Chapter 202: Brothers Wrestling Is Perfectly Normal, Right?

"On this day of green cypresses and spring, a day of shared grief between heaven and man, we carry a heavy heart to bid farewell to one of our kin, a beloved elder cousin, a family elite who has passed away in the prime of his life."

Uchiha Tajima's tiger-like eyes brimmed with tears as his trembling hands smoothed the wrinkles on the clothes of Uchiha Gin's "corpse," his tone choked with sobs; while he appeared overcome with grief, his heart held a completely different expression.

"Gin, how much longer do you plan on pretending? Your uncle is running out of lines!"

Uchiha Tajima, who had just been added to the cast group chat, spent a brief moment in curiosity before launching into a scathing, face-to-face lecture directed at Uchiha Gin's spiritual body.

"Hold on, just a second!"

Tsk, that he can even be clan head with that little bit of ink in his belly; the Uchiha are truly in decline.

Uchiha Gin rolled his eyes in silence, and the chakra that had been cooling in his body for a long time began to stir in accordance with his thoughts.

"Father, please restrain your grief. If Cousin's spirit is in heaven, he would not want to see you in such pain."

Uchiha Madara stepped forward, quietly wiping away his tears, and placed a hand on Uchiha Tajima's shoulder to offer a low, comforting word.

He was no less saddened by Uchiha Gin's sacrifice; even having awakened the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan, Uchiha Madara felt not a shred of joy at this moment.

Lowering his eyelids, his pitch-black eyes were filled with uncontrollable sorrow; if not for his own desire to pull himself together, his cousin wouldn't have organized the special training, if not for the special training, they wouldn't have come to the Nanhechuanhe, and if they hadn't come to the Nanhechuanhe, Uchiha Gin wouldn't have...

In that instant, Uchiha Madara's train of thought formed a closed loop.

It's all my fault; if not for me, Cousin wouldn't have died!

Thinking this, Uchiha Madara instantly became as despondent as Uchiha Tajima, and warm tears slowly welled up in his eyes.

I am the culprit who caused Cousin's death.

He then knelt to the ground, sinking into a deep state of emo, unable to pull himself out.

"Big Cousin!"

As for that kid Izuna, there's no need to mention him; he kept muttering Uchiha Gin's name over and over, his tears flowing incessantly like a Water Style: Great Dam Breaker Jutsu.

"Uh..."

Only Uchiha Jiri stood by, dazed, her beautiful eyes half-open and her gaze drifting; she was conflicted about whether she should join in, otherwise, her own expressionless face seemed so out of place in this sorrowful atmosphere.

"Gin~~~"

Uchiha Tajima wailed like a cuckoo spitting blood, his high-pitched voice giving the young lady goosebumps all over.

Forget it, the clan head's acting is truly too painful to watch; I'd better just quietly turn invisible.

Hurry up, Mr. Gin, I can't hold this much longer.

Uchiha Jiri subconsciously clasped her hands, praying in her heart.

"Little Jiri, don't be too sad, Big Cousin he... Huh? Huh??? Huh!!!"

Uchiha Izuna, his face covered in tears, looked at the girl in her prayer pose and, imitating his older brother's tone, spoke up to console her.

As he spoke, his eyes subconsciously looked toward Uchiha Gin's "remains," and the bizarre scene that occurred left him so shocked he lost his voice.

"Izuna, in such a solemn atmosphere, do not make strange noises."

Uchiha Madara, having calmed down slightly, heard his brother's strange cry and reprimanded him.

"No, no, no! You guys look! The Third Eye tattoo on Big Cousin's forehead!"

Uchiha Izuna, who had finally managed to close his mouth, pointed tremblingly at Uchiha Gin's forehead, his eyes filled with astonishment.

"So what if it's a tattoo..."

Hearing this, Uchiha Madara frowned and looked up; he knew about the strange, black-red tattoo on Uchiha Gin's forehead, but he hadn't paid it any mind, as getting tattoos these days was a perfectly normal operation.

He might even get a pattern he liked tattooed on his own chest in the future.

"Huh?"

But when he looked at Uchiha Gin's forehead, he let out the same surprised sound as Izuna.

The others turned their heads at the sound, four pairs of eyes staring fixedly at the silent Uchiha Gin on the ground.

They saw that on Uchiha Gin's peaceful, sleeping face, the black tattoo on his forehead was actually flashing with red light, and several twisted tentacles, as if sprouting, began to slowly spread along his fair skin, centered on the pattern.

Patterns of black and red crawled rhythmically across Uchiha Gin's face, intertwining and advancing, drawing a bewitching design on his handsome features.

As the patterns spread, the stunned group suddenly sensed a tyrannical vitality erupting from Uchiha Gin's body; in their alarm, they all activated their Sharingan, attempting to find the mystery within.

"What is that?"

The hot-headed Uchiha Izuna was the first to speak; with the aid of his Sharingan, he could clearly see chakra containing immense vitality gushing out from the patterns on Uchiha Gin's forehead, merging into his cousin's withered body along his meridians.

"This aura?"

