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

"Crackling~ Crackling~ Crackling"

At dawn, the piercing sound of firecrackers jolted Uchiha Gin awake from his sweet dreams. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he lazily rolled over and drew back the curtains, discovering that the entire village was enveloped in a lively and bustling atmosphere.
Sensing the gunpowder smell wafting from afar, he scratched his messy curly hair and lay back down on the soft bed.

"Huh? It's already Chinese New Year?"

Time flies. Uchiha Gin feels like he hasn't done anything all year, and it's already time to give out red envelopes to the younger generation again.
"Curly-haired baboon! Wake up now!"

Just as he was calculating how many large red envelopes he needed to give, Senju Itama excitedly burst through the door.

"Damn it, why are you still sleeping?"

Dressed in a festive cheongsam, she saw Uchiha Gin still lying dead on the bed, and without hesitation, she pounced on the bed like a hungry tiger, her delicate fists slamming down.
"I was wrong, spare his life."

Uchiha Gin's expression suddenly stiffened as he looked at Senju Itama straddling him. This girl's punches were reckless; what if she injured him? Wouldn't his future sexual happiness be ruined?
"Hmph! Didn't I tell you to get up early last night? You ignored me, didn't you?"

Seeing that Uchiha Gin's attitude in admitting his mistake was relatively good, Senju Itama's pink fist finally stopped at the tip of his nose. The sharp wind from the punch swept past, making his curly hair sway from side to side.

Gudong~

Swallowing hard, Uchiha Gin was extremely glad he hadn't been stubborn.
However, this young lady's outfit is quite stylish; the cheongsam paired with black stockings makes her stand out among the limited-edition Lunar New Year sets.

"Huh? What are you hiding in your bed? You pervert!"

As the smooth black silk caressed him, Uchiha Gin, who had survived the ordeal, felt a flutter in his heart, which earned him a friendly punch in return.
"Boom!"

"puff!"

In the end, he could not escape the iron fist of Senju Itama in the new year.

backyard,

Wearing a brand-new red dress, Uchiha Hikari looked with a hint of amusement at Uchiha Gin, who was covering his face as he walked down the stairs.
"Gintoki, you can't sleep in today!"

"Hiss, it's just setting off firecrackers, why don't you two just do it?"

Rubbing his handsome face, which bore the mark of a slap, Uchiha Gin pouted. The reason Senju Itama had woken him up so early was so that he, as the head of the family, would make a good start to the new year.
“You are the head of the household, so this is something you should do.”

Hikaru chuckled and shook his head, spreading the prepared firecrackers on the ground, waiting for Uchiha Gin to light them.
"Seriously, why set off firecrackers? What if they scare away that Nian beast, that slutty monster? Who's going to fix it for me?"

Uchiha Gin crouched down, searching for a fuse while muttering some kind of lewd language under his breath.

"Curly-haired baboon, what are you babbling about?"

Senju Itama, who was covering his ears, frowned. "It's just setting off a firecracker. What kind of mysterious ritual are you Uchiha going to perform?"
"I'm making New Year's prayers, hoping that God will grant me a hardworking, intelligent, youthful-looking, big-breasted, cute girl."

Having found the fuse, Uchiha Gin raised his finger, spouting nonsense with a straight face, while a flame suddenly ignited at his fingertip.
"Keep dreaming. You'd be lucky to get a washboard for being lazy and good-for-nothing."

Senju Itama couldn't help but roll her eyes. If she weren't afraid of the cannon fire, she would have already delivered a flying kick.
"Washboard? After eating so much meat and fish, it's okay to try some pickled radishes and vegetables once in a while."

"Huh? You actually believed it, you horny gorilla!"

Seeing that Uchiha Gin was actually seriously considering it, Senju Itama was so angry that her delicate eyebrows shot up, and her fists clenched so tightly they cracked.
Uchiha Hikaru glanced down expressionlessly, a slight downward smirk playing on his lips.
"So washboards were made from pickled radishes?"

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Sensing two chilling killing intents, Uchiha Gin, sweating profusely, quickly lit the fuse of a firecracker. With a joyous burst of firecrackers, the New Year's celebrations at Uchiha Gin's residence were officially completed.

After setting off the firecrackers, Senju Itama and Uchiha Hikaru, dressed in new clothes, picked up their bags and gave instructions to Uchiha Gin, who was sprawled on the sofa with a bruised and swollen face.

"Curly-haired baboon, we're going out to buy some New Year's goods. Don't wander off, okay?"

"I'm not a child."

Uchiha Gin, who had been punished for inappropriate remarks, couldn't help but twitch his bruised lips upon hearing this.
"If you miss tonight's New Year's Eve dinner, your living expenses for the new year will be halved!"

