Chapter 459: The Ordeal of the White-Hair

"Master! I will heal you right now!"

Sand Gate, whose face was as pale as gold paper, was dragged to the spectator stand by Uchiha Gin. As soon as he landed, Chiyo, who had been waiting for a long time, rushed over.

A deep green glow emerged from her fair, tender hands, and rich life energy poured into Sand Gate's body in an endless stream; his pale complexion recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Don't touch me! I can move on my own."

Uchiha Madara, whose complexion was also not very healthy, vaguely saw an inexplicable force grabbing toward him with his Sharingan, so he immediately frowned and refused.

"Come here, you~"

As the most fair and impartial organizer, Uchiha Gin naturally had to ensure equality for all, so he directly activated the gravity of his Rinne Sharingan to forcibly drag his disgusted cousin over.

"I'm working the early shift!"

Uchiha Madara landed while cursing, his blood-red eyes nearly spitting fire as he stared fixedly at the culprit, wishing he could eat his flesh raw.

To dare to make me look this pathetic—if I find out who you really are, I will definitely dig up your ancestral grave.

"Lord Clan Leader, this is the healing potion my uncle gave me, you should quickly..."

Among the Konoha side waiting in the spectator stand, Uchiha Kagami, who had been waiting for a long time, rushed out in a dash, holding a 100ml bottle of mysterious red potion in his hands.

"Gulp~ gulp~ gulp~"

However, before he could arrive, a resentful Uchiha Madara had already beaten him to it, taking a 1L bottle of red "little sweet water" from his own storage scroll and tilting his head back to drink it down.

Seeing this scene, Uchiha Kagami stopped awkwardly, compared the vast difference between the two healing potions, felt his old face flush, and then quietly tucked his own trial-sized bottle into his sleeve.

"Ah~"

With the healing potion in his stomach, Uchiha Madara felt his whole body warm and very comfortable; the wounds on his back recovered much faster, and the unstable energy in his body also became docile.

"How does it taste?"

Watching Uchiha Madara drink the healing potion he had gifted in one gulp, Uchiha Gin nodded with satisfaction and asked with a hint of mockery.

"A bit sweet... Why should I answer you!?"

Licking his lips to savor the aftertaste, he heard a familiar tone and answered subconsciously, but upon discovering the questioner was Brother Decade, his face darkened, and his tone became as foul as it could be.

"Phew~ Thank you for your trouble, Chiyo."

Under his disciple's meticulous treatment, Sand Gate, who had been pale just a moment ago, was already able to stand up, his flushed face filled with deep apologies.

Hearing this, Chiyo first wiped the fine sweat from her forehead, then shook her head lightly; she was already very satisfied with Sand Gate's performance.

"Master, please don't say that, you are the pride of the Hidden Sand Village."

"Just a little bit more..."

Although his disciple's words were full of comfort, Sand Gate still blamed himself immensely; if he could have held on for just a little longer, the final winner would have been him.

"If it weren't for that bizarre sealing jutsu."

On the other side, Uchiha Madara, who had recovered about seventy or eighty percent of his state, sat on the spectator stand with a look of indignation, his gaze filled with chilling coldness landing on Golden Horn not far away.

From the black sealing jutsu, Uchiha Madara smelled a pungent, sour, bull-like stench, and that viscous ink all told him exactly who its owner was.

"Old Eight, he seems to hold a grudge against you."

Feeling uncomfortable being stared at by Uchiha Madara, Golden Horn pretended not to notice and whispered to Gyuki in his consciousness space.

"It has nothing to do with me, it was all the Nine-Tails' doing!"

Gyuki could feel the chilling intent in Uchiha Madara's eyes and shivered in fear, his expression becoming somewhat cowering, before he betrayed the gloating big fox without any psychological burden.

"Why haven't you announced the result yet? Who is the final winner?"

Tobirama Senju frowned and approached Uchiha Gin, asking directly about the question everyone was concerned about without beating around the bush.

"I thought you just looked old, but I didn't expect your ears to be bad too. Didn't you hear what I just said? Both of them are out~"

Uchiha Gin tilted his head, looking at the solemn-faced Tobirama Senju with interest; his voice was not loud, but it fell steadily into everyone's ears.

