CH_4.34 (134)

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Takuma sat in the same tatami room he had when he first visited the family home of arguably the most important Uchiha in the village. A cool breeze flew into the room from the wide-open sliding doors beyond which a picturesque garden presented a stunning scenery.

Takuma retrieved a brand-new notebook and pen from his bag and placed them in front of him. He wiggled his toes, recalling the basics of genjutsu he had read in preparation for the first lesson. His debut in the ninjutsu category had taken priority, rendering him unable to devote enough time to the pre-read, making him nervous; he didn't want to appear as a fool.

The door to the room slid open, and Uchiha Mikoto entered with a plate of refreshments. She flashed him a smile as she sat in front of him. Takuma stared at the green tea steaming in beautifully hand-crafted ceramic cups.

"You may sit with your legs crossed if you're uncomfortable," she said.

He was sitting with his legs tucked beneath him, and indeed, it wasn't a position he was comfortable with as he always sat on chairs or crossed his legs on the floor.

Takuma felt a heat come up to his face. "Thank you for your concern, ma'am," he said but didn't change his position from the seiza. It was better if he got used to it.

"Suit yourself," said Mikoto and picked up an alarm clock from the plate and placed it to the side but not before starting the 45-minute timer. "Let's start with the easiest and most difficult question regarding the topic. What is genjutsu? I have had discussions with many regarding the definition— some think it's not important. In contrast, others believe that if you don't understand the basic definition, how would you practice it properly."

Takuma gave the question a thought. He was of the mind that a definition of such a broad topic wasn't important as a few lines couldn't encompass the entire meaning, but he gave it a try nevertheless. "Genjutsu is a classification of jutsu, which allows a user to influence a target's mind through their senses," he said, keeping it short.

"I was expecting more, but that is a valid definition," Mikoto elegantly picked up her teacup to take a sip. "If I had to add something, I would elaborate a little more. As you said, genjutsu influences the mind— and 'mind' is the correct word over the brain— as genjutsu doesn't change the physical structure of the brain, but it does influence the electric and chemical processes which are happening in your brain…"

'So, like influencing the software instead of the hardware,' said Takuma internally. He had once read about the difference between the brain and the mind on "ELI5." Brain was the hardware, while the mind was the operating system software which the hardware ran on. Of course, he didn't say any of it out loud.

"Additionally, I would specify how genjutsu influences the mind. Genjutsu alters the target's ability to perceive reality. Have you ever been under a genjutsu that showed you the impossible?" she asked. Takuma nodded, recalling the time during the basic training final tournament when he had been shown building-height stone golems by someone from the Yuhi clan. "Then you will know that deception of the senses isn't an apt description when put in the larger context, which is why altering reality perception is a better descriptor."

Takuma thought back to his experiences and offered an example. "Like Genjutsu: Binding. The user binds the opponent in a genjutsu, rendering them incapable of movement. They truly believe that there's a restriction that they can't break."

Nenro used Genjutsu: Binding liberally during their spars. He had stopped using it on Takuma because it never worked, but in the past, Takuma felt like there was a jute rope around him. Masaaki, however, saw iron chains instead of rope— but eventually, Masaaki stopped seeing anything physical and felt like he had been paralyzed. It told Takuma that genjutsu could change depending on the target.

"A good observation," said Mikoto. "Have some tea before it gets cold."

Takuma looked down at the ceramic cups before him. He looked up at Mikoto. "You'll need a stronger genjutsu to trap me, ma'am." Takuma raised his hand and casted a kai to break the genjutsu. The steaming tea disappeared from the two ceramic cups.

Mikoto looked surprised.

"There's a reason why I asked to be taught genjutsu, ma'am," said Takuma. "I'm well aware that not everyone has the mental capacity to use genjutsu. I have the aptitude. D-rank genjutsu doesn't work properly on me; I can see right through them."

Takuma himself didn't understand his resistance to genjutsu. He wasn't immune because even the weakest of genjutsu, when used properly, did affect him; his advantage was to be able to see through them instantly. The one genjutsu he learned, Genjutsu: Mist Servant Jutsu, had been learned without much difficulty. The concepts in the scroll took the same amount of time to understand as any other academic text, but the practical application was much easier— the chakra flowed and transformed in his chakra pathway network with a buttery ease.

"A stronger genjutsu, you say… may I?" asked Mikoto.

Takuma hesitated for a moment but gave her permission.

Mikoto blinked, and Takuma sucked in a sharp intake when her eyes turned into a three-tomoe Sharingan. The gentle and elegant housewife turned into a shinobi which sent his danger sense blaring.

Then Takuma blinked, and everything had changed. Sharingan was nowhere to be seen as Mikoto poured tea into the cups with practiced movements. He tilted his head briefly before shaking the slight confusion as he patiently waited. He was excited about the lesson, he wondered how they would start, and wished that his pre-read would be enough

But then he felt a tremor beneath him. Takuma uncomfortably shifted his numb legs and looked down just in time to watch an explosion rip through the tatami mats. He had no time to react and was thrown away by the force, which was so powerful that his back hit the ceiling before he fell down. The entire room was decimated as flames attached themselves to everything flammable.

