Chapter 22: Brat, what are you trying to do?

"Ding! Detected that the host has encountered a plot character, system mission issuing."

"Mission initiated: Defeat Mito Uzumaki, who harbors dreams of being a swordswoman, and let her know that the jianghu is treacherous and human hearts are unpredictable. Reward: 10 points, 1 random orb. Host defeat counts as mission failure."

The naive young girl before him had a fair, round face, bright, spirited eyes, and a cherry-like mouth; her fiery red hair was tied into two small buns, making her look quite playful and cute.

Seeing Uchiha Gin staring at her, she bared her sharp little canine teeth like a small female beast, her large eyes filled with dissatisfaction, much like a clawing, snarling kitten.

Feeling looked down upon, Mito Uzumaki was just about to deliver a harsh retort, but she hadn't yet fully swallowed the mouthful of sesame cake she had just stuffed in.

As the girl opened her small mouth, air rushed in, forcing the unchewed food into her narrow esophagus all at once, instantly leaving her unable to breathe.

Her small hands, disregarding the food in them, clenched into little fists and pounded against her flat chest, attempting to force the food down.

Watching the girl who wanted to say something but was instantly reduced to pounding her chest, Uchiha Gin helplessly pulled his water canteen from his pack, unscrewed it, and handed it over.

The girl, who was choking to the point of rolling her eyes, saw the canteen as if it were a life-saving straw; she grabbed it and drank it down, followed by a series of glugging sounds.

The girl looked at the canteen in her hand as if she had just survived a disaster, and was just about to thank the kind person who had given her the water.

Looking up and seeing the smiling Uchiha Gin beside her, she let out a strange cry and jumped several meters away, looking at him with a face full of wariness.

"Is this how you treat your savior?"

Uchiha Gin said with a teasing look, his eyes narrowed.

"Although I am very grateful to you, you should still surrender, Mr. Kind Human Trafficker."

The girl's delicate brows knitted together, and after thinking for a moment, she said.

"Are you talking about this brat?"

Uchiha Gin lifted Itama Senju, who was still unconscious behind him, to the front.

"It's not impossible to let him go, but you must defeat me first."

In order to complete the mission, Uchiha Gin prepared to make a move on the cute little loli.

Upon hearing this, Mito Uzumaki revealed an expression that said, "Just as I expected."

She first set down the mountain-like bundle on her back, then began to do warm-up exercises, stretching her slender, youthful arms and legs that looked like jade lotus roots, struck a cute starting pose, and said with great seriousness,

"Please, enlighten me!"

Uchiha Gin kicked the troublesome Itama Senju aside; the brat rolled away like a tumbling gourd, and while still unconscious, he let out a strange "Ah, ah" sound from the kick.

"Bring it on."

Uchiha Gin crooked his finger in provocation.

"To deal with a brat like you, I don't even need to draw my blade."

Saying this, he sheathed the samurai sword at his waist to the side.

At Uchiha Gin's contemptuous behavior, a flame of anger rose behind Mito Uzumaki. She pushed off with her legs, and her entire body rushed forward like a cannonball; the speed made Uchiha Gin's eyelids twitch.

"Eat my punch!"

The girl's angry punch smashed vertically toward Uchiha Gin, who was still in place. Having no time to dodge, he crossed his arms, preparing to take the blow head-on.

Unexpectedly, the impact transmitted from his arms made his hands go numb, and his whole body tilted backward; he performed a backflip in the air and barely landed.

Shaking his slightly trembling forearms, Uchiha Gin was secretly shocked.

"As expected of the future Nine-Tails jinchuriki, to have such strength at such a young age."

Mito Uzumaki looked at her own delicate little fist in surprise; the human trafficker opposite her had actually managed to withstand her punch.

One had to know that she had an astonishing talent for taijutsu since childhood, and at age five, she had awakened the rare talent of super strength.

