A Trap? Turning the Tables-The Uchiha Stand Firm! [Part 1 and 2 Combined]

"Begin construction!"

Uchiha Gin focused intently and began crafting the Mystic Code.

Each gemstone was a natural source of magic, containing different abilities and effects. They had to be perfectly matched within a single Mystic Code, without the slightest error.

Runes, known as Runes, had effects similar to those of gemstones. Runes with special abilities could now be replaced by gemstones.

First, he formed a great cycle of the five attributes: earth, water, fire, wind, and void [aether].

The final attribute, void, represented the properties beyond the sky and celestial bodies. It described something imaginary—or perhaps something born of fantasy.

The great cycle of the five attributes was completed quickly, but the hard part came next: within each of the five attributes, he had to construct another five-attribute cycle. Each addition doubled the difficulty.

Both maids had gone home for the holidays, so Uchiha Gin could focus on completing the Mystic Code. His familiar, Blue Star, was outside keeping watch. If anyone managed to pass through the several layers of barriers, Blue Star would notice.

Before long, thirty-six hours had passed.

"Phew..."

Relief showed on Uchiha Gin's face as he let out a deep breath, wiping away sweat like Homelander after a hard workout.

He'd thought he was going to fail, but somehow, he'd managed to finish it.

A Mystic Code shaped like a pentagram, with twenty-five gemstones connected by countless silver threads, glowed with the sheen of something fresh from the forge. It rose slowly, then spun rapidly in midair. Its shape gradually changed from a spread-out blanket to a compact form, finally becoming a pentagon like a pyramid, with four sides and a base.

A large gemstone representing one of the attributes sat on each face. The yellow gemstone representing earth was at the bottom.

It was just the right size for Uchiha Gin to hold in one hand, so he grabbed it.

Only then did a smile appear on Uchiha Gin's face.

Then his expression turned serious. "Transform!"

Uchiha Gin pressed the earth-attribute side of the Mystic Code against his waist, just below his navel, and channeled magic into it.

The Mystic Code shone with five colors. At the same time, Mithril spread rapidly over Uchiha Gin's body like Iron Man's nanotech armor, forming a thin film. The five gemstones shifted, stopping at his hands, feet, and chest.

"So cool!"

Uchiha Gin gazed at his reflection, his eyes sparkling.

The armor didn't cover him completely. It was like the armor of a Gold Saint: a chest piece and armor for his limbs.

The earth and water attributes covered his feet, fire and wind covered his hands, and void covered his chest.

As Uchiha Gin channeled magic, colorful light flowed across the Mithril film covering his body. It grew even more dazzling whenever it passed over one of the attribute gemstones. Uchiha Gin thought he looked incredibly cool.

[Craft a Mystic Code of your own] Complete.

Reward: Magic Circuits *1

New Mission—[The Greater Source] · A truly powerful mage cannot rely solely on the magic produced by their own Lesser Source. Master the ability to absorb magic from the outside world—the vital energy of heaven and earth, Natural Energy, magical elements. All of it comes from the life force of the planet, known as the Greater Source.

"Sage Mode?"

The first thing Uchiha Gin thought of when he saw the new mission was that.

There were no other mages in this world besides him. He thought he might be able to find magical elements in mines, since he was a Jewel Magecraft user and gemstones were a kind of mineral—just the essence of one.

But unlike magical elements, which might only be found in mines, Natural Energy seemed to be everywhere. He just couldn't sense it.

"First, I should give the armor a name. Five Origins. That's what I'll call it."

Uchiha Gin had considered calling it something like Imperial Armor, but in the end, he decided on Five Origins, after the five primal attributes that formed the foundation of the world.

This Mystic Code could increase the power of the five-attribute Magecraft he used, and it also offered strong resistance to magic, allowing it to block attacks from Magecraft and ninjutsu to a certain degree.

It offered almost no physical defense, but Uchiha Gin believed that with his ability to foresee the future, hitting him would be no easier than hitting Obito.

