Kurenai spotted Taiichi waving and walked over with a bright smile.
"Taiichi, can you actually use shadow clones for training? I've never seen anyone else do it."
"Shadow clones can speed up training," Taiichi said patiently. "But they come with risks. When they dispel, all the memories and physical strain hit you at once. Too much at once and you can fry your mind or worse. That's why most people don't risk it."
Kurenai stared at the five clones still training nearby, clearly unsure whether to believe him.
Taiichi added, "My body and spirit are strong enough to handle a few. Regular shinobi can barely maintain one for long. You'll understand once you try it yourself."
He gestured for her to come at him. "Alright. Attack me with everything you've got. Let's see where you're at."
Kurenai bowed politely, then rushed in. Her punches were clean and practiced, but the power and speed were still very much genin-level. Taiichi blocked everything one-handed while keeping his eyes locked on hers, giving her every chance to slip in a genjutsu.
She took the opening. A ripple passed through his mind, but it was too weak to affect him. Still, he noted how she managed to weave genjutsu into the middle of a physical exchange. That was better than most.
After several more attempts that did nothing, Kurenai jumped back, breathing hard.
"I used everything I have. It didn't do anything to you."
Taiichi smiled. "You're a genin. Even if I left myself wide open, shaking my mind wouldn't be easy. But what you did was already impressive. I've got a plan for you now. Come with me."
He led her into a quiet training room. They sat facing each other.
"Your genjutsu technique is solid," he said. "But your Yin Release development is basically nonexistent. For the next while we'll do one hour of taijutsu and two hours of genjutsu sparring every day. You'll feel how I shape Yin chakra and learn from it directly."
Kurenai looked nervous. Direct genjutsu clashes were an efficient teaching method, but they also meant sharing a lot of personal insight. She worried about accidentally picking up something she shouldn't.
Taiichi waved it off. "Take whatever you can. I'm not worried. I'd rather you learn fast."
They started immediately. To an outside observer they just sat there staring at each other. In reality their chakra was clashing inside each other's systems—Taiichi's heavy and direct, Kurenai's precise and tricky. Both were learning.
Kurenai lasted less than thirty minutes before she had to stop. They trained in short bursts until the two hours were up, then switched to physical conditioning. She complained at first, but Taiichi shut that down quickly. A strong body was the foundation for everything.
By the time they finished, Kurenai was drenched in sweat. She thanked him and bolted for home before he could offer dinner.
Her father was already waiting when she walked in.
"How was training? Did you learn anything useful?"
Kurenai's face lit up. She told him everything—how Taiichi's understanding of Yin Release felt like a mountain compared to her little hill, and how the direct chakra exchange had been overwhelming in the best way.
Yuhi Kurenai listened quietly. He'd already gotten the Hokage's reassurance, but hearing his daughter describe Taiichi's level in person made him realize just how big the favor was. He was going to owe the kid something serious.
Back at his house, Taiichi was in an excellent mood. He sat at his desk scribbling rapidly, two full scrolls already filled beside him. The session with Kurenai had given him fresh genjutsu techniques and new ideas on how to refine his own illusions. Every minute spent teaching her had been worth it.
The next morning he headed to the Barrier Team with his assignment letter. The office was tucked away in a quiet patch of trees. A jonin named Yamanaka Seiji was waiting for him.
Seiji had been told someone was being assigned but hadn't expected it to be the newly promoted jonin who'd killed Shukaku. He figured the kid was probably decent at sealing and would at least be useful for basic maintenance.
After the paperwork, Seiji took Taiichi down into the real facility beneath the surface. The underground section was massive—easily the size of the hospital. Seiji showed him the resting areas, the defense barrier sections, the alarm barrier sections, and introduced him to the current staff.
Finally they stopped in front of a large door.
"This is the archive," Seiji said. "Anything that isn't classified is open to jonin. A lot of our barriers haven't been changed in decades. Sometimes the only way to figure out what something actually does is to dig through these old records."
Taiichi's eyes lit up the second he heard the word "archive." This place was exactly what he needed. More sealing knowledge in one room than anywhere else in the village.