"Alright, that wraps up the basic introduction to the ninjas. As for more gameplay features, everyone can discover them after the launch tomorrow."
Hearing Kuroda say that, Guy finally relaxed.
He wasn't sure how well his demonstration had gone, but regardless, it was time to wrap things up.
However, Kuroda suddenly shifted the topic.
"Guy-sensei, may I trouble you to give us a live battle demonstration?"
"Battle? With who?" Guy was taken aback.
Even so, he instinctively glanced at the young Lee sitting beside him… Surely he wasn't supposed to fight the host, right?
As if reading Guy's thoughts, Kuroda chuckled. "Alternatively, we could randomly select a player currently watching the information conference."
At that, the crowd's excitement instantly rose to a fever pitch. Watching a ninja info session was one thing—but now they could actually take part in it?
"Pick me!"
"Pick me!"
"Pick me!"
The chat exploded in a flood of volunteers, everyone eager for a chance to appear in front of everyone and show off their skills.
Of course, what attracted them most was the possibility of a reward... even though Kuroda hadn't mentioned any.
"Wait! Mr. Host! Guy-sensei!" Lee suddenly spoke up, his expression serious. "Please allow me to take on this task!"
"Sure," Kuroda agreed immediately.
Off-camera, Guy gave Lee a discreet thumbs-up—though the camera still caught it anyway.
Lee picked up his phone, exhaling softly in relief.
He'd finally gotten the chance to come here with Guy-sensei—there was no way he could let it slip by.
Of course, he didn't realize that his very presence had been part of the plan from the start. After all, if they only needed Guy, why invite Lee at all?
As both sides entered the game to select their characters, Kuroda decided it was time to hand out some rewards.
"Dear players, starting now, your messages will appear as bullet comments on the big screen. We'll pick three of you to receive the full card of [Might Guy]."
As soon as Kuroda finished speaking, the screen in front of them flooded with dense streams of bullet comments.
Apparently, no matter what world you were in, people always got fired up when it came to lotteries.
"There are... this many people?" Lee swallowed nervously, feeling the pressure.
"Then why don't we have you, Lee, pick the three lucky players?" Kuroda said with a smile.
"Eh? Me?" Lee's eyes widened.
Kuroda nodded—it was a spontaneous idea anyway, so it didn't matter who picked or who got picked.
Once he had Kuroda's confirmation, Lee quickly focused on the massive screen.
The number of bullet comments was staggering—so many that it was nearly impossible to read what was even being written.
"Uh... Invincible Hokage, Konoha's Shadow... and... With Rin!" Lee stammered as he read out the names.
"Alright, the three winners—please check your in-game mail tomorrow," Kuroda concluded casually, wrapping up the segment.
The lottery came and went in a flash. Those who didn't win were a little disappointed—after all, only three slots—but the winners were absolutely ecstatic.
"I—it's me! I won!!"
Naruto cheered loudly, running in circles as if that was the only way to burn off his excitement.
"Oh my, looks like I won too," Kakashi said with a smile, though inside he couldn't help but think, Is this your blessing, Obito, Rin...?
Naruto and Kakashi both won?
As the saying goes, one man's joy is another's frustration. It would've been fine if none of them won—but having two members of Team 7 both get picked?
Sasuke's expression turned stiff, and a bit sour. Why wasn't the third spot his?
"That's so nice," Sakura said, clearly envious, but she didn't complain—after all, the odds of winning were indeed quite low.
However, the public chat soon exploded.
[Global Channel]
[Raikage: Wait a minute! Why are all three winners from Konoha?!]
[Will of Stone: Hm? Now that you mention it... seems like it.]
[What's the Value: Luck. What else could it be? Heh.]
[Crowned of Fortune: Rigged! The two guest players are from Konoha too! The host must be as well! It's all a setup!!]
[CursedSama: Kakuzu, don't get so worked up. They're just a few ninja cards.]
[Art is an Explosion: Hmph! Kakuzu's probably mad because he can't sell them for money!]
[False World: It's just a rare beast.]
[Konoha's Shadow: What's wrong if they're all from Konoha? Not happy? Then come win it yourself!]
The chat fell silent.
Come up and win it yourself? That would require actually being chosen. Complaining wouldn't change a thing.
Bang!
In Kumogakure, Raikage A slammed his fist onto the table, the sound echoing like thunder.
"Damn it! At this rate, the entire shinobi world will think everything revolves around Konoha!"
Though he looked like a brute... well, he really was a brute—but one with some sense.
He knew that as the Ninja Mobile Game's Influence Points grew, if most of the playable ninjas were from Konoha, people would naturally assume Konoha was superior to the other villages.
"Don't worry, Raikage-sama," Mabui said calmly. "Let's wait and see. In the future, Kumogakure's ninjas won't be few in number."
"Hmph! Of course not!" A snorted.
What a joke. Great nations, great ninja villages—none were weaker than the other!
Meanwhile in Konoha, the Third Hokage was a bit surprised to see Danzo publicly arguing with other villages so aggressively.
Then realization dawned on him, and he chuckled softly. "So it's because he won."
That's right—exactly that.
Earlier, Danzo had been humiliated in the duel arena by the youthful master and apprentice pair, Guy and Lee. He'd planned to get back at them.
But when he saw the opponent's in-game name, he instantly recognized it as Guy's. And that man wasn't someone to mess with.
Unexpectedly, when Lee did the draw this time, he deliberately picked Konoha players.
And since "Konoha" was literally part of Danzo's in-game name, it had stood out among the thousands of others.
In other words—he'd just gotten lucky.
Winning a full ninja card out of nowhere, Danzo had no reason to stir up trouble anymore.
What? You're wondering why someone like Danzo would even bother sending bullet comments for a lottery? Well, he probably just did it casually.
Back at the conference.
"Is that all right now?" Lee asked nervously, worried he'd seemed biased.
Kuroda gently shook his head, letting the issue slide, then said,
"So, how's it going? Have you both finished picking your ninjas?"
Lee snapped back to focus. "Yes! All done! There were just... a lot of them to choose from."
"Didn't expect there'd be so many all at once, huh? It's only the first day," Guy said, scrolling through his phone while carefully selecting.
Indeed, the phones Guy and Lee were using had been specially provided by Kuroda, containing some of the new ninjas set to be released soon.
As the saying goes—out with the old, in with the new. Since this was a demonstration, might as well showcase the latest ones.
"It's the second day, actually!" Kuroda laughed.