"What are you trying to do?"
In the dim backstage area, the jailer's figure stood against the light, his face obscured, but his fluffy curls glowed radiantly under the illumination. Yamanaka Sōichirō, nervous and uncertain, gripped the collar of his worn-out prison uniform with one hand and held the other over his old chrysanthemum, his voice tinged with fear.
At the moment, he was alone in the room. His former prison mates were all separated behind a barrier. If anything... indecent were to happen here, no one would know.
"Hey~ Aniki Sōichirō, you don't really want to walk out there dressed in this sorry state, do you?"
The Mokuton clone in charge of guarding the prisoners walked in slowly, wearing a teasing grin. Seeing how tense Yamanaka Sōichirō was, he offered a few reassuring words.
"Phew~ You're quite considerate. Yeah, this outfit doesn't exactly make me look dignified."
Only then did Sōichirō relax a little. He looked down at his worn, pale prison uniform. While the fabric was high quality and quite comfortable, it definitely lacked the kind of presence one needed when rejoining society.
"Exactly, so what are you waiting for? Hurry up and take it off—your clan's people are waiting outside!"
Without hesitation, he blasted off the prison uniform into scraps, revealing his well-fed belly, which had grown quite round over the years.
"Also the underwear. Off with it too~"
The Uchiha clone chuckled slyly, making Sōichirō hesitate for a moment.
"That's... not necessary, right? I just changed into these this morning."
"Come on, we can't bring anything from prison out with us. That would be bad luck."
The clone put on a serious face, sounding totally reasonable.
Bad luck from prison gear? Made sense.
"Alright, we're all men anyway~"
Feeling that the explanation held water, Sōichirō nodded and tore off his final line of defense. The fresh underwear scattered like snowflakes across the cold floor.
"Click click~ Yeah, just like that. Give me a few poses, this is for your recruitment poster~"
Just as Sōichirō was waiting for new clothes to be brought over, he suddenly heard the sound of camera shutters. Confused, he opened his eyes to find Uchiha Gin furiously snapping photos from every angle, wielding a camera like a weapon.
"You!!! What are you doing?!"
Realizing something was off, Sōichirō quickly covered his private parts, his old face turning red with rage as he screamed at Gin.
"Sorry, Aniki Sōichirō, but brothers gotta eat too. What you get to wear when you walk out of here depends entirely on how generous your clan juniors are~"
After finishing his shoot, Gin put away the camera and gave Sōichirō an "apologetic" look, his tone full of helplessness.
"Don't go! Give those photos back to me!!!"
Completely naked and humiliated, Sōichirō could only watch as Gin's silhouette disappeared backstage, shivering in the cold and praying that his clan juniors would at least bring him some underwear.
Outside, Gin was casually chatting with the Yamanaka clan's female representative. Taking a thick stack of photos from the Mokuton clone beside him, he flipped through them with a smirk that made Yamanaka Minako's skin crawl.
"Not bad, not bad at all. My photography skills could rival even Brother Edison~"
"Miss Yamanaka, before the auction, please take a look at our product information. We Uchiha value authenticity."
Gin selected two relatively tame photos and handed them over to Minako, who took them skeptically, clearly impatient to retrieve her elder.
"This is so unnecessary. Just give me the guy for the money and be done—WHAT THE—!!!"
Her complaints were cut short by the image in her hand. Her already anxious expression turned crimson. Heat rose to her head, and she couldn't suppress a sharp gasp.
"Minako, what's wrong?"
Akimichi Shinji, part of the Ino-Shika-Chō trio, rushed over upon hearing her exclamation.
"N-Nothing!"
Trying to hide the photos behind her chest, Minako's eyes darted around nervously. Shinji, now thoroughly confused, narrowed his beady eyes.
"What's that?"
Spotting the corner of the photo sticking out, he questioned her.
"It's... a record of the prisoner's current state. I just wanted to give Miss Yamanaka a little heads-up, so she's not shocked when he comes out."
Gin answered smoothly, cutting off Minako's fumbling explanation.
"You bastards are despicable!"
Shinji assumed the photos showed bloodied torture scenes and thought Gin was trying to force ransom through fear tactics. Chakra surged from him in fury, his loose robe billowing despite the lack of wind.
Sensing Shinji's violent chakra, Hashirama quickly clapped his hands to prepare a Mokuton barrier—but was stopped by a hand in front of him.
"Big bro! Don't act rashly. There are civilians here."
Tobirama, ever vigilant, blocked him with one hand while forming a seal with the other. A misfired technique here could destroy the village they had just built—not to mention they still owed the Land of Waves a mountain of loans.
Meanwhile, Gin remained perfectly calm in the face of Shinji's looming threat, even slightly excited. If the guy snapped, this would turn into a full-blown blockbuster.
"Stop, Shinji. This is our clan's business."
Just before Shinji could act, Minako stepped forward, her face dark. Turning to Gin, she declared,
"You're Uchiha Gin, right? Begin your auction. The Yamanaka Clan will cooperate fully."
"Nice~ I love decisive clients. Now, where were we?"
Gin beamed with satisfaction and began flipping back through his script.
"You said you could only guarantee original photos and original product..."
