Genjutsu trial

Three days passed in a flash.

On the training ground, Ryuto let out a long breath, and the pale golden light enveloping his head slowly receded.

"Got it." He rubbed his slightly swollen temples. "I can form the ki membrane instantly and maintain it for about... five minutes. Any longer, and my head hurts like it's been slammed in a door, and my ki runs dry."

Rena Uzumaki clapped beside him. "That's amazing, Mr. Ryuto! Three days ago, your head still looked like a lantern!"

Ryuto's lips twitched. What a vivid comparison.

Footsteps came from outside the training ground.

Mito Uzumaki strode in, her red hair tied in a neat ponytail, her expression more serious than usual.

"Ryuto, Rena, get ready to leave," she said succinctly. "Traces of an Uchiha squad have been found in Patrol Zone Seven to the north. Four or five people, approaching our supply line."

Rena immediately straightened. "Yes!"

Ryuto rolled his shoulders. "My second time?"

"Yes." Mito looked at him. "As agreed. And according to the vague intelligence from the front, this squad may include an Uchiha who specializes in genjutsu."

Ryuto's gaze sharpened.

Genjutsu.

Just in time.

"Let's go." He wasted no words.

The three wasted little time, leaving the Uzumaki compound and plunging into the northern mountain forests.

On the way, Mito briefly explained the situation. "Zone Seven has complicated terrain, with plenty of caves and piles of broken rock, ideal for ambushes and surprise attacks. Our mission is to drive off or eliminate this squad and secure the supply line. If they have a jonin, focus on keeping them occupied and calling for backup. Don't fight them head-on."

Ryuto nodded, his ki perception already sweeping outward like radar.

About twenty minutes later, he suddenly raised a hand.

Mito and Rena immediately stopped and took cover behind a rock.

"Ahead, about three hundred meters, at a cave entrance," Ryuto said quietly. "Four people. Their chakra fluctuations... three moderate, one stronger. That should be the genjutsu specialist."

Mito gave Ryuto a slightly surprised look. "Your sensory range is that wide?"

"Practice." Ryuto offered no further explanation. "How do we fight?"

"Rena, circle around the flank. Use sealing jutsu to interfere and cause confusion." Mito quickly assigned their roles. "Ryuto, draw their fire from the front, especially that genjutsu ninja. I'll find an opening to move in and take out the greatest threat first."

"Understood."

"Move!"

Like an agile cat, Rena slipped silently off to the side.

Ryuto simply strode out, making no attempt to conceal himself as he approached the cave entrance.

"Hey, you in there. Come out and have a chat." His voice wasn't loud, but it rang particularly clearly through the quiet mountain forest.

The cave fell silent instantly, then four figures flashed out.

They all wore dark, high-collared clan uniforms, with the fan-shaped clan crest on their backs.

Uchiha, just as expected.

Their leader was a man who looked about thirty, with a sinister gaze. The other three were younger and spread out in a fan formation.

"Uzumaki reinforcements? Just one?" The sinister man sized Ryuto up and sneered. "And an unfamiliar face at that. Have the Uzumaki run out of people?"

Ryuto ignored him, his gaze settling on an Uchiha standing to the side who hadn't spoken.

The man was rather thin and kept his eyes half closed, but Ryuto's ki perception could clearly "see" that his chakra circulated in a peculiar way, mostly concentrated in his head and eyes.

A genjutsu ninja.

"Kid, where are you looking?" The sinister man grew irritated. "I'm talking to you-"

Before he could finish, several golden chakra chains suddenly flew in from the side, shooting straight at the two young Uchiha behind him!

"Sealing Jutsu: Adamantine Sealing Chains!" Rena's voice rang out.

"An ambush!" The sinister man reacted extremely quickly, leaping backward as his hands formed hand seals. "Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!"

A fireball shot toward the direction the chains had come from.

But the chains turned nimbly in midair and still wrapped around one young Uchiha's ankle.

"Release!" The Uchiha hurriedly formed hand seals to break free.

Amid the chaos, the thin Uchiha moved.

His eyes snapped open.

In his scarlet Sharingan, three tomoe slowly revolved as he locked directly onto Ryuto standing in front of him.

"Genjutsu: Sharingan!"

No hand seals. No windup.

Ryuto felt a cold, savage surge of chakra stab viciously toward his brain like an awl!

Here it comes!

With a thought, the ki he had prepared surged instantly toward his head, wrapping it evenly.

Buzzz-

The invading chakra struck the ki membrane with a dull impact only Ryuto could sense.

Blocked it!

The scene before him did not distort. There were no hallucinations, only the Uchiha's slightly startled face.

"What?" The thin Uchiha froze briefly. "It didn't work?"

The sinister man noticed too. "Huan, what's going on?"

"He... he blocked it!" The Uchiha called Huan gritted his teeth, his Sharingan spinning faster. "Let's see how long you can keep that up!"

An even larger, more concentrated surge of chakra struck again!

This time, it wasn't an awl but something like a heavy hammer, pounding relentlessly against the ki membrane around Ryuto's head.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Ryuto felt dazed. The ki membrane shook violently, and fine, spiderweb-like cracks even appeared across it!

His rate of consumption soared!

"Mr. Ryuto!" Rena could see clearly from the flank. Anxious, she wanted to rush over and help, but another Uchiha ninja kept her occupied.

Mito appeared like a phantom behind the sinister man, the kunai in her hand stabbing straight toward his heart from behind.

The sinister man narrowly dodged and countered with a series of Uchiha-style shurikenjutsu moves, forcing Mito to retreat temporarily.

The battlefield had been divided.