Ordinary squad-leader-level ninja could not take a full-power blow from her, yet the opponent had only retreated a few steps. Thinking of this, the girl put away her contempt, and a flame of competitiveness ignited in her eyes.

"Again!"

Mito Uzumaki mobilized the chakra in her body and gathered it into her hands.

In an instant, a pale cyan light flickered on the girl's fair, tender palms. Looking at those tiny fists, Uchiha Gin, who hadn't yet recovered, felt his scalp tingle.

Isn't this damn well Tsunade's super strength?

Imagining the consequences of being punched in the chest by these little fists, Uchiha Gin felt his heart go cold. He had originally wanted to bully the weak, but he hadn't expected to kick an iron plate this time.

Seeing the girl raising her fists to attack, Uchiha Gin immediately retreated while activating his newly awakened Sharingan.

The single-tomoe Sharingan could only perform observation. Under the enhancement of the single tomoe, Uchiha Gin could barely see the girl's movements, and he could barely dodge her taijutsu strikes.

The slightly rotating tomoe allowed him to slowly adapt to the girl's speed; the moment she raised her hand, he seemed to be able to see her next move.

"No wonder these cheating eyes are coveted in the future."

Marveling at the ability of the Sharingan, Uchiha Gin once again skillfully dodged the girl's punch. Watching her lotus-root-like arm brush past his face, Uchiha Gin began to consider how to counterattack.

Uchiha Gin really couldn't bring himself to use a blade on a child; it wasn't that he was a saint.

He would not be soft-hearted toward a real threat, but the girl with the bun hairstyle before him, who was already panting for breath, had never intended to kill him from the beginning.

"I can only win by wit."

His wrist turned slightly, and a thin, transparent wire was flicked by Uchiha Gin with hidden force onto the samurai sword stuck in the ground to the side.

His body began to deliberately lead the girl in circles as she threw her chaotic, formless punches; the girl, led by the nose, was completely unaware.

The bloodline of the Uzumaki clan granted her formidable vitality, and like the Senju clan, she was very good at endurance battles.

"You guy, you're as slippery as a loach, what a coward! If you have the guts, fight me properly. What kind of man hides!"

Mito Uzumaki, who had not landed a single hit, said in frustration.

"Alright."

Uchiha Gin, who had been circling around, suddenly stopped and nodded solemnly not far from the girl.

"Take this!"

Seeing her chance, the girl gathered strength in her fists and took a fierce step forward. Seeing that the timing was ripe, Uchiha Gin pulled hard with his wrist. A gust of grass and wood swirled around the girl, and transparent wires instantly surrounded her.

The next moment, the girl, having no time to dodge, was firmly bound by the wires. Her petite body struggled hard, but after a few times, she realized in despair that the more she struggled, the tighter the wires bound her.

"I suggest you stop struggling. The harder you pull, the tighter these wires get. Your thin clothing will easily be cut through."

As soon as Uchiha Gin finished speaking, a tearing sound was heard, and the girl's thin clothes were cut in several places, exposing her fair, tender skin.

Her jade-like skin was marked with red welts by the wires, making Mito Uzumaki, who was still struggling, instantly blush with shame. Her whole body began to steam, turning her into a "steam girl."

"You hateful guy, let me go!"

Suffering such humiliation for the first time, Mito Uzumaki's eyes welled up with tears, looking pitiful and moving, with none of the fierce energy she had when chasing him to punch him earlier.

"Then admit defeat first."

Uchiha Gin looked at Mito Uzumaki's "female ninja misery" appearance without the slightest wavering. Of course, if she were seven or eight years older, he might not have been able to hold back.

"If I admit defeat, will you let me go?"

The aggrieved Mito Uzumaki looked at the human trafficker before her in disbelief. According to her thoughts, the other party should have tied her up and sold her to those places where people listen to music and drink.

"I swear on the honor of the Uchiha ancestors!"

Uchiha Gin once again swore by his ancestors.

