Chapter 45: Extermination Caused by Being Too Upright

For the next hour, Lu Cha Uchiha recounted the various crimes of "Gin Uchiha" in an endless stream.

From small things like not paying for meals, peeping at widows bathing, and snatching snacks from children.

To major things like dragging girls walking alone at night into the woods, engaging in sexual acts in front of their boyfriends, and then murdering both of them to silence them.

When the victims' parents reported him to the clan, he would retaliate by detaining them, eventually sending them to "reunite as a family," while boasting that "a family should be kept neat and tidy."

Countless similar cases existed; Gin Uchiha's crimes were passed down by word of mouth among the clansmen, eventually reaching the point where everyone knew them.

Ordinary clansmen feared him like a tiger and turned pale at the mention of his name, while those with strength hated him to the bone; if not for his status, they would have long since acted on behalf of heaven to rid the people of a scourge.

"???"

How could none of these crimes have appeared in the original owner's memories?

The original owner had a rather reclusive personality, especially after experiencing the tragedy, and rarely interacted with the clansmen.

He handled his daily life on his own, and the few times he was provoked were only when others brought up the topic of the tragedy's survivors, leading to conflicts.

【The world may not have the brother, but the world is full of the brother's legends.】

"Did you see all these with your own eyes?"

Gin Uchiha could not help but interrupt Lu Cha Uchiha, who was still counting off the crimes.

"Uh, well, no."

Pausing to think for a moment, Lu Cha Uchiha scratched the back of his head and said uncertainly.

"Then why did you say it as if it were true?"

"I don't know who said it first, but then everyone seemed to start saying, 'Gin Uchiha, you've done all these things'."

Lu Cha Uchiha, who was also a bit confused, suddenly felt self-doubt; when exactly did he build such a persona for Gin Uchiha in his own mind?

Things he clearly hadn't done, yet everyone believed them to be true—was someone spreading this deliberately, or?

Gin Uchiha suddenly felt many doubts about the original owner's situation; why was he saddled with these groundless charges?

Who was the mastermind behind ruining the original owner's reputation and getting him isolated, and why would they do such a thing?

These questions swirled in Gin Uchiha's mind, making him feel uneasy; why target the original owner, this weakling?

Could it just be resentment that he was the only survivor?

【Survivor Guilt Theory】

This famous theory flashed through Gin Uchiha's mind.

Survivor guilt refers to how, in a disaster or crime, the survivors who happen to live on face harsher accusations from the public and endure immense social and moral pressure.

And the reason the original owner became reclusive and turned a blind eye to these groundless rumors might be due to this so-called "survivor bias."

Having survived that tragedy, the original owner often felt a sense of guilt or culpability toward the clansmen, an emotion that prompted him to choose silence when faced with many rumors detrimental to himself.

But silence is equivalent to admission.

From then on, the original owner's persona was established among all the clansmen who did not know the truth.

At this point, rumors became confused with reality, making it impossible for people to distinguish truth from falsehood, leaving them to only parrot what others said.

"Lord Gin, that is all I know."

Lost in thought, Gin Uchiha hadn't really listened to the latter half of Lu Cha Uchiha's narrative, but he knew the general content was still about various negative news regarding the original owner.

"Alright, thank you, Brother Lu Cha. I love hearing the truth."

Standing tall and walking straight, since Gin Uchiha knew the original owner hadn't committed these heinous acts, he naturally held no grudge against Lu Cha Uchiha's words.

"Then I'll go get busy."

Lu Cha Uchiha had talked until his mouth was dry; taking advantage of the fact that the other party hadn't gotten angry yet, he prepared to slip away.

"Mm, let's have tea when you're free."

Gin Uchiha, whose mind was already elsewhere, nodded, signaling for him to go about his business.

After leaving, Lu Cha Uchiha leaned against the wall, nearly unable to stand steady, his whole body feeling as if it were soaked.

"I said so much, and he didn't even get angry; he's nothing like the legends."

Shaking his head, these things were not for a small jailer like him to consider.

Today, Tie Dan Uchiha went to submit a transfer application, so he had to go back to rest; he still had to stand guard alone at night.

