Kurenai had not expected Kōki to ask about this so suddenly. She considered her words. "He's my father. Why do you ask, Itō?"
"Well, my supervising teacher told me that Jonin Yūhi Shinku is a renowned Genjutsu master throughout Konoha. I happen to want to improve my Genjutsu, so I'd like to pay him a visit sometime. Would you be willing to introduce me, upperclassman Kurenai Yuhi?"
Kōki's answer first delighted Kurenai-he was praising her father, after all-but then she felt a little troubled. She did not know whether her father would agree to give Kōki pointers. Still, seeing his expectant look, she considered it carefully before saying earnestly, "Itō, I can take you to meet my dad, but I can't guarantee he'll help you."
"That's fine. As long as I can meet Jonin Yūhi Shinku, I'll do everything I can to persuade him." At present, Kōki's physical development limited him, leaving his Ninjutsu and Taijutsu at a bottleneck. His Genjutsu, however, faced no such limitation, making it an excellent way for him to improve his strength.
The village's only renowned Genjutsu masters were members of the Uchiha Clan and Yūhi Shinku. Since the Uchiha Clan's Genjutsu required the Sharingan, only Yūhi Shinku suited him.
Still, he felt that simply asking might not win Yūhi Shinku's approval, so he decided to take an indirect approach. "Upperclassman Kurenai Yuhi, if you can help me gain Jonin Shinku's approval, I can teach you my unique Taijutsu techniques in exchange."
"Taijutsu techniques?" After thinking it over, Kurenai seemed to realize something, and her eyes lit up. "Do you mean the techniques you used against Kakashi?"
"That's right. I can teach you, as long as you help me," Kōki answered with a look of certainty.
Kurenai was very interested in Taijutsu similar to Lady Tsunade's, too. She also understood that, as a Genjutsu ninja, such Taijutsu would be a powerful means of making up for her weakness in that area. So she told Kōki firmly, "Don't worry. I'll definitely persuade my dad."
"Great, it's a deal. I'll wait for your good news, then, upperclassman Kurenai Yuhi."
Kurenai Yuhi nodded as well, indicating that she would do her best. Only Anko, standing beside them, looked completely baffled, unable to understand what Kurenai and Kōki were talking about. On the way back with Kurenai, she kept pressing her with questions. Kurenai merely looked mysterious and refused to tell her. The two played and tussled along the way, brimming with youthful energy.
After watching Kurenai Yuhi and Anko leave, Kōki headed toward his own home.
Meanwhile, after learning what Kōki wanted and parting ways with Anko, Kurenai Yuhi returned home, wondering how to bring it up.
"Kurenai, what are you thinking about so intently?" Sitting in the living room, Yūhi Shinku was a little curious to see his beloved daughter come home without a word, her brow slightly furrowed.
"Weren't you out having fun with your friend? Did something happen?"
Hearing her father's questions, Kurenai Yuhi thought over Kōki's request and decided to tell him the truth. After all, her father was the one who would actually make the decision.
"Dad, I ran into Kōki Itō on the way back. He said he'd like to visit you in a few days. He hopes you can give him some guidance and teach him about Genjutsu."
"Kōki Itō? Who's that?" Yūhi Shinku found the name familiar, but could not recall who it was for a moment.
"He's the boy who applied to graduate early a few days ago. We watched him fight Kakashi together that day."
"Oh, that boy." Only then did Yūhi Shinku remember who Kōki Itō was. The strength Kōki had demonstrated in his fight against Kakashi had earned his unreserved admiration, and he had openly called him another young genius.
But to Yūhi Shinku, however talented a ninja might be, the boy was still young, and his strength had yet to reach a level that would leave a vivid impression. Shinku merely knew of him without paying him any particular attention, so he had not clearly remembered what Kōki looked like. Only Kurenai's reminder brought back who Kōki Itō was.
"Why would he suddenly think of asking me to teach him Genjutsu? Besides, the Ninjutsu and Taijutsu he's already mastered are more than enough for someone his age." Yūhi Shinku believed that every ninja had their own strengths. Just as he excelled at Genjutsu, some ninja excelled at Ninjutsu, while others excelled at Taijutsu. Developing one's strengths was the best way to improve one's abilities.
"And why should I give him pointers?" Yūhi Shinku found it baffling. They did not even know each other, so what entitled the boy to ask for guidance right off the bat? He was Yūhi Shinku, a renowned Genjutsu master in Konoha. Plenty of people in the village wanted his guidance. Was he supposed to teach everyone who came knocking? Impossible.
