023 Naruto Mobile Game

[Victory doesn't belong to me alone—it belongs to everyone!]

Looking at the Ultimate Scene image of his past self and his teammates, Obito felt bored. He turned off his phone casually and tossed it aside.

He could, of course, guess who the opponent in that last PK match had been. There was only one kind of trash who would use a name like that.

"Using this kind of method to reminisce… that only proves you're a hopeless fool!" Obito's face turned cold and sharp.

Still, he felt a bit puzzled.

He had entered the server for Amegakure—so why had his opponent clearly been from Konoha?

It wasn't worth worrying about. And yet, even though he had crushed Kakashi in that match, his mood only worsened.

Obito sat atop a stone pillar and closed his eyes to rest.

The Kamui dimension was a lonely place, filled with a dark palette of colors. Countless pillars of varying heights stood scattered about, stretching beyond sight, with no boundaries to be found.

In the eerie silence, Obito could faintly hear a heartbeat. Whose heartbeat was it?

He pondered silently.

Now, the entire ninja world was immersed in the Ninja Mobile Game. Aside from eating, drinking, and sleeping, everyone seemed to spend every spare moment clutching their phones, playing.

Maybe this game really did have some kind of magic—not just because of its mysterious, tempting rewards.

The world was strangely peaceful now, even though people fought all day long in the dueling arenas and public chat channels.

No one said it aloud, but it was as if everyone had wordlessly agreed to transfer all their conflicts into the game.

According to White Zetsu's intelligence, every major village—aside from maintaining basic operations—had poured nearly all remaining manpower and resources into the Ninja Mobile Game.

Kakuzu had estimated that just in terms of money, their expenses already exceeded fifty percent of the usual consumption.

When he calculated that number, Kakuzu almost went insane.

The game's total revenue just two days after launch had already surpassed what he earned from years of hard labor and killing for bounty!

He couldn't even figure out where all the players were spending their money—were they just endlessly drawing ninja characters?

If it weren't impossible, Kakuzu would've found a way to crawl straight into the game itself!

Obito, of course, wasn't that shallow.

He simply found it strange—how could something that had appeared out of nowhere suddenly bring peace to the ninja world, even for a few days?

If this continued, could wars and conflict truly disappear completely?

He couldn't make sense of it, so he put his mask back on.

"I'll ask Nagato about it."

The moment he put on the mask, his voice changed—low and filled with mystery.

Not only his voice, but his mind seemed sharper too, his thoughts clearer.

Before leaving, he opened his eyes and glanced at the phone resting on the pillar, then reached out and took it with him.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

His figure twisted within a vortex until it vanished completely, reappearing in another space.

Inside one of Amegakure's towers, Pain and Konan both turned toward the open space ahead of them.

In their eyes, the masked man had arrived.

"What's the matter?" Pain asked.

"Nagato, what do you think of the current changes in the ninja world?" Obito said slowly.

The Nagato behind Pain frowned, unsure what Obito was getting at.

The ninja world? Surely you understand it better than I do.

Unless…

"You're not wavering, are you, Madara?" Pain's expression was blank, but his tone carried a hint of mockery.

"Don't joke around!" Obito denied immediately. "This Ninja Mobile Game… we still don't know what it's truly capable of, do we?"

"So?"

"We need to make it one of our main strategies. We must secure a foothold within the Ninja Mobile Game first."

"I've already done that," Pain replied calmly. "Just as originally planned—step by step—until we control all wars."

Akatsuki's first step was to accumulate wealth.

The second was to act as mercenaries during that process, helping other nations start or end wars at unreasonably low costs.

Through that, Akatsuki would gradually deploy the Tailed Beasts as weapons, establishing military deterrence.

With time, Akatsuki would monopolize all warfare in the ninja world, forcing the systems of the other villages to collapse.

Finally, Akatsuki would conquer the world!

"Ninjas and villages were created for war—it's ingrained in our very blood," Pain said lightly. "The appearance of the Ninja Mobile Game isn't entirely a bad thing for us."

So that's your plan—you intend to use this platform as a stepping stone toward your ideal.

Obito's eyes deepened. He hadn't expected Nagato to see through it even more clearly than he did this time.

Whether it was the Tailed Beast deterrence plan or the Infinite Tsukuyomi, both were paths toward peace.

And both shared one common foundation—

Power!!

"I'll leave this matter to you. Since the game is divided by regions, there may soon be cross-server conflicts—just like another Ninja World War." Obito instructed.

"I understand," Pain nodded.

"Technical skills and rank are one thing, but keep an eye on combat power as well."

"Combat power? You mean that string of numbers?"

Seeing Pain's confusion, Obito exhaled slightly, thinking, Nagato, I've discovered this one step ahead of you!

"That's right. If it's just a PvP arena game, then why does combat power increase along with player level and the number of ninjas?"

"We can't ignore the possibility that it's tied to something deeper!" Obito said seriously.

After Pain nodded again, Obito said nothing more and vanished the same way he came.

Once he was gone, Konan finally spoke.

"Pain, it's clear that Madara came to check on your plans."

"It hasn't been long since I finalized them, but there's no harm in letting him know. Anyway, Konan, have you reached Jōnin rank yet?" Pain turned to her.

"Almost. But while I was ranking up, I found a few players with surprisingly good skill."

"Good. Train them a little."

Unlike a certain shameless snake, Konan still had her pride.

After too many players deliberately let her win, she issued a strict order—no one in Amegakure was allowed to throw matches anymore.

No matter who the opponent was, everyone had to fight with their full strength.

If they performed well, she might even reward them—personally selecting a few for her own hands-on training.

That was different from how Akatsuki usually recruited members. The people of Amegakure were truly her own.

"And about combat power?" Konan hesitated. She was cautious about anything that might involve spending money.

"We'll see. Prepare in advance," Pain replied casually.

"Alright," Konan nodded.

With the business concluded, they relaxed a little and began chatting.

"Nagato, how's your training coming along?"

"It's really difficult. Because the opponents I get matched with are random, my rank fluctuates constantly—sometimes up, sometimes down. The variance during battles has only grown."

"I recommend you try using [Uchiha Obito · Youth]—high damage and fast attacks."

"Alright, I'll give it a try."

Konan and Nagato continued discussing ranked strategies. No matter how one played, everyone agreed that skill was the most important factor right now.

Neither of them paid much attention to this obscure, little-known ninja called [Uchiha Obito · Youth]—they just thought he was a decent pick.

At most, he was probably just another nameless member of the Uchiha clan who had already died long ago.