Konoha: The Thirty-Year-Old Uchiha Can’t Be Bothered

Inside the archive room hung a map of the dungeon, clearly marking the numbered prisoner areas in addition to the office and rest areas.

There were three sections, labeled One, Two, and Three — but the dungeon's oddly asymmetrical layout was almost unbearable to Gin's innate sense of order.

He quickly found Section Two's location on the map, then headed out with the scroll in hand.

The walk wasn't long — just a few minutes later Gin stood before an iron-barred gate, flanked by two Uchiha guards.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

That voice sounded oddly familiar.

Gin squinted at the two guards, and recognition dawned.

"Wait a second… Weren't you two on patrol duty? What are you doing down here?"

It was the same two Uchiha he'd met on his way back to the clan the other day.

"…It's over…"

Tetsudama's heart sank into the abyss.

The demon Uchiha Gin… had chased him all the way down here just to take revenge!

Last night he'd finally learned the truth from his squadmates — that the man he'd nearly mouthed off to was the infamous Uchiha Gin, the very scourge of the clan.

Terrified of retaliation, Tetsudama had immediately begged to be reassigned to some backwater post. Yet, on his very first day here, the devil himself came knocking.

"Cuihua… forgive me. I won't be there to grow old with you. Please… be happy…"

He closed his eyes, wearing the tragic expression of a man resigned to his fate.

"What are you standing around for? Open the damn gate already. I've got a prisoner to check on."

Gin's impatient voice snapped him out of his funeral preparations.

"…Huh? You're… not here for me?"

Tetsudama peeked one eye open, baffled.

"Why the hell would I be? I'm busy. Now move it."

"Go on, Tetsudama — open the gate for Lord Gin already!"

The other guard shoved Tetsudama toward the lock. Like a man waking from a nightmare, Tetsudama scrambled to unlock the gate and let Gin in.

"What the hell's wrong with that guy…?"

Gin shook his head, mystified, then asked:

"Which cell is Kaguya Jousuke in?"

"This way, my lord. I'll show you."

The other guard, Uchiha Rucha, gave Tetsudama a reassuring look before leading Gin onward.

Gin followed him into the prisoner wing for the first time.

Wooden bars lined either side of the hallway, each slat covered in Uchiha fire seals that would immolate anyone foolish enough to touch them without the proper counter-seal.

Their footsteps drew attention. One by one, the prisoners started shouting:

"Damn Uchiha scum! Come in here and I'll grind you into paste!"

—the violent type.

"Oh ho… that pretty little boy looks fun. I'd love to pin you down and—"

—the pervert type.

"Kill me! Please, just kill me already!!"

—the broken type.

The cacophony grew into a riot of taunts and howls, but what Gin heard was something else entirely.

"Host detected entering combat. Steel Heart chest accumulating…"

"Host detected entering combat…"

"Host detected…"

N times.

The Steel Heart notifications flooded his mind in an endless loop.

So many people thirsting to fight him — wasn't this place just a big, lush field of chives waiting to be harvested?

He pushed down his delight for now as Rucha led him to the deepest cell, where a middle-aged man sat bound hand and foot on a straw mat.

Emaciated, his limbs were bent at grotesque angles, his hair ash-gray, and above his brows sat the telltale maru-marks of the Kaguya clan.

"This is Kaguya Jousuke," Rucha explained grimly. "Be careful, my lord. His chakra's sealed, but we couldn't suppress his taijutsu. We've had to keep him starved and his limbs broken just to keep him under control."

"That so? Open it. I'll have a word with him."

Hearing that his target's chakra was sealed and his body crippled, Gin relaxed and waved for Rucha to open the door.

"My lord…"

Rucha hesitated.

"Don't worry. He can barely move. I'll just ask him a few questions from the doorway."

"…Understood. Please call for help immediately if anything happens."

Rucha gave a stiff bow and withdrew.

Gin stepped into the cell.

The puppet-like man slowly raised his head, cloudy eyes lifeless.

"Kaguya Jousuke?"

Gin frowned and called to him.

No response.

"The records say you murdered two Uchiha on patrol six years ago. That's why you're here."

He unrolled the scroll and continued.

"So tell me — did you know about the Kaguya clan's attack on our compound six years ago?"

That… got a reaction.

At the mention of that incident, Jousuke's blank face twisted — first into a low, mad laugh, then into a mask of terror.

A faint spark of clarity appeared in his dead eyes. Slowly, he raised his bound hands toward Gin.

The system chimed in his mind again:

"Host detected entering combat. Steel Heart chest accumulating…"

Gin didn't hesitate for a second — he leapt back just as a spray of razor-sharp bone bullets shot from Jousuke's fingertips, shredding the air where he'd been standing.

"So he was hiding a kekkei genkai all along…"

Gin's heart pounded as he stared at the bone spikes embedded deep in the stone floor. The records hadn't mentioned this at all — Jousuke must've kept this trump card hidden.

But… why reveal it now? Why waste it on someone like him?

Jousuke raised his hands again, preparing to fire another volley.

But Gin was already moving. Chakra gathered in his fist as he launched himself forward, fist drawn back and gleaming with power.

The bone bullets shot toward him again.

[Dance of the Clematis: Bullet]

But this time Gin didn't dodge. His fist, reinforced with monstrous strength, smashed through the incoming projectiles, scattering them to pieces — and then slammed square into Jousuke's chest.

With a sickening crack, Jousuke's brittle ribcage caved inward, Gin's fist lodging deep in his chest.

Too easy…

Before he could process that thought, Jousuke's bloody, grinning face rose to meet him.

"…Got you."

[Dance of the Clematis: Vine]

The collapsed ribcage beneath Gin's hand suddenly blossomed into a grotesque white flower, razor-sharp ribs flaring outward, stabbing straight for his face.

(End of Chapter)

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