Chapter 165: Recalling a long-shelved mission

Early morning, the sky was just barely brightening. In Uchiha Gin's home, a tall figure was busy in the kitchen.

As wisps of fragrance drifted out, a weary-looking Uchiha Gin slowly paced down from upstairs.

One hand scratched at his bird's nest of curly hair, while the other covered his mouth, letting out a massive yawn.

"Haaah~"

His drooping eyelids were ringed with thick, dark circles. He twitched his nose a few times, and his brows, as if injected with energy, suddenly shot up.

Revealing a pair of sparkling dead-fish eyes, Uchiha Gin followed the scent and saw Senju Banka busy in the kitchen. He couldn't help but ask,

"Eating such a feast so early in the morning?"

Senju Banka had coiled his long, silky black hair up, revealing a fair, delicate nape. Hearing Uchiha Gin's voice, he turned his head slightly.

"Hmph! This is your food for the day."

His black eyes were filled with disdain. With a huff, he spoke coldly in a crisp voice that didn't match his age.

"Huh? Where are you going?"

Hearing this, Uchiha Gin was instantly jolted awake, all sleepiness gone. Staring at the kid's slender back, he hurriedly asked.

He had raised this little suckling pig for so many years; he couldn't let some random cabbage patch trick him away.

"Going to Miss Zhili's house."

"Phew~ A false alarm. I thought you little brat had reached the age of spring fever."

Uchiha Gin let out a long sigh. If this kid got swindled away and had his kidneys harvested, his own life would be in jeopardy.

"If it weren't to cook for you, I would have gone to Miss Zhili's house long ago."

Senju Banka stopped his work and walked out of the kitchen looking displeased, carrying a hearty breakfast which he tossed in front of Uchiha Gin.

The fragrant breakfast made Uchiha Gin's appetite soar. He rubbed his shriveled stomach and, saying no more, began to devour it like a whirlwind, praising it incessantly between bites.

"Not bad, not bad. It's got a bit of my standard from back in the day."

"Heh."

"By the way, where's Little Guang? Still sleeping in?"

With his mouth full of grease, Uchiha Gin suddenly remembered the other person living in the house and asked.

"That old woman left before dawn."

Senju Banka said through gritted teeth. At this moment, the little brat was tidying up the daily household trash, planning to take it out when he left—truly a good child who says one thing but does another.

"Do you still want this thing?"

Just as Uchiha Gin was lamenting that his moral education had been implemented quite effectively, he heard Senju Banka's puzzled voice behind him.

Uchiha Gin turned his head and looked at the tattered scroll in Senju Banka's hand. The more he looked, the more familiar it seemed.

"That thing is... Ah, I almost forgot about this. Don't throw it away, I still have a use for it."

As the memory was awakened, Uchiha Gin slapped his forehead and shouted at the frowning kid.

"Tsk, it's filthy. It wouldn't happen to be some old erotic painting, would it?"

Seeing Uchiha Gin's impatient look, Senju Banka instantly had an epiphany.

He then disdainfully used two fair fingers to pick up the tattered scroll, which was covered in mysterious stains, and accurately tossed it into the kitchen stove to carry out a humane destruction.

"You little brat, what kind of filthy thoughts are in your head!"

Seeing the scroll about to fall into the flames, Uchiha Gin was anxious. He flashed toward the kitchen, but it was too late.

"Pfft~"

The scroll landed steadily into the roaring stove a step before Uchiha Gin, and was instantly swallowed by the scorching flames.

"Agh~ That was a gift from two distant brothers-in-arms!"

Arriving a step too late, Uchiha Gin could only watch helplessly as the scroll was consumed by the fire. Recalling the two brothers who had entrusted the scroll to him, he felt a surge of guilt.

Sorry, Brother Jin Jiao, it's all the fault of this unfortunate household~

"Eh?"

Just as Uchiha Gin was repenting, his sharp eyes suddenly caught a faint blue glow amidst the heat-blasting flames. In shock, he waved his hand to extinguish the fire in the stove.

"It's actually fine?"

As a puff of white smoke rose, Uchiha Gin discovered the scroll at the very bottom of the stove, emitting a pale blue light.

He carefully picked it up and found it was still ice-cold to the touch, unaffected by the high temperature of the flames. Thus, this object was clearly far from ordinary.

"So disgusting!"

As he left, Senju Banka looked at Uchiha Gin, who was holding the scroll with vacant eyes, curled his lip in disdain, and slammed the door shut while carrying a large bag of trash.

Uchiha Gin was already accustomed to the kid's impolite behavior. After all, he was a cub he'd raised himself; what harm was there in being a little indulgent?

"Eh... there are still a few years left. Anyway, I've been quite free lately, might as well go find some fun~"

Uchiha Gin stroked the scroll in his hand, a glimmer of light flashing in his dead-fish eyes.

After tucking the scroll into his bag and tidying up briefly, he left a note for Uchiha Guang and Senju Banka telling them not to worry, and set off in high spirits.

First, Uchiha Gin's first stop was the Clan Leader's building. He greeted the guards familiarly, wandered around the corridor a few times, and strolled to the Clan Leader's office, knocking on the door without ceremony.