Uchiha Madara's eyes were full of horror; he also saw the chakra merging into Uchiha Gin's body, but what shocked him even more was that as the chakra flowed, the body that had lost its life was actually slowly recovering.

The wounds on Uchiha Gin's body began to heal rapidly; the gruesome injury on his chest disappeared without a trace after a puff of white smoke, and no signs of injury could be seen on his fair skin.

"Thump!"

!!!

A faint beating sound echoed in their ears; all of them were elite ninja with senses far beyond the average person, and upon hearing this familiar sound, they all subconsciously held their breath, their own breathing muffled by the sound of the heartbeat.

"Thump! Thump!"

The four of them held their breath and gripped their own hearts, forcing them to temporarily stop beating, while the sound in their ears grew more and more distinct, more and more powerful.

"Hoo~"

After clearly hearing the rhythmic beating of the heart, the four of them let out a sigh of relief in unison; looking again at Uchiha Gin's peaceful face, they discovered that his previously pale lips were now stained with a crimson that signaled life.

Uchiha Izuna leaned down, pressing his ear against Uchiha Gin's chest, feeling the slight rise and fall; his joy was beyond words, and he raised his head in excitement, his voice trembling.

"Big... Big Cousin, he seems to be alive!"

Uchiha Tajima flashed over, teleporting instantly to Uchiha Gin's side, pressing a hand to his head; while pretending to investigate, he looked at the bewitching patterns on his nephew's face and muttered in his heart.

"Gin, this trick of yours is actually quite convincing!"

"What do you mean convincing? This is the absolute ceiling of medical ninjutsu, ever heard of Creation Rebirth? You could chop me in half and I'd still live!"

Hearing the mockery from his uncle, Uchiha Gin was furious; previously, because he lacked the Strength of a Hundred Seal, many of the supporting skills Tsunade had unlocked couldn't be used, and the Creation Rebirth he was using now was one of them.

"Heh, that's really impressive then~"

Uchiha Tajima began to speak in a sarcastic, mocking tone.

"Alright, hurry up and carry me back; that'll be the end of this."

Uchiha Gin didn't want to endure this humiliation any longer and urged Uchiha Tajima to run; this place was not to be lingered in, as the commotion just now was so loud that if the Senju clan were alerted, his script would be exposed.

"Father, how is Cousin?"

Seeing Uchiha Tajima open his eyes, Uchiha Madara asked with a worried expression.

"Gin's spirit is fine, and his body has just regained its vitality, but for some reason, he has fallen into a coma; the specific situation requires him to be sent back to the clan for examination by a professional medical team."

Uchiha Tajima's furrowed brows slowly relaxed, revealing a smile that put everyone at ease.

"Then let's go quickly!"

The overjoyed younger cousin hoisted Uchiha Gin up, feeling the warm aura from his body, and a joy of recovery filled his heart.

Yay! Big Cousin isn't dead, my New Year's money is back on track!

"Be careful, Izuna."

Watching Uchiha Izuna's rough movements, Uchiha Madara frowned and reminded him; he then walked over to help, and the two of them, one on each side, carried Uchiha Gin between them and flew toward the direction of the clan grounds.

Following behind, Uchiha Tajima and Uchiha Jiri, the two who knew the truth, each had their own thoughts, especially the purple-haired girl, who looked at the patterns on Uchiha Gin's face with a pensive expression.

In the opposite direction from where they left, two figures slowed their pace; the shirtless Senju Tobirama tossed the disheveled Senju Hashirama to the ground, looking relieved.

"Sigh, finally finished acting; I was almost exhausted to death."

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm still a wounded man! My foolish little brother~"

Sitting on the ground, Senju Hashirama rolled his eyes, showing none of the seriousness from the battle just now, and spoke to Senju Tobirama in a teasing tone.

"Shut up! We're already here, what else is there to act for."

Senju Tobirama had black lines on his forehead, showing a very disgusted expression.

"Sigh, shouldn't we dispel this? The main body specifically warned us not to let others see us."

Senju Hashirama stood up from the ground, his honest face carrying a hint of worry; this direction wasn't far from the Senju camp, and if they ran into someone from the Senju clan, wouldn't they be exposed?

"Hmph! How could we be that unlucky? We might only get to come out once in our lives, shouldn't we have some fun?"

Senju Tobirama clearly inherited some of the charm of the one he was imitating; his scarlet eyes darted around, and he clearly didn't want to disappear just like that.

"My foolish little brother, this kind of thing cannot..."

The chakra clone of Senju Hashirama, having inherited some of the personality of the chakra's owner, immediately frowned and grabbed Senju Tobirama's arm, attempting to stop his overstepping behavior.

"Ah! Clan Head? Second-in-command? You two..."

Just then, a suspicious and uncertain voice rang in their ears, and both their hearts sank.

Damn it, speak of the devil.

They saw a team of women emerging from the nearby jungle, led by a tall, long-haired woman with a cold expression.

Her long, narrow phoenix eyes were filled with confusion; the voice just now must have come from her.

"Cough, cough... We were... wrestling! Right, Tobirama?"

(End of chapter)