After lunch, Tōka was enjoying the pleasant midday break.
Bang!
"Tōka, let's go train together!" A green blur kicked open the ward door and rushed straight to the bedside.
"Gai, I'm recovering from my injuries!" Tōka raised an arm. Though the wound had already healed, it was still wrapped in bandages.
"Youth knows no recovery!"
"We'll run five hundred laps around the village, and your injuries will be healed!"
Flames seemed to burn in Gai's eyes as he clenched his fists and let out a strange cry.
Tōka looked at him expressionlessly, then slowly closed his eyes.
"Gai really is full of energy!" A sweet voice came from the doorway. Kurenai and Rin walked in hand in hand, carrying fruit.
After fighting together once, Kurenai had gained a new understanding of Gai.
Gai had gained another friend, another person who acknowledged him.
Rin and Kurenai were on good terms in private. When she heard that Tōka had been hospitalized, she came along with Kurenai.
As for Obito, who wore a foolish grin as he kept wiping his Ninja Headband and followed behind them, he had naturally come for Rin.
But that last awkward figure...
Tōka had not expected that guy to come.
"Asuma, come in already!" Kurenai called with a smile.
"Yeah, coming." Asuma entered the ward with a conflicted expression.
It seemed Kurenai and Asuma had already made up.
And...
Asuma walked to the bedside and spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz. "Thanks for last time."
"But next time, I'll definitely be the one saving you!"
Tōka tilted his head. This guy must have been talking about the fight with the female ninja. What an awkward fellow.
"The brat has grown up too."
Tōka sighed.
Although no one understood what "brat" meant, they all knew he was talking about Asuma.
At once, Asuma's awkward face turned red, then black, flickering like a rainbow.
"Bastard, I'll teach you a lesson!" Asuma rolled up his sleeves, only to be stopped by everyone.
"Asuma, don't shout in the hospital. Tōka is still recovering!" Kurenai snapped.
Hearing Kurenai's voice, Asuma immediately calmed down. He stood there awkwardly, unsure how to explain himself.
"This is for you. I hope you recover soon." Rin was as kind as ever, holding up a flower and offering it to Tōka.
"It smells wonderful. It's beautiful." Tōka accepted it and praised it sincerely.
"These are fruits from everyone." Kurenai also handed Tōka the basket she carried.
"Thanks." Tōka nodded slightly. He had not expected so many people to come visit him.
"I'll peel you an apple." As she spoke, Kurenai picked up a red apple.
Apples represented peace and safety.
Everyone hoped Tōka could leave the hospital soon.
"To be honest, there really is something I'd like to ask you to help with." Tōka tilted his head and smiled at Kurenai.
Asuma immediately became alert, like a cat with all its fur standing on end.
He stared straight at Tōka with both eyes, afraid that the boy might say something strange.
"What is it? As long as I can do it." Kurenai patted her small chest loyally, making Asuma's eyes burn with envy.
A flash of delight passed through Tōka's eyes. It looked like approaching things through Kurenai would be much easier.
He calmed his surging emotions and looked at Kurenai solemnly.
"I want to learn genjutsu."
Kurenai Yuhi's father, Kurenai Yuhi, was a Konoha jonin.
Other than the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan and the Kurama Clan's Kekkei Genkai, Kurenai Yuhi's genjutsu was among the best in Konoha.
That was why Tōka had sought out Kurenai.
Learning genjutsu required precise chakra control, and Tōka was very confident in that regard.
The fact that he could use only one-third of the chakra to unleash ninjutsu with the same power was proof enough.
Furthermore, mastering genjutsu required Yin Release chakra.
Yin Release represented spiritual power, and Yin Release techniques could create form from the intangible.
With Kekkei Mora: All-Killing Ash Bones, Tōka was not worried about lacking Yin Release chakra.
Three days later, Tōka secretly left the hospital.
His injuries had mostly healed. Aside from the deeper wound at his waist, which was still bandaged, his arms and thighs had completely recovered.
His pale golden skin radiated health and strength.
Tōka had already arranged with Kurenai that he would go directly to her home after leaving the hospital.
Kurenai's ninjutsu was decent, her taijutsu ordinary, but her genjutsu was powerful.
For a beginner like Tōka, Kurenai was more than qualified to be his teacher.
Wandering down the streets with his hands clasped behind his head, Tōka leisurely looked over the shops lining both sides of the road.
