Genjutsu Prodigy

Yūhi Shinku's words were not a passing whim.

There was an old saying in China: a son-in-law was half a son. But in the ninja world, a son-in-law could truly inherit the family!

After all, you could not choose your son. Whether he was foolish or clever was up to fate, but a son-in-law could be selected from the very best.

Choosing a son to inherit the family business carried the risk of decline, but if they kept choosing outstanding sons-in-law, the family could grow ever stronger.

As for the issue of future generations changing their surname, people in the ninja world did not care about that.

After all, who said a daughter's son was not their own bloodline?

Yūhi Shinku's wife had been injured on the battlefield. She had already been twenty-eight when she gave birth to Yūhi Kurenai, and the doctors had advised her not to have any more children.

Yūhi Shinku had no plans to remarry, which meant that Yūhi Kurenai would be his only daughter.

That meant his legacy could only be passed down to his daughter or his son-in-law.

From that perspective, Hyuga Ningyuan's status as a Branch Family member was also a plus. Since the Branch Family could not learn the Hyuga Clan's core inheritance, he was perfectly suited to inherit Yūhi Shinku's genjutsu.

The only question was whether Hyuga Ningyuan was willing to learn. Perhaps he was the sort who looked down on everyone outside the Hyuga Clan.

There were quite a few such clans in the ninja world, such as Ino-Shika-Cho, the Uchiha, and the Aburame.

But Hyuga Ningyuan's reaction was to widen his eyes, his face brimming with excitement!

"You're willing to teach me genjutsu?"

Yūhi Shinku chuckled. As long as he was willing to learn, that was enough.

Then only one question remained. "I just don't know whether you have any talent for genjutsu!"

After all, he had never seen anyone from the Hyuga Clan use genjutsu. Maybe they simply could not use it?

"Wouldn't trying tell us?" Hyuga Ningyuan asked excitedly.

His [Arcane Brush Palace] had stored a massive amount of spiritual power, but without the proper method of using it, he could only wield it crudely through Telekinetic Power.

That was a complete waste!

Now that he had genjutsu, it was like rain after a long drought!

And since Yūhi Shinku was the one teaching it to him, the inheritance was clear, meaning he could use it openly!

Nothing wrong with that. From now on, I'm a genjutsu ninja!

Rotation? Not even dogs would learn that!

Seeing Hyuga Ningyuan's enthusiastic attitude toward learning, Yūhi Shinku guessed that he was only saying this to please him.

But what did that matter? If he wanted to please him, did that not mean he liked his daughter?

Once someone accepted a person, they would desperately search for virtues in him.

Looking closely, this kid was rather handsome. His temperament was elegant too. Female ninjas would probably be dazed just by looking at that face.

What was this? A natural genjutsu prodigy!

"I'll teach you the simplest genjutsu first. Give it a try!" Yūhi Shinku said as he formed five hand seals. "This genjutsu is called the Mist Servant Technique. The seals are like this, and Chakra flows like this..."

The Mist Servant Technique made enemies see one black phantom after another. When the phantoms were attacked, they would split apart.

It was a technique used purely to scare people.

Yūhi Shinku explained it in great detail, but Hyuga Ningyuan felt that the explanation only skimmed the surface. It described the procedure without explaining the principles.

But that was probably not Yūhi Shinku's problem. The entire ninja world was likely like this.

They only taught applications, not principles.

Perhaps only Orochimaru and Tobirama would conduct in-depth research into ninja technique theory.

But it was no big deal. Although Yūhi Shinku did not explain it, Hyuga Ningyuan figured it out himself.

The principle behind this genjutsu was to inject genjutsu Chakra into the enemy's brain and interfere with his vision.

Since the interference was superficial, it only created a vague phantom.

If it were enhanced, say by turning the phantom into a person or some terrifying scene, then this technique would become a different one.

More advanced genjutsu interfered with more senses. For example, Demonic Flute · Phantasmal Lock interfered with hearing.

The Kurama Family's Kekkei Genkai was even more impressive, directly interfering with all five senses.

But those were not the highest level. The highest-level genjutsu, Tsukuyomi and Infinite Tsukuyomi, directly interfered with the soul.

Techniques that interfered with the five senses could still be broken by disrupting Chakra, but techniques that interfered with the soul were absolutely unsolvable. Once your soul was affected, you could not mobilize Chakra at all and could only take a beating in the genjutsu space.

So the progression of genjutsu levels should be: interfere with one sense → interfere with two senses → interfere with three senses → interfere with four senses → interfere with five senses → interfere with the soul!

There were also some more unusual genjutsu. For example, Demonic Illusion: Steam Paradise, the technique used by Second Mizukage Ghost Lantern Gengetsu, used water to refract light and create a mirage. Although it did not invade another person's five senses, it still confused vision, so it was also a form of genjutsu.

