"But... I lost to you." Kurenai Yūhi lowered her head, muttering softly. Her voice was like crushed red silk, thick with unwillingness.
Her curly black hair shone faintly in the sunlight, and her red eyes shimmered, clearly hiding feelings of grievance.
"That doesn't mean you won't grow in the future. Maybe next time you can win against me? The Sharingan is not invincible."
Kiyoshi continued to comfort her for the sake of the Trait.
The Sharingan was certainly not invincible.
To make the Sharingan strong, the tomoe, or magatama patterns, must continuously increase, eventually reflecting one's mental power, allowing the Sharingan to synchronize with one's mind.
The "Kaleidoscope" in reality contains many colored glass pieces. By rotating the kaleidoscope, different combinations of fragments form different patterns.
The Mangekyō Sharingan is precisely this—continuously rotating the tomoe, using the fragments of one's own soul to construct one's own "pattern."
And the soul, the mind, is essentially the power of Yin Release.
The Uchiha clan inherited this Yin Release power from the Sage of Six Paths, passing it down through the bloodline for generations.
Hearing this, Kurenai Yūhi's eyes flickered, and her expression brightened considerably.
"Alright, Kiyoshi, I will definitely prove myself!" Kurenai Yūhi looked up, her voice carrying a rare determination, and a small flame ignited in her immature red eyes.
"Good." Kiyoshi nodded.
Kurenai Yūhi's father was Shinku Yūhi.
Shinku Yūhi's Genjutsu was indeed powerful among the Hidden Leaf Jōnin.
There were even rumors that his Genjutsu could reflect the Genjutsu of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
However, this was never confirmed in the manga or anime.
He should be strong, but his Genjutsu wasn't that strong.
If his Genjutsu could reflect Mangekyō Genjutsu, he wouldn't have been sacrificed so casually during the Nine-Tails attack.
Besides, how many pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan were there in the entire Ninja World?
Was Shinku Yūhi reflecting Madara Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan Genjutsu or someone else's?
Fugaku, whose Mangekyō Sharingan is questionable?
Fugaku only activated the Mangekyō in the anime filler, not in the manga. Now that this is reality, Kiyoshi didn't know which source to follow.
But it was certain that in the anime, Fugaku never even told Mikoto that he possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, hiding it until the very last moment.
He wanted to wait until he was absolutely certain before using the Mangekyō Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails.
The result was that he played the pig to eat the tiger for so long that he truly became a pig, showing no resistance, and willingly died at Itachi's hands.
"Mmh!"
She was still a child, after all, possessing the pride of wanting to prove herself and refusing to lose.
Kiyoshi saw this in her resolute gaze but said nothing more, only nodding slightly, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.
Become stronger.
The stronger, the better.
Let me see if your improvement can bring me a new Trait.
"Ahem, Kurenai, what I meant to express was exactly that." Asuma Sarutobi, seeing that the situation seemed a bit off, quickly stepped forward to speak.
He wanted to salvage his earlier words.
Unfortunately, Kurenai didn't speak.
She simply left quickly.
Asuma Sarutobi knew Kurenai was angry, so he scratched his head and immediately chased after her, wanting to smooth things over.
Kiyoshi watched the two leave and didn't follow, remaining there to continue his training.
[Lightning Release: Iron Armor] had many areas that the electrical current couldn't train, such as deeper muscles, bones, internal organs, and so on.
Kiyoshi had to rely on his own efforts for those areas.
He ran towards a slow-moving river, starting to run across the water's surface.
Normal running could only train stamina.
Running on the water's surface could both refine his chakra control skill and exercise his body, killing two birds with one stone.
This activity rapidly consumed chakra. Without Kiyoshi's substantial chakra reserves, one would quickly become breathless and feel fatigued for the rest of the day.
***
Evening.
Kiyoshi dragged his sweat-soaked body back home.
Not long after, he found a red silhouette standing at his doorway.
Kurenai Yūhi?
Why was she here again?
Kiyoshi wondered why everyone seemed to know where he lived.
Kakashi somehow found his house.
Kurenai Yūhi was the same, even though he hadn't taken them back before.
"Are you ready to prove yourself again?" Kiyoshi asked faintly.
According to normal development, shouldn't Kurenai Yūhi undergo a period of intense training and then challenge him again after some time, consequently dropping another Trait?
"I... I want to exchange ideas about Genjutsu with you. Although we practiced, I still lack theoretical knowledge. Kiyoshi's theoretical knowledge must be good, right? This way, I can improve faster."
Kurenai Yūhi still held a scroll in her hand, clearly wanting to discuss it with Kiyoshi.
"I plan to take up some small jobs in my spare time recently, things like washing dishes at a sushi restaurant. I don't have much free time."
Kiyoshi frowned slightly.
His precious time couldn't be wasted on Kurenai Yūhi.
Kurenai Yūhi didn't have the mature figure that Samui had, which caused a reaction in Kiyoshi's dōjutsu.
He might consider her future Onee-san form, and her Hitotsuma form wouldn't be bad either.
"Is Kiyoshi-kun really short on money?" Kurenai Yūhi was surprised.
She hadn't realized Kiyoshi had this trouble and was preparing to take on odd jobs.
"I can... I can pay you a tutoring fee! I only brought a little with me, but I have more at home."
Kurenai Yūhi frantically rummaged through her pockets for money, opening her hands to show what she had.
It was a significant amount, about eight hundred Ryo.
Shinku Yūhi was very kind to Kurenai Yūhi, always giving her a generous amount of pocket money.
"This is a long story. After careful consideration, I like the idea of exchanging Genjutsu knowledge, which will benefit us both in the future. Kurenai Yūhi-san, please come in."
The expressionless face of Kiyoshi curved into a slight smile. He opened the door, inviting Kurenai Yūhi to follow him.
If she had money, things were simple.
He had a source for the money needed to purchase ninja tools!
Kurenai Yūhi was an only child, and Kiyoshi estimated he could squeeze a good sum from her.
And it could withstand scrutiny since this was money earned through legitimate means.
"Really?" Kurenai Yūhi asked hesitantly after walking a few steps.
She hadn't expected Kiyoshi to actually agree.
"Of course, Kurenai Yūhi-san. Now, let me tell you about some of my understandings regarding Genjutsu..."
Kiyoshi wiped off his sweat and began to lecture Kurenai Yūhi.
Taking some time to exchange Genjutsu knowledge was also a way to consolidate his own knowledge.
Kiyoshi now looked at Kurenai Yūhi as an ATM—one who could drop both Traits and money.
The evening twilight cast a golden glow through the window.
Kurenai Yūhi's small head nodded frequently, listening intently to the lecture.
***
A few days later.
Kiyoshi requested an advance on three months' worth of tutoring fees from Kurenai Yūhi and was finally able to afford a used small tachi.
Standing in the courtyard, the wind gently swept up the leaves on the ground, making them flutter.
Kiyoshi's dark eyes focused on one of the leaves, his left hand tightening slightly around the sheath of the sword.
*Whoosh, whoosh.*
A stronger gust of wind blew by.
***
New week new goals
50 stones for bonus
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