Having made up his mind, Gin didn't linger long in the backyard. He returned to the old house, tied on an apron, and got to cooking. Before long, Itama's nose led him from the fancy new house straight back over.

"Done cleaning?"

Gin frowned, spatula in hand, as the little Senju arrived, covered in sweat and dust.

"Of course! A little thing like that can't stop me!"

Itama proudly raised his tiny fists, but his grime-smeared face ruined the effect completely.

"You'd better go take a bath before you sit down," Gin said, pinching his nose in distaste.

"Hmph!"

Realizing he really did need a wash, Itama shot him a wary look before ducking into the bathroom and calling out:

"Don't you dare peek!"

"Who the hell would want to peek at a stinky little brat like you?!"

Gin almost dumped a whole jar of salt into the pan in irritation.

Maybe he'd learned from last time, because the bath was over quickly. By the time Gin set down the final dish, Itama was already sitting at the table, steaming clean and waiting eagerly.

"Useless at everything else, but first place at eating," Gin teased dryly.

"Shut up and serve the food already!"

Itama ignored him completely, eyes fixed on the glossy tangcu yu (sweet-and-sour fish), practically drooling.

"Itadakimasu!"

The boy wasted no time, diving into his meal.

"Lunch, sweet-and-sour fish… dinner, sweet-and-sour fish… you're gonna get diabetes at this rate," Gin muttered darkly, even though he himself had quite the sweet tooth.

He finished eating first and set down his empty bowl, watching the kid still going at it. Picking his teeth, he stood and said,

"I'm heading into work for a bit. Make sure you clean up."

"Mhm mhm mhm," Itama replied around a mouthful of fish.

Gin walked out the door and headed toward the dungeon where he worked.

Passing through the gates, he made his way to Cell Three, where the same two boys were on duty.

"Hey, Jirō! You guys on shift again today?"

Gin called out cheerfully to the square-jawed boy.

"You're… my brother's friend!"

Jirō blinked in surprise before recognition dawned.

"That's right, that's right. I forgot to introduce myself last time — I'm Gin."

Gin's warm smile made him seem like the perfect friendly neighbor.

"Gin-aniki, here to check on a prisoner again?"

"Yeah, there's some discrepancies in the files. Mind letting me in?"

"Of course!"

Jirō opened the cell door without hesitation.

"Thanks, boys."

Gin waved and slipped in.

"…Jirō, don't you think that guy's suspicious?"

Once Gin had walked out of sight, Kake frowned and spoke up.

"What's suspicious about him? He's my brother's teammate. I even asked my brother about him. Said not to worry."

But Kake rubbed his head uneasily.

"I swear I've heard that name before… and it wasn't in a good way."

Jirō chuckled slyly, his "honest" face cracking just a little.

"You having weird dreams or something, huh?"

"What's 'weird dreams'?"

Kake asked innocently, eyes wide.

"Heh… I'll show you later. Got something real good from my brother's stash."

Meanwhile, Gin followed his memory down the dark corridor to his true destination.

In the dim hallway, an old hunchbacked jailer was slowly sweeping the floor.

Gin stopped, stared at the familiar figure, and spoke:

"I want to see Grandpa."

The old man raised his pale, withered face and rasped in a voice like nails on glass:

"Very well."

His body melted into black sludge and crawled up Gin's legs, enveloping him completely.

Gin gritted his teeth against the discomfort and allowed the jailer to swallow him. Everything went black as he was dragged at high speed through the void.

When the light returned, he stood once again in Yao's cell. The old man was still bent over his papers, writing busily.

Only when he heard Gin's steps did he look up in mild surprise.

"Ah, Gin. You're back so soon? Already handled it?"

Yao assumed Gin had already taken care of controlling Nameless, but Gin shook his head.

"No. Tajima hasn't moved yet."

"Then why are you here?"

Yao finally set his pen down, stood up, and fixed his one good eye on Gin.

"I want to ask about my Sharingan."

Gin didn't bother with preamble — besides Uchiha Myō, only Yao really understood the eyes. Asking Myō directly would only raise Tajima's suspicions, but Yao had no such baggage.

Even though Gin could tell the old man had his own agenda, he was never one to turn down a freebie.

"Your vision fading?"

Yao frowned. He knew exactly where Gin's current eyes had come from — after transplanting his Mangekyō into Nameless, they'd replaced Gin's with a pair looted from a Kaguya clan corpse.

Those had once belonged to a servant of Kaguya Sōsuke, who'd died at his own boss's hand.

"No. I just want to know… can these eyes still awaken Mangekyō?"

Gin opened his eyes wide, the three-tomoe Sharingan gleaming, the dark power within palpable.

"…Truly a son of Kin. To have nurtured someone else's eyes to this degree…"

(End of Chapter)

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