Chapter 507

Konoha,

Today was another peaceful day. Uchiha Gin, who hadn't appeared for a long time, squeezed into the crowded Mixue x City under the scorching sun, his lifeless eyes searching everywhere for a non-existent empty seat.

"Is it really this hard to just mooch some air conditioning?"

Seeing that all the seats were occupied, a disappointed Uchiha Gin scratched his messy curly hair, his words full of sighs.

"Sigh~ In such a massive Konoha, is there no place for me to stay?"

Just as he was about to turn and leave, a somewhat rough voice came from an inconspicuous corner of the shop.

"Lord Gin! Lord Gin! Over here, over here!"

Hearing this, Uchiha Gin turned his head and happened to see a white-haired brat full of excitement, standing with one foot on the table and waving at him.

However, in the next second, he was sanctioned by an iron fist from the girl accompanying him, while another black-haired boy at the same table supported his forehead helplessly, looking as if he were used to it.

"Duang!"

"Jiraiya, you idiot, this is a public place, don't shout."

"Yo~ Long time no see."

Seeing acquaintances, Uchiha Gin didn't stand on ceremony and immediately went up to share the table. After sitting down, he gave a perfunctory greeting to the three brats he hadn't seen for a while.

"Hello, Grandpa Gin~"

After dealing with the boisterous Jiraiya, Tsunade instantly turned into a lady, a sweet smile hanging on her young face, and she bowed to Uchiha Gin in a generous manner.

"Greetings, Lord Gin... Senior."

When Uchiha Gin shifted his gaze to the black-haired boy among the three who was the only one who hadn't greeted him, the other party hesitated again and again, swallowing the somewhat shameful title of "Lord Gin" back into his stomach, and instead used a very polite address.

"Little Snake, you've become distant; you aren't even willing to call me Lord anymore."

Hearing such a distant address from Orochimaru, Uchiha Gin revealed a heartbroken expression, raising his hand to wipe away non-existent tears from the corners of his eyes.

"You were so cute when you were little, calling me 'Lord' so affectionately every time~"

"..."

Looking at Uchiha Gin's clumsy performance with black lines all over his head, if Orochimaru weren't already twelve years old, he really might have believed it.

"Senior Gin, please don't tease me anymore. With you looking like this, I really can't bring myself to say it."

Orochimaru shook his head gently. Although Uchiha Gin's age was indeed high enough to be his grandfather, the other party's current young face made it impossible for him to lose face and call him "Grandpa."

Immortality or whatever—it's so annoying!

"Orochimaru, move aside. If you won't call me that, plenty of others will!"

Jiraiya, with a large bump on his head, heard Orochimaru's rebellious remarks and immediately perked up. He stepped forward, pushed aside his classmate and friend, and struck a pose of rubbing his hands like a fly toward Uchiha Gin, his large face full of flattery.

"Good fortune to Lord Gin~"

"Good job, you deserve a reward."

Uchiha Gin nodded with satisfaction, waved his large hand, and threw the menu in front of the sensible Jiraiya.

"Order whatever you want, it's on me today."

"Thank you, Lord Gin!"

The grateful Jiraiya skillfully bowed down. Tsunade and Orochimaru beside him took a few steps back in unison, trying to distance themselves from this sycophantic white-haired boy.

After their daily interaction, Jiraiya happily held the pantyhose milk tea he had traded his dignity for, sucking on the sweet and delicious drink with full enjoyment.

"Silky smooth, watch me enjoy the silkiness!"

Of course, Uchiha Gin was definitely not the kind of petty man; Orochimaru had an extra cup of drink in his hand that he had ordered personally.

"Drink up, it's on me, don't be polite, drink to your heart's content~"

Looking at the iced Americano emitting a bitter scent in front of him, his fair little face immediately wrinkled like a chrysanthemum. He had clearly seen Uchiha Gin specifically choose triple-strength when ordering.

"This..."

Looking at Uchiha Gin's seemingly warm smile, Orochimaru shivered involuntarily. After hesitating again and again, he still picked up the triple-strength iced Americano in front of him and took a small sip.

"Does it taste good, Little Snake?"

"It's delicious, I love it."

Delicious my foot; Orochimaru wished he could cut off his own tongue.

"That's good, I'll treat you again next time we meet."

"..."

Hearing this heartwarming remark, Orochimaru was instantly in tears, with only one thought in his little heart:

Is it too late to betray the village now?

"Grandpa Gin, when do you think Second Grandpa and the others will be back?"

Uchiha Gin was having a great time teasing Little Snake when Tsunade, who was holding a strawberry milkshake and sipping it slowly, suddenly raised her head, her expression somewhat complex.

"Them? They... should be back soon, right?"

