This was who knows the how many-eth time Chiya had flirted with her.
At first, Kurenai Yuhi hadn’t paid much mind, treating it as a child’s prank.
But as Chiya grew more mature, and during the course of mission after mission, he consistently threw himself in front of her to take the lead—quietly, the heart of this maiden, which had been sealed shut since her father’s death, began to show signs of melting.
Just as Kurenai was feeling flustered, a mellow voice came from afar: “Hey…
Kurenai…” Kurenai gave a start, like a cat caught stealing fish.
Her face flushed instantly, and she averted her gaze from Chiya to see three young men in Konoha Jōnin flak jackets approaching.
The leader resembled the Third Hokage, a cigarette dangling from his lips as he exhaled a cloud of smoke.
Behind him were two other men.
One wore a green skin-tight suit, his forehead protector tied around his waist, a bowl cut, and thick eyebrows; he was the type who shouted slogans about “youth” and seemed to have more muscle than brains.
The other, in contrast, was quite handsome—a rare looker.
However, he had a lazy, devil-may-care vibe; his forehead protector was wrapped around a bandana, and he chewed on a senbon needle, looking effortlessly cool.
They were Konoha shinobi of the same generation as Kurenai and Kakashi: Asuma Sarutobi, Might Guy, and Genma Shiranui.
“Looks like your friends have arrived.
We’ll see each other tonight,” Chiya said, casting a glance at the trio, guessing their identities instantly.
He waved a casual farewell to Kurenai, didn’t linger, and vanished using the Body Flicker technique.
Asuma and his companions caught up.
“Kurenai, was that person also one of our Konoha Jōnin?
I don’t recall seeing him before,” Asuma asked, stealing a glance at the spot where Chiya had disappeared, his expression unpleased as he pretended to be nonchalant.
“Oh, him?” Kurenai replied, looking a bit distracted.
“He’s the student I told you about, Fujiwara Chiya.
He just finished his assessment and was promoted to Jōnin by the Hokage himself.” Upon learning the boy was just Kurenai’s student, Asuma’s brow relaxed, and he let out a sigh of relief.
He secretly counted his blessings—It seems I was just overthinking things.
How could Kurenai have a boyfriend so quickly?
And one so young at that!
“A Jōnin…” Genma’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Wait, seriously?
He’s not even twelve yet…
Are all the kids these days this terrifying?
I recall even Kakashi was twelve when he was promoted to Jōnin.” He himself was only a Special Jōnin, and Kurenai had only been promoted to that rank a year ago.
To have taught a student who reached Jōnin in less than a year was simply unbelievable.
Might Guy, whose face-blindness made him perpetually confused, asked with a blank expression, “Ten…
yuen…
chi…
ya?
Who’s that?” “That is the reality, believe it or not.” Kurenai ignored the dim-witted Guy and sighed.
“In any case, Chiya’s strength has truly surpassed mine.” “Doesn’t that mean he was promoted to Jōnin even earlier than you, his own teacher?” Genma teased with a playful grin.
“Sorry to disappoint you, Genma, but the Hokage promoted me to Jōnin a short while ago as well.
So, among our generation, that leaves only you, Ebisu, Raidō, and Iwashi at the Special Jōnin level,” Kurenai said with a hint of pride.
“Nani…” Genma was instantly petrified.
“Kurenai, is your disciple really that formidable?” Asuma tried to keep the conversation going.
“His opponent for the assessment was Kakashi.
Whether he’s formidable or not, just ask Kakashi later,” Kurenai replied.
“But tell me, why are you three so free today?
Is there something you wanted?” “We just finished a mission, and Asuma wanted to invite you to a gathering tonight,” Might Guy blurted out, oblivious to subtlety.
“Hey…
Guy…” Asuma’s face went red; he glared at Guy before turning an expectant gaze toward Kurenai.
“I see…” Kurenai realized.
She didn’t dwell on it—her mind was still filled with the memory of Chiya’s flirtation moments ago.
She took a deep breath and replied, “Sorry, I already have plans.
I promised my students to celebrate Chiya’s promotion to Jōnin tonight.
Maybe next time.” With that, she turned her back to the three of them, waved goodbye, and disappeared into the distance.
She left behind a blank-faced Guy, an Asuma who was thoroughly deflated by the rejection, and a Genma who was still petrified by Kurenai’s words.
…
News travels fast.
Driven by Konoha’s propaganda machine, the story of Chiya’s exceptional promotion spread through the streets and alleys.
To hype him up and ensure he gained the attention of the Uchiha leadership, the high-level officials even dubbed him the “Genjutsu God Chiya,” claiming he was a genjutsu ninja destined to rival Uchiha Shisui.
They were sparing no effort to build his reputation.
Of course, Chiya was unaware of all this.
And even if he had been, he wouldn’t have cared.
Based on what he knew of Hiruzen, this was merely a ploy to use his bond with Izumi Uchiha to monitor the clan—a mole mission.
As for that old fossil Danzo supporting his promotion?
That was undoubtedly another case of “killing with praise.” Danzo was a man who didn’t know the meaning of trust.
He would sacrifice anything to protect Konoha according to his own warped principles.
He was always preaching about “ninja self-sacrifice,” but when it came to his own life, he couldn’t do it.
He spent his days obsessing over how to become Hokage.
To put it bluntly, he was a coward obsessed with fame and power.
From the moment Chiya formed a bond with Izumi Uchiha, he was branded with a “distrust” tag in Danzo’s mind.
When the night of the Uchiha Massacre came and Chiya had no more use, it would be time for a reckoning.
Danzo would wipe out anyone associated with the Uchiha.
It was the same for Itachi and Sasuke in the original story; it would be the same for Chiya.
If Itachi hadn’t killed the two Root ninjas sent to attack him and threatened to leak Konoha’s secrets to foreign nations, Sasuke would have been killed or raised as a mindless killing tool for the Root.
There would have been no future moments of glory—like challenging Itachi in genjutsu, playing with the Eight-Tails, trading blows with the Raikage, or matching eyes with Madara…
though he did get beaten up every single time.
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