First Encounter with a Genjutsu Attack

Lu Zeming told the dancer to lead the way. She seemed reluctant, but when she saw the killing intent in his eyes, she obediently entered the cell.

The cell was cramped and damp, with poor ventilation and the stench of excrement hanging in the air.

Lu Zeming frowned and lit a torch on the wall. Only then did he see that more than a dozen women were locked inside.

All the women bore injuries. They looked disheveled, but on closer inspection, they were all attractive.

What surprised Lu Zeming was the woman held separately at the very back of the cell.

Her belly was slightly rounded, her features gentle, and her shoulder-length hair a fiery red that gleamed even brighter in the flickering torchlight.

Lu Zeming knew exactly what red hair meant in the world of Naruto.

"Are you an Uzumaki?"

The red-haired woman watched Lu Zeming warily, then glanced at the dancer beside him. She said nothing.

Lu Zeming seemed to realize why. "I've killed all the bandits. You're safe now!"

The red-haired woman's eyes lit up, but she quickly glanced at the dancer again, her wariness deepening.

Lu Zeming stepped away from the dancer.

"I know she's with the bandits. I only needed her to show me the way. Don't worry, she'll be dead soon!"

At those words, the dancer's terrified expression vanished, and her whole demeanor changed.

She raised her brows and parted her red lips. "What a shame. I'm curious—when did you figure it out?"

"When I was fighting that samurai, you hid my Poison Needle. Don't tell me you wanted to take it home for embroidery."

"You noticed something that small?" the dancer said in surprise. "I don't want to kill you. If you're willing, I can help you become the new chief!"

Lu Zeming smiled. "I know how this story goes. You don't care who the chief is, as long as you get to stay his wife, right?"

Hope glimmered in the dancer's eyes. "Well? It would be good for both of us, wouldn't it?"

Lu Zeming shook his head. "No. I'm too young, and you're too ugly!"

No one had ever called the dancer ugly. Her face twisted with rage.

"Then die!"

Lu Zeming chuckled. "You're not quite capable of killing me. I'm sure you have a trick or two, but they can't do much damage. Otherwise, you wouldn't have picked up my Poison Needle."

"Hmph. You'll find out soon enough!" The moment she finished speaking, the dancer blew out a cloud of pink mist.

Lu Zeming immediately held his breath and focused, but the scene before him had already begun to twist.

"It's not poison. It's Genjutsu!"

Lu Zeming dimly heard the red-haired woman's warning. The next instant, he found himself in a sea of pink flowers.

A breeze stirred, lifting a petal into the air. Lu Zeming reached out to catch it, but missed. Instead, the petal sliced a bloody line across his palm.

Poof! Lu Zeming's Transformation Technique finally broke, revealing his true appearance as a seven-year-old child.

Outside the illusion, both the red-haired woman and the dancer stared at Lu Zeming's real appearance in shock.

For someone so young to possess such strength—he was a genius among geniuses.

The red-haired woman shouted, trying to wake Lu Zeming as he stood frozen in place, but the dancer only sneered at her.

"Save your breath. No one wakes up after falling under my Genjutsu!"

The dancer drew the Poison Needle and walked toward Lu Zeming. The distance between them closed fast.

Five meters, three meters, one meter...

Inside the Genjutsu, a tornado of petals had risen around Lu Zeming. One petal could cut him. If that tornado caught him, wouldn't it mince him to pieces?

Yet with nowhere to escape, Lu Zeming became remarkably calm.

If she were that strong, why would she need the Poison Needle? The petals must be fake. The cut on my hand is fake too. But how do I break free?

Genjutsu manipulates the five senses to distort perception and judgment. But can you manipulate Spiritual Power, which senses beyond them?

In reality, the Poison Needle was about to pierce Lu Zeming between the brows. A smug smile had already spread across the dancer's lips.

But in the next instant, a blade flashed. The dancer watched in horror as her arm slid free of her shoulder.

Then came the searing pain.

"Aah!"

Clutching her bleeding shoulder, the dancer collapsed with a scream.

"Why? How did this happen?"

She shrieked hysterically, disbelief still filling her eyes.

"The dead don't need to know!"

The blade flashed again, and the dancer's head fell.

With the danger gone, Lu Zeming cut through the lock on the cell door and smiled at the women. "You're free!"

Only then did the poor women believe they had truly been saved.

Some wept with joy, some cried quietly, and others sobbed aloud. Each gave voice to her suffering in her own way.

Lu Zeming turned to the red-haired woman. "Thanks for warning me back there."

A gentle smile appeared on her face. "I should be thanking you. My name is Kumi Uzumaki. What's yours?"

"Lu Zeming!"

"What an unusual name. But thank you, truly. I don't know how I could ever repay you!"

"I saved you because I wanted to. If I demanded repayment, it would be a transaction. I don't make deals with people who are suffering."

Kumi Uzumaki could hardly believe those words had come from a seven-year-old boy. Her opinion of Lu Zeming rose at once.

"Are you the son of some great family?" Kumi Uzumaki asked curiously.

Lu Zeming shook his head. "Right now, I'm just a wandering ninja!"

Kumi Uzumaki was even more surprised. "Then your Ninjutsu?"

"I taught myself!"

Kumi Uzumaki felt as though her understanding of the world had crumbled. Since when could someone teach himself Ninjutsu to this level?

Calling this child an extraordinary genius hardly did him justice. He was a prodigy of the highest order!

Paying no mind to Kumi Uzumaki's shock, Lu Zeming turned to the others. "What are you planning to do now?"

Troubled expressions appeared on their faces.

"The bandits killed my whole family. I have nowhere to go!"

"Me too!"

"My uncle lives in the next village. I want to go to him."

After thinking for a moment, Lu Zeming said, "Those of you with somewhere to go can take three hundred ryo for travel expenses and leave. Those with nowhere to go can stay. I plan to build a village here, using this stronghold as a foundation, and I could use the help."

"I'll give you houses and land. As long as you're willing to work, you won't go hungry. And of course, I'll protect you!"

Lu Zeming spoke earnestly, and none of the women dismissed his words because of his age.

After giving it careful thought, they made their decisions.

In the end, only eight chose to stay. Kumi Uzumaki was among them.

Lu Zeming looked at Kumi Uzumaki in surprise. "You don't have anywhere to go either?"

Kumi Uzumaki shook her head. "I was planning to go to Kusagakure, but you've changed my mind. I want to stay and see how far you can go!"

"Kusagakure?" Lu Zeming murmured. He studied Kumi Uzumaki's face again. "Huh. Now that you mention it, you do look like Karin!"

Kumi Uzumaki's eyes widened. She looked at Lu Zeming, then down at her slightly rounded belly.

"How do you know the name my husband chose for our unborn child? Before he died, he told me to name the baby Takuya if it was a boy, or Karin if it was a girl!"

Now it was Lu Zeming's turn to be stunned.

"You're Karin's mother!"