Graduation Examination Day

In the early morning at the Leaf Village Ninja Academy training grounds, the air still carried the dampness of dew.

Hyuga Xiao stood at the edge of the field in his assistant instructor's position, his calm gaze sweeping over the gathered students. His white pupils glimmered faintly in the morning light. With his Byakugan at 6% purity, he could clearly see the flow of chakra in his field of vision.

"Today is the graduation examination," the chunin examiner beside him said quietly. "Xiao, you'll be responsible for recording the matches for Group Three."

"Understood." Xiao gave a slight nod, his voice gentle.

His gaze settled on Kurenai Yuhi amid the crowd.

The eight-year-old girl wore the standard ninja student uniform. Her dark red hair was tied into a ponytail, and obvious nervousness showed on her young face. Her fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes, while her lips were pressed tightly together.

Xiao quietly activated his Byakugan.

Kurenai's chakra flow was much steadier than it had been three days ago, but the chakra node near her heart was still somewhat sluggish—that was the lingering effect of an old injury. However, when she formed hand seals, her chakra gathered at least thirty percent faster than before.

System, confirm the target's status.

[Target: Kurenai Yuhi (8 years)]
[Current Fate Node: Graduation Examination Genjutsu Failure Incident]

[Intervention Progress: 37%]
[Estimated Interception Success Rate: 68%]

Not enough.

Xiao shifted his gaze toward the other side of the examination grounds.

Several children from the Uchiha Clan were gathered there. Among them, a black-haired boy was sneering in Kurenai's direction. Xiao remembered him—Uchiha Aoki. He came from a side branch, and his talent was average, but his clan's bloodline limit gave him a natural resistance to genjutsu.

In the original story, Kurenai had faced Uchiha Aoki during the examination. Her genjutsu had been easily broken by the Sharingan, and he had publicly mocked her: "A war orphan thinks she deserves to use genjutsu?" That incident became a psychological shadow she could not shake for years.

"The examination begins!" the chief examiner announced.

The students took the field according to the order of their draws. Taijutsu sparring, shuriken throwing, basic ninjutsu demonstrations... one examination after another proceeded in orderly fashion.

While recording the results, Xiao watched Kurenai's draw from the corner of his eye.

When Kurenai pulled out her numbered tag from the box, Xiao saw her little face turn pale in an instant.

"Group Three, Match Seven: Kurenai Yuhi versus Uchiha Aoki!"

As expected.

Kurenai's fingers trembled slightly around the tag. She looked toward Uchiha Aoki, and the boy had already revealed a confident smile.

"Kurenai." Xiao's voice suddenly sounded beside her.

Startled, Kurenai turned and saw that Xiao had somehow arrived at her side.

"X-Xiao-sensei..."

"Before you go on, I need to inspect your protective gear." Xiao's tone was as calm as ever, as though it were merely routine.

He crouched down and lightly pressed his fingers against Kurenai's forehead protector and knee pads. The movement was natural, and neither the nearby examiners nor the students paid any attention.

The instant he checked her knee pad, Xiao swiftly slipped a folded note into its inner lining.

"That's all." Xiao stood and lowered his voice until only the two of them could hear. "Remember, you are Kurenai Yuhi's daughter. Your mother's genjutsu notes, page three, line seven."

Kurenai froze.

Xiao had already turned and returned to his assistant instructor's position, as if nothing had happened.

Kurenai quietly slipped her hand into her knee pad and felt the note. Resisting the urge to open it on the spot, she took a deep breath and walked toward the center of the examination grounds.

Uchiha Aoki was already waiting there.

"War orphan." Aoki sneered in a voice only the two of them could hear. "I heard genjutsu is all you know. Too bad the Uchiha are least afraid of genjutsu."

Kurenai bit her lip and said nothing.

"The examination begins!"

Aoki immediately leaped back and rapidly formed hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

It was only the most basic Fire Release technique, but for an eight-year-old to perform it completely was already impressive. A blazing fireball rushed toward Kurenai.

