Chapter 11: The First Battle After Transmigration

Senju Itama, fleeing with all his might, discovered a member of the Uchiha clan standing on his only path, and a look of despair appeared on his face.

At only five years old, no matter how much of a natural genius he might be, he had little power to fight back against an adult Uchiha.

The Uchiha clan member before him had a bandage wrapped around his curly hair, and his two dead-fish eyes were dull and lifeless, as if he didn't feel much excitement at the boy walking right into his trap; instead, a conflicted expression appeared on his slightly handsome face.

Too hurried to think deeply, Senju Itama, holding a kunai, resolutely charged toward the still-dazed Uchiha Gin; however, seeing the look of resignation to death on Senju Itama's face, Uchiha Gin had no choice but to draw the samurai sword at his waist to prepare for battle.

"Clang!"

The two weapons collided with a dull thud. Feeling a heavy blow to his arm, Uchiha Gin flew several meters away, landing face-first, before climbing back up with a look of astonishment.

"This kid is this strong?"

"This guy is this weak?"

A stunned Senju Itama looked at the kunai in his hand in disbelief; he couldn't believe he had actually managed to repel an adult Uchiha.

Uchiha Gin swore that he hadn't held back just now; because this was his first battle after transmigrating, he had subconsciously used his full strength, yet the result was that he had been knocked flying by a five-year-old child.

Watching Uchiha Gin scramble up in a sorry state, a spark of hope for survival ignited in Senju Itama's eyes, and he swung his kunai with even more effort as he charged at the Uchiha opposite him.

Just then, a system notification sounded in Uchiha Gin's mind.

"Combat detected, Heartsteel chest accumulation started."

The Heartsteel chest in his sea of consciousness began to tremble, and then, like a speaker, it started playing intense BGM.

Listening to the familiar BGM in his head, Uchiha Gin's brain twitched; could the products from this outdated system be any less reliable?

Returning to the battle, limited by his height, the kunai in Senju Itama's hand was about to strike Uchiha Gin's lower regions. Having blocked out the demonic BGM in his head, Uchiha Gin barely managed to dodge this strike that threatened his little brother.

He then initiated a classic Uchiha sword technique to slash at Senju Itama, only to have it blocked by the opponent's kunai. He looked on speechlessly as his full-force strike was easily neutralized by a five-year-old child.

Uchiha Gin finally confirmed that the original owner of his body was truly a complete and utter scrub.

Over twenty years of time had all gone to waste; his combat power could only be considered at the level of a later-era genin—not one of the twelve rookies, but the kind of background-character genin.

Even so, he could not easily admit defeat now. Uchiha Fenghuo, Uchiha Liangyi, and the others would likely finish their battles soon, and even if he let Senju Itama go now, he would be killed by their hands the next moment.

Moreover, his mission was to save Senju Itama from the hands of Uchiha Fenghuo and the others. Now that he was alone on the scene, he wasn't sure if letting him go would count as completing the mission; if it were marked as a failure, he would have to delete his account and restart.

The two exchanged a few more rounds, a battle of scrubs with no clear winner.

"As expected of the genius young master of the Senju clan, I, Uchiha Gin, am willing to call you the strongest in taijutsu."

Uchiha Gin said to the somewhat panting Senju Itama.

"Uchiha Gin, is it? You're not bad either; I, Senju Itama, acknowledge you."

The voice was soft and sweet—a fine seedling for a little boy.

Also facing an enemy for the first time, Senju Itama's chuunibyou soul erupted, and the unique, natural-born ditziness of the Senju clan was revealed without a doubt.

Just as the two were deadlocked, Uchiha Fenghuo and the others had already ended their battle. Senju Koji had been hit head-on by Uchiha Fenghuo's Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique, and his life or death was unknown.

Good heavens, did the Great Fireball kill someone?

The three Senju clan members of the guard team were also defeated by the joint efforts of Uchiha Liangyi and the other two, lying on the ground covered in blood.

Seeing that Uchiha Gin had not yet killed Senju Itama, they all surrounded them.

Senju Itama and Uchiha Gin were in the midst of a "fierce battle," the two even developing a sense of mutual admiration.

But Senju Itama was only five years old after all, and his stamina was clearly inferior to the adult Uchiha Gin.

During an exchange, his limbs went weak, and he was knocked flying by Uchiha Gin, hitting a protruding rock behind him and unable to get up for a long time.

