The Takeout Under the Table

The wooden tabletop conveniently concealed Kurenai Yūhi's figure, ensuring that passing pedestrians couldn't see the embarrassing state she was in beneath it.

On the other side, Sarutobi Asuma sat obliviously. Unless he bent down to check, he wouldn't notice Kurenai's presence at all.

"Are you insane?"

Kurenai was both shocked and furious. It was one thing to experience such things in an illusion, but to act this outrageously in reality?

If someone saw her like this, she would have no dignity left. The entire Yūhi clan would be shamed, their reputation in tatters.

"Do you want Asuma to see you like this?"

Shimizu's large hand pressed down, forcing Kurenai's head lower.

"Tell me, how does the Hokage treat your Yūhi clan? And what do they say about the Uchiha in private? Write down everything you know."

Kurenai had been about to stubbornly refuse, determined not to divulge a single piece of information.

But then, Asuma, who had been slumped over the table, suddenly mumbled:

"Ugh… out of sake…?"

Kurenai's entire body stiffened. Shimizu's firm grip remained on her, and her mouth was stuffed with takeout.

Shimizu thoughtfully handed her a blank sheet of paper and a ballpoint pen.

Kurenai hesitated for a moment, her mind racing. In the end, she decided to comply—at least for now.

She didn't dare gamble on whether Shimizu would suddenly lose his mind and flip the table.

So, while eating takeout, she began writing down the information Shimizu wanted.

She found it strange that he was gathering intelligence about the Uchiha and Konoha's upper echelons' policies regarding her Yūhi clan.

After thinking it over, she realized that while some of the information was relatively private, it wasn't truly sensitive. It wasn't as if he was asking for the Yūhi clan's secret techniques.

What, was Shimizu going to use these relatively non-classified details to betray Konoha?

Time passed. The clock's hands ticked forward, second by second.

Lying on the table, Asuma stretched lazily.

He had dozed off for a bit, and with the help of his chakra, his body had processed much of the alcohol.

His mind cleared somewhat, and he instinctively turned to look at the seat beside Kurenai.

He glanced around.

No one was there.

"Where did Kurenai go?" Asuma muttered in confusion.

She just… left?

He could have sworn she had said she'd stay until the end. Had he misremembered?

Under the table, Kurenai's body went rigid. She froze mid-motion, not daring to make the slightest sound.

"Asuma's awake. Damn it—what now?"

Panic welled up inside her. She regretted everything. If she had known this would happen, she would have refused Shimizu more forcefully.

"She went to the restroom," Shimizu said casually, picking up a piece of grilled meat with an elegance that couldn't be put into words.

"Then I'll go too," Asuma said, getting up to head for the restroom—only to notice a green ninja vest beside him.

He reached for it.

Thud.

Perhaps due to lingering intoxication, Asuma's coordination was off, and instead of picking it up, he knocked the vest onto the floor.

"Where did this vest come from?"

Perplexed, he sat back down and prepared to pick it up again.

Under the table, Kurenai heard the sound and turned to look—only to see that her own ninja vest had fallen to the ground.

A hand appeared in her field of vision, followed by Asuma's arm reaching down.

Her heart clenched.

If Asuma bent even slightly further and happened to glance back, he would discover what she was up to.

As Kurenai grew increasingly tense, she unconsciously started eating with more force.

Luckily, Asuma's arms were long enough. He picked up the vest and placed it on the couch.

"I'll be right back," he said, heading toward the dimly lit hallway.

Hearing his footsteps fade, Kurenai immediately scrambled out from under the table, her wide eyes fixed on Shimizu.

"So this is how your ninja clans view us Uchiha, huh?"

Shimizu sighed, pocketing the piece of paper Kurenai had written on.

It wasn't anything top-secret—just an account of Konoha's leadership's subtle stance on the Uchiha and the way they instructed other clans to treat them.

Konoha's leadership consisted of Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu.

Beyond them, there were senior Anbu members and administrators sent by the Land of Fire—an intricate web of power struggles.

Not all clans served Hiruzen. Some aligned with Homura and Koharu.

As a result, different ninja clans received different treatment.

And the worst-treated of all? The Uchiha—ostracized by everyone.

Even the clans that had once been friendly with the Uchiha had no choice but to go along with the status quo. Unless Konoha's leadership changed its policies, the Uchiha's position would never improve.

"The Uchiha's reputation is… pretty bad."

"Now, look at me."

Shimizu locked eyes with Kurenai. The instant their gazes met, he activated his genjutsu.

Kurenai's once-expressive face turned blank. She appeared half-asleep, her crimson eyes dull and lifeless.

"Is the information you gave me true?"

"Yes."

"Are you hiding anything?"

"No."

Shimizu would never fully trust written reports alone. He needed to verify the truth through genjutsu.

"You did well."

He released the illusion, deactivating his Sharingan, and placed a sealed scroll on the table.

"These are my insights on genjutsu. You'll find them useful."

"Huh…? Genjutsu insights?"

Kurenai still hadn't realized she had just been under genjutsu. She stared blankly, confused that Shimizu would willingly give her such valuable materials.

"Take your time reading them."

Without further explanation, Shimizu stood up and left the yakiniku restaurant.

If he pushed Kurenai too hard, she would eventually rebel.

Before that could happen, he needed to sweeten the deal—raising her threshold for resistance by giving her hope that she could one day surpass him.

And the information he provided was genuinely useful to her.

Genjutsu, at its core, was about manipulating chakra.

While the Sharingan made this process effortless, that didn't mean Shimizu lacked knowledge of genjutsu beyond his dōjutsu.

On the contrary, the Sharingan's ability to directly inject chakra into a target's brain meant its users understood neurological pathways better than most.

The difference between Kekkei Genkai-based genjutsu and ordinary genjutsu was simple: anything that could be replicated manually was conventional genjutsu, while techniques exclusive to bloodlines were unique.

Kurenai's previous illusions were attempts at mimicking a Kekkei Genkai-based genjutsu.

And after years of using the three-tomoe Sharingan, Shimizu's understanding of conventional genjutsu had reached a masterful level.

If you could grasp high-level mathematics, then middle school math was effortless.

As she watched Shimizu's silhouette disappear beyond the window, Kurenai took a long time to collect her thoughts.

How did she feel about him?

Did she hate Shimizu?

Of course.

But his unexpected gestures of kindness left her conflicted.

He wasn't completely cruel. But he wasn't entirely good, either.

She didn't even know why she had challenged him in the first place.

Or why, before she realized it, she had agreed to his request and gone along with this madness.

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