Kurama Shion, Genjutsu Instructor

For a ninja, controlling one's emotions and mood was a basic skill.

Once he had calmed down, Uchiha Yuan quickly examined himself.

Letting his mind wander at a critical moment in ninjutsu training was not his style.

But why had the Demonic Statue Fragment suddenly stirred for no reason?

Could Obito be trying to control the main body of the Demonic Statue?

Uchiha Yuan shook his head. He had long severed the connection between the fragment and the main body. Even if something major had happened to the main body, it theoretically should not have affected the fragment in his hands at all.

Could it be...? Uchiha Yuan looked at Hyuga Ryo's back in surprise.

The Demonic Statue Fragment was closely connected to Otsutsuki Kaguya, and the Byakugan bloodline inherited by the Hyuga Clan since ancient times had originated from Otsutsuki Kaguya.

Could the Byakugan and the Demonic Statue Fragment have undergone some subtle reaction that he did not yet understand?

Just as Uchiha Yuan was considering all sorts of possibilities,

the Mountain Cave suddenly began to shake, and loose pebbles rustled down from above.

By the time everything settled, the outside had become noisy as well.

Realizing that the place was no longer safe, Hyuga Ryo ran out of the Mountain Cave with a tense expression.

When she returned, she brought news that made Uchiha Yuan click his tongue.

The Hidden Leaf Village had discovered Isobu's whereabouts and had attempted to seal him, only to fail.

By coincidence, the Hidden Mist Village had also discovered Isobu at the same time and tried to have the young Six-Tails Jinchuriki, Utakata, exhaust Isobu's strength.

With the Hidden Leaf Village fighting desperately to stop him, Isobu successfully escaped.

Hearing that, Uchiha Yuan finally understood why the Demonic Statue Fragment had stirred.

The Demonic Statue was the shell of the nine Tailed Beasts. With two Tailed Beasts turning the nearby area upside down, how could the Demonic Statue Fragment possibly remain quiet?

"Yuan-kun, it's becoming more and more dangerous outside. I was ordered by Teacher Orochimaru to protect you, so please stop making such indecent jokes with me!"

Hyuga Ryo calmed down faster than an ordinary ninja. There was still more than half a day left before the protection mission ended.

To avoid further awkwardness, she could only sternly "reprimand" Uchiha Yuan and prevent him from making any more improper moves.

Uchiha Yuan could only smile bitterly and shake his head.

This little disturbance quickly passed, and afterward, Hyuga Ryo did not say another word to Uchiha Yuan.

There was no delicious Rabbit Meat for lunch either. The two could only make do with dry rations.

Fortunately, the afternoon passed quickly as the two separately trained and stood guard.

Just after nightfall, Kurama Shion, the substitute instructor for Orochimaru Squad, arrived to relieve Hyuga Ryo.

The two women spoke outside the Mountain Cave for a full quarter of an hour before Uchiha Yuan saw Kurama Shion, whose neck was wrapped in bandages.

Her complexion was poor. Clearly, she had not come out ahead in her encounter with the Hidden Mist Village.

Kurama Shion was actually only three or four years older than Uchiha Yuan. If Orochimaru had not spent half a year serving as Danzo's personal guard during the Third Shinobi World War to offer him a token of allegiance,

this Kekkai Genkai ninja of the Kurama Clan might not have had the chance to personally train Orochimaru Squad.

"Yuan-kun, I heard about it from Anko and Ling. Can you tell me now that it was all a misunderstanding?"

The injured Kurama Shion carried an icy majesty, compounded by the Kurama Clan's unique Genjutsu Bloodline.

Just hearing her speak gave Uchiha Yuan the illusion that he had done something wrong and was repenting from the bottom of his heart.

Fortunately, this psychological suggestion was not a rigorous genjutsu. After doing his best to suggest the opposite to himself, Uchiha Yuan returned to normal.

Kurama Shion sneered.

"Hmph. You're not that young anymore. Whatever thoughts you may have about them, we're still carrying out a mission outside the village. There's no harm in waiting until we return to the village, right?"

Seeing Uchiha Yuan slightly part his lips with an awkward expression as though he had something to say but could not, Kurama Shion burst into laughter.

