Gin had a little fetish—he was absurdly attached to his bedding. If he had to use a stranger's pillow, blanket, futon… or stranger's woman, etcetera, etcetera—he simply couldn't sleep.
Just like tonight.
"My blanket… where did you go?"
The moon was high, Gin's eyes bloodshot. He tossed beneath a fresh quilt, itching all over, unable to rest. He longed desperately for his mysteriously missing Yōkai Veil-brand heated blanket. With a groan, he sat up, rubbing his curls, and thought carefully.
"Could it be… Kagami?"
He suddenly recalled his nephew's recent farewell before leaving on a mission. Gin had nagged endlessly, urging him not to be stingy while traveling, to spend freely, promising to reimburse him. But Kagami had only rolled his eyes at his nagging old uncle and run off to practice shuriken in the backyard.
At that very time, Gin's freshly washed heated blanket had been hung in the yard.
"Clap!"
He smacked his palm. Of course—that brat had probably taken it.
"Sigh… now what?"
He flopped onto the bed, depressed. It was too late to go borrow blankets from Kō or Lady Eimi—either would cause more trouble than sleep.
"No choice. I'll fetch it myself."
So, to rescue his night from insomnia, Gin stood, closed his eyes, and searched for the Flying Thunder God seal he'd left on Kagami.
"Mm… a bit far."
But for a man used to commuting between Konoha and Uzushiogakure, no big deal.
"Flying Thunder God no Jutsu!"
Clothed, he formed the seal. Space rippled—and vanished in golden light.
Above a quiet small town, air shimmered as Gin appeared.
"Tch. So many familiar signatures…"
He adjusted his landing, avoiding startling Kagami. His sensing field spread—and several known chakras made his brows rise.
"F6… Sasuke… Worm… and my dear cousin?"
So many gathered here? Something big was happening.
Gossip! If I don't peek, I won't sleep.
Excitement sparked in him.
Then he froze. That chakra… dark, sinister, heavy with malice. Enough to make a theater movie all by itself.
"Definitely something big."
Suppressing his aura, Gin crept toward it—until a tall shadow blocked his path.
His cousin. Sharingan active, blue chakra flaring, wholly focused on the fight.
"Tch…"
Better avoid him. Gin veered another way.
Soon—footsteps approached. Gin slipped into his Shadow Realm.
"Danzo, hurry!"
"Monkey, I just used my secret art. I need to recover…"
Through the monochrome veil, Gin saw them—his "students." Hiruzen, Danzo, and Kagami, lugging the battered Sasuke toward town's center.
"…As I thought. Kagami's Sharingan awakened early. My nephew's a genius!"
The three stumbled past, not noticing Gin's reflection in the Shadow Realm.
"…What happened to Sasuke? Broken bones everywhere. Nearly drained of chakra. Whoever did this… must rival a Bijuu."
Gin's curiosity only deepened.
"Boom!"
He arrived at the battlefield—where a crimson monster was fighting Kakuzu in Bijuu Knight form. And Kakuzu was losing.
"Oh?"
Gin's eyes narrowed. His Rider System had made Bijuu Knights as strong as perfect Jinchūriki—flexible, specialized, efficient. Yet this red beast was pressing one back.
"Is that malice incarnate? But… I sense a faint human life inside…"
The evil nearly overwhelmed his senses. He reeled, head pounding, and had to step out of the Shadow Realm to breathe.
But before he could—
"You think you can leave without paying?"
Small black hands seized him. A cold voice rang.
Dragged back, Gin collapsed into a lap pillow—on Kaguya's shadowy thighs. His curls were mercilessly toyed with.
"…Forgot the lemon this time. Next time for sure."
He peered up at her pale eyes, throat dry.
"Oh?"
Her hands tightened. Pain shot through his scalp.
"I was wrong! Nee-san!"
Indeed—Omura was the true mistress of the Shadow Realm. His Mangekyō was merely the ticket to enter.
"Humph."
She released slightly, a rare fondness in her eyes.
"Whew…"
Gin groaned. His head ached terribly. He tried to rise—but her black hand traced down his face, chest, waist—
"A-ah? Don't, Nee-san…"
"Idiot."
