After finishing his class, Kitazawa returned to his office.
With him were Hinata Hyuga and Yakumo Kurama, who by now had grown accustomed to skipping classes.
"Yakumo,"
Kitazawa asked as he sat down, "how's your reading going?"
"I've already finished three books,"
Yakumo replied. Perhaps her kekkei genkai endowed her with extraordinary mental strength, granting her exceptional memory since childhood.
"Hm."
Kitazawa pondered. At this rate, she could soon attempt to develop her own psychological medical jutsu.
Of course, it wouldn't be a typical healing jutsu—it would be yin-style.
Kitazawa considered speaking with Kurenai next, since he wasn't skilled with yin techniques himself.
Still, he had his own advantage: he wasn't bound by conventional ninja thinking.
"I'll step out for a moment."
After taking care of some tasks, Kitazawa left the academy.
Ten minutes later, he arrived at Kurenai's home.
He raised his hand and knocked.
Soon, the door opened.
First came a pair of long, fair legs, followed by a slender waist and a top hiding treasures within.
"Kitazawa? No class today?"
Kurenai asked curiously.
"I only had one class this morning, so I thought I'd drop by to discuss Yakumo's training."
"Is that so? Come in and let's talk."
She stepped back to let him in.
"Alright."
Kitazawa nodded slightly.
Kurenai closed the door and moved into the living room, sitting on the sofa with her legs folded, toes pointed, and her body relaxed.
Kitazawa sat opposite her, noticing her fair, smooth soles.
"What's the matter?"
Kurenai asked proactively.
"Yakumo is learning theory quickly, so we can consider her starting to develop and create new jutsu,"
Kitazawa replied, then asked, "which type of jutsu do you think she should start with?"
"Genjutsu,"
Kurenai responded without hesitation.
"Exactly what I was thinking," Kitazawa said.
"But none of the current genjutsu suit her," he continued.
"Hmm."
Kurenai crossed her arms and thought. Previously, Kitazawa had mentioned two types of genjutsu Yakumo could use:
Attacks on the mind that bypass the five senses.
Psychological medical jutsu that targets negative emotions.
"And for creating a new jutsu, any ideas?"
Kurenai rubbed her temples. She wasn't a creative ninja like Minato Namikaze; all the genjutsu she had used came from her father. Developing a new technique was daunting.
"As a psychological medical ninja, the first step is to gain the patient's trust, since psychological issues are often hard to express,"
Kitazawa suggested thoughtfully.
"Good point,"
Kurenai agreed. "But how do we gain their trust?"
"Create a comfortable environment for the patient," Kitazawa said calmly. "Use Yakumo's paintings."
Her kekkei genkai could turn the painted world into reality.
Because it felt real, it was hard to realize one was already under a genjutsu.
Even Kurenai herself, a master of genjutsu in the original story, couldn't break free from Yakumo's painted worlds.
"People open up more in comfortable surroundings,"
Kitazawa added. "We can also use auditory genjutsu to make patients even less guarded."
Most genjutsu target vision, i.e., the eyes.
Auditory techniques are rare, so people rarely defend against them.
"If the patient still doesn't open up, there's one more option: dream diagnosis,"
Kitazawa explained. "Once the patient falls asleep, Yakumo can enter their dreams using her powerful mental strength."
No one ever questions what happens in dreams. Yakumo could transform into anyone to probe the patient's subconscious.
"Interesting approach,"
Kurenai murmured. "Your three points represent three research directions."
Simple in concept, but not obvious at first. She had always thought genjutsu—or any jutsu—was for combat.
"Whether it works depends on you,"
Kitazawa smiled.
"I'll give it a try,"
Kurenai replied, a small smile appearing on her face. "I do know a bit about genjutsu."
"You're modest. Apart from the Uchiha, you're the most skilled genjutsu user in Konoha,"
Kitazawa said, shaking his head.
"No need to remind me,"
Kurenai said with a pout. Damn Uchiha, ruining her dream of mastering genjutsu.
She had once dreamed of surpassing the Uchiha in genjutsu, but realized it was impossible.
Even an Uchiha without training, with three tomoe in their Sharingan, was a top-tier genjutsu ninja.
Kitazawa continued, "As an apology, lunch is on me."
"No need, since you're already here. I'll cook,"
Kurenai said, giving him a playful glare.
"Even your eye-rolls are beautiful,"
Kitazawa said with a smile. "I hereby declare you Konoha's most beautiful."
"You smooth talker,"
Kurenai said, exasperated, standing up. "Come on, upstairs."
Don't go, Kurenai!
Kitazawa followed.
Kurenai's bare feet made soft sounds on the floor. Every step revealed the gentle curves of her form.
"We're here, come in,"
She pushed open the door to the study.
"Bookshelves are filled with my family's genjutsu manuals; feel free to look through them,"
she said as she sat at the desk.
"Am I allowed in as an outsider?"
Kitazawa asked, blinking.
Kurenai paused, realizing she had only thought of convenience, not propriety.
"Since I agreed, no one will mind," she said after a moment of thought.
"Alright, let's start with the simplest auditory genjutsu and attempt to create a low-level technique,"
Kurenai said, suppressing her unease.
"Sure,"
Kitazawa nodded, glad for this rare chance to study genjutsu.
Although he wouldn't learn it himself, this provided another opportunity to reward him within the system for genjutsu.
Time passed, and soon it was the afternoon's practical class.
"Before we begin, I have an announcement,"
Kitazawa said to Class 1-A.
"On April 30th, the first all-grade exam of the semester will take place."
"Will it rank the entire grade?"
Naruto quickly caught the key point.
"Yes,"
Kitazawa nodded.
Sasuke squinted at the news.
Class first? Grade first? He wanted it all.
"Great!"
Naruto cheered. "Onward to the top of the entire grade!"
"Doesn't matter, I'll take care of it myself,"
Inuzuka Kiba said confidently, hands in pockets.
Hinata Hyuga took a deep breath.
Having trained under Kitazawa for so long, it was time to repay the guidance—she was determined to claim first place.