The moment the system notification popped up, Uchiha Gin felt a cool sensation in both his hands. The scorching pain from the Amaterasu flames vanished without a trace.
His body showed no signs of discomfort, as if everything that had just happened was merely a dream.
However, the inexplicable throbbing pain in his right eye left him momentarily disoriented.
The two scarlet tomoe in his Sharingan spun rapidly, gathering a chilling aura, giving him an overwhelming urge to release it.
Attempting to control this energy, Uchiha Gin instinctively unleashed it towards the empty space in front of him, without any prior training.
As a small "bloom" of black fire ignited in the empty space, Uchiha Gin could feel his ocular power rapidly depleting.
Warm blood trickled from the corner of his eye, startling him enough to quickly deactivate his Sharingan.
The black flame, no larger than a lighter's flicker, slowly dissipated into the air as Uchiha Gin deactivated his Sharingan.
Panting heavily from the exhaustion caused by the small Amaterasu flame, Uchiha Gin wiped the fresh blood from the corner of his eye, feeling a twinge of confusion.
As a Mangekyō Sharingan-exclusive technique, how could he use the mere two-tomoe Sharingan to release it?
"Could it be the system?"
Unable to come up with a logical explanation, he simply blamed the system for the strange occurrence.
After resting for a while, Uchiha Gin stood up and gently rubbed his still sore right eye. The appearance of Amaterasu had compensated for his lack of offensive jutsu. While his brute strength was formidable, he was powerless against nimble enemies.
"Though in the original series, Amaterasu didn't seem to kill anyone other than White Zetsu," he recalled, inwardly ridiculing its lack of effectiveness in the series.
Returning to the house, Senju Itama was still snoring away. Uchiha Gin lay down on the sofa, gazing at his hands with a heavy heart.
During the earlier attack, he had already resolved to sacrifice his arm if necessary.
But unexpectedly, he had triggered a strange protective mechanism by accident.
He could vaguely guess that the Uzumaki Clan crest on his right hand was some form of protection unique to the Uzumaki, possibly an Uzumaki sealing mark that passively triggered in times of danger.
The rune from earlier was likely the "Fire Sealing" technique, automatically activated when faced with fire damage.
"But my left hand…"
Uchiha Gin glanced at his empty left hand, attempting to probe it with chakra. However, it was like throwing a stone into the ocean—nothing but slow chakra depletion, with no reaction.
Recalling the strange mark from earlier, Uchiha Gin searched the original owner's memories for answers but came up empty.
Since his transmigration, he had gone through the original host's memories more than once. His childhood memories were blurry, likely due to his young age. The memory of the camp attack during his teenage years was fragmented, likely a result of the traumatic and gruesome scene, causing his brain to block it out.
The memories after that were dull and uneventful, showing a weakling's everyday life until Uchiha Gin took over.
Time to let go!
Unable to find any answers, Uchiha Gin decided to give up. He had work the next day, so he relaxed and quickly drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Uchiha Gin woke up early and yanked the blanket off Senju Itama, who was still hugging his childhood clothes in his sleep. Uchiha Gin gave him a swift, classic head flick.
"Ahhh!"
Senju Itama immediately woke up, clutching his head in pain, looking at the culprit before him.
"What was that for?!"
Ignoring his complaints, Uchiha Gin calmly said, "I'm going to work today. There's food in the kitchen. Don't even think about escaping. The Uchiha are everywhere outside, and you know the consequences if you're caught."
Senju Itama pouted and reluctantly nodded, aware of his precarious situation.
"I'll buy some hair dye when I come back tonight. We need to change that conspicuous hair color of yours."
Before leaving, Uchiha Gin added.
Once outside, Uchiha Gin strolled leisurely towards the dungeon, following the memories of the original host.
Along the way, he encountered several Uchiha clansmen. He raised his hand to greet them, but they quickly hurried away as if he were a dangerous beast, leaving Uchiha Gin baffled.
Recalling the original host's reputation, Uchiha Gin could only shake his head. This wouldn't be an easy thing to change.
Standing before a dark, eerie door, Uchiha Gin knocked forcefully.
After a moment, a small opening in the door slid open, revealing the face of the gloomy Uchiha clansman who had notified him the day before. After glancing at him, the clansman closed the opening, and the door slowly creaked open. Uchiha Gin, without any suspicion, stepped inside.
Following the gloomy Uchiha clansman through a dark, narrow corridor, they passed through another door. As the path widened, the dim lighting improved, with torches mounted on the walls providing illumination.
"From now on, I'm your supervisor," the Uchiha clansman abruptly said in a chilling voice, as if it came from the depths of hell.
"How should I address you?" Uchiha Gin cautiously inquired, unsure of his personality.
"Uchiha Ryūei," came the cold reply.
They continued walking for what seemed like an eternity. The dungeon felt bottomless. Eventually, they stopped in front of a small door labeled "Archives."
Uchiha Ryūei led him inside, revealing piles upon piles of scrolls haphazardly scattered across the tables, floors, and shelves, as if the room had been ransacked.
Noticing Uchiha Gin's puzzled expression, Uchiha Ryūei explained, "The previous archivist died, and the catalog they kept disappeared with them. Now, it's your job to reorganize everything."
Through his explanation, Uchiha Gin learned that the previous archivist had died on a mission, taking the archive's catalog with him.
The clan had since struggled to retrieve prisoner information, forcing them to search for records manually, which was slow and chaotic. A new archivist was urgently needed to reclassify and verify all the prisoners.
Looking at the mess of scrolls before him, Uchiha Gin felt a headache coming on.
He figured Uchiha Tajima no longer wanted him to leave the compound, but he hadn't expected such a sedentary task.
This room full of scrolls would take him ages to sort through.
"Do I have any help? There's so much material..."
Uchiha Gin asked.
"No additional manpower," Uchiha Ryūei replied, his gaunt face expressionless. His lifeless eyes showed no emotion, like a soulless machine.
"Alright then," Uchiha Gin reluctantly accepted the task.
"What about food? Where do I sleep?"
"The dungeon has a canteen. You can go home at night," Uchiha Ryūei answered concisely.
Relieved to hear he could return home, Uchiha Gin felt a weight lift off his shoulders.
There was still the dangerous little brat at home, and if something went wrong with Senju Itama, he'd be in trouble too.
"For convenience, you'll have unrestricted access to the cells to cross-reference the records," Uchiha Ryūei added, his cold eyes flicking towards him. "Although the prisoners have had their chakra sealed and their limbs bound, they're still highly dangerous individuals."
Surprised by the warning, Uchiha Gin couldn't help but feel a little startled.
"Don't get yourself killed. I don't want to have to explain it to Elder Hiro."
Well, thanks a lot for that.
With the instructions delivered, Uchiha Ryūei departed without another word, leaving Uchiha Gin alone to begin his daunting task.
Shaking his head, Uchiha Gin started picking up the scattered scrolls, piling them onto the single desk in the archive room.
Looking at the mountain of scrolls in front of him, Uchiha Gin sighed and randomly grabbed one to start reading.
"Kaguya Sosuke: Rogue ninja, killed two Uchiha clansmen, suspected mental issues, immune to genjutsu interrogation, details unknown. Currently held in Cell No. 2."
Kaguya?
Out of curiosity about the clan that appeared in the original series, Uchiha Gin immediately decided to pay this guy a visit.
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