Who is the Strongest? A Method to Strengthen Illusion Resistance

"--Rasengan!"

Another round of the Survival Exercise.

Using the dust cloud kicked up by Uzumaki Kushina's Wind Style as cover, Gojo Yoru threw several kunai at Orochimaru.

Though a bit blurry, Orochimaru easily dodged the kunai's assault.

The next second, his pupils contracted sharply.

Gojo Yoru's figure had appeared before Orochimaru without warning, a blue-white energy sphere resting in his hand, stopped just a few centimeters from his stomach.

For the first time, Orochimaru broke out in a cold sweat.

At the same time, his eyes were full of surprise as he said, "You've learned the Flying Thunder God Technique?"

"Actually, I already mastered that technique the day we returned." Gojo Yoru chuckled lightly, then vanished using the Flying Thunder God Technique, pressing the Rasengan into a large tree and instantly snapping it in half.

Watching the tree fall and dust fly, Orochimaru felt a rare pang of envy, murmuring, "So this is the Flying Thunder God Technique? No wonder Teacher Sarutobi was so eager to see this technique revived. It's truly terrifying."

When Orochimaru was young, neither the First Hokage nor the Second Hokage had died yet.

But by the time he could stand on his own, Konoha had already entered the era of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He had never seen either Wood Style or the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Experiencing the power of the Flying Thunder God Technique for the first time, Orochimaru finally grasped the strength of space-time and understood why Tokiya hadn't even had time to react before being torn to pieces.

Because he knew Gojo Yoru wanted to hide his Space-Time Bloodline, he wouldn't use space-time power in the Survival Exercise, so Orochimaru had been a bit careless earlier, never noticing anything off about the kunai.

If Gojo Yoru had pressed the Rasengan forward just now, even Orochimaru wouldn't have been able to react.

That kind of sudden, unpredictable flash, combined with a ninjutsu without hand seals that had almost no startup, was a nightmare for any enemy.

And Orochimaru knew Gojo Yoru had an even stronger move, Dimensional Slash, which was the killing technique that best complemented the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Anyone who didn't have prior intel on this would be dead for sure if they faced Gojo Yoru's combo.

Gojo Yoru returned to Orochimaru's side and asked with a smile, "Teacher Orochimaru, how did I do this time? I hope I didn't disappoint you."

"Far from disappointing—when it comes to combat, there's nothing left for me to teach you." Orochimaru laughed. "From now on, your fighting style and tactics can revolve around the Flying Thunder God Technique. Whether it's the Flying Thunder God Technique paired with the Rasengan, or with a Chakra Blade, or even with Fuinjutsu... it'll make enemies unable to defend themselves!"

"There's still a lot I need to learn from you, Teacher Orochimaru." Gojo Yoru said humbly with a smile.

"Of course, I still have plenty to teach you." Orochimaru smiled. "Though your trump card and the Flying Thunder God Technique are incredibly powerful, and in a life-or-death battle, you can catch anyone off guard who doesn't know your intel. But if someone manages to escape, your information will spread across the entire ninja world at lightning speed."

"When that happens, it won't be so easy for you to achieve the kind of instant kills you did in the Land of Rain."

"They'll quickly find your weaknesses and counter you, and once they strike, they'll be fully prepared."

"Your chakra isn't strong enough yet to break free from powerful genjutsu instantly. And strong genjutsu users can use all sorts of unbelievable methods to trap you in a world of illusion without you even realizing it. For example, the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan—just one look can pull you into an illusion world, even making you think you've already dispelled the genjutsu."

"Moreover, that clan's eyes can also use the Sharingan to perform techniques like the Binding Spell, which immobilizes you, equally hard to defend against."

"Like the Phantom Rain you faced before—he could cast genjutsu through rain and the sound of raindrops."

"Your attacks have to be close-range to be lethal, and being close often gives the enemy a chance for a fatal blow. So genjutsu is a weakness you need to strengthen as soon as possible."

Hearing this, Gojo Yoru immediately asked humbly, "Teacher Orochimaru, what do you suggest?"

Uzumaki Kushina, who had come to stand beside Gojo Yoru, quietly refrained from interrupting.

"To strengthen your resistance to genjutsu, you first need to understand the principle of genjutsu."

Orochimaru led Gojo Yoru and Uzumaki Kushina to sit under a tree and began lecturing them, speaking slowly, "Genjutsu is a technique that uses Yin Release Chakra. Its effect is to manipulate the chakra flow in the enemy's brain nerves, thereby achieving mental attacks, constructing illusions, confusion, hypnosis, and so on..."

"However, no matter what type of genjutsu, it must infiltrate the enemy's brain through the five senses using intangible Yin Release Chakra."

"So genjutsu generally only comes in five types: visual, olfactory, auditory, gustatory, and tactile."

"If someone could seal off their five senses, they could basically be immune to all mainstream genjutsu, but that's obviously impossible."

"So the only way to counter genjutsu is to disrupt the chakra inside your own body, making it impossible for the genjutsu user to control the chakra in your brain nerves."

At this point, Orochimaru suddenly changed the subject and asked, "Do you know who is the strongest in the ninja world right now?"

"Uh, isn't the Hokage the strongest?" Uzumaki Kushina said blankly.

Even living overseas, she knew the Land of Fire and Konoha were the strongest country and village in the ninja world, and as the leader of the strongest village, the Hokage should be the strongest.

"The Hokage is indeed the strongest, but in terms of ninjutsu." Orochimaru smiled. "Right now, no one in the entire ninja world understands and applies the Five Element Ninjutsu better than the Hokage."

"But in terms of personal strength, the Hokage isn't the strongest."

Orochimaru began to educate them: "In this era, there are six individuals standing at the pinnacle of the ninja world: the current Five Kage and Hanzo of the Salamander from Amegakure."

"Among them, four are acknowledged as the strongest."

"They are the Hokage, strongest in Five Element Ninjutsu; Hanzo of the Salamander, strongest in strategic deterrence; the Third Tsuchikage, strongest in aerial threat; and the Third Raikage, strongest in personal ability..."

Orochimaru said softly, "The Hokage masters the Nature Transformation of the Five Elements and can fuse them into compound ninjutsu to release, which is incredibly powerful. Hanzo of the Salamander's Summoned Beast, the Salamander, has the most terrifying poison ability in the ninja world, and combined with Hanzo's strength, one man and one beast can fight an entire country alone. The Third Tsuchikage wields the Kekkei Tōta Release, formed from three Nature Transformations, which can break anything it touches down to atomic particles, and he can fly using Iwagakure's Earth Style-Weight Rock Technique, making him unbeatable in aerial combat."

"But in terms of personal ability, only the Third Raikage is called the strongest. Do you know why?"

Uzumaki Kushina shook her head blankly.

Gojo Yoru, however, grasped Orochimaru's meaning, his eyes lighting up as he said, "Teacher Orochimaru, you mean... Lightning Release?"

"Correct." Orochimaru nodded with a smile. "The Third Raikage is incredibly strong, known as the man with the strongest offense, defense, and speed. Rumor has it he can fight the Eight-Tails to a draw, no ninjutsu can break his defense, and even genjutsu is useless against him."

"Such a powerful man has no Kekkei Genkai, no Kekkei Tōta, and doesn't even need a Summoned Beast. He only excels in Kumogakure's Lightning Release Taijutsu."

"You don't need to train Lightning Release to his level. You just need to master it, using Lightning Release chakra to keep the chakra in your body constantly disrupted, which will enhance your resistance to genjutsu and further boost your speed."

Pointing at Gojo Yoru, Orochimaru said, "So your next step is to train in Lightning Release Nature Transformation."