161. Eternal Youth

After bidding farewell to his younger cousin, Uchiha Gin looked at the table full of lemons, troubled.

Just then, the door to the hospital room opened again, and a familiar fragrance drifted in as a few familiar figures entered.

One of them, upon seeing Uchiha Gin lying on the bed with a gloomy face, rushed over as if a swallow returning to its nest.

"Ah, Gin! Are you alright?"

The first to rush over was Uchiha Hikari, who hadn't been seen for a few days.

Her eyes sparkled with tears, her delicate nose slightly red, and her young, fair face filled with worry.

Taking advantage of Gin's surprise, her small hands began to roam over him, touching him here and there while tears fell.

"I heard you got a huge wound. Where is it?"

"Stop, stop! Don’t pull at my waistband!"

Uchiha Gin's hair stood on end as he frantically protected his last line of defense.

By the door, a girl with purple hair held a bag overflowing with fruit, looking at Uchiha Hikari with a slightly annoyed expression.

"Tsk! Hikari senpai, you really have no boundaries."

Uchiha Haruka, watching Hikari taking liberties, pursed her lips.


"Ha! You really are one tough gorilla. Got a hole punched through you and still survived!"

No need to guess; that voice could only belong to that brat.

Looking up, Gin saw Senju Itama, a boy he hadn't seen in a while. Itama wore loose robes, his black-dyed hair tied up high, his pale round face showing his displeasure, as if regretting that Gin survived.

But there was a hint of something else in his dark eyes.

Like Haruka, he held a familiar-looking bag – one Gin recognized as his childhood bag that this kid had dug out for reuse.

Cough cough

Gin was almost enraged to death by the kid’s words.


Ignoring his irritation, he lifted Hikari off himself, tossing her from the bed with a disgruntled expression, and then pointed at the lemons left by Uchiha Izuna on the table.

"Just so you know, I don’t eat lemons."

"Huh?" x2

Haruka and Itama looked down at the yellow fruits in their bags with rare expressions of doubt.

"Don’t tell me…you both really bought these?"

Gin’s frown deepened.

"The clan leader told us this was very nutritious."

With their scheme exposed, Haruka and Itama sighed and opened their bags, revealing a heap of lemons, exuding a fresh, citrusy aroma.

The day before, the two had run into Izuna, who shared his "news" with them enthusiastically, even showing off his own big bag of lemons.

"Just buy these! The doctor said my cousin needs the stuff in them!"

Tsk! Looks like I went too easy on him earlier.

"Haha! You two should’ve left it to me!"

Thrown off the bed, Hikari laughed proudly. Pulling out two purple fruits from her bag, she presented them to Gin.

"Here, Gin, eat mine!"

"…"

Looking at the heavy fruits in his hand, Gin’s mouth watered from the sour scent.

After confirming that they were as hard as they looked, he set them down and replied to Hikari's hopeful gaze.

"Thanks, but maybe next time, don’t bring any."

Seriously, which doctor said I was lacking in vitamin C?


Now I’ve got lemons and passion fruit—I just want something sweet, is that so much to ask?

"Sigh, doesn’t matter. I appreciate you all visiting me."

Gin took a lemon from the table and smiled at the three, who looked at him nervously.

"Actually, lemons aren’t useless. They’re high in antioxidants, which delay aging, and make great lemonade."

Anti-aging?

The purple-haired girl’s eyes lit up at the term, casting a thoughtful look at Gin’s forehead.

Gin noticed and asked curiously, "Haruka, something on your mind?"

"Gin-san, is what you said earlier…true?"

Surprised, Gin couldn’t recall saying anything confusing. "What did I say?"

"The technique...that preserves youth and vitality—is it real?"

Finally, she voiced the question that had troubled her all night.

"Huh? You mean the Yin Seal? Of course it’s real!"

Gin relaxed, realizing she was asking about that technique.

"You can really keep looking young? Gin, where’d you learn that?"

Overhearing, Hikari and Haruka lit up, especially Hikari, whose eyes sparkled as she eagerly asked.

Even Itama, though silent, showed a strong interest, his ears perked to catch every word.

"Self-taught, but it’s hard to learn."  

Gin didn’t hold back. The Yin Seal wasn’t something he’d go out of his way to hide.

"Do you guys want to learn?"

Gin paused after feeling their intense stares and, after a moment, asked.

"Yes, yes, yes!" x3

"You’re just a kid—this is a technique for women only."

Seeing Itama enthusiastically raise his hand, Gin rolled his eyes and explained the downside of the technique.

"Then how did you learn it?"

Itama countered, his face flushed red as he glared at Gin.

"Well, I am the creator."

Gin spread his hands in an “it can’t be helped” gesture.

"Hmph, I’ll figure it out!"

Itama slammed his hand on the table, flexing his surprisingly 'muscular chest' with determination.

"Don’t come crying if you fail!" Gin muttered, thinking that if Itama insisted, he’d just look even more foolish if he couldn’t master it.

With that thought, Gin pulled out a blank scroll, carefully writing down the Yin Seal technique as the system had explained it.

"Alright, here’s the Yin Seal for you all to learn. Practice quietly."

Gin blew on the ink to dry it, checked it thoroughly for mistakes to avoid any accidents, and then handed the scroll to Haruka.

"Thank you, Gin-san!"

Haruka accepted the scroll, gratitude filling her heart. Gin gave her an easy smile.

"No big deal—I was planning to teach it to you anyway. Just ask if you have questions."

Gin watched the thrilled trio, baffled by their excitement over the Yin Seal.

"Well, we’ll get going now!"

Clutching the scroll like a treasure, the three dashed out of the room, leaving Gin behind, bewildered.

You could at least take the lemons with you!

Creaaak~

Just as things settled down, the door opened again.

This time, there was no fruit, making Gin sigh with relief.

"Cousin? I passed Haruka and the others outside—they seemed in a real rush. What happened?"

Uchiha Madara, dressed in a clan-specific dark blue robe with his wild hairstyle partially covering one eye, looked at Gin curiously.

"Nothing much, just gave them a little gift."

Gin shook his head, noting Madara’s slightly changed demeanor. With a smirk, he teased, "You seem in a good mood. Good news?"

"Did Izuna tell you?"

"Something like that."

Gin chuckled, letting Izuna take the blame for all the lemons he’d given him.

"That kid can’t keep a secret," Madara muttered, his surprise ruined, though he’d planned to surprise Gin today.

"No worries. Congratulations, Uchiha Madara."

Gin, with a rare seriousness, congratulated him, using Madara’s full name for the first time in years.

After a brief pause, Madara raised his head, slightly surprised. He returned the sentiment, “Thank you.”

Watching his cousin’s growth, Gin’s eyes sparkled with an idea, adopting a pleading tone.

"You know the saying: ‘A new boss has to make an impression.’ Clan leader, think you can arrange my retirement to the dungeon?"