Feeling the bead in his pocket, Gin thought of what Uzumaki Mito had said:
"This sealing bead can only activate at close range, and only when the opponent lets his guard down."
The cute bun-headed Mito had puffed her cheeks as she instructed him.
"Your brother is such a strong taijutsu ninja, if I get close to him I'll probably be slapped dead halfway there," Gin had complained as he took the bead.
"Baka, can't you use your head? Who told you to go at him head-on?"
Mito had scolded him angrily.
"So I'll have to improvise," he'd muttered, putting the bead close to his chest before leaving behind a worried Mito.
The memory ended abruptly.
Looking at the red chakra-cloaked Hanamichi before him, Gin sighed inwardly. There was no choice but to go for it.
He stepped forward toward Hanamichi. Seeing Gin approach boldly, Hanamichi eyed him warily.
"What are you trying to do?!"
The gigantic Gōkakyū from earlier had left him uneasy; he was afraid Gin might fire another one.
At Hanamichi's bark, Gin drove his katana into the ground and raised both hands to show he meant no harm.
This gesture only confused Hanamichi more. He had expected Gin to fight to the death, but the reality was completely different.
"Is the heir of the Uzumaki clan afraid of an ordinary Uchiha like me?"
Gin said calmly, his tone full of provocation.
"Afraid of you? Ridiculous!"
Easily baited by the taunt, Hanamichi flashed to Gin's side, looming over him.
At 1.8 meters Gin was considered tall among the Uchiha, but next to the over-two-meter Hanamichi he looked almost small.
At close range, Gin finally got a good look at the young heir—an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old boy with a refined face and a Schwarzenegger-like body. The jarring contrast almost made Gin's vision go dark.
Ignoring Gin's strange look, Hanamichi spoke first.
"Despicable Uchiha, where have you hidden my little sister? Tell me now. As long as she's unharmed, I might consider sparing your life."
With his overwhelming strength, Hanamichi didn't take Gin too seriously. Even with his Sharingan, Gin was nothing more than a toy to him.
The gigantic Gōkakyū from before must have burned through his life force, Hanamichi thought.
"I can assure you, as long as you let us go, not a hair on your sister will be harmed," Gin said obediently.
"Letting you go is already my limit. Don't think you can bargain with me."
A fleeting look of hesitation crossed Gin's face, as if he was struggling with something, but then he seemed to make up his mind.
"Fine. Please promise you won't hurt me, and I'll take you to your sister right away."
"Now you're being sensible."
Hanamichi raised his proud head high, as though showing his pride to the world.
"Then it's a deal," Gin said, extending his closed fist.
"What does that mean?"
"A fist bump. Learned it from a northern country. It means we've struck a deal."
Gin's face was serious as he raised his fist.
Though confused, Hanamichi still extended his massive fist and touched it lightly to Gin's.
The instant their fists met, Gin's serious face broke into a sly grin.
Seeing the expression, Hanamichi felt a pang of dread and was just about to use his heightened senses when his chakra suddenly froze, like dead water.
At the same time he felt a strong suction from his fist, like a black hole locking him in place.
Looking down, he saw that Gin's hand was now open, and a familiar bead lay quietly in his palm. From it stretched black shadows that wrapped tightly around his arm, no matter how hard he struggled.
"The Four Symbols Sealing Bead! How is that in your hands?!"
Hanamichi cried out in shock. That bead was supposed to be the only one their father had ever made, given to Mito for her protection.
Gin didn't answer. He poured his chakra into the bead, controlling the shadows as they wrapped around Hanamichi layer by layer until his entire body was swallowed in darkness. Then the bead pulsed with a strong suction, twisting and pulling the two-meter-tall Hanamichi until he vanished into it.
As the last shadow was sucked in, Gin collapsed onto the grass, panting heavily.
He stared at the black-and-red bead trembling in his hand and murmured in awe,
"Sealing techniques really are the most mysterious jutsu in the story… terrifying."
If the Uzumaki clan hadn't been wiped out, they could have slaughtered gods and buddhas alike with sealing techniques alone. Too bad they'd been unceremoniously written out of the plot.
"Ding! Uzumaki Hanamichi defeated. Mission: Rescue Uchiha Fuka's Squad, completion rate 80%."
The system's chime had never sounded so sweet.
Gin tidied up his gear. Thanks to his Uzumaki physique, his chakra had already recovered by more than half.
Only Ryoichi's group still needed help—but before that, he had to see someone first.
A few kilometers away, in a cave, Senju Itama slowly woke up, still gagged by the stinky sock.
Instead of seeing the hateful Uchiha, he saw a bun-headed girl lost in thought. Hope lit up his eyes.
Ignoring the stench in his mouth, he started grunting for attention.
The strange sound startled Mito out of her thoughts, and she turned to the boy tied up on the ground.
Seeing her notice him, Itama wriggled even harder and grunted louder.
Mito tilted her head, then asked,
"You want to say something?"
Itama nodded frantically. But Mito, disliking dirt, grabbed a stick and tried to pry the sock out with it, pinching her nose with one hand in disgust.
But because she kept her distance, she accidentally pushed the sock even deeper.
Feeling it jammed almost into his throat, Itama rolled his eyes in pain, shaking his head violently.
Mito, unwilling to dirty her hands, averted her eyes and kept poking with the stick, completely ignoring the poor boy about to suffocate.
"Oi oi oi, what kind of weird play is this? If you keep shoving, this kid really is going to die."
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