Rather than taking it head-on, Kurenai sidestepped and formed hand seals at the same time.

"Genjutsu: Vision of Hell!"

An invisible ripple of genjutsu spread outward.

Aoki sneered, and his eyes instantly turned scarlet—One-Tomoe Sharingan!

The genjutsu was broken the moment it touched the Sharingan.

"That's it?" Aoki mocked. "I haven't even tried yet."

A few quiet snickers came from the sidelines.

Kurenai's face flushed red, and her fingers turned pale from clenching too hard. She unconsciously touched her knee pad and remembered Xiao's words.

Her mother's genjutsu notes... page three, line seven...

What had been written there?

Kurenai suddenly remembered. It was a sentence her mother had marked: "The essence of genjutsu is deception, but the most brilliant deception is making your opponent deceive himself."

What did that mean?

Her gaze fell on Aoki. Xiao-sensei had said he needed to inspect her gear... the note!

Taking advantage of the gap while Aoki formed hand seals, Kurenai quickly pulled out the note and unfolded it.

There was only one line of tiny writing on it:

"Your opponent has an old injury in his left shoulder. Use genjutsu to create the illusion of crushing weight on his left shoulder."

Kurenai's heart suddenly jolted.

She looked at Aoki—the boy's left shoulder was indeed half a beat slower than his right whenever he formed hand seals. Every time he raised his arm, he also frowned faintly without realizing it.

It was true.

"Still daydreaming?" Aoki had already charged forward, throwing a punch at Kurenai's face.

Kurenai hurriedly leaned back to evade it, forming hand seals again.

This time, she did not use ordinary genjutsu. Instead, she condensed her chakra into extremely fine threads and silently wrapped them around Aoki's left shoulder.

It was an obscure technique recorded in her mother's notes—Localized Genjutsu. It did not require complete control of the opponent's mind. It only needed to affect a localized perception.

"Genjutsu: Binding Weight!"

Aoki's left shoulder suddenly sank.

It was not physical heaviness, but a false sensation sent through his nerves—as if a massive boulder weighed down on his shoulder. The muscle memory around his old injury awakened, and real pain intertwined with the pain created by the genjutsu.

"Urgh!" Aoki groaned, and his left arm instantly went limp.

Now!

Kurenai seized the opening and dashed forward. Her right hand formed into a blade with two fingers extended, striking Aoki's right shoulder acupoint with precision.

Gentle Fist Method: Acupoint Strike!

Though it was not a secret technique of the Hyuga Clan, the Ninja Academy taught basic chakra acupoint striking techniques.

Aoki's right arm went numb, and he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

"The match is decided!" the examiner promptly declared.

The sidelines fell silent for a moment before scattered applause broke out.

Kurenai stood where she was, gasping for breath. She had won? She had really won?

Uchiha Aoki climbed to his feet, his face livid. He glared viciously at Kurenai, but the agonizing pain in his left shoulder left him unable to spit out any mockery.

"Examination passed." The examiner placed a checkmark in his record book. "Kurenai Yuhi, qualified."

When Kurenai walked off the field, her steps still felt unsteady.

She had won. Not only had she won, she had not been mocked.

That note...

Kurenai instinctively looked toward Xiao.

The boy in white was recording the examination results with his head lowered. His profile was calm and expressionless, as though none of what had just happened had anything to do with him.

But Kurenai knew otherwise.

After the examination ended, the students gradually dispersed. Kurenai searched through the crowd for Xiao, only to see that he had already packed his things and was heading toward the academy gates.

"Xiao-sensei!" Kurenai jogged after him.

Xiao stopped and turned to look at her. "Is something wrong, Kurenai?"

"Um... thank you." Kurenai lowered her head, her voice soft. "About the note..."

"What note?" A trace of perfectly timed confusion appeared on Xiao's face. "Kurenai, outside tools are not permitted during an examination. If you used one, I will have to report it."

