Konoha: The Thirty-Year-Old Uchiha Can’t Be Bothered

After a long, relaxing soak, Uchiha Gin stepped out refreshed, wrapped in a towel.

Seeing Senju Itama lingering awkwardly at the bathroom door, he called out:

"Hey, brat. Need me to scrub your back? I'm famous for it, you know."

"No!"

Shoved out of the way, Gin shook his head.

"Such a shy little brat. We're all men here — what are you being so coy for?"

About an hour later, Itama finally emerged, bundled up tight, and tensed up when he saw Gin still sitting in the living room.

"Finally out, huh? You take longer in there than I spend sleeping."

Yawning, Gin stood up, holding the bottle of hair dye.

"Don't you come over here!"

Itama gripped the door with both hands to block him, but a mischievous smile crept over Gin's face as he leaned on the door, voice teasing:

"What were you doing in there, huh? You better be taking care of your body properly at your age…"

When Gin put a little strength into his hand, the bathroom door flew open — and a stark naked Itama toppled out, barely covering himself with both hands, his face bright red.

"So what? At your age, I was running around naked in the streets."

Gin quipped as he eyed Itama's bare body.

"You shameless creep!"

Steamed red from head to toe, Itama yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Alright, alright, fine. I'll leave the dye here."

Seeing the kid was really about to blow, Gin stopped teasing, set down the dye, and left.

"Didn't think your skin would actually be that fair, brat."

On his way out he tossed out another jab, which earned him a bottle of shampoo hurled at his back — Gin ducked away with a laugh.

He stepped outside and circled to the back wall to reinforce the little fence he'd put up. His "backyard" of a few square meters was now officially ready — this was where he'd grind skills from now on.

With that handled and the sky darkening, Gin went back inside to wait until midnight.

Inside, Itama was already dressed, his hair fully dyed black. Seeing him now, Gin nodded approvingly — with his hair looking normal, he actually looked kind of sharp.

"Nobody should notice you now."

But perhaps still sulking over Gin's earlier antics, Itama just turned his head away angrily and ignored him.

"Seriously, what a boring brat."

Gin didn't care. After mumbling a few reminders, he stretched out on the sofa and went to sleep.

From the bedroom, Itama watched the back of that curly-haired Uchiha with a complicated look in his eyes. Who knew what he was thinking as he quietly slipped into bed.

Later that night, Gin's eyes snapped open again. After confirming the bedroom was quiet, he tiptoed outside to the backyard and stood in the clearing, waiting for the nightly refresh.

Tonight the moon was again veiled by clouds.

Gin's home was far from the clan's main settlement, surrounded by cliffs and forest. You had to pass through the forest to reach the Uchiha village.

A faint breeze rustled the leaves with a soft shhh shhh, and Gin felt the familiar chill in the air.

"Jingle…"

Amid the rustling, a faint bell rang. Gin instantly pinpointed the direction and looked up.

A figure in a black cloak with red clouds slowly emerged from the void, lifting his bamboo hat with a pale, black-nailed hand. His emotionless, crimson eyes met Gin's.

It was Uchiha Itachi again.

Having been burned twice already, Gin didn't hesitate this time — his Sharingan flared to life, his right eye's tomoe spinning wildly as he poured chakra into it.

[Amaterasu]

The black flames bloomed on his own chest — much larger than last time — a definite improvement.

For once, he wanted to see what would happen if he went on the offensive.

Ignoring the black flames, the refreshed Itachi calmly removed his hat, and his eyes transformed into the pinwheel shape of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

In that instant, the black flames sputtered out, as though doused by rain.

Before Gin could even react, he averted his eyes, refusing to meet Itachi's gaze.

But when he looked down, he froze.

The green grass beneath his feet had become a transparent lake, perfectly mirroring him.

And in that reflection, a blood-red full moon hung in the sky.

"Shit."

He already knew.

[Genjutsu: Tsukuyomi]

Bound to a cross, Gin could only sigh.

"Fine, fine. Don't hold back just because I'm delicate."

In the next second, the sound of countless blades filled the illusionary space.

For 72 hours inside that hell, Gin endured Itachi's endless torment. When the countdown finally ticked to zero, he was released.

The world around him shattered like glass and returned to normal — and Itachi's figure disappeared without a trace.

In reality, only a single instant had passed, but Gin lay on the ground, his head splitting and his Sharingan shutting down from the strain.

But he noticed something.

After each Tsukuyomi, his left eye's power grew slightly, and his control over the Sharingan became more refined.

[Backyard Nightly Refresh: Random Skill – Genjutsu: Tsukuyomi][Received Tsukuyomi Shard ×4]

[Tsukuyomi Shards (5/40). Collect 40 to synthesize Genjutsu: Tsukuyomi (Mangekyō Sharingan Skill)]

Gin blinked in surprise.

"Four shards in one go? Is it just luck, or does it depend on how well I did in the fight?"

While he pondered, the system healed his body — his headache cleared, his right eye stopped bleeding, and he felt completely refreshed.

After confirming his body was fine, Gin slipped back inside and lay down on the sofa, drifting back to sleep.

And then came another dream.

He saw a boy lying in a pitch-black hospital room, his eyes covered in bandages, face expressionless, like a puppet.

A middle-aged man in his forties or fifties gently stroked the boy's head, saying something Gin couldn't hear.

Then a young girl slightly younger than the boy ran in, threw herself at his bedside, and broke down crying.

Gin tried to watch longer — but before he could, a pair of cold, massive hands shoved his consciousness out.

He opened his eyes again. It was morning.

Scratching his head at the strange fragments of his dream, he got up, washed, and began another day of his ninja office worker life.

He left Itama some money.

"Get your own food. And don't run off — if you do, I'll go grab your big brother."

Itama rolled his eyes at the ridiculous threat.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Hey, what's with that look?"

Feeling mocked, Gin's brow twitched, and he raised his hand to mete out justice — but Itama ducked out of reach and stuck his tongue out.

Gin squinted at him.

There really was something… different about the kid now. But he couldn't quite say what.

A Senju brat couldn't possibly be this cute…

(End of Chapter)

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