Chapter 163: Does My Face Look Weak?

A ninja's pace is nothing to sneeze at; the three of them didn't spend much time covering the tens of kilometers to the mission site.

"It's right inside here."

Uchiha Gin stealthily activated his super-sensory perception, clearly detecting over a hundred signatures of varying sizes within the forest.

"Is there any secret code for the rendezvous?"

The more cautious Uchiha Chiharu asked aloud; Uchiha Gin had already informed her of the transfer mission's details on the road.

She hadn't expected her first mission outside to be such a high-level classified task, and the girl's calm heart was stirred with excitement.

"Not needed. When our Uchiha clan meets up, we never use secret codes."

Uchiha Gin chuckled and shook his head, then slipped into the forest, with the other two hurrying to follow.

Based on the information he sensed, Uchiha Gin found the survivor camp of the Hagoromo clan before long.

"Who are you people?"

A gray-haired man wrapped in bandages darted out from the forest, raising his blade to block the path of Uchiha Gin and his companions.

From the armor he wore, one could identify his status; Uchiha Gin recognized that clan crest—it was undoubtedly the Hagoromo clan.

"We are here to rendezvous with you."

Uchiha Gin didn't waste words; his eyes slowly turned scarlet. Seeing the three tomoe in his eyes, the gray-haired Hagoromo clansman finally lowered his guard, sheathed his blade behind his back, and led the three into the camp with a somewhat respectful attitude.

Along the way, Uchiha Gin mostly saw women and children; adult men were very scarce, and they were basically all wounded. The atmosphere in the camp was also extremely oppressive, causing the three of them to quicken their pace.

Walking up to a larger tent, a brown-haired adult man stepped out from inside.

He was just about to step forward to greet Uchiha Gin and the others, but when he looked up and saw the face of the man wearing the Uchiha clan's attire, his outstretched hand froze.

"Huh? The Uchiha clan sent a weakling?"

Hearing this, Uchiha Gin looked at the newcomer with curiosity. Had his reputation as a "noob" spread this far? Had the Hagoromo clan, far away, heard of his great name?

"And you even brought two little girls. If the Uchiha clan didn't want to take this mission, there was no need to insult us like this."

The Hagoromo man turned his head and saw the two harmless-looking girls behind Uchiha Gin, and he nearly lost his breath.

Was this Uchiha clan making fools of them? They were clans that had once been allies; was it necessary to burn bridges like this?

"Eh? Aren't you that..."

Looking at the Hagoromo man clutching his head in frustration, Uchiha Gin found him increasingly familiar. Memories from over a hundred chapters ago attacked him, allowing him to recognize the Hagoromo man before him.

"It seems your memory isn't bad either. I am the one from the Hagoromo clan who executed a mission with your squad six years ago."

The man looked up with a bitter expression; the small horn on his forehead was very eye-catching.

That's right, this guy was the Hagoromo clan captain Uchiha Gin had encountered when he first transmigrated.

At that time, under the leadership of Uchiha Fuka, they had intercepted their spoils of war, which indirectly forced Uchiha Gin to accept the initial mission of protecting Itama Senju, a fact the trans-dimensional demons had been mocking him for ever since.

"You are Uchiha Gin, right? Your feat of charging into the Senju clan grounds alone back then was quite the sensation for a time."

Having already given up in his heart, the Hagoromo man completely let go, actually starting to chat about daily life with Uchiha Gin.

"Eh? Gin, you've done such fierce things?"

Uchiha Hikari, standing behind him, heard this and curiously poked her head out to ask, her beautiful eyes filled with admiration.

"Yeah, Mr. Gin, if you've done things like that, why have you never told us?"

The purple-haired girl also leaned in; she hadn't expected that Uchiha Gin, who usually seemed unreliable, had actually done such earth-shattering and ghost-weeping deeds.

"Ahem, stay low-key, stay low-key."

Uchiha Gin immediately waved his hands modestly, signaling them not to press further; a hero shouldn't dwell on past glory.

"Although, before he even stepped inside, he was punched flying over ten meters by the Senju perimeter patrol and passed out on the spot."

Can you die if you don't tear down my stage, you guy?

If looks could kill, this Hagoromo man, who was talking so eloquently, would have already gone to meet his Sage of Six Paths ancestor.

"You all should go back. The road ahead can only be walked by ourselves."

The brown-haired man sighed, his mind made up, and he looked up to say to Uchiha Gin and the others,

"There is no longer a place for us in the Land of Fire."

"Why go to the Land of Lightning? I've heard that the Black Prison there isn't very easy to get along with."

Uchiha Gin didn't respond to the man's words, but instead asked curiously.

"The Yotsuki clan invited us over. They promised they could give us a place to stay."

The Yotsuki clan? The family that claims to embrace everything as a 'family'? Their motto is that as long as you join, you're family.

A proper Warring States mafia!

"Alright, the Senju clan is still searching for us everywhere. If you stay here, you'll only get dragged into trouble. You'd better leave quickly."

The brown-haired man urged them to leave for the second time; it seemed their situation was indeed not optimistic.

