"Rolls, raw fish slices, tempura..." The middle-aged ninja wearing an apron nodded in satisfaction at his masterpiece. "Tonight's lovingly prepared dinner is definitely a huge success!"
"Dad, I'm home!" A light and cheerful voice came from the entrance. The middle-aged ninja's eyebrows twitched joyfully as he quickly leaned halfway out of the kitchen doorway. "Haha, Kurenai, guess what tonight's—"
Then he saw his beloved daughter being supported into the house by a young boy.
"Uncle, sorry to drop by unannounced."
Kurenai Yuhi didn't even have time to wonder about Seiki's appearance before bursting out in an apron, alarmed. "Kurenai, what happened? Are you hurt?"
Kurenai stammered shyly, "I, I got into a fight with a classmate."
"Oh, as long as you're okay." Hearing this, Kurenai Yuhi actually relaxed.
He knew his daughter well—if it was just a schoolyard tussle, there was no way she'd come out on the losing end.
But then her next words nearly gave him a heart attack.
"Well I'm fine, but I accidentally used genjutsu and almost killed one of my classmates," Kurenai said with lingering fear.
"Was your classmate alright?" Kurenai Yuhi asked anxiously.
"She's fine. Seiki helped bring her around."
"Actually, it wasn't that serious. Hana just passed out."
Upon hearing this, Kurenai Yuhi finally exhaled in relief.
Killing wasn't rare for a ninja. But taking the life of someone from your own village? That would invite endless blame, maybe even hatred. He couldn't even imagine how Kurenai would live under others' gazes if such a tragedy occurred.
Thinking about this, Kurenai Yuhi looked at Seiki with increasingly softened eyes.
"Cough cough, Kurenai, you haven't introduced me to your friend yet."
At this, Kurenai proudly puffed out her chest. "This is our class monitor, Shimaseki Seiki! He's super amazing!"
A flicker of surprise crossed Kurenai Yuhi's eyes. This was that Shimaseki Seiki who defeated the Hokage's son?
In the usually calm and orderly Konoha, that was already enough to stir up a little buzz.
"Seiki-kun, thank you so much."
"No, actually I should apologize to you."
"Apologize?" Kurenai Yuhi felt completely confused.
"Why bring this up again?" Kurenai puffed her cheeks.
Before she could interrupt, Seiki blamed himself. "I've already clarified everything. The real reason Hana and the others gave Kurenai a hard time was... because they noticed me secretly watching her during class."
"Eh? You were spying... sp-sp-spying on me?" Kurenai's face flushed red, too shy to make direct eye contact with Seiki for a moment.
Kurenai Yuhi's face darkened like a pot bottom, his fondness toward Seiki dropping sharply.
He knew kids these days grow up fast, but his daughter was only five! What a sick, twisted creep!
"I've gotta come up with a genjutsu to get this kid back on track..."
Noticing both of their expressions seemed off, Seiki quickly raised his hands defensively and said, "You might have gotten the wrong idea. The reason I was watching Kurenai is because Senior Yuhi is Konoha's most powerful genjutsu ninja. I just wanted to learn genjutsu from Senior Yuhi through Kurenai."
"Oh, so this brat actually has good judgment," Kurenai Yuhi thought proudly.
Just as he felt relieved, he noticed his beloved daughter showing disappointment, which immediately tightened his heart again.
Damn it, could Kurenai have already... Kurenai Yuhi didn't dare think further and instead glared at Seiki. "You little—cough, cough—I heard you used to want to become a medical ninja. Why now do you want to learn genjutsu from me?"
Naturally prepared for such a question, Seiki showed a serious look on his small face as he replied, "It's precisely because I aim to become an even greater medical ninjutsu user that I wish to learn genjutsu from you—originally, I believed that manipulating pain perception through genjutsu could aid surgical procedures. But later on, though, I came to realize that ordinary medical ninjutsu can only heal physical pain—it cannot soothe the wounds of the heart. Healing the heart is just as vital as healing the body!"
"Is this really Shoutoku's philosophy? That's absolutely amazing!" Kurenai looked at Seiki with stars in her eyes.
