Tajima watched suspiciously as Gin stepped forward and dug into his pack, curious what kind of nonsense his nephew was about to pull now. After all, a space-time seal required an extremely rare talent for time and space manipulation to even begin to unravel — ordinary shinobi wouldn't even scratch the surface of it in a lifetime.
What he didn't expect was for Gin to pull out… a massive battle axe?
Tajima's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. Before he could even question where on earth Gin was hiding such a ridiculous thing, his nephew was already nodding to himself in satisfaction, resting the huge black double-bladed axe on his shoulder.
[Obsidian Cleaver] — Inflicts armor break on target upon impact.
With a smirk, Gin hefted the axe, leapt into the air, and slammed it down hard on the weak point of the seal. A massive shockwave tore through the air as sand and dust billowed up, forcing Tajima to shield his eyes.
When the dust settled, the axe was deeply embedded in the coffin — yet the runes on the stone writhed stubbornly, repairing the damage and pulsing as if mocking his efforts.
"…Armor break doesn't work?"
Frowning, Gin pulled the axe free, staring at the seal that showed no sign of cracking.
He'd assumed that with a system-grade artifact like the Obsidian Cleaver, he could brute-force his way through anything. But this seal had just taught him a painful lesson: even system weapons weren't omnipotent.
Coughing through the dust, Tajima finally spoke up."That weapon of yours… certainly powerful, but space-time seals aren't something you can just hack through. Ordinary weapons won't even scratch them."
Tch. I don't believe it yet! Let's see about this!
Grumbling, Gin shoved the axe back into his bag and rummaged around some more. To Tajima's growing discomfort, his nephew clearly hadn't given up.
What he pulled out next made Tajima's eyebrow twitch: a silver-gray short blade that crackled with lightning.
[Statikk Shiv] — On every 3rd hit, deals bonus lightning damage and breaks defenses.
"Hahahaha! Feel my lightning!"
Cackling, Gin brandished the sword like a mad scientist, slashing at the seal in a rapid flurry. Sparks lit up the pit as the runes quivered under his relentless electrical assault, the coffin glowing and sizzling under the storm.
Gin even donned a pair of dark sunglasses — who knows where those came from — and continued his "plasma cutting" like some kind of deranged construction worker.
The seal crackled but held firm.
"Stop! Stop right now!"
Tajima, who'd been blinded by the first burst of light, was now shielding his eyes and shouting furiously.
"What?" Gin paused, glancing up at him.
"I told you, it has to be space-time power! You're just flailing at it like a lunatic. Do you smell that?"
[Reminder: Always ventilate properly when performing electrical cutting in enclosed spaces to avoid toxic fumes.]
"…Ah. Right. Space-time, huh."
Wincing and shaking out his numb hand, Gin reluctantly stowed the blade away. Fine. Safety first. Never again.
Still grumbling, he continued to rummage through his bag, cursing the "flashy but useless" system gear. Just as he was about to give up, his hand brushed against something dusty and long-forgotten.
His eyes lit up when he realized what it was.
This time, he didn't pull out something ridiculous. Instead, it was just a strange-looking kunai. Finally, Tajima sighed in relief — something normal at last.
[Flying Thunder God Kunai x1] — A weapon once used by Namikaze Minato. Contains trace amounts of space-time energy. Bonus: improves comprehension of space-time ninjutsu while equipped.
…Can't believe I forgot I even had this. Stupid system kept sending me shiny junk, and I lost track of the good stuff.
Feeling the faint pulse of space-time energy within the blade, Gin smiled. To his surprise, his newly-evolved Byakugan even seemed to resonate faintly with it, whispering some hint that combining the two would yield extraordinary results.
Adjusting his sunglasses, Gin focused, activating his mutated Byakugan as he gripped the kunai. Tajima sensed the surge of chakra and assumed his nephew had simply awakened his Sharingan, giving a faint nod of approval.
But Gin's vision was now sharper than ever — he could see the waves of space itself rippling around the coffin, the sealing nodes glowing distinctly.
Locking onto the brightest point, he took a deep breath, aimed, and drove the kunai into the weak point.
A sound like cracking eggshells rang out as the black runes writhed violently, then began to unravel under the infusion of space-time chakra. Bit by bit, the seal dissolved into nothingness.
Gin let out a long breath, closed his eyes, and slipped the sunglasses off, smiling at his uncle.
"Uncle, daikan dan dan! A little seal like this? Piece of cake."
With a satisfied grin, he reached down to lift the coffin lid and finally free Xiao Guang from her years of darkness.
But… it didn't budge.
"…Eh?"
Gin frowned, pushing harder — but the lid held firm, as if something inside was pressing it back.
Inside the coffin, Xiao Guang's cheeks puffed up angrily as she gripped the lid with both hands, refusing to let it open.
You bastard outside… what the hell are you even doing?
Sure, she longed for freedom. But in her current sorry state? She'd rather stay in the coffin forever than come out looking like this.
Time rewound to when Gin had first swung the giant axe.
When the massive impact shook her world, she was nearly knocked senseless — and when she came to, she realized in horror her clothes had been reduced to nothing but tattered strips.
And just as she tried to comprehend what had happened, a sudden storm of electricity ripped through the seal and gave her a full-body "therapy session." Her hair frizzed into an afro, her skin smoked faintly, and even the last bits of fabric on her body were charred to black ash.
As she regained her senses, her Sharingan flaring and her heart full of rage, she made a silent vow to the Uchiha ancestors:
If I get out of here alive, that guy is DEAD.
And then… silence.
She thought he'd given up. A mix of relief and despair welled up inside her. How much longer would she be stuck here?
I really miss you, Gin… if only you were here by my side…
(End of Chapter)
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