Naruto: Uchiha Madara's Cousin

Seeing Uchiha Tajima's sorrowful expression, which didn't seem fake, Uchiha Gin felt a twinge of guilt for reopening old wounds.

Six years ago, that tragic event caused Uchiha Tajima to lose his beloved wife and children, and bringing it up again was like pouring salt on his wounds.

"I'm sorry, Uncle, I shouldn't have..."

Uchiha Gin quickly apologized.

"It's fine, it's been so many years. I've already made peace with it. Seeing you get through it is enough to make me happy."

Uchiha Tajima encouraged him with a pat on the shoulder.

"Then, I'll take my leave now."

Uchiha Gin realized he wouldn't get any useful answers from Uchiha Tajima and prepared to leave.

"Wait." Uchiha Tajima stopped him.

"Is there something else, Uncle?" Uchiha Gin asked.

"I might need you to accompany me on a mission soon. I'll inform you in advance."

"Understood."

Without asking about the mission details, Uchiha Gin knew from past experience that these tasks were usually negotiations or deals. They helped build reputation and weren't particularly dangerous.

As Uchiha Gin walked away, Uchiha Tajima's sorrowful face suddenly changed, replaced by a cold and harsh expression, like frost covering his face.

"So, traces of that man still remain... Uchiha Hiro, that old man, is getting sloppy."

Uchiha Tajima muttered to himself, "It seems I'll have to make sure Gin reunites with his family."

His words were as cold as his expression.

When Uchiha Gin returned home, he ignored Senju Itama, who wanted to talk, and simply collapsed on the sofa to sleep.

Senju Itama looked at Uchiha Gin's back with a complex expression before turning and heading back to his room.

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

In the morning, in the dungeon, he encountered the eerie old jailer.

After some cryptic conversations, it seemed that the jailer knew what really happened six years ago, hinting that the truth was hidden in the abandoned dungeon.

At the medical center, he sensed a sudden malicious intent, raising his suspicions about Uchiha Tajima, his uncle, who now seemed far from the simple person he remembered.

Then, the broken photo frame led to the discovery of a picture featuring two unfamiliar people. One of them appeared to be his grandfather, but questioning his uncle only yielded the answer that he and his grandfather weren't close.

However, the photograph couldn't be faked, further solidifying Uchiha Gin's growing doubts about his uncle.

After piecing together these details, Uchiha Gin finally fell asleep, his left hand glowing with a strange red light in the darkness.

The next morning, Uchiha Gin woke up, recalling a strange dream from the night before.

In the dream, he was playing with a young girl when a group of people suddenly approached.

They knelt in front of the girl and said something. Upon hearing their words, the girl collapsed to the ground, sobbing.

Then, they came to him, kneeling to speak as well. Although he couldn't hear their words clearly, he vaguely recognized the leader as a younger Uchiha Tajima.

As the conversation ended, he passed out, but before losing consciousness, he saw a red moon rising in the sky, with an eerie and familiar pattern slowly emerging on its surface.

Thinking about the dream, Uchiha Gin realized that the appearance of Uchiha Tajima suggested it wasn't just a random vision. The girl in the dream bore a strong resemblance to the one in the photo from the previous day.

Uchiha...Hikari, was it?

Setting aside the mystery of the girl for now, Uchiha Gin knew his task for the day was to investigate the dungeon for clues.

Walking through the corridors of the dungeon, Uchiha Gin recalled the old jailer's hints, leading him to the abandoned part of the prison.

According to Uchiha Ryuei, the abandoned dungeon lay between Prison One and Prison Two.

At the Y-shaped fork, the left path led to Prison One, and the right to Prison Two, but the wall directly ahead showed clear signs of having once been a passage.

Feeling along the wall for any hidden mechanisms, Uchiha Gin searched for a way to open the blocked passage but found nothing.

Just as he was about to give up, he spotted two distant figures—Elder Uchiha Hiro and the cold Uchiha Ryu'ei.

Keeping a safe distance, Uchiha Gin activated his Sharingan and quietly observed their conversation. Using his eye's ability to read lips, he decoded their words:

Uchiha Hiro: "Ryu'ei, has that Sarutobi man talked yet?"

Uchiha Ryu'ei: "Not yet, Lord Hiro, but give me more time, and I'll extract the answers without damaging his brain."

Uchiha Hiro: "Hurry. If necessary, forcefully extract his memories."

Uchiha Ryu'ei: "But that could cause brain death. If we don't get the answers first—"

Uchiha Hiro: "That's a last resort. And what about the guy in Cell Zero?"

Uchiha Ryu'ei: "No changes. I'm personally overseeing his custody. You don't have to worry, Lord Hiro."

Uchiha Hiro: "Make sure he doesn't die. We still need him for answers."

Uchiha Ryu'ei: "Understood. I'll check on him shortly."

After decoding their conversation, Uchiha Gin speculated that Cell Zero was likely in the abandoned dungeon. He was surprised to learn there was still a living prisoner there, personally guarded by Uchiha Ryu'ei, making it much harder to access.

However, since Uchiha Ryu'ei mentioned going to check on the prisoner, Uchiha Gin decided to follow him discreetly to locate the entrance to the abandoned dungeon.

Maintaining a careful distance to avoid detection, Uchiha Gin tailed Uchiha Ryu'ei. But instead of heading toward the abandoned dungeon, Uchiha Ryu'ei lingered for a long time in one of the cells in Prison One.

Finally, after what felt like ages, Uchiha Ryu'ei emerged, his hands covered in blood, and returned to his office.

Not wanting to lose track of him, Uchiha Gin decided to knock on Uchiha Ryu'ei's door, but after several moments without a response, he cautiously entered.

The office was large but oppressively dark. After scanning the room, Uchiha Gin realized that Uchiha Ryu'ei wasn't there.

"Where did he go?"

Uchiha Gin mused. "There must be a hidden passage in this room."

Based on years of watching crime dramas, Uchiha Gin suspected there was a secret door, likely hidden behind something like a bookshelf or a vase.

The room was sparsely furnished, but a vase on the desk stood out—suspiciously, it had no flowers. It seemed like the most likely hiding place for a mechanism.

Just as Uchiha Gin reached for the vase, his enhanced senses detected Uchiha Ryu'ei's chakra slowly approaching. There was nowhere to hide in the room.

What now? Being caught sneaking into Uchiha Ryu'ei's office wouldn't end well. With Ryu'ei only meters away, Uchiha Gin's shadow suddenly rippled, and a familiar face appeared on its surface.

In the next moment, Uchiha Gin felt his body pulled downward, swallowed by his own shadow.

Just before Uchiha Ryu'ei unlocked the door, Uchiha Gin had merged into his own shadow and disappeared.

Pushing the door open, Uchiha Ryu'ei frowned as he scanned the room. His sharp senses told him something was off.

But even after activating his Sharingan and scanning multiple times, he found no abnormalities. Dismissing it as a trick of his exhausted mind, he finally gave up.

----

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