Chapter 177: Just So Happens My Home Is Missing a Vase

"You two brats, don't you dare embarrass me once you go to the Land of Lightning; at least manage to become a leader or something."

Uchiha Gin, having ended his daydreaming, looked at the young yet mature-looking Kinkaku before him, wiped the tears from the corner of his mouth, and teased with a smile,

"Otherwise, don't you dare say you know me."

"Every word of Mr. Gin, we brothers will surely keep in our hearts."

Kinkaku pulled his younger brother behind him, his tiger-like eyes brimming with tears; although the time they had spent together was very short, his respect for Uchiha Gin was truly from the heart.

From the unreserved guidance they received at the very beginning to the life-saving actions at critical moments, he had seen it all and kept it in his heart.

"Ginkaku, take the things out."

Kinkaku fished a primitive, worn-out scroll from his bosom and spoke to his brother behind him.

Hearing this, Ginkaku did not hesitate and immediately took out an identical scroll from his own bosom, handing both scrolls to Uchiha Gin as he spoke.

"Mr. Gin, what is sealed inside here are the divine artifacts of our Hagoromo clan; please feel free to choose two of them!"

"Eh? Didn't the mission say it was just one?"

Taking the scrolls from Kinkaku, they felt very heavy in his hands, and the material felt as if it were crafted from some kind of tree bark.

Just by holding them, one could sense the profound power contained within the scrolls, but perhaps due to their extreme age, the two scrolls looked as if they might fall apart at any moment.

"Great kindness needs no thanks; Mr. Gin, please just pick. That extra one is a token of our brothers' sincerity; please, do not decline."

Kinkaku waved his hand; although Uchiha Gin escorting them was a mission, the help he had given the brothers far exceeded the scope of the task, so the two had discussed it and unanimously decided to let Uchiha Gin choose one extra divine artifact.

After all, if Uchiha Gin brought such rare divine artifacts back, they would most likely be confiscated by the clan for research, and the right to use them would probably not fall to him.

"Let me take a look first!"

Uchiha Gin saw the brothers' little intentions and felt a warmth in his heart; he did not refuse and opened the scrolls to inspect them.

He opened Ginkaku's scroll first; it was sealed with two divine artifacts: on the left was a wide sword adorned with auspicious clouds at its four corners, and on the right was a plain, unadorned red gourd.

Following that, Uchiha Gin opened Kinkaku's scroll; it was sealed with three divine artifacts: the one on the far left was a golden rope, in the middle was a red and white feathered fan, and at the very end was a jar with inscriptions on its body.

"What Ginkaku holds are the Seven-Star Sword and the Red Gourd, while here I have the Golden Canopy Rope, the Banana Fan, and the Amber Purifying Jar."

Kinkaku began to carefully introduce the Six Paths Ninja Tools they possessed to Uchiha Gin; although the names sounded a bit distracting to him, knowing the original plot, he had some understanding of these divine artifacts.

"The Seven-Star Sword is..."

Kinkaku's eyes shone as he introduced his family's divine artifacts as if they were his own treasures, fearing that Uchiha Gin might not think much of them.

"... he Banana Fan allows the wielder to ignore their own chakra nature and release super-powerful weapons of all five natures—fire, water, lightning, wind, and earth—in one breath."

Kinkaku, whose mouth was a bit dry from talking, licked his lips and introduced the final treasure.

"This jar is called the Amber Purifying Jar; as long as one responds to the wielder, they will be sucked into the jar and sealed."

"Hmm."

After hearing the introduction of all the divine artifacts, their effects were no different from those described in the original work, which left Uchiha Gin unable to decide for a moment.

First of all, the Seven-Star Sword, the Golden Canopy Rope, and the Red Gourd were a set; together they were a starry sky, but apart they were useless trash.

If he took one of them, Kinkaku and Ginkaku's future days would be difficult, so Uchiha Gin immediately passed on these three.

Next was the Banana Fan; the bonus to the five elemental ninjutsu was of no use to him, as he was not lacking in chakra or ninjutsu.

Moreover, when fighting aliens in the later stages, conventional elemental ninjutsu wouldn't even be worth mentioning, so it was better to leave it for Kinkaku and Ginkaku to defend themselves with for now!

"This one..."

After passing on four of the divine artifacts in his heart, Uchiha Gin set his gaze on the last jar, studying the primitive inscriptions on the bottle body, lost in thought.

This bottle seemed to have been snatched away by the Third Raikage later on; rather than letting it benefit that "ten-thousand-man-slayer" black boss, it was better for him to collect it in advance. Since he didn't have many sealing methods, this treasure might just have some miraculous effects.

"Have you chosen, Mr. Gin?"

He watched as Uchiha Gin's brow went from conflicted to relaxed, then back to conflicted again, until finally, his gaze landed on the Amber Purifying Jar.

"Yes, let's go with this bottle; it just so happens that my home is missing a vase for decoration."

Uchiha Gin pointed his finger at the Amber Purifying Jar at the very end and said to Kinkaku with a smile.

"Just this one? Pick another one!"

He hadn't expected Uchiha Gin to choose this one. In terms of practicality, the Amber Purifying Jar was the most useless divine artifact for the two brothers, as it required both hands to hold, which would mean having one less weapon than others, right?

Kinkaku felt a strange sensation in his heart, and the look he gave Uchiha Gin became even more fervent.

