Chapter 259: The Curly-Haired Uchiha Mirror

"Tick-tock~ tick-tock~"

In the deep, gloomy dungeon, flickering candlelight shone in the silent corridor, and water droplets trickling from the ceiling splashed into obscure ripples on the uneven ground.

This icy environment made the prisoners locked in the cells on both sides feel extremely stifled, as if a nameless fear were shrouding their hearts.

"Ah! Ah! Ah~~~"

In the deepest part of the dungeon, a heavy door stood ajar, revealing a faint yellow light from the crack, accompanied by bursts of wailing so miserable that it chilled the hearts of the prisoners who heard it.

Inside the room, three men sat huddled together, and that miserable sound came from one of them; one could only wonder what kind of torture he had endured to let out such a heart-wrenching roar.

"Ah! I can't beat that~"

The man wailing incessantly held his last two cards, his fingers gripping them turning slightly white, and he rolled his dull, lifeless fish-eyes, staring threateningly at the two men before him.

"Uh, Brother Gin, you can't beat a 5 either?"

The honest-looking man who had just dropped a 5 was filled with disbelief; a 5 was already the smallest card in his hand, and there was truly no way to go any easier on him.

"Jiro, you... very good!"

Uchiha Gin scratched his fluffy curly hair vigorously, then shifted his gaze to the other person in the room, the threat in his eyes intensifying.

"That... Lord Gin, the two cards you have left, they wouldn't happen to be a pair, would they?"

Uchiha Lu Cha, holding a "plane" in his hand, was not excited by his good cards; instead, he looked at his direct superior with a bitter expression, hesitated for a moment, and asked cautiously.

"..."

Uchiha Gin did not answer, but from those fish-eyes now injected with spirit, Uchiha Lu Cha saw a glimmer of hope for survival, and his heart settled as he pulled out his largest single card and slapped it down.

"King! Jiro, you can't beat that, right?"

"Can't beat it! Can't beat it!"

Uchiha Jiro, still clutching his remaining four 2s, nodded hurriedly, secretly rejoicing that he had escaped a disaster.

"I can't beat it either."

Uchiha Gin curled his lip, signaling for the other party to continue.

"Hehe, pair of 4s!"

Confidently breaking apart his "plane" and throwing down the two smallest 4s, Uchiha Lu Cha squeezed a chrysanthemum-like smile onto his old face.

Finally, he could let Lord Gin win a round!

"..."

"Can't beat it."

Uchiha Gin's expression was extremely ugly; the three words he slowly spat out froze the entire room for ten seconds.

It's over!

Uchiha Lu Cha's vision went black; what kind of cards was Lord Gin holding? Wasn't it supposed to be a pair?

"Damn it, I'm not playing anymore!"

After ten seconds, a dark-faced Uchiha Gin threw the two cards he had crumpled into disfigurement onto the table, cursed, stood up, kicked open the office door, and disappeared into the dark corridor of the dungeon.

"Phew~ that was close, I almost thought Lord Gin was going to lose his temper."

Letting out a long sigh, Uchiha Lu Cha wore an expression of having survived a catastrophe, patting his little heart, which had almost stalled.

"Brother Lu Cha, have you noticed that Brother Gin has been a bit irritable lately?"

Beside him, Uchiha Jiro, wearing the same expression, whispered to the cold-sweating Uchiha Lu Cha after Uchiha Gin had walked far away.

"Hasn't he always been like this?"

Wiping the cold sweat from his face, Uchiha Lu Cha looked as if he were used to it, rolled his eyes at Uchiha Jiro, and continued.

"Didn't you notice? We were supposed to settle the accounts after this round; Lord Gin really worked hard to pretend just to welch on the debt~"

"Huh? Then that aura from just now?"

The slow-witted Uchiha Jiro rubbed his large head in confusion, recalled the soul-devouring aura Uchiha Gin had just radiated, and asked cautiously.

"You don't think Lord Gin became the warden just because of nepotism, do you?"

Uchiha Lu Cha, who had followed Uchiha Gin for many years, was now an elite captain-level figure, but even so, long ago, he had already been unable to fathom the depths of his superior.

Unable to fathom = unable to beat.

"Ah? Isn't that so? Doesn't the Clan Head dote on Brother Gin quite a bit?"

"Brother Jiro, watch your tongue!"

Hearing Uchiha Jiro's statement, Uchiha Lu Cha's heart tightened, and he hurriedly tried to stop him, but it was too late; a cold voice drifted in from the ajar door.

"Jiro, your collection is gone."

"Ah! Don't, Brother Gin, that's my life!"

Never expecting that Uchiha Gin would still be eavesdropping after leaving for so long, Uchiha Jiro felt his heart turn to ash compared to Uchiha Lu Cha's relief, and he immediately knelt on the ground, begging for mercy at the top of his lungs.

That miserable sound was even more intense than the one from before, finally killing the hope of the prisoners in the cells who didn't know the truth.

"Hmph! A mere Jiro dares to gossip about me."

Uchiha Gin, having slipped out of the dungeon, snorted coldly, looked back at the gloomy gate, and had no intention of continuing to be a wage slave.

But it was still too early to go home, so he rolled his eyes and walked in the opposite direction.

"Sigh, why hasn't it finished yet? The Flying Thunder God mark on my little cousin's kidney is almost layered into a QR code."

