Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha is not motivated.

Konoha Year 37
As the Lunar New Year approaches, lanterns symbolizing the festive atmosphere are being hung up one after another along the streets, and many businesses have also put up promotional notices with substantial discounts. The whole village is already warming up for the New Year.

At the entrance of the commercial street,
Meimei had been invisible for twenty chapters, yet he still received his full salary. He sat with his hands on his pillow, his droopy, dead-fish eyes scanning the bustling crowd.
"Ha~ Today is another peaceful day!"

Gin Uchiha yawned casually, a look of wistful satisfaction on his face. He scratched his messy curly hair, thinking how wonderful it felt to slack off during work hours.
With Kurama personally instructing him and the others, Minato has essentially cemented his reputation as a pay thief. However, it seems that Xiao Tuantuan has been busy with other shady matters lately, and no one has checked attendance, allowing Uchiha Gin to legitimately skip work under any pretext.

It's fun to slack off for a while, and it's even more fun to slack off all the time!

"Oh?"

As Uchiha Gin was pondering which restaurant to visit to satisfy his cravings, a captivating figure with flowing black hair in the distance caught his eye.
That incredibly slender waist, that fair and translucent neck, those glossy black stockings—her entire silhouette perfectly embodied Uchiha Gin's sensibilities.

"Is this girl I've never seen before a tourist?"

Uchiha Gin stroked his chin thoughtfully. If they were villagers, he would recognize them at a glance. Since they weren't, they were almost certainly outsiders.
"Hehehe, are you alone, Miss? Want to come with us to a nice place?"

Suddenly, the lewd sounds coming from not far away drew Uchiha Gin's attention. He saw three shady-looking young men cornering the girl with long, straight black hair against the wall.

呃.
What year is this eve?
Are there still such clichéd plots these days?
Uchiha Gin, who was stunned in place, blinked, his gaze instantly turning sharp.
A hero saves the damsel in distress?

He couldn't believe that the current version could have such an old-fashioned plot.
It must be a despicable plot by the enemy!
He then narrowed his dead fish eyes, his scrutinizing gaze becoming extremely sharp.

My eyes are my ruler!

A few seconds later, Uchiha Gin, who had seen through everything, withdrew his gaze, a disdainful smirk playing on his lips.
"Hmph! That was close, I almost fell for your effeminate trick!"

On the other side, the expected scream of terror from the girl did not occur. Facing three thugs with clearly malicious intentions, the girl with long, straight black hair not only showed no fear, but instead nodded in a cool tone.

"Oh? Thank you so much! I was just worried about not having anyone to show me around."

"what?"

This completely baffled the three thugs who were already prepared to be rejected. They had been trying to pick up girls on the street all day, and the black-haired, fair-skinned, snake-faced girl in front of them was still the first target to agree to date them.

"woooooo"

After enduring hardship, recalling the countless rejections they had faced, the three thugs couldn't help but shed bitter tears.

Are you alright?

The girl with long, straight black hair frowned. The villagers were as warm as they were, but why were they so bad at handling things?
"It's alright~ It's alright~ I can tell you're visiting Konoha for the first time, so don't worry, we'll definitely treat you well!"

Despite being moved, the three thugs couldn't forget their thuggish nature. They wiped away their tears, and the lewd smiles they used when flirting resurfaced on their faces.
"It's not so much my first time here, but it's been a long time since I've been here, and the changes are too great."

During peacetime, Konoha's infrastructure changes daily, with expansions and renovations every year. If someone is away for more than three months, they may not be able to find their home when they return.

"Hehehe, miss, this way. I know a very interesting path."

Upon hearing this, the three thugs exchanged a glance, then subtly surveyed the bustling crowd around them. Confirming this wasn't a sting operation by the police, the leader, Silver, grinned and prepared to lead the long-haired, black-haired girl into a dark alleyway that clearly wasn't a respectable place.
"Wait! Don't go!"

Uchiha Gin, who had been keeping a close eye on the group, finally couldn't help but speak up to warn the girl, who was obediently following the three thugs into the alleyway, because of his conscience.

Of course, he wasn't worried about the "girl" with long, straight black hair.
"Huh?" *3
The trio of thugs weren't very old, probably only seventeen or eighteen, but because they spent years on the streets, they had a unique streetwise vibe that made them look older and even sleazy.
The gangster was a young man with a classic red rooster-like hairstyle. He sized up the curly-haired man in front of him, who was wearing a blue and white yukata and looked harmless from head to toe.

"Old Deng, you want to be the hero and save the damsel in distress too?"

Finally, his sinister gaze fell upon Uchiha Gin's face, a face several times more handsome than his own. Jealousy burned within him; if he couldn't outdo Gin in looks, then he'd outdo him in age.
Normally, given Uchiha Gin's current level of power, he wouldn't stoop to the level of an ordinary person.

