An In-Depth Analysis of Genjutsu (Part One)

Although this battle had only been a spar between Shuichi and Kakashi, it showed everyone present his outstanding talent. Not only were his physical abilities exceptional, but his intelligence was no less impressive.

After seeing that Kakashi's injuries were nothing serious, the Third Hokage and the two Anbu left. Shuichi helped Kakashi up and headed for Konoha Hospital.

"Why didn't you tell me about my father? What exactly is the hidden truth?" Kakashi could not help asking about it as they walked.

"Actually, all of Konoha's major clans know the full story. It isn't merely my own speculation. The truth is there, and it won't disappear. Once you mature, you'll naturally come into contact with more of Konoha's internal affairs."

"We're still at an age where we're weak and impulsive. Even if I told you in advance, you wouldn't be able to change anything. It might even affect your growth. So there's no need to rush. Just work hard and become an outstanding ninja." Shuichi's thoughts were exactly as he had said.

The major clans all remembered the matter of Konoha's White Fang. His suicide had spared Konoha the turmoil that might otherwise have followed.

After Kakashi became Minato's disciple, he had already inherited White Fang's political legacy.

In the future, after Tsunade fell unconscious during Pain's invasion, everyone in the village except Root and a few old men did not support Danzo. Instead, they all favored Kakashi becoming the Sixth Hokage. That was the best proof.

Shuichi had no intention of changing any of that. Letting Kakashi smoothly enter the Hokage lineage, just as in the original work, was the best choice.

Since they were only superficial injuries, Kakashi was fine after his wounds were bandaged.

After leaving the hospital, Shuichi talked with Kakashi about the missions Chunin carried out as he escorted him home, preparing himself for his own mission career the following year.

In the blink of an eye, two months passed. Shuichi's life was quiet and routine. Before his previous match with Kakashi, Orochimaru had happened to have some free time and had taught Shuichi several times.

But over these two months, the Third Hokage seemed to have assigned Orochimaru an important mission, so Shuichi had not seen him at all.

Today was the same as usual. After completing a D-rank mission, Shuichi slowly made his way home. When he arrived at his door, he saw a small snake swaying back and forth outside.

"Teacher is back? Understood. I'll be at the training ground on time tomorrow." Shuichi spoke to the little snake. As if it understood him, it flicked out its tongue before vanishing.

The next afternoon, it was the same familiar little forest. When Shuichi arrived, he found Orochimaru already leaning beneath a tree, waiting for him.

"Teacher, you came so early today? There shouldn't be any more missions this year, right?" Although they had not seen each other for two months, they still felt quite familiar with each other.

"Unless something unexpected happens, there should be nothing left. Starting next year, I'll take you on missions. So over the next month, I'll make you more well-rounded." Perhaps because this year's busy work had finally ended, Orochimaru seemed to be in a fairly good mood.

"Oh? Hmm... Going by what you said, Teacher, the next special training will be genjutsu?" Shuichi considered what he was still lacking and tentatively asked Orochimaru.

"That's right. You're as clever as ever. Teacher Sarutobi told me about your fight with White Fang's son. You won with ease, and even he was full of praise for the way it unfolded."

"It was nothing. My intelligence on him was completely superior that time. If we had truly clashed head-on, it might have been much harder." Shuichi had not been carried away by a momentary victory. He viewed that battle from an objective perspective.

"Heh heh, I appreciate that mindset, Shuichi-kun. Countless ninja have died because of carelessness."

After briefly chatting about everyday matters, Orochimaru began discussing the genjutsu special training they would undergo this month.

"Although there are currently no top experts in the world renowned for genjutsu, if you want to become that kind of ninja, you must understand genjutsu thoroughly no matter what. You should have gained a general understanding of it at the Ninja Academy, right?"

"Yeah, I think the school teachers covered the theory rather comprehensively. The key is disrupting the Chakra in the opponent's brain.

