Kurenai, Believe in Yourself and Keep Dropping Gold for Me

That completely threw Kurenai Yuhi off. Before she could stop, the pink clone's kunai pierced the figure in front of her.

But there was no sensation at all, as if she had stabbed through empty air.

Kiyoshi's figure gradually twisted and vanished into the air.

"When did you cast genjutsu?"

Warm breath brushed against Kurenai's neck, followed by an icy chill.

A kunai was pressed against her neck.

Kurenai asked bitterly.

She had lost in a single exchange, without even knowing why.

How could Kiyoshi, standing right before her eyes, have been nothing more than an illusion?

And he had even gotten behind her.

"You lost."

Kiyoshi withdrew his kunai.

"You have comprehended the trait: Pride of Genjutsu (White)."

Trait: Pride of Genjutsu (White)

Requirement: Defeat Kurenai Yuhi during her time at the Ninja Academy and prove that the Uchiha Clan's genjutsu is the strongest.

Progress: (Completed).

Effect: Your genjutsu ability will increase by 5% from its original foundation.

Note: Can continue advancing later.

"This works too?"

Kiyoshi froze.

So defeating people had a chance of yielding traits.

Then why had nothing dropped when he defeated Obito?

Was it because Obito's attributes were all still low?

Or was it purely random?

Kiyoshi stroked his chin in thought.

While he was pondering, Kurenai turned around, her clear, sparkling eyes widened.

She had lost so quickly.

It made her feel as though she had let down her father and the Yuhi name.

"I... I lost."

Kurenai lightly bit her lower lip. "When did I fall under your genjutsu?"

"Have you forgotten something?"

Kiyoshi pointed at his eyes.

His left black eye suddenly turned scarlet, a single tomoe slowly rotating within it.

Kurenai's little face instantly flushed red.

She had made a basic mistake.

Never make eye contact with an Uchiha's Sharingan!

"But... your eyes didn't turn red just now."

Kurenai said.

If she had seen any sign of Kiyoshi's eyes turning red, how could she possibly have looked him in the eyes?

"Do you think your reaction is faster, or that I can activate and deactivate my eyes faster?"

Kiyoshi asked in return.

The Sharingan had no startup or recovery delay. It could be activated or canceled at any time.

Sharingan genjutsu was transmitted through "vision."

That was why any ninja in the Shinobi World with even a little knowledge knew not to make eye contact with an Uchiha.

When an Uchiha cast genjutsu with the Sharingan, they had to focus their gaze on the target.

This process was, in fact, the conversion of Sharingan Eye Power into a special form of Electromagnetic Wave!

Eye Power was a form of special Chakra, and it still belonged to Chakra.

And Chakra possessed many transformations.

Tsunade's A-rank ninjutsu, Disorderly Rampage Thrust, could even turn Chakra into electrons to create an electric field. That was an exceptionally advanced application of Chakra.

Unfortunately, Tsunade had not pursued it any further and had stopped at disrupting an enemy's control over their body.

"Kurenai Yuhi, did you know that light and Electromagnetic Wave travel at the same speed?"

Kiyoshi said calmly, not worrying in the slightest whether Kurenai could understand.

The Ninja Academy also taught some basic physics and mathematics.

The written portion of the Chunin Exams tested such knowledge.

"The instant I looked at you, I activated the Sharingan and 'hypnotized' you. Just now, you were merely casting your genjutsu at empty air while I leisurely walked behind you."

"!"

Kurenai's face was full of astonishment.

This was the first time she had learned that.

She had been careless.

From now on, it was not enough to avoid eye contact with the "Sharingan." The moment she saw an Uchiha, she had to avert her gaze immediately!

"Kurenai, so you were here."

Soft rustling came from the distant bushes as Asuma Sarutobi arrived, panting from exhaustion.

So Kurenai had only been sparring with Kiyoshi in genjutsu.

Asuma Sarutobi breathed a sigh of relief.

He had long secretly regarded Kurenai as his future wife, and he naturally felt somewhat possessive of her.

"Kiyoshi Uchiha has awakened the Sharingan. Why compete with her in anything else if you're going to compete in genjutsu? Using genjutsu against an Uchiha is the worst possible choice."

Asuma Sarutobi shook his head, wanting to advise Kurenai Yuhi not to have any further contact with Kiyoshi Uchiha.

His mother, Biwako Sarutobi, had told him that matters involving the Uchiha Clan could easily become political, so he had to be careful.

Thus, Asuma Sarutobi believed it was best to keep a respectful distance from the Uchiha Clan. Exchanging a few words occasionally was enough.

If they got too close, who knew what trouble might arise?

"..."

Kurenai silently listened to Asuma Sarutobi's words, her hand unconsciously clenching.

Did that mean anyone who was not an Uchiha did not deserve to learn genjutsu?

Asuma's words were far too hurtful.

"Asuma, what do you mean?"

Kurenai's voice turned cold.

The person she admired most was her father, Mahiru Yuhi. Wasn't Asuma Sarutobi's remark denying the lifetime her father had spent researching genjutsu?

"Kurenai, you misunderstood. What I meant was..."

Asuma Sarutobi saw that Kurenai's expression was off.

He immediately realized he had misspoken and that his words were ambiguous.

What he meant was that one should use other methods against an Uchiha. There was no need to stubbornly confront genjutsu head-on and challenge the Uchiha Clan in its strongest field.

"Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi's genjutsu is very strong. Few people in the class can match her, and in terms of genjutsu alone, even Kakashi is inferior."

Unfortunately, before Asuma Sarutobi could explain himself, Kiyoshi spoke first.

Genjutsu targeted an enemy's five senses. It could freely control the Chakra flowing through the enemy's cranial nervous system, making it a technique that required extremely high intelligence.

"So I admire Kurenai. Even though we Uchiha are renowned, Kurenai Yuhi still has the determination to challenge authority. With such Nindo, she is sure to achieve extraordinary things in the future."

For the sake of the trait, Kiyoshi sternly condemned Asuma Sarutobi, who currently had something of a delinquent air about him, and praised Kurenai Yuhi a few times.

Kurenai Yuhi would carry out fourteen S-rank missions and one hundred thirty-eight A-rank missions in the future, along with countless other missions of various ranks.

Unfortunately, she had peaked the moment she debuted. Encountering Itachi and Kisame had ruined her reputation for life.

But her performance had not actually been poor. Kurenai's genjutsu ability had even allowed her to hold out for a few moves against Itachi's genjutsu.

Orochimaru had been instantly defeated by a single glance from Itachi.

It could only be said that everyone had their own specialty. The gap in genjutsu was simply too great.

Later, Kurenai Yuhi had a child and withdrew from the front lines, no longer involving herself in ninja affairs.

She also gave up further research into genjutsu.

"Kiyoshi..."

Kurenai froze. She had not expected this guy from the Land of Lightning to speak so thoughtfully.

"That's right, Kurenai. You need to believe in yourself."

Kiyoshi turned to Kurenai.

You must believe in yourself more and improve your abilities further.

Then let me see whether you'll keep dropping traits.

Naturally, Kiyoshi kept those latter words buried in his heart, kindly choosing not to mention them.