Chapter 89: Same Beginning, Different Ending

"Uchiha Jin."

Hearing Uchiha Gin's question, a gentle and warm figure surfaced in Uchiha Fenghuo's mind.

He also had curly hair, long and narrow phoenix eyes, and was always wearing a smiling expression, but the feeling he gave off was worlds apart compared to the Uchiha Gin before him.

"I know him."

Uchiha Fenghuo did not hide it, as there was no need; those familiar with Uchiha Jin naturally knew Uchiha Gin's identity.

"What kind of person was he?"

Uchiha Gin, who knew almost nothing about his old man, couldn't help but ask.

"This isn't the place to talk. Follow me somewhere else, and we can chat slowly."

Sighing, Uchiha Fenghuo suppressed the inexplicable disgust in his heart and invited Uchiha Gin to find a place to talk.

Uchiha Gin naturally had no objections. He followed Uchiha Fenghuo to a tavern, pushed the door open, and followed him into a small compartment with practiced ease. After ordering a bottle of wine, he pulled the compartment door shut.

The two sat cross-legged, observing each other.

Once the wine was on the table, Uchiha Fenghuo poured a cup for both of them and then began to drink alone.

"You and your father are really alike, especially your appearance; you look exactly the same."

After downing a cup of wine, Uchiha Fenghuo, his expression warming slightly, stared at Uchiha Gin's face and said slowly.

"You knew my father?"

Judging by Uchiha Fenghuo's tone, his relationship with his old man was certainly not shallow.

"More than just knowing him. Your father was once my captain and half a master to me."

Tilting his head back to down a cup of wine and letting out a long sigh, Uchiha Fenghuo said with a look of reminiscence,

"Brother Jin was the strongest genius at the time, bar none. He opened his eyes at eight, was proficient in using the Three-Tomoe Sharingan by twelve, excelled in the five nature transformations, completed various high-difficulty missions alone, and performed meritorious deeds repeatedly during the war."

Uchiha Fenghuo listed Uchiha Jin's various feats in a continuous stream, speaking with great enthusiasm, but as he spoke, his expression suddenly dimmed.

"It's a pity..."

"A pity for what?"

Uchiha Gin, who had been listening with great interest, asked hurriedly.

"It's a pity he died young. Otherwise, it would be hard to say who would have ended up with the position of clan head."

Uchiha Fenghuo shook his head melancholically, saying with a look of regret.

Huh, his old man almost became the clan head? He had heard Uchiha Yao bragging about it in the dungeon and thought the other party was just blowing smoke; he hadn't expected it to be true.

"Can you tell me the details of that incident?"

Eager to find the truth, Uchiha Gin couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

Regarding the details of Uchiha Jin's sacrifice, Uchiha Yao had given him one version; if Uchiha Fenghuo knew Uchiha Jin, was it consistent with what Uchiha Yao had said?

Outside the compartment, the sound of Uchiha clansmen clinking glasses was incessant, a scene of great liveliness. Rubbing the wine glass with his fingers, Uchiha Fenghuo's steady face revealed a rare sense of nostalgia.

"I was a teammate in a squad with your parents and Clan Head Tajima, and your father served as our captain."

Uchiha Fenghuo shook the empty cup in his hand, signaling Uchiha Gin to pour the wine. After the cup of sake was filled, he didn't pause, tilting his head back to down it, clearly intending to drown his sorrows in wine.

"That was the last mission for our squad. The preparatory work beforehand had no issues. To look after me, as I was weaker, your father arranged for me to be on sentry duty. The mission was going very smoothly, but at the final moment, an accident occurred."

Uchiha Fenghuo's voice was low and sorrowful. When he said the word "accident," his hand gripping the wine glass tightened until the veins bulged. His entire person appeared extremely emotionally unstable, and his eyes were wide with rage, his usual composure completely swept away.

"There was a traitor! Someone secretly leaked our mission route. Enemies several times our number ambushed us on the only path we could take. There were three squads on the mission with us, and all were wiped out. Your father tried his best to lead the squad members to break through."

"Were you there at the time?"

Hearing the plot, which was no different from what Uchiha Yao had told him, Uchiha Gin couldn't help but ask.

