"Did I disturb your rest?" Kitazawa asked, sounding a little apologetic.
"No, I was just about to have breakfast."
Kurenai shook her head, then asked, "Have you eaten? If not, I can cook you some ramen."
"No need," Kitazawa replied. "I usually eat at Ichiraku's in the morning."
"Oh, right—I forgot you live right next to Ichiraku Ramen. That's convenient."
Kurenai smiled brightly. "Then give me a few minutes."
She turned, walking barefoot across the carpet, hips swaying slightly as she headed toward the dining room.
"I don't have much to drink here," she said, pouring him a glass of water. "You'll have to make do."
"Thank you." Kitazawa accepted the glass.
Kurenai sat down at the table and began eating her breakfast.
Afterward, she changed into her familiar outfit—white top, a red sleeve on her right arm, bandages wrapped around her thighs, pale legs smooth and slender.
Stopping by the entryway, she bent down, one hand against the wall as she slipped into her boots. Her toned calves drew elegant lines as her toes slid into place. After adjusting, she stomped lightly twice, her legs trembling with the motion.
"What are you staring at?" Kurenai asked with a teasing smile, catching Kitazawa's gaze.
"Just admiring the view," Kitazawa said with a blink.
"There's no scenery here."
"Where there's a beauty, there's scenery," Kitazawa replied, straight-faced.
Kurenai rolled her eyes. No one had ever made peeking sound so refined.
"Fine, I'll let it slide since you flattered me."
Her tone shifted as she got to business. "Are you confident you can persuade Yakumo's parents?"
"Not at all," Kitazawa admitted. "I don't even know them."
"Her father is Kurama Mukuun, her mother is Uroko. Both are jonin, but without any kekkei genkai," Kurenai explained as they walked. "In fact, Yakumo is the only one in the entire Kurama clan to awaken a bloodline limit."
"The clan's only hope?" Kitazawa asked thoughtfully.
"Yes," Kurenai nodded. "That's why she clings so tightly to the idea of becoming a ninja—the entire clan's expectations rest on her."
"She's a good child," Kitazawa said.
Though in the original story, her fate was tragic—losing control, releasing the yin-based monster Ido, and killing her own parents.
If not for Naruto, even Kurenai would have perished.
"This is where Yakumo is recovering—Satomi Hill Manor," Kurenai said, stopping in front of a vast estate.
Kitazawa glanced around. Rich people, huh.
"She's probably painting on the hillside out back right now. Let's see her first," Kurenai suggested.
Kitazawa nodded. He knew Yakumo's art was more than just drawings—her kekkei genkai allowed her to manifest her paintings into reality.
Paint lightning striking the Hokage building, and real lightning would crash down.
Led by Kurenai, Kitazawa soon spotted Yakumo seated before her easel, brush in hand, carefully sketching the scene before her.
"I'll talk to her," Kitazawa said, walking forward while Kurenai hung back.
"Why paint a rainy day?" he asked after studying the canvas for a few seconds.
The sky above was perfectly clear, yet Yakumo's painting was filled with gloomy rainfall.
The question echoed in his mind like a test prompt: Analyze the meaning of this weather.
"Who are you?" Yakumo turned to him.
"I'm Kitazawa, a teacher at the Academy," he answered.
"Does that mean my parents agreed to let me attend?"
Yakumo's eyes lit up with surprise and hope.
"You really want to go to school?" Kitazawa asked instead of confirming.
"Yes." She nodded earnestly. "I want to be a ninja."
"Then do it," Kitazawa said softly.
"My body can't handle it," Yakumo's expression dimmed. "Even a little training leaves me out of breath. How could I fight like a real ninja?"
"Who told you being a ninja requires an extraordinary body?" Kitazawa countered.
"Eh?" Yakumo blinked, baffled. "A ninja with a weak body… does that even exist?"
In her mind, even genjutsu specialists had decent stamina. And in a pinch, even medical-nin could wield kunai in battle.
"No, it doesn't exist," Kitazawa admitted. "But you can be the first. As a wise man once said: the ground has no path, but walk it enough times, and a road appears."
"Me…?" Yakumo whispered, uncertain.
"Or do you want to give up?" Kitazawa smiled faintly.
"No!" Yakumo clenched her fists, her voice firm. "I'll definitely become a ninja!"
"Good. That's the spirit," Kitazawa said with approval. "You may not be a typical genjutsu user, but you can become something unique."
"Unique?" Yakumo tilted her head.
"Normal genjutsu targets the five senses—sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch," Kitazawa explained. "That's why genjutsu battles can be so intense. They require strong, healthy bodies."
Yakumo stayed quiet. That was exactly why she couldn't walk the same path as others.
But then her eyes lit with anticipation.
"There's another kind of genjutsu—one that targets the mind directly," Kitazawa said, meeting her gaze.
"...?"
Yakumo froze.
She had studied genjutsu with Kurenai. She knew well enough that all illusions ultimately disturbed the mind through the senses. Without them, genjutsu simply didn't exist.
Kurenai frowned too. She had fought in the Third Ninja War—she'd never heard of such a thing.
"Others can't do it," Kitazawa said, reading their doubt. "But you can. Because your spirit is strong enough."
Kurenai paused, realization dawning.
Yin Release—the power of the mind.
Yakumo's mental strength was so overwhelming, it birthed the monster Ido from nothingness.
If she could channel that same strength into direct attacks, she could create something entirely new.
It hadn't occurred to Kurenai because she thought within the bounds of traditional shinobi.
"Me…?" Yakumo whispered, stunned.
"Not only that—you can be the world's first Psychological Medical Ninja, healing wounds of the heart," Kitazawa said with a smile.
In cultivation terms, Yakumo would be like a spiritual practitioner, specializing in the mind.
Kitazawa even thought of Tsunade's hemophobia.
If Yakumo could cure it, she'd be recognized instantly—and he could reap some benefits, hiding his system-gifted ninjutsu behind her achievements.
"Psychological Medical Ninja…" Yakumo murmured.
Her resentment and despair over being unfit to be a ninja dissolved, replaced with a new horizon opening before her.
Kurenai's lips parted in surprise, eyes flicking to Kitazawa.
It was the first time she'd heard of such a concept—but it made sense.
In war, countless shinobi were left scarred in ways medicine couldn't heal.
If someone like Yakumo truly existed, she could ease that pain.