Carrying the kid to the bedroom, Uchiha Gin removed Itama's apron and jacket. The boy wore no undershirt, just underwear. Glancing briefly, Uchiha Gin noted the child's pale, unblemished skin, then quickly covered him with a blanket, wary of his Sharingan getting "tainted." He left the room.
Outside, he disposed of Itama's "culinary masterpiece"—fit only for the trash. After tidying up, Uchiha Gin headed to the backyard. The sun hadn't set, and he wanted to test if skills could refresh during the day.
Sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, he waited. Moments later, the air grew heavy. Opening his eyes, a knowing glint flashed. Skill refreshes weren't time-bound; being in the backyard, even in daylight, could trigger them.
An old "friend" appeared—Uchiha Itachi, materializing without warning. Uchiha Gin sighed. With only two tomoe, he was outclassed against Itachi's prowess.
But he couldn't just do nothing. System-spawned NPCs lacked emotions or memories, fighting mechanically.
"When you're born years from now, I'll flick your little bird ten thousand times!" Uchiha Gin vowed, picturing the yet-unborn Itachi. Clan leader dad or savior brother be damned, I'll end you.
"Let the storm rage harder!" Activating his Sharingan, Uchiha Gin stood, ready to resist.
Upon activating it, he noticed his left eye's vision surpassed his right's. Studying Itachi, he felt a learning feedback.
Three tomoe? That explained the sensation. His surging pupil power boosted his confidence. With three tomoe, he was a step from Mangekyo—maybe not powerless.
Their gazes clashed, a pupil power duel. The outcome came swiftly.
Slumped on the ground, Uchiha Gin entered the Tsukuyomi space, oddly feeling at home.
This time, he wasn't instantly crucified. Their pupil powers clashed within the genjutsu, but Uchiha Gin's drained rapidly. He knew he couldn't win or break free.
Though the result was the same, he'd fought harder this time.
Countless Itachis stabbed his wounds repeatedly, beginning 72 hours of torment.
A second later, Uchiha Gin rose, not just his left eye but his Amaterasu-hosting right eye now bearing three tomoe.
"Daily backyard skill refresh: [Genjutsu: Tsukuyomi]. Acquired Tsukuyomi Fragments 5…"
[Tsukuyomi Fragments (10/40): Collect 40 to synthesize Genjutsu: Tsukuyomi, learnable with Mangekyo Sharingan.]
Five fragments confirmed his theory: fighting system NPCs with full effort, even in defeat, yielded better rewards than giving up. A humane touch.
With the reward, his body reset, Tsukuyomi's trauma erased.
Gurgle. His stomach growled, reminding him he hadn't eaten all day. Time to cook and soothe his battered soul.
Elsewhere, in Uchiha Tajima's mansion, he pored over clan records on the Uzumaki.
The Uchiha and Uzumaki, separated by the Senju, only clashed on battlefields, with little other contact.
Flipping through battle logs, Tajima found a corner note: during a skirmish, an Uchiha with Mangekyo Sharingan fought an Uzumaki elite. The Uzumaki used a life-draining seal, blinding the Uchiha's eyes until death, unlifted.
Reading closely, Tajima frowned. Is that the seal?
But the record noted the Uzumaki's red hair turned white post-seal, losing combat ability, and was killed by the blinded Uchiha. Uchiha Gin's story—a pearl-based seal—lacked the power to break Tajima's seal.
Recalling Elder Mio's "faint contact," Tajima wondered if the Uzumaki seal had cracked his own, letting Uchiha Gin's awakened Sharingan pupil power leak through, eroding it over time.
The logic held, but Tajima faced a dilemma. His eyes, overused from a major pupil technique, were in cooldown. If Uchiha Gin broke the seal before they recovered, recalling those events, how would Tajima face him?
Knock, knock, knock. Urgent raps broke his thoughts. "Come in."
"Father, I have a report," Uchiha Izuna panted, drenched like he'd run a marathon.
"What is it, Izuna?" Tajima asked gently, softer with his children.
"You told me to watch what big brother's been up to," Izuna said, catching his breath.
"Any leads?" Tajima asked, curious. Madara, his heir, needed early correction if astray.
"I trailed him a few times. He's been going to the nearby riverbank," Izuna said, hesitating. "He's been talking with a strange kid. They seem… close friends."
"What? Who's the kid?" Tajima pressed, alarmed his son was entangled with an outsider.
"Couldn't tell. I asked big brother, but he said he doesn't know," Izuna said, hurt that Madara, his revered brother, scolded him to protect an outsider.
"Next time Madara meets them, fetch me immediately," Tajima said, eyes gleaming, a plan forming.
ACHOO! Uchiha Gin shivered despite the hot stove, odd for a warm kitchen.
Dinner done, he remembered Itama. Heading to the bedroom, he planned to wake the kid and show him a real "Food God."
Itama's sleep posture was awful, the blanket tossed aside, leaving him in just underwear in February's chill, though the Land of Fire avoided snow.
Fearing a cold, Uchiha Gin grabbed the blanket with one hand, shaking the drooling Itama with the other.
Stirring, Itama woke groggily, seeing a figure at his bedside, lifting his blanket and touching him. Fully awake, he registered Uchiha Gin's impatient face and his own exposed torso.
"AHH! Pervert!" Itama's scream, the loudest since his capture, pierced the air.
Ears ringing, Uchiha Gin clamped a hand over Itama's mouth, sparking fiercer struggles.
In a frenzy, Itama grabbed anything nearby, hurling it. Uchiha Gin dodged nimbly.
Crack! A sharp sound rang out.
Turning, Uchiha Gin saw his bedside family photo, thrown by Itama, shattered against the wall.
Startled, Itama calmed, pulling the blanket over himself, his small head peeking out, expression complex. "I didn't mean to."
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