Naruto: The Thirty-Year-Old Uchiha Can't Get Motivated"

Inside the archives room, there was a map of the dungeon. Besides the office and rest areas, it also marked the numbered sections where prisoners were held.

There was a total of three sections, labeled One, Two, and Three. However, the design of the dungeon seemed oddly asymmetrical, which made Uchiha Gin—who had an innate preference for symmetry—feel extremely uncomfortable.

After quickly locating Section Two, Uchiha Gin grabbed the scroll and headed out.

The second cell block was relatively close to the archives. After walking for a few minutes, Gin arrived at an iron-barred gate guarded by two Uchiha clansmen.

"Identify yourself!"

The familiar voices made Gin narrow his eyes—these two guards looked really familiar.

"Aren't you guys supposed to be on patrol? Why are you in the dungeon?"

Recognizing them, Gin asked curiously. These were the very same Uchiha he had run into when he first returned to the clan. He didn't expect to run into them here again.

"We're doomed!"

Uchiha Tiedan's heart sank into despair. Uchiha Gin had come all the way to the dungeon just to get revenge on him—he was sure of it.

Yesterday, he had learned from his teammate that the person he almost offended was none other than the infamous "evil doer" Uchiha Gin.

Terrified of retaliation, Tiedan had immediately submitted a request to be transferred to some remote post. But on his very first day… the "demon" himself had come knocking.

"Cuihua… I'm sorry. Don't wait for me. Please… live happily…"

With his eyes shut, Uchiha Tiedan put on a tragic, sacrificial expression.

"What are you standing around for? Open the gate. I'm here to verify a prisoner."

Gin frowned in confusion at one guard's closed eyes and muttering, while the other's gaze shifted nervously as if pretending not to see him. Whatever they were imagining, Gin had no idea.

"Huh? You're not here for me?"

Hearing that, Tiedan opened his eyes in shock.

"Why would I be here for you? I'm busy. Hurry up."

"Tiedan! Open the gate for Lord Uchiha Gin!"

The other guard pushed the dazed Tiedan, who scrambled to his senses, fumbled for the key, and quickly opened the gate for Gin.

"This is ridiculous…"

Gin muttered at Tiedan's strange behavior.

"Where's Kaguya Jōsuke's cell?"

"My lord, I'll lead you there."

Casting a reassuring glance at the panicked Tiedan, the other Uchiha offered to guide him.

Following the clansman, Gin entered the prisoner section of the dungeon for the first time.

Rows of wooden-barred cells lined both sides of the passage. Though the bars looked flimsy, each one was inscribed with special Uchiha fire talismans.

Anyone who touched them without using the proper sealing technique would instantly be engulfed in flames—at best, they'd be badly burned; at worst, reduced to ash.

As their footsteps echoed down the corridor, the prisoners grew restless:

"Damn Uchiha! Let me out and I'll crush you into paste!"—The aggressive type.

"Heh, that one looks soft-skinned and tender… I'd love to pin him down."—The perverted creep.

"Kill me! Please, just kill me already!!"—The mentally broken type.

The prison erupted into a cacophony of voices. But for Uchiha Gin, that wasn't the only noise he heard.

"Combat encounter detected. Heart of Steel chest accumulating…""Combat encounter detected…""Combat encounter detected…"

The notifications repeated endlessly in his mind from the moment he entered.

Everyone here was brimming with killing intent toward him as an Uchiha. Wasn't this… a lush, green field of leeks just waiting to be harvested?

Suppressing his excitement for now, Gin followed the guard to the innermost cell, where a middle-aged man sat bound tightly hand and foot, his body gaunt and skeletal.

His limbs were tied in unnatural angles, his hair was gray-white, and above his brows were two crimson marks—the signature "Maru eyebrows" of the Kaguya clan.

"This is Kaguya Jōsuke. Be careful, Lord Gin. His chakra may be sealed, but we couldn't suppress his taijutsu. We've had to keep him starved and break his limbs just to restrain him," the guard explained.

"It's fine. Open the cell—I'll question him myself."

Hearing that his chakra was sealed and his limbs broken, Gin relaxed and urged the guard to open the door.

"Yes, sir."

Though protocol forbade opening the cells, this was Uchiha Gin. Knowing he couldn't defy him, the guard obediently unlocked it.

"Your name?"

"I'm Uchiha Lücha, sir."

"Alright, Uchiha Lücha. Wait outside. I'll handle this alone."

"But…"

Lücha hesitated. The risk was too great—if anything happened to Gin, his own head would roll.

"Relax. He can barely move. I'll just keep my distance and ask a few questions."

Reassured, Lücha reluctantly left.

Gin entered the cell. The middle-aged man sitting on the straw mat slowly raised his head at the sound. His cloudy eyes were lifeless, like a puppet's.

"Kaguya Jōsuke?"

Frowning, Gin addressed the man.

"…"

No response, as if he hadn't heard.

"According to the records, you were captured for slaughtering two Uchiha on a mission six years ago," Gin continued, flipping through the scroll.

"Do you know anything about your clan's raid on the Uchiha compound six years ago?"

At those words, something shifted.

"Ah… haha… HAHAHAHA!"

Jōsuke's dull expression twisted grotesquely. He first laughed, then stared in terror as if he'd seen a ghost.

For an instant, clarity returned to his eyes. He looked straight at Gin and slowly raised his bound hands.

Immediately, the system chimed again:

"Combat encounter detected. Heart of Steel chest accumulating…"

Without hesitation, Gin leapt back—just as razor-sharp bone spikes erupted from Jōsuke's fingertips, impaling the spot he'd been standing.

"He still had Shikotsumyaku hidden…!"

Heart pounding, Gin stared at the bones lodged deep into the stone floor.

This ability wasn't in Jōsuke's file—it must've been his hidden trump card.

But why reveal it so suddenly… to a random Uchiha like me?

Jōsuke prepared to attack again, his fingers aimed at Gin.

But this time, Gin was ready. Chakra surged through his legs as he launched forward, his fist—reinforced with monstrous strength—driving toward Jōsuke's chest.

[Shikotsumyaku: Ten Finger Drilling Bullets!]

Bone bullets shot toward him, but Gin didn't dodge. Instead, he poured even more chakra into his fist.

With a dull crack, the bones shattered under his punch—and his iron fist slammed squarely into Jōsuke's chest.

The frail man's ribcage caved in, Gin's fist lodged in the bone.

Just as Gin wondered why it was so easy, Jōsuke's bloodied lips twisted into a mad grin.

"Got you…" he rasped.

[Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Camellia!]

From Jōsuke's crushed chest, a massive white bone flower bloomed, countless jagged ribs lunging straight for Gin's face—