Naruto: The Outsider's Resolve

[Fiction]

'This is a piece of cake,' thought Viper as she dodged the fourth Lightning Release jutsu from her opponent, Scars.

She was delighted when Tsubura told her her next fight would be against a newcomer. The chance of victory jumped tens of points when the opponent was a newcomer instead of an experienced veteran. She was further delighted when her opponent was revealed as Scars. It was a surprise that Tsubura allowed him a chance at the ninjutsu category after just a year. It had taken her three years to get Tsubura to entertain a talk about a potential fight and another half year before the fight had happened. However, simultaneously, she wasn't surprised that Scars only took one year— Tsubura's bias towards Scars had reached her ears.

If it were another scenario, she would've opposed Scars entering the ninjutsu category so soon in his career, but now that she was fighting him, she was all for it. She got to the undeserving man, got a substantial payout out of it, and bar Scars for at least another half year before he got another chance. It was a win-win-win— all for her.

And right now, she was sure anyone watching could already tell that Scars wasn't ready for the ninjutsu category. She had yet to use a single ninjutsu while he had launched four of the same jutsu— a jutsu he was clearly not proficient at. She was confident she could take one of them head-on, and her chances of victory wouldn't change.

In fact, the audience had seen plenty of his pathetic attempts at using ninjutsu, and it was time to show them a beatdown.

Viper was confident, but she was also aware that Scars was still a threat. His chakra augmentation had earned him certain infamy. The tales from the medical room circulated like a cyclic event in the Ring. She was aware that Scars was probably more experienced with chakra augmentation than anyone she had fought (outside of Ring) because he used it literally in every fight. Her team had gathered information; Scars used chakra augmentation as a momentum breaker and a finisher.

There was a sting atop her arm, just below her shoulder, that hadn't gone away ever since Scars had landed a hit on her. Viper could tell that he could inflict much worse. On top of that, Scars was known to be quite liberal with his kunai use. One of her team members had fought against him, and he had dragged the kunai across his thigh after stabbing it fairly deeply.

She couldn't carelessly get close to him.

Right now, Scars was still trying to use ninjutsu instead of his usual effective combat style, making it the optimal chance for Viper to gain an irreversible momentum shift to her side.

She jumped away from Scars and began weaving hand seals.

Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu!

When Scars had first used a Lightning Release jutsu, Viper was worried because it gave him an advantage over her, who exclusively used Water Release jutsu. But after seeing his proficiency, she realized there was no disadvantage.

Highly-pressurized water bullets capable of taking chunks of human flesh shot at Scars, who moved like a top gymnast, barely moving away before the bullets could hit him. Each bullet left a sizeable dent in the ground, showing its destructive capabilities.

'Got him!' Viper exclaimed internally.

Scars wasn't fast enough, and Viper's last water bullet hit him. The water bullet exploded, sending Scars flying away from the force.

Viper wasted no time and charged for her prone opponent with senbon, her weapon choice, in her hands. Her senbon were coated in a paralyzing poison that stiffened the muscle around the entry point.

Scars had managed to dodge most of her senbon— but not all. A few had managed to strike him in his arm, which she thought his vambrace had stopped, but a few moments later, Scars looked like he had difficulty moving his arm.

If she could strike him in the legs or even just his other arm, she could take his most important weapon, the chakra augmentation away, making it levels easier to defeat him.

But just as Viper got in range, Scars' arm moved suddenly, and a kunai was airborne.

Viper's breath hitched for a split moment when she caught a fluttering red behind the kunai. An explosive tag. Her composure returned just as quickly. She realized there was no time to dodge, nor could she take the risk of grabbing the kunai to disable the tag. Viper moved quickly and dropped into a sliding tackle while minimizing her posture into a fetal position to reduce her surface area.

The tag sparked above her and exploded with near-perfect timing.

Viper felt the force slam down on her. If not for her sliding on the ground with her body held tightly, she would've been thrown away. Viper groaned as a momentary disarray hit her senses, but powering through, she got back up.

Baam!

Viper's eyes bulged out as she felt an overwhelming force assault her midriff. Standing in front of her was Scars, drenched in water. Her pain receptors hadn't sent her brain the warning signs, but she could see his foot digging into her body.

When the force passed the threshold, Viper shot back like a missile. Her body traveled to the other corner, slamming into the cage's upper section. The thick metal structure groaned as the force tried to force Viper through the mesh.

Viper suffering from the intensity of the attack, had no composure and fell to the ground on her front. She got up while whimpering in agony. Her inner ski mask stuck to her skin, and the scent of iron overwhelming her nose. Her abdomen screamed in distress, but she worked through it and tried to locate herself and Scars relative to the arena. Her vision was half blurry, and her focus was shot. She saw Scars kneeling on the ground and immediately acted upon sight.

Fueled with largely defensive instinct and a tinge of anger boiled, she began weaving hand seals. Chakra rumbled and coursed through her chakra pathway network like a flood.

Water Release: Water Trumpet Jutsu!

The C-rank jutsu's force hit the arena with such a force that the stage trembled as waves of water spouted everywhere. Viper targeted the direction where she saw Scars, but spread her attack in case he tried to evade.

"Shit!"

Viper coughed, and more blood-soaked her ski mask. The kick had injured more than she had initially thought. As her focus returned, she realized that in the moment of instinctual response, she had overdrawn her reserves. It had made her jutsu much stronger than she had intended, which wasn't a problem by itself, but her reserves were much lower than what she wanted after using a D-rank and C-rank each.

Viper took in a deep breath. Her calm returned, and she once again located Scars, and like an alarm blaring at maximum value, the realization that he was nowhere to be seen assaulted her. Her eyes darted everywhere. He had to be inside the cage.

Her reaction was instantaneous, and Viper started running in a zig-zag pattern while continuing to look for Scars. She didn't know where he could hit her, so being on the move was the best way to minimize the risk.

Splash! The entire arena floor was covered with water. Viper threw senbon in the direction of the splash before getting a proper look.

Scars dodged them with a sliding tackle and was up and running the next moment, continuing his charge toward him.

Viper blocked Scars' first strike with her forearm. She only found after the impact that it was augmented, and her leather vambrace did nothing to dull the impact. The punch didn't break bone, but the force traveled and all but dislodged her arm out of her shoulder. The next strike followed immediately after, and a palm strike dug into her abdomen.

Viper felt more blood come out of her mouth. She recalled her previous plan to not come in close contact with Scars. The pain in her abdomen only confirmed that she was right.

As Scars wound up his arm for another punch, Viper gambled on time and agility and betted on herself. Before Scars could punch out, clearly slowed down by the chakra augmentation he was surely putting behind it, Viper pulled out an explosive tag. She held it in front of her.

Explosive Tag Hostage. It was a very popular tactic to hold an explosive tag in front when the enemy was in close range. By holding an explosive tag, the opponent was forced to jump away in case the user exploded the explosive tag, even if it took out both of them. Even if it was a popular tactic and the opponent knew what the user was trying to do, disregarding it wasn't a wise choice because there was always a chance that the user was crazy enough to go through with it. No one wanted to take that risk.

'Now, go away,' Viper thought— she wanted some space, even if it was for a few seconds, and she was sure that Scars would like that too.

Scars jumped… toward her.

'What?!'

One of his hands shot toward the explosive tag. In surprise, Viper wasn't able to keep Scars' hand away, and he managed to rip the tag, rendering it useless.

Both fighters tumbled to the ground and had a tussle where Viper managed to headbutt Scars in the head and knee him in the groin. She could've used their floored position to force him into the hold but decided to move away. Taijutsu wasn't her specialty, and she didn't want to challenge that claim against someone like Scars, who could crack something.

But as Viper slid away from Scars, she decided that she wanted to at least get some advantage out of the exchange and went for her poisoned senbon.

"Huh?"

Viper looked down at her waist when she couldn't find her weapons pouch, and to her horrifying realization, it wasn't there. She almost snapped her neck when she looked at Scars and saw the boy holding her weapons pouch as he backed away.

He had stolen it.

Anger burnt through the surprise. She weaved hand seals, and Scars followed suit. Viper didn't care and let Water Release: Water Trumpet Jutsu draw as much chakra as the jutsu desired.

A flood of water once again descended upon the Ring arena. This time, Viper saw Scars response, which was to slam down his palms on the ground after the hand seals for the ground to move, rise, and shift to form a dome around Scars.

The tides of water assaulted the dome, but the solid earth remained steadfast against the rageful waters.

Viper coughed as the water finally stopped. She felt a burn in her chakra pathway network from pushing the jutsu to a previously untrained level.

Before her thoughts could move away from the new pain she had taken on, the dome crumbled, and Scars exited like a racing stallion. He was weaving hands seals as he ran.

Viper didn't move. She sneakily reached for a hidden compartment on her belt where an emergency set of senbon were hidden. They were coated with a poison that caused the muscles to spasm uncontrollably. It wasn't allowed in the Ring, but she didn't care, and knew that if she won, they would practically write the penalty with a slap on the wrist.

'I can take it,' she thought.

Takuma's Lightning Release jutsu wasn't strong, and she could take the chance even with a jutsu slamming into her chest. She was going to use her own body as bait before striking a deciding attack.

Splash!

Instead of lightning arcs snaking around Scars' arm, water around him rose and collected near his back. Two long and thick tentacles emerged from him, and before Viper could react to the Water Release jutsu when she was only expecting Lightning Release from him, the two tentacles wrapped around her hand and wrist, restricting them. Scars stopped in front of her and two more tentacles shot out and restricted her legs just as she was about to move away.

Viper tripped down, and as she fell, she saw a punch coming for her face, which was the last thing she saw before things faded to black.