Also, transforming really did take some time. The Mithril didn't spread that quickly. Still, Uchiha Gin figured that if he activated his future sight, he could walk toward his enemy while transforming and dodge all their attacks. That would look incredibly cool.

When he left the room, Uchiha Gin felt sore all over, but the result had been worth it.

"It's snowing."

Stepping into the hallway, Uchiha Gin caught Blue Star as it flew down from the eaves. Blue Star wriggled in his hand, shaking the snow off its body.

He deactivated the two barriers other than the sensory barrier, then went to take a bath and get some proper rest.

"When it comes to Natural Energy, Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest are the most direct options. Next would be Orochimaru. He's studied Natural Energy, too, and the Cursed Seal was the result of his research."

Before long, Uchiha Gin had heated the water and started his bath.

In the bathtub, Uchiha Gin picked out a few suitable targets. He ruled out Shikkotsu Forest immediately; his only chance there would be to find Tsunade. Mount Myōboku was the safest and the place he knew best. Ryūchi Cave came next.

"I'm not trying to learn Sage Mode. I just want to master Natural Energy and convert it into magic."

"Given my traits, the chances of Natural Energy backfiring on me are low. As long as Orochimaru can find a way to extract it, I can absorb it. Right?"

Uchiha Gin quickly figured it out.

Sage Mode had quite a few limitations, though it came with plenty of buffs. Still, converting Natural Energy into magic that he could fully control was the best option.

"Looks like I'll have to rely on Snake Auntie!"

Uchiha Gin felt that deciding to work with Orochimaru had been absolutely brilliant!

Chapter 65: A Trap? Turning the Tables—The Uchiha Stand Firm! [Part 1 and 2 Combined]

The next day, Uchiha Gin went to see Orochimaru and asked him to extract Natural Energy.

"Are you trying to learn Senjutsu?"

"Wouldn't it be easier to ask Jiraiya about that?"

Orochimaru asked.

He thought Uchiha Gin would have a way to get him to hand over the method for learning Sage Mode.

"No. I only want Natural Energy."

Uchiha Gin shook his head.

Orochimaru was a little surprised, but agreed. It was nothing difficult for him. After all, he had already investigated all kinds of energy in the Ninja World, including Tailed Beast energy. The previous Eight-Tails Jinchuriki had been one of his victims.

After telling Uchiha Gin that he could come back for it the next day, Uchiha Gin headed to the Military Police Force.

"Have you taken care of your business?"

When he saw Uchiha Gin, Fugaku asked him directly.

"What's up? Is there something you need?"

Uchiha Gin could tell Fugaku had something else to discuss.

He thought it over. There didn't seem to be anything else that needed arranging. Production of the ninja tools had already begun. The Gene Completion among the Uchiha Clan had allowed many members who hadn't been able to awaken the Sharingan to do so, and they had all been assigned to work in production.

The clan's old-timers were in charge. They might not be much good in a fight, but they had plenty of experience in other areas, including producing ninja tools. Some had learned from their fathers. The clan had simply stopped making them once they started buying them from Konoha and the Ninja Cats, but the knowledge had been passed down.

"The Third Hokage contacted us. He says Shisui was spotted in Amegakure and is suspected of joining the Akatsuki. The Third Hokage wants the Uchiha to send people to kill Shisui or bring him back."

Fugaku explained it to Uchiha Gin.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had sent the message yesterday.

But both he and Uchiha Gin knew that Shisui's defection had been arranged by them. They had no interest in hunting him down.

However, they had previously declared that the Uchiha Clan would hunt Shisui and do everything in its power to catch him. It would look bad if they didn't send anyone now.

"It seems the Third Hokage has something in mind."

Uchiha Gin thought it over, then spoke.

The last message Shisui had sent back said that Danzo had been captured by "Uchiha Madara."

It made sense that Konoha's people had found out Shisui was with the Akatsuki. But Sarutobi Hiruzen's order had come too suddenly. Nearly two months had passed since the incident in Amegakure, and only now had they been informed. Clearly, there was something else going on.

