"The card has been bound."
Uchiha Gin finally heard the system's belated notification, realizing that the Metaboc Accelerator card had not been retrieved. After searching every inch of this little brat's body, aside from his crotch, nothing else was found.
Unexpectedly, Senju Itama had accidentally activated the Hextech card and became its first—and only—owner.
Fortunately, it was just a yellow Hextech card, nothing significant. Its effect was less valuable than a piece of equipment, and it could only bind one card. To Uchiha Gin, it was practically useless, so he thought of it as a cleaning fee for the kid.
"Do you feel any different?"
Pressing his forehead against the flustered kid, Uchiha Gin curiously asked.
"Let go of me! I'll bite you, you perverted gorilla!"
Ignoring the question, Senju Itama opened his mouth, aiming to bite Uchiha Gin's hand.
"Looks like you've got plenty of energy!"
Expertly dodging the bite, Uchiha Gin rubbed his chin. If only he could see the boy's chakra flow, he thought.
Suddenly, a strange coolness spread through Uchiha Gin's eyes, and his vision became much clearer. When he looked at the flailing boy, he was shocked.
Through his eyes, he could now see the chakra pathways clearly flowing through Senju Itama's body, with every single detail laid bare.
What was going on? Raising his hands, Uchiha Gin noticed his eyes seemed to have an X-ray-like ability, as he could directly see the flow of chakra and the acupuncture points within his body.
"What's wrong with your eyes? Did you turn into someone with cataracts?"
Senju Itama, who had been embarrassed and enraged, saw Uchiha Gin zoning out and was about to scold him, but then noticed Gin's eyes and shouted in surprise.
Cataracts?
Uchiha Gin quickly rushed to the bathroom, only to find in the mirror that his eyes had turned a bluish-white. However, unlike the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan, there were no bulging veins around his temples.
What was this? It looked like the Byakugan but wasn't exactly the same, yet it had the same abilities.
Perplexed, Uchiha Gin walked out of the bathroom and tried using his new vision to observe the chakra inside Senju Itama. He was amazed to see that the kid's heart was brimming with fiery chakra energy, continuously supplying it to the rest of his body.
This must be the effect of the Metabolic Accelerator. As long as this kid doesn't overuse his life force, he should be able to live for a long time.
Thinking this, Uchiha Gin felt relieved. He was linked to Senju Itama's life through the system's mission. If the mission couldn't be completed and Itama died peacefully of old age, Gin would still be considered a failure and would be erased by the system.
But now, with the Metabolic Accelerator, the kid would likely live for a long time, allowing the mission to stretch indefinitely.
Uchiha Gin had checked the system missions before. Ever since the last upgrade, the mission system had gone into a long dormant state, with only one mission hanging in the taskbar: "Save Senju Itama," marked as a prerequisite. Without completing this task, no further missions would appear.
"Kid, I wish you boundless fortune and longevity!"
With newfound clarity, Uchiha Gin patted the still sulking Senju Itama on the head with a serious expression.
Senju Itama: ???
In the following days, Uchiha Gin enjoyed a rare period of leisure. Other than occasional visits from his two little cousins, no one else disturbed his peace.
"Not bad, Izuna. Your skill with throwing weapons is indeed better than mine. I humbly admit defeat."
Yawning, Uchiha Gin lazily raised his hands in mock surrender, much to Uchiha Izuna's frustration.
"Older cousin, do you enjoy teasing me every day?"
Uchiha Izuna, who had been duped by Gin countless times, had long figured out that his older cousin was merely playing with him. In battles, Gin always feigned weakness, and every time he'd say things like "I admit you're stronger" or "I declare you the strongest," but it was all a ruse.
At first, Izuna felt proud, but he eventually realized the truth: Gin was just messing with him.
"Come on, how could that be? You're naturally talented, and it's no surprise you beat me!"
Uchiha Gin didn't want to lose his valuable sparring partner, so he hurriedly explained.
"Hmph! I won't spar with you again."
Izuna, pouting, refused future challenges and delivered a message from his father: "Father wants you to meet him today."
As Gin walked toward Uchiha Tajima's estate, he wondered what his uncle wanted. Was it about the seal?
"Knock, knock~"
Gin rapped on the door of the clan leader's study.
"Come in."
A familiar voice called out. Gin entered to find Uchiha Tajima busily reviewing documents. After a glance at his nephew, Tajima set down his pen and asked, "Gin, are you fully recovered?"
"Yes, I'm fine now."
Gin nodded.
"Then it's time to get back to work."
So that was it—he was being reminded to return to his duties. Although Gin had tricked Uchiha Ryuei into handling most of the dungeon's work, there were always new prisoners, and the records couldn't fall behind.
"Alright, I'll return to work tomorrow."
Knowing he couldn't dodge his responsibilities anymore, Gin complied. Since he couldn't keep tricking his cousin, returning to the dungeon to train was a good alternative.
"That's all. You may go."
Uchiha Tajima stared at Gin's eyes for a long moment, seemingly wanting to say something, but eventually waved him off, returning to his paperwork.
His uncle had clearly wanted to tell him something but chose not to. Scratching his head, Gin gave up thinking about it. Whatever the issue, it would resolve itself when the time came.
Time passed quickly, and years flew by.
In the following years, Uchiha Gin continued working in the dungeon. He applied to transfer Uchiha Ryuei as his assistant, letting him handle the records while Gin spent his days training diligently in Dungeon One and Two.
When he starts work, the first thing he does is grind, and the moment he finishes work, he heads straight to the backyard to wait for NPCs. Over the years, he has grinded hundreds of times, collecting hundreds of Indra fragments and several C-level Fire Style techniques, as well as the Chidori, a jutsu he's long desired.
However, it's not always the same character. Occasionally, other familiar faces from the original story appear, like the instructors of the Twelve Konoha Jonin, from whom he has obtained a variety of elemental and secret techniques.
The biggest reward came from a certain masked white-haired ninja, who even dropped [Kamui Fragments], though he didn't show up often and usually dropped nothing more than Earth Style: Mud Wall adorned with a dog head.
In the backyard...
Uchiha Gin raised his hand, and a sharp burst of lightning crackled in his palm. As he spotted a voluptuous and stunning woman in the distance, he dashed toward her without hesitation, thrusting his Chidori straight at her chest. Yet, just before he could feel the soft fullness of her body, she blocked his strike with her fair and slender arm.
Looking up at her beautiful face and the light blonde hair, Uchiha Gin frowned. This wasn't right. In the past, he had taken her down with one Chidori, and she had dropped things like [Mystical Palm Technique Fragments] and [Chakra Scalpel Fragments], all medical ninjutsu. But today, it seemed she had become much stronger.
A diamond-shaped mark on her forehead flashed, and from it emerged black curse marks, spreading rapidly. Holding firm to the rule of "never missing an opportunity when there's a cooldown," Uchiha Gin's eyes changed color, and with his blue-glowing Byakugan, he scanned the woman who was currently charging up her technique.
"I've found it! Your weak spot!"