Sunlight filtered through the lush branches, casting dappled shadows on the ground. Distant cicadas chirped, and birds sang softly, while a faint, salty sea breeze brushed by, creating a serene atmosphere.
In the distance, a man and a girl stood close together. The older man supported the girl's back with his left hand while his right reached toward her waistband.
The girl showed no resistance, her beautiful eyes shimmering with a soft glow, leaning pliantly against him. An air of delicate intimacy enveloped them.
This was the scene Uzumaki Hanami witnessed.
"Beast, what are you doing!"
Uzumaki Hanami's fury erupted like a volcano on the verge of explosion, molten rage surging within him, making his entire body tremble with anger.
Startled by the sudden shout, the pair looked up to see a refined-looking man with fiery red hair and muscles like forged steel. The moment Uchiha Gin saw him, a phrase popped into his mind: Broad shoulders, chiseled features.
Hearing the man's words, Uchiha Gin belatedly realized his current position looked highly improper. The little girl in his arms, Uzumaki Mito, flushed crimson, a puff of steam rising from her head before her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
With quick reflexes, Uchiha Gin caught the collapsing Mito, but his abrupt movement further tore her already damaged clothes.
With a few ripping sounds, her outer garments were reduced to mere scraps, revealing smooth, jade-like skin that gleamed under the sunlight.
Feeling the soft, warm sensation in his hands, Uchiha Gin fell silent.
A moment later, he looked up, his eyes clear as a sage's. "If I said this was all a misunderstanding, you wouldn't disbelieve me, would you?"
Hearing this Uchiha clansman, caught red-handed, attempt to weasel out, Uzumaki Hanami cracked his knuckles ominously.
Crimson chakra surged from his body like roaring flames, his eyes glinting with a predatory intensity.
Sensing the overwhelming pressure from afar, Uchiha Gin's heart sank. Even if he was slow to catch on, he could tell this man's strength rivaled Uchiha Fuka's—perhaps even surpassed it.
"The only way to cleanse little Mito's shame is with your blood," Uzumaki Hanami declared, advancing step by step toward Uchiha Gin.
In a panic, Uchiha Gin shook the limp Mito in his arms. Seeing no response, he delivered a sharp knock to the center of her twin buns. "Wake up and explain, or your clansman's going to cut me down!"
The blow roused the unconscious Mito, who groggily looked at the anxious Uchiha Gin beside her.
Her mouth opened to speak, but her peripheral vision caught the muscular man approaching. Terror flashed in her eyes, and heedless of propriety, she yanked Uchiha Gin's head down and whispered urgently in his ear, "Quick, take me hostage! Don't let Brother Hanami catch me and drag me back!"
Her head pressed against his cheek, her faint, girlish fragrance tickling his nose, nearly making him sneeze.
Her warm breath grazed his ear, sending a shiver through him. Realizing her age, Uchiha Gin quickly quelled his stirring thoughts.
Focus, focus. I'm not into kids, I'm not into kids…
Survival first. Uchiha Gin wrapped one arm around Mito's neck, pulling a sharp kunai from behind him. With a menacing expression, he pressed the blade near her chest and sneered, "Heh, you wouldn't want this girl to get hurt, would you?"
Seeing the Uchiha reveal his "true colors," Uzumaki Hanami halted, his voice heavy with restraint. "Despicable Uchiha, what do you want to let my sister go?" His fists clenched, nails digging into his palms.
Uzumaki Hanami, the eldest son of Uzumaki Ashina, had perfectly inherited the Uzumaki clan's talents. Excelling in ninjutsu, genjutsu, chakra, and taijutsu, he was hailed as the clan's greatest genius in a century, possessing strength comparable to the Uzumaki elders at just a teenager.
When the clan's little princess, Uzumaki Mito, went missing, Hanami, who doted on his sister, immediately led his team to search for her.
"What do I say?" Uchiha Gin whispered, ducking behind Mito.
Feeling the masculine aura, Mito felt dizzy, but the situation was urgent. Gritting her teeth, she hissed, "Aren't you a professional kidnapper? Do I have to teach you?"
