Chapter 11: Nickname

Chapter 11: Nicknames

Tsukuyomi Space

Having been stabbed for who knows how long, Uchiha Gin’s nervous system had ceased to register pain. He watched numbly as the Uchiha Itachis before him hacked at him, blade by blade.

"It’s like they’re mincing meat."

Unable to break free, Uchiha Gin even began to find amusement in his misery, teasing the Uchiha Itachis.

"Did you guys skip breakfast? Can you put some effort into it?"

"Don't just hack at the front. If you can't do it right, flip me over and hack the other side. Keep it balanced; don't be biased."

The hard-working Uchiha Itachis listened to Uchiha Gin’s incessant chatter. The rhythm they had been programmed with seemed to wind up like a clockwork toy, and each of their strikes doubled in speed.

[Speed x2]

"Hey, hey, don't stab there! I'm still a pure soul, 24 years old, a student—"

Having been stabbed into a state of delirium, Uchiha Gin began to babble incoherently.

I don't know how long it had been, but the movements of the Uchiha Itachis paused simultaneously. Uchiha Gin, who had been closing his eyes and enjoying the Tsukuyomi knife massage, felt his hands being released. He fell to his knees, struggling to pry his eyelids open. Looking at the pristine crescent moon above, Uchiha Gin was so moved that tears streamed down his face. It hadn't been easy.

"Damn it, I finally made it through," Uchiha Gin said bitterly.

"What kind of fit are you throwing?"

Senju Itama, who had been tied to the pillar and was now back in his original state, looked at the kneeling Uchiha Gin with a strange expression.

Just a moment ago, after this guy finished tying him up, he had walked a few steps and suddenly dropped to his knees. He was just about to see what kind of trouble he was stirring up again.

He never expected that in the next second, the guy would be sobbing uncontrollably, shouting about "making it through." What a weirdo.

"It's nothing, I just happened to think of something sad."

Knowing the nature of Tsukuyomi, Uchiha Gin didn't dawdle. He stood up, wiped his tears, and turned around.

"What are you sad about? I'm the one who should be sad, you—"

Senju Itama, who was in the middle of complaining, looked at the turning Uchiha Gin and said in surprise,

"Why are you activating your Sharingan for no reason? Are you trying to hypnotize and interrogate me? Truly, the Uchiha are evil by nature. But..."

Taken aback by this, Uchiha Gin realized that his vision had become sharper; he could see clearly even in the dark.

The chakra in his body was no longer blocked as it had been before, and it was flowing slowly toward his eyes. The sensation was as refreshing as eating a popsicle in the middle of summer.

"But what?"

A happy Uchiha Gin didn't mind Senju Itama’s insolence.

"You're just a single-tomoe, what the hell are you going to interrogate me with? Hypnosis via genjutsu?"

He delivered a sharp flick to the forehead of the disdainful Senju Itama, raising a large bump.

"Watch me use physical hypnosis!"

Uchiha Gin, who had been looked down upon, didn't hold grudges overnight.

"Ahhh!!!" The struck Senju Itama howled in pain, his large, watery eyes brimming with tears.

After dealing with Senju Itama, Uchiha Gin looked around and found everything as it should be. He checked the pillars and found no traces left by anyone else.

Unable to figure it out, he had no choice but to return to his tent. He took out a small mirror he carried with him to examine his eyes. Sure enough, he had truly awakened the Sharingan, even if it was only a single-tomoe.

"To take a Tsukuyomi head-on and only awaken a single-tomoe... is the original owner's talent really this ridiculously poor?"

After suffering for so long, he had only awakened a single-tomoe. Uchiha Gin felt it was deeply unworthy, though he didn't stop to think about who the last person to awaken a single-tomoe after taking a Tsukuyomi was.

"Backyard daily refresh: Random Skill [Genjutsu: Tsukuyomi], obtained Tsukuyomi Fragment *1."

The voice of the system, which he hadn't heard for a day, rang in his head.

It was actually this skill—the seemingly useless rule-based skill he had obtained from the purple orb last time.

It turned out the system defaulted the empty space he had fenced off behind his tent as his "backyard," so it had refreshed a Tsukuyomi for him. Recalling the description of this skill

[Backyard daily refresh: A random skill is refreshed in the host's backyard every day. The skill is performed by an NPC and cannot be controlled by the host, but the skill cannot kill the host. After the skill ends, there is a certain chance to drop the skill or fragments. Collecting the fragments allows the host to learn the skill.]

"It can't kill me, but it can torture me!"

