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

Boom—

thump—

As the get off work bell rang, the staff of Konoha Prison began to leave their posts after a long day of work.

Humming a little tune, Morino Inosuke passed by an office and was surprised to find that the usually dark room was brightly lit.

Did they forget to turn off the lights?

Lord Yin was so careless!

Morino Inosuke shook his head with a sigh, then casually pushed open the half-closed door.

"Forehead?"

To his utter surprise, Uchiha Gin, who always arrived later than anyone else and left earlier than anyone else, was actually staying obediently in the office.

"Master Yin, aren't you off work yet?"

Although he appears to be idly spacing out, it is undoubtedly Uchiha Gin himself.

"Huh? They're already off work?"

"Yes, the bell has been ringing for ages."

Lying back in his office chair, lost in thought, Uchiha Gin belatedly blinked his salted fish-like eyes upon hearing this, a hint of anger brewing within them.

It's already past the end of the workday, why hasn't that white-haired guy come yet?

"Thank you for your hard work, Master Yin. I'll be going home now."

Sensing Uchiha Gin's inexplicable anger, Morino Inosuke immediately chose to run away to avoid being targeted by his wrath.

"Sigh~ I never thought I'd get stood up one day."

With a resentful expression, Uchiha Gin pulled out a small jar he had tucked into his bag beforehand. Looking at the two scarlet eyeballs floating in the pale blue nutrient solution, he resisted the urge to collect them and instead stuffed them back into his bag.

"Hmph! Next time I'll charge you!"

However, Uchiha Gin was also quite puzzled. Given Senju Tobirama's impatient manner yesterday, why didn't he come to him today to exchange his eyes?

Could it be because of...?

"Thump!"

Uchiha Gin slammed his fist into his palm, a look of sudden realization on his face.

"I understand. That white-haired guy was overwhelmed by the power of the Sharingan and couldn't bear to switch back."

No wonder Xiao Tuantuan in the original timeline was so obsessed with Sharingan grafting surgery; everything has its reasons. After all, like master, like disciple.

On his way home, Uchiha Gin happened to run into Uchiha Kagami, who had just gotten off work.

"Jingzai, you just got off work too?"

"Uncle Yin, stop talking, I'm exhausted today."

Uchiha Kagami, his face bearing the distinct air of a soldier, turned around and gave a listless greeting.

"What's wrong?"

"The teacher took sick leave today and asked me to cover for him."

Is Bai Mao sick?

Uchiha Gin was taken aback. He seemed to be in good condition yesterday. How could he suddenly fall ill?

"Didn't they say what the illness is?"

"That wasn't mentioned. It was only when the Hokage went to work this morning that he found the leave note on his desk."

It seems the illness came on suddenly; no wonder I didn't come for an eye transplant today.

"Uncle Yin, your medical skills are superb, could you please take a look at my teacher? It would be a relief for me."

With a bitter expression, Uchiha Kagami remembered Uchiha Gin's other identity, and with a little filial piety, he pleaded aloud.

"Okay, I'll go take a look after I finish eating."

Uchiha Gin nodded, and Uchiha Kagami burst into tears of joy.

After dinner, Gin Uchiha wandered over to the gate of Tobirama Senju's residence, only to find the door locked. He knocked for a long time without getting a response.

"Could he have died at home?"

Uchiha Gin couldn't help but speculate maliciously. He did some quick calculations and realized it was approaching the year the white-haired man would die.

Could it be that the timeline corrector has manifested and taken Tobirama Senju away?

Creak~

Just as Uchiha Gin was pondering whether to force his way in, the door, which had been tightly closed for a long time, was pulled open a crack.

Senju Tobirama's pale face emerged from within. Upon seeing that the newcomer was Uchiha Gin, his eyes darted away somewhat unfocused.

"What are you doing here?"

His voice was somewhat hoarse and conveyed a deep sense of exhaustion.

I heard you're sick.

Sensing that Tobirama Senju was acting somewhat unnaturally, Gin Uchiha frowned slightly and quietly activated his enhanced senses, only to discover that the person speaking to him was not his true form.

"Cough cough cough, I forgot to close the window last night and caught a cold."

Tobirama Senju coughed a few times feigning ignorance, but still showed no intention of opening the door to welcome guests, which inevitably aroused suspicion.

"Jingzai, please let me take a look at you. It's just a minor cold, I can cure it in no time. I'll also replace your eyes while I'm at it."

As he spoke, Uchiha Gin was about to push the door open and enter when Senju Tobirama's expression changed upon seeing this, and he quickly and forcefully blocked the door.