"Okay, okay!"

Uchiha Gin curled his lip. So what if he secretly went to the moon for New Year's Eve dinner last year? Is it really necessary to treat him like a thief?

"Dangdang!"

As soon as the two women left, the bruises on Uchiha Gin's face visibly healed, and in the blink of an eye, his pig-like face returned to its original shape.
"How could we not go out during the Lunar New Year?"

He pulled out a new outfit full of New Year's spirit from his wardrobe, put it on, and twirled around in front of the mirror to show off. Looking at the Uchiha Gin [New Year Limited Edition] outfit, which was worth at least 1980 points, he nodded in satisfaction.

Konoha streets,

On New Year's Eve, the village's festive atmosphere reached its peak, with lanterns and decorations everywhere and crowds of people thronging the streets.
"There are quite a few tourists here!"

With his hands in his pockets, Uchiha Gin, like a lion surveying its territory, wandered aimlessly through the bustling crowd, scrutinizing the many figures whose attire didn't match that of the Land of Fire. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
In previous years, foreigners did come to Konoha to celebrate the New Year, but this year, for some reason, the number of foreign tourists has increased several times over.
"Honey, I didn't expect Konoha to be such a nice place!"

"That's right, if it weren't for the temporary lockdown of Sunagakure, we would have missed a great place for our honeymoon!"

Uchiha Gin looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young couple dressed in exotic clothing. Judging from their affectionate manner, they were probably still newlyweds.
Temporary control measures?

Through their conversation, Uchiha Gin roughly figured out why the number of tourists had surged.
It seems to have been affected by the war.

Not long ago, Amegakure officially declared war on Iwagakure. The two villages set up camps along the border, and small-scale skirmishes occurred frequently. The two forces, eager for a fight, were just waiting for a signal before a protracted war was about to begin.

In order to fully support the front-line war, both the Land of Rain and the Land of Earth have implemented temporary control measures, prohibiting all outsiders from entering except for essential supplies.
While these two countries aren't exactly major tourist destinations, their unique landscapes and scenery attract many visitors who want to spend money and take photos. This wave of lockdowns has turned away many eager tourists, leaving them with no choice but to travel to the nearby Land of Wind and Land of Fire instead.

However, the Land of Wind also issued an emergency notice before the new year, placing the entire country under temporary control. This left tourists with only the Land of Fire as an option.

If you ask them why they don't go to the neighboring Land of Grass and Land of Waterfalls,
Please, the thieves of the Land of Grass and the unscrupulous merchants of the Land of Waterfall are notorious in the ninja world. Unless you're an extreme tourist seeking thrills, most people wouldn't choose to go to these two places to throw their money away.

The Land of Fire really hit the jackpot this time; the tax revenue from the Lunar New Year holiday alone is estimated to increase by several percentage points compared to previous years.

Why won't you sell us the goods?

Just as Uchiha Gin was reflecting on this, a commotion in the crowd ahead drew his attention.

Squeezing through the crowd, Uchiha Gin craned his neck and immediately spotted the foreign man with a slightly strange accent. His attire made it easy to identify him as a native of the Land of Wind.

"The contract clearly stated that you would leave us 1,000 catties of grain every month. How can you go back on your word?"

A middle-aged man wearing a windproof face mask stood in front of a grain store, his weathered face etched with a somber expression.

"We're sorry, it's not that we don't want to sell to you, but the village has a policy that classifies grain, ironware, and other commodities as key goods. Trade with them requires approval from the Root. This isn't targeting your Wind Kingdom."

The grain store owner also looked helpless. He thought, "It's a fool not to make money," but even with his audacity, he didn't dare go against the village. Just a few days ago, the blacksmith next door had sold a batch of farm tools to a caravan from the Land of Wind, and the owner was summoned to the Root for questioning that very night. His shop had been sealed off and hadn't reopened yet.

"Our chamber of commerce has official certification, so why is further approval still needed?"

The merchant from the Land of Wind frowned. Due to the recent tense situation, the prices of necessities such as food in Sunagakure had skyrocketed, presenting him with a golden opportunity to make money.
"I'm sorry, no certification works now. Please don't make things difficult for me, I can't help you."

"Damn it! Where is this damned root? I'm going to get the approval."

Seeing the grain store owner's cautious demeanor, and considering their future cooperation, the merchant from the Wind Kingdom didn't press the matter further, instead inquiring about the Root.
"Their office is right there."

The merchant from the Land of Wind, having obtained the address, hurriedly left, and the crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed, leaving only Uchiha Gin looking thoughtful.
"The legendary bottleneck? I knew I was right."

Little Tuan Tuan is really going all out. When it comes to making things difficult for others, Danzo has never disappointed.

