Under the moonlight, Uchiha Fuka's team hurried westward. The day's battles had cost them too much time. Initially planning a detour, Uchiha Fuka decisively chose the direct route.
The others had no objections; the straight path would cut their travel time in half.
They encountered no Senju ambushes along the way, suggesting the Senju were too overwhelmed to pursue.
"Alright, we camp here tonight," Uchiha Fuka ordered, recognizing the familiar road ahead.
"Whew…" Uchiha Ryoichi, Tsuru, and Dairo, exhausted from the day's fighting and relentless march, collapsed like worn-out dogs.
Sprawled on the ground, they noticed Uchiha Gin, supposedly the weakest, looking lively, not even winded or dusty.
Catching their odd stares, Uchiha Gin realized his mistake. He quickly tossed Senju Itama aside, flopped onto the ground, forced out some sweat, and stuck out his tongue, feigning exhaustion. Only then did they look away.
"I'll take watch. Rest up," Uchiha Fuka, skilled in stealth and still in decent shape, volunteered, letting the others recover.
After a brief rest, the team began setting up tents.
Seeing them move off, Uchiha Gin stood, pulling out his tent. Remembering his peculiar skill-refresh ritual, he skipped camping with the group and chose a secluded corner.
After pitching his tent, he didn't tie Senju Itama outside as before but tossed him inside. Circling to the back, he cleared a space as he'd done previously.
"Here's hoping tonight's skill is useful," he muttered, recalling the previous night's Tsukuyomi. The jutsu was powerful, but two nights of being dragged into its torment was too much.
Praying to avoid Tsukuyomi, Uchiha Gin sat cross-legged, awaiting the skill refresh.
First, he hadn't checked the day's mission rewards. Deciding to review them, he entered his mind's system space.
On the chessboard, the arcade machine's point counter, cleared earlier, now read 50. Suppressing the urge to spin, he turned to five floating orbs. The mission promised four—why the extra?
"Reward from defeating Uzumaki Mito," the system chimed.
"Damn it, then why didn't you use this orb for the emergency instead of my points?" Uchiha Gin demanded, recalling the extra orb's origin.
"Mission orbs can only be opened by the host. The system cannot process them automatically."
Got it. Points were his "earned money," so the system spent them freely. Orbs were system-issued rewards, essentially its inventory, not used lightly.
"Greedy merchant," Uchiha Gin grumbled, ignoring the system to inspect the orbs: two blue, three white.
Mito's mission gave a fixed blue orb, but the Uchiha rescue mission's four orbs yielded only one blue—no purple or gold. Non-lucky as ever.
He tapped the first white orb, and a faint glow flashed.
[Gold Bar 1] Universal currency, usable for real-world purchases.
Gold—not bad.
Second orb:
[Gold Bar 1] Universal currency, usable for real-world purchases.
More gold—still good.
Third orb:
[Gold Bar 1] Universal currency, usable for real-world purchases.
"What the—?" Three gold bars in a row? So orbs' lamest reward was gold?
Suppressing his irritation, he opened the first blue orb.
[Gold Bar 5] Universal currency, usable for real-world purchases.
"…@%￥…%￥&@!" Uchiha Gin wanted to slap the system. He felt like a gacha player pulling only R cards after ten draws, raging helplessly.
Calming down, he shakily tapped the final orb, eyes closed.
[Flying Thunder God Kunai 1] Weapon used by Minato Namikaze, imbued with faint space-time chakra. Note: Wearing it accelerates comprehension of space-time ninjutsu.
Holding the trident-shaped kunai, Uchiha Gin pictured a yellow-haired figure.
This was the Fourth Hokage's signature weapon, marked with Flying Thunder God seals for long-range teleportation.
"Accelerates space-time skill comprehension?" He swung the kunai, finding it balanced. Even without Flying Thunder God, it was practical.
Stowing the hard-earned kunai and eight gold bars, Uchiha Gin approached the arcade machine.
Eyeing his 50 hard-earned points, he gritted his teeth and pulled the lever. Go big or go home.
Classic slot machine music played as the three panels flashed rapidly. Uchiha Gin held his breath, staring.
First slot: Taijutsu.
Seconds later, the second slot stopped at Taijutsu.
His breathing quickened. Am I finally getting lucky?
"Taijutsu, Taijutsu, Taijutsu!" he shouted.
As his words fell, the final slot landed on Ninjutsu.
"Congratulations, host, for spinning Taijutsu + Taijutsu + Ninjutsu. Taijutsu effect doubled / Taijutsu +1…"
"Taijutsu +1!" Uchiha Gin chose quickly, fearing the system's auto-selection.
Striking while hot, he spun four more times, none critical, all minor combinations.
Final tally: Taijutsu +2, Ninjutsu +2, Chakra +1.
Host: Uchiha Gin
- Ninjutsu: 9
- Taijutsu: 10
- Intelligence: 9
- Chakra: 7
- Charm: 1
- Dojutsu: 10
Skills: Basic Taijutsu, Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, Uchiha Basic Kenjutsu, Intermediate Shurikenjutsu.
Evaluation: A balanced, punchable Uchiha chunin.
Post-upgrade, he felt stronger, likely matching Ryoichi, Tsuru, and Dairo.
After checking his spoils, Uchiha Gin exited the system.
Opening his eyes to darkness, only the Flying Thunder God kunai in his hand felt real. Frowning, he muttered, "Why hasn't today's skill refreshed?"
Before he finished, the air around him froze. A rippling portal appeared overhead, and a figure dropped, slamming a heavy foot toward the cross-legged Uchiha Gin.
Despite his sliver of Uzumaki perception warning him, he couldn't dodge the swift strike.
The powerful kick smashed his back, the force piercing through. Uchiha Gin collapsed, spitting blood.
As the dust cleared, a tall figure emerged: long blonde hair in a large ponytail, short blonde eyebrows, bright brown eyes, and hands with striking red nail polish.
Moonlight glinted on her fair skin. She wore a teal long-sleeved top with black trim, a loose sleeveless kimono-style shirt, a black waistband, and navy three-quarter pants.
But Uchiha Gin's attention, despite his bloodied state, fixated on her… impressively prominent chest. A warm trickle rose in his nose.
Before he could react, she threw a simple straight punch. Uchiha Gin activated his Sharingan, tracking her fist's path, aiming to twist away from the devastating blow.
But his body wouldn't move, and a sharp pain shot through his right arm.
Unnoticed, she'd grabbed his right arm with her other hand, snapping it like a twig.
Ignoring the pain, Uchiha Gin tried to break free, only to see her delicate, pale fist hurtling toward him with thunderous force.
"Nice nail polish," was his last thought before blacking out.
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