Chapter 421: 365. Chapter 358: Banana-ly Late but Arrived

365. Chapter 358: Banana-ly Late but Arrived

Returning to the borders of the Land of Fire, Uchiha Gin no longer lingered alone at the back of the group, but instead walked side-by-side with the two women.

"Gin, that isn't the direction back to the village, is it?"

Uchiha Hikari, who had been busy with self-reflection, subconsciously followed Uchiha Gin's pace. After walking for a long stretch, she suddenly realized they were not on the road home.

"It's rare to be out, and the time allotted for the mission hasn't expired yet. Let's go soak in some hot springs~"

Uchiha Gin, who still had private matters to attend to, naturally couldn't return to report for duty so easily. Thus, he used the hot springs as an excuse to take a publicly funded trip to the Land of Hot Water, which bordered the Land of Lightning.

"This... is that really okay?"

Uchiha Hikari blinked. She still possessed at least a tiny bit of professional integrity as a ninja.

"Hot springs? You mean those natural baths that bubble and steam?"

Having reverted to her original appearance, Kaguya Otsutsuki's pure white eyes lit up abruptly upon hearing this, and a rare look of anticipation appeared on her cold face.

Kaguya Otsutsuki had only ever seen records of hot springs in books; it was said they had magical properties for beautifying the skin and nourishing one's appearance.

"Oh, right, you don't have natural hot springs where you come from."

Seeing his sister-in-law respond to his call, Uchiha Gin stroked his chin and recalled that there were indeed no hot springs on the moon; all environmental facilities there were artificially constructed simulations.

"Want to go?"

"Mm."

Hearing Uchiha Gin's question, Kaguya Otsutsuki nodded faintly, though the irrepressible excitement at the corners of her eyes was visible to anyone.

"One vote in favor~"

During this trip down to the mortal realm, Uchiha Gin felt that his once high-and-mighty sister-in-law had become much more approachable; he wondered if she had secretly eaten something strange.

Watching the two "flirting" with their eyes, a deep sense of crisis suddenly welled up in Uchiha Hikari's heart. She took a step forward to block Uchiha Gin, staring straight into Kaguya Otsutsuki's cold eyes.

"The competition is already over, why are you still lingering here?"

"What this concubine wishes to do is not for a defeated opponent like you to dictate."

Her white eyes showed no fear. As the two women's gazes met, it was as if sparks were flying, making Uchiha Gin, standing to the side, feel a chill down his spine.

Hearing this, Uchiha Hikari took another step forward. Kaguya Otsutsuki was naturally not one to retreat easily, so she immediately puffed out her chest and stepped forward to meet her.

"Do you want to start a second round?"

"Didn't lose enough?"

Neither willing to yield, the two women ultimately clashed head-on.

"It's raining so hard... No, wait, stop arguing~"

Uchiha Gin covered his wide-open eyes, savoring the sight through his splayed fingers for a long moment before painfully intervening to stop their conflict. If the collision escalated and caused damage to their external armor, who would pay for the repairs and maintenance?

"Hmph!"

Forced apart by Uchiha Gin, the two women glared at each other before simultaneously turning their heads away.

"Gin, I'm going too!"

Out of concern for Uchiha Gin's personal safety, Uchiha Hikari ultimately decided to join them in their corruption, becoming a salary thief of the ninja world.

"Ok, unanimous vote!"

At their current speed, it would take about a day to detour to the Land of Hot Water in the northeast corner of the Land of Fire.

Just as Uchiha Gin was preparing to set off, the two women who had just clashed met eyes once again.

It was the aura of a duel!

"You two aren't thinking of..."

Sensing something ominous, Uchiha Gin asked cautiously.

"Since the destination has changed, shall we... continue the competition?"

Uchiha Hikari glared with eyes gradually turning scarlet, speaking to Kaguya Otsutsuki, who was radiating a cyan-blue chakra aura.

"Whatever, a rotten orange is just a rotten orange."

Her pure white eyes already carrying waves of pressure, Kaguya Otsutsuki, who had quietly transformed into her Tenseigan mode, curled her lips slightly, her tone full of disdain.

"Hmph! You're just relying on tricks. You don't really think your speed can outpace mine, do you?"

A cherry-red phantom slowly condensed behind her. Uchiha Hikari's eyes suddenly erupted with a chilling, sinister power, and the bewitching pattern rotated within her pupils. The pupil power released collided with the pressure of the Tenseigan, and for a moment, they were evenly matched.

"Um... you two signed and stamped the agreement; you can't have two competitions at once."

Uchiha Gin weakly raised his hand to remind the two women, who were fully buffed.

"We're just continuing the speed competition. Whoever arrives at the Land of Hot Water first is the final winner of this contest. As for the prize... how about a private mixed bath?"

