Chapter 152 – The Girl’s Dōjutsu, A False Alarm

"She's bluffing?"

Though Uchiha Gin's face remained utterly lifeless, not even a twitch betraying him, internally he was in total turmoil. But he was a professional actor—he wouldn't break character over just one line.

"Gin-san, are you thinking that I'm bluffing?"

???

Shit… Did Chiri awaken a mind-reading ability with her Mangekyō?! Can she see everything I'm thinking?

"…I was genuinely heartbroken just now, Gin-san~"

Phew—seems like she didn't awaken mind reading. Gin quietly exhaled in relief. That was almost a disaster.

Seeing that Gin was still pretending, the girl didn't expose him. Instead, she relaxed and began casually stroking his curly-haired head.

"Waa~ It feels amazing. I've always wanted to do this!"

Ever since she met Gin six years ago, Chiri had been mesmerized by his uniquely curly hair. But being cautious by nature, she buried her feelings deep. Every time they met, she only dared to imagine touching it in her head.

"As expected, Gin-san. If you keep at it, dreams do come true, don't they?"

After fluffing his head into a bird's nest, the girl leaned close to his ear and whispered.

He felt her warm breath and the scent unique to her linger softly on his cheek.

"Heh~ Still playing dead?"

She let out a light chuckle. Her eyes were mischievous.

When Gin didn't respond, she reached out her hand playfully. Her fingers traced down from his nose, across his unmoving chest, and continued downward.

"Gin-san, you've clearly been working out in secret!"

Her teasing voice whispered near his ear as her delicate hands rested on his toned abs, rhythmically drumming over his eight-pack like a piano.

"If you still won't respond, I'm not holding back~"

His abs were already rock-hard from the tension, but Gin still didn't flinch. He was betting that the girl was just acting out of grief—losing herself in her emotions.

After all… this was just standard Uchiha behavior.

"Gin-san, I'm going in now~"

Still smiling, Chiri saw that Gin didn't object, so she just kept going along with it.

She slowly undid the final line of defense around his lower half with deft, gentle hands.

"DAMEEE!!!"

Gin's terrified scream exploded in her mind, unleashing a powerful mental shock that made Chiri dizzy on the spot. Luckily, she had just awakened her Mangekyō and her spiritual strength had grown—otherwise, she might've fainted on the spot.

Hearing his familiar voice in her mind, Chiri's hand paused. A hint of disappointment flashed across her beautiful eyes.

Tch! So close! I almost won!

"Gin-san, not gonna keep pretending?"

Pulling her mischievous hands back, Chiri regained her composure and began conversing with Gin mentally.

"Phew… If I hadn't spoken up, I'd have lost my innocence today…"

Gin looked shaken. He had preserved his chastity for years—no way was he going to let a little girl steal his peach.

"I had no choice. Otherwise, how else was I supposed to make you respond, Gin-san?"

Chiri replied in his mind, her eyes sparkling with curiosity as she stared at this strange new chat interface in her head.

How interesting! Once we get back, I'll ask Gin-san to teach me how to use this. Then I can sneakily ask him about jutsu techniques!

"Who taught you to pull that kind of stunt?!"

Gin was speechless. Chiri was such a good girl—there's no way she came up with this herself. Someone must've led her astray!

"Uhh… my mother. That's right, my mom! She keeps a book titled Secret Arts of the Kunoichi under her bed. I learned everything from there. Today was the first time I put it to use."

Caught off guard by his question, Chiri had to improvise fast. Fortunately, she was clever and quick-witted—she came up with a perfectly convincing excuse.

Sorry, Mom. From now on, we're no longer just mother and daughter.

"Good grief! Lady Eimi, how could you leave something like that where kids can reach it?!"

Gin sighed. Once they got back, he'd have to do a proper home visit. A private one-on-one conversation in the room about Chiri's development and future path was absolutely necessary.

"Chiri, remember what your master says. That kind of technique should only be used once you're an adult… and only for someone you truly like."

