Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 600: Will you choose to become the King of the Undead or start your life in another world from scratch?

Time flies by.

In the final days, Uehara Naraku would launch a major catastrophe event targeting players every year, which became a game of escape for the players.

certainly…

Every year, Uehara Naraku never misses an opportunity to invade Nazarick, slaughtering all the NPCs there without leaving a single survivor…

However, Uehara Naraku overlooked the game's emphasis on player freedom. During the Third Great Cataclysm, players created the Secluded Flying Ships, and many of them miraculously survived...

That's outrageous.

This is also seen as a victory for the player.

They called the flying boat the new Noah's Ark.

Even though the players and the game company bosses were locked in a fierce battle, Uehara Naraku's plan to collect world-class items in the game world was coming to an end.

Apart from two insignificant world-class items that have yet to appear, the rest of the items have already been acquired by Uehara Naraku.

Uehara Naraku also took his first step.

In order to control everything that happens on this planet, Uehara Naraku created a polar night phenomenon in the real world and took the original planet of reality into his black hole universe.

Once we control this planet…

Only then can everything that follows be arranged.

This also relates to whether these players will quit the game.

While scientists around the world were pondering the origins of this rare polar night phenomenon, the players of YGGDRASIL were unaware that their lives were gradually changing…

Work is getting busier and busier.

Even some wealthy individuals who squandered their wealth in games gradually encountered problems with their businesses, forcing them to spend a significant amount of their time back in the real world.

No one could have predicted this…

All of this was just someone trying to get players in YGGDRASIL to quit as soon as possible, thus gradually bringing the game to an end...

The number of players online is dropping rapidly...

This decline in online users is rather strange.

Because Uehara Naraku has already begun to arrange the players' real lives according to their identities, this person is really going to great lengths.

Sitting in his game company office, Uehara Naraku couldn't help but look up at the sky: "I feel like my class is constantly declining..."

In the past…

As the mastermind behind everything, he manipulated the entire ninja world and changed the Great Pirate Era, but now he's here trying to control the real world and make players quit the game...

Why do I feel like my taste is declining more and more?

But wouldn't this be easier for players to accept than for the game company to simply announce the shutdown of the servers?

No player in the entire game world escaped Uehara Naraku's clutches.

Whether they were top-tier guilds or casual players, they were all put through the wringer by Uehara Naru and made to experience the harsh realities of life again…

No matter what...

At least living in the real world…

It's better than being transported to another world!

Inside an office building in Tokyo.

A successful young man sat dejectedly in his office, climbing out of his game pod with a melancholy expression. He had just logged into the game to announce his quitting to his guildmates.

His company has been thriving for the past few years.

However, the company has been facing a series of minor troubles recently, which has forced the young man to finally give up his hobby and return to a normal life.

In fact, he had originally wanted to quit the game...

However, YGGDRASIL is indeed a very fun game, especially since the game balance has been improved over time, and the players' shared hatred for the world boss has also brought back long-lost friendships for him...

However, the game is based on reality.

Real-world troubles forced him to leave the game.

Inside a small Western-style building.

A middle-aged man carried a huge gaming sleep pod into the basement warehouse, and from then on he would say goodbye to the game and return to reality.

Because his workload was becoming increasingly heavy...

If he continues like this, he's likely to lose his job, and his wife doesn't like him staying in the game world.

Now, men have finally had to give up their dreams of wielding swords and traveling the world in games and return to the real world.

Such things happen in every corner of Japan.

More and more players are facing real-world pressures and have been forced to quit the game, making YGGDRASIL increasingly deserted.

Even the Ainz Ooal Gown Guild is no exception.

Even though their numbers were small, they couldn't escape the clutches of the game. More and more members announced their departure, and now the guild's online population is dwindling...

Only three or five people remained online for extended periods...

Because most of the people in this guild were working professionals, and they were all thoroughly dealt with by Uehara Naraku, Momonga gradually became an empty-nest old man...

The Great Tomb of Nazarick.

