The sky cleared up, the rain stopped, and Yue thought it was finally time to go out today...
After three consecutive days of rain, the air was fresh, but the streets were full of puddles. If he went to train, he'd probably end up covered in mud.
After thinking for a moment, he changed direction and headed toward the Hokage Tower—he wanted to see Minato.
Upon arriving, Yue walked straight into the office without any obstruction. Besides Minato and his secretary, there was also a girl present.
Oh, by the way, the secretary was a man.
"I now officially announce that from today onward, Genin Yuhi Kurenai has passed her assessment and is officially promoted to Chunin! Congratulations."
"Thank you, Lord Hokage."
"No need to thank me. This is the result of your own efforts."
From their conversation, Yue quickly understood what was happening. He looked at the newly promoted Chunin, Yuhi Kurenai. She seemed to be around nine or ten years old, with thick black hair, red pupils that looked like she was wearing colored contacts, and purple eyeshadow despite her young age—a standard little loli, actually quite cute.
Yue didn't find it strange for someone her age to be promoted to Chunin. After all, Minato's disciple had already become a Chunin at just six years old.
He figured his own strength was probably on par with a Chunin, but since he hadn't tested it in a fight, he wasn't sure.
"Kurenai, please wait a moment."
"Yes!"
"Yue, it's sunny today. Why aren't you training? Did you come to ask for jutsu?"
"Father, I wanted to ask for some genjutsu-related materials, specifically on how to counter genjutsu."
"Genjutsu, huh? The girl next to you happens to be a genjutsu prodigy. How about this—Kurenai, since you just got promoted and don't have any missions assigned yet, I'd like to personally commission you for a task. Your job is to train with Yue for the day. I'll pay you according to the C-rank mission standard. How does that sound?"
"Huh? Lord Hokage, it's an honor to help Young Master Yue train. There's no need for payment."
Even though she was a Chunin now, she was still just a ten-year-old kid. Speaking to the Hokage made her incredibly nervous and excited.
"It's settled, then. Yue, I'll leave you in Kurenai's care today. I'll handle the payment. You two head to the training grounds now—I have a lot of work to do."
Minato didn't give her a chance to refuse and directly dismissed them. With no other choice, Kurenai followed Yue out of the office.
As they walked out of the Hokage Tower, Yue led the way toward the training grounds in the mountains behind the village.
"Young Master Yue, you're leaving without saying goodbye to Lord Hokage?"
Kurenai looked at the red-haired boy dragging a tachi along, confused by his lack of formality.
"It's fine. I'll be in your care today. Also, just call me Yue—no need for 'Young Master' or any honorifics."
Yue wasn't much of a talker to begin with, and he was even less chatty with someone he had just met. His blunt attitude annoyed Kurenai, and she puffed up her cheeks like a little dumpling.
"Fine then. Yue, where are we going?"
"The back mountain."
"The back mountain is huge. Where exactly?"
"Hard to explain. You'll know when we get there."
"Tch… You're such an un-cute kid."
Maybe because she was mindful of or respectful toward his status as the Hokage's son, Kurenai muttered that in a low voice.
Yue heard it but didn't care. In his eyes, Kurenai was just a little brat.
When they arrived at the training grounds, Yue spotted Itachi practicing shuriken throwing. It had been a while since Itachi last came to train with him—probably because Yue had beaten him up too much.
"Long time no see, Itachi."
"It's been over a month. Recently, I've been training under my older cousin and my father. Today, I won't lose to you!"
Itachi seemed pretty confident. Yue felt a little excited—he hadn't had a proper fight in a while.
"Hey, hey, hey! Are you two little brats ignoring my existence?!"
An annoyed voice interrupted them. Yue suddenly realized he had completely forgotten about Kurenai.
Neither of them had spoken on the way here—Yue had been lost in thought, and Kurenai had been sulking over his attitude.
Now that they had reached the destination, Kurenai had planned to make Yue suffer a little under the pretense of helping him train. But then he ran into a friend and instantly forgot she was there.
To make things worse, the kid with the Uchiha clan crest on his back also acted like she was invisible!
Hearing Kurenai's outburst, Itachi looked at Yue in confusion. When had he started training with this girl?
"She's here to teach me genjutsu. Her name is Yuhi Kurenai, a Chunin—I just met her. This is Uchiha Itachi."
Yue briefly introduced them, but Kurenai immediately blew up again.
"What do you mean by 'just met'?! Why emphasize that?!"
"Um… Can I train with you guys?"
"And you! Why are you asking him and not me?! Do I not deserve any respect?!"
Kurenai's patience finally snapped. Were all kids this un-cute nowadays?
Though, to be fair, they both looked pretty handsome…
But their personalities were absolutely infuriating.
"Sorry. Can we start now?"
Yue, unable to tolerate her whining any longer, gave a half-hearted apology—though his tone lacked any real sincerity.
"Hmph. Fine, then."
She created two shadow clones—one to train in Kagura Mind's Eye and another to study sealing techniques.
Itachi: "Can clones be used like that? Does it actually work?"
"This is the Shadow Clone Jutsu. It works, but I wouldn't recommend you guys try it—it can be fatal."
Their expressions stiffened. But if training with multiple clones could triple their progress, maybe it was worth considering. They decided to ask their elders about it later.
…
"Genjutsu is a form of mental attack and one of the three fundamental ninja arts: ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu.
It targets the opponent's five senses, trapping them in illusions.
Advanced genjutsu users can even manipulate an enemy's chakra flow within their nervous system, making it a highly intelligence- and skill-intensive combat style.
I'll start by teaching you the most basic genjutsu: the Narakumi no Jutsu, an entry-level technique taught in the Academy."
After explaining the casting method and principles in detail, Kurenai planned to slack off—she figured it would take them a whole day just to get the basics down.
Just as she was about to find a comfy spot to relax, a figure appeared in front of her.
Her pupils dilated slightly—she would never forget this Iwa-nin for the rest of her life. He had killed two of her teammates. If her father hadn't arrived in time, she would've died at his hands, too.
Taking a deep breath, she formed a hand seal: "Release!"
The figure vanished.
"Why did you use genjutsu on me?"
"Itachi is learning too. It didn't affect you, did it?" Yue's tone was still flat, but Kurenai felt like he was apologizing.
"Hmph! Of course not. Even if you brats learn fast, your illusions are weak."
She folded her arms, turned her head to the side, and pouted in a very tsundere manner.
But then the Iwa-nin appeared again…
"I said, enough already!"
"S-sorry…"
Itachi quickly apologized.
Kurenai was shocked by their talent. When she was six, it took her an entire afternoon to learn this jutsu.
But these two? They were barely five.
'Monsters! Their personalities too!'
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