Kurenai Yuhi's Gaze: This Junior Is Kind of Handsome

"Teacher, I don't know either."

Sen pointed at his head, looking utterly innocent.

"Maybe when I was dreaming, the Duke of Zhou wrote it for me."

Iruka's mouth twitched wildly.

Dreamed of the Duke of Zhou?

Did he think this was some kind of mythological tale?!

Holding that near-perfect full-score paper, Iruka looked at Sen's innocent expression, like a dead pig that feared no boiling water.

He nearly coughed up blood and had a heart attack on the spot.

This brat was definitely playing dumb!

He had to be using this method to protest the school's dull theoretical education!

Iruka took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the urge to hang the brat up and beat him.

He decided not to expose him for now.

He would keep watching and see just how many secrets this boy, who was a mystery from head to toe, still had hidden away.

The dismissal bell rang.

Sen stretched lazily, feeling refreshed.

A perfect substitute exam had not only saved him over an hour of effort.

It had also successfully shattered Teacher Iruka's worldview.

He was in a good mood.

With his worn little backpack slung over his shoulder, he leisurely walked out through the school gates.

The setting sun's afterglow draped over him like a veil of gold.

The breeze lifted a few soft strands of black hair before his forehead, outlining his youthful yet slightly languidly handsome face with striking clarity.

At that moment, he had lost some of a child's innocence and gained an indescribable ethereal quality that seemed to blend into his surroundings.

Like an ancient tree rooted between heaven and earth—quiet, yet brimming with life.

"Hmm?"

Not far away, Kurenai Yuhi, who had just finished a special jonin training session and was preparing to go home, abruptly stopped.

Her beautiful crimson eyes were instinctively drawn to that small, slender figure bathed in the sunset.

Kurenai Yuhi was one of Konoha's foremost genjutsu prodigies.

Her perception of spiritual energy was far sharper than that of ordinary ninja.

In her perception,

the junior student slowly walking out of the school gates gave off an exceptionally unusual aura.

He was neither as lively and restless as ordinary children nor as sharp and dazzling as a genius like Sasuke.

His aura was like the afternoon sun—warm and languid, yet carrying a mountain-like stillness that could not be ignored.

It was as though he was not a person at all, but a part of nature itself.

"Interesting..."

The corners of Kurenai's lips rose slightly into a beautiful curve.

She had developed a strong interest in this "monster rookie" who had recently become the talk of the school.

"Hey, junior."

Kurenai strode forward on her long legs, her clear voice ringing out behind Sen.

Sen stopped and turned around.

When he saw who it was, he froze for a moment.

Long, silky black curls and a pair of ruby-bright eyes.

She wore the red fitted combat uniform unique to Konoha's female jonin, outlining her already well-developed, graceful figure to perfection.

Though her face still held traces of a young girl's immaturity, one could already see the beginnings of Konoha's future greatest beauty.

Kurenai Yuhi.

Sen silently repeated the name to himself.

"Is something the matter, Senior?" Sen asked, neither servile nor overbearing.

"Can't I chat with you if there's nothing wrong?"

Kurenai walked up to Sen and studied him with great interest.

"My name is Kurenai Yuhi. I'm a fourth-year. You've heard of me, right?"

"Yeah, I have." Sen nodded.

"A famous figure at school, a genjutsu prodigy, and a great beauty."

He said it with complete naturalness, without the slightest hint of flattery, as if he were merely stating a fact.

Kurenai's pretty face flushed at his blunt praise, though she was somewhat pleased by it.

"You're Sen Senju, right?"

Kurenai blinked and asked curiously.

"Lately, the school has been full of stories about you."

"One moment you're a monster with overflowing chakra, the next you're a useless kid who can't even hit a target with a shuriken, and then you're a naturally powerful freak who punched an upperclassman bully straight into a wall."

"And now there's another label: the 'sleepwalking academic prodigy' who can get full marks while sleeping through an exam."

"Tell me, junior, which label on you is the real one?"

Sen sighed, looking utterly dead inside.

"Senior, if I said I only wanted to be an ordinary, unremarkable person, would you believe me?"

"No." Kurenai shook her head, smiling like a sly little fox.

"Ordinary people don't have that calming yet unfathomable aura you have."

The two walked side by side along the road home, their shadows stretched long by the setting sun.

Along the way, Kurenai asked all sorts of questions with great interest.

Sen answered only sporadically.

His maturity beyond his years, along with the occasional lazy remark that carried an air of seeing through the ways of the world,

made Kurenai find him incredibly novel.

This did not feel like chatting with a six-year-old child at all.

It felt more like conversing with a hermit who had lived for decades and seen through worldly matters.

"Tell me, Junior Sen, other than sunbathing, do you have any other hobbies?" Kurenai asked curiously.

"Sure." Sen thought for a moment.

"Studying the growth cycles of various plants, analyzing how the acidity and alkalinity of different soils affect the sweetness of fruit."

"And observing which rooftops in the village have the strongest tiles, suitable for lying down and sleeping on."

Kurenai: "..."

She realized that she seemed to be having a little trouble keeping up with this junior's train of thought.

Before long, they reached the fork in the road leading to the Hyuga clan compound.

"All right, I'm home."

Kurenai stopped and looked at the boy beside her, who was much shorter than she was, the smile in her eyes growing warmer.

She suddenly reached out and, like an older sister, gently ruffled Sen's soft black hair.

It felt surprisingly good.

"Junior Sen, you're quite an interesting person."

Kurenai withdrew her hand and blinked at him, her tone carrying a touch of sincerity.

"If any blind fools try to bully you at school again, just tell them Kurenai Yuhi sent you."

"I might not be much of a fighter, but putting them under a genjutsu that gives them nightmares all night won't be a problem."

Looking at Kurenai Yuhi's bright, captivating smile, a trace of warmth flowed through Sen's heart.

In this cold village, it was not bad to encounter someone who took the initiative to show him kindness.

"Thanks, Senior."

Sen nodded, accepting the favor.

Kurenai waved, then turned and headed toward her home.

Her graceful back looked especially captivating against the sunset.

Sen stood where he was, watching her beautiful figure disappear around the corner.

He sighed helplessly and raised a hand to smooth out the hair she had ruffled.

"Bully me?"

He curled his lips and muttered softly.

"Senior, you may have gotten that wrong."

"In this school, as long as I don't bully them, they should count their blessings."