("Achoo!" While sparring with the bowl-cut boy, the hedgehog-haired boy felt a chill down his back again after a few days.

"Madara, are you alright?" the bowl-cut boy asked with concern.)

Seeing Uchiha Gin's solemn tone, the girl had no choice but to compromise and say,

"I admit defeat!"

"Ding! Host defeated Mito Uzumaki, mission complete. Points +10, obtained 1 blue orb."

Uchiha Gin was so excited that tears were almost flowing; after transmigrating for so long, he had finally completed a mission. He then began to observe his rewards in his mind.

Opening the system again, Uchiha Gin discovered that his mind was no longer a monotonous, empty space, but instead had an arena that looked like a chessboard.

He also possessed a physical form. Following the guidance onto the chessboard, he found the Heartsteel chest he had earned from his mission placed on the left side, with a row of numbers scrolling above it.

"Host successful, obtained 1 Heart-Energy. Heartsteel chest reward unlocked. (Current accumulated Heart-Energy: 14)"

Following a delayed notification sound, Uchiha Gin saw the numbers above the Heartsteel chest on the chessboard stop scrolling.

【14】 Ready to open

1+10-10+12+1=14

Due to the penalty from Uchiha Gin's bug-exploiting attempt midway, the Heartsteel stacks were left with only 14.

Force creates miracles!

Uchiha Gin clicked to open it. The Heartsteel chest jumped, and accompanied by addictive BGM, two colorful orbs bearing the Heartsteel logo fell out.

With a nervous heart, Uchiha Gin clicked on one of them. As a flash of light passed, a gold bar appeared in his hand.

【Gold Brick *1】 Universal currency, can be used for real-world consumption.

It can actually drop money?

Uchiha Gin was surprised as he weighed the heavy, pure gold in his hand. This piece of gold alone was enough to cause a significant dispute. He then looked at the other orb.

"It wouldn't be gold too, would it?"

Thinking this, Uchiha Gin clicked on the remaining orb.

【Uzumaki Clan Constitution *1】 After use, gain a trace of the Uzumaki clan bloodline, attributes slightly increased.

The second orb actually dropped a bloodline.

Uchiha Gin couldn't remain calm upon seeing the word "Uzumaki." Several important characters in the show were orphans of the Uzumaki clan.

The mastermind behind the Akatsuki, Nagato, relied on the Uzumaki bloodline to forcefully hang onto Madara's Rinnegan, first killing the Toad Sage, then leveling Konoha in one move—definitely the ceiling of mid-stage combat power.

Not to mention the Prince, even without the Nine-Tails, he was a "chakra-ton" player, and his stamina and recovery were top-tier.

"Attributes?"

Although the bloodline was tempting, the attribute part also made him curious. Following the tropes of system-style stories from his past life, Uchiha Gin tried to summon the attribute panel.

As soon as he finished speaking, a light screen rose on the chessboard, and Uchiha Gin's avatar was prominently listed.

It actually exists!

Host: Uchiha Gin

Nin: 5

Tai: 4

Gen: 9

Stamina: 3

Charisma: 1

Dojutsu: 5

Skills: Basic Taijutsu, Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, Uchiha Introductory Sword Technique, Intermediate Shuriken Jutsu.

Overall Evaluation: A slightly clever, single-tomoe, punchable-type Uchiha Genin.

"??? What do you mean by 'punchable-type'? What is the meaning of only having 1 in Charisma?"

A certain Uchiha was so angry his dead-fish eyes were almost rolling back.

Next, Uchiha Gin clicked to use the Uzumaki Clan Constitution, and suddenly a warm current spread from his heart to his entire body.

The chakra that had previously been blocked like a dripping faucet turned into a rushing stream; the warm chakra made Uchiha Gin feel instantly comfortable, while at the same time, he felt he had inexhaustible strength throughout his body.