"Of course I was at the scene, and I witnessed your parents' sacrifice with my own eyes. I'm sorry, I was truly powerless."

By the end, Uchiha Fenghuo's tone carried a hint of choking, and his reddened tiger-like eyes filled with tears as he continued,

"I am a coward. The captain ordered me to leave, and I actually just left like that. I failed the captain after he had taken care of me for so long."

"Tell me in detail."

Discovering that some details were different, Uchiha Gin asked.

"What exactly was the situation at the end?"

"Your parents were fighting their way out while carrying the unconscious Clan Head Tajima, but they couldn't shake off the enemies. As the backup sentry, I joined the battle, but I couldn't do anything; my lack of strength meant I could only be a burden."

Uchiha Fenghuo painfully closed his eyes, the words he spoke seeming to drain all his strength.

"At the final moment, your father ordered me to take the injured and unconscious Clan Head Tajima and retreat, while the two of them stayed behind to cover us."

"Was Clan Head Tajima unconscious the whole time?"

Recalling the plot Uchiha Yao had told him, this point was clearly vastly different from what the eyewitness Uchiha Fenghuo had said.

"Yes, Clan Head Tajima was severely injured at the time and only regained consciousness after being brought back and treated for several days."

"Did my parents have any last words?"

Wanting to know if his parents had said anything important before their sacrifice, Uchiha Gin asked.

"They didn't. The situation was extremely urgent at the time; no one had time to leave any instructions."

Uchiha Fenghuo shook his head, saying with great regret.

"Thank you, Captain Fenghuo, for telling me so much about my parents today."

Uchiha Gin straightened his body and bowed to Uchiha Fenghuo.

"I am unworthy of your thanks. I watched your parents sacrifice themselves and was powerless to do anything. I should apologize to you."

Having said that, Uchiha Fenghuo knelt up, preparing to kowtow to Uchiha Gin.

"Captain Fenghuo, there is no need for that. Since my parents chose this path, they were already prepared to give their lives at any moment."

Uchiha Gin hurriedly reached out to support him, then said comfortingly.

Having asked enough, Uchiha Gin rose to take his leave, while Uchiha Fenghuo continued to drink alone, cup after cup.

As he was leaving, the thoughtful Uchiha Gin faintly heard the somewhat drunken Uchiha Fenghuo muttering to himself,

"Why didn't you dodge that sword, Brother Jin..."

Because he had learned much of the truth about his parents' sacrifice after his chance encounter with Uchiha Fenghuo, Uchiha Gin, his head in a mess, had no heart to find a carpenter to renovate his backyard.

With his mask slung over his shoulder and holding the Isobu doll, Uchiha Gin walked to his small house.

The shopkeeper had already arranged the tables, chairs, and training targets, and the originally bare backyard now looked a bit more upscale.

Touching the brand-new training dummy, Uchiha Gin nodded with satisfaction. Now all that was missing was rebuilding the fence; if he knew Wood Style, it would be much more convenient, but alas, what a pity.

After tidying up the backyard, Uchiha Gin, preparing to enter the house, suddenly paused. A strange smile curled the corners of his mouth, and he reached out to straighten the eerie mask slung over his shoulder before gently pushing open the front door.

At this moment, Senju Itama was sitting on the sofa, lost in thought, completely unaware of the figure entering from the door. Sneaking up behind Senju Itama, the ill-intentioned Uchiha Gin placed a hand on the other's shoulder and leaned his masked head over.

Senju Itama, who was sitting alone on the sofa in a daze, suddenly discovered an extra hand on his shoulder. Startled, he turned his head, only to be met with a terrifying, monstrous face.

"Ah! Ghost~~ Oh~~"

The startled Senju Itama managed only a scream before foaming at the mouth and fainting from fright.

"Tsk tsk tsk, how is this brat so timid?"

Finding that the other party had fainted before he could even perform, Uchiha Gin took off his mask in disappointment and clicked his tongue in complaint.

"Hey, hey, hey, wake up."

Squatting down to pat the unconscious Senju Itama, he found the other party had no reaction, and Uchiha Gin's heart tightened.

"Don't, don't tell me you were scared to death just like that? If so, wouldn't I have just 'GG'd' along with you?"

(End of chapter)