19. Farewell

Read 30 advanced chapters here (with update rate of 5-10 chapters/day):

Patreon.com/rashta/shop

Buy once and read it for a lifetime.

(No monthly membership)

------

Uchiha Gin, who had just arrived, looked at the two kids' actions with a strange expression. He didn't speak up until Senju Itama was almost flipped over.

If Uzumaki Mito ended up killing the Senju kid by accident, Gin would have to face the consequences as well.

"Ah! You're back? How's my brother?"

Seeing Uchiha Gin, the girl dropped the branch she was holding and circled around him twice, then began patting him up and down.

"You're not hurt? Does that mean you didn't go?"

Gin flicked her forehead with his finger, silencing her chatter.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

Mito, tears welling up at the corners of her eyes, covered her reddening forehead.

"Men and women should keep their distance, except for an older lady in black stockings."

Ignoring her complaints, Gin pulled out a trembling black and red orb and handed it to her.

Mito, still teary-eyed, was momentarily stunned, stammering, "Y-you actually did it?"

Even without using her sensing abilities, Mito could tell from the aura that the orb contained her elder brother, Uzumaki Hanamichi.

"What do you plan to do with him?" she asked anxiously, biting her lip.

She had never imagined her brother would lose to this unreliable Uchiha.

Although her instincts told her he wasn't evil, sometimes conflicts between clans outweighed individual morality.

Narrowing his eyes, Gin rubbed the orb in his hands a few times. Without a second thought, he tossed it back to her, much to Mito's surprise.

"Huh?"

Catching the orb in a panic, Mito looked at him in disbelief. "You're just giving him back like that? My brother is an important figure in the Uzumaki clan. If you handed him over to your clan, you'd be richly rewarded."

"Such a shrewd kid," Gin said, looking at her. Though following her suggestion would ensure clear orders from the Uchiha clan leader, it would also sow an irreparable grudge with the Uzumaki clan.

"As the saying goes, 'More friends, more roads; more enemies, more walls.' If I ever fall out of favor with the Uchiha, I might need to seek refuge with you."

Gin spoke with a nonchalant, deadpan expression.

Hearing this, Mito gave him a peculiar look before stashing the orb away. Then, she grabbed Gin's left hand and pulled him closer.

Gin was startled but noticed her hands glowing with a blue light. As he was about to pull away, Mito stopped him.

"Don't move. I'm using a secret technique of the Uzumaki clan to mark you with a chakra seal. If you're ever without a home, you can use this seal to seek help from the Uzumaki clan."

However, before she could complete the technique, a strong red light flared and knocked her back.

"What's going on? How did it fail?"

Surprised, Mito hurriedly came back and examined Gin's left hand over and over. Even with her sensing abilities, she couldn't detect anything wrong.

Was it really a failure? Gin clenched and unclenched his left hand but felt nothing unusual.

Maybe Mito wasn't proficient enough in her clan's secret arts yet.

"If that doesn't work, maybe try my other hand? Or my foot?" Gin suggested, lifting a foot in jest.

Startled, Mito quickly grabbed his right hand and tried again. This time, it worked smoothly.

A cool sensation flowed into Gin's hand, and he saw a spiral mark, the Uzumaki clan's crest, appear on the back of his right hand before it disappeared after a few seconds.

"What do you plan to do next?" Gin asked, now marked with the Uzumaki clan's seal, while looking down at Mito's swaying buns.

"The seal on my brother can only be undone by my father. I've been out wandering long enough, so it's time for me to head back."

Knowing her brother's importance to the clan, Mito had no choice but to return home, even though she still yearned for more adventure.

"So, this is goodbye?" Gin raised an eyebrow.

"People in the ninja world don't always have a choice in such matters," Mito sighed, trying to act mature.

"As long as you're happy," Gin said, waving her off as Mito, now burdened with her brother, started walking away.

Before leaving, she paused a few steps ahead, tilting her head at a 45-degree angle and glancing back. "Kidnapper-san, we'll meet again, right?"

"Definitely," Gin nodded without hesitation, knowing full well what her future held.

"Oh," Mito muttered. Hearing his confident response, she turned away, a small smile forming on her lips as she skipped in the direction of home.

Watching her retreating figure, Gin turned and kicked at the unconscious Senju Itama lying on the ground.

"Stop playing dead, little brother. It's time for us to go."

Caught, Itama opened his eyes, pleading with him silently.

"If you promise not to babble the whole way, I'll take the sock out of your mouth."

Itama nodded vigorously, almost in tears.

Gin pulled the foul sock out of his mouth, and Itama greedily gulped fresh air.

Then, as if remembering something horrifying, he curled up and began retching violently.

Once Itama had dry heaved himself into exhaustion, Gin hoisted him up and started heading toward the battlefield where Uchiha Ryoichi and the others were.

Gin moved swiftly, a far cry from when he had first carried the boy and was gasping for breath.

"The Uzumaki clan's bloodline really is remarkable, no wonder they inherited the Rikudou's body," Gin mused, feeling the explosive power and vast chakra surging within him.

"Ding! Host has successfully rescued Uchiha Fuka's team from danger. You've earned 50 points and 4 random skill orbs."

The sudden system notification startled Gin mid-step. The mission was complete, but he hadn't even reached the battlefield yet.

Picking up speed, Gin raced toward the battlefield.

When he arrived with Itama in tow, only his comrades remained on the scene.

Uchiha Fuka was on guard, Uchiha Tsuruhiko was bandaging Ryoichi's injured arm, and Uchiha Taro, who had only suffered minor injuries, was meditating to recover chakra.

"Gin! You're alive?"

Ryoichi, who had assumed Gin had chosen to hold off Uzumaki Hanamichi, couldn't believe it when he saw Gin unharmed.

He activated his Sharingan to scan him.

"Barely."

Gin replied calmly, curious as to how the battle had ended. There were no Uzumaki bodies around.

"What happened to the Uzumaki?"

"The long-haired Uzumaki sensed something during the fight and suddenly unleashed a strange power," Taro explained, opening his eyes.

"What kind of strange power?" Gin asked, intrigued.

"He erupted with chakra chains from his body, which were extremely troublesome. But he didn't seem intent on fighting further and used the chance to grab his injured comrades and flee."

Uchiha Fuka came over and added.

"How did you escape?" Uchiha Fuka asked, knowing full well that Gin would've been crushed in a direct confrontation with Hanamichi.

"The Uzumaki guy wasn't after my life. His main concern was his sister. I told him I'd hidden her in a secret location with a genjutsu, which would kill her unless I gave the release command."

Gin casually recited the excuse he had thought up on the way back.

"And he let you go?"

"That's right."

"The Uzumaki clan is just as stupid as the rumors say," Uchiha Fuka remarked.

"Alright, let's move out now. We need to reach the clan territory by tomorrow!" Uchiha Fuka ordered, waving for the group to get ready.

---

Give me Your power stones