The phantom behind her had already spread its wings. Uchiha Hikari stared at Kaguya Otsutsuki, who was clad in a chakra cloak and hovering off the ground, and decided on the prize for this competition with a very confident tone.

"A mixed bath? That sounds interesting."

Her cyan-blue Tenseigan glanced thoughtfully at the bewildered Uchiha Gin. Kaguya Otsutsuki rarely agreed with Uchiha Hikari.

"Then, the competition begins!"

As Uchiha Hikari's voice fell, the massive cherry-red Gundam spread its wings and took flight. Once in mid-air, it flapped its wings toward the Land of Hot Water, transforming into a red bolt of lightning that tore through the blue sky and vanished among the distant clouds.

At the same time, Kaguya Otsutsuki, wrapped in a Tenseigan chakra cloak, had dazzling cyan-blue flames erupting from beneath her feet like thrusters.

In the blink of an eye, he could only see a tiny white dot left in the distant sky. The dumbfounded Uchiha Gin rubbed his eyes; he thought he had just seen Mach rings behind the soles of his sister-in-law's feet.

"No... you guys left, so what about me?"

Uchiha Gin, who was the prize, had actually been left behind. Looking at the two women who had already vanished into the distance, he pointed at himself, his expression as innocent as it was painful.

"Sigh~"

Realizing the reality of being abandoned, Uchiha Gin curled his lips. He raised a finger, closed his eyes, and found the coordinates for the Land of Hot Water among the dense map points. With a flash of golden light, his entire person vanished from the spot instantly.

Land of Hot Water

The Ghost Soldiers stationed in the Land of Hot Water had set up their secret meeting point inside a very famous hot spring street. Adhering to the principle of "the darkest place is under the lamp," they even used this to operate a hot spring inn.

In the secret room of the Ghost Soldiers' hot spring inn sat an exquisitely crafted token, made entirely of gold. On the front was the character "Sugar," and on the back was a large "Righteous."

A flash of golden light streaked through the void, and Uchiha Gin's figure appeared out of thin air before the token. As he landed, the alarm in the secret room was triggered. Within a few breaths, several figures with glowing red eyes arrived in the secret room simultaneously.

"It's Lord Gin!"

The few who had been looking fierce immediately knelt on one knee upon seeing that the intruder was the languid-looking Uchiha Gin.

"Greetings, Lord Gin!"

"Good alertness. Nothing happened recently, right?"

It seemed these Uchiha clansmen disguised as Ghost Soldiers had not been eroded by a life of ease and still maintained a high level of ninja proficiency.

"Reporting to Lord Gin, nothing major has happened in the Land of Hot Water."

The leader of the Ghost Soldiers responsible for monitoring the Land of Hot Water thought for a moment before replying.

"Continue monitoring. If you discover any strange or bizarre cult organizations, report to me immediately."

It seemed the future Jashin cult hadn't surfaced yet, but Uchiha Gin was quite curious about what kind of existence that strange thing was, so he gave the instruction.

"Understood!"

"Alright, I'm just here for a stroll this time. You all continue to lurk as usual~"

Saying this, he prepared to leave.

"Um..."

"Is there anything else?"

Seeing his clansmen hesitating, Uchiha Gin turned his head and asked in confusion.

"Could you sign something for us? Please, Lord Gin!"

After exchanging glances, the few of them simultaneously pulled out autograph boards from behind their backs and bowed excitedly.

After signing for the fanboys and fangirls, Uchiha Gin shed his ninja attire and changed into a blue-and-white yukata. With a newly bought strawberry-flavored lollipop in his mouth, he began to patrol the hot spring street with a swaggering gait.

The last time he came to the Land of Hot Water was after completing the mission to escort the Silver and Gold brothers. Because the reason for awakening his eyes back then was too absurd, he subconsciously didn't want to return to this city that made him sad.

"Why does this look familiar~"

Looking at the antique hot spring inns on both sides, Uchiha Gin suddenly spotted a shop that looked quite familiar. The woman soliciting customers at the entrance saw Uchiha Gin frowning at her sign and stepped forward with a smile.

"This guest, would you like to come in and get comfortable?"

"Huh?"

Hearing this, Uchiha Gin's half-squinted eyes instantly erupted with a subtle gleam. After looking around guiltily, he asked in a low voice,

"What kind of 'comfortable'?"

"Oh my~ This guest is joking. One look and I can tell you're a regular among regulars."

She's slandering me!

Uchiha Gin's expression turned serious, and he radiated the light of justice. With a wave of his hand, he said loudly,

"Playing tricks! Watch how I, Gin, punish you illegal merchants!"

With that, he grabbed the bewildered woman and ducked into the hot spring inn.

"Welcome~"

After entering, Uchiha Gin heard a gentle voice. It sounded a bit familiar, yet somewhat strange, so he looked up at the speaker.

