One Night (8)

"Too late!" A cold smile spread across the girl's face.

With a large drawing board in her left hand and a paintbrush in her right, she lightly swept the brush across the board. Ueno Kei had already sensed something was wrong. Before the other two could react, he swiftly retreated.

But just as the girl had said, everything went black before their eyes.

"Damn it!" Ueno Kei cried inwardly.

In an instant, he was plunged into an unfamiliar space.

And he wasn't the only one. Yuhi Kurenai, who had just arrived nearby, seemed equally powerless to resist. Her vision went black, and she fell into the same predicament as Ueno Kei and the others.

Nara Shikaku, who had been traveling with Yuhi Kurenai, stared in astonishment at the spot where she and the Chunin had suddenly vanished.

A swirling, gray barrier had appeared there as well. At a loss, Nara Shikaku had no choice but to circle the strange barrier and investigate.

Elsewhere, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi stood atop the hill where the wooden cabin that had held Kurama Yakumo was located. He gazed at the silent woods before him, his eyes deep and unreadable.

"Lord Hokage, we found all seven Anbu. They were only knocked unconscious. One used a secret technique and was seriously injured, but none of their lives are in danger."

"Oh?" A trace of surprise flickered in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes. He hadn't expected the Kurama Clan to hold back. A moment later, a faint smile appeared on his wrinkled face.

"Looks like there's still a chance to make things right," he murmured.

The Kurama Clan hadn't killed the Anbu stationed there, which showed they'd shown restraint. And all things considered, the incident had started because of a misunderstanding. At the thought, Hiruzen remembered the pleading faces of the girl's parents.

A strange, thunderous boom suddenly rang out, followed by the unnatural roar of some kind of monster.

Hiruzen's expression darkened. A deep sense of unease had suddenly gripped him.

Darkness and emptiness. That was all Ueno Kei could make out. The moment he'd fallen into this strange place, he'd known he was in trouble. The one thing he was sure of was that he hadn't moved there himself. Space-Time Ninjutsu existed, but Ueno Kei refused to believe anyone present had the ability to use it.

As far as he knew, that was a power only someone at Kage Level or a person with a special bloodline limit could access.

He gripped the Lingyu Blade tightly and narrowed his eyes, studying the strange surroundings.

He seemed to have ended up in the same kind of space he'd entered when he first obtained the Lingyu Blade, though something about it felt different.

"Genjutsu!" Ueno Kei's eyes narrowed.

Thinking back to how the two men had feared the girl, and to their conversation, there was no doubt: he'd fallen under her genjutsu.

But it didn't seem quite like any genjutsu Ueno Kei knew. He understood that he shouldn't act rashly, but sitting around and waiting for his fate wasn't his style.

"Who's there?" As if sensing something, Ueno Kei exploded forward with chakra in his feet and leaped away. The Lingyu Blade seemed to sense its master's wariness and gave a soft hum.

"Don't worry, child. I'm Yuhi Kurenai, a Konoha Jonin!"

Ueno Kei stared in astonishment at the woman who had suddenly appeared. She had black curly hair, fiery red eyes, a curvaceous figure, and a warm smile. He didn't recognize her, but there was no mistaking the Konoha Forehead Protector on her brow.

Besides, he could tell that the kunoichi meant him no harm.

"I'm Ueno Kei, a Konoha student. It's an honor to meet you, Jonin Kurenai!" He sheathed his blade and spoke respectfully. He didn't know how strong this mysterious kunoichi was, but if she was a Konoha Jonin, she wouldn't be lying to him.

He could sense the powerful presence around her, too, and felt a little more at ease. She seemed to be a genuine Jonin.

Yuhi Kurenai smiled warmly. "You don't have to be so formal, Kei. By the way, how did you end up here?"

As for how Yuhi Kurenai had ended up there, it was because Kurama Yakumo had finally been unable to stand her uncle and father's behavior. The hatred of the past and her anger in the present had converged, and she'd exploded, unleashing her Five Senses Genjutsu.

She'd forcibly drawn everyone within a certain area into this strange space. Yuhi Kurenai, who had just reached the mountainous area around Satomi Hill Villa, had been abruptly pulled inside as well.

Faced with what seemed like a sudden change of space, Yuhi Kurenai hadn't panicked at all.

She'd only given a wry smile at the sudden shift in her surroundings. "I knew it. That thing inside that child..."

Yuhi Kurenai shook her head. As a newly promoted Jonin, she wasn't privy to certain secrets. But as one of Konoha's few genjutsu masters, she knew the Kurama Clan's situation very well.

After all, she was the girl's teacher—Kurama Yakumo's first, and only, genjutsu instructor.

"Yakumo, don't do anything foolish again," Yuhi Kurenai thought, remembering the frail, stubborn girl who had stood before her two years ago.

A trace of pain crossed her eyes. She still remembered the tragedy from two years ago as clearly as if it had happened yesterday. She didn't want the same thing to happen to the girl again.

Yuhi Kurenai looked around, then swiftly formed Hand Seals.

"Ha!" she cried softly, striking the ground with one palm. A mysterious array flashed and vanished.

"Found it!" A hint of delight flashed across Yuhi Kurenai's face. Then, as if she knew the way, she headed straight in one direction without hesitation.

Not long after becoming Kurama Yakumo's teacher two years ago, Yuhi Kurenai had entered a similar space. During that incident, the Kurama Clan's ancestral home had burned down, and Kurama Yakumo's parents had died.

Yuhi Kurenai had grown somewhat familiar with this space.

At first, she'd planned to go straight to Kurama Yakumo and resolve the situation. But on the way, she'd sensed a trace of unusual chakra. Curious, she'd taken a slight detour to find Ueno Kei.

That was why Yuhi Kurenai had appeared before him.

Ueno Kei answered Yuhi Kurenai's question without hiding anything. He briefly explained how he'd been training there when the Anbu had inexplicably dragged him into the incident.

Yuhi Kurenai nodded thoughtfully. She could tell the boy wasn't lying. Although Satomi Hill Villa was where Kurama Yakumo was being held under restriction, people weren't forbidden from entering the surrounding hills. They only had to stay away from the villa itself.

Feeling a little apologetic toward Ueno Kei, who had been dragged into this for no reason, Yuhi Kurenai remembered that the girl was her student.

"Kei, this space was created with Yakumo's chakra. Usually, you can escape by finding a weak spot in the space and breaking through it, or by using chakra several times stronger than Yakumo's to force your way out."

"Break through the space? Isn't this genjutsu?" Ueno Kei asked in surprise.

Yuhi Kurenai shook her head and explained, "You could call it genjutsu, too. But Yakumo is a genius of the Kurama Clan. She has the talent to make genjutsu real. That's what makes her truly terrifying."

Hearing Yuhi Kurenai's words, Ueno Kei's mouth twitched. Make it real? There was a genjutsu like that?