Chapter 9: 9. Chapter 9 System Warning

Chapter 9: System Warning

Uchiha Ryoichi walked away grumbling, leaving behind an Uchiha Gin who looked reluctant to let him go.

In Uchiha Gin’s eyes, the few people around him were all lush, green leeks, just waiting for him to harvest them one by one.

“It seems I can’t count on Uchiha Ryoichi for tomorrow.”

Uchiha Gin felt a pang of regret in his heart, but even so, he couldn't help but shout out.

“Ryoichi-rodi, let’s spar again another day.”

Uchiha Ryoichi, without even turning his head, extended a hand and gave a friendly gesture with his middle finger. It was clear that he was full of anticipation for Uchiha Gin’s invitation to battle.

“Tsk, the local Uchihas are so impolite,” Uchiha Gin commented with a look of disappointment, as if they were failing to live up to their potential.

The number of battles for today had been exhausted. According to the system’s description, even if he entered another fight, the Heartsteel chest would not trigger again.

He began to carefully examine the chest in his mind; its exterior was as gaudy and flashy as anything he had seen in his previous life.

During the battle just now, it had been playing intense BGM, just like it did yesterday when he fought Senju Itama. However, having been prepared today, he had proactively muted the music.

Uchiha Gin tried clicking on the chest, but found no reaction. He pondered to himself,

“Is there really no item description?”

“The system is currently in the pioneer server phase; 90% of the content has not yet been loaded. Please wait patiently, Host.”

The long-silent system finally deigned to appear, patiently explaining to Uchiha Gin.

By the time Uchiha Gin opened his mouth to ask a question, the system had vanished without a trace once again, ignoring any further calls.

“It seems I’ll have to gather four times before I know what rewards this chest holds.”

After his exploration yielded nothing, Uchiha Gin simply gave up on researching it. After all, he had only activated this system for a day; he would have to slowly discover its functions in the future.

He immediately turned his gaze toward the other Uchihas. A malicious look flickered in his dead-fish eyes, causing Uchiha Hishikaku, who was wiping his tanto, and Uchiha Taro, who was meditating to refine chakra, to shiver involuntarily.

The next day, Uchiha Gin rose early and sought out the usually taciturn Uchiha Hishikaku first.

“Brother Hishikaku, I have long heard that your swordsmanship is divine. It just so happens that I was once taught a technique by Clan Leader Tajima, and I would like to take this opportunity to spar with you and improve together.”

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Hishikaku was stunned for a moment before saying

“We are about to set off; I’m afraid there isn’t time for a spar now. Let’s talk about it when we rest.”

But for Uchiha Gin, how could he let a cooked duck fly away? He said,

“It won’t take long; we’ll decide the winner in one move.”

Seeing Uchiha Hishikaku show signs of further hesitation, he added,

“Or is it that you, Brother Hishikaku, are afraid of being defeated by me? That is understandable; after all, it is a sword technique personally taught by the Clan Leader, which ordinary Uchihas would indeed find difficult to parry.”

Having said that, he once again wore a look of pity that made one’s teeth itch.

Uchiha Hishikaku looked at him in surprise, wondering when this kid had become so arrogant. He immediately drew the tanto at his waist and the katana from his back, holding them in front of him and taking a stance.

“Please, enlighten me!”

*He’s actually a dual-wielder?* Uchiha Gin looked at Uchiha Hishikaku’s opening stance, steeled his heart, and drew the samurai sword from his own back.

He gripped the katana with both hands, his gaze cold and sharp as he stared at his opponent, as if searching for a flaw in Uchiha Hishikaku’s defense.

The two stood in a stalemate for a long time without moving. Uchiha Hishikaku was looking for a flaw, but he found that Uchiha Gin was nothing but flaws.

Uchiha Gin, however, was waiting for a system prompt. The lack of one made him hesitant.

“Brother Hishikaku, please make the first move.”

Recalling the previous two battles, it seemed the opponent had always moved first, so after a long silence, he spoke up.

The Uchiha Hishikaku opposite him wasn’t feeling relaxed either. He found that although Uchiha Gin’s movements were ordinary—even full of openings—the other party’s expression remained calm, as if victory were already in his grasp.

This series of actions caused him to constantly overthink, until he was drenched in sweat. As Uchiha Gin’s voice trailed off, Uchiha Hishikaku lunged forward to test him with his first strike.

Seeing Uchiha Hishikaku suddenly attack, Uchiha Gin’s nerves tightened subconsciously, and the system’s voice rang out in his mind at the perfect moment

“Battle detected. Heartsteel chest accumulation has begun.”

As he expected, the system only judged a battle to have started if the opponent moved first.

But if this were the case, wouldn’t he have to resort to trash-talking every time to provoke his opponents and build up hatred? He couldn’t use assassinations or sneak attacks to trigger the Heartsteel chest.