Putting the original owner's "grievances" aside for now, Gin Uchiha decided to go see that so-called old jailer first to see if he could get more accurate information from him.

Dungeon No. 3 held criminals guilty of petty theft and the like.

Short sentences were ten days or half a month, while long ones were generally about a year before they were released.

Some were Uchiha clansmen, others were wandering ninja; the common trait of these people was: not very strong, and quite timid.

The guards of Dungeon No. 3 were two younger Uchiha clansmen, probably in their early teens, with a seriousness that didn't match their age on their immature faces, looking very out of place.

Seeing Gin Uchiha approach, one of the thin youths spoke up.

"This is a restricted prison area, no idlers allowed."

"You don't know who I am?"

Seeing that the youth didn't seem to recognize him, Gin Uchiha couldn't help but ask.

"No matter who you are, without an order from the officer, you are not allowed to take a single step forward."

The youth had an official expression, guarding the door to prevent Gin Uchiha from getting close.

The officer he mentioned was the previous Liuying Uchiha, who, as the acting manager, could be considered the uncrowned king of this dungeon.

"I am the newly appointed archivist, and I am here to verify prisoner information in Dungeon No. 3."

Gin Uchiha didn't want to tangle with them, so he stated his identity directly.

"Since you are the archivist, then you may enter."

Upon learning that Gin Uchiha was an archivist here to verify information, the youth immediately cleared a path.

"Stupid Huohuo, how can you trust a stranger so easily!"

Another Uchiha youth saw his companion easily let a stranger in and hurriedly stopped him.

"But he said he's the archivist!"

The youth named Huohuo Uchiha touched his head in confusion, looking conflicted as he spoke to his teammate.

"I, Erlang Uchiha, won't be easily fooled by a guy like you!"

The other Uchiha youth had an honest, square face, and his clear eyes revealed a familiar kind of stupidity.

"Your name is Erlang Uchiha; is your brother Dalang Uchiha?"

Seeing the youth looking more and more familiar, Gin Uchiha spoke up.

"How did you know?"

Hearing the other party mention his brother whom he hadn't seen in a long time, Erlang Uchiha asked subconsciously.

"I'm a teammate who went on a mission with your brother; I just got back a few days ago."

Gin Uchiha played the human-connection card to see how this kid would handle it.

"Oh, you should have said you were my brother's friend earlier! Please, come in!"

Uchiha brats were still too straightforward; no wonder they were tricked into being wiped out.

"Then thank you, Brother Erlang."

Seeing his plan succeed, Gin Uchiha smiled and thanked Erlang Uchiha, who was still grinning foolishly, then said to the thin youth who was sulking on the side,

"And thank you too, Brother Huohuo, right?"

The sulking youth turned his head in confusion.

"How do you know my name?"

Bidding farewell to the two Uchiha youths, he walked toward the depths of the prison.

Dungeon No. 3 clearly had more prisoners than the other two, but most of the people inside looked indifferent, and some were even chatting and bragging.

It seemed the punishment for their crimes wasn't severe, so they didn't have much of a rebellious mentality, which resulted in his Heart of Steel chest not being triggered.

Searching all the way without success, Gin Uchiha almost doubted if Lu Cha Uchiha had made up an old jailer to fool him; as he thought this, he suddenly saw an open cell.

Walking closer, he saw a hunched figure using a mop to clean the cell floor.

Seeing that this figure was wearing the high-collared combat uniform common to the Uchiha clan, Gin Uchiha greeted him.

"Hello, may I ask..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the hunched figure turned around.

Under the dim light of the corridor, an aged face appeared before Gin Uchiha.

The old man's face was full of wrinkles, as if time had left clear traces on him.

What was most impressive was that the pupils of both his eyes were gray-white, and the hand holding the mop looked like a withered chicken claw, devoid of any blood color.

Startled by the other party's appearance, Gin Uchiha swallowed the words he had been about to say.

He saw a trace of black energy flash in the old man's gray-white eyes, and a hoarse, eerie laugh like a crow's came from his withered mouth; what he said made Gin Uchiha's heart tighten even more.

"Hehehehe, you've finally come."

(End of chapter)