Chapter 113: The Death of Kurama Murakumo
Konoha Cemetery.
Kurenai Yuhi nodded. "I will take good care of her. But it's a pity—her health has always been poor, and there is an unstable power within her body that she cannot control."
As Kurama Yakumo's private tutor, Kurenai was quite familiar with the girl's physical condition.
Just as Tonbo Tobitake was about to speak, he suddenly sensed the pre-set Heartsteel technique activate within him.
What's going on? It just triggered three days ago.
The thought had barely flashed through his mind before he was shocked by the memories flooding back. It turned out he had already been under the influence of a Genjutsu.
Because he realized that the timeline of Kurama Yakumo's appearance shouldn't be far off, he had pre-set a specific trigger condition: the mention of the name "Kurama Yakumo."
Looking at Kurenai Yuhi again, it was clear she had absolutely no idea she was currently trapped in a Genjutsu; she genuinely seemed to believe she had been acting as a tutor for some time and had even sealed the power of Ido within the girl.
He turned his gaze back to Yakumo standing before the grave. Even with his perception pushed to the maximum, he couldn't tell that she was a creation of Genjutsu. In his senses, she was a living, breathing person.
Grief, weeping, mourning...
In this moment, she was indeed the daughter of Senior Murakumo, Kurama Yakumo—not the "Ancestor" from long ago.
He had thought the descriptions sounded ridiculous before, but actually encountering it, witnessing it, and being influenced by it made him realize the terrifying truth: a Genjutsu of this magnitude truly existed in this world.
"What's wrong?" Kurenai asked when she noticed his silence.
"Nothing. Just lamenting Senior Murakumo's passing. No one could have predicted this."
"Yes," Kurenai sighed. "Ninjas are always surrounded by accidents; we never know when we might die unexpectedly. I just hope we can protect Konoha well so that fewer people have to die."
"Take good care of her. Don't let her drown in the pressure of her clan; give her more love. I have a tutoring job of my own to get to, so I'll be going now."
Tonbo nodded, gave Yakumo one last deep look, and turned to leave. Kurenai watched him go before looking back at the girl, her heart aching for the poor child.
"Sinister."
Walking down the street, Tonbo thought about the memories he had just recovered. This kind of Genjutsu was like a network bug that suddenly appeared on your computer without you ever knowing.
Fortunately, he was prepared. Before this "Kurama Yakumo" vanished, he intended to gather more research material on Genjutsu. Using his status as Murakumo's friend, he could occasionally visit her and observe that terrifying Bloodline Limit.
The "Genjutsu Reincarnation" was one thing, but the power of the "Genjutsu Bloodline" was another research subject entirely. Both were equally absurd in their own ways. He had also promised Murakumo that he would find a way to break the clan's reincarnation ritual.
At the same time, he wondered: if he faced an enemy with this kind of power, how would he fight? He couldn't rely on "Talk-no-Jutsu" to solve everything. Yakumo was an ally, but the Otsutsuki clan had even more ridiculous abilities waiting in the future.
Training Ground 98.
"Ugly old man, you're late."
On the grass, Kiba sat cross-legged. As Tonbo appeared, Kiba slowly opened his eyes. Akamaru did the same. Their spirits were different now.
After the "Earth Awakening" training, man and dog had learned to discard distracting thoughts in an instant and focus entirely, becoming completely immune to external distractions.
"Mhm. A village senior passed away; it delayed me a bit," Tonbo nodded.
In certain aspects, Kiba now possessed the qualities of a true ninja: guts, courage, and focus. This proved once again that Tonbo's educational methods were effective. Even without his influence, Kiba had good qualities aside from his arrogance, but with this foundation, his future would be formidable. He might even be able to trade blows with the likes of the "Late-stage Choji" or handle a "Toilet Bowl" (Water Prison) for a while.
"What's next? Whatever the training is, Akamaru and I are fearless."
Kiba was brimming with confidence. From his initial terror to the thrill and confidence gained from each subsequent task, he was ready.
Woof woof! Akamaru stood by his side, his courage growing stronger by the day.
Tonbo grinned and pulled out a scroll. He unrolled it on the ground and summoned a massive pile of books. Then, using Earth Release, he fashioned a stone table and chair.
"Heh, you're only four. Before you become a ninja, your primary study consists of these."
"Books?"
"Correct. A ninja's progress depends on physical training and mission experience, but the rest comes from absorbing the wisdom left behind by predecessors. Books are the vessels for that wisdom."
"No problem! I can do it!"
The Inuzuka Household.
Kiba looked completely dazed as he mindlessly shoveled food into his mouth. Beside him, Akamaru's eyes were equally hollow. Why does a dog have to study textbooks?
"Kiba, what's wrong with you? Why are you so listless?" Tsume Inuzuka asked curiously.
Kiba: "Because of the ugly old man's homework..."
"Haha! Tonbo-sensei assigned him a mountain of schoolwork. It's all in his room right now—piles of it! It's hilarious," Hana gloated.
When Kiba and Akamaru had lugged that massive stack of books home earlier, she had wondered if her brother had finally lost it. To think it was actually homework. She was glad she didn't have to deal with that; she much preferred learning about dog breeding and care.
Tsume said, "Then you better do it well. And stop calling him 'ugly old man.' Call him Teacher, got it?"
In just over a month of tutoring, Kiba's change had been immense. Tonbo didn't seem to "teach" much, but when they tried to teach Kiba themselves, they found he had become much smarter and could even draw inferences from one instance to another. He was mastering the Inuzuka secret techniques at a lightning pace.
"No way! Ugly old man, stinky old man..." Kiba grumbled. He wouldn't stop. That guy was always tricking him.
Hana frowned. "Is that really what you've been calling the teacher?"
"Yeah."
"Then you're doomed..."
"Eh? Why?"
"Because the Teacher's favorite thing is when people talk behind his back. He uses it as an excuse to find all sorts of ways to prank you. If you've found the training painful lately, it's definitely because he's getting revenge on you."
Having experienced his "education" for a long time, Hana understood this perfectly.
"..." Kiba nearly bit his tongue. "Really?"
He tried to remember when the ugly old man's tone had shifted. He had suffered through so much torment over the past month that he had almost considered giving up on being Hokage and just "laying flat."
"Do you think your sister would lie to you? If you don't believe me, I'll take you to ask the two older brothers who train with me tomorrow," Hana said, sounding offended.
"Forget it. You just want an excuse to go on a date, but you're too embarrassed so you want to drag me along, right? Sorry, I have too much homework to do."
Kiba shoveled the rest of his food down and bolted with Akamaru, leaving a vein-poppingly angry Hana behind.
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