208. Same As Yours

"Drip... drip..."

In the dark and deep dungeon, faint candlelight flickered along the silent corridor. Water droplets trickled from the ceiling, splashing on the uneven ground and forming small, indistinct ripples.

The cold, oppressive environment weighed heavily on the prisoners in the cells lining both sides of the corridor. An inexplicable sense of dread loomed over their hearts.

"Ah! Ahhh! AHHHH~~~"

At the very end of the dungeon, a heavy door stood slightly ajar, a faint yellow light seeping through the crack. The door’s ominous creaking was accompanied by gut-wrenching screams that sent chills down the spines of anyone who heard them.

Inside the room, three men sat together, and the source of the dreadful screams was one of them. No one could tell what kind of torment he was enduring to make him wail so agonizingly.

"Ah! I give up!"

The wailing man held two remaining cards in his hand. His fingers, pale from gripping the cards too tightly, trembled as his dead-fish eyes swept over the other two men with a look of veiled threat.

"Brother Gin, even a 5 is too much for you?"

The burly man who had just played a 5 was in disbelief. It was the smallest card in his hand—he had already gone as easy as possible!

"Jiro, you... good!"

Uchiha Gin scratched his curly hair furiously before turning his gaze toward the third man at the table, his eyes brimming with even greater menace.

"Uh... Lord Gin, your last two cards… they wouldn’t happen to be a pair, would they?"

Uchiha Mitsu, holding a powerful hand, wasn’t celebrating his good fortune. Instead, he looked at his superior with a bitter expression, hesitating before cautiously asking.

"..."

Gin didn’t answer, but there was a faint glimmer of hope in his previously lifeless eyes. Emboldened by this, Mitsu confidently played his strongest single card.

"King! Jiro, you can’t beat that, can you?"

"Nope, I give up! I give up!"

Uchiha Jiro, holding only four 2s, nodded frantically, secretly relieved to have dodged a bullet.

"I pass too," Gin muttered sourly, waving for the game to continue.

"Heh, pair of 4s!"

Mitsu, splitting his "airplane" hand (a powerful card combination) to play the smallest cards possible, forced a sycophantic grin onto his face. Finally, Lord Gin would have a chance to win!

"..."

"I pass," Gin said with a dark expression. The three words froze the room for ten full seconds.

Mitsu's face turned pale. What kind of hand does Lord Gin have? Didn’t he say it was a pair?!

"Forget it! I’m done!"

After ten seconds, Gin’s face was black as thunder. He threw his warped cards onto the table and stormed out, kicking open the office door and disappearing into the dungeon’s dark corridor.

"Phew, that was close. I thought Lord Gin was going to explode!"

Mitsu exhaled deeply, wearing the expression of someone who had narrowly survived disaster. He patted his chest to calm his still-racing heart.

"Brother Mitsu, have you noticed that Lord Gin seems a bit more irritable lately?"

Jiro, wearing a similarly relieved look, waited until Gin’s footsteps faded before whispering to his sweating companion.

"Isn’t he always like this?"

Wiping his brow, Mitsu rolled his eyes as though this was par for the course. He continued nonchalantly, "Didn’t you realize? This game was about to settle debts. Lord Gin’s been working hard to find a way to get out of paying!"

"Huh? But that pressure he gave off just now..."

Jiro scratched his head in confusion, recalling Gin’s terrifying aura moments earlier. Nervously, he asked, "You don’t mean to say Lord Gin got this position purely through connections, do you?"

"Don’t talk nonsense, Jiro! Watch your mouth!"

Mitsu's face darkened, and he quickly tried to hush his colleague, but it was too late. A cold voice drifted through the slightly ajar door:

"Jiro, your collectibles are gone."

"Nooo! Lord Gin, please, those are my life’s treasures!"

Unbeknownst to them, Gin had been eavesdropping the entire time. Compared to Mitsu's sigh of relief, Jiro felt as though his world had collapsed. He dropped to his knees, wailing louder than before, his cries sending shivers through the prisoners who overheard.

"Hmph, a mere Jiro dares talk behind my back."

Gin sneered as he left the dungeon. Glancing back at the eerie door, he decided against returning to work.

But it was still too early to go home, so with a sly glint in his eye, he wandered off in the opposite direction.

"Sigh, why is the fight still not over? The Flying Thunder God mark on my little cousin's kidney is practically turning into a QR code by now."