"This brat actually has those kinds of ideals… Ugh, I shouldn't be getting all soft over this…" Kurenai Yuhi had been slightly moved at first, but upon seeing the adoration in Kurenai's gaze, his expression instantly turned fierce.
After thinking for a moment, Kurenai Yuhi nodded slightly with feigned hesitation. "I can let you learn genjutsu from me, but mastering genjutsu is extremely difficult—you must drop out of the Ninja Academy completely and devote yourself entirely to my training. Don't worry, lacking academy experience won't stop you from becoming a ninja. Under my guidance, you'll definitely gain far more than what they offer at school."
His intention, of course, was to sever Seiki's contact channel with Kurenai. Children usually forget about friends after just several days apart.
As for his own part in the training, he planned to simply relocate to an empty field far away from Kurenai.
While imagining this delightful scenario, Kurenai Yuhi suddenly heard Seiki reply, "Senior Yuhi, sorry, but I cannot drop out of school."
"Wait a minute—are you saying you don't want to learn genjutsu anymore?" Kurenai Yuhi asked anxiously.
"I definitely want to learn, but I value commitments more. How could I be the only one deserting our promise to stay together with everyone?" Seiki answered resolutely.
"See? Even I'm learning genjutsu from you without quitting school, Yuhi," Kurenai added with puffed cheeks.
"My position is already getting threatened this soon." Feeling bitter inside, Kurenai Yuhi muttered self-pityingly, "Kurenai, your genjutsu talent is the absolute best I've ever seen, so naturally you don't require much time investment. But him… being exceptionally talented at medical ninjutsu doesn't necessarily mean he'll excel at genjutsu too."
"If it's because I'm not talented enough, I'll train harder every night! Senior Yūhi, please give me a chance!"
While Kurenai Yuhi was still hesitating, Kurenai had already eagerly patted her chest, saying, "Don't worry! If Father won't teach you, then I will. Seiki, from now on I'll teach you genjutsu!"
Kurenai Yuhi almost spat out blood in exasperation and hastily corrected, "Wait, that's not what I meant! What I meant was... right, I'm just worried you won't master it well enough, and it might damage my reputation."
"I understand completely, thank you so much, Senior Yūhi!" Seiki's face lit up with excitement as he turned toward the side, "Kurenai, thank you too!"
"Hehe, do we really need to be so formal with each other?" Kurenai happily swayed her body with her little hands behind her back.
Witnessing this scene, Kurenai Yuhi felt like he had swallowed a fly.
"By the way, Seiki, why don't you stay for dinner?"
Seeing Kurenai Yuhi's face turning green, Seiki decided not to push him further, "No thanks, I have something to take care of at the hospital."
"Then see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
With his nemesis finally gone, Kurenai Yuhi finally felt relieved. But before he could even catch his breath, he heard Kurenai suddenly say, "Father, will you teach me genjutsu too?"
"Kurenai, are you finally ready to embrace your talent?" Kurenai Yuhi was overjoyed. Previously, his overly forceful approach had triggered Kurenai's rebellious streak, causing her to abandon genjutsu training after only a short period.
Kurenai nodded naturally, "Of course! I wouldn't want to fall too far behind Seiki."
Kurenai Yuhi's expression went blank as he clutched his chest.
It hurts here!
...
"Phew, finally managed to get these lessons for free!" After walking some distance away, Seiki finally took a deep breath, feeling a rare sense of satisfaction.
Actually, if he only wanted to learn genjutsu from Kurenai Yuhi, there would have been no need for such complicated maneuvering. With his demonstrated talent, establishing proper rapport with Kurenai alone should have convinced Kurenai Yuhi to accept a gifted disciple.
The issue, however, lay in the distinction between an official mentor and a squad instructor — in the ninja world, one could typically have only a single recognized master.
If he chose to become Kurenai Yuhi's formal apprentice, he'd lose the opportunity to study under Tsunade. Not wanting to give up genjutsu yet, he devised this compromising solution.
"While things got a bit bumpy along the way, everything turned out fine in the end. Next is conquering Tsunade!" Seiki quietly exhaled impure air, "But first, I should focus on practicing genjutsu diligently - it might prove useful as a breakthrough point."
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