Chapter 29: Riddlers Deserve to Die

The breath of death rushed toward him. At this critical moment, Uchiha Gin's eyes turned crimson.

The tomoe in his right eye spun frantically, as if ocular power were being poured into it without cost.

Kaguya Jousuke, who believed he had already secured his victory, wanted to witness the wretched state of the Uchiha before him.

But instead of splashing blood and Uchiha Gin's wails, he felt a bone-chilling heat erupting from the wound on his chest.

【Amaterasu】

A black lotus bloomed within his chest cavity. The endless pain suffocated him, and the burning sensation spread from his lungs to his entire body.

The bones grown through the activation of his Bloodline Limit were shattered instantly upon contact with this eerie black flame. Unable to sustain his Bloodline Limit, Kaguya Jousuke's blooming bone flowers withered away in the wind, and Uchiha Gin withdrew his arm, flying backward.

Before Kaguya Jousuke could counterattack, the flying Uchiha Gin landed on one knee. One hand "struggled" to support himself on the ground, while the other wiped the bloody tears flowing from his right eye. With a pale face, he said,

"As expected of the legendary Shikotsumyaku; it is indeed powerful. I, Uchiha Gin, am willing to call you the strongest in Taijutsu. I admit defeat!"

With that, he weakly closed his eyes to cancel Amaterasu.

"Host failed. Obtained Mind Energy * 12. The Heart of Steel treasure chest will be unlocked after two more battles. (Current cumulative Mind Energy: 22)"

The black flames on his chest extinguished. Kaguya Jousuke, already on the verge of death from the burns, vomited large amounts of blood. The hideous wound on his chest had been charred by the high temperature, emitting a faint scent of roasted meat.

After being heavily wounded, Kaguya Jousuke lost the stupor he had possessed when they first met, and his eyes gradually regained clarity.

Looking at the somewhat disheveled Uchiha Gin beside him, he frowned as if contemplating something.

"You, kid, are..."

"Do you remember something?"

Seeing that the man's consciousness seemed to have cleared, Uchiha Gin hurriedly asked.

This Kaguya clansman seemed to know the truth about the massacre that occurred at the Uchiha camp six years ago.

He desperately wanted to know the truth behind the Kaguya clan's attack on the Uchiha territory and what the original owner's missing memories actually were.

"No, you aren't him. Your eyes..."

Having been tortured for so long, Kaguya Jousuke was already at the end of his rope. Combined with the forced activation of his Bloodline Limit just now, which had drained his remaining life force, his final moment of clarity was merely a terminal lucidity.

As Kaguya Jousuke's voice grew increasingly low, Uchiha Gin, realizing the man was spent, pressed further

"When you were surrounding and killing the Uchiha territory back then, who exactly was the mastermind? And where did the rest of the Kaguya clan go?"

Upon hearing this question, endless terror surged in Kaguya Jousuke's dimming pupils. He struggled to retreat, muttering brokenly

"Everyone is dead... everyone who saw the moonlight is dead!!!"

"Who died? What moonlight?"

Hearing the new keyword, Uchiha Gin lunged to Kaguya Jousuke's side, grabbing his shoulders, his Sharingan staring intensely into the man's fading eyes.

"Two of them?... Hahaha, you aren't... you aren't..."

Seeing the double tomoe slowly rotating in Uchiha Gin's eyes, Kaguya Jousuke uttered nonsensical words before gradually going limp, until he ceased breathing entirely.

What an infuriating riddle-maker!

Setting down Kaguya Jousuke's corpse, a frowning Uchiha Gin turned and walked out of the cell.

After a few steps, he encountered Uchiha Ryosha coming from the opposite direction. The latter was shocked to see Uchiha Gin in such a disheveled state.

Seeing his blood-stained hands, Ryosha couldn't help but shudder. Recalling Uchiha Gin's "infamy," he summoned his courage and asked cautiously,

"Lord Gin, what happened?"

"Kaguya Jousuke attacked me while I was questioning him. But he had been imprisoned for too long and his strength had greatly diminished; I killed him in self-defense. Go find someone to clean this up."

He did not hide the news of Kaguya Jousuke's death. He was just a prisoner with a broken mind; if he died, he died. At worst, he'd write a report.

"Yes!"

Hearing him speak so nonchalantly about killing a prisoner, Uchiha Ryosha felt a chill run down his spine. He swallowed hard and immediately complied.

