38. Gear Turning

Carrying the little brat into the bedroom, Uchiha Gin casually removed the apron and jacket from him.

The kid wasn't wearing any undergarments, though he had underwear on. Uchiha Gin couldn't help but glance at the front; the child was so soft and pink, with no melanin to be seen.

He quickly averted his gaze, fearing that his Sharingan might get an infection from seeing too much. After covering the kid with a blanket, Uchiha Gin stepped out.

He went outside to deal with Senju Itama's "masterpiece."

There was no way he was going to eat it; the trash can was its rightful destination.

After tidying up a bit, Uchiha Gin headed to the backyard. The sun hadn't set yet, so he wanted to see if he could unlock any skills during the day.

Sitting cross-legged as before, he closed his eyes and waited. Moments later, as the surrounding atmosphere condensed, Uchiha Gin opened his eyes, a glint of realization in them.

It seemed the skill refresh wasn't tied to a specific time. Even during the day, as long as he was in the backyard, there was a chance for a skill to refresh.

His familiar "old friend" appeared once more. Staring at the man who appeared before him without warning, Uchiha Gin sighed.

With only two tomoe in his Sharingan, he was completely outmatched against a ninja like Uchiha Itachi.

But he couldn't just do nothing, right? The system's NPCs had no emotional memories and only focused on fighting.

"If I live long enough to see your birth, I swear I'll flick your little pecker 10,000 times!"

Thinking of the Uchiha Itachi who would be born many years later, he made a vow in his heart. It didn't matter if his father was the clan leader or his brother the savior—he'd beat him senseless.

"Come on, bring on the storm!"

Uchiha Gin stood up, activating his Sharingan, ready to put up a fight.

The moment he activated his Sharingan, he realized something strange: his left eye seemed significantly stronger than his right. Staring at Uchiha Itachi, he felt a sensation like he could learn from him.

Three tomoe? That feeling could only be explained by his Sharingan evolving into three tomoe.

The surge in ocular power filled him with confidence. With three tomoe, he was just one step away from the Mangekyou Sharingan. Maybe he had a fighting chance.

In the next instant, their eyes met, and the result of this ocular power clash was quickly determined.

Uchiha Gin collapsed onto the ground, once again entering the Tsukuyomi world. He even felt a strange sense of coming home.

This time, instead of immediately being crucified, their ocular powers continued to clash within the Tsukuyomi space. Feeling his power rapidly drain, Uchiha Gin knew he was no match and couldn't break free.

Though the result was the same, at least this time he tried his best.

Over and over, Uchiha Itachi stabbed his blade into Uchiha Gin's wounds, subjecting him to 72 hours of torment once more.

One second later, Uchiha Gin rose slowly from where he had fallen. Not only had his left eye advanced, but his right eye, imbued with black flames, had also evolved into three tomoe.

"Daily backyard refresh: Random Skill [Genjutsu: Tsukuyomi], Acquired Tsukuyomi Fragments x5."

[Tsukuyomi Fragments (10/40). Collect 40 fragments to unlock the Genjutsu Tsukuyomi skill. Requires Mangekyou Sharingan.]

Seeing that he had earned five Tsukuyomi fragments, Uchiha Gin confirmed his suspicions.

As long as he fought with all his strength against the system's NPCs, even if he lost in the end, the rewards would be greater than if he had simply given up.

It was all about that "human touch."

As the rewards settled, Uchiha Gin's body was restored to its original state, and the trauma from Tsukuyomi disappeared like smoke.

"Gurgle, gurgle~"

His stomach growled, reminding Uchiha Gin that he hadn't eaten all day. It was time to make himself a meal to soothe his wounded soul.

Meanwhile, at Uchiha Tajima's residence, Tajima was in his study, browsing through clan records on the Uzumaki Clan.

The Uchiha and Uzumaki clans were separated by the Senju Clan. Aside from facing each other on the battlefield, the two clans had little interaction.

As he went through records of battles with the Uzumaki, Uchiha Tajima came across an entry in the corner of a page.

