Chapter 145

"You two! Do you have a problem with the village or with me!?"

Hiruzen glared at Sakumo and Gin, practically on the verge of rolling up his sleeves and taking them on himself.

Gin averted his gaze, looking at the ceiling, unwilling to answer that question. He definitely had some issues with him, but saying it now would only make things more awkward.

Sakumo, on the other hand, scratched his head awkwardly, not daring to say anything to the enraged Hiruzen. They had indeed messed up, and things had escalated beyond what they had expected.

"If you had any complaints, you should have just said so! Why did you two have to break down Konoha's gate!?"

Hiruzen clutched his chest, feeling like he might have a heart attack.

Konoha had stood for so many years, and who would dare to mess with its gate? Well, now he'd seen it—the two culprits were standing right in front of him.

That gate had been built during the time of the First Hokage and had stood strong until now. It could have lasted many more years—he had hoped to see it when he was old and reminisce about the past.

But now, because of these two...

The gate was gone, and the two Special Jōnin guarding it had been sent to the hospital.

He had never seen anything so outrageous before!

"My poor gate..." Hiruzen lamented in despair.

"It was his idea," Gin immediately pointed at Sakumo, trying to shift the blame.

Sakumo was the one who had suggested a race, and in the final moments, it was Sakumo who had used a jutsu first. Gin felt he had a valid point. None of this would have happened if it weren't for Sakumo.

"Half of the gate was smashed by you," Sakumo shot back, dragging Gin down with him.

Both of them had contributed to the destruction of the gate, so neither could escape responsibility.

"How shameless, trying to blame me, a child!" Gin protested, rolling up his sleeves, ready to fight it out.

"You, a child? With how obsessed you are with adult women, you've got no right to call yourself a kid!" Sakumo wasn't one to back down either, and he rolled up his sleeves.

The two of them started grappling with each other.

Gin landed a punch, giving Sakumo a black eye. Sakumo retaliated with two punches, but Gin followed up with another blow, giving Sakumo not only a black eye but a bruised nose as well.

Hiruzen watched the escalating fight, veins throbbing on his forehead.

"You two..."

He raised his hand, and with a puff of smoke, a large black-and-gold staff appeared in his grip.

"Enough! Stop this nonsense!!"

Hiruzen swung his staff, and in one blow, he demolished half of the Hokage's office. Gin and Sakumo lay on the floor, looking up through the hole in the ceiling, their expressions innocent.

This wasn't their fault.

It was Hiruzen's doing, yet now he was angrier than ever. Clutching his chest, he felt that if he continued arguing with these two, he might very well pass away from sheer frustration.

"Fix that gate today! Or neither of you will get any rest!"

As for the office... he'd deal with that later himself.

In the end, Gin and Sakumo managed to repair the gate.

By the time they were done, the bruises on Gin's face had already healed, while Sakumo, still sporting two black eyes, headed home.

After all, Sakumo didn't have the benefit of Senzai to heal like Gin.

"Ha! Ha ha ha!"

Gin couldn't help but burst out laughing. Even the passing members of the Uchiha clan seemed more likable today.

"Gin-sama!" Passing shinobi greeted Gin enthusiastically.

"Black Demon-sama!" A group of young children ran up, surrounding him.

"Black Demon-sama, will we be as strong as you one day?" One young Uchiha child looked up at Gin with admiration in his eyes.

"Ha ha." Gin laughed and patted the child's head.

"Not likely."

He still remembered how this group of brats used to mock him. Did they think he wasn't one to hold grudges?

Especially this kid in front of him—he was one of the worst offenders.

Just because he had grown a little taller didn't mean Gin had forgotten.

He remembered it all perfectly.

"If you want to catch up to me, you'll have to wait for your next life."

At that, all the little kids burst into tears and ran home to tattle on him.

Gin's laughter echoed through the streets, a stark contrast to the crying of the young ones.

Anyone who pointed at him was quickly silenced with a glare.

"You really do hold grudges, don't you?" Yashiro, who had come to see what was going on, shook his head in dismay at Gin's behavior.

"I do not."

Gin shrugged.

"I was just stating the truth—it's for their own good."

In Gin's mind, the Uchiha clan's strength was all about their eyes and bloodline. He even suspected that many of the clan members couldn't awaken the Sharingan because of insufficient bloodline purity.

He glanced at Yashiro, noticing that apart from the prominent scar on his face, not much else had changed.

"You've grown quite a bit."

Yashiro hadn't seen Gin for over two years.

"Stop treating me like a kid, Yashiro-nii," Gin said, pulling his hand back into his sleeve.

"I'm much stronger than you now."

At this point, Gin's strength, aside from a lack of chakra, was among the best. Even the older members of the Uchiha clan would struggle against him.

Only Fugaku might still pose a challenge.

"Ha ha ha." Yashiro laughed awkwardly. "True, I suppose I should start calling you Black Demon-sama."

"Enough of that," Gin quickly waved off Yashiro's formalities. As for how the Uchiha clan had come to know about his accomplishments, that was the Patriarch's doing.

That old man was as sharp as Hiruzen.

"Gin."

"Hmm?"

"If you have the time, lend the clan a hand. The Uchiha don't have it easy in Konoha." Yashiro's voice was sincere, almost pleading.

He was a conservative member of the Uchiha clan, always looking for ways to bridge the gap between the village and the clan.

However, the Uchiha also needed fresh, powerful blood to lead them.

Despite being an Uchiha, Gin had always distanced himself from the clan, never fully integrating with the younger generation.

"Yashiro-nii, when did you become Hoka's messenger?" Gin couldn't help but wonder. Yashiro had never said things like this before, so it was natural to suspect Uchiha Hoka's influence.

"At least show some respect for the elders," Yashiro replied, his face darkening slightly. Gin truly had no regard for the clan's elders.

"But no, this is my own request."

It was indeed Yashiro's own wish.

At the moment, Hoka hadn't been too concerned with Gin.

"I see." Gin nodded in understanding.

"Don't worry. I'll lead the Uchiha to new heights."

Though his tone was calm, Yashiro felt a surge of excitement.

This was the true spirit of the Uchiha.

"After all, I'm a member of the radical faction, not as extreme as the conservatives."

After all, the conservatives were too radical.

Uchiha Yashiro: "???"

(End of Chapter)

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