Triggering a Side Quest, All In!

"Outside of the Great Ninja War era, a single explosive tag costs eight thousand ryo. Once I return to the Naruto world, I can use my accumulated royalties to secretly purchase one hundred of them through the Akimichi Clan's ninja cat channels."

"I won't feel a pinch using them."

"But if possible, I hope I don't have to use that stuff. It was a trump card I only managed to buy from the Akimichi Clan after pulling strings with a classmate."

"It cost me a 'friendship discount' of two hundred thousand ryo apiece."

His gaze involuntarily drifted toward the small ninja tool pouch at his waist.

Sizzle!

After lingering for a moment to make minor adjustments, Uchiha Xiu utilized his chakra to leap between the cabin walls, maintaining a state of rapid movement.

Suddenly, a drop of blood abruptly corroded through the metal ceiling, dripping down from the level above, and continued to eat through another layer of metal flooring before stopping.

"Hm?"

Having sensed the unexpected danger in advance, Uchiha Xiu halted his steps, his heart stirring as he instinctively drew a kunai into his hand: Could there still be a surviving crew member from the previous batch who managed to wound a Xenomorph?

The way he braked instantly from a full sprint fully displayed his powerful and flexible physical conditioning.

"..."

Pausing briefly to confirm there was no immediate danger, Uchiha Xiu continued on his way, activating the basic Body Flicker Technique.

His entire body shot forward like a cannonball, his speed continuing to climb.

Target: The level above!

Saving a key plot character grants extra side mission rewards; no reincarnator would ever complain about too little personal gain.

Especially someone like him...

Bang!

In the blink of an eye, a dilapidated freight elevator on the spaceship trembled slightly, and the swarm of Facehuggers that had just crawled over lost their target.

Until clink, a kunai with an explosive tag tied to its end embedded itself into the floor.

It landed right in the middle of them.

"Detonate."

BOOM, light and heat erupted.

His personal reward point total ticked upward.

However, a real man never looks back at explosions, and Uchiha Xiu, fearing he wasn't moving fast enough, leaped into the air. He steadied himself in mid-flight and continued to maintain high-speed maneuvering, not hesitating to expend extra stamina and chakra.

Normally, even the most basic Body Flicker Technique is not something a ninja waiting to be promoted to Chunin can play around with; being able to use it to save one's life at a critical moment is already quite impressive.

But he knew what he was doing.

Almost there.

The unplanned expenditure was within an acceptable range.

With these two thoughts flickering through his mind, Uchiha Xiu charged into the spaceship's conference room!

His Sharingan immediately locked onto a corner near the room's entrance, where a Drone Xenomorph with a head injury was engulfed in flames.

Instinctively raising his hand, he sent a kunai flying.

When facing swarms of cannon fodder or individual elite monsters, explosive tags are sufficient.

Simultaneously, he grabbed the woman holding the flamethrower and dove behind a counter.

Without seeing anything clearly, the freighter's flight officer, Ripley, only felt a blur before her eyes and the world spinning; she was tackled to the ground.

Thud!

The cabinet, weighing several tons, shook as its surface temperature rose, successfully blocking the splash damage.

The fourth explosive tag had been consumed.

It was fortunate that the space freighter was sturdy and massive enough to support such an intensity of explosion; otherwise, the East Sea Team would have been forced to perform a "drifting in space" act.

But that wouldn't have mattered much either.

If he weren't strong enough, Uchiha Xiu would have considered activating the ship's self-destruct system and leaving in an escape pod.

That would still count as completing the main mission.

Saving the heroine in time—my split-second decision was correct.

Uchiha Xiu had, of course, confirmed the identity of the woman in his arms.

Her facial features were rigid and not particularly beautiful, but her brow revealed a sense of unyielding, steely grit.

The omnipresent voice of the Main God then echoed.

His wristwatch refreshed—

[Saved Alien series protagonist Ripley. Reward: 1 D-rank side mission plot, 500 reward points!]

