Was I Still Trapped in a Genjutsu?

Bang! The Hokage's office door slammed shut as if struck by an invisible force, sending dust billowing into the air.

Danzo disappeared beyond the doorway, leaving Homura and Koharu, two members of the Konoha F4, facing each other with helpless, worried expressions.

They knew all too well how hot-tempered their two comrades were. All they could do now was shake their heads and smile wryly.

After a brief silence, Koharu spoke again, her voice tinged with urgency.

"Hokage, the situation is extremely serious. We must deal with this kidnapping as soon as possible. What do you plan to do?"

Homura followed, focusing his gaze on Hiruzen as he waited for his final decision.

Hiruzen slowly turned around, a cigarette dangling from his lips as he gazed out the window into the night.

Moonlight flowed like water, lending Kage Rock an especially solemn air. He stared at the statue of the Second, Tobirama Senju, and wondered to himself: Teacher, if you were still here, how would you handle this situation?

The atmosphere grew heavy and silent once more. After a long while, Hiruzen finally spoke, his voice calm and firm. "We absolutely cannot let this matter go."

Homura and Koharu furrowed their brows slightly, their worry plain to see. "Lord Hokage, please consider this carefully. The village has only just come through a great war. It can't withstand another major upheaval right now."

Hiruzen took a couple of light drags from his cigarette and said mildly, "I never said we should declare war outright. I mean that we can't just take this loss without doing anything."

Only then did Homura and Koharu relax. As long as they weren't going straight to war, things would be all right.

"Tomorrow, I'll meet with the Feudal Lord in person, report the matter truthfully, and demand a reasonable explanation and compensation from Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning," Hiruzen continued. "If they refuse to compensate us, I won't rule out declaring war."

His words carried an undeniable resolve. Indeed, as Danzo had said, to deal with this, they had to make the enemy understand that their actions would come at a heavy price. Otherwise, they would only grow bolder in their attacks on Konoha's interests.

Otherwise, if the other side kept stealing people every few days, how could anyone carry on?

Although Konoha had only emerged from a great war a few years earlier, its overall military strength was still on par with that of the other villages.

"If I can't even protect my own family and children, then I don't deserve to be Hokage." Hiruzen's voice rang out with conviction, as if to prove his resolve to everyone. "I believe that if my teacher were still here, he would support my decision."

When Hiruzen invoked Tobirama's name, Homura and Koharu said nothing more. They knew Lord Hokage had made up his mind. All they had to do was carry out his orders.

"Very well. We'll proceed as Lord Hokage wishes. We'll prepare for war," Homura said calmly after a moment's thought.

After the two left, Hiruzen slowly sat down in his chair and folded his hands over his chest, his gaze calm and deep, as if he were pondering some weighty matter.

The next morning, sunlight filtered through the leaves and fell across the ground in dappled patterns.

Hayato and several friends headed together to Konoha Hospital to visit Asuma.

They followed the nurse making her rounds to Asuma's room. The two Anbu standing guard at the door merely nodded to everyone and said nothing more.

"Asuma, we're here to see you!" Obito's loud voice echoed down the hospital corridor.

"Keep it down, Obito. This is a hospital." Rin quickly held a finger to her lips to remind him.

The nurse making her rounds nodded approvingly, then turned the doorknob and went inside. Before entering, she turned back to remind them, "The patient still needs to rest, so don't stay too long."

Everyone nodded to show they understood, then followed the nurse into the room.

Asuma had woken up and was sipping some liquid food. Hearing the commotion at the door, he stopped eating and turned to look.

Soon, he saw Hayato and the others come in. He hurriedly hid the bowl, pulled the blanket over himself, and pretended to still be unconscious—he wanted to avoid seeing everyone.

Once they reached Asuma's bedside, they looked at one another, at a loss.

Hayato was the first to break the silence. "All right, Asuma. We saw you wake up. Give it up."

There was nothing he could do; his reaction had been a little too slow. Asuma opened his eyes, sat up, and glanced at everyone, then closed his eyes again. "If you want to make fun of me, go ahead!"

Everyone was speechless—his friends had all come to visit, and he was still acting all proud. Hayato smiled faintly. "Haha, that was a pretty lousy performance. This room reeks of thick soup. It's not like we can't smell it."

At that, everyone caught on and burst out laughing.

Asuma opened his eyes. He realized Hayato had been giving him a way out—he'd assumed they would laugh at him for accidentally eating poisonous mushrooms the day before.

"Asuma, you seem to be in great spirits. That's a relief," Obito said, casually sitting on the edge of Asuma's bed and draping an arm over his shoulder. "Looks like you'll be back on your feet in no time. You won't miss too many classes at the Ninja Academy, either."

As he listened to their concern, warmth washed through Asuma, and his eyes grew a little moist. "Everyone..."

They chatted for a while, bringing up their encounter with the Third the night before.

Then Hayato checked the time and decided it was about time to go. "We just came to see how you were doing. I'm glad it's nothing serious. It's getting late, so we won't keep you. Get some rest."

Everyone stood up and said goodbye to Asuma. "Get well soon, Asuma!" "Come back to the Ninja Academy soon!" ...

After leaving Konoha Hospital, Hayato returned to the Uchiha Clan Compound and headed straight to the Grand Elder's house.

"What? You've already finished everything in the scroll?" The Grand Elder stared at Hayato in shock, his voice full of disbelief.

Seriously, it had only been a few days. He was already done?

When he'd given Hayato the scroll, he'd thought it would take him a year or two to learn everything in it.

"More or less. I've memorized almost all the contents. Now I just need to put in the practice," Hayato replied calmly. "Grandpa, is there anything else I can learn?"

At that, the Grand Elder put on a stern expression. "Hayato, there's a saying: 'Too much to chew at once, and you'll choke.' Do you understand?"

"It's fine, Grandpa. I've got strong teeth," Hayato said with a grin.

The Grand Elder was momentarily at a loss for words. Then he looked at Hayato and said, "Since you say you've mastered what's in the scroll, show me."

To be honest, he still wasn't convinced. The contents of that scroll weren't so easy to master.

Hayato understood the Grand Elder's doubts.

He gave a slight nod, then looked at the Grand Elder and activated his Sharingan, hitting him with a genjutsu.

A moment later, Hayato released the genjutsu.

The Grand Elder came back to his senses and stared at Hayato's eyes, his mouth hanging open so wide an egg could fit inside.

He trembled for a while before asking, his voice unsteady and uncertain, "Am I still trapped in a genjutsu?"

"Grandpa, I've already released it," Hayato said softly.

"When? Hayato, when did your Sharingan become Three-Tomoe?" the Grand Elder asked in astonishment.