In the original story, the Konoha High Command had colluded with Obito during the Uchiha Clan's massacre. The entire clan had numbered nearly a thousand, yet they had all been in Konoha, and Sasuke had been the only survivor. That clearly didn't add up. Even if two people had been slaughtering pigs, killing them all in one night would have been no easy task.

Anbu and Root must have surrounded the Uchiha Clan Compound. That had been the plan between the Konoha High Command and Obito.

"So they've teamed up with Obito again this time?"

Uchiha Gin's expression turned cold.

"Should we refuse? Or send a small team to test the waters?"

Fugaku was looking to Uchiha Gin to make the call.

"Take me out of the equation. How strong is the clan right now?"

Uchiha Gin asked.

"We have eighty-four Three Tomoe members, one hundred and three who just awakened the One-Tomoe Sharingan, and I have the Mangekyō Sharingan."

Fugaku quickly gave him the numbers.

Those with the Three Tomoe were at least Special Jōnin in strength. If they mastered the nature transformation of even one attribute, they'd definitely be as strong as Jonin.

The One-Tomoe members could all be counted as Chunin.

They were strong enough to crush every minor village except Amegakure.

"This could be a diversion. The Konoha High Command and 'Uchiha Madara' might be plotting against the Uchiha Clan, or they might be targeting me alone."

Uchiha Gin shared his analysis with Fugaku.

He couldn't be sure. As far as Konoha was concerned, the entire Uchiha Clan was a greater threat than him, the public wielder of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

After all, one person would have a hard time overthrowing Konoha, but the entire Uchiha Clan was another matter.

If he wasn't there and Obito teamed up with Konoha to attack the Uchiha, things could go wrong. But the Uchiha of today had enough strength to drag Konoha down with them and deal it a devastating blow.

Besides, he had already turned Itachi into a research nerd. If the clan's survival was on the line, Fugaku wouldn't have his son interfering, and he would fight with everything he had. The massacre wouldn't go the way it had in the original story, with just two people wiping out the entire Uchiha Clan.

"I think this time they're targeting you."

"If something happens to you while you're away, the Uchiha Clan won't have any timely information from outside. They might attack the clan as soon as they're sure you're dealt with."

"Because of his temperament, the Third Hokage won't make a decision that carries too much risk. He wouldn't attack the Uchiha Clan first and then go after you. If he did and you managed to escape, Konoha would never be safe beyond its borders again."

This time, Fugaku calmly gave his assessment.

He knew Sarutobi Hiruzen too well. It was precisely because he knew him so well that he thought the Third Hokage wouldn't make a decision that carried too much risk. That was why he had let his guard down in the original story. He hadn't expected Konoha to team up with the Uchiha Madara responsible for the deaths of the Fourth Hokage and his wife and the Nine-Tails Incident, all to wipe out the Uchiha Clan.

Fugaku couldn't understand how they could work with an enemy just to destroy the Uchiha.

"If I'm not there, are you confident you can protect the entire Uchiha Clan?"

Uchiha Gin asked.

"Of course!"

"The Uchiha Clan is the strongest in Konoha!"

Fugaku answered seriously.

"But wouldn't it be better not to walk into this trap?"

Fugaku guessed Uchiha Gin wanted to go, but he thought that since they knew it was a trap, the best choice was to stay away.

"Only bloodshed will make these people afraid. The Uchiha can't stay on guard every moment. It's time for the Uchiha name to ring across the Ninja World once again."

Uchiha Gin said it plainly.

If they were only targeting him, he wasn't afraid.

And now that he knew they'd joined forces, who knew what kind of trap they'd prepare next if he didn't go this time?

That was why striking first was the best choice.

"Understood."

"I'll put the clan on the highest alert during this time."

Fugaku didn't try to talk him out of it again. He would do everything he could to protect the clan.

Once they had made their decision, Fugaku and Uchiha Gin headed to the Hokage Building together.

After being escorted by Anbu, they went straight to the Hokage's office.

"How many of these reports are left..."