256. The Girl Who Tore a Susanoo Apart with Bare Hands

"Sigh…"

Uchiha Gin absentmindedly rubbed the rough surface of the amber-colored bottle in his hand, muttering to himself,
"Life is truly unpredictable—like sausage wrapped in intestine."

Senju Itama, busy preparing breakfast in the kitchen, poked her head out with a frown. Looking at the lamenting Uchiha Gin, she asked in a disdainful tone,
"Huh? You're craving intestines for breakfast? Since when did your taste become so heavy?"

"If your ears aren't working, I suggest replacing them."

Not in the mood for his usual banter with Itama, Uchiha Gin rolled his eyes lazily. His spirits low, he muttered something about knowing a miracle-working foreign doctor who could fix anything that was broken.

Without bothering further with the indignant Senju Itama, Gin leaned back on the couch, hands behind his head. His gaze fell on the stoic Uchiha Hikari, who sat nearby. After a moment of scrutiny, he casually asked,
"And who might you be?"

"Take a guess," the black-haired girl replied, her voice light and mischievous.

Instead of answering, she kicked off her slippers, revealing her soft, fair feet. She tucked her legs slightly as she sank into the plush couch. Her delicate face betrayed no emotion, but a sly glint sparkled in her dark eyes.

As she spoke, she stretched out her small foot and began tracing lines on Gin's thigh with her toe.

How bold! Is she drawing tally marks on me?

A strange sensation made Gin stiffen slightly. He quickly shifted away, causing her foot to miss its target. Turning serious, he looked at the mildly irritated Hikari and said firmly,
"Cut it out. Let's talk business."

Seeing Gin's earnest expression, Hikari retracted her foot and sat up. Tilting her head, she replied slowly,
"Fine, speak. I’m listening."

Since reconciling with her second personality, Hikari and her alternate self had developed the ability to freely switch consciousness. They could now share external information seamlessly.

Gin raised an eyebrow, feeling an unshakable unease. Watching the girl's expression turn slightly playful, he swallowed hard and asked cautiously,
"You couldn’t do this before, right? When did this start?"

"Take a guess."

Still playing the enigmatic card, Hikari's answer made Gin grind his teeth in frustration. He recalled his earlier argument with Uchiha Kuroko, when he had yet to establish a clear relationship with Hikari.
If Hikari had already been able to share information back then, wouldn’t that mean…

"Uh…this is bad."

Before he could figure out how to proceed, Hikari’s demeanor abruptly changed. Her gaze dimmed, and she lowered her head.

When she looked up again, her cheeks were flushed red with embarrassment. She curled up, tucking her feet beneath her and hugging a couch cushion to her face, mumbling softly,
"I can’t believe I did something so shameless!"

Seeing her sudden shift, Gin exhaled in relief.
"Okay, this is Hikari, right?"

It seemed that earlier, it had indeed been Uchiha Kuroko—the one he struggled to handle.

Despite her cold and abstinent exterior, Kuroko was anything but innocent when the night fell. Gin’s perpetually sore back was living proof of that.

"Don’t listen to her nonsense," Hikari explained softly, her face still flushed. "The sensory-sharing ability is something we only developed recently."

"Good to know," Gin muttered, visibly relieved. He absolutely couldn’t let her find out about some of his past antics. He had no desire to face her infamous razor-sharp kitchen knife.

"Anyway, since you can now receive external information, about that mission earlier…"

"No problem at all. For you, Gin, I’d do anything."

Her voice was firm and resolute, without a hint of hesitation. If Gin asked her to pluck the moon from the sky, she’d at least give it her best shot.

"Alright then, take today to rest. We’ll set off tomorrow."

Gin, touched by her sincerity, reached out to pat her head. Compared to Uchiha Kuroko, Hikari was truly considerate and understanding.

As he spoke, Senju Itama appeared, setting down a steaming breakfast on the table. The hopeful look in his eyes made Gin feel slightly on edge.

Glancing at the suspiciously pink strawberry milk on the table, Gin frowned and asked,
"If you have something to say, just say it."

Because of a certain recent health report, Itama had been strictly controlling Gin’s sugar intake. Sweets had become a rarity, yet here was a forbidden treat. Something was definitely up.

"Um…about this mission…could you bring me along?"

Watching Gin drink the strawberry milk with unrestrained delight, Itama hesitantly fidgeted with the hem of her clothes, her tone unusually meek.

"Ah…so refreshing!"

Gin, who hadn’t indulged in something so sweet in ages, savored the taste. But hearing her request, his expression turned skeptical.

"Why would you want to join in? That’s a tailed beast we’re talking about—it’s dangerous!"

Because of their intertwined fates, Gin had spent years safeguarding Itama like a treasure. He had even planted Flying Thunder God marks on her body to ensure he could rescue her instantly if needed.

"You’re worried about me!"

Her apprehension vanished in an instant. Beaming brightly, Itama asked eagerly,
"So, does that mean you care?"

"Uh…yeah, I guess. But if the tailed beast goes berserk, your scrawny frame—"

"Hey! I can protect myself!"

Itama waved her tiny fists defiantly, her determination shining through.

"Ha! No way. You’ve got nothing but third-rate skills. I know better than anyone," Gin retorted, waving her off.

"Then what would it take for you to let me come?"

