Chapter 31: The Senju Brat Can't Be That Cute

After a comfortable bath, Uchiha Yinshen wrapped a towel around his waist, feeling refreshed. Looking at Senju Tobirama fidgeting at the bathroom door, he said,

"Brat, want me to scrub your back? My technique is famous for being top-notch."

"No!"

The rejected Uchiha Yinshen shook his head.

"Such a shy little brat. You're both grown men, what's there to hide?"

About an hour later, Senju Tobirama poked his head out, wrapped up tight. Seeing Uchiha Yinshen still sitting in the living room, his face tightened.

"You're finally done. How long does it take you to shower? I almost fell asleep waiting."

Yawning, Uchiha Yinshen stood up, holding that bottle of hair dye.

"Don't come over!"

Senju Tobirama gripped the door with both hands, blocking entry. Uchiha Yinshen, a mischievous glint in his eyes, leaned against the bathroom door and teased,

"You up to no good in there, kid? At your age, you should take care of your body."

As Uchiha Yinshen increased his force, the bathroom door swung open instantly. A stark-naked Senju Tobirama flew backward. Before he could even process the details, the other's hands were already covering the key areas, face flushed crimson as he stared at him.

"No clothes, no clothes. At your age, I ran around the streets bare-assed."

Uchiha Yinshen joked, looking at Senju Tobirama's naked body.

"Shameless!"

Senju Tobirama's whole body red as if steamed in a sauna, screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Alright, alright. I'll leave the hair dye here."

Seeing the brat was genuinely flustered, Uchiha Yinshen didn't continue teasing. He set down the hair dye and left.

"Didn't expect it, but you're pretty pale under all that."

As he headed out, Uchiha Yinshen glanced back and tossed that line over his shoulder, earning a flying shampoo bottle which he dodged with a laugh.

Exiting around to the back wall, Uchiha Yinshen reinforced the fence again. The few square meters of "backyard" was officially established. Future days would be spent grinding skills here.

Finished with the backyard, as the sky gradually darkened, Uchiha Yinshen returned to the house first, waiting for midnight.

Inside, Senju Tobirama had already changed clothes. His black-and-white hair had been dyed a single color, earning nod after nod from Uchiha Yinshen. With the hair color fixed, the brat looked quite handsome too.

"Like this, no one should notice you."

Perhaps angry at Uchiha Yinshen's earlier antics, Senju Tobirama huffed and turned away, refusing to speak.

"Such a boring brat."

Uninterested, Uchiha Yinshen didn't mind. He gave a few instructions and lay on the sofa, falling asleep.

Beside him, Senju Tobirama watched the curly-haired Uchiha's back with a complex expression, his eyes shifting as he pondered something. Finally, he silently rose and returned to the bedroom to rest.

In the late night, the previously sleeping Uchiha Yinshen opened his eyes again. Confirming the person in the bedroom was asleep, he tiptoed to the backyard, standing in the clearing awaiting the refresh.

Tonight, dark clouds obscured the moon again. Uchiha Yinshen's residence was far from the settlement, surrounded only by cliffs and forest. One had to pass through the forest to reach the Uchiha clan's communal area.

A breeze blew through the forest, bringing rustling sounds. Uchiha Yinshen's body tensed as he suddenly felt the surrounding air condense. A familiar sensation welled up in his heart.

*Ding-ling~* Amidst the rustling leaves came a faint bell sound. With his extraordinary senses, Uchiha Yinshen locked onto the direction immediately.

A figure wearing a conical hat, black with red clouds, slowly materialized from the void. A right hand with pitch-black nail polish lifted the hat slightly. A pair of crimson eyes, devoid of any emotion, looked at him.

Uchiha Itachi again!

Having suffered losses to him twice before, Uchiha Yinshen reacted instantly. His eyes activated the Sharingan, the tomoe in his right eye spinning rapidly. Chakra flooded into it like it was free.

**[Amaterasu]**

Striking first, black flames appeared out of thin air at Uchiha Yinshen's chest. The black flames had improved significantly from the lighter-sized ones last time.

The previous times were all passive beatings. This time, striking first, Uchiha Yinshen wanted to see what would happen if he injured or even defeated the NPC releasing the skill.

Ignoring the raging black flames on his chest, the refreshed Uchiha Itachi calmly removed his hat. His eyes had, at some unknown point, transformed into two pinwheel Mangekyou Sharingan.