The guild headquarters here is now sparsely populated. The once bustling guild hall is now only occupied by Ainz Ooal Gown and Touch Me.

Touch Me sat in a chair in the guild hall, looked up at Ainz Ooal Gown: "Sorry, Ainz-san, I'm also logging out of the game."

"Tachi Mi?"

There was a hint of surprise in Flying Squirrel's voice.

"Because work has been quite troublesome lately..."

Touch Me sat in his chair, unusually abandoning his usual somber demeanor. Instead, he seemed more relaxed, as if he were about to leave the game world, and began to chat casually: "My daughter has grown up, and there are more and more things to do at home..."

"That's normal..."

Momonga nodded slowly and continued softly, "There's nothing to apologize for... Besides, many of my teammates also want to leave the game, but they're just too embarrassed to say it..."

At this point, Momonga suddenly said, "How about this? I'll ask how many of our comrades want to leave, and we can all say goodbye one last time. At least we'll still know how they are doing, and they won't leave quietly out of embarrassment..."

"..."

Taqi Mi remained silent for a moment.

The man, who once held considerable prestige in the Ainz Ooal Gown guild, raised his head, looked at Ainz before him, and slowly nodded: "Actually, what Ulbert and the others said back then was right... Ainz-san, you really are the most suitable candidate to be the guild leader."

She was clearly the one who would miss her gaming companions the most…

However, Ainz Ooal Gown still has to consider his companions. He won't try to keep them, and he will even take the initiative to say goodbye to these friends he cherishes in the game world.

A person who likes to consider their friends...

It's no wonder that Ulbert really likes a student council president like Ainz Ooal Gown, because Ulbert doesn't follow the right path in the real world, and people like him love being around people like Ainz Ooal Gown.

All members of the Ainz Ooal Gown guild received a message from Guild Master Momonga. The message did not accuse them of quitting the game; instead, it defended them, suggesting that they should agree on a time to say goodbye.

At least…

Do not leave quietly without a trace.

It happened right around this time.

One thing disrupted the flying squirrel's plans.

No, or rather, to make the flying squirrel's plan even more perfect.

YGGDRASIL, the game company, has released a new announcement.

With fewer and fewer online players, the game company, disregarding the players' wishes, announced that it would permanently shut down YGGDRASIL, a game that had been running for twelve years.

To be honest...

Many players feel more gratitude towards the game company.

Because they are getting busier and busier in the real world, they have no time to play games anymore, and they feel embarrassed to face their old friends. Now the game company has taken the initiative to announce the discontinuation of the game YGGDRASIL, so that they no longer have to face the guilt in their hearts.

Because this is an uncontrollable factor.

The day before the game shut down, YGGDRASIL's online player count reached its peak in recent years, almost exceeding the number of players during major catastrophic events each year!

This is really out of control again...

The Ainz Ooal Gown Guild is no exception.

Except for a few people who couldn't leave due to other commitments, most members returned to the game to say their final goodbyes to their friends.

"Really..."

Momonga sat in a chair in the guild hall, looking at everyone present, feeling somewhat uneasy.

Momonga only wanted to say goodbye to his friends, but because the game was shutting down completely, he was also being sent away by the game company...

Now it's all good...

It's time for everyone to truly say goodbye.

"Everyone…"

Momonga slowly stood up, looked at his many companions who were all complaining about the troubles of the real world, and said loudly, "We're leaving soon, so why don't we have one last guild activity..."

"What kind of event?"

"It won't be too long, right? We definitely need to be in bed before midnight to increase our chances of getting pregnant..."

"Huh? Is that so?"

"Hey, hey, hey, this method is totally unscientific!"

"At least there's a sliver of hope..."

"I still need to put the child to sleep in a little while..."

"..."

A group of Ainz Ooal Gown guild members were making a ruckus, as if they had reopened their chatterboxes, and each of them started talking about their own lives.

