Late at night.
Yuhi Kurenai had just returned from completing a mission.
The moment she stepped into her room, the hairs on her body suddenly stood on end.
Instinctively, she became alert.
In the next instant—
A black shadow appeared ahead of her.
Without hesitation, she flung several shuriken.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye,
all the shuriken missed their target.
Kurenai had already drawn a kunai and was about to charge forward—
when she saw the black-clad masked figure form a hand seal with one hand.
Genjutsu: Technique of Bringer-of-Darkness!
The next moment—
Kurenai, who had rushed forward, suddenly felt everything go dark.
It was as if her vision had been completely taken away.
"What?!"
Her expression changed drastically.
"Genjutsu?"
Even though the room was somewhat dim, Kurenai was a seasoned elite chūnin.
With her eyesight, seeing clearly at night was not a problem.
Yet suddenly, everything became pitch-black, as though she couldn't even see her own hand in front of her face.
There was only one explanation—
Genjutsu.
And Genjutsu happened to be the field she specialized in the most.
"Release!"
She formed hand seals and mobilized her chakra, attempting to break the illusion.
However—
Nothing changed.
Her vision remained completely dark.
"I can't believe it…"
Kurenai was shocked.
Although she had tempered herself through years of combat and possessed rich battle experience,
she was still relatively young.
Inevitably, panic began creeping into her heart.
Cold sweat began flowing down her back.
Holding the kunai tightly, she remained on guard.
"Could this be the A-rank Genjutsu developed by the Second Hokage… the Technique of Bringer-of-Darkness?"
"Hehe, Sister Kurenai… were you scared?"
At that moment—
Ren, who had removed his disguise, snapped his fingers.
The Technique of Bringer-of-Darkness was instantly dispelled.
Knowing when to stop, he didn't continue teasing her.
Kurenai, who had been frightened into breaking out in a cold sweat, widened her eyes as she stared at Ren in disbelief.
"Ren?"
While feeling relieved,
she gritted her teeth and glared at the mischievous boy who had just pranked her.
Half angry, half embarrassed.
"How could it be you?"
"I've been waiting for you to come back, Sister Kurenai. I didn't expect you to return so late, so I just played a little prank. Hehe…"
Ren jumped straight onto Kurenai.
He hugged her affectionately and kissed her beautiful cheek.
"Don't be angry, Sister Kurenai!"
"You almost scared me to death!"
Kurenai rolled her eyes.
She had truly broken out in a cold sweat just now.
If it weren't for the many years they had spent together—
She knew this little brother extremely well.
And that familiar way he pounced on her was exactly the same as always.
Otherwise, she might have suspected that someone had used a Transformation Technique to deceive her.
"How did you learn the Second Hokage's Technique of Bringer-of-Darkness?"
Kurenai looked at Ren in surprise.
She couldn't help but ask.
Inwardly, she sighed bitterly.
She, Yuhi Kurenai, had once been praised as one of Konoha's rare Genjutsu prodigies.
Yet today—
She had been completely toyed with in Genjutsu by an eight-year-old kid.
However, the Technique of Bringer-of-Darkness was different from ordinary illusions.
It was an A-rank Genjutsu that deprived the target of vision and created a favorable battlefield.
Ordinary ninjas simply couldn't break it.
But that only further proved—
Ren possessed astonishing talent in Genjutsu.
To actually master such a high-level technique.
"This Genjutsu was recorded in the scroll Grandma gave me yesterday."
Leaning against Kurenai's back, Ren didn't hide anything.
"She said it was part of the dowry given to her by my great-grandmother, Senju Taohua."
"Senju Taohua? The legendary Genjutsu master?"
Kurenai's pupils shrank.
When she was young,
her father, Yuhi Shinku, had once told her stories about the past.
During the height of the Senju Clan's power,
there had been a Genjutsu master whom even the Uchiha Clan feared.
Her name was Senju Taohua.
Her illusions were so profound that even the Sharingan of the Uchiha could not easily see through or break them.
"So your grandmother actually has such an incredible background…"
Kurenai suddenly understood.
But then—
She quickly realized something.
She immediately pulled Ren off her body.
Staring straight at him, she asked in disbelief,
"Wait… you said your grandmother gave you that scroll yesterday. Are you telling me you learned the Technique of Bringer-of-Darkness in just one night?"
"Yeah…"
Ren nodded.
Thinking about last night's training with his Wood Clones, he couldn't help but sigh.
"As expected of an A-rank Genjutsu. It was pretty difficult!"
Compared to B-, C-, and D-rank illusions,
any Genjutsu ranked A or above was far more difficult.
Each one had taken quite a bit of effort.
Especially the A-rank sound-type Genjutsu, Demonic Sound Illusion Realm.
Even after an entire night,
he had only barely grasped it.
It would still take more time before he could use it skillfully.
"..."
Kurenai stood there with black lines across her forehead.
Looking at Ren's calm and almost smug expression—
She suddenly felt an itch in her fists.
She really wanted to beat this brat up.
She had known that his talent was extraordinary.
But she hadn't expected it to be this monstrous.
An A-rank Genjutsu—
mastered in a single night.
The Genjutsu talent she had always been proud of
was completely insignificant in comparison.
It was honestly quite a blow to her confidence.
"Here, Sister Kurenai—this is for you!"
Seeing Kurenai grinding her teeth, seemingly a little shaken,
Ren put on an innocent face and presented a scroll like he was offering a treasure.
"This is…"
Looking at the scroll Ren handed to her,
Kurenai's eyes widened.
"This is a gift from me to you, Sister Kurenai!"
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