Touching the pearl in his pouch, Uchiha Gin recalled Uzumaki Mito's words.
"This pearl's sealing jutsu can only be activated at close range, and only when the target's guard is down."
Mito, with her cute twin buns and puffed-up cheeks, had instructed him.
"Your brother's a taijutsu beast. If I try getting close, he'll squash me before I'm halfway there," Uchiha Gin had grumbled, taking the pearl.
"Dummy, use your brain. Who said you have to fight him head-on?" Mito had scolded, exasperated.
"I'll just have to play it by ear."
With no solid plan, Uchiha Gin had tucked the pearl away and left a worried Mito behind.
The memory faded.
Facing Uzumaki Hanami, cloaked in red chakra, Uchiha Gin sighed inwardly. No choice but to go for it.
He took the first step toward Hanami, who warily demanded, "What are you doing?!"
The earlier giant fireball had left a mark; he feared another.
Hearing the shout, Uchiha Gin planted his katana in the ground and raised his hands, signaling no ill intent.
This confused Hanami. He'd expected a desperate fight, but this was entirely different.
"Is the Uzumaki clan's young lord scared of an ordinary Uchiha like me?" Uchiha Gin taunted, voice dripping with provocation.
"Scared of you? Laughable!" Hanami, easily goaded, flashed to Uchiha Gin's front, looming over him.
At nearly six feet, Uchiha Gin was tall for an Uchiha, but next to the over-six-foot Hanami, he felt small.
Up close, Uchiha Gin studied the Uzumaki heir for the first time: a youthful, refined face on a body like a bodybuilder's, the stark contrast jarring.
Ignoring Uchiha Gin's odd expression, Hanami spoke first. "Despicable Uchiha, where's my sister? Tell me now. If she's unharmed, I might spare your life."
Confident in his overwhelming strength, Hanami wasn't wary of weaker opponents. Even a double-tomoe Uchiha like Gin was just a toy to him.
He suspected the giant fireball had been a desperate, life-draining move, similar to some Uzumaki techniques.
Curious, Hanami held off breaking Uchiha Gin's limbs, opting to talk instead.
"If the young lord spares us, I guarantee your sister won't lose a single hair," Uchiha Gin said, feigning compliance.
"Sparing you alone is my limit. Don't try to bargain," Hanami replied. Uchiha Gin might be a distant Uzumaki descendant, tainted by Uchiha blood, and needed to be brought back for his father's judgment.
A flicker of struggle crossed Uchiha Gin's face, as if wrestling with a decision, before he relented. "Fine. If you promise not to harm me, I'll take you to your sister immediately."
"Smart choice," Hanami said, chest puffed, head high, as if proclaiming his pride to the world.
"It's a deal, then," Uchiha Gin said, extending a clenched fist.
"What's that?" Hanami asked, frowning.
"A fist bump. I learned it from a northern country. It seals a pact," Uchiha Gin explained, face serious.
"Weird custom," Hanami muttered, but his confidence led him to extend his massive fist, lightly tapping Uchiha Gin's.
The moment their fists touched, Uchiha Gin's serious facade twisted into a sly grin.
Seeing this, Hanami's heart skipped. As he tried to use his keen senses, his chakra stalled, like stagnant water.
His outstretched fist felt a powerful suction, as if locked by a black hole.
Looking closely, he saw Uchiha Gin's fist open, revealing a familiar pearl. Black tendrils extended from it, binding his hand tightly, unyielding despite his struggles.
"The Four Symbols Sealing Pearl! How do you have it?" Hanami shouted, shocked. His father had crafted only one, given to Mito for protection.
The pearl contained a Four Symbols Seal, trapping its target inside, releasable only by Uzumaki Ashina.
Ignoring Hanami's question, Uchiha Gin poured all his chakra into the pearl, commanding the black tendrils to envelop the immobilized Hanami layer by layer.
Finally, Hanami was fully encased in shadow. The pearl's suction twisted and pulled the two-meter-tall man inside.
As the last wisp of shadow vanished into the pearl, Uchiha Gin collapsed onto the grass, panting.
Gasping, he stared at the trembling, black-red pearl in his shaking hand, marveling, "Sealing jutsu is as mysterious as the manga said. Terrifying."
Had the Uzumaki clan not been wiped out, their sealing prowess could've made them unstoppable. Shame the plot did them in.
"Ding! Uzumaki Hanami defeated. Mission: Save Uchiha Fuka's Team in Crisis, 80% complete…"
The system's chime was music to his ears.
After gathering his gear, Uchiha Gin's chakra had mostly recovered, thanks to his Uzumaki physique.
Only Uchiha Ryoichi's fight remained, but first, he had someone to meet.
Miles away, in a cave, Senju Itama stirred, a foul sock stuffed in his mouth.
Not seeing the hated Uchiha, he spotted a twin-bun girl staring blankly ahead. Hope sparked in his eyes.
Ignoring the sock's rancid stench, he thrashed, grunting loudly.
"Hmm… ah!"
The odd noise snapped the girl out of her thoughts. She turned to the kid the Uchiha "kidnapper" had bound.
"Aba aba…"
Seeing her notice him, Itama writhed harder, grunting louder.
Mito, watching, thought for a moment before asking, "You want to tell me something?"
Itama nodded frantically. The hygiene-conscious girl, grimacing, searched and found a stick.
She aimed to pry the sock out but, repulsed by the smell, pinched her nose with one hand.
Too far away, she fumbled, pushing the sock deeper instead.
Feeling it lodge near his throat, Itama shook his head in agony.
Mito, averting her gaze to avoid the sight, ignored the gagging boy, jabbing the stick harder.
"Hey, what's this weird stunt? Keep poking, and this kid's really gonna die."
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