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[Fiction]

Takuma rotated his wrist as he glanced at the iryo-nin working on his injuries. Sango wasn't available; she had told him beforehand that she won't be there to heal him after his biggest fight in the Ring. It bothered him because he, one hundred percent, preferred Sango treating him than anyone else who wasn't a chunin or jonin because she was familiar with his body more than him— but she had offered him a free session for being a loyal customer, which was a good deal.

Thankfully, Viper hadn't inflicted any egregious injuries—more like he hadn't given her a chance.

He had taken a risk by changing his usual strategy for the fight against Viper. His standard method was to observe, then dance with the opponent while either looking for an opportunity or creating one if it didn't exist before using one of the opportunities to its maximum benefit and finishing the fight as soon as possible. This time, however, he had played a mental game with Viper— laying traps like a hunter preparing to catch prey.

It was often said that between two equally skilled fighters, the smarter would win. Which was true, but people (even highly skilled ones) overestimated the value of intellect in combat.

Takuma believed instinct— honed instinct— to be the most used weapon in combat. When two people fought, shinobi or not, around 80% of the time, they didn't think about the moves they were making. Every strike and maneuver weren't the results of conscious thought but something subconscious instinct had been trained to do without relying on the "slowconscious systems." In the earliest days of his training with Maruboshi, the old shinobi had beaten the tendency to think about moves out of him and had built a foundation of instinctual movements upon which Takuma had built his fighting style.

Intellectual strategy came into play in the broader strokes of a battle which had a substantial role in the outcome. In the fight against Viper, Takuma had focused more than usual on those broader strokes.

He understood the context of the battle, which he used to his advantage; not using it would've been such a waste. Unlike his opponent, Viper, he was a big unknown. No one knew Scars' element release of choice, his ninjutsu arsenal, or his combat style when ninjutsu were involved— on the other hand, there was plenty of information available on Viper. Takuma had the information on Viper two days after the match-up was announced. He knew she exclusively used Water Release ninjutsu, that her weapon of choice was the senbon, and that she dipped her senbon in a paralysis poison.

Her defining traits were in the open. It didn't make her easy to defeat, but it did give Takuma the opportunity to plan for them—a privilege that Viper lacked due to zero information.

Takuma began with the paralysis poison. He couldn't afford to get hit by one of senbon because he didn't know the exact potency of Viper's poison. The accounts he had heard ranged from mild numbness to something that could turn an elephant into a stone. Of course, he was told that her poison was "within regulation." To add some extra protection, he wore thicker clothing and wrapped a thick bandage around his arms, legs, and torso. It was a bit awkward, but the exchange was worth it because in the fight, a few senbon did hit him, but none were able to break skin.

It was an in-the-moment decision to pretend that his arm was infected because Viper was keeping her distance, and he wanted her to approach on her own accord instead of him chasing her.

Next was Viper's elemental release of choice. She used Water Release ninjutsu. Takuma had choices from Earth Release, Water Release, but his weakest element, the Lightning Release, turned out to be the basis of the tactic he ended up creating.

The plan was to build a false image that Scars had learned Lightning Release ninjutsu by repeatedly using Lightning Release: Shock at Viper. He knew she would be cautious at first due to the type mismatch, but after seeing his poor performance with Lightning Release: Shock would alleviate her worries and would swing the needle in the opponent direction to overconfidence, which was what happened.

Getting hit by Viper's Water Bullet Jutsu wasn't the plan, but he got hit nevertheless. He lifted his head to see the iryo-nin's hand over his chest with the iridescent green glow. Thankfully, he was only hit by one bullet, or else he wouldn't have had the chance to forfeit, much less continue.

It was that hit that prompted Takuma to end the weak Lightning Release tactic and start using everything he had.

After kicking her to the opposite side of the arena, Takuma had used Earth Release: Hiding In Rock Jutsu to traverse beneath the stone floor, but Viper running around had ruined it. It was possible to use Earth Release: Earth Tremor Sense Jutsu while using Hiding In Rock Jutsu, but it was far away from Takuma's skill level; he traveled blind. So, when Viper had moved, he had missed the opportunity to ambush her.

The ever-reliable Earth Release: Earthen Dome hadn't disappointed, and he had effortlessly saved him from Viper's C-rank Water Release jutsu while getting more than enough water for Water Release: Eight Tentacles, which he had used to finish her off in conjunction with a hearty chakra augmented sock in the face. The Lightning Release: Shock gambit had paid its dividend in the fight's final moments as Viper was clearly expecting it, and the water tentacles had come as a startling surprise.

However, the moment which gave him the most pride was stealing Viper's weapons pouch. He hadn't planned for it. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, which had paid off greatly. Yes, it had taken away Viper's choices, but it had startled her, making her feel vulnerable. A moment of hesitation was enough to turn the battle.

He was satisfied with the battle.

Takuma closed his eyes to rest when he heard a voice more annoying than nails against a chalkboard.

"Ah, Scars, my sweet-sweet boy," Tsubura's loud voice filled the medical room. "What a performance you put in front of us today. It made my day!" He laughed joyously.

Takuma opened his eyes with a sigh and turned his head to look at Tsubura. He saw that Enomoto had accompanied Tsubura. Their eyes met, but other than Enomoto wishing congratulations, they exchanged no other words.

"When can I fight my next ninjutsu fight?" asked Takuma. Ninjutsu category fights weren't a daily affair. The Ring hosted perhaps two or three every month, which was a rare deal considering the number of fights that happened every single day.

"Hasty, aren't you, boy," Tsubura grinned. "Not even off the iryo-nin's bed and already looking for the next battle. Have patience, boy, we will get you your next fight eventually."

Takuma stared at Tsubura for a moment. He wanted to fight more ninjutsu fights. As long as he could increase his experience with facing ninjutsu, he was fine even if he lost and didn't get the very generous ninjutsu-category payouts.

"I'll no longer be participating in taijutsu- and weapons-category," said Takuma, gathering everyone's attention in the room. Even the two iryo-nin in the room looked at him with surprised expressions. "I'll only fight in the 2v1 category from now on. Set up duos; I'll fight on their terms, with or without weapons. Announce to the teams that I'm looking for opponents, and if they have it in them, tell them to come fight me. I'm ready." He looked straight at Tsubura, "I'm patient, but do hurry, boss… I'm in the mood for a conquest."

Takuma had made it quite clear without saying it directly. He was giving Tsubura as many 2v1 fights as he wanted, but in return, he wanted more ninjutsu-category fights. It was the simple give-and-take transaction— a language everyone in the underworld understood the best.

Tsubura remained silent for a moment. "What if you lose?"

"What if I don't?" Takuma responded.

If he lost 2v1 fights, the audience would lose interest in watching him faster than a sinking rock. But if he kept winning, he would not only set off a rising interest in the audience, but the teams in Ring would also try harder to beat him. With every passing fight, he would be forced to show more of himself, and they would, without doubt, observe him and use that information against him by sending their prepared duos in hopes of a big payday. If he kept winning regardless, he would become a bigger draw of people than he was now.

"… Indeed, what if you don't," Tsubura chuckled. "If that's what you want, who am I to stop you, the great Scars… Come by tomorrow. We have to make you a new mask now that you have earned it."

Takuma nodded and turned his away, closing his eyes. The conversation was over.


———
.


"I want him," said Slash Baron.

Sango glanced at her handler. She quirked her brow as she asked: "Now?"

"Of course not," he scoffed. "He has the potential. I'm changing his status. We will be keeping an eye on him. See where he goes, and if he continues to progress and doesn't fuck up, his file will, at the very least, reach the recruitment office. As for if they extend an invitation… well, that depends entirely upon how he progresses from now on."

"… You do realize that he's not just Enomoto's fighter, he's also his business associate," said Sango.

"So?" Slash Baron looked at her. Sango could only see his eyes. "As long as he isn't colluding with the enemy and passes our standards, we couldn't give a fuck if he's doing some business on the side. His weed dealing is inconsequential in the grand scheme of things; it's beneath our jurisdiction. Even Enomoto isn't that big of a deal, but we keep an eye on him in case he oversteps his bounds. I will have a problem if the boy gets caught because it will tell me he can't keep a covert operation." He laughed, "He works in the Police Force. It's so damn funny if you look at it."

"You don't mind him breaking the law? I thought you guys had high standards."

Slash Baron stood up, laughing. The fight had ended a while ago, and everyone except them had left the room. "If we went out looking for squeaky-clean people in a village of mercenaries-for-hire, we would have to shutter down for not having enough people." He gazed outside at the caged arena. "There are many standards, but when it comes down to it, only a few things truly matter—things like the ability to get things done. I have no use for a law-abiding, tree-hugging patriot who can't complete a mission. Things like loyalty," he scoffed, "there are many ways to ensure that— high-level competence, that's all that matters in the end."

Sango stared at Slash Baron's back. She had been working for the man for two and a half years, and she didn't know anything about him except for what little was known in the Ring, which wasn't much. 'Time' moved faster in the Ring— people rose fast, but they were forgotten faster. Slash Baron, too, had been forgotten, turned into a legend— and legends were seldom entirely true; they exaggerated and embellished.

But she was sure that he knew everything about her. It worried her before, but she had long since gotten over it. He had set up the conditions of their collaboration, and as long as she remained within those bounds, she would be the one benefiting the most.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked.

"Hmm? Well, nothing. Enomoto and Ring are still to be your main focus. If you can, try to get to know him more. What kind of person is he? His views, ideologies, goals, vices, flaws. I want to know what makes him happy, what makes him tick, what does he get up in the morning for…. I want to know Takuma, Scars, Tobi— whoever he is."





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[Artemis]

Very fun fight, and we some more of what's happening with Slash Baron. I'm sure I can think of some organisation of ninja who have special masks just for them that could be relevant here. Thanks for writing.

