A ray of morning sunlight lit up the quiet, prival jungle. Dew clung to the broad leaves, refracting rainbow hues under the golden light.
"Phew~ Finally made it out."
With the rustle of footsteps, a tall figure pushed aside the enormous shrubbery blocking his way. His fluffy black curls erged first, followed by a handso face topped with lifeless, dead-fish eyes. At this mont, those eyes glead with joy as he gazed at the flat road ahead.
Without hesitation, he dashed forward in long strides. Breathing in the scent of civilization, Gin, who had been wandering in the untad forest for days, was nearly moved to tears.
"Sigh… If I weren't busy testing new abilities, I would've left ages ago."
Scratching his head, Gin let out a small sigh as he looked at the road that stretched on without end.
He had left the sealed land several days ago. But curiosity about his new powers drove him to train in the isolated jungle. Little did he expect that the power he got from the moon was surprisingly hard to handle. Even with his natural talent, it took him several days to barely master it.
"Well, ti to go ho. If I don't return soon, Hikari and the others will start to worry."
Looking down the road that led back to the Uchiha compound, Gin prepared to head out. He'd left a note promising to be gone for only a week, and now six days had already passed. Hikari always took promises seriously—if he didn't return on ti, his family might just hop into a Gundam and start scouring the world for him.
With that thought, Gin gathered chakra beneath his feet. A cyan-blue glow started to form around him, resonating with a profound energy, on the verge of bursting forth—
Ding-ling~ Ding-ling~
Just as the energy was about to erupt, the distant ringing of cal bells echoed nearby. The soft, pleasant chi broke his concentration. The energy cloak around him faded away, and the blue-white light in his eyes dimd.
"Hmm? Am I forgetting sothing unimportant?"
Listening to the unfamiliar jingling—not sothing you'd hear in the Land of Fire—Gin's brain itched. He felt like he'd forgotten sothing unimportant. His dead-fish eyes rolled around lazily before settling on a dust-covered caravan of cals approaching.
That's when he finally rembered—yeah, he really had forgotten sothing.
The guards of the caravan instantly tensed when they saw the lone figure standing in the road. They drew their long blades and eyed Gin warily. Their leader, a scarred man in a headscarf, had a deeply furrowed face and a wary expression. As a seasoned shinobi, he couldn't see through the mysterious figure at all.
A terrifying pressure seed to radiate from him, and cold sweat began to drip down the man's back. Still, out of caution, he was the first to speak.
"Who are you, sir?"
"Uh… you guys are a caravan from the Land of Wind?"
Startled back to the present by the hoarse voice, Gin looked rather annoyed as he questioned the man in return.
Crap. He'd been too busy enjoying himself and completely forgot his actual mission!
"We're traveling rchants passing through the Land of Wind. So of us are from here, but we also have traders from other lands. Is there sothing you need from us, sir?"
Noticing the frown on Gin's face and his slightly displeased tone, the headscarf man broke into a cold sweat. He was only of chunin level, but being in the caravan business ant he had his own survival strategies.
When you can't see through soone, never act hostile. Stay humble. If they're truly powerful, they won't bother attacking soone of your level.
"Tch! This is tricky. So tricky!"
Grabbing at his fluffy curls in frustration, Gin paced back and forth on the road, completely ignoring the guards who stood ready for a fight.
What really unsettled the caravan guard was that instead of attacking or threatening them, the mysterious man just got moodier. The headscarf man, worried this might turn deadly, clenched his teeth and pulled out a small, heavy pouch from his bag. He carefully approached, tossed away his blade, and raised both hands.
"Sir, this is a small gift—so local specialties from the Land of Wind. Please, have rcy and let us pass safely."
"Huh?"
Gin blinked in confusion at the scene. This muscular man, now groveling like a lackey, was just plain weird.
"You're… bribing ?"
Curious, Gin took the pouch, felt its satisfying weight, and raised a brow.
"You're trying to test an old-tir with this asly stuff?"
Pfft~ Who do they think he is? So pushover?
