Chapter 30: First and Foremost, I Didn’t Offend Anyone

The mystery surrounding the tragic massacre of his clan six years ago had always been a shadow looming over Uchiha Gin’s heart. He had desperately hoped to extract some useful information from a suspicious member of the Kaguya clan, but he had ended up exerting too much force and accidentally killing the man.

Distracted by the weight of these unresolved issues, he found himself unable to focus on his work. Relying on his memory, he sketched the mark he had seen on the man's left hand. He stared at the strange symbol, but no matter how hard he racked his brain, he could not recall it ever appearing in the original story. It looked like a clan crest—three shuriken rotating around a red dot—and he decided he would have to ask Uchiha Tajima about it the next time they met.

Lost in thought, he drifted through the rest of his shift. Adhering strictly to his "no overtime" policy, Uchiha Gin walked out of the dungeon the moment his hours were up. Seeing the sun sinking toward the horizon, he decided to do some shopping. Walking into a relatively large general store, he approached the clerk.

"Do you have black hair dye? The long-lasting kind."

The clerk recognized him as the legendary Uchiha Gin and, trembling, retrieved a bottle of black dye from the shelf and handed it to him. Gin reached into his pocket to pay, but after searching for a long while, he found nothing, his face flushing with a hint of embarrassment.

"Lord Gin, please consider this bottle a gift. Keep it," the clerk said, sensing the man’s sudden financial predicament and speaking up tactfully.

"No, I cannot shortchange you. Just a moment."

Closing his eyes, Gin delved into his system, rummaging around. When he opened his eyes again, he pulled out a massive, gleaming gold brick. The moment it emerged, the brilliant golden light nearly blinded the clerk.

Swallowing hard, the clerk took the nearly five-kilogram gold brick and couldn't help but pinch his own cheek. The sting confirmed he wasn't dreaming; in all his years at the shop, he had never seen a gold brick of such immense weight. However, the sheer value of the item became a problem.

"Lord Gin, please forgive our humble shop, but we truly cannot provide change for something this valuable."

Indeed, the value of the gold brick was immeasurable; five kilograms of gold could likely buy their entire storefront. Seeing the clerk try to return the gold, Gin felt awkward. He had his principles: he never took for free what he shouldn't, but he also never passed up a chance to take what he could.

Just as he was caught in this dilemma, a spiky-haired youth shoved the door open, shouting, "Boss, do you have any high-grade water-walking... or shuriken technique manuals!"

Before anyone could react, the spiky-haired youth spotted Uchiha Gin and gasped in shock, "Gin, you jerk, when did you get back!" He then caught sight of the gleaming gold brick in Gin's hand. "Holy hell, did you strike it rich?"

Uchiha Gin looked at the brash, spiky-haired youth with a dark expression. This guy showed none of the aloof, untouchable demeanor he would possess in the future.

"You should call me cousin, Madara. Show some respect for your elders."

"Hmph, you're just a loser who lost to me," the youth named Madara snorted with a haughty, adolescent air.

"If you behave yourself, I might be persuaded to let you have a slice of this." Uchiha Gin looked coolly at Uchiha Madara, who was currently looking down his nose at him, and gestured toward the gold brick.

"Cousin, you are my own flesh and blood!" Uchiha Madara, willing to bow for five pecks of rice, immediately kowtowed.

Watching Madara succumb to the lure of wealth, Uchiha Gin felt a sense of satisfaction. Even the future "Ghost of the Uchiha" had to bow to his overwhelming influence. It was worth it! It was a pity there were no cameras in this era; if he had captured this scene, he might have had a hundred thousand White Zetsu smashing his windows every night in the future.

"Get up. Buy whatever you want, cousin will foot the bill." Uchiha Gin waved a hand, giving him free rein.

Hearing this, Uchiha Madara’s eyes lit up. He immediately began packing up everything his father usually forbade him from buying, and in no time, he had a massive bundle. Watching Madara carry a pack bigger than himself, Uchiha Gin stroked his chin, feeling a sudden sense of déjà vu.

Thousands of miles away, on a remote island, Uzumaki Mito, who was grounded by her father, stared blankly at a bead that had returned to its original color. Suddenly, the young girl felt her nose itch.

"Achoo!"

Was someone thinking of her?

In the end, their shopping spree only required Gin to break off a corner of the gold brick. As they walked, Madara, burdened by his huge pack, curiously asked the cousin he hadn't seen in so long, "Cousin, what kind of business have you been doing to earn such a huge gold brick?"

Ever since Madara had defeated the ten-years-older Gin in front of everyone when he was ten, his cousin had intentionally avoided him, even when they met at their father's house, Gin would just exchange a perfunctory greeting and dash off.

"I just took on a rather dangerous mission, and the gold was something I happened to come across along the way."

"That’s so cool! I want to go on missions outside, too." Hearing that Gin had actually been out on missions, Madara, who had never left the compound, said with envy. It was true; after the tragedy six years ago, Uchiha Tajima had been incredibly protective of his two remaining sons, keeping them by his side almost constantly. This had resulted in Madara never going on missions and having very few friends.

"By the way, I heard you... are seeing someone?" Uchiha Gin asked with a teasing grin, trying to change the subject as he watched Madara’s crestfallen expression.

"What? What dating? Who did you hear that from?" Madara, who had never cared for such things, looked completely baffled.

"I heard it from Izuna. He said you were sneaking off to the riverbank for dates." He betrayed his younger brother without a second thought.

"Ugh... I’m leaving! That wretched Izuna, I’m going to go deal with him right now!"

Stung by the betrayal of his dearest brother, Madara shouted angrily, bid a hasty farewell, and bolted toward home.

*Tsk, tsk.* Izuna might have stepped on a landmine today.

With the hair dye in hand and the chipped gold brick tucked away, Uchiha Gin strolled toward his secluded little hut. The moment he pushed open the door, he felt something hard pressed against his waist. He looked down in astonishment to find Senju Itama staring at him with a flustered expression, holding a small kitchen knife—clearly, having no weapons in the house, he had resorted to the kitchen.

Gin patted the boy's head and handed him the hair dye. "Good vigilance, but don't use a kitchen knife next time; it looks ridiculous." Senju Itama’s face turned bright red.

Seeing the boy already wearing his own childhood clothes, Gin looked him over. "Not bad. You’ve got about a tenth of my good looks from when I was your age." Itama’s face turned from red to black.

Having read the instructions, Gin knew the hair dye required washing one's hair first, so he told Itama to go take a bath. The boy was happy at first, but when he saw Gin starting to undress, he was thoroughly shocked. "What are you doing?!"

Gin looked at him with a confused expression. "What do you think? Taking a bath. I haven't bathed since I got back, so we might as well do it together to save time." Gin said, unbothered.

*Slam!* Itama bolted out the door, calling back, "You go first! I'll go heat the water for you."

Gin’s bathroom featured an old-fashioned wooden tub. You had to mount the tub over a fire to heat it slowly, and someone had to watch the fire constantly to ensure it didn't get too hot or too cold.

"Strange kid, and shy, too." Gin shook his head, not thinking much of it. At his age, he was old enough to be Itama’s father. In the Warring States period, marrying and having children at thirteen or fourteen was common; it was more strange that he himself was twenty-four and still had no heirs.

He stripped and entered the bathroom. Outside, the water in the tub was bubbling. He poked his head out the window to see Itama, his cheeks puffed out, working hard at the fire, tossing in armfuls of wood while muttering, "Burn! Burn! Burn that pervert to a crisp!"

"???"

*First of all, I haven't offended anyone.*