Naruto: The Thirty-Year-Old Uchiha Can't Get Motivated"

Ding! "Host has encountered a storyline character. System quest issuing…

Quest activated: Defeat Uzumaki Mito, a young girl dreaming of knight‑errantry, and show her how treacherous the world and human hearts can be. Reward: 10 points, 1 Random Skill Orb. Failure condition: the host is defeated.

A petite, round‑faced girl stood before him, skin porcelain‑white, large watery eyes, and a tiny cherry‑red mouth. Her fiery hair was tied into two playful buns that bobbed as she moved.

Catching Uchiha Gin staring, the girl bared a pair of tiny, sharp canines like a little beast, her big eyes brimming with displeasure—she looked exactly like a kitten ready to pounce.

Feeling underestimated, Uzumaki Mito tried to throw out a harsh retort—only to discover the sesame flatbread she had crammed into her cheeks hadn't gone down yet.

When she opened her mouth, a rush of air forced the half‑chewed food deep into her narrow throat; she immediately began to choke.

Clutching her flat chest with tiny fists, she pounded herself in hopes of forcing the bite down.

Seeing the girl suddenly gagging, Gin sighed, pulled a canteen from his pack, unscrewed it, and handed it over.

Mito, eyes rolling from lack of air, grabbed it as though it were a lifeline and gulped greedily. Glug, glug, glug…

When she finally caught her breath, she glanced gratefully at the canteen—then looked up, saw Gin's smiling face, yelped, and jumped several meters back, glaring at him warily.

"Is that how you treat your savior?" Gin squinted, teasing.

"I'm grateful—but you'd better surrender, Mister Kidnapper."

Mito's delicate brows knit together as she spoke.

"You mean this brat?" Gin lifted the still‑unconscious Senju Itama by the collar.

"I can let him go, sure—but only after you defeat me."

Determined to clear the quest, Gin was ready to lay hands on the adorable little girl.

Mito's eyes flashed I knew it.

She shrugged off a pack the size of a small hill and began warming up—stretching her slender, tender arms and legs—before assuming a cute ready stance.

"Please enlighten me!"

Gin casually toe‑punted the unconscious Itama aside; the kid tumbled away like a gourd, groaning "Aaah…" even in his sleep.

"Come at me," Gin beckoned with a crook of his finger. "For a little kid like you I won't even draw my blade." He stabbed his katana into the ground.

Mito burned with anger at the insult; flame seemed to rise behind her. With a powerful kick she shot forward like a cannonball—so fast Gin's eyelid twitched.

"Eat this!"

Her fist, full of fury, swung straight down. Gin crossed his forearms, bracing to take the blow.

The impact made his arms go numb; he flipped backward and barely stuck the landing. Shaking out trembling forearms, he thought in shock, No wonder she'll be the future Nine‑Tails jinchūriki—she's this strong as a kid!

Mito stared at her own small fist in surprise. Ordinary squad‑captain‑level shinobi couldn't survive her full power punch, yet this "kidnapper" only staggered back a few steps. The realization quenched her contempt and lit a competitive fire in her eyes.

"Again!"

She gathered chakra, concentrating it in both hands. Pale cyan light coated her petite fists. Seeing those glowing little hands, Gin's scalp prickled. Isn't that Tsunade's monstrous strength?!

He pictured those tiny fists pounding his chest and felt half‑frozen inside. So much for bullying a kid—he'd kicked an iron plate this time.

As she lunged, Gin retreated and activated the Sharingan he'd just awakened.

With a single tomoe he had only the Insight ability, yet it let him barely track her movements and dodge her taijutsu. The slowly spinning tomoe helped him adapt to her speed; each motion hinted at her next attack.

This eye is practically cheating. No wonder everyone covets it in the future, he mused, sidestepping another punch. While he ducked and weaved, he considered how to counterattack. He couldn't bring himself to cut a child—he wasn't a saint, but this panting bun‑haired girl had never tried to kill him. He'd have to win with brains.

