Chapter 20: 20. Beauty's Strike
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Under the moonlight, the Uchiha squad continued their journey westward at full speed.
The battle during the day had wasted too much time. Initially, they planned to take a detour, but Uchiha Fuka decisively chose the direct route.
None of the others objected, as the direct path would save more than half of their time.
Along the way, they did not encounter any resistance from the Senju clan, suggesting that the Senju clan was too occupied to send people after them.
"Alright, we'll camp here tonight."
Recognizing the increasingly familiar path ahead, Uchiha Fuka ordered the squad to rest.
"Huff... Huff..."
The three of them had just endured a tough battle during the day, and with the intense traveling, they were completely exhausted. Collapsing to the ground, they noticed that Uchiha Gin, the weakest among them, was still full of energy. He wasn't even panting, nor was there any trace of dust on him.
Sensing the strange looks from the three, Uchiha Gin inwardly panicked. Quickly, he dropped the Senju Itama he was carrying, lay on the ground, forced out some cold sweat, and stuck his tongue out, pretending to be exhausted.
Only then did the others stop paying attention to him.
"I'll keep watch first. You all rest quickly."
Uchiha Fuka, who was still in good condition and excelled in stealth. He volunteered to stand guard while the others rested.
After a brief break, the group gradually got up and began setting up their tents.
Seeing the others walk away, Uchiha Gin also got up, took out his tent, but then remembered his strange skill. He decided not to camp in the open and instead chose a more secluded corner.
Setting up his tent, he didn't tie Senju Itama outside this time but threw him inside. Then, just like last time, he circled a small area behind the tent.
"Hopefully, tonight I'll get some useful skills."
Recalling the "Tsukuyomi" from the previous night, Uchiha Gin winced. While the technique was powerful, being trapped and tortured for two consecutive nights was unbearable for anyone.
Praying not to get "Tsukuyomi" again, Uchiha Gin sat cross-legged on the ground, waiting for his skills to refresh.
But before that, he still hadn't claimed his reward from the day's mission. Deciding to check it first, he sank into his mind.
Standing on the gameboard, Uchiha Gin noticed that the points on the syatem had become 50. He suppressed the urge to gamble and instead focused on the five floating skill orbs.
There were supposed to be four, so why was there an extra one?
"The reward for defeating Uzumaki Mito," the system promptly explained.
"Damn, so why didn't you use this skill orb in the emergency earlier, and instead used my points?"
Recalling the reason for the extra orb, Uchiha Gin asked angrily.
"Task orbs can only be opened by the host. The system has no right to handle them."
Understood.
Points were like his earnings, so of course the system would use them.
Orbs, however, were rewards given by the system, essentially its own stock, so it wouldn't use them easily.
"Such a scam!"
Ignoring the system, Uchiha Gin examined the orbs before him: two blue, three white.
Except for the blue orb from the girl's mission, the other four orbs—rewards for rescuing Uchiha Fuka and the others—contained only one blue orb, no purple, and no gold. His luck was terrible.
He tapped the first white orb. A faint white light flashed:
[Gold Bar*1] Universal currency, can be used for real-world transactions.
Getting gold—no complaints.
The second orb: [Gold Bar*1] Universal currency, can be used for real-world transactions.
Another gold bar, still good.
The third: [Gold Bar*1] Universal currency, can be used for real-world transactions.
"Really?"
Three gold bars in a row? So the most useless item from these orbs is currency, huh?
Suppressing his frustration, Uchiha Gin tapped the first blue orb: [Gold Bar*5] Universal currency, can be used for real-world transactions.
"..."
Uchiha Gin almost jumped up to slap the system. At this point, he felt like a player who had drawn only R-rank cards in a ten-pull, left fuming.
After venting, he extended a trembling finger and, with his eyes closed, tapped the last orb.
[Kunai of the Flying Thunder God*1] Used by Namikaze Minato, containing traces of space-time energy. Note: Wearing it can accelerate the mastery of space-time ninjutsu.
