268. Saving Teacher Uchiha Gin

The girl in Uchiha Gin's arms, exuding an air of surrender, made him subconsciously swallow hard. Fixating on the alluring red hue on her pale face, he couldn’t help but feel she was as tempting as a feast.

The girl seemed to sense his heated gaze, shyly closing her eyes. Her delicate body trembled slightly, the white arms draped around his neck tightening gently. Her long legs rubbed against each other as her body temperature rose noticeably.

“Gin...”
Her soft voice snapped Uchiha Gin out of his wandering thoughts, sending a ripple through his heart.

“Hikari...”
He realized she was asking for her reward for completing the mission. It seemed he couldn’t avoid this without paying up.

But Gin wasn’t someone easily blinded by desire. Narrowing his eyes, he scrutinized the girl in his arms, who seemed to brim with charm. Finally, his lips curled into a cold smile, and the fiery heat he had felt moments earlier disappeared in an instant.

“Hmph! I could tell with one glance that you’re not Hikari!”

At these words, the alluring girl in his arms froze briefly. A flicker of surprise crossed her beautiful face before she quickly regained composure.

“Gin, what are you talking about? I am your beloved Hikari,” she said sweetly, moving closer to him.

But no matter how soft and inviting her touch, it couldn’t shake Gin's sense of righteousness.

“Do you really want me to call you out by name, Kuroko?”

“Hmph, how boring.”

Hearing her identity exposed, the girl’s demeanor changed. The shy blush vanished, replaced by a seductive and wicked grin. Her crimson lips parted, and a sultry voice—similar to Hikari's yet distinct—filled the air.

“Why don’t you just pretend you don’t know and enjoy yourself?”

Since her cover had been blown, the second persona, Uchiha Kuroko, didn’t intend to back down. Instead, she pushed her boundaries further, slipping her hand into Gin's clothes and exploring his toned physique.

“Enjoy? Do you even hear yourself?”

Annoyed, Gin immediately let her go, dropping her to the ground. Looking at Kuroko sitting there pouting, he scolded her harshly.

“Do you even know how much damage you’ve caused? My back nearly broke last time!”

“Really? I thought you came up with that position yourself!”

Kuroko stood up, dusting off her clothes, her voluptuous figure bouncing slightly with each motion. Tilting her head with a look of feigned innocence, she added, “I thought you were into it!”

“You’re impossible!” Gin nearly collapsed in frustration.

To protect himself, he took a defensive stance as Kuroko lunged at him like a hungry predator.

Just as she was about to pounce, a strange force disrupted her. In the blink of an eye, Kuroko's figure became blurry, and when Gin looked down again, he found a completely different girl in his arms.

“H-Haruka? Why is it you?”

It was Uchiha Haruka, who had unexpectedly appeared in his embrace. Before Gin could process the shock, he instinctively held her steady and tried to wake her.

“Wake up, Haruka! What’s going on?”

After a moment, Haruka slowly opened her eyes. Realizing she was in Gin's arms, her face flushed, and she hastily pulled out a short blade.

“Wait! It’s me—your teacher!” Gin quickly explained before she could act.

Finally snapping out of it, Haruka recognized him, and her tense expression softened, replaced by embarrassment.

“Mr. Gin, p-please let me down,” she whispered shyly.

Once she was standing on her own, Gin couldn’t help but inquire, “What happened? And where’s Hikari?”

Haruka looked around, composing herself. “I think I awakened a new eye technique.”

“A new technique? Could it be Kamui?” Gin's interest was piqued.

“No, it’s not Kamui.”

“Then is it Kotoamatsukami?”

Haruka shook her head. “It’s different. It’s a teleportation technique, but it feels unique to me...”

Her words hinted at something powerful, leaving Gin deep in thought about the potential of her newly awakened ability.


"Not Kamui? Could it be that Haruka has awakened Amenotejikara ahead of her time? That’s incredibly impressive!"

“It’s not that either,” the girl shook her head, denying the suggestion, though she wondered where Uchiha Gin had heard so many odd names.

“The technique I awakened is called Ōnamazu,” she said, enjoying the look of curiosity on Gin's face as she revealed the name of her new eye technique.

“Ōnamazu?”

Hearing this unfamiliar name, Uchiha Gin was taken aback. Another eye technique he had never heard of.

“All right, we can discuss the eye technique later. First, tell me—where is Hikari?”

While intrigued by the new technique, Gin's priority was finding Uchiha Hikari, whose whereabouts were still unknown. Concerned about her safety, he urgently pressed for answers.

“ Hikari-senpai should be on her way here,” Haruka replied with a peculiar look in her eyes but no sign of worry on her face.

“What do you mean?”

Confused by this response, Gin frowned. Moments ago, he had activated his heightened perception and detected no sign of Haruka nearby.

“She’s here,” Haruka said, just as Gin sensed a familiar presence approaching rapidly.

Moments later, Uchiha Kuroko appeared, exuding a fierce aura.

Her beautiful eyes were filled with confusion as she asked, “What happened? Why was I over there?”

Kuroko had been moments away from pouncing on Gin when she suddenly found herself on a small hill nearby. Assuming she had fallen prey to a genjutsu, she spent time analyzing the situation, only to realize—thanks to Uchiha Hikari's return—that it was all in her imagination.

“Phew, as long as you’re safe,” Gin sighed in relief, his worries eased. Turning to Haruka, he asked, “Haruka, what exactly is your new eye technique capable of?”

He had noticed her calm demeanor earlier and suspected her ability had something to do with Kuroko's sudden disappearance.

“An eye technique?” Kuroko interjected, her interest piqued. “Ah, I thought I sensed an overflow of ocular power back there!”

