Chapter 192: Misunderstanding! I really just wanted to brush some experience

"Screw this, if you don't want to tell me, just say so!"

Uchiha Gin walked out of the Uchiha clan's troop encampment in a huff, gave a big middle finger to the two guards who were looking at him with respectful expressions, and turned to leave while they looked on in confusion, distancing himself from this place filled with lies and deception.

Hmph! Spent all that time and ended up with nothing; the few people I asked spoke in riddles—couldn't they just speak in a simpler way?

A troubled Uchiha Gin looked up at the sky and saw it was still early; thinking that he definitely couldn't go home for the time being, he rubbed his shriveled stomach and decided to find a place to satisfy his hunger first.

He strolled all the way to the front of an old acquaintance's shop, only to find that Uchiha Dailang's barbecue restaurant was packed, with the line of people stretching from the entrance all the way to the main street. It looked like this guy Dailang had made a killing again.

"Everyone, line up and enter according to your numbers!"

The honest-looking youth Uchiha Erlang, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, was busy working for the family, clutching a stack of numbered tags and handing them out one by one to the people waiting in line.

"Huh? Big Brother Gin, long time no see!"

When the other party reached Uchiha Gin, there were only a few numbered tags left in his hand. Uchiha Erlang looked up, saw the familiar curly hair, and greeted him with some surprise.

"Brother Erlang, your brother's business is doing quite well!"

Seeing his former teammate succeed in business, Uchiha Gin was genuinely happy for him. He looked at the grinning Uchiha Erlang and waved his hand.

"I'm alone, so I won't waste your seats. I'll come again next time!"

The shop was already so busy; if he went in, he wouldn't be able to avoid some small talk. Better to let Dailang keep making money.

"How can that be? My big brother said that as long as you come, you don't need to line up—just eat whatever you want."

Erlang shook his head repeatedly; his big brother had specifically instructed him about this. He immediately tried to pull Uchiha Gin to go in with him so he wouldn't have to wait in line.

But Uchiha Gin looked up at the long, dragon-like queue and ultimately declined Erlang's good intentions. It wasn't like he had to eat barbecue; he could just go somewhere else for a simple meal.

"Say, Brother Erlang, who do you think is the person closest to you?"

Before leaving, Uchiha Gin asked this casually to Uchiha Erlang, who looked honest but was actually as slick as oil, wanting to see if his answer could provide some inspiration.

"Huh? This isn't some kind of entrapment, is it?"

Hearing Uchiha Gin's abrupt question, Uchiha Erlang was stunned for a moment, then took a few steps back to put some distance between them, looking vigilant.

"It's just casual conversation. I've been troubled by some questions lately and can't sleep at night. Brother Erlang, you have to help me, otherwise those magazines of yours..."

Uchiha Gin narrowed his dead-fish eyes, the expression on his face appearing incredibly sincere, yet his words were an explicit threat.

"Stop! I'll tell you everything!"

A guilty Uchiha Erlang hurriedly looked around, and only after seeing no acquaintances did he heave a sigh of relief and lower his posture to answer.

"My parents sacrificed themselves early on, and my big brother has been raising me since I was little. If you're talking about the person closest to me, it has to be my big brother."

Uchiha Erlang didn't hesitate to name Uchiha Dailang directly. Looking at the inexplicable gleam in his eyes, Uchiha Gin suddenly felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

The training ground at the clan leader's residence.

"Stop hitting! Stop hitting! I surrender~"

A bruised and battered Uchiha Izuna lay on the ground, looking at the furious Uchiha Madara before him, wanting to cry but having no tears, begging for mercy repeatedly.

Why is Big Brother so fierce? He hasn't eaten in three days, yet he still has so much strength.

"Izuna, you disappoint me too much. With your capacity, compared to Hashirama's brother, you're not even close."

Having fought against Tobirama Senju, Uchiha Madara naturally knew how troublesome the other party was. That his own brother was inferior to Hashirama's made him feel unhappy, and the force of his blows increased involuntarily, causing the passively beaten Izuna to howl.

"Ah! You can't even beat that bastard Tobirama Senju's brother, so why are you demanding it of me?"

Driven to desperation by the beating, Uchiha Izuna couldn't hold back anymore. I'll accept being beaten, but now you're comparing me to that bastard white-hair? Are you even my real brother?

"It seems I've been too lenient with you lately."

This sentence also stepped on Uchiha Madara's sore spot. He looked at his own brother with an unkind gaze, deciding to give him a little bit of loving discipline.

"Ugh~ If it were Big Cousin, he would never treat me like this!"

Uchiha Izuna shouted with a sense of grievance. Clearly, he had run around doing so much to help his big brother get back on his feet, only to be sanctioned in the end.

Family, who understands this~

Hearing Uchiha Izuna call out the name of Big Cousin, the anger filling Uchiha Madara's heart instantly cooled down.

Looking at Izuna's stubborn eyes, he suddenly remembered the days he had spent with Uchiha Gin.

After he broke ties with Hashirama, there was a period of time when he felt very lost inside.

He only knew how to fight all day long and was indifferent to everything else. His father's stern teachings and his brother's fearful eyes could not shake him.

Until one day, the smiling Uchiha Gin appeared, finding all sorts of reasons to spar with him every day—including but not limited to fighting; sometimes they would go into the water to catch fish, other times they would climb trees to touch bird eggs.