"Sorry, I accepted this mission from the clan leader. If I give up easily, how can I face the elders and fellow clansmen back home?"

Uchiha Gin scratched his face with a headache, but his tone was unyielding.

"Are you sure you want to wade into these muddy waters?"

The main reason the Hagoromo man was urging them to leave was that the Uchiha clan was also a thorn in the side of the Senju clan.

If it were a powerful Uchiha clansman, he would certainly welcome them, but since it was the "noob" famous on the battlefield a few years ago, he naturally wanted to persuade Uchiha Gin and the others to turn back, not wanting to carry dead weight.

"Is that not allowed?"

As he spoke, the three of them simultaneously activated their Sharingan. Three pairs of scarlet eyes stared fixedly at the Hagoromo man before them, and a cold, obscure aura flooded the entire space.

"Oh, you should have shown that earlier!"

Ignoring the pressure of the ocular power, the Hagoromo man excitedly slapped his thigh, stepped forward, and firmly grasped the hand of Uchiha Gin that he hadn't shaken before, saying with tears in his eyes,

"Kin! We've finally waited for you."

After some adult pleasantries, the Hagoromo man led the three into the tent.

"My name is Hagoromo Shintaro, and I am, for the time being, the acting clan leader of the Hagoromo clan."

The brown-haired man revealed his identity, and as he introduced himself, a trace of sorrow flashed in his eyes.

"Because everyone stronger than me is dead."

"My condolences."

Uchiha Gin couldn't think of anything else to say. He hadn't expected that the once-powerful Hagoromo clan had fallen to the point of having someone with the strength of an elite captain serve as acting clan leader.

"No more nonsense. Since you've accepted our mission, I'll tell you about our current situation."

Hagoromo Shintaro straightened his body, looked at Uchiha Gin with burning eyes, and began to speak.

"The Hagoromo clan has fewer than twenty people with combat capability now, including myself, there are three elite captain-level, five captain-level, and the rest are all combatants."

Without evasion, Hagoromo Shintaro truthfully reported the intelligence on their remaining combat strength.

"Of the remaining eighty people, over thirty are women, and the rest are children."

"What about the elderly?"

Remembering that he hadn't seen any elderly people when entering the camp, Uchiha Gin couldn't help but ask curiously.

"The elderly have all sacrificed themselves to cover the women and children."

Hagoromo Shintaro's tone was devoid of joy or sorrow, but Uchiha Gin could hear the deeply hidden pain within it.

"When do you plan to set off?"

Uchiha Gin didn't continue to press about the survivors, instead asking for the details of the mission.

"At any time. Actually, if it weren't for waiting for you, we would have already set off."

Hagoromo Shintaro pulled himself together, pondered for a moment, and gritted his teeth as he said to Uchiha Gin and the others,

"The Senju clan is biting us very hard. If possible, I hope you can provide us with cover."

Their combat strength was severely lacking, and they were all wounded; if they ran into a Senju cleanup squad, they would only be waiting for death.

"No problem, then let's set off."

Uchiha Gin didn't hesitate and immediately agreed to the other party's request.

He had just sensed the entire camp, and besides Hagoromo Shintaro, there were only two other signatures that were decent, barely having the strength of elite captains.

The others all had unstable signatures; it was evident that those people were wounded, and their combat strength had been greatly affected.

"Uncle Shintaro! Has the Uchiha clan's support arrived?"

Just as they were preparing to notify the people outside to set off, a voice interrupted them.

A teenage blond boy walked in with a haughty look, followed by a silver-haired boy who looked somewhat similar to him.

"You two, at a time like this, you're still thinking about challenging people?"

Hagoromo Shintaro looked at the two who had barged in and reprimanded them with a massive headache.

"Go back and pack up quickly; we are leaving immediately."

"No, I've always wanted to see the Uchiha clan's Sharingan. If you don't let me challenge them today, I'm not leaving!"

The blond boy said in a stiff tone; he didn't care about the life or death of those people, he only wanted to do what he wanted to do.

"And these two young men are?"

Uchiha Gin looked at the two boys who had barged in, a guess already forming in his mind.

"Forgive the rudeness. These two guys, one is called Kinkaku and the other is Ginkaku. They are the orphans of the clan leader and have been spoiled since they were young. Please don't take offense."

Hagoromo Shintaro explained with a bitter smile. These two little ancestors, even at a time like this, were still acting out their young master temperaments.

"Oh~ I see."

Having confirmed his thoughts, Uchiha Gin looked at the two boys who were eyeing him with hostility and said in a very warm tone,

"I am the Uchiha clan member you speak of. May I ask what advice you have?"

"Just you, this weak-looking noob?"

Relying on his natural talent, the teenage Kinkaku had already grown a bit taller than Uchiha Gin, and at this moment, he looked down at the smiling Uchiha Gin with eyes full of disdain, saying,

"I was right, the Uchiha clan never had any intention of helping us!"

No, seriously, who exactly gave you all the misconception that I am weak?

(End of chapter)