After a whole morning of training, Kurenai was truly shaken by the two little brats in front of her.
After mastering the technique Naraku Sight, Yue suggested learning how to resist genjutsu. In his opinion, genjutsu wasn't all that necessary for him.
After all, the Uzumaki clan's unique physique granted him exceptional physical abilities and an enormous chakra reserve. In the future, Yue planned to focus on these two advantages rather than waste too much effort on genjutsu training. However, he still needed to develop resistance against it—just in case a genjutsu user tried to mess with him.
According to Kurenai, there were only three ways to break free from genjutsu:
Having a teammate nearby who could use their chakra to stabilize your disrupted flow.
Disrupting the enemy's interference with a strong chakra burst from within.
Inflicting pain on oneself to regain awareness—though the intensity of the pain had to reach a level sufficient to break the illusion.
For Yue, the second method was undoubtedly the most suitable.
All morning, Kurenai continuously cast genjutsu on both Yue and Itachi. At first, it took Yue ten minutes to break free—three minutes slower than Itachi.
Kurenai was absolutely delighted. She had used 70% of her strength, and finally, that arrogant Yue had suffered a setback.
In reality, when Yue fell into the genjutsu, he didn't immediately think about breaking it. Instead, he carefully observed his surroundings and the sensations within his body.
The moment he was trapped, he saw the environment around him change—from a wild, grassy, tree-filled landscape to an enclosed, futuristic, high-tech room. This was the place where he had died.
Then, a wave of pain spread through his entire body, as if countless ants were gnawing at each and every one of his cells.
It was the same agony he had felt before his death. The failure of his cellular renewal had led to the collapse of his body at a cellular level. But compared to the physical pain, what had truly shattered him back then was the mental despair.
The goal he had pursued since childhood, the dream he had dedicated twenty years of his life to—utterly destroyed at the last moment. The despair of failure was far worse than any physical suffering.
Yue allowed himself to relive this sensation, but he didn't fall too deep into it. If it had been a powerful genjutsu user, he might not have been able to escape. But against Kurenai, whose skills were still at an entry-level stage, he had enough resistance to fight back.
He carefully guided a small amount of chakra toward his brain to disrupt the illusion, but his first attempt failed.
Though this method sounded simple—it didn't require self-harm or a teammate's help—it was also risky.
The brain was the most complex organ in the body. If one wasn't careful while using chakra to break free from genjutsu, they might not dispel the illusion but instead cause severe injury to themselves.
So Yue took his time, carefully adjusting the amount and intensity of chakra while searching for the most efficient way to break free—without rushing.
And that was why, combined with the time he spent reliving his despair, he took longer than Itachi.
"Itachi, you managed to break free on your own?"
"Maybe the Uchiha clan has a natural affinity for genjutsu."
Itachi smiled. Yue could tell what he was thinking—winning against him, even just once, was enough to make him happy.
"How do you guys feel now? Have you experienced my power?"
"Hmm, it was alright."
"You—!"
"Let's continue. Sorry to trouble you."
'Hmph, if it weren't for the fact that you're the Fourth Hokage's son…'
Kurenai pouted but started casting genjutsu again.
And then… she entered full-on despair mode.
She was completely drained.
Her chakra was depleted. She was exhausted, starving, and furious.
The first time they experienced Naraku Sight, Yue and Itachi took a while to escape. But after that, their reaction time got shorter and shorter—until eventually, they were breaking free within seconds.
Unwilling to admit defeat, Kurenai hit them with her strongest genjutsu—only for it to be utterly useless.
With both of them having developed resistance and a solid counter-strategy, Yue and Itachi now broke free from her illusions in less than a second.
Kurenai was miserable. She even felt like crying.
She had specialized in genjutsu since childhood. Her father had been praised by the Third Hokage himself as Konoha's greatest genjutsu user. And yet… she couldn't do a thing against these two kids, who were five years younger than her. It made her question whether she had any talent for genjutsu at all.
She could still accept Itachi—after all, he was a genius within human limits. After an entire morning of training, he at least looked a bit tired.
But this son of the Fourth Hokage—what was he?
A deity? A monster?
Even after an entire morning of training, using multiple shadow clones, he showed no signs of fatigue. Sure, he dismissed his clones every hour to rest for ten minutes—but after those ten minutes, he just created new ones and kept going.
Meanwhile, ten minutes wasn't even enough time for Kurenai to catch her breath.
"…You two! You owe me lunch!"
Yue was more than willing to treat her, but he had never eaten outside before. For the past four years, he had always eaten meals with Kushina.
After thinking for a moment, he decided he should treat Kurenai to a meal—after all, she had worked hard today.
"I need to stop by the Hokage's office first."
"You're paying, so I get to choose the restaurant! There's a three-color dango shop on the way—let's go there!"
Yue wanted to refuse, but in the end, he decided to go along with it. He didn't really like dango. He had never eaten it before, but he figured it was probably too sweet.
"Alright, let's go."
And so, the three of them left the training grounds.
"Yue, why aren't you going home for lunch?"
This was the first time Yue had come to find him at midday.
"Father, can you let Mother know I won't be coming home for lunch?"
"Why? You've never eaten outside before." Minato was surprised by this change.
"I'm treating Kurenai to lunch—she helped me a lot today."
"Soga! Alright then, go ahead! I'll let Kushina know!"
"Thanks, Father."
For some reason, Minato seemed very happy about this. Yue didn't understand why, but since he got permission, he didn't think much of it and left.
Meanwhile, Minato immediately stopped what he was doing, used the Flying Thunder God technique, and teleported home—something he usually only did when he was in a rush.
"Kushina, Yue said he's treating Kurenai to lunch. He won't be home."
"The Yūhi girl? Why?"
Minato explained, and both parents were delighted. Their reclusive son was finally making friends—and with a nice girl, too.
'We should visit the Yūhi family sometime…'
Kushina thought happily.
Meanwhile, at the dango shop, Yue noticed that both Itachi and Kurenai looked unusually excited.
It's just dango—what's the big deal?
"Boss! Forty sticks of three-color dango!"
She had originally planned to order ten sticks per person. But after this exhausting morning, she figured she deserved more.
When the dango arrived, Yue found the red, white, and green colors visually appealing—but the overpowering sweetness in the air killed his appetite.
However, he noticed Itachi swallowing nervously, eyes locked onto the plate of dango…
Realizing they were waiting for him to start, Yue picked up a skewer.
"I'll start, then."
At his signal, the other two immediately grabbed their sticks and began eating.
After five or six sticks, Yue stopped—he was about 80% full. The taste was okay, but way too sweet for him.
"You're done? What about these—"
"Go ahead. I'm full."
Forty sticks disappeared quickly. Yue was satisfied. Itachi was rubbing his stomach, savoring the aftertaste.
As for Kurenai…
"Boss! Twenty more sticks!"
Yue sighed and ordered her another round.
"You're surprisingly generous! Arigatou~!"
Kurenai's opinion of Yue improved. Aside from being cold and aloof, he was actually pretty considerate.
'Her appetite… is monstrous.'
Yue and Itachi exchanged glances—both thinking the same thing.
Then, as Kurenai devoured her dango, they watched her like she was some kind of rare specimen.
Flustered by their staring, she shot them a glare, and they hurriedly looked away.
'They say people who love sweets tend to live happy lives…' Yue thought. 'I hope that's true for them, too.'
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