Chapter 247: Shamon, the Guardian of Loulan

As soon as the chakra cloak dissipated, Uchiha Gin felt a wave of scorching heat rush toward his face, instantly drying out his nasal cavity and making his breathing somewhat difficult.

"Ah! My hair~"

Seeing his already curly hair becoming increasingly brittle under the erosion of this heatwave, Uchiha Gin, feeling anxious, furrowed his brows and began rummaging through the bag he carried with him.

Not long after, he felt something ice-cold inside, his face lit up with joy, and he quickly pulled it out.

"Hehe, this thing is just right!"

Uchiha Gin was seen pulling a piece of equipment that emitted a blue glow from his backpack.

With the appearance of this equipment, the heat surrounding him was instantly dispelled, and a bone-chilling aura enveloped his body, blocking the subsequent heatwaves.

Feeling the refreshing coolness, Uchiha Gin hung the equipment around his neck, stroked the gorgeous patterns on it, and the satisfaction in his eyes grew intense.

【Eternal Winter: When worn, it forms a Winter Barrier around the wearer, slowing the attack speed of all surrounding enemies, with a chance to freeze enemies.】

He hadn't expected the Winter Barrier to double as a portable air conditioner when out of combat; Uchiha Gin immediately gave this divine artifact a high rating in his heart—surely, no piece of equipment was useless.

Er... except for the Electric Dagger, that thing is truly trash.

After equipping the Eternal Winter, Uchiha Gin no longer feared the sweltering heat of the Land of Wind. He gazed at a small village in the distance that showed signs of human habitation and, with a spring in his step, headed toward his target.

As his pace quickened, a tribe named Loulan slowly appeared before Uchiha Gin's eyes.

This was a very ordinary tribal encampment. People who had lived here for a long time had built flat-roofed houses made of earth. These houses, with their distinct local characteristics, were scattered throughout the entire camp in an orderly fashion.

It was just mealtime, and many houses had wisps of cooking smoke rising, a scene of complete peace.

"Halt, where are you from?"

Just as Uchiha Gin was about to step into this desert encampment, the guards stationed around it blocked his path.

Locals who had lived in the Land of Wind for years, regardless of gender, would wrap their faces with headscarves and face masks when outdoors to block out the sand and dust.

The two guards before him were dressed in typical Land of Wind fashion: wearing plain robes, holding crude spears in their cracked and rough hands, and gray-white face masks covering their entire heads.

They revealed only a pair of black eyes, looking vigilantly at the strange, uninvited guest. The aura on the man before them made their scalps tingle.

"I am a traveler passing through. Seeing signs of life here, I wanted to come over and resupply."

Facing these two non-threatening small-fry, Uchiha Gin did not want to act rashly.

After all, the mission was just to investigate, not to slaughter; there was no need to make a big scene. He just needed to take a look around and record things.

"Where is your luggage?"

The guard naturally would not easily believe his nonsense. Looking at the empty-handed Uchiha Gin, one of the guards plucked up the courage and asked.

There was no such thing as traveling without bringing anything, and for someone wandering deep in the desert, his skin was far too fair and tender—there was definitely something wrong.

"Er... I encountered a sandstorm not long ago, and I lost my luggage and horses."

Scratching his face in embarrassment, Uchiha Gin also realized that his current appearance didn't look like a travel-worn wanderer at all, so he could only bite the bullet and continue making things up.

"Then wait here. I'll go report this to the Captain and let him decide."

Although the two guards were low in strength, they still had basic discernment. The cliché plot from typical power-fantasy stories where someone is arrogant and then gets slapped in the face did not happen.

They exchanged a cautious look. One of them turned and quickly entered the camp, while the remaining guard watched Uchiha Gin with a nervous expression, his hand gripping his spear trembling uncontrollably.

"Am I that scary?"

This was the second group of people from the Land of Wind he had encountered today. The guards from the previous caravan had also been this cautious and wary when they saw him. Uchiha Gin couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled.

He didn't have the word "protagonist" written on his face, so why did these people look like they were trembling in fear of his "kingly aura" the moment they saw him, as if they were about to bow down in submission?

"My lord, please don't make things difficult for me. I have a newborn daughter at home, please show mercy~"

Hearing Uchiha Gin's question, the guard's legs went weak, and he almost knelt down. The pressure radiating from this stranger was truly too terrifying; even when facing the Captain, he had never felt this suffocated.

In fact, Uchiha Gin did not know that as long as he had activated the Tenseigan mode, even after closing it, the pressure carried by the Tenseigan would remain on his body for a short time.

He might not feel it as the person involved, but ordinary ninja could perceive the bottomless, terrifying aura on him with just a little attention.

"Then congratulations to you. A daughter is a father's little sweetheart~"

Not wanting to cause a conflict, Uchiha Gin chatted idly with the remaining guard. As the conversation deepened, the other party gradually let down his guard, with the main topic revolving around the guard's newborn daughter.

"Hehe, my little Chiyo is the cutest in the world~"

"Yes, yes, yes... er? What is your daughter's name?"

