Yūhi Kurenai, In the Name of Love

Konohagakure, Training Ground Three.

The afterglow of the setting sun stretched the shadows of the three wooden stakes.

The sound of air breaking was sharp.

A shuriken embedded itself in the bullseye, humming.

Yūhi Kurenai's black hair, damp with sweat, clung to her face. She panted rapidly, her crimson eyes filled with excitement.

Illusion Technique: Mist Servant Technique!

Her figure split into three.

Each clone was as solid as the real thing, sharing the same unyielding fighting spirit.

She was very satisfied with her current strength.

Ever since she learned about the Daimyo Manor establishing a special fund for genius cultivation, Yūhi Kurenai had desperately wanted that opportunity.

She believed she could definitely do it.

Konoha's future would surely be better.

And the Daimyo wasn't as cold as the rumors suggested.

"Kurenai."

A familiar voice called out to her.

The illusion dissipated, and Yūhi Kurenai turned around in surprise. "Father!"

Yūhi Shinku stood in the shade of the trees, still wearing a dust-covered standard vest, clearly just back from a mission.

The man's face was serious, but his eyes were gentle.

"You're back! Was the mission successful?"

The young girl trotted lightly to her father's side, her upturned face dotted with sweat, her eyes crinkling into a smile.

"Mhm."

Yūhi Shinku responded in a low voice.

His gaze fell on her fingers, which were raw from intense hand seals.

His eyes held a hint of heartache.

"Still practicing?"

"Yes!"

Yūhi Kurenai lifted her chin, her tone proud. "Father, my Mist Servant Technique can already create three solid clones! Give me a little more time, and I'll definitely master Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"

After speaking, she eagerly awaited her father's praise.

Just like when she was little.

But there was none.

Yūhi Shinku simply watched her in silence.

No praise, no encouragement.

That complex expression made the young girl feel a little flustered.

"Kurenai."

He spoke again, his voice even deeper than before.

"Come with me for a moment."

Yūhi Kurenai's elation was extinguished.

She sensed something was wrong with her father.

She nodded obediently, suppressed her emotions, and followed him home.

The house was as tidy as ever.

But the atmosphere today was not as warm as usual; it was stifling.

Her father didn't, as he normally would, clean his ninja tools first upon returning.

Instead, he uncharacteristically knelt before the low table in the living room and personally poured her a cup of tea.

The scalding hot tea sent up wisps of steam, blurring his face.

"Father?"

Yūhi Kurenai sat opposite him, a sense of unease growing within her.

Looking at his daughter's eyes, so full of hope for the future, Yūhi Shinku struggled internally.

After a long moment, he sighed heavily.

He knew.

Every word he was about to say would be the one to personally crush his daughter's dreams.

But he had to.

"Kurenai, do you want... to live a different kind of life?"

"What do you mean, Father?"

"A life where you don't have to fight anymore, where you don't have to walk on the edge of life and death every day."

Yūhi Shinku's voice was soft.

Yet, it made Yūhi Kurenai's heart clench violently.

She vaguely guessed what was happening, and the color drained from her face little by little.

Yūhi Shinku took a document from his embrace.

He didn't speak, slowly pushing the document towards her.

It wasn't a mission scroll.

It didn't have the Hokage's seal, but the dignified golden crest of the Daimyo Manor.

Yūhi Kurenai looked, and when her gaze landed on the words "Imperial Concubine Selection" at the top of the document.

The color instantly drained from her face.

Her smile froze on her lips.

"Father... what... what do you mean by this?"

Her voice trembled, disbelief evident.

She didn't even dare to touch the document.

"The Daimyo is holding an Imperial Concubine Selection," Yūhi Shinku's voice was frighteningly calm. "With your beauty and talent, you are sure to be chosen."

"I won't go!"

A scream.

Yūhi Kurenai abruptly stood up, saying loudly, "I want to be a ninja! I want to become an excellent Jonin like you! I want to protect Konoha with my illusions!"

"A ninja?"

A self-deprecating smile flickered on Yūhi Shinku's lips, his laughter filled with exhaustion.

"Kurenai, what's so good about being a ninja?"

He extended his hand.

A palm covered in calluses and scars, with even a knuckle bent and deformed.

He spread this hand in front of his daughter.

"Look."

"This is the fate of a ninja for a lifetime."

"I don't want you to live like this in the future."

His tone remained calm, but it caused Yūhi Kurenai's heart to ache.

She knew her father meant well for her.

But she couldn't accept it!

"But I love being a ninja!"

Yūhi Kurenai's eyes turned red, tears welling up, but she stubbornly forced them back.

"This is my dream! And, as long as I'm selected for the Genius Cultivation Plan, I'll become stronger, and I can bring true glory to our family!"

She thought the words "Genius Cultivation Plan" were her final trump card.

It was personally approved by the Daimyo!

However, her father merely shook his head, gazing at his naive daughter with eyes full of affection and reluctance.

Yet, his words were chillingly cold.

"Glory?"

"Do you think that so-called Genius Cultivation Plan is cultivating you?"

"No."

Yūhi Shinku's words shattered all her illusions.

"Ninjas are just tools."

"The so-called Genius Cultivation Plan is merely cultivating sharper blades for the Lord Daimyo."

"And tools have only two fates."

"Either, you die on the battlefield."

"Or, when you're dulled, you're discarded at random."

"Look up at the Hokage Rock, look at the Third Hokage's current situation, and then look at the Fourth Hokage!"

His voice suddenly lowered, as if resigned.

"Even the Hokage can only choose to submit!"

"You, a young girl who has just started to make a name for herself, what can you possibly do to resist?"

"I don't want you to become a tool!"

Every word in his speech crushed all her pride, all her fantasies.

Along with that burning ninja heart, it was all put to death.

Tears finally welled up and spilled from her eyes.

She choked back sobs, letting out a cry of unwillingness, "But that's not what I want! I don't want that kind of life!"

"It's no longer up to you."

Yūhi Shinku's tone turned harsh.

He stood up and forcefully shoved the enrollment form into his daughter's ice-cold hand.

The edge of the paper cut into her skin.

She looked at her father.

At the man who had doted on her since she was a child.

She didn't understand.

Why?

Why was he pushing her away with his own hands?

Seeing the tears on his daughter's face, Yūhi Shinku's expression softened.

He raised his rough hand, intending to stroke his daughter's head.

He stopped halfway.

Finally, his hand landed on her trembling shoulder.

His voice carried exhaustion and pleading.

"Kurenai."

"I... I just don't want to see you get hurt anymore."

"I don't want to be the one to collect your cold body from the battlefield one day."

"I just want you to live safely."

"In that place," he paused, "you won't have to smell blood anymore, and you won't have to worry about whether you'll see the sun tomorrow."

"That's the life you should be living."

He withdrew his hand and turned towards the door.

Yūhi Kurenai suddenly noticed that her father's back was no longer as straight.

A few strands of silver had appeared at his temples.

She suddenly understood.

This wasn't an order.

This was a father choosing the only path to survival for his daughter.

A path paved with the crushing of her dreams.

Making this decision...

Her father must have been in pain too.

The enrollment form in her hands felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Yūhi Kurenai slowly crouched down, burying her face in her knees.

Suppressed sobs echoed from the room.

Yūhi Shinku stood at the doorway for a long time.

Only when the crying gradually subsided did he finally step away.