Illusion Techniques Were Ineffective Too

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

The Third Hokage stepped aside. Inoichi Yamanaka stepped forward, approached Li Yao again, formed hand seals, and cast a genjutsu.

"Illusion Technique - Hypnosis."

In the world of Naruto, interrogations had never involved brutal methods like electric shocks or knives to make people crack under pain.

Few ninja believed the intelligence enemies revealed after torture.

They were ninja. They believed only in their own ninjutsu.

Thus, interrogations in the world of Naruto were simple and crude.

They captured the enemy, just as they had captured Li Yao tonight.

The first step after capturing someone was to directly search their memories using memory-probing ninjutsu.

If such ninjutsu did not work and their memories could not be searched,

then they used genjutsu to induce the enemy into revealing the intelligence they knew.

Only when neither memory searching nor genjutsu-induced questioning yielded the desired intelligence would they proceed to the third step.

Even then, it was not torture. They would directly dissect the target and obtain the final pieces of intelligence from the corpse.

The principle was actually the same as the first step.

After someone died, so long as their head remained intact, ninjutsu could still read the lingering memories in their brain.

Only when the enemy could not be allowed to die would they resort to torture to force out intelligence.

Thanks to the mutation in his consciousness after transmigrating, Li Yao's memories could not be probed. Since the first step did not work, they moved on to the second.

He was now suffering an invasion of genjutsu Chakra.

The essence of genjutsu was also Chakra infiltration.

Genjutsu Chakra was a special, highly illusory kind of Chakra.

This Chakra could silently seep into another person's Chakra. Then, when it flowed along with that person's Chakra into their brain, it influenced the brain and, in turn, their perception, creating a genjutsu.

Therefore, breaking a genjutsu was quite simple.

The key was to disrupt one's own Chakra.

Genjutsu Chakra was highly illusory, more like the moon reflected in water. When the water's surface was perfectly still, it was impossible to tell which was the real moon in the sky and which was its reflection.

But once the calm surface of the water developed even the slightest ripple, it became easy to distinguish the reflected moon from the real one.

So long as one could disrupt the flow of one's own Chakra, it was like disturbing that placid water and causing ripples to spread across its surface. The genjutsu could then be easily dispelled.

However, disrupting one's own Chakra was not easy.

Especially when one had already fallen under a genjutsu—when one's perception was controlled, one might think they had mobilized their Chakra to disrupt it, when in reality, nothing had happened.

Only ninja who had undergone extensive training and understood genjutsu could, through their usual practice, develop something akin to an instinctive self-protective reaction in their bodies, bypass the genjutsu's influence, and disrupt their own Chakra.

But even then, they could not withstand advanced genjutsu.

At such times, they generally needed a companion beside them to use Chakra to disrupt their Chakra, allowing them to break free from the genjutsu.

Or they needed a tailed beast inside them that was willing to help disrupt their Chakra.

Li Yao had no one to help him disrupt his Chakra, no tailed beast inside him, and his Chakra was sealed and fixed in place. He could not disrupt it himself, either.

Against genjutsu, he should have been defenseless.

However, after his consciousness had fused with his Chakra, he could still clearly sense even the illusory Chakra of genjutsu.

At that moment, Inoichi Yamanaka's genjutsu Chakra was like that invisible rod from his dream, prodding his stomach and trying to thrust inside.

Li Yao sensed it clearly.

Just as he had in his dream, he threw away the genjutsu Chakra Inoichi Yamanaka had tried to invade him with.

In short, any Chakra trying to invade him was doomed to fail.

"As expected, genjutsu doesn't work either!"

Looking at Li Yao, who remained utterly motionless before him, Inoichi Yamanaka helplessly lowered his hands. There was not much surprise on his face.

When the Mind Disturbance Body Technique had failed, he had already expected genjutsu to most likely be ineffective against the target as well.

After all, genjutsu operated on roughly the same principle as his Mind Disturbance Body Technique. Both had to infiltrate the target's Chakra.

