Under the watchful and concerned gazes of the group, Uchiha Kei continued, "Also, I'll record his gameplay footage. If he still doesn't awaken his eyes even after realizing we're watching, I'll tell him I'll broadcast his most humiliating moments in the game to the entire shinobi world. That should fill him with shame and social death."
"I refuse to believe that won't work!"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Uchiha Kei with a tinge of fear. A few of the younger ones even began to tremble.
Minato Namikaze gave a wry smile and asked, his throat dry, "Uh… Kei… isn't that a bit much?"
Kei, however, responded calmly, "I said I'd make Obito awaken the Sharingan, and I staked my name on it. So I will use every method, no matter what it takes."
"Today, Obito will awaken his eyes—whether he wants to or not!"
His words rang out like iron, filled with overbearing authority, as if Obito's fate had already been sealed.
Minato opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately fell silent, merely casting a sympathetic glance toward his student.
Kakashi and Rin Nohara, seeing that even Minato had nothing to say, could only look at Obito with similar sympathy—even Kakashi, usually at odds with him, could feel the crushing weight behind Kei's declaration and felt lucky he didn't have to worry about awakening the Sharingan.
Of course, the reason no one tried to stop this was because of Obito himself.
As those closest to him, they knew just how badly Obito longed for the Sharingan.
Now that more and more Uchiha—even ordinary ones—were awakening their eyes, Obito, who had undergone full shinobi education yet still hadn't awakened, stood out like a sore thumb. The pressure was so intense he often felt like even breathing was a mistake.
If there was truly a chance to awaken his eyes, he'd take it—even if it came with a steep price.
Probably…
And so, under intense scrutiny, Obito in the genjutsu game looked around curiously. He discovered it was dusk—the sun about to set—and he stood on a hillside. A narrow path led upward, surrounded by rocks and wild grass, barren and desolate.
In the distance, crows cawed incessantly. Cold wind whooshed past. The air had a faint stench. Even though there was no BGM, the atmosphere chilled Obito to the bone. He instinctively began to sweat from his palms and soles.
Ahead on the path, the game's title—"Escape"—hovered in mid-air. This wasn't unusual; nearly all genjutsu games projected the title in front at the start.
After a moment's hesitation, Obito called out to Uchiha Kei, hoping for instructions.
But his voice went unanswered. There was no reply. His words merely echoed across the hillside, bouncing back eerily through the terrain.
At first, it sounded normal—but the repeated echoes created the illusion of ghostly whispers, sending chills down his spine.
Swallowing nervously, Obito hesitated again but finally decided to move forward. The moment he did, the hovering title "Escape" shattered into pieces—the game had begun.
He soon discovered his body was no longer under his control. He began walking up the path while holding a letter—the words written by the character he was now roleplaying. It was a suicide note.
According to the note, the character was born into a bloodline clan called Indra. They were gifted with a powerful eye technique capable of perceiving hidden truths.
But the Indra Clan had been targeted by a dark, secret organization known as "Root." The organization feared and coveted the Indra Clan's power, abducting many of its members for human experimentation.
The character's parents were taken by Root. In pursuit of answers, he discovered a secret Root base disguised as a remote mountain hospital.
No one knew what horrors lay within, or what Root was truly doing there. All anyone knew was that the hospital had recently experienced a catastrophic event and lost all contact with the outside world.
Seeing a chance, the character and a friend planned to infiltrate the hospital and investigate, hoping to uncover Root's crimes and bring evidence to the authorities.
Driven by the desire to find his parents and destroy Root, the character marched in without hesitation.
Knowing the risks, he left behind this letter—hoping someone would read it and carry on his will should he fall.
The letter and the character's internal monologue fully explained the game's premise and main plotline.
Back in the real world, everyone had understood the story, but still found it all rather bizarre. Kakashi, deadpan, muttered, "How reckless… just charging into the enemy's secret base like that. And he's carrying the suicide note? What if he loses it?"
Rin tugged his sleeve, signaling him to stop.
Minato, more familiar with game logic, chuckled and said, "Well, it's a game. It doesn't need real-world logic—just a reason that fits the story."
Uchiha Kei nodded with a smile, agreeing.
Indeed, many game mechanics would seem abstract in real life, but made perfect sense in the context of gameplay.
As for Kakashi's complaint about the suicide note, the game soon addressed it.
Obito's character pulled out a pen and brought it to the corner of the note—where the author's name should be. It was blank.
Turns out, players could name their character freely—enhancing immersion. They could even use their real name.
Naturally, Obito wrote down his full name: Uchiha Obito.
Then the character stored the letter and used a Reverse Summoning Technique to send it away.
That left Kakashi awkwardly silent, clearing his throat and deciding to stay quiet—just a background character from now on.
Meanwhile, Obito's character climbed the hill and arrived at a massive hospital complex.
The front gate was wrecked, as if it had been blasted open. The outer walls were also damaged.
Inside the walls, dark stains were everywhere—splattered on the ground and walls. It looked like dried blood. Just then, the sky went dark, plunging the entire hospital into eerie gloom.
It was too quiet. A hospital should have all kinds of sounds, but now it was deathly silent. The darkness made it impossible to see. There was no lighting, no tools.
Seeing this, Obito gulped. Then, the character began moving again—this time activating a unique dōjutsu called "Blood Eye." Instantly, his vision became like night-vision goggles—allowing him to see clearly.
However, Blood Eye couldn't be used continuously. It had a vision meter that slowly depleted. Once turned off, the meter stopped dropping but wouldn't recover. Only a special eye drop item could restore vision power.
These items could be found throughout the game. After entering the hospital, many areas would be pitch black—forcing players to use Blood Eye strategically.
Combat was also disabled. The hospital was enveloped in a super barrier that sealed off all chakra. Only Blood Eye remained usable.
Players were powerless—no fighting allowed. They could only run. If caught, they might struggle briefly, but that was it.
That… was the essence of the game: "Escape."
It was another of Kei's efforts to localize the experience for the shinobi world.
To the observers in reality, this game scenario was maximally dangerous. Minato's expression grew subtle.
He hadn't noticed it before—but now that the Blood Eye had appeared, he couldn't help but think… wasn't that just a Sharingan without tomoe?
And the Root Organization? They weren't even trying to be subtle. It was clearly a jab at Root.
This game was openly criticizing Root—implying they had always persecuted the Uchiha.
Minato gave Kei a complex look. He wanted to ask if this was really okay—but ultimately said nothing.
After all, as someone half-embedded in Konoha's upper ranks, Minato knew full well about the bad blood between Root and the Uchiha. He also knew that Danzo Shimura, Root's leader, was a staunch opponent of the Uchiha.
He'd even heard rumors lately about people slandering the Uchiha—and others spreading tales of Elder Danzo selling shady items. Clearly, there was a power struggle underway.
Now Kei had turned that power struggle into a literal game scenario. And Danzo? Even if he made a fuss, what could he do?
Everyone knew who the game was referencing—but no names were ever mentioned. The Uchiha could simply say, "Any resemblance is purely coincidental."
So in the end, Minato silently accepted this unsettling setup.