Genjutsu

It was hard to say whether it was a coincidence, but Hinata Kurenai was thinking about Shigure too.

"Shigure... I... I've always been holding you back. I want to become stronger. I won't admit defeat. I'll keep going until you can see how hard I've worked."

Seriously, why am I thinking of him again at such a critical moment? The determination never to lose seemed to grow even firmer in Kurenai's white eyes.

Though she desperately wanted to win just once, her age and physical limitations had left her nearly out of stamina after Shuichi wore her down.

"You're a young lady of the Hyuga Clan! If I hit you, the Hyuga Clan will come after me! Hahaha! Weak young lady, real ninjas earn their strength through hard work, and me? I train every single day!" Shuichi Matsuyama began showing off.

"Look at these muscles! Look at this strength! Who knows how many missions we've completed! And you!? You're far too pampered! Far too weak! You don't even deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as me! Gentle Fist without the Byakugan is a joke!" Shuichi taunted Kurenai again.

"Don't go too far! The Hyuga Clan isn't to be trifled with!" Teacher Hizashi could not help but intervene.

Kekkei Genkai was generally a sensitive topic. One careless remark from Shuichi could easily offend the entire Hyuga Clan.

"Sorry, Teacher Hyuga. I didn't mean to target the Hyuga Clan." Shuichi Matsuyama turned and said.

"I just can't stand seeing Genin as weak as you. You, Hinata Kurenai, Kakashi Nao, and that other one, Uchiha Shigure—he seems like dead weight too, doesn't he? You really are the weakest Genin class!" Shuichi said without restraint.

As Kurenai panted, her expression changed. She asked, "What did you just say? Say that again."

"Hm? Didn't hear me? I said you're the weakest class!" Shuichi repeated.

"The sentence before that!" Kurenai's gaze turned icy, and her presence had already changed.

"Uchiha Shigure seems like dead weight too?" Shuichi did not understand what Kurenai meant.

Kurenai's aura underwent a dramatic change. The ground beneath her feet instantly shattered, and in a flash, her body appeared before Shuichi Matsuyama at extreme speed. Her fist had already struck him.

"Urgh..." Shuichi had not reacted at all. His face was full of disbelief as he stared in terror at Hinata Kurenai. Those icy eyes, nearly devoid of emotion, and the veins bulging around them sent fear surging through his heart. His consciousness soon scattered, and he collapsed where he stood.

"Don't... say bad things about Shigure!" Kurenai spoke softly, but Shuichi was completely engulfed by fear.

"Kurenai? What's going on!?" Kakashi Nao was startled. Kurenai had changed far too much.

"Miss Kurenai! She awakened her eyes!" Teacher Hizashi had not expected Kurenai to awaken her Kekkei Genkai in this manner.

However, since it was her first time awakening them, Kurenai appeared to have overdrawn her Chakra.

The veins around her Byakugan rapidly receded, and her eyes returned to normal. Then, her entire body fell toward the ground.

At that moment, a figure suddenly appeared behind her and caught her as she was about to fall.

"Is that Shigure?" Kurenai slowly closed her eyes. It seemed she had no strength left at all.

Yet through the haze, she seemed to see Shigure behind her.

"It's me. Leave the rest to me. Get some good rest," Shigure said softly.

The white-haired Uchiha youth gently handed the Hyuga Clan girl in his arms over to Hizashi.

"Teacher Hizashi, Kurenai awakened her Kekkei Genkai and overexerted her Chakra. Take her back to the Hyuga Family to recover. Leave this place to me!" Shigure said calmly.

Hizashi had no doubts about Shigure. Shigure was more than enough to handle things here.

So he nodded, then immediately carried Kurenai toward the Hyuga Main Family to treat her injuries.

"He's just leaving like that?" Teacher Suzuki was utterly astonished. The match was not even over, yet the other side's Jonin was simply leaving.

"Shigure, be careful! They're all very strong! Even I lost! Violet's genjutsu is highly unusual! I heard she's even beaten Chunin before!" Kakashi Nao warned.

"Nao, you're injured too. Go treat yourself first."

Shigure turned to Saori Suzuki and said, "Call it a draw for that last match. Both of them passed out."

Then, with a Body Flicker Technique, Shigure appeared at the center of the training ground. Looking at Violet Katori and Katsuhira Yoshida, he asked, "Will you come one at a time, or do you plan to come together?"

"Uchiha Shigure? Aren't you being a little too arrogant?" said the well-built Katsuhira Yoshida.

"Enough, I'll go first! Let me see what's so impressive about the legendary Uchiha Clan! They're all just great clans that possess and rely on Kekkei Genkai!" Violet Katori stepped forward, and there seemed to be disgust in her eyes as she looked at Shigure.

"I advise you not to lump me together with those people from the Uchiha Clan," Shigure said coldly.

Violet found that strange.

"Come on. Make your move. Otherwise, this match is over." Shigure took his stance and crooked a finger at Violet.

The provocation instantly made Violet furious with embarrassment.

"Hmph!" Violet leaped into the field, drew a kunai, and charged at Shigure.

"Hm?" Seeing Violet's stance, which was full of openings, Shigure could not help becoming suspicious.

Through his White Rinnegan, he clearly noticed something subtle.

So that's it. She already used genjutsu?

The Three Tomoe Sharingan could already break genjutsu. Although Shigure did not know any genjutsu himself, as a Sharingan wielder destined to awaken the Mangekyo in the future, once he awakened the Mangekyo, genjutsu would truly be incapable of harming him.

Shigure deliberately pretended to have fallen under the genjutsu. His body dropped to the ground, and he clutched his head as he cried out in pain.

"Oh no! Shigure's been caught in genjutsu!" Nao grew extremely anxious.

"Even an Uchiha Clan member will only fall to my genjutsu before awakening their eyes!" Violet Katori curled her lips upward. Just as she thought victory would come so easily, she discovered that Shigure had vanished before her eyes.

"What?!" Violet cried in disbelief. "Didn't this guy fall under my genjutsu? How could he!?"

"Where is he!?" Violet could not find Shigure at all and turned to search everywhere.

"Behind you!" Saori Suzuki urgently warned her.

"This guy! He can dispel it—no, could it be that he's using... Violet's genjutsu right now!?" Saori Suzuki could hardly believe it.