Then Come See Me Dressed Lightly

"No."

To avoid trouble, Shimizu chose to simply say no.

"I don't believe you."

Kurenai Yuhi hummed confidently.

She tossed her long, curly black hair and fixed her red eyes intently on Shimizu.

"Why don't you believe me?"

Shimizu countered.

He turned off the faucet and pulled a paper towel from the sink to dry his hands.

He was puzzled; he had always kept a low profile, and since he had only awakened his Sharingan yesterday, it was impossible for anyone to know.

"Obito says he can use genjutsu, but you're much stronger than Obito, and you're both Uchiha."

Kurenai Yuhi said slowly, enunciating every word as she continued to walk toward Shimizu.

Obito bragging is one thing, but he had to drag me into it, Shimizu thought to himself.

Who could possibly brag as much as Obito?

"My father is Shinku Yuhi, a master of genjutsu in the Hidden Leaf Village. I want to see exactly what the difference is between you people who rely on Bloodline Limits and us."

Hearing this, Shimizu immediately understood why Kurenai Yuhi had come.

Shinku Yuhi was in a league of his own when it came to genjutsu, excluding the Uchiha, but that was only excluding the Uchiha.

There were rumors that his genjutsu couldn't even be reflected by a Mangekyo.

Unfortunately, rumors were just rumors.

At this point in time, only Madara possessed a Mangekyo.

Whether Fugaku had a Mangekyo was questionable, as neither the manga nor the official novel versions featured it; only the anime version had shown him with one.

Regardless, Fugaku was the leader of the Uchiha and the head of a great clan.

Did a small clan's genjutsu really think it could bypass Fugaku's Sharingan?

Therefore, the situation of the Yuhi clan was actually quite delicate. Everyone knew that as long as an Uchiha awakened the Sharingan, it came with genjutsu abilities that could easily defeat the genjutsu of civilian ninjas.

The Yuhi clan specialized in genjutsu but lacked any Bloodline Limit to enhance it.

They weren't exactly strong, but they weren't exactly weak either—like a bland meal that was a pity to throw away.

Now that Kurenai Yuhi was at an age where her pride as a child was growing, it was understandable that she wanted to prove her genjutsu by defeating Shimizu.

"Go to the alley by the training ground on the east side after school."

With that, Shimizu walked away without looking back.

If he didn't handle Kurenai Yuhi properly, she would definitely pester him every day.

It was better to settle it once and for all to minimize the trouble.

The afternoon passed in a flash.

"Kurenai!"

Asuma Sarutobi, wearing a yellow jacket with a lollipop in his mouth, said excitedly.

Today, he was determined to successfully invite Kurenai Yuhi to walk home with him and properly cultivate their relationship.

"Sarutobi..."

Kurenai Yuhi frowned slightly. She didn't know why Asuma Sarutobi was always so thick-skinned when it came to seeking her out.

Asuma Sarutobi was the Hokage's son, and even though they were young, Kurenai Yuhi knew better than to offend someone with such connections.

"I have something to do today, so I'm leaving first."

Kurenai Yuhi said hurriedly, bidding farewell to her other friends before running toward the spot she had agreed upon with Shimizu.

"What's wrong with Kurenai today?"

Asuma Sarutobi was baffled.

It was the first time he had seen Kurenai Yuhi in such a rush, and he was truly curious.

"Does Uchiha Shimizu usually go that way too?"

Just as Asuma Sarutobi was about to leave, he noticed Uchiha Shimizu also heading in that direction.

Due to some historical issues in the Hidden Leaf Village, Asuma Sarutobi rarely interacted with the Uchiha, so he didn't know much about Uchiha Shimizu.

"Let's go, Asuma."

The voices of other classmates came from beside Asuma Sarutobi, so he had no choice but to put this trivial matter to the back of his mind.

He could see Kurenai Yuhi again tomorrow anyway; he would talk to her then. Where Uchiha Shimizu went was none of his business.

The horizon was stained with a wisp of rosy red, draped in a golden veil.

Kurenai Yuhi ran faster than Shimizu, arriving at the alleyway well ahead of him.

This was beside a dilapidated shop in the Hidden Leaf Village; because it was currently abandoned and awaiting reconstruction, no one ever came here.

The workers had finished their day's labor and had all returned to their respective homes to rest.

Kurenai was impatient to prove herself; once her father heard of this, he would surely praise her for bringing great renown to the Yuhi name.

The world of a child is always simple, moving from one thought to the next without pause.

Kurenai never considered what might happen if she truly won and word got out, tarnishing the reputation of the Uchiha.

She waited for quite a while before she saw Shimizu arrive.

Kurenai took a deep breath and said, "I'm starting."

"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"

The moment Kurenai shouted, terrifying, twisted wooden tendrils sprouted from the ground.

As if possessed by a will of their own, they rapidly coiled around Shimizu's body.

Watching Shimizu get bound by the great tree, Kurenai nodded in satisfaction.

"To think that a technique I usually can't pull off worked perfectly on the first try today."

Thinking that Shimizu was now unable to move, Kurenai's courage grew.

She leaned in close to get a good look at his face.

With his dark, choppy hair nearly covering his eyes and the sunset casting a glow upon his features, she took in the sharp, chiseled lines of his handsome face.

Kurenai suddenly realized that this Uchiha Shimizu, who always kept to himself, was perhaps far more handsome than she had anticipated.

"Remember this: the genjutsu of my Yuhi clan is no weaker than that of you Uchiha."

Kurenai formed hand seals; seeing that her goal had been achieved, she began to perform the release seal for the Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death.

"Release."

Kurenai shouted.

Yet, the great tree wrapped around Shimizu showed not the slightest reaction.

"What's going on?"

The situation had developed beyond Kurenai's understanding; why was the genjutsu she had cast refusing to obey her commands?

"Release! Release! Release!"

Kurenai tried several times in a row, but the tree formed by the Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death remained completely unresponsive.

Just as Kurenai began to think she had caused a disaster by trapping Shimizu here, a familiar voice sounded in her ear.

"At what point did you get the illusion that you were the one using genjutsu?"

Kurenai whipped her head around, only to find Shimizu leaning against the alley wall as if nothing had happened.

She looked back at the tree, but there was no tree at all—only empty air!

"You... how did you do that?"

This scene truly terrified Kurenai, and despite the afternoon heat, a chill crept over her.

No wonder she had managed to cast a B-rank genjutsu right from the start; in reality, she had never cast a genjutsu at all.

This result was a product of Shimizu's manipulation—she had fallen into a genjutsu the very moment they began!

If Shimizu had been an enemy with malicious intent, she would already be a lifeless corpse.

"It's nothing, just a bit of self-cultivation as an Uchiha."

Shimizu shook his head.

His pitch-black eyes seemed to reflect an abyss, making it impossible for Kurenai to see through him in the slightest.

"I... I lost. You... you are strong."

Kurenai was not the type to be a sore loser.

A loss was a loss.

With her bold personality, she could easily accept her own failure and acknowledge the excellence of others.

However, she believed she had simply been caught off guard; next time, with proper preparation, she wouldn't necessarily lose!

Seeing the look of burning fighting spirit on Kurenai's face, Shimizu suddenly said:

"You want to challenge me again next time, don't you? Then come find me wearing something a little lighter."