A cool breeze gently blew through the night.
Two figures—one tall, one small—sat facing each other on the riverside grass.
"Genjutsu," Red began, "is essentially a form of Yin Release. It's a technique that uses spiritual energy to interfere with an opponent's five senses through chakra, causing them to fall into illusions!"
Although she wasn't particularly fond of Seiki, Kurenai Yuhi did not hold back in her instruction. She explained thoroughly and earnestly.
"So does that mean genjutsu can be roughly divided into visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, and tactile categories?" Seiki asked, supporting his chin with his little hand.
"Huh? Is that actually a thing?" Kurenai Yuhi perked up, clearly surprised.
Ninja education left a lot to be desired—barely above elementary school level. That's why even simple classifications like this were almost never attempted.
"That's right," Kurenai said. "Although we call it affecting the five senses, most genjutsu mainly targets vision, hearing, and touch. Compared to those, techniques targeting taste and smell are practically nonexistent. If we could develop techniques targeting those two senses, maybe we'd have the other villages on their knees in the next war..."
"Senior Yūhi, Senior Yūhi!" Seeing Kurenai getting lost in endless fantasies again, Seiki had no choice but to call out.
"Eh?" Kurenai snapped back to reality. Seeing Seiki giving him that strange look, he felt slightly embarrassed and tried to save face by explaining forcefully, "See? A truly powerful genjutsu ninja must know how to get lost in daydreams like me."
Seiki didn't expose him, instead nodding in agreement.
With something like genjutsu, imagination really was necessary.
"Before officially guiding you in genjutsu training," Kurenai grew serious, "I will first teach you how to break free from genjutsu. Only by understanding its weaknesses can you avoid being exploited on the battlefield."
"There are two ways to break genjutsu," Kurenai continued. "One is to disrupt the circulation of your own chakra, and the second is to have someone else disrupt your chakra circulation. Please note that for dojutsu-based genjutsu, only the second method works. Therefore, when facing enemies who use dojutsu to cast genjutsu, absolutely never take them on alone."
Kurenai's voice was tinged with sadness. Although he was Konoha's strongest genjutsu specialist, all his life he'd never reached the level of those legendary dojutsu masters.
Precisely because of this, upon discovering Kurenai Yuhi's talent in genjutsu, he had been overjoyed. He wanted to prove that human talent and effort could surpass bloodline supremacy.
Seiki, however, wasn't affected by Kurenai's melancholy. Instead, he pondered and asked, "Disrupting the chakra circulation within the body… isn't that, at its core, about controlling one's body? If one could fully control their own body, wouldn't that make one immune to the first category of genjutsu?"
Kurenai was startled before smiling and shaking his head. "That interpretation isn't wrong either, but such a feat is probably only possible for someone as divine as the First Hokage."
Seiki gave no clear response but thought to himself, *Perfect control over one's own body... the Eight Gates, huh?*
For the Eight Gates, Seiki didn't share the same enthusiasm as some of these "seniors," because he clearly understood where his advantages lay—in his talent, thinking, and learning ability. These traits weren't particularly useful for a technique like the Eight Gates, which relied on time investment for improvement.
Wasting twenty years just for a fleeting moment of glory? That was never going to cut it for a genius—certainly not in Seiki's eyes. At the very least, there were far more efficient ways for him to attain that level of power.
However, this didn't mean Seiki looked down on the Eight Gates.
What he aimed to explore was an alternative foundation underneath the Eight Gates system itself.
For example, maintaining two to three gates constantly open within his body—using Medical Ninjutsu to repair the damage caused by [Opening Gate], while storing the excess chakra released from [Opening Gate] using the Yin Seal. Even further, at critical moments, he could use Creation Rebirth to open additional gates.
The difficulty in achieving this 'perpetual motion machine' fantasy lay in the fact that he needed to constantly perform repairs inside his own body. This required not only exceptional chakra control but also near-split-minded mental manipulation.
Moreover, physical training was another crucial aspect. The stronger the body, the less damage from [Opening Gate], and the less Yang Release chakra needed for bodily repair. Otherwise, the chakra released from [Opening Gate] might not even be enough to heal himself.
Yuhi Kurenai had no idea that while attending her Genjutsu lesson, Seiki was still pondering over Taijutsu matters. After a brief sigh, she continued, "The strength of Genjutsu mainly comes from two aspects: one is the strength of one's spirit and willpower, and the second is the realism of the illusionary world created."
"Do you know what makes the Genjutsu of those with Dojutsu stronger than that of ordinary users?"
Seiki reeled in his wandering thoughts and answered without hesitation, "Dojutsu users don't need hand seals, making their techniques more convenient and subtle than regular Genjutsu."
Yuhi Kurenai nodded approvingly before asking again, "What else?"
Seiki paused momentarily before cautiously questioning, "Is it because the eyes of Dojutsu users act as amplifiers, enhancing the spiritual intensity of the illusion?"
"Amplifier? That's an interesting way to put it." Yuhi Kurenai sighed slightly as she said, "We Genjutsu specialists painstakingly weave every realistic illusion, yet we may still end up inferior to those with Dojutsu who can casually create even a crude illusion. The reason lies in how their innate spiritual essence is far too powerful compared to ours."
Seiki gently nodded. Indeed, possessing such overwhelming spiritual essence was simply unfair.
Take Itachi Uchiha's Tsukuyomi, for example. Despite constructing a completely illogical world—one where enemies instantly realized they were caught in an illusion—they still couldn't break free.
According to Seiki's understanding from his past life, it was similar to a common concept in Xianxia (immortal cultivation) novels—an overwhelming force overpowering ten thousand methods. No matter how sloppy or hastily thrown together the illusion was, if your spiritual strength fell short, you simply couldn't resist it.
However, it would also be wrong to say realism in illusions held little importance. The best evidence was Infinite Tsukuyomi—a perfect Genjutsu capable of drawing the entire world into an incredibly vivid illusion, trapping everyone inside forever.
Thinking about this, Seiki asked, "Senior Yūhi, is there really no way to enhance our spiritual strength?"
"Enhance spiritual strength?"
"I haven't heard of it before, but..." Kurenai Yuhi first shook her head, then spoke hesitantly, "It's said that the First Hokage possessed a willpower powerful enough to interfere with reality itself. But from what I've heard, he wasn't born with that kind of power. If we consider how the First once pacified the Warring States, maybe the method involves experiencing war or surviving life-threatening trials—only through such tribulations can one grasp conviction and expand their inner capacity."
Seiki nodded thoughtfully. He understood why he valued spiritual cultivation even more than Kurenai Yuhi did—he had access to knowledge she didn't. Figures like Asura and Indra possessed such powerful wills that their chakra endured across generations. The Sage of Six Paths existed in a soul state between life and death, even pulling the souls of various villages' Kages back from the Pure Land (the afterlife) into the living world.
Such mental fortitude was simply beyond comprehension.
"Chakra, spirit, soul... What I really need is a technique that can reach the very core of a soul!"
Seeing Seiki fall silent, Kurenai Yuhi mistook his silence for discouragement over the limitations of genjutsu. "C'mon, you don't have to feel too discouraged about it either. Just like personal talent, ultimately only you yourself can truly tap your full potential. Otherwise, how come the title of Konoha's strongest genjutsu ninja didn't end up with those Dojutsu clans?"
Although he hadn't actually taken comfort from Kurenai Yuhi's motivational talk, Seiki still pretended to be inspired. "I understand now, Senior Yūhi."
"Mm, next is the beginner-level genjutsu training—a D-rank technique called [Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique]. The hand seals are Rabbit → Snake → Goat. Now, experience just how terrifying genjutsu can be..."
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