Chapter 244: Returning to the Cave, Drawing the Sword Once More

The crisis that had plagued the Otsutsuki clan for years was resolved in such a dramatic fashion; as Otsutsuki Tsukihime raised her hand to wave a rainbow into existence, the members of the Otsutsuki clan, having received the assembly signal, arrived one after another at the signal launch site.

Uchiha Gin, Otsutsuki Tsukihime, and Otsutsuki Biraoku were currently standing beside a sinkhole in the primeval forest, peering downward; beneath the crisscrossing rock pillars lay a pool of water so clear the bottom was visible, emitting a faint, cyan-blue glow.

"Mr. Gin, please wait a moment; we are organizing a farewell party for you."

Having changed into a simple robe, the tall Otsutsuki Biraoku looked on with reluctance in her beautiful eyes, her rosy lips pouting slightly, her feelings of grievance plain to see.

"Hey, don't you worry. I, Uchiha Gin, known as the Honest Little Gentleman, will definitely pave the way for you."

Facing Otsutsuki Biraoku's burning gaze, Uchiha Gin pretended not to understand, patted his chest boldly, and gave the two of them his word.

"Whoosh~ whoosh~ whoosh~"

Just as the three were chatting, dozens of figures arrived in succession; the complex, fragrant scent wafting toward him left Uchiha Gin feeling somewhat dazed.

The newcomers were all fair-haired women with delicate features, their white eyes filled with confusion.

Seeing the only male present, the dozens of Otsutsuki women could not help but begin whispering among themselves.

Occasionally, a few of the more uninhibited ones would cast flirtatious glances at Uchiha Gin, the desire overflowing from their eyes almost tangible.

"Silence!"

Seeing so many of her clanswomen coveting Uchiha Gin, Otsutsuki Biraoku immediately felt a surge of displeasure; a wave of imposing pressure radiated from her body, causing the flirtatious clanswomen present to tighten with fear and lower their heads.

"Ahem. This is Mr. Uchiha Gin. He bears the command of our ancestor and has come to save our Otsutsuki clan, providing powerful assistance for our restoration plan."

Otsutsuki Tsukihime began to ramble according to her script, and the eager clanswomen below were all overjoyed to hear it.

The white eyes looking at Uchiha Gin showed faint signs of bloodshot intensity, and their bodies subconsciously grew a bit damp.

"Hey, hey, hey, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

Hearing this opening statement filled with misunderstandings, Uchiha Gin looked at the dead-serious Otsutsuki Tsukihime with black lines on his forehead; was this girl a natural airhead?

"Ah? Is it wrong?"

Otsutsuki Tsukihime flipped through the script in her hands, her delicate brows furrowed together, her small nose twitching; the confusion on her face did not seem faked.

After thinking it over carefully in her little head, she revealed an expression of sudden realization, looking at Uchiha Gin with eyes full of disdain.

"Sure enough, those with dirty hearts see everything as dirty."

This girl—I must thoroughly humiliate her!

"In short, Mr. Uchiha Gin will help us open the passage to the surface."

After a long-winded string of nonsense, Otsutsuki Tsukihime finally got to the point; upon hearing this good news, the Otsutsuki clanswomen immediately began to chatter excitedly.

They had only ever glimpsed the surface through monitors, and now that they had a chance to go down in person, everyone's body trembled, and they entered a state of beautiful fantasy.

"Hehe, I've seen that there are many little handsome guys down there~"

"Hmph! I think that old man also has a certain charm~"

"Hey! Anyway, we have long lives; wouldn't it be nice to raise a cute little boy from childhood?"

Hearing such explosive and wild words, Uchiha Gin felt a little apologetic, but he really couldn't bear this sweet burden all by himself.

Especially since these Otsutsuki clanswomen, while looking like light, mature women in their thirties or forties, were actually mostly centenarians; he really couldn't handle it and should leave it to the guys down below!

"Quiet! Quiet! Don't any of you go into heat here; it truly diminishes the dignity of our Otsutsuki clan."

Watching this group of clanswomen lost in pink bubbles, Otsutsuki Tsukihime frowned and infused her voice with chakra; the overbearing pressure instantly sobered the group, and only after it was quiet did she continue.

"In order not to lack decorum, our leadership has unanimously decided that Mr. Uchiha Gin will act as our liaison to establish an Otsutsuki clan office on the surface, and all clanswomen will take turns working on the surface in an orderly fashion based on seniority."

This plan had been voted on by the two top leaders, the Clan Head and the Great Elder, and the result was two votes in favor and zero against.

"Who agrees, who opposes?"

After Otsutsuki Tsukihime finished speaking, Otsutsuki Biraoku looked up and scanned the clanswomen before asking coldly; seeing the silent crowd, she nodded with satisfaction, chuckled, and announced loudly,

"Hehe, since everyone agrees, this plan is officially passed!"

"Clap, clap, clap~~"

Faced with this blatant threat, the clanswomen below, though resentful, could do nothing but bite the bullet and applaud; for a time, the sound of clapping was incessant.

"Then let us bid farewell to Mr. Uchiha Gin; once he opens the passage, everyone will have a chance to go down for duty~"

Having received everyone's enthusiastic support, Otsutsuki Tsukihime stepped forward and raised her hands, signaling all the clanswomen to see Uchiha Gin off.