With a flick of his wrist, a nearly invisible wire shot from his sleeve and looped round the katana stuck in the earth.

Gin kept circling, deliberately drawing the unsuspecting girl along.

The Uzumaki bloodline, like the Senju's, blessed her with remarkable stamina; she could fight all day.

"You slipperier than an eel! Are you a man or not? Fight me head‑on!" she shouted, frustrated after so many misses.

"Very well."

Gin abruptly stopped circling and nodded gravely a few paces away.

"Take this!"

Seeing her chance, Mito charged, fists cocked. In that instant Gin jerked his wrist. Grass and leaves whipped up as threads of sparkling wire sprang into a web around her.

She had no time to evade—the wires bound her limbs tight. The more she struggled, the tighter they drew.

"I'd quit struggling if I were you," Gin advised. "These threads only cinch tighter with force—your flimsy clothes will tear in seconds."

Even as he finished, rriip—fabric gave way. Several slashes appeared in her thin outfit, exposing snow‑white skin beneath. Red welts rose where the wires bit.

Mito's cheeks flushed bright crimson; steam all but puffed from her ears. Humiliated, tears welled up in her eyes. "Y‑you scoundrel! Let me go!"

"Concede first," Gin replied, unmoved. (Had she been seven or eight years older, his resolve might have wavered.)

"If I surrender, you'll really release me?"

She stared in disbelief; in her mind kidnappers trussed girls up and sold them to brothels.

"I swear it on the honor of the Uchiha ancestors!" Gin declared solemnly.

("Ah‑choo!" Somewhere far away, a spiky‑haired boy sparring with a bowl‑cut youth shivered.

"You okay, Madara?" the bowl‑cut boy asked with concern.)

Convinced, Mito bit her lip and said softly, "I… I surrender."

Ding! "Host has defeated Uzumaki Mito. Quest complete. Points +10. Received Blue Skill Orb × 1."

Tears of excitement nearly welled up in Uchiha Gin's eyes—after being transmigrated for so long, he had finally completed a mission. He immediately focused his mind on checking his reward.

Upon opening the system again, Gin noticed that the once-empty void in his mind had changed. Now, it resembled a chessboard-style arena.

He also now had a physical form within the space. Following the guidance, he stepped onto the board and saw that on the left side, a "Heart of Steel" treasure chest—his mission reward—had appeared. A row of numbers was scrolling above the chest.

"Host success confirmed. Gained 1 unit of Heart Energy. Heart of Steel Chest reward unlocked. (Current total Heart Energy: 14)"

As the delayed notification chimed in, the number above the Heart of Steel chest stopped scrolling:

[14] Ready to Open

1 + 10 - 10 + 12 + 1 = 14

Due to a mid-mission glitch penalty, Gin's Heart of Steel level was reduced to 14 in the end.

Power through brute force!

Gin tapped "Open." The chest bounced excitedly to a mischievous BGM as two colorful orbs, emblazoned with the Heart of Steel logo, popped out.

Feeling both nervous and excited, he opened one of them. A flash of light—then a gold bar appeared in his hand.

[Gold Bar ×1]

Universal currency. Can be used for real-world purchases.

Wait… It can give me cash?!

Gin weighed the surprisingly hefty bar. Just this alone was enough to start a small war. Eyes lighting up, he glanced at the second orb.

"Don't tell me it's another bar of gold…"

With that thought, he opened the second orb.

[Uzumaki Clan Physique ×1]

Gain a trace amount of Uzumaki bloodline. Slight attribute increase upon use.

A bloodline drop?!

Gin's composure vanished at the sight of "Uzumaki." Many key characters in the story were the last survivors of the Uzumaki clan.

Nagato, the true leader of the Akatsuki, leveraged his Uzumaki lineage to handle Madara's Rinnegan—slaying Jiraiya and later flattening Konoha with a single move. Peak mid-game power ceiling, no question.

And don't even mention the "prince"—even without Kurama, his chakra capacity and recovery speed were top-tier.

"Attributes?"