It described how, during a chaotic skirmish, a member of the Uchiha Clan who had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan was sealed by an Uzumaki clan member using a life-draining sealing technique. The Uchiha's eyes remained sealed until his death.

Reading this, Uchiha Tajima frowned and pondered.

"Could it be this kind of seal?"

According to the record, the Uzumaki who performed the sealing technique had their fiery red hair turn white instantly and was left completely powerless. In the end, they were killed by the Uchiha whose eyes they had sealed.

Uchiha Gin had only mentioned a small pearl that triggered the sealing technique, which shouldn't have been strong enough to break his seal.

Remembering Uchiha Haru's words about slight contact, could it be that the sealing technique had made a crack in his own seal?

As Uchiha Gin's Sharingan awakened, his ocular power must have seeped through that crack, slowly eating away at the seal over time.

The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. Uchiha Tajima felt a bit uneasy. His eyes had already used a major ocular technique once and were currently in a cooldown period.

If Uchiha Gin broke his seal before the cooldown ended and recalled what had happened, how would he deal with him?

Knock, knock, knock~

A rapid knocking interrupted Uchiha Tajima's thoughts. "Come in."

"Father, I have something to report."

An out-of-breath Uchiha Izuna appeared, drenched in sweat as if he had just run a marathon.

"What is it, Izuna?"

Uchiha Tajima was always gentle with his children.

"Father, do you remember telling me to keep an eye on what big brother has been up to lately?"

After catching his breath, Uchiha Izuna continued,

"So, have you found something?"

Uchiha Tajima asked curiously. Uchiha Madara was his future successor, and any issues had to be corrected early.

"I followed him a few times and found that he's been going to a nearby river frequently."

Uchiha Izuna pressed his lips together before continuing,

"I discovered that he's been meeting a strange child there, and they've become quite close."

"Really? Who is this person?"

Upon hearing that his beloved son was mingling with an outsider, Uchiha Tajima immediately asked.

"I couldn't tell. I asked big brother, but he said he didn't know."

Uchiha Izuna was heartbroken that his most admired brother would protect an outsider, even scolding him over it.

"Alright, the next time Madara goes to meet this person, come and tell me at once."

Uchiha Tajima's eyes gleamed as a plan began to take shape in his mind.

"Achoo!"

Uchiha Gin, who had just finished cooking, shivered.

It was strange to feel a chill while standing over a hot stove.

After finishing the meal, Uchiha Gin remembered there was someone else in the house. He went to the bedroom to wake up Senju Itama, ready to show him what true culinary skills were.

Senju Itama's sleeping posture was terrible. The blanket Uchiha Gin had covered him with was now kicked off, leaving him almost entirely exposed except for his underwear.

It was February, and although the Land of Fire didn't get snow, the weather was still quite chilly.

Worried that the kid might catch a cold, Uchiha Gin pulled the blanket back up with one hand while shaking the sleeping Senju Itama with the other.

After a bit of shaking, Senju Itama slowly woke up from his short nap.

Groggily, he saw someone sitting by the bed, one hand pulling off his blanket, the other on his body. As he came to his senses, he suddenly woke up fully.

Seeing Uchiha Gin by his bedside, looking impatient, and realizing his upper body was fully exposed, Senju Itama let out the loudest scream since he'd been captured.

"Ahhh! Pervert!!!"

Uchiha Gin immediately covered the boy's mouth to block the sound that was rattling his eardrums, only for Itama to struggle even harder.

In his fury and embarrassment, Itama grabbed whatever was nearby and hurled it at him, but Uchiha Gin dodged everything effortlessly.

Crash!

A sharp noise echoed as one of the objects flew past Uchiha Gin. Turning to look, he saw that Itama had smashed a framed family photo on the wall, shattering the glass.

Startled by the sound, Itama calmed down and quickly pulled the blanket over himself, leaving only his small head exposed. With a complicated expression, he said,

"I didn't mean to."

--

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