"Ding! Detecting the host encountering a plot character. System mission being issued..."
"Mission activated: Defeat Uzumaki Mito, who dreams of being a heroic kunoichi, and make her realize the dangers of the shinobi world and the unpredictability of human hearts. Reward: 10 points, 1 random orb. Failure occurs if the host is defeated."
The girl before him was charmingly naive, with a fair, round face, large, sparkling eyes, and a small, cherry-like mouth. Her fiery red hair was tied into two playful buns, giving her an adorable, lively appearance.
Noticing Uchiha Gin staring at her in a daze, she bared her sharp, tiger-like teeth, her big eyes filled with dissatisfaction, resembling a feisty kitten ready to pounce.
Feeling underestimated, Uzumaki Mito was about to throw out a bold challenge, but her mouth was still stuffed with food she hadn't fully swallowed.
As she opened her mouth, air rushed in, pushing the unchewed food down her delicate throat, instantly choking her.
Her small hands, ignoring the food she held, clenched into fists and pounded her flat chest, desperately trying to dislodge the blockage.
Watching the girl struggle to speak while frantically pounding her chest, Uchiha Gin sighed, pulled out his water canteen from his pack, unscrewed it, and handed it over.
Choking and nearly rolling her eyes back, the girl saw the canteen as a lifeline. She grabbed it and gulped it down, the sound of glugging filling the air.
Like a survivor of a calamity, she glanced at the canteen, ready to thank the kind stranger who offered it.
But when she looked up and saw Uchiha Gin smiling beside her, she let out a startled yelp, jumping back several meters, her face full of wariness.
"Is that how you treat your savior?" Uchiha Gin teased, squinting with a playful smirk.
"Thanks for the water, but you'd better surrender, you so-called kind kidnapper," she retorted, her delicate brows furrowing as she pondered for a moment.
"You mean this kid?" Uchiha Gin said, dragging the still-unconscious Senju Itama forward.
"Letting him go isn't out of the question, but you'll have to defeat me first."
To complete his mission, Uchiha Gin prepared to take on the cute little girl.
Uzumaki Mito's expression shifted to one of "just as I expected."
She set down the massive pack she'd been carrying, which looked like a small mountain, and began stretching her slender arms and legs, striking an adorable combat pose. With a serious tone, she declared, "Please, enlighten me!"
Uchiha Gin casually kicked the unconscious Senju Itama aside. The boy rolled away like a tumbling ball, letting out an odd "Aaah…" groan despite still being out cold.
"Come at me," Uchiha Gin taunted, beckoning with a provocative finger. "Against a kid like you, I won't even need my blade."
With that, he stuck his katana into the ground nearby.
Infuriated by his dismissive attitude, Uzumaki Mito felt a blaze of anger ignite within her. She launched herself forward like a cannonball, her speed so startling that Uchiha Gin's eyelids twitched.
"Take this punch!" she shouted, her furious fist aimed straight at Uchiha Gin, who stood his ground.
Unable to dodge in time, he crossed his arms to block the blow.
The impact sent a numbing shock through his arms, forcing him backward. He flipped in midair, barely landing on his feet.
Shaking his slightly trembling forearms, Uchiha Gin was stunned. "No wonder she's the future Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Such strength at such a young age."
Uzumaki Mito glanced at her delicate fist in surprise. This supposed kidnapper had actually withstood her punch.
Her natural talent in taijutsu was extraordinary—she had awakened a rare super strength ability at age five. Ordinary chunin-level ninja couldn't handle her full-force strike, yet this guy had only been pushed back a few steps. Realizing this, she dropped her underestimation, her eyes now burning with competitive fire.
"Again!" she shouted, channeling chakra into her hands.
In an instant, a faint azure glow enveloped her soft palms. Seeing those tiny fists, Uchiha Gin, still recovering, felt a chill down his spine.
Isn't this Tsunade's super strength?
Imagining the consequences of those small fists pounding his chest, Uchiha Gin's heart sank. He'd thought he could overpower her easily, but now he realized he'd underestimated his opponent.
As Mito charged with another punch, Uchiha Gin retreated, activating his newly awakened Sharingan.
The single-tomoe Sharingan granted only enhanced perception, but with it, Uchiha Gin could just barely track her movements and dodge her taijutsu strikes.
