Chương 23: Genjutsu Class
The next day quickly arrived. I awoke with the rising sun and, after snacking, proceeded with some light stretching and working out, followed by a short session of jutsu practice. Afterward, I ate breakfast and continued to get ready for school.
I exited my house and started making my way toward Naruto's.
Knock, knock, knock
This time, a sleepy Naruto opening the door greeted me rather than nobody like yesterday.
"All right, Naruto, you better get ready it's time to go to school."
"Ok, I'll get ready."
Walking inside with him, I took note of the everpresent mess in Naruto's house. While he got ready, I went around the room and started cleaning up. When Naruto finished his shower and came out of the bathroom, he saw a cleaner house than before.
"Woahhh, what did you do, Aizen? Is this a jutsu?"
"No, Naruto, it's not a jutsu. I just cleaned up some of the garbage around your house. Mainly your cup noodles. Why don't you throw those in the trash when you finish them?"
"I don't know. I just never thought to."
There was no one there to teach Naruto crucial life skills. Skills like cleaning up after yourself, cleaning your house, all these habits that people developed from when they were young, were all because someone persisted them to do it.
Naruto had no such person, so he never developed a habit of cleaning up. I figured I'd get him into that habit now so that in the future he wouldn't live in a pigsty all the time. Hinata should really thank me right now.
"All right, when you have trash, just throw it in this bag."
I took a plastic bag and put it on the floor, that way he wouldn't have an excuse since the trash was originally on the ground anyway.
"All right, I'll do it."
Naruto wasn't someone resistant to developing these habits, simply in the future, when he became much brasher and impatient, those habits would be much harder to build.
"All right then, let's get to class."
Upon saying that, Naruto nodded while we started making our way to the academy. On our way, we would still receive glares from the villagers. This time, however, they were much more vocal about their disgust with Naruto.
"Here comes that demon fox again."
"Nothing but trouble."
"What's he doing with that boy?"
"Oh my god, look at that boy's arms. That demon fox must have hurt him!"
"Yeah, look at him! He has scars all over his body! That demon fox must be torturing him!"
The comments these villagers made dumbfounded me. I mean, Naruto and I were talking amiably, and it wasn't as if he had me on a collar and was dragging me through the village.
Naruto, also listening to these comments, shrunk into himself a little. He is still horrified by the hate the villagers display towards him, but his time with the group has helped. He isn't as desperate to gain attention, though it's still his number one desire. Along with developing bonds.
Grabbing his arm, I implored him to walk faster. A crowd was gathering behind us, and I didn't want to create an incident. An incident gave room for someone like Danzo to take advantage of the situation.
We started running, and soon the academy's gates reached our sights. Making our way to class, we both waved a sigh of relief when we realized we had lost the crowd.
Entering the class, we saw our classmates intermingling and talking. We quickly joined Shikamaru and Choji, chattering until Iruka-sensei and Mizuki opened the door and told us to quiet down and get to our seats.
"Good morning, class!"
"Good morning, sensei!"
"It's time to learn more about the history of the Land of Fire!"
"Ughhhh"
After a grueling day of history lessons, Iruka-sensei ended his class with something new.
"Today, we're going to be learning something different. We are going to train in something called the Leaf Concentration Technique!"
Seriously? The third year in, and only now were the students learning the Leaf Concentration Technique. I know in war times, Kakashi was allowed to graduate at five years old. That means he learned the Leaf Concentration Technique at five or younger, yet here we are now, learning the technique at nine years old.
It was baffling how much the village would speed up and slow down the students' training based on necessity.
Handing out random pieces of leaves, Iruka-sensei and Mizuki started explaining how the technique worked.
"All right, you guys are to take the leaf and make it stick to your forehead. We will do this through the use of chakra. The goal is to have the leaf stick to your forehead for at least thirty seconds before dropping. Mizuki-sensei will demonstrate once for you before beginning."
Upon saying that, Mizuki put the leaf in his hand on his forehead and let it go. The leaf stuck, and no matter how much he moved his head, the leaf stayed in place.
"The chakra has to make the leaf stick to your forehead. Make sure you use the right amount, or else the leaf will either not stick or be destroyed!"
