What solution could there be, for an ANBU captain who couldn't identify genjutsu? It wasn't a problem Yuuhi often faced. Their bloodline limit, the Meikougan, lent them an easy stepping-stone over the most basic of concerns. They could see the gossamer layers of chakra that wove a genjutsu, in finer detail than even the vaunted Uchiha Sharingan ever could. A tool but not a crutch, as Benihime was fond of saying; the doujutsu's use had to be learned, practiced, mastered. Raidou could never attain that advantage, any more than he could change the very nature of his chakra, but perhaps—

At the very least, he could learn to disrupt the genjutsu's hold on his chakra coils without actually stabbing himself.

Mentally reviewing chakra disruption exercises, Kurenai scooped matcha into bowls, ladled hot water from the kettle, and whisked the thin tea to a fine froth. She set the first bowl in front of Benihime. "Grandmother. The Chuudan method—"

"Will work admirably, once he realizes what's happening." Benihime's lashes lifted. She took the bowl in graceful hands, turned it once to admire its rough simplicity, and sipped. "I believe, Namiashi-san, that the particular density and quality of your chakra may serve after all. Your chakra repels others, rather than attracting, like the wrong end of a lodestone. If you can develop that quality into an active push, you may be able to employ it as a chakra shield of sorts. Area-effect genjutsu would slide away, instead of sinking in. A targeted genjutsu might still grip, but you would have warning."

Raidou stared at her for a long moment. Silence drew out, thin and brittle; a muscle clenched in the side of his jaw. His eyes were very dark.

He said finally, "If it's that simple, why hasn't anyone suggested it before?"

"Because it's not simple," Kurenai said sharply. "It's— "

Brilliant, certainly, but that wasn't what Raidou was waiting to hear. He didn't know where the cutting edge of genjutsu research lay, and likely he didn't care. He wanted a solution to his problem. He'd probably just expected it to come in the convoluted trappings of arcane mysticism, rather than with the stark perfection of a master's tea bowl.

And it was perfect. Exquisitely tailored to his chakra type, his unique strengths, his particular weaknesses—Kurenai's mind raced ahead, imagining the shield erected at the beginning of a mission into hostile territory, spun out of and anchored into that dense mass of chakra, then half-forgotten until the moment of need… It would work. Of course it would work!

She bit down her rising excitement. "It's a unique construct," she said, as repressively as she could. "Few shinobi would have the chakra density or capacity to sustain a shield for any useable length of time, and most of those who do would have the wrong type of chakra for the shield."

Benihime set her tea bowl down with a decisive thump. "I have certainly never met anyone else with that chakra strength and density and control who was quite so bad at genjutsu."

Raidou's mouth pulled sideways. He picked up his tea bowl, looked down at it, and looked up again. "Are you saying this has never been done before?"

"Chakra shields are well-attested," Benihime said calmly. "You have known at least one Hyuuga in your time, have you not? A shield of the type I envision— Well. It will never work if you do not make the attempt."

His eyes narrowed. "If there's a chance, I'll take it."

"Then drink your tea," Benihime said. "And we will begin."