Mr. Gin is truly a kind and good person.

"No need, I'll just take this one. The remaining four are just right for you two brothers to have two each."

Uchiha Gin shook his head, insisting on taking only one.

"Uh, alright."

Seeing Uchiha Gin so insistent, Kinkaku stopped being coy and immediately bit his thumb, smearing blood onto the scroll. With a release seal formed in his hands, a burst of white smoke rose from the scroll.

As the smoke cleared, a jar half the height of a person appeared before Uchiha Gin. Kinkaku stroked this divine artifact that their Hagoromo clan had worshipped for generations, a flash of reluctance in his eyes, which then turned into determination.

The Hagoromo clan was almost gone; what was the point of clinging to these divine artifacts?

Kinkaku believed that as long as they were alive, no matter where they were, the legend of the Hagoromo clan would continue.

"Thanks~"

Uchiha Gin took the Amber Purifying Jar handed over by Kinkaku, stored it in a blank scroll he carried with him, stuffed it into the bag on his back, clapped his hands, and prepared to bid farewell to the members of the Hagoromo clan.

"Mr. Gin, we have nothing of value now, but to thank you for your help..."

Putting away the scroll containing the other divine artifacts, Kinkaku's eyes shimmered with a faint light. As if remembering something, he suddenly spoke up to stop Uchiha Gin, who had turned to leave.

Hearing this, Uchiha Gin's expression changed, and he became vigilant.

Eh? Don't tell me he wants to offer himself? No wonder I always thought you brat looked so familiar; now that I think about it, you look exactly like the leader of those "Four Heavenly Kings."

My upright and unyielding Uchiha Gin won't fall for this!

"I have decided to tell you a secret passed down in our Hagoromo clan."

Kinkaku's eyes were filled with resolve, as if he had made a decision that went against his ancestors.

"Ah? Brother, that is..."

Behind him, Ginkaku, hearing his brother's words, wore a rare look of surprise on his gloomy face.

"Ginkaku, say no more. Our Hagoromo clan is on the verge of extinction; that secret is of no use to us anymore."

Kinkaku shook his head, interrupting his brother's words.

Phew~ Good thing he wasn't planning to force a man; if these two brothers had tried to "man-on-man" him, how would he have dealt with it!

"You want to tell me?"

However, the brothers' conversation also piqued Uchiha Gin's interest.

The secret of the Hagoromo clan that Kinkaku spoke of had not appeared in the original work; even the Hagoromo clan itself was only mentioned in passing a few times in the original and never explored in depth.

"Mr. Gin, you also know that our Hagoromo clan are the descendants of the Sage of Six Paths."

Kinkaku said with a serious expression, a hint of pride in his eyes; they were, after all, descendants of the legendary Sage.

Tsk! You puff yourself up just because I said you were fat; who isn't a descendant of a Sage these days?

Uchiha Gin couldn't help but roll his dead-fish eyes upon hearing Kinkaku's self-aggrandizement; your big brother is right here, so the little brothers of the Hagoromo clan should step aside.

"I don't need to elaborate on the legend of the Sage of Six Paths; those are things everyone knows."

This brat Kinkaku is still playing coy; this doesn't fit your character at all!

"Although our Hagoromo clan's ancestors inherited the divine artifacts left behind by the Sage of Six Paths, how could the great Sage of Six Paths possibly have only these few weapons?"

Kinkaku shook his head and said with an intriguing expression,

"There are more divine artifacts?"

Uchiha Gin acted "moderately" shocked to warm up the atmosphere for his brother Kinkaku.

Isn't it just the Box of Ultimate Bliss? That thing should be suppressed in the Land of Grass right now.

Thinking of that ominous monster from the movie, Uchiha Gin didn't want to touch that box with the suggestive-sounding name at all.

"Before the Sage of Six Paths passed away, he left his sword in the Land of Sealing, and our Hagoromo clan is responsible for guarding that divine artifact."

It's not the Box of Ultimate Bliss?

Uchiha Gin raised his eyebrows in surprise, a glimmer of light erupting in his dead-fish eyes. The sword of the Sage of Six Paths, could it be...

"According to the ancient records of our Hagoromo clan, that is a divine artifact called the Sword of Nunoboko, which can host a strong yearning for one's wish, hence it is also called the Sword of Wishes. Legend has it that the Sage of Six Paths created the world with this sword."

Kinkaku revealed this near-mythical secret to Uchiha Gin as if telling a story.

"Sounds pretty powerful. Why doesn't your Hagoromo clan take that divine artifact back?"

Kinkaku's words confirmed his guess, and Uchiha Gin recalled the weapon that Six Paths Obito had wielded in the original work.

It looked like a double-helix structure, but its power was truly formidable. If Obito hadn't been wavering in his resolve and still wanted to be that "Hokage" that even a dog wouldn't want to be, the Fourth Great Ninja War would have ended long ago.

"It cannot be taken back. It is said that apart from the Sage of Six Paths himself, only descendants of the Six Paths with a sufficiently high concentration of his bloodline are qualified to enter the Land of Sealing and catch a glimpse of the divine artifact's glory, and even then, it is not certain they can take it out."

Kinkaku shook his head; their Hagoromo clan was considered one of the descendants closest to the Six Paths bloodline, but even they had no one capable of entering the Land of Sealing.

Good grief, it's bloodline-locked, is it?

(End of chapter)