Successful Freebie

"Sushi, sashimi, tempura..." The middle-aged ninja in an apron nodded in satisfaction at the masterpiece before him. "Today's love-filled dinner is a huge success!"

"Dad, I'm home." A light voice came from the entrance. The middle-aged ninja's eyebrows danced with joy as he quickly poked half his body out of the kitchen. "Haha, Kurenai, guess what tonight's..."

Then he saw his precious daughter being helped inside by a little boy.

"Uncle, sorry for the intrusion."

Kurenai Yuhi had no time to dwell on Soseki's presence before he rushed out in his apron, face pale with alarm. "Kurenai, what's wrong? Are you injured?"

Kurenai stammered with some embarrassment, "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's strength well. If it was just a scuffle between classmates, she definitely wouldn't come out on the losing end.

But her next sentence nearly scared him half to death.

"I'm fine, but I accidentally used Genjutsu and almost killed a classmate." Kurenai said with lingering fear.

"Is that classmate okay?" Kurenai Yuhi asked anxiously.

"She's fine. Soseki saved her."

"It wasn't really that serious. Hanako just passed out."

Hearing this, Kurenai Yuhi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

For ninjas, killing wasn't unusual, but killing someone from the same village would invite endless blame and abuse. He couldn't imagine what kind of stares Kurenai would have to endure for the rest of her life if that had actually happened.

Thinking this, Kurenai Yuhi's gaze toward Soseki grew softer.

"Ahem, Kurenai, you haven't introduced your friend yet."

At this, Kurenai puffed out her little chest with pride. "This is our Class Leader, Shimizu Soseki. He's super amazing!"

A flicker of surprise passed through Kurenai Yuhi's eyes. So this was the Shimizu Soseki who had beaten the Hokage's son?

For the peaceful and tranquil Konoha, that counted as a fairly notable piece of news.

"Student Soseki, I'm truly grateful."

"No, actually, I should be the one apologizing to you."

"Apologizing?" Kurenai Yuhi was completely baffled.

"Why are you bringing that up again?" Kurenai puffed out her cheeks.

But before she could interrupt, Soseki said with self-reproach, "I've already asked around. The reason Hanako and the others were targeting Kurenai... it's because they found out I often peek at her during class."

"Huh? P-peek at me?" Kurenai's face flushed red, and for a moment she couldn't bring herself to look at Soseki.

Kurenai Yuhi's face darkened like the bottom of a pot, his goodwill toward Soseki plummeting.

He knew kids at school tended to mature early, but his daughter was only five! This damn perverted beast!

"I need to design a Genjutsu to set this brat straight..."

Seeming to notice their expressions were off, Soseki quickly waved his hands. "You might be misunderstanding. I peeked at Kurenai because I knew Senior Shinku is the best Genjutsu ninja in Konoha, and I was thinking I could learn Genjutsu from you through her."

"So that's it. This kid has good eyes." Kurenai Yuhi thought with some self-satisfaction.

Just as he was about to relax, he noticed his precious daughter actually looked disappointed. This discovery made his heart tighten again.

Damn it, could Kurenai already be... Kurenai Yuhi didn't dare think further and could only glare at Soseki. "You little—ahem, I heard you wanted to become a Medical Ninja? Why do you want to learn Genjutsu from me now?"

Soseki was naturally prepared for this kind of question. When asked, his little face took on a serious expression. "It's precisely because I want to become a greater Medical Ninja that I wish to learn Genjutsu from you. At first, I thought I could use Genjutsu to deceive the sense of pain to assist in surgery, but later I gradually realized that pure Medical Ninjutsu can only heal physical pain, not soothe the wounds of the heart. Mental healing is just as important as physical healing!"

"So this is Soseki's philosophy? That's amazing!" Kurenai looked at Soseki with admiration, stars practically sparkling in her eyes.

"This brat actually has such ideals and capacity. No, I can't be moved by him..." Kurenai Yuhi was actually a little touched, but when he caught the admiration in Kurenai's eyes, his expression immediately twisted.