The faintly spinning tomoe allowed him to gradually adapt to her speed, almost predicting her next move as she raised her arm.
"No wonder these cheat-like eyes are coveted in the future," he mused, marveling at the Sharingan's power as he deftly avoided another punch. Watching her arm brush past his face, he began planning his counterattack.
Using a blade against a child was something Uchiha Gin couldn't bring himself to do—not out of sentimentality, but because he wasn't soft on real threats. Yet this panting, twin-bun girl had shown no intent to kill him.
"Time to outsmart her," he decided.
With a subtle wrist flick, he sent a transparent thread shooting toward the katana stuck in the ground.
He began circling her, deliberately dodging her wild punches, leading her around without her noticing.
The Uzumaki clan's bloodline granted her immense vitality, much like the Senju, making her adept at prolonged battles.
"You slippery coward! Fight me properly! Dodging like that—what kind of man are you?" Uzumaki Mito yelled, frustrated by her missed strikes.
"Alright," Uchiha Gin replied, suddenly stopping a short distance away, nodding as if agreeing.
"Here I come!" Seizing the moment, Mito powered up her fists and lunged forward.
Uchiha Gin, seeing his chance, yanked his wrist. Grass and leaves swirled around Mito as transparent threads instantly encircled her.
Before she could react, the threads bound her tightly. Her small frame struggled fiercely, but she soon realized in despair that the more she fought, the tighter the threads constricted.
"I'd stop struggling if I were you. The harder you pull, the tighter these threads get, and your thin clothes will tear easily," Uchiha Gin warned.
As he spoke, a ripping sound echoed—her thin clothing tore in several places, exposing patches of her fair skin.
The threads left red marks on her jade-like skin, and Mito, who had been struggling fiercely, froze, her face flushing red as she steamed with embarrassment.
"You jerk! Let me go!" she cried, tears welling in her eyes, her earlier ferocity replaced by a pitiful expression.
"Admit defeat first," Uchiha Gin said, unmoved by her distressed appearance—though, he admitted, if she were seven or eight years older, he might've been less composed.
"If I surrender, you'll let me go?" Mito asked, looking at the supposed kidnapper with disbelief. In her mind, he'd likely tie her up and sell her to some disreputable place.
"I swear on the honor of the Uchiha ancestors!" Uchiha Gin declared solemnly.
("Achoo!" Somewhere, sparring with a spiky-haired boy, a certain Uchiha felt a chill down his spine.
"Madara, you okay?" the bowl-cut boy asked with concern.)
Seeing his earnest vow, Mito reluctantly conceded, "I surrender!"
"Ding! Host has defeated Uzumaki Mito. Mission completed. Reward: +10 points, 1 blue orb."
Tears of excitement nearly spilled from Uchiha Gin's eyes. After so long in this world, he'd finally completed a mission. He eagerly checked his rewards in his mind.
Opening the system again, he found his mental space transformed—no longer a blank void but now featuring a chessboard-like arena.
He materialized in the space and stepped onto the board, spotting a Heartsteel Chest from his mission on the left, with numbers scrolling above it.
"Host successful. Gained 1 Heart Energy. Heartsteel Chest rewards unlocked. (Current Heart Energy: 14)"
With a delayed chime, the numbers above the chest stopped at [14], ready to be opened.
1 + 10 - 10 + 12 + 1 = 14
Due to a penalty for exploiting a bug earlier, his Heartsteel layers had been reduced to 14.
Strength makes miracles!
Uchiha Gin tapped to open the chest. It shook, and with catchy background music, two colorful orbs bearing the Heartsteel logo dropped out.
Nervously, he opened one. A flash of light revealed a gold bar in his hand.
[Gold Bar 1] Universal currency, usable for real-world purchases.
It can give money?
Uchiha Gin, shocked, weighed the heavy gold. This single bar could spark a small conflict. His eyes turned to the second orb.
Another gold bar?
With that thought, he opened the remaining orb.
[Uzumaki Clan Constitution 1] Grants a trace of Uzumaki clan bloodline, slightly boosting attributes.
The second orb gave a bloodline.
Uchiha Gin's calm shattered at the word "Uzumaki." Several key figures in the story were Uzumaki descendants.