"Ah! It was clearly that raccoon-head who fell first."

Hearing Uchiha Gin's words, the Konoha side was the first to stand out, indignantly filing a complaint.

"Nonsense, Master's transformation release was 0.01 seconds slower than his, so Master should have won!"

Although Chiyo was only one person, her momentum was no weaker than the F6.

The purple-haired girl raised her chin, hands on her hips, fully displaying the sharp, spirited style unique to the Land of Wind.

"You're talking nonsense!"

"What face do you have to speak, you big-bottomed pervert!"

"Wuwuwu..."

Danzo Shimura, out~

"Everyone has no grudges, why not turn hostility into..."

"A guy who reeks of hypocrisy down to his bones—I find it disgusting to say even one more word to you."

"You... I..."

"Next."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, out~

"I have a word, I don't know if I should say it..."

"Curly-haired sissy, shut up."

Uchiha Kagami, out~

"Do you have anything else to say?"

Chiyo crossed her arms, looking down at the defeated F6 with the posture of a winner, her beautiful face full of disdain.

"That's it? That's it?"

"I am an amoeba."

Among them, Danzo, whose Dao heart had collapsed from the vicious personal attacks, turned gray and white, curling up in a corner with his arms around his knees, his eyes filled with a faint sense of death.

"Are you still Konoha people looking like this!? Pull yourselves together, don't lose face!"

As the person involved in the match, Uchiha Madara frowned slightly, looking at the Konoha rising stars who had been sprayed down by a single mouth, his tone filled with a sense of "iron not becoming steel."

"But... Lord Clan Leader, you clearly should have won!"

Uchiha Kagami looked up with a bitter face.

"If you don't stand until the end, you aren't the winner."

Unexpectedly, Uchiha Madara took it quite well, shaking his head; although there was regret in his eyes, there was more composure. If he lost, he lost; he wasn't a narrow-minded white-hair.

"If everyone is eliminated, doesn't that mean there's no winner? Then what is this competition? A game?"

Tobirama Senju did not buy Uchiha Gin's answer; his older brother was still waiting for them to go back and save him, so how could he easily give up this victory that should have belonged to them.

"The Knight's Battle is a game to begin with, but it is true that it's a bit unreasonable that everyone was eliminated."

Uchiha Gin nodded, directly admitting that this thrilling life-and-death battle was just a farce he had directed, but looking at his cousin who had worked so hard to finish the whole thing, he couldn't help but feel a touch of compassion.

"That's right, so hurry up and fulfill your promise."

Seeing Uchiha Gin's stance soften, Tobirama Senju's eyes lit up, and he immediately demanded the prize.

"Hold your horses! I never said I was giving out awards."

"Then give us a straight answer, I'm in a hurry."

"Goodness, why are the white-hairs these days getting more and more impatient~"

Shaking his head, a sighing Uchiha Gin rested his chin on his hands, his tone slightly serious.

"Although I can't help you realize your wishes directly, I can tell you how to realize them."

"Huh?"

Hearing this, everyone was stunned. It took a long while for them to process it, and their expressions became extremely strange. Tobirama Senju frowned and asked tentatively,

"You mean, you're going to teach us how to realize our wishes?"

"Bingo! This is called, 'do it yourself and have plenty of food and clothing'~"

"Wait a moment, let us discuss it."

Exchanging glances with his disciples, Tobirama Senju did not speak rashly, turning back to the spectator stand to find Uchiha Madara, who was bowing his head in silence.

Although the two didn't get along, they still had to coordinate on matters of great importance.

"Hey, let's discuss how to ask so we can know the correct method to save Big Brother more precisely."

"..."

"What do you mean? Speak!"

"Oh?"

Awakened by Tobirama Senju's furious voice, a dazed Uchiha Madara looked up, only to see the white-hair radiating ill intent before him, and subconsciously reached for the ninja tool pouch at his lower back.

"I'm discussing serious business with you, what are you spacing out for?"

Tobirama Senju lowered his finger with displeasure; if Uchiha Madara didn't pay attention to him again, the Flying Thunder God Slash would have to make a comeback.

"I was doing serious business just now."

Uchiha Madara curled his lips.

"Please, find a more normal excuse, will you?"

