The cold winter had finally passed, but for Konoha, this winter was only just beginning.
At the borders between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Hot Water, tensions kept mounting and even showed signs of escalating!
As the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi was so busy every day that he could barely keep up. This left Asuma Sarutobi deeply unhappy.
"Father, wouldn't it be better to leave the border skirmishes to the Daimyo?"
"Asuma, every country has a hidden village supporting it. The Daimyo alone can't resolve these disputes." Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe. "Amegakure behind the Land of Rain, Kusagakure behind the Land of Grass, and Yugakure behind the Land of Hot Water all have the power to wipe out the Daimyo Mansion of the Land of Fire with ease!"
"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 the country?" Asuma was conflicted. "If the Daimyo had enough power, would things be different? You wouldn't have so much work you could never finish, and you'd have more time to spend with me."
"Asuma, you're thinking too simply. We can't rule out the possibility that other hidden villages are backing those three. We can't afford to be careless." Hiruzen Sarutobi patted Asuma on the head. "All right, go to school."
Asuma left with his head lowered, looking unwilling.
As the situation developed, missions along the borders between the countries became more numerous. Assassinations, reconnaissance, escorting merchants—everything flooded into the Hokage Building.
After mastering the Rasengan, Minato Namikaze took an escort mission and left the village.
None of this affected Houka much. With Minato Namikaze's help, he had made much faster progress on the Rasengan and had now completed the third stage. Only the final step remained.
Training in Taijutsu under the demon instructor Might Duy was even more relentless.
And then there was Genjutsu. Learning it from Kurama Murakumo was truly painful.
Whenever he was in the middle of teaching, Kurama Murakumo would change the subject and reminisce about the Kurama Clan's glorious past. On average, he did it five times every three days. In between, he would occasionally spring a few nightmarish Genjutsu on Houka to remind him not to get distracted... His studies were as treacherous as the road to Shu.
It was amid this grueling course of study that Houka finally began trying to evolve his Sharingan!
Kurama Murakumo's theoretical knowledge of Genjutsu was undoubtedly excellent. Though his teaching style was, well, something else, it still gave Houka enough to work with at his current stage.
That night, Houka carefully constructed a terrifying Genjutsu. In it, he would witness the deaths of several good friends. It was somewhat crude, and only in a dream could it slip past his conscious mind and stir his emotions.
He set the Genjutsu to take effect in an hour.
I have to fall asleep within the hour. Then my conscious mind won't be able to tell whether the Genjutsu is real!
Houka closed his eyes and started counting sheep.
One sheep, two sheep, three sheep...
By the time he'd counted more than a thousand sheep, the Genjutsu took effect, but he still hadn't fallen asleep.
This was awkward.
Houka immediately opened his Sharingan and forcibly dispelled the Genjutsu.
"Again. I refuse to believe this won't work!"
Houka cast another delayed Genjutsu on himself, set to take effect in an hour.
He didn't make it two hours because he wasn't strong enough to manage that.
It seemed even the heavens were against him. This time, he counted more than a thousand sheep, but still didn't fall asleep.
Again!
This time, Houka switched to counting turtles!
Turtles didn't work either, so he tried counting cows!
But cows didn't help, either.
He kept at it until the early hours of the morning, when his mind was growing hazy.
This time, it'll definitely work.
Houka had just cast the delayed Genjutsu when his consciousness grew light, and he sank into sleep.
An hour later, the Genjutsu took effect.
In the dream, Houka was holding hands with Kurenai Yuhi, playing a naughty little game. Suddenly, two killjoys showed up: Uchiha Ronai and Masamune Hyuga. They pointed at Houka and gave him a thorough scolding.
They called him shameless for hitting on a seven-year-old girl, said he'd get a minimum of ten years and a maximum of the death penalty, then started hitting him.
There was no way Houka's hot temper would let that slide. He charged at them and fought back.
Kurenai Yuhi stood off to one side, crying and crying until she finally enraged Masamune Hyuga, who rushed over and began kicking and punching her.
Houka panicked. He tried to stop him, but Uchiha Ronai held him back. Just as he was growing frantic, Obito came to help—only for the dead-last to get beaten until he was sprawled on the ground.
"Stop! Stop!!!"
With the Genjutsu combined with the dream, everything felt so real that Houka couldn't escape it.
Houka watched the light fade from Kurenai Yuhi's dazed eyes and saw Obito's body gradually stop resisting. A strange kind of Chakra slowly welled up in his mind and seeped into his eyes.
In his bed, Houka's eyes snapped open. His black-and-white pupils had become the blood-red, two-tomoe Sharingan!
"Whew!"
Houka panted. The exhaustion from staying up all night, combined with the Genjutsu and the dream, had left him utterly drained.
But the result seemed pretty good.
My ocular power just shot up to nearly twice what it was!
Houka closed his eyes and felt the power of his Sharingan. He could sense that it held a strength far greater than before!
He'd done it!
Houka deactivated his Sharingan, closed his eyes, and fell asleep again.
When he woke up, he realized there were people in his room.
Obito—and Yakushi Nonō?!
"You're finally awake." Yakushi Nonō smiled gently. Her golden hair looked dreamlike in the evening light.
Mm, though her glasses were a bit ugly.
"What are you two doing here?" Houka shook his head. It still hurt a little, and he wasn't sure if it was a side effect. After falling asleep again, he'd been plagued by nightmares. He'd slept through the whole day, yet felt even more exhausted.
"Don't even ask! You didn't go to class today, and everyone was worried about you. We ran into Sister Yakushi on the way here, so we came together," Obito said indignantly.
"Sister Yakushi. Heh, it's been a while." Houka smiled, feeling a little guilty.
Thinking about it carefully, he seemed to owe her more and more money. It was enough to make him consider emigrating.
"Houka, you've been having nightmares for a long time, and you're mentally very weak. You need to rest for a few days!" Yakushi Nonō frowned. "I think you're suffering from the aftereffects of Genjutsu."
Houka said, "Sister Yakushi, I've recently been learning Genjutsu from the head of the Kurama Clan."
"I see." Yakushi Nonō nodded, then placed both hands on Houka's head and used Chakra to stimulate his brain cells.
That felt great!
Houka felt as though his exhausted brain had been soaked in a hot spring—warm and incredibly comfortable. But he knew that only a Medical Ninja of master-level skill could do something like this!
"Houka, Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, and Rin just went back," Obito said.
"Thank them for me when you see them at school tomorrow." Houka gave a small smile, his heart warming.
Let it stay a Genjutsu. It'll never come true!
A determined light shone in Houka's eyes.
Before you continue