Although the fierce fighting at the Land of Wind border had cast the entire village in a tense atmosphere,
Konoha was still the greatest village among the five great nations, and the residents' lives had not been greatly affected.
The shops along the streets remained open, though some of the usual liveliness was gone.
Tōka entered a Ninja Tool Shop. His only kunai had been used up, so he needed to buy another.
"Little brother, here's the kunai you wanted."
The shopkeeper handed him a sharp kunai. He did not look down on Tōka because of his age.
That was because Tōka wore the Ninja Headband the Third Hokage had given him on his forehead.
A ninja was someone most ordinary people could only look up to.
Even if Tōka was merely a genin.
"Thanks." After paying, Tōka left directly and headed toward Kurenai's house.
It should be this way...
Tōka thought silently.
Fifteen minutes later, Tōka appeared beside a quiet little house at the edge of the forest.
Kurenai's home was not large, but it had a unique charm.
Just as Tōka was about to raise his hand and knock, the wooden door creaked open from within.
"Uh... Tōka!" Kurenai looked at him in surprise. Aside from Asuma, few people ever came to her home.
Then Kurenai immediately understood.
Tōka had come to learn genjutsu from her.
"Kurenai." Tōka nodded slightly in greeting.
"What an unlovable little kid. Were you already too impatient to wait?"
Kurenai had learned from the medic that Tōka was not supposed to leave the hospital for another week.
While the wounds on his arms and thighs were not deep, the wound at his waist could not heal quickly.
Tōka glanced expressionlessly at Kurenai and silently complained, Aren't you just a kid in your teens too? And why does that sound so strange?
A cute girl in her teens, speaking to a boy not even seven years old...
"Fine, fine. Let's go train in the woods ahead!"
Seeing Tōka stay silent with that expressionless face, Kurenai helplessly spread her hands.
"Follow me."
As soon as she finished speaking, the two headed into the woods one after the other.
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
In the forest, a breeze swept across the ground.
Swaying branches trembled and brushed against one another, producing the forest's unique melody.
"Genjutsu disrupts the opponent's mind, causing abnormalities in the five senses and trapping them in a world of illusions."
Kurenai and Tōka stood facing each other as she seriously explained the basic principles of genjutsu.
As a form of spiritual attack, genjutsu was one of the three essential skills of a ninja.
Many ninja could use genjutsu, but most used it only as support. Very few truly mastered it.
Some lacked the Yin Release chakra nature, while others lacked sufficiently precise chakra control.
In short, learning genjutsu was easy, but mastering it was difficult.
Naturally, Tōka had not come to Kurenai merely to learn the basics. What he wanted was mastery.
"I understand the theory. Let's get to the point." Tōka urged her. He could recite genjutsu theory backward by now.
"Hmph, look at how confident you are..." Kurenai's little face darkened as she gave a mischievous smile. "Then do you know that you're already trapped in my genjutsu?"
"What?" Tōka's normally calm face finally changed.
He was in a genjutsu? When had Kurenai formed hand seals?
No, that wasn't right!
Some simple genjutsu did not require hand seals.
Fox Heart Technique? Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique?
Seeing Kurenai's faintly smiling expression, a trace of cold sweat gradually appeared on Tōka's temple.
"Hmph, you little brat! My taijutsu may not be as good as yours, but when it comes to genjutsu... heh heh!" Kurenai did not attack. She simply stood there with her hands on her hips.
She wanted to know how long it would take Tōka to break the genjutsu.
Naturally, Tōka knew how to dispel genjutsu. There was only one principle: control the disrupted chakra within the body and return it to normal.
Genjutsu was a spiritual attack based on chakra, using the five senses as its means of attack.
To break it, one could rely on one's own power or on a companion's chakra.
Another method was to stimulate oneself, such as stabbing one's arm with a kunai or biting through one's lip.
All of these methods relied on reclaiming control over the chakra within one's body.
Either forcibly stop the body's chakra flow, or use an even more chaotic force to disrupt it.
"Release!" Tōka formed a hand seal and shouted.
Sure enough, the forest blurred, rippling like disturbed water.
Once the illusory scenery had completely faded, the surroundings returned to their real appearance.
"How is that possible?" Tōka's pupils shrank as he stared around in shock.
He even crouched down and grabbed a handful of dirt, checking whether it was real.
