Illusion Talent Fragment

The setting sun cast long shadows across the training ground.

Hyuga Xiao leaned against an old locust tree, resting with his eyes closed. Within the Byakugan's vision, the chakra flowing through all of Leaf Village resembled a finely woven net—several especially bright clusters of chakra moved around the Main House residence, likely Hiashi and several elders in discussion; over by the Ninja Academy, the children had just gotten out of class, and scattered points of light were dispersing in every direction.

The footsteps were very light.

Yet Xiao still opened his eyes.

Kurenai Yuhi stood three meters away, her hands clutching the corners of her clothes. The red eyes she had inherited from her mother still held the excitement from the completed exam, but more than that, there was a cautious, probing look in them. She wore a faded light-purple short-sleeved shirt today, and a bandage from the medical team was stuck to her arm—a scrape left over from that morning's exam.

"Senior."

Hong bowed deeply, her forehead nearly touching her knees.

"Thank you."

Xiao did not respond right away. He remained leaning against the tree, his calm gaze sweeping over the girl's faintly trembling shoulders. Two sparrows pecked at grass seeds in the bushes at the edge of the training ground. Farther away, two Genin were practicing shuriken throws, the sound of metal striking wooden targets carrying over intermittently.

"What are you thanking me for?" Xiao finally asked, his voice mild. "You passed the exam yourself."

"But..." Hong straightened, her cheeks flushing slightly. "That note—"

"What note?"

Xiao cut her off, the corners of his mouth lifting in a faint curve. Sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, casting mottled patches of light and shadow over his face. No emotion could be seen in those pure white eyes.

Hong froze.

Her lips parted as if she wanted to say something, but she swallowed the words back down. Confusion flickered through her Red Eye, followed by realization, until it became something more complicated—she seemed to understand something, yet seemed even more confused than before.

"I..." Hong lowered her head and stared at the scuffed tip of her shoe. "I just think... without your earlier guidance, Senior, I definitely couldn't have done it."

That much was true.

[Ding!]

The system notification sounded in his mind, as clear as if it had been carved directly into his nerves.

[The Fate Node "humiliated during graduation exam" for target "Kurenai Yuhi" has been completely changed.]

[Destiny Points +50.]

[Special reward obtained: Illusion Talent Fragment (1/10).]

[Description: Collect ten fragments to activate basic genjutsu ability. Current fragment has automatically fused.]

A cool sensation flowed in from between his brows.

It was not the warm sensation of chakra circulation. It felt more like someone had poured a handful of icy spring water straight into his brain. Xiao could clearly feel that the range of his mental perception had expanded—not the Byakugan's visual penetration of chakra and physical objects, but a vague awareness of the surrounding "emotional field."

Hong's nervousness, gratitude, and faint underlying unease felt like ripples spreading across the surface of water, and he could "sense" them.

He did not see them. He felt them.

Interesting.

Xiao kept his face calm, but rapidly analyzed this new ability inside. The essence of genjutsu was chakra interfering with a target's spiritual world, and the key to resisting genjutsu, beyond chakra control, depended on the strength and stability of one's mental power. This fragment had clearly improved the latter.

He did not know any genjutsu yet, but at least against Genin-level genjutsu attacks, he should be able to force his way through by brute strength.

"You worked for it yourself."

Xiao repeated the words, this time with a trace of sincerity in his tone. He straightened and brushed grass clippings from the hem of his kimono. "Uchiha Aoki's old injury is at the third chakra node on his left shoulder. That information is public in the medical team's records. The fact that you thought of using Localized Genjutsu in conjunction with taijutsu to attack that weakness shows that you have a tactical mind."

Hong's eyes lit up.

"Really?"

"Really." Xiao paused, then added, "But don't take such risks next time. If his Sharingan awakened early, even if it was only a single tomoe, your genjutsu would have backfired."

"I'll remember that." Hong nodded firmly.

Then she fell silent.

The sounds of shuriken throwing on the training ground stopped. The two Genin seemed to have finished practicing and were packing up to leave. In the distance, a Ninja Academy teacher could be heard scolding students, though the words were too blurred to make out across half the field. The sun sank a little farther, and the locust tree's shadow completely enveloped the two of them.

