Pulling his consciousness back from the mory sealed in the Sharingan, Gin didn't react quite as Yao had hoped — he hadn't awakened the Mangekyō under the trauma of seeing his father's death.
"…It didn't work?"
Yao's face darkened slightly. He himself had awakened his own Mangekyō after watching that very sa scene — he thought Gin would do the sa.
"Maybe… it's because my mory of my parents isn't deep enough," Gin murmured, rubbing his temple, giving himself a reasonable excuse. "They died when I was really young."
"You saw it yourself," Yao said, stroking the jar holding his late son's eyes. His voice was flat but cold. "It was that bastard Tajima who murdered your parents. Don't be fooled by his current deanor. Once we have control over Naless, that's when you and I can have our revenge."
"Mm. Mm. Mm."
Gin nodded absentmindedly, still lost in thought over what he'd just seen. Then he added, "I'll get going for now. I'll co back when there's news about Naless."
"…Very well. Wangliang, see him out."
Yao didn't try to stop him. He waved a hand, and the withered old jailer silently stepped forward to escort Gin.
Once more engulfed by the black liquid, Gin no longer flinched as much as the first ti — in fact, he even reached out to touch the viscous blackness.
"…Do you have a mind of your own?"
Gin asked suddenly.
"I am the embodint of my master's will," the liquid rumbled after a pause. A black face erged faintly from the muck, lips curling in a faint, eerie smile.
"Do you have hobbies, then?" Gin changed tack with a seemingly random question.
Wangliang blinked, caught off guard by that one.
"Well? You have self-awareness, don't you? Then you must have things you enjoy. Like, I enjoy sweets. How about you?"
Gin kept talking casually, as though chatting with an ordinary person.
"…Aside from carrying out the master's orders, I don't really have any hobbies," Wangliang finally replied after a long mont. Then it added, quietly, "If I had to say… sotis, when nothing else is going on, I like looking up at the moon."
Gin nearly gasped at the wave of déjà vu that swept over him. Well, well. It's not just creepy, it's downright familiar…
After that the two fell silent, and before long, Gin found himself deposited at the exit of the underground complex. When he turned back, the black sludge had already sunk back into the ground.
On his way back to his own house, Gin's mind worked furiously. He hadn't been sure before who was telling the truth about his parents' death… but after what Wangliang had just inadvertently revealed, it was obvious now.
That old man's being played by his so-called "will's embodint."
"…Looks like I won't be visiting that place again."
He decided then and there to cut ties with Yao entirely — no sense putting himself under a shadow like that.
When he got ho, he found that the mansion Senju Itama had cleaned was indeed spotless. Gin sank into his freshly-made bedding and fell asleep almost imdiately.
The next morning.
Gin stretched and ran a hand through his ssy curls as he strolled back to the old house to make breakfast.
"Oi, brat. Get up and help!"
He kicked open the bedroom door, still cranky from just waking up.
Itama, groggy and wearing nothing but his little underpants, was still curled up in his blanket muttering in his sleep.
"Mmm… can't eat anymore…"
Gin's eyebrow twitched. Senju or Akimichi, which are you supposed to be?
Without another word he raised his palm and gave the boy's round little backside two sharp smacks.
SMACK SMACK!
"Uchiha no hentai! Put down!"
Itama flailed as Gin let him go, rubbing his hands together with satisfaction.
"Hurry up and help out, or no food for you today."
Clutching his blanket like a scorned maiden, Itama glared at him as if he could eat him alive.
"You really don't know how to be grateful, huh? If not for , you'd already have been chopped into mince and shipped back to the Senju clan."
Gin rolled his eyes and pointed to the steaming dishes.
"And if you don't eat soon, it's going cold."
Itama gave him one last hateful look before caving to temptation. With a deep breath and the solemn air of a man betraying his pride, he dug in.
"That's better. Can't think straight on an empty stomach."
Gin dusted his hands off, then headed for the door.
"Clean this up when you're done, or no dinner tonight."
Itama could only nod silently. Food was simply too delicious to give up.
This ti Gin didn't head to the jail to slack off. Instead, he went straight to Tajima's residence.
He knocked, and after a mont, Izuna peeked out, then opened the door for him.
"Where's Madara?"
Gin followed Izuna through the long tatami-lined hallway and frowned when he saw no one else around.
"He went out early this morning," Izuna grumbled, clearly annoyed.
"Out on a date again?" Gin teased with a grin.
"…Yeah!"
Izuna stomped down the hall, his little feet making the floorboards creak angrily.
At the end of the hall, Tajima sat waiting, his eyes still closed.
"…What's the mission?" Gin asked nervously.
Could it really be about unsealing Naless?
"I didn't want to involve too many people in this," Tajima began after a long silence. Then, softening slightly, he added, "But you've watched over my sons since they were young. You're family. I think you should be part of this."
Recently, Izuna had reported Madara's increasingly odd behavior. Tajima had brushed it off at first, but when Izuna uncovered that Madara was secretly eting with an outsider boy — and one with surprising skill at that — Tajima had no choice but to take it seriously.
"…Madara's been acting strange. Izuna's investigation revealed he's gotten close with an outsider. I fear the boy may be a spy from another clan."
Tajima finally opened his eyes, explaining the mission.
"So we're going to apprehend him and figure out his intentions."
"…Does this really need you personally, Uncle?"
Gin couldn't help but ask.
"Madara is my son — and a likely future clan leader. His record must remain spotless. This is family business only."
Hearing that, Gin let out a long breath.
So I'm being roped into breaking up a pair of lovebirds, huh…
(End of Chapter)
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