 

[Warhicks]

Hello Danzo how are you today.

 

[The Radiance]

The moment I read him using shock I knew he was sandbagging. Good fight. And surprised surprise, the ring's anonymity is just a suggestion for those higher in the chain.

 

[ChaosRuneSmith]

Boy keeps clawing his way up out of each hole he falls into only to fall into a deeper hole that was hiding just next to the previous one.

 

[MrRobot]

Hello Danzo how are you today.

Click to shrink...

Not danzo, danzo don't really give you any choice.
Probably someone from regular anbu.

 

[Winter_Holiday]

Fully agree with the trained response description of fighting. Even people that do practice all kinds of moves get stuck in decision paralysis over what they should do. Resolving the decision paralysis then produces the tells that need to be corrected. Eventually you get a large enough option space and experience in picking something quick. But writers imagine that people have time to figure out the trick and devise clever solutions in the middle of combat. So it became a trope.

 

[Fiction]

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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[Fiction]

The lesson continued,

"If I remember correctly, you can use a genjutsu, correct?" asked Mikoto.

"Yes, ma'am. Mist Servant Jutsu," Takuma replied.

"Ah, illusory clones that act as though they're made of mist when attacked and reconstitute from any injury," Mikoto mused out loud. "A question regarding this genjutsu: how do you establish the connection to a target?"

"It's a visual genjutsu," answered Takuma.

"How do you know that?"

"It was in the jutsu scroll."

Mikoto looked surprised. "You read the attached research on jutsu scrolls?" she asked.

"It takes time to read the text, but it makes up for it by making the learning process easier. Reading the text beforehand makes solving mistakes and blocks easier as I'm already aware of potential problems that may pop up and am prepared for them," said Takuma.

Mikoto smiled. "… You're correct; Mist Servant Jutsu is a visual genjutsu. However, I want you to be able to recognize the connection component of a genjutsu by studying the hand seals and the chakra pathways those hand seals direct the chakra into— the final goal is to be able to judge the genjutsu's connection component just from the hand seals."

"Understood," Takuma said as he took notes.

"Excuse me for a moment," said Mikoto and exited the room.

Takuma flipped to the last page of his notebook and started calculating how many mission points it would take to buy three, four, or five D-rank genjutsu so he could figure out the different connection components. Mission points weren't a problem, but it would still be a significant purchase. The real problem was choosing the genjutsu. The genjutsu catalog in the jutsu archives didn't mention the delivery method; they only said what the genjutsu did.

'I'll ask which ones I should buy,' he thought.

Mikoto entered the room and sat in front of Takuma.

"Here you go," she said.

"Ma'am, I was wondering which—" Takuma looked up from his notebook, and his words died in his throat as he found himself staring at four crimson-red scrolls sitting before him. The color wasn't the shocking part, but the paper seal which held the scroll shut. He recognized that seal design. It was unmistakably the official seal of authenticity imprinted by the village authority on every jutsu scroll created. He owned five such scrolls, and the only difference between his and the scrolls in front of him was that his scrolls were scarlet red.

"Ma'am?" Takuma looked at Mikoto.

"These are four D-rank genjutsu for you to study. In addition to the Mist Servant Jutsu, you now have five genjutsu in your possession. Study each of them thoroughly and compare them to each other to recognize which part of the hand seal and chakra flow establishes the connection component."

Takuma was stunned beyond words. He stared at the woman before him for a long while until she had to speak first.

"Takuma?"

He snapped out of his shock. "How much do I need to pay for these, ma'am? I was going to purchase a few on my own, but it's more convenient if I can get the ones you recommend."

"You don't need to pay me anything, Takuma," Mikoto laughed. "These scrolls come as part of our lessons, and you don't have to return these to me as they're yours to keep."

"B-But this is too much…."

"Not for me. These mean nothing to me," Mikoto shrugged. "The compensation of an inactive jonin like myself from the village is such an amount that I can buy four of these scrolls every day, and it won't put a dent in the amount I have. So, don't feel burdened by these scrolls as they don't hold the same value in my eyes as they do in yours. And if you still feel uncomfortable… I'm aware that you did a great service for the village and made the Police Force proud. Just consider it as gratitude from the Uchiha Clan. Refusing these would be a slight against me and my clan."

Takuma bowed his head deeper than before.

"You leave me no choice; I accept these gratefully," he said. "Please accept my heartfelt gratitude."

"Accepted," smiled Mikoto.

Takuma tried to gather himself, but the four brand new scrolls he had gotten for free and the fact he wasn't even expecting to get them at all refused to settle down in his mind. He was truly startled and did not know how to react. He worried if he should've expressed his gratitude differently. And deeper than that, he couldn't help but wonder if all genin under jonin teams got this sort of treatment from Day-1 after their academy graduation. Mikoto had dealt out four D-rank jutsu and said it meant nothing to her— and it was only the second time he had met her. Takuma couldn't help but imagine what all precious resources his classmates who were selected by jonin had received in the two years they had been out of academy.

The feeling of indignation rose within him. All the hardship he had suffered in the past two years seemed insignificant. Why was he trying so hard for resources he fought for, shed blood, sweat, and tears for when some of his peers could get the same without batting an eye? How far ahead would he have been if he had it that easy? All of that effort, and he knew in an all-out fight, someone like Okubo Momoe would decimate him with a B-rank jutsu she had in her possession. Did she know what it felt like to fight in front of people for entertainment while knowing they wanted to see his blood spilled? Did she know what it felt like to sell drugs to people in hiding, fearing that one slip-up would end his life as it was? Did she know what it felt like lying to loved-one, to colleagues because he feared that telling them would damage the relationship he cherished so much after losing every loved one he had from a previous life? Did she know how it felt to know the future and live every day with the fact that people like him would be the first to die in the conflict to come?

He felt his resolve slip; the steel in his heart which made him get up every morning and kept him working to the end of the day until he couldn't do any more crack. He was aware of the difference between him and a genin from a jonin team before, but it was now that the reality had truly struck him in the face that he was aware that the difference wasn't as short as he assumed but that of a canyon which couldn't be surmounted.

He couldn't help but hate the unknown entity that had dumped him in this world, if it even existed. If he was to be sent to this world, why couldn't he have been sent a couple of years earlier— even a single year would've been enough. But, NO! He had to be sent with only one year to the most important turning point of a shinobi's life. If he had more time, Takuma would've worked harder and made it on a jonin team.

He resented this world for being as harsh as it was. He resented the system which had created the inequality he suffered under. He resented those who held the privilege while he struggled in the mud. He resented this village—

"Takuma, is something wrong?" asked Mikoto.

Takuma closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt his raging heart and pulled a curtain over it as he opened his eyes and looked at Mikoto. The woman in front of him was part of the problem, but at the same time, she was his benefactor who was teaching him genjutsu and had just now gifted him four jutsu scrolls.

"Just a little overwhelmed, ma'am," Takuma said, his voice softer than usual. "I feel an increased pressure not to disappoint you after you treat me with such generosity."

"Do you dislike being under pressure, Takuma?" asked Mikoto.

Takuma's tired eyes widened. Before he knew it, a laugh escaped him. Did he dislike him being under pressure? "Yes, I do. I dislike it deeply," he replied.

From the day he had become Takuma, he had been under constant pressure without a single moment of reprieve. He could no longer recall what his days as a carefree college sophomore felt like. What did he do all day? He didn't have a job with pressure to earn a living, had no chores at home, and no responsibilities other than studying, which he didn't take seriously— Takuma couldn't recall going back to those days, and yet those days were all he wanted.

He hated every single moment of his new life. Yes, he had built relationships he cherished more than anything and learned more than he imagined he would; Takuma liked the current version of himself— he was confident, competent, and an overall better person in every category that mattered. And yet, if given a choice, he would choose not to live the three years of his life.

But that was not a choice.

"But under pressure is when I perform the best."

Takuma felt a calm descend in his heart as a solid line of thought emerged from within his chaotic mind.

His one goal from Day-1 had been survival. Takuma now realized that his goal had been part of the problem. Survival meant continuing to live in spite of an accident, ordeal, or difficult circumstances. That type of existence was a constant struggle. He needed a new goal.

Survival be damned— he needed to thrive.

The cracked steel in his heart became whole again, stronger than before.

He couldn't change the world, not as he was now, and he didn't know if he wanted to change the world. So, the only other option was to change himself. If he was dissatisfied with his treatment, he needed to reach a position where his current dissatisfactions became non-matters.

Takuma looked at Mikoto. "Ma'am, I will be a jonin of the Hidden Leaf one day. It's one of my new goals."

Mikoto laughed. "Your new goal is to be a jonin? I thought that was the goal of every child of your age. What was your goal till now?"

"The old goal doesn't matter, ma'am. Only the new one does."

"If you say so," said Mikoto, amused. "I expect to be treated to a lavish celebration worthy of a jonin when you achieve your goal."

"As you wish," Takuma said.

It didn't matter if he wasn't privileged to resources by his peers. If he wanted them, he just needed to get them in some other way, as he had done till now. Nothing had changed, only his goal. He simply needed to work harder, longer, smarter until he had everything he could ever want.

He hated this world, which made him hate his life.

No matter what it took, he was going to change that.

It was as simple as that.

The sound of footsteps interrupted his thoughts. Takuma looked at the time, and it wasn't the time for an academy student to be back home. When he focused on the footsteps, he realized they weren't from a child. The footsteps were heavy, uniform, disciplined, and strangely evoked a sense of authority.

He looked up at the door as the footsteps neared, and a figure Takuma recognized appeared at the door.

"Dear, you are home," Mikoto said in surprise. "Did you tell me you would have lunch at home?"

"No," said the man. "I came for some documents in my study."

