Lowering his head to look at the mission request in front of him, Gin rubbed his temples in annoyance. When Tobirama had pulled out a scroll earlier, he thought it was to deliver his dungeon appointment letter.
But when Gin eagerly opened it, the contents immediately made his vision go dark and his limbs go cold.
"You sure you didn't grab the wrong one?"
This mission was beyond ridiculous—sending a rookie like him on such a high-risk job? Were they trying to test how thick his health bar was?
"No mistake. This is the mission."
Sipping his absurdly expensive tea, Tobirama squinted in enjoyment, watching Gin turn the scroll over and over. A rare smile appeared on his face as he said,
"Wait, is Hashirama out of his mind? Can I ride a wooden mech or pilot a Gundam? Why are you sending me to handle tailed beasts?"
Gin, looking utterly conflicted, tossed the now-wrinkled scroll aside and collapsed into the leather sofa like a dead fish.
"Am I even qualified?"
"You're not."
Hearing Tobirama's blunt assessment didn't bother Gin at all. As long as he could keep his relaxed, laid-back lifestyle, this short-lived white-haired man could say whatever he wanted—Gin's face was thick enough to take it.
"Then that's it. Find someone else. My cousin would be perfect—meticulous, responsible, absolutely the best choice for this mission."
Feeling he'd dodged a bullet, Gin smiled and sat up, making his recommendation to the composed Tobirama.
"Oh~ you mean Madara?"
Tobirama raised an eyebrow, his tone tinged with amusement.
"They say you should never avoid recommending the worthy, even if they're family."
"That's a good saying. Didn't think you had it in you."
Tobirama nodded approvingly, though his gaze soon turned oddly sharp, making Gin uneasy.
"What? Is there a problem?"
Gin frowned, sensing something off.
"Of course not. You just forgot—the middleman who introduced this mission is Madara himself. He's the one who recommended you."
With a sly smile, Tobirama set down his now flavorless tea and casually sold out Madara.
"Hah?"
Cousin, I've treated you well all these years, raised you with care, and this is how you repay me?
Gin cursed in his heart, feeling like every red envelope he'd ever given was wasted on an ungrateful wolf.
Time to run. Good thing he'd kept an escape route by sea—he could always go find his uncle.
"Don't get worked up. This mission comes with two assigned teammates. You're only the leader because of their qualifications."
Seeing Gin's facial expressions shift through an impressive range, Tobirama chuckled.
"No thanks. I'd rather pass on that kind of glory."
Gin glanced at the quietly tea-drinking Hikaru beside him and sighed inwardly. Of course he'd guessed right—Tobirama's schemes could strip Madara down to his underwear with just a few words.
"Come on, the reward for this mission is very generous. You're not tempted?"
Tobirama noticed Gin's calm returning and asked.
"Hmph. Do I look like I'm short on money?"
Gin scoffed. Money itself was the least valuable thing in his eyes.
"Then why did you scam so much from the Shinobi Alliance?"
Rolling his eyes, Tobirama pierced through Gin's facade.
"Tsk, that's different. I don't like money—I just like scamming money."
Spreading his hands, Gin said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"And that's not a contradiction?"
"Nope."
"So you're just admitting you're a scammer?"
"It's mutual consent. At worst, it's pay-to-win baiting."
Gin picked his nose and retorted confidently.
"You're unbelievable. Who scams the same target over and over?"
Tobirama's eye twitched.
Just days ago, Shinobi Alliance representatives had come crying to him and Hashirama, complaining about Gin's lottery system being rigged.
At first, Tobirama thought they were talking about the huge ransom paid earlier. But the receipts they brought were from recent transactions—one after another, throwing piles of silver into Gin's lottery only to receive underwear as prizes.
When the guaranteed prize updated from summer exclusives to winter-only army coats, their despair was complete.
"For the record, our lottery is 100% fair. No drop rate tampering."
Gin scratched his head innocently. He swore he hadn't touched the drop rates. Maybe they were just unlucky.
"I won't pursue that now. But if you complete this mission beautifully, Hashirama and I will overlook it and smooth over the complaints."
Tobirama's eyes gleamed as he watched Gin's face.
"So my mission is to supervise Hikaru and Chiri and manage the tailed beasts?"
Since Tobirama had mentioned Hikaru, the other teammate was almost certainly Chiri.
Why not Madara? Because the moment he took control of a tailed beast, Madara would probably ride it straight over to tear Tobirama's roof off.
"That's right. Hashirama's too busy to use Wood Release for suppression, so we're entrusting the Uchiha with management."
It made sense—right now, only Hashirama or the Uchiha could suppress tailed beasts.
Without the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques, Hashirama had little choice.
"So that's why Hashirama had such dark circles during his inauguration speech—tailed beasts were keeping him up at night."
Gin stroked his chin, recalling the event. At the time, he'd assumed it was from… more enjoyable activities, and had secretly envied him.
"If there are no more questions, the mission starts today."
"Wait—why must it be Mangekyō? Can't a three-tomoe Sharingan control them?"
Gin couldn't understand why Madara would expose such a trump card for this.
"Three tomoe can barely manage one tailed beast for a short time. Mangekyō is more stable."
"We have plenty of three-tomoe users. We could rotate shifts."
"Too many people increases the risk of mistakes."
Tobirama's explanation was flawless, but Gin still smelled something fishy.
In truth, letting ordinary Uchiha manage tailed beasts would be like letting a horse guard a peach orchard—they'd end up trying to steal them.
"Hikaru, what do you think?"
"If you're not interested, I'll refuse."
"No need. I've hit a bottleneck in training—could use some sturdy sparring partners."
Hikaru's faint smile made Gin pity the tailed beasts.
"And Chiri?"
She'd been asking him about tailed beasts for ages—this mission would be perfect for her curiosity.
"All right, I'll take it."
The most loving Uchiha strikes again.
"Good. Come find me when you're ready."
Tobirama wasn't surprised at all—Gin was far more trustworthy than most Uchiha.
As Tobirama turned to leave, Gin offered him some tea leaves as a gesture. But before he could hand them over, Itama came running in with a whole box.
"You're really getting sharper."
Gin rolled his eyes but handed them over anyway. Tobirama accepted, thinking once again that the world was better with sisters in it.
"So… about that dungeon job—"
"We'll discuss it later."
Watching Tobirama's back disappear, Gin slumped back into the sofa, eyes on the scroll, already scheming how to fleece some tailed beasts.
The mission wouldn't last long—once the first Five Kage Summit was over, Konoha would sell these tailed beasts to other nations as deterrents.
The only thing worth milking was their chakra—but collecting it would be tricky.
And becoming a jinchūriki himself? No way—he wasn't about to give the beasts free benefits from his nightly activities.
"How to store it, though?"
As Gin tapped the scroll against his head, Itama, cleaning nearby, casually said, "Just throw it in a jar."
Gin froze, then his eyes lit up.
"Clever girl!"
Striding into the hall, Gin approached a long-forgotten earthen jar—the Kohaku no Jōhei (Amber Purifying Pot), one of the Six Path Tools, capable of sealing away anyone who responded to its call.
It had even sealed Edo Tensei Kinkaku in full pseudo-Nine-Tails mode.
"With a jar this big, storing tailed beast chakra should be no problem."
(End of Chapter)
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