"Is this what a livestream is? It's directly broadcasting the scene from the Hidden Leaf over five thousand *li* away?"
Within the Land of Earth, at an outdoor broadcast venue set up by a Leaf game company, a live feed from the Hidden Leaf's grand event was playing.
From a distance, the Third Tsuchikage of the Hidden Stone Village, Ōhnoki, stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the screen solemnly.
As a long-serving Tsuchikage, the old man was visibly troubled by the images he was seeing.
Beside him, a Stone shinobi respectfully nodded and said, "Yes, this is the new broadcasting ninja tool developed by the Hidden Leaf. It can transmit visuals and audio from a location with incredible speed."
"According to our investigation and the Leaf game company's claims, the images we're seeing are delayed based on distance. What we're watching now is footage from half an hour ago—it's not real-time."
Upon hearing this, Ōhnoki said gravely, "Half an hour? Indeed, this isn't a real-time transmission. But do you know how far the Hidden Leaf is from here? Even a straight-line distance exceeds five thousand *li*."
"In wartime, such a distance would make communication within thirty minutes impossible without specialized methods. And those methods are all extremely difficult and only for emergencies—not suitable for mass deployment."
"But this livestream function is different. It's something that *can* be widely implemented. And a thirty-minute delay is nothing during war."
"Besides, in actual combat, we wouldn't need such long distances. Just building a command post a hundred *li* behind the frontlines would allow a commander to truly oversee and direct the battlefield."
"The boost in combat capability this offers a military force is frightening when you think about it."
Hearing this, the surrounding Stone shinobi all looked grim. Clearly, they too realized the terrifying potential of this development.
Taking a deep breath, Ōhnoki stared at the livestream showing the Hidden Leaf's celebratory atmosphere and said in a low voice, "We must admit—even if the Hidden Leaf has strayed from tradition, abandoning the customs of the Shinobi World has allowed them to create many bizarre new things."
"Among them are things like Genjutsu-based games that overturn the Shinobi World—and broadcast tools like this that can change the battlefield."
"So we cannot be careless just because the Hidden Leaf is corrupt. We *must* acquire these technologies they've developed. Otherwise, if we wait until the Leaf collapses and the other villages destroy them, the Hidden Stone will become their next target."
"Because those other villages will definitely try to obtain these inventions first."
The shinobi around him voiced their agreement, their reverence and obedience to the Third Tsuchikage plain to see—an attitude that has always defined the Hidden Stone.
Without such loyalty, the famous battle where ten thousand Stone shinobi fought the Third Raikage for three days and nights without collapsing would never have occurred.
The Fourth Mizukage, far overseas, had similar thoughts. Although he did not attend the Leaf event, he left the Land of Water and traveled to the Land of Hot Water to watch the broadcast.
The Land of Water, being isolated at sea, didn't yet have the broadcasting infrastructure. Signals still required land-based relay stations, so the function wasn't yet available there.
Even so, the high-definition visuals and synchronized audio left Yagura stunned. As someone younger and more perceptive than Ōhnoki, he realized even earlier how useful this could be in warfare.
And so, acquiring this technology became a top priority for the Hidden Mist.
But it wasn't just the village leaders—nobles and merchants saw different kinds of value in the broadcast system.
Astute merchants saw endless business potential, and had already come up with several possible applications, even if they hadn't formalized anything yet.
The daimyōs realized they could bypass intermediaries and deliver messages to their people directly, minimizing corruption among their retainers.
And the nobles, realizing the daimyōs' intentions, immediately grew wary. If the ruler's will could bypass them and reach the people, their ability to exploit and distort policies would be greatly weakened.
Though not fatal, it was clearly a threat to their interests.
But regardless of what anyone thought, the Shinobi World's first true livestream continued.
Just as Ōhnoki and Yagura were seeing delayed footage, the actual event at the venue had already moved into the next stage.
The hosts—Hyūga Ruyun and Yamanaka Hakuta—stepped onstage, smiling charmingly as they welcomed the audience to the launch of the new game, while celebrating and reflecting on past Genjutsu games produced by Uchiha Kei.
Naturally, Jiraiya's "artistic" games weren't part of the event.
Of course, Jiraiya didn't mind—he knew his games were more artistic than mainstream. Though he had loyal fans, even his own teacher among them, he understood his style wasn't for everyone. He remained composed and even looked forward to the new game.