The next moment, the intensifying Amaterasu sputtered out like a flame doused by heavy rain, gradually extinguishing with the appearance of Itachi's Mangekyou.

Before Uchiha Yinshen could even be surprised, he quickly averted his gaze, refusing to make eye contact.

Lowering his head to the ground, Uchiha Yinshen saw the originally green grass had, at some point, become a transparent lake. The lake surface mirrored his reflection. In the mirrored sky, a blood-red full moon hung resolutely.

Seeing this, Uchiha Yinshen knew instantly—he'd been hit.

**[Genjutsu: Tsukuyomi]**

As he found himself uncontrollably crucified, Uchiha Yinshen knew tonight was destined to be sleepless.

He sighed. Watching yet another circle of Uchiha Itachis surround him, his mindset shattered completely.

"Come on, come on. Don't go easy on me just because I'm a delicate flower!"

The next second, dense sounds of slicing flesh echoed throughout the genjutsu space.

After spending 72 hours in the genjutsu space, at the moment the countdown hit zero, Uchiha Yinshen finally found release.

As the genjutsu space shattered, the surroundings returned to their familiar appearance. Uchiha Itachi's figure vanished without a trace.

Having endured 72 hours of torture in Tsukuyomi, only an instant had passed outside. Lying on the ground, Uchiha Yinshen's head throbbed painfully. His Sharingan, overstimulated, forcibly entered dormancy.

Having experienced Tsukuyomi twice, Uchiha Yinshen discovered that each time, his left eye's ocular power grew somewhat, and his mastery of the Sharingan became increasingly mature.

"Backyard daily refresh random skill [Genjutsu: Tsukuyomi], obtained Tsukuyomi Fragment ×4"

**[Tsukuyomi Fragment (5/40), collect 40 to synthesize Genjutsu Tsukuyomi, learnable with Mangekyou Sharingan skill]**

Seeing the system prompt, Uchiha Yinshen was shocked. He actually got 4 fragments this time.

"Pure luck, or is it calculated based on combat evaluation?" Uchiha Yinshen speculated internally.

Along with the system prompt, Uchiha Yinshen's fatigue vanished completely. His brain, damaged by Tsukuyomi, gradually cleared.

His right eye, bleeding from using Amaterasu moments ago, recovered fully. All physical negative BUFFs were wiped clean by the system in one click.

He climbed up easily, checked his body condition, confirmed no abnormalities, then quietly returned to the house and lay on the sofa, falling silently asleep.

Uchiha Yinshen, who hadn't dreamed in a long time, once again dreamed of strange fragments.

A pitch-black hospital room. A youth lay on a hospital bed, eyes bound in bandages, expression wooden, manipulated like a puppet. A middle-aged man in his forties or fifties stroked his head, as if saying something.

Uchiha Yinshen could only watch from afar, hearing nothing.

The middle-aged man looked at the youth with a complex expression. The hospital door opened again, and a girl entered. Slightly younger than the youth. Seeing him, she seemed extremely agitated, lowering her head at his bedside and weeping bitterly.

When he tried to continue watching, his entire consciousness was pushed out by a pair of ruthless large hands.

Opening his eyes again, it was already the next morning.

Scratching his head, recalling the bizarre, disjointed dream, Uchiha Yinshen finished washing up and began his life as a corporate slave of the ninja world.

He left some money for the now-black-haired Senju Tobirama, telling him to handle his own meals.

With his hair dyed, thrown into a pile of Uchiha, he wouldn't stand out at all. No need to worry about his safety.

"Don't run around. If you run, I'll go catch your brother." Uchiha Yinshen didn't forget to needle the brat.

"Got it, got it."

Senju Tobirama looked at the curly-haired Uchiha trying to threaten him with a deadpan expression. He'd already figured things out—he wasn't stupid. Was there any point in lying with that kind of excuse?

"What's with that look like you're staring at an idiot?"

Feeling underestimated, a "#" vein popped on Uchiha Yinshen's forehead. He reached out angrily to give the brat a righteous forehead flick, but the seen-through Senju Tobirama easily dodged.

Watching Senju Tobirama make faces at him, Uchiha Yinshen narrowed his dead fish eyes.

He increasingly felt this brat had become somewhat different, but exactly where, he couldn't put his finger on.

(End of Chapter)