Tears welled up in her eyes, and her voice trembled. Gin hesitated, uncertain how to deal with her.

"Just take her," Hikari suddenly interjected. "This little one isn’t the pushover she used to be."

Gin blinked in surprise, looking at Hikari’s calm, unwavering expression.

"This isn’t a picnic, Hikari. You’ve seen the power of tailed beasts before."

"I can handle it!" Itama puffed up her cheeks indignantly, refusing to back down.

"Fine," Hikari cut in, smirking slightly. "If Gin doesn’t believe in you, prove him wrong."



Listening to the endless bickering of the two, Uchiha Hikari, being a person of action, immediately stood up. Her eyes flashed red as she looked at the two flushed with anger, her voice carrying a hint of chill.

"Hah?"

This stunned Uchiha Gin. How had their argument escalated to this point so suddenly?

Before Gin could say anything, a cherry-red figure condensed behind Hikari. A skeletal hand was raised high and swung down toward Senju Itama.

"No, wait!"

To Gin's shock, Hikari was so decisive in her actions. Just as Gin was about to raise a hand to intervene, an unbelievable scene unfolded before him.

"Boom!!!"

A deafening sound echoed as Hikari's Susano'o hand struck squarely at Itama, who stood motionless in place. But contrary to Gin's expectations, Itama wasn’t harmed at all. Instead, she remained unscathed, wearing a calm smile. She even reached up with both hands to hug the massive cherry-red hand pressing on her head.

“Crack~”

Gin's eyes widened as he heard a crisp sound, similar to breaking a soda cracker.

"This... what the hell is going on?"

Gin rubbed his eyes in disbelief, wondering if he had fallen under some sort of genjutsu.

Yet, when the proud-looking Itama carried the massive Susano'o hand over to him like a treasure, Gin snapped back to reality.

"You’re not using chakra suppression?"

Peering past Itama, Gin questioned Hikari with furrowed brows.

"Of course not," Hikari replied calmly. "It seems you haven’t paid much attention to her over the years. After mastering her Yin Seal, that little brat's power has grown at a terrifying pace."

Hikari no longer held any prejudice against Itama and now regarded her as family—albeit family below her in rank.

"Are you kidding?"

Gin scratched his head in disbelief. He took the Susano'o hand from Itama and weighed it, confirming its authenticity.

"Yeah, right! We were supposed to chill together, and you secretly trained to this level?"

Gin sighed as the Susano'o hand slowly dissipated. Gazing at the smug Itama, he added, "Weren’t we all supposed to laze around? How did you go and awaken a Sage Body?"

Activating his heightened perception, Gin finally noticed the terrifying vitality emanating from Itama’s Yin Seal. Even without Asura's chakra, her Sage Body had been cultivated through various life-force-enhancing artifacts and metabolic accelerators.

No wonder she could use monstrous strength as her default attack. Gin had assumed she was simply born with exceptional physical power, but it turned out her Sage Body was meticulously cultivated to a frightening degree.

"Curly-haired ape! What do you think? Cool, huh?"

Itama, full of anticipation, clung to Gin’s arm, practically pressing her big chest against him as she sought his approval.

"Cough, cough… You're passable. Starting tomorrow, you’ll follow us closely—don’t wander off."

Suppressing his inner delight, Gin feigned indifference and lightly agreed to her request.

"Yay! I can see the turtle tomorrow!"
___


The next morning, an overly excited Itama burst into Gin’s room and pulled back his blanket, shouting, "Wake up, lazybones!"

"Clean the jar in the hall first. I'll nap for a bit longer," Gin mumbled, not even opening his eyes.

"Fine, I’ll do it first."

As she reached out to physically drag him out of bed, Itama’s gaze accidentally landed on an awkwardly positioned "little brother," causing her face to turn beet red. She quickly tucked the blanket back over him and scurried out.

"Hah, she didn’t disturb me this time," Gin thought smugly, stretching lazily after waking up to the bright sunlight.

After washing up, Gin headed downstairs to find the two girls waiting beside a meticulously polished amber jar.

"Impressive. I doubt this jar ever thought it’d be this pampered," Gin remarked casually.

Itama wanted to retort but remembered the earlier embarrassment, turning red and falling silent.

"Gin, being lazy isn’t a good habit," Hikari teased with a smile, though she was the one who enabled his behavior.

"Carry the jar, kid," Gin said to Itama while discreetly rubbing his sore back.

"Why me?!"

"You seemed strong enough yesterday."

"Fine, fine, I’ll carry it!"

Grumbling, Itama hoisted the jar onto her back and reluctantly followed Gin out the door.

As they strolled through the village, Gin informed them that Uchiha Haruka, his disciple, would meet them at the village gate.

"You’re late! She’s probably been waiting forever," Itama complained.

"You think I’d let someone wait?" Gin retorted, rolling his eyes. Unknown to them, he had deliberately set a later meeting time, knowing he’d wake up late.

When they reached the gate, a purple-haired girl greeted them warmly, ignoring the sweat on her forehead.

"I just got here," she said, smiling.

"Sure," Gin muttered, noticing the footprints marking her long wait.

"Gin, let’s go meet the Tailed Beast already!" Haruka exclaimed, her excitement matching Itama’s as they set off on their mission.