This person came and left quickly, leaving Uchiha Gin slightly shaken. After closing the door, he pondered the intentions of his clan leader uncle.
"Little cousin Izuna, why do you think the clan leader wants me to work in the dungeon?"
Unable to guess his uncle's thoughts, Uchiha Gin turned and asked Uchiha Izuna, who was staring down at Senju Itama.
"Maybe he doesn't want you going out." Izuna stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and then said, "Because your strength is, well..."
Looking at his hesitant little cousin, Gin's thoughts aligned with his own suspicions.
From the memories of his former self, after a childhood tragedy, his power had stagnated.
Whether it was due to a broken spirit or limited talent, he couldn't tell.
In any case, due to his lack of strength, Uchiha Tajima had always assigned him simple tasks within the clan, such as guarding the clan leader's building or patrolling, positions that didn't take him far from home.
This recent mission was only granted because Gin had threatened his life to get it.
"Is it really just a form of protection? Hopefully, I'm just overthinking it," Gin mused.
After enough rest, Uchiha Izuna, noticing the late hour, made a mocking face at Senju Itama and slowly stood to leave.
Gin walked him to the door, and just as Izuna was leaving, he suddenly turned, awkwardly said, "Thank you, the food was good," and then hurried off without looking back.
"Is every Uchiha secretly a tsundere?" Gin thought, scratching his curly hair.
Turning back into the house, Gin noticed Itama quickly straightened up, his eyes shifting awkwardly as he stiffly asked, "What exactly are you planning?"
"Kid, for now, you're safe, but only here." Gin didn't bother to explain further. "Anyway, before the war starts, you'd better stay here quietly."
Not many people knew Senju Itama's identity, and it was unlikely that Uchiha Tajima would spread the news.
Entrusting the boy to Gin suggested that the war hadn't reached its peak yet. When the final battle approached, the boy's fate would be less certain.
Thinking about the annoying system task, Gin felt a headache coming on. Forcing an Uchiha to protect a sworn enemy from the Senju clan felt like a scene straight out of movies.
"From today, you'll sleep in the bedroom." Gin handed over the only bedroom to Itama, while he rummaged through the wardrobe for a while.
Returning with a pile of clothes, he said, "These are from when I was a kid. They should fit you."
He handed the clothes to Itama, whose current outfit was already tattered from their journey.
"I'm going to rest now. Try them on tomorrow."
After a long day of traveling and dealing with Izuna, Gin was exhausted.
Without caring about Itama's confusion as he stared at the clothes, Gin collapsed onto the sofa and fell asleep.
Itama hesitated before entering the bedroom. Shortly after, the sound of snoring came from inside.
At this point, Gin, who should have been asleep, quietly opened his eyes. After confirming that Itama was sound asleep, he silently stepped outside without making a sound.
The night was pitch black, with only faint flickers of light from distant watchtowers. Gin circled his house before choosing a spot in a hidden corner at the back, where he set up a simple fence with some wooden sticks.
Dusting off his hands, Gin looked at his "creation" with satisfaction. Considering the time constraints, this would have to do.
He then sat cross-legged inside the fenced area and closed his eyes as if meditating.
He didn't know how much time had passed when he felt the air around him suddenly stagnate. Having experienced this twice before, Gin knew this was the sign that a skill refresh was coming.
He opened his Sharingan eyes, scanning his surroundings.
Thanks to his enhanced dynamic vision, he could see everything clearly in the dark, but there was no sign of any movement.
Just as he frowned in thought, wondering what the skill would be this time, a hand silently rested on his shoulder.
In an instant, a cold chill ran through Gin's body, and his hair stood on end. The hand's owner made no further movement, but Gin stiffly turned his head to look at the pale hand resting on his shoulder.
The hand was long and slender, the bones visible beneath the skin, but that wasn't the most terrifying part.
What chilled Gin to the core was the black nail polish on the fingertips and the gemstone ring on the ring finger. He didn't even need to check the "朱" character engraved on the ring; he already knew who this was.
Knowing he was no match for the intruder, Gin wasn't about to sit still. He secretly channeled chakra into his arms.
Superhuman Strength, activate!
With a furious elbow strike, Gin's attack passed through the figure, which scattered into a flock of crows that reformed into a figure dressed in black with red clouds.
Even though he knew his fate, Gin still wanted to punch this person—this ungrateful son—right in the face.
Without hesitation, Gin rushed toward Uchiha Itachi with his full strength, determined to land at least one solid hit, even if it meant risking a Tsukuyomi.
Strangely, this time Itachi only opened his right eye, and a single blood tear flowed down as his Mangekyou Sharingan activated. However, Gin wasn't pulled into a genjutsu.
Before he could figure out why, an unbearable burning sensation erupted from his fists, as though his very soul was being consumed.
Looking down, he saw that his hands had been engulfed in black flames. Though the fire wasn't large, the pain was excruciating, making him want to cut off his own hands.
Amaterasu—the power residing in Itachi's right Mangekyou Sharingan, capable of burning anything to ash.
Damn it!
Where was Tsukuyomi? Gin writhed in agony, with no way to deal with Amaterasu.
The Fire Sealing Method from the original story was a technique created by the Uzumaki clan, specifically to counter the Uchiha, and he didn't know how to use it.
Was he really going to have to cut off his hand to survive, like the Fourth Raikage?
As Gin was on the verge of losing consciousness from the pain, a sudden cool sensation came from his right hand.
Forcing his eyes open, Gin saw a faint blue glow on the back of his hand, where a whirlpool-shaped mark appeared.
As the mark began to rotate, intricate symbols extended from it, and the black flames recoiled as if encountering a natural enemy, eventually being sealed into the mark itself.
His right hand was now free of the flames, and the mark faded back into his skin.
But his left hand continued to burn fiercely, the flames threatening to spread to the rest of his body.
Desperate, Gin grabbed a kunai imbued with the Flying Thunder God technique, preparing to cut off his left hand. Better to end the pain quickly; he knew the skill would eventually restore his body.
At the same time, in a small, dark space, a shadowy figure slowly opened blood-red eyes. Feeling the power stirring within, the figure seemed anxious. After trembling for a moment, the shadow gasped, and a strange pattern flashed in its eyes.
Just as Gin was about to part with his "dear lefty," a rose-colored glow suddenly appeared on his left hand, mirroring the mark on his right.
However, the mark on his left hand was different—he hadn't seen it in his former memories.
Although unfamiliar, Gin's body didn't reject the mark. In fact, he felt a strange sense of kinship with it.
The symbol resembled three spinning boomerangs around a central red dot.
The once-violent black flames now calmed, gradually dissipating into a faint red glow before vanishing entirely.
"Random skill refreshed in backyard: [Amaterasu]. Acquired: Amaterasu x1."
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