Chapter 562: Senju Mito Attempts to Muddle Through

Konoha,

It was another peaceful day. Uchiha Gin, who hadn't shown his face in a long time, squeezed through the sweltering heat into the crowded Mixue Ice Cream & Tea shop. His listless eyes searched everywhere for a non-existent empty seat.

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

Seeing that every seat was taken, a disappointed Uchiha Gin scratched his messy curly hair, his words filled with sighs.

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

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

"Grandpa Gin! Grandpa Gin! Over here, over here!"

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

However, the next second, he was sanctioned by an iron fist from the girl sitting with him, while another boy with long, straight black hair sitting at the same table supported his forehead in resignation, looking like he was used to it.

"Thud!"

"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. He immediately went up to share the table, sat down, and gave a perfunctory greeting to the three brats he hadn't seen in a while.

"Hello, Grandpa Gin~"

After finishing off the boisterous Jiraiya, Tsunade instantly turned into a lady. A sweet smile hung on her youthful face as she bowed generously to Uchiha Gin.

"Greetings, Senior Gin."

When Uchiha Gin shifted his gaze to the only one of the three who hadn't greeted him—the boy with long, straight black hair—the boy hesitated repeatedly, swallowed the somewhat shameful title of "Grandpa Gin," and instead used a very polite form of address.

"Little Snake, you've grown distant. You won't even call me Grandpa anymore."

Hearing such a distant address from Orochimaru, Uchiha Gin put on a heartbroken expression, raising his hand to wipe away non-existent tears from the corner of his eye.

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

"..."

Watching Uchiha Gin's clumsy performance with black lines on his forehead, if Orochimaru weren't already twelve years old, he might have actually believed it.

"Senior Gin, please stop teasing me. 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 man's youthful face made it impossible for him to bring himself to call him "Grandpa."

Immortality or whatever, it's just too annoying!

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

Jiraiya, with a bump on his head, heard Orochimaru's rebellious words 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 day, Grandpa Gin~"

"Well done, you deserve a reward."

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

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

"Thank you, Grandpa Gin!"

Jiraiya, moved to tears, bowed skillfully. Beside him, Tsunade and Orochimaru stepped back in unison, trying to distance themselves from this bootlicker.

After the daily interaction, Jiraiya happily held his silk-stocking milk tea, which he had traded his dignity for, and sucked on the sweet, delicious drink with pure enjoyment.

"Silky, watch me enjoy the silkiness!"

Of course, Uchiha Gin was certainly not the type of small-minded man; Orochimaru had an extra cup of a drink he had personally ordered in his hand.

"Drink up, I'm paying, don't be shy, drink as much as you want~"

Looking at the iced Americano emitting a bitter scent in front of him, the fair-skinned 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 for a long time, he picked up the triple-strength iced Americano and took a small sip.

"Is it good, Little Snake?"

"It's so good, I love it."

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

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

"..."

Hearing these heartwarming words, Orochimaru was instantly moved to tears, and only one thought remained in his small heart:

Is it too late to defect from the village now?

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

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

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

He counted the days since his eldest cousin and the others had left on his fingers. Logically, so much time had passed that even the Fourth Great Ninja War should have ended by now.

Could something have gone wrong?

Uchiha Gin frowned imperceptibly, but quickly smoothed it out.

No, absolutely not!

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

Furthermore, even if they encountered an enemy they couldn't handle, the mark he had left on his eldest cousin before they parted wasn't just for show.

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

So far, the Flying Thunder God mark he left behind hadn't shown any abnormalities, which meant his eldest cousin and the others were safe and sound.

The reason they hadn't returned yet might be because they were searching for clues about Hashirama's prison.

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

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

But the moment he finished speaking, a faint glint flashed in his eyes, and an unnatural expression appeared on his face.

"The... jutsu has been dispelled?"

"Grandpa Gin, what did you say?"

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

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

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

"Customer, your caramel macchiato..."

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

"Sorry, please pack it... never mind, just give it to me."

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

No. 002 Dongdajie,

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

Creak—

Unexpectedly, the door was opened from the inside first. What met his eyes was a weary-looking Senju Mito, her long white hair unkempt, and her scarlet eyes filled with anxiety.

"Why are you here?"

Senju Mito clearly hadn't expected Uchiha Gin to show up at this time; shock flashed across her pretty face.

"I am..."

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

Before Uchiha Gin could speak, a frantic Senju Mito rattled off a string of words. She had been worrying about who to send to notify Uchiha Izuna, and this curly-haired man had arrived at just the right time.

"Something big happened?"

Uchiha Gin's heart sank upon hearing this. If this white-haired woman could be so alarmed, could it be that his eldest cousin and the others had really met with misfortune?

"Don't panic, tell me what happened."

"What's the use of telling you?"

"Uh..."