Walking on the main road of the clan grounds, Uchiha Gin looked around at the deserted streets and sighed inwardly, then calculated the date on his fingers; according to the normal timeline, the founding of Konoha should be this year without a doubt, but his little cousin was still full of vigor, trading blows back and forth with the white-haired Tobirama.

Conversely, his big cousin's eyes really couldn't hold out anymore; in the last few years, his win rate against Hashirama Senju had fallen from fifty-fifty to below thirty-seventy.

And that was with the other guy holding back; he hadn't even used Sage Mode before pinning his big cousin to the ground and rubbing him into the dirt.

As for the method to advance to the Eternal Mangekyo, Uchiha Madara had long known it, but he refused to accept it, feeling that it was power gained through external means; even if he won against Hashirama Senju using such power, it would be an unearned victory.

Heh, a case of "chuunibyou," is it? Needs a good shock!

"Bang, bang, bang~"

After taking a few turns, Uchiha Gin stopped in front of a rather imposing mansion, stepped forward to knock familiarly on the red door, and shouted loudly.

"Open up, open up~"

"Creak~"

After knocking for a long time, the red door was pulled open a crack, but no one appeared; just as Uchiha Gin was puzzled, a childish voice came from below.

"Uncle Gin, hello~"

"Hehe, so well-behaved, come have some candy!"

Hearing this soft, milky voice, Uchiha Gin smiled and squatted down, looking at the delicate, jade-like little round face peeking through the door crack, and fished a large lollipop out of his pocket to hand over.

"Uh... Great-Grandfather said I can't eat candy you give me, my teeth will rot."

This child, who looked only three or four years old, had a glimmer of thought in his eyes; he looked at the tempting lollipop in Uchiha Gin's hand, slurped the glistening saliva at the corner of his mouth, gritted his teeth, and refused.

"Tsk! Elder Miao is too strict!"

Uchiha Gin curled his lip in protest, but his hands didn't stop; he unwrapped the lollipop and, ignoring the child's resistance, shoved it directly into his mouth, then patted his chest to guarantee.

"Mirror, don't worry, eat it; if anything happens, Uncle will take the blame. It's just rotting teeth, you'll get new ones anyway, it's fine~"

"Mmm-mmm~ so delicious!"

Uchiha Mirror, who had originally wanted to spit out the candy, felt a flicker of struggle in his eyes after hearing Uchiha Gin's words.

But in the end, young and ignorant, he fell at the feet of the God of Sugar and began to feast with an expression of pure enjoyment.

"That's right, children should eat plenty of candy!"

Uchiha Gin watched this scene, nodded with satisfaction, and then pushed the door open and squeezed inside as if he owned the place.

"Uncle Gin, are you here to see Great-Grandfather?"

Licking the lollipop, Uchiha Mirror looked up with confusion in his little eyes.

"That's right, is Elder Miao home?"

Rubbing Uchiha Mirror's little curly head, Uchiha Gin felt a sense of kinship; sure enough, curly hair was a recessive gene—in such a huge family, only he and little Mirror had natural curls.

"Mm, Great-Grandfather is talking to the old Clan Head."

Sucking on the lollipop, Uchiha Mirror dodged Uchiha Gin's wicked hands restlessly; every time this Uchiha who called himself his uncle came over, he would rub his curls.

Hmph! You have your own, why don't you rub yours?

With a pair of small eyes staring resentfully at Uchiha Gin's fluffy curly hair, Uchiha Mirror muttered to himself in his heart.

"Hey, what a coincidence, saves me an extra trip. Mirror, this is for you."

Hearing that his uncle was also there, Uchiha Gin raised an eyebrow; he happened to have something to discuss with Uchiha Tian Dao, and this was truly a case of "better early than late."

Thinking of this, he reached into the bag on his back, pulled out a small piece of cut gold brick, and placed it in Uchiha Mirror's hand.

"Ah?"

Uchiha Mirror was dumbfounded, holding the heavy gold brick in his small hands, tilting his head, and looking at Uchiha Gin with an inquiring gaze.

"It's almost the New Year, so I'm giving you a red envelope in advance~"

"Uh... thank you, Uncle Gin."

Clutching the gold brick and biting the lollipop, Uchiha Mirror waved goodbye to Uchiha Gin.

"Clan Head Tian Dao, I can't fully guarantee success; after all, there is too little experimental data."

Uchiha Gin stood before the door of Uchiha Miao's reception hall; before he could push it open, he keenly heard the voice from inside. Sensing that only Uchiha Miao and Uchiha Tian Dao were present, he stopped eavesdropping and pushed the door open generously.

"I'm coming in~"

Uchiha Miao and Uchiha Tian Dao, who were in a secret discussion, were startled by the sudden sound of the door opening and immediately shifted into a defensive posture, their two pairs of scarlet eyes staring straight at the uninvited guest, ready to give him a good scolding, only to see the lazy-looking Uchiha Gin.

"Gin? What are you doing here?"

Uchiha Tian Dao, wearing reading glasses, saw who it was, furrowed his brow covered in forehead wrinkles, and asked.

"If nothing goes wrong, my goal should be the same as yours, Uncle."

Uchiha Gin scratched his head, looked at the two elders whose expressions were displeased, and answered truthfully.

"Do you also want to donate your eyes?"

(End of chapter)