Kazama repeatedly stepped through the air, slowly rising higher and higher.
Before long, he was already three or four meters above the ground, looking down at the little Kurenai below.
Kurenai Yūhi stood there with one hand raised to her mouth, staring up at Kazama in astonishment.
Her red eyes practically sparkled.
It was exactly as Kazama had expected.
For a child, the ability to move through the air was an irresistible temptation.
Who hadn’t dreamed as a child of soaring through the sky like a bird?
Strictly speaking, Kazama’s Geppo couldn’t truly be considered flight.
But by now, he had already climbed five or six meters into the air.
To Kurenai, that was more than impressive enough.
“Hm?” Kazama was about to descend when his gaze swept toward the rooftop to his left.
Someone was watching him.
Because the figure stood on the roof behind a railing, and Kazama was looking upward from below, he couldn’t see the person clearly.
He could only make out black clothing, a mask covering the lower half of the face all the way up to the bridge of the nose, silver hair, and a short blade in one hand.
The person had apparently been practicing swordsmanship.
Kazama’s sudden appearance in the air had caused him to stop swinging the blade and turn his attention over.
Even from this distance, Kazama didn’t need to see the face clearly.
Silver hair.
Half the face covered.
In all of Konoha, there was only one person dressed like that— Kakashi Hatake.
Kakashi also had a faint impression of Kazama.
Mostly because of the oversized sunglasses on Kazama’s face.
What Kakashi hadn’t expected was that while practicing with his short blade on the rooftop, he would witness something so astonishing.
A person had stepped directly on empty air.
One step after another.
Rising straight off the ground.
Climbing six or seven meters into the sky before slowly descending again.
An ability to move through the air!
Everyone understood that once a shinobi jumped, they were at their most vulnerable while airborne because they lacked anything to push against.
But if someone possessed a technique that allowed them to move in midair, they could immediately adjust their position and evade attacks.
That made such an ability extraordinarily valuable.
For any shinobi— it was an extremely useful taijutsu technique.
“Ah… We’ve been spotted!” Kurenai noticed Kazama looking toward the rooftop and followed his gaze.
She could only see part of a head and a patch of silver hair.
But that was enough to realize someone had discovered them.
Just moments ago, Kazama had told her that Geppo was a secret and that she couldn’t tell anyone.
And now someone had seen it immediately?
Kurenai suddenly felt terribly unlucky.
At the same time, she began worrying that this might cause trouble for Kazama.
Tap.
Kazama descended from the air.
A faint layer of sweat had appeared across the bridge of his nose.
“Let’s go.” He spoke calmly to Kurenai before leading her back toward the classroom.
Kurenai followed behind him and asked cautiously, “Will this cause trouble for you?” “Probably not.” Kazama smiled.
“It was only one person, and he’s our classmate anyway.” “Don’t worry.
It’ll be fine.” He spoke with complete seriousness, showing absolutely no concern.
But the more relaxed Kazama acted, the more Kurenai felt that she might have caused him trouble.
Guilt slowly crept into her expression.
“Then… maybe you shouldn’t teach me Geppo anymore.” Kurenai really liked Geppo.
Kazama had only told her the name once, yet she already remembered it.
So when she suggested giving up the chance to learn it, she was clearly reluctant.
“It’s fine.” Kazama could hear the guilt in her voice and smiled.
“We already made a deal.” “You teach me genjutsu, and I teach you taijutsu.” “You can’t go back on your word now.” “Okay!” Hearing that, Kurenai immediately brightened.
She silently decided that she would do her absolute best to teach Kazama genjutsu properly.
When they returned to the classroom, Kazama and Kurenai sat together.
There were only a few students inside.
Children naturally preferred running around and playing, so very few of them were willing to sit quietly during the lunch break.
Kazama turned toward Kurenai and began explaining the fundamentals of learning Geppo.
Because chakra existed in the Naruto world, Geppo was actually the easiest of the Six Powers for Kazama to adapt and teach.
“All right.
Those are the basic principles behind practicing Geppo.” “When we have time after school, we can find somewhere to practice.” “I’ll stay nearby and watch you so you don’t fall from the air.” After explaining the technique, Kazama asked, “Did you remember everything?” “Mm-hm!” Kurenai nodded enthusiastically.
Then her voice became quieter.
“There are… a few parts I didn’t remember.” “Just a little bit.” Kazama didn’t mind at all.
“That’s fine.” “It doesn’t matter if you forget some of it.” “I can explain it a few more times later.” “Besides, this kind of technique is easier to understand through actual practice.” “Mm-hm.” Kurenai felt that Kazama was extremely easy to talk to and nodded happily.
“Then… it’s my turn to teach you genjutsu.” She immediately straightened up, trying to imitate the posture of a little teacher.
But just as she opened her mouth— she froze.
Unlike Kazama, Kurenai didn’t have an adult soul inside a child’s body.
She couldn’t simply organize everything instantly and explain it smoothly.
So she paused for a moment, carefully sorting through her thoughts before finally speaking.
“Genjutsu is a form of mental attack.” “It interferes with an opponent’s mind and thoughts, disrupting their five senses and causing them to experience false perceptions.” “That makes the target fall into an illusion…” Kurenai slowly continued explaining.
Every so often, she stopped to think.
She was clearly recalling the basic knowledge her father had taught her about genjutsu, along with the fundamentals of using it.
For Kazama, however— that was already enough.
After repeating everything she could remember from her father’s lessons, Kurenai became increasingly aware that her explanation wasn’t very smooth.
Compared with Kazama’s earlier explanation of Geppo, hers sounded much more hesitant.
Afraid Kazama might laugh at her, she hurriedly added, “I’ve only learned one simple genjutsu.” “It’s called Bewildering Heart.” “I can teach you that one!” “The hand seals are—” “Rat, Horse, Ram, Boar, Hare!” As she spoke, Kurenai demonstrated the entire sequence.
There were five hand seals in total.
She only showed Kazama the order and did not actually activate the technique.
Her control over genjutsu was still poor, and she was afraid she might accidentally hurt him.
“This technique can confuse the enemy.” “It causes whatever they’re thinking about deep inside their heart to become part of the illusion…” “Then they become trapped inside that genjutsu…”