Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha lacks motivation.

Chapter 8 begins with a losing streak

"It was a dark and stormy night. As usual, I was dutifully guarding the door of the chieftain's office. Even though it was late at night, I dared not relax for a moment, because the chieftain was still working hard to study countermeasures for the war. Suddenly, I heard the sound of the chieftain smashing something, followed by his angry roar."

At this point, Uchiha Gin paused, his gaze sweeping over several Uchiha who were listening with great interest.

"Tell me quickly, tell me what the chieftain roared about?"

Upon hearing that the crucial part was left unfinished, Uchiha Ryoichi hurriedly urged him on.

"That's right, that's right."

Uchiha Tsuru and Uchiha Taro echoed his sentiments, while Uchiha Fuuka, who had been silent, stared at him with curiosity.

Feeling a bit thirsty, Uchiha Gin touched the water bottle on his back and found it was empty.

Just then, Uchiha Ryoichi offered him his water bottle with both hands. Uchiha Gin felt the thirst in his throat but didn't mind. He turned on the tap and gulped down the water.

After comfortably finishing his water, Uchiha Gin raised his hand to signal the others not to rush, then composed himself and said mysteriously.

"Damn you, Thousand-Armed Buddha, I will grind you to dust and leave your wife and children to live with me!!!"

What do you mean by that?

Uchiha Ryoichi and the others were completely bewildered.

Uchiha Gin timely revealed an expression of helplessness, sighed and shook his head.

"If it weren't for my meager strength, how could I be qualified as the personal bodyguard of Chief Tajima? What do you think I've managed to hold this position for so many years?"

"Isn't it because the clan leader is your cousin?" Uchiha Tsuru, who was usually quiet, muttered under his breath. But because the cave was not spacious, his words echoed in the ears of the others as if they were spoken through a megaphone.

"Ahem, as the saying goes, one should recommend worthy individuals regardless of personal relationships."

Uchiha Gin coughed awkwardly.

"What I rely on is my unwavering loyalty to the clan leader, and more importantly, my ability to interpret the clan leader's every move."

"Interpretation?"

"A ninja as great as the clan leader, even his casual actions and words have a deeper meaning."

"There are some things the clan leader said, but they were essentially unsaid; and there are some things the clan leader didn't say, but the profound meaning behind them is something that ordinary people cannot understand."

"Regarding our mission this time, the clan chief's order on the surface is to kill the genius of the Thousand Hands clan on the spot, but the deeper mission is to capture him alive."

"Think about it, Senju Butsuma has always doted on his youngest son. Simply killing him would only provoke the Senju clan to fight to the death and bring losses to the clan for nothing. However, if we capture Senju Butsuma's son alive, the clan head can use this son to coerce the Senju clan. This would be entirely beneficial to us Uchiha."

"What a brilliant plan!!! Did the clan leader reveal all this to you?"

After listening for a long time, Uchiha Feng Huo couldn't help but sigh.

"No, I was just guessing."

"."

Although it was a close call, a few explanations were enough to fool Uchiha Feng Huo and the others. They were just waiting for the mission to be successfully completed, and whether Senju Itama lived or died was no longer Uchiha Gin's business.

After a night's rest, the group recovered somewhat and began to take the bound Senju Itama back to the Uchiha clan's territory.

Because they were deep behind enemy lines, it would be nearly half a month before they returned home.

Since it was Uchiha Gin who spared Senju Itama's life without authorization, he was the only one who could be in charge of transportation.

However, the main reason was that he was afraid that if the others accidentally killed Senju Itama, then he would also perish if the mission failed.

The next day, after traveling all day, the group set up camp by a small river to rest. During this time, Senju Itama woke up once, but before he could even come to his senses, Uchiha Gin slapped him unconscious.

He no longer had the energy to communicate with Senju Itama, as he was already carrying a prisoner.

Even though he had already removed the cumbersome armor from Senju Itama's body, a child still weighs at least thirty or forty pounds, and the original owner's frail body made him somewhat powerless.

While sitting there in a daze, Uchiha Gin suddenly realized that he hadn't triggered the Heart Steel Treasure Chest yet. He wasn't quite clear about the triggering mechanism of the Heart Steel Treasure Chest.

After thinking for a moment, he got up and walked toward Uchiha Ryoichi, who was leaning against a tree.

