"Host has entered combat. Heartsteel Chest accumulation begins…"
The sudden system prompt snapped Uchiha Gin out of his thoughts. With no time to dwell, his eyes flicked to Sharingan mode, warily eyeing the eerie old guard.
"Heh heh heh, no malice here. I just want…" The guard's grin stretched unnaturally wide, "to see how you've grown."
His figure vanished like smoke.
Uchiha Gin's Sharingan scanned the cramped cell, its dynamic vision searching every corner. No blind spots, yet the guard was gone, as if evaporated.
"Where are you looking?" The guard's raspy voice hissed behind him, icy breath grazing his spine.
The words felt like a reaper's stare, freezing Uchiha Gin's limbs. Gritting his teeth, he channeled Strange Strength into his elbow, unleashing a thunderous strike backward.
As expected, it hit air. The pressure on his back eased—the guard had vanished again.
Wall candles flickered, casting Uchiha Gin's lone shadow. Was the guard's appearance a dream?
Stealth technique? Genjutsu? Theories raced through his mind. Breathing deeply, he reached for the Flying Thunder God kunai at his waist.
The moment he touched it, something bizarre happened.
The guard stood rigidly on his shadow, gray-white eyes locked onto him, that manic grin unchanged.
The sudden sight jolted Uchiha Gin. His hand instinctively released the kunai—and the guard vanished like an erased sketch.
Gripping the kunai again, the guard reappeared. Releasing it, he vanished.
Recalling the kunai's description—Flying Thunder God Kunai: Used by Minato Namikaze, imbued with faint space-time power. Note: Enhances comprehension of space-time ninjutsu—Uchiha Gin wondered if the guard's abilities tied to space-time power.
In the Naruto world, space-time ninjutsu was a mysterious, sparsely detailed force, yet its applications were overpowered: the Second and Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God, Obito's Kamui, Sasuke's Amenotejikara with Six Paths Rinnegan, Kaguya's Yomotsu Hirasaka—all game-changers.
Feigning panic, Uchiha Gin's eyes darted while his kunai hand secretly gathered strength.
As the guard stood still, he struck, thrusting the kunai at the old man's head with lightning speed.
Shock crossed the guard's eerie face as the kunai neared—then, impossibly, he sank into Uchiha Gin's shadow.
Oh no, something's wrong. Uchiha Gin questioned if he'd transmigrated into the real Naruto world. The guard's tactics were unheard of.
"You can see me? Since when did you have this talent?" The guard's head emerged from the shadow, gray eyes hollow, questioning slowly.
"You seem to know me well," Uchiha Gin countered, ignoring the question.
"Heh heh heh…" The guard only laughed his signature cackle.
"Did you leak that info to Uchiha Rusa to pique my curiosity and lure me here?" Uchiha Gin pressed. "Is that message true?"
"It's true," the guard said, his raspy voice cutting through the laughter.
"Then why bring me here?" Uchiha Gin frowned, probing further.
No answer came. Instead, the guard lunged, seizing Uchiha Gin's legs. A massive pull dragged him uncontrollably toward his own shadow.
Panicked, Uchiha Gin stabbed the kunai at the guard's withered hands.
Bizarrely, the blade passed through without resistance.
No physical feedback? His heart sank. This guy's immune to physical attacks?
"Heh heh heh…" The guard laughed at the failed strike. "If this is all you've got…"
"Drown in your own shadow!"
The pull on Uchiha Gin's legs intensified, despair creeping in. Am I done for?
Then, a faint breeze stirred the empty dungeon.
Barely noticeable, it made the wall candles flicker wildly, distorting Uchiha Gin's shadow.
In that flicker, the pull on his legs vanished briefly.
That's it! He glanced at the candles, a bold theory forming.
Channeling strength, he swung his arm, unleashing a gust that snuffed out the cell's only light.
Darkness fell, and the pull on his legs vanished completely.
"Heh heh heh, you broke my jutsu," the guard's voice emerged from a dark corner. Without candlelight, only faint window glow revealed them.
"Thanks for going easy on me, senior," Uchiha Gin said, his frown easing as he faced the guard.
"?" The guard seemed puzzled.
"You're not physical, are you?" Uchiha Gin stated.
Silence. Then, the guard's gray eyes betrayed confusion. "How'd you know?"
Uchiha Gin pointed at the floor. Moonlight from the window should've cast the guard's shadow, but there was none.
"You never attacked me directly. Even when you grabbed my legs, it was just a pulling force, not a physical grip," Uchiha Gin explained.
"Not bad, worthy of my…" The guard stopped mid-sentence, eyeing him oddly. "Since you saw through me, ask away. I'll answer fully."
"Host victorious. Gained Heart Energy 1. One more battle to unlock Heartsteel Chest reward. (Current Heart Energy: 23)"
Uchiha Gin inwardly groaned—his losing streak was broken. He hadn't even gotten to "perform," and the guard conceded, ruining his accumulated defeats.
Still, if the guard's answers yielded clues, it wasn't a total loss.
"Senior, why lure me here?" Uchiha Gin asked, organizing his thoughts to uncover the guard's motive.
"Don't you want to know who was imprisoned here six years ago?" the guard asked, puzzled.
"That's next," Uchiha Gin said, shaking his head. "I want to know why me."
"…"
The guard's eyes dimmed, and he fell silent.
Seeing no response, Uchiha Gin turned to leave.
The guard's raspy voice broke the quiet, tinged with unexpected emotion. "I… just wanted to see you."
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