The Combination of Illusion and Dream

The cold winter had finally passed, but for Konoha, this winter had only just begun.

Friction was constant at the borders between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Hot Water, and it was even beginning to escalate subtly!

As the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi was busy from morning till night, which left Asuma Sarutobi feeling very dissatisfied.

"Father, wouldn't it be better to leave the border friction to the Daimyo to handle?"

"Asuma, every country is supported by a hidden village; the Daimyo alone cannot resolve these disputes," Hiruzen Sarutobi said while puffing on his pipe. "The Amegakure behind the Land of Rain, the Kusagakure behind the Land of Grass, and the Yugakure behind the Land of Hot Water all possess the power to easily annihilate the Daimyo's court of the Land of Fire!"

"Father, that's not right. If the Daimyo of the Land of Fire doesn't even have the power to protect himself, how can he govern this country?" Asuma fell into a struggle. "If the Daimyo possessed sufficient power, wouldn't all of this change? Then Father wouldn't have so much endless work and could spend more time with me."

"Asuma, you are thinking too simply. Behind these three hidden villages, there is no guarantee that the shadows of other hidden villages aren't lurking; we cannot be careless." Hiruzen Sarutobi patted Asuma on the head and said, "Alright, go to school."

Asuma lowered his head and left, looking completely unwilling.

The development of the situation also caused the number of missions between the borders of the two countries to multiply; assassination missions, reconnaissance missions, and merchant escort missions all flooded into the Hokage Building at once.

After mastering the Rasengan, Minato Namikaze accepted an escort mission and left.

For Houka, all of this didn't have much of an impact. With the help of Minato Namikaze, his progress on the Rasengan had been quite fast, and he had now completed the third stage, with only the final step remaining.

His Taijutsu training under the devilish coach Might Duy was not sloppy in the slightest.

Finally, there was Genjutsu; following Kurama Murakumo to learn Genjutsu was truly a painful experience.

Every time he taught, he would change the subject and reminisce about the glorious years of the Kurama Clan, averaging five times every three days. In between, he would occasionally cast a few "deep water and scorching fire" Genjutsu at Houka to remind him not to lose focus... the path of learning was comparable to the treacherous roads of Shu.

It was on this arduous path of learning that Houka finally began to attempt the evolution of his Sharingan!

Kurama Murakumo's theoretical knowledge of Genjutsu was undoubtedly excellent. Although his teaching style was, well, you know, it was more or less enough for Houka to use at his current stage.

That night, Houka carefully wove a terrifying Genjutsu. In the Genjutsu, Houka would see the deaths of several good friends. It was somewhat crude, but only in a dream could he deceive his own consciousness and stimulate his emotions.

He set the Genjutsu to trigger in one hour.

I need to fall asleep within an hour so that my consciousness cannot distinguish whether this Genjutsu is real or fake!

Houka closed his eyes and began to count sheep.

One sheep, two sheep, three sheep...

He counted over a thousand sheep, the Genjutsu triggered, but he still hadn't fallen asleep.

This was awkward.

Houka immediately opened his Sharingan and forcibly dispelled the Genjutsu.

"Continue, I don't believe this!"

Houka cast a one-hour delayed Genjutsu on himself again.

It wasn't that he didn't want to delay it for two hours, but with his current strength, he couldn't manage it.

It seemed as if even the heavens were against him; this time he counted over a thousand again, and still didn't fall asleep.

Continue!

This time, Houka switched to counting turtles!

Turtles didn't work, so he counted cows!

As it turned out, cows didn't work either.

He tossed and turned until the early hours of the morning, his consciousness becoming hazy.

This time it will definitely work.

Houka had just cast the delayed Genjutsu on himself when his consciousness lightened, and he fell into a deep sleep.

One hour later, the Genjutsu triggered.

In the dream, Houka and Kurenai Yuhi were holding hands playing a shy game when suddenly two people who ruined the mood appeared—they were Uchiha Ronai and Masamune Hyuga. The two pointed at Houka and gave him a good scolding.

They scolded him for being shameless, for hitting on a 7-year-old girl, saying it was at least ten years in prison or even the death penalty, and after they finished scolding, they started throwing hands.

How could Houka's hot temper take that? He rushed up to fight them.

Kurenai Yuhi was crying on the side, crying and crying, until she finally annoyed Masamune Hyuga, who rushed over to punch and kick her.

Houka was frantic and wanted to stop them, but was blocked by Uchiha Ronai. Just as he was getting desperate, Obito came to help, but as a combat-level-five loser, he was quickly beaten until he was looking for his teeth on the floor.

"Stop, stop!!!"

With the Genjutsu and the dream combined, everything was so real that Houka couldn't extricate himself.

Houka saw Kurenai Yuhi's cute, innocent eyes growing dimmer and dimmer, saw Obito's body gradually stop resisting, and a strange Chakra gradually welled up in his mind, slowly merging into his eyes.

Under the covers, Houka suddenly opened his eyes, his black and white pupils having transformed into blood-red Double Tomoe Sharingan!

"Huhu!"

Houka gasped. The fatigue from not sleeping all night, combined with the fusion of the Genjutsu and the dream, left him exhausted.

But the result seemed pretty good.

My pupil power has surged by nearly two times!

Houka closed his eyes, sensing the ocular power of his Sharingan, and vaguely felt a strength contained within that was even more formidable than before!

Success!

Houka deactivated his Sharingan, closed his eyes, and fell back into a deep slumber.

When he finally woke up, he discovered there were people in his room.

Obito, and Yakushi Nono?!

"You're finally awake." Yakushi Nono smiled gently, her long golden hair looking dreamlike under the setting sun.

Hmm, it's just that these glasses are a bit ugly.

"Why are you guys here?" Houka shook his head; it still ached a little. He didn't know if it was a side effect, but after falling back asleep, he had been plagued by constant nightmares. Even though he had slept the entire day, he felt even more exhausted.

"Don't even ask, you didn't go to class today, and everyone was very worried about you. We happened to run into Sister Nono on the way here, so we came together," Obito said huffily.

"Sister Nono, heh heh, long time no see." Houka laughed with a bit of a guilty conscience.

Thinking about it carefully, the amount of money he owed her seemed to be growing more and more; it really made him consider emigrating.

"Houka, you were having nightmares for a long time, and your mental state is very weak. You need to rest for a few days!" Yakushi Nono frowned and said, "I suspect this is a side effect of being caught in a Genjutsu."

Houka replied, "Sister Nono, I have recently been following the patriarch of the Kurama Clan to learn Genjutsu."

"I see." Yakushi Nono nodded, then placed both hands on Houka's head, using Chakra to stimulate his brain cells.

So comfortable!

Houka felt as if his exhausted brain had been submerged in a hot spring; it was warm and incredibly soothing. However, he also knew that such a procedure could only be performed by a master-level Medical Ninja!

"Houka, Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, and Rin just left," Obito said.

"Thank them for me when you go to school tomorrow." Houka revealed a faint smile, feeling a warmth in his heart.

Genjutsu—let it just be Genjutsu; it must never become reality!

A look of firm determination shot from Houka's eyes.