Seeing Uchiha Gin approaching him, Uchiha Ryoichi frowned, wondering why the other person wasn't resting properly and instead came looking for him.

It was because of his slowdown that the team traveled nearly half the distance they were supposed to during the day, which made Uchiha Ryoichi, who wanted to return early to report, somewhat resentful.

"Brother Liang Yi."

Uchiha Gin spoke first.

"Don't call me 'big brother,' I'm younger than you."

Uchiha Gin is 24 years old this year, while Uchiha Ryoichi is only 20 years old. Although he is 4 years older, their strengths are far apart.

"Ryoichi's prison."

Uchiha Gin didn't hold back either.

"."

Seeing the other party's speechless expression, Uchiha Gin didn't mince words.

"Ryoichi, I'd like to have a spar with you."

"."

Uchiha Ryoichi paused for a moment and didn't say anything.

However, Uchiha Gin, who did not receive a notification tone, thought to himself...

"It seems that initiating a challenge unilaterally cannot activate the combat conditions for Heart of Steel."

"I'm busy."

Ryoichi Uchiha didn't want to waste his rest time on the weakling Uchiha Gin.

"Scared? After all, my shurikenjutsu was personally taught by the clan chief, and I have yet to meet an opponent."

Uchiha Gin shook his head with a sigh, indicating that it's lonely at the top.

"Damn it, if I don't shoot you full of holes today, I'll change my surname to Senju." Uchiha Ryoichi's temper flared up instantly.

It's a pity that people in ancient times never learned Sun Tzu's Art of War.

"Host detected to be in combat; Heart Steel Chest begins to accumulate."

Sure enough, Uchiha Gin was delighted upon hearing the notification in his mind.

Next up was the battle against Uchiha Ryoichi. After all, they were from the same clan, so the attack wasn't fatal.

Uchiha Ryoichi threw out five shuriken at first, aiming them from five different angles at the gaps in Uchiha Gin's limbs. Relying on the original owner's memories, Uchiha Gin also skillfully threw out five shuriken to meet them.

As expected, the ten shuriken collided precisely. Looking at the shuriken scattered all over the ground, Uchiha Gin's evaluation of the original owner couldn't help but rise a few points. It seems that the original owner wasn't entirely useless except for being handsome.

"That's interesting, let's try this."

Seeing that his shuriken had been precisely blocked, Uchiha Ryoichi began to take things seriously.

He unsheathed the Fuma Shuriken from his back and forcefully flung it at Uchiha Gin. Seeing the huge shuriken flying towards him, Uchiha Gin did not rush to dodge, but calmly watched the shuriken fly closer and closer.

This scene terrified Uchiha Ryoichi, who had thrown the shuriken. He thought to himself, "Does Uchiha Gin have a death wish? He's not even dodging!"

He didn't want to be branded as a traitor for slaughtering his own kind, so he quickly teleported over to try and stop Uchiha Gin from being cut in half at the waist.

Uchiha Ryoichi was incredibly fast. Just as he was about to touch the shuriken, Uchiha Gin quickly dropped to the ground in a prostrate position, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow. This caused Uchiha Ryoichi, who had lost his target, to stumble and almost fall into the river.

Uchiha Gin, who was lying on the ground, raised his two hands and said something that sounded like he was asking for a beating.

"As expected of Uchiha Ryoichi, the number one shuriken genius in the clan, I, Uchiha Gin, acknowledge you as the strongest shurikenman! I concede defeat."

"Thump!"

Enraged by those words, Uchiha Ryoichi lost control of his body and fell straight into the water. He had never seen such a shameless person.

"Host failed. Gained 10 Healing Energy. The Heart Steel Treasure Chest reward will be unlocked after two more battles. (Current total Healing Energy: 11)"

Upon hearing the notification tone, Uchiha Gin's eyes lit up. Ignoring his disheveled state lying on the ground, he quickly got up and rescued Uchiha Ryoichi, who had fallen into the water.

"Ryoichi, I think today's battle should end here. It was truly a thrilling battle, and I've learned a great deal from it. I hope to rest tonight and be ready to fight again tomorrow!"

Uchiha Gin's words were so grand and righteous that Uchiha Ryoichi's forehead veins bulged.

"roll!!!!!!"

(End of this chapter)