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

Seeing the look of sorrow on Tajima's face, so real and unfeigned, Gin couldn't help but feel a little guilty for having ripped open an old wound.

The massacre six years ago had cost Tajima his beloved wife and children — making him recall it now was no better than rubbing salt in a deep cut.

"I'm sorry, Uncle. I shouldn't have…" Gin quickly apologized.

"It's fine. It's been many years now — I've long since let it go. Seeing you manage to pull through all this already makes me very proud," Tajima said, patting him on the shoulder in encouragement.

"Then… I'll take my leave."

Gin knew he wasn't going to get anything more useful out of Tajima today, so he rose to go.

"Wait." Tajima's voice stopped him.

"Is there something else, Uncle?" Gin asked.

"I may need you to accompany me on a mission soon. I'll let you know in advance."

"Understood."

Gin didn't bother to ask what kind of mission. His memory of the original told him it was probably just another negotiation or trade, a chance to earn some merit without much danger.

As soon as Gin left, Tajima's mournful expression abruptly vanished, replaced with a cold, frosty severity.

"So he still carries that man's taint…" he muttered to himself, his voice as frigid as his gaze. "That old fool Uchiha En is getting sloppy. Looks like I'll have to send Gin… to join his family."

Back at home, Gin ignored Itama, who looked like he wanted to say something. He simply lay down on the sofa and pretended to sleep.

Itama stood there watching Gin's turned back, his eyes flashing with a complicated look. In the end, he didn't approach, quietly turning back to his room instead.

Lying on the sofa, Gin slowly opened his eyes, his mind replaying everything that had happened today.

That strange old jailer in the dungeon who seemed to know the truth of six years ago… the faint sense of malice he'd felt from Tajima at the medical point… the photo of two strangers he'd found in the broken frame…

The supposed "grandfather" Tajima claimed Gin had never known — but the photo didn't lie.

Piece by piece, Gin put it all together before finally drifting off. In the darkness, his left hand glowed faintly red.

The next morning, Gin woke from another unsettling dream.

In the dream he was playing with a young girl when a group of people appeared. They approached and said something to her, and she collapsed to her knees, weeping.

Then they came to him, and though he couldn't quite make out the words, he vaguely saw that the man at their head was a young Tajima.

He fainted, and before blacking out he saw a blood-red moon rise into the sky, with a strange, familiar pattern slowly forming on its surface.

Thinking carefully about the dream, Gin felt it wasn't just his imagination — not with Tajima appearing in it.

Perhaps it was a memory of the original's, buried deep within.

That girl's face matched perfectly with the girl in the photo.

Uchiha… Hikari.

Gin shook his head. That would have to wait. For now, he had a more urgent goal: to uncover the truth hidden in the abandoned dungeon.

Walking through the corridors of the dungeon, he recalled the old jailer's hints.

According to Uchiha Richa, the abandoned dungeon lay between Block 1 and Block 2.

Now he stood at the Y-shaped junction. Left led to Block 1. Right to Block 2.

But the wall straight ahead showed faint signs of having been sealed — as if a passage had once been there.

Gin felt along the surface, searching for some kind of hidden mechanism, but found nothing.

Just as he was about to give up, he caught sight of two figures in the distance — the rotund Uchiha En, and the ever-cold Uchiha Ryu'ei.

Gin didn't dare get too close. He activated his Sharingan and carefully read their lips from afar.

En: Ryu'ei, has that Sarutobi talked yet?Ryu'ei: Not yet, En-sama. Give me a little more time — I'll get the answers without destroying his brain.En: Make it quick. If you have to, forcibly extract the memories.Ryu'ei: But that could kill him instantly…En: That's a last resort. And what about the one in Cell Zero? Still behaving?Ryu'ei: No incidents. I check on him personally every day.En: Good. Don't let him die yet. We still need him for answers.Ryu'ei: Yes. I'll go check on him now.

So that was it.

Cell Zero… the abandoned dungeon.

And apparently there was still someone alive in there — guarded by Ryu'ei himself. That made sneaking in much more difficult.

But since Ryu'ei was about to head there anyway… Gin thought, why not just tail him?

Keeping his distance, Gin followed Ryu'ei cautiously. The man's strength was no joke, and Gin didn't dare get too close and risk being discovered.

But even after some time, Ryu'ei showed no sign of going to the abandoned dungeon. Instead, he stayed inside a cell in Block 1 for quite a while.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Ryu'ei emerged, his hands stained with blood, and returned to his office.

Gin hesitated, then decided to take a gamble.

He waited until Ryu'ei shut the door, then strode up and knocked.

No answer.

Sensing something was off, Gin pushed the door open.

The office was spacious but dark, heavy and oppressive.

He glanced around. No sign of Ryu'ei.

"Where did he go…?" Gin murmured to himself. "There has to be a hidden passage here somewhere."

Based on his many years of movie and TV knowledge, Gin started looking around the room.

If there was a hidden mechanism, it would probably be disguised as something ordinary — a bookcase, a vase, something like that.

The room was sparsely furnished. The only suspicious thing was a vase on the desk — a vase without even a single flower in it. Very suspicious.

Gin reached for the vase — when he suddenly sensed Ryu'ei's chakra rapidly approaching.

Too fast!

He'd be caught in the act if he didn't hide, and there was nowhere to hide in this room.

What now?

Just as he braced himself for a confrontation, the shadows on the wall began to ripple.

And from his own shadow emerged a familiar, eerie face.

The old jailer.

The next second, Gin felt himself sinking — being swallowed by his own shadow.

He heard the sound of the door unlocking.

Gin gritted his teeth and let the shadow swallow him fully just before Ryu'ei opened the hidden passage and stepped through.

Ryu'ei frowned as he scanned the room. His keen senses told him something was… off.

He activated his Sharingan and swept the room several times — but found nothing.

After a long moment, he finally relaxed, chalking it up to exhaustion from all the interrogations lately.

(End of Chapter)

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