After that warning, we all began attempting to use the technique. Most of the Clan kids, like Hinata, Shino, and Sasuke, did the Leaf Concentration Technique with no problem. Then came the kids like Naruto, Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba. They were all more active and trained less than they should have, resulting in them not doing the technique like others. As for myself, I made it seem like this was the first time I had even tried this.
Sure, I might be monitored, at the moment, but as long as I wasn't sure, I wouldn't display my talents for no reason. After all, I knew that if I displayed too much talent, Danzo would take me regardless of the dangers of doing so.
He likely already knew, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
After thirty minutes, when most of everyone, including whatever remaining civilian kids, completed the technique, did I do so as well. The only ones left who couldn't do it were Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Choji.
All of them, except Shikamaru, were more inclined toward Yang Release than Yin Release. Yin release was spiritual, which is why someone talented in that aspect would be able to operate and execute genjutsu more adequately. It led to having more control over their chakra, which assisted in Ninjutsu and some Taijutsu techniques.
Yin Release users were often more intelligent than their Yang Release counterparts, simply because to nourish a soul, you had to nourish your mind.
Naruto, Choji, and Kiba were not the sharpest tools in the shed, to say the least. Sure, in the future, with experience and knowledge, they would grow wiser, but for now, they were impatient and stupid.
Shikamaru was the only one who was a Yin Release user. He is intelligent, calm, and actively trained his brain with games such as Shogi. Theoretically, he should be more than capable of doing the Leaf Concentration Technique. The only problem I could see obstructing him is weak willpower.
He wasn't capable of utilizing his talent in controlling chakra if his mind wasn't strong enough to do so. He was lazy and didn't put his all into training either. He probably wasn't even doing his best right now, even if he was put on the spot for not being able to complete it.
After another ten minutes, Shikamaru completed the technique. He didn't even seem tired after all that effort, just sleepy. This supported my theory that he was only half-assing this training.
After seeing how Choji, Kiba, and Naruto have yet to complete the technique, Iruka-sensei spoke up and said
"All right, guys. Class is dismissed. Students who signed up to take an extra class should head there now. The map is posted outside the class if you don't know where to go. As for Kiba, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji, you guys stay after class for a while and practice the technique a bit more. None of you signed up for a class anyway."
"Awww what! I was supposed to get pranking time right now, Iruka-sensei! Not training!"
"SHUT UP, NARUTO! I don't want to hear another sound from you until you complete the technique!"
Naruto pouted after that statement but continued to be quiet. I bade the unlucky souls goodbye and headed towards my Genjutsu class with Sasuke by my side.
Though we haven't spoken much after the Uchiha Massacre, I kept my friendly gestures towards him. Even though we weren't friends anymore, he was at least willing to walk by my side rather than step away from me.
As we got to the Genjutsu room, which was room 721, both Sasuke and I took a pause.
"Room 721, right?"
"Nn (yeah)."
"Why does it look like... that?"
"...Nn (...yeah)."
The room doors were open, so we could peer inside the class. It was tiny, like, tiny. The most it could fit seemed to be five people, and the room appeared old.
The door frame was broken apart, the room was filled with cobwebs, and the seats and tables were old and dusty. Stepping inside, it looked more like a closet than a classroom.
"I have some talented students this year, huh?"
We looked around and saw a man standing at the front of the class. The only reason we didn't see him initially was that he was using the concealment technique, for some reason.
He seemed a little weird.
But anyways, the man had a black eyepatch over his right head, a shiny bald head, and a Chunin vest.
"Sasuke Uchiha and Aizen Sosuke, the two best students of your year. Usually, I only get runts who want to use Genjutsu on their friends for fun, but maybe this year I can finally have some serious students."
Sasuke and I glanced at each other and proceeded to take a seat at the front of the class.
"This class will teach you what you need to know about Genjutsu to do it yourselves, identify it, and counter it"
"Do both of you know the basics of what Genjutsu is?"
Sasuke and I both nodded, and the man looked at me briefly before asking me a question.
"Aizen, can you explain to me how much you know?"
