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

Uchiha Fuhō's hand trembled slightly as he held his sword. His crimson Sharingan radiates a pale, ashen aura.

Standing before him, Uzumaki Hanamichi was like a monster. Despite Fuhō's decent taijutsu, he could only be overwhelmed in every exchange. Hanamichi's brutal fists could even take the full brunt of his steel-forged katana.

What's worse, the opponent's chakra reserves far surpassed his own. Even after maintaining an aura of visible chakra for such a long time, there was no sign of depletion. And yet, Hanamichi hadn't even used his trump cards. This fight felt more like he was playing around with a child.

With a disinterested yawn, Uzumaki Hanamichi looked lazily at the man reputed as "Shinobi Hidden Flame."

He had expected a challenge, but it seemed the match was ending before it had even begun. The only real threat was that earlier genjutsu.

"How boring. If that's all you've got, get out of my way—I'm going to find little Mito."

With a flick of his hand, Hanamichi effortlessly batted away the thrown shuriken. But rather than disappointment, a smirk formed on Fuhō's face. In a flash, he moved his hands forward, and the deflected shuriken suddenly veered back toward Hanamichi, as if controlled by invisible threads.

They circled him several times, deliberately avoiding vital areas.

"That's the famous Uchiha throwing technique? Is this the best you've got?" Hanamichi mocked.

But then, he felt a sudden tightening around his body.

"Manipulated Shuriken Technique."

Using chakra threads looped around his fingers, Uchiha Fuhō had replicated the same binding technique previously used on Mito.

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"

A scorching flame erupted from Fuhō's mouth, following the chakra threads like a fiery serpent, engulfing the bound Hanamichi in a blazing inferno.

Even after the man was consumed by flames, Fuhō didn't relax. He raised his katana and lunged toward the fiery silhouette, aiming for the neck.

But just as victory seemed within reach, a flaming hand reached out and firmly grabbed the blade, rendering Fuhō's full force useless.

"A combo jutsu, huh? That's pretty rare."

Hanamichi's composed voice rang out through the fire.

Only then did Fuhō realize that Hanamichi hadn't even screamed in pain despite being wrapped in flames.

Boom!

With a surge of chakra, the flames and chakra threads were blasted away, revealing Hanamichi's unharmed body.

He casually brushed off some scorched hair from his forehead.

"As expected from the Uchihas—your fire tricks are pretty flashy."

Fuhō swallowed hard. This Uzumaki's physical resilience was simply insane.

Despair crept in as he glanced at the ongoing battle—his comrades were clearly losing ground. It was only a matter of time before they were defeated.

"Is this really how it all ends for me?"

He recalled his life as a shinobi, his past flashing before his eyes like a lantern carousel, until it froze on the image of a curly-haired man with a warm smile. A flicker of determination returned to Fuhō's eyes.

"I haven't burned out yet. If I can just hold him a little longer, that kid might survive."

With that thought, a new surge of chakra filled his body. His once-dormant Sharingan eyes suddenly reactivated, the tomoe beginning to spin rapidly—on the verge of evolving into something more.

Hanamichi sensed the ominous energy and frowned.

"What is this?"

He had seen enemies burn their life force before, but Uchihas weren't known for that. Was this just a bluff?

While Hanamichi hesitated, an eerie chakra surged behind Fuhō, condensing into an ominous form.

Just before it could fully take shape, a figure landed in front of him.

"Am I late?"

It was Uchiha Gin, striking what he assumed was a cool pose, flashing a smug grin.

Fuhō's transformation was instantly interrupted.

"You dumbass! What the hell are you doing back here?!"

He exploded in fury. After all that buildup to sacrifice himself, this kid had come running right back into danger.

"Aren't you supposed to be weeping with gratitude?"

Gin muttered, genuinely confused at the backlash.

"You came…"

Fuhō sighed.

"I did."

"You shouldn't have."

"But I did anyway."