Inside the mental world, Gin's spirit walked up and gently patted her head, advising her with the tone of a concerned elder.

"Hmph! It's your fault, Gin-san, for playing dead like that. If you had died, so many people would have been devastated!"

Even though they were just mental projections, the feeling of being patted still registered. Chiri pouted and huffed, annoyed he was still treating her like a kid.

"Hehe. Well, it was a temporary measure. My little cousins weren't keeping up with the power curve, so I designed this plan after lots of consideration. Not bad, right?"

Gin grinned. Since Chiri already knew his secret, he didn't mind sharing more.

"…Can I say it was awful?"

Chiri rolled her eyes at his smug face, giving an honest and cutting review.

Uchiha Gin—OUT!

"Urghhh…"

Gin collapsed in the mental world, performing a full-on orz pose. He had poured his heart into this script… only for it to be trashed by a teenage girl.

Still, it all worked out in the end. Everyone had awakened their powers. His efforts weren't in vain.

"By the way, Chiri, how did you figure out I was faking?"

Gin forced himself to perk up. He was genuinely curious. Even his future cousin wouldn't be able to see through his act. Yet Chiri, of all people, had spotted the truth.

"Well… to be honest, Gin-san, after awakening the Mangekyō, I gained a very special dōjutsu."

Shinobi rarely revealed their trump cards, unless it was to someone they fully trusted—or someone they were about to kill.

But Chiri trusted Gin more than anyone. So she explained her ability without reservation.

"My eye technique is called Akokutama (Manifest Nation Jewel). Its power is… time reversal."

"Akokutama? Time reversal?!"

Gin was stunned. Another ability he had never heard of—not even mentioned in the original series.

Chiri paused to organize her thoughts, then slowly explained the details of her Mangekyō's ability.

"In simple terms, I can use these eyes to lock onto a specific person or object and reverse time—rewinding to glimpse everything that happened to it moments earlier."

Gin listened carefully, eyebrows furrowing deeper and deeper.

If what Chiri said was true… then wouldn't that mean she could uncover the secret of his transmigration? That kind of ability could destroy him.

"…Did you see anything?"

He steadied his nerves and asked cautiously, hoping she hadn't discovered his secret.

"Even though it sounds powerful, Akokutama isn't as terrifying as it seems."

Chiri caught the tension in his voice and quickly reassured him.

"I can only rewind a few minutes into the past. Anything before that is just darkness."

And that was true.

She had instinctively used Akokutama on Gin's corpse a moment ago, and saw everything that happened in the last few minutes of his supposed "death."

Originally grieving deeply, she was shocked to witness Gin sneakily open his eyes to peek around—totally breaking character.

At first, she thought she was hallucinating.

But she rewound and reviewed the scene over and over—dozens of times—until her eyes bled, confirming it.

"Hah…"

Gin groaned. One tiny slip-up and his whole masterpiece was ruined. What a blunder. He was the ultimate sinner now.

No way could anyone else find out about this. His reputation as a top-tier director—and his third-place rank among the academy's young prodigies—would be completely destroyed!

Resolved, Gin looked at Chiri with an intense gaze, clearly plotting something.

"Chiri~"

His eyes gleamed righteously, his tone firm and unyielding. He called out to the girl still plotting how to blackmail (?) him.

"You must understand… I made all these sacrifices for the future of the Uchiha clan!"

"…Since your goal's already achieved, isn't it okay to tell the young clan leaders the truth?"

Chiri raised an elegant eyebrow, a sly gleam in her eye. Her words were ambiguous, but her intentions were obvious.

"Ahem… I mean, it's not absolutely necessary to tell them, right?"

Gin's carefully rehearsed speech fell apart. He suddenly seemed much less confident.

"But why not? If they knew about your selfless plan, Gin-san, they'd be so grateful to you!"

Chiri's smile turned devilish. Her innocent face masked her true nature as she spoke with a singsong tone to the now cold-sweating Gin.

Tch… why is there no window in this mental space? I'm drenched in sweat!

(End of Chapter)

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