Chapter 3: Although I Transmigrated, It Seems I Transmigrated Too Early

At night, in a dense forest, several people were stationed at a campsite, with a simple tent pitched beside a campfire.

Four people sat around the fire, all wearing high-collared robes, their pale, gloomy faces looking quite ghastly in the glow of the flames.

All of them bore injuries to varying degrees, and after a long silence, a black-haired man with a ponytail spoke up.

"If it weren't for this brat dragging us down, we would have finished long ago. I'm going to go teach him a lesson right now!"

He stood up and walked toward the tent, his hand resting on the long sword at his waist, as if he were about to make someone regret their existence on the spot.

"That's enough. This matter still requires the Clan Head to decide. We are in the middle of a chaotic war; one more person means a better chance of completing the mission."

The older man sitting in the middle spoke up to stop him.

Although he did not have much interaction with the person in the tent, the other's status left him helpless; after all, the Clan Head had told him to look after this fellow, so even if the guy was a total loser, he had to try to provide some protection.

Hearing the older man's words, the ponytail man felt angry, but he could not defy the captain's orders.

Meanwhile, inside the tent, the man was slowly waking up.

"What the hell is this place? I remember I was walking by the river, drinking and catching the breeze, and then I seemed to slip..."

Feeling a sharp pain in his head and a soreness in his back as if he had been hit by a car, the man struggled to open his eyes, but there was no familiar ceiling.

In the pitch-black space, he could vaguely see the canvas of the tent. He tried to lift his hand but found himself unable to move, as if suffering from sleep paralysis. With a sharp, twisting pain in his brain, the man passed out again.

After another long while, the man was startled awake by the arguing outside the tent. Feeling as though his limbs had regained some strength, he managed to prop himself up.

Looking at his unfamiliar hands and clothing, as well as the katana placed beside him, and recalling the memories he had just received, the man remained silent for several seconds.

"Damn it, I really transmigrated? And it's Naruto? Luckily, I still remember most of the plot—what Naruto, what Sasuke—but isn't this time period a bit off?"

That's right, the man was a corporate slave who had only recently entered society, living a life of slacking off at work, but he had drunk a few too many during a team-building event.

After drinking, he wandered to the riverbank alone. Under the influence of alcohol, he lost his sense of direction, stumbled into the water, and departed from the world. When he opened his eyes again, he had transmigrated into the body of this unlucky fellow.

"Uchiha Gin, is it Uchiha..."

According to his memories, it was the Warring States period, and the founding of the Hidden Leaf Village was still a long way off. Currently, it was a time of chaotic war, and the Uchiha clan had just signed a friendly pact with the Hagoromo clan to jointly oppose the Senju clan.

Their mission this time was a "Seed-Elimination Operation" launched to weaken the new generation of the Senju clan. They were working in small groups, specifically to intercept and kill young members of the Senju clan, thereby causing a generational gap in the Senju clan's core strength.

The original owner was named Uchiha Gin, and his parents had both died in the war.

Because his mother was the cousin of the current Clan Head, Uchiha Madara, he had been adopted by Uchiha Madara after becoming an orphan.

However, among the exceptionally talented Uchiha clan, Uchiha Gin appeared very mediocre, or even a bit of a loser.

He was already in his twenties, yet he had fallen behind in a sparring match against a ten-year-old clansman and ultimately suffered a crushing defeat.

Recalling the memory of being beaten up by a child, Uchiha Gin's expression turned strange.

"That was the young Madara, for god's sake. If I could beat him up, I could brag about it for a lifetime."

Having roughly browsed through the original owner's memories, Uchiha Gin, who now inherited his name, began to analyze the current situation.

It was the Warring States period, so there was no order to speak of. Danger was everywhere; swords were merciless, ninjutsu was indifferent, and one careless move could lead to his soul returning to the afterlife.

As an ordinary person who had just transmigrated, Uchiha Gin felt that staying alive was the key. After all, in this era, living to thirty was already a luxury.

