Chapter 145: Young Girl: The Advantage is Mine!

Looking at the young girl curled up in the corner of the Tsukuyomi space, clutching her head, I sighed at the cringe-worthy "dark persona" chuunibyou act, which had an extraordinary influence on Hikari's outlook on life and values.

But why wasn't Hikari affected by the dark persona?

Gin Uchiha's mind flashed wildly through the ins and outs of this mission, his eyes scanning aimlessly until they finally landed on the girl still huddled in the corner, or more accurately, on the dark green cloak draped over her.

What was the effect of that thing again?

Lowering his eyelids, he scanned his system inventory and discovered there was only one such finished item, and it was draped over the girl.

With no other choice, Gin Uchiha had to walk over, pat the girl on the head, and take the opportunity to check the equipment information.

Before the girl could even look up, Gin Uchiha had already pulled his hand back, and a piece of equipment information appeared in his mind.

【Quicksilver Sash】: Triggers when controlled; grants immunity to crowd control for a period after activation and increases chakra refinement speed. (Triggers once daily)

"Gin?"

The EMO girl pouted, looking pitiful as she gazed at the only man she could trust, and asked,

"There's something strange in my body; you won't abandon me, will you?"

"How could I? Don't worry, I'll take good care of you from now on."

Distracted, Gin Uchiha replied offhandedly, not noticing at all that after he finished speaking, the girl's face flushed bright red; she shyly lowered her head and began drawing circles on the mirror surface with her toe.

"I really should choose a nice-looking white wedding kimono after all."

It seemed Hikari's ability to suppress that dark persona relied entirely on the effect of the Quicksilver Sash, but now that there was only one, how was he supposed to suppress Uncle's dark persona?

Unwilling to give up, he went back to rummaging through his system inventory.

He didn't even look at the mountains of gold bricks in the system inventory—they were just numbers—and dove headfirst into the pile of equipment to search.

"Cloak... cloak... huh, isn't there one here? No, wait, this one is purple. Useless thing!"

With that, he tossed the purple cloak he had finally dug out to the side and continued searching.

"White? Isn't this the one I was going to give to Uncle?"

Gin Uchiha, having dug out another white cloak, frowned as he looked at the equipment in his hand with its simple attribute description; logically, items produced by the system shouldn't be ordinary, and they shouldn't just have simple recovery and defense functions.

【Null-Magic Mantle】: Enhances stamina slightly, accelerates chakra recovery. (Can be synthesized)

Can be synthesized? Why hadn't he noticed this option before?

He picked up the cloak in confusion, glanced at similar loose parts in the equipment pile, picked up a blue chain vest at random, and held the two parts, one in each hand, pondering how to synthesize them.

"Equipment synthesis detected. Synthesize?"

The long-lost system prompt popped up in his mind; without choosing to exchange pleasantries with it, he clicked "synthesize" directly in his thoughts.

A burst of azure light lit up from the equipment in his hands, and he immediately felt his hands grow lighter as the two parts vanished; as the light faded, a heavy suit of armor, charcoal-gray and branded with dark red patterns, fell before him.

【Gargoyle Stoneplate】: Enhances physique and resistance; increases resistance based on the number of enemies. (PS: Essential for the lone hero)

Two loose parts could actually be synthesized into a finished item.

He had drawn this Gargoyle Stoneplate before, but it had been left in a corner gathering dust; its attributes looked mediocre and really couldn't compare to other defensive finished items.

It was somewhat useful in team fights, but since he was basically not involved in wars, it was worse than other defensive gear for him to wear.

However...

He could find a chance to give it to his cousin later; he would definitely have a use for it, right?

If a finished item could be synthesized, then the Quicksilver Sash could certainly be synthesized too; he just didn't know the synthesis recipe.

Suddenly remembering the long-absent system prompt, Gin Uchiha asked cautiously,

"System? System?"

"I'm here~"

Uh, why did it feel so AI-like?

"What is the synthesis recipe for the Quicksilver Sash?"

He didn't know if this system would tell him the answer.

"Quicksilver Sash is synthesized from Null-Magic Mantle + Brawler's Glove."

The system answered concisely, like a completely different system from the one that had been busy digging holes for him earlier.

But he couldn't worry about the system's issues now; he turned and dug the Brawler's Glove out of the equipment pile—a brown leather glove with spikes—this had to be the thing.

【Brawler's Glove】: 20% chance to deal critical damage when attacking a target.

Having spent so long in the system, only an instant had passed outside; the girl on the ground had just looked up, her large, watery eyes filled with affection as she stared at him, leaving Gin Uchiha feeling bewildered.

"Hikari, I've thought of a way. Let's get out of here first."

"Okay~"

The girl stood up obediently, a flash of red light in her eyes, and sent the two of them out of the Tsukuyomi space.

Opening his eyes again and looking at his still-silent uncle, Gin Uchiha pulled the Brawler's Glove from his bag and, without hesitation, slapped it directly onto the Null-Magic Mantle draped over Tajima Uchiha.

As a burst of azure light lit up, the glove in Gin Uchiha's hand turned into a stream of light and merged with the Null-Magic Mantle on Tajima Uchiha; when the light faded, a dark green cloak identical to the girl's appeared on Tajima Uchiha.

