Chapter 27: After Slacking Off, Starting Life as a Corporate Slave

The moment the system prompt appeared, Uchiha Gin felt a sudden coolness in his hands, and the heart-burning pain caused by Amaterasu vanished without a trace.

There was no abnormality in his body; it was as if everything that had just happened was merely a dream.

However, the inexplicable swelling and pain in his right eye left him momentarily unsettled. The crimson double tomoe spun rapidly within his eye, and a cold, chilling aura gathered inside, leaving him with a stifling sense of pent-up frustration.

Attempting to guide this energy, Uchiha Gin faced the empty ground before him and, through pure intuition, unleashed the energy.

As a "flower" of black flames ignited out of thin air on the clearing, Uchiha Gin felt his ocular power draining at a rapid pace.

Warm blood began to seep from the corner of his eye, frightening him into quickly closing his Sharingan.

As the black flame—no larger than a lighter's flame—faded into the air following the closure of his Sharingan, the fire vanished.

Drained by a mere small spark of Amaterasu, Uchiha Gin panted heavily, wiped the fresh blood from the corner of his eye, and felt a flicker of doubt rise in his heart.

As a skill exclusive to the Mangekyo, how could he release it with a mere two-tomoe Sharingan?

"Could it be the system?"

Unable to find an explanation through common sense, he could only forcefully blame the system.

After resting for a while, Uchiha Gin stood up and rubbed his still-aching right eye.

The appearance of Amaterasu compensated for his lack of ninjutsu damage; while his physical strength was formidable, he was often helpless against agile enemies.

"But it seems Amaterasu never actually killed anyone in the original story, except for burning White Zetsu."

Recalling Amaterasu's combat record from the original work, Uchiha Gin complained inwardly.

Turning back into the house, he saw Senju Itama still snoring. Uchiha Gin lay down on the sofa, staring at his hands with a heavy expression.

When he was attacked by Amaterasu just now, he had already prepared himself for the possibility of a desperate sacrifice, but he hadn't expected to accidentally trigger a strange protection mechanism.

He could roughly deduce that the Uzumaki crest on his right hand was a special protection granted by the Uzumaki clan as a mark.

It had been passively triggered upon encountering danger; that runic pattern from earlier was likely a fire-sealing technique, automatically activated after the mark encountered fire-style damage.

"But my left hand..."

Uchiha Gin looked at his empty left hand. He tried to probe the entire hand with chakra, but it was like a stone sinking into the ocean—the chakra was merely consumed slowly with no other reaction.

Recalling the strange mark that had flashed by, Uchiha Gin tried to find answers in the original owner's memories, but he still came up empty-handed.

Since his transmigration, he had browsed the original owner's memories more than once. His childhood memories were blurry, likely due to his young age.

The memories of the camp being attacked during his adolescence were fragmented, likely a defensive mechanism of the brain due to the sheer brutality and trauma of the scene.

After that, the memories were quite mundane—the daily life of a weakling—until his arrival, which replaced the original owner.

*Time to slack off!*

Unable to find answers, Uchiha Gin decided to just let things be. He had to go to work tomorrow anyway, so he relaxed and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, Uchiha Gin rose early and yanked off Senju Itama's quilt. Seeing Itama sleeping soundly while clutching his childhood clothes, Uchiha Gin showed no mercy and immediately delivered a classic flick to the forehead.

"Aaaah!"

Holding his head, Senju Itama woke up instantly, glaring at the culprit. "Ow! What are you doing?!"

Ignoring the familiar whining, Uchiha Gin spoke. "I'm going to work today. There's food in the kitchen. Don't even think about running away; there are Uchiha everywhere outside. If you're recognized, you should know the consequences."

Knowing his situation, Senju Itama pouted and nodded reluctantly.

"I'll buy some hair dye when I get back tonight to change that eye-catching hair color of yours," Uchiha Gin said before turning to leave.

Once outside, Uchiha Gin set off leisurely toward the dungeon, following the original owner's memories.

He encountered several Uchiha clansmen along the way. He reached out to greet them, but they looked at him as if they were seeing a ferocious beast, walking away quickly without looking back, leaving Uchiha Gin looking bewildered.

