Uchiha Ryōichi and the others began their assault on the Senju clan members guarding Senju Itama, while Uchiha Gin stayed on the sidelines, avoiding any serious effort.
For him, this level of battle was too intense, and he had no desire to become the traveler with the shortest lifespan in history.
As his gaze swept across the unfamiliar faces of a few Senju clan members, Uchiha Gin eventually locked his eyes onto the boy in the center, Senju Itama.
He carefully observed the boy, who was destined to die tragically in this part of the story, while recalling the original scene in his mind.
"Isn't this the famous moment from the original story? Senju Itama surrounded and killed by five Uchihas."
Suddenly, a loading sound from a game in his previous life echoed in Uchiha Gin's mind, and then everything around him froze in time.
The ferocious faces of the combatants were suspended in that instant.
Ding!
"Host has encountered a plot character. The system has activated early access mode. Complete prelude tasks to unlock hidden system functions."
At this moment, Uchiha Gin nearly burst into tears.
The heavens hadn't forsaken him; all those novels about time travelers were true after all!
Excited, Uchiha Gin tried to summon the system in his mind.
As soon as he thought of it, an outdated-looking dialogue box popped up in front of him.
"Do you accept the prelude task?"
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Uchiha Gin excitedly spammed the "Yes" button in his mind.
"Task started: Save Senju Itama from Uchiha Fūka and his group. Reward: 10 points. If Senju Itama dies, the task fails."
After seeing the task, Uchiha Gin's blood boiled.
Save that brat? What a joke!
"What's the point of points?" he asked, calming down a bit, curious about their use.
"Complete a D-rank task every day to earn 1 point. Accumulate points to unlock the mall, which will then randomly drop golden orbs each day."
"Unlock the mall? Golden orbs?" Uchiha Gin was speechless at the system's explanation. This was clearly content from a game in his previous life.
"What do you mean by 'activated early'?" He was still puzzled as to why the system mentioned early activation.
"Since the system is not fully activated yet, the mall module is still loading. Points earned in early access will be carried over to the official launch."
"So, it doesn't matter if I earn points now?" If the system's functions weren't fully activated, completing the task didn't seem that meaningful.
If he rushed into the task to save Senju Itama, with his current strength, Uchiha Fūka and the others might just take him down.
Even if they didn't kill him on the spot, they'd likely break his legs and drag him before Uchiha Tajima for punishment.
"Can I choose not to accept the task?" Uchiha Gin tentatively asked.
"The host has already accepted the task. It cannot be abandoned. Otherwise, it will count as a failed task, and the host will be instantly eliminated."
Eliminated???
What kind of system is this?! What era is this?!
"????? When did I accept it?" Uchiha Gin was full of confusion.
["Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"]
Suddenly, the system replayed the scene of him frantically clicking "Yes."
Damn it, Uchiha Gin cursed at this cheap system for tricking him.
Who wouldn't click "Yes" when first encountering a cheat system?
Before he could ask more questions, the system sent him another message.
"Newbie gift pack is ready. Would you like to accept it?"
Uchiha Gin really wanted to click "No," but since the system had already tricked him into accepting the task, there was no harm in taking the gift.
"You have received a Newbie Gift Pack *1. Would you like to open it?"
Accepting his fate, Uchiha Gin shook off his negative thoughts and clicked "Yes" in his mind.
"Congratulations, you've received a Heart of Steel Treasure Box *1 and a Purple Orb *1."
??????
Unlocking the mall with points?
A Heart of Steel Treasure Box?
A Purple Orb?
Is your system logo a penguin holding a golden spatula?
Floating in front of Uchiha Gin was a large, gray box that looked exactly like a treasure chest from a game in his previous life.
On the right, a purple glowing orb hovered, with a big "?" glowing at its center.
Uchiha Gin was dumbfounded. Looking at the rewards, he seriously questioned the reliability of this system. What if it turned out to be another trap from ancient times?
