Chapter 67: You Really Dare to Compete When Given the Chance

"This young Uchiha has no sense of bushidō, coming here to trick me! To ambush a sixty-nine-year-old veteran like me. Is this good? This is not good!"

In the Tsukuyomi (Moon Reader) illusion space, pinned to a cross, Gin looked at the endless wave of one-against-seven clones before him, and felt a kind of helplessness befitting a senior.

Unfortunately, the earnest teachings of a senior could not resonate with Uchiha Itachi. On the contrary, Itachi's hands moved even faster, and Gin's lower half suffered a barrage of ferocious attacks.

The 72 hours quickly passed. Gin could feel that this time's Tsukuyomi was even more intense than before—it hurt a lot more.

Collapsing face-up onto the lounge chair, gasping for breath, Gin clutched his head. The aftereffects of Tsukuyomi were just too much. His head still throbbed painfully, until the system's debuff-clearing ability kicked in, and only then did Gin finally recover.

"Rear courtyard daily refresh: random skill [Genjutsu: Tsukuyomi], received Tsukuyomi shard *10."

"[Tsukuyomi shard (30/40), collect 40 to synthesize Genjutsu: Tsukuyomi. Requires Mangekyō Sharingan to learn.]"

Finally, he was almost done collecting the Tsukuyomi shards. Once complete, he wouldn't have to endure the one-against-seven anymore. Fantasizing about his bright future, Gin couldn't help but laugh aloud.

Straightening his back, Gin walked home with the swagger of someone who didn't recognize his own relatives. Looking at the house he'd lived in for so long, he rubbed his chin in thought. Now that he'd learned Mokuton (Wood Release): Shichūka (Four Pillar House), maybe he should set aside time to remodel the house—or just tear it down and rebuild?

Forget it, he'd decide after a good night's sleep! Yawning, Gin couldn't be bothered to think about such trivial matters and flopped onto the couch, falling asleep instantly.

The next morning, as a good little corporate drone, Gin got up as usual, freshened up, made breakfast, scarfed down a bit, and headed to work.

He made his way to his familiar archives room, opened the door, and was stunned by the scene before him.

"Rikasa, you're here early."

Seeing Rikasa sitting at his desk with his back to him, Gin raised his hand in greeting.

"Morning, Gin-dono~"

There was a hint of fatigue in Rikasa's tone as he turned his head, showing two enormous panda eyes, his bloodshot whites making it look as if he'd awakened his Sharingan.

"You didn't seriously work through the night here, did you?"

Noticing something off about Rikasa's condition, Gin asked cautiously.

Rikasa nodded, stuffing a blue folder into the shelf behind him.

"That's right, I worked straight through to today. Didn't close my eyes once."

"Rikasa, you're truly a model among us. Such devotion to duty is truly an eye-opener."

Gin lavished praise on Rikasa without hesitation.

"No, no, it's my honor to lighten your burdens, Gin-dono."

Tch, this kid sure knew how to say all the right things. Definitely someone worth cultivating.

"Rikasa, health is the foundation of revolution. Go and get some proper rest. Leave the rest to me."

Gin put on a righteous expression. After all, he wasn't a devil—exploiting employees was no good. Sustainable development was the way.

"Uh…"

Rikasa glanced at the few remaining files on the desk and rolled his eyes internally, but he had no choice but to comply.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Gin-dono."

Rikasa left the archives, leaving the finishing touches to Gin.

After carefully filing the last document into the shelf, Gin exhaled deeply, as if a great weight had been lifted.

"So exhausting!"

Wiping imaginary sweat from his brow, Gin sighed.

Satisfied at the neatly organized room, Gin randomly pulled out a folder from one of the shelves.

"You're the one!"

The prison was a good place to grind "steel." The people locked up there were never getting out anyway, so even if he pretended to lose, word wouldn't get out.

Today's randomly drawn prisoner didn't have any notable traits. Gin had Tetsu bring him over, then had a little "friendly" exchange.

"Host failed, earned Heart Energy *12. Two more battles required to unlock Heart of Steel reward chest. (Current Heart Energy: 22)"

Hearing the system's pleasant chime, Gin patted the dust off himself and waved goodbye to the helpful fellow.

There wasn't much else to do at the prison today, so Gin chose to leave early again, humming a tune as he slipped out the gate.

Walking through the Uchiha district, enjoying his hard-earned free time, Gin scratched his curly hair, then suddenly remembered his encounter yesterday with Uchiha Myō, who had told him to have his Sharingan checked.

No time like the present—he'd go find him today. Lately his eyesight had been improving at a surprising pace.

Following the memories of the original host, he twisted and turned through the district until he arrived at a building far from the main streets. As he approached, the guards at the gate immediately stopped him.

"Restricted area, no unauthorized entry!"

"Uchiha Myō-sama told me to come find him."

Gin wasn't offended by their stern attitude. Instead, he earnestly explained.

"Please wait. I'll report inside."

The guard didn't question whether he was telling the truth and went in to report.

A moment later, the guard returned and addressed Gin, who was waiting calmly.

"Uchiha Myō-sama says you may enter."

With that, he stepped aside to clear a path. Gin nodded his thanks and stepped into the unfamiliar building.

"You're Uchiha Gin, right? Myō-sama told me to guide you."

A frail-looking young Uchiha was waiting just inside. Seeing Gin approach, he asked.

"I'll trouble you, then."

Following the frail man through the building for quite some time, Gin thought to himself:

"No wonder they had someone come fetch me. This place is huge."

The research facility's equipment looked fairly new—clearly built in recent years.

"This is it. You can go in yourself. I have work to do."

The young man gave him a word of instruction, then left without hesitation.

"Myō-sama, are you in?"

Through the crack of the office door ahead, Gin saw a sliver of light. He knocked.

"Come in."

The icy voice came from within. Without hesitation, Gin opened the door and entered.

He saw Uchiha Myō wearing a white lab coat, hunched over his desk tinkering with something. Seeing the man still busy, Gin didn't interrupt and instead quietly took in the laboratory around him.

A row of shelves along the wall held countless labeled folders, while the display cases nearby were filled with jars containing various human tissues and organs, making one shiver just to look at them.

"Uchiha Gin. I didn't expect you to come so soon."

Stopping his work, Uchiha Myō turned around, his deep gaze scrutinizing Gin.

"Myō-sama, since you personally requested it, of course I came at the first opportunity."

Gin lied without so much as a blush.

"I even worked through the night to finish Elder En's assignments early."

After listening, Uchiha Myō gave him a meaningful look.

"So, you're quite… eager?"

(End of Chapter)

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