Chapter 40: Uchiha Gin's Secret Infiltration

Chapter 40: Uchiha Gin's Secret Infiltration

Seeing Uchiha Tajima's somber expression, it did not seem feigned.

Uchiha Gin felt a flicker of guilt for reopening these old wounds. The tragedy six years ago had cost Uchiha Tajima his beloved wife and children; forcing him to revisit the matter was undoubtedly rubbing salt in his wounds.

"I'm sorry, Uncle. I shouldn't have..." Uchiha Gin apologized hastily.

"It's fine. So many years have passed, and I have long since made peace with it. Seeing that you have pulled through is enough to satisfy me," Uchiha Tajima said, patting his shoulder encouragingly.

"Then, I shall take my leave." Knowing he wouldn't get any useful answers from Uchiha Tajima, Uchiha Gin stood up to depart.

"Wait," Uchiha Tajima interjected.

"Do you have further instructions, Uncle?" Uchiha Gin asked, looking at him.

"Recently, I may need you to accompany me on a mission. I will notify you in advance when the time comes," Uchiha Tajima stated.

"Understood."

Without asking for the details of the mission, Uchiha Gin relied on his memories of similar plots; they were usually missions involving negotiations or trades—tasks that built prestige without being particularly dangerous.

The moment Uchiha Gin left, Uchiha Tajima's sorrowful expression shifted abruptly, replaced by a cold, stern look as frigid as frost.

"To think traces of that fellow still remain. That old man Uchiha En is getting sloppier and sloppier," Uchiha Tajima muttered to himself. "In that case, it seems I'll have to let Gin go reunite with his family."

His words were even colder than his expression.

***

Returning straight home, Uchiha Gin ignored Senju Itama, who clearly had no desire to speak, and lay down on the sofa to sleep.

Watching Uchiha Gin lying on the sofa with his back turned, Senju Itama's eyes held a complex expression. He did not approach, instead turning to head back to his bedroom.

Lying on the sofa, Uchiha Gin slowly opened his eyes, contemplating everything that had happened today.

In the morning, he had encountered a strange old jailer in the dungeon. After some exchange, the man seemed to know what had truly happened six years ago and hinted that the truth lay within the abandoned dungeons.

The malice he had inadvertently sensed at the medical station had raised a sense of wariness toward Uchiha Tajima; his uncle was far from as simple as he appeared in his memories.

Furthermore, the photograph discovered in the frame broken by Senju Itama had introduced two strangers. One appeared to be his grandfather, yet when he had asked his uncle, he was only told that he and his grandfather were not acquainted.

However, a photograph could not be faked, which indirectly proved that Uchiha Tajima was indeed hiding something.

After organizing these details, Uchiha Gin finally fell into a deep sleep. In the darkness, his left hand emitted an eerie red glow.

The next morning, Uchiha Gin woke up. He had another strange dream last night.

In the dream, he was playing with a young girl when a group of people suddenly appeared. They approached the two of them, bowed their heads, and whispered something. Upon hearing their words, the girl fell to her knees and wept bitterly.

Then, the group approached him and bowed to say something as well. Though he couldn't hear clearly, he saw through the haze that the leader was a young Uchiha Tajima.

After hearing the words, he had fainted. Before losing consciousness, he saw a crimson full moon rise in the sky, and a strange, familiar pattern gradually emerged upon it.

Pondering the dream, since Uchiha Tajima appeared, it suggested this was not mere fantasy. These dreams were likely things the original owner of this body had experienced. The silhouette of the girl in the dream overlapped with the girl in yesterday's photograph.

Uchiha... Hikari?

Setting the matter of the girl aside for now, he had to go to the dungeon today to find clues.

Walking through the dungeon corridors, the old jailer from yesterday had given him sufficient hints: he had to find the abandoned dungeons.

According to Uchiha Ryosha, the abandoned dungeons were located between Dungeon No. 1 and Dungeon No. 2. Looking at the Y-shaped junction before him, the left path led to Dungeon No. 1 and the right to Dungeon No. 2, but the wall directly ahead clearly showed signs of being excavated, indicating there had once been a passage there.