"Well? My genjutsu isn't bad, is it?" Kurenai proudly puffed out her small chest.
Tōka had already identified the genjutsu from before: Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique.
He must have fallen under it the moment he first saw Kurenai.
Walking into the forest with her had actually been nothing more than circling around the house.
Therefore, while it appeared their location had not changed, it was actually slightly different.
The footprints on the ground were the best proof!
"But I don't understand. When did you form the hand seals?" Tōka asked.
"Hehe, a low-level technique like this doesn't need hand seals. It only needs a single movement." Kurenai raised one fair, delicate finger and explained with a smile.
Then Kurenai's expression turned serious as she looked solemnly at Tōka.
"What I'm about to say is very important."
"Since you want to learn genjutsu from me, you need to take it seriously."
"Yes!" Tōka's expression tightened. He knew that what came next should be the insights on genjutsu that Senior Yuhi had taught Kurenai.
Combined with Kurenai's own understanding, she would pass them on to him.
This was a treasure that money could not buy!
"Although genjutsu attacks through the five senses, it is actually one main attack and four supporting attacks."
"The main attack is vision, while the four supporting attacks are hearing, touch, taste, and smell."
"However, I divide them into three levels." Kurenai shook her index finger and gave her own explanation.
"Three levels..." Tōka nodded slightly. "Vision is the first level, hearing and smell are the second, while touch and taste are the third."
"Is that right?" Tōka followed her line of thought.
Kurenai's eyes immediately lit up.
Tōka really was intelligent. Her father had spent three days explaining this to her before she barely understood a little of it.
"That's right. Then do you know why they're divided this way?" Kurenai asked again.
"Why?" Tōka frowned. If he had to explain the principle, he truly could not put it into words.
It was simply that vision was the sense humans used most often. Next came hearing and smell, which could be used to attack from a distance.
Touch and taste came last, as they required close contact.
"It's roughly about how easy the methods of attack are. One movement represents one visual attack." As Kurenai spoke, she extended a finger and beckoned at Tōka.
Then the scenery around them changed once more.
It was still Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique...
"Next, hearing and smell are also relatively easy to attack." Kurenai waved her little hand, dispelling the genjutsu.
"As for touch and taste..."
"The sense of touch is fine. Physical contact during combat is neither too much nor too little."
"However, for an illusion-type ninja, it is best to minimize unnecessary physical contact."
"As for the sense of taste, it is basically useless in combat and can only be used for setting traps."
Tōka stood in place with a contemplative expression, and seeing this, Kurenai quietly walked away.
The thinking lasted perhaps a minute, perhaps an hour, perhaps a day...
Time flew like a white steed passing a crevice, and the years flowed on.
The sky seemed draped in a mysterious black veil, and the wind in the woods howled past.
When the moon rose to its highest point, Tōka's contemplative gaze suddenly focused and gradually gathered.
With a soft creak, Kurenai pushed the door open and came out.
This was the eighth time she had pushed the door open to come out, and seeing Tōka wake up, Kurenai's face lit up with joy.
"How is it? Did you think of anything?"
"Yeah, a little bit of insight."
Tōka nodded slightly, and his perception of the three arts had also gained a deeper understanding.
Taijutsu relied on hard practice day after day, year after year, through wind and rain.
Ninjutsu was the combination of theory and cultivation, repeated experimentation.
Genjutsu required the power of the soul and belonged to the purest form of mental attack.
Those who mastered genjutsu must be very smart and emotionally rich...
"It's very late today, come inside and rest." Kurenai looked at the bright moon and suddenly spoke up.
Tōka froze slightly, then began to twist and fidget like a noodle.
"Um... this..."
"What's wrong with you? Are you exhausted?"
Kurenai looked at Tōka with a strange expression, seeing him standing so limply he could not even steady himself.
And why was his head so red? It was just like an apple!
"Sister Kurenai, although you are very cute, but..."
"What on earth is wrong with you? Does your wound hurt?" Kurenai asked worriedly, secretly wondering whether she should send Tōka back to the hospital.
Yet because of the next sentence...
"We are still young, this kind of thing..."
"No way!"
Kurenai's turning motion froze, and then her face sank, as if covered by a layer of dark clouds.
Thud!!
A bent index finger flicked out.
A spot on Tōka's forehead instantly turned red.
...(to be continued)
Before you continue