The desperately fleeing Senju Itama spotted an Uchiha standing directly in his path — and despair immediately clouded his face.
Only five years old, no matter how much of a prodigy he was, he knew he stood little chance against an adult Uchiha.
The Uchiha before him had curly hair with a bandage wrapped around it, a pair of dead-fish eyes dull and lifeless, and a rather handsome face that was currently twisted into a conflicted expression — not the least bit excited about Itama running straight into him.
With no time to think further, Itama gripped his kunai and charged directly at the dazed Uchiha Gin. But seeing the determined, "ready-to-die" look on the kid's face, Gin reluctantly drew the katana at his waist to defend himself.
"Clang!"
Their weapons collided with a dull thud. Uchiha Gin was sent flying several meters and landed face-first on the ground. Staggering to his feet, his face was full of shock.
"This brat's that strong?!"
Meanwhile, Itama stared in disbelief at his own kunai.
"This guy's that weak?!"
The two stared at each other, both stunned by what had just happened.
Uchiha Gin swore to himself that he hadn't held back — this was his first real battle since arriving in this world, and he had instinctively gone all out. But somehow, he still got his butt kicked by a five-year-old.
Seeing Gin clumsily climbing back up, Itama's eyes lit up with hope. Renewed with fighting spirit, he charged at him again, slashing furiously with his kunai.
Right at that moment, a system notification popped up in Gin's mind:
Combat detected. Heart of Steel Chest now accumulating energy.
In his consciousness, the Heart of Steel chest began to tremble, and then, like a speaker, it blasted an intense, upbeat battle theme.
Hearing the overly familiar BGM in his head, Gin twitched.
"Can this ancient system please be a little more professional?"
Back to reality, the short-statured Itama was about to strike Gin in a… very vulnerable area. Gin managed to dodge at the last second, narrowly avoiding the attack that might've ended his bloodline.
Counterattacking, he unleashed a textbook Uchiha sword technique — only for Itama to block it with his kunai.
"You've got to be kidding me," Gin thought, watching his all-out slash get parried by a five-year-old.
He had no choice but to face reality — the body's original owner was a complete scrub.
Over twenty years of life, and not an ounce of combat ability to show for it. His strength wasn't even on par with the background-fodder Genin from the later timeline.
But now wasn't the time to give up.
Uchiha Fūka and the others would finish their fights soon. Even if he let Itama go now, he'd just be killed by his own people the next moment.
And the mission clearly stated: Rescue Itama from Uchiha Fūka and the others. If Gin let him go now, it might still count as a failure — which would mean permadeath.
So he kept fighting. The two exchanged several more clumsy blows, in what could only be described as a battle of bottom-tier amateurs.
"You truly are a worthy heir of the Senju clan. I, Uchiha Gin, acknowledge you as the strongest in taijutsu," Gin said, panting.
"And you're not bad either. I, Senju Itama, acknowledge you," Itama replied in a soft, adorable voice — like a mini southern prince.
It was his first real fight too, and Itama's energy was overflowing. The unique derpy charm of the Senju clan was on full display.
But before their mutual respect could grow further, the tide of battle elsewhere had turned.
Senju Kōji was struck head-on by Uchiha Fūka's Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu — his fate uncertain.
"Holy crap, Fireball Jutsu actually killed someone?!"
The three other Senju warriors were also defeated, their bodies bloodied and strewn across the ground.
Seeing that Gin hadn't yet killed Itama, the rest of the Uchiha squad rushed over, surrounding the boy.
Itama and Gin were still in the middle of their… intense "clash." Despite the combat, they had begun developing a strange camaraderie.
But Itama was just a kid — his stamina ran out first. In one final exchange, his limbs gave out and he was sent flying, crashing into a protruding rock and collapsing.
"Victory: Host has earned 1 Heart Energy Point. Three more battles required to unlock Heart of Steel Chest reward. (Current: 1/4)"
Itama, now unconscious, had been officially deemed defeated by the system.
As the fight ended, Uchiha Fūka and the others approached, surrounding the barely conscious Itama. The iconic scene from the original story had finally played out.
Faced with five adult Uchiha, Itama gripped his kunai and trembled. He knew… today, he'd likely follow his third brother into death.
Uchiha Ryōichi, like a cat toying with a mouse, tossed a shuriken that whizzed past Itama's cheek and lodged in the rock behind him.
That broke Itama's last bit of mental fortitude. He began shaking, tears forming in his young eyes.
"Alright, our mission is basically complete. Finish him off quickly — the Senju reinforcements should be arriving soon," said Uchiha Fūka, his Sharingan strained and eyes aching from overuse.
The others nodded and turned to Gin — the one who had done the most in this mission.
After all, he had dared to infiltrate Senju territory alone just to complete the task.
Despite being weak, his earlier "Uchiha Manifesto" had impressed them all — so naturally, they thought he should deliver the final blow.
Gin, seeing their expectant gazes, understood what they wanted. Without hesitation, he drew his sword and slowly walked toward the defenseless Itama.
Then — he struck with the back of the blade, knocking the boy out cold.
"???"
"Uchiha Gin, what the hell are you doing?"
The others immediately questioned his actions.
"A living Senju heir is far more useful than a dead one," Gin replied flatly, sheathing his sword and slinging the unconscious boy over his shoulder.
"Our mission was to eliminate the Senju seedlings. Don't be difficult — just kill him and let's go."
Uchiha Fūka was clearly upset. As squad leader, he couldn't stand disobedience.
"Like I said: a live Senju is more valuable than a corpse."
Before tensions could escalate further, Uchiha Fiehe's face changed.
"The traps I set earlier were triggered. The Senju reinforcements are coming!"
Feihe had set traps around the battlefield before they engaged. Now that one had been tripped, he could sense it immediately.
"Fall back!"
Wounded and weary, Fūka didn't dare stay any longer. Arguing now would only make things worse.
"Yes, sir!"
Everyone leapt into retreat mode, sprinting away from Senju territory. Gin let out a breath of relief — but didn't dare drop the unconscious kid. He carried Itama on his back and followed the others.
They ran hard until they were sure no one was pursuing them.
After escaping, they stopped to rest in a cave. Gin tied Itama tightly with iron chains.
He didn't know any chakra sealing techniques yet — so he simply wrapped Itama like a dumpling.
"Uchiha Gin, I hope you have a good explanation," Fūka said coldly, staring at the trussed-up Senju boy.
Gin had expected this. He wiped his sweat and calmly replied:
"I kept him alive… for the clan leader."
The others exchanged puzzled looks. Their orders had been to eliminate Senju children — there had been no mention of taking prisoners.
And thus, Gin's bullsh*t began:
"It all started when I was standing guard outside the clan leader's room…"
(End of Chapter)