An Ultra-Detailed Analysis of Genjutsu (Part 2)

The drawbacks of genjutsu were equally obvious. This kind of Mental Energy transmission was highly unusual. Once the combatants surpassed Jonin level, genjutsu's practical value dropped dramatically.

This had much to do with genjutsu's inherent flaws.

First, if the opponent moved too quickly, Mental Energy could not hit them at all. The chance of a genjutsu missing was simply too high.

In battles at this level, even a momentary stalemate could determine the outcome.

Second, ninja above Jonin level practically never had any weakness in terms of Chakra reserves. Even if a genjutsu landed, the amount of Mental Energy that could be transmitted was ultimately limited.

A lower-level ninja's Chakra reserves were merely a "boulder"—if you pushed hard enough, you could still move it. The Chakra reserves of an expert capable of becoming a Kage were like a small mountain; even prying it up took tremendous effort.

Shuichi did not know Yūhi Shinkō's current level, but he was probably considerably stronger than the future Yūhi Kurenai. With secret techniques enhancing his genjutsu, he could play an important role in chaotic Jonin-level battles. That should have been the normal upper limit of the ninja world.

After gaining a clear understanding of conventional genjutsu, he naturally could not overlook one of the two strongest clans in the ninja world—the Uchiha Clan.

There were simply too many examples to draw from in the original work. Based on his own understanding, Shuichi analyzed the gap between ordinary genjutsu users and the Uchiha Clan, reaching the following conclusion:

A ninja's Mental Energy could be viewed as an army made up of countless soldiers. The Uchiha Clan's genjutsu advantages included at least the following points, taking the Three-Tomoe Sharingan as the standard:

First, with the help of the Sharingan and their own bloodline, the size of their army was several times that of an ordinary ninja. This was an advantage in the quantity of Mental Energy. The duration and impact of the genjutsu released by the two sides were completely different.

Second, with the Sharingan's enhancement, every soldier in that army was two to three times stronger than an ordinary ninja's soldiers, and even moved two to three times faster.

This was an advantage in the quality of Mental Energy. It allowed the Uchiha Clan's genjutsu transmission speed, control, and other aspects to utterly crush ordinary ninja, while their defenses were likewise unmatched.

Third, because the Sharingan inherently possessed Yin Release Chakra, this army also had a commander-in-chief who could direct it to operate on its own.

This was why every Jonin facing an Uchiha Three-Tomoe Jonin of the same level trembled in fear. During close-quarters taijutsu exchanges, the Sharingan could independently help an Uchiha ninja cast genjutsu. Once it succeeded, the opponent was instantly defeated.

This really is a damn cheat-code clan! And these advantages are only in terms of Sharingan genjutsu. Dynamic Vision, Chakra perception, and all that haven't even been considered yet. Not to mention the Mangekyō Sharingan—the power of its ocular abilities must be at least twice that of the Three-Tomoe, right?

How are Civilian Ninja supposed to compete with that? No wonder even people like Orochimaru and Danzo went mad over the Sharingan later on. Shuichi had never thought too deeply about it before, but after analyzing it like this, even he felt like getting himself a Sharingan.

Once Shuichi understood this genjutsu ecosystem, he was not at all surprised that Yūhi Kurenai had been countered by a single glance from Uchiha Itachi in the original work. That was the true gap between their Mental Energy.

Therefore, Shuichi strongly agreed with Orochimaru's suggestion. Orochimaru himself was already powerful enough to serve as a Kage, and after countless battles, he had a profound understanding of genjutsu's practical effects.

At the same time, Shuichi had not forgotten that, before undergoing Living Corpse Reincarnation, Orochimaru had been officially rated as a ninja with maxed-out genjutsu.

Before witnessing the Sharingan's true power, Orochimaru's understanding of genjutsu could be said to represent the current consensus of the entire ninja world.

Although Shuichi's own Mental Energy was extremely vast, and his talent and potential for genjutsu should have been very high, after learning about the Sharingan's role, he also felt that paying a heavy price to train genjutsu would not be worth it.

Returning to Orochimaru's lessons, although both master and disciple believed that ordinary genjutsu had limited potential, genjutsu could still produce unexpected results under certain circumstances.

Moreover, an outstanding ninja could not have any obvious weaknesses when it came to guarding against and dealing with genjutsu. Otherwise, they could easily be targeted, and unforeseen situations might arise.

"Now, let me explain the specific uses of genjutsu. The most suitable time to use it is when enemies appear nearby but have yet to discover your squad."

