WebNovels

Chapter 38 - 38. Kurenai

Konoha village, Training Ground Three.

The afterglow of the setting sun stretched the shadows of three wooden stakes.

Whoosh!

The sound of air being torn was sharp.

A shuriken embedded itself in the bullseye, humming.

Kurenai Yuhi's black hair was matted to her face with sweat, and she panted heavily, her crimson eyes filled with excitement.

Genjutsu: Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique!

Her figure split into three.

Each clone was as solid as reality, even the fierce battle intent was identical.

She was very satisfied with her current strength.

Ever since learning that the daimyo manor had established a special fund for the genius training program, Kurenai had yearned for this opportunity.

She believed she could do it.

Konoha's future would definitely be better.

That daimyo wasn't as cold-hearted as the rumors said.

"Kurenai."

A familiar voice called out to her.

The genjutsu faded, and Kurenai turned back in surprise. "Father!"

Shinku Yuhi stood in the shade of a tree, still wearing his dust-covered standard vest, clearly just returned from a mission.

The man's face was stern, but his eyes were gentle.

"You're back! Was the mission smooth?"

The young girl's steps were light, and she jogged over to her father, her upturned face covered in sweat, her eyes curved in a smile.

"Mm."

Shinku responded in a low voice.

His gaze fell on her fingers, which were roughed up from high-intensity hand seals.

His eyes showed pain.

"Still practicing?"

"Yes!"

Kurenai lifted her chin, her tone proud. "Father, my technique can already create three physical forms! Give me a little more time, and I'll definitely master Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"

After speaking, she eagerly awaited her father's praise.

Just like when she was little.

But there was none.

Shinku just watched her silently.

There was no praise, no encouragement.

That complex expression made the young girl a little nervous.

"Kurenai."

He spoke again, his voice even deeper than before.

"Come with me."

The joy in Kurenai's heart was snuffed out.

She sensed that her father was not himself.

She nodded obediently, reined in her emotions, and followed her father home.

The house was as tidy as ever.

But today, the atmosphere was no longer warm. It was very heavy.

Her father didn't wipe his shinobi tools first, as he usually did when he returned.

Instead, he knelt down at the low table in the living room and personally poured her a cup of tea.

The steaming hot tea, with its rising mist, blurred her father's face.

"Father?"

Kurenai sat opposite him, a surge of unease in her heart.

Looking at his daughter's eyes, full of hope for the future, Shinku struggled immensely within.

After a long while, he let out a heavy sigh.

He knew.

Every word he was about to say would crush his daughter's dreams with his own hands.

But he had to do it.

"Kurenai, would you like to... live a different kind of life?"

"What do you mean, father?"

"A life where you don't have to experience slaughter, where you don't have to walk on the edge of life and death every day."

Shinku's voice was very soft.

But it made Kurenai's heart suddenly clench.

She vaguely guessed something, and the color in her face began to fade little by little.

Shinku took out a document from his vest.

He didn't speak, slowly pushing the document across the table.

It wasn't a mission scroll.

It didn't have the Hokage's seal, but the impressive golden family crest of the daimyo manor.

Kurenai looked, and when her gaze touched the words 'Selection of Consorts' at the top of the document.

The color instantly drained from her face.

Her smile froze at the corners of her mouth.

"Father... you... what does this mean?"

Her voice trembled, disbelieving.

She didn't even dare to touch the document.

"The daimyo is currently selecting consorts," Shinku's voice was terrifyingly calm. "With your beauty and talent, you'll surely be chosen."

"I'm not going!"

A sharp scream.

Kurenai suddenly stood up, saying loudly, "I want to be a shinobi! I want to become an excellent jonin like you! I want to protect Konoha with my genjutsu!"

"Shinobi?"

A bitter smile appeared on Shinku's lips, his laugh filled with weariness.

"Kurenai, what's so good about being a shinobi?"

He held out his hand.

A hand full of calluses and scars, with even one knuckle twisted and deformed.

He spread this hand open before his daughter.

"Look."

"This is the result of being a shinobi for a lifetime."

"I don't want you to live this kind of life in the future."

His tone remained calm, but it made Kurenai's heart ache.

She knew her father was doing it for her own good.

But she couldn't accept it!

"But I like being a shinobi!"

Kurenai's eyes were red, tears welled up, but she stubbornly forced them back.

"This is my dream! And if I'm selected for the genius training program, I'll become even stronger, and I can bring true glory to the family!"

She thought that the words 'genius training program' were her last trump card.

It was personally recognized by the daimyo!

However, her father just shook his head, staring at his innocent daughter, his eyes full of love and reluctance.

But the words he spoke were incredibly cold.

"Glory?"

"Do you think that so-called genius training program is cultivating you?"

"No."

Shinku's single sentence shattered all her illusions.

"Shinobi are just tools."

"The so-called genius training program is just cultivating sharper blades for the daimyo."

"And tools only have two outcomes."

"Either they die on the battlefield."

"Or they become dull and are discarded casually."

"Look up at the Hokage Rock. Look at the current situation of the Third Hokage, and then look at the Fourth Hokage!"

His voice suddenly lowered, as if resigned to fate.

"Even the Hokage can only choose to submit!"

"You, a young girl who has just begun to show her talent, what do you have to resist?"

"I don't want you to become a tool!"

Every word in his speech nailed down all her pride, all her illusions.

Along with that passionate shinobi heart, all together.

Tears finally escaped her eyes.

She choked, letting out unwilling sobs. "But that's not what I want! I don't want that kind of life!"

"You have no choice."

Shinku's tone became stiff.

He stood up and forcefully placed the application document into his daughter's cold hands.

The edge of the paper cut her skin.

She looked at her father.

She looked at this man who had doted on her since she was a child.

She didn't understand.

Why?

Why would he push her away with his own hands?

Seeing the tears on his daughter's face, Shinku's expression softened.

He raised his rough hand, wanting to stroke his daughter's head.

Midway, it stopped in mid-air.

Finally, that hand rested on her trembling shoulder.

His voice carried weariness and pleading.

"Kurenai."

"I... just don't want to see you get hurt again."

"I don't want to one day retrieve your cold corpse from the battlefield."

"I just want you to live safely and soundly."

"In that place," he paused, "you won't have to smell blood anymore. You won't have to worry if you'll see the sun tomorrow."

"That's the life you should live."

He withdrew his hand and turned to walk toward the door.

Kurenai suddenly noticed that her father's back was no longer straight.

There were a few strands of silver hair at his temples.

She suddenly understood.

This was not an order.

This was the only way out a father chose for his daughter.

This path was paved by crushing her dreams.

Making this decision.

Father must have been in great pain too.

The document in her hand felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Kurenai slowly crouched down, burying her face in her knees.

Suppressed sobs came from the room.

Shinku stood at the doorway for a long time.

Only when the crying gradually faded did he step away.

More Chapters