It had been nearly two years since Fenghuo awakened the two-tomoe Sharingan. These eyes had helped him overcome many challenges, but with the looming threat of the Third Shinobi World War, two tomoe no longer felt safe."Looks like it's time to awaken the third tomoe..."
Fenghuo decided to rely on the same method that had worked in the past: using Genjutsu to trap himself in a world of suffering while asleep, in hopes that emotional trauma would stimulate the evolution of his Sharingan.
That night, he pushed his body to its limit in training. Exhausted, he instructed his shadow clone to cast a series of carefully prepared illusions on him as he slept — back to back — aiming to break through in a single night.
But he didn't anticipate just how dangerous these illusions would become.
In his sleep, Fenghuo became trapped in the grief conjured by the illusions, unable to escape. His anguished cries echoed through the room, disturbing the silence of the night — and waking Yuhi Kurenai in the next room.
"Fenghuo, are you okay? Are you having a nightmare? Wake up, Fenghuo!"
Kurenai shook him anxiously, but no matter how hard she tried, he wouldn't wake up. Fear took over, and she ran to her father's room in a panic.
"Dad! Dad! Fenghuo's having some kind of nightmare — he won't wake up! Please, come quickly!"
Thud-thud!
A flurry of knocks (and some well-placed strikes) finally woke Yuhi Mako from his deep sleep.
"Kurenai, it's just a nightmare. Fenghuo isn't a child anymore," Mako said, rubbing his eyes.
"But I tried everything. He won't wake up no matter what!" Kurenai replied tearfully.
Yuhi Mako sighed, but when he walked over and saw Fenghuo's condition, his expression changed instantly.
Fenghuo's face was ghostly pale, drenched in sweat that soaked through his pillow. His body trembled faintly, lips murmuring unintelligibly.
"Fenghuo? Fenghuo, can you hear me?"
He shook him again — no response.
"Is he... sick?" Kurenai asked nervously. "We should take him to the hospital!"
Yuhi Mako nodded grimly.
"You go back to sleep. I'll handle this."
"But Dad—"
"You've got the Academy graduation exams soon. Don't worry, I'll take care of Fenghuo."
Cradling the unconscious boy in his arms, Yuhi Mako raced to Konoha Hospital. Medical-nin rushed to assist, but after a battery of chakra diagnostics and scans, all they could offer was a vague diagnosis.
"His vitals are dropping. We can't wake him. It's like... he's lost inside a nightmare."
"Could this be a Genjutsu trap?" one of the med-nin speculated suddenly.
Yuhi Mako's heart clenched. Could someone from the Uchiha clan have done this while Fenghuo was asleep...?
Without waiting for further tests, he gathered Fenghuo and dashed across the rooftops toward the Yamanaka Clan's estate — specialists in Mind Techniques.
He knocked with such force and urgency that the door nearly came off its hinges.
"Mako? What on earth are you—" Yamanaka Inoichi appeared in a robe, rubbing his temple groggily.
"It's urgent. I think Fenghuo has been trapped in a Genjutsu, and it's killing him. His vitals are crashing fast!"
Inoichi's expression shifted instantly. He took Fenghuo into his arms and examined him, placing two fingers to his temple.
"You want me to enter his mind using my Clan's jutsu?"
"Yes. He's trapped in the illusion and can't escape."
"Understood."
Laying Fenghuo gently down, Inoichi pressed his fingers together and touched Fenghuo's forehead.
"Ninjutsu: Mind Transmission Technique!"
His consciousness dived into Fenghuo's mind...
Inside the IllusionBOOM!
Thunder roared as rain fell like needles. At the execution grounds near Konoha, a row of armored shinobi blocked a jeering crowd. On the raised platform stood a trembling, bound Fenghuo.
"Fenghuo! Any last words?" sneered a pompous official with lacquered nails and a high-pitched voice.
"You scum... you'll pay for this!"
"Hah! When you're gone, we'll send your wife and daughter to a brothel — and watch!"
The surrounding laughter was deafening.
Among the crowd, Inoichi Yamanaka blinked in disbelief.
"What... kind of illusion is this? It's too vivid — too absurd... and yet it feels real..."
The executioner raised his blade.
"WAIT!" Inoichi threw a kunai in desperation — but it vanished before reaching the stand.
THUD!
The blade fell — and so did Fenghuo's head.
CRACK! A wave of ripples shattered the scene, and Inoichi found himself elsewhere.
DING-DING!
"Damn traffic again? Ugh!"
"Beijing traffic, man. Can't beat it."
"What are those idiot cops even doing?"
Inoichi stared at the bizarre vehicles around him, clad in unfamiliar clothes, surrounded by honking metal boxes. Pedestrians gawked at him.
"Where... where am I?" he murmured.
Ahead, a commotion broke out. A man was being pummeled by another.
Inoichi tried to use Body Flicker — but it failed. He couldn't even mold chakra.
He ran instead. When he got close, he gasped.
A disheveled adult Fenghuo lay beaten on the ground, bloodied and bruised.
"You broke loser! Think you can take my girl with your 2,000 yuan salary?!" the thug barked, dragging a sobbing woman away.
"Come on, baby — I booked a hotel room. Let's make love tonight, ha ha ha!"
Fenghuo lay sobbing, humiliated. The people around laughed, pointed — and turned to look at Inoichi.
Suddenly, Fenghuo sprang up, eyes bloodshot, and screamed:
"You're a cop, aren't you?! Why didn't you help?! Are you looking down on me too?!"
Inoichi froze. Fenghuo's face twisted with rage, insanity, and despair.
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