I guess it made sense. After all, Sasuke was an Uchiha, questioning how much he knew about Genjutsu was like asking a Hyuga how much they knew about Taijutsu. On the other hand, I was just a random orphan with no access to higher information.
"Genjutsu is the application of chakra to influence another person's mind, largely in the form of illusions and hallucinations."
The man nodded but corrected
"So you have a basic concept. But let me correct you here, Genjutsu does not directly influence a person's mind. What genjutsu does is use chakra to affect another's chakra flow in their cerebral nervous system, which lets one control the senses. Once you control the chakra flow of their senses, you can proceed to make them see things that don't exist, hear things that aren't real, and feel things that never happened to them. Any questions?"
"Yes, sensei. How can you affect the chakra flow of others without knowing where their chakra points are?"
"Good question. People know Genjutsu is applied through chakra, but they neglect to think that chakra exists throughout the entire body. We can only use chakra through our chakra coils and points, but chakra exists in our entirety. That is why Genjutsu users can affect the chakra flow of others without knowing the exact position of their chakra points."
"Thank you, sensei!"
Sasuke was interested in the conversation as well. I knew he had access to all the Uchiha records, but how much of it he read was questionable.
"All right, that was a good start. Seeing you two so interested, I'll introduce myself before we continue. My name is Iwana Akame, but that will be Akame-sensei to you two."
"Greetings, Akame-sensei"
"Greetings, Akame-sensei"
"Good. By the end of this class, you guys will be competent Genjutsu users. Not many choose to be Genjutsu users since they either don't have the affinity or don't find it appealing to practice illusions rather than big fireballs and lightning. But those people are idiots. Genjutsu is very practical during a fight. There are many ways to kill your enemy, but in a one-on-one battle, only two things matter. Your strength, and your opponent's. If you aren't strong enough, weaken your opponent. Genjutsu is the perfect way to do that. Assaulting the mind, distracting them, tricking them, these will allow you to win. In a battle, a moment of distraction is all you need to die. That applies to both sides."
Wow. I didn't know we would get such a smart and pragmatic teacher. Rather than tell us how cool it is, he got to the point in a single sentence. We can use Genjutsu to kill an opponent. It's as simple as that. Of course, the uses vary so much more, but for battle ninjas, that's all that matters.
"Now, since you both have basic chakra control, I will teach you our first D-rank Genjutsu, Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique. This Genjutsu will make the victim see what they fear most. That means it varies from person to person. The way it works is the same as any other Genjutsu, you have to impact the cerebral nerves in some way and control the chakra flow. Once you do that, you can trick the senses into experiencing what they fear most."
"Nn. Sensei, why is this technique not of higher rank?"
"Since you cannot possibly know what the victim's greatest fear is, the illusion will be mostly operated by the brain and senses of the victim. This means the illusion is weak and prone to being figured out quickly since you only maintain it. This is why the technique is only D-rank, rather than a C or B."
"Thank you."
"All right, the hand seals are the snake seal and the rat seal. I don't expect you guys to get this technique today, but try your best to practice it. You guys can try it on me since I know how to dispel a Genjutsu."
Both me and Sasuke began attempting the jutsu. It wasn't easy to affect the cerebral nerves right away, especially since this was the first real jutsu I was casting. Sasuke, on the other hand, was familiarizing himself with the technique rather quickly.
Eventually, Sasuke and I cast it, though Sasuke had done so first. Both of our illusions, however, were weak and unstable. Akame-sensei was capable of breaking the illusion in less than a moment.
"All right, good job, the both of you. I have to say, I'm surprised that both of you could cast the technique by today. You both have great talent in Genjutsu. Don't get arrogant, though. All you cast today was a measly D-rank Genjutsu, one that I broke in less than a moment. Don't expect to be able to use this in a battle against someone stronger than you, or someone who has a lot more chakra than you. Since you can break a Genjutsu by flushing your body with an even more powerful chakra."
Sasuke and I both nodded to indicate we understood, and Akame'sensei dismissed us after that.
Walking out of the academy, I looked at Sasuke and initiated a conversation.
"So, Sasuke, what did you think of the teacher?"
