The Genjutsu Devil of Konoha

Welp, it was back to school—i.e., back to the grind. Oh well.

Seijuro was doing great in the class. He was a prodigy, after all. Plus, he'd learned half those shits like weeks, months, if not years before.

His ass started training at like 4, so heh, he had a solid four years of training under his belt—mostly chakra control exercises, but still. Training was training.

He would listen to the teacher yap.

"Chakra control is not only for fancy jutsu or walking on trees. It is the difference between life and death. Between completing a mission... or becoming the mission."

He paused and looked at the class.

"Let's say you're on a scouting mission in enemy territory. You're tired. Chakra is low. Your presence has been discovered. The enemy is closing in fast. What do you do?"

Hands slowly went up.

Hiashi Hyuga was first. "Activate Byakugan. I'd scan for the most optimal route through terrain with the least enemy presence. Then I'd guide the team along that path using hand signals to minimize chakra expenditure."

Well, he was a Hyuga. Of course he would use his Byakugan. Thing was, not everyone was gifted with a pair of eyes.

The teacher nodded. "Excellent."

Minato Namikaze followed, calm and thoughtful. "Find a vantage point. Get a layout of the battlefield. I could use a smoke bomb as a distraction and regroup at a safe location. Height gives options."

That was also good. There was also the tiny part where they may spot you as you try to climb that tree and, you know, kill you.

Another approving nod.

Then Nawaki shot his hand up like he had the winning lottery numbers. "I'd take a deep breath and bam! Go through them. I mean, we're outta chakra, not guts!"

...Nawaki was...hum... Nawaki.

If Seijuro were to guess, he seemed like the kind of guy to jump into a paper bomb.

Laughter. Kaito snorted. "Oh yeah, that'll work great. Just muscle through a dozen enemy ninja with pure hope."

Uchiha-on-Senju hate was doing great.

The teacher clapped once—clack!—and the room fell quiet.

Then he turned to Seijuro.

"Seijuro. You?"

The brown-haired Kurama looked up calmly from his notes, then answered in his usual steady tone.

"I would first prioritize concealment over confrontation, utilizing a basic chakra suppression technique to mask my presence. Then, I would use wire traps with small explosive tags placed at choke points to delay pursuit. If water is available, I would obscure my scent by traveling along riverbeds or shallow streams. Additionally, I would break off small pieces of my clothing and leave false trails using a Transformation Jutsu to alter their appearance."

That should cover all of his bases for the most part.

He didn't use any busted jutsu, just something any ninja would have. His mind truly was his greatest gift in this world.

"That's correct," the teacher said like it wasn't even up for debate. "Resourceful, low-cost, and misdirection-based. Excellent use of standard tools."

Seijuro simply nodded and returned to his notes. His eyes flicked across the page with focused calm, already writing something new.

During break time, he went to the library. From there, he would take some books—some basic ones about the flora of the Cloud Village and some about the fauna of the place.

The usual stuff. Nawaki was on his ass though, wondering why he was reading such books.

Seijuro didn't look up.

To the boy's questions, he would simply say:

"Information is the edge of survival. As a shinobi, you must be prepared to operate in complex environments. Having knowledge of the geography, customs, and wildlife of another country will help you a lot, and would make it easier to spot when something is wrong."

His eyes would glance at the birds. Weren't they majestic?

Nawaki blinked.

"But we're from Konoha. Aren't we like... the strongest?"

Seijuro finally looked at him.

"Yes. Konoha could be argued to be the strongest. However, confidence is not preparation. For instance, let's say you were sent to the Land of Lightning and noticed fresh tracks from a stormback boar. If you read this book, you would know that you were near the cloud-veiled ridgelines of Mount Shorai. These beasts do not inhabit lower elevations, and with that info, you would have a solid idea of what your altitude is, proximity to settlements, and likely weather patterns—since those guys have a good nose and can smell a rain before it comes."

Nawaki furrowed his brow.

"So... it's like being a ninja-zoologist?"

Seijuro allowed the faintest hint of a smile.

"Yes, you could call it that. It helps. You should try it."

Nawaki would look at his friend—yes, friend—totally did not just barge into that dude's life and declare himself his friend. Nawaki was a good guy. He would never do such a thing.

Heh, he would be used later to get this boy some Fūinjutsu practice. All it would need was for him to imply he had an interest in it, which was why among the books he picked, Beginner Fūinjutsu was one of them.

It was the simple stuff, like explosion tags and storage tags, nothing too major.