In a desperate attempt to escape, Senju Banjian found a member of the Uchiha clan standing in his path, a look of despair etched on his face. At just five years old, no matter how talented he might be, he stood little chance against an adult Uchiha.

The Uchiha before him had curly hair wrapped in bandages, with lifeless, dull eyes that showed no excitement at his self-inflicted predicament. Instead, his somewhat handsome face displayed an expression of conflict. Without time to think, Senju Banjian, holding a kunai, charged decisively at the still-dazed Uchiha Silver. However, seeing Banjian's face, which seemed to embrace death, Uchiha Silver had no choice but to draw his katana in preparation for battle.

“Bang!” The weapons of the two clashed, producing a muffled sound. Uchiha Silver felt a heavy impact in his arm and was sent flying several meters away, landing face-first in astonishment before scrambling back to his feet.

“This kid is so strong?”

“This guy is so weak?”

Banjian stood in disbelief, looking at the kunai in his hand. He couldn't believe he had actually managed to repel an adult Uchiha. Uchiha Silver swore he had not held back in that last strike; being his first battle after crossing over, he instinctively used all his strength, but the result was that he was struck down by a five-year-old child.

Seeing Uchiha Silver struggling to get up, Banjian's eyes sparkled with newfound hope, and he swung his kunai even harder as he charged at the Uchiha. Just then, a system notification echoed in Uchiha Silver's mind.

“Host engaged in combat detected. The Heart of Steel treasure chest begins to accumulate...”

The Heart of Steel treasure chest in the sea of consciousness started to tremble, followed by a blasting BGM playing like a speaker. Listening to the familiar BGM in his head, Uchiha Silver's brain twitched. Could this old system product be a little more reliable?

Returning to combat, the height-restricted Senju Banjian was about to stab Uchiha Silver in a critical area with his kunai. Uchiha Silver, blocking out the maddening BGM in his mind, barely dodged the lethal strike aimed at him. He then unleashed a classic Uchiha sword technique towards Banjian, but the latter easily blocked it with his kunai, looking speechless as his full-strength attack was effortlessly neutralized by a five-year-old.

Uchiha Silver truly confirmed that his original body was nothing short of a complete loser. Over twenty years of life had been wasted, and his combat power could only be considered the level of a lower ninja in later generations, not the likes of the twelve young strong ones, but rather background characters among lower ninjas.

Even so, he could not easily concede defeat; Uchiha Fuuka and Uchiha Ryouichi could finish their battles at any moment. Even if he let Senju Banjian go now, the next instant, he would be killed by them. Moreover, his mission was to rescue Senju Banjian from the hands of Uchiha Fuuka and others. With only himself present, letting Banjian go would make it uncertain whether he could complete the task; if he failed, he could only delete his account and start over.

The two exchanged several rounds, both equally matched in their amateurism.

“No wonder you are the genius heir of the Senju clan; I, Uchiha Silver, shall call you the strongest in taijutsu.”

Uchiha Silver said to the somewhat breathless Senju Banjian.

“Uchiha Silver, right? You're not bad either; I, Senju Banjian, acknowledge you.”

His voice was soft and sweet, a promising young talent. It was also Senju Banjian's first time facing an enemy, and his youthful spirit was on full display, revealing the Senju clan's unique natural cluelessness.

While the two were locked in a standoff, Uchiha Fuuka and his team had already finished their battles. Senju Kouji was struck head-on by Uchiha Fuuka's Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, his fate unknown.

Was the Great Fireball killing people now?

The three members of the guarding team from the Senju clan were also defeated by Uchiha Ryouichi and his companions, lying bloodied on the ground. When they saw that Uchiha Silver had yet to kill Senju Banjian, they all surrounded him.

Senju Banjian and Uchiha Silver were in the midst of a heated “battle,” even developing a sense of camaraderie. However, Senju Banjian was only five years old, and his stamina was clearly no match for the already adult Uchiha Silver.