As they chatted, the guard revealed the name of his newborn daughter. Uchiha Gin raised an eyebrow, glanced unobtrusively at the light purple hair peeking out from under the guard's headscarf, and confirmed,

"Chiyo, right? Isn't that a lovely name?"

"That it is. Your daughter will surely be a very powerful ninja in the future."

Uchiha Gin replied with an inexplicable tone. Recalling the swimsuit memes from his past life's mobile game, he felt his eyes ache; it was truly too painful to look back on.

"Gin-sama..."

After some exchange, the guard sensed that Uchiha Gin had no ill intent, so he leaned in cautiously and whispered,

"No need for formalities, just call me A-Gin~"

Uchiha Gin, who had never cared for empty titles, immediately waved his hand to correct him.

"Er... Mr. Gin, when our Captain arrives later, please don't hold a grudge against him because of his appearance. The Captain is a good man with a cold face but a warm heart."

Appearance? What could he possibly look like to make someone hold a grudge?

It would have been better if he hadn't said anything; this reminder actually piqued Uchiha Gin's interest, so he stayed where he was to wait for the arrival of the Captain the guard spoke of.

Before long, a group of people rushed over from the distance. Their swift footsteps kicked up a cloud of dust, and in the blink of an eye, the group charged aggressively to the entrance of the camp.

"Is he the terrifying person you spoke of?"

Before the dust had even settled, a cold voice rang out from within it.

As the dust gradually cleared, the first thing that caught Uchiha Gin's eyes was a shiny bald head. Once the dust settled, the owner of that bald head finally revealed his true colors.

A tall and burly bald man stood at the very front of the group. His narrow eyes revealed a terrifying expression, and his hairless brows added a touch of chill to his face.

But the most striking thing about his entire face was not his features that could stop a child from crying, but a green dragon coiled across his entire bald head, with the black dragon claw positioned right over his right eye, giving off an oppressive feeling of natural intimidation.

"He's just an ordinary-looking man. Were you daydreaming while on duty?"

The tattooed bald man stared at Uchiha Gin, looking him up and down without seeing anything unusual, then turned his head and scolded the other guard who had gone to report earlier.

"Eh? Why is he different? Maybe it's because I haven't rested well these past few days~"

The guard who had gone to report looked at the calm-looking Uchiha Gin in surprise, hesitated for a moment, scratched his head in embarrassment, and whispered.

"Hmph, hmph, hmph~ Daring to neglect your duty? It seems you need a good punishment. From today on, go home and reflect for a week. Don't come back to work until you're no longer confused!"

Just as Uchiha Gin thought this hideous-looking bald man was going to severely punish the guard, he didn't expect that the man's ferocious mouth would actually say such heartwarming words.

A week off? A corporate slave wouldn't even dare to dream of that~

"Thank you, Captain Shamon, I will definitely reflect properly~"

As if they were accustomed to the bald man's actions, the people around did not show any surprise, and even the punished guard did not show the slightest bit of fear.

No wonder that guard brother warned me earlier; it turns out this guy named Shamon is a good man who is different on the inside than he is on the outside~

Wait... Shamon?

The closer the time gets, the more acquaintances I encounter. The anticipation sealed deep within Uchiha Gin's heart grew even stronger.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in our Loulan?"

After punishing his subordinate, Shamon turned his head, furrowed his browless brows, and asked Uchiha Gin, who had a strange look on his face.

"I am a traveler wandering through various countries. I encountered a sandstorm not long ago, got separated from my companions, and lost my luggage and horses."

Facing Shamon, Uchiha Gin gave the same explanation as before, his dull, dead-fish eyes filled with sincerity.

"Where are you from, and what is the purpose of your travels?"

Shamon's narrow eyes were filled with curiosity. Although he was the captain of the Loulan guard and could be considered a person of high status in this tribe,

he was only in his twenties and had never left the Land of Wind, so he was naturally very curious about events in the outside world.

"This humble monk is from the Eastern Lands... er, I am a traveler from the Land of Fire. As for the purpose of my travels, it is to record the local customs and human sentiments I encounter, and incidentally, to meet some interesting people."

Uchiha Gin, who had almost slipped up, immediately stopped himself. Then, a flash of thought crossed his eyes, and he answered solemnly.

"The prosperous Land of Fire, huh... How long have you been in the Land of Wind?"

Mentioning the Land of Fire, a look of longing appeared in Shamon's eyes, but it didn't last long before he continued his questioning.

"Not long. Because there is a war going on, I haven't stayed in any fixed place."

Spreading his hands, Uchiha Gin gave a very reasonable explanation.

"Is it still going on? How is the war situation?"

It is strange to say, but the Loulan tribe has lived in seclusion for many years, stationed here for generations, and has never participated in the struggles between the various clans of the Land of Wind.

However, Shamon is different from the others in the tribe. He has ideals and ambitions. He wants to enter the vortex of the Land of Wind, demonstrate his value, and leave his own significant mark on the history of the Land of Wind.

Unfortunately, he is the guardian of Loulan's most mysterious treasure and can hardly take half a step out of Loulan in his lifetime.

"As for that, a man named Reto is currently riding high. It looks like there is a possibility of him unifying the ninja clans of the Land of Wind."

(End of chapter)