Kurenai froze.

"However," Xiao continued, his tone softening, "the Localized Genjutsu you used today was very clever. Targeting an opponent's old injury showed tactical awareness worthy of praise."

After a brief pause, he added, "If your mother had seen it, she would have been proud of you."

Kurenai's eyes suddenly reddened.

"I... I was actually very scared," she said quietly. "Scared that I would disgrace my mother's name."

Xiao was silent for a moment.

"Kurenai," he said, "remember this. In this village, if war orphans want to survive—if they want to live well—they have to be smarter and more ruthless than everyone else."

His voice was soft, yet it struck Kurenai's heart like a hammer.

"You did well today. But it still wasn't good enough." Before Xiao turned to leave, he left her with one final sentence. "If you want to become stronger, be at Training Ground Three at five tomorrow morning."

Kurenai watched his figure disappear around the corner, then clenched her fists.

She did not know why this assistant instructor from the Hyuga Clan had helped her, but she knew this—over the past eight years, this was the first time she had felt that someone was truly looking at her, rather than looking through her at the dead "hero's daughter."

As Xiao walked back toward the Hyuga Clan Grounds, the system's notification sounded in his mind.

[Ding! Successfully intervened in Kurenai Yuhi's Fate Node: Graduation Examination Genjutsu Failure Incident]

[Interception Progress: 100%]

[Calculating rewards...]

[Destiny Points obtained: 300]

[Special reward obtained: Genjutsu Resistance +15%]

[Kurenai Yuhi's Favorability increased to: Trust (Beginner)]

[Warning: Leaf Village higher-ups' attention toward host +5%]

Xiao did not slow his pace in the slightest.

Genjutsu resistance was a decent reward. As for the increase in the higher-ups' attention... he had anticipated it from the moment he chose to approach Kurenai.

War orphans, especially those whose parents had been jonin, were always key subjects of observation and cultivation for the Leaf Village's higher-ups. His involvement in Kurenai's growth would inevitably draw certain people's attention.

But that did not matter.

A faint curve appeared at the corner of Xiao's lips.

That was exactly the effect he wanted.

The progress toward removing the Caged Bird Seal was only 0.1%. To completely rid himself of the curse mark, he needed more bargaining chips, more "value." And someone who could influence a future jonin and enter the higher-ups' field of vision was clearly more valuable than an ordinary Branch House ninja.

When he returned to the Hyuga Clan Grounds, Xiao encountered Tokuma Hyuga at the entrance.

"Xiao." Tokuma stopped him, his expression complicated. "The Main House sent word. They want you to visit the Elder Council tomorrow."

"The reason?"

"They didn't say." Tokuma lowered his voice. "But I heard it has something to do with your conduct at the Ninja Academy. Someone saw you guiding that Kurenai Yuhi..."

Xiao nodded. "Understood."

Tokuma hesitated, then finally sighed. "Xiao, I know you want to climb higher. But there are some lines you cannot cross."

"Tokuma-senpai," Xiao said calmly as he looked at him, "where do you think the line between the Branch House and the Main House should be?"

Tokuma opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Xiao smiled and turned to enter the clan grounds.

Moonlight fell across the forehead protector on his brow, while the Caged Bird Seal beneath it faintly burned.

A line?

Sooner or later, he would tear apart that line, along with the entire rotten cage.

And Kurenai was only the first step.

Five tomorrow morning. Training Ground Three.

He would give that girl what she truly wanted—strength. In return, Kurenai would become the first chess piece he placed in the Leaf Village.

Fair enough.

Xiao pushed open the door to his room, sat down in the darkness, and began refining chakra.

The ability to see through things granted by his Byakugan's 6% purity allowed him to more clearly "see" the flow of chakra within his own body. Those tiny chakra pathways, those nodes sealed by the Caged Bird Seal...

One day.

He would use these eyes to see through every truth in this world.

Then, he would seize fate in his own hands.