Recalling the original owner's reputation, Uchiha Gin could only shake his head helplessly; this situation wouldn't change anytime soon.

Arriving before a gloomy, massive door, Uchiha Gin knocked heavily. A moment later, a small hole opened in the door, revealing the face of the same somber Uchiha clansman who had notified him yesterday.

The man glanced at him and closed the hole, after which the large door slowly creaked open. Unsuspecting, Uchiha Gin walked inside.

Following the somber clansman, Uchiha Gin passed through a dark, narrow corridor and through another door. As the path widened, the view became less dim, and torches were placed on the walls to provide light.

"From now on, I am your superior."

The Uchiha clansman leading the way suddenly spoke, his voice sounding as if it came from the depths of the underworld, sending a chill through Uchiha Gin's body.

"How should I address you?"

Unsure of the man's temperament, Uchiha Gin could only ask for his name first.

"Uchiha Ryuei," the man replied coldly.

The two walked for a long time; it felt as if this dungeon was bottomless. After an unknown amount of time, Uchiha Ryuei stopped.

Looking up, Uchiha Gin saw a small door with the words "Archives" written on it.

Uchiha Ryuei led him inside. What met his eyes were piles upon piles of scrolls, scattered haphazardly on tables, the floor, and bookshelves, as if the place had been looted.

Meeting Uchiha Gin's confused gaze, Uchiha Ryuei spoke.

"The previous archivist died during an excursion, and the index of the archives has gone missing. You will be responsible for reorganizing them."

Through his explanation, Uchiha Gin learned that the former dungeon archivist had died while out on business, and the index had vanished with him.

Whenever the clan needed to retrieve prisoner data, they had to search through everything one by one, which was extremely laborious.

Not only was the archive room a mess, but the search efficiency was as slow as a snail. They urgently needed a new archivist to re-verify and categorize the prisoners.

Looking at the room full of scattered scrolls, Uchiha Gin felt a headache coming on. He had guessed that Uchiha Tajima wouldn't want him going out anymore, but he hadn't expected to be given such a shut-in task.

With this many scrolls, it would likely take a very long time to verify them all.

"Do I have any help? There's so much data..." Uchiha Gin attempted to ask.

"There is no extra manpower."

The gaunt-faced Uchiha Ryuei looked at him expressionlessly. From those lifeless eyes, Uchiha Gin could not see a single flicker of emotion, as if he were a heartless robot.

"Alright."

Uchiha Gin had no choice but to reluctantly accept the task. "What about meals? And how do I rest?"

"The dungeon has a cafeteria. You can go home at night," Uchiha Ryuei said succinctly.

Hearing that he could go home, Uchiha Gin breathed a sigh of relief. He still had a dangerous brat at home; if he couldn't make it back and something happened to Senju Itama, he would suffer the consequences as well.

"To facilitate your verification of the data, you may enter and exit the prison cells in the dungeon at will," Uchiha Ryuei said, his emotionless eyes shifting slightly as he looked at him. "Although the prisoners' chakra has been sealed and their limbs restrained, they are all extremely dangerous individuals."

Uchiha Gin was somewhat surprised that Uchiha Ryuei actually bothered to warn him.

"Don't die. It would be difficult for me to explain it to Elder En."

*Well, thank you very much.*

Having finished his instructions, Uchiha Ryuei did not linger and left on his own, leaving Uchiha Gin standing there alone.

Shaking his head, Uchiha Gin had to begin his work.

He first picked up the scattered scrolls and piled them onto the only desk in the archives.

Looking at the mountain of scrolls before him, Uchiha Gin sighed, grabbed one at random, and opened it to read.

"Kaguya Jousuke: Rogue ninja. Killed two Uchiha clansmen. Suspected mental instability. Unable to use Genjutsu for interrogation. Data incomplete... Currently detained in Dungeon No. 2."

*The Kaguya clan?*

Driven by curiosity about a clan that appeared in the original story, Uchiha Gin immediately decided to go and check this guy out.

(End of Chapter)