Ultimately, Aokawa did not deal a killing blow to the three.
First, under the watchful eyes of everyone, since it was defined as a sparring match, he shouldn't directly cripple them.
Second, Minato Namikaze had mentioned earlier that personnel were tight, and every bit of combat power counts; three Jonin are not easily replaced like common cabbages.
Their defeat at his hands was merely due to their arrogance and the disadvantage of not having detailed information about him.
It didn't mean they would still be useless on the Battlefield.
Furthermore, he had other plans for these three, so he couldn't let them lose their lives just yet.
After dropping the three off at the medical department, Aokawa returned to his Barracks to continue studying Sealing Techniques and attempting to develop a Seal to block the Caged Bird Seal.
Half a month passed.
During this time, knowing that Aokawa couldn't use his Quincy abilities because of the Spirit Dissolving Gloves, Minato Namikaze didn't assign him any other missions, allowing him to research Sealing Techniques in the Barracks.
Minato Namikaze himself had launched several campaigns, clashing with the A-B Combo on the Front Lines multiple times with mixed results.
News came from the rear that the Hokage had specially approved all of this year's graduates to pass, issued them headbands, and dispatched them to various Front Lines to perform logistical work.
Fresh blood arrived at the various Battlefields one after another, and Aokawa finally received the Ninja headband his predecessor had longed for.
The front-line Battlefield also welcomed a temporary period of quiet.
Both the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning were wary of other countries profiting from their conflict, so they fought with relative restraint.
After several localized skirmishes without a clear winner, they tacitly stopped... In the camp during the ceasefire, the rare tranquility instead made certain memories even clearer.
In a corner of the Training Ground, Kurenai Yuhi sat alone, wiping the already gleaming Kunai in her hand over and over again.
The cold touch of the metal could not calm her chaotic thoughts.
In her mind, an encounter from a few days ago flashed repeatedly.
A Cloud Hidden Ninja had broken through the defensive line, and she immediately cast a Genjutsu.
In that Kumogakure Ninja's eyes, the world had distorted, but he only let out a furious roar and slashed his own thigh hard with a Kunai.
The intense pain allowed him to instantly break free from the restraint.
The Kumogakure Ninja grinned hideously as he lunged at the nearest Konoha comrade. If other comrades hadn't arrived in time, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
A strong sense of powerlessness and lingering fear coiled around her heart like a cold venomous snake.
The Genjutsu she was so proud of was actually so fragile on a truly cruel Battlefield.
She didn't want to be a burden who needed protection from others anymore.
"Click."
Kurenai Yūhi put the Kunai back into her Ninja tool pouch, the confusion in her eyes swept away and replaced by an unprecedented determination.
She stood up, patted the dust off her clothes, and walked straight toward her father Shinku Yuhi's tent.
Shinku Yuhi was facing a huge map of the war situation, his brow furrowed.
"Dad!"
Hearing his daughter's voice, Shinku Yuhi turned around.
Kurenai Yūhi's cute little face was full of seriousness: "Please train me and teach me the Family's strongest Genjutsu!"
Her voice wasn't loud, but it was very firm.
Looking at the burning flame in his daughter's eyes, Shinku Yuhi was first surprised, then understood.
He was silent for a moment, patted Kurenai Yuhi's small shoulder, and spoke slowly: "The Battlefield is like this, you don't need to blame yourself too much..."
"But..." Kurenai Yuhi looked up, her small face flushed with excitement, and her eyes were a bit red: "But I don't want to hold everyone back anymore, I also want to have the power to protect my comrades!"
Seeing his daughter's serious expression, the softest part of Shinku Yuhi's heart was touched.
He sighed: "The training will be very hard."
"I'm not afraid!"
"Alright."
He turned to the table, picked up a brush, and scribbled on a scroll, then rolled it up and handed it to Kurenai Yūhi.
"This is some information about Genjutsu from our Family. Take it out and read it when you have time. Remember, it must not be easily shared with outsiders."
"Don't worry, Dad!"
Shinku Yuhi nodded: "Now I will teach you another Genjutsu."
With that, he took Kurenai Yūhi to a quiet woodland behind the camp.
"I will first teach you Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death. The first step in learning this technique is not to cast it, but to endure it."
Shinku Yuhi looked at her: "I will cast a simplified version of 'Tree Binding Death' on you. You must rely on your own strength to break free from my Genjutsu."
Kurenai Yuhi nodded heavily.
Shinku Yuhi formed hand Seals.
Instantly, Kurenai Yuhi felt the world spinning.
The surrounding trees seemed to come alive, and countless thick thorny vines surged from all directions, binding her tightly. Sharp thorns pierced her skin, and the pain was incredibly real.
The feeling of suffocation and intense pain almost made her faint. She immediately tried to use the standard 'Release' technique, but it had no effect.
The vines tightened further, and her bones let out overburdened groans.
Just then, Shinku Yuhi's voice rang in her mind.
"Don't use brute force to fight Genjutsu. Calm down, perceive it, find my Chakra 'core', and then, break it!"
Core?
Kurenai Yuhi gave up her ineffective struggling and forced herself to calm down amidst the immense pain.
She closed her eyes, relying on her familiarity with her father's Chakra to search for that sliver of disharmony in this false world constructed by Chakra.
Sweat quickly soaked her hair, sticking to her cheeks in strands.
Just as she felt she was about to be crushed, she finally perceived a tiny but unique Chakra node on the main vine wrapped around her heart.
Right there!
She used her last bit of Mental Energy to condense her Chakra into a fine needle and slammed it into that node!
"Poof!"
The entire Genjutsu world, like a punctured bubble, shattered with a bang.
Kurenai Yuhi lost all strength and knelt on one knee, gasping for air, her vision a blur.
A warm hand rested on her head, and a water bottle was handed to her lips.
"Succeeding on the first try, you're much better than I was back then." Shinku Yuhi wiped the sweat from her face with a towel, his eyes full of heartache and pride.
Kurenai Yūhi didn't rest; she just gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, then supported her weak knees and stood up unsteadily.
She wiped the sweat from the corner of her mouth, an unyielding fire burning in her red eyes, and said to her father while still catching her breath.
"Dad..."
"Do it again!"
"This time... please use even more power!"
...In the Barracks.
The table was covered with scrolls and draft papers.
Aokawa's study of Sealing Techniques progressed every day.
But he still had no ideas regarding the isolation Seal for the Caged Bird Seal.
His fingers unconsciously tapped the tabletop, his brow furrowed.
How exactly did the Main House accurately activate the Cursed Seal in the Branch House's brain from a distance?
And seeing in the original work how Hyuga Hiashi used the Caged Bird Seal as a means to punish Hyuga Hizashi.
It suggests that this activation can also be intensity-controlled, which proves the hand Seals for activation and the Cursed Seal in the brain are connected in real-time...
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