Just how stupid could I be?
The answer hit me the exact moment a squad of foreign shinobi burst out of THOSE EXACT SAME CURSED BUSHES.
[Quest Alert!] [Hold out until backup arrives and rescue two cuties!
This is your first and last chance to raise your reputation with the endangered…
the great Uchiha Clan!
Hurry!
Accept Quest?
Yes / No] I didn’t even bother reading the full conditions.
I just skimmed the core objective and checked the timer.
Three minutes alone against enemy shinobi?
Considering I barely registered as an Academy second-year student on a good day—let alone a Genin—I was completely screwed!
Which meant I accepted it!
Yep, there was definitely a piece of canon Naruto’s suicidal bravery (or stupidity) lodged in my brain.
As I threw my kunai…
man, I got incredibly lucky finding that specific training ground…
and a week-long case of hiccups alongside a heavy dose of paranoia.
Because all the gear I found had been lying neatly in front of a stone with a terrifying inscription scratched into it, miraculously preserved over the years: “Madarator was here!” If this world’s Madara was also connected to the System, and was acting as a moderator, I was dead.
I wouldn’t even live long enough to see Kaguya.
And even if he wasn’t, it meant there was at least one other transmigrator running around out there somewhere.
Anyway, when I threw the kunai, they finally noticed me.
The squad leader simply flicked a finger in my direction, and his subordinate effortlessly caught my kunai out of the air, hurled it right back at me, and lunged in my direction.
Damn it, they weren’t even going to underestimate a child!
Monsters!
Oof!
Minus sixty HP.
They still clipped my leg, the bastards, even though I managed to react and dive to the side.
The sheer velocity of that kunai meant the initial throwing force was insane.
I took the unknown shinobi’s follow-up kick on my crossed arms, listening to the sickening crunch of bone.
It didn’t feel like a clean break, but it immediately started swelling—definitely a fracture.
And that wasn’t even due to the enemy’s raw strength; my child-sized bones just couldn’t handle it.
Then again, if I damaged them now, they’d grow back stronger later!
[For displaying the logic of a true masochist, the “Masochist” skill has increased by 5 levels.] Well, at least my pain perception dulled a bit.
But still, my System is an absolute sadist!
Peeling myself off the tree I’d been smashed into, I rolled to the side, ignoring the burning scrape across my back, and threw a punch at my attacker.
For the first time in the fight, the enemy allowed himself a condescending smirk.
He didn’t bother dodging.
However, he didn’t just take the hit to the body, either; he threw his own fist to intercept mine.
The impact dragged me backward across the dirt.
My arm burned like someone had stuffed it full of red-hot needles, and my HP took a massive hit—a solid quarter of it, gone instantly!
But the answering howl of pain from my opponent brought me deep satisfaction.
He clearly hadn’t reinforced his hand enough with chakra, if he had bothered to use any at all, whereas I had been grinding my “Iron Fists” skill quite nicely.
It finally came in handy.
It was a shame he wouldn’t fall for that trick a second time.
But while he was distracted by the sheer shock of having his hand mangled by a toddler—and the accompanying agony—I threw my remaining kunai.
I aimed for the head.
I hit him directly between the legs.
I’m never going to be a sniper.
But hey, one out of five enemies was officially out of the fight.
“Not bad.
For a child, that was actually magnificent,” a voice said right behind me.
I tilted my head back and, predictably, saw another enemy shinobi looming over me.
I will never forget the kick that followed.
I’m pretty sure my body left a permanent dent in the tree trunk I slammed into.
Or maybe I’m just exaggerating because of the static dancing across my vision.
It hurt.
It hurt so much.
“Let’s go.
We don’t have much time,” the man said, turning away.
Jokes on you, buddy.
I still had just under half my HP!
That’s what the food buff from my pre-combat meal was doing!
Didn’t I say I was expecting the worst?
That’s exactly why I had boosted my health regeneration through standard System mechanics.
I threw my three shuriken, slapped an explosive tag onto the handle of the kunai currently lodged in the first guy’s crotch…
honestly, I don’t think he’s ever going to be a man again…
and dashed toward the second guy.
The only actual damage I dealt was the explosion on the newly made eunuch.
They easily dodged the shuriken, but the spinning blades managed to slice open one of the large sacks they were carrying.
One of the quest targets tumbled out onto the grass.
A black-haired girl around my age with two braids, currently tied up and gagged.
Meanwhile, the guy I was charging from behind calmly turned around and punched me squarely in the head, driving me straight into the dirt.
Judging by the frantic squirming from the girl on the ground, she was fully conscious…
I noted as my vision swam.
“What a resilient child.
It’s a shame we don’t have kids like this in our village; I wouldn’t have to worry about the next generation.
What are you standing around for?
Shove her in the other sack and let’s keep moving!” the squad leader barked.
He cut off abruptly as I desperately wrapped my hands around his ankle.
Even if it bought just a few seconds, I was taking it.
The very next second, his Killing Intent slammed into me like a physical weight.
“You’d better let go,” he drawled, his voice turning deadly.
Trust me, I wanted to!
But my fingers had literally turned to wood!
You need to dial back the bloodlust, buddy, I can’t even remember how to breathe!
I’m not being heroic right now; the only reason I haven’t wet myself is because my bladder is so paralyzed by fear it’s clamped shut!
Not exactly the stuff of legends, but it’s the honest truth!
Crunch!
A heavy kick landed on my ribs, but my fingers, locked tight by absolute terror, refused to uncurl.
Crunch!
My vision went dark and never fully cleared.
Crunch!
Judging by the impact of the new kick, I still hadn’t let go.
Damn it, how much HP did I have left?
I couldn’t even focus on my interface to check the bar.
“Help!” I have no idea how, but the little girl had managed to spit out her gag, judging by the terrified child’s scream echoing through the trees.
A notification flickered through the darkness of my vision: [Due to a shift in the event parameters, you only need to hold out for ten more seconds!] Crunch!
“Shut…
up…
and get…!” My hearing was officially checking out.
Come on, hands, uncurl!
Forget the event, don’t force me to restart this whole life from scratch!
Crunch!
I couldn’t even form hand seals for anything else.
My arms weren’t responding.
One was definitely broken, and the other had developed a mind of its own.
[Countdown complete!] A chorus of shouts and massive explosions erupted overhead, and my consciousness finally faded to black.
Man, please let me wake up in this body.
I don’t want to do this all over again!
Then again, if I respawned, at least I’d know what to do and could optimize my build from the start.
That wouldn’t be too bad!