Once the opening remarks were over, the epic and stylistically un-ninja-like soundtrack "Times Change" began to play—heralding the start of the new game, *Shinobi World War*.
This song, originally the theme for the *Warlords of Draenor* expansion in *World of Warcraft*, had been borrowed by Uchiha Kei from his past life. While the expansion itself failed, the music was legendary, and its name—"Times Change"—fit perfectly.
As the heavy, epic music played, a CG cutscene for *Shinobi World War* began.
The screen opened on a map of the Shinobi World.
Then, fire began to spread—engulfing the map in flames.
The camera followed the burning map, moving first to the Land of Wind, where two ninja armies clashed in the desert—a scene reminiscent of the Fourth Great Ninja War.
The montage rapidly shifted from Taijutsu clashes to large-scale Ninjutsu bombardments, each fighter's expression fierce, cold, terrified, furious, thrilled, or sorrowful.
A massive explosion ended the sequence.
Next, the camera moved to the upper-right corner of the map: Hidden Stone and Hidden Cloud shinobi battling it out, using wild amounts of gear and jutsu.
Then came a naval battle—fleets fighting atop the ocean, with giant summoned beasts wreaking havoc.
Each faction shown had over a thousand troops—some even ten thousand—clearly indicating a super-scale war.
Of course, due to screen limits, not all troops could be displayed at once.
But for ninja, the destructive power of Ninjutsu, Summons, and weapons brought a visual impact far surpassing even ten-thousand-man armies of the feudal era.
Coupled with the epic soundtrack, the scene was utterly overwhelming.
The crowd fell into stunned silence. Livestream viewers stared wide-eyed, hearts pounding, hands frozen above snacks they'd forgotten to eat.
Even though *Ultimate Ninja Storm* had large-scale battles, this wasn't the same. It was specially crafted CG—with Uchiha Kei employing cinematic techniques from Hollywood battle films.
Finally, the appearance of the tailed beasts—the incarnations of natural disaster—brought the climax. Their Tailed Beast Bombs caused cataclysmic destruction.
The cutscene ended with the title *Shinobi World War* appearing to thunderous music.
Even after it ended, the audience remained frozen, minds still trapped in the epic imagery.
Some shuddered at the final display—tailed beasts destroying everything. They truly felt fear. Were the tailed beasts really *that* terrifying?
For many, their thoughts drifted through the haze.
Without doubt, this CG was as impactful as when Earthlings first discovered film.
Still, not everyone was shaken. Some simply found the animation pretty.
Like the Kage and Kage-level veterans who had either fought tailed beasts or understood their power—they remained calm.
And then there was Madara Uchiha. Though he admired the visuals and music, he scoffed at the portrayal of the tailed beasts.
To him, they were just beasts. One glance from his eye was enough to control them.
After all, hadn't he once tamed the Nine Tails and fought Hashirama Senju together with it—only to be defeated?
So Madara's verdict: "Not bad."
But he didn't say it aloud. Beside him, "Muzi" was squealing in excitement, exclaiming how amazing it all was.
Not wanting to spoil her mood—or reveal himself—he simply indulged her, nodding in agreement.
The former Shinobi World Shura—so soft-hearted now.
Meanwhile, within the Mental Network, in the Illusion World, Tamamo-no-Mae smiled as she watched the stream.
Turning to the stunned Nine Tails beside her, she asked, "How was that footage? Not bad, right?"
Snapping out of it, the Nine Tails quickly forced a scowl and snorted, "It was… fine. Just showed a *little* of my majestic self."
Tamamo chuckled lightly and turned her attention back to the screen.
The Nine Tails felt mocked again, but what could he do? He wasn't strong enough to challenge her now—his body had shrunk, his power scaled down. He had no choice but to seethe silently.
Back on the stage, Hyūga Ruyun and Yamanaka Hakuta resumed the event, praising the CG's brilliance and introducing the new game.
They excitedly declared it to be the first *true* war game of the Shinobi World.
New footage played, showing in-game scenes and gameplay—real-time strategy from various angles.
The visuals couldn't top the CG, but the gameplay depth made up for it.
For in this game, players could take command from a god's-eye view and lead massive armies. And that turned limitations into strengths.
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