Inside the counter of the hot spring inn stood a white-haired old woman. From her gentle features, one could tell she must have been a rare beauty in her youth.

"This guest... looks a bit familiar. A regular, right?"

The smiling old woman fixed her gaze on Uchiha Gin's stunned face. A flash of doubt crossed her graying eyes; she always felt that this curly-haired young man before her was very familiar.

"Mother, you must be remembering wrong, right?"

The woman who had been soliciting customers outside turned out to be the daughter of this white-haired old lady. She had taken over this ancestral hot spring inn for over a decade but had never seen this person named Uchiha Gin. She had only called him a regular earlier to solicit business.

"Haha, people get old, memory is bound to have errors."

Staring fixedly at Uchiha Gin for a long while, the white-haired old lady finally gave up on trying to remember.

A flash of melancholy crossed Uchiha Gin's eyes; no wonder he felt the sign for this hot spring shop looked familiar—it turned out to be the one that had encountered a massive wave of "Bo Gang" back in the day.

And the white-haired old lady laughing heartily before him was none other than the alluring proprietress from those years.

"Customer~ would you like to try a set menu?"

The voice of the old woman's daughter interrupted Uchiha Gin's train of thought. He looked up at the set menu items on the wall, scanning from "Ice and Fire Dual Heavens" all the way to "Electric Dragon Drill," finally landing on the ultimate item that radiated a mysterious aura.

It had no name written, only a banana drawn; such an intense hint—it must be interrogated thoroughly!

"Give me the most expensive set!"

To search for evidence of their illegal activities, one must make the greatest sacrifices. For the sake of the reputation of the entire street, Uchiha Gin decided to sacrifice his personal comfort for the greater good and conduct a thorough critique.

"That will be 88,888 ryo!"

"Take it, keep the change!"

Tossing out a stack of bills in ten-thousand-ryo denominations, Uchiha Gin wore an expression of someone facing death without fear. Following the young woman's guidance, he trotted quickly into a private room.

There was only a bed in the room. Seeing this, Uchiha Gin immediately perked up; he had finally found the hiding place of the giant sword!

"Customer, please wait a moment, our technician is preparing."

So it wasn't the boss herself coming to serve?

Uchiha Gin curled his lips in disappointment.

"Don't worry, customer, our technician is from a foreign country and possesses exclusive skills; we guarantee you'll be sent to heaven~"

Noticing Uchiha Gin's low spirits, the boss hurriedly tried to reassure him and mysteriously revealed the technician's identity.

It was a foreigner!

Is this good?

This is simply very good!

He hadn't expected that a small sting operation would lead to a transnational case. Gently wiping away the tears from the corner of his eyes, Uchiha Gin could not hide the moving sorrow in his heart.

Public morals are declining, sigh.

Hurry up and get it done!

He needed to brush up on his foreign languages!

After the boss left, Uchiha Gin jumped onto the bed in two or three steps and waited excitedly. But after half a day passed, the door still hadn't been pushed open.

"Ha~ let me nap for a bit~"

Feeling a bit sleepy from waiting, Uchiha Gin lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

"Technician No. 38, at your service~"

Not knowing how much time had passed, a slightly hazy voice reached Uchiha Gin's ears. Before he could react, a tall figure had already locked the room door from the inside.

"Uh, who is it?"

Forcing his eyelids open, Uchiha Gin looked suspiciously into the darkness. There was clearly the aura of a person, so why couldn't he see anyone?

"Killer Bee!"

"Huh?"

The self-introduction with its strange accent made Uchiha Gin feel a fear from the depths of his soul, scaring him into subconsciously clenching his buttocks.

"Who exactly are you!"

Just as Uchiha Gin was preparing to activate his ocular jutsu to find the guy playing god, a flash of brilliant white suddenly appeared in the darkness, followed by streaks of dazzling electric light.

"Boy next door~"

By the light of the inexplicably appearing electricity, Uchiha Gin finally saw the true face of the person who had come.

The visitor was a muscular dark-skinned man wearing a headband common in the Land of Lightning, dressed only in tight-fitting briefs embroidered with the symbol of the Hidden Cloud Village.

With electricity dancing at his fingertips, he danced a strange dance, walking toward him with wide, sweeping movements.

His bulging muscles were covered in sweat, and the reflected light nearly blinded Uchiha Gin's eyes.

I've been had!

Shaking with rage, Uchiha Gin was so frightened by the dancing dark-skinned man's flirtatious glance that he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan on the spot, sending him directly into Tsukuyomi to suffer.

"Boss! I'm going to sue you for false advertising!"

After calming down for a while, Uchiha Gin found the boss, who was busy counting money, and slammed the counter with a loud bang, his face full of indignation.

"Huh? Banana-kun is a professional electrotherapy technician I spent a fortune to hire from the Land of Lightning; every customer who has had a session says it's great~"