"Uh, actually."

Although the young man with the rooster-like haircut rudely called him "Old Deng," he still harbored a compassionate heart and wanted to persuade the three to turn back from their wrong path, saying that they couldn't control the size of Snake Aunt.
"Boss, why are you arguing with this old guy who has the same hairstyle as my grandma?"

"Exactly, getting this kind of perm for Chinese New Year is something I'll never forget."

"This curly candy is finished, bro."

(－＂－#)
Hearing these three spirited young men so disparaging of his prized natural curly hair, a large crisscross pattern appeared on Uchiha's fair forehead.

The girl with long, straight black hair, who witnessed all of this, seemed quite interested, her beautiful golden eyes filled with a strange smile.

"May you have a safe journey."

Even kind words can't persuade a death wish. Uchiha Gintoki, his face ashen, nodded to the long-haired black-haired girl and watched the three thugs, their buttocks sticking out and looking impatient, walk into the deserted alley.

"tatter"

A minute later, the long, straight black-haired girl returned alone. Seeing Uchiha Gin sulking at the alley entrance, a faint smile immediately appeared on her usually cold, pretty face.

"Grandpa Gintoki, Sasipuri~"

"Orochimaru, could you please not use this method to test veteran cadres next time? Which veteran cadre can withstand such a test?"

Looking up at Orochimaru's effeminate, pale face, and realizing that the other man had just set a trap for him, Gin Uchiha curled his lip.

He knew it! How could he be so lucky as to run into a random girl who totally hit the spot for him, and even trigger a classic hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress scenario on the street? Something just felt incredibly off.

Fortunately, he was careful and examined it closely, otherwise he would have repeated the embarrassing scene that happened at Ichiraku Ramen back then.

"You win, Tsunade."

Hearing Uchiha Gin's helpless complaint, Orochimaru gently shook his head. At his call, Tsunade's beautiful figure emerged from the dark alley, her fair face beaming with a smug smile.
"Haha! I knew I would win!"

Although this victory didn't happen at the gambling table, Tsunade still felt that her luck with gambling had improved since returning to the village, and she couldn't wait to imagine the wonderful scene of dominating the gambling den that night.
"You two unfilial children, how dare you make fun of your grandpa!"

Upon seeing Tsunade, Gin Uchiha realized that everything that had just happened was a trap set by the two of them, and he was so angry that his curly hair danced wildly.
"Oh, we just wanted to give Grandpa Gin a surprise!"

Sensing Uchiha Gin's genuine anger, Orochimaru and Tsunade instinctively shrank back, their faces full of ingratiating smiles.

"Hmph! Where's the last one? Where's that brat Jiraiya hiding?"

Uchiha Gin wasn't some kind of demon; he was just meticulous and methodical in his actions.
"Jiraiya."

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru and Tsunade's expressions changed slightly. Sensing something amiss, Uchiha Gin lowered his cracking fist, frowned, and pressed for an answer.
"Did something happen to that kid?"

That shouldn't be the case. With Jiraiya's strength, even without intelligence, no one in the Land of Rain should be able to keep him here.

"No, he just has something to do and can't come back for the time being. It's just the two of us who came back to report for duty this time."

"What could be more important than going home for the New Year?" Uchiha Gin raised an eyebrow. Jiraiya hadn't yet turned into a playboy because of his heartbreak, and the mission to find the chosen one hadn't even begun. Now that his parents were alive, he had no reason not to go back to the village.

"he"

Tsunade frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then said softly.
"He was helping the widow take care of her child."

"what?"

Upon hearing this unbelievable news, Uchiha Gin couldn't help but pick at his ear. Could Jiraiya really have gotten together with Yahiko's mother?
"Here's what happened."

Seeing Uchiha Gin's eager expression as if he couldn't wait to watch the drama unfold, Orochimaru and Tsunade took turns revealing the whole story of Jiraiya's arduous journey of seducing the widowed proprietress of a barbecue restaurant while posing as a waitress.

"Oh? Oh~ Oh!"

Uchiha Gin pulled a large bag of popcorn from his ninja tool pouch behind him, his facial expression rapidly changing as the story unfolded.
"Wow, amazing! Amazing!"

After popping the last kernel of popcorn into his mouth and chewing it carefully, Uchiha Gin, who had thoroughly enjoyed his melon-eating, nodded with satisfied clicks of his tongue.
"That's how it is. Because he has to take care of the shop's business, Jiraiya will not be coming back for the New Year this year."

"Sigh~ A boy is gone once he grows up."

Shaking his head with a sigh, Uchiha Gin brushed the popcorn crumbs off his hands, and looked at Orochimaru and the other man with a hint of realization in his eyes.

Time flies. Before we knew it, these children had all reached the age to get married.

