Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha lacks motivation.

Chapter 197 The Shamen, Guardian of Loulan

As soon as the chakra cloak dissipated, Uchiha Gin felt a wave of scorching heat wash over him, instantly drying his nasal passages and making it difficult to breathe.

"Ah! My hair~"

Seeing his already curly hair becoming even drier under the heat, Uchiha Gin grew increasingly anxious. His brow furrowed, and he began rummaging through his bag.

Not long after, he felt something cold inside, and his face lit up with joy. He quickly took it out.

"Hehe, this is just right!"

Uchiha Gin pulled a piece of equipment emitting a blue light from his backpack.

With the appearance of this equipment, the surrounding heat was instantly dispelled, and a chilling aura enveloped him, blocking the subsequent heat wave.

Feeling the refreshing coolness, Uchiha Gin hung the equipment around his neck, stroking the gorgeous patterns on it, his eyes filled with great satisfaction.

【Eternal Winter: When worn, it creates a winter barrier around the wearer, slowing the attack speed of all nearby enemies and having a chance to freeze them.】

Unexpectedly, the Winter Barrier could also function as a portable air conditioner when not in combat. Uchiha Gin immediately gave this artifact a very high rating in his mind. Indeed, no piece of equipment is useless.

Um... aside from electrosurgical units, it's truly useless.

With the Eternal Winter in his possession, Uchiha Gin was no longer afraid of the heat of the Land of Wind. He glanced at the small village with people in the distance, then strode towards his destination as if the wind was blowing through his feet.

As his pace quickened, the Loulan tribe slowly came into view before Uchiha Gin.

This is a very ordinary tribal camp. The people who have lived here for generations have built mud-brick houses. These houses, which are very distinctive to the area, are scattered throughout the camp in a pleasing and orderly manner.

It was lunchtime, and wisps of smoke rose from many houses, creating a peaceful scene.

"Halt! Where are you from?"

Just as Uchiha Gin was about to step into the desert camp, the guards protecting him blocked his way.

The locals who live in the Land of Wind year-round, regardless of gender, always cover their faces with headscarves and face towels when they are out to protect themselves from sand and dust.

The two guards before me were dressed in typical Wind Kingdom attire: plain-colored robes, simple spears in their dry, rough hands, and grayish-white face masks covering their entire heads.

A pair of dark eyes were revealed, warily observing the unfamiliar intruder. The aura emanating from the man made their scalps tingle.

"I'm just a traveler passing through. I saw that there were people here, so I thought I'd come and resupply."

Faced with two harmless fodder in front of him, Uchiha Gin did not want to make a move rashly.

After all, the mission is just to investigate, not to massacre, so there's no need to make a big fuss. I just need to take a look around and make some notes.

Where is your luggage?

The guards, naturally, wouldn't easily believe his nonsense. Seeing Uchiha Gin's empty hands, one of them mustered his courage and asked,

Nobody travels without any luggage, and someone wandering deep in the desert with such fair and delicate skin must have something wrong with them.

"I recently encountered a sandstorm, and I lost my luggage and horses."

Awkwardly scratching his face, Uchiha Gin realized that he didn't look like a weary traveler at all, so he could only bite the bullet and continue making things up.

"Then you wait here for a while. I'll report this to the captain and wait for his decision."

Although the two guards were of low strength, they still had basic awareness, and there was no scene like in wish-fulfillment novels where someone acts arrogantly and then gets humiliated.

They exchanged a cautious glance, then one of them turned and swiftly entered the camp, leaving the other guard watching Uchiha Gin with a tense expression, his hand gripping the spear trembling slightly.

Am I that scary?

This was the second group of people from the Land of Wind they'd encountered today. The guards from the previous caravan were also acting cautiously towards them, which puzzled Uchiha Gin.

He didn't wear the words "protagonist" on his face, so why do these people look like they're trembling with fear at his domineering aura, bowing down as soon as they see him?

"My lord, please don't make things difficult for me. I have a newborn daughter at home. Please be merciful!"

Upon hearing Uchiha Gin's question, the guard's legs went weak and he almost knelt down. The oppressive aura emanating from this stranger was truly terrifying; even when facing the captain, he had never felt this suffocating.

In fact, Uchiha Gin was unaware that once he activated the Tenseigan mode, even after deactivating it, the residual pressure from the Tenseigan would remain on his body for a short period of time.

He himself might not have felt it, but an ordinary ninja could easily sense the unfathomable and terrifying aura emanating from him with just a little attention.

"Congratulations! A daughter is always her father's little angel."

Not wanting to escalate the conflict, Uchiha Gin chatted casually with the guard who had stayed behind. As the conversation deepened, the guard gradually lowered his guard, and the main topic of conversation revolved around the guard's newborn daughter.

"Hehe, my little Chiyo is the cutest girl in the world~"

"Right, right? What's your daughter's name?"