In a moment of intense exchange, Banjian's limbs weakened, and he was struck by Uchiha Silver, crashing into a protruding rock behind him, unable to rise for a long time.

“Host victory; gained Heart Energy point *1. The Heart of Steel treasure chest reward can be unlocked after three more battles. (Current accumulated Heart Energy: 1)”

Having collapsed from exhaustion, Senju Banjian was deemed defeated by the system. As the battle concluded, Uchiha Fuuka and the others arrived at Uchiha Silver's side, surrounding the slowly rising Senju Banjian, creating a famous scene from the original work.

Desperately looking at the five adult Uchiha surrounding him, Senju Banjian trembled, clutching his kunai, his eyes filled with despair. He understood that today he might follow his third brother into death. Uchiha Ryouichi teasingly tossed a shuriken, grazing Senju Banjian's face and embedding itself in the rock behind him.

This action shattered Banjian's last psychological defense. At just five years old, he began to tremble all over, tears welling in his eyes.

“Alright, our mission is complete; let's quickly deal with him. The Senju clan's reinforcements should be arriving soon.”

Having taken a hit from Senju Kouji just before his death, Uchiha Fuuka was not in very good condition, his eyes feeling very sore from overusing the Sharingan. The others turned their gazes to the silent Uchiha Silver upon hearing this.

Since Uchiha Silver had been the most desperate in this mission, even daring to venture alone into the territory of the Senju clan to complete it, the others subconsciously felt that he should be the one to finish this task.

Uchiha Silver, under the scrutiny of the others, guessed their thoughts and, without hesitation, his expression fluctuating, slowly drew his sword and approached the already surrendered Senju Banjian.

With a swift motion, in front of the surprised gazes of the others, he knocked Senju Banjian unconscious with the back of his sword.

“???”

“Uchiha Silver, what do you mean?”

The others questioned Uchiha Silver's act of mercy.

“A living Senju heir is far more valuable than a dead one.”

With a blank expression, Uchiha Silver said as he sheathed his katana, then crouched down to carry the unconscious Senju Banjian.

“Our mission was merely to eliminate the Senju sapling; do not meddle, just kill him, and let's retreat.”

Uchiha Fuuka, feeling somewhat angry at Uchiha Silver's defiance, found it unacceptable as the captain to have his orders disobeyed by a team member.

“I said, a living Senju is more useful than a corpse.”

Just as the tension between both sides grew stronger, Uchiha Feihe's expression suddenly changed.

“I triggered the traps I set; the Senju reinforcements are coming quickly!”

It turned out Uchiha Feihe had set several traps around before the battle, and he could sense them immediately upon activation.

“Let’s retreat!”

Hearing that reinforcements were approaching, the injured Uchiha Fuuka dared not linger any longer; continuing to argue would only make things worse.

“Yes!”

The team quickly got up and retreated towards a direction away from the Senju clan's territory, and Uchiha Silver breathed a temporary sigh of relief. However, he couldn't just abandon Senju Banjian; he had to carry the unconscious child while following the team.

After gathering their strength, they raced until they could no longer sense any pursuit before stopping. The group, having escaped their pursuers, took a break in a cave, where Uchiha Silver bound the unconscious Senju Banjian with iron chains.

He still didn’t know how to seal chakra and could only crudely wrap Senju Banjian tightly with the chains like a zongzi.

“Uchiha Silver, I hope you can give me a reasonable explanation.”

Uchiha Fuuka, sitting by the campfire, looked at the tightly bound Senju Banjian and questioned the sweating Uchiha Silver.

Anticipating he would eventually be questioned, Uchiha Silver recited the excuse he had prepared earlier.

“I left him alive because of the clan leader.”

Uchiha Silver explained. The others exchanged glances, as the task they received from the clan leader was only to eliminate the Senju, with no order for capture.

Uchiha Silver's fabrication began.

“It all started from the time I stood guard in front of the clan leader...”