Chapter 52: Yūhi Kurenai's Dilemma
Yūhi Kurenai froze the moment she heard Byakuya's words.
It was the instinctive reaction of someone whose lie had just been exposed.
Although she quickly masked the expression,
Byakuya still saw everything crystal clear.
"This…"
Kurenai gave a small laugh and shook her head.
"Of course I don't want to part with them.
But…
I really am feeling unwell…"
"If you don't want to leave them, then why not just tell the truth?
That way, we can help you too~
After all,
there's no problem in this world that can't be solved."
After inserting the Dream card into Uchiha Izumi's body earlier, Byakuya had obtained the corresponding copy ability.
Once he copied Karin's Kagura Mind's Eye,
he became capable of sensing chakra fluctuations to tell whether someone was lying.
To be honest,
it was an incredibly useful ability.
That was how he instantly knew Kurenai was lying.
"This…"
Hearing his words, Kurenai hesitated.
She turned her head and saw the expectant looks on Hinata, Kiba, and Shino's faces.
Then she looked at Byakuya's calm, gentle smile.
For some reason,
an inexplicable sense of security welled up in her heart.
"…Alright~"
After thinking for a moment, she finally nodded.
"The truth is…
this matter concerns one of my students.
Her name is Kurama Yakumo."
Kurenai paused briefly,
then slowly began explaining everything about Kurama Yakumo.
Kurama Yakumo
was the daughter of the former head of the Kurama clan.
The Kurama clan
was one of Konoha's prestigious families,
renowned for their mastery of genjutsu.
They possessed a special constitution that allowed their illusions to instantly dominate all five senses of the target.
Unless the opponent sealed away all five senses, as long as they entered the attack range—they were guaranteed to fall victim!
What's more,
anything that happened inside their genjutsu world could be turned into reality.
At their peak,
they had even suppressed the Uchiha clan when it still lacked the Mangekyō Sharingan.
They were once Konoha's number one genjutsu clan!
But later they declined.
And Kurama Yakumo
was the hope for the clan's revival!
She possessed the special constitution that hadn't appeared in the Kurama clan for many generations—
the ability to cast that instant five-senses domination genjutsu.
Because of this, the entire Kurama clan placed enormous hopes on her.
However…
due to her extremely frail body, Yakumo was unable to attend the Ninja Academy for regular training.
So the Kurama clan hired Yūhi Kurenai to become Yakumo's private tutor.
But after teaching her for a while,
Kurenai no longer wanted to continue.
Yakumo's body was simply too weak.
She was fundamentally unsuited to become a ninja.
So Kurenai told Yakumo's parents honestly.
Naturally, they agreed.
After that, they canceled Yakumo's training plan.
And Yakumo…
harbored deep resentment because of it.
She wanted to become a ninja.
She wanted to revive her clan.
The seed of hatred was planted at that moment—and it began to sprout.
She wanted revenge against the parents who wouldn't let her continue on the path of a ninja.
Later on,
the combination of physical weakness and mental anguish
caused her to develop a split personality.
The evil personality used that special genjutsu
and killed her own parents.
Because it was done by the other personality,
her main personality had no memory of it.
Terrified and panicked, she began to rely on her former teacher—Yūhi Kurenai.
However…
not long after, she "coincidentally" overheard a conversation between Kurenai and Sarutobi Hiruzen.
From that, she misunderstood everything.
She came to believe that her parents had been killed by people sent by the Third Hokage.
In an instant,
her hatred turned toward both Hiruzen and Kurenai.
The stronger the hatred grew,
the stronger the evil personality became.
If left unchecked, sooner or later that evil personality would swallow the main one whole.
So Konoha locked Kurama Yakumo away at the Satomi Hill Villa.
Her main personality didn't know the truth behind any of it,
and thus grew colder and colder toward Kurenai.
But in order to protect Yakumo,
Kurenai could never tell her that she had killed her own parents.
So she silently bore the blame.
It felt incredibly stifling.
Originally,
that was supposed to be the end of it.
Yakumo would remain confined until the day she died.
Kurenai would just endure it.
But the recent clash between Izumi and Itachi made Kurenai realize—
the times have changed.
The world has become far more chaotic.
The genjutsu she had always relied on
was nothing more than child's play in the eyes of true powerhouses.
They could shatter it effortlessly.
That was why she now desperately longed to become stronger.
Only by becoming stronger
could she protect herself—and protect the people she wanted to protect.
And in her mind,
the very first step toward becoming stronger
was to untie the knot in her heart.
So with a resolve to die if necessary,
she resigned from her position as the jōnin leader of Team 8.
She planned to face Kurama Yakumo alone.
Without revealing the truth to Yakumo,
she would try to redeem her with love.
Either she succeeds—and finally unties the knot in her heart,
or she fails—and dies completely.
This matter was far too important.
In her opinion,
if Kurama Yakumo were to go berserk,
Konoha—without anyone possessing the Mangekyō Sharingan—would have no one capable of breaking her genjutsu.
That was why
she originally had no intention of telling anyone.
But after seeing Byakuya—
that mysterious boy who always wore a faint, confident smile—
something strange came over her,
and she changed her mind.
She felt that maybe…
this incredible young man could help her save Kurama Yakumo.
"This is…
so difficult!"
Kiba clutched his head desperately, rubbing his hair back and forth,
but no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't come up with anything.
Hinata frowned deeply, thinking rapidly.
Beside her, Shino pushed up his glasses and continued to stay silent.
As for Byakuya…
he still wore that same faint, gentle smile.
It seemed this problem hadn't troubled him in the slightest.
Seeing this,
Kurenai's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Byakuya…"
She looked straight at him.
"You… have an idea?"
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