Hong took a deep breath.

As though she had gathered the greatest courage of her life.

"Senior."

Her voice was soft, but she articulated every word clearly.

"Could I... learn genjutsu from you?"

Xiao stopped moving.

He turned his head and, for the first time, seriously examined the eight-year-old girl before him. Hong's hair glimmered dark red beneath the sunset. In the eyes she had inherited from her mother was an almost stubborn determination. Her fingers were tightly twisted together, her knuckles faintly whitening from the force.

"Why come to me?" Xiao asked. "The Hyuga Clan is known for taijutsu and the Byakugan. All of Leaf Village knows we do not use genjutsu."

"But you understand it."

Hong raised her head, meeting his gaze directly.

"You understand how to break genjutsu, how to exploit its weaknesses, and how to integrate it into actual combat. When you guided me this morning, the things you said were things even our class's genjutsu teacher never taught."

Xiao did not answer immediately.

He walked to the wooden fence at the edge of the training ground and placed a hand on its rough surface. The grain of the wood was distinct beneath his fingertips. The evening wind carried the chill unique to dusk and the scent of distant cooking smoke.

The system gave no notification.

That meant Hong's request had not been part of the original Fate Node. It was an unforeseen variable created by his intervention.

A good thing, and a nuisance.

"Kurenai Yuhi." Xiao turned around. With his back to the setting sun, his face was hidden in shadow, and only his Byakugan gave off a faint gleam. "Do you know how your parents died?"

Hong's body stiffened.

"My... my father was an Elite Ninja, and my mother was a Chunin. During the Third Shinobi World War..." Her voice grew quieter and quieter. "They died in the line of duty."

"Yes, died in the line of duty." Xiao repeated the phrase, his tone as mild as if he were talking about the weather. "Then do you know why two ninja skilled in genjutsu died at the hands of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?"

Hong jerked her head up.

"How do you know, Senior—"

"Because the mission records are public." Xiao cut her off. "Once you become a Chunin, you'll have the authority to access them. Your parents' mission was to 'delay the Hidden Mist pursuit force' and buy time for Leaf Village's main force to retreat. They trapped three of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in genjutsu and held out for seventeen minutes."

He paused.

"Then the other four beheaded them from behind."

Hong's breathing became ragged. Her eyes reddened, but she bit her lip and refused to let the tears fall.

"Genjutsu is powerful, but it has limits." Xiao's voice remained calm, even cruel. "When you devote all your attention to weaving dreams, the blade in reality is already at your throat. Your parents made two mistakes—first, they underestimated the number of enemies; second, they overestimated their allies' support."

"But..."

"There are no buts." Xiao walked up to Hong and looked down at her. "If you want to learn genjutsu, you can. But what I will teach you is not how to make people dream. It is how to drive a kunai into their hearts while they are dreaming."

Hong stared blankly at him.

After a long while, she fiercely wiped her eyes.

"I'll learn."

"It will be hard."

"I'm not afraid."

"You might die."

"Even so..." Hong's voice caught for a moment, but quickly grew firm again. "That's still better than being able to do nothing and watching someone important die right in front of me."

Xiao watched her for a long time.

Long enough for the sun to disappear completely beyond the horizon, for the streetlights around the edge of the training ground to light up one by one, their dim yellow halos spreading into the night.

"Five tomorrow morning," he finally said. "Third Training Ground. Bring enough Soldier Provision Pills and bandages. Be one second late, and don't bother coming."

"Yes!"

Hong practically jumped as she bowed.

Xiao said nothing more and turned to leave. His steps were steady, the hem of his kimono swaying gently in the night breeze. As he left the training ground, he tilted his head slightly. Within the Byakugan's vision, Hong was still standing where she had been, bowing once more in the direction he had gone.

Then the girl crouched down and buried her face in her knees.

Her shoulders trembled lightly.

Xiao withdrew his gaze and continued onward. The izakayas on both sides of the street were beginning to liven up, the aroma of grilled fish mingling with the smell of sake. Several drunken Chunin passed by with their arms slung over each other's shoulders, loudly shouting about that day's mission pay.