On Ryuto's side, it had become a one-on-one confrontation with the genjutsu Uchiha.

"Let's see how long you can hold out!" Sweat appeared on the genjutsu Uchiha's forehead. His Sharingan remained fixed on Ryuto, sending out wave after wave of genjutsu chakra without pause.

The cracks in the ki membrane were widening.

Ryuto calculated his consumption. At this rate, the membrane would shatter in ten seconds at most.

Ten seconds.

Enough.

He pushed off the ground, pouring ki into his legs, and shot straight at his opponent as a pale golden afterimage!

"So fast!" The genjutsu Uchiha was startled, but he didn't panic. Instead, he sneered. "Want to get close? Can you even move? Freeze!"

The tomoe in his eyes spun wildly as he pushed his genjutsu output to its maximum!

Ryuto's charging figure abruptly faltered.

He hadn't been immobilized. The violent impact on his brain had thrown his coordination off balance for an instant, distorting his movements.

More cracks appeared in the ki membrane. It was on the verge of collapse.

But by the time he faltered, Ryuto had already closed to within five meters of his opponent!

This distance is enough!

"Ki Blast!"

He brought his hands together at his waist. A fist-sized golden ball of light formed instantly, and he thrust it straight forward!

It wasn't a major attack, but a small, instantaneous ki blast made for speed!

The ball of light was too fast. The genjutsu Uchiha had no time to form hand seals to defend himself and could only dive clumsily to the side.

Boom!

The ball struck where he had just been standing, blasting a shallow crater and sending broken stones flying.

The genjutsu was interrupted.

The pressure on Ryuto's head eased. Seizing that brief opening, he repaired the ki membrane with all his strength while already closing in like a shadow!

The genjutsu Uchiha had just scrambled up when he saw a fist covered in pale golden light growing larger before his eyes.

Bang!

The solid punch smashed into the bridge of his nose.

He flew backward and hit the ground hard. Even his Sharingan rolled back as he lost consciousness outright.

"Huan!" The sinister man's eyes reddened at the sight. "You're asking to die!"

He tried to rush over, but Mito's sealing chains held him fast.

"Your opponent is me," Mito said coldly, tightening the chains.

Of the other two young Uchiha, one was trapped by Rena's sealing jutsu. Ryuto turned and kicked the other in the stomach, sending him to his knees, dry-heaving.

The battle was over.

From beginning to end, less than two minutes had passed.

Ryuto dismissed the ki membrane around his head and shook his head, only to be hit by intense dizziness and a feeling of emptiness.

He had consumed nearly seventy percent of his ki, most of it maintaining and repairing that membrane.

This thing really burns through mana.

"Mr. Ryuto! Are you all right?" Rena ran over, her face full of concern.

"I'm fine. Just a little dizzy." Ryuto waved a hand.

Mito walked over, glanced at the unconscious genjutsu Uchiha on the ground, then looked at Ryuto. "You blocked his Sharingan genjutsu."

"I did, but barely," Ryuto said honestly. "That layer of ki protection was almost smashed through. And it consumes too much. I can't sustain it."

"But the idea is right." Mito crouched to check the unconscious Uchiha's condition. "You used your 'ki' to form an insulating layer, blocking direct chakra intrusion. But Uchiha genjutsu carries intense mental pressure. Your ki layer can block the chakra, but not the interference caused by that pressure. That's why your movements lost their balance."

She stood and looked at Ryuto. "It needs improvement. Either make the ki layer thicker and tougher, or... find a way to block out that mental influence as well."

Ryuto nodded. "I'll practice more when we get back."

Bound tightly in chains, the sinister man glared viciously at Ryuto. "You... who exactly are you? Why can you block the Sharingan's genjutsu?"

Ryuto ignored him.

Mito told Rena, "Send a signal. Have the patrol come take them away and escort them back to the compound for interrogation."

"Yes!"

Rena went to send the signal.

Mito approached Ryuto and lowered her voice. "We can't hide the fact that you blocked Sharingan genjutsu. They'll definitely report it when they return."

Ryuto was unconcerned. "It was bound to happen."

"The Uchiha Clan has absolute confidence in its genjutsu," Mito said gravely. "Your ability has torn a hole in the field they take the greatest pride in. They'll set their sights on you, and they'll try every possible means to overcome it, or... eliminate you before you grow stronger."

"Then let them come." Ryuto looked toward the rolling mountains in the distance. "I'll be waiting."

A little later, the Uzumaki patrol arrived and took the four prisoners away.

On the way back, Rena seemed delighted. "Mr. Ryuto, you really did it! What I taught you worked!"

"It did. Thanks to you." Ryuto smiled.

"But Mito's right. You have to keep practicing until you can block it easily!" Rena clenched her fist.

Mito walked ahead without speaking, but she knew full well.

News of today's battle would soon travel like the wind to the ears of those who needed to hear it.

In a room in the Uchiha Clan Compound.

"What did you say?" a low voice asked. "The Huan Squad failed? All four were captured?"

"Y-yes. And according to the perimeter observer who escaped..." The person reporting sounded a little shaky. "That reinforcement from the Uzumaki Clan, that unusual taijutsu ninja, he... he blocked Huan's Sharingan genjutsu head-on without being affected at all, then closed in and defeated Huan."

The room fell silent for several seconds.

Then came a soft crack, as though a teacup had been crushed.

"He blocked Sharingan genjutsu... interesting." A cold interest seeped into the low voice. "Pass down the order. Gather all intelligence on this man. Especially information about that golden energy of his."

"And tell those on the front lines that the next time they encounter him... their priority is to test the limits of his genjutsu resistance."

"I want to know exactly how much he can block."