The man had short, brown hair reaching his shoulders and onyx-colored eyes with visible creases below that gave him a naturally stern look. He wore the standard flak jacket, along with a black shirt with the Police Force symbol on the shoulders, shin guards, and a black, open-front apron with white diamonds on the bottom.

The man was Uchiha Fugaku, the Commander-in-Chief of the Leaf Military Police Force, the Head of the Uchiha Clan. One of the most politically powerful people in the Land of Fire, one of the shrewdest leaders through the generations, and one of the strongest shinobi in the Hidden Leaf, his talents were said to be only second to the Fourth Hokage, which made him one prime candidate for the same position.

Takuma stood up to greet his boss.

Fugaku turned his gaze to Takuma.

"This is Takuma," Mikoto introduced. She didn't introduce her husband; there was no need to.

Fugaku nodded in greeting, which Takuma returned with a deep bow.

"Now that you're here, would you like to have lunch?" asked Mikoto.

Fugaku nodded.

"Takuma, can we end our lesson here today?" Mikoto turned to Takuma.

"Yes, ma'am. I'll take my leave," said Takuma, reading the room.

But as he was picking up his newly-acquired genjutsu scrolls,

"Genin Takuma, seeing that your lesson ended early," said Fugaku. "I would like to have a conversation with you."


———
.

AN: So, when I started this chapter, I thought it would be focused on genjutsu just like the previous one. But as I wrote Mikoto giving Takuma the scrolls, the direction of the chapter changed.

At first, I thought Takuma would be elated with getting free jutsu without spending a dime. But then I wondered if that's what Takuma would actually feel. After working so hard he had slowly built his jutsu collection which had 5 D-rank jutsu in it, and on the first day of his genjutsu lesson, he was given 4 of them. I realized that elation wouldn't be Takuma's reaction. It would be something similar to what I wrote. I felt he would break down, which I did my best to portray.

What next? I wondered. When something's broken, it needs to be built up. So, I thought what would Takuma do his breakdown. In my mind, Takuma lacks several things— he lacks a lot of important qualities— but if he's one thing, he's resilient. He had been knocked down several times, and each time, he got up stronger than before. It's his resolve, his will— the steel in his heart— which is his strongest asset.

I always thought that the "thrive not survive" moment in fanfiction and webnovels was always so cheesy and not earned most of them time. It always happened after a single event hardship. But in Takuma's case, he already has nearly 3 years of hardship in his resume, so I thought he had earned that change in mentality.

He was grinding before. But now he's going to grind while on the "sigma grindset." LOL. But, on a serious note, tell me what you guys think of this pivotal moment in Takuma's life. And because this is [Naruto: The Outsider's Resolve] and we follow traditions seriously, we had to knock Takuma down when he was feeling up— so, enter Uchiha Fugaku.

———

AN[2]: The review from Patreon chapters was sub-par, meh, [sure, why not]. They didn't have a problem with survive -> thrive— but they weren't in love in with the execution. Too much in too little time? But I wrote myself into it; can't change it now. This reminds of the time when Takuma went into a coma after realizing he might not be able to use chakra.

Click to shrink...

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[Fiction]

Takuma's thoughts raced at the sudden invitation (read as: order) from Fugaku.

"Police Force business?" asked Mikoto.

"Something like that," Fugaku said. They exchanged a look that Takuma missed in his alarm.

"Very well, the food will be ready in fifteen minutes," Mikoto said before walking away.

Takuma followed Fugaku through the massive house. He would've mapped his route and observed the entry and exit points, but his mind was occupied by speculations which turned crazier with every passing moment.

They reached a study-cum-office with a minimalist interior yet matched the rest of the traditional aesthetic of the house. Ink calligraphies, poems, and woodblock prints hung on the walls alongside ceremonial swords, daggers, and kunai. Ornate vases and other clay works sat in displays, some of them beautifully elevated through repairs using the kintsugi method. On the other side, an entire wall was dedicated to a library of scrolls and books.

Takuma sat across Fugaku with a large desk between them. He had some time to gather himself, but by no means was he calm. He didn't think this meeting was about his unsavory secrets, or else he wouldn't have been allowed near the house, much less inside it, which could only mean the discussion was about his work in the Organized Crime Division. If he knew he was going to present his work and plans to the big boss, then he would've prepared for it. If he did it poorly, his team might as well be scrapped before the one-month trial period he had managed to negotiate. But if he did well… He straightened himself and went through the key points in his mind; he had to answer any question asked clearly and in the most complete way possible.

"How is the job treating you, Genin Takuma?" Fugaku gazed at Takuma with calm eyes. "You were part of our first expansion recruitment. I believe you've been in the force long enough to get comfortable in your position."

"The work is challenging but fulfilling, sir. My peers and supervisors did a great job of bringing a novice like me up to speed, and thankfully, I've been able to pull my weight inside the department," Takuma replied. He applauded the work, complimented his coworkers, and finished with a few words of humble praise for himself.

"Organized Crime, correct? That's a difficult position to start as a rookie. To be able to perform under those expectations deserves nothing less than praise," Fugaku's words were praising, but his face remained still, and yet, there wasn't a sense of disconcertion in that. "I myself was part of the Organized Crime Division once; they do good work. I hope you'll continue serving the village with all you have."

"Of course, sir," replied Takuma.

Fugaku then engaged Takuma in a line of questioning revolving around the Police Force from the point of view of someone in his position. All the questions were point and specific, and it was clear what Fugaku wanted to know; with each passing question, Takuma realized Fugaku was collecting information. It seemed the Commander-in-Chief wished to know the ground reality from someone who wasn't in a supervisory position. Even though Takuma had very recently assumed his new position as the leader of the new narcotics team, which was a supervisory position, he was perfectly suited to answer the questions.

Takuma worded his answers carefully. He didn't outright badmouth anything or anyone because that could get him in trouble, but he did offer some suggestions and add some of the insights he noted as a relatively new outside hire.

"I was informed that a narcotics task force was given the go with you as its leader," said Fugaku. "That's a heavy responsibility for someone as young and new as yourself. Do you feel you're equipped to handle it? If I remember correctly, you only asked for a month to produce results— a month slips through the fingers before one realizes… Do you need more time?"

Takuma felt Fugaku's eyes on him. Even without the Sharingan, the man before him was an experienced shinobi and commander in charge of an entire clan and the organization which enforced the law in a shinobi village.

"… No, sir. I do not require more time. My team will produce the promised results by the decided deadline," said Takuma. He considered jumping at the offer of more time but then wondered what impression it would send. It hadn't even been a week since the team had been established, and if he, the leader, was already thinking about more time, then perhaps the new team hadn't given their plans enough thought. "I'm confident that my team will exist past the thirty days given to us."

Fugaku nodded, a hint of approval flashing on his face, which disappeared faster than it appeared.

He said, "It seems you're going through a good spell, Genin Takuma. You took a risk and hit it big in the Maiko Triad case— converted that success into your own task force— and you were even rewarded with genjutsu lessons from my wife, a jonin. I know a good streak when I see one…"

Takuma chuckled. "I simply made most of my situation, sir."

"… not to mention the massive victory you just scored in the Ring."

Takuma felt a cold shiver go up his body while his body temperature shot up several degrees within the span of seconds. Tremors appeared in his hands and clenching them into fists did nothing to settle them. It took every drop of his will and control to keep his face in check as he gazed at Fugaku, who looked no different from before.

"… Pardon, sir?"

"Your big victory in, I believe, the ninjutsu category, Genin Takuma. Or would you prefer me to address you by your Ring moniker… Scars." Every word out of Fugaku's mouth was a sledgehammer against his head and heart. "Allow me to congratulate you. I was told that it's a big event in a Ring fighter's career to win their first fight in the ninjutsu category. I apologize if I get something wrong; I don't keep up with the finer details."

"… I apologize, sir. I'm confused… You might have the wrong person. I'm not—"

Fugaku shook his head. He didn't even need to speak, and Takuma terminated his attempt to talk his way out of the ditch he was currently in.

"There's no rule forbidding an officer of the Police Force from being involved with the Ring. We never needed one because we never had civilian-born shinobi in our ranks before your batch joined," said Fugaku. Takuma wanted to look away, but something in Fugaku's gaze made Takuma maintain solid eye contact with the man. "I was conflicted about how to feel about this, even after having the time to think… I am still conflicted. On the one hand, I prefer if none of our officers have any connection with that organization, but at the same time, the Ring exists for a reason, and shinobi like you benefit from it. I'm sure you have reaped numerous gains; after all, you have reached the ninjutsu category."

Takuma was drawing zeroes on what to do in a situation like this. The person before him outclassed him in every single aspect of life. He was in real danger— but he couldn't simply sit there and not try anything. He picked a direction and decided to go hard in it.

"… Am I in trouble, sir?" he asked.

"Do you think you're in trouble, Genin Takuma?"

"I don't believe so, sir. As you said, the Ring exists for a reason, and I utilized it for all the benefits it could provide me… I made the best of what my situation presented to me," said Takuma as if he had done nothing wrong.

"Then why hide it? I didn't see the mention of your illustrious career in your application," asked Fugaka.

"I didn't want to be judged by my peers. You mentioned it yourself, sir. Ring only became an issue when civilian-born shinobi entered the Police Force; clan shinobi don't participate in the Ring— but I know its image in clan circles. The Police Force was a big opportunity, and I didn't want to see it ruined because I did something else for the betterment of my career," said Takuma in justification. "I simply wanted to be treated fairly, and it would take one supervising officer to look at it negatively for my progress to be throttled."

Takuma stopped when he realized that his speech cadence had jumped up and took a moment to collect himself. He didn't continue and faced Fugaku without a hint of fear on his face, even though, inside, his heart and mind were declaring an emergency. A lot depended upon how Fugaku would react to his justifications.