Uchiha Gin, having been snapped at by Senju Mito, had black lines on his face. If telling him was useless, would telling that rookie little cousin be useful?

A mere A-rank ninja that was given away for free, with a lazy character illustration to boot; he'd be embarrassed to even leave him in the warehouse.

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

There was no other way, so Uchiha Gin had to provide an explanation that seemed very reasonable, and in fact, was indeed reasonable.

"Uh... that's true too."

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

"Why was the Elephant Formation Jutsu dispelled?"

After closing the door, Uchiha Gin went straight to the point. The only reason he had come to visit Senju Mito was because he had sensed that the Elephant Formation Jutsu he had cast had been dispelled.

"You can sense it?"

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

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

"Phew... I thought you were just dropping by because you had nothing better to do. Sorry."

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

"Don't be polite, tell me the details."

"It all started when we left the Land of Iron, we..."

"Gurgle—"

The two walked into the reception hall while talking. Senju Hizhen sat down in the main seat, and just as her slightly raspy voice began, it was interrupted by a rumble of thunder.

The scene instantly fell into a deathly silence.

Because Senju Hizhen had been performing the Elephant Transformation Jutsu for this period, her entire body had entered a brief stage of fasting. It was only after the clone died that she was able to break free from the Elephant Transformation Jutsu.

Having not groomed herself for such a long time, she was already in a disheveled state, and her stomach was growling with hunger. If not for her willpower, she would have fainted from hunger long ago.

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

Uchiha Gin hesitated for a moment before reluctantly handing over the caramel macchiato he was holding.

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

"Hand it over!"

"Slurp~"

Senju Hizhen didn't care about any of that; she snatched the sweet drink from Uchiha Gin's hand and drank it all in one gulp with puffed-out cheeks. As the sugar replenished her, color gradually returned to her pale face.

"Burp—I'm revived!"

"Alright, hurry up and speak!"

Watching the sweet drink that had left him forever with a pained heart, Uchiha Gin buried his sorrow deep inside and urged Senju Hizhen instead.

"Phew—we encountered the kind of clones you mentioned. They are truly strong, as strong as Big Brother."

So they really did encounter them.

Uchiha Gin raised an eyebrow. 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. However, seeing Senju Hizhen's solemn expression, Uchiha Gin suddenly felt a sense of inexplicable oddity.

"Wait, you didn't stay behind to cover the retreat, did you?"

Could it be that Senju Hizhen, just like in the original timeline, volunteered to cover the retreat to fight for a glimmer of hope for the F6?

"Huh? How did you know?"

It really was her. I didn't expect you, this thick-browed, big-eyed old Senju fogey, to still have a final glimmer of human kindness hidden in your heart.

"But it wasn't just me who stayed behind to cover the retreat; Uchiha Madara and Kagami stayed behind too."

"???"

"Ah?"

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

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

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

Seeing Uchiha Gin's eyes erupt with cold red light, Senju Hizhen hurriedly explained.

"Phew—it's good that Kagami is fine."

"Aren't you worried about Uchiha Madara?"

"My cousin has his own guardian spirits; I believe he will turn danger into safety."

"Uh—I advise you not to be so optimistic. Uchiha Madara is facing seven clones all by himself..."

"I thought it was something serious. Uchiha taking on seven is just a standard operation—wait, what the hell? You said seven?"

Seven peak Hashiramas; unless his cousin uses a cheat, he absolutely cannot win.

Uchiha Gin's heart tightened, but once he remembered that Uchiha Madara still possessed the Knight System, he relaxed again.

With a cheat on hand, it shouldn't be a big problem.

"Yes, in order to help us cover the retreat, he used his physical body to withstand the attacks of seven clones."

Wait, physical body?

"Stop joking. Isn't my cousin a Tailed Beast Knight?"

"He was before, but he isn't now."

Senju Hizhen shook her head, an inexplicable look appearing on her face, and her tone even sounded a bit coy.

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

It's over, it's all over. My cousin must have gone insane, actually choosing to fight monsters with his bare body. Do you think you're some Showa-era old fogey, wearing 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 all 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 drawn from the system orb, although the divine artifact Hullbreaker had relatively harsh usage restrictions, its effect was truly invincible.

As long as there were no allies on the field, it could instantly increase his four dimensions by six times. Not only that, it could also increase percentage damage; it was a bona fide tool for one-on-one duels.

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

Thinking back to those years, Uzumaki Mito, wielding the Hullbreaker, was able to single-handedly overturn the army of Mist ninja led by the First Mizukage, Bai Lian, who had come to encircle the Land of Whirlpools, literally hammering the kind-faced old man into having ugly, slanted 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 covering the retreat, how did you still manage to kick the bucket?"

"That... I accidentally, it seems, became a Knight~"

(≦☆)(End of chapter)