Nagato, the Akatsuki's mastermind, relied on his Uzumaki bloodline to wield Madara's Rinnegan, slaying the Toad Sage and leveling the Hidden Leaf with one move—a mid-story powerhouse.
And Naruto, even without the Nine-Tails, was a chakra monster with top-tier stamina and recovery.
"Attributes?" The bloodline was tempting, but the mention of attributes intrigued him. Recalling system tropes from his past life, he tried summoning an attribute panel.
A light screen rose from the chessboard, displaying his avatar.
It's real!
Host: Uchiha Gin
- Ninjutsu: 5
- Taijutsu: 4
- Intelligence: 9
- Chakra: 3
- Charm: 1
- Dojutsu: 5
Skills: Basic Taijutsu, Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, Uchiha Basic Kenjutsu, Intermediate Shurikenjutsu.
Evaluation: A slightly clever, single-tomoe, punchable Uchiha genin.
"Punchable? And Charm 1? What's that supposed to mean?" Uchiha Gin's dead-fish eyes nearly rolled back in frustration.
He then used the Uzumaki Clan Constitution. A warm current spread from his heart, coursing through his body.
His once-trickling chakra flow became a rushing stream, warm and comforting, filling him with boundless energy.
Savoring his transformed body, he recalled the "slight attribute boost" and checked his panel again:
Host: Uchiha Gin
- Ninjutsu: 7
- Taijutsu: 8
- Intelligence: 9
- Chakra: 6
- Charm: 1
- Dojutsu: 5
Skills: Basic Taijutsu, Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, Uchiha Basic Kenjutsu, Intermediate Shurikenjutsu.
Evaluation: A slightly clever, single-tomoe, punchable Uchiha chunin.
The Uzumaki bloodline boosted Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Chakra, with Taijutsu and Chakra doubling, likely reflecting enhanced physique and chakra reserves.
Done with attributes, he noticed a strange device on the right side of the board, resembling an arcade machine from his past life. He tapped it, and the screen lit up with a bold "10," followed by a description:
[Shop Arcade Machine: Accumulate points to unlock grand prizes.]
No further explanation was given. After fiddling with it fruitlessly, he gave up and asked the system, "Why so much new stuff this time?"
"Because the host completed one prerequisite mission. System loading +10%..."
"This isn't the full system yet?" Uchiha Gin asked, incredulous, eyeing the now-lavish system space.
"System still loading. Unable to answer…"
His system clearly had more to unlock, boosting his confidence in surviving until the Hidden Leaf's founding.
Maybe I'll even make it to Boruto's era, he fantasized.
"Hey, hey, hey! You said you'd let me go! You can't go back on your word!" Uzumaki Mito, who had just surrendered, shouted, seeing him zone out.
Her voice snapped him back. The long system interaction had lasted only a moment in the real world.
"Alright, alright, I'll untie you now," Uchiha Gin said, grinning ear to ear at his bountiful rewards.
"Ugh, why's your smile so creepy?" Mito muttered, squirming uncomfortably.
The threads couldn't be cut by ordinary tools—only the end could retract them. Without hesitation, Uchiha Gin began searching her body for it.
As a gentleman, he was, of course, focused solely on the task.
But feeling his hands, which carried a strangely familiar aura, brush across her back, Mito's small frame trembled.
"What, need the bathroom? Hold it, I'm almost done," Uchiha Gin said, misinterpreting her reaction and speeding up.
Why does this guy feel so familiar? Mito wondered, her thoughts wandering. She wasn't wrong—Uchiha Gin's new Uzumaki bloodline carried a natural affinity.
While searching, a ghost-faced amulet on Mito's chest caught his eye. "That's a unique amulet," he remarked.
Still flustered, Mito answered instinctively, "It's my father's cloaking charm, inscribed with a sealing jutsu. It hides my chakra. I used it to sneak out and avoid my clan's trackers."
"Impressive. Worthy of the Uzumaki clan," Uchiha Gin praised sincerely.
"It's not that great," she mumbled.
"Got it!" After searching, he found the thread's end at her waist and reached for it.
"Beast, what are you doing!" a furious roar thundered as a figure cloaked in red light descended from the sky.
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