Moku Kairen acted as if he hadn't seen Asuma, letting him pass right through—but Asuma quickly realized that what was in front of him was only an afterimage.
Kairen appeared again behind him. Asuma lashed out with a fierce kick, but it too struck only an afterimage. In the blink of an eye, Kairen was already five meters away.
"What's going on? What kind of ninjutsu is this?" Asuma was filled with confusion.
Kairen rested his left hand casually on his knee, his stance relaxed, showing no sign of forming seals.
"Clone Jutsu? Body Replacement Jutsu?" Nara Yūji's mind raced, trying to see clearly what technique Kairen had just performed.
Yūhi Shinku folded his arms, his gaze fixed on Kairen's right hand hidden inside his sleeve.
"So that's it. Just two short weeks… such talent!"
Asuma grew agitated. He immediately formed hand seals with both hands.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A powerful gust surged from his mouth, carrying the roar of violent wind that could easily rip apart a tree.
But just like before, Kairen only left behind an afterimage and shifted positions. Asuma's Wind Release had no effect at all.
"Huff… huff… huff…"
Asuma bent over, gasping for breath. After releasing two Wind Release techniques back-to-back, combined with the intense Taijutsu movements, even just standing was a struggle for him now.
"What on earth is this ninjutsu?"
Nara Yūji's mind wasn't all-powerful. No matter how long he thought, he couldn't figure out Kairen's technique. He glanced at the experienced Yūhi Shinku beside him.
"Sensei, this—"
Yūhi Shinku answered, "Body Flicker Technique."
"But he didn't form seals!"
Yūhi Shinku replied softly, "Have you ever heard of one-handed seals?"
Kairen kept breaking Nara Yūji's understanding of ninjutsu again and again, making him doubt his own judgment.
"One-handed seals? One-handed Body Flicker?! Impossible! Even most Jōnin can't master that technique—and Moku Kairen is just a Genin!"
"Genin? You still think of him as just a Genin?" Yūhi Shinku shook his head.
"An extraordinary amount of chakra, mastery of forbidden techniques, and terrifying talent with the Body Flicker Technique," Yūhi Shinku murmured.
There are certain ninja especially suited to the battlefield. When pushed to the brink of life and death, their talent slowly begins to manifest.
Nara Yūji looked at Asuma, panting heavily, then at Kairen, who stood calm and unruffled.
"Could it be that he deliberately provoked the Sarutobi clan, came to the most dangerous front line, just to find an opportunity in life-and-death situations to awaken his talent?"
Yūhi Shinku shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe so."
Asuma hunched over, out of breath, staring helplessly at Kairen.
"So this is what it means to be a shinobi tempered by war?"
Kairen turned his head slightly toward Asuma. The other thought his power came from being baptized in battle.
"Moku Kairen, answer me!"
Asuma still carried that same entitled tone, as though everyone had to rely on him simply because he was the Hokage's son.
Kairen ignored him, straightened up, and brushed the dust from his pants.
Showing off in front of a Genin was meaningless. If he wanted to prove something, he should go dance on Madara-sama's grave or eat snake stew in front of Orochimaru.
Yūhi Kurenai called out to Kairen just as he was about to leave.
"Kairen, I have something I want to say to you!"
Kairen lowered his head, his dark eyes looking at the lovely girl.
Asuma kept prattling on.
"Moku Kairen, answer me! Is it because of the war that you've become this strong?"
"Annoying!"
With his back to Asuma, Kairen formed a seal with one hand inside his sleeve. A surge of killing intent engulfed Asuma.
Blood, torture tools, severed heads, broken blades, and eyes like those of vengeful ghosts…
In an instant, Asuma fell to his knees, trembling uncontrollably.
"…Wh-what is this place?"
This was a simple genjutsu Kairen had developed, born from the pain he had suffered in Sunagakure's encampment, combined with his battlefield experience.
For a Genin like Asuma, it was enough to drag him into a hellish nightmare.
"If you can't even endure this scene, where did you find the courage to step onto the battlefield?"
Kairen left those words behind, then followed Yūhi Kurenai to a quiet corner.
Kairen folded his arms, watching the troubled girl.
Kurenai lowered her head, then raised her crimson eyes to meet the boy who was no longer the same as before.
"Kairen, you've changed. You feel so unfamiliar now, like you've become a different person. Is it because of the war? Because of how Sunagakure treated you?"
"Perhaps…"
The boy's vague reply tugged painfully at Kurenai's heart.
The old Kairen would never have spoken to her like this. If he ever had a chance to talk to her alone, he would've been so nervous he could barely string words together.
Sunagakure must have tormented him terribly!
Kurenai stepped closer to Kairen, staring into his dark pupils.
"Kairen, living must be so painful, isn't it?"
Kairen looked at her in puzzlement. His life was fine—why would it be painful? If anything, he was usually the one making others suffer.
"Your father died on the front line. A month ago, your sensei and teammates also died. Now the village has sent you to the main front. Such a cruel fate—it's terrifying!"
Kairen listened silently. If not for the Infinite Resurrection System, his life truly would've been miserable.
Kurenai stepped closer again.
The boy and girl stood so near they could see their reflections in each other's eyes. The air seemed to freeze between them.
"Kairen, you're not alone. We're classmates. I won't abandon you. I'll always care about you!"
Kairen stepped back. As a boy with no real-world experience, he felt oddly compelled to avoid such unprompted affection from a girl.
When someone showed him closeness, he couldn't help but suspect ulterior motives.
Kurenai tugged at Kairen's sleeve.
"Listen to me. You have to live strongly from now on!"
Kairen looked at the girl, her crimson eyes filled with concern.
"I used to annoy you so much… why are you treating me this way?"
"Because we're classmates!"
Kairen froze.
Classmates. Yes. Pure, sincere bonds. No scheming of adults, no whirlpool of power struggles.
Suddenly, Kurenai drew a kunai from her side and thrust it toward Kairen.
But Kairen had already learned from his experience with Shizune. He knew Kurenai well.
He stepped back, easily dodging her attack.
"Useless, Kurenai. Even if I were gravely injured, Shimura Masao would never let me leave."
Kurenai lowered her kunai.
"How could they do this? They're basically sending you to your death!"
Kairen looked at the girl's angry face, and warmth spread in his chest. The suffocating weight of the past days of bloodshed slowly eased.
Even shinobi who live in darkness need comfort from the light.
So it turned out—the drifting clouds in the sky weren't ignored, the quiet melody still sought him, and the evening crimson always watched over him.
Kairen reassured the girl.
"Don't worry. I've survived here for two weeks already. My battlefield experience is no less than anyone's. But you—it's your first time on the front lines."
Kurenai lowered her head.
"My father is here to protect me. But you're all alone, guarding the line by yourself. Shimura Masao is awful—he didn't even assign you a single teammate."
Kairen's presence carried a faint aura of the lone wolf.
"Loneliness makes people grow. Only those who get used to solitude can free themselves from the troubles of mediocrity."
"Even the way you talk has changed. You used to be so clingy."
"What, Kurenai, does it disgust you?"
"Of course! Saying those sappy lines in real life feels so weird!"
"For example—'You're the crimson glow on the horizon, and I am the drifting cloud…'"
"Ugh, stop it! You're doing it again!"