Feeling along the protrusions on the wall, Uchiha Gin attempted to find a mechanism to open the wall, but his search yielded nothing.

Just as he was about to give up, he saw a rounded figure in the distance: the Elder, Uchiha En, accompanied by the cold Uchiha Ryuei.

Not daring to get too close, Uchiha Gin watched the two from a distance, quietly activating his Sharingan. As the Sharingan recorded their lip movements, he deciphered their conversation.

Uchiha En: "Ryuei, has that Sarutobi clansman confessed?"

Uchiha Ryuei: "Lord En, give me a little more time. I will extract the desired answers through interrogation without damaging his brain."

Uchiha En: "Make it quick. If that fails, forcibly extract his memories."

Uchiha Ryuei: "But that might cause direct brain death. What if the extraction isn't complete?"

Uchiha En: "That is the last resort. Is the fellow locked in Cell No. 0 behaving lately?"

Uchiha Ryuei: "No unusual activity. I am personally overseeing him. Please rest assured, Lord En."

Uchiha En: "Do not let him die. There are still many questions that require him to be solved."

Uchiha Ryuei: "Understood. I will go check on him shortly."

Having deciphered the dialogue, Uchiha Gin guessed that the "Cell No. 0" mentioned by Uchiha En was likely the abandoned dungeon. He hadn't expected there to be a living person inside, and one personally guarded by Uchiha Ryuei. This would significantly increase the difficulty of entry.

Since Uchiha Ryuei said he was going to check on him, wouldn't following him secretly allow him to find the entrance to the abandoned dungeon?

With a plan in mind, Uchiha Gin began to tail Uchiha Ryuei from a distance. Given the man's formidable strength, if he got too close and was exposed, it would be difficult to explain. Thus, he kept a steady distance behind him.

After tracking for a while, he saw no sign of the man heading toward the abandoned dungeons; instead, Ryuei stayed in a cell in Dungeon No. 1 for a long time.

Finally, after a long duration, Uchiha Ryuei emerged from the cell with hands stained in blood and walked straight back to his office.

Fearing he might lose his target, Uchiha Gin thought for a moment and stepped forward to knock on Uchiha Ryuei's door. When there was no response after a long time, sensing something was wrong, Uchiha Gin pushed the door open and entered.

He found himself in a relatively large office, but the color scheme was extremely gloomy and oppressive. He looked around, but Uchiha Ryuei was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did he go?" Uchiha Gin thought to himself. "It seems there is a secret passage in this room."

Based on years of watching movies, Uchiha Gin reached this conclusion. Usually, mechanisms were hidden in bookshelves, ornaments, or vases.

The furnishings in Ryuei's room were simple. The only conspicuous item was a vase on his desk; for a vase, it didn't hold a single flower, making it highly suspicious.

Just as he was about to inspect it, his senses—enhanced by his Uzumaki lineage—detected Uchiha Ryuei's chakra slowly approaching from a distance. However, there was nowhere to hide in the office.

What to do? If he were caught trespassing in Uchiha Ryuei's office, he would be in serious trouble. As he sensed the opponent's chakra only a few meters away, a shadow suddenly rippled across the office wall.

Prepared to face judgment, Uchiha Gin suddenly noticed ripples appearing on his own shadow, and a familiar face emerged within it.

In the next second, he felt his body grow heavy as he was actually swallowed into his own shadow.

Hearing the sound of a lock turning, Uchiha Gin didn't dare resist. A second before Uchiha Ryuei pushed open the secret door, he quietly merged into his shadow.

Stepping through the door, Uchiha Ryuei frowned and scanned the room. His keen senses gave him a vague feeling that something was here.

However, after scanning several times with his Sharingan, he found nothing unusual. Ultimately, he gave up, assuming he was merely hallucinating from the exhaustion of the recent interrogations.