Be Careful Next Time, Don't Copy Everything

Aoba was speechless too. He had never expected Kurenai to be such a poor student and bottom-ranker as a child.

She usually looked like she was listening attentively in class, but it turned out she had just been spacing out.

During the Ninja Academy's first test, she was completely stumped. Seeing the little girl on the verge of tears, Aoba could only let her copy his answers.

Afraid that Kurenai would not understand, he happened to have a small genjutsu trick he could try.

He used genjutsu to project the answers to her.

The experiment was a success.

Unexpectedly, Kurenai did not hold back at all. She copied every single answer.

Aoba was utterly speechless.

The Will of Fire assessment mainly focused on theory.

It was somewhat like a language arts test, but who copied an entire practice paper, even including the essay? How was that any different from exposing themselves outright?

Aoba had considered several possibilities: being reprimanded in person, retaking the test, or receiving a zero. The one thing he had not expected was for the Third Hokage to call their parents.

That old Third Hokage did not play fair.

Aoba immediately put on a proper posture, admitting his mistake with exceptional enthusiasm.

Kurenai, on the other hand, was thoroughly unconvinced and argued her case at every turn.

Shinku looked at his little darling, whose mouth was full of crooked reasoning. He could neither hit her nor scold her.

It felt more exhausting than carrying out an S-rank mission.

"But Father, isn't gathering intelligence a ninja's basic quality?"

Kurenai stared at Yuhi Shinku with her bright, watery eyes.

The latter took a deep breath and tried his best to maintain a father's dignity.

Just as he was about to lecture her, he suddenly realized something was wrong. They had only recently entered the Ninja Academy; intelligence gathering should have been a course for upperclassmen. His tone abruptly changed.

"Kurenai, tell Father, who taught you to say those things just now?"

"Brother Aoba did."

Seeing that her father had finally returned to his usual gentle expression, Kurenai's nervousness instantly vanished.

She pointed at Aoba and sold him out without a second thought.

"I'm done for!"

The moment Aoba noticed Shinku's sudden change in tone, he knew things had gone bad.

Sure enough, under the tender care of "fatherly love," Kurenai spilled the entire story, including how Aoba had taught her to coordinate their stories.

Kneeling on the floor, Aoba immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

"Okay, Father. Next time I copy, I'll be careful and won't copy everything..."

"..."

Yuhi Shinku drew a deep breath. "Um, Kurenai, when you take exams at the Ninja Academy next time, you need to rely on your own abilities. You can't depend on others anymore. If Kurenai can get a really good grade too, I'll teach you a powerful ninjutsu."

"Okay! B-but what if I don't know how to answer?"

"It's alright. As long as Kurenai tries her best, that's enough. Keep it up. Father believes in you."

Under the care of fatherly love, Kurenai's fighting spirit was ignited, and she brimmed with confidence.

"Alright, Kurenai, go outside first. Father needs to have a private talk with Aoba."

After sending Kurenai away, the entire room fell silent.

"U-Um, Uncle Shinku, listen to my sophistry—no, I mean, listen to my explanation..."

Sensing trouble, Aoba hurriedly spoke up.

"Aoba, this is the second time!"

Yuhi Shinku approached Aoba expressionlessly, but the resentment deep in his eyes was practically overflowing.

"Even Buddha can only endure it three times! If I get recalled halfway through another time because of you, I'll decide how you die. Understood?"

"Understood, understood! I promise!"

Feeling the faint killing intent around Yuhi Shinku, Aoba swallowed and hurriedly raised his hand in pledge.

"I know Araki's strength. Although because of his injury... ahem, being able to successfully cheat right under his nose was also a show of your abilities!"

"But, Aoba, you have outstanding talent as a ninja. You can't stay by Kurenai's side forever. Since you've entered the Ninja Academy, you will both have to stand on your own in the future. It's better to stumble and suffer setbacks at the Academy than make mistakes during missions or on the battlefield."

"I was wrong, Uncle Shinku!"

"Good. Then this matter ends here."

Yuhi Shinku returned to the table, picked up his teacup, and took a light sip.

"[Hell Viewing Technique] uses chakra to interfere with the target's nervous system, forcibly triggering a manifested representation of the deepest fear memories in the brain. Those affected will fall into an illusion of the scene they fear most. This is merely the basic use of the technique; genjutsu experts can even alter the illusion."

"Being able to transmit images to Kurenai proves that you have already grasped the essence of this technique. Today, I'll teach you another one."

With that, Yuhi Shinku merely raised his left hand and formed several seals. Black shadows swelled up from all around the room, twisting and warping.

"One-handed seals!"

Aoba's eyes lit up. As expected of a jonin.

He then scanned his surroundings and immediately understood.

Terrifying black humanoid phantoms continuously emerged from all corners of the room, radiating a chilling aura. If he had not known in advance that this was genjutsu, Aoba might have mistaken it for some eerie resurrection.

In terms of atmosphere, it was no less frightening than the horror movies he remembered.

[Mist Messenger Technique]

The hardest part of this genjutsu was that the caster had to overcome their fear of the phantoms and merge with them to attack.

Many beginners learning this genjutsu were instead frightened by the black phantoms they summoned themselves.

Seeing that Aoba was not frightened at all, Yuhi Shinku secretly nodded before beginning his explanation of the technique.

Aoba listened very attentively. With the Chip's assistance, he mastered the technique in less than half an hour.

"Genjutsu: Mist Messenger Technique!"

Aoba formed hand seals, and a black shadow slowly emerged from behind him. Then three or four more black figures appeared around him in succession.

Yuhi Shinku swept his gaze over them and secretly nodded.

"Alright, I won't say more. Mastering a technique and using it are two different things. The ultimate goal of every technique is victory in battle."

"Thank you very much for your instruction!"

Ding ding ding.

With the ringing bell, a new day of Ninja Academy classes officially began.

Not long after Teacher Araki entered the classroom, hurried footsteps sounded outside.

As a daily feature of the morning class, everyone was already used to it. The student Inoue near the door even thoughtfully opened it the moment the footsteps drew close.

"Huh? Aahhh..."

Unable to stop in time, a figure intimately collided with the floor.

"You're late again, Uchiha Obito."

Ishihara Araki shook his head helplessly.

"I'm terribly sorry, Teacher."

Obito hurriedly got up and apologized. "I helped an old lady..."

"Alright, Obito, no need to explain. You helped old ladies for twenty-one days last month. Same rule as always: stay after school this afternoon and clean with the other students."

"Now return to your seat."

"O-okay..."

Obito returned to his seat looking utterly lifeless.

"Good morning, Obito."

A gentle voice came from beside him.

"M-morning, Rin."

Obito was a little embarrassed. Every time, Nohara Rin saw him in such a pathetic state.

"Keep it up today too, Obito! And it's my turn to be on cleaning duty today."

"Huh?! It's Rin's turn for cleaning duty today?"

Obito immediately perked up, then began to grin foolishly.