In his memory, Jiraiya and his friends were still those little brats who would pool their money to buy a cup of lemonade at Honey Ice Cream and stuff it all over Yuki's mouth.
"You're leaving again after the New Year, right?"

Gin Uchiha, his face filled with sorrow, glanced at the bright red lanterns on the street and suddenly asked in a strange tone,
"uncertain."

Orochimaru and his companion exchanged a glance and shook their heads in unison.
"Ok?"

This answer caught Uchiha Gin completely off guard, who was trying to gain sympathy by cosplaying a lonely old man.
"Because of some unexpected events, our mission seems to have been completed ahead of schedule."

"Speak more carefully!"

Uchiha Gin's eyes lit up; more juicy gossip was in store!

"This is not the place to talk."

Whoops!

It's still a big secret.

Since they couldn't discuss it in the street, Uchiha Gin spent a fortune to book three seats at the Honey Ice Cream Parlor at the village entrance, just to get a taste of this fresh, firsthand juicy gossip.
"Slurp~"

Inside the Honey Ice Cream shop, Tsunade, with a nostalgic expression, took a big gulp of her warm bubble tea, tasting the flavor of her childhood. Her almond-shaped eyes involuntarily curved into beautiful crescent moons.

Sitting next to her, Orochimaru elegantly stirred his caramel macchiato; he had absolutely no desire to eat another iced Americano.
"Hurry up!"

Holding a glass of triple-sugar lemonade, Uchiha Gin urged, "Hurry up!" Orochimaru stopped stirring, inserted a straw, and took a small sip. The rich, sweet aroma made him squint his eyes.
"Yesterday, Amegakure was attacked, and more than a hundred Amegakure ninja were killed or wounded, including two high-ranking members who were killed in action. Even Hanzo almost died in battle."

After spitting out the straw, Orochimaru stared at the faint red lipstick mark on it. The nearly twenty-chapter side story had been condensed into a single sentence.

"What?!"

Uchiha Gin was so shocked he almost dropped his lemonade. He had slept soundly the night before, never expecting such a major event to occur in the Land of Rain at the same time.
"Who did this?"

"Iwagakure has even deployed two Tailed Beast Riders for this."

"Huh? How come Hanzo isn't dead?"

In a simple ninja battle, Iwagakure wouldn't be able to completely overwhelm Amegakure, but deploying Tailed Beast Riders is a different story. This is a more terrifying and controllable power than the Jinchuriki from the original timeline.
Hanzo is indeed very strong, ranking among the top Kage-level shinobi. He might be able to hold his own against a Tailed Beast Rider, and with the assistance of Amegakure ninja, repelling him is not impossible.
But facing two at once, Gin Uchiha couldn't figure out how he survived.

"Because Hanzo also became a knight."

"Clang!"

Upon hearing this shocking news, Gin Uchiha finally dropped the lemonade in his hand, but fortunately, only ice cubes remained in the glass.

"Gudong~"

Swallowing the lemonade in his mouth, Gin Uchiha's doubts seemed quite real.

"Are you sure the source of this information is legitimate?"

Hanzo transforms into a knight?

Did you ever ask him, the father of knights?

“The three of us saw it with our own eyes. This is a portrait drawn based on the scene. You can see for yourself if you don’t believe me.”

Seeing Uchiha Gin's incredulous expression, Orochimaru pulled out the video footage he had prepared to report to Danzo from behind his back.

"Your drawing skills are better than Bo Ran's, and you even have a bit of that old scoundrel Takeda's style. Do you want to become a manga artist?"

Upon receiving the art book, Uchiha Gin looked at the cover, which boasted a remarkably durable art style, and couldn't help but praise it.
"If you and Jiraiya join forces, you will definitely become half of the H-manga world."

"This is?"

During their casual conversation, Uchiha Gin flipped through the picture book. The moment he saw the ferocious, dark purple knight standing atop the giant salamander's head, his dead fish eyes widened in shock.

Abdomen?

He recognized the item on Hanzo's waist at a glance. Although it was damaged, it was definitely the abdominal opening that came standard with Jigen's mass-produced clones.

"This is enough for one person to take on two? Amateur scientists are truly terrifying."

They say geniuses often emerge from humble backgrounds, and Uchiha Gin couldn't help but believe it this time. Someone actually managed to recycle this kind of thing and successfully activate the Another Rider System!

I really want to meet this researcher and ask her how she managed to activate the abdomen that only recognizes tailed beast chakra without an external battery pack.

"One against two? No, if it weren't for the Third Kazekage's timely intervention, Hanzo might have met his end on the spot."

Chiyo went too?
Gin Uchiha, who was flipping through the battle CG created by Orochimaru, frowned. "Even Sunagakure has gotten involved?"
Doesn't that mean...?
"Um... the property prices in Amegakure shouldn't be fluctuating much right now, right?" (End of Chapter)