Learning genjutsu

Just as expected, the Third Hokage was not in the village. It turned out that fighting had broken out not only near Amegakure, but on another front as well. The Land of Earth had brazenly launched an attack without a word, leaving Konoha no choice but to open a second front. The Hokage had gone straight to the front lines to take command.

After rescuing Kushina, Minato prepared to head to the battlefield, but she held him back.

Kushina worked up her courage and said, "I'm a ninja now too. I want to go."

"No." Having already witnessed the cruelty of war, Minato stopped her without a second thought.

Anyo naturally disagreed as well. Are you kidding? You're the future Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Konoha's treasure. If anything happened to you, the two of us would take all the blame. This only happened because the Third Hokage wasn't in the village. Otherwise, how could those three jonin possibly have captured you? They probably would've been killed the moment they came in.

But seeing Kushina cling tightly to Minato, refusing to let go, Anyo sighed. "Who's in charge of the village right now? Let's go ask them."

After saying that, Anyo gave Minato a meaningful look.

Minato immediately caught on and nodded. "All right, let's go together."

They arrived at the Hokage's office and pushed open the door to find a middle-aged man whose face looked older than his years. His expression was solemn, but a trace of a smile appeared when he saw Kushina. "You're all right. That's wonderful."

Minato clearly recognized him and nodded politely. "Hello, Uncle Shinku. I'm about to head to the battlefield, but Kushina insists on coming with me. What do you think..."

"Nonsense." Shinku cut Minato off before he could finish. He said sternly, "I've always opposed sending children like you to the battlefield. You're Konoha's hope for the future. Not only is Kushina forbidden from going, but you will stay in Konoha too, Minato. If anyone has to answer for this later, I'll take full responsibility."

"Huh?!" Minato was dumbfounded. He had never imagined things would turn out this way, and he was utterly unwilling to accept it.

Just as he was about to argue, a voice cut in. It was Anyo, who had just arrived. He pointed at himself. "Uh, what about me?"

Shinku looked at Anyo. He clearly knew him too, and a hint of hesitation actually appeared in his eyes.

Anyo had only said that to lighten the mood, yet Shinku had actually started giving it serious thought. What's going on? Those two are children, but I'm not? Talk about unequal treatment.

After thinking for a while, Shinku said, "I'll contact your teacher, White Fang. Until he replies, you'll stay in the village for now."

Hmm, now that's more like it.

Anyo smiled at Shinku in approval, then turned to leave. "Sorry, I only take orders from my teacher. I'll be going now."

With that, Anyo leaped away. But just as he was about to leave Konoha, his surroundings turned into an illusory scene.

Sensing something wrong, Anyo slashed fiercely ahead. The illusory scene warped a few times, then returned to normal.

"Is this... genjutsu?" Anyo immediately understood. "When did this happen? When did I fall under genjutsu?"

Anyo, who already possessed an S-Rank Genjutsu, was astonished. He formed hand seals and silently recited, Release.

The scene before him vanished like dispersing mist, but Anyo now found himself in his own home.

Double-layered genjutsu? No, I never broke the first layer. This is a Genjutsu Space similar to Tsukuyomi, created from the thoughts in my mind. What powerful genjutsu.

Without a doubt, the only person who could have done this so imperceptibly was Shinku, whom he had just met in the office.

Knowing better than to persist, Anyo sheathed his sword and shouted, "I won't leave! Let me out!"

The moment he said that, the surroundings changed again. As it turned out, Anyo had been in the office the entire time and had never taken a single step outside.

Shinku gave Anyo an appreciative look. "Clever child. No wonder White Fang took you as his student."

Anyo sighed helplessly and said to Minato, "Kushina had a fright today. Take her home first."

Minato asked, "What about you?"

"I want to chat with Uncle Shinku for a while."

"All right."

After Minato left, Shinku looked at Anyo curiously. "What do you want to talk about? Let me make this clear first: my time is limited."

Putting on an innocent child's expression, Anyo shamelessly said, "Uncle Shinku, that genjutsu you used just now was so cool. Could you teach me?"

Shinku froze for a moment, seemingly not expecting the child to be so quick to seize an opening. He asked hesitantly, "What, have you already learned all the swordsmanship White Fang taught you?"

"Well, more or less," Anyo replied vaguely. "It never hurts to learn more."

"Father, don't teach him! You said you'd only teach me!" a little kid's voice cut in.

Anyo turned to see a girl of about seven or eight standing in the doorway, staring at him resentfully, as though he were about to steal her favorite toy.

Anyo asked, "Who's this?"

"Kurenai, don't be so rude." Shinku went over and picked her up, his face full of warmth. "This is my daughter, Kurenai Yuhi."

Kurenai Yuhi, huh? I remember her. Naruto and the others' genjutsu teacher. Looks like their genjutsu is passed down through the family too, just like Ino-Shika-Cho. Damn, looks like there's no chance.

Disappointed, Anyo was about to leave when Shinku suddenly said, "Actually, learning genjutsu mainly depends on talent. I don't have time to teach you right now, but my daughter already has a solid foundation. If you want to learn, I can have her teach you. How about it?"

As soon as Shinku said that, Kurenai Yuhi shouted, "No! I won't teach him! I'm not teaching him!"

Anyo, however, became interested. Seeing Kurenai Yuhi's attitude, he decided to tease her, so he put on a disdainful expression. "Uncle Shinku, let's forget it. What could a little brat who doesn't know anything possibly teach me?"

Sure enough, the moment Anyo said that, Kurenai Yuhi bristled. She struggled free of Shinku's arms and jumped down, pointing furiously at Anyo. "Who are you calling a little brat? You're only a few years older than me! Come on, I'll teach you right now. If you can't learn it, just wait till you hear what I have to say!"

With that, Kurenai Yuhi grabbed Anyo's clothes, looking ready to start teaching him immediately. Anyo naturally followed Kurenai outside, giving Shinku a grateful look before leaving.

"That child." Shinku couldn't help laughing, then buried himself in the village's affairs.

Meanwhile, Kurenai Yuhi began explaining genjutsu theory as she pulled him along. Her store of knowledge was certainly respectable; in just a few words, she gave Anyo an entirely new understanding of genjutsu.