85. Speechless

Helplessly turning his head, Uchiha Gin found himself facing an all-too-familiar sight—the old prison guard, Spectre, standing in the shadows behind him. His gray, pallid figure blended eerily into the darkness, and the faint black gleam in his eyes sent shivers down anyone's spine.

"Now?" Uchiha Gin sighed inwardly, having almost completely forgotten about the old man. Why was he coming to him at a time like this?

Spectre nodded silently, his face expressionless, and without giving Gin a chance to react, he transformed into a mass of black sludge, engulfing him entirely. In the blink of an eye, they disappeared into the dark hallway.

Wrapped in the black sludge, Uchiha Gin rubbed his chin with a slight headache. The last thing he wanted now was to get involved with Spectre, who always had a sinister air about him, or the crazed Uchiha Igaku.

He had assumed that after six years of no contact, the old man must have kicked the bucket by now. To think he was still alive.

Just as Uchiha Gin was contemplating whether or not to hit Spectre with an Amaterasu, he noticed the scene around him change. In an instant, he found himself back in the abandoned dungeon where Uchiha Igaku was being held.

The once hardy elder now appeared hunched over, with deep wrinkles etched into his face. His remaining eye had turned a dull, grayish hue, and his entire body exuded the aura of death, as if he were moments away from passing on.

"Gin, I'm almost at my end," the old man croaked, his hoarse voice devoid of emotion as he struggled to lift his head upon seeing Uchiha Gin.

"I can already sense my impending death, but I'm not content. I haven't yet witnessed Uchiha Tajima's downfall with my own eyes."

"But there's nothing I can do. I can't defeat Uchiha Tajima," Uchiha Gin said, spreading his hands in a gesture of helplessness, as the old man started lamenting.

"The mission, has it begun?" The elder ignored Gin's feigned helplessness and shifted the conversation back to the task at hand.

"What mission?" Uchiha Gin's heart skipped a beat, though his expression remained neutral, feigning ignorance.

"Heh, no need to play dumb. Spectre has already informed me that Uchiha Tajima gave you the mission today, didn't he?"

Despite Gin's attempts to feign ignorance, the old man wasn't concerned. His focus was solely on the mission's progress.

Spectre, huh? Uchiha Gin shot a glance at the old prison guard standing silently in the corner, a twinge of caution rising in his heart.

This guy had somehow managed to hide right under his nose and eavesdrop on his conversation with Uchiha Tajima, and he hadn't noticed a thing.

"Fine. Yes, Uchiha Tajima told me about the mission today," Gin admitted, seeing that there was no way to lie his way out of this one. Casually, he added, "Have you been using this clone of yours to spy on Uchiha Tajima and relay information to you?"

"There's no need for probing. Spectre is my will incarnate. He tells me everything. I'm fully aware of all that happens outside," Uchiha Igaku said proudly, as if everything was under his control.

Really tells you everything, huh? Uchiha Gin glanced surreptitiously at the prison guard, thinking to himself that the old man was being strung along, without realizing it. Spectre was likely keeping a few secrets of his own.

"This is our last chance. When the time comes, I will have Spectre accompany you. His stealth capabilities are beyond detection. Once the nameless one is released, you three will corner Uchiha Tajima, and he will die without a trace," the elder said, his tone resolute.

Gin was stunned at the thought of teaming up with Spectre, who he sarcastically thought of as the "ultimate loyalist." He was in no hurry to agree, given that he currently had no means of dealing with someone as dangerous as Wang Liang.

Spectre, being a creation of Yin-Yang Release, couldn't be permanently destroyed with normal methods. Gin could only regret not being just a simple person with the power to crush Black Zetsu with a blade.

"Alright, alright. I'll do my best," Uchiha Gin said dismissively, with no real enthusiasm. He needed to come up with a way to knock some sense into the old man. If not, the elder would continue to be led astray by Spectre, dragging his ancient bones around in pursuit of endless revenge.

With his final instructions given, Uchiha Igaku slumped back into his chair, closing his eyes to signal the end of the conversation. Spectre, without a word, once again wrapped Gin in black sludge and whisked him out of the dungeon.

"Such a hassle!"

Uchiha Gin, who had somehow found a way to exploit the immortality bug, had been plagued by one annoying event after another recently.

Sometimes he fantasized about running away with Senju Itama to some isolated place and laying low. But having crossed over into this world, there were too many interesting characters from the original story that he still wanted to meet.

Shaking off his fleeting thoughts of escapism, Gin scratched his head as he wandered through the streets of the Uchiha clan grounds. Suddenly, from afar, he spotted two familiar figures.

Senju Itama and a purple-haired girl were huddled together at a stall, picking something out.

Curious, Gin quietly crept closer to see what they were up to.

"Sister Haruka, don't you think this doll is adorable?" Itama beamed, holding up a green plush toy and enthusiastically showing it to the purple-haired girl beside him. Though judging by the doll's appearance, it didn't seem like something a girl would like—after all, no girl really liked caterpillars.

"It is quite cute. This little bug will surely become a beautiful butterfly," the girl replied, surprisingly not showing any hint of rejection. She took the plush toy from him with a gentle smile, inspecting it closely.

Unexpectedly, the girl liked the caterpillar doll, making Uchiha Gin, who was observing from the side, sigh to himself, Like attracts like.

"Boss, I'll take two!"

Seeing that the girl shared his taste, Itama grinned and waved his hand, buying two plush toys at once, showing off his rich-kid energy.

"Alright, that'll be 14,000 ryo," the vendor said, beaming with joy as he quickly wrapped up the caterpillar dolls. Itama, in turn, cheerfully handed over the money.

"Thank you for your business~" the vendor chimed, his bright red hair standing out in the crowd.

"Sister Haruka, this one's for you," Itama said, smiling as he handed one of the caterpillar toys to the purple-haired girl. Before she could refuse, he added, "It's not my money, so don't worry—just take it. No sense in letting that guy's money go to waste."

"You brat, using my money to pick up girls and badmouthing me in the process? Take this, a punch of righteous fury!" Unable to bear Itama's brazen comments any longer, Uchiha Gin finally stepped forward, smacking the kid on the head.

"Huh?" Itama wilted instantly when he saw Gin, but the Senju clan prided itself on toughness, so even if his body surrendered, his mouth wouldn't.

"You curly-haired baboon, instead of working in broad daylight, you're stalking underage girls? You pervert!"

"What?" Gin was completely baffled by Itama's accusation.

"I mean… you were stalking Sister Haruka! No wonder you're thirty and still single. Turns out you've got this kind of hobby," Itama blurted out, realizing he had said too much. In a quick attempt to shift the blame, he pushed the bewildered purple-haired girl in front of him, condemning Gin's actions with righteous indignation.

"I didn't know Gin-sensei was this type of person!"