70. New House

"You're so young, but you're already imitating a corrupted elementary schooler?"
Uchiha Gin raised his hand and gave Uchiha Izuna a flick on the head, making him yelp in pain.

"Isn’t it cool though? Everyone in the clan is into it recently."
Izuna rubbed the lump on his head, tears welling up as he spoke.

In recent days, the kids in the Uchiha compound had somehow picked up on this "corruption" game.

They would all put on smoky eye makeup, cover their faces, and spout bizarre phrases, leaving the adults utterly baffled.

"Tomorrow’s the third day already. What’s the mission the clan leader talked about?"
After dealing with the kid’s "chuunibyou" phase, Gin rubbed his fluffy, curly hair.

Izuna had told him a few days ago that they would go on a mission with Uchiha Tajima in three days, and the time was almost up.

"Oh, right! I was just about to talk to you about that!"
Izuna suddenly remembered, realizing that was why he had been looking for Gin in the first place. But when he’d bumped into Uchiha Madara acting all mysterious earlier, his curiosity took over, and he completely forgot about his original task, becoming fixated on following his brother.

"Tomorrow at noon, come to our house. Father has plans for us."
Izuna recounted his father’s instructions seriously, passing on the message to Gin.

Without bothering Izuna, who was now focused on his stealth mission, Gin casually made his way home after picking up some groceries from the market.

When he arrived at his newly built mansion and put away the groceries, the delivery people from the general store also arrived. Seeing the luxurious mansion that had sprouted from what was once an empty plot of land, the delivery workers couldn’t believe their eyes. They rubbed them in disbelief.

"Wasn’t there nothing here last time? Where did this massive mansion come from?"
Without bothering to explain, Gin just busied himself checking the goods. The workers, feeling somewhat intimidated, didn’t ask further and quickly left once the delivery was confirmed.

Working alone to unpack everything was a bit exhausting. Not one to waste a good opportunity, Gin returned to the old house and shook awake the still-snoring Senju Itama.

"Wake up, kid. Time to work."
"Mmm… I can’t eat anymore…"
Still in dreamland, Itama, relying on his thick skin, didn’t wake up from Gin’s shaking.

Gin’s eyes narrowed as he locked onto Itama’s chubby, fleshy backside. Without hesitation, he delivered a loud smack.

Slap!

The crisp sound echoed loudly.
"Ahhhhh!"
The powerful hit did wonders, instantly jolting Itama awake. He jumped up, clutching his now-swollen butt, glaring shamefully at the smug culprit. Steam seemed to rise visibly from his head.

"You pervert! I’m going to kill you!"
Having had enough, Itama decided to go all out and take down this despicable Uchiha once and for all.

"Stop messing around. There’s actual work to do."
How could he get so worked up so easily? Gin casually blocked the angry Itama with a single finger and smiled.

"I’m moving out."

"Huh? What about me?"
Itama blurted out, stunned by Gin’s announcement.

"You? You’ll stay here. I’m moving out. Sleeping on that couch is unbearable."
Gin explained casually.

"Uh… what if I sleep on the couch and you take the bedroom? Then you won’t have to move out."
After a long pause, Itama awkwardly offered a compromise, turning his head and continuing in a strange tone,
"If I sleep on the couch and you take the bedroom, you wouldn’t need to leave, right?"

He looked as if he had just made a life-altering decision.

"Aww, you don’t want me to leave?"
Gin was surprised that Itama was willing to give up the bedroom and asked, taken aback.

"I’m just doing it for the sake of sweet and sour fish! Don’t get the wrong idea!"
Stubborn as ever, Itama quickly came up with what he thought was a perfect excuse.

"So in your eyes, I’m just a cook?"
Gin pretended to be heartbroken.

"What else? Don’t think I’d have any other feelings for you!"
Itama raised his head proudly, his tone dripping with disdain. He was a Senju, after all—how could he have any emotions for an Uchiha other than hatred?

"Tsk. This is why I hate bratty kids."
Gin clicked his tongue in frustration, shaking his head.

Ignoring Itama’s smug expression, Gin turned his attention to the wall of the old house. He measured it carefully while the little brat looked on in shock. Suddenly, Gin used his great strength to punch the wall.

Boom!

With a loud explosion, the old wall collapsed under Gin’s fist, crumbling instantly.

"If you’re moving, do you really have to destroy the house? What am I supposed to do?"
Itama panicked, kicking Gin’s leg as he watched the demolition.

"Calm down. Do all Senju kids get this worked up?"
Gin brushed the dust off himself and spoke, now stronger than before thanks to the system’s bloodline enhancement.

"Huh?"
Itama finally noticed something behind the demolished wall. Curious, he quickly abandoned Gin and crawled through the opening like a rabbit.

"Whoa…"

Stunned by what he saw on the other side, Itama was at a loss for words. The décor of the new house left him speechless, his mouth hanging open in awe.

The interior of the mansion was designed in a style far beyond anything from this era, something only Gin, with his knowledge from a previous life, could create. No wonder Itama was so amazed.

"This staircase is spiraled! What’s that thing hanging from the ceiling?"
Itama, having snapped out of his shock, began bombarding Gin with questions.

"Why do you care so much? It’s not like you’ll live here."
Gin pressed down on Itama’s head with a smile.

"No way! I want to live in the new house too!"
Realizing he wouldn’t get to live in this amazing place, Itama threw himself on the floor in a tantrum, accusing Gin of mistreating him.

Gin, exhausted by Itama’s antics, let out a sigh, clenched his fist, and waved it in front of the brat’s face.

"Think carefully about your position."
The threat worked instantly. Itama scrambled up and darted back to the old house, meekly peeking out from behind the broken wall.

"What about food? How am I supposed to eat?"
If he couldn’t live there, at least he could still hope for meals.

"You can come over for meals, but you’ll sleep in the old house."
Wanting to keep the peace, Gin decided to compromise slightly.

"Yay!"
"Don’t get too excited. You’ll also be cleaning this place during the day. Otherwise, no meals for you."
Gin made sure the brat wouldn’t get a free pass. After all, maintaining a big house was no small task.

"Did you hear me?"
Gin asked loudly.

"Yeah, I heard!"
Succumbing to the lure of good food, Itama grudgingly accepted, quietly vowing to himself:

"Just you wait, one day the tables will turn!"