With trembling fingers, Gin felt at Itama's nose and mouth. No air coming out — his heart sank.

He quickly stripped the brat's shirt off, pressed his ear to that soft little chest, and didn't relax until he caught the faint rhythm of a heartbeat.

Thank God… just fainted. Gin wiped the sweat from his brow, redressed the kid, cleaned the foam from his mouth, and carried him to the bed to let him recover on his own.

"The Senju have tough life force, right?"

He shut the door with a guilty look, muttering to himself.

Glancing down at the Isobu plush in his hands, Gin sighed. Good thing he bought a gift. Hopefully the little brat wouldn't wake up tomorrow and try to kill himself or something.

He hid the toy, then, drained and weary, went to take a hot bath, lit some incense, and even bowed toward the void to pay his respects to Indra the progenitor.

With all preparations done, it was time. Entering his system space, Gin stared at the Heart of Steel orb he'd earned earlier and rubbed his hands together nervously.

"C'mon, today I'm an oujō-sama, give me something good!"

He slapped his palm on the left orb without hesitation. A brilliant golden light enveloped it, making his heart race and his breath quicken — was this it?

Am I finally getting something god-tier?!

[Gold Ingot ×5]Universal currency. Can be spent in reality.

…WTF.

As the gold glow faded, five hefty gold bricks clinked down in front of him. Gin nearly choked and saw red as he forced himself to calm down.

Fine… whatever. There's still one more orb.

Clasping his hands devoutly, he bowed to the last orb like it was his ancestral tablet."Please, just gimme something good this time…"

He touched the orb, and this time a soft blue light filled the space. A few moments later, two small light spheres floated up.

Opening the first one:[Hyūga Clan Physique ×1]Grants a trace amount of Hyūga bloodline. Slight stat boost.

…Huh?! Hyūga?!

Gin froze. How the hell did he end up with a Hyūga physique? Didn't that come with the Byakugan? He had perfectly good Sharingan already! And even if they were distant cousins way back, the bloodlines weren't even close now!

Confused but unwilling to waste time, he opened the second one.

Two large kanji floated out first: Mokuton — and Gin almost jumped for joy.

His hands trembled and his mind filled with the image of Susano'o wrapping around a giant wooden construct.

But then the rest of the text appeared:[Mokuton: Four-Pillar House]Instantly creates a complex wooden house. Handy.

...

Gin nearly burst out laughing. The hell is this?! The legendary Wood Release and all it could do was… build houses?!

He pinched his brow, muttering to himself."…It's still Mokuton, right? At least I won't need to hire anyone to rebuild my fence…"

After reluctantly convincing himself, Gin waved his hand and merged the two rewards into his body. A warm current flowed into his eyes, and even without activating the Sharingan, his vision sharpened significantly — so both Uchiha and Hyūga bloodlines really did boost eyesight.

The Four-Pillar House technique etched itself into his mind. Surprisingly, it didn't require Senju blood at all.

Still grumbling, Gin left the system space and stepped into his backyard. Closing his eyes, he focused."Mokuton: Four-Pillar House!"

With a soft rumble, wooden planks shot out of the ground, arranging themselves neatly and locking together into a beautiful new fence.

Gin nodded in satisfaction — not quite as intricate as Kakashi's mud wall with the dog heads, but elegant and neat enough.

Brushing his hands off, he hummed his way back inside to check on Itama, who was already sleeping peacefully and drooling on his pillow.

"Ah… to be a kid again, with no worries…"

Feeling a little sentimental, Gin collapsed on the couch and drifted off.

The next morning, he got up early, made breakfast, and left a plate on the table before heading out for work.

On his way through the clan compound, he passed other Uchiha starting their day. His mind was still tangled with everything from yesterday.

He'd just wanted to figure out what really happened in the massacre six years ago — and stumbled into finding his imprisoned grandfather, who dumped a pile of juicy revelations on him.

The original body's Mangekyō had been taken, his parents killed and the clan head seat stolen by his "kind" uncle, and his own eyes could be reclaimed to restore his power.

But then he'd run into his father's former subordinate Fūka, who told a completely different story that made Yaku's version sound like utter crap.

"Couldn't this just be a lighthearted comedy? Why all the dark tropes…"

Gin ruffled his own curly hair in frustration.

"Hey, cousin! Where you going so early?"

Uchiha Izuna's loud voice interrupted his thoughts, pulling him back to reality.

"What else? Work. I've already become a sad adult, Izuna. Cherish your carefree days while you can."

Gin patted the little hedgehog's spiky hair, wondering if all young Uchiha looked this dorky as kids.

"I don't get it! I won't need to work when I grow up — my family's rich!"

Izuna proudly puffed out his chest, swatting Gin's hand away.

Bonk!

Gin's classic justice flick to the forehead.

"That's why I hate cocky little brats."

Shaking his slightly sore hand, he left the squatting, sulking Izuna behind and headed for his office.

As soon as he sat down and reached for his teacup, Uchiha Ryucha's head poked nervously through the door.

"Uchiha Gin-sama… did you… meet the old jailer?"

Gin smiled warmly. "Thanks to you, Ryucha. Really appreciate it."

Then, with a sudden sparkle in his eyes, he added:"Ryucha, a man of your talents shouldn't waste away guarding prisoners. Why not join my side? Together, we could accomplish great things!"

(End of Chapter)

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