The archive room had a dungeon map, marking office and rest areas, plus three numbered prisoner zones. The dungeon's layout felt oddly asymmetrical, irking Uchiha Gin's sense of balance.
Locating Zone Two, he grabbed the scroll and headed out.
Cell Block Two was close, and within minutes, Uchiha Gin reached an iron gate guarded by two Uchiha clansmen.
"Who goes there?" a familiar voice asked.
Uchiha Gin squinted. "Weren't you two on patrol? Why're you in the dungeon?"
He recognized them as the patrol Uchiha from his return to the clan grounds, surprised to see them here.
Oh no! Uchiha Ironball despaired, thinking Uchiha Gin had tracked him down for revenge.
Yesterday, unaware of Uchiha Gin's identity, Ironball learned from his partner he'd nearly provoked the "infamous" Uchiha Gin.
Fearing retaliation, he'd requested a transfer to a remote post that night. On his first day, the "demon" showed up.
Greenflower, I've failed you. Don't mourn me—find happiness, Ironball thought, eyes closed, bracing for doom.
"What're you doing? Open the gate. I'm here to check prisoners," Uchiha Gin said, annoyed, seeing one clansman muttering with eyes shut and the other avoiding his gaze.
"Huh? You're not here for me?" Ironball opened his eyes, confused.
"Why would I be? I'm busy. Hurry up," Uchiha Gin snapped.
"Ironball, open the gate for Lord Uchiha Gin," the other clansman urged, nudging him.
Snapping out of it, Ironball fumbled with the keys, letting Uchiha Gin in.
"Weirdos," Uchiha Gin muttered, baffled by Ironball's behavior. "Where's Kaguya Josuke?"
"Lord Gin, I'll take you," the other clansman offered, shooting Ironball a reassuring look.
Following him, Uchiha Gin entered the prisoner block for the first time.
Wooden bars lined both sides, seemingly flimsy but rigged with Uchiha fire-sealing tags. Touching them without the proper jutsu would engulf the intruder in flames, from burns to ashes.
As their footsteps echoed, the prisoners stirred.
"Filthy Uchiha, let me out, and I'll pound you to pulp!" roared an angry brute.
"Well, well, this one's soft and tender. I'd love to pin him down…" purred a creepy voice.
"Kill me! Just kill me!" wailed a broken soul.
The cells erupted in chaos, voices overlapping.
But for Uchiha Gin, it wasn't just their shouts.
"Host has entered combat. Heartsteel Chest accumulation begins…"
"Host has entered combat…"
"Host has entered…"
N times.
The Heartsteel alerts looped endlessly in his mind from the moment he entered. Every prisoner burned with fighting intent toward him—an Uchiha.
This place is a goldmine of leeks! he thought, suppressing his glee.
Following the clansman to the deepest cell, he saw a middle-aged man, bound tightly, emaciated, his limbs twisted unnaturally. Gray hair hung limp, and two red dots marked his brows—Kaguya clan traits.
"That's Kaguya Josuke. Be careful, Lord Gin. His chakra's sealed, but we couldn't restrain his taijutsu. We starve him and break his limbs to keep him down," the clansman explained.
"No worries. Open the door. I'll question him," Uchiha Gin said, reassured by the prisoner's sealed chakra and broken limbs.
"Yes, sir."
Though rules forbade opening cell doors, the clansman, knowing he couldn't defy Uchiha Gin, complied.
"Your name?" Uchiha Gin asked.
"Uchiha Rusa, sir," the clansman replied.
"Alright, Rusa, wait outside. I'll question him alone."
"But…" Rusa hesitated, fearing for his own neck if something happened to Uchiha Gin.
"Don't worry. He can barely move. I'll just ask from the doorway," Uchiha Gin reassured.
"Alright, Lord Gin. Call if he acts up," Rusa said, retreating.
Uchiha Gin entered the cell. Kaguya Josuke, slumped on a straw mat, raised his head slowly at the noise. His dull eyes held no spark, like a puppet's.
"Kaguya Josuke?" Uchiha Gin asked, frowning at the lifeless man.
No response.
"According to the scroll, you were captured six years ago for killing Uchiha clansmen on a mission," Uchiha Gin continued, flipping through the scroll.
"Do you know anything about the Kaguya clan's attack on our clan grounds six years ago?"
Unfazed by the silence, Uchiha Gin pressed on.
"Huh? Heh… haha… AHH!" Josuke's vacant expression twisted at the question. He cackled, then screamed as if seeing a ghost.
A flicker of clarity passed through his eyes. Staring at Uchiha Gin, he slowly raised his bound hands.
The system chimed: "Host has entered combat. Heartsteel Chest accumulation begins…"
Without hesitating, Uchiha Gin leaped back as bone spikes shot from Josuke's fingertips, embedding where he'd stood.
"He's got a kekkei genkai!" Uchiha Gin gasped, eyeing the spikes lodged in the stone.
Josuke's file omitted his bloodline ability, likely hidden as a trump card.
But why reveal it to a random Uchiha like me?
As Josuke aimed his hands again, Uchiha Gin charged, his Strange Strength-enhanced fist targeting the preparing Kaguya.
Shikotsumyaku: Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets.
Facing another volley of bone spikes, Uchiha Gin didn't dodge. He poured more chakra into his fist.
With a thud, his iron fist shattered the spikes, landing squarely on Josuke's chest.
The emaciated Kaguya's chest caved in, Uchiha Gin's fist lodging in his bones.
As Uchiha Gin wondered why the hit landed so easily, Josuke raised his head, a bloodthirsty grin spreading. Spitting blood, he rasped, "Got you."
Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Larch.
Uchiha Gin's face paled. From Josuke's sunken chest bloomed a massive white bone flower, countless ribs spiking toward his face.
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