Looking at the three-pronged weapon in his hand, an image of a yellow flash appeared in Uchiha Gin's mind.
This kunai was the Fourth Hokage's signature weapon, inscribed with the Flying Thunder God formula, allowing instantaneous teleportation over long distances.
"Wearing it can speed up the comprehension of space-time techniques?"
Uchiha Gin swung the kunai a few times and found it surprisingly easy to handle. Even without knowing the Flying Thunder God technique, the weapon was suitable for everyday use.
After packing away the kunai and the eight scattered gold bars, Uchiha Gin approached the game machine.
Looking at his pitiful 50 points, he gritted his teeth and pulled the slot machine's lever, hoping for a stroke of luck.
As the classic slot machine BGM played, the three characters on the panel began spinning rapidly. Uchiha Gin held his breath, staring intently at the changing symbols.
The first character: "Taijutsu."
A few seconds later, the second character also stopped on "Taijutsu."
Seeing this, Uchiha Yin's breathing became rapid. Could it be that his luck was finally turning around?
"Taijutsu! Taijutsu! Taijutsu!" He shouted in excitement.
As soon as his voice fell, the last character stopped on "Ninjutsu."
"Congratulations, host! You have rolled the combination Taijutsu + Taijutsu + Ninjutsu, granting double the Taijutsu effect/ Taijutsu +1."
"I choose Taijutsu +1!"
Fearing the system would finalize too quickly, Uchiha Gin made his choice immediately.
Without wasting any time, Uchiha Gin pulled the lever again.
However, the next four pulls didn't hit anything major, yielding only small combinations.
Final tally: Taijutsu +2, Ninjutsu +2, Intelligence +1.
Host: Uchiha Yin
Ninjutsu: 9
Taijutsu: 10
Intelligence: 9
Stamina: 7
Charm: 1
Eye Technique: 10
Skills: Basic Taijutsu, Fireball Jutsu, Uchiha Basic Swordsmanship, Intermediate Shuriken Techniques.
Overall evaluation: A balanced, a punchable Uchiha Chunin.
After distributing the points, Uchiha Gin felt a significant boost in his strength. Comparing himself to Uchiha Tsuruhiko and the others, he figured their abilities were now on par.
Once he finished counting his loot, Uchiha Gin exited the system space.
When he opened his eyes, everything was still pitch black. Only the kunai in his hand gave him a sense of reality. He frowned slightly.
"Why haven't today's skills refreshed yet?"
He muttered quietly to himself.
Before he could finish speaking, a strange ripple appeared in the air above him. In the next instant, a figure descended from the sky, landing a heavy kick on Uchiha Gin, who was still sitting cross-legged.
Despite his slight Uzumaki clan perception abilities that allowed him to sense danger in advance, Uchiha Gin couldn't evade the swift and powerful strike.
The forceful kick landed squarely on his back, sending shockwaves through his body. Uchiha Gin collapsed to the ground, spitting blood.
As the smoke cleared, a tall figure appeared in front of him. The woman had light yellow hair tied in a large ponytail, with short light yellow eyebrows and bright brown eyes. Her hands, clenched into fists, were painted with striking red nail polish.
Moonlight shone down, reflecting off her pale skin, which glowed faintly. She wore a tea-green long coat with black edges, a loose kimono-like sleeveless shirt underneath, and deep blue cropped pants.
But none of that mattered. All of Uchiha Gin's attention was focused on the woman's magnificent chest. He felt a warm sensation rise in his nose.
Before he could gather his thoughts, the woman delivered a simple yet powerful punch. Uchiha Gin had no time to react, so he immediately activated his Sharingan, simulating the punch's trajectory and trying to dodge the earth-shattering blow.
However, before he could even move, he realized his body was paralyzed, and pain shot through his right arm.
At some point, the woman had grabbed his right arm and crushed it as easily as a dry twig.
Ignoring the pain, Uchiha Gin tried to break free, but to his horror, a delicate white fist was already coming straight for him, wrapped in destructive force.
"Her nail polish is pretty," was Uchiha Gin's last thought before he lost consciousness.