Breaking Genjutsu by Force

"Then I'm counting on you!"

Kazan asked his Shadow Clones to repair the damaged house.

"Yeah, yeah, we know!"

"We really are a handful."

"Why didn't we study harder in our last life? We could've been brilliant engineers!"

"We're not doing too badly. At least we can work in renovations."

The Shadow Clones stood around making fun of themselves.

Kazan rolled his eyes and went back inside Shinku Yuhi's house.

Meanwhile,

Kurenai Yuhi was grilling meat with her mother.

"Kazan, you're back. The meat will take a while, so sit tight. If you're hungry, I have some snacks here."

They were dried persimmons. Kazan really was hungry, so he opened the packet and tipped the whole lot into his mouth.

His cheeks bulged like a hamster's.

How the hell can he eat that much?

And Kurenai! Your dad bought those for you and your mother!

His precious little girl was already taking someone else's side.

"Ahem. Let's begin. Kurenai, you can listen too."

Seventy percent of Shinku Yuhi's skill lay in Genjutsu. Sooner or later, he would teach his techniques to his daughter.

"Okay!"

Once they were ready, Shinku Yuhi began. "Before we start, I want to know how much you understand about Genjutsu."

"It's a kind of Ninjutsu that interferes with an opponent's senses to create illusions. By manipulating the flow of Chakra through their nerves, it attacks the mind."

Kazan had always studied Genjutsu diligently.

"Good. That's how Genjutsu works. But you also need to understand how it reaches its target."

Sight, sound, touch...

Among known techniques, those were the three main means.

"Take the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan. Their Kekkei Genkai draws opponents into Genjutsu through sight without them even realizing it."

"According to rumor, Madara Uchiha needed only one glance to trap an opponent in a deep illusion."

"If you encounter someone like that, your only option is to avoid eye contact. But the Uchiha are a Shinobi Clan of Konoha, so we don't need to worry about that."

"Sound works rather like a lullaby. I once had the good fortune to speak with Lord Jiraiya. Mount Myōboku, one of the Three Great Sage Lands, has a Genjutsu transmitted through sound that's almost impossible to guard against..."

At that point, Kurenai raised her hand.

"Kurenai, do you have a question?"

"What should we do if we encounter Genjutsu transmitted through sound?"

"Good question."

Shinku wasn't sure what was so good about it, but praising her couldn't hurt.

"There are only two ways to avoid being caught by sound-based Genjutsu. The first is to shut out sound completely."

"How could anyone do that...?"

"Exactly. Ordinary Ninja can't shut out their hearing. That leaves the second way: defeat your opponent quickly, before they complete the Genjutsu."

Genjutsu transmitted through sound had one obvious weakness.

It took time!

Most techniques of that kind used music or other sounds to draw their targets, little by little, into a hypnotic state.

"Of course, the technique I mentioned is a Secret Technique of the masters of Mount Myōboku. Against ordinary Genjutsu, we can fight back by disrupting the flow of our own Chakra. That's also how to break most Genjutsu."

"What about touch-based Genjutsu?"

"Touch-based... To be honest, I've only heard of that kind of Genjutsu. I've never seen it myself."

On that subject, Kazan knew more than Shinku Yuhi.

The Uchiha's ultimate Genjutsu, Izanami, was touch-based.

The user repeatedly made physical contact while recording the opponent's actions, then trapped the enemy in an endless loop.

"That covers Genjutsu in broad terms. We don't have much time, Kazan, so get ready."

With the Chunin Ninja Exams approaching, Shinku Yuhi had little time to train Kazan.

He intended to teach Kazan how to face Genjutsu in the simplest, roughest way possible.

He would cast Genjutsu on Kazan and let him experience it firsthand.

"Get ready, Kazan!"

Genjutsu: Falling Cherry Blossom Mirage Technique!

He told Kazan to get ready, but gave him no time to prepare.

The moment the words left his mouth, Shinku Yuhi cast the Genjutsu.

In an instant, Kazan sensed danger. Before he could think about what was happening, his mind grew hazy.

He vaguely heard Shinku Yuhi telling him to disrupt his Chakra and break the Genjutsu.

Kazan did as he was told.

Outside the illusion, Shinku Yuhi watched Kazan fall asleep and nodded to himself.

Now he needs to try breaking the Genjutsu.

He hadn't put Kazan into too deep a sleep. This was a lesson, not a fight.

Still, Shinku Yuhi had cast it himself, and that made it a powerful technique.

He figured it would take Kazan a while to get the hang of it. At worst, Kazan wouldn't find a way out, and Shinku would have to release him personally.

The next second...

Shinku Yuhi's pupils contracted sharply. He sensed a vast amount of Chakra building inside Kazan, ready to erupt at any moment.

"Kurenai, get away from Kazan!"

Too late!

Shinku Yuhi's teaching method was simple and brutal. Kazan's approach to learning was even simpler and more brutal.

Rather than carefully disrupting his Chakra to break the Genjutsu, he sent it rampaging through his body, blasting Kurenai Yuhi's technique apart in one burst.

Boom!

Chakra erupted like a volcano, shaking the area around him. It caught Kurenai Yuhi and hurled her through the air.

Shinku Yuhi dashed forward and caught his daughter.

Crack!

Beneath Kazan's feet, the stone path in the courtyard shattered.

"How is that possible? That much Chakra..."

Shinku could hardly believe it. Even as a Jonin, he couldn't match Kazan's reserves.

"Phew."

Kazan opened his eyes and found Shinku Yuhi staring at him as if he'd seen a ghost.

"What's wrong? Did I scare you by breaking the Genjutsu too quickly?" Kazan asked, looking rather pleased with himself.

Shinku Yuhi froze, then snapped in fury. "You idiot!"

He was genuinely angry.

It wasn't just that his daughter had been blown away and nearly hurt. Kazan's way of breaking the Genjutsu had been far too reckless.

"Do you have any idea what you just did?"

Unleashing a burst of Chakra to smash through an opponent's Genjutsu was simple and convenient, but almost no one in the world did it.

Why?

Because a human body couldn't withstand Chakra erupting inside it. The damage could be severe.

Once or twice might be fine, but repeated use would cause permanent harm.