It was correct!

Gin Uchiha nodded in satisfaction and said to the surprised girl beside him,

"Alright, you can release the Tsukuyomi now."

Although curious about Gin Uchiha's novel methods, the girl, following her husband's lead, didn't ask further and immediately released the Tsukuyomi she had cast on Tajima Uchiha.

"Phew~~~"

As the girl released the Tsukuyomi, the light of intelligence returned to the eyes of the previously dazed Tajima Uchiha, but before he could say anything, his body went limp and he collapsed.

"Hey, hey, hey, Uncle! Uncle!"

"I didn't do anything!"

The girl was dumbfounded; didn't he not suffer any torture inside? Why did he wilt as soon as he came out?

"It's fine. I was just a bit drained when that guy occupied my body earlier; I used my chakra too violently. It's nothing."

Tajima Uchiha, who had collapsed, didn't lose consciousness; instead, he spoke to comfort the two of them. Feeling a wave of warmth coming from somewhere on his body, his fatigue slowly faded, and he was able to stand up after a short while.

"Gin, why can't I sense that guy anymore?"

He had expected to have a hearty battle against that dark persona after coming out of the Tsukuyomi space, but he hadn't expected the other party to have vanished from his body without a trace the moment he emerged.

"Thanks to my being prepared for a rainy day."

Having already prepared his wording, Gin Uchiha sighed and crossed his arms, his face full of an "it was all thanks to me" expression.

"Uncle, haven't you noticed you've turned green?"

Gin Uchiha gestured for Tajima Uchiha to look at the cloak draped over his shoulders and see if the color had changed.

"Huh?"

A bewildered Tajima Uchiha only then noticed that the luxurious, gold-gilded white cloak he had been wearing had turned into a dark green silk cloak.

"What the hell is this?"

Touching the strange cloak on his back, Tajima Uchiha cast an inquisitive look at him.

"No choice, who told you to be lucky enough to have a good teammate like me in the ninja world."

Gin Uchiha spread his hands and began his fabrication,

"Didn't I say? I spent a large sum of money to purchase a batch of brand-new ninja tools from the people of the Land of Artisans, all crafted by their most famous artisan, Seimei."

As he spoke, he put on a pained expression, implying that these tools were indeed expensive, then pointed to the cloak on the girl and continued,

"This cloak is Seimei's painstaking work; it has the powerful function of suppressing negative emotions."

"But my original cloak was white?"

Able to perceive that the cloak he was wearing now was the same white cloak he had always worn, a frowning Tajima Uchiha asked,

"That brings us to Seimei's craftsmanship. What he recently researched is this kind of combination ninja tool. The white cloak you were wearing at first was just a part of the tool set; only when combined together does it reveal its true form."

Gin Uchiha didn't even blush while spinning his lies; anyway, although this person Seimei really existed, his reputation wasn't prominent yet, and he wouldn't be easy to look up.

"What a miraculous ninja tool. Like the Uchiha Gunbai in our clan, it has special abilities."

Touching the silk cloak on his body, Tajima Uchiha found it more and more pleasing to the eye, and then he took it off,

"Since it can suppress the dark persona within me, then Uncle will gratefully accept your kind intentions, Gin."

Hey, hey, hey, how are you so practiced at taking it off?

"So the cloak Gin gave me has such a miraculous function; this thing must be very precious."

The girl, who had been listening carefully on the side, felt the softness of the silk against her skin, and a foolish smile couldn't help but hang on her face.

"Although the process was a bit bumpy, we rescued the person, and the mission is considered a complete success. It's time to go back."

With everyone mostly recovered, Tajima Uchiha, wearing the dark green cloak, spoke first, then a flash of complexity crossed his eyes as he added,

"As for the matter of Uchiha Yao and that strange black creature, keep it secret for now. We will study it when we return to the clan."

Then the three of them set off on their return journey.

"Gin, who are you living with now?"

The girl, sprinting beside Gin Uchiha, asked the soul-searching question as if it were casual. After asking, she turned her head away, her small face under the cloak slightly wrinkled, appearing somewhat anxious.

"With who... oh right, there's still a disobedient, cocky brat at home."

Finding it strange that the girl would ask this, he didn't give it much thought and blurted out about the Senju Itama he had been keeping in captivity for years,

"You don't need to worry about that. That kid is my prisoner; he's still a little useful to keep around. He usually cooks and cleans for me, and if he doesn't listen, I spank him."

That kid from the Senju clan, Gin is still keeping him?

Tajima Uchiha, in front, pricked up his ears to listen to their exchange, recalling the little brat Gin Uchiha had brought back from his first mission six years ago, a flash of ruthlessness crossing his eyes.

But now that Butsuma Senju was dead, that kid had no more utility value.

Not believing that a kid from the Senju clan could stir up any trouble, Tajima Uchiha decided to spare his life; who told his nephew to like him? Since Gin liked keeping him, let him keep him for fun.

"A kid, huh? Heh heh..."

The young girl muttered to herself at his side, then let out a long sigh of relief; her beautiful eyes were filled with smiles as she straightened her figure, which was just beginning to show its shape, feeling completely at ease in her heart.

"The problem isn't big, the advantage is mine!"

(End of chapter)