Chapter 27: Real Dreamland – Overwriting Memory
The sky had already darkened. Uchiha Mina wasn't herself today. During training with Uchiha Tonan, she kept spacing out, missing his guidance again and again.
"Mina, if you're not feeling well, you should go rest," Tonan said, giving her shoulder a light pat to pull her out of her daze.
"I'm sorry, Tonan-kun… I think I didn't sleep very well last night," she replied, forcing a smile.
Tonan gently stroked her hair. "Let's call it a day, then. Go on home and rest up. I've got some things to take care of anyway. I'll see you tomorrow."
Mina nodded and trudged back toward her house. But the moment she stepped into the courtyard, a wave of shock hit her.
Her kitten—Yuki—was lying there, lifeless.
A note was placed next to the body. On it was scribbled a single location: the waterfall.
Grief and fury surged inside her like a tidal wave. Her one-tomoe Sharingan spun to life. She crumpled the note and sprinted out the gate like a kunoichi possessed.
Under the veil of night, Mina darted through the forest, eventually nearing the waterfall. Just before the clearing, she halted and concealed herself within the thick brush.
There, she saw it.
Hyuga Chiryo emerged from the water, completely unclothed, droplets glistening off her pale skin under the moonlight. She walked straight toward Tonan and hugged him tightly from behind.
"Tonan-kun, I like you," she confessed.
From the shadows, Mina's teeth clenched hard. Her chakra flared with barely-contained rage.
This snake…!
"I'm sorry, Chiryo," Tonan said firmly. "I know how you feel… but I've always seen you like a younger sister. Besides—my heart already belongs to someone else."
"Who?!" Chiryo snapped. "Who do you like?!"
Tonan turned his face slightly, eyes solemn. "It's Mina. I've always liked her. There's no room in my heart for anyone else."
Mina, hidden among the trees, felt her fury melt away, replaced with a bubbling warmth.
But Chiryo's tone turned desperate. "Why?! What's so special about her? What do I lack? Don't go—I'm yours! Do whatever you want with me!"
"Chiryo, have some dignity." Tonan pried her arms away and walked off without looking back.
Chiryo collapsed into the grass and broke down in sobs.
Mina silently watched her for several long minutes… then stepped into the clearing behind her, eyes burning red with rage.
This bitch killed Yuki-chan… and now she wants to seduce Tonan-kun using her body?
Kill her.
Kill her!
The voice inside her screamed.
Almost on instinct, she raised a kunai.
Swish—
Steel flashed, and the blade slashed clean through Chiryo's neck. Her head rolled forward, her eyes still soaked with tears.
Only then did Mina's mind snap back.
"I… I killed her… what did I do…? If anyone finds out, I'll be executed for sure…"
Panic overtook her. She staggered back, clutching the blood-stained kunai, her Sharingan spinning wildly. But then—she froze, her breath catching in her throat.
A whisper echoed in her mind.
The Yamanaka can read memories from a corpse…
Her eyes shifted back toward the severed head. A brutal clarity dawned in her gaze.
"Mangekyo or not… I can't let them find the truth."
Her hands flashed through hand seals, chakra flaring.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"
For the first time, she successfully unleashed the Great Fireball Technique. The blazing sphere engulfed Chiryo's head in a roar of flame, erasing every trace.
Not looking back, Mina vanished into the forest.
But just before entering the village, she ran into Tonan.
"Mina?" he blinked. "Why are you out here?"
Mina forced a weak smile. "I couldn't sleep… just went out for a walk."
Tonan nodded, buying it. "It's dangerous to be out this late, especially alone. I'll walk you back."
He took her hand, and the two of them strolled through the quiet streets of Konoha in silence.
Halfway home, Tonan suddenly stopped.
"Mina… actually, I…" He hesitated, then looked her in the eyes. "I like you. Will you go out with me?"
Mina froze.
Earlier today, she might've thrown herself into his arms. But now? Her heart was a storm of regret and fear.
"Tonan-kun, I need to tell you something…"
She stared at him, trembling.
"I… I killed Chiryo. Just now. I—I wasn't thinking. It was impulse. You believe me, right? Do you think they'll execute me?"
Tears filled her eyes as panic returned. Tonan looked genuinely shocked, needing several seconds to regain his composure.
Then, slowly, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her.
"As your boyfriend," he said firmly, "I'll protect you. We'll go to the Hokage tomorrow. I'll beg for leniency."
"But…"
"Calm down." His voice was firm, almost commanding. Then he softened, brushing her hair gently. "Trust me. I love you."
He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead—
—then struck her neck, knocking her unconscious.
Inside Mina's bedroom, Tonan was drenched in sweat, panting as he deactivated his Sharingan.
He removed the note clutched tightly in her hand and silently walked outside. At the courtyard, he set the same note beside the dead kitten.
As for the original note… he took that with him.
Everything was in place.
With a ghostlike leap, he vanished into the darkness and headed home.
The moment Tonan saw Mina in the forest, the plan had already begun.
First, he fed her mushrooms containing a specific neurotoxin—subtle, but devastating to short-term memory. He'd consumed one himself, but countered it beforehand with a detoxifying green mushroom.
To maximize the memory loss, he shattered her spiritual resistance using repeated high-level genjutsu, weakening her mind further.
Then, using a massive Genjutsu Domain, he fabricated an entire memory, embedding it so deeply that it would overwrite reality.
Finally, he swapped the evidence—ensuring the note would redirect any investigation.
Given the simplicity of the case and the apparent clarity of clues, Tonan predicted that Konoha wouldn't dispatch any elite investigators. If cracks did appear in the story, he'd bank on the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, to overlook them and protect him.
He had expended so much chakra and spiritual energy setting the illusion domain that he collapsed into bed the moment he got home.
Tomorrow, the real performance would begin.