While the bloodline was tempting, the "attribute" part intrigued him too. Following the classic "system flow" logic from his past life, Gin tried to summon his status panel.

The moment he did, a glowing screen rose from the chessboard. His avatar appeared on display.

It really works!

Host: Uchiha Gin

Ninjutsu: 5Taijutsu: 4Intelligence: 9Stamina: 3Charm: 1Dōjutsu (Eye Power): 5

Skills:

Basic TaijutsuFireball JutsuUchiha Beginner Sword StyleIntermediate Shuriken Jutsu

Overall Rating:

A slightly clever, punch-worthy, single tomoe Sharingan Uchiha genin.

"??? What do you mean 'punch-worthy'? And why is my Charm only 1?!"

Uchiha Gin was so furious his dead fish eyes nearly rolled back.

Next, Gin tapped "Use Uzumaki Physique." A warm current flowed from his heart to the rest of his body.

His previously trickling chakra stream became a gushing river. The comfortable sensation surged through him, and he felt bursting with strength.

Having experienced a total physical upgrade, Gin recalled the note about the "slight attribute boost" and looked again:

Host: Uchiha Gin

Ninjutsu: 7Taijutsu: 8Intelligence: 9Stamina: 6Charm: 1Dōjutsu: 5

Skills:

Same as before.

Overall Rating:

A slightly clever, punch-worthy, single tomoe Sharingan Uchiha chūnin.

The Uzumaki bloodline clearly boosted Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Stamina—doubling the last two, which represent physique and chakra reserves.

Done inspecting his stats, Gin noticed a strange machine on the right side of the chessboard.

It looked like the arcade game consoles he'd played in his past life. He powered it on. A big 10 appeared on screen, followed by a system message:

[Shop Arcade: Accumulate points to unlock grand prizes!]

No further explanation. After fiddling around and getting nothing else from it, Gin gave up on the machine for now and asked the system:

"Why did so much new stuff show up this time?"

"Because the host completed a prerequisite quest. System load progress +10%."

"So… this isn't even the full system yet?"

Gin looked around the now rather luxurious system space, shocked.

"System still loading. Unable to answer."

Apparently, there was still much more the system could do. Gin's confidence in surviving until Konoha's founding skyrocketed.

"Heck, maybe I'll even live to see Boruto!"

Gin began to daydream.

"Hey! You said you'd let me go! Don't you dare go back on your word!"

Mito shouted, seeing him zoning out right after she surrendered.

In the next instant, Gin's focus returned. Though it felt long in the system, only a moment had passed outside.

"Okay, okay, I'll untie you now."

Grinning from ear to ear, Gin looked at the "key contributor" to his big haul.

"Ugh, why do you look so creepy when you smile?"

Mito wriggled uncomfortably at the sight of Gin's wide grin.

The wire he'd used couldn't be cut by normal weapons; it had to be retrieved from the end. Gin didn't hesitate—he began patting around Mito's body for the thread's origin.

Of course, as an upright gentleman, Gin searched without ulterior motives.

But as his hands—now laced with Uzumaki bloodline—brushed her back, Mito's small body trembled involuntarily.

"What, need the bathroom? Hold it, I'm almost done," Gin said, misunderstanding her reaction and speeding up.

"Why does this guy's touch feel… familiar?" Mito started overthinking.

But she wasn't wrong—Gin had just fused with Uzumaki blood, and bloodline resonance carried an instinctual pull.

While he searched, a peculiar charm near her chest caught Gin's attention.

"This charm looks kinda cool."

Still dazed, Mito responded instinctively:

"It's my father's chakra-concealing seal. It hides chakra signatures. I used it to sneak past the clan's search teams."

"Impressive. As expected of the Uzumaki clan," Gin said sincerely.

"It's not that great…" she replied shyly.

"Ah—found it!"

After searching for ages, Gin finally located the thread's end near Mito's waist and reached toward it—

"Beast! What are you trying to do?!"

Suddenly, a furious roar echoed from above. A figure wreathed in red light came crashing down like thunder from the sky.

[End of Chapter]