"… I don't have a problem with your participation in the Ring. I get to have a shinobi in my ranks with extensive combat training without paying for it. And clearly, the Ring is not affecting your work," said Fugaku. But then he continued by saying, "The conflict arises when I wonder if your associations from that part of your life would affect your judgment as an officer of the Police Force. I hope you understand what I'm saying…"

'Does he know?' Takuma's heartbeat spiked. He had no way of checking without directly asking and he wasn't going to do that in case Fugaku didn't know. "Takuma and Scars are two separate entities, sir. Scars only exist when I'm down in the tunnels; the moment I exit, I become Takuma, and when I don my uniform, I assume the responsibilities my position demands from me. Keeping my lives separate is the only reason why I have been able to come this far without ruining it all."

His identity as a Ring fighter contributed to only a fifth of his tension, panic, and nerves ready to burst; the rest was his status as Tobi, his work with Ryuu, and his connection to Enomoto. The Ring was an open secret that was actively ignored, but the drug industry was one hundred percent illegal and a target for eliminating any chance the Police Force got. If he got implicated, he would be crushed without any chance for rebuttal.

Takuma needed Fugaku to believe him.

"… I hope that is true, Genin Takuma." Fugaku leaned forward. "If I find that you've been misusing your position in the Police Force… I don't need to tell you the outcome. I'm happy with what you have done till now and would hate to lose a shinobi like you. Keep that in mind when you're at a crossroads and have a decision to make."

"Understood… sir," Takuma nodded.

It looked like Fugaku was done speaking.

Takuma, however, wasn't done— he had some pressing questions he needed to clear.

"Who else knows about this, sir?" asked Takuma.

"Not many people. Me, Jonin Sayuri (Head of Organized Crime), Chunin Yakumi (Kano's direct supervisor), Chunin Setsuna. But it'll be put on your file, so any Police Force jonin who wishes to look into your personnel records will know," answered Fugaku. That was a problem. Takuma opened his mouth to speak but was shut down by Fugaku. "It'll remain your Police Force personnel file, Genin Takuma. That's not negotiable. Be thankful that we aren't sharing it to the village-wide file."

Takuma closed his eyes and sighed. Now he had to be extra careful when dealing with a Police Force jonin in case they felt the need to look into his personnel file. He wasn't in immediate danger, as checking personnel files was frowned upon. He needed to build influence inside the Police Force as quickly as possible so if one day someone did bring up his Ring involvement, it wouldn't matter.

"You hid it well," Fugaku said. "It didn't come up in the screening when we hired you. It was because you were going to be a regular at my house that we had to do another check." He looked at Takuma with a smile, "After all, we can't let anyone enter this house, can we?"

Suddenly, Takuma was glad he used Tobi as an alternate identity for drug dealing.

"Does Jonin Mikoto know?" he asked.

"Of course, my wife knows. She was the first one to see the report."

Takuma couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Why couldn't he, just once, get an opportunity without a hidden caveat that always created problems for him?






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[Gavin Prince]

It's odd that the top brass can clearly see the utility of the Ring as a method of training their civilian-born shinobi forces, but haven't organised anything similar with legitimacy. The basic-training tournament showed big results, but there aren't any other tournaments outside of the Chuuin Exams?

Like, it's believable. The Leaf focus so strongly on their Clans that things that benefit primarily Clanless fall by the wayside without a strong sponsor to push them. And the Ring does exist and provides this service, and does so a) for free and b) in a way that only the most motivated will benefit (playing once again into the 'survival of the fittest' approach the shinobi leadership seem to prefer).

It's just a little sad to see, though.

 

[K.St0ne]

I kinda dislike the transition from "Survive to Thrive". His growth was a result of training his strength and skills to Survive future BS, which should naturally made him grow to Jounin level minimum. Now that his current vision of thriving is confined to becoming Jounin of Konoha, which limits his Views. He should be preparing to survive Otsusuki invasion which is way beyond Jounin level, not out of desire to Thrive but to Survive in this crazy Shounen world.

 

[Bête Noire]

I kinda dislike the transition from "Survive to Thrive". His growth was a result of training his strength and skills to Survive future BS, which should naturally made him grow to Jounin level minimum. Now that his current vision of thriving is confined to becoming Jounin of Konoha, which limits his Views. He should be preparing to survive Otsusuki invasion which is way beyond Jounin level, not out of desire to Thrive but to Survive in this crazy Shounen world.

Click to shrink...

IIRC he barely remembers anything about Naruto as the he didn't watch it in the past

 

[The Radiance]

I wonder if he can way later spin the deal he made as him being a mole rather than a collaborator.

those 4 Genjutsu scrolls were a lucky break even if he was made even more aware of the disparity between Jonin teams and others like him. I liked the transition from mere survival to a desire to Thrive and become something more. He finally has a goal that is above that of a beast.

Fugaku knowing he is Scars is not a big deal at the end of the day and as long as he is not suspicious he will get out scot free and his Tobi indentity buried so deep it has never existed.

 

[Magpy]

He better keep those genjutsu out of his criminal underworld life, it'd be pretty easy for them to notice if someone in the drug trade uses one of the genjutsu he was just given.

 

[Ap0c4L1PS1S]

'If I knew something like this would happen, I would've read the Rasengan training chapters until I was dreaming about them,' Takuma regretted not being a massive Naruto fan. If he knew how Rasengan worked, not only could he learn it without forking out mission points, he would have a powerful B-rank jutsu or whatever rank Rasengan was considered— if it was good enough for the protagonist and the Fourth Hokage, it was more than good enough for him.

Click to shrink...

You kidding right? To not remember the Rasengan training, it feels forced.

He says he isn't a big Naruto fan? I didn't even finish Shippuden, and didn't read the manga and I still remember how to train the Rasengan.

First the water balloon, then the rubber balloon, the last step I'm not 100% sure, but I think it was combining the two training methods or something.

This feels like the author remembered that the MC knows the training of a high level jutsu and just handwaved it away saying he doesn't remember.

 

[WritersCreed]

Honestly think he had a perfect opportunity to come clean about the drug dealer basically holding him hostage, he could make a very good argument on the why he wasn't sharing it ("didn't know who to trust, there are leaks in the police force and if it gets to the drug dealer I will die"). Sadly, later on if he's found out? He's screwed...

 

[Fiction]

Takuma sighed deeply as he made himself home on the quality cushion of the seating inside the private room of a high-grade barbeque restaurant.

"Don't sigh like that; you're not an old man," said Ai, bumping his shoulder with hers. The seating was a circular couch with an in-built barbeque grill in the table in between; a pipe fell from the ceiling with a very silent suction that would suck any and all smoke from the barbecue. It was a very Korean-style barbeque restaurant.

"People say I'm an old soul," Takuma smiled.

"What people? You're like the most active person I know," Taro rebuked. He sat across from Takuma. "Old people don't go learning a hundred different things every month. Do those things actually stick in your mind?"

"I know, right?" Ai joined in. "I was surprised when he fixed the plumbing at our house. And I had no idea you could work a field radio, much less that you had an official certification for it."

"I didn't know a certification even existed," Taro commented.

Takuma didn't realize that he was considered a man with many skills and technologically savvy by his friends and peers. He simply claimed to be an old soul because he was literally older than all of them.

"You seem tired. The Police Force's keeping you busy?"

On Ai's other side sat Nenro, looking immaculate like a teen male model as ever. There was not a single moment outside of training and sparring where Nenro didn't look a hundred percent fresh and perfectly dressed, with not a single hair out of place. If Nenro had a course in the LRC (Learning Resource Center) on personal style, Takuma would've forked a real mission point to attend those lessons. Nenro gave them tips, and they helped, but he didn't look anywhere as good as him.

"I was given a small team to lead. It's not something I'm used to yet," said Takuma. He was much more comfortable on his own, and managing a team was a different skill set altogether.

"You're already in a supervising position?" Nenro looked surprised. "They must be very happy with you. That's very good, Takuma."

Takuma waved the compliment away. He didn't want to tell them it was only temporary, and if he failed, it would set him back quite a bit.

He looked at the last member of their friend group sitting beside him. Masaaki was intently tending to the meat on the charcoal with focus. It seemed the Akimichi company had rubbed on his friend. Out of all of them, Masaaki had changed the most. He had gone through a massive growth spurt; he had grown until he was at least a head taller than Takuma and Taro, who were previously the tallest among their group and had even filled out with his frame widening considerably. Masaaki wasn't putting on fat like a traditional Akimchi, but he was getting big in his own way.

"What about you, Masaaki? How are the Akimichi treating you?" asked Takuma. Out of everyone in the group, Masaaki was the one he worried about the most.

"Good," Masaaki didn't take his eyes off the grill. "I've started training for the Chunin Exam next year."

"Same for me as well," Nenro added.

Takuma was surprised by the sudden declarations from his two friends. It had been nineteen months since they had graduated from the academy. Genin Corp genin were mandated to serve thirty months in the Genin Corp. Takuma's graduation batch had eleven more months before they could apply for the Chunin Exam. Even though Takuma had exited Genin Corp, the Chunin Exam restriction still applied to him. His Police Force contract also had a similar stipulation, but that didn't matter as that would end before the Genin Corp restriction ended. All in all, he still had the same eleven months just like everyone else— but he could get promoted through a field promotion.

As for Nenro and Masaaki, they were technically still in the Genin Corp. Technically being the focus word. Masaaki was under the sponsorship of the Akimichi Clan, and his situation was vastly better than any of his peers in the Genin Corp. Nenro, on the other hand, no longer took D-rank missions as he was a go-to genin for a couple of Chunin Teams who only took C-rank missions. If either of them tried, they could easily get out of the Genin Corp.

