Teacher, Please Believe Me! I Really Didn't Mean to Hypnotize You

Sometimes, Uchiha Yuan felt that the ability to learn at high speed was nowhere near as convenient as he had imagined.

After perfectly mastering "Phantom Lotus Kill," he had no choice but to slowly recall every detail involved in learning this Combination Genjutsu.

Fortunately, Kurama Shion had not been tasked by Orochimaru with supervising his training progress.

As long as Uchiha Yuan did not demonstrate it in front of her, this substitute teacher had no idea just how gifted her student truly was.

Days passed one after another. Kurama Shion, Mitarashi Anko, and Hyuga Ryo took turns guarding him day and night.

Yet Uchiha Yuan could only tediously repeat his training routine.

During his free time, Uchiha Yuan suddenly came to a realization.

If he cast "Spiritualisation Technique" and "Phantom Lotus Kill" at the same time, wasn't that a Combination Ninjutsu?

The moment that thought emerged, Uchiha Yuan felt the urge to develop a ninjutsu unique to himself.

That was when the drawback of mastering ninjutsu too quickly became apparent.

Uchiha Yuan lacked sufficient detailed understanding of ninjutsu, leaving him completely at a loss when it came to developing one.

Fortunately, he had already perfectly mastered the ninjutsu Orochimaru had required of him.

He simply reviewed every detail of the ninjutsu he had learned, using them to solidify his theoretical foundation.

In Uchiha Yuan's view, though both were Rank A Genjutsu, "Phantom Lotus Kill" was far more complex than "Bringer-of-Darkness Technique."

The latter blocked vision and clouded the mind, while the former controlled all five senses of its target.

Whether humans, Ninja Beasts, or even Tailed Beasts, they all perceived the world through their most basic five senses.

Controlling the five senses was, in a roundabout way, equivalent to controlling everything before the target's eyes.

The greater the difference between his own Chakra reserves and the target's, the stronger that control became.

Though he still could not manipulate a target's thoughts at will, the effects of "Phantom Lotus Kill" were already terrifying enough.

Of course, because it had to control all five of the enemy's senses at once, "Phantom Lotus Kill" had the drawbacks of being slow to activate and slow to take effect under normal circumstances.

Uchiha Yuan did not possess the Kurama Clan's Kekkei Genkai bloodline, so he could not eliminate this weakness in a short time.

Because of that, the illusionary damage dealt by the "Phantom Lotus Kill" he had mastered was far inferior to Kurama Shion's manifested genjutsu.

But against enemies with weak minds and souls, it was absolutely a devastating weapon.

With that in mind, Uchiha Yuan quietly formed Hand Seals and let his Soul Body leave his physical body.

Then, his soul formed Hand Seals once more.

In his soul state, Uchiha Yuan did not need to worry at all about his Hand Seals being interrupted. That was the advantage of Combination Ninjutsu.

As he silently felt the senses of his facial features grow sharper, the various sensations were like winter sunlight shining over his body, giving him the illusion that he was ascending where he stood.

That was the drawback of casting techniques in a soul state, but as the caster, Uchiha Yuan was immune to most of its effects.

He was currently floating in midair, his expression calm as he surveyed the entire Mountain Cave.

His body lay on the Stone Bed, breathing evenly, its Chakra flowing normally.

"Yuan-kun, Ryo has a mission tonight, so I'm taking her shift. How is your genjutsu training progressing?"

Before Uchiha Yuan could dispel the genjutsu, Kurama Shion walked into the Mountain Cave on her own.

The sound by her ears became distant, as though angels were singing.

Kurama Shion caught the scent of her favorite cotton candy. In a daze, she saw Konoha's old family home, where her mother was reaching out with rough hands to stroke her forehead.

In that brief moment of distraction, Kurama Shion realized she had fallen under genjutsu.

She immediately understood that it was "Phantom Lotus Kill," but after performing the corresponding release seals, nothing around her changed.

Kurama Shion could even feel herself happily throwing herself into her mother's embrace and greedily licking the cotton candy in the woman's hand.