After experiencing his body being reborn, Uchiha Gin suddenly remembered the small attribute increase mentioned after the reward, and he looked up at his attribute panel again:

Host: Uchiha Gin

Nin: 7

Tai: 8

Gen: 9

Stamina: 6

Charisma: 1

Dojutsu: 5

Skills: Basic Taijutsu, Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, Uchiha Introductory Sword Technique, Intermediate Shuriken Jutsu.

Overall Evaluation: A slightly clever, single-tomoe, punchable-type Uchiha Chunin.

The Uzumaki Clan's bloodline is mainly reflected in Nin, Tai, and Stamina; among them, Tai and Stamina have both doubled, which should correspond to his physique and chakra.

Having studied his attributes enough, Uchiha Gin discovered a strange device on the right side of the chessboard.

It was similar to the game consoles he had played in arcades in his past life. He tried clicking to turn it on, and as the console screen started up, a large "10" came into view, followed by the instructions for this console:

【Mall Game Console, accumulate points to unlock grand prizes】

There was no other explanation. After fiddling with it to no avail, Uchiha Gin had to give up on this game console for now and turned to curiously ask the system,

"Why did so many things appear this time?"

"Because the host has completed one prerequisite task, system loading +10%."

"Is this not the full scene of the system?"

Uchiha Gin looked at the now-luxurious system space and asked in disbelief.

"The system is still loading and cannot answer."

It seemed his system still had many functions that were not unlocked. Uchiha Gin's confidence in surviving until the founding of the Hidden Leaf Village increased several times over.

"Maybe I can even survive until Boruto."

Uchiha Gin entered a fantasy state.

"Hey, hey, hey! What about the promise to let me go? You can't go back on your word!"

Seeing the other person actually spacing out after having just admitted defeat, Mito Uzumaki couldn't help but shout loudly.

The moment she finished speaking, the luster returned to Uchiha Gin's eyes. The long time he had just spent in the system was only an instant in the outside world.

"Alright, alright, I'll untie you now."

Having gained a bountiful harvest, Uchiha Gin looked at the great contributor before him, his mouth grinning almost to the sky.

"Hey, why are you smiling so disgustingly?"

Mito Uzumaki looked at Uchiha Gin, who had a lecherous grin on his face, and twisted around awkwardly.

This kind of thread could not be cut with ordinary sharp weapons; it could only be retracted by finding the end. Uchiha Gin didn't hold back and began to grope around Mito Uzumaki's body.

Of course, as a gentleman, a certain Uchiha was naturally searching with a pure heart.

But feeling a pair of large hands radiating a familiar aura brushing across her back, Mito Uzumaki's small body couldn't stop trembling.

"What's wrong, do you need to go to the bathroom? Hold it for a second, I'll find it right away."

Uchiha Gin, having misunderstood, immediately sped up.

"Why do I feel a familiar aura from this guy?"

Mito Uzumaki, being handled by Uchiha Gin, began to let her imagination run wild. However, she wasn't wrong; Uchiha Gin had just fused with the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline, and the same bloodline naturally carried an innate attraction.

Just as Uchiha Gin was searching for the end of the thread, an amulet on Mito Uzumaki's chest caught his attention. Looking at the ghost-mask-shaped amulet, Uchiha Gin asked curiously,

"This amulet of yours is quite unique."

Mito Uzumaki, who was being questioned, was still feeling dizzy, and she subconsciously explained,

"This is my father's concealment charm. Sealing jutsu is written inside it. Wearing it can hide chakra. I relied on this thing to dodge the clan's search when I ran away."

"Truly amazing, as expected of the Uzumaki Clan," Uchiha Gin praised sincerely.

"It's not as good as you say!"

"Hey, finally found it!"

After searching for a long time, he finally found the end of the thread at Mito Uzumaki's waist, and Uchiha Gin reached out toward it.

"You beast, what are you doing!"

Hearing a roar, a figure glowing with red light descended from the sky.

Slow-burn pacing

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(End of chapter)