[Side quest initiated: Escort Ripley to the escape shuttle and ensure she departs the Nostromo within thirty minutes.]

[Quest completion reward: One C-rank side story, 1,500 reward points.]

[Failure penalty: Deduction of 1,000 reward points.]

"You... it's you! You're the security officer from our merchant ship, the genetically modified soldier!"

At this moment, Ripley steadied herself. After recognizing Uchiha Xiu's face, she lunged toward him again as if grabbing onto a lifeline.

"...The planet where the ship landed has a monster... it parasitized the executive officer, Kane..."

"...The monsters are multiplying; there wasn't enough time to wake you all from the cryo-pods. I didn't expect you to make it out... Where are the others? Are you the only one left?"

The female flight officer trembled as she struggled to organize her words.

Weyland-Yutani Corporation security? A genetically modified human. Tsk, the role the Main God arranged is quite interesting. Uchiha Xiu muttered to himself, patting the woman on the shoulder to offer comfort.

"Ripley, we also encountered monster attacks after we came out, but we've already taken down quite a few."

Seeing that his charge had calmed down slightly, Uchiha Xiu spoke, following her lead: "You're the only one hiding here; where are the others?"

"They're all dead... their chests were ripped open..."

"Right, right, I understand. Excluding the security team and yourself, how many crew members were on the freighter in total?"

"Ten. By the way, can you save Jones?"

"What is that?"

"My cat. An orange tabby. It might still be alive."

Xiu: "..."

Save the furball?

I'll see if fate allows it.

If it's on the way, no problem.

In the original movie plot, this orange cat was actually quite sharp. When it encountered a Xenomorph, it didn't stand its ground and hiss like a fool.

It fled all the way to its owner's side and boarded the escape shuttle, requiring almost no one to worry about it throughout the entire ordeal.

"I'll do my best, depending on the situation."

"Thank you." Ripley nodded, stifling her sobs.

"Wait here for a moment."

With those words, Uchiha Xiu stood up and left the space behind the locker.

His tone held little warmth.

It was precisely this calm attitude that allowed Ripley, whose nerves had been frayed for too long, to gradually stabilize.

One Queen.

Nine adult Xenomorphs.

Several Facehuggers and eggs—mere fodder.

At most, add one Xenomorph mutated from a giant orange cat.

"I've already insta-killed three worker drones on my way here."

"Also, among those six temporary team members, there might be some with poor luck or weak mental fortitude who have already been parasitized."

"Regardless, the overall difficulty is controllable. The advantage is mine!"

"Speedrun it... don't drag it out and let things go sideways."

Quickly weighing the situation, Uchiha Xiu raised his hands, pressed his index and middle fingers together, and crossed them.

Ren!

With just a single seal, the chakra in his body was instantly split in two, and a figure materialized out of thin air beside him.

"Protect her, head to the escape shuttle immediately, and ensure the side quest goes off without a hitch."

"Understood."

After whispering the order, Uchiha Xiu's original body tossed out two explosive kunai, a spool of specialized steel wire, and two shuriken sealing scrolls before darting out.

Shadow Clone Technique, B-rank learning difficulty.

By evenly distributing the original body's chakra to create a physical clone, it possesses independent consciousness to execute attacks and tactics.

"It's the highest-difficulty ninjutsu I've mastered so far."

"The ultimate trump card, use it."

"Money is just dirt!"

"The side quest and kill rewards combined will bring in gains far exceeding those few silver coins and favors."

Decisive, Uchiha Xiu pulled out a small green pill and tossed it into his mouth, chewing.

Akimichi Clan primary secret medicine: Spinach Pill. It is a precious item that provides a minor recovery of chakra, triggers a thirty-percent burst of potential, and triples physical strength.

As for the drawbacks? Every moment of explosive potential is repaid with equal agony.

Uchiha Xiu could endure it.

Immediately, a warm current surged through his acupoints and meridians, compensating for the deficit caused by splitting his chakra.

"Speedrun, start!"