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

I'm Uchiha Gin. Ever since I got stuck with this ancient junk system, I haven't had a single peaceful day.

Not only do I have to complete the ridiculous missions it assigns, but I also have to go around sweet-talking people just to get beaten up. And then at night, I come home only to get sneak-attacked in my own courtyard by skills the system randomly spawns.

And now, the hard-earned blood, sweat, and tears I poured into completing missions—those precious points—have been eaten up by the system too.

I'm seriously suffering.

Ding! Game machine loaded. Host, please check it out yourself.

As the system notification sounded again, the once dull and unremarkable game machine suddenly burst into a blinding light, forcing Uchiha Gin to shut his eyes.

When the light finally faded, a brand-new blue slot machine appeared before him.

It looked no different from the ones in arcades back in his previous life. At the top was a screen for displaying points, and below were three classic glass windows.

Instead of the usual symbols, however, characters slowly scrolled through the slots. Curious, Uchiha Gin leaned in to read them carefully. They displayed: "Nin" (忍), "Tai" (体), and "Chi" (精).

In the center, a set of combination explanations was clearly listed:

Ninjutsu effect ×2Ninjutsu effect ×10Taijutsu effect ×2Taijutsu effect ×10Chakra amount ×2Chakra amount ×10Random effect ×2

Each spin costs 10 points. Rewards can either be instantly applied (boosting the next qualifying skill used) or accumulated and exchanged 1:1 for corresponding attribute points.

PS: "Instant Application" boosts your next use of a qualifying skill. Accumulated rewards can be exchanged directly for attribute points.

After patiently reading through the machine's instructions and then glancing at his completely empty point balance, Uchiha Gin asked suspiciously:

"Don't tell me you spent my points on this?"

Congratulations, Host! Fortune smiles upon you. You've unlocked a bonus: +100% Luck (Guaranteed critical combo on your first spin).

"So you did spend my points."

Gin stared at the system with dead fish eyes, completely expressionless.

[System, is there any way for me to survive this current crisis?]

Suddenly, a projection appeared in midair. It replayed a clip of Uchiha Gin, still on the road, asking the system for help.

The system detected the host's distress. Emergency protocol initiated. Since points were your only usable resource, the system automatically conducted a spin on your behalf.

The cold, mechanical voice rang out again, but for some reason, Gin thought he heard a bit of schadenfreude in its tone.

Congratulations, Host! Spin result: Reward: Ninjutsu Effect ×10 / +10 to Nin stat. The host failed to select in time—system defaulted to Ninjutsu Effect ×10.

"..."

Auto-play? Fine. Take my phone, you play it. I'm out.

This system didn't just lag like hell—it even made executive decisions for him now. It was beyond outrageous.

Well, at least now he understood how that absurdly oversized Great Fireball had come to be.

It still hurts.

+10 to his Nin stat! And right now, his stats were all still in single digits. He quickly summoned his personal status panel:

Host: Uchiha Gin

Nin (Ninjutsu): 7

Tai (Taijutsu): 8

INtellegence: 9

Chi (Chakra): 6

Charm: 1

Eye Power (Dōjutsu): 10

Skills:

Basic TaijutsuFire Style: Great Fireball JutsuUchiha Introductory Sword StyleIntermediate Shuriken Technique

Overall Evaluation:

A moderately clever, two-tomoe, punchable-faced Uchiha Chūnin.

If he added those 10 extra points to his Nin stat, he'd have a whopping 17 Nin. That alone could boost the power of his jutsus to elite-jōnin levels.

But as he brooded, something else suddenly struck him.

Why were the slot machine's options only Nin, Tai, and Sei? Those matched his core combat stats, but… what about Intelligence and Charisma?

"Host's Intelligence and Charisma are already at peak performance. The system cannot improve perfection."

The system's reply was instant—and infuriatingly smug.

"Why are the only attributes in the slot machine 'Nin', 'Tai', and 'Chi'? Those make sense as stat boosts… but why aren't there any for Intelligence or Charm?"

"Because the host's intelligence and looks are simply too overpowered—outside the system's ability to modify."

The system cut in out of nowhere, as if reading his mind.

"Intelligence ⑨, Charm 1—what the hell do you mean?! You want us all to die together?! Just destroy the world already!!"

After ranting breathlessly for a while, Uchiha Gin took a deep breath and looked down at his own hands, resigned to reality. The danger outside wasn't over yet.

Right now, there was no way he could beat Uzumaki Hanamichi on his own. Unless that "thing" Water Girl Mito gave him actually worked, hiding inside the system wouldn't help. He had to go back and give it a try.

With that thought, Uchiha Gin exited the system. In the real world, barely a second had passed.

Uchiha Fūka still had the same stunned expression on his face, while Hanamichi stepped out from the side, clearly shaken by the massive Great Fireball just now.

Hanamichi didn't immediately charge forward. Instead, he kept his distance and used his sensory abilities to observe Gin.

"Strange… He does have a decent amount of chakra, but nothing that outrageous. How on earth did he cast such a terrifying Great Fireball?"

Using his elite sensory skills, Hanamichi scanned Gin's body. While he sensed a stronger-than-average chakra presence—especially for an Uchiha—it still didn't explain the power he'd just witnessed.

Even stranger, Hanamichi sensed something familiar in Gin's chakra… a kind of kinship energy.

"Could this guy be… mixed-blood?" he speculated.

Hanamichi looked closer at Gin's face. Being stared at so intently made Gin feel as if he were being stripped naked and ogled—he was already breaking into a cold sweat.

"Why is he looking at me like that? I mean yeah, I'm handsome, but… he's not into that, right?!"

Gin shuddered.

"Gin, I don't know how you unleashed that kind of power, but it won't change the outcome of this battle. You should escape while you still can—and don't come back this time."

Uchiha Fūka, having recovered a bit, walked over to the still-sweating Gin. Misreading his expression as fear, he tried to comfort him.

"Captain, I think the enemy's only after me. Let me hold him off. You go help Ryōichi and the others. Once you take down the other Uzumaki, you can all come back and help me."

Gin conveniently used this as an excuse to get Fūka to leave. After all, Hanamichi was only fixated on him, not Fūka.

"But your strength..."

Fūka trailed off, clearly worried. His face said it all: You're too weak.

"Don't worry, Captain. I've been reborn! You know what they say: 'The Uchiha only awaken their true power in the face of despair.'"

Gin turned to face him, eyes glowing with two spinning tomoe—the crimson Sharingan.

"You've awakened the double tomoe? Is this what they call... long-term buildup finally paying off?"

Seeing Gin awaken his Sharingan and even leap to double tomoe in such a short time, Fūka was stunned. Only about 10% of the Uchiha could even activate the Sharingan, and many never awakened it their whole lives.

At 24 years old, Gin had finally awakened it during a crisis—and quickly advanced it to two tomoe. Fūka had no choice but to chalk it up to destiny.

"Be careful. I'll end things on my side as quickly as I can."

As he left, Fūka gave Gin one final, deep look, as if trying to memorize his face forever.

"What's with that face? I'm not going out to die or anything."

Gin muttered, unable to take the melodrama.

But Fūka, turning his head, said silently in his heart:

"You truly are his child… I believe you'll create miracles just like he did."

"The nuisance is finally gone. I had no interest in him anyway."

Hanamichi shrugged his steel-hard shoulders nonchalantly, watching Fūka leave.

When Gin heard him say "interest," his face instantly turned green.

"Wait a minute… Is this guy actually into me?! I know I'm handsome, but I'm not that kind of guy!!"

(End of Chapter)