It's highly unlikely that the merchant from the Wind Kingdom will succeed in getting approval. Judging from Xiao Tuantuan's methods, it's questionable whether he can even return, let alone bring back the supplies.

From this perspective, Konoha is also a fourth party hiding behind the scenes in this war. Regardless of who wins or loses between the Land of Rain and the Land of Earth, Konoha does not want either side to benefit from it. The best outcome would be for both sides to suffer heavy losses.

"If you don't want to make this money, there are plenty of other people who will."

Uchiha Gin's lips curled slightly. Given the Wind Country's resource needs, without the Fire Country as a major contributor, imports from other smaller countries would be a drop in the ocean. In that case, let alone supporting Amegakure, they would even have to tighten their belts to make ends meet.

My uncle had already started sending people to communicate with the higher-ups of the Wind Country's Chamber of Commerce not long ago. However, because the Fire Country was still a strategic partner at the time, the Wind Country looked down on the Wave Country's goods, which were priced significantly higher than the market price.
However, once news of Konoha's current policies gets back, the higher-ups of the Wind Country's Chamber of Commerce will likely remember the Land of Waves, their new friend who offered timely assistance.

"Phew, I'm hungry. Let's have some fried chicken."

Letting out a long sigh, Uchiha Gin rubbed his empty stomach after finishing his analysis. No matter how you look at it, these things didn't really concern him; the most important thing right now was to fill his stomach.

Outside Konoha Village,

Due to the surge in tourists, several checkpoints have been set up at the main gate of Konoha to check tourists' identities. Tourists from various countries, holding their identification documents, are queuing in an orderly manner for the final check before entering Konoha.
"Is this Konoha? It's so grand!"

Among a group from the Land of Rain, a black-haired girl dressed in a red and white shrine maiden's robe stared in shock at the towering gate before her. Compared to Konoha, her hometown, the Land of Demons, was merely a village with some cultural heritage.
"Master, do we really not need to let Uncle Gin know beforehand?"

The gray-haired girl following behind her poked her master with a troubled expression. Wouldn't their unannounced arrival cause trouble for others?
"I don't know his home address."

Reimu, who had fled from the Land of Rain, shook her head confidently.

"If all else fails, we can ask the staff later. That guy said he's highly respected in the village, so someone should know him."

"This is the only way."

Having endured a long and bumpy journey, Maitreya patted his rumbling belly and nodded in agreement.
Behind the master and apprentice, a purple-haired woman wearing a classic straw hat from the Land of Rain looked up, her innocent, doll-like face filled with deep worry.

"Is Lord Fengying's letter of introduction really useful?"

Hydrangea, who accepted Hanzo's secret mission, had the purpose of finding the Knight System research expert mentioned by the Third Kazekage, and learning from him how to improve the artificial Knight System she had developed.
"Uchiha Gin?"

Hydrangea was completely unfamiliar with this unremarkable name. In Amegakure's newly established intelligence network, descriptions of Uchiha Gin were still stuck decades in the past.
He is rumored to be a research-oriented ninja born into the Uchiha clan, with an unknown birth date. He was praised by the First Hokage as the "Number One Developer in the Ninja World," and the first seven Tailed Beast Cards were created by him.

There is very little visual information about Uchiha Gin. Apart from verbal descriptions, there is only a blurry portrait. He has unusual curly hair and his features suggest he was quite handsome. However, decades have passed since his time, and even the most handsome man would be an old man by now.

"Hopefully he's not an old fogey."

Actually, it's not fair to blame Amegakure for its outdated intelligence network. Ever since the First Hokage disappeared and the Second Hokage, Madara Uchiha, took over, under the deliberate manipulation of his cousin, information about Gin Uchiha within Konoha was classified as top secret.
All that remains are old records from decades ago. Apart from a few people who are familiar with Lao Yin, almost no one knows his background. Even Onoki has almost forgotten that he exists.

Soon, the staff member verifying her identity received Reimu's identification. This member of the Uchiha security team carefully examined the pass in her hand while asking her questions in a formulaic manner.
"What brings you to Konoha? Visiting relatives, or sightseeing?"

People who come at this time of day are usually visiting relatives or traveling. This shrine maiden's identity is listed as the Land of Demons, so she must be here for tourism, right?

"We're here to visit relatives!"

Before Reimu could answer, Miroku, who was tugging at her sleeve, blurted out the answer first. Because she was hungry, she looked pitiful and very endearing.

"Visiting relatives? But I think you're from the Land of Demons."

Seeing the wary expressions on the faces of the staff in front of her, Reimu quickly pressed down on Miroku's little head behind her and explained in a serious tone,
"We're here to find a man named Uchiha Gin. He promised to give my daughter and me a good life. Do you know him, young man?" (End of Chapter)