"Bang, bang, bang~"

"Come in."

A familiar voice sounded from inside. Uchiha Gin smiled upon hearing it and pushed the door open directly.

"Aiyo~ Isn't this the retired cadre? Why are you still burning yourself out at your post? Didn't we agree you were going to go walk birds and tend to flowers?"

Uchiha Gin looked at the figure scribbling away at the Clan Leader's desk, smiled teasingly, and joked.

"It's Gin. What is it this time?"

Uchiha Tian Dao, hunched over the desk, looked up, adjusted his reading glasses, and asked Uchiha Gin, who was wearing a smile, with a huff.

"If you're applying for early retirement, I won't approve it. You brat can just work yourself to death in the dungeon for me!"

Seeing Uchiha Gin's leisurely look, Uchiha Tian Dao was instantly infuriated.

He was already at such an old age, and he'd even moved his seat, so why wouldn't they let him have some peace?

Madara and Izuna were out chasing the Senju all day, and all the big and small matters in the clan kept circling back to him in the end.

"How could that be~ I'm dying to work in the dungeon until I die, please don't let me retire!"

Hearing that the topic concerned his career path, Uchiha Gin immediately patted his chest, swearing solemnly that he would dedicate his life to the Uchiha clan's prison industry.

"Then what are you here for? Madara and Izuna won't be back for a few days. If you have other requests, it's more effective to find the current Clan Leader."

Since it wasn't about slacking off, Uchiha Tian Dao frowned and asked with some confusion.

"I want to go out for a stroll for a few days, so I came to see if there are any missions."

Uchiha Gin spread his hands, indicating he was very free lately and wanted to go out for some fresh air.

"A mission..."

Hearing this request, Uchiha Tian Dao was quite surprised. Ever since Uchiha Madara took over as Clan Leader, Uchiha Gin had been like a ghost, rarely appearing in the public eye.

He was either slacking off in the dungeon or wandering the streets. Aside from occasionally taking missions to help widows fetch water, he basically never saw him come to the Clan Leader's building.

"If you have time, go to the Land of Wind and investigate a tribe called Loulan."

Uchiha Tian Dao pondered for a moment, flipping through the mission list in his hand. Finally, in an inconspicuous corner, he found a mission that had been shelved for a long time. After carefully reading the mission content, he said slowly to the waiting Uchiha Gin.

"The journey is a bit far. If you don't want to go, forget it."

"Land of Wind? No problem, I'll take it!"

Hearing a familiar term, Uchiha Gin's eyes lit up, and he nodded like a chicken pecking at rice to Uchiha Tian Dao.

Before long, Uchiha Gin, holding the mission sheet, walked out of the Clan Leader's building happily. He purchased a ton of supplies while passing through the market and strolled toward the clan grounds gate.

The guards at the gate saw it was Uchiha Gin and, without the slightest hesitation, chose to be selectively blind and let him pass directly.

"Let me see, where is the treasure left by the Sage of Six Paths~"

Wandering in the jungle, Uchiha Gin enjoyed the rare tranquility. He reached into his bag, pulled out the scroll gifted by Brother Jin Jiao, opened it, and began to savor it slowly.

Uchiha Gin first looked at the brief introduction recorded in the scroll regarding the Sage of Six Paths' trial grounds.

Before the Sage of Six Paths died, he had planted his sword in the place where he once grew up, leaving a message for his descendants to come and accept the trial. Those who passed could obtain his sword.

"Just this much?"

Uchiha Gin spread the scroll out completely, only to find that the introduction inside was only this much, and he couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"It wouldn't be the Hagoromo clan using this to trick others, would it?"

"Eh... didn't expect it to be on the way."

After making malicious speculations, he looked at the map behind the introduction and found that the marked location was actually in the direction of the Land of Wind.

Since it was such a coincidence, Uchiha Gin stopped hesitating. After putting the scroll back into his bag, he began to quicken his pace, exerting force under his feet, and instantly disappeared from where he stood.

His speeding figure stirred up bursts of sonic booms in the quiet jungle, leaving only a blurred afterimage along the way.

Driven by curiosity, Uchiha Gin reached the location marked on the map in just one day.

"Is this it? It doesn't look like anything special?"

Uchiha Gin frowned, looking at the low-lying valley in front of him. This was a purely wild natural environment with no traces of human presence, and no roads to continue exploring.

Occasionally, wild beasts would pass by. Seeing Uchiha Gin with his head down in thought, their eyes would flash with bloodthirsty light, and they would be about to sneak an attack.

But sensing the terrifying aura inadvertently leaked by this strange creature, the beasts' instincts made them choose to tuck their tails and scurry away obediently.

"Crack~"

Wielding a black double-edged giant axe, Uchiha Gin diligently carved out his own path in this jungle.

As he ventured deeper, a ripple suddenly appeared in Uchiha Gin's calm heart, as if he had sensed a call from deep within his bloodline.

"Looks like there's something here. Those big brothers of the Hagoromo clan are truly honest people!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 166 =====