Chapter 14: You beast, what are you doing?

Chapter 14: You Beast, What Are You Doing?

"Ding! Host has encountered a plot character. System mission being issued..."

"Mission Start: Defeat Uzumaki Mito, who harbors dreams of being a female warrior, and let her realize the perils of the martial world and the unpredictability of the human heart. Rewards: 10 Points, 1 Random Orb. If the Host is defeated, the mission fails."

The adorable young girl before him had a fair, small round face, sparkling large eyes, and a cherry-like mouth. Her fiery red hair was tied into two small buns, making her look incredibly playful and cute.

Upon seeing her, Uchiha Gin froze for a moment. The girl revealed tiny, sharp tiger teeth like a little predator, her large eyes filled with dissatisfaction, looking like a small kitten baring its claws.

Feeling underestimated, Uzumaki Mito was preparing to drop some harsh words, but she hadn't even finished swallowing the mouthful of flatbread she had just stuffed into her mouth.

As the girl opened her small mouth, air rushed in, forcing the unchewed food down her narrow esophagus all at once, causing her to choke instantly.

Ignoring the food in her hands, her small hands clenched into fists and began pounding her flat chest, attempting to force the food down.

Looking at the girl who wanted to say something but was instead frantically thumping her chest, Uchiha Gin helplessly pulled a water flask from his backpack, unscrewed it, and handed it over.

Seeing the flask, the choking girl—whose eyes were nearly rolling back in her head—looked at it as if it were a life-saving straw. She grabbed it, tilted her head back, and gulped it down with loud, rhythmic swallowing sounds.

As if having survived a catastrophe, the girl looked at the flask in her hands, preparing to thank her kind benefactor.

However, when she looked up and saw the grinning Uchiha Gin beside her, she let out a strange cry and jumped several meters away, watching him with intense wariness.

"Is this how you treat your savior?" Uchiha Gin said with a squint and a teasing expression.

"Even though I'm very grateful, you should just surrender, you kind-hearted human trafficker," the girl said, her delicate brows furrowed in thought after a moment of deliberation.

"Are you talking about this brat?" Uchiha Gin dragged the unconscious Senju Danzo from behind him to the front. "I wouldn't mind letting him go, but you have to defeat me first."

To complete the mission, Uchiha Gin was prepared to make a move on the cute little girl.

Hearing this, Uzumaki Mito wore an expression that said, *just as I expected.*

She first set down the massive bundle she was carrying on her back, then began her warm-up exercises. She stretched her slender, jade-like arms and legs, struck a cute combat stance, and said with utmost seriousness, "Please, teach me!"

Uchiha Gin kicked the obstructive Senju Danzo aside. The brat rolled away like a spinning gourd, letting out a strange "Ahhh..." even while unconscious.

"Bring it on," Uchiha Gin said, provocatively curling his finger. "Against a kid like you, I don't even need a weapon."

With that, he tucked his katana into his waist.

At Uchiha Gin's contemptuous behavior, a flame of anger rose in Uzumaki Mito's back. She kicked off the ground with force, charging forward like a cannonball. Her speed was so great that Uchiha Gin's eyelids twitched.

"Take this!"

With an angry shout, the girl threw a vertical punch toward the stationary Uchiha Gin. Unable to dodge in time, he crossed his arms, preparing to tank the blow.

To his surprise, the impact traveling through his arms left his hands numb. He was sent reeling backward, performing a backflip in mid-air before barely landing on his feet.

Shaking his slightly trembling forearms, Uchiha Gin was inwardly shocked. *As expected of the future Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Such strength at such a young age.*

Uzumaki Mito looked at her delicate little fist in surprise; the human trafficker had actually managed to withstand her punch.

One had to know that she had possessed incredible physical talent since childhood, awakening a rare strength talent at the age of five. An ordinary captain-level ninja couldn't withstand her full strength, yet this opponent had only been pushed back a few steps. Thinking of this, the girl cast aside her contempt, and a competitive fire ignited in her eyes.

"Again!"

Uzumaki Mito mobilized the chakra in her body, concentrating it into her hands.

In an instant, a faint cyan light flickered over her fair palms. Looking at those tiny fists, Uchiha Gin, who hadn't yet recovered, felt his scalp tingle.

*Isn't this just Tsunade's Monstrous Strength?*

Imagining the consequences of those tiny fists hammering into his chest, Uchiha Gin's heart sank halfway. He had intended to bully a child, but it seemed he had truly kicked a steel plate this time.

Seeing the girl raising her fists to charge, Uchiha Gin immediately retreated while activating his newly awakened Sharingan.

The single-tomoe Sharingan could only provide insight. With its assistance, Uchiha Gin could barely see the girl's movements and could manage to dodge her taijutsu strikes. The slightly rotating tomoe allowed him to gradually adapt to her speed; the moment she raised her hand, he could almost see her next move.

"With eyes that act like cheats, no wonder they'll be coveted in the future," he mused.

Admiring the Sharingan's ability, Uchiha Gin skillfully dodged another punch. Watching her slender arm pass inches from his face, he began to consider how to counterattack.

He truly couldn't bring himself to use a blade against a child—not because he was a saint, but because while he wouldn't show mercy to a true threat, the little bun-haired girl before him had never intended to kill him from the start.

"I'll have to win with wits."

With a slight twist of his wrist, Uchiha Gin used a burst of internal force to flick a transparent, thin thread toward the katana planted in the ground.

As the girl unleashed a flurry of disorganized punches, he deliberately began to circle her, leading her on a chase. The girl, being led by the nose, remained completely unaware.

The Uzumaki bloodline granted her immense vitality; like the Senju, they were experts at attrition warfare.

"You guy! You're as slippery as an eel! You're such a coward! Have the guts to fight me properly! What kind of man runs away like this!" Uzumaki Mito shouted in frustration, having failed to land a single hit.

"Fine."

Uchiha Gin, who had been circling her, suddenly stopped and nodded solemnly not far from the girl.

"Take this!"

Seizing the opportunity, the girl gathered strength in both fists and took a heavy step forward. Seeing the timing was right, Uchiha Gin gave his wrist a sharp tug. Suddenly, vegetation swirled around the girl, and transparent threads instantly surrounded her.

In the next moment, the girl, unable to dodge, was tightly ensnared by the threads. Her small body struggled violently, but after a few attempts, she discovered in despair that the more she struggled, the tighter the threads became.

"I suggest you stop struggling. The harder you pull, the tighter these threads contract. Your thin clothing will be cut easily."

As soon as Uchiha Gin finished speaking, a tearing sound rang out. Several tears appeared in the girl's thin clothes, exposing patches of her fair skin.

The red marks left by the threads on her jade-like skin caused the struggling Uzumaki Mito to blush furiously, her whole body steaming like a "Steam Princess."

"You despicable jerk! Let me go!"

Experiencing such humiliation for the first time, Uzumaki Mito's eyes welled with tears, making her look incredibly pitiable, completely losing the ferocity she had while chasing him.

"Then surrender first."

Uchiha Gin remained unmoved by her "tragic female ninja" appearance. Of course, if she were seven or eight years older, he might have lost his composure.

"If I surrender, will you let me go?" The aggrieved Uzumaki Mito looked at the human traff