He counted the days since his cousin and the others had left on his fingers. Logically speaking, after so much time had passed, even the Fourth Great Ninja War should have been over.

Could it be that they ran into an accident?

Uchiha Gin frowned imperceptibly, but quickly smoothed it out.

No, absolutely not!

His cousin's current strength was terrifyingly strong; he was a combination of peak living Madara and old Hashirama, with no rivals beneath the Six Paths.

Furthermore, taking a step back, even if they encountered an enemy they couldn't handle, the mark he had left on his cousin at the time of parting wasn't just for show.

That Flying Thunder God mark was a trigger-type technique. As long as Uchiha Madara encountered a strong enemy, the technique would be activated, and Uchiha Gin, thousands of miles away, would be able to receive the signal immediately and go to save the day.

Up to now, the Flying Thunder God mark he left behind hadn't had any unusual movement, which meant his cousin and his party were safe and sound.

The reason they hadn't returned yet was probably because they were looking for clues about Hashirama's imprisonment.

"Don't worry, everyone will return safe and sound."

Reaching out to ruffle Tsunade's little head, Uchiha Gin promised with a smile.

But as soon as he finished speaking, a micro-imperceptible sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and a look of unnaturalness immediately appeared on his face.

"Eh... the technique has been dispelled?"

"Grandpa Gin, what did you say?"

Feeling Uchiha Gin's warm, large hand stall, Tsunade blinked her eyes in confusion.

"Nothing, just suddenly remembered I still need to visit an old friend. You guys drink slowly, I'll go first."

Feigning a look of sudden realization, Uchiha Gin stood up to take his leave. The three of them waved goodbye in a hurry, especially Orochimaru, whose veins were bulging on the back of his hand as he gripped the iced Americano, wishing the other party would disappear from his field of vision in the next second.

"Customer, your caramel macchiato..."

Just as he was leaving, Uchiha Gin happened to run into the clerk who was preparing to deliver his meal.

"Sorry, please pack it for me... forget it, just give it to me."

He was in a bit of a hurry now, so he simply grabbed the sweet drink he had ordered, pulled out a straw, and left directly.

No. 002 East Main Street,

Soon, Uchiha Gin stood before the familiar gate, raising his hand to knock.

Creak—

Unexpectedly, the door was opened from the inside a step earlier. What met his eyes was a weary-looking Senju Hizari. She had a head of white hair that hadn't been groomed for a long time, and her scarlet eyes were full of anxiety.

"Why did you come?"

Senju Hizari clearly hadn't expected Uchiha Gin to come knocking at this time; the shock on her pretty face flashed by.

"I am..."

"No time to explain too much to you, go notify that idiot Uchiha Izuna quickly, something big has happened."

Before Uchiha Gin could speak, an anxious Senju Hizari spoke a string of words first. She had been worrying about no one to notify Uchiha Izuna, and this curly-haired guy had come at just the right time.

"Something big happened?"

Hearing this, Uchiha Gin's heart sank. To make this white-haired woman so shocked, could it be that his cousin and the others had really met with misfortune?

"Don't be anxious, tell me the sequence of events."

"What's the use of telling you?"

"Eh..."

Uchiha Gin, who had been snapped at by Senju Hizari, had black lines all over his face. Telling him was useless, but telling his little cousin, that weakling, would be useful?

A mere A-rank ninja who was given away for free, whose character art was perfunctory—he would be embarrassed to even leave him in the warehouse.

"If you don't explain it clearly to me, how can I notify my little cousin?"

There was no other way; Uchiha Gin had to give an explanation that seemed very reasonable, but was indeed reasonable.

"Eh... that's true too."

Senju Hizari calmed down after hearing this, then stepped aside to let Uchiha Gin enter the house.

"How come the Elephant Transformation Technique was dispelled?"

After closing the gate, Uchiha Gin went straight to the point. The reason he had come to visit Senju Hizari was precisely because he had perceived that the Elephant Transformation Technique he had cast had been dispelled.

"You can perceive it?"

"Nonsense, the chakra in your clone's body was something I spent my own ocular power to stuff in there."

Looking at the astonished Senju Hizari, Uchiha Gin couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Phew... I thought you were just coming to visit because you had nothing to do. Sorry."

After hearing Uchiha Gin's explanation, a sliver of apology appeared on Senju Hizari's face. She hadn't expected this curly-haired guy to be so thoughtful, rushing over the moment her clone died.

"Stop with the pleasantries, tell me the details."

"It all started after leaving the Land of Iron, we..."

"Gurgle—"

As the two spoke, they walked into the reception hall. Senju Hizari sat down on the main seat, and just as her somewhat dry voice rang out, it was interrupted by a rumble of thunder.

The scene instantly fell into a deathly silence.