But in this situation, he had no choice. Resigned, he tapped the Heart of Steel Treasure Box, and a description of the treasure appeared above it:
**[Defeat opponents: The host can gain Heart Energy by defeating opponents.
Lose a battle: Losing a battle earns more Heart Energy.
Heart Energy conversion: After four days of battle, the host can convert Heart Energy into powerful rewards.
(Daily battles that accumulate Heart Energy are limited to one per day, with the potential for evolution.)]**
This was clearly the Heart of Steel synergy, and it was the three-steel version no less.
"Well, starting with three-steel isn't too bad," Uchiha Gin thought.
Although the Heart of Steel Treasure Box wouldn't be useful for now, no one could resist its allure.
"If you have steel, use it. If not, use whatever you've got!"
After checking the box, Uchiha Gin turned his attention to the Purple Orb, muttering to himself.
"Heaven and Earth, please work your magic. Show me what I've got!"
With a firm slap of his right hand, the Purple Orb emitted a blinding light.
As the light faded, Uchiha Gin saw that nothing was left in the area. The Purple Orb had vanished, leaving nothing behind.
"Empty? The orb can be empty??"
Just as Uchiha Gin was about to curse the system and demand a refund, a message suddenly echoed in his mind.
Ding!
"Backyard skill refresh available daily. Would you like to learn?"
Backyard skill refresh? What does that even mean? Confused, Uchiha Gin clicked "Yes."
[Backyard Skill Refresh: Every day, a random skill refreshes in the host's backyard, appearing as an NPC release. The host cannot control it, and the skill cannot kill the host. After the skill ends, there's a chance for a skill or fragment to drop. Collect all fragments to learn the skill.]
This skill wasn't particularly strong, and at this moment, completely useless.
Uchiha Gin didn't even have a place to live. Where would this backyard skill even appear?
He needed to survive first before worrying about buying a house, and these rewards were useless in his current situation. For now, he had to rely on other methods to complete this awful task.
After receiving the newbie rewards, time seemed to resume. Though he had spent a long time within the system, only a moment had passed outside.
The system's appearance gave Uchiha Gin more confidence in his plan to survive long enough to see Konoha's founding.
"But first, I need to complete this mission. If I get eliminated, all of this means nothing."
Even though the ancient system's rewards were useless for now, Uchiha Gin decided he'd go all out to complete the task. After all, his fate and Senju Itama's were now tied together.
Nearby, Uchiha Fūka was already pressuring Senju Kōji, and the battle would soon be decided.
Uchiha Ryōichi and the others were gradually wearing down the three Senju members.
They were forced into a defensive position, as they had to protect Senju Itama behind them.
At this point, one of the Senju noticed an opening in Uchiha Ryōichi's formation and quickly formed hand seals, casting Earth Style: Earth Wall.
A thick earth wall suddenly rose in front of Uchiha Ryōichi and the others, blocking their view.
Another Senju used his immense strength to push Senju Itama out of the encirclement, urging him to run.
Understanding his clan member's intention, Senju Itama immediately kicked off and sprinted towards the gap without looking back.
Unfortunately, the direction he ran in happened to be where Uchiha Gin had been idling.
Uchiha Ryōichi, seeing their target escaping, was about to pursue, but the Senju who had cast Earth Style blocked him.
Ryōichi could only watch as the boy fled. Then he realized Uchiha Gin was standing in the direction Senju Itama was running, and his mood lifted.
"Gin! The target is heading your way. Take him down!"
The Senju member, hearing this, was filled with rage.
He hadn't expected another Uchiha lying in wait. In desperation, he unleashed a powerful punch, aimed directly at Uchiha Ryōichi's chest.
Just in time, Uchiha Ryōichi spun around, revealing a massive Wind Shuriken on his back. The punch landed squarely on the shuriken with a loud clang, sending Ryōichi flying but leaving him unharmed. He quickly countered with a slash, and the two resumed their fierce battle.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Gin stood there, deeply troubled, watching Senju Itama sprinting towards him
---
Gimme your power stones