It was sweet and intoxicating.

Damn it, this is genjutsu! Wake up!

Gen... what? This feeling is so nostalgic!

Whenever the thought of waking up arose, her controlled five senses would erupt with overwhelming temptation, making Kurama Shion helplessly lose herself in it.

At that moment, Uchiha Yuan, who had yet to dispel the genjutsu, examined his surroundings with surprise.

After casting the genjutsu, he discovered that his Soul Body was not in the familiar Mountain Cave, but had instead appeared in an old Konoha-style residence.

When he saw Kurama Shion, only reaching his waist in height, clinging to a woman who resembled her by eighty percent—

Uchiha Yuan instantly understood that this was Kurama Shion's "Memory Illusion."

In truth, there were different ways to use "Phantom Lotus Kill."

As the caster, Uchiha Yuan could naturally designate a terrifying illusion to wear down the target's will and mental strength.

Of course, he could also draw out the scene the target most longed for and turn it into an illusion.

When Uchiha Yuan had fallen under Kurama Shion's genjutsu before, he had suspected that his substitute teacher had deliberately beautified her image in his mind.

Having learned from that lesson, Uchiha Yuan had not deliberately specified the illusion's contents during this attempt.

Yet unexpectedly, Kurama Shion had walked straight into it and gotten caught.

In fact, Uchiha Yuan, casting genjutsu with his Soul Body at this moment, was already capable of shaking even a Tailed Beast. Naturally, Kurama Shion could not resist.

The only solution was for Uchiha Yuan to dispel the genjutsu himself.

Looking at that warm, faded scene, Uchiha Yuan quietly formed Hand Seals.

Falling from her memories back into reality, Kurama Shion was dazed for an instant.

But as a genjutsu expert, she quickly realized that the genjutsu affecting her had been released.

She glared at the culprit behind this prank—her own student, Uchiha Yuan.

Kurama Shion gritted her teeth.

"You bastard, Yuan-kun! It's only been a few days, and you've already learned this Combination Genjutsu!"

"Your talent is incredible, but do you really want to throw your life away like this?"

Seeing Kurama Shion's moist, sparkling eyes, Uchiha Yuan was briefly at a loss for words.

He really had not meant to hypnotize this substitute teacher.

While Uchiha Yuan repeatedly trained and tested "Spiritualisation Technique" and "Phantom Lotus Kill,"

Hyuga Ryo and Mitarashi Anko, who also belonged to the Orochimaru Squad, had not been idle either.

As a rare Sensor Ninja and an energetic primary attacker,

Hyuga Ryo and Mitarashi Anko were temporarily assigned to a squad for a mission.

The two accompanying them were Konoha Anbu.

During this period, friction and conflict between Konoha Hidden Village and Kirigakure had been constant. The Anbu, one of Konoha's main fighting forces, had suffered heavy casualties.

Left with no choice, Danzo could only select elite ninja to form mixed teams with the Anbu for missions.

Tonight, the mission assigned to Ryo and Anko's squad was to search for the hidden Isobu.

Ever since Isobu had severely injured the Hidden Mist Sealing Master and the immature Six-Tails Jinchuriki that day, the enormous creature had hidden among the lakes of Strange Island.

Countless ninja squads from Konoha and Kirigakure searched day and night for Isobu's whereabouts.

Fortunately, Strange Island was vast enough that Konoha ninja only occasionally encountered Hidden Mist ninja during their operations.

Otherwise, with Kirigakure holding twice their numbers, Konoha would not have been able to maintain the current situation even if its ninja were of higher quality.

Under the pale moonlight, Hyuga Ryo and Kurama Shion followed a Silver-Haired Anbu, lurking in formation behind a cluster of massive boulders.

The bulging veins around her eyes tightened as her snow-white Byakugan quietly opened.

Hyuga Ryo turned her head and scanned the darkness around them.

Cold moonlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, casting shifting beams of light. Hyuga Ryo spoke in a low voice.

"Enemy Chakra signatures at two o'clock, eight hundred meters away. Four people!"