Chapter 1 The Unchanging Man (The False One)
Konoha Year 27
"Today is another peaceful day."
On the streets of Konoha, a man with naturally curly black hair strolled leisurely under the eaves of a shop with the carefree gait of a young man.
The man was quite handsome, but his deadpan eyes completely ruined his overall demeanor, making him look rather irritating.
Although the man had the air of an unreliable social outcast, the surrounding crowd did not avoid him. An old man sunbathing asked with a grin, "Ah Yin, where are you going on a mission?"
"No, I'm just strolling around, taking a day off."
The curly-haired man, Ah Yin, stopped and answered casually.
After speaking, he seemed to remember something, rummaged in his high-necked robe for a while, pulled out a stick-like object and tossed it to the old man, then casually put one in his own pocket as well.
The old man, his face darkening, looked at the lollipop thrown at him and said, "At our age, we can't eat this kind of thing anymore."
"Really? I remember you used to love it,"
Ah Yin said, glancing sideways at the old man, a strange emotion flashing in his lifeless, dead-fish eyes.
"Yes, that was before,"
the old man said, putting the lollipop away without eating it, then smiling.
"I can save it for my grandson. He'll be a month old tomorrow, and I'll invite you to his one-month celebration."
"Another celebration? How can a lowly ninja like me afford this? Ugh, I need to go catch a few more cats,"
Ah Yin said, scratching his messy, curly hair.
"Hehe, remember to come."
"By the way, have you decided on a name for your grandson? How about I name him? He'll be easy to raise. How about 'Dog Egg'?"
The old man looked speechlessly at the somewhat eccentric man.
"It's already decided, let's call him Shuimen."
Ah Yin, who was still talking non-stop about coming up with names for her child, was stunned when he heard this name. Something flashed through his mind in a daze.
"What's wrong? Didn't you like it?"
Suddenly remembering the old man's dazzling blond hair in his youth, Ah Yin felt relieved.
"Nothing, just some dead memories attacking me."
With that, Ah Yin looked up at the two strikingly different rock paintings on the distant mountaintop and sighed.
"I think your grandson has extraordinary talent, perhaps a reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths, with the potential to become Hokage. He'll definitely have a bright future."
The old man was puzzled by this.
"But you haven't seen it yet!"
"Observing the stars at night."
The old man paused, looking up at the blazing summer sun.
"Those stars are truly dazzling."
Turning his head again, the man beside him had vanished.
"Tsk, how many times has it been? Still leaving without saying goodbye."
The old man shook his head and turned to tend to his shop.
Meanwhile, the man continued to wander aimlessly, his dead fish eyes seemingly uninterested in anything.
"Lord Gin, the clan meeting is about to begin. Why are you still wandering around here?"
A voice suddenly rang out, and a young man with black hair knelt behind Gin, respectfully addressing him.
"The clan head isn't home. What kind of clan meeting is this? Why listen to those so-called elders spouting nonsense? I'd rather stroll around than waste that time."
The man, known as Uchiha Gin, casually picked at his ear, seemingly dismissive of such an important event.
The man who had come to deliver the message seemed to have expected this reply. He hesitated, his eyes showing seven parts fear and three parts confusion. Carefully choosing his words, he said somewhat fearfully, "Please don't make things difficult for me. I'm only responsible for delivering the message. Whether you go or not is your choice, but the Grand Elder said you must remember that you are still an Uchiha."
With that, he vanished in a flash.
"How utterly boring! Do you really think you're all stirring up trouble now that that wretched white-haired guy's gone? This murky water of Konoha isn't something you simple-minded people can wade into. Why do you insist on fighting for the Hokage position, which even dogs wouldn't do? Why don't you just stick to working with me?"
Uchiha Gin rolled his dead fish eyes, watching the direction the other person had left.
Inside the Hokage's office beneath the Hokage Rock, smoke swirled. A figure was hunched over, working on a stack of documents taller than a person, when suddenly someone pushed open the door and entered.
"Hiruzen, I've received reliable information that the Uchiha clan is holding another secret meeting today. I've received the details, it's time to act!"
A handsome man in his thirties with an X-shaped scar on his chin slammed a document down in front of the person who was processing documents.
The interrupted person looked up, somewhat speechless at his close friend, and casually tossed the document into the trash can beside him.
"You!!!"
Young Danzo's eyes widened, almost choking on his own breath.
"Danzo, don't focus all your attention on the Uchiha clan right now. The village has finally entered a period of peace, and everything needs rebuilding. At this time, we can't afford any more major problems within the village."
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage who had recently been appointed Hokage in a time of crisis, puffed on his cigarette, reassuring his close friend.
"That's a naturally evil clan, we absolutely cannot underestimate them."
Shimura Danzo said viciously, but inwardly he was overjoyed.
Heh heh, finally I've caught them red-handed! "Shh!"
Upon hearing the phrase "born evil," Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced around warily, hissing to signal the other to stop.
Shimura Danzo, seemingly realizing his mistake, looked slightly embarrassed, but still stubbornly retorted, "You're Hokage now, what are you afraid of?"
"Afraid of what?"
A lazy voice interrupted as the two were talking.
"Afraid of that curly-haired, dead-eyed... ahhhhhh!"
Interrupted, Shimura Danzo had only finished half a sentence when he was horrified to find a figure standing behind him.
"Big what?"
"Big, big, big, big handsome guy."
As if remembering something terrifying, Shimura Danzo blushed and stammered.
"Oh, isn't this little Danzo? Long time no see."
Uchiha Gin, upon hearing the reply, familiarly patted Shimura Danzo's shoulder and said with a smile.
"What have you been up to lately? Still messing around with that 'Root' thing? Still hiring? I'm a bit short on cash."
Seeing Danzo Shimura's flustered expression after hearing this, Gin Uchiha patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction.
"Just kidding!"
"Little monkey, I'm taking on a few D-rank missions. That kid from the Namikaze clan is a grandfather now, and he invited me to his one-month celebration. I need to make some money."
Gin Uchiha turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was sitting at his desk.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, with an "I knew it" expression, expertly pulled several mission sheets from a drawer and handed them to Gin Uchiha.
"I've prepared them all for you, but are you sure you don't want to take on a more difficult mission? Your strength shouldn't be..."
"What do you mean 'shouldn't be'? I'm just a genin, the number one genin personally appointed by Hasi Hot Mom. Don't you know my strength?"
Gin Uchiha, having received the missions, cheerfully flipped through them.
"Everything's fine. I'll be going now. You two good buddies can have fun."
Watching Uchiha Gin leave, Shimura Danzo finally let out a long sigh, his face grave.
"Why is he still the same?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi, sitting in his seat, also breathed a sigh of relief, a deep-seated fear in his eyes, his face hardening with a serious expression.
"He still looks about thirty years old. For so many years, ever since we can remember, he seems to have looked like this, right?"
"Yeah, he's never changed."
"Could that technique really be that miraculous?"
Both of them fell into deep thought. After all, only a handful of people knew this technique, and they had no way of verifying it. (
This is a brain storage area~)
(End of Chapter)