Chapter 27: After Giving Up, I Become a Corporate Slave

At the very moment the system notification appeared, Uchiha Gin felt a wave of coolness wash over his hands. The scorching pain in his heart, previously caused by the Amaterasu, vanished without a trace. His body felt completely normal, as if everything that had just happened were merely a dream.

The only thing that left him feeling disoriented was the inexplicable throbbing pain in his right eye. The scarlet two-tomoe pattern spun rapidly within his iris, gathering a cold, sinister energy that created a stifling sensation, as if he were compelled to unleash it.

Attempting to channel this energy, Uchiha Gin directed it toward the empty clearing in front of him, instinctively venting the power outward. As a "flower" of black flame ignited out of thin air in the clearing, he felt his ocular power draining away at a rapid pace. Warm blood began to trickle from the corner of his eye, scaring him into deactivating his Sharingan immediately. The black flame, no larger than a lighter’s flicker, dissipated into the air along with the closing of his eyes.

Panting heavily, his body hollowed out by that tiny spark of Amaterasu, Uchiha Gin wiped the fresh blood from his eye, a flicker of doubt rising in his heart. As a technique exclusive to the Mangekyou, how could he possibly release it with a mere two-tomoe Sharingan?

"Could it be the system?"

Unable to find a logical explanation, he could only force the blame onto the system. After resting for a while, he stood up and touched his still-aching right eye. The appearance of Amaterasu compensated for his lack of ninjutsu-based damage; while his brute strength was formidable, it was useless against agile enemies.

"Though, in the original story, it seems Amaterasu never actually burned anyone to death except for White Zetsu," he mused, recalling the track record of the technique in the source material.

Turning back to the house, he found Senju Itama still snoring away. Uchiha Gin lay on the sofa, looking at his hands with a solemn expression. When he had been struck by the Amaterasu earlier, he had already steeled himself for the prospect of cutting off his own hand, but he hadn't expected to accidentally trigger a strange defensive mechanism. He could barely infer that the Uzumaki clan emblem on his right hand was a special protection bestowed by the clan. It must have triggered passively when he was in danger; the runes he saw earlier were likely the Sealing Fire Barrier, which must have activated automatically upon contact with fire-style damage.

"But the left hand..."

Uchiha Gin looked at his empty left hand. He tried to probe it with chakra, but it felt like a stone cast into the ocean—it simply drained his chakra slowly without any other reaction. Recalling the strange mark that had flickered across it, he tried to search the original owner's memories for an answer, but found nothing. Since his transmigration, he had combed through those memories more than once. His childhood memories were vague, likely due to his youth, and the memories of the camp being attacked in his teens were fragmented—probably a psychological avoidance mechanism triggered by the trauma. Everything after that was mundane—the daily life of a weakling, until he appeared and took over the host's body.

Forget it!

Finding no answers, Uchiha Gin decided to give up and get some sleep; he had to go to work tomorrow. Relaxing, he soon drifted into a deep slumber.

The next morning, Uchiha Gin woke up early and ripped the blanket off Senju Itama. Seeing the boy fast asleep on the bed, hugging a set of clothes from his childhood, Gin didn't coddle him and immediately delivered a classic flick to the forehead.

"Ah, ah, ah..."

Senju Itama woke up instantly, clutching his head and looking at his tormentor. "Ouch! What are you doing?!"

Ignoring the familiar, nonsensical outburst, Uchiha Gin said, "I'm going to work today. There’s food in the kitchen. Don't even think about escaping; it's all Uchiha outside. If someone recognizes you, you know exactly what the consequences will be."

Knowing his predicament, Senju Itama pursed his lips and nodded reluctantly.

"I’ll buy some hair dye when I get back tonight. We need to change that conspicuous hair color of yours," Gin added before turning to leave.

Once outside, Uchiha Gin followed the original owner's memories, strolling slowly toward the dungeon. On the way, he encountered a few Uchiha clansmen and raised a hand to greet them, but they looked at him as if they had seen a wild beast, quickly walking away without looking back, leaving a bewildered Uchiha Gin behind. Recalling the original owner's reputation, Gin could only shake his head helplessly; this wasn't something that could be changed overnight.

Arriving before a grim, imposing gate, Uchiha Gin knocked hard. A moment later, a small hole opened in the door, revealing the face of the gloomy Uchiha clansman who had notified him yesterday. The man glanced at him and shut the hole, and then the gate slowly creaked open. Uchiha Gin didn't hesitate and walked inside.

Following the gloomy clansman, Gin passed through a dark, narrow corridor and another door. As the path widened, the view became less dim, with torches inserted into the walls on both sides for illumination.

"From now on, I am your superior," the Uchiha leading the way suddenly spoke, his voice sounding as if it came from the depths of hell, making one's skin crawl.

"How should I address you?" Uchiha Gin asked, unsure of the man's temperament.

"Uchiha Ryuei," the man replied coldly.

They walked for a long time; the dungeon seemed bottomless. Finally, Uchiha Ryuei stopped. Uchiha Gin looked up and saw a small door with the words "Archives Room" written on it.

Uchiha Ryuei led him inside. Before him were piles upon piles of scrolls scattered haphazardly on tables, the floor, and shelves, as if the place had been ransacked. Meeting Uchiha Gin’s confused gaze, Uchiha Ryuei explained, "The previous archivist was killed in action, and the index he maintained is gone. You are to reorganize everything."

Through this explanation, Gin learned that the former archivist had died on an outing, and the index had vanished with him. The clan had been forced to search for prisoner files one by one, which was incredibly arduous. The archive was in total disarray, and the search efficiency was glacial, so a new archivist was desperately needed to re-verify and categorize the prisoners.

Looking at the room full of scattered scrolls, Uchiha Gin felt a headache coming on. He had guessed that Uchiha Tajima didn't want him going out, but he hadn't expected such a sedentary task. It would likely take him a long time to sort through this room.

"Do I have any help? There’s so much material..." Gin tried to ask.

"There is no extra manpower." The gaunt-faced Uchiha Ryuei looked at him expressionlessly. In those lifeless eyes, Gin couldn't see a single ripple; the man seemed like an emotionless robot.

"Fine," Uchiha Gin reluctantly accepted the task. "What about meals? And where do I rest?"

"There is a cafeteria in the dungeon. You can go home at night," Uchiha Ryuei replied succinctly.

Relieved to hear he could go home, Gin realized that with a dangerous brat like Senju Itama waiting at home, if he couldn't return, something might go wrong, and he would suffer the consequences.

"To facilitate your verification of the files, you have permission to enter and leave the prison cells as you please," Uchiha Ryuei’s calm eyes turned to look at him. "Although the prisoners have had their chakra sealed and their hands and feet bound, they are all extremely dangerous individuals."

Uchiha Gin was surprised that Uchiha Ryuei would actually warn him.

"Don't die. It would be difficult for me to answer to Elder Yan."

...Well, thank you very much for that.

Having finished his instructions, Uchiha Ryuei departed without lingering, leaving Uchiha Gin standing there alone. Shaking his head, Uchiha Gin began his work. He gathered all the scattered scrolls and stacked them on the only desk in the archives. Looking at the mountain of scrolls, he sighed, pulled one out at random, and opened it.

"Kaguya Jousuke: Wandering ninja, murdered two Uchiha clansmen, suspected of mental instability, cannot be interrogated via genjutsu, background unknown... Currently detained in Dungeon No. 2."

Kaguya, huh?

Curious about the clan he remembered from the original story, Uchiha Gin decided to go and see this guy immediately.