Handsome?

Uchiha Gen nodded. "Yeah, I know."

Sasuke's mood immediately darkened. "Where is he?!"

Uchiha Gen looked Sasuke up and down with an expression usually reserved for idiots. "What, you think if I tell you, you'll be able to kill him?"

"I..." Sasuke was momentarily speechless, then suddenly thought of something. "Then why do you want to kill him too?"

Expecting Sasuke to ask that, Uchiha Gen answered naturally, "Oh, he killed one of my relatives." Did Uchiha Gen really want to kill Itachi? Of course not. Since transmigrating here, he had not even killed a chicken. Where would a young man get that much murderous intent?

He only said that because he thought having a common goal would make them easier to get along with, and Sasuke could not lose that motivation.

"???" Sasuke frowned. Fine, that reason barely made sense, but it still felt strange. "Who was your relative?" Besides, a Jonin asking a Genin for help—even if Sasuke was somewhat arrogant, his brain was not damaged.

"Why do you care so much? You wouldn't know them even if I told you." At the same time, Uchiha Gen silently thought, Although I was reincarnated into the Uchiha Clan, who knows how many relatives I had? They're all dead anyway, and I don't know any of them. Should I just make someone up next time?

System prompt: Two-Tomoe Sharingan detected (obtainable). Do you wish to submit it?

Uchiha Gen impatiently chose: No.

This was already the nth prompt since Uchiha Gen had dragged Sasuke back. He seriously suspected the system wanted him to accidentally choose the wrong option.

Not knowing whether the system could hear him, Uchiha Gen thought, I'll get the Sharingan within the time limit. I don't know what you want it for, but if you push me too far, I'm going on strike! Erase me if you want, just get lost!

What Uchiha Gen did not see was that after he said that, the system fell silent, as though it were considering something.

After finishing his meal, Sasuke sat in his seat and watched Uchiha Gen perform a series of facial changes. He seriously suspected this Sound Ninja had something wrong with his head, and secretly decided he would find a chance to escape.

Although he had learned this information from Jiya, Sasuke was not stupid. Following him would not benefit him in any way. As for him being stronger than Orochimaru? Forget it.

Uchiha Gen crunched through his instant noodles, then saw that Sasuke showed no reaction and curled his lip. So, the moment he got the information, he planned to run.

But if he just let him run off like that, where would Gen's dignity be?

He picked up a pair of disposable chopsticks from the table and flicked them casually. Like an arrow, they shot toward Sasuke and passed straight through his forehead. There was no blood; the Sasuke before him exploded into smoke.

Uchiha Gen glanced at the chopsticks on the floor. A Clone Technique... If he knew the Shadow Clone Technique, Sasuke probably would have escaped while he was in the bathroom.

Seeing the door wide open, Uchiha Gen chased after him. About two minutes later, an unfinished rice ball on the ground suddenly exploded with a bang, releasing a cloud of smoke. Once it cleared, Sasuke stood there.

However, Sasuke had not expected that plan to buy him much time. He opened the window and prepared to jump in the opposite direction from where Uchiha Gen had just left.

The moment he opened the window, he saw Uchiha Gen hanging upside down outside it, staring at him with dead-fish eyes. "Seriously, do you think that little of me? You think you can fool me with a trick like that?"

Seeing that he could not escape, Sasuke's expression did not change. "Since our goals are the same, why did you abduct me? Or do you have a way to make me stronger?"

The purpose of abducting him? Obviously, if he truly could not find any other Sharingan, he would dig out Sasuke's.

Naturally, Uchiha Gen would not say that aloud. With a swing of his arm, he jumped back into the room through the window. "I just wanted to observe the Sharingan up close and gather some information. After all, aside from him, you're the only one left of the Uchiha Clan. In exchange, I'll teach you some combat knowledge. What do you think?"

Sasuke was silent for a while. "You said before that you could defeat Orochimaru?"

"Yes. I can defeat Orochimaru as he is now. Or rather, utterly crush him. His strength declined badly after the battle with the Hokage."