Because Senju Hizari had been casting the Elephant Transformation Technique during this period, she had entered a short stage of fasting. It was only after the clone died that she was freed from the technique.

Having not groomed herself for so long, she was already in a disheveled state, and her stomach was rumbling with hunger. If it weren't for her conviction, she would have already fainted from hunger.

"Why don't you have a bite first?"

Uchiha Gin hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly handed over the caramel macchiato he was holding.

According to his agreement with the girls at home, this sweet drink was his only sugar supply for the day.

"Give it here!"

"Slurp~"

Senju Hizari didn't care about that; she snatched the sweet drink from Uchiha Gin's hand, puffed out her cheeks, and drank it in one gulp. With the replenishment of sugar, color gradually returned to her pale face.

"Burp... I'm resurrected!"

"Alright, hurry up and tell me!"

Watching the sweet drink that had left him forever with heartache, Uchiha Gin hid his sadness deep in his heart and instead urged Senju Hizari.

"Phew... we encountered the kind of clone you mentioned. They are really strong, as strong as Big Brother."

As expected, they encountered them.

Uchiha Gin raised his eyebrows. If it were just mere clones, given his cousin's current strength, there shouldn't be too much of a problem.

As for the others, it was probably a bit precarious.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but worry about the safety of the F6. But seeing Senju Hizari's solemn expression, a sense of inexplicable oddity suddenly arose in Uchiha Gin's heart.

"Wait, you didn't stay behind to hold the line, did you?"

Senju Hizari wouldn't have volunteered to hold the line like in the original timeline, fighting for a glimmer of hope for the F6, would she?

"Huh? How did you know?"

It really was. I didn't expect you, this thick-browed Senju old-timer, to still have a glimmer of human light hidden in the depths of your heart.

"But it wasn't just me who stayed behind; Uchiha Madara and Mirror also stayed."

"???"

"Ah?"

What a scheme to harm three worthies; truly a naturally despicable Senju white-hair!

There were only so many talents in the Uchiha family, and this white-hair was going to get two of them killed at once.

"But don't worry, Mirror is not only fine, he also gave me a lot of help."

Seeing the cold red light erupting from Uchiha Gin's eyes, Senju Hizari hurriedly explained.

"Phew... it's good that Mirror is fine."

"Aren't you worried about Uchiha Madara?"

"My cousin has his own heaven-sent luck; I believe he will turn danger into safety."

"Eh... I advise you not to be so optimistic. Uchiha Madara is facing seven clones alone..."

"I thought it was what? Uchiha 'one-hits-seven' isn't a routine operation—wait, what? Seven?"

Seven peak Hashiramas—unless his cousin used a cheat, he definitely couldn't win.

Uchiha Gin's heart tightened, but once he thought about how Uchiha Madara still had the Knight System, he relaxed again.

With a cheat on his body, it wasn't a big problem.

"Yes, to help us hold the line, he used his physical body to resist the attacks of seven clones."

Wait, physical body?

"Stop joking, isn't my cousin a Tailed Beast knight?"

"He was before, but not anymore."

Senju Hizari shook her head, a look of inexplicable emotion appearing on her face, and her words even carried a hint of coyness.

"He entrusted the driver and the Tailed Beast card to me..."

It's over, it's all over. My cousin must have gone insane, actually choosing to fight monsters with his physical body. Do you think you're some Showa old-timer, putting on a mask just to hide your identity?

"He himself pulled out a double-sided mountain-splitting axe and a two-handed heavy hammer, facing the seven clones alone."

Mountain-splitting axe?

Heavy hammer!

It's the Hullbreaker; my cousin is saved!

Uchiha Gin's mood rose and fell like a roller coaster, and finally, upon learning that his cousin had pulled out the birthday gift he had given him, the heavy stone hanging in his heart finally landed.

Among the weapons he had extracted from the system orb, although the divine artifact Hullbreaker had relatively harsh usage restrictions, its effect was invincible.

As long as there were no allies on the field, it could instantly increase his four-dimensional stats by six times. Not only that, it could also increase percentage damage—it was a real tool for dueling.

The Infinity Edge, known for having the highest output, looked like a green recruit in front of it.

Thinking back to those years, Uzumaki Mito, wielding the Hullbreaker, could single-handedly defeat the Mist Ninja army led by the First Mizukage, Bai Lian, who had come to encircle the Land of Whirlpools, literally hammering the kind-hearted old man into someone with incredibly ugly, downward-slanting eyes.

Uchiha Gin, who had let out a sigh of relief, suddenly thought of the dead clone and asked with full suspicion,

"That's not right, with my cousin holding the line, how could you have died?"

"That... I was careless, and it seems I became a knight~"

(≦☆) (End of chapter)