Chapter 545: Uchiha Gin: I have someone down below, two of them!

"Hand signs? Grandpa Gin, what are you talking about?"

Jiraiya, sitting in the row in front of Uchiha Gin, heard the other's muttering and turned his head in confusion to ask.

"Nothing. Though, Grandpa wants to give you a piece of advice: don't play with hand signs."

Shaking his head gently, Uchiha Gin fixed his gaze on Jiraiya's youthful, innocent face and warned him earnestly.

"Huh? Don't ninjas need to use hand signs?"

A question from the childhood Roulette Dog.

"You deserve your lack of intelligence."

Uchiha Gin glared at Jiraiya, hating that he couldn't make him live up to his potential.

Spin, spin, spin—do you think you're a Russian roulette wheel?

Does it do any damage, you spinning it?

Recalling the miserable experience of being dominated by the Roulette Dog all night, Uchiha Gin couldn't help but feel his fists itching.

*Thump! *—

"Ouch, why did you do that?"

"Sign your damn hand signs!"

"Why do you only hit me every time?"

Jiraiya, bearing the bump on his head, asked with tears in his eyes.

"You just have a better feel when I beat you up."

Scanning the group of trembling brats, Uchiha Gin, feeling refreshed, gave a deadpan answer.

"Aren't you just bullying an honest person?"

"No seat~"

"Curly-haired baboon, stop bullying the kid for a moment. What should we do now?"

Senju Itama, worried on the side, tugged at Uchiha Gin's sleeve, feeling somewhat at a loss. Her own niece had destroyed the village's supreme treasure; the Senju clan probably couldn't afford to pay for it even if they sold themselves.

"What to do? How would I know?"

"Don't you know how to make Tailed Beast cards?"

"Just because I know how to make them doesn't mean I know how to fix them. I promised back then that I wouldn't provide after-sales service."

"Then what do we do?!"

Glancing at the anxious Senju Itama, Uchiha Gin shook his head gently and spoke to soothe her.

"But don't worry. Tailed Beast cards aren't that easy to destroy."

The sealing techniques he applied to the Tailed Beast card weren't just for show. Let alone splitting it in two, even if it were torn to shreds, it could be repaired.

Inside the exam hall, unlike the fiery atmosphere from just a moment ago, the silence was now suffocating. Senju Toka, holding the Flying Thunder God kunai, stood frozen in place, looking at the Nine-Tails card she had split in two, her brain crashing on the spot.

"Oh ho, you're in big trouble~" *2

Uzumaki Mito and Uchiha Hikari, each holding half a Nine-Tails card, pointed their hands in unison at the bewildered Senju Toka.

"No, how is that possible? I just touched it lightly."

Senju Toka, regaining her senses, threw away the weapon in her hand and began to quibble, her brilliant ruby-like eyes filled with confusion.

Is the Tailed Beast card that fragile?

"So many people are watching; don't think you can deny it."

Uchiha Hikari held up the half Nine-Tails card in her hand and said righteously. She had no affection at all for this spoiler who had ruined her one-on-one fight.

"I... I have glue here."

Feeling the burning gazes around her, Senju Toka, known for her calmness, couldn't help but panic, hurriedly fishing a bottle of glue out of her ninja tool pouch on her back.

As a researcher, carrying a bottle of glue with you—that's very reasonable, right?

"..."

"Are you an idiot?"

Selectively forgetting what she had said before, Uchiha Hikari was almost angered to laughter by Senju Toka's behavior.

"Damn it!"

Senju Toka, who prided herself on being the smartest person in the Ninja World, couldn't bear such humiliation, and the fact that the other party was an Uchiha made it even harder for her to accept.

"You guys wait a moment, this card is strange."

Just as the two women were at daggers drawn, Uzumaki Mito, holding the other half of the Nine-Tails card, suddenly called a halt to the fight they were about to start.

Looking at the complex incantations appearing on the surface of the half Nine-Tails card, a hint of shock appeared in her beautiful brown eyes.

It's actually a trigger-type sealing technique. What a sophisticated method.

Inside the VIP viewing room, the F6s were still in a state of shock. Sarutobi Hiruzen, the first to wake up, moved away from Danzo on the side without a trace, stood up with wide, angry eyes, and said,

"Danzo, you've caused a big problem this time."

"Huh?"

"I said long ago that the selection process should be handled with extreme caution. How are you going to answer to the village's elders and fellow villagers now?"

"Monkey, you..."

Looking at his childhood friend who was cutting ties with him at light speed, Danzo, who had just recovered from the shock, almost choked, immediately raising a trembling finger.

"Hiruzen, now is not the time to shift the blame."

Uchiha Kagami stood up. Compared to infighting, he was more concerned with how to solve the problem. After all, the Nine-Tails card had been destroyed in full view of everyone; the news would soon spread throughout the Ninja World.

Those with ulterior motives who were lurking would definitely seize the opportunity to act, and Konoha was highly likely to be dragged into the flames of war.