According to the original owner's memories, Uchiha Gin tried to circulate the chakra in his body, only to find that it flowed as slowly as a snail, sometimes present and sometimes absent. He then tried to chant in his heart.

"System, activate!!!"

After a long while with no feedback, Uchiha Gin opened his eyes and sighed.

"Talentless loser, and no system. What a disastrous start."

After thinking for a moment, Uchiha Gin decided to stick close to the original owner's backer. As the current Clan Head of the Uchiha, Uchiha Madara was quite powerful.

As his distant nephew, as long as he didn't take risks, he should be able to live a few peaceful days until the founding of the Hidden Leaf Village.

With that thought, Uchiha Gin propped himself up and walked out of the tent.

The three people dozing by the campfire opened their eyes when they sensed movement. The older man saw Uchiha Gin crawling out of the tent, his eyes sharpened, and he spoke coldly,

"Come here."

Seeing that he could move, he signaled for the other to sit over. Uchiha Gin, a newcomer, obediently sat down opposite the older man.

"Uchiha Gin, regarding the losses caused by your mistake during the day, I will report it truthfully to the Clan Head when we return. In the upcoming mission, you must not be reckless again. All actions must follow my command."

As he spoke, a flash of scarlet flickered in his narrow eyes. The pressure radiating from him made Uchiha Gin feel a bit breathless, but he still braced himself and nodded.

"Three-Tomoe Sharingan. This is already considered top-tier combat power for the Uchiha clan."

Looking at the Three-Tomoe that flashed in the other's eyes, Uchiha Gin pondered that the difficulty of this mission must be quite high.

The original owner had learned during the day that the Hagoromo clan had already completed a major mission first. As a proud Uchiha, the original owner naturally couldn't stand the smug Hagoromo clan.

Therefore, he had decided to risk venturing deep into the Senju clan's territory to find their mission target.

Unexpectedly, before he even entered the Senju clan's territory, he was discovered by an outer sentry, drawing a team of Senju ninjas to hunt them down. The rookie-like original owner was hit in the back by a punch of brute strength from the opponent in just one exchange.

His already pathetic strength sent him flying like a cannonball for dozens of meters, and he landed on his head and passed out. Fortunately, the older man before him, their captain, Uchiha Fenghuo, intervened to save him, and the original owner barely managed to keep his life.

It was this kind of brainless behavior that made the others in the team quite resentful, but Captain Uchiha Fenghuo, who knew Uchiha Gin's status, still stepped in to suppress everyone's anger.

"Was the original owner really that reckless?"

Just then, a figure flashed in front of everyone; it was the ponytail Uchiha who had wanted to teach Uchiha Gin a lesson earlier.

It had been his turn to keep watch, and hearing that the people in the camp were awake, he had rushed over. Seeing Uchiha Gin had recovered, a vein mark appeared on the ponytail Uchiha's head.

"Uchiha Gin, if it weren't for the captain protecting you, I would have burned off that curly hair of yours long ago. If you cause any more trouble, I'll deal with you before the Senju clan does."

Hearing this, Uchiha Gin couldn't help but feel a toothache. Looking at the unfriendly gazes of the others, he felt immense pressure.

"Just how unlikable was the original owner?"

He glanced sideways at the giant shuriken stuck beside him. Through the smooth surface of the blade, with the Uchiha clan's excellent eyesight, Uchiha Gin saw his current appearance for the first time.

A messy, fluffy, natural-curly head of hair, and a pair of annoying dead-fish eyes. Although the Uchiha clan's genes made him look quite handsome, for some reason, the original owner's appearance seemed to have an inherently punchable quality.

"I'm sorry everyone, it was my recklessness during the day. From now on, I will definitely follow your commands."

One has to bow their head when under the eaves; besides, he hadn't fully mastered the original owner's power yet, so it was better to lay low for a while.

"Huh????????"

Hearing what Uchiha Gin said, everyone present was shocked, as if they had seen a ghost, and they exclaimed in surprise.

(End of chapter)