"It's true, I was interrogating the Nine-Tails just now. This beast has caused me no end of trouble, it must be interrogated properly."

Rarely not continuing to bicker with Tobirama Senju, Uchiha Madara spread his hands and answered quite frankly.

"Uh, that is indeed serious business. You go ahead, I'll come find you later. Remember not to break it; that's village property."

"Master! What are you planning to ask?"

On the other side, Chiyo, having learned there was a consolation prize, excitedly asked Sand Gate, who was meditating with his eyes closed; her beautiful eyes were full of brilliance, and her little mouth didn't stop chattering.

"Are you asking him how to become the number one powerhouse in the ninja world, or how to achieve immortality and eternal youth?"

"Sigh~ those are all too ethereal; as your master, I want to ask about something more practical."

Slowly opening his eyes, Shamon exhaled a breath of stale air, a faint light swirling in his gaze; it seemed he had long since decided what he wanted to ask.

After a long while, the Konoha side also finished discussing what they wanted to ask, and a group of people walked over in a team.

Shamon and Chiyo had long been waiting on the side, while Uchiha Gin sat in the highest position, looking down at the people with their varied expressions, and spoke slowly,

"Who is first?"

"I'll go first."

Shamon stepped out first, his bald head and resolute face showing the same steadfastness as always.

"Come, tell me the wish you want to realize."

Uchiha Gin raised an eyebrow; Shamon could be considered an old acquaintance of his, so he would certainly tell him everything he knew.

"May I ask, how can the Hidden Sand Village achieve financial freedom?"

After pondering for a moment, Shamon slowly stated the wish he wanted to realize.

"!!!"

The people nearby who were listening intently had their expressions turn strange instantly upon hearing this question; they wished they could press their ears right up to Uchiha Gin. This was a 100% surefire guide to getting rich; hearing it was like making a profit.

"Are you sure you only want to realize such a simple wish?"

Uchiha Gin's expression was somewhat complex. He had originally thought Shamon would ask some rather selfish questions, such as how to become the strongest in the ninja world or how to achieve immortality, but the result was actually for the sake of the village.

"That is correct."

Shamon nodded firmly, without the slightest hesitation.

"Alright, come a bit closer, and I will tell you the answer."

Sighing slightly, Uchiha Gin secretly calculated the time in his heart, then beckoned to Shamon.

"******** Alright, that is the answer."

Whispering briefly in Shamon's ear, Uchiha Gin straightened his body and signaled for the other party to leave.

"Are you sure you aren't lying?"

Shamon's brows were furrowed high, his mung-bean-sized eyes filled with disbelief.

"I treat all customers fairly~"

"Fine, I will trust you for now."

"Did you all hear clearly?"

"No, he spoke too softly."

"Six years from now."

Just as the crowd was whispering to each other about whether they had managed to eavesdrop on the information, Kakuzu, who was sitting not far away, had eyes full of confusion. Despite trying hard to listen in, he had only vaguely heard the words "six years from now."

"Thank you, Brother Decade, Chiyo, we should head back."

After obtaining an answer he wasn't entirely sure about, Shamon did not linger, thanked Uchiha Gin, and disappeared into the drizzling rain with his disciple.

"Master, what exactly did Brother Decade say?"

After the master and disciple had walked a long distance, Chiyo couldn't help but ask her master; she also really wanted to know what the method was that could allow the Hidden Sand Village to achieve wealth.

"After we return, have the village's family planning department increase their publicity efforts; in the coming years, we must have more children."

Without answering Chiyo's question, Shamon instead gave a strange order, leaving the young girl completely bewildered.

"Is there any necessary connection between having children and getting rich?"

"Six years from now, a golden baby will be born in the Hidden Sand Village; he will bring us endless wealth."

"It is your turn."

Uchiha Gin turned his head to look at the silent Tobirama Senju.

"We want to ask how to realize the wish of restoring Hashirama Senju to health."

Once Tobirama Senju's words were out, everyone except those from Konoha was shocked. One had to know that Hashirama Senju was the world-renowned God of Shinobi; he had been executing high-difficulty missions just a short while ago and was in excellent condition, so how could he have collapsed after only a few days?

"Asking about this, are you? Come here."