"But the teachers also mentioned that genjutsu is difficult to cast, so I really haven't experienced it firsthand." Shuichi felt that genjutsu had a high barrier to entry. Ordinary Genin probably encountered it very rarely.

Orochimaru agreed and began explaining genjutsu to Shuichi in detail. "That's true, because the key to genjutsu lies in each person's Mental Energy, which is even harder to train than physical strength."

"At the same time, genjutsu is a support-oriented technique. It basically cannot directly injure an enemy. Prolonged use damages a ninja's Mental Energy, and that is far harder to recover from than physical injuries."

"I can tell from your talent that your Mental Energy is surprisingly excellent, but I don't recommend that you become a ninja who relies on genjutsu as their main method."

"You only need to be able to use it occasionally at critical moments and possess strong resistance to genjutsu. Next, I'll directly tell you what I've learned about genjutsu, so listen carefully."

Under Orochimaru's clear and accessible instruction, Shuichi gained a comprehensive understanding of genjutsu.

Genjutsu involved controlling one's own Yin Release Chakra—or, in other words, a special form of Mental Energy—to interfere with and guide the Chakra in an enemy's brain. A person's Mental Energy was all located in the brain.

During the casting process, it could be regarded as an invisible "aura," something that could neither be seen nor touched.

Recalling certain scenes from the original work made genjutsu easier to understand. Examples involving Yin Release included the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Transfer Jutsu, the Nirvana Hell Technique from the Chunin Exams, and Yūhi Kurenai's Tree Binding Death.

Although the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Transfer Jutsu was a secret technique, its principles were extremely similar to genjutsu. Its advantages and disadvantages were clearly displayed in the battle between Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura.

First, the caster had to form hand seals and could not move their body. Then, the caster's Mental Energy flew toward the opponent in a straight line at an extremely slow speed. If it hit, it allowed the caster to control the opponent's body for a short time.

If the opponent dodged during the casting process, the Mental Energy could not return to the caster's body for a short period, leaving their body at the mercy of others.

Most conventional genjutsu was like a smaller version of the Mind Transfer Jutsu, with a broadly similar casting process.

Taking the Nirvana Hell Technique and Tree Binding Death as examples, one first formed hand seals to mobilize the Mental Energy within one's body. Actually, ordinary genjutsu should use Yin Release Chakra primarily composed of Mental Energy, but for convenience, Mental Energy would be used in its place from here on. Then, using oneself as the center, it was released in a fan-shaped spread toward the front.

The caster could control the strength of the Mental Energy freely. It was not as slow as the Mind Transfer Jutsu, and an area of nearly 180 degrees directly ahead was available for coverage.

Once one's Mental Energy touched the enemy, the genjutsu had initially been cast successfully.

Because the density of Mental Energy in ordinary genjutsu was far lower than that of the Mind Transfer Jutsu, the caster could only use the portion of Mental Energy sent over to interfere with the Chakra in the opponent's brain as much as possible.

After casting successfully, the caster could not take any other actions, because they had to maintain that transmission channel.

The caster's Mental Energy inside the enemy was constantly being depleted as it controlled the opponent, so the caster needed to continuously replenish it in order to sustain the interference.

That was why most genjutsu users had no way to finish off an enemy themselves and needed assistance from teammates.

If they stopped casting, the Mental Energy disrupting the enemy would quickly disappear.

Under normal circumstances, a genjutsu Jonin like Yūhi Kurenai could maintain two genjutsu channels by herself without interruption, as in her fight against Itachi and Kisame. A Special Jonin specializing in genjutsu might only be able to maintain one channel.

An ordinary genjutsu Chunin facing an opponent of the same level would likely need to transmit Mental Energy at a high frequency to keep them under control.

When such Chunin faced Genin, they could intermittently transmit Mental Energy to two different people. Because a Genin's Chakra was weak, even if the transmission was not maintained for a period of time, they still could not break free from that interference.