Haruka didn’t immediately explain, instead posing a question to Gin. “Gin-san, do you remember the ability of my previous technique?”

“Of course. It was Manifestation Jewel, the ability to rewind time and observe past events,” Gin replied, recalling the extraordinary eye technique that could rewind and scrutinize the past.

Haruka nodded. “Yes, before, I could only observe brief moments in the past. But after awakening Ōnamazu, my eye technique has evolved.”

“Evolved?”

The term caught Gin by surprise. Could Mangekyō Sharingan techniques have advanced forms? The thought reminded him of his own Mangekyō ability, Tsukuyomi, which had a more advanced version called Mugen Tsukuyomi that he had used during the Kaguya Clan’s invasion.

“After awakening Ōnamazu, I can now interact with the past, not just observe it. Specifically, I can exchange places with targets within the rewind.”

“Ah, I see now!”

Gin's mind pieced it together. Kuroko's sudden disappearance was due to Haruka using her eye technique to swap places with Kuroko in a rewinded timeline, causing her to appear in Gin's arms.

But wait—if the target was from the past timeline, wouldn’t it create contradictions?

Just as Gin felt he had fully grasped the concept of Haruka's new ability, a thought struck him. He turned sharply, his gaze fixed on the girl.

“Haruka, is it really as simple as just swapping places?”

Gin's tone turned serious as he pressed her for the full truth, realizing that the implications of her power might be far more complex.

"It’s really that simple."

Hearing Uchiha Gin's repeated questioning, a faint trace of unease flashed across Uchiha Haruka's face. However, she insisted firmly that her eye technique was merely about swapping positions. As she answered, she cast a subtle glance at Uchiha Kuroko beside her, a glimmer of envy flickering in her eyes.

"Alright, maybe I’m overthinking it," Gin said, though he wasn’t entirely convinced.

There’s definitely something fishy! Gin had practically raised Haruka, and he could tell with a glance whether she was lying. She had clearly fibbed about her eye technique.

But after a moment of unease, Gin suddenly felt at ease.

Of course, Haruka was all grown up now—she should have her own secrets. As her self-proclaimed father figure, it was time for him to let go. He couldn’t possibly spend every day prying into her business.

Was this reasonable? Probably not.

"By the way, Gin-san, is the Tailed Beast okay? I noticed the wedge I planted was broken," Haruka quickly changed the subject, thinking Gin might suspect something. She voiced her concern as a way to shift the focus.

"Hmph, what could possibly happen to that weakling? I just replaced the old wedges with new ones," Uchiha Kuroko interjected with a cold snort, explaining before Gin could respond.

"Oh, I see now," Haruka said, nodding in apparent realization. However, her evasive gaze only deepened Gin's suspicions. Yet, recalling that it was her "secret," he decided not to pursue the matter further.

After all, when Haruka wanted to share, she would naturally tell him. His sweet and thoughtful disciple couldn’t possibly have any ill intentions.

The tension dissipated as the three of them returned to Konoha. At a crossroads in the village, they waved goodbye to each other and went their separate ways.

On the way home, Uchiha Kuroko, who had been silent for a while, suddenly spoke.

"Gin, I think there’s a problem."

It wasn’t the flirtatious Kuroko speaking anymore but Uchiha Hikari, who had quietly regained control. Her face was full of serious contemplation.

"Oh? What kind of problem?" Gin raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

So, it wasn’t just him who had sensed something off.

"I feel like I’m missing a part of my memory," Hikari said, rubbing her chin in a detective-like pose that made Gin chuckle.

"Haha, you were only gone for less than a minute. How could you have lost memories?"

"Still..." Hikari murmured. What Gin said was true—the time between her sudden displacement to the nearby hill and her return had been brief.

"Maybe it’s just a feeling," she finally said, dismissing her doubts. But before she could completely let it go, she shot Gin a mischievous look and added with a teasing smile, "It’s my turn tonight, right? Don’t worry, I won’t break your back."

"...”

Gin was momentarily at a loss. Looking at Hikari's familiar, playful expression, he couldn’t tell anymore who was light (Hikari) or darkness (Kuroko)


---

Meanwhile, Haruka, walking home alone, turned into a dark alley at a corner.

"Haah... haah..."

The once calm and composed girl was now red-faced, squatting on the ground, trembling slightly. She clenched her legs together awkwardly, her heart racing as though it might burst out of her chest.

Her flushed face was reminiscent of someone witnessing something overwhelming for the first time.

"That was insane. I never imagined Hikari-senpai could be so... bold," she murmured, covering her face with her hands.

Haruka couldn’t help but recall the surreal experience of taking Hikari's place. The memories of what had happened while in Hikari's body replayed in her mind, causing her temperature to rise again.

Her thoughts drifted to earlier, before she had awakened her eye technique. Hidden on a small hill, she had witnessed a startling scene below—an R-rated encounter between Uchiha Gin and Hikari.

Gin's agonized moans reached her ears even from a distance.

"I shouldn’t be here," Haruka whispered to herself, overwhelmed by the scene. Tears filled her eyes as she watched the unfolding drama, helpless to intervene.

"I should’ve been there earlier. The one in Gin-san’s arms should be me!"

Fueled by emotion, her Sharingan spun wildly until a new pattern emerged, accompanied by a surge of power.

"Ōnamazu... Can I change everything?" she whispered.

Driven by the new strength in her eyes, Haruka activated her technique. She rewound the timeline to the moment just before Hikari leapt onto Gin.

"Forgive me, Hikari-senpai. Just this once," she murmured before activating her enhanced Sharingan ability, swapping places with Hikari.


---

Back in the present, Haruka found herself in Gin's arms. Overwhelmed with relief and happiness, she thought to herself:

"I did it. I saved Sensei."