He glanced at me, and after a lull, answered,
"He seems knowledgeable in Genjutsu. I'm glad they didn't give us some quack since no one is interested in taking the class."
"Yeah, that would have sucked. I've been looking forward to learning Genjutsu for a while now."
"Nn."
As we reached the gates, I made a left and said to Sasuke
"Well, this is my path. See you tomorrow, Sasuke"
Hearing no response, I started walking until I heard a faint mumble in the background,
"See you tomorrow."
I smirked and proceeded to make my way to the Forest of Death. Now that I had finally learned a Genjutsu, I was dying to test it out.
Making my way through the forest, I finally found my opponent, as a large snake approached me from the bushes.
Quickly getting into battle position, I also made sure to sense my surroundings to make sure I wouldn't be getting ambushed. These animals, while still retaining their base intelligence, still knew how to cooperate to hunt a target. I've experienced an ambush before, and that battle was the closest call I've had to death yet.
The snake in front of me stay motionless, which was the worse decision for it yet. I quickly did the hand seals and cast the Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique. The technique required eye contact since one needed to affect the cerebral nerves, but I didn't think all of that was necessary. If I could punch someone in the face, and control their chakra flow like that, couldn't I cast Genjutsu in the middle of hand-to-hand combat? The advantage of being able to do that was immense. Before a person would realize, I would have already trapped them in a fatal Genjutsu.
Back to the snake, though, after I caught it in a Genjutsu, it started thrashing. I didn't know what its most terrifying fear was, but I took advantage of the situation to approach it with my tanto. After months of carrying my tanto around normally, I realized I needed a more discrete way of keeping it.
That's when I visited Higurashi's again and bought a storage seal. The seal could only carry around a 3x3 box at most, but that was more than enough to put several cans of food, water, clothes, and weapons. The storage seal cost me a pretty penny though, and I was down to almost no Ryo left. Only enough for food and water at this point.
Approaching the snake with my tanto, I quickly slashed down on its eye, impaling it and bringing the snake out of the Genjutsu. By that point, however, it was too late. Breaking the tanto out of its eye, I impaled it on its head this time with one swift movement. The snake started thrashing, and I jumped away to let it bleed out for a few seconds.
The one thing I learned, killing so many of these animals, is the moment they are closest to death, that is the moment they are the most dangerous. When they make a last-ditch effort for survival, they break out in speeds and strength beyond what they're usually capable of.
After letting the snake bleed out and die, I went up to it and cut it open with my tanto. I still didn't know how to harvest the hide of an animal, but I did learn one thing. Harvesting the venom sac of a snake.
It was worth a lot of money in the village since most people were familiar with venom at the very least. Hospitals also used it to create antidotes. I harvested the venom sac and started heading away from the corpse.
Coming to a secluded spot, I began my body conditioning and Kenjutsu training. I couldn't let up on any aspect, especially since I needed all the power I can get for the future. Thinking back to Shikamaru's question, I can tell why I'm so desperate for strength.
Comparing my strength to my past life, made me realize how much I hated being powerless. I was of average strength in my past life as John but in this life, my potential was so much more.
Becoming stronger was an addictive feeling, as was beating my opponents. The feeling of knowing that my hard work and experience beat my foes, was magnificent. There was no lie in a battle. There was only a victor and a loser.
After finishing up my training and heading home, I started sensory training again. Sensing outwards, I could identify multiple chakra signatures, including Naruto's. Naruto's chakra was growing at an exponential rate. What initially started as high Genin rank chakra when I could first sense it, now had normal Chunin rank chakra.
His chakra level grew faster than mine, even while I did my best to grow it. Naruto, on the other hand, never depletes his chakra, and therefore never grows it. If not for the Kyuubi, Naruto would be a weak ninja. He never trained his chakra coils, which meant they were weak and could barely emit chakra. Because of the Kyuubi, however, his chakra coils were incredibly sturdy without any training.
His chakra was also growing with no practice. Aside from the abysmal chakra control and abuse from the villagers, Naruto got a lot of benefits from being a jinchuriki.
After finishing my sensory training and meditation, I fed Puma and headed to bed.
........
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