"I apologize. The Land of Wind is in turmoil again, and supplies are scarce. I really don't have more to offer. My brothers need to eat too. Please understand, sir."
Relieved that Gin was willing to talk, the headscarf man bowed deeply and lowered his voice, giving a sincere explanation.
"War? What happened? Tell ."
Hearing that the Land of Wind had plunged into conflict once more piqued Gin's gossip-loving nature. He couldn't help but ask.
"If you're interested, sir, I'll tell you everything."
Seeing that Gin wasn't interested in the bribe but wanted intel instead, the man eagerly began spilling everything he knew.
It turned out that the Land of Wind, which had just begun to settle down, was once again dragged into chaos by a new rising force. Under a powerful shinobi nad Retsuto, this group rapidly devoured other factions and seed to be on the path to unifying the entire region.
"Retsuto, huh… Looks like it's ti."
Gin stroked his chin thoughtfully. Another familiar na had appeared—at last, the plot was slowly falling into place. A spark of excitent flickered in his dull eyes.
"Alright, I'm not interested in this stuff."
He tossed the pouch back to the man and dusted off his hands. "You're free to go."
"Thank you, sir! Thank you!!"
Gratefully catching the heavy pouch, the man bowed over and over, then quickly turned to lead the caravan away, not daring to look back in case Gin changed his mind.
Once the dust had settled, Gin stood quietly, ntally mapping out the distance from his current location to Rōran in the desert. Even traveling nonstop, it would take at least two days.
"Tch! Didn't think I'd get to use this so soon."
If running wasn't fast enough, then what about flying?
Closing his eyes, Gin reached out through a technique to connect with the Rinnegan on the moon. A cloak of cyan-blue chakra slowly wrapped around him. Once the connection stabilized, he opened his eyes again—now shining with the deep blue and white glow of the Tenseigan.
Profound waves of chakra flowed outward, subtly rippling the sky above.
"That power… Is that the little punk from the gate?"
A familiar black figure spying on the Uchiha-Senju conflict suddenly paused, startled by a familiar chakra signature.
Inside the moon—
"Clan leader, what's going on with the Tenseigan?"
The distracted Byakuya turned and asked Tsukihi, who was lounging nearby in full shut-in attire.
"It's nothing. Just that little thief borrowing its power again."
Munching on a french fry, Tsukihi flipped a page in her novel with oily fingers, too lazy to even look up. This had been happening frequently, and since the Tenseigan didn't mind, she didn't see the point of getting worked up.
"Oh no! Is Gin-san in danger?"
Byakuya's white eyes filled with panic. Soone so fragile… what if he gets hurt?!
"Sigh… Great, my only strategist is now brain-dead. How am I supposed to run a nation like this?" Tsukihi rolled her eyes and sighed.
"So this is what it feels like to fly?"
Wrapped in the chakra cloak, Gin soared through the sky. Several orbs of chakra hovered behind his head, trailing as he moved. His blue-white eyes sparkled with awe as the earth below turned into patchwork patterns of mountains, rivers, and lakes.
Currently, Gin was in Tenseigan Mode. He originally only had Byakugan, which wasn't enough to awaken the Tenseigan.
But thanks to that massage chair—overflowing with filial piety—he'd accidentally absorbed a good amount of Hamura's original chakra.
That combination—pure Byakugan and Ōtsutsuki chakra—naturally led to awakening the Tenseigan. With the help of the ancient eye on the moon, the transformation beca reality.
Sure, it was borrowed power, but hey—what kind of protagonist doesn't have cheat codes?
"Let's see… that's the spot!"
Flying at full speed, Gin noticed the landscape changing from green to endless yellow. The air grew hot and dry. After scanning the desert for a while, he spotted a bright green patch—a clear sign of Rōran.
Estimating the distance, he slowed down and began his descent. Once his feet touched the hot golden sand, the chakra cloak faded away, and his eyes reverted to black.
Gin was once again an ordinary (but easily recognizable) handso guy.
"Tch! No wonder it's the Land of Wind. It's hot as hell."
(End of Chapter)
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