"The teacher's suggestion is good. If what you said is true, I'll have to think carefully about it… But there's one problem."
Lock's voice came from the distance, calm but edged with challenge.
Shinku's eyes narrowed. "You doubt me?"
A soft chuckle answered him. To his surprise, Lock dropped his invisibility and reappeared several meters away.
"No doubt, sensei," Lock said lightly. "But if I'm inside a genjutsu, then none of this should count as real… right?"
"You think everything you've experienced is an illusion?" Shinku sneered. "Do you really believe that after glancing through my notes for a few days, you can tell when you've been caught in one? Why are you so sure?"
Lock smiled faintly. "Simple. I just have to test it."
Without hesitation, he drew his kunai and drove the blade into his own palm.
"Pfft!"
Blood welled from the wound—and the world around him warped. In an instant, the false scene dissolved, and reality snapped back into place. Kurenai was still standing in front of her father, shielding Lock with her arms.
"Lock! What are you doing!?"
Her eyes widened in horror as she saw the blood. She rushed to his side, pulling bandages from her pouch to staunch the wound.
Shinku's eyebrow twitched, but his tone carried grudging respect. "You had the nerve to injure yourself just to shatter my illusion… Bold. Very bold."
Lock gave a crooked smile. "Sensei, you're the one with the real skill here. Your genjutsu caught me without a single tell. For a moment, I really believed it was all real."
"Then where did you spot the flaw?" Shinku asked, his curiosity piqued.
Lock lifted a finger and pointed straight at Asuma, who was still frozen in confusion.
"W–what? Why are you pointing at me!?" Asuma sputtered.
Shinku frowned. "Explain."
Lock's tone turned dry. "Because your illusion captured Hong perfectly. Not a single detail wrong. But Asuma? He just stood there, doing nothing at all. That's the flaw."
"What's wrong with that?" Shinku pressed.
"I've known Asuma for four years," Lock said plainly. "We don't get along, sure—but he isn't the type to just stand there if I'm in trouble. Even if we fight like cats and dogs, he'd still step in when it matters. That's the part you missed, sensei. And it's how I knew something wasn't right."
Shinku's brows drew together, eyes flicking toward Asuma.
Asuma himself looked utterly conflicted. "What… me? Helping him? Tch! In your dreams!" he barked, but his voice carried just enough doubt to make even himself uncomfortable.
Lock only smirked, which made Asuma bristle even harder.
"Hmph. Don't get cocky," Shinku snapped, cutting the tension. "That was only a simple illusion. You've got some talent, nothing more."
But his eyes lingered on Lock, troubled. At this distance, breaking his genjutsu so quickly was no small feat. That was far beyond "a little talent."
Meanwhile, Kurenai finished tying off the bandage on Lock's hand, glaring at her father. "Dad, you're not allowed to bully Lock like this again!"
Shinku's jaw tightened. "From today onward, I am not your father—I am your jōnin commander. You will follow my orders without question. Understood?"
The weight of his voice silenced them all. Lock, Kurenai, and Asuma straightened and nodded.
That day, Lock officially joined his second squad.
Two Years Later
Time moved quickly. Two years had passed since Lock, Kurenai, and Asuma began training under Yūhi Shinku.
Their squad had started from the bottom, taking small missions and village errands. They didn't grow rich, but under Shinku's strict tutelage, all three sharpened their skills—especially in genjutsu.
At first, Shinku had been cold toward Lock, but gradually, he set aside his bias and began teaching him seriously. He even entrusted Lock with illusions usually reserved for the Yūhi clan.
Because Asuma was the Hokage's son, however, their squad rarely took missions outside the village. Lock's real combat opportunities were few. His growth was steady but slow, his progress more in refinement than raw power.
Even so, he had advanced. Where he once lingered at the edge of breakthrough, two years later, he had climbed another tier of strength, mastering dangerous techniques.
And though Lock often sighed at how slow it felt, he knew this foundation mattered. His gold touch technique had kept his wallet fat, and for the first time since awakening his strange gift, he'd saved over two thousand ryō. Enough for bigger moves… when the time was right.
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A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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