Chapter 86: AI Technology Really Is Impressive

My name is Uchiha Jiri, twelve years old this year. My father sacrificed himself the year I was born. My mother is just an ordinary housewife.Six years ago, while running errands to help support my family, I met a very interesting kid and became good friends with him.

When Uchiha Jiri heard her friend's outrageous words, her delicate little face showed a hint of surprise. She looked up at Uchiha Gin, her expression awkward, her tone hesitant.

"Gin-san… if you really feel that way… please, endure it for a few more years. Right now I…"

"Ahhh! This is all your fault, you little brat, spouting nonsense!"

Gin grabbed the little troublemaker by the scruff, veins popping on his forehead as he clenched his fists, clearly ready to teach him a lesson.

"No! Jiri, save me!"

Senju Itama, knowing well what the iron fist of justice felt like, panicked and called out to his dear friend for help.But to his shock, that gentle face now wore an ambiguous smile, and her narrowed eyes seemed to emit a faint black aura.

"Ara ara, you two really do have such a close relationship,"

Jiri said, resting her chin on her hand, tilting her head slightly with an expression of "admiration." Clearly, letting her friend take the heat came with a price.

No! I never should have bared my soul to these devious Uchiha! They're all rotten inside!Itama's heart sank as he looked at his most trusted friend, tears of regret streaming down his cheeks.

"Achoo~ Hono really has no taste. I went to so much trouble to get this new stash…"

Elsewhere, in the dungeon, a stocky youth wiped his nose as he secretly flipped through a heavily censored book.

"Jiri-chan, I'm taking Itama home now. Come visit sometime — I've got plenty of candy ready."

Gin, now in much better spirits, slung the foaming-at-the-mouth Itama over his shoulder and turned to Jiri with a bright smile.A hard-working, sensible little Jiri was exactly Gin's dream child.

What a contrast.Glancing at the brat on his shoulder, Gin thought to himself: this kid's just pure trouble.

"All right, stalker Gin-san,"

…What?

Gin froze, stunned, as the purple-haired, black-hearted girl covered her mouth in mock surprise, then whispered with an apologetic look,"Oh no, I accidentally said what I was thinking out loud."

Deciding this place was no longer safe, Gin carried Itama home, tossed the unconscious little brat onto the bed, and left without looking back.

On the bed, Itama's ears twitched. Once he heard the door close, he slowly opened his eyes, his gaze complicated.

Back in his own room, Gin began preparing for tomorrow's mission. He pulled out a pile of equipment from his system-issued pouch and carefully checked them one by one, finally selecting three and stowing the rest away.

"These three should be enough to avoid getting one-shotted, right?"

Rubbing his chin, he nodded in satisfaction at his chosen set.

On the left was the Thorn Vest he'd drawn the very first time, in the center the Dragon's Claw necklace, and on the right a wooden Warden's Armor he'd drawn later.

"Shame I can only wear three… otherwise I'd be flying right now."

The system's equipment had a three-piece limit — anything more simply didn't count.

"Let's go test the defense."

Gin wore the Thorn Vest as an underlayer, the Warden's Armor over it, and the Dragon's Claw around his neck.He could feel the strong life energy flowing from the equipment, filling him with a deep sense of security.

Out in the backyard, he warmed up a bit and found the gear didn't weigh him down at all — light as a feather.

As he was stretching, the air in the backyard suddenly froze, and that familiar shimmering screen appeared, bringing with it a new figure.

"Ah, a new NPC,"

Gin raised an eyebrow, standing still as he waited for the other to make the first move.

This NPC had long, straight black hair, a coldly handsome but sickly pale face, and eyes that looked like vertical snake pupils. Under the faint purple eyeshadow, the features seemed both alluring and eerie.

First time seeing Snake Auntie. He wondered what skills he could learn from him.

Recognizing the NPC's identity at a glance, Gin was already grinning. With his current strength, ordinary NPCs were nothing but target practice — it had been a while since he'd faced someone evenly matched.

Fifty-fifty match: …?Might Guy: Fine, next time I'll just use Night Guy!

The Orochimaru NPC stood there, eyes dull and lifeless, no different from the usual.But strangely, even after standing there for a long while, he didn't attack.

"…Hey hey hey, don't tell me this is just a training dummy,"

Gin muttered as he approached curiously, ready to inspect the NPC for any bugs.

Just as his finger was about to touch the motionless Orochimaru, the NPC suddenly jerked, the snake pupils glinting with life. Gin's heart skipped a beat as he quickly jumped back.

He frowned as Orochimaru began forming hand seals, and for a brief moment Gin swore he saw a faint smirk flash in the NPC's eyes.

No time to think. Suddenly, countless dark shapes surged toward him — a tide of venomous snakes.

Mandara no Jin (Ten Thousand Snakes Formation)

One of Orochimaru's signature early techniques.Although the venomous swarm looked terrifying, to Gin now it was just… underwhelming.Still creepy though.

More scary than dangerous.

Deciding to test his gear's performance, Gin forced himself to ignore the disgust, held his breath, and raised his arms to shield his face as he let the snakes wash over him.

Feeling the cold, stinking snakes slither across his body gave him chills, but he soon noticed their fangs couldn't even break his defenses.

A faint green aura from the Warden's Armor covered him entirely, blocking all the bites.

Satisfied, Gin lowered his arms and calmly waited for the snakes to disperse.

The Mandara no Jin lasted a full ten minutes before the snake tide receded. Gin casually dug at his ear and smirked,"That's it? That's all you've got?"

Perhaps stung by the mockery, Orochimaru's snake eyes glimmered as he started forming seals again, ready for round two.

"Yeah, no thanks!"

Gin had had enough. A long spear crackling with lightning formed in his hand. He leveled it at Orochimaru and murmured,Chidori Ryu: Chidori Spear

The lightning spear instantly extended, piercing Orochimaru's chest just as he opened his mouth to summon more snakes.

Before the screen reclaimed the NPC, Gin could faintly see a knowing smile on Orochimaru's face as he fell.

"…Has AI technology improved this much already?"

It wasn't the first time he'd noticed odd behavior from the NPCs. Gin scratched his head, baffled.Could it be the NPCs were running on AI now?

(End of Chapter)

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