"Lord Hokage." Inoichi Yamanaka turned to face the Third Hokage and apologized, "I'm sorry. Genjutsu is equally ineffective against the target."

"I understand." The Third Hokage stood with his hands behind his back, his expression unreadable as he said calmly, "You may leave first."

Inoichi Yamanaka took his leave. When he reached the door to the secret chamber, he looked back at Li Yao. His instincts told him that this child carried a great secret—an enormous one.

Unfortunately, his Mind Disturbance Body Technique had not worked.

Clearly, the Third Hokage had no intention of telling him that great secret.

Nor did he dare ask further. He maintained the wisdom expected of an inferior.

After Inoichi Yamanaka left, only the Third Hokage and Li Yao remained in the quiet, candlelit chamber.

Neither spoke. The silence was broken only by Li Yao's heartbeat, pounding like a drum from within his chest.

Li Yao was clearly terrified at that moment, not knowing what the Third Hokage intended to do.

The Third Hokage did not intend to do anything—at least, not to kill Li Yao right then.

He approached Li Yao again, formed hand seals, and cast a genjutsu developed by the Second Hokage.

"Bringer-of-Darkness Technique."

The Third Hokage did not fully trust Inoichi Yamanaka. Or rather, he believed that the genjutsu he cast was more powerful than Inoichi Yamanaka's.

He believed Li Yao could not withstand the infiltration of the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique's genjutsu Chakra.

After all, the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique was a genjutsu the Second Hokage had specifically created to counter the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan.

One had to know that the Sharingan was the bane of genjutsu. Ordinary genjutsu could be reflected directly back at the caster.

Even stronger genjutsu could be dealt with in advance through the Sharingan's powerful ability to perceive genjutsu Chakra.

Among the Uchiha ninja of the shinobi world, especially those with Three-Tomoe Sharingan, there were very few genjutsu that could affect them.

Yet even the Three-Tomoe Sharingan could not break the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique.

This showed how powerful the Illusion Technique - Dark Walking Technique was. It truly deserved its reputation as a genjutsu developed specifically against the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan.

The Third Hokage did not believe Li Yao could withstand the powerful Illusion Technique - Dark Walking Technique.

Yet reality was that Li Yao blocked the genjutsu Chakra's infiltration once more.

And he did so easily. It was no harder than blocking Inoichi Yamanaka's genjutsu Chakra.

The Third Hokage fell silent. He stared at Li Yao for a long while, then the corners of his mouth suddenly lifted into a faint smile.

"If he can even resist the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, could he be immune to the Sharingan's genjutsu as well?"

Li Yao's importance in the Third Hokage's mind rose another level.

As the Third Hokage's greatest concern, the Uchiha Clan's greatest strength lay in the power of their Sharingan genjutsu.

There was a saying in the shinobi world.

"When fighting an Uchiha ninja, never meet the Sharingan's gaze."

The moment one did, even for an instant, they would fall into a genjutsu cast by the Sharingan.

Therefore, when facing an Uchiha Clan Sharingan wielder on the battlefield,

in a one-on-one fight, one ran.

If one did not run and fell under a genjutsu, death was inevitable.

Only in a two-on-one fight, where one person fell under a genjutsu while the other could help disrupt their Chakra and dispel it, was there a chance of defeating an Uchiha Clan Sharingan wielder.

This showed just how powerful the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan genjutsu was.

The reason the Uchiha Clan had been able to contend with the Senju Clan for years during the Warring States Period without falling behind, becoming one of the two strongest clans in the shinobi world, was the powerful genjutsu bestowed by the Sharingan.

Even without the Mangekyō Sharingan,

the genjutsu cast by an ordinary Three-Tomoe Sharingan was more than many jonin-level experts could endure.

Yet now, the Third Hokage had seen someone whose Chakra was sealed and restrained withstand a genjutsu that even a Three-Tomoe Sharingan could not endure.

Then... was it possible that he was immune to Mangekyō-level genjutsu as well?

The Third Hokage's eyes grew increasingly bright as he looked at Li Yao.

If he was immune... heh heh!

The Third Hokage smiled, then turned and left.