Her touch dissolved, leaving behind a Rider Driver.
Gin blinked. The debuff of the Shadow Realm vanished instantly. He grinned crookedly.
"…A tsundere artifact spirit? Nice."
Time to transform.
"The law of victory is decided!"
He posed, hand at his belt. A rabbit-engraved bottle gleamed.
"Omura—Henshin!"
"Rabbit! Rider System!"
"Evolution!"
"Are you ready?"
"Rabbit! Rabbit!"
"Evol Rabbit!"
Flashing lights and blaring audio heralded the crimson-blue-gold Omura Rider. Gin's confidence soared.
"Hah! Even if the ancestor crawled down from the moon—I'd blow her head off with one punch!"
But a sudden sharp pain lanced his groin. He clutched himself, grimacing.
Omura's chakra had flicked him—a lesson for his arrogance.
"…Must've been phantom pain. Damn Mito, she plays too rough…"
He sighed, recalling his red-haired lover's boundless energy. Compared to her, even Lady Eimi and Kō were tame. Only Otsutsuki Bilu could rival her. And then… Moon Princess Tsukihime, forever picking fights with him.
His head throbbed. Enough women. Back to business.
"Boom!"
On the field, the battle raged. Kamihiko was hurled bleeding into rubble, nearly broken.
"Slash!"
Kakuzu tried a sneak strike, only to watch the monster squeeze his blade out of its body—then whip a spiked kick straight at his groin.
"Aaaghhh!!"
His scream echoed through town as he crumpled, clutching his bleeding crotch.
"…Ouch."
Watching from the Shadow Realm, Gin sympathetically shifted his own position. That attack could ruin a man's life.
"Choumei, please! Heal me! I'm still a virgin!!"
Kakuzu pleaded in agony. But Choumei turned away coldly. Let him suffer a while.
Regret filled Kakuzu's heart.
"Eeeh!!"
The monster screeched, mocking.
"Ma…ko…"
From the rubble, Kamihiko staggered out, eyes burning with desperate love. He trudged toward her, fearless.
"…This thing could be made into a card."
Gin stroked his chin, thoughtful. The Rider System didn't have to be only Bijuu-based. Any being with vast chakra and independent will could be carded. Even people.
The red monster brimmed with pure Yin chakra, deadly but potent. Perfect for a brutal, savage Rider.
But inside… Gin sensed faint human life. Familiar—Senju?
"Mako! Wake up!!"
Kamihiko staggered on. Gin realized—the cliché was unfolding. The monster was his wife, and he was trying to talk-no-jutsu her back.
"Blegh!"
But Kamihiko wasn't a protagonist. The monster swatted him aside, vomiting blood and organs.
"…Mako."
He crawled anyway, whispering her name.
"You'll die, idiot!"
Kakuzu hauled him up, sneering—but his eyes hardened. He raised his blade, facing the beast head-on.
"You're my bounty. I won't lose money!"
For once, his conviction rang true. Choumei, silently moved, lent him chakra.
"Clash!!"
This time, Kakuzu held firm, blade meeting claw. Behind him lay Kamihiko, and beyond him, terrified villagers. If he fell, they'd all die.
The monster tilted its head, puzzled. This prey… felt different now.
It roared—and its malice surged, devouring Mako's body and bloodline power.
Hmph. Rikudo fool. You sealed me once. Now I return, reborn through your descendant's body.
Its true name: Go. The demon Hagoromo sealed in the Box of Bliss a millennium ago. Feeding on humanity's despair and fear, immortal so long as negative emotions existed.
"…Kakuzu, you can't win."
Even with Choumei's chakra, he was being overwhelmed. For Go was feeding on the terror of every villager in town.
"Crash!!"
Kakuzu was smashed back, landing by Kamihiko.
"Mako…"
"Fool. No war ends with words alone."
He restrained Kamihiko, keeping him from suicide. Not just because the bounty wanted her alive.
"…What? You doubt the power of talk-no-jutsu? Careful or the Big Windmill will grind you to dust!"
(End of Chapter)
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