Chapter 30: 30. Chapter 30: First of all, I didn't provoke anyone

Chapter 30: First of All, I Haven't Harassed Anyone

The mystery surrounding the clan massacre six years ago had always been a shadow looming over Uchiha Gin's heart.

He had finally managed to squeeze some useful clues out of the suspicious Kaguya clan, only to accidentally kill the person because he had been too heavy-handed.

With a mind full of worries, he had no heart for work. Relying on his memory, he sketched the mark on the person's left hand.

Staring at this strange symbol in his hand, no matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn't remember where this thing had appeared in the original story.

Three shuriken rotating around a single red dot—it looked like a clan crest. He would have to ask Uchiha Tajima about it the next time they met.

Unknowingly, the time for finishing work arrived. Uchiha Gin adhered to a strict "no overtime" policy and walked out of the dungeon right on schedule.

Seeing the setting sun, Uchiha Gin first went shopping. He walked into a relatively large grocery store and addressed the clerk.

"Do you have black hair dye? The long-lasting kind."

Recognizing the man as the legendary Uchiha Gin, the clerk tremblingly took a bottle of black hair dye from the shelf and handed it to him.

Having received the goods, Uchiha Gin reached into his pocket, but after searching for a while, he found nothing. An awkward expression crept onto his face.

"Lord Gin, please consider this bottle of hair dye a gift. Please take it," the clerk said tactfully, sensing that the man might be short on cash.

"No, I can't let you lose out on such a small amount of money. Wait a moment."

Closing his eyes, he searched through his system. When he opened them again, Uchiha Gin pulled a large, glittering gold brick from his bag. The moment it appeared, the golden light nearly blinded the clerk's "titanium alloy" eyes.

Swallowing hard, the clerk took the massive gold brick, which weighed nearly ten jin (5kg), and couldn't help but pinch his own face.

The pain in his cheek told him this wasn't a dream. In all his years working in the shop, he had never seen a gold brick of such weight.

The gold brick was good, but its quality presented a new problem.

"Lord Gin, please forgive our small shop, but we truly don't have enough change for something so valuable."

Indeed, the value of a gold brick was immeasurable; ten jin of gold was enough to buy their entire storefront.

Looking at the gold brick being pushed back by the clerk, Uchiha Gin felt a bit embarrassed. He had his principles: he would never take something for free if he shouldn't, but he would never pass up an opportunity to get something for free if he could.

Just as he was in a dilemma, a spiky-haired boy pushed the door open, shouting, "Boss! Do you have any powerful water-style shuriken secret manuals!"

Before anyone could react, the spiky-haired boy saw Uchiha Gin and cried out in shock, "Gin, you bastard! When did you get back!"

As he spoke, his eyes were drawn to the glittering gold brick in Gin's hand. "Holy crap, did you strike it rich?"

Uchiha Gin looked at the boisterous spiky-haired boy with a dark expression. This kid showed none of the arrogant demeanor he would possess in the future.

"You should call me 'older cousin,' Madara. Show some respect to your elders."

"Tch, you're just a defeated foe," the spiky-haired boy named Madara huffed with a chuunibyou attitude.

"If you behave, I might just cut a little piece off for you."

Uchiha Gin looked calmly at the nose-in-the-air Uchiha Madara, gesturing with the gold brick.

"Brother, you are my real brother!"

Uchiha Madara, willing to bend his pride for five pecks of rice, immediately bowed his head in submission.

*Even the future "Shura of the Shinobi World" has to fall under my dominance,* Uchiha Gin thought, feeling a sense of satisfaction as he watched Madara succumb to money.

It was worth it!

It was a pity there were no cameras in this era. If he could have captured this scene, he might have had a hundred thousand White Zetsu throwing pebbles at Madara's windows every night in the future.

"Get up. Tell me what you want to buy, and your cousin will foot the bill."

With a grand wave of his hand, Uchiha Gin allowed him to shop freely.

Hearing this, Madara's eyes lit up. He immediately grabbed everything his father usually forbade him from buying, and in a short while, he had a massive bundle.

