the Land of Wind and Land of Water markets, including their respective subordinate nations.
In response, the Hidden Leaf did not let its staunch allies contribute without reward—it reciprocated generously, granting both villages significant benefits, making them secondary distributors for the Genjutsu games and rolling out the Genjutsu Network in their villages.
This brought enormous profits. And with money came greater autonomy—no longer would they have to fear being manipulated by their daimyō. After all, even with the Allied Shinobi Forces established, each village still had its own interests, and economic dependency meant being vulnerable to daimyō influence or even control.
But with a truly independent and substantial source of income, autonomy naturally rose to high levels. The power dynamic with the daimyō shifted to a truly equal partnership.
This was something daimyōs did not want to see—but under the Akatsuki threat, they could only swallow their dissatisfaction.
Furthermore, the Hidden Leaf only extended these conditions to the Hidden Mist and Hidden Sand—other villages did not enjoy such treatment, so there was no widespread backlash. The discontent from the Land of Water and Land of Wind alone was negligible in the face of the Allied Shinobi Forces.
In any case, even without this, the two nations historically did not get along with their ninja villages—budget cuts and withheld funding were perennial problems, keeping relations tense.
And so, the release day of The Last Ninja arrived.
At the same time, in the Main World, it was also the day of The Last Ninja press conference.
Through the Genjutsu Network and a delayed broadcast system, the Hidden Leaf's event achieved a true Ninja World–wide live broadcast—and even cross-world viewing. In the Second Ninja World, certain authorized individuals in Konoha could watch with almost no delay.
This long-prepared press conference was, as always, hosted by the Konoha Game Association's regular MCs, Hyuga Ruyan and Yamanaka Hakuta, with planning by the increasingly media queen–like Uzumaki Kikyo.
Once everything was ready, the press conference began.
The venue—capable of seating fifty thousand—was packed to the brim, with people from all over filling the hall, presenting a scene befitting a world-class Ninja World event.
Meanwhile, across the Ninja World, the live broadcast had over five million viewers. Considering the Ninja World's feudal society and the fact that few could afford Genjutsu games—even with the Konoha Game Association using projection technology that didn't require entering the Genjutsu Network—those with the time, leisure, and means to watch were still a small fraction.
The basic conditions were simply like that. Though Konoha was pushing large-scale development, the time frame was still too short. Even with the chakra system's supernatural abilities accelerating development manyfold, the time was still short.
Thus, having five million viewers for a single event was astonishing. When the numbers were announced, many across the Ninja World gasped in shock, contributing to global warming with their sharp intakes of breath.
Because of this, many speculated that the new game's total sales might become the first to break the million mark.
A million might not sound like much—until you consider the total number of players in the Ninja World. Many only played in arcades rather than buying their own copy. A million sales would already be incredible.
This million-sales forecast was possible largely because Konoha now controlled the Land of Fire and was pushing industrial and commercial development, boosting the economy and people's incomes, leaving them with more disposable money.
Otherwise, breaking six hundred thousand would already have been impressive.
Of course, these people didn't know about the Second Ninja World, nor that it was more than twenty years ahead in overall development. The Second Ninja World's economy was better, and even though its market was still expanding, it could easily contribute over three hundred thousand sales.
Moreover, the Second Ninja World's market development was advancing at a breakneck pace—especially after the Allied Shinobi Forces formed, as if it had been put on a rocket booster. It might not be long before it matched the market conditions of the Land of Fire under Konoha's control before the reforms.
Of course, that would be about the limit—further expansion would require overall development of the Second Ninja World.
In short, this new game's market potential was truly formidable.
Amid widespread anticipation, the conference began with a review of Genjutsu game history—briefly revisiting past titles to stir up nostalgia.
Once the emotional buildup was complete, the official reveal of the new game began.
First came a three-minute opening CG animation.
It directly and simply explained the game's setting and main plot.
Against grand, solemn music, scenes of war appeared—depicting the Ninja World's all-too-familiar Shinobi World Wars.
This was a fictional Fourth Shinobi World War.
For the Main World—where even the Third Shinobi World War had not yet occurred—the term "Fourth Shinobi World War" was entirely unfamiliar.
Slaughter and death, destruction and catastrophe—these were the main themes.
The war was so brutal that every nation and village unleashed unimaginable doomsday weapons. In the face of these weapons, even the Tailed Beasts were mere toys.
Among them were the Chakra Cannon, floating fortress orbital weapons, and other superweapons that, to most in the Main World, seemed like pure fantasy—but had indeed appeared in the Ninja World.
Under their onslaught, mountains collapsed, seas flooded inland, continents cracked apart, earthquakes struck without end, and storms raged ceaselessly.
The world fell into long-lasting destruction and darkness.
For all who saw it, it was terrifying—like someone with no concept of the apocalypse suddenly witnessing the end of the world. Much like how, on Earth, the movie 2012 shocked global audiences with its scenes of planetary destruction, spawning a wave of doomsday cultists, and even convincing some to squander all their wealth for a final spree before the end.
Of course, others built their own doomsday bunkers, preparing to survive when the end came.
For the Ninja World audience, that was exactly the feeling.
After all, Shinobi World Wars were not distant memories for them, nor far-fetched—and seeing these events in such a vividly realistic animation was truly chilling.
Many felt their hands and feet go cold, their hearts sinking.
Though Left 4 Survival had presented an apocalyptic setting before, its fully fictional background didn't hit as hard as The Last Ninja's world, which was eerily close to reality.
Even Left 4 Survival had already given many players a fear of the apocalypse.
Simply put, a grand, reality-adjacent apocalyptic story brought tremendous shock and unease—like during Earth's Cold War, when the world feared that two nuclear superpowers might stumble into a war and unleash enough nuclear firepower to plunge the planet into a deadly nuclear winter.
Finally, the CG's second minute closed.
Under a gray sky and pouring rain, darkness descended. The war's end brought disasters to the Ninja World: famine, death, natural disasters, environmental pollution. Over 90% of the world's population perished in the Fourth Shinobi World War, along with 80% of its species.
The Ninja World became a wasteland in all but name. Human civilization nearly collapsed—the war had brought ultimate destruction.
The survivors, both civilians and shinobi, fell into deep reflection. A desire for peace became the mainstream; no one wanted war again.
And yet, in this moment… the shinobi vanished.
More precisely, chakra itself vanished—meaning the shinobi, embodiments of chakra, also disappeared.
Worse still, the war's pollution had mutated many creatures into vicious, terrifying monsters, further worsening humanity's living conditions and driving it toward inevitable extinction.
In this world, a single exception appeared—a newborn baby still possessing chakra. As the protagonist, this child was born into the apocalyptic wasteland of the Ninja World, raised and taught by an elderly, chakra-less shinobi to become the world's last ninja.
As the last ninja, he would seek a path to humanity's salvation in this wasteland.
The CG ended, and the title The Last Ninja appeared.
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