"Aoki Sora? Who's that?!"
"You ever heard of him?"
"Nope! You?"
"Not at all!"
"Wait, I think I heard something… Doesn't the Yuhi clan have some distant relative named something-Sora?"
"That Hyuga girl actually confessed to him?!"
"Forget that, shouldn't we be asking what the hell that video was all about?!"
"Yeah! Was that some kind of genjutsu?!"
All across the Hidden Leaf Village—no, across every ninja village, across the entire world—people were left stunned and confused, their conversations erupting in rapid succession.
"...Infinite Tsukuyomi?"
Even Zetsu, hiding in the shadows as always, couldn't help but widen his one visible eye. His black half muttered with disbelief.
That projection had reached the entire world.
The only known technique with that kind of broadcast range was Infinite Tsukuyomi.
But that jutsu hadn't even been completed yet.
Besides, as Kaguya's will made manifest, he was immune to all genjutsu.
Which could only mean one thing,
This wasn't genjutsu.
Then what in the world was it?
"Konan, you saw it too?"
"Yes, Nagato. I saw everything."
In Amegakure, Nagato and Konan sat frowning beneath the thunderclouds.
From what they could tell, this didn't follow the logic of genjutsu at all.
After all, genjutsu always had a purpose—to manipulate, deceive, or control the mind.
But the footage they just saw? That had nothing to do with them.
Hinata?
Aoki Sora?
Who even were those two supposed to be?
If there was anything worth noting, it was the girl's distinctive white eyes—definitely a Hyuga.
Could it be that her Byakugan would pose a threat to their plans? Interfere with capturing the Nine-Tails?
But that girl in the video didn't exactly look like a powerhouse. If this were genjutsu meant to intimidate, then where was the display of overwhelming power? At least fake some flashy jutsu for effect.
Instead, all it showed was a bashful girl confessing to her crush.
What kind of threat was that supposed to be?
"Konoha, huh..."
In another location, Uchiha Itachi narrowed his eyes.
A master of illusion himself, he'd used genjutsu countless times, especially on that foolish little brother of his.
But not once had he ever conjured something so absurd. If he were trying to manipulate Sasuke, he certainly wouldn't show him a random love confession between two nobodies.
It would be useless.
Completely ineffective from a psychological warfare standpoint.
Even for someone as analytical as Itachi, this baffled him.
Meanwhile, back at the Hyuga estate—
"This is outrageous! Someone's clearly behind this!"
Hiashi Hyuga was absolutely furious.
Truthfully, he had long given up on Hinata—she wasn't exactly the heir he had hoped for.
But still, she was his daughter. A member of the main Hyuga branch. And now, she'd just confessed publicly, in front of the entire village, possibly the entire world, to some random nobody?
Hiashi knew every name in the clan registry. There was no one named Aoki Sora or Kamishiro Haruyun.
So this guy wasn't even Hyuga. Not even a branch family member.
And his daughter had confessed to him?
Someone had to be behind this. Some sinister jutsu or scheme to disgrace the clan.
As the Hyuga patriarch, and as Hinata's father, he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
The projection in the sky didn't last long.
Soon, the image vanished, and everything returned to normal.
Hiashi immediately summoned a few clan elders and headed straight for the Hokage's office.
—
At that same moment, inside the ninja academy…
"Uh..."
Iruka stood at the podium, unsure what to do.
He had been just about to read off the team assignments, something normally straightforward and prearranged.
But that video…
It had featured two of the students on his list.
Should he continue as planned, or wait for the higher-ups to investigate and issue new instructions?
"Wait... Hinata likes Aoki Sora?!"
"Whoa! Future Hinata's actually kinda hot!"
"She's always been shy, but she confessed like that? Did something huge happen between them?!"
"Shouldn't we be more worried about how that video even got shown?!"
The classroom was a flurry of whispers and theories.
Hinata's face was already bright red, flushed with embarrassment.
"It must've been genjutsu!" someone shouted.
"But to put all of us under an illusion? That's gotta take Kage-level chakra!" another added.
Of course, no one here besides Sora really had any concept of what Kage-level actually meant, but it never stopped kids from using it as shorthand for "crazy strong."
"...!!!"
That phrase, Kage-level, caused Sasuke to tense up.
If this really was a genjutsu, then the most likely culprit was Aoki Sora.
After all, he was the only one who would benefit from such a projection.
And to be fair, Sora was decent at genjutsu, probably upper-tier among their graduating class.
But if that video was his doing, then that also meant…
Aoki Sora already possessed Kage-level genjutsu?
And he wasn't even Uchiha.
Not only that, he had apparently surpassed elite Uchiha illusionists using a non-Uchiha bloodline.
That thought shook Sasuke to his core.
If this was true, what did it mean for him?
He had always carried the pride of being the top rookie of their generation.
Even after the Uchiha massacre, he had held onto his confidence, because no one in his class could touch him.
Sure, Itachi was still stronger… for now.
But as long as Sasuke kept climbing, he believed he could one day catch up.
But now?
This so-called Aoki Sora had stolen that title right from under him.
And he had done it using Sasuke's own supposed specialty: genjutsu.
The thought made his blood boil.
Rather than believe Sora had used a genjutsu to trick Hinata or anyone else, he actually preferred the idea that the video had some other explanation.
Because otherwise, it meant Sasuke wasn't even second-best anymore.
"Sora! Was that illusion your doing?!"
Naruto had jumped to his feet, pointing at Aoki Sora with a loud, indignant yell.
Dammit! He was supposed to be the surprise genius!
But then again…
Sora had kind of upstaged that stuck-up Sasuke for once.
Which… felt kinda awesome, honestly.
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Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 450,800,1200 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch!