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

After a brief, friendly exchange behind the scenes between the two Kazekage of Sunagakure, a bruised and battered Shamon walked into the VIP room, followed by a refreshed Retsuto.

"I never expected that Gintoki would travel so far to rescue me. I am truly honored."

At this moment, Uchiha Gin and the others were receiving the highest level of hospitality from Sunagakure. Countless delicacies from the Land of Wind were laid out on the table, and the fragrant wine in their glasses emitted a delightful aroma.

The three hungry people were sampling the food one by one, while Chiyo, with a beaming smile, kept them company.

"Have you finished your work report?"

Gin Uchiha, who was studying a snack called Delicious Wind Serpent, looked up and winked with a mocking expression.

"The First Lord was wise and mighty; I could never learn everything he taught me in my entire life."

Shamon gave a half-hearted compliment, pulled out a chair and sat opposite Uchiha Gin, picked up a skewer of delicious, golden-brown wind snake, and began to devour it.

He's been in a coma for so long, relying on IV fluids to stay alive, and he hasn't had any nutrition. Now that he's awake, he needs to replenish his energy.

Taking the opportunity, Ginya Uchiha questioned Shamon about the details of the attack. Shukaku, being nothing more than an inexperienced beast, provided a vague and subjective account of the events, lacking objectivity.

"Shamen Prison, could you tell me the details of the attack on you?"

"Gintoki, the culprit who attacked me, judging from his appearance and methods, is undoubtedly the First Hokage of Konoha."

Upon hearing this, Shamen wiped his mouth, his expression gradually becoming serious, his hairless brows furrowing tightly.

"Hashirama Senju?"

Uchiha Hikaru, who was enjoying fruit nearby, looked at Shamon with a puzzled expression.

"He shouldn't be that kind of person, right?"

Although her initial impression of Hashirama Senju was not good, it changed after subsequent interactions, and she came to recognize him as a peace-loving leader.

Such a person is unlikely to be a criminal who attacks other villages and tries to start a war.

"Konoha just wanted to start a war. After all these years, they finally couldn't hold back and showed their claws!"

Retsuto sat down resentfully, glaring at Gin Uchiha and the others. Even though Shamon had been saved by them, it didn't change the fact that Hashirama Senju had committed crimes.

"First-sama!"

Chiyo, who was pouring sake for Uchiha Gin, turned her head and looked at Retsuto with a reproachful expression.

"Can you tell me what happened after you were subdued?"

Ignoring the old fogey, Uchiha Gin put down his wine glass and thoughtfully stroked his chin.

When the topic of his capture came up, Shamen's face turned extremely grim. After hesitating for a moment, he recounted the details of his defeat.

"His Wood Release was very effective against the power of the Tailed Beasts. I fought him in close combat for a long time, but in the end I was suppressed by a giant wooden figure."

Recalling the details of the battle with the attackers, a bitter expression appeared on Shamen's face.

He had been evenly matched with the Dark Lord of the Ninja World just moments before, but in the blink of an eye, he was being manipulated by Hashirama Senju's five fingers. His resolve was showing signs of crumbling.

"After he used Wood Release to hang me up, the power of the Tailed Beast in my body was quickly absorbed by the wood branches, and my transformation was forced to end. At this time, he took out a grayish-brown seed and implanted it into my body."

Touching the gruesome wound on his lower abdomen, the monk recounted his ordeal truthfully.

"Then, for some reason, he suddenly let go of me. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I used the self-defense ninjutsu, Particle Sealing Palm, to wrap myself in a sphere formed by Magnet Release, thus escaping death."

Did they escape unscathed?

It's possible that the other party never intended to kill you on the spot.

After listening to Shamon's account, Uchiha Gin had already formed his own conclusions.

If the intention was to incite a war between the villages, "Hashirama Senju" could have simply killed Shamon; why go through the trouble of planting that strange seed in him?

Therefore, the other party's purpose is definitely not war, but simply to plant seeds and harvest the chakra pills they dug up when they mature.

"By the way, since you were already unconscious when you were found in the Shamon prison, how did you manage to pinpoint the culprit to Hashirama Senju?"

If the Sand Village can pin the blame on Hashirama based solely on the remaining Wood Release traces at the scene, isn't that a bit too arbitrary?

"Because this wasn't his first offense; he attacked Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure."

Lie Dou, who had been silent, raised his aged face, clenched his fists, and said resentfully,

"The Gin-Gold brothers of Kumogakure, Onoki of Iwagakure, and Katsura of Kirigakure all suffered heavy losses from Hashirama Senju's ambush, but they were all stronger than Shamon."

