The Conception of Illusions—Eighteen Levels of Hell

As a family specializing in genjutsu, the Kurama Clan keeps records of all the ninjutsu found within Konoha.

Although the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique is a ninjutsu from the Scroll of Seals and the Kurama Clan is unfamiliar with its specific hand seals, they are by no means strangers to the technique itself.

After a brief moment of surprise, Kurama Dequn realized he had been caught in the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique. He quickly shut off his vision and dispelled the genjutsu's control.

At that exact moment, Ye Ning opened his eyes.

The instant Kurama Dequn entered the dark space, Ye Ning realized his genjutsu had taken effect on his "teacher," and he could only offer an awkward smile.

Fortunately, Kurama Dequn knew Ye Ning's identity and didn't mind. He waved his hand, his expression turning serious:

"Your talent for genjutsu far exceeds my expectations. To be able to cast an A-rank genjutsu the first time you sense spiritual energy is a rare gift indeed. But I have a piece of advice for you."

"Never attempt to play with genjutsu in front of someone more powerful than you, or you will find yourself tasting the might of your own technique!"

Kurama Dequn looked grave:

"Casting genjutsu against someone with greater mastery often leads to the technique being rebounded onto yourself. Furthermore, for those with higher attainments in genjutsu, dispelling it is incredibly easy. Simply blocking the senses you are manipulating is enough to break the spell, just like the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique moments ago. It is only because of the gap in our proficiency that I could dispel it so effortlessly."

Hearing this, Ye Ning nodded thoughtfully.

It certainly seemed to be the case.

In the original story, after the Konoha Crush, Uchiha Clan member Itachi returned to Konoha and encountered Yuhi Kurenai. Although Yuhi Kurenai cast the Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death on him, it was easily rebounded by Itachi, who ended up binding Yuhi Kurenai to the tree instead.

When facing an enemy whose genjutsu mastery far surpasses one's own, casting such techniques is undoubtedly a foolish endeavor.

"Of course, saying this doesn't mean I want you to be timid or afraid to use genjutsu in battle."

"In reality, battles between genjutsu users are a game of strategy. Using a lethal genjutsu right from the start makes it easy to fall into the predicament I just described. Usually, one should first cast a subtle genjutsu to test the enemy's depth and gauge their proficiency, allowing for more effective use of genjutsu to defend against them."

At this point, Kurama Dequn suddenly curled his lips into a confident smile, "Of course, if you are extremely confident in your own genjutsu, you can ignore everything I just said."

"..."

So, you just talked for nothing?

Seeming to notice the strange expression on Ye Ning's face, Kurama Dequn scratched his head and laughed sheepishly:

"I'm just reminding you not to be blindly confident. Especially when facing ninjas from the Uchiha Clan, never overestimate your own genjutsu proficiency, or you might just be asking for trouble."

"So, why would I have to face a ninja from the Uchiha Clan? Isn't the Uchiha Clan a family of Konoha?"

Ye Ning's retort left Kurama Dequn completely stunned.

"Cough, cough, I was just using an analogy."

"Why must you use the Uchiha Clan as an example for your analogy?"

"..."

Are you looking for a fight?

I was just giving an example, is it really necessary to call me out like that!

Kurama Dequn was at a loss for words, so he simply changed the subject, "This scroll records some very common genjutsu, including techniques to rebound an enemy's genjutsu. Just practice them diligently."

Opening the scroll, a long list of genjutsu immediately came into view.

Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique, Demonic Illusion: Fox-Mind Technique, Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death, Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique, Temple of Nirvana Technique...

From D-rank ninjutsu all the way up to A-rank, everything was there.

Ye Ning paused, then straightened his expression and said sincerely, "Thank you."

Even without this scroll, he would have wanted to thank Kurama Dequn properly.

Although Tsunade was the one who invited him, he still had to maintain proper etiquette.

After all, what the man was teaching him was genuine, practical knowledge.

Moreover, besides these genjutsu, he did indeed have other questions he wanted to understand.

"If casting these genjutsu requires visualization in the mind, does creating one's own genjutsu also require such mental imagery?"

Creating one's own genjutsu?

Kurama Dequn was taken aback.

In all his years as a Jonin, he had taught many disciples in the clan, but this was the first time he had heard someone express a desire to create their own genjutsu.

"The difficulty of creating a genjutsu is no less than that of creating a ninjutsu. The effort and complexity involved are unimaginable. By learning from the genjutsu recorded in the scroll, your visualization process is much simpler. But to create a genjutsu, you must conceive it from scratch. Furthermore, you cannot guarantee how powerful your self-created technique will be."

Kurama Dequn expressed his thoughts quite tactfully.

Why bother?

Spending a vast amount of time and energy to create a genjutsu that might end up being less powerful than standard ones would be a waste of time and effort.

It was no surprise that Kurama Dequn felt this way.

Creating a genjutsu is different from creating a ninjutsu.

The power of a ninjutsu can be predicted.

Before development, one already has a preliminary expectation and judgment of the entire technique's power.

But genjutsu is not like that at all.

Because spiritual energy is such an esoteric and mysterious Yin power, it is difficult to foresee the true potency of a genjutsu developed solely from one's own imagination.

The records of Konoha genjutsu held by the Kurama Clan have not seen a new addition in a very long time.

It is not as if no one has attempted it during this period.

But the final results were either failure, or the power of the created genjutsu was simply not significant enough to be recorded.

However, Ye Ning does not think so.

In his mind, he already has a blueprint for a self-created genjutsu.

He intends to emulate the ocular jutsu Tsukuyomi of Uchiha Itachi to create a genjutsu space of his own.

He names it—Eighteen Levels of Hell!

Every level within the Eighteen Levels of Hell is a brutal torment that manipulates the five senses.

He does not even need to conceptualize it; he only needs to construct the Eighteen Levels of Hell in his mind and copy over the tortures from each level, and that will be enough.

The only difficulty lies in the fact that his spiritual energy must be even more powerful.

Seeing the expression on Ye Ning's face, Kurama Izumo knows that he cannot dissuade him, but he does not offer any discouraging words either.

After all, it is a good thing for a young person to have drive.

Moreover, with Ye Ning's exceptional talent for genjutsu, it is not impossible for him to create a powerful genjutsu of his own.

"It seems you have made up your mind. In that case, I shall await your good news."