"Y-you… who are you?"
Inside the secluded Kenkyū Estate, a pale girl with dark red hair stared at the figure walking toward her. Kurama Yakumo's voice trembled as she backed away.
She had already layered illusion after illusion, painted countless canvases, and poured her chakra into every trap she knew. And yet, the man before her walked straight through them, untouched, as if her genjutsu didn't exist at all.
That sense of helplessness filled her with fear.
"Who I am doesn't matter," Fujimoto Tōma replied calmly.
Even as he spoke, he could feel his chakra being constantly disturbed by an external force. That alone told him the truth. The seal on Yakumo had already weakened. Not completely broken, but enough for her to unconsciously use her kekkei genkai again.
And it was strong.
Too strong for someone her condition should allow.
But that made sense. The Kurama clan's genjutsu preyed on the five senses. Tōma's senses were all sharp. Not Byakugan-level sight, not Inuzuka-level smell, but no real weakness either. If he only had one soul, he'd probably be at a disadvantage here.
Which was exactly why he'd come so openly.
This was a test.
And the result was clear.
Her genjutsu didn't work on him.
Even without that discovery, he still had counters. He could seal his five senses entirely. His perception didn't rely on them. With Spirit Projection, he also possessed soul-based awareness.
No matter how things played out, Yakumo could never control him.
That was why Tsunade had chosen him for this mission.
"What do you want?! Don't come any closer!" Yakumo cried, retreating until her back hit the wall.
"I'm here to tell you everything," Tōma said evenly. "Do you want to know the truth?"
"The truth?" Yakumo snapped. "Isn't the truth that the Third Hokage ordered my parents' assassination? That he wanted me dead too?!"
"All of that is false."
"Lies!" Yakumo shouted. "My parents were jōnin! How could they die in an ordinary fire?!"
"Exactly," Tōma said. "That's why I'm here. Don't resist. Come with me."
Yakumo hesitated, then froze. She had realized it by now. No matter what she did, she couldn't affect him.
Slowly, she stopped struggling.
Tōma's soul detached from the shadow clone and entered Yakumo's body. The clone wavered for a moment, then stabilized, returning to a normal shadow clone state.
"Th-this place…"
Yakumo stared around her in shock. The room was familiar. Too familiar.
It was her home. Back when her parents were still alive.
"This is your memory," Tōma said quietly. "Watch. This is what really happened."
Yakumo saw her younger self. Saw her parents.
Her head throbbed.
She remembered begging them to let her become a ninja. She remembered being refused. After that…
Nothing.
Then she saw it.
Something crawled out of her younger self's shadow.
"That… what is that?" Yakumo whispered.
"A being born from your unconscious mind," Tōma replied. "They call it Id. A monster created by your suppressed emotions."
"My… mind?" Yakumo's face drained of color. "No—stop! Stop it!"
But the monster didn't listen.
Rage summoned lightning. Fire consumed the house. Id trapped her parents inside an illusion and left them to die in the flames.
"No…" Yakumo staggered. "I… I killed them?"
"Yes."
A voice echoed behind her.
"But they deserved it."
Id appeared before them, snarling.
"They oppressed us! They forced us! They all deserved to die!"
"If you can't tell right from wrong," Tōma said dryly, "you should've gone to therapy instead of screaming."
Id recoiled. Its abilities meant nothing to him. That terrified it.
"That's enough," Tōma said, clapping his hands. "This ends now."
He formed a Rasenshuriken.
Even inside Yakumo's mindscape, its violent chakra howled. Id panicked.
Tōma blinked in surprise. He shouldn't have been able to form that here. Then he glanced at Yakumo and smiled faintly.
This was her world, after all.
Id fled.
"If you leave," Tōma said lightly, "don't think you're coming back."
Id escaped Yakumo's body. Tōma immediately sealed the passage behind it, preventing its return, then withdrew his soul and returned to his clone.
Outside, Yūhi Kurenai and Kurama Unkai were already restraining the manifested Id.
"Don't kill it," Tōma said. "Let Yakumo do it."
They stopped.
Yakumo opened her eyes. She looked hollow. Lost.
"Do you want to say goodbye to your past?" Tōma asked. "Or at least avenge your parents yourself?"
"C-can I?" she asked.
"You already answered that," Tōma replied. "You helped me form that Rasenshuriken."
Encouraged by Kurenai and Unkai, Yakumo stepped forward.
She remembered Kurenai's care. Her patience. Her worry.
Tears filled Yakumo's eyes.
She picked up a sharp painting tool.
"No! I protected you!" Id screamed.
Yakumo didn't hesitate.
She struck.
Id dissolved.
"I'll leave the rest to you," Tōma said, turning away. "And have Tsunade examine her body. There might still be hope."
"Thank you," Kurenai whispered.
Later, Tōma reported directly to Tsunade.
"So it's resolved already?" Tsunade asked, stunned.
"Yes. No written report. I'll dictate. Shizune can record it."
"You're getting lazier by the day," Tsunade muttered.
"Life's meant to be enjoyed," Tōma said with a smile.
After hearing everything, Tsunade nodded in approval.
"Well done. If Yakumo's condition can be treated, she could still become a genjutsu specialist."
As Tōma left, Tsunade stared at her paperwork and sighed.