The Powerful Effects of Genjutsu

Suddenly, heaven and earth shifted. Everything here shattered like cracked glass, breaking into fragments with a clatter.

Once the entire world seemed to have shattered, the real world finally appeared before them.

What poisoning while eating?

What Izumi being poisoned to death first, with Yunyan about to be poisoned as well?

What Root ninja appearing to gouge out Izumi's eyes?

All of that was fake. Everything that had happened within the genjutsu was Yunyan deceiving those two Root ninja from beginning to end.

The genjutsu was dispelled, and reality was...

It was still early evening. The sun had yet to touch the horizon. Izumi had only just begun cooking in the kitchen, while Yunyan still sat outside.

Except... there were now two uninvited guests in the courtyard.

The two elite Root jonin broke free from the genjutsu and abruptly came to their senses, staring at everything around them in horror!

What had happened!? Hadn't they already succeeded? How had everything suddenly changed?

Could it... have been genjutsu!?

Realizing that they had somehow ended up in this courtyard, the two Root ninja were terrified out of their wits!

That was right! They had definitely fallen under genjutsu!? Everything that had just happened, including their success, had been fake!?

They had actually both been trapped in a genjutsu without realizing it from start to finish!

If the person who created this genjutsu had not taken the initiative to release it, they would probably still be trapped inside, never noticing that anything was wrong!

Terrifying. Such mastery of genjutsu was terrifying!

The one capable of doing all this could not have been anyone else. It was probably...

Having understood this, the two dazed Root ninja looked in terror at the person seated beneath the eaves.

Yunyan was still sitting there, not having shifted his butt even half an inch from beginning to end.

His expression was somewhat displeased. As though he did not care about these two insignificant Root trash at all, he shook his head in frustration.

"What kind of third-rate tragic lovers plot was that? I must have something wrong with my head to create that in a genjutsu."

Wasn't that so? What had happened in the genjutsu just now had put Yunyan in a terrible mood.

And though he said that, though he cursed it as a third-rate plot, Yunyan knew in his heart:

The genjutsu he had used was actually just a perfectly normal illusion. It had merely confused and deceived the two Root ninja.

Other than that, Yunyan himself had not added any further influence. Everything within the genjutsu had unfolded as it naturally should have.

In other words, if Yunyan had not noticed something was wrong beforehand, if he and Izumi had truly fallen for it and been poisoned, events really would have developed exactly as they had in the genjutsu!

To put it even more plainly, after Izumi died, the Root ninja really would have gouged out her eyes.

And after Yunyan died, his fate would likely have been the same.

Thinking of that, Yunyan's mood grew even fouler. He raised his head with an ugly expression and looked at the two Root ninja standing rigidly in the courtyard.

Those bastards had actually dared to make a move against him and Izumi. Not even in a genjutsu was that acceptable.

Sensing Yunyan's hostile gaze, the two Root ninja were seized by terror. Instinctively, they wanted to use the Body Flicker Technique to flee, immediately escaping in two different directions!

Unfortunately, after shuddering violently, they suddenly discovered in horror that their bodies were beyond their control. They remained frozen in place!

That was right. The two Root ninja could not even control their own bodies. Gritting their teeth and trembling with fear, they strained and struggled with all their might!

"Damn it! What is going on? Why can't I move my body?"

"Could it be... we're still trapped in genjutsu!?"

Yunyan calmly rose to his feet and looked coldly at the two Root ninja.

Perhaps to let them understand their deaths a little better, Yunyan kindly explained:

"In a sense, yes. You two are indeed still within my genjutsu.

"However, your consciousness and minds are awake. I released you from the genjutsu, but your bodies are still under its control. That is why neither of you can control your own body."

Upon hearing that explanation, the two Root ninja were utterly stunned.

He could actually... do something like that!

They were both elite jonin. Just how powerful was Uchiha Yunyan's genjutsu, for him to be capable of this?

The two Root ninja grew increasingly despairing. No matter how they struggled, they could not break free or dispel the genjutsu controlling their bodies. Their futures truly seemed utterly bleak!

At that moment, Yunyan, now on his feet, finally made his move.

He first looked at one of the Root ninja—the one who had not uttered a word throughout the genjutsu and had ultimately obeyed the order to gouge out Izumi's eyes.

"You dared to lay a hand on Izumi. That is unforgivable.

"Since that is the case, you can go first."

As he spoke, scarlet flashed in Yunyan's eyes, and the Three-Tomoe Sharingan appeared.

As his Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun, a phantom Three-Tomoe Sharingan enveloped that Root ninja as well. The Root ninja was subjected to an even deeper genjutsu!

And the result of that influence was...

Amid the Root ninja's incredulous and terrified cries, his body... actually began moving beyond his control!

"What... is this... what is happening!?"

In his utter terror and confusion, and under the horrified peripheral gaze of the Root ninja beside him, the man raised his hands and tightly gripped both sides of his own head.

Then, those hands slowly began to twist, wrenching his own head.

Realizing what was happening and what was about to happen, the Root ninja cried out in terror:

"No! No! No!"

Unfortunately, no matter how he struggled, his body did not obey him. His hands continued slowly wrenching his head.

The Root ninja's head was forced to turn as well, twisting on his neck to thirty degrees, sixty degrees, ninety degrees, and even beyond ninety degrees...

There was a question: how far could a human head turn at most?

It seemed that for an ordinary person, ninety degrees was the limit.

Those with the gaze of a hawk and wolf were said to be able to turn their heads one hundred and eighty degrees—their bodies facing forward while their heads turned directly behind them—but that seemed to be only a legend.

Generally speaking, once a person's head turned beyond ninety degrees, that was the limit. Twisting it any further would make the cervical vertebrae unable to bear the strain...

And sure enough, as the Root ninja continued wrenching, his neck finally reached that breaking point.

Accompanied by the Root ninja's desperate screams, his head had twisted beyond ninety degrees. He was in such immense pain that he could no longer even cry out!

What was more, he was being forced to twist his own neck. It was not snapped in one swift motion, not a quick and merciful end, but slowly, gradually, letting him thoroughly experience the pain.

Who told him to actually make a move in the genjutsu?

Under the horrified peripheral gaze of the Root ninja beside him, the other Root ninja finally used both hands to twist his own head... to nearly one hundred and eighty degrees.

This was finally the limit. He had finally reached the limit!

Crack! Crack! Crack! The Root ninja's cervical vertebrae finally shattered.

The light in his eyes... finally went out in extreme pain and unwillingness.

As for his breath, it seemed to have vanished long ago when his windpipe twisted shut.

The Root ninja's neck had been slowly, gradually, agonizingly... twisted apart by his own hands.

Having done all this, Yunyan nodded in satisfaction and dispelled the genjutsu cast upon that Root ninja.

The moment the genjutsu was released, the Root ninja's corpse collapsed limply into the dust.

Then Yunyan finally looked toward the remaining Root ninja, who was already nearly scared out of his mind.

This Root ninja appeared to be the superior among them. In the earlier genjutsu, he had been the only one speaking, and he was the one who had ordered the other Root ninja to gouge out Izumi's eyes.

Looking at the man as though he were livestock awaiting slaughter, Yunyan quietly began to consider.

How should he deal with him?

Just as Yunyan was still thinking, just as the remaining Root ninja was drowning in despair and terror, someone stepped forward to stop him.

A black shadow flashed, and Kakashi descended from above. He stood between Yunyan and the Root ninja, facing Yunyan directly with an extremely solemn expression.