After thinking for a moment, Sasuke asked again, "How does he compare to that man?"

Hmm... That was a rather profound question. Uchiha Gen wore a conflicted expression, unsure whether he should say it. "Well... do you want to hear the truth? I feel like you might fall into despair if I tell you."

Despair? Sasuke suddenly thought of a possibility and was startled. "You mean even Orochimaru at his peak couldn't beat him?!"

Without directly answering Sasuke's question—there were too many variables, after all, and attributes could counter one another—Uchiha Gen pointed at Sasuke's neck. "Do you think the Curse Mark is powerful?"

Sasuke did not reply. He merely reached up and touched the Curse Mark on his neck.

Seeing his expression, Uchiha Gen understood what he was thinking. "This thing has far more drawbacks than benefits, at least in my opinion. The seemingly explosive power it gives you all at once is less than nothing to Itachi."

Sasuke frowned tightly when he heard that. His expression grew dazed and confused. Even Orochimaru could not defeat Itachi—what could he possibly use to kill him?

Seeing Sasuke on the verge of losing himself, Uchiha Gen clenched his right hand into a fist, slightly protruded his middle knuckle, crept closer, and slammed it down on Sasuke's head. "Snap out of it!"

That action pulled Sasuke out of his mental spiral. "Hiss! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Sasuke cursed, reflexively covering the spot that had been struck. Poor guy did not have enough colorful language to even say "what the fuck."

But when he looked up, he saw Uchiha Gen staring blankly at the Curse Mark on his neck, and a chill ran down his spine.

"Don't move!" Uchiha Gen's expression suddenly turned serious. Frowning, he reached out and touched the Curse Mark on Sasuke's neck. Sasuke nearly lost control and exploded.

This aura...

Uchiha Gen closed his eyes and sensed the flow of chakra within his body. Found it! A fierce gleam flashed through his eyes as he lifted the skin of his scalp and forcefully yanked out a tiny snake, no thicker than a finger, from beneath the skin at the back of his head.

Upon being exposed to the outside world and sensing danger, the tiny snake writhed wildly in panic. The instant it was pulled out, it turned to bite Uchiha Gen's hand, but he flung it against the wall. Whoosh—! A Kunai cut through the air and pinned the snake to the wall.

From Sasuke's perspective, it looked as if Uchiha Gen had pulled a snake out of his own head. Sasuke could not help feeling a little nauseated. "What is that?"

Uchiha Gen rubbed the back of his head, feeling the skin around the wound caused by pulling out the snake begin to fester. He could not help sighing. It seemed this human skin disguise could no longer be used. Those snakes had always been able to find him, so apparently it was not because of his scent.

In response to Sasuke's question, Uchiha Gen said, "It should be one of Orochimaru's tracking methods. If he hadn't paid too high a price in that battle, you might have been able to see him already."

"..." After saying that, Uchiha Gen suddenly thought of something and gritted his teeth. No, he had been played. He turned around and began packing his things. If Orochimaru had really done that, then he could not stay here any longer. Or... should he just dig out Sasuke's eyes? Hiding and running like this was too troublesome, and if he did not keep an eye on Sasuke, he would just run away. Malicious...

That thought vanished in an instant. Uchiha Gen walked into a small room and began peeling off the human skin on his face, unwrapping the bandages around his hands layer by layer.

Looking at himself in the mirror, his face was covered in cracks. It was identical to his face before transmigrating. He had to admit, he really looked a little disgusting now.

When Uchiha Gen emerged again, he had already used the skin provided by the system. Aside from his clothes and his slightly longer hair, his face was exactly the same as when he had still been alive.

"?" Sasuke looked at Jiya's completely different face. "A Transformation Technique? Or is this what you really look like?"

Uchiha Gen casually tied his overly long black hair into a hairstyle like that of the Hyuga Clan. "Mm, this should count as what I really look like." He raised an eyebrow at Sasuke. "Handsome?"

Sasuke: "..." The corner of his eye twitched uncontrollably. He had decided—once he gained enough power, the first person he would kill would be this guy.