Wouldn’t that turn him from an assassin in the shadows into a warrior who had to max out his taunt stat?

There was no time to think. Seeing Uchiha Hishikaku closing in, Uchiha Gin dropped his samurai sword, raised his hands, and said righteously,

“I surrender!”

Uchiha Hishikaku’s blade stopped at the tip of his nose. His usually cold face turned bright red, as if he had been greatly insulted.

He hesitated for three seconds, and just as he was about to withdraw his blade and say something, Uchiha Gin suddenly performed a forward roll, seized the opportunity to pick up the fallen samurai sword, and slashed upward at the now-relaxed Uchiha Hishikaku.

Fortunately, Uchiha Hishikaku was an Uchiha who had been immersed in swordsmanship for many years. Relying on reflexes far beyond the average person, he parried with the tanto in his left hand, deflecting Uchiha Gin’s sword, then used the momentum to jump back and adjust his position.

“To use such tactics—is this also part of your swordsmanship? Feigning weakness and then launching a sneak attack when I let my guard down? Such behavior damages the reputation of the Uchiha clan; it certainly wasn’t taught to you by the Clan Leader.”

Uchiha Hishikaku looked at the failed Uchiha Gin and said in a deep voice, his tone full of disdain.

“My lord, have you eaten shit?”

Uchiha Gin explained with a serious expression while thinking to himself,

“I actually got a system warning for surrendering voluntarily.”

Just a moment ago, the instant Uchiha Gin dropped his sword to surrender, he didn’t hear the prompt for gaining Heart-Energy he had expected, but rather a system warning.

“Detected that the Host has engaged in match-fixing. 10 points of Heart-Energy deducted. The system has zero tolerance for match-fixing. If the Host engages in match-fixing again, the system will reclaim the Heartsteel chest. The battle continues now.”

The moment he heard the warning, Uchiha Gin reacted in 0.01 seconds and immediately launched a counterattack.

The attempt to cheat had backfired, and the loss of 10 Heart-Energy points made Uchiha Gin’s heart ache. His idea of exploiting a bug was also extinguished.

“It seems I have to do everything the right way; bugs are not to be touched.”

Since he couldn’t easily gain Heart-Energy this way, Uchiha Gin stopped pretending.

Once he started fighting seriously, he was, as expected, knocked to the ground by Uchiha Hishikaku in three moves, his samurai sword nearly flying out of his hand.

“That’s it?”

Uchiha Hishikaku looked at the easily defeated Uchiha Gin and asked incredulously,

“You looked so confident just a moment ago, why did you fold so quickly?”

“Host defeated. Gained Heart-Energy *12. You must undergo one more battle to unlock the Heartsteel chest reward. (Current accumulated Heart-Energy: 13)”

It was actually two points more than last time.

“Cough, cough, cough... what a hearty battle! I, Uchiha Gin, am willing to call you the strongest in swordsmanship!”

Kneeling on one knee, Uchiha Gin used his sword to prop himself up, extended a thumb with the other hand, and smiled, revealing a shiny tooth.

Uchiha Hishikaku was left speechless by this scene. He immediately sheathed his sword and walked away without looking back, as if he had been deeply insulted.

“I have benefited greatly from this battle. I hope that after we rest today, we can fight again tomorrow!”

Cast a wide net, catch many fish. Uchiha Hishikaku was also a high-quality leek; he must not be let go.

“Idiot.”

The taciturn Uchiha Hishikaku threw the two words back from afar.

The battle between the two had been very short. The others in the camp had also finished packing up, and after clearing their tracks, the group set off on their journey home.

The unconscious Senju Itama was still being carried by Uchiha Gin. After a day of trekking yesterday, he had basically adapted to traveling while carrying someone, and today’s journey felt much easier.

Fortunately, they didn’t encounter any enemies along the way. As night began to fall, Uchiha Fuka, who was leading the way, stopped and ordered the group to set up camp and rest.

Everyone pitched their tents on the spot. Uchiha Gin had just finished setting his up and was preparing to get some good rest.

“Brother... brother...”

At this moment, Senju Itama, who had been unconscious for a day and a night, slowly woke up, murmuring for his brother.

“Your brother is gone,” Uchiha Gin whispered into his ear like a demon.

“Ahhh??? Wuwuwu...”

“Oh, right, your little brother is gone too. Congratulations on becoming a cute little girl who has to squat to pee~”

*Eh? Wasn’t he already...*

Stunned by the successive blows, Senju Itama woke up completely. Seeing the curly-haired, dead-fish-eyed person in front of him, he remembered he had been captured. But just as he let out two cries, he felt something stuffed into his mouth, choking him until tears streamed down his face.

(End of chapter)