They didn't do so because, despite all the negatives, Genin Corp had one unmatched advantage over other locations. That advantage was freedom. As long as a genin met their monthly mission quota, they were free to do whatever they liked. Nenro and Masaaki could easily fill the mission quota and were free to do anything in their considerable free time— according to them, they were free an average of fifteen days a month.

Even Ai and Taro had at least a week or ten days free every month.

Takuma, on the other hand, was working a full-time job in the Police Force with a fixed schedule.

By no means was this the norm, but his four friends were all competent shinobi and had managed to reach such a stage in their careers. Moreover, they shared resources, helped each other, and made each other's life easier in the Genin Corp.

"You two also preparing for Chunin Exams?" Takuma turned to Ai and Taro.

Ai shook her head. "A rank promotion isn't in my plans for at least a couple more years. I'm preparing for the Medic Corp examinations eight months from now. If I pass it, I will join iryo-nin training the day my thirty months end." She looked at Taro. "Mister Oishi is helping me prepare every Saturday."

Takuma knew about Ai's desire to be an iryo-nin and how Mister Oishi, Taro's dad, an iryo-nin, had offered his help to Ai. But Takuma didn't know Ai was working with him so regularly. He felt guilty not knowing such an important thing.

"If you want to consult with a genin kunoichi iryo-nin, tell me I will introduce you to her," said Takuma.

"Someone in the Police Force?" asked Ai.

"No, she's my primary doctor," Takuma answered, "but if you want to talk to a chunin kunoichi iryo-nin, I can introduce you to her as well. I know her well, she's my boss."

"An Uchiha?"

"Uchiha Kano," said Takuma.

"I will think about it," said Ai.

Taro's dad was excellent help, but he was a man. Even if it was one meeting, Ai could get a lot of help from women in the field. One word from Ai and he would set those meetings as soon as possible.

Everyone looked at Taro, who had already begun eating the meat Masaaki was serving him. He noticed them looking at him. There was a silence as he chewed and swallowed the meat before speaking,

"I'm going to transfer to the Leaf Analysis Division in a couple of months."

Takuma looked at his other friends, and they seemed as surprised as he did, which meant they were hearing this for the first time, and he wasn't the only one in the unknown.

Before the group could flood Taro with questions, he raised his hands and silenced them.

"I didn't want to be an iryo-nin," Taro looked at Ai, "no offense, but it looks like a shit ton of work…"

"It is," she shrugged.

"… and I don't want to do whatever my mom does in the T&I Division. I mean, they don't have the best reputation when they have torture in the name," said Taro.

Even though Takuma was suspended for the week while Taro's mom was working with the Police Force on his request and didn't personally witness her work, he was told that she was very proficient in "Enhanced Interrogation Technique"— which was just a nice cover word for the use of advanced systematic torture to get the information with any means possible. She wasn't permitted to use the entire breadth of her skills as most of it wasn't suitable for the level of case and the charges being pressed against the people— but Arisu told him that the screams were still horrible and it still took some time to clean the blood from the rooms.

He wasn't going to talk about Taro about her mom and how she specialized in torture, regardless of if he knew it or not.

"What do they do in the Analysis Division?" Masaaki asked.

"Analyze information from our networks to recognize threats and mitigate risk. Or as mom said: the Analysis Division finds the threats and then sends people to whack 'em before they become a problem," said Taro. "You guys are always singing the praise of how incredibly smart and frighteningly intelligent I am, so I thought it would be the perfect job for me. I'm not that good at using my fists to protect the village, but I guess I can do a better job with my brain."

Taro was the weakest fighter in the group. And he didn't take any steps to change or improve his combat ability. They had tried to pull Taro into training, but he did the bare minimum. There was only so much they could push him.

"I'm a bad singer," started Takuma.

"I don't sing at all," Ai joined in.

"Vocals aren't my strong suit, but I can play the harmonica," Nenro followed.

"You're weak, Taro. It's good that you have a good brain in your head," Masaaki didn't pick up the ongoing joke but did reply in his own straightforward way.

"Have your laughs, but one day, I'm going to find a threat, and you guys will have to go take care of it like pawns doing my bidding," Taro scoffed. He then turned to Takuma, "I remember I wanted to ask you something."

"Yeah, sure. What is it?" said Takuma.

"I heard the Police Force is going to hire again this year. Are they?"

Takuma nodded as he ate yakitori off a skewer. "Yeah, I think they're going to open the process in a couple months. But this time, they're taking a lesser number, and the process will have some extra steps. The competition's going to be tough. I feel I lucked out," Takuma chuckled as he ate more. The food was good, and Masaaki was absolutely goated on the grill.

"I have this friend who wants to get into the Police Force. He wants to meet someone in the Police Force to know more about what it will be like. I told him about you," said Taro.

Before Takuma could speak, others spoke up.

"Actually, I have a few friends who are interested as well," said Ai.

"I also have a couple of guys who are thinking about the Police Force," Nenro said.

Takuma looked at his three friends and pursed his lips. "Guys, it'd be tough. I mean, I can't introduce this many people to an Uchiha. Kano is going to shut me down. I have an Uchiha, a genin, on my new team, but I don't think we are close enough for me to bother him like this. You guys will have more success asking Fuma Arisu; if you three remember her from basic training, she would be able to hook you guys up with some Uchiha. I will ask her for you, don't worry."

"Takuma," Ai spoke up. "They don't want to talk to an Uchiha. They want to talk to you."

Takuma's chopstick holding meat stopped midway between his mouth and plate.

"Me?" he asked, wondering if he had misheard Ai. "Why do they want to meet me?"

"Because you were in the same position as them. They want to talk to someone like them, someone who went through the process, got into a really high-up position right off the bat, and is now apparently leading a new team with an Uchiha on it," said Ai. "If it were you, who would you like to meet: someone who got in because of their clan or someone like you who worked hard to get in?"

"Me."

"Yeah, so will you meet them?" she asked.

"Sure."

That day Takuma realized he was a success story.





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[Fiction]

The genjutsu lessons continued as usual. Neither Takuma nor Mikoto bought up the Ring part of his life, which was how Takuma preferred it. While he would've liked to create a close relationship with "Jonin" "Uchiha" Mikoto, Takuma was fine as long as he got genjutsu lessons out of it, which was the reward he asked for.

"Did you have a chance to look at the scrolls?" asked Mikoto.

"I did," he replied. Mikoto had given Takuma three days to look at the scrolls. Both of them realized that Takuma had a full-time job and thus took it into consideration while issuing her deadlines.

Takuma hadn't been able to do anything the day Fugaku informed him that the Commander-in-Chief and some higher-ups were aware of his Ring identity. The next day, he went to Chunin Yakumi and Setsuna to talk with them about the new revelation. While Yakumi was displeased and ended their talk with: "The results of your team better be good," Setsuna straightforwardly said he didn't care. He didn't have the authority to meet Jonin Uchiha Sayuri, the Head of Organized Crime, with no notice and had to schedule a meeting— her secretary had returned to him the next day saying that she knew Takuma wanted to talk about and there was no need.

With that matter bearing down on his mind during the day, Takuma had to pull an all-nighter to read the scrolls. The four D-rank genjutsu were reasonably diverse; clearly, Mikoto wanted to use the four genjutsu as a basis for further studies by using them as examples. The four genjutsu were:

Genjutsu: Flower Hill— a furious tornado of flower petals would cover the target, lasting a maximum of a few seconds, completely obscuring their view in all directions.

Genjutsu: Bell Sound Clone— the target's head would fill with overwhelming bell sounds with a light paralysis effect while they saw rudimentary clones would appear in front of them.

Genjutsu: Haze— the target's vision of the entire area turned hazy and blurry; the more the target looked around, the higher haze and blur would be, potentially having a nauseating effect.

Genjutsu: Poisonous Stomach Hell— the target would feel a sudden and acute onset of cramping, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. It was a simplified downgrade of a C-rank jutsu, which had more bodily effects with higher intensity.

"And what did you learn in regard to the connection component?" asked Mikoto.

"Flower Hill is a smell-based genjutsu, Bell Sound Clone is sound-based, Haze is touch-based, and Poisonous Stomach Hell is taste-based," said Takuma. "I have some questions regarding these."

"Correct on all four. Go for the questions."

"So, Flower Hill. It's smell-based genjutsu, but there needs to be a smell that can be used as the "carrier" of chakra. Does that mean I will always need to carry a smoke bomb with a scent to be able to use the genjutsu? Isn't that a big restriction? I mean, you don't need anything for a visual-based genjutsu like Mist Servant Jutsu."

"Not all five senses were made equal. Some of them are simply easier to use," said Mikoto with a small smile. "Your comment of visual-based genjutsu not needing any aid is incorrect. The light entering the eye is the carrier, and well, light is ever-present. The "carrier" is the user themselves because the target is focusing on them. But it also presents a restriction— you can't use visual-based genjutsu from hiding or when the target doesn't have sufficient focus on the user. It's well-researched that the difficulty rockets when the user is standing in the peripheral vision when compared to then standing in front of them."

"It's easy to get attention in a battle," said Takuma.

"It is," Mikoto said with a soft shrug. "As I said, not all senses are made equal. However, you're underestimating Flower Hill and other olfactory genjutsu. You don't require a smoke bomb. You can simply use perfumes, colognes, gels, and balms with distinct scents, which you can wear all day long, and once a target registers the scent, which they will once you get close enough, you can build a connection through that scent. If you're indoors, you can use incense and candles and cast a genjutsu from hiding without ever facing them directly.

"Of course, there are restrictions on what scents you can use. It can't be something they're so used to that won't work, but it can't also be too distinct, which sets off a target's alarms. Balance and care are needed. An expert olfactory genjutsu user can juggle the variables to make their genjutsu work with a high success rate."