"What? I'm your substitute instructor. How could I not understand the three of you?"

"Y-Yes... Teacher Shion, you're right..."

"Right my ass!"

Uchiha Yuan raised an eyebrow. Apparently, teasing his junior sister and the misunderstanding with Hyuga Ryo had caused Kurama Shion to misunderstand him even more deeply.

This substitute instructor was a serious woman. For the sake of the atmosphere when Orochimaru Squad carried out missions together in the future, Uchiha Yuan could only steel himself and tell Kurama Shion that he had merely been playful for a moment and would never do such a thing again.

"Oh? So that's what you think."

Kurama Shion smiled without quite smiling and changed the subject.

"How is your Spiritualisation Technique training going? Things haven't been easy for us against the Hidden Mist Village."

As a Special Jonin, Kurama Shion understood Uchiha Yuan's circumstances and importance better.

The atmosphere visibly eased, and Kurama Shion said calmly,

"Half of the Hidden Mist Village's ANBU are participating in this operation. Even the Hidden Mist Village's Kekkai Genkai Clans, who had been unwilling to contribute during the Third Shinobi World War, have joined in."

"Besides that, the Third Mizukage personally came to Sea Country. Teacher Orochimaru is busy dealing with him."

"We are severely short on manpower, yet Lord Danzo has no intention of requesting reinforcements from the village."

Biting her lip lightly, Kurama Shion stroked the bandages around her neck. This was the injury she had suffered from the Third Mizukage's counterattack while assisting Orochimaru in ambushing him.

It was not fatal, but a brush with death was unforgettable.

Uchiha Yuan listened in silence.

He had always believed that the Hidden Mist Village would send a Kage-level powerhouse to take part in the operation, but he had not expected the Third Mizukage to come personally.

This representative of the Hidden Mist Village's hawkish faction was said to be the very origin of Kirigakure's reputation as the Village of the Bloody Mist.

Because he had performed poorly against the Hidden Leaf Village during the Third Shinobi World War, he was currently being impeached by the Hidden Mist Village's higher-ups, led by Genji and Gonbei.

The fact that he had personally arrived at the front lines showed just how determined the Hidden Mist Village was to obtain Isobu.

Uchiha Yuan believed that the Hidden Mist Village had likely sent more than just the Third Mizukage as a Kage-level powerhouse. Considering that the Six-Tails Jinchuriki Utakata had come to the front lines himself,

Utakata's teacher, Harusame, the Hidden Mist Village's Sealing Master, had most likely joined this mission as well.

After cultivating the Spiritualisation Technique, Uchiha Yuan had become exceptionally wary of Sealing Masters.

"In short, the Hidden Leaf Village is completely at a disadvantage. The good news is that our Sealing Team remains fully staffed for now and still has room to contend with the Hidden Mist Village. And the Hidden Mist ninjas are not as united as we imagined."

Kurama Shion added that before narrowing her eyes to examine Uchiha Yuan.

"Anko and Ling told me that you seem to have grasped the Spiritualisation Technique rather well?"

Seeing his substitute instructor use a tone of certainty, Uchiha Yuan did not waste words and immediately demonstrated his progress with the Spiritualisation Technique.

In truth, Uchiha Yuan had long mastered the Spiritualisation Technique. He could project his soul for an entire hour and perfectly perform the three accompanying secret techniques.

But naturally, he had to hold back during this demonstration.

Compared to when he had frightened Anko, when his soul had only left his body for seconds at a time, Uchiha Yuan could now deliberately control it and keep his soul outside his body for a full minute.

Kurama Shion was clearly very satisfied with the result.

"Yuan-kun, Teacher Orochimaru must have already informed you. After you initially master the Spiritualisation Technique, you must also study genjutsu."

Uchiha Yuan smiled.

"Teacher Shion, could you be the genjutsu instructor appointed by Teacher Orochimaru?"

At that, Kurama Shion confidently puffed out her chest.

"Who else could it be but me, the one who inherited the Kurama Clan's Genjutsu Bloodline?"

"Yuan-kun, I look forward to your guidance in the time ahead~"