The people in the other villages who were attacked were at least conscious after the war. Shamen was delayed by their misdiagnosis, which caused the seeds to germinate prematurely and almost cost him his life.

"Oh? Could you elaborate?"

Judging from Lie Dou's tone, the people in the other villages who were attacked did not become vegetative like Sha Men. He was very curious about how these people dealt with the seeds inside their bodies.

"snort!"

Lie Dou snorted coldly upon hearing this, showing no intention of speaking.

The details I'm about to discuss are from a confidentiality agreement signed by all the villages, and have not been leaked to anyone except a very few close confidants at the village level.

"First Generation Master, Uncle Gin has already cured the Master, so there's no need to hide it from him anymore, right?"

Chiyo, standing to the side, wrinkled her nose and said indignantly,

"Why are you siding with outsiders?"

Looking at his promising junior, Lie Dou was heartbroken. He hadn't even become the Wind Shadow yet, and he'd already uttered such rebellious words.

"Lord Retsuto, it's alright. I trust Gintoki's character."

Just as Retsuto and Chiyo were locked in a tense standoff, Shamon stepped forward, nodded firmly, and said...

"Alright, you're the Wind Shadow now, so you're in charge."

Seeing that Liedou was on the opposite side, Liedou sighed and chose to remain silent.

"Then I'll tell Uncle Yin the story."

Chiyo eagerly raised her hand, and Uchiha Gin immediately perked up his ears.

"Onoki of Iwagakure was defeated just like his teacher, and a seed was planted in his waist by his opponent. However, the Third Tsuchikage was always suspicious by nature, and he directly used his bloodline limit to cut off the part where the seed was planted."

Tsk! Little Potato is ruthless, cutting up a perfectly healthy mother's kidneys without hesitation.

"Katsura from Kirigakure was the same, except that after the seed was planted in him, he used the Snow Clan's S-rank forbidden technique Absolute Zero at the cost of burning his life force, turning his entire body into ice crystals in an attempt to perish together with his enemy. As a result, his opponent escaped, and the seed in his body was annihilated under the effect of Absolute Zero."

Uh... Wig is even more ruthless, she even used a forbidden technique that could cost you your life.

"As for the Silver and Gold Brothers of Kumogakure..."

Chiyo, whose throat was dry from talking, casually picked up the wine glass in front of Uchiha Gin and took a sip. Several red blushes quickly rose on her face, causing Uchiha Hikaru and Otsutsuki Tsukihime to frown and feel a sudden surge of crisis.

Oh no, it's Chong A-Yin!

"What happened to them?"

Gin Uchiha didn't take Chiyo's little tricks seriously. He was more interested in knowing what had happened to the Gin and Gin brothers, since he had a good relationship with these two prisoners and they were old acquaintances.

"They encountered two identical Hashirama Senju at the same time."

That's it. One Hashirama prisoner is enough to give them a hard time. If two come, they'll beat both of those shrews out of prison.

"However, they had the best combat record among all those who were attacked."

"ha?"

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Gin blinked in surprise.

Could it be that the Rubik's Cube has manifested its divine power, giving the Ancient Ninja Scroll an epic boost?

"Although the Silver and Gold Brothers were at a disadvantage and each had a seed planted on their arms by the enemy, they managed to unleash a newly developed combined technique – Thunder Plow Hot Blade – in their desperate situation."

A sudden burst of power in dire circumstances, in line with his bloodline.

Two prison sentences were enough to show that he didn't disgrace the Six Paths Ancestor and was worthy of the blood flowing in his veins.

"Each of them lost an arm, but they still managed to severely damage the enemy."

Got it, so you can't be a good Raikage without losing an arm, right?

Uchiha Gin pursed his lips, somewhat regretting that the two former prisoners would now only be able to apply glue with one hand.

and many more!

Hit hard?

"Is it really a severe blow?"

Uchiha Gin asked, somewhat incredulously.

If the enemy truly stole the power from Hashirama's prison, how could they have been so severely injured by the mere Silver Brothers?

No, weren't you just praising their bloodline? How come you've suddenly become so insignificant?

The latest novel is first published here!

Can they be the same?

How can the offspring of a concubine be compared to the offspring of the legal wife?

"That's right. According to the description from Kumogakure, the Silver and Gold Brothers did indeed break the neck of one of their enemies at the cost of their arms being carbonized. Upon seeing this, their other accomplice simply picked up their teammate, whose life was unknown, and ran away."