Still thinking about the photos, Minako's face was flushed, her beautiful blue-green eyes fixed on Gin with a strange expression.
"Exactly. Authentic stuff, guaranteed."
"You dare shame the Yamanaka Clan like this—what's your real goal?!"
Minako's chest heaved with indignation. The sight made Gin avert his gaze for a second.
"We treat all prisoners equally. This isn't targeted at your clan."
Gin focused on her face, pretending to be sincere.
"Then what do you want?"
If this was just about humiliation, Gin could've paraded a naked Sōichirō in front of the crowd already. Why waste time? Minako asked again, her voice tinged with reluctant compromise.
"Hehe... Miss, surely you don't want your elder to become the village's resident streaker, do you~"
Gin leaned in, whispering beside her delicate ear.
"Fine! I'll do whatever you want!"
Completely thrown off by the seductive whisper, Minako lost all her usual sharpness, trembling as she clutched Gin's sleeve like a demure wife about to be defiled.
"Whoa there, I'm a decent guy."
Feeling some piercing stares from the crowd, Gin hastily threw off her hand, putting on a righteous face.
"Huh?"
Snapping out of her trance, Minako's face turned beet red. She looked at Gin with a weird mix of emotions.
"Ahem—if you don't want Aniki Sōichirō to strut out butt-naked, you'll have to spend a little money."
Gin smoothly shifted back to business, trying to reset the mood.
"Spend... money?"
Minako frowned, puzzled by the term.
"168,000! Just 168,000 per pull! If you get lucky, high-end clothing instantly delivered!"
Gin leapt to the center of the stage, mic in hand, shouting like a top-tier auctioneer.
"Want your clan hero to return to the shinobi world in style?"
"Want your aging elders to experience a glorious rebirth?"
"Remember the love and guidance they once gave you—what are you waiting for?"
"Just 168,000 per draw! Sponsored by the Land of Waves' top fashion designers!"
"Wait, weren't we bidding on prisoners? How did this become a fashion sale?"
The onlookers were confused and began murmuring.
"That Uchiha guy… 2 million per prisoner, and now we have to buy clothes too?"
In the crowd, Shimura Kenichi nudged Sarutobi Sasuke with a puzzled look.
"No clue. Let's just see how Minako handles it."
"Draw! I'm drawing now!"
Knowing the score, Minako shouted her intent to draw right away, stunning the crowd.
"Eh? She agreed? That must mean the clothes are really nice, right?"
Even her fellow ninja clans were shocked by her compliance.
"No rush—bring the machine up!"
Gin gestured, and several Mokuton clones wheeled out a massive screen glowing with futuristic tech, earning gasps from the crowd.
"Tobirama, what is that?"
Hashirama stood on tiptoe, trying to see.
"Dunno~"
The Fire Country hadn't invented electronics yet, so no one recognized the gacha machine.
Gin infused chakra into the screen, lighting it up. A cheerful anime girl greeted everyone.
"Today, too, is a day full of hope~"
"Just 168,000 per pull! If you're lucky, you might just hit it big!"
Gin cheerfully showed off the drop rates.
"Whoa! 16% chance for the jackpot? That's generous!"
Minako tossed a wallet still warm from her touch.
"Just one draw? You sure?"
"My luck is legendary!"
"Alright, but just so you know, a ten-pull comes with a guaranteed drop."
Minako tapped the screen.
"Tap her face."
"That's perverted..."
Still, she slapped the screen. A seductive gasp rang out.
"Wood Clone Technique!"
Hashirama made a wood golem to elevate himself and Tobirama for a better view.
"Expansion Technique!"
Akimichi Shinji inflated himself to give others a vantage point.
The screen glowed blue.
"Congrats! You've won: Random Clothing Fragment *1."
Minako scowled.
"40 fragments? That's... only 700,000 total. Not bad!"
She looked smugly at Gin.
"I'm so broke I can only take the bus..."
"Give me ten pulls!"
"Ahh~~~"
Ten slaps later, a rainbow of colors flashed across the screen. But then—
"Congrats! Random Clothing Fragment *2."
"Congrats! Random Shoes Fragment *1."
"Congrats! Random Underwear Fragment *2."
"You split the clothes too?!"
"Of course! Each piece is a designer original~"
"What about the guaranteed prize?"
"That's the box in the corner. Open it."
"Better not be a fragment."
"No no no! The guaranteed item is a full outfit! And it's limited edition!"
Minako finally tapped it.
"Congrats! You got: Spicy Bikini (Summer Limited Edition) *1."
"Oh right—did I forget to mention? This is the summer event. All guaranteed prizes are summer-themed~"
"Damn it! Refund!!"
"You sure?"
"sob Give me another ten draws~"
Hours later...
"Congrats! You got: Leopard Print Swimsuit (36D Set) *1."
"Shinji, Sasuke—lend me money!"
"Sorry, we're gonna need it too..."
"Do you offer high-interest loans here?"
"Hehe, of course. Just 35% interest~"
"I'm crying... Yamanaka Clan, you're mine now!"
"Thank you, Uchiha! You're saints!"
"So charitable~"
And beside them, on the screen, the red-dress girl's smile grew ever brighter as coins poured in.
"Today, too, is a day full of hope~"
(End of Chapter)
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