Dodging a shuriken aimed at his face, Uchiha Gin sighed at the panting boy before him.
Moments ago, the kid squatting at his doorstep had wordlessly hurled a shuriken at him.
With his boosted 10-point Taijutsu, Uchiha Gin easily evaded the attack.
Seeing his sneak attack fail, the boy, resembling a young Sasuke, stubbornly threw another flurry of shuriken.
"Izuna, is this how you greet your dear cousin?" Uchiha Gin said, recognizing him from memory.
Uchiha Izuna, Uchiha Tajima's second son, was the younger brother of the future mastermind Uchiha Madara. A prodigy but overly prideful, he'd later fall to a cunning foe, leaving behind a pair of Mangekyo Sharingan and dying young.
Izuna's death sparked much of the manga's plot; without it, Madara might never have unlocked the Rinnegan. For now, though, he was just a brother-obsessed kid.
"Damn it, when did you get this strong?" Izuna demanded, frowning as he rummaged through his empty ninja pouch, his attacks ineffective.
"Strong? I've always been this way. Don't talk nonsense. Look at yourself—has your chakra grown? Have you trained seriously?" Uchiha Gin teased, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Argh!" Izuna, blood rushing to his head, ignored the strength gap, drew a katana, and charged.
Uchiha Gin deftly dodged, taunting, "You good, little brother?"
Izuna's eyes blazed red with rage at the mocking tone.
"What, already activating your Sharingan?" Uchiha Gin goaded, nearly making Izuna faint from fury.
Four years ago, a ten-year-old Madara had easily defeated his then-twenty-year-old cousin, a scene etched deeply in young Izuna's mind.
Now, at ten, thinking himself ready, Izuna challenged Uchiha Gin to follow in Madara's footsteps.
But he hadn't expected this supposedly weak, arrogant cousin to be so skilled.
Izuna's strength, while not elite, was top-tier among regular fighters—roughly chunin-level by future standards.
Realizing his opponent wasn't the pushover he'd imagined, Izuna steeled himself, hands flashing through seals: Snake–Ram–Monkey–Boar–Horse–Tiger.
The classic Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.
Cheeks puffing, Izuna unleashed a scorching chakra blast, a several-meter-wide fireball hurtling toward Uchiha Gin.
Panting from the powerful jutsu, Izuna watched to see how his trump card would fare.
The oncoming fireball singed Uchiha Gin's already curly hair. Glancing at his freshly bought ingredients and the "hanging" Senju Itama, he braced himself, raising both hands to meet the fireball head-on.
Channeling chakra into his fists, Uchiha Gin struck with Strange Strength, the gust from his punch halting the fireball's flames.
Izuna, seeing Uchiha Gin stand firm, shouted, "Are you stupid? Dodge it!"
Sparring was one thing, but killing a clansman was a grave taboo. Despite their rivalry, their bond wasn't as bad as it seemed.
Feeling the heat on his fists, Uchiha Gin judged the timing right. He unleashed another Strange Strength punch, dispersing the fireball with a muffled boom, then dramatically flew backward, rolling "helplessly" across the ground, motionless.
Izuna rushed to the "unconscious" Uchiha Gin, seeing burn marks on him. Guilt overwhelmed the boy, tears welling in his dark eyes.
"How could I do this to family?" he muttered, tears falling.
"Cousin, don't die! I'll get a medic!" Izuna, unable to rouse him, turned to run for help.
"Cough, cough… Not bad, little brother. That fireball had some of the Clan Leader's flair," Uchiha Gin "weakly" opened his eyes, his frail voice stopping Izuna, who hurried to prop him up.
"Cousin, you're alive!" Izuna exclaimed.
You'd die before me, kid, Uchiha Gin thought.
"Izuna, your strength rivals mine now. I'm proud of your growth," Uchiha Gin praised, then added, "I lost this time, but next time, who knows? Wait for my challenge!"
"Anytime!" Izuna huffed, puffing out his chest.
"Host defeated. Gained Heart Energy 10. Three more battles required to unlock Heartsteel Chest reward. (Current Heart Energy: 10)" The system's pleasant chime sounded.
Smirking at the naive "leek" he'd reeled in, Uchiha Gin thought, A fine leek. Can't let this one wilt.
Standing, Izuna urged him to get checked at the clan, but Uchiha Gin waved it off. "These scratches are nothing to a brave Uchiha. I've had worse on missions."
Izuna, awed, began reevaluating his usually carefree cousin.
"Why'd you challenge me today?" Uchiha Gin asked, helping Izuna gather scattered shuriken.
"It's my tenth birthday. Big Brother beat you at ten, so I wanted to…" Izuna scratched his spiky hair, shy.
"It's your birthday?!" Uchiha Gin looked up, surprised.
"It's just a day," Izuna said. In the Warring States, birthdays weren't celebrated; most didn't track them. Survival was hard enough.
"No way! Help me carry the ingredients inside—I'll cook you something good!" Uchiha Gin called, motioning Izuna to grab the unburnt groceries.
Picking up the bags, Izuna noticed the unconscious Senju Itama. "Who's this guy? Weird hair color."
"Don't worry about it. Inside, inside!" Uchiha Gin, too lazy to explain, hoisted Itama and ushered Izuna in.
In the kitchen, Uchiha Gin, drawing on his past-life cooking skills, whipped up a feast.
In the living room, Izuna poked the unconscious Itama, getting no response. Playfully, he pinched Itama's nose.
Itama's face reddened, and the long-unconscious boy stirred, waking in a dizzy, oxygen-starved haze.
"Who are you?!" Itama gasped, eyeing the unfamiliar boy warily.
"I'd like to know that," Izuna retorted, looming over the rude kid.
"My brother says you give your name first when asking someone's!" Itama snapped, indignant despite his bindings.
"Heh, that's what my brother says!" Izuna shot back.
"My brother would—"
"My brother would too—"
Their childish bickering filled the room.
Parting the curtain, Uchiha Gin emerged with two plates of food. "Enough! What's so great about your brothers? Whoever's right gets the food."
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