While Ryouichi and the others surrounded the Senju protecting Itama, Gin stayed off to the side, barely pretending to fight.
This kind of battle was way above his pay grade — he wasn't about to become the shortest-lived transmigrator ever.
Scanning the unfamiliar faces of the Senju, his eyes finally locked on the trembling figure of Itama at the center.
"This is it, isn't it?" he thought. "That famous scene from the story — Itama killed by five Uchiha."
Suddenly, a familiar loading screen chime from his previous life echoed in his head. The world froze, time seemingly stopped, the battlefield locked in place.
"Ding! Host encountered a story character. System activating early-access mode. Complete prerequisite tasks to unlock hidden functions."
Gin almost cried on the spot. The heavens hadn't abandoned him! All those novels hadn't lied!
Excitedly, he called out to the system, and a crude-looking dialog box popped into view.
"Accept prerequisite task?"
"Yes yes yes yes yes!" Gin screamed internally.
"Task accepted: Save Senju Itama from Uchiha Fenghuo's team. Reward: 10 points. Failure: Itama dies."
Gin's blood ran cold. Save that kid? Was this system insane?
"What do points even do?" he demanded.
"Complete a D-rank mission daily to earn 1 point. Once enough points accumulate, the shop unlocks and drops random golden orbs."
"Golden orbs? Really?"
Gin rolled his eyes. This sounded just like some old game from his past life.
"And what does early-access mean?"
"The system isn't fully activated yet. The shop is still loading. Points earned now carry over."
"So my points are basically useless for now? Great."
Trying to back out, he asked, "Can I refuse?"
"Task already accepted. Cannot be canceled. Failure results in host's immediate erasure."
"ERASURE?!"
"When did I accept?!"
A playback of him frantically clicking "yes yes yes" appeared.
Gin's jaw dropped. He'd been played by this ancient trash system. Who doesn't click yes when first getting a cheat?
Before he could protest further, another prompt appeared.
"Receive newbie gift pack?"
He wanted to say no, but… well, he already accepted the task, so might as well.
"Received: Steel Heart Chest x1, Purple Orb x1. Open?"
With a sigh, he mentally clicked "yes."
"Congratulations! You obtained: Steel Heart Chest x1, Purple Orb x1."
Steel Heart Chest? Purple Orb? Was this system's logo a penguin holding a golden spatula?
Floating before him, a gray chest shimmered on his left while a glowing purple orb hovered to his right.
Gin was speechless. Was this system even reliable? What if it just gave him some ancient useless junk?
He reluctantly tapped the chest. A description appeared:
"Defeat opponents to gain 'steel energy.' Losing a fight gains even more. Every four days, accumulated steel energy converts into powerful rewards. (One battle per day max. Evolves over time.)"
"…This is just the Steel Heart synergy. Three-piece version, no less."
"Still, not bad for a start."
Next, he turned to the purple orb. He muttered a little prayer and slammed his hand down.
Light flared… then faded. Nothing. The orb was gone. The ground was empty.
"…It can be empty?!"
He cursed the system and was about to quit when a new prompt chimed in.
"Daily random skill spawned in your backyard. Learn it?"
"…Backyard?"
He clicked "yes" and got an explanation:
"Every day, a random skill spawns in your backyard. An NPC will use it once. Host cannot control it. Skill cannot kill host. Afterward, the skill or a fragment may drop. Collect fragments to learn."
"…This is basically useless right now."
Gin sighed. He didn't even have a house yet, much less a backyard. These rewards were trash for his current situation. If he wanted to survive, he'd have to figure something else out.
Time resumed, and the battlefield moved again as though no time had passed. The system had given him a little more confidence — but his first priority was still survival.
"First thing's first. Finish this damn task. If I fail and get erased, none of this matters."
Even if the rewards were garbage, he had no choice now. He and Itama were now stuck on the same sinking ship.
Off to the side, Fenghuo was pressing Koji hard, the Senju already nearing defeat. Ryouichi and the others were steadily wearing down the other three Senju, who were forced to split their attention between fighting and shielding Itama.
Then, one Senju spotted a gap in the encirclement. Slamming his hands down, he raised a thick wall of earth to block the Uchiha's view. Another Senju seized the moment, using his strength to fling Itama through the opening.
Flying dozens of meters, Itama quickly understood his comrades' intent and didn't hesitate, kicking off the ground and fleeing as fast as he could.
Unfortunately for him… the direction he ran was exactly where Gin had been hiding.
Ryouichi shouted, thrilled to see Itama running straight toward Gin. "Gin! He's coming your way! Take him out!"
The Senju protecting Itama roared in fury, lashing out with a desperate punch that smashed into Ryouichi's massive shuriken. Ryouichi staggered but countered immediately, resuming their deadly clash.
Gin, meanwhile, watched Itama sprinting toward him and groaned.
"…What do I do now? Please advise. Urgently waiting."
(End of Chapter)
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