After a moment of deliberation, Kurenai Yuhi nodded with a somewhat "reluctant" look. "I can let you learn Genjutsu from me, but Genjutsu training is very difficult. You'll have to drop out of the Ninja Academy and devote yourself entirely to studying Genjutsu with me. Don't worry, you can still become a ninja without the Academy experience. With my guidance, you'll definitely gain more than you would at school."

His plan, of course, was to cut off the connection between Soseki and Kurenai. Kids, after all, forget each other after a few days apart.

As for his guidance, he'd just find an empty training ground away from Kurenai.

Kurenai Yuhi was thinking this happily when he suddenly heard Soseki reply, "Senior Shinku, I'm sorry, but I can't drop out of school."

"Wait, don't you want to learn Genjutsu anymore?" Kurenai Yuhi asked hastily.

"Of course I do, but I value my promises more. I said I'd advance and retreat together with everyone. How could I be the one to run away?" Soseki answered with firm resolve.

"Exactly! I'm learning Genjutsu from Dad too, and I didn't drop out of school," Kurenai chimed in, puffing out her little cheeks.

"It's only been this long, and my position is already in jeopardy." Kurenai Yuhi felt a pang of bitterness and said plaintively, "Kurenai, your Genjutsu talent is the best I've ever seen, so of course you don't need to spend much time. But him... being talented at Medical Ninjutsu doesn't mean he's good at Genjutsu."

"If I'm slow-witted, I can train harder every night. Senior Shinku, please give me a chance!"

While Kurenai Yuhi was still hesitating, Kurenai couldn't help but pat her little chest and take charge. "It's fine. If Dad won't teach, I will. Soseki, I'll teach you Genjutsu from now on!"

Kurenai Yuhi nearly spat out blood and quickly tried to salvage the situation. "Wait, I didn't say I wouldn't teach. What I meant was... right, I was worried he wouldn't learn well and it would ruin my reputation. How about this: on days when I don't have missions, I'll teach you for two hours every night. But I'm not going to be your teacher."

"I understand. Thank you, Senior Shinku!" Soseki's face beamed with excitement and joy. He turned to look at Kurenai. "Kurenai, thank you so much!"

"Hehe, do we really need to say things like that?" Kurenai swayed happily, her little hands behind her back.

Seeing this, Kurenai Yuhi felt as if he'd swallowed a fly.

"By the way, Shōseki, do you want to stay and have dinner with us?"

Seeing that Kurenai Yuhi's face was practically turning green, Shōseki decided not to provoke him further. "No thanks, I still have some business at the hospital."

"Alright then, see you tomorrow."

"Mm, see you tomorrow."

Watching his "lifelong rival" finally leave, Kurenai Yuhi felt a great weight lift from his chest. But before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, he heard Kurenai suddenly say, "Dad, teach me Genjutsu too."

"Kurenai, you're finally willing to face your own talent?" Kurenai Yuhi was overjoyed. His previous pressure had been too heavy, instead stirring up Kurenai's rebellious streak—after studying Genjutsu for a while, she had refused to continue.

Kurenai nodded matter-of-factly. "Of course, I don't want to fall too far behind Shōseki!"

Kurenai Yuhi's face went blank as he clutched his chest with both hands.

Right here... it hurts so much!

"Phew, I finally pulled off that freebie!" After walking a certain distance, Shōseki let out a rare deep breath.

In truth, if he only wanted to learn Genjutsu from Kurenai Yuhi, there was no need to go through all that trouble. Given the talent he had displayed, as long as he built a normal good relationship with Kurenai, Kurenai Yuhi would surely not mind taking on a gifted disciple.

But the problem was, unlike squad instructors, official teachers in the Shinobi World were defaulted to only one per person.

If he chose to apprentice under Kurenai Yuhi, he would lose the chance to apprentice under Tsunade. Yet he wasn't willing to give up Genjutsu, which was why he had come up with this compromise.

"Though there were some bumps along the way, it was a complete success in the end. Next up—conquering Tsunade!" Shōseki exhaled a mouthful of stale air. "But before that, I should focus on training in Genjutsu. Maybe I can use it as a breakthrough point."

Thanks to book friend 1654471393 for the 1000 reward, Shenwen 2019 for the 200 reward, Infinite AFK for the 100 reward, book friend 20190603125142420 for the 100 reward, and book friend 1259032828563337216 for the 100 reward.