After listening to Chiyo's account, Uchiha Gin frowned deeply for a long while, then asked with a strange expression,

"No, since two Hashirama Senju have appeared at once, anyone with a brain would suspect that the culprit is not him, right?"

If it were always one person launching an attack, it would be understandable if other ninja villages suspected Konoha. But what if two people came out at once?

"We did discuss this issue and eventually came to a conclusion."

Just as Uchiha Gin thought he had found the blind spot, Retsuto emerged from his silence, his expression also carrying a strange look.

"What conclusion?"

Sensing the barely concealed mockery in Retsuto's eyes, Uchiha Gin scratched his head in confusion.

"If it had only been one enemy before, we would have discussed whether it was Konoha's doing. But since two powerful Hashirama Senju appeared at once, it is undoubtedly Konoha's doing."

"Huh? Why?"

How did this mess end up hitting Konoha?

"Still pretending? Your Konoha has the most famous human experimentation master in the ninja world, cultivating biological weapons for war—is that something you can do with ease?"

"Achoo!"

In the brightly lit research room, Senju Hisa touched her itchy nose, her big red eyes full of doubt. Isn't this a cleanroom laboratory?

In the incubation chamber behind her, a naked, white-haired man was curled up asleep in a pale green nutrient solution.

"It's all Bai Mao's fault. Now it's like mud has fallen into his pants; even if it's not shit, it's still shit."

"Ugh! Gintoki, that's a disgusting description~"

Listening to Uchiha Gin's sighs and complaints from the side, Uchiha Hikaru curled his lip in disdain.

The three had already stepped out of the gates of Loulan, preparing to find a secluded place to board a vehicle, followed by the monk and Chiyo who had come to see them off.

They had now essentially completed their mission. Shamon, still recovering, tried his best to persuade them to stay a few more days, but Uchiha Gin had his own secret mission to complete, and could only bid farewell to Chiyo, whose eyes were brimming with tears.

"That's enough. You haven't recovered yet, so don't overexert yourself."

"Take care on your journey, Gintoki. As for the attackers, I will continue to investigate."

"You should still be careful; they might come back again."

Uchiha Gin's concerns were not unfounded. The attackers' target was clearly the Tailed Beasts, and they would not give up until they obtained the fruit that the seeds had borne.

"Thank you, Gintoki. I'll be careful."

Bye-bye~

Only after the figures of Uchiha Gin and his two companions disappeared into the dust did Shamon, who was standing still, slowly speak.

"Chiyo, your teacher is getting old."

"Teacher, what did you say?"

Chiyo, who had been staring blankly at Uchiha Gin's retreating figure, suddenly snapped back to reality, her face full of confusion.

"The teacher's body is already pineapple-like."

Shamon looked at the bewildered Chiyo, a bitter smile curving his lips.

Although Uchiha Gin saved his life, his body, corrupted by the strange seed, had already suffered irreversible damage.

If he continues to use the power of the tailed beasts to transform, his life will come to an end.

"Shukaku, Lord Dragon Vein, I beg you."

As he spoke, he took out a treasured card, his gaze lingering on the憨厚 (honest and simple) tanuki (raccoon dog) image on it. He examined it for a long time before finally handing it to Chiyo.

"The future of Sunagakure and Loulan is entrusted to you."

"Number One, what are you waiting for?"

On a sand dune dozens of miles from Loulan, three identical figures in black robes stood in a row. Cixian, standing behind them, curiously watched the inactive Subject Number One.

Number One raised his head, a red halo flashing in his black pupils.

"The parasitic spores have been destroyed."

"Well?"

Jigen was taken aback. The five test subjects he had previously sent out had not achieved high success rates, only absorbing a small amount of tailed beast chakra, which was far from enough to sustain his plan.

There was even an experimental subject who was injured by a descendant of Kaguya with diluted bloodline and is currently soaking in the base's nutrient solution.

Only this number one was quite promising. Not only did it successfully plant the parasitic spores of the divine tree, but according to its intuition, they were about to mature and bear fruit.

"And what about the fruit?"

"The unripe fruit still exists; the holder is in that direction."

Subject One pointed into the distance, which was the route that Uchiha Gin and his two companions had taken.

If all goes well, the two groups will meet in a few minutes.

Cixian's left eye narrowed, its pure white pupil activating his far-sightedness. He saw three unfamiliar figures speeding through the yellow sand, and then understood why Number One hadn't moved an inch—they were lying in wait. A haughty expression immediately appeared on his face.

"You three, go and eliminate them." (End of Chapter)