Takuma screamed as the fire burned every inch of his skin, the flames sticking to him as though his body was the only source of fuel they could eat away at. Pain overshadowed panic as he tried to roll on the floor to stifle the flames, but nothing worked; the flames only grew hotter as his vision dimmed.

Through the thick grey smoke which filled his lungs and obscured his vision, Takuma spotted Mikoto, who had been thrown against a wall at an awkward angle, unmoving as flames covered her entire body. She made no sound. She was already dead.

'Huh,' something in Takuma's mind snapped. The pain melted away as if it had never existed. He looked at his body, and the flames were still there, but the hellish flames looked transparent. With pain and panic absent, Takuma gave the room a proper view, and it was the perfect scenery of a place hit by an explosion. And yet everything looked faded. With every passing second, the environment affected him less—the heat cooled until it was barely felt, and the smoke no longer hindered his breathing.

The next moment, a memory of Mikoto asking him permission remerged. The realization came at the same moment.

This was a genjutsu.

Takuma raised one hand and formed the kai seal.

A single burst of chakra later, he found himself sitting in the uncomfortable seiza position. Mikoto sat before him; the iris of her eyes red with three black tomoe gently spinning around her pupil.

"… Did I scream?" he asked.

"For the first few seconds," she replied. She had this peering look on her face. "It's fascinating. You took a considerable time breaking the genjutsu, but it only took you a couple seconds before I found myself unable to manipulate you. I have no idea how you did that, but it was as though you detached yourself from the genjutsu so that it won't affect you, even when you were firmly under the influence. How did you do that?"

"I have no idea, ma'am," Takuma replied honestly— he had told Mikoto in the first place in hopes she would be able to help him. He had no control over the 'detachment' he did, as Mikoto had put it— he wanted to learn how to do it actively whenever he wished. The time between the genjutsu took control to the moment he got out was enough for the enemy to strike him down.

"Hmm, this is interesting. I was not expecting this to be a topic of conversation in our lessons," said Mikoto with a contemplative look on her face. "Very well, I will try to see if there are any pre-existing studies on your condition, but for the near future, we will only focus on traditional genjutsu education."

"Fair enough, I shall follow your lead," Takuma bowed a little.

"Every genjutsu, no exceptions, works by disrupting the normal working of the mind and twisting it into something desirable for the user. The question arises: how does one disrupt the mind? It's not like the body where you break a bone and call it a day," said Mikoto.

"Through chakra," said Takuma.

"Correct." Mikoto continued, "Due to the presence of the chakra pathway network, which is laid in every corner of the body, it's the perfect target for a genjutsu user to get their hooks in a person. Chakra is an essential part of everyone, even for those who go without using it in their lives, because it's the life force at the core of every living being. By influencing chakra, you can control the mind, and once you get the mind, you get the entire person.

"A question for you: how does one go about influencing another person's charka flow?" she asked.

Takuma knew the answer. "Through the sensory organs. The chakra pathway network is enmeshed within the body, transporting the chakra through the body and each organ as the circulatory system does blood. The density of chakra pathways increases near the sensory organs, making them the optimal entry point as they are the most easily influenced by external forces. By controlling the chakra in pathways around the sensory organs, one could have that exploited chakra circulated to the brain, where it could spread along the entire cerebral nervous system. The senses are our connections to the world around us; we need them to perceive our environment and interact with our surroundings. Our brain receives the signals from our sensory organs and converts them into what we actually perceive. There's a direct connection between them, and once we can get a hold of the chakra flow in the cerebral nervous system, we can feed the brain fake sensory inputs, which the mind will interpret as the reality."

"You did some studying on your own; very well done," Mikoto sounded happy. "Everything you said is correct. If you wish to cast a genjutsu, you may use any of the five senses. Every sense has its advantages and disadvantages.

"Sight as an entry point is the fastest option, and research done on vision-based genjutsu outstrips everything else combined— Hearing allows the user to cast genjutsu from incredible distances, many consider it the most dangerous— Smell creates the strongest connection due to how our brain store memories, and can be the hardest to break— Taste as an entry point is surprisingly the most balanced option, but it's also the most restrictive— and finally, Touch is the least conspicuous and allows the user to take their time to create a strong connection."

Takuma wrote everything down before his eyes went to Mikoto's eyes which had returned to their onyx color. He mused—

"The genjutsu cast using the Sharingan is all vision based," said Mikoto.

Takuma was startled. He bowed his head and apologized.

"You don't need to apologize for simple curiosity, Takuma," she said. "And it's not like that fact a secret. No one else has contributed more to the research on vision-based genjutsu than any other entity not only in the Hidden Leaf but in the entire Elemental Nations. Your position in the Police Force will give you access to a lot of that research. I would advise you to make thorough use of those resources."

It was decided what Takuma was going to be reading for the next several months.

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