"Host victorious, obtained Heart Energy *1. Unlock Heartsteel chest reward after three more battles. (Current accumulated Heart Energy: 1)"

After exhausting his strength and collapsing, Senju Itama was judged by the system to have lost to Uchiha Gin.

As the battle ended, Uchiha Fenghuo and the others arrived at Uchiha Gin's side. The five of them formed a perimeter, surrounding the slowly rising Senju Itama, achieving the iconic scene from the original work.

Looking in despair as five adult Uchiha surrounded him, Senju Itama, holding his kunai with trembling hands, had nothing left in his eyes but hopelessness; he understood that he might follow his third brother today.

Uchiha Liangyi flicked a shuriken with a cat-and-mouse playfulness, grazing Senju Itama's face and embedding it in the rock behind him.

This action shattered Senju Itama's final psychological defense; at only five years old, his whole body began to tremble, and tears welled up in his eyes.

"Alright, our mission can be considered complete. Finish him quickly; reinforcements from the Senju clan should arrive soon."

Uchiha Fenghuo, who had taken the full force of Senju Koji's final desperate attack, was not in a good state; his eyes were very sore, a result of overusing the Sharingan.

Hearing this, the others simultaneously turned their gazes toward the silent Uchiha Gin.

Because the one who had fought the hardest for this mission was Uchiha Gin; he had even dared to break into the Senju clan's territory alone to complete it.

Although his strength was lacking, the few who had heard his "Uchiha Declaration" subconsciously felt that this mission should be concluded by him.

Stared at by the others, Uchiha Gin guessed their thoughts from their gazes. Without hesitation, his expression shifting between light and shadow, he slowly drew his sword and walked toward Senju Itama, who had given up resistance.

With a swift motion, under the surprised gazes of the others, he used the back of his blade to knock Senju Itama unconscious.

"???"

"Uchiha Gin, what do you mean by this?"

Regarding Uchiha Gin's show of mercy, the others questioned his actions.

"A living young master of the Senju clan is more useful than a dead one."

The expressionless Uchiha Gin said this as he sheathed his samurai sword, then crouched down to hoist the unconscious Senju Itama onto his shoulder.

"Our mission is merely to clear out the Senju seedlings. Don't cause trouble; kill him quickly, and we will withdraw."

Uchiha Fenghuo seemed somewhat angry at Uchiha Gin's insubordination; as the captain, he could not accept being disobeyed by a subordinate.

"I said, a living Senju is more useful than a corpse."

Just as the tension between the two sides grew increasingly intense, Uchiha Feihe in the group had a change in expression.

"The traps I set have been triggered; the Senju clan's reinforcements are almost here!"

It turned out that Uchiha Feihe had set several traps in the surrounding area before the battle, and he could sense them the moment they were triggered.

"Withdraw first!"

Hearing that enemy reinforcements were approaching, the injured Uchiha Fenghuo dared not linger any longer; continuing to bicker would only lead to a worse outcome.

"Yes!"

Receiving the order, the group stood up and quickly retreated in the direction away from the Senju territory. Uchiha Gin breathed a temporary sigh of relief.

But he dared not just let Senju Itama go, so he had no choice but to carry the unconscious brat and follow the team in their retreat.

The group pushed themselves to the limit, sprinting until they could no longer sense any pursuit behind them before stopping.

Having escaped the pursuit, the group rested in a cave, and the unconscious Senju Itama was tied up by Uchiha Gin with iron chains.

He didn't know how to seal chakra or similar techniques yet, so he could only crudely wrap Senju Itama round and round with the chains like a rice dumpling.

"Uchiha Gin, I hope you can give me a reasonable explanation."

Uchiha Fenghuo, sitting in front of the campfire, looked at the hog-tied Senju Itama and questioned Uchiha Gin, who had just finished and was wiping his sweat.

Sensing that he would be questioned sooner or later, Uchiha Gin brought out the excuse he had prepared beforehand.

"I left him alive because of the Clan Leader."

Uchiha Gin explained.

The others looked at each other in dismay upon hearing this answer, because the mission they had received from the Clan Leader was only to eliminate the Senju, with no order to capture them alive.

Uchiha Gin's nonsense began.

"This all started from the time I was standing guard at the Clan Leader's door..."

(End of chapter)