Reluctantly turning his head, Uchiha Gin saw the long-absent old jailer, Waryou, standing silently atop his own shadow. The pale, ghostly figure looked even more eerie and chilling in the darkness, his pitch-black glowing eyes sending a shiver down Gin's spine.
"Now?"
Gin sighed inwardly. He had almost completely forgotten about this old man — why did he have to show up now?
Waryou wordlessly nodded, then turned into a mass of black sludge that instantly wrapped around Gin and vanished into the corridor's shadows.
Encased in the muck, Gin rubbed his chin, already getting a headache. He really didn't want to have anything to do with this creepy Waryou or that insane Uchiha Yao ever again.
He'd thought that after six years with no contact the old geezer would've already kicked the bucket, but apparently he was still alive and kicking.
Gin was just considering blasting Waryou with an Amaterasu (Heavenly Illumination) when the scenery suddenly changed — and once more he was back in the abandoned dungeon that held Uchiha Yao.
Once a robust old man, Uchiha Yao was now completely hunched over. His wrinkled face had become deeply lined and ashen, his one remaining eye dull and grayish, his entire body exuding the stench of death, as if he might keel over any second.
"Gin… I'm… almost done for…"
Yao raised his head with great effort when he saw Gin arrive, his hoarse voice utterly devoid of emotion."Cough… I can feel it — my death is near. But I'm not satisfied… I still haven't seen Uchiha Tajima destroyed with my own eyes."
"But I can't help you. I can't beat Tajima," Gin replied lazily with a shrug, feigning helplessness.
"That mission… has it begun yet?"
Yao ignored Gin's attitude and abruptly switched topics.
"What mission?"
Gin's heart skipped a beat, though his face stayed as innocent as ever.
"Heh… don't play dumb. Waryou already told me. Tajima gave you that mission today, didn't he?"
Yao seemed not to care about Gin's slippery ways and pressed on.
Waryou, huh? Gin shot a glance at the silent, statue-like old jailer standing in the corner. His heart grew wary — this guy had been spying right under his nose and he hadn't even noticed.
"…Yeah, Tajima told me about it today."
Realizing he couldn't bluff his way out, Gin admitted it plainly, then casually added,"So this shadow clone of yours has been hiding near Tajima and feeding you intel all this time?"
"No need to test me. Waryou is a manifestation of my will. He knows everything and tells me everything. There's nothing in the outside world I don't already know," Yao replied proudly, as though everything was firmly under his control.
Knows everything, huh? Gin glanced meaningfully at Waryou and mocked him silently in his heart. Yeah right — this thing was clearly scheming behind the old geezer's back and playing him like a fool.
"This is our last chance," Yao continued. "I'll have Waryou go with you. His concealment is flawless. When the time comes, just seize control of 'Nameless' when he's released. With the three of you surrounding him, you can kill Tajima with certainty."
Pairing me with this shadow-cloaked bastard? Gin sneered internally. He really wanted to refuse outright — he still didn't have a surefire way to suppress Waryou.
As a creation of yin–yang release, Black Zetsu couldn't be destroyed by normal means. If only he was a hot-blooded protagonist who could take him down with a kunai…
"…Fine, fine. I'll do my best."
Gin waved his hand disinterestedly. He figured he'd have to find a way to wake this old man up to reality — otherwise he'd just keep getting played by Waryou, obsessed with revenge even on his deathbed.
Finished with his instructions, Yao leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and waved him off. Waryou once again wrapped Gin in darkness and sent him out of the dungeon.
"So annoying…"
Gin sighed. He'd finally managed to find a bug to live forever, and yet the past few days had been nothing but headaches.
Sometimes he really wanted to just grab Senju Itama and hide away somewhere and live quietly — but this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet all the interesting people from the original story. He couldn't just skip that.
Shaking off the thought of running away, Gin scratched his curly hair and strolled through the streets of the Uchiha compound — and then he spotted two familiar figures up ahead.
Senju Itama and a purple-haired girl were crouched in front of a stall, picking something out together.
Curious, Gin quietly approached to see what they were up to.
"Ne, Nee-chan, don't you think this doll is cute?"
Itama held up a green caterpillar plush, his face full of excitement as he pitched it to the girl. The doll looked so strange, Gin figured no girl would like it — after all, who would love a caterpillar?
"…It is cute. This little bug will grow into a beautiful butterfly," the purple-haired girl said softly as she accepted the plush and studied it with a gentle smile.
That caught Gin by surprise. So she liked it too? He couldn't help but marvel at how birds of a feather flock together.
"Oyaji, I'll take two!"
Seeing that the girl shared his taste, Itama grinned and bought two of them outright, full of that rich-kid confidence.
"That'll be 14,000 ryo," the shopkeeper said, overjoyed, quickly wrapping the plushies. His flaming red hair made him stand out in the crowd.
"Nee-chan, this one's for you."
Itama handed one of the caterpillars to the purple-haired girl, and before she could refuse, he added,"Hey, it's not even my money. No reason not to spend it. That guy's money isn't gonna spend itself."
"You brat. Spending my money to flirt with girls and badmouthing me too? Take this! The hammer of justice!"
Hearing Itama's rebellious words, Gin finally couldn't hold it in any longer and strode out to smack this little brat on the head.
"Ah—!?"
Itama froze when he saw Gin, but as a proud Senju, even if his body gave in his mouth couldn't back down."You curly-haired gorilla! Not working in broad daylight and instead stalking an underage girl? You hentai!"
"Huh!?"
Gin blinked, completely baffled. When did he ever stalk any underage girls?
"I-I mean… you were following Nee-chan! No wonder you're thirty and still single — you must have some… weird tastes!"
Realizing he'd slipped, Itama stammered, his eyes darting as he pushed the still-confused purple-haired girl forward and righteously accused Gin.
"…So Gin-san is that kind of person!?" the girl exclaimed, stunned.
(End of Chapter)
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