"Dad, he didn't say you had to teach him. He only said he hoped to meet you. He'll discuss the details with you in person." Hearing the refusal in her father's words, Kurenai Yuhi hurried to salvage the situation.
"If it's just a meeting, that's fine." Yūhi Shinku nodded. A meeting was a small matter, after all. As a rising genius in the village, the boy deserved that much consideration. But if he wanted guidance, the title of genius alone would not suffice. Yūhi Shinku's teaching did not come that cheaply.
"All right. I'll tell him when I see him, then arrange for him to visit when you're free." Once her father agreed, Kurenai Yuhi breathed a sigh of relief. At least she had fulfilled Kōki's most basic request. As for the rest, she would help him again when he came to visit. What Kurenai Yuhi had not expected was that the wait would last several months.
Back home, Kōki recalled how Genjutsu had been described in the original Naruto story. Genjutsu disrupted an enemy's chakra to attack their five senses, causing hallucinations that threw them into confusion and ultimately left them helpless to resist capture.
Training in Genjutsu could be said to depend on a ninja's talent for chakra control. Kōki remembered that Sakura had shown an aptitude for Genjutsu in the original story, yet what she demonstrated later was Medical Ninjutsu and Superhuman Strength Taijutsu.
As someone who also possessed Medical Ninjutsu and Superhuman Strength, Kōki could confidently say that the key to both techniques lay in chakra control.
From this, he could conclude that excellent talent for chakra control was essential to learning Genjutsu well. This posed no difficulty whatsoever for Kōki, who could already skillfully wield advanced Medical Ninjutsu. He therefore had no concerns about his own aptitude for Genjutsu.
However, there were few experts who used Genjutsu in the original story-or rather, few ordinary ninja who used it. The Genjutsu masters who appeared in the original anime were almost all members of the Uchiha Clan, such as Uchiha Itachi and Shisui Uchiha. Their Kekkei Genkai, the Sharingan, naturally amplified Genjutsu. Ordinary Genjutsu ninja were simply no match for the Sharingan.
The original story had featured a Genjutsu battle between Kurenai and Itachi. Although she had already caught Itachi in her Genjutsu, he activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and reflected it straight back at her. Kurenai was forced to use the sharp pain of biting her tongue to break free of the Genjutsu's control, only then escaping Itachi's attack.
Viewed this way, Genjutsu seemed to have little potential for development, utterly unable to rival the Sharingan's power. But Kōki did not think that was absolute. He thought of a Genjutsu family that had appeared in the anime: the Kurama Clan.
The people of this clan possessed a Genjutsu bloodline ability that even Kōki coveted-five senses manipulation. By manipulating the five senses, this bloodline ability could inflict actual physical harm rather than merely damaging a person's mind.
In Kōki's view, this bloodline ability was absolutely no weaker than the Sharingan's Genjutsu; it even far surpassed Genjutsu cast through the Sharingan. Only Kotoamatsukami, the Dōjutsu of Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan, and Infinite Tsukuyomi from much later in the story could surpass this bloodline-based Genjutsu.
Unfortunately, such a powerful Genjutsu bloodline ability had never received much of a showcase in the original anime, appearing only briefly. Yet even that fleeting glimpse of its power had left a deep impression on Kōki.
Kōki felt that if he possessed this bloodline ability, he could make quite a name for himself in the Shinobi World through it alone. He believed its power was no weaker than Wood Release.
But for the present Kōki, it could only remain a thought. If he truly wanted to obtain it, only an in-depth understanding of the power of bloodlines would offer even the slightest possibility of reproducing it. Otherwise, it was essentially impossible.
It was still far too early for Kōki to consider any of this. He had not even fully understood the first step, the structure of the human body. Unraveling the mysteries of bloodlines was still a long way off.
At that thought, Kōki's somewhat buoyant mood immediately sank again, and he sighed helplessly at the heavy burden and long road ahead.
And so, amid a jumble of wandering thoughts, Kōki slept until broad daylight. Remembering that he had another mission to carry out, he hurriedly got ready and went to the village gates.
There at the gates, his supervising Jonin, Mamoru Uehara, and his two teammates, Yui Fujiwara and Masato Yoshino, were already prepared and waiting for him.
"Sorry, sorry. I went to bed a little late yesterday and got up late today," Kōki apologized repeatedly to Mamoru Uehara and the others, who had been waiting at the gates.
"It's fine. This is only your second mission, and your first was just yesterday. It's perfectly normal not to be used to it."
"That's right, Kōki. You've only just graduated and started doing missions. Take your time getting used to it."
It had to be said that Konoha's team culture was quite harmonious, with everyone treating one another like family. Perhaps this was Konoha's distinctive Will of Fire.