Everything was as usual.

But Xiao knew that some things had already changed.

By the time he returned to the Hyuga Clan Grounds, it was completely dark. The alleys of the Branch House residential area were narrow, and the streetlamps were far apart, leaving most places shrouded in shadow. When Xiao reached the gate of his small courtyard, he paused.

A locust leaf was caught in the crack of the gate.

It was a marker he had set before leaving—if someone entered, the leaf would fall.

The leaf was still there now, but it had shifted by around two millimeters.

Xiao pushed open the gate.

The stone lantern in the courtyard was lit. It was an automatic chakra-sensing lamp, and its light was dim. He entered the house, pulled the door shut behind him, did not light a lamp, and activated the Byakugan directly.

Everything in the room appeared clearly in his black-and-white vision.

Someone had touched the scrolls on the bookshelf. They had tried to restore them, but the angles were subtly different. There was a faint indentation along the edge of the tatami, not made by his footprint. A trace of fresh grease clung to the window latch—someone had opened it from outside with a special tool, then closed it again.

Xiao walked to the bookshelf and pulled out the most inconspicuous book, Leaf Village Herbal Guide.

He opened it to page three hundred and twenty-seven.

The three hairs tucked inside were still there, but their order had changed.

Someone had carefully searched this room, and they were highly professional—not someone an ordinary Branch House ninja could compare to.

Xiao closed the book and returned it to its place.

He went to the window, wiped the trace of grease with a finger, and brought it to his nose. There was a faint smell of pine oil mixed with some kind of metal lubricant—the kind ANBU often used.

So he really had been watched.

Was it because he had saved Hinata, or because he had approached Kurenai Yuhi? Or both?

Xiao sat down in the darkness, his back against the wall. Moonlight filtered through the paper window, spreading a pale patch across the floor. He closed his eyes and began reviewing everything that had happened that day.

Hong's request to become his student was unexpected, but it was also an opportunity.

If he could train Hong well, she would become his "eyes" in the field of genjutsu in the future. The Yuhi Clan might have declined, but its genjutsu heritage remained. Once Hong came of age, she should have the right to inherit those secret technique scrolls.

More importantly—Hong was a war orphan with no family ties and a clean background. Once someone like that formed a sufficiently strong bond, she would be more loyal than those born into great clans.

Of course, that was contingent on her surviving to adulthood.

Xiao opened his eyes, his pupils emitting a faint white glow in the darkness.

Starting tomorrow, he needed to adjust the training plan. Hong's constitution was weak, so he had to first strengthen her physical fitness and chakra control. As for genjutsu, they would start with the most basic hypnosis technique, paired with taijutsu ambushes—just as he had said today, genjutsu was not for making people dream. It was for creating the chance for a single lethal strike.

As for ANBU's surveillance...

A cold curve rose at Xiao's lips.

Let them watch.

Let them watch a "loyal and devoted" Branch House boy "repay kindness" by guiding a war orphan, watch him "work hard" to cultivate the next generation of Leaf Village's combat strength.

What a wonderful performance.

Outside the window, the moon rose to its zenith, its cold light filling the courtyard. Xiao stood and walked to the well in the yard. He drew a bucket of cold water and poured it over his head.

The icy stream washed across his skin, taking away the last trace of exhaustion.

He lifted his head and looked toward the Main House residence.

Its lights were brightly lit.

What was Hiashi doing now? Listening to the elders report on the clan's affairs today? Studying in his office how to better control the Branch House? Or calculating how to "sell" Hinata for a good price in exchange for greater benefits for the Main House?

Xiao dried the water from his face and turned back toward the house.

Before closing the door, he glanced once more at the shifted locust leaf.

He would have to use a different marker tomorrow.

And he needed to find a way to get some counter-surveillance techniques. While he could not openly set up a barrier yet, some discreet little methods should not arouse suspicion.

After all, it was normal for a Branch House boy who was "grateful" to the Main House and "enthusiastic" about helping his companions to be a little vigilant, wasn't it?

The door closed softly.

The night swallowed the last trace of light.