Brother, Mo's Illusionary Guidance

"Big brother... Big brother? Big brother!"

Shisui stood beside Uchiha Mo and called out twice. When he saw no response, he raised his voice and shouted again.

Mo snapped back to his senses, lifting a pair of clear black eyes to look at the little bean-sized boy before him.

"What is it?"

"It's already noon. We should go home for lunch!" Shisui raised a hand and pointed at the sun overhead.

Mo looked up. The sun had indeed reached its highest point in the sky. He slowly rose to his feet.

"Got it. Let's go."

With one hand resting on the straight sword at his waist, Mo took the lead onto the road home, and Shisui hurried after him.

"Big brother, what do you want to eat for lunch?"

Shisui ran in front of Mo with a smile and looked up at him.

"Anything."

Mo was still thinking about why his fusion had failed and had little interest in lunch.

"Telling the cook 'anything' is really putting them in a difficult spot, you know~" Shisui pouted in dissatisfaction.

"..." Mo continued pondering without replying.

Knowing that his brother did not want to answer such a meaningless question, Shisui could only change the subject.

"Then, big brother, are you coming to train with me this afternoon too? Those people who were watching me this morning don't seem to have shown up again."

As soon as he finished speaking, Mo glanced at Shisui and replied, "This afternoon, come with me to Kurenai's house. Uncle Shinku isn't home. I need to teach Kurenai genjutsu to repay her favor, so you can learn with us."

Since Shisui had already been targeted, Mo naturally could not let him leave his sight for too long. For all he knew, if he let his guard down for even a moment, Shisui might return with a Tongue Bane Curse Mark on his tongue...

If that happened, he would have no choice but to kill Danzo ahead of schedule.

Shisui immediately became excited. "I can finally learn Sharingan genjutsu?"

Mo shook his head, dousing Shisui's excitement with a bucket of cold water.

"No. You can only learn ordinary genjutsu with her. I told you before: no Sharingan genjutsu before the age of seven, and use your eyes as little as possible."

"Eh—? Why?!" Shisui pursed his lips, his shoulders slumping as he lowered his head in disappointment.

Every Uchiha was full of anticipation for the Sharingan, and Shisui was no exception.

Yet after awakening his eyes, despite having an older brother hailed as "the strongest Uchiha genius since the founding of Hidden Leaf," he had not received a single lesson on Sharingan techniques. Instead, he had been ordered to use them less. The contrast left him especially upset.

Mo glanced at the dejected Shisui, stopped walking, and placed his right hand on Shisui's head, giving it a gentle rub.

"You're still too young. Your body is still developing. Having overly strong ocular power isn't a good thing."

As the saying went, running fast did not necessarily mean winning; not tripping was what truly mattered. With Shisui's talent, there was no need to rush for short-term gains and expose his body to danger.

Shisui's mood improved slightly, but his cheeks were still puffed out as he muttered unhappily, "But don't the clan head and elders all think the earlier you awaken your eyes, the better? And weren't you only ten, big brother? You already have a three-tomoe Sharingan, but there's nothing wrong with your body."

"That's why they're all mediocre."

"..."

Looking at his elder brother's calm expression, Shisui did not know what to say for a moment.

Mo looked down at the stunned Shisui. His right hand suddenly slid from Shisui's head to his shoulder, then he pulled him over with force and hoisted him onto his back before continuing toward home.

"Time to go home and cook..."

Shisui came back to his senses. Once he realized what had happened, he stretched out his arms around Mo's neck. His eyes curved into crescents as he gazed brightly at Mo's calm profile, the corners of his mouth lifting as a faint blush colored his youthful cheeks.

"Mm!"

After lunch, Mo led Shisui through the streets of Hidden Leaf until they arrived outside Kurenai Yuhi's home.

Knock, knock, knock!

After knocking on the door, Mo quietly waited to one side.

Hurried footsteps soon sounded from inside the house, drawing closer and closer until they stopped at the door.

A moment later, the door opened with a creak.

The girl's ruby-like eyes shone as she stared at the boy standing in the doorway.

"Mo, you're here. Have you eaten lunch?"

Uchiha Mo nodded.

"Big Sister Kurenai, haven't you eaten yet?" Shisui asked from the side.

Kurenai Yuhi shifted her gaze. Her attention had been so focused on Mo just now that she had only noticed the little bean-sized boy beside him.

"Eh? Shisui?"

Shisui smiled and nodded in greeting, his eyes narrowing as he said with a smile, "Today, I'm learning genjutsu with Nii-san too. I won't disturb Sister Kurenai, right?"

At his words, Kurenai Yuhi unconsciously grabbed at the hem of her clothes. Her gaze darted away in panic, and she turned sideways awkwardly to make room at the door.

"Of course not..."

Uchiha eyes were terrifying!

Mo led Shisui into the entryway and glanced toward the shoe cabinet. Seeing this, Kurenai Yuhi immediately bent down and took out two pairs of spare guest slippers.

After Mo and Shisui changed into them and stepped into Kurenai's home, it was worth noting that Shisui was still too young. Though the pair was already quite small, they were still a little too large for his feet. Every step he took made the slippers go "patter."

Led by Kurenai Yuhi, the two crossed the corridor and arrived at the courtyard beyond the living room.

"Mo, what genjutsu are you planning to teach me?" Kurenai Yuhi sat cross-legged on the grass, looking somewhat excited.

Although she had indeed invited Mo to her home with other intentions, she truly did want to learn genjutsu from him as well. With Shisui here, her primary goal had clearly fallen through, so she could only reluctantly shift her attention to her second goal for now.

If I become stronger, Mo will look at me more too, right? The girl harbored such thoughts.

Mo looked at Kurenai Yuhi, then at Shisui, before slowly speaking.

"First, I want to ask you both a question. What is genjutsu?"

Hearing this, Kurenai Yuhi puzzledly twirled a lock of her curly hair. Her delicate little face creased slightly as she tentatively answered, "A technique that uses chakra to disrupt an opponent's five senses and make them fall into an illusion?"

Mo did not say whether she was right or wrong. Instead, he looked toward Shisui. "Shisui, what do you think?"

"It's a technique for deceiving the opponent in order to achieve one's combat objective!" Shisui straightened up, his voice filled with powerful confidence.

As his words fell, Mo's lips curled slightly.

He looked at Kurenai Yuhi and said, "Kurenai, you're not wrong, but your first reaction upon hearing my question was to explain the conventional definition of genjutsu. Shisui's reaction, on the other hand, was to answer what genjutsu ought to be."

Kurenai Yuhi's fair little face was full of confusion. Her delicate brows furrowed. "I don't understand what the difference is."

Mo shook his head. "That is the difference in levels of genjutsu use. No matter how powerful a genjutsu user is, they would not foolishly tell the enemy that they were about to use genjutsu. The core of genjutsu is not the technique, but illusion—it is deception..."

"For you, if you want to make your blade stronger, the first thing you should do is not sharpen it, but learn how to swing it."