As they chatted, the guard mentioned the name of his newborn daughter. Uchiha Gin raised an eyebrow, subtly glancing at the guard's pale purple hair peeking out from under his turban, and asked to confirm.

"Chiyo, isn't it a beautiful song?"

"That's right, your daughter will definitely be a very powerful ninja in the future."

Uchiha Gin replied in a strange tone, recalling the swimsuit meme from the mobile game in his previous life. He felt his eyes sting and found it unbearable to look back.

"Master Yin"

After some conversation, the guard realized that Uchiha Gin meant no harm, so he cautiously approached and whispered...

"You're too kind, just call me Gin."

Uchiha Gin, who never cared about empty fame, immediately waved his hand to correct him.

"Mr. E Yin, when our captain arrives, please don't be prejudiced against him because of his appearance. He's a kind person with a cold exterior but a warm heart."

Appearance? What does someone look like that could cause such a unease?

It would have been better if he hadn't mentioned it, because this reminder piqued Uchiha Gin's interest, so he waited in place for the captain of the guards to arrive.

Before long, a group of people rushed over from a distance, their rapid footsteps raising a cloud of dust. In the blink of an eye, the group of people stormed to the entrance of the camp.

"Is he the terrifying person you described?"

Before the smoke and dust had even cleared, a cold voice rang out from within.

As the smoke and dust gradually dissipated, the first thing that caught Uchiha Gin's eye was a shiny bald head. Once the dust settled, the owner of this bald head revealed his true identity.

A tall, burly, bald man stood at the very front of the line. His narrow eyes held a terrifying expression, and his bald eyebrows added to his chilling aura.

But the most striking feature on his face wasn't his features that could stop a child from crying, but rather a blue dragon coiled around his bald head, its black claws positioned right above his right eye, giving him an imposing and stern look.

"He's just an ordinary man. Were you daydreaming at work?"

The tattooed, bald man stared at Uchiha Gin, sizing him up but finding nothing amiss. He then turned and glared menacingly at the other guard who had gone to report earlier.

"Huh? Something's different. Maybe it's because I haven't been resting well these past few days~"

The guard who went to report looked at Uchiha Gin with surprise, his aura calm. He hesitated for a moment, then scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly and said in a low voice,

"Hmph~ How dare you neglect your duties! Looks like you need to be punished properly. Starting today, you're going home to reflect for a week. You can come back to work when you're no longer so absent-minded!"

Just when Uchiha Gin thought that this hideous bald man would severely punish the guard, he was surprised to hear such heartwarming words from that hideous mouth.

A week off? Even cattle and horses wouldn't dare dream of it!

"Thank you, Captain Shamen. I will definitely reflect on my actions."

As if the bald man's actions were commonplace, no one around showed any surprise, not even the punished guard showed the slightest fear.

No wonder that guard reminded me earlier; it turns out this guy named Shamen is a two-faced good person.

Wait, Shamen?

As the date drew closer, he encountered more and more acquaintances, and the anticipation that Uchiha Gin had been keeping hidden in his heart grew stronger.

"Who are you, and what brings you to Loulan?"

After punishing his subordinates, Shamon turned around, his eyebrows furrowed, and asked Uchiha Gin, who had a strange expression on his face.

"I am a traveler who travels around the world. Not long ago, I encountered a sandstorm, got separated from my companions, and lost my luggage and horses."

When facing Shamon, Uchiha Gin still used the same words as before, his lifeless eyes filled with sincerity.

"Where do you come from, and what is the purpose of your trip?"

The monk's narrow eyes were filled with astonishment. Although he was the captain of the Loulan Guard, a figure second only to the king in this tribe,

However, being in his twenties and having never left the Land of Wind, he was naturally very curious about events outside.

"This humble monk comes from the East. I am a traveler from the Land of Fire. As for the purpose of my travels, it is simply to record the local customs and traditions I encounter, and to meet some interesting people along the way."

Uchiha Gin, who almost switched channels, immediately stopped himself. A thoughtful look flashed in his eyes before he answered solemnly.

"The Land of Fire is so prosperous, how long did you stay in the Land of Wind?"

Speaking of the Land of Fire, a look of longing appeared in Shamon's eyes, but it didn't last long before he continued to ask questions.

"Not long after, because of the war again, I didn't stay in one place for long."

With his hands shrugged, Uchiha Gin offered a perfectly reasonable explanation.

"Is it still going on? How's the battle going?"

Strangely enough, the Loulan tribe has remained secluded for many years, living in this place generation after generation, and has never participated in the struggles between the various tribes of the Wind Kingdom.

However, Shamen was different from the others in the tribe. He had ideals and ambitions. He wanted to go into the vortex of the Wind Kingdom, show his value, and leave his own strong mark in the history of the Wind Kingdom.

Unfortunately, he was the guardian of Loulan's most mysterious treasure, and he could never step out of Loulan in his entire life.

"Well, right now there's a man named Retsudou who's really getting on his luck. It seems like he has the potential to unify the ninja clans of the Land of Wind."

(End of this chapter)