Takuma repeatedly nodded as Mikoto explained and noted down her words. This is what he was looking for. The thought of applying a puff of cologne as he entered a battle or a party and using that scent to cast genjutsu on the enemy or target was an exciting prospect.

"My next question is about Haze," Takuma continued with his question. "As I was reading the scroll, the text strongly recommended targeting the neck or forehead as the point of contact for establishing the connection. From a practical standpoint, those are some difficult targets. No fighter is going to tilt their head up and give access to their neck, and the head is perhaps the most protected part of the body, not to mention that a lot of people wear their forehead protector… well, on their forehead— doesn't this make this genjutsu useless?"

Mikoto laughed; Her laugh was pretty and melodic. She said, "The touch receptors in our skin are not uniformly distributed. Skin with hair on it is much less receptive— torso, legs, hands, and the head— and most of the time, all of that is covered with clothes. The neck, forehand, and the front side of your hand are the most receptive as they lack hair. For shinobi, hands will be mostly covered in calluses, making them an undesirable location. It is true that the majority of shinobi cover their foreheads. Leaving the neck as the best position."

"You can't say touch-based genjutsu has any advantage in the field," said Takuma.

"I agree that touch-based genjutsu doesn't have much use in combat. But during sex, touch-based genjutsu is always the choice."

Takuma was stunned speechless. Even with both his lives combined, he would only be in his mid-twenties; not to mention, Takuma was currently going through full-bloom puberty, and Uchiha Mikoto was a stunning woman. Moreover, Takuma wasn't expecting the topic of sex to be part of his genjutsu lesson. If he wasn't as busy as he was, thinking about sex would be a good chunk of his day.

"Ma'am?"

"You need to widen your mind, Takuma. Combat isn't the only place where jutsu are used. Shinobi specializing in seduction and sexual espionage are one of the premier experts in genjutsu, and they use touch-based genjutsu extensively during sex. People let their guard down when they're in bed— and well, genital areas are much more sensitive than the neck and forehead."

"… T-That sounds about right."

"It is right," Mikoto seemed to be having fun seeing Takuma's reaction. "Next."

Takuma cleared his throat and quickly noted everything down, but before asking his next question, he asked, "So, Haze is useless in battle?"

"As it is right now, yes, Haze is useless in battle."

Takuma frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Leave it for now. We will discuss it later in a future lesson."

Takuma wanted to know right now because he really liked the potential of Haze in combat and really wanted to get it working, but he let it go. He noted Mikoto's comment and moved to his next question.

"I'm confused with Poisonous Stomach Hell— actually, with all taste-based genjutsu. Do they require the target to incest a hallucinatory agent like a drug or something?" he asked.

"No, no, no. Please, don't confuse those two; they're different," Mikoto waved her hand in emphasis. "Genjutsu, which use taste as a connection component, require the target to eat something infused with your chakra. Your chakra needs to interact with the taste buds in their tongue for you to gain control of their chakra flow. The more chakra comes in contact with their tongue, the faster and stronger genjutsu works. As you would notice, taste-based genjutsu also doesn't have any presence on the battlefield, but it shines in other places. It's surprising how people check for poison, but they don't check for the presence of chakra in food and drinks."

"And drugs?" asked Takuma as he made notes.

"Drugs affect the brain and its functioning, which makes people much more suspectable to outside influence. Genjutsu becomes an extremely potent weapon when the target is not in their right mind. It doesn't need even need to be some rare drug— alcohol inebriation is enough for genjutsu to work better."

That made sense. Takuma made his notes and thought about how well his Mist Servant Jutsu worked on someone high on weed. He almost wanted to test the before and after— and who knows, he might actually conduct that experiment.

"Any questions on the Bell Sound Clone?" asked Mikoto.

"I'm sure the answer is in the scroll," Takuma hadn't read the text in its entirety; there was a lot more to read for every genjutsu, "but the scroll said to create the bell sound every five to seven seconds to maintain the genjutsu."

Bell Sound Clone required the user to produce a bell ring even after the genjutsu was successfully in place. And unlike Flower Hill, he couldn't apply a cologne and call it a day, he needed to continue ringing the bell every few seconds, which got in the way.

"If you don't repeat the bell, the genjutsu will weaken, and the chance of the target realizing they're in a genjutsu will rise. I understand where you're coming from, but every jutsu has its use," Mikoto answered patiently. "Combat often happens between groups. Imagine you trapping an opponent in a genjutsu while your teammate takes them out with zero danger. That's where genjutsu like Bell Sound Clone comes into play. Of course, not all auditory genjutsu requires recurring sound production, but it's a common trait because it allows the user to keep the genjutsu's hold on the target strong. Experts with high skill in auditory genjutsu are able to use their voice to cast genjutsu, which is extremely dangerous. You can close your eyes, but can you block all sounds when shinobi are able to modulate their voices?"


"I know how to modulate my voice," said Takuma, and his voice came out as highly distorted; it was the voice he used as Tobi. He could also increase the amplitude and pitch it up and down, and while he couldn't perfectly mimic someone's voice, he just needed practice to reach that level.

"Auditory genjutsu is an option you can explore," Mikoto said, and her voice sounded different. She sounded like another woman.

"Isn't that the anchor from the radio station?" Takuma asked.

Mikoto nodded with a smile.

She was more skilled at it than him.

"So, it's clear that Uchiha Clan specializes in visual genjutsu. I mean, with those eyes, it'd be illogical not to," Takuma looked at Mikoto, who nodded understandably. "But what about Yuhi Clan? They're dubbed as Hidden Leaf's premier genjutsu clan. Do they specialize in anything?"

"Hmm… as far as I understand, Yuhi Clan doesn't specialize in one connection component as a clan. But individual clan members do tend to specialize in one sense as it's naturally difficult to juggle multiple, and specialization provides a higher return on investment. If you look a little deeper, genjutsu users in the village follow trends— if a popular genjutsu user makes their name using auditory genjutsu, novice genjutsu users would look at them and get influenced. But I'd suggest that you don't fall into that and carefully research and use genjutsu to find what suits you."

Takuma had no idea which direction he would go, but he had five genjutsu, one from each sense, and an excellent teacher to guide him. He wasn't in a hurry, and eventually, he knew he would figure it out.





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[Fiction]

Shisui stretched his torso to relieve the tension from sitting in one place for too long and tweaked his neck and shoulder to get the kinks out with satisfying snapping clicks.

ANBU had trained him in stealth which often required staying in one place without moving for extended periods of time, but he dreaded the experience of sitting through one of Uchiha Clan's monthly meetings to discuss the progress of their primary clan objective— which at the current moment was overthrowing the current administration and establishing the new with the Uchiha at the very top.

Or, in fewer words— a Coup D'état.

Something Shisui was completely against.

They discussed their plans of establishing alliances with influential clans, investing more and more in the village's business, thus increasing their share in the economy, and buying physical assets like prime real estate, fertile and commercial land, and valuable metals like gold and silver. Recently, the clan had even sent diplomatic envoys to the Daimyo's court intending to get mining rights for precious mineral ores from reserves around the Land of Fire.

Before the formation of the Hidden Leaf village, in the Warring Era, the Uchiha Clan was the strongest shinobi clan in the Land of Fire, rivaled only by the Senju Clan. The clan had built the foundation of their wealth in that turmoil-filled era— they owned vast expanses of land, some were fertile lands which they put to farming by employing common folk, and eventually, farming towns had sprouted with the Uchiha land as the backbone of the people living in those villages, other were filled with mineral reserves which they mined, and once again mining towns were born which expanded into industrial cities— both existed to date. The Uchiha Clan was also one of the rare cases of privately-owned crude oil reserves.

All of it was gained by bloodshed and violence during the time when the law didn't exist for shinobi. Even after the formation of the Hidden Leaf and its shinobi recognizing the Fire Daimyo's position as the ruler of the Land of Fire, the Daimyo didn't dare ask for what the Uchiha had gained by sheer force.

The Daimyo, with his vast Samurai vassal forces, knew better than to be adversarial to shinobi. In truth, the Daimyo and his samurai were stronger than any single shinobi clan, but with the vassal forces split into facing multiple shinobi clans, the Daimyo could only watch as the shinobi raided and pillaged across the Land of Fire. And Daimyo's window of dominance truly closed with the inception of Hidden Leaf when all prominent shinobi clans joined hands.

Any action against Hidden Leaf shinobi would result in making enemies of the strongest force in the Land of Fire if not the entire Elemental Nations.

The Senju Clan was, once again, their only rival in terms of both owned wealth and military strength. Other shinobi clans like the Sarutobi, Shimura, Akimichi, Nara, Yamanaka, Aburame existed, and were strong in their own rights, but they couldn't match the Uchiha and the Senju— no one could, not even shinobi clans from outside the Land of Fire.

But perhaps both clans had enjoyed too much prosperity, and the scales of fate were uneven, which resulted in the need of the fixing the balance.

Soon after the creation of the Hidden Leaf, tragedy struck the Uchiha in the form of the clan leader Uchiha Madara, the man who had single-handedly caused the clan to soar to heights never seen before— the same man forsook the clan who refused to turn against the village which had bought peace and stopped the bloodshed.

Uchiha Madara battled the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and lost his life. The place they battled became known as the Valley of the End. Statues of the two men were carved in the place of their final battle, in the memory of the two greatest shinobi that ever lived.

It was one of the most beautiful places on the mortal plane.

That battle had negative effects. The village was displeased with the Uchiha Clan, and many even turned against them. The system of a hidden shinobi village had its multitude of advantages, but it also came with its caveat, after all, there was no free lunch in the world. If it were before, it would've meant war, but the Uchiha had bought into the concept of a peaceful village— they had to step back and take responsibility for their clan leader's action.

