"It was a dark and windy night. I was faithfully standing guard outside the clan leader's office, as always. Even though it was late, I dared not relax for even a second, because the clan leader was still working tirelessly on war strategies. Then suddenly—I heard a loud crash from inside, followed by the clan leader's furious roar..."
Uchiha Gin paused here, sweeping his gaze over a few Uchihas who were listening with great interest.
"Hurry up! What did the clan leader shout?"
Uchiha Ryoichi, hearing the critical part cut off, hurriedly urged him to continue.
Feeling thirsty, Gin reached for his water bottle—only to find it empty.
Just as he was wondering what to do, Uchiha Ryoichi immediately handed over his own water bottle. Without hesitation, Gin twisted it open and guzzled it down noisily.
Satisfied after a deep drink, Gin raised a hand to calm them, then struck a mysterious pose and declared:
"'Damn you, Senju Buddha! I will grind your bones to dust! Your wife—I'll raise her myself!!'"
"…What the hell does that mean?"
Everyone looked utterly confused.
Uchiha Gin let out a sigh and put on a weary expression.
"And that's why, despite being so weak, I'm qualified to serve as Clan Leader Tajima's personal bodyguard. You think I've held this position all these years just because?"
"…Isn't it because the clan leader's your cousin?" Uchiha Tsuru muttered quietly.
But the cave wasn't that big, so his words echoed like he'd shouted them into a megaphone.
Ahem ahem.
Gin coughed awkwardly.
"As the saying goes, 'Virtue is not hindered by kinship.'"
"I earned this position through unwavering loyalty to the clan leader. More importantly, I can interpret every word and action."
"Interpret?"
"Yes. For a ninja as great as the clan leader, even the most casual gesture or phrase has a deeper meaning."
"Sometimes, what he says doesn't really count as said. And what he doesn't say can mean far more than most realize."
"Take our current mission. On the surface, the order was to kill the Senju prodigy on the spot. But the true, deeper order—was to capture him alive."
"Think about it. Senju Buddha dotes on his son. If we killed him outright, the Senju would only retaliate with everything they've got, costing our clan dearly. But if we captured him, the clan leader could use the child as leverage. This would be a win with no downside for the Uchiha."
"What a brilliant plan! Did the clan leader tell you all this himself?"
Uchiha Fūka, having listened silently, couldn't help but exclaim.
"Nope. I guessed it."
"…"
Risky, but Gin's wild explanation was enough to fool the others. As long as the mission was successful, whether Senju Itama lived or died wouldn't be his problem.
After a night's rest, the group recovered slightly and set out, carrying the bound Senju Itama back to the Uchiha compound.
They were deep behind enemy lines, with nearly half a month's journey still ahead.
Since it was Gin who had insisted on sparing Itama, transporting the prisoner naturally fell to him.
But more importantly, Gin was afraid the others might accidentally kill Itama—if that happened, the failed mission would take him down with it.
After traveling all day, they camped by a small river that night. At one point, Itama regained consciousness—only to be knocked out again with a single slap from Gin.
He had no energy left to chat with the prisoner. Just carrying the kid was hard enough.
Even after stripping off Itama's armor, the child still weighed 30-40 pounds. Gin's frail body was clearly struggling.
As he sat blankly by the fire, Gin suddenly remembered—he hadn't triggered his Heart of Steel Chest yet today.
He still didn't fully understand how its activation worked.
Thinking for a bit, he stood up and walked toward Uchiha Ryoichi, who was resting against a tree.
Seeing Gin approach, Ryoichi frowned. He didn't understand why Gin wasn't using the time to rest—especially since they'd fallen behind schedule earlier because of him, which annoyed Ryoichi greatly.
"Brother Ryoichi," Gin called out.
"Don't call me 'brother.' I'm younger than you."
Gin was 24, while Ryoichi was only 20. Despite the age gap, their power levels were worlds apart.
"Alright then, Jailbird Ryoichi."
"…"
Ignoring Ryoichi's speechless expression, Gin went straight to the point.
"Ryoichi Jailbird, I want to spar with you."
"…"
Ryoichi blinked, speechless.
But hearing no system prompt, Gin muttered inwardly:
"Looks like I can't trigger Heart of Steel's combat mode just by initiating a challenge myself."
"No time," Ryoichi finally replied. As far as he was concerned, fighting a weakling like Gin was a waste of time.
"…Afraid?" Gin taunted. "After all, my shuriken technique was personally taught by the clan leader. I've yet to meet a match."
He shook his head with a lofty, regretful look, as if saying: "It's lonely at the top."
"Damn it! If I don't turn you into a pincushion today, I'll change my surname to Senju!"
Ryoichi exploded in fury.
Poor ancient soul—never read The Art of War.
"Combat detected. Heart of Steel Chest activation in progress..."
Sure enough, Gin beamed as the system finally chimed in.
Time to fight.
Of course, since they were clansmen, neither would aim to kill.
Ryoichi took the initiative, flinging five shuriken from different angles aimed at Gin's limbs. Relying on the original host's memory, Gin responded with five of his own.
As expected, the ten shuriken collided midair with perfect precision, clattering to the ground.
Impressed, Gin thought: "Huh, guess the original wasn't just a pretty face after all."
"Interesting. Try this one!"
Ryoichi removed the large Fūma Shuriken from his back and hurled it.
Watching the giant weapon spin toward him, Gin didn't dodge—he just stared at it calmly as it drew closer.
This freaked Ryoichi out.
"Is he trying to die?!"
He didn't want to be accused of killing a fellow clan member, so he dashed forward to stop it.
Just as he was about to reach the shuriken, Gin suddenly dove to the ground in a dramatic belly-flop, narrowly avoiding the attack.
The blade flew past harmlessly, while Ryoichi, caught off guard, stumbled forward—nearly tumbling into the river.
Lying on the ground, Gin raised his hands and said cheekily:
"As expected of the clan's No.1 shuriken genius, Uchiha Ryoichi! I, Uchiha Gin, bow to your greatness!"
Splash!
Overwhelmed with fury, Ryoichi lost control and fell straight into the water.
He had never met someone so shameless in his life.
"Battle lost. Gained +10 Heart Energy. Unlock Heart of Steel Chest after 2 more battles. (Current: 11)"
Hearing the system prompt, Gin's eyes lit up. Ignoring how ridiculous he looked, he quickly scrambled up and pulled Ryoichi out of the water.
"Jailbird Ryoichi, let's call it a night. That was a truly invigorating duel! I gained so much from this experience. After a good night's rest, I hope we can go again tomorrow!"
He said this with such noble-sounding sincerity that Ryoichi's forehead bulged with rage.
"GET LOST!!!!"
(End of Chapter)