Thus, genjutsu could probably be divided into three types.

First: ninja techniques that used Chakra to invade another person's brain and interfere with the five senses.

Second: genjutsu that altered the external environment to interfere with the five senses.

Third: genjutsu that interfered with the soul.

What Yūhi Kurenai excelled at was the first type.

"Well, do you know how to do it now?" Yūhi Shinku had only demonstrated for a moment, yet he had no idea that Hyuga Ningyuan had already thoroughly categorized the principles of genjutsu in that brief time.

"Should I give it a try?" Hyuga Ningyuan asked.

"Good!" Yūhi Shinku nodded. Naturally, he himself would be the test subject.

A dignified Jonin was not afraid of a Ninja Academy student's ninja technique.

"Form the seals, release the Chakra!" Hand seals were crucial to releasing ninja techniques. They were a kind of coding that the Sage of Six Paths had created for Otsutsuki Kaguya's Chakra. As long as one knew this code, even without understanding Chakra's workings at all, one could still release genjutsu.

That was why four-year-old Itachi could use the Great Fireball Technique.

It was like typing on a keyboard. You pressed a key here, and words appeared there. There was no need to understand the principles behind it.

Naturally, Hyuga Ningyuan used Chakra that had not been refined through a Cultivation Method. He first had to understand how genjutsu was activated, then replicate it with his own Chakra.

"Huh!" It was only his first attempt, yet Yūhi Shinku saw a phantom appear beside Hyuga Ningyuan.

He swiftly mobilized his Chakra and dispelled the genjutsu.

Then his eyes lit up!

"You have talent for genjutsu!" Yūhi Shinku stared with his crimson eyes. "And it's very high!"

What did it mean to learn a genjutsu after seeing it demonstrated only once?

People generally called someone like that a genius!

He had started teaching Yūhi Kurenai genjutsu when she was four, yet even now, she had not learned a single genjutsu!

My legacy, Yūhi Shinku's legacy, finally has a successor! Yūhi Shinku felt somewhat relieved, then said, "I'll teach you another one: the Fox Heart Technique!"

This was a genjutsu that made the enemy feel as though he had entered a complicated maze, able only to walk down one path forever. It was similar to being trapped in a ghostly loop or bewitched by a fox.

It was a C-rank Ninjutsu. Not only was it harder to learn, but it also consumed more Chakra.

He wanted to see where Hyuga Ningyuan's talent limit lay.

A moment later, feeling the shifting environment around him and his own muddled mind, Yūhi Shinku's grin was becoming harder to suppress than an AK!

A genius! A super genjutsu genius!

He did not know how skilled the Uchiha Clan was at genjutsu, but someone who could learn a C-rank genjutsu after seeing it demonstrated once—surely even the Uchiha were no better than that!

"Let's do a B-rank one next!" His enthusiasm had surged, and Yūhi Shinku could no longer hold himself back. If possible, he wished he could teach every genjutsu he knew to Hyuga Ningyuan in one day. Then, even if he suddenly died tomorrow, as Hyuga Ningyuan would put it, he would have fewer regrets.

"This technique is called Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death. It can summon the illusion of a tree to bind the enemy!"

"Uh, I'm out of Chakra!" Hyuga Ningyuan gave it a try, then shook his head.

He had succeeded, but learning a C-rank genjutsu instantly still had an explanation. Instantly learning a B-rank genjutsu would be a little too exaggerated.

A child still had to act like a child.

"Oh, oh, oh!" Yūhi Shinku calmed down a little. Right, how much Chakra could a five-year-old child have?

And B-rank genjutsu was indeed far more complicated. It would naturally require some time.

"My fault, my fault. It's rare to meet a genjutsu genius, so I got too excited!" Yūhi Shinku patted Hyuga Ningyuan's shoulder. "Come to my house after school from now on. How about I teach you genjutsu for two hours? I can also teach you a little Taijutsu and such. Oh, your father is Hyuga Yuuki, right?"

Hyuga Ningyuan nodded.

"He's a very dependable comrade too. It's just that the situation at the border is complicated right now, so he can't return yet. But your mother should be home, right? Let's have both our families get together this weekend and settle your matter!"

"You're still talking? It should be time to eat!" Yūhi Kurenai's mother came out carrying a plate of food. She set it on the table, then looked at Hyuga Ningyuan. "Lord Ningyuan, don't leave tonight. Why not eat here?"

"Uh, I'd better go home. Mom has prepared dinner and is waiting for me!" Hyuga Ningyuan hurriedly said.

"It's fine. I already had someone notify her. You'll be having dinner at my house!"

"Huh?" Ningyuan scratched his head. That worked too.

"Stay," Yūhi Shinku said softly. "After dinner, I want to talk with you!"

"Mm!" Hyuga Ningyuan nodded. Since it had come to this, he would naturally stay!