Chapter 151: How Can a Man and a Woman Live Under the Same Roof?

"Sizzle~ sizzle~~"

Uchiha Gin used his chopsticks to skillfully flip the grilled meat laid out on the stove, the rich fat being fully squeezed by the flames to extract the final trace of aroma.

The group gathered around the stove looked at the golden, glistening grilled meat, their saliva secreting wildly in their mouths.

"Cousin! Is it not ready yet?"

Unable to contain their impatience, Itama wiped the drool from the corner of their mouth and urged Uchiha Gin, who held the authority over the barbecue.

The others also wore expectant expressions; after all, Uchiha Gin's culinary skills were famously good, and even simple grilled meat tasted much better when he made it than when others did.

"Alright, alright, Hikaru, you eat first."

Sensing the heat was just right, Uchiha Gin was the first to pick up a piece of grilled meat with a perfect balance of fat and lean, placing it into Uchiha Hikaru's bowl.

"You haven't eaten for a long time, hurry and eat while it's hot!"

The young girl had been sealed for over a decade, and after being rescued, she had only hastily eaten a few bites of emergency rations on the way back; it was only right that she be the first to enjoy this long-awaited delicacy.

"Thank you, Gin! "

Uchiha Hikaru's beautiful eyes shimmered, and she said her thanks prettily before picking up the first piece of grilled meat.

She raised her eyebrows in a show of defiance toward Senju Itama, whose face was puffed up like a steamed bun across from her, then took a small bite of the fragrant meat, held her cheek, and said happily,

"Mmm~~~ The meat Gin grills is truly delicious!"

"Disgusting! You pretentious old hag!"

Having not yet received their own portion, Senju Itama cursed inwardly, their large eyes fixed tightly on Uchiha Gin's hands, looking forward to their own share.

"Come, come, come, Jiri, this piece is for you."

"Snap!"

Before they could get their share, they saw Uchiha Gin pick up the piece of meat they had already earmarked and place it into the bowl of a stunned Uchiha Jiri; Senju Itama's hand tightened on their chopsticks, snapping the fragile bamboo sticks in two.

"Huh? What kind of attitude is that, you little brat?"

Sensing that something was off with Senju Itama's state today, Uchiha Gin pressed a hand onto their head and explained to the brat,

"This is to thank Jiri for taking care of you while I was away; hurry up and thank her!"

Enjoying the warmth of Uchiha Gin's large hand, the tsundere Senju Itama pouted and turned their head away in a huff, but the slight upward curve of their mouth betrayed their true feelings.

Tsk~!

"Snap!"

The chopsticks in Uchiha Hikaru's hand met the same fate.

"Ara ara, the quality of these chopsticks is indeed not very good."

Pulling a forced smile, Uchiha Hikaru threw the chopsticks in her hand into the trash can, preparing to stand up and get another pair.

"No need, the things that brat Dailang procures are no good either!"

Uchiha Gin clapped his hands together, and a pale green light lit up his palms as several tender green sprouts emerged from them.

Driven by chakra, the sprouts grew rapidly, eventually turning into several wooden sticks of uniform size; he gestured with them in satisfaction, sighing that his level of chakra control had improved quite a bit.

"Here, use these!"

Uchiha Gin lowered his head to distribute the Wood Release chopsticks to everyone, only to find that the spacious private room was now deathly silent.

He looked up in confusion, seeing everyone except Uchiha Hikaru, who had already seen it, looking utterly shocked, their mouths hanging open as if they had been hit by a binding jutsu.

"Huh? What's wrong with everyone?"

Uchiha Gin strangely nudged his little cousin beside him with his elbow, only to find the other person wearing an expression as if they had seen a ghost, staring at him fixedly, which made him feel completely uncomfortable.

"This is... Hashirama Senju's jutsu?"

The first to speak was his eldest cousin, Uchiha Madara, who hadn't said much; his brows were tightly locked as he picked up the Wood Release product from the table to examine it closely, and after confirming it was no different from what he had encountered, he looked at Uchiha Gin with a serious expression.

"How do you know this ninjutsu?"

In Uchiha Madara's memory, his cousin's strength had always been a mystery; he was evenly matched with anyone he sparred with, performing like a "five-five split," and although he usually ended up losing by a narrow margin, his effortless performance suggested he was clearly holding back.

Even so, Uchiha Madara had only attributed it to his eccentric tastes, but today's display forced him to start taking this cousin of his, who appeared particularly lazy, seriously.

"Is it hard? Isn't it just clapping your hands together and it comes out?"

Using the same excuse he had used to fool Uchiha Tian Dao, he brushed it off, while a thought flashed through the minds of everyone present at the same time:

Do you take us for idiots?

"You curly-haired ape, do you take us for idiots?"

The perfect mouthpiece, Senju Itama, makes a grand entrance.

"Believe it or not! Just eat your meat!"

He grabbed a piece of grilled meat and stuffed it directly into the talkative brat's mouth; I refuse to believe that eating meat won't shut your mouth.

"Mmph mmph~~~"

Having been ambushed and gagged, Senju Itama could only roll their eyes and seek help from the purple-haired girl beside them; Uchiha Jiri skillfully patted their back, and the stuck meat slid down their throat into their stomach, saving the brat who had almost choked to death.

"I'll bite you!"

Having recovered, Senju Itama jumped up and flew toward Uchiha Gin, the culprit, their delicate little face full of murderous intent, swearing to perish together with this guy.

"Monitoring that the host has encountered combat, Heartsteel chest accumulation begins..."

Just as Uchiha Gin was about to dodge the other's desperate strike, a familiar BGM sounded in his mind; his mouth drooped—it seemed this fight was unavoidable.