Even more outrageous was the competition to see who could successfully peep into the women's bathhouse. Although both were discovered by people using the Sharingan, in the end, Uchiha Gin, as the older brother, took the initiative to shoulder everything and admit defeat.

At the time, he only thought Uchiha Gin's thinking was erratic and his actions outrageous, as if he had some serious illness.

But after his own thinking matured, he slowly realized what Uchiha Gin had done back then.

Those outrageous actions were actually an older brother who loved his younger brother, doing his best, using very clumsy methods to accompany and guide his lost younger brother, guarding his healthy and happy growth.

"Izuna, I'm sorry."

Uchiha Madara raised his large hand high and slowly lowered it. Looking at Izuna before him, he seemed to see himself from several years ago.

He suddenly realized that he was so lucky to have an older brother who secretly guarded him, constantly paying attention to the path of his growth and healing the wounds of his childhood.

"It's okay, Brother. I know you have resentment in your heart; it's good to let it out."

Uchiha Izuna looked at Uchiha Madara before him and found that his gaze had changed, becoming somewhat like the look Uchiha Gin gave him.

The dissatisfaction and grievance in his heart vanished instantly, and a bright smile appeared once again on his face, which had just shed its childishness.

"I will practice hard and strive to defeat that hateful white-hair next time, and guard Brother's back!"

"Hmph! I don't need a brat like you to guard me; just hide behind me obediently."

This kid, saying I have too many openings in my back, both openly and covertly.

"Hehe, then I'll go guard Big Cousin; his strength is too pathetic."

Uchiha Izuna jumped up from the ground with a smile, a lazy curly-haired head flashing through his mind.

"No need, I'm enough on my own."

Recalling the warm smile of that man in his memory, Uchiha Madara gave a rare smile.

【Big Brother, from now on, let me be the one to guard you.】

"Also, don't think you can pull the wool over my eyes like this; explain the matter of peeping at those magazines properly."

Uchiha Madara's expression changed abruptly, and he raised his large hand again.

You're a real face-changer, Brother.

Having found a clue, Uchiha Gin wandered around and arrived at a familiar door.

Recalling his reputation that was about to collapse, he sighed and shook his head, just about to turn and leave, when he was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Mr. Gin, why are you here?"

Turning his head, he saw Uchiha Jiri, who was carrying quite a few ingredients, her beautiful face full of confusion.

It's already mealtime, why is Mr. Gin wandering around? Could it be that there's discord at home and he ran away from home?

A brainstorm was unfolding in the girl's small head, and all sorts of speculations came one after another.

"Haha, I was just strolling around, and I'm heading home to eat now."

Uchiha Gin scratched his face stiffly, explaining in a very unnatural tone.

Go back and face judgment? Forget it, better to find a place to avoid the limelight.

"Mr. Gin, has anyone ever told you that you're a terrible liar?"

The girl couldn't help but roll her eyes. Uchiha Gin's acting was just too poor, wasn't it?

Tsk! I was third place in the elementary school group; how could my acting be so bad that a little girl could see through it?

There were only four people in the competition, and one of them had diarrhea and didn't get on stage. Do you really think your third place was well-deserved?

"Gurgle~"

Just as the two were confronting each other, Uchiha Gin's stomach growled uncooperatively, making him very embarrassed.

"Let's go. I bought a lot of fresh ingredients today and was planning to have that hot pot you left for us."

The purple-haired girl held back her laughter, almost getting internal injuries, then shook the two large bags of ingredients she had purchased and extended an invitation.

"Don't decline. This was bought with the reward you gave me; it only cost a little bit."

As the girl spoke, she used her fair, tender, onion-like little finger to make a "tiny bit" gesture.

It seems I haven't driven down the gold prices in the Uchiha clan grounds yet.

"Then I'll impose on you."

In the end, Uchiha Gin did not refuse the temptation of Uchiha Jiri's home—of course, here he absolutely meant the temptation of the hot pot.

"Knock, knock, knock~"

He took the ingredients from the girl's hands and knocked on the door of Uchiha Jiri's house.

He heard a burst of hurried footsteps in the room, and the door opened in response.

The one who opened the door was Uchiha Eimi, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. The charming and mature purple-haired woman was wearing close-fitting loungewear, her long purple hair tied into a single thick braid hanging in front of her chest. Her tight clothing outlined her perfect pear-shaped figure completely.

Two surging mounds had temporarily broken free from gravity due to the recent jogging, sticking Uchiha Gin's gaze onto them as they swayed up and down.

"Ara ara, I let little Jiri go buy her favorite ingredients, but I didn't expect her to buy Gin-san back!"

After opening the door, Lady Eimi, seeing the visitor, covered her mouth in surprise like a young girl with a budding heart. Her pair of amorous, beautiful eyes were captivating, and the tone of her voice was so thick it could be pulled into threads, making Uchiha Gin feel a tingle in his heart.

No! My relationship with Lady Eimi is only that of "pipe and flute" friends; I must never overstep.

Thinking of this, Uchiha Gin recited the Heart-Clearing Mantra in his heart, trying to clear the restless fire within him.

"Mother, please don't say things that make Mr. Gin uncomfortable."

The expressionless Uchiha Jiri stood out. Just when Uchiha Gin thought the girl was going to destroy her family for the sake of justice, she said something that made his jaw drop.

"This is what I bought; if you want some, go buy it yourself!"

(End of chapter)