"When did I ever say I was a kidnapper?" Uchiha Gin muttered, realizing she still hadn't figured out his identity.
"Huh?"
Seeing the infuriating Uchiha dare to whisper so close to his precious sister's neck, Uzumaki Hanami's heart twisted with rage, longing to tear him apart.
As the standoff persisted, sounds of combat echoed from the forest, growing closer. Several figures stumbled into view before Uchiha Gin.
It was Uchiha Fuka and his team, whom he'd parted from recently. They were battered and dusty, especially Uchiha Ryoichi, whose arm was bent unnaturally, dangling uselessly as he hurled shuriken with his other hand.
The moment Uchiha Fuka spotted Uchiha Gin, he shouted, "Uchiha Gin, take that kid and run! The Uzumaki clan's after that kid!"
Kid? Uchiha Gin glanced at Senju Itama, knocked out ten meters away by his kick, then at Mito, his temporary ally. His head throbbed. No amount of explaining will clear this up now.
Hearing Uchiha Fuka, the restrained Uzumaki Hanami's eyes widened. "Still calling it a misunderstanding, you vile Uchiha?"
"Isn't there a peaceful way to resolve this?" Uchiha Gin asked Mito.
"Just run!" Mito urged, desperate to avoid going home.
Easier said than done. The Uzumaki clansmen, especially the formidable Hanami, were no pushovers. Uchiha Fuka's team was already struggling without Hanami even making a move. With his meager skills, escape seemed impossible.
"Why not tell your brother it's a misunderstanding? We could turn enemies into friends—a fine tale," Uchiha Gin suggested.
"No! If you don't take me and run, I'll tell my brother you bullied me," Mito threatened, pouting at his wavering resolve.
"Your mouth's so warm, yet your words are ice-cold," Uchiha Gin muttered. Women and children, impossible to deal with.
The situation was beyond simply handing Mito over. Senju Itama's presence would inevitably be noticed by the Uzumaki, and as a high-ranking member, Hanami likely recognized him. As loyal allies of the Senju, the Uzumaki wouldn't ignore him. Itama was tied to Uchiha Gin's mission, and he couldn't let the boy out of his sight until it was complete.
Uchiha Fuka, having distanced himself from one Uzumaki, flashed to Uchiha Gin's side. Seeing Mito bound in his hands, he paused but, pressed for time, didn't question it. "Where's the Senju kid?"
Uchiha Gin nodded toward the unconscious Itama.
"I'll cover you. Take him and go," Uchiha Fuka ordered.
Why send the weakest to escape? Uchiha Gin wondered. Just because I'm the clan leader's nephew?
No time to ponder. Uchiha Fuka tossed Itama onto his back. Now, with a kid on his back and another in his arms, Uchiha Gin looked like a nanny.
After his orders, Uchiha Fuka gave him a deep look before diving back into battle against two Uzumaki clansmen, buying time for Uchiha Gin's escape.
Watching his captain's retreating figure, Uchiha Gin felt a surge of gratitude. Despite Uchiha Fuka's usual coldness, he'd chosen to protect him in this critical moment. Without hesitation, Uchiha Gin fled westward.
"Kin, your child's grown so much," Uchiha Fuka thought, watching Uchiha Gin escape. "But he's too weak—nothing like you."
"No escape!" Uzumaki Hanami's heart raced as he saw Uchiha Gin flee with his sister.
He lunged forward, but a pair of cold Sharingan eyes blocked his path, three tomoe spinning faintly, emitting an eerie glow.
"To get past, you'll have to go through me," Uchiha Fuka declared, having dispatched his two opponents to stand in Hanami's way.
"Courting death!" Uzumaki Hanami's explosive punch carried immense force, the wind pressure stinging Uchiha Fuka's face.
"You've already met my gaze," Uchiha Fuka said.
"?"
[Genjutsu: Shackling Stakes] One of the Uchiha clan's signature genjutsu, later a favorite of Uchiha Itachi. Using the Sharingan, the caster traps the target in an illusion where massive iron stakes pierce their body, immobilizing them.
Caught off-guard, Uzumaki Hanami fell into the genjutsu. His vision shifted to a sea of blood, where giant steel stakes pinned him in place, unable to move.