Only after watching Uchiha Gin's retreating back did Ryosha breathe a sigh of relief. The man's appearance just now had been too terrifying, giving him a sense of creeping dread.

Entering Kaguya Jousuke's cell, Ryosha stepped forward to inspect the corpse on the floor. He didn't mean to look, but once he did, he gasped in horror.

The emaciated Kaguya Jousuke's hands had previously been broken and bound, which was miserable enough, but now all ten finger bones had been brutally extracted, leaving his fingers dangling on the ground like noodles.

That wasn't even the most horrifying part. Looking at the corpse's chest, a pitch-black hole had appeared out of nowhere, and it was empty inside.

The sternum and ribs were all broken, and it seemed someone had cruelly used Fire Style to brand the inside of the chest cavity. The air was still filled with the scent of roasted meat, making him feel nauseous.

After finishing his inspection, Ryosha looked up, recalling Uchiha Gin's seemingly harmless face. He truly could not equate him with this perverted killer of a prisoner.

"No wonder there are all sorts of rumors about Uchiha Gin's infamy. Such methods... an ordinary person really couldn't pull this off," Ryosha thought to himself. He now only wanted to grab his good brother, Uchiha Tetsudan, and run away as far from Uchiha Gin as possible.

Pushing open the door to the archives, the unpredictable Uchiha Gin found someone sitting in his workspace. Seeing him enter, the person stood up with a smile and said,

"Gin-kun, since you've just started working here, feel free to make any requests. I will try my best to arrange them for you."

The speaker was Elder Uchiha En, whom Gin had met briefly yesterday in the Clan Leader's office. His round figure made him look like a pleasant, smiling Buddha, showing no sign that he had been a decisive executioner in his youth.

"Elder En is too kind. Officer Uchiha Ryuei has already settled me in," Uchiha Gin said politely. "As I am new here, please bear with me if I fall short in any way."

"Although archival work is tedious, it can calm the mind. The Clan Leader noticed you have been a bit restless lately, so he wanted you to come here to recuperate and find something to do in the meantime," Uchiha En explained Uchiha Tajima's intention.

"Everything is according to the Clan Leader's will," Uchiha Gin said respectfully.

"Gin-kun, what were you doing just now? You kept me waiting for a while," the smiling Uchiha En asked casually.

"I happened to come across a prisoner's information and got a bit curious, so I went to take a look," Uchiha Gin answered truthfully, knowing he couldn't hide it.

"Gin-kun is truly dedicated to his work. Starting to work immediately upon arrival—it is truly admirable."

"Not at all, Elder En, it is you who loves your work as if it were your home..."

The two began their adult pleasantries.

Just as they were conversing happily, Uchiha Ryosha pushed the door open, saying, "Lord Gin, the prisoner's body has been cleaned up. Please rest assured, nothing will be left... Ah! Greetings, Elder En."

Anxious to report, Ryosha hadn't expected a second person to be in the room and spoke his mind as he entered. Seeing his superior, his legs instantly went weak, and he dropped to his knees.

The worst thing is when the air suddenly turns silent.

"Believe me, the prisoner attacked first," Uchiha Gin spoke up first to break the tension, his face filled with sincerity and innocence.

"Ahem, these prisoners are truly audacious, actually daring to launch an open attack. Fortunately, Gin-kun, your strength is extraordinary. If you had been injured, how could I have explained it to the Clan Leader?"

Having regained his composure, Uchiha En followed suit with words of comfort, wearing an expression of a caring elder.

"It was mere luck, mere luck," Uchiha Gin said, waving his hand modestly.

"Since everything is fine, I won't disturb your work, Gin-kun. I'll leave this archive room to you."

As he left, Uchiha En patted him on the shoulder, signaling him to do a good job.

After Uchiha En left, Uchiha Ryosha stood up from his kneeling position and walked sheepishly toward Uchiha Gin, as if waiting for punishment.

"Ryosha, I see you are quite clever. I have something I'd like to ask of you."

Uchiha Gin did not hold a grudge; instead, he spoke as if seeking a favor.

"What are you saying? As long as it is something Lord Gin wishes to do, I, Uchiha Ryosha, will go through fire and water to achieve it!" Ryosha immediately put on a look of absolute loyalty, thumping his chest.

"Then thank you very much. I would like to ask you to check the dungeons and see which prisoners were imprisoned there six years ago," Uchiha Gin made his request.

"No problem! Leave it to me!"

(End of Chapter)