"Genjutsu is an excellent means of ambush. Because Mental Energy spreads silently and invisibly, once your casting succeeds, your teammates beside you can easily deal with the enemy."

"The second use is against an enemy who is relatively exhausted. Of course, it is best if you have the advantage in Chakra reserves. When facing such an enemy, their desperate final struggle could very likely pose a tremendous threat to you."

"If you use genjutsu at that moment to briefly restrain them, you can easily deliver a fatal blow. It prevents their final counterattack before death and saves your own Chakra as well."

"Additionally, some special genjutsu are transmitted through special channels. For example, they can be transmitted through sound, or through steam, ..."

Hearing this, Shuichi thought of Tayuya and the Second Mizukage from the original work. Both had used certain mediums to cast genjutsu more easily.

"But if you do that, the concealment of the genjutsu is greatly reduced. It changes from a support-type ninjutsu into a semi-active attack type." Orochimaru also added this drawback of such genjutsu.

"Now that I've finished discussing genjutsu's characteristics, let me tell you about several ways to counter and break it."

After carefully listening to Orochimaru's explanation, Shuichi found that it was still fairly consistent with the original work.

The first, relatively simple and crude method was to inflict pain on oneself, thereby creating fluctuations in one's Mental Energy.

However, this method was rather low-level. Not only would self-injury affect one's combat power, but it also made it easy for the opponent to seize an opening. The enemy's genjutsu had already taken effect, so this was a very inefficient response.

The second method relied on innate talent. Those born with powerful Mental Energy were less susceptible to genjutsu.

For someone like Shuichi, continuously practicing genjutsu casting with Orochimaru would greatly heighten his sensitivity to Mental Energy.

When caught in an opponent's genjutsu, he would not only notice it more quickly, but would only need to form a hand seal that mobilized Mental Energy to use his own Mental Energy to wash away the enemy's Mental Energy, or promptly halt the flow of his own Chakra.

And if the enemy's Mental Energy was far inferior to his own, he could directly destroy the invading Mental Energy without even forming hand seals.

The third method was to rely on nearby teammates, or on help similar to that provided by tailed beasts to Jinchuriki.

Because Chakra also contained Mental Energy, someone beside you could inject Chakra into your body to offset the opponent's Mental Energy.

After Orochimaru finished speaking, Shuichi also added several points to keep in mind based on the original work.

Human Mental Energy was very special, with most of it located in the brain. Therefore, genjutsu interfered with the Mental Energy within the brain.

This was also why making eye contact with the Sharingan greatly increased the chance of being caught in genjutsu. The eyes were the primary transmission route for Yin Release Chakra, making the transmission of Mental Energy much easier.

In the original work, Might Guy's method of avoiding eye contact could be said to work, or to not work at all.

Avoiding eye contact merely increased the difficulty for Uchiha ninja to cast genjutsu. The reason Might Guy succeeded was because he possessed several advantages that other ninja lacked.

First, his willpower was exceptionally firm. Those capable of training the Eight Gates were inhuman beings who could fight through intense pain. Even someone like Kakashi, with such outstanding ninja qualities, could only barely open the first few Gates.

So although Might Guy's Chakra efficiency was not high, that did not mean his Mental Energy was weak. In the original work, there were only a few people in Konoha whose mental strength could compare with his.

Second, his taijutsu movement speed was simply too fast. In comparison, Mental Energy traveled much more slowly, greatly increasing the difficulty of hitting him. Other Jonin did not possess taijutsu as powerful as his.

Finally, he also had the Eight Gates at his disposal. If he realized that he had fallen under genjutsu, he could activate the Eight Gates and use its berserk Chakra to disperse the Mental Energy.

As for ordinary genjutsu, because it was a covering attack, its effect was weakest immediately after one was caught in it, which was also when it was easiest to directly interrupt.

If too much time passed without interrupting it, your ability to act would continuously decline. The enemy could steadily reinforce the Mental Energy channel they had established, until you were completely controlled by the genjutsu.

The two chapters mainly discussed the most conventional principles of genjutsu. The ninja world was so vast, and the secret techniques of every village and clan differed, so there would certainly be many different forms.

Moreover, the original work did not spend much time introducing genjutsu, and many battle scenes were glossed over in just a few panels. It is impossible to explain every single scenario perfectly. This is merely the author's best effort to fill in the gaps after considering many factors, so please do not dwell on minor discrepancies from the original work. Please spare me!