Just then, the half Tailed Beast cards in the hands of Uzumaki Mito and the other woman erupted with waves of heat, and bright red Nine-Tails chakra spilled out like foam. The violent aura instantly swept through the entire exam hall. Some timid spectators had already started to flee, and the scene fell into chaos.

"Phew... Kagami is right. Danzo, I won't hold you accountable for now. Hurry up and contact the Sealing Squad; the Nine-Tails might be about to break free."

Glaring at Danzo, who dared to be angry but didn't dare to speak, Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a long sigh, the worry on his face undisguised. Now that the Nine-Tails card was destroyed, the first thing that violent beast, trapped for many years, would do upon coming out would definitely be to take revenge on Konoha.

Without Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, whether the few of them could suppress the enraged Nine-Tails was a difficult problem before him.

"Hiruzen, Lord Izuna hasn't left the village yet. How about..."

Looking at his solemn best friend, Kagami's heart stirred, and he offered a suggestion.

"Wait a moment. If we can't solve it, it won't be too late to ask Lord Izuna to take action."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's face brightened upon hearing this, but thinking of his current status, he gritted his teeth and refused.

"But there are so many villagers here. What if the Nine-Tails goes on a rampage?"

Uchiha Kagami frowned. He knew that Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to handle the current crisis himself due to his pride, but this shouldn't be a gamble with the lives and property of the villagers.

"Kagami, I am the Hokage."

Taking a fierce drag from the unextinguished pipe in his hand, Sarutobi Hiruzen raised his head with a heavy expression.

"Fine, Hiruzen. I hope this is the last time you act so willfully."

Taking a deep look at his best friend who now made him feel like a stranger, Uchiha Kagami slowly closed his black eyes.

After opening them again, a bewitching pattern never seen by the others present leaped into his eyes. The voice of Uchiha Kagami, who had activated the Mangekyō Sharingan, carried a bit more coldness.

"I will be watching you the whole time."

"Kagami, you..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand holding the pipe paused, his widened eyes filled with shock. Danzo, on the side, secretly clenched his fists, the envy hidden deep in his eyes not appearing fake.

"Hiruzen, Kagami, look!"

Suddenly, Akimichi Torifu's loud voice pulled the two, who were in a stalemate, back to reality.

"What happened? Did the Nine-Tails come out?"

Hearing this, the two's expressions tightened, and they hurriedly stepped forward to check, only to be shocked beyond measure by the unbelievable scene happening in the arena.

They saw that the surface of the Nine-Tails card, which had just been cut in half by Senju Toka, was flickering with dim light, and dense, complex incantations were surging from the torn wound, pulling the violent chakra that had just spilled out back into the card.

"That is... the Four-Symbol Seal!"

Danzo widened his eyes in surprise. Although he hadn't studied sealing techniques, it didn't affect his understanding of this strange technique.

"We're saved!"

The moment he saw the sealing technique, Danzo felt relieved. Compared to delving into the origin of the sealing technique on the Tailed Beast card, he was more concerned with whether this crisis could be resolved.

After all, this directly affected his future career. From Sarutobi Hiruzen's clean-cut performance of shifting blame just now, it could be seen that he was very likely to take on the role of the scapegoat.

"Wait! It's not over yet. The Nine-Tails card is starting to repair itself!"

Just when everyone was relieved, the loud-voiced Akimichi Torifu called out again, his round face filled with disbelief, as surprised as if he had seen a ghost.

"Huh?"

The few who had just sat down stood up on the spot, squeezed to the window, and poked their heads out to check. Sure enough, they saw the magical change happening to the Tailed Beast cards in the hands of Uzumaki Mito and Uchiha Hikari.

"Does this count as a blessing in disguise?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen, with a strange expression, turned to look at Danzo, his tone inexplicable.

"Danzo, your workload is going to increase again."

"Can I refuse?"

Looking at the two identical Nine-Tails cards, Danzo replied with a stiff expression.

"I am the Hokage."

"You will regret this!"

In the arena, Uchiha Hikari flipped through the Nine-Tails card in her hand, which had finished repairing itself, in confusion. When the Eight Trigrams Seal appeared just now, she had almost been scared into throwing it away.

Fortunately, she discovered in time that the sealing technique only targeted Tailed Beast chakra, so she continued to pinch her trophy with peace of mind.

"How is this possible? This isn't scientific!"

Witnessing the entire process of the half Tailed Beast card repairing itself, Senju Toka fell into deep self-doubt. As a ninja who advocated science, she couldn't understand how one Nine-Tails had turned into two.

A Tailed Beast's origin chakra is a unique existence; even if one collects the chakra that has leaked from a Tailed Beast, without the origin chakra, it's impossible to cultivate it into a new Tailed Beast.

"Eight Four-Symbol Seals on each card?"

On the other side, Uzumaki Mito, who was studying the Nine-Tails card that was as good as new, fell into deep thought as she looked at the card in her hand, which now only had eight Four-Symbol Seals.

Where did the remaining two go?

Inside the Tailed Beast card space, the Nine-Tails, which had clearly shrunk by a circle, looked at its undamaged body in confusion.