"Can you two stop with the drama? You writing a novel or something?"

Hanamichi finally snapped, veins bulging in his forehead.

"Ah, sorry about that."

Gin scratched his head awkwardly, still wearing that dead-fish-eyed expression.

"Uchiha scum, how dare you come back?! Where did you hide Mito?!"

Fists clenched, Hanamichi's anger flared. The image of Gin "putting his hands" on his beloved sister made him want to crush the guy.

Seeing those massive fists, Gin nervously touched the protective charm Mito had given him.

"I really hope this thing works..."

"Uchiha Gin, why didn't you follow orders?!"

Fuhō barked. What the hell was this kid thinking?

"Captain, now's not the time for chit-chat. Focus on the fight."

Gin replied, drawing his katana.

"…You don't even have a Sharingan. When did you awaken it?"

But then he saw it—those dead-fish eyes now held a single spinning tomoe.

"A single tomoe won't help. Hanamichi's a physical monster, and you're naturally weak—this is suicide."

Even so, Hanamichi had no more patience.

"Hand over Mito, and I might consider giving you a painless death."

A crimson chakra cloak enveloped him, making him look like a raging beast.

Gin braced himself.

"I wanted to say this is all a misunderstanding… but clearly, that ship has sailed."

"No more talk. I'll beat the truth out of you!"

Hanamichi blitzed forward, throwing a thunderous punch at Gin.

Fueled by adrenaline, Gin's Sharingan spun, now evolving to two tomoe. At the last second, he parried the blow and thrust his blade at Hanamichi's exposed underarm.

Sensing the deadly exchange, Hanamichi twisted his body, redirecting the punch into a nearby massive tree, blasting it into splinters.

Smoke cleared. Hanamichi touched the light wound on his side—already healing thanks to his monstrous Uzumaki bloodline.

"So ruthless and decisive…" he muttered.

Gin, meanwhile, was in pain. His arm had been torn open just by the wind pressure of Hanamichi's redirected punch.

Yet oddly enough, in mere moments, his wounds started healing.

"Is this the power of Uzumaki bloodline? Even a trace of it grants this level of recovery?"

Within ten seconds, the wound fully closed.

Tiger → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Gin performed hand signs and, for the first time, used ninjutsu. It was the only long-range jutsu the original host knew.

As he built up fire chakra in his lungs, he exhaled—a massive fireball erupted from his mouth.

Hanamichi's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Is that even a Fireball Jutsu?! That's more like Great Fire Annihilation!"

Most Uchiha fireballs were around 100 cubic meters in volume. This one? Several times larger, and it radiated genuine destructive force.

Sensing the danger, Hanamichi bolted to avoid the blast.

As the massive inferno scorched a football-field-sized clearing into the forest, Gin stopped, panting.

He stared at the charred landscape.

"Am I… under genjutsu?"

he muttered, unsure.

Behind him, even Fuhō looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"What kind of jutsu was that?"

"…Probably just a Fireball." Gin said, scratching his head sheepishly.

He wondered: Could it be the Uzumaki bloodline boosting my chakra?

But no, he'd only absorbed a trace—that shouldn't explain this scale.

If chakra alone could boost jutsu that much, the Uzumakis would've conquered the ninja world by now.

"System, what's going on?"

No answer.

He entered the system space.

Everything was the same—arena reset, reward chest waiting.

Except—his 10 points were missing. The screen now showed a row of asterisks.

"Hey system! What happened to my points?!"

After a moment, the system replied,

"System loading. Please wait."

"Where are my points and what was that jutsu?!"

"Host's power has increased. System load speed +10%. Updating…"

"…Increased power?" Gin recalled how things seemed sharper in battle. Maybe his Sharingan evolved again?

"Ding! Update complete."

His game machine now read 0.

"WHAT?! Where did my 10 points go?! A ONE and a ZERO!"

He stood there, pointing at the screen, expression frozen.

(End of Chapter)