Looking at the cold-faced Tobirama Senju, Uchiha Gin smiled and crooked his finger.

"*******"

"Say that again!"

"*******"

"Everyone, attack together and take this liar down for me!"

Upon hearing the answer, Tobirama Senju was filled with indignation, his ten fingers dancing wildly as violent space-time energy condensed around him.

"Swish~"

But before he could unleash his finishing move, the Flying Thunder God Slash, the Uchiha Gin in front of him suddenly disappeared.

Reappearing, he was already standing behind him, a slender finger pressed against the back of his white head.

"Are you questioning me?"

Uchiha Gin tilted his head and spoke with a hint of a smile.

"Who would believe your nonsense? The physician already said that my older brother's condition is extremely poor, and it won't be long before he..."

"Before he what?"

"Before he... Madara Uchiha, you say it."

Sensing the terrifying energy dissipating from the fingertip pressed against the back of his head, Tobirama Senju tactically backed down, his tone much softer than before. Facing Uchiha Gin's questioning, he even chose to shift the blame.

"Before he... before he... before he what again? I didn't finish listening before I left~"

Receiving the question, Madara Uchiha's expression shifted from solemn to confused. It seemed he had set off a bit too rashly; he should have learned more about Haxi-mama's condition first.

"See, that's it, isn't it~"

Lowering his finger, Uchiha Gin flashed away and sat back in his original seat, one hand propping up his chin, his voice filled with mockery.

"I'm returning to the village first!"

Hearing this, Tobirama Senju gritted his teeth hard, waved to the disciples behind him who were unaware of the truth, and left first.

"Master!?"

The abandoned F6 and Madara Uchiha looked at each other in dismay; what exactly was the answer? You could at least reveal that much to us!

"Move out!"

The Gin and Kin brothers, who had been monitoring Tobirama Senju's movements, immediately stood up, gave Uchiha Gin a subtle greeting, and turned into two bolts of lightning, disappearing from the spot.

"We are taking our leave as well; I hope we can have a good fight next time."

Kakuzu and the Zhenzi family were also leaving. Before departing, Zhenzi found Madara Uchiha, clenched her small fist, and issued a challenge with a face full of fighting spirit.

"I'll accompany you anytime."

Madara Uchiha had felt a bit of regret for not having a formal fight with this woman who resembled Haxi-mama so much. Now that the other party had said this, he naturally wouldn't refuse.

"Zhenzi! Hurry up, we've packed everything~"

Not far away, Seeing Shenhuo, carrying an insulated box of milk tea, shouted at Zhenzi.

"Coming, coming~"

After the miscellaneous people had left, Madara Uchiha approached Uchiha Gin, who was sitting in the high seat again. Looking at the blue-and-red rabbit knight who was mysterious in every way, he spoke slowly.

"No matter who you are or what your goal is, I hope you don't go looking for trouble with Uchiha Gin. Otherwise, even if I have to die, I will bite a piece of flesh off you."

"???"

He had thought his cousin was here to ask for a cheat, but he hadn't expected to be left completely bewildered by that one sentence. His current persona had nothing to do with his real body, so why would he look for trouble?

"Although you are from the same sect, Uchiha Gin is not some genius, and the tools he makes won't threaten you, so..."

Seeing Madara Uchiha's tone suddenly soften, Uchiha Gin finally understood why his cousin had said that.

It turned out his cousin had just been overthinking things.

In the persona Uchiha Gin had established, he was the never-before-met junior brother of Brother Decade, and both had studied under the reclusive master, Master Bandai, learning a mysterious and unpredictable art of ninja tool development.

His cousin was worried that Brother Decade would want to kill Uchiha Gin, who also possessed core technology, for the sake of patent rights.

"Heh heh heh, are you talking about that good-for-nothing junior brother of mine I've never met? A guy who isn't even a knight doesn't have the qualifications to enter my eyes."

Having figured out the reason, Uchiha Gin channeled his inner actor, learned three sinister laughs from the Soul Hall elders, and used an extremely disdainful tone to clearly separate his real body from his persona.

"I will keep an eye on you."

Madara Uchiha stared with his scarlet eyes, looking straight at Uchiha Gin as if confirming the truth of his words. After a long while, he left behind that one sentence and took the F6 away from the arena.