"Wooo~ Mr. Uchiha Gin, I want to have your babies!"

"Mr. Gin, please hurry; I am already famished and impatient~"

"Mr. Gin..."

Faced with the overwhelming enthusiasm of the Otsutsuki clan's female comrades, Uchiha Gin immediately turned tail and ran, jumping into the sinkhole without looking back and arriving at the water's edge, with Otsutsuki Biraoku and Otsutsuki Tsukihime following closely behind.

"Mr. Gin, you must come back."

Otsutsuki Biraoku looked at Uchiha Gin with affectionate eyes, her full red lips slightly pursed, and she entrusted him with caution.

"Uh... I am a man of my word, but building the portal may take some time; you can send people to guard here, and there will be a response when the time comes."

Uchiha Gin formed seals with his hands, recalled what Otsutsuki Hamura had told him, and explained to Otsutsuki Biraoku.

The two women behind him did not possess the genes of the Sage of Six Paths in their bloodlines, so they could not rely on teleportation techniques to bypass the smart lock set by Otsutsuki Hagoromo.

They could only wait for him to change the lock before the Otsutsuki clan could teleport to the surface, but the process of changing the lock would take time.

It could be a day, or it could be a year; it all depended on the construction speed of the teleportation array.

"How will I find you then?"

Otsutsuki Biraoku, whose heart was pounding, felt a tightness in her chest and hurriedly asked.

"This... I remember I gave you a cloak, right? Did you bring it?"

After thinking for a moment, Uchiha Gin asked; he did have a method of his own, specifically for finding acquaintances.

"It's here, I've been carrying it with me!"

Hearing Uchiha Gin's words, Otsutsuki Biraoku stripped off her simple robe, revealing the pure white, gold-inlaid magic-resistant cloak she was wearing against her skin.

A pair of peaks, recovered from the consumption of the Butterfly Transformation Technique, caused the white cloak to bulge high.

This fragrant and colorful scene made Uchiha Gin subconsciously swallow his saliva, and he said with difficulty,

"Just having it is enough."

Having said that, he pulled another cloak of the same style from his bag and, amidst the other's confused gaze, slapped the cloak in his hand down.

A dazzling light flashed, and the cloak on Otsutsuki Biraoku's body vanished into thin air; just as she was caught in surprise, seeing the empty scenery beneath the cloak,

Uchiha Gin could not spare the time to explain anything to her, jumped into the pool without looking back, and left only one sentence echoing in the sinkhole:

"Keep that necklace with you at all times; I can sense you through it. As long as you appear on the surface, I will find you immediately."

Not expecting Uchiha Gin to leave without saying goodbye, Otsutsuki Biraoku, who still had many words to say, slowly lowered her raised hand; bitterness filled her pretty face, and she wondered what year it would be before they met again.

"Eh? The life force on this necklace of yours is so rich!"

Just as she was feeling dejected, Otsutsuki Tsukihime, who was beside her, stared at the blue necklace in the giant scar and cried out in surprise.

The envy in her eyes was plain to see; she rushed to the edge of the pool and shouted at the rippling water surface,

"Hey, hey, hey! What about me~"

"Mr. Gin, wait for me!"

Caressing the Dragon's Claw on her chest that was emitting a warm aura, Otsutsuki Biraoku's eyes reignited with heat, the beauty mark at the corner of her mouth curled slightly, and the longing in her heart became even more firm.

As soon as Uchiha Gin entered the water, he formed the teleportation technique taught by Otsutsuki Hamura; he felt no sense of suffocation in the water, only that he had fallen into a deep vortex, pulled dizzy by a great suction force, and felt a headache and the urge to vomit.

About ten minutes later, the pulling sensation around Uchiha Gin slowly faded, replaced by a familiar sense of suffocation; cold, biting water splashed against him, and in surprise, he slowly opened his eyes.

He saw a bright, white moon reflected on the water's surface; looking at the moon hanging high in the sky, Uchiha Gin felt a sense of relief.

Just as he was preparing to surface, his kicking foot hit a hard object; in confusion, he lowered his head and saw the black longsword inserted into the technique at the bottom of the water.

That relic of the Sage of Six Paths, the Sword of Heart that guest-starred as the lock for the big door.

"I wonder if I can pull it out this time."

Looking at the plain, unadorned black longsword, Uchiha Gin could not help but feel a desire to try.

He immediately refined chakra into his eyes, a scarlet color appearing, while his hands were bolstered by super strength, and the chakra from every bloodline in his body was called to duty.

A light mixed with various colors radiated from Uchiha Gin's slender body; he looked exactly like a disco ball in a nightclub.

Enduring the impact erupting within his body's meridians, he reached out and gripped the hilt; a black phantom slowly emerged behind him, and under the reinforcement of all these forces, this thousand-year-old sword inserted into the teleportation technique actually began to loosen slightly.

"It can be done!"

Seeing that there was a chance, Uchiha Gin accelerated his chakra refinement; the three tomoe in his eyes transformed into an equilateral triangle, and the phantom behind him became more solid, as if it would take shape in the next moment.

"Eh? Isn't this the sword of that rebellious son, Hagoromo? Since this kid wants it, I'll help him out~"

(End of chapter)