"Bang!!!"

Senju Itama's headbutt, filled with superhuman strength, slammed directly into Uchiha Gin's chest, the massive inertia causing him to instantly fall backward to the ground.

After a moment of dizziness, Uchiha Gin, lying on the ground, looked at the brat sprawled on his chest and pulled a helpless smile, speaking as if coaxing a child,

"I didn't expect your headbutt to be so fierce, the power is beyond what ordinary people can withstand; I, Uchiha Gin, concede defeat and am willing to call you the Invincible Iron Head!"

It seemed like nonsense, but that smile of his was extremely piercing in the eyes of Uchiha Hikaru nearby.

The naive girl mistook it for a doting smile, and a wave of melancholy suddenly rose in her heart; a black aura coiled around her brow, and the long-dormant "little black fan" revealed its true colors once again.

"Host failed, obtained Heart Energy *10; you must undergo three more battles to unlock the Heartsteel chest reward. (Current accumulated Heart Energy: 10)"

Hehehe, the new round of "eating steel" has begun.

He smiled in satisfaction, stood up, and picked up the brat who was seeing stars; one had to know that Uchiha Gin's current physical fitness was so strong it even scared himself—the various Six Paths bloodlines unlocked by the orbs were intertwined, making him a veritable little Otsutsuki of the ninja world.

"If you have anything to say, we'll talk about it when we get back; eat your meat first."

Seeing his eldest cousin wanting to say something but hesitating, Uchiha Gin waved his hand, indicating that any questions could be asked later and that eating was the most important thing right now.

As the dishes were served, Senju Itama was awakened by the smell of grilled fish and, unable to care about Uchiha Gin who had just wronged them, grabbed the grilled fish and began to feast; the others also began to help themselves, and for a time, the atmosphere at the table became heated.

"Brother Dailang, if you don't take my money, are you looking down on me?"

When paying the bill, Uchiha Dailang refused to take Uchiha Gin's meal money no matter what; the two argued until their faces were red, and finally, Uchiha Gin slammed a gold brick down, indicating that he could either take it in his pocket or take it on his face.

"Let this be the only time, let this be the only time."

Having lost the battle, Uchiha Dailang knew he couldn't win against the Uchiha Gin before him, so he "reluctantly" stuffed the heavy gold brick into his pocket, thankful that his belt was tight, otherwise he would have made a fool of himself on the spot.

"I'll go find Uncle tomorrow; we'll talk about any questions then."

Before leaving, Uchiha Gin said to Uchiha Madara, who was bowing his head in thought, and after finishing, he waved goodbye to his two younger brothers and led the girls in the opposite direction.

Along the way, he dropped Uchiha Jiri off at her doorstep, and the purple-haired girl politely expressed her gratitude for today's meal.

"Mr. Gin, my mother has been thinking of you!"

She invited Uchiha Gin to come to their home for a meal when he was free, and mentioned that now only she and her mother were at home, so he was welcome to visit at any time.

Uchiha Gin, feeling tempted, sensed the "ice and fire" pressure from behind him, so he sternly and righteously rejected the girl's kindness, and under her smiling face radiating black aura, he fled in a panic with the remaining two.

Returning to his Wood Release mansion, Uchiha Gin touched the gate that had shown no signs of aging for years, lamenting that the art of house-building was truly useful; it was still as bright as new after so many years, and it could even self-repair if it got bumped.

However, it didn't seem big enough to live in now; there were only two or three rooms upstairs, two bedrooms and one study, and now that there was an extra person in the house, the once-spacious mansion felt a bit cramped.

"Brat! Go sleep in the old house tonight."

Seeing that Uchiha Hikaru and the Senju brat didn't seem to get along, Uchiha Gin, not wanting to disturb the girl's rest, made the arrangements,

"Huh?"

Scumbag! Forget the old love once you have a new one?

Senju Itama's fists hardened!

"!"

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Hikaru's face turned red instantly, and at the same time, all sorts of mosaic-filled images flooded the girl's mind.

"Tch!!!"

A very displeased Senju Itama stood up sullenly, looked at the smug Uchiha Hikaru, and turned to leave with the look of a loser.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's the rush, brat? Bring my bedding over too; it's not convenient for a man and a woman to be alone here, so I'm going over to sleep too."

Uchiha Gin, who had just finished mentally planning how to renovate the mansion, said strangely when he saw Senju Itama leaving alone.

Is it really appropriate for a grown man like himself to live under the same roof as Hikaru?

"Ah?"

Hearing this, Senju Itama raised their head in surprise, not expecting Uchiha Gin to choose to live with them.

She, who had wanted to refuse out of habit, felt an strange emotion rise in her heart for some reason; suppressing her thumping little heart, she turned her head, and the curve of her mouth was as uncontrollable as an AK.

"Boom! "

In stark contrast to Senju Itama was Uchiha Hikaru, who had just thought her spring had arrived.

She hadn't expected Uchiha Gin's words to be like a bolt from the blue, directly strangling her budding spring heart in the cradle.

Unable to refute, she saw the piercing smile on Senju Itama's face, and the melancholy that had not yet dissipated in her heart rose once again.

"I'm going to rest now."

The black aura climbing up her brow grew thicker, and the girl couldn't help but feel a bit of irritation; she said coldly, turned her head, and walked upstairs.

It seems Hikaru is truly tired; let her rest quietly!

Uchiha Gin, who thought he understood the young girl's thoughts, thought to himself as he watched her go upstairs, then urged the foolishly grinning Senju Itama to leave quickly.

"Hurry up and go, I want to sleep on the inside tonight!"

"???"

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(End of chapter)