Watching Madara carry a bundle even larger than himself, Uchiha Gin rubbed his chin, struck by a sudden sense of déjà vu.

Thousands of miles away on an island, Uzumaki Mito, who was grounded by her father, was staring blankly at a bead that had returned to its original color when she suddenly felt an itch in her nose.

"Achoo~"

*Is someone thinking of me?*

In the end, Uchiha Gin and Madara's spending only resulted in a small corner being broken off the gold brick. Walking down the road with his massive bundle, Uchiha Madara asked his long-lost cousin curiously, "Cousin, what kind of business did you go into to earn such a huge gold brick?"

Ever since Uchiha Madara had defeated Uchiha Gin—who was ten years his senior—in front of everyone when he was ten, his cousin had been intentionally avoiding him. Even when they met at his father's place, Gin would only give a brief greeting before running off.

"I just went on a rather dangerous mission. This gold brick was an accidental find during the process."

"That's great. I want to go out on missions too," Madara said enviously, having never been allowed to go on missions.

It made sense. After the tragedy six years ago, Uchiha Tajima had been extremely protective of his two remaining sons. He was essentially inseparable from them, which meant Madara had never gone on missions and had few friends.

"By the way, I heard you... are in a relationship?"

Watching the slightly dejected Madara, Uchiha Gin tried to change the subject with a teasing tone.

"What? What relationship? Who told you that?" Madara, who had never cared for matters of the heart, looked utterly bewildered.

"I heard it from Izuna. You've been secretly going on dates by the river."

Without a hint of guilt, Gin decisively sold out his little brother.

"Ugh—I'm leaving! That damn Izuna, I'm going to deal with him right now!"

Betrayed by his closest brother, Madara spoke huffily, gave a quick farewell, and sprinted toward home.

*Tsk tsk, Izuna might have hit a brick wall today.*

Holding the hair dye and clutching the chipped gold brick, Uchiha Gin leisurely walked toward his secluded little house.

The moment he pushed open the door, Uchiha Gin felt something hard pressing against his waist.

Startled, he looked down and met the bewildered eyes of Senju Tobirama. The boy was holding a small kitchen knife; it seemed there were no weapons in the house, so he had resorted to the kitchen.

Gin patted his small head and handed him the hair dye. "Good alertness, but next time, don't use a kitchen knife. It looks quite ridiculous."

Senju Tobirama's face flushed red at the comment.

Seeing that the boy was already wearing clothes from Gin's own childhood, Uchiha Gin sized him up. "Not bad. You have about a tenth of my childhood handsomeness."

Tobirama's face turned from red to black.

Having read the instructions, Gin knew the hair dye required washing the hair first, so he immediately arranged for Tobirama to take a bath.

Hearing that he could take a bath, Tobirama's face initially lit up with joy, but then he saw Uchiha Gin starting to undress, which gave him quite a fright.

"What are you doing?!"

Gin looked at him, puzzled. "What else? Taking a bath. I haven't bathed since I got back; we might as well do it together to save time."

Gin said nonchalantly while undressing.

*Slam!* Tobirama slammed the door and ran outside, shouting from the other side, "You go first! I'll go fetch water for you!"

The bathroom in Uchiha Gin's house was an old-fashioned Japanese wooden tub style. The tub was placed over a fire to heat slowly, and one could only enter once the temperature was right. Someone had to watch the fire constantly to ensure it wasn't too high or too low, affecting the experience.

"Strange kid, a bit shy too."

Shaking his head, Uchiha Gin didn't mind. At his current age, he was more than old enough to be Tobirama's father.

In the Warring States period, marrying and having children at thirteen or fourteen was very common. It was actually more unusual that he was twenty-four and had no offspring.

He undressed and entered the bathroom. The bottom of the tub was open to the outside, and the water was bubbling, suggesting the temperature was quite high.

Peering out the window, he saw a pouting Senju Tobirama working hard to tend the fire outside, throwing large handfuls of firewood into it while shouting,

"Burn! Burn! Burn this pervert to death!"

"???"

First of all, I haven't harassed anyone.