Under the black night, pale moonlight shone down on the face of the Uchiha captor.
With that devilish smile of his, he looked terrifying under the eerie glow, making the already timid Senju Itama shiver uncontrollably, his mouth stuffed with something so that he could only let out muffled whimpers.
"Little Senju brat… if I were you, I'd hurry up and eat while I can," the Uchiha "demon" said as his dead-fish eyes lazily rolled toward him.
Hearing this, Itama instinctively licked at whatever was in his mouth. A salty, savory flavor spread over his tongue. He bit down and found it chewable. After a few more bites, he realized it was just jerky.
Having not eaten or drunk for two days, Itama didn't care if the enemy's food was poisoned. He devoured the jerky in a few big gulps, then smacked his lips, unsatisfied.
"More?" he asked, shameless.
Seeing his prisoner actually act so brazen, Gin's forehead throbbed and he thumped the boy on the head.
"You little punk, don't you know your situation?"
"Senju will never be slaves! Just kill me if you dare. My father and brothers will avenge me!" Itama said, surprisingly resolute.
Looking at the boy's determined face, Gin suddenly felt the fun of teasing him drain away. Back in his old world, kids Itama's age were probably watching cartoons and enjoying carefree childhoods… but here, they were already on the battlefield, killing or being killed.
"What a disgusting era," Gin muttered heavily.
After all, he had been a normal modern man just a few days ago. He couldn't possibly adapt instantly to this world's cruelty. Those protagonists who fit right in from day one were just weird.
"…What? I won't tell you anything about the clan! Not a word!"
Itama, assuming his capture was to force information out of him, kept up his defiance, his young face far too mature for his age.
"You really think you're something, huh?" Gin suddenly looked down at him, his eyes glinting coldly. That gaze made Itama's heart quiver, but his Senju pride kept him stubbornly staring back.
"Good eyes," Gin murmured. "We won't kill you yet. But don't even think about running away."
"…?"
"And don't think about offing yourself either. Because if you die, we'll just go grab one of your brothers instead."
"!!!"
Seeing the boy's hateful glare, Gin crouched down, bringing his lips near his ear to whisper like an ancient god.
"You don't want your brother getting caught because of you, do you?"
Those words shattered Itama's will to resist.
"Cooperate. The mighty Uchiha always treat captives well. Who knows — you might even live in the end," Gin said, continuing his devilish coaxing.
"You swear?" After a long silence, Itama looked up, his little face still full of determination.
"I swear on the honor of Uchiha ancestors."
Anyway, those ancestors were all hiding inside Madara's body by now, so Gin didn't feel even a shred of guilt making that vow.
"Achoo!"
Far away, a spiky-haired boy practicing skipping stones by the river suddenly sneezed hard, feeling a chill.
Beside him, a mushroom-haired boy was giving instructions. When he saw his companion sneeze, he asked, "You okay? Don't worry about not throwing it far. You just have to find that upward arc feeling—"
"It's your creepy self standing behind me! I'm super sensitive to people behind me!"
"Sorry…"
The mushroom-haired boy sat down dejectedly.
[Two souls entwined, a fated meeting… thus begins the ninja era.]
Itama had yielded for now. With his weak point held, the boy couldn't analyze the truth of Gin's words the way his precocious brother Tobirama might have.
If Gin had tried that speech on Tobirama, he probably wouldn't have lived to see another sunrise.
Since the boy was cooperating, Gin removed the chains around him. After all, lugging him around had been exhausting, and those iron chains weighed even more. He tied Itama's hands with just rope instead.
He didn't dare let him sleep in a tent, of course. Instead, Gin picked a spot behind the tents and planted a stake in the ground, tying him to it just like Kakashi once tied Naruto during the bell test.
Having settled everything, Gin felt drained. He stretched, already scheming how to provoke Uchiha Darō into another "fight" tomorrow to farm his Steel Heart points.
Just as he was about to circle back to his tent, he suddenly felt the air around him freeze. A chill ran down his spine — someone was watching.
He turned to look at the stake, only to find a figure standing silently on top of it. Itama was nowhere to be seen.
"Enemy attack!"
Gin's eyes went wide. This mysterious person had gotten into camp without even Fenghuo and his three-tomoe noticing.
He instinctively opened his mouth to call for help, but then the moonlight revealed the figure's face.
The words caught in his throat.
This… this wasn't possible. The figure standing there shocked Gin to his core, sending a chill from his toes to his scalp. As the light fully revealed him, Gin croaked out the name.
"Uchiha… Itachi?! This era… you shouldn't even exist here. Could it be… the Dragon Vein?"
The young man in the black cloak with red clouds stood there silently, eyes closed, his pale, handsome face lined with deep creases. His forehead protector was slashed clean through.
Gin, who had watched Naruto countless times, recognized him instantly — the man who shaped Sasuke's whole life: Uchiha Itachi.
Even in his shock, Gin couldn't help but wonder — had Akatsuki found the Dragon Vein hidden in Rōran and sent Itachi here?
Itachi didn't speak. He just slowly opened his eyes, and his Sharingan glowed faintly.
The world changed.
The white moon above vanished. A blood-red moon rose in its place, and a suffocating pressure filled the air.
In the blink of an eye, Gin found himself bound to a cross.
"A blood moon… a cross… could this be…?"
Looking up, he saw countless Itachis appear one by one, each holding a blade. One of them spoke in a deadpan voice.
"In the world of Tsukuyomi, space, time, and matter are all under my control. For the next seventy-two hours… I'll be stabbing you over and over."
Gin screamed as blades sank into his flesh, his cries filling the crimson world.
Even knowing it was genjutsu didn't make it hurt less. Every stab sent pain shooting through his body, and he couldn't even pass out.
As he wept and trembled in agony, he heard that ghostly voice again:
"Seventy-one hours left."
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Gin's tortured howls echoed through the blood-red nightmare.
(End of Chapter)
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