"What's going on? Wasn't I split in two by the Death God?"

Just now, the Nine-Tails, locked by the Reaper Death Seal, had ultimately not escaped the Death God's sanction.

It had been hung on the Death God's cross like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, cut cleanly in two by a sharp little knife. That bone-deep pain had almost made the Nine-Tails disintegrate on the spot.

However, a Tailed Beast's vitality is excessively tenacious; even if cut in two, as long as the origin chakra hasn't dissipated, it can still be repaired.

After a round of self-examination, the Nine-Tails found that its body was unharmed, and it immediately showed a look of triumph.

"Hmph, hmph~ I'm blessed and lucky. A mere Death God, how could it... huh?"

It seems the Death God in the Old Man's stories isn't that powerful. Its massive origin chakra hasn't... why has it shrunk?

"Where did my chakra go?"

The Nine-Tails looked at its origin chakra, which had shrunk by half, and fell into deep thought.

If it remembered correctly, a minute ago, there was still a full, large lump here.

The same scene was also happening inside the other Tailed Beast card. Nine-Tails No. 2, whose fur color was slightly different from the previous Nine-Tails, was also looking at its shrunk origin chakra and falling into deep thought.

"What the hell?" *2

It—no, now it's they—the two Nine-Tails seemed to have really seen a ghost just now.

In the spectator stands, Senju Itama looked at the Nine-Tails card that had recovered as before, and the worry in her heart was swept away.

Now the maternal family doesn't have to pay money, right?

"Curly-haired baboon!!! You were actually right!"

In her excitement, she gave Uchiha Gin, who was silent beside her, a hard pat. As a result, she didn't get the response she imagined, so she blinked in confusion.

"Hey? What's wrong with you?"

Senju Itama leaned over and was surprised to find that Uchiha Gin's eyes were tightly closed. If it weren't for the imperceptible breathing at his nose and mouth, the girl would have thought the curly-hair in front of her had passed away.

Reaching out to poke Uchiha Gin's arm, the girl found that the other party seemed to have had his soul leave his body, showing no reaction to anything in the outside world.

Seeing this, a flash of brilliance crossed the girl's eyes, and her movements became bolder.

"Really, sleeping everywhere—aren't you afraid of catching a cold?"

Grumbling with dissatisfaction, Senju Itama, whose mouth said one thing but whose heart did another, very naturally placed Uchiha Gin's head on her plump, fleshy thighs, and took the opportunity to ruffle his fluffy curly hair.

It feels so good!

"Itama, what's wrong with Mr. Gin?"

Uchiha Chirori, who had been a step late, hated her own hesitation and could only suppress the loss in her heart, pretending to be nonchalant as she asked.

"I don't know. Maybe he stayed up late last night and didn't rest well?"

Looking down at Uchiha Gin's sleeping side profile, Senju Itama's little face flushed slightly, and she shook her head, pretending to be calm, but her movements didn't restrain themselves. The already soft curly hair was ruffled even more fluffily by her.

Seeing this, Uchiha Chirori finally couldn't suppress the restlessness in her heart. After struggling for a moment, she leaned over, her voice as low as a mosquito's.

"Itama, let me ruffle it for a bit later."

"No."

Sorry, Sister Chirori, this kind of opportunity only comes once in a century.

"I want to!"

Opportunities are never given by others; one should act when it's time to act.

Uchiha Gin, our party in question, didn't know that his body was suffering the ravages of the two women.

At this moment, he was standing in a strange space, the surroundings pitch black.

"Where did this bring me? Is it still in the country?"

Uchiha Gin scratched his head in confusion. He had clearly been watching the Nine-Tails card's asexual reproduction and mitosis just a moment ago; how did he end up in this strange ghost place in the blink of an eye?

"Ding—"

Suddenly, pale yellow light shone all around. Uchiha Gin subconsciously looked down, only to discover that what he was stepping on wasn't the ground, but a calm lake that could reflect images.

"Long time no see, excellent descendant."

A strange yet familiar voice rang in Uchiha Gin's ear. He turned his head following the voice and saw an old man floating on the lake, the other party squinting his pure white eyes and looking at him with full appreciation.

"So it's you, old man. *Sashiburi* (long time no see). Were you satisfied with the roast chicken I burned for you last time?"

Facing the long-unseen Ancestor Hamura, Uchiha Gin immediately put away the vigilance in his heart and greeted him with a smile.

"Satisfied! It's just, could you burn a few more next time? Don't look at me like that, it's not for me, it's..."

"Ahem, ahem, ahem."

Bearing Uchiha Gin's teasing gaze, Otsutsuki Hamura had just wanted to explain, but before he could finish, he was interrupted by a strange coughing sound from deep in the space.

Hearing this warning-filled cough, Otsutsuki Hamura's expression tightened, and the topic instantly returned to the right track.

"Ahem... hurry up and pay respects to your Great-Granduncle. If he hadn't handled the Death God for you, you brat would have already gone to the Underworld to report." (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 546 =====