Training Ground 88.
"Fire of Eight Fragrances?
Genjutsu?
Taught by your sensei?"
Every word from Iruka made Mizuki uncomfortable.
The eight fragrances mentioned in this genjutsu must be the eight scents he just experienced, to hell with those eight fragrances.
Iruka's sensei, which means it's not a Ninja School teacher or the Third Hokage, so it could only be Iruka's former team leader, Satoru.
"Damn it, we're not even on the same team anymore, why would he still teach him new Ninjutsu? Why don't I have a sensei like that?"
Mizuki smiled, his jealousy already twisted.
He knew Satoru; Mizuki had sparred with the rapidly improving Iruka two years prior, and given their relationship, he knew who his sensei was.
If he hadn't secretly learned many training methods from Iruka, he wouldn't have been promoted to Chunin so quickly; at that time, Mizuki had wished his sensei were Satoru.
And not Iruka, that poor wretch whose parents died during the Nine-Tailed's attack.
But even now, after leaving the team, Satoru was still so good to Iruka, and Mizuki was jealous.
Why did the Third Hokage-sama, Satoru, and everyone else treat Iruka so well? Why was all the attention on him, while Mizuki remained unknown, relying on himself for everything?
"Ah, your sensei is great, teaching you even this secret Ninjutsu.
I'm fine, your progress is what matters most." Mizuki laughed heartily, feigning indifference.
Seeing that Mizuki was not bothered, Iruka also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hehe, Sensei Satoru is great, but he has a terrible sense of humour.
For example, this genjutsu, you felt it too, right?
It's not very useful in actual combat; Sensei taught it to me to scare students and make them study hard." Iruka scratched his head and smiled.
Students, hearing this word, a momentary gloom flashed in Mizuki's eyes.
He recalled that he and Iruka had both passed the Ninja School teacher's examination, but because he had allegedly killed a teammate to complete a mission previously, his qualification as a teacher was delayed.
Mizuki harboured hatred in his heart; White Fang-sama failed a mission to save comrades and was condemned by thousands, while he, for the sake of a mission, didn't even directly accuse the one who killed his teammate, yet he gambled away all his chances for advancement.
He hated.
He hated the Hokage's favouritism, and he hated Konoha's unclear system.
Why couldn't everything he did be recognised?
...
Konoha Ninjutsu Library.
Satoru didn't know that Iruka had already found his first test subject.
At this moment, he was looking at the scroll right in front of him, the Darkness Technique.
"Hmm? How is this Ninjutsu created by the First Hokage?" Satoru raised an eyebrow, looking at the creator written on it.
It was too surprising that this Ninjutsu, which could counter the Sharingan, was created by Senju Hashirama.
He had always thought Tobirama created it, but he never expected it; Hashirama, you old man, are also a master of Ninjutsu development, truly worthy of being the God of Ninja.
Unexpected yet within expectations.
In the Warring States Period, it wasn't the Konoha era; the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan, as the two strongest opposing clans, developing Ninjutsu to counter each other's abilities was understandable.
Senju Hashirama's talent was evident, so his ability to create it was also understandable.
"You only have one hour.
If you don't memorise all the Ninjutsu formulas, you'll have to wait for the next opportunity." Besides Sensei Dragonfly, a squad of Anbu guarded him, preventing him from taking the Ninjutsu scroll.
This was a forbidden Ninjutsu, one of Konoha's highest secrets.
Satoru was not surprised; he had already gone through several procedures to see the main scroll of the Darkness Technique.
His perception spread out, and the numbers within the scroll, like little figures performing martial arts, each hand seal, each formula, each detail, quickly imprinted themselves into his mind.
When his perception extended to the secret room, it was blocked by the barrier, allowing him to observe only what was inside the room.
A quarter of an hour later,
Satoru finished learning the Ninjutsu formulas; he couldn't be too fast, saving some strength.
He gained a lot.
The Darkness Technique, learning difficulty A, a close to mid-range auxiliary genjutsu that deprives enemies of their vision, plunging them into a silken abyss of darkness, a genjutsu that steals the enemy's light.
The Ninjutsu principle was extremely complex, no wonder it could counter the Sharingan.
However, it also had flaws; if the user learned it improperly, they could fall into an endless abyss of darkness, losing all light.
"A very good genjutsu; I now have another reference for visual genjutsu."
Satoru was very satisfied.
Especially since even the Sharingan could fall victim, it was exactly the material he needed.
The Sharingan had powerful insight and could observe the enemy's Chakra movement; if facing enemies with such abilities, the effect of genjutsu would be much smaller.
Satoru understood very well that when he dealt with Shisui, he was able to make him quickly fall victim and not break free immediately only due to intelligence issues.
Next time if they fought again, the opponent would know he was a genjutsu-type Ninja and would be prepared in that regard.
His genjutsu defence could temporarily only defend against the enemy's insight, but the Chakra he released could not; as long as Shisui's mobility was strong enough, he could at least resist many of his genjutsu.
Ultimately, genjutsu was a Ninjutsu that disrupted the enemy's Chakra with one's own Chakra, thereby causing the enemy to experience illusions.
Most of them were like this.
These were very easy to break.
Other Heavenly Gods, Pupil Setting Hand, and Izanami were exceptions.
With the Darkness Technique as a reference, he could learn from it and find methods to counter powerful ocular Ninjutsu.
After all, the Ninja World had the nickname of the Legend of Eyes.
This was very important.
...
Konoha Barrier Squad, Secret Training Ground.
"Is it just the three of you?"
Satoru asked, looking at the three people in front of him.
"Yes, Captain Satoru, the three of us are Ninja responsible for barrier maintenance and sensing barriers, ordered by the Third Hokage-sama to learn from you."
The leader was a Hyuga Ninja wearing a Ninja vest and a Byakugan, with a forehead protector.
The two behind him had ordinary appearances.
Satoru was a bit surprised: "From the Hyuga Clan?"
"Yes, Captain, Hyuga Tetsugan." The Hyuga Clan Ninja introduced himself.
It seems every department has people from powerful clans!
As one of the strongest clans, it was not unusual for members of the Hyuga Clan to work in the Barrier Squad.
Satoru nodded: "Then, let's begin.
I believe the Third Hokage-sama has already told you why I am here as the captain of the barrier development team, correct?"
"Yes, the Third Hokage-sama said it's to develop a defensive barrier to counter super-large-scale attacks." Hyuga Tetsugan nodded.
The other two also agreed.
There was no sign of defiance, as they deeply understood the importance of the Barrier Squad; the Hokage-sama would not do anything meaningless.
Since the person in front of them was sent by the Hokage-sama, it proved his capability.
"Then, the super-large defensive barrier, Inverted Bell, development first step, begin…"