With this, the first Knight Battle came to an end.

"It's a pity to dismantle this stage; let's leave it for next time~"

Uchiha Gin stood up, looked at the empty battlefield, and after flying into the sky, pressed his hands downward. The repulsive force of the Tenseigan took effect, and the massive stage was pressed into the inland lake, waiting for the next restart.

"Alright~ next, I have to go see how Bai Mao is suffering~"

After finishing his work, Uchiha Gin clapped his hands. Remembering there was still a good show he hadn't watched, he expanded his super-perception to search for familiar auras.

Sure enough, he discovered the auras of Tobirama Senju and the Gin and Kin brothers on the border of the Land of Rain.

"Have they already been arrested? Then I have to be quick, or I'll miss the good show~"

Uchiha Gin's eyes lit up. Following the auras, he performed the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, and with a flash of golden light, he disappeared from the spot.

The next moment, golden light appeared in a canyon a hundred miles away. Uchiha Gin's figure landed on the top of a cliff. Looking down, he could see the ill-intentioned Gin and Kin brothers rubbing their hands and closing in on a white-haired man.

"What do you want to do?"

Tobirama Senju, who had been traveling alone, had keenly sensed someone tracking him after running for several hundred miles.

So he quickened his pace, preparing to enter the Land of Fire early, but he was still a step behind and was caught up by the Gin and Kin brothers at the border of the Land of Rain.

"What do we want to do? You white-haired brat, are you playing dumb while knowing full well what's going on?"

Gin Kaku cracked his knuckles, the look of hatred overflowing from his eyes making Tobirama Senju involuntarily knit his brows.

It was all that curly-haired guy's fault for making him let these two remnants of the Hagoromo clan go; he should have cut the weeds and pulled up the roots back then.

"Don't waste your breath on him, grab him first and subject him to extreme humiliation."

Kin Kaku waved his hand to stop his younger brother from wasting more words, his gaze toward Tobirama Senju filled with hatred as he licked his lips and pulled a giant pair of pliers from the storage scroll on his back.

"Hmph, I don't have time to waste on you people right now."

Tobirama Senju let out a cold, disdainful snort; he was in a rush to go back and verify Uchiha Gin's answer to see if his older brother's condition had truly recovered.

If it were really as Uchiha Gin had said, that Hashirama Senju would wake up within ten days, then everyone would be happy.

But if his older brother's condition continued to worsen, he would definitely make that detestable Kamen Rider pay the price.

"I'm leaving first, you two muscle-heads can play by yourselves. Huh?"

Lifting a finger, a blue light flashed on Tobirama Senju's body—the precursor to releasing the Flying Thunder God Jutsu—but before he could even finish speaking, the blue light of the Flying Thunder God dimmed instantly and then vanished completely.

"Fly! Fly, damn it!"

Tobirama Senju tried many times, only to discover that his sensory perception seemed to have developed a problem; he was unable to lock onto the Flying Thunder God marks he had set in advance, and he finally lowered his finger with a gloomy face, his gaze falling upon the smiling Gin and Kin brothers.

"Did you two pull this trick?"

"Hehe, in order to target you, our brothers have been preparing for a long time."

Gin Kaku let out a few sinister laughs, a very gratified expression appearing on his face; years of preparation had finally not gone to waste, and the sensory interference formation they had purchased at a high price had finally come in handy.

"You have made two mistakes so far."

Looking at the incredibly arrogant Gin and Kin brothers, Tobirama Senju took a deep breath to calm his mood, a flash of inscrutable light passing through his eyes before he drew the short blade at his waist.

"First, what I am best at is not space-time ninjutsu."

A blue stream of water condensed out of thin air, compressed into a rotating vortex, and coiled around the tip of his blade; the dense water-natured chakra made the Gin and Kin brothers knit their brows tightly.

Just as the Gin and Kin brothers were distracted by Tobirama Senju's exquisite Water Style, the despicable white-haired man quickly fished a signal flare out of the pack behind his waist and pulled it without hesitation.

"Whoosh! Crackle!"

"Second, I am a ninja, not a brute; why would anyone fight alone when they can call for backup?" (End of chapter)