Ainz reached out and grasped their guild's scepter, slowly lowered his head, and whispered, "Then let's leave it at that. Let's say goodbye here, and hopefully we'll meet again someday..."

The flying squirrel is just like it always has been…

He has always been a very nice person.

No matter what happens, he always puts his friends first, and he considers their friendship the most precious thing in his life, just to maintain it.

"etc…"

One person stepped forward, looked at the flying squirrel, and spread out his palm, saying, "Hey, hey, hey, don't always give up so quickly. Tell me what kind of event it is first..."

"Defeat the world boss, Uehara Naraku."

The flying squirrel said somewhat shyly, "We've accomplished almost everything in this world; it seems like there's nothing we can't do..."

"I see..."

Touch Me nodded, glanced at everyone present, and continued, "It seems that apart from the Great Cataclysm, because of me, we haven't officially challenged Uehara Naraku yet, have we?"

"Um…"

Momonga looked at his friend, nodded, and continued, "Because we were worried about the favorability gains from Touch Me and Uehara Naraku in the past, we never went all out in battle. After midnight, this game will close, and Uehara Naraku's favorability will be useless to us..."

Because if a player who possesses the Ring of Destiny attacks Uehara Naraku, the Ring of Destiny will be taken back by Uehara Naraku, and all favorability will be completely reset to zero.

Furthermore, they had always been worried that the losses from challenging Uehara Naraku would be too great; if death and the resulting devastation were too severe, it would lead to a decline in the overall strength of the guild…

This is also why they did not challenge Uehara Naraku.

Upon hearing Ainz Ooal Gown's suggestion, everyone in the Ainz Ooal Gown guild looked at their companions, whispered a few words to each other, and then all the members nodded slightly...

Such activities…

It doesn't seem like it will waste too much time.

Now that the game is about to close, they don't need to worry about their losses or dwell on temporary gains and losses. All they need to do is indulge themselves one last time!

In fact.

Challenging Uehara Naraku...

It turns out that Ainz Ooal Gown's guild wasn't the only one to think of this.

At least twelve guilds have players who possess the Ring of Destiny, making them eligible to challenge Uehara Naraku, and they are already doing so…

result…

Nature is no different from the past.

Several guilds even joined forces to call on players from all over the world to start an ultimate carnival feast on the plains of Midgard to overthrow Uehara Naraku!

This kind of thing...

This is something that would be absolutely impossible under normal circumstances.

However, on this day when the game is about to shut down, players are flocking to participate in this celebration, even though they know it may be a celebration of death!

On the plains of Midgard.

Even the largest battlefield is difficult to cover. Hundreds of thousands of players die and come back to life repeatedly, and countless precious artifacts and equipment fall to the ground but no one picks them up because no one cares about these virtual items that are about to disappear.

Because after midnight...

The game will then be shut down completely.

Hundreds of thousands of players didn't care about the equipment and level they lost; they just kept dying and quickly respawning until they dropped to the minimum level requirement...

Some players have even died hundreds of times, dropping their class level, but still charging towards Uehara Naraku while wearing only basic white clothes!

Even if it's just a forced deduction of a little blood...

That's a victory for them, the players!

If each player can reduce Uehara Naraku's health by one point, they can defeat this world boss. There are hundreds of thousands of players here!

"These people are crazy..."

Uehara Naraku unleashed a bolt of lightning, knocking a group of players in white uniforms to the ground. His expression was subtly grim: "If they don't log out of the game before midnight, something terrible might happen..."

At that time...

What should we call it?

If these players continue after midnight, they may very well enter another world in this state. What should they be called then?

Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-?

"Fine, let's wipe them out one last time..."

Uehara Naraku clasped his hands together, summoning a flood that engulfed the entire plains of Midgard. A glint flashed in his eyes: "Touch Mi from the Ainz Ooal Gown Guild has invited me to the Great Tomb of Nazarick... Hopefully, they'll be more rational!"

Phew, four thousand words…

The next chapter will feature a time-travel adventure!

(End of this chapter)