"What do you mean by that?"

Something's definitely up!

"No need, I've already taken my medicine and I'll be fine after a good night's sleep. As for the eye transplant, I'll come find you once I've recovered."

Tobirama Senju shook his head, his words clearly implying that he was seeing the guest out.

"In that case, I'll be waiting for your arrival."

Since the other party had said that, Uchiha Gin couldn't be too forceful, but he could clearly sense that Senju Tobirama was hiding something.

"Phew, they're finally gone."

Watching Uchiha Gin's departing figure, Senju Tobirama breathed a sigh of relief, closed the door, and then vanished into white smoke with a bang.

Inside Tobirama Senju's residence, there was a secret research room he used privately. Beside a lab bench surrounded by densely packed, sophisticated instruments, an unfamiliar figure anxiously watched the testing equipment being activated.

creak creak

As the instrument in front of her produced the test report, the waiting figure quickly pulled it out and began to carefully examine it with a pair of large, ruby-like eyes.

"How...how is this possible?"

After a long while, the figure slumped into a chair, her long white hair falling loose, and a cold, unfamiliar female voice rang out.

Turning her head to the side, the smooth surface of the glass container reflected a cold and beautiful face. Her snow-white skin had a faint blush, and her large, ruby-like eyes were filled with lifelessness.

"I am still me, but..."

Looking up at his slender, snow-white wrist, Tobirama Senju felt more despair than regret.

The test report in her hand clearly stated that, apart from the chromosomes, all her physical data were original.

"It's all that damned Uchiha's fault!"

In a fit of rage, Tobirama Senju slammed his fist onto the testing table, his red eyes filled with boundless resentment.

If he hadn't changed his eyes, how could he have discovered the original owner of the Sharingan's memories, and how could he have tried the secret technique performed by that priestess?

She wouldn't be like this now.

As Tobirama Senju gazed at the shrine maiden's reflection in the glass, his resentment reached its peak, and his red eyes flickered with a strange light.

In the pupil of one of her eyes, three familiar magatama appeared, spinning rapidly in response to the fluctuations in their owner's emotions.

Even with the other blind eye, one could still vaguely see slivers of light and shadow.

"Well"

Just as Tobirama Senju's extreme emotions were about to erupt, the memories of her shadow clone flooded her mind, bringing her a sliver of clarity. The tomoe that had been spinning in her eyes stopped once more before dissipating.

"call"

Unexpectedly, Uchiha Gin came to visit him. Tobirama Senju, who was just about to settle scores with Uchiha, suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

It was clearly her own arrogance that led her to use an unknown secret technique, so how can she blame it on the Uchiha?

"Let's find a way to change it back first."

Rubbing her aching temples, Tobirama Senju decided to find a way to return to normal first. Otherwise, how could she go out and face people in her current state? She couldn't keep maintaining the transformation technique forever, could she?

However, Tobirama Senju was now extremely troubled. After transforming with that secret technique, his chromosomes were completely altered, which was far superior to ordinary transformation techniques.

She also tried to use that secret technique again to try to turn back, but nothing changed, as if this transformation was a one-time irreversible process.

"No way, I refuse to believe it!"

Glancing at the white hair hanging by her ear, Tobirama Senju, finding it troublesome, casually picked up a bandage from the table, tied it into a ponytail, and after tidying herself up, her gaze became resolute.

"A secret technique from a mere small place? I'll show you how to crack it right now!"

Just as she was preparing to make her move, the heavy drag on her chest made Tobirama Senju feel somewhat uncomfortable.

He had no choice but to pick up the bandages from the table and wrap them around his head again, using up a whole roll of bandages just to barely manage to cover it.

"Ugh, these two lumps of meat are such a hassle!"

For a long time afterward, Gin Uchiha didn't see Tobirama Senju again, but he learned a few things from Kagami, whom he met by chance in Honey Ice City.

"You mean the teacher? He's already at work, but..."

Uchiha Kagami, having taken a sip of his milk tea, had a faint look of confusion on his handsome face.

"What's wrong?"

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

Uchiha Gin shook the undissolved syrup at the bottom of his lemonade glass, and asked curiously,

"The teacher seems to have become a different person. Not only does he no longer argue with the Hokage, but he also no longer works overtime and goes home on time after get off work."

"He's just getting old."

Hearing about Tobirama Senju's sudden change in style and habits, Gin Uchiha nodded in deep agreement. Isn't this the way a retired senior official works?

"Jingzai, I think you have a chance."

"ha?"