Uchiha Gin grumbled inwardly, but it seemed he wouldn't suffer any actual damage after the skill ended. Thinking back to how long Hatake "50/50" Kakashi had been bedridden after taking a Tsukuyomi, he could consider this a blessing in disguise.

"Tsk tsk tsk, does this make me a lucky bastard? The first refresh actually gave me a Mangekyou skill."

He then tried clicking on "Tsukuyomi Fragment."

[Tsukuyomi Fragment (1/40). Collect 40 to synthesize Genjutsu: Tsukuyomi. Learnable by Mangekyou Sharingan users.]

"40 pieces???? Damn it, what a scam!" Seeing the glaring (1/40) after the fragment, Uchiha Gin felt exhausted.

"I have to take 39 more Tsukuyomis? I'm not paying anymore, give me my money back!"

This meant he would have to encounter Uchiha Itachi at least 39 more times to collect enough fragments for this skill.

Thinking of this, the exhausted Uchiha Gin collapsed and fell asleep.

The next day.

At the first light of dawn, Uchiha Dairo, who was in charge of the night watch, had been hiding not far from the camp for half the night.

He was walking toward the camp while yawning when someone suddenly intercepted him. Looking at the person, a look of confusion appeared on Uchiha Dairo’s honest face.

"Uchiha Gin, is something the matter? The night watch is over; there's no need to change shifts."

The visitor was none other than Uchiha Gin, who hadn't slept well all night. Having been tortured by Tsukuyomi for 72 hours, every time he closed his eyes, he saw a group of Itachis hacking at him, many of them stabbing at his lower regions.

Although the system had repaired his physical injuries, mental trauma wasn't so easily healed.

Uchiha Gin, who had only managed a light nap, was sporting panda eyes identical to Gaara’s, waiting on Uchiha Dairo’s path early in the morning. There was no other reason—he just wanted to open a "treasure chest" today.

"Brother Dairo, I heard from Captain Fuka that your Fire Release cultivation is masterful. Your B-rank Fire Release is like second nature, and you've even begun to delve into A-rank techniques. I truly admire you."

The usual routine: start with a wave of flattery.

Uchiha Ryoichi and Uchiha Hicho clearly hadn't told Uchiha Dairo about his recent challenges.

Upon hearing Uchiha Gin’s words of admiration, Uchiha Dairo’s first reaction was to scratch his head in embarrassment, then he said honestly

"Not at all, not at all. I just use everyone else's rest time to practice Fire Release. It's not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning..."

"I was once given pointers on Fire Release by the Clan Head. Meeting Brother Dairo is like a high mountain meeting flowing water. I was delayed by missions before, but now that the mission is complete, I can finally let go of my obsession. I have only one last wish now: to spar with the clan's genius ninja, 'Fire-Stoking Dairo.' Not for any other reason, just to witness Brother Dairo’s miraculous ninjutsu."

"Fire-Stoking Dairo" was Uchiha Dairo’s nickname in the clan. Incidentally, Uchiha Ryoichi was known as "Trick-Sword Ryoichi," and Uchiha Hicho was known as "Twin-Blade Hicho."

"But, it's almost time to assemble. Why don't we exchange pointers during the evening rest?"

Although Uchiha Dairo was floating from Uchiha Gin’s flattery, he always prioritized missions and didn't get carried away. They had to travel today, and he couldn't waste stamina and chakra just for a spar.

"It's no trouble, we can just—"

The Uchiha with dead-fish eyes was just about to use the same trick he’d used on Uchiha Hicho when a voice suddenly sounded behind him.

"What are you two dawdling for? We're leaving immediately."

Uchiha Fuka had appeared behind them like a ghost. He frowned and spoke to them.

Both Uchiha Gin and Dairo broke into a cold sweat. They hadn't noticed when Uchiha Fuka had appeared beside them at all, so they could only nod repeatedly in agreement.

On the way back, Uchiha Gin followed behind them, thinking to himself, *What a pity.*

"Looks like I'll have to wait until tonight to find Uchiha Dairo. But Uchiha Fuka’s stealth technique is truly impressive. I didn't feel a single trace of his chakra fluctuation before he appeared behind us."

It was only then that he remembered Uchiha Fuka also had a title, one that wasn't just whispered within the clan, but echoed throughout the Warring States period.

[God-Hidden Fuka]

The man who had cultivated stealth to the extreme. Once, while executing an assassination mission, he infiltrated a mid-sized clan, bypassed hundreds of guards, and assassinated his target. It wasn't until the next day that anyone realized what had happened.

(End of chapter)