As Yoshio left the Yamanka household, his face became passive. He trusted that Aoi wouldn't lie to him about his son's condition, but he wasn't naive enough to think that she would keep it a secret. After all, the stakes involved are too big for her to contain within herself. The Yamanaka clan would be informed of this without any delay.

A new Kekkei Genkai—even the Hokage wouldn't gloss over such news.

He was hurrying back to the Fuma clan to discuss and make a decision as soon as possible. All the excitement he felt when he heard of the speculation has vanished. Now, he is truly anxious; if it's truly a Kekkei Genkai, the various political schemes that the Fuma clan would have to go through will be insufferable, and worse, Renji might never be able to be truly 'free'. He would have to always have someone to protect him until he grows up; even the matter regarding his marriage will not be under his control. As someone who did marry outside of his clan, Yoshio disliked that very notion that his son might be forced to marry someone due to politics and preserving the Kekkei Genkai.

And if it is not a Kekkei Genkai, it is even scarier, as his son might be suffering from a disease that is yet to be found.

With a heavy heart, he reached his home, which was a bit away from the Fuma clan. Ever since he made the decision to marry his lover, who was from a different clan, his relationship with the clan, to put it mildly, hasn't been great. It is to the point that the clan did not even bother to query about his son's illness all this while after their first check-up.

"Yoshi, what's with this face? What did they say? Did they find anything?" asked Arisu worriedly after getting Renji from her husband.

"I think... we have a lot to talk about."

--

"No way..."

"I know, right! It was unbelievable when I heard this theory as well. What do you think we should do?" Yoshio asked his wife, who now has a stunned face filled with worry.

Arisu was a woman in her late 20s who had black hair and pupils and was dressed in sandal-colored pajamas. She too was a ninja, a Chunin from the Kurama clan, who are renowned for their talent in genjutsu.

"I-... you know Yoshi, my Kurama clan specializes in genjutsu."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Of course I know. Are you saying Renji is so talented that he caught himself in a genjutsu without being taught how to cast it even while not having chakra?" Yoshio chuckled as he made light-hearted banter, trying to ease the atmosphere even a little bit.

But, unexpectedly, that statement only caused Arisu to panic more. Seeing his wife clenching her fists and looking at the floor absentmindedly. Yoshio touched her shoulder, startling her awake. She took a deep breath.

"Yoshi, what I am about to tell you is my clan's deepest secret."

Sensing his wife's solemn mood and tone, Yoshi's back straightened as he perked up his ear to listen.

"Our clan's talent in genjutsu is not a secret; it is not a Kekkei Genkai either, so, mostly, it is always overlooked. But there had been an occurrence once in our history where a kid born in the Kurama clan had a talent in genjutsu so high that they were able to materialize it."

Yoshio gulped.

'Materializing a genjutsu? Had she been fed with some bullshit in her clan to boast their prestige?"

Many useless conjectures and thoughts arose in his mind, but he shattered all those immediately. Arisu was a chunin, a genjutsu specialist even; no way she would believe it without enough proof backing it.

"So is it your clan's Kekkei Genkai?"

"No... Listen, as I said, it was talent, not anything to do with bloodline evolution. Since when I heard about it, I started to collect everything possible regarding it out of sheer curiosity. However, with my social status, there was not much I could do. But, after reaching the Chunin rank, I was able to finally confirm the conjecture that it was not a one-time occurrence and may have happened multiple times in the past."

"Are you saying that our son might be one of those talented ones??"

"I can't say; after all, it was just my conjecture."

"Why didn't you say this earlier then?! We could've avoided half of the problem we have now if that is the case!"

"Because even that one story I heard did not mention anything like this, that talent was only known to the clan after that person passed 13 years old and started performing genjutsu on a regular basis. Renji is barely 2 years old. Do you expect me to be a seer or something? Have you become stupid?"

"sigh..."

Yoshio sighed as he realized that he subconsciously shouted at his wife. As he was going to apologize for it, a sudden thought hit him; he paused and looked at his wife with a doubt as he asked,

"What happened to that person? Such a genius should've held a name for himself. Why haven't we heard of him before? Was he a secret weapon? Where is he now?"

Arisu remained silent with her fist clenched even more tightly. After a long pondering, she spoke in a quiet voice, like mumbling to herself, but those words felt like thunder in Yoshio's ears.

"They refused to share it with me. But the clues I found made it seem like he did not meet a good ending because of the very power he possessed."

**

While they were talking, things that would determine or even control his future. Kurt, or rather the now Renji, is finally ready to wake up from the trance he had been in for over a year now.

---

The Kurama clan, I believe, was an anime-only clan. It's not related to the Nine-tails Kurama that was sealed inside Naruto.