"But don't be too careless, the little monkeys are keeping a close eye on things~"

Seeing his bewildered nephew, Uchiha Gin offered some guidance.

"Why don't you take advantage of this time to get in touch with people? Otherwise, once Bai Mao steps down, you might not even be able to become a captain in the secret service, let alone the village party secretary."

"Then I'll go back to the security team. The people there are so nice to talk to, and they're all really talented."

"Ugh! What a loser! What's so great about being a city management officer?"

Seeing the disappointed look on Uchiha Gin's face, Uchiha Kagami quickly changed the subject to avoid listening to his elder's nagging.

"By the way, Uncle Gin, it seems that the Hokage has recently discovered clues about the First Hokage."

"Oh?"

Uchiha Gin, who was about to continue his eloquent speech, was taken aback by what he heard. He had not received any related information. How did his cousin get it?

"Details."

"I learned this from a ninja who had just returned from a mission. Apparently, there's an organization that's recruiting researchers for human experimentation."

These days, anyone who does human experimentation is either stupid or evil.

However, this shouldn't have anything to do with Hashirama's prison, right?

Perhaps sensing Uchiha Gin's confusion, Uchiha Kagami pushed his finished milk tea aside and continued,

"Human experimentation is secondary; the most important thing is that members of that organization claimed during recruitment that their leader could grant people endless life."

Endless life?

That does indeed have something to do with the mysterious monk who captured Hashirama from the bottom of the cell.

"This is outrageous, could it be some kind of 'shoe cult'?"

It sounds far-fetched, but in this day and age, endless life does indeed have a fatal attraction for ordinary people.

"I don't know, but we can't let any clue slip by."

Uchiha Kagami shook his head, and Uchiha Gin rolled his eyes after hearing this.

It turned out that my younger cousin hadn't figured it out either, but adhering to the principle of "better to kill three thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free," he still wanted to investigate.

The Hokage's office.

"Just a pharmaceutical company?"

Madara Uchiha frowned slightly as he looked at the scroll spread out on the table. This was the only valuable clue he had found recently.

"Reporting to the Hokage, that organization is indeed a pharmaceutical company in the research and development stage, recruiting researchers for human trials, solely for the purpose of developing new drugs."

The Konoha ninja who were ordered to investigate kept their heads down, displaying utmost respect.

"And what about that endless life?"

"That company simply exaggerated the drug's efficacy in order to promote its own products."

The Konoha ninja who had conducted the on-site investigation answered truthfully. After hearing this, Madara Uchiha turned his gaze to Tobirama Senju, who remained silent to the side.

What do you think?

For some reason, he's been finding the white-haired guy more and more pleasing to the eye lately, which is really strange.

"Mark it for now, and send someone to monitor it for a while."

When questioned, Tobirama Senju raised his head, his crimson eyes, which claimed to be in disguise, gleaming with an inexplicable light.

"Then so be it."

Madara Uchiha also saw no problem with it and directly assigned the task to the Konoha ninja in front of him.

"Then the task of surveillance will be entrusted to you."

"yes!"

"By the way, what's the name of that company?"

"It hasn't been officially named yet; for now, it's called Valley Country Biotechnology Research Company."

The country of the valley.

"Did you send them away?"

Seated in his high position, Cixian swirled the crimson wine in his hand, his cold eyes fixed on the man prostrate on the ground beside him.

"Reporting to you, sir, that Konoha ninja has already left."

"Didn't you give yourself away?"

"Absolutely not!"

The man lying on the ground trembled violently. If it weren't for Jigen discovering the Konoha ninja who had infiltrated to investigate, their company's inner workings would have been completely exposed.

Fortunately, the research institute had not yet been officially opened. Faced with the lurking Konoha ninja, they turned the tables and deliberately disguised themselves as an ambitious pharmaceutical company to deceive everyone.

"Pack up and move the research institute."

Although his subordinates performed flawlessly, ninjas are inherently suspicious, and for at least a long time, cloning experiments with Hashirama Senju cannot be conducted here.

"Then here."

"Didn't you say this is a pharmaceutical company? Then let's continue operating it the way you said. It'll come in handy sooner or later."

If things suddenly stop here, it will inevitably arouse unnecessary suspicion. Jigen is not in good condition right now, so we need to avoid unnecessary battles as much as possible. The most urgent task is to research the clone of Senju Hashirama.

After his battle with Hashirama Senju, his body didn't have much time left. Before it completely collapsed, Jigen needed to forge a perfect vessel to prepare for his reincarnation.

"I wonder if that stupid woman Kaguya left a wedge." (End of Chapter)