In reality, an exhausted Uchiha Fuka clutched his stinging eyes, closing his Sharingan. "Using this on someone of his caliber is taxing."
Glancing at the ensnared Hanami, he turned to aid Uchiha Ryoichi and the others, who were ganging up on a long-haired Uzumaki. The weaker Uzumaki clansmen had already been defeated.
Then, Uzumaki Hanami's voice rang out. "Almost fell for it."
Uchiha Fuka turned, incredulous, to see Hanami awake. That genjutsu, prepared meticulously, had drained most of his dojutsu power in a single glance.
"Thanks to my father's sealing jutsu, I can resist one mental attack," Hanami said, revealing a fading tadpole-like symbol on his chest.
Recalling the sealing jutsu his father had placed before his departure, Hanami felt a wave of relief.
"Tch, troublesome," Uchiha Fuka muttered, recalling the Uzumaki's mastery of sealing jutsu. He reactivated his Sharingan, and their second round began.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Gin, fleeing, suddenly stopped. Under Mito's puzzled gaze, he set both her and Itama down, checking his ninja pouch.
"What are you doing?" Mito asked, tugging his sleeve.
"You're free now. If I don't make it back, take this kid to the Senju clan," Uchiha Gin said, looking down at her.
"You're going back to die? My brother's strong—you can't take a single punch from him," Mito said, trying to stop him.
"I want to live. I want to see the Hidden Leaf…" Uchiha Gin sighed.
He thought of the haughty Uchiha Ryoichi, the stern but kind Uchiha Tsuru, the honest Uchiha Dairo, and Uchiha Fuka, who seemed to care for him specially. Though he'd only been in this world a few days, their time together had forged bonds he couldn't ignore.
"I can't abandon them."
His gaze hardened. He pulled away from Mito's grip and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Mito hesitated.
"What, scared I'll beat your brother?" Uchiha Gin teased, seeing her expression.
"No way! You can't beat him. In our clan, only Father can take him head-on," Mito said, still shaken.
After a moment's hesitation, she pulled a black pearl from her bag and handed it to him.
Curious, Uchiha Gin examined it. The pearl's dark surface swirled with inky patterns.
"Be careful. This is for self-defense from my father. It contains a sealing jutsu. Activate it with chakra to temporarily trap my brother, then escape," Mito explained.
"You're not worried I'll use this to trap and kill him?" Uchiha Gin asked, testing her.
"You won't," Mito said earnestly, her sparkling eyes full of trust.
"Why so sure?" Her unwavering trust puzzled him.
"I have a gift. I can sense people's good or evil," she explained. "From the moment I saw you, I felt no malice."
"You're a good person," she concluded.
"Uh…" Uchiha Gin, unexpectedly handed a "good guy card," grimaced, accepted the pearl, and patted her twin buns. "Handy ability. Thanks."
The Otsutsuki descendants' powers were bizarre. No wonder she trusted him—she had a knack like Naruto's Nine-Tails mode for sensing intent.
After thanking her, Uchiha Gin ran toward the battle.
"System, any way to get me through this?" Feeling the strength gap, he tried the system.
After a pause, "System not fully activated. Unable to assist…"
"Useless system!" Uchiha Gin's frustration grew. He'd hoped activating it would let him soar, crushing Kaguya and aliens. Instead, this half-baked system threatened erasure, dribbled rewards, and gave a lousy starter pack. Skills required fragment grinding. Far from soaring, these past days had been grueling.
He should've skipped the system, used his plot knowledge to survive until the Hidden Leaf's founding, then slipped away to a remote country for a peaceful life.
"Stupid system," he spat.
"Ding! Detecting strong host dissatisfaction. Special challenge mission issued: 'Save the Uchiha.'"
"Rescue Uchiha Fuka's team from peril. Reward: 50 points, 4 random orbs. Failure if any target dies."
"???" A theory struck Uchiha Gin. Does complaining trigger it? Then I could…
"Detecting harmful host intentions. Mission difficulty increased: Must defeat Uzumaki Hanami to complete follow-up tasks."
"Thanks a lot!" Uchiha Gin groaned.