Walking down the main road of the Uchiha compound, Uchiha Gin glanced around the eerily quiet streets with a sigh. He mentally calculated the timeline. If everything proceeded normally, the founding of Konoha should happen this year. Yet, his younger cousin was still full of energy, exchanging blows with Tobirama Senju, trading victories evenly.

On the other hand, his older cousin’s stamina was running low. Over the years, his win rate against Hashirama Senju had dropped from a solid fifty-fifty to barely thirty percent.

And that was with Hashirama holding back—no Sage Mode involved. Even so, the Senju clan leader could effortlessly press Madara into the ground.

As for the method to awaken the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, Madara already knew about it. But he adamantly refused to accept it, deeming such power as a crutch. In his eyes, even if he defeated Hashirama using it, the victory would lack honor.

Heh, what a textbook case of chūnibyō. Maybe he needs a bit of a shock therapy!

"Bang bang bang~"

After a few twists and turns, Gin stopped in front of a grand residence. He confidently knocked on the large red door, calling out loudly:

"Open up! Open up!"

"Creak~"

After a while, the door opened slightly, though no one appeared. Gin was about to question this when a soft, childish voice piped up from below.

"Hello, Uncle Gin!"

"Heh, what a good kid! Here, have some candy!"

Hearing the sweet, milky voice, Gin squatted down, grinning as he looked at the chubby, cherubic face peeking through the crack. He pulled a large lollipop from his pocket and handed it over.

"Great-grandfather said I shouldn’t eat your candy. It’ll make my teeth rot."

The child, no older than three or four, had a thoughtful glint in his eyes. Despite the obvious allure of the candy, he hesitated, his mouth watering slightly before firmly refusing.

"Tch! Elder Haru is way too strict!"

Gin clicked his tongue in mock frustration, complaining out loud. However, his hands didn’t stop moving. Unwrapping the lollipop, he ignored the boy’s protests and popped it into his mouth.

"Don’t worry, little Kagami. If anything happens, Uncle Gin will take care of it. Rotten teeth? No big deal—you’ll get new ones anyway!"

"Mmph… it’s so good!"

At first, little Uchiha Kagami wanted to spit it out, but Gin’s reassurance made him hesitate. In the end, his youthful innocence and sweet tooth won out. He surrendered to the sugary delight, happily savoring the treat.

"That’s more like it! Kids should eat plenty of candy!"

Satisfied with his work, Gin pushed the door open and casually strolled inside.

"Uncle Gin, are you here to see Great-grandfather?" Kagami asked curiously, still holding the lollipop.

"That’s right. Is Elder Haru at home?"

Gin ruffled Kagami’s curly hair affectionately, feeling a kinship with the boy. After all, in the entire clan, only the two of them had naturally curly hair—it was a recessive trait.

"Mm-hmm, Great-grandfather is talking with the old clan leader."

Trying to dodge Gin’s “evil” hand, Kagami pouted. Every time this so-called uncle visited, he couldn’t resist messing with his curls. Hmph! You have curly hair too; why not mess with your own?

Kagami glared indignantly at Gin’s fluffy curls, silently grumbling in his heart.

"Well, what a coincidence! Saves me an extra trip. Here, this is for you."

Gin grinned when he heard that the clan leader, Tajima, was also present. He had matters to discuss with him anyway. From his bag, he pulled out a neatly cut gold bar and handed it to Kagami.

"Huh?"

Kagami stared blankly at the heavy gold bar in his small hands, tilting his head in confusion as he looked up at Gin.

"It’s almost New Year’s, so consider this your red envelope in advance!"

"Oh… thank you, Uncle Gin."

Clutching the gold bar and still munching on his lollipop, Kagami waved at Gin in gratitude.

Meanwhile, Gin approached the guest room where Elder Haru and Tajima were having a private conversation. Before he even opened the door, he overheard their discussion:

"Clan Leader Tajima, I can’t guarantee success. The experimental data is just too limited."

Sensing only the two elders inside, Gin decided to forgo further eavesdropping. Pushing the door open boldly, he called out:

"I’m coming in~"

The sudden intrusion startled both Uchiha Haru and Tajima, who immediately adopted defensive postures. Their Sharingan eyes gleamed crimson as they glared at the uninvited guest.

However, upon recognizing Gin’s familiar lazy expression, Tajima adjusted his glasses and frowned.

"Gin? What are you doing here?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, my purpose is probably the same as yours, Uncle Tajima."

Scratching his head, Gin replied truthfully, though his words deepened the elders' frowns.

"You’re here to donate your eyes too?" Tajima asked, narrowing his gaze.