Ask any Uchiha, and they would say that was the moment the Uchiha stopped growing. Even though they had lost Uchiha Madara, they were still the strongest clan in the Hidden Leaf, excluding the Senju. Even though no one truly understood it back then, the Uchiha Clan had fallen out of favor with the rest of the village, which didn't improve after the First Hokage's death as his younger brother, Senju Tobirama took command as the Second Hokage.

There was no man the Uchiha hated more than Senju Tobirama. They respected Senju Hashirama for his strength and because the man was the reason the Hidden Leaf existed in the first place— but they hated the younger brother as Tobirama pushed the Uchiha Clan further down the hole they didn't know they were in.

In Tobirama's reign as the Second Hokage, the man isolated the Uchiha Clan. Slowly until the day he died in the First Shinobi World War, Tobirama had made sure the Uchiha were kept away from the village's central administration as much as possible.

It was during the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen's reign, did the Uchiha realize what had been done to them. As much as 80% of the clan worked in the Leaf Military Police Force— no other clan was concentrated in one organization as the Uchiha. Every other clan made sure to spread their members in as many aspects of the village as they could. Even clans like the Yamanaka Clan, who were perfect for T&I Division, had only a moderate presence there and had ensured they didn't have all their eggs in one basket.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was no better than his predecessor. While he didn't take any measures against the Uchiha, he also didn't do anything to improve their situation. The damage had been done, and the Uchiha were in their condition.

But they weren't doing as bad as their co-founding peer, the Senju Clan.

The Uchiha Clan hadn't let peace dull their blades, especially after Uchiha Madara's death; they had ensured that the clan maintained their position as the strongest clan. Proper systems were put into place to help the clan's future generations grow properly, and their clan's bloodline prospered and protected. The result of those efforts was that in the present, the Uchiha Clan was the strongest clan in the village. Their only competition in terms of military strength was the Hyuga Clan.

The same couldn't be said about the Senju Clan. They let peace rust their blades. The younger generation wasn't properly trained. As much as Senju Tobirama did for the improvement and standardization of training for the new Hidden Leaf shinobi, he had not done the same for the Senju Clan. On top of the Senju Clan enjoying the peace, they also suffered from low birth rates and lower infant mortality rates. On top of that, Senju Hashirama wasn't able to pass on his legendaryWood Release to his progeny, and Senju Tobirama died before he could produce any children who could have inherited his potent Water Release affinity or his intellect.

Peace created a weak Senju generation, and those weak men floundered away the clan's wealth until the clan's name no longer existed in the Hidden Leaf. The only prominent legacy existed in the form of Senju Hashirama's granddaughter, the legendary iryo-nin, one of the Legendary Sannin, Princess Tsunade, who had long since left shinobi service, no longer lived in the village and withdrawn from shinobi circles.

The other clans, including the Uchiha, saw an opportunity and slowly ate the pie known as the Senju's wealth. Half of it, which was too important for the clans to have, and they couldn't decide how to split, went to the village itself, but what could be divided was distributed among the clans.

Two more Shinobi World Wars were fought, and the time came for the aging Third Hokage to choose his successor. He had fought in and survived three wars, and he had served the village well, but now it was time for the village to be handed to young blood. It was time for the Hidden Leaf to get its Fourth Hokage.

It was a chance for Uchiha to rise again by having an Uchiha wear the Hokage's hat. They even had a prime contender in Uchiha Fugaku, the most talented of his generation and a war hero feared and respected around the globe.

However, the competition was tough.

One of the Legendary Sannin and the Third Hokage's most talented disciples, Orochimaru. The man had done everything from participating in wars to working in ANBU to contributing to essential research, which had benefited the village better understand chakra.

Then there was Namikaze Minato, another war hero who had risen around the same time as Fugaku. He, too, was connected to the Third Hokage through the Legendary Sage Jiraya, the last of the three Sannin. Minato was Jiraya's disciple. Minato was deemed the most talented shinobi in his generation as he was able to learn the Second Hokage's Hiraishin and had somehow able to improve it, which earned him the moniker of the Yellow Flash.

The Uchiha had invested a lot in Fugaku and had pushed for him in the political circles— alas, the Third Hokage chose Namikaze Minato.

The Uchiha Clan was unsurprisingly upset that Fugaku didn't win, but they thought the outcome was the second best after Fugaku as Hokage. Unlike the other option in Orochimaru, Namikaze Minato was a young man with an open mind, who the Uchiha Clan could build a positive relationship with

Moreover, they weren't completely surprised by Namikaze Minato being chosen— the young man was engaged to the Nine Tail's jinchuriki, and it was clear that it played into the decision as the First Hokage was married to the previous jinchuriki. Keeping jinchuriki close to the village royalty was a common tradition among all the Great Shinobi Hidden Villages.

And by becoming the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato was royalty.

The Uchiha Clan pivoted to their new strategy of becoming close to the Fourth Hokage and his office, but before they could make any significant progress, the young Hokage had to sacrifice his life to protect the village from the Nine-Tail's rampage.

Of course, the blame… was put on the Uchiha Clan.

Shisui sighed as he looked at the night sky. Why did these meetings have to run so late into the night?

As the clan members exited the clan community hall, Shisui smiled and nodded and exchanged passing words with people who were as tired as him and just wanted to get home and turn in for the day.

Ever since the formation of Hidden Leaf, the Uchiha Clan had entered an era of stagnation. They hadn't weakened, but they hadn't grown. In comparison, the other clans had taken advantage of the situation and had grown. There was still a gap between the Uchiha Clan and others, but it was no longer insurmountable as it once was. They were still the wealthiest clan in the Hidden Leaf, but they had fallen behind in other aspects. Their new rival, the Hyuga Clan, had become closer to them in terms of strength and had surpassed them in terms of prestige and influence within the village.

Shisui was in support of the steps the Uchiha Clan took to prepare for the Coup D'état. They were increasing their influence, taking back power, making friends, and securing opportunities for the younger generation to follow. For example, slowly opening the Leaf Military Police Force was so that the Uchiha could decrease their presence there and spread their members throughout the village like other clans.

He simply didn't like the motivation— the end goal— behind all these steps. If the clan changed the end goal to continued peaceful existence with the village while still doing what they were doing, he was willing to sit through any number of meetings.

He sighed. From the looks of it, that future was his wishful thinking as even those initially not enthusiastic about the plan were now slowly falling in line. He was losing potential future allies.

"Why not talk to me instead of sighing?"

Shisui glanced to his side to see Itachi standing beside him. Their relationship had been on the rocks for a while in the between, but Shisui couldn't stay angry with his only ally— and he saw Itachi as his brother, he couldn't break the relationship.

He only had his parents as his family, and his health hadn't been too great. Shisui needed someone he could lean against for support. Even though he was the 'big brother,' Shisui greatly appreciated the unmoving stability Itachi provided. Almost nothing phased the young genius.

"If they keep at this pace, the clan will be ready in two to three years, four if we are being pessimistic," Shisui sighed. "That's not a lot of time."

"Really? I think that's a lot of time," said Itachi.

Shisui chuckled. He sometimes forgot that his younger brother was only thirteen, and three years was indeed a long time for someone that young.

"You'll understand when you grow up a bit more. Time passes faster the older you grow," he said. Shisui looked at Itachi, who had suddenly gone silent, and there was a peculiar expression on Itachi's face. "What is it?"

After a good while of silence, Itachi finally spoke,

"… Shimaru Danzo came to meet with me."





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[Magpy]

Oh shit, I hadn't even thought what would happen when the uchiha clan all dies out from a nasty case of Itachi and Takuma is left as one of the few non-uchiha police officers, that's gonna be really interesting honestly. Could go an even better way though, where Takuma somehow gets on the trail of Danzo and the rest of the Uchiha clan finds out. Oh man, there's so many ways this could go, this is so well written!

 

[The Radiance]

That day Takuma realized he was a success story.

Click to shrink...

Takuma suffering from being too humble lmao.

Skin with hair on it is much less receptive

Click to shrink...

This is actually a myth. Skin with hair on it is much more receptive than skin without hair on it. Link to the American Physiological Society explaining things.

incest a hallucinatory

Click to shrink...

^Small typo here I think you mean "Ingest a hallucinatory" rather than "incest" lol

"… Shimaru Danzo came to meet with me."

Click to shrink...

Danzo is a disciple of the second Hokage. So you can't be surprised that he hate the Uchiha and manipulating Itachi and Shishui is really fked up. ;-;

 

[Fiction]

"Do not believe a word from that man's mouth!"

It took Itachi everything to hold back his instinct to break Shisui's arm as the latter pulled him in a Body Flicker without warning. He set Shisui's words aside for a moment to see where Shisui had transported them and found that they were in the woods near the Uchiha Compound. Despite knowing Shisui's skill with the Body Flicker Jutsu, Itachi couldn't be amazed every time at just how good he was at the jutsu; speed, distance, control— Shisui outclassed everyone else Itachi had seen use the jutsu. He wondered how much time he would need to hone the jutsu to be able to match Shisui.

Ages, he assumed— there were people seemingly tailor-made for particular jutsu.

"Are you listening to me, Itachi!"

Itachi replied, "I am." He turned to face Shisui. "I'm well aware of Shimura Danzo's reputation. I know better than to let my guard down around him."

"That is not enough," Shisui sounded as serious as he had ever been. "That man is dangerous. It doesn't matter if you're prepared for him, give him a sliver of an opening, or enough time to make a scratch, he will somehow get what he wants. People called Orochimaru the Snake; they don't know that something more dangerous crawls in the roots of this village."

Itachi furrowed his brows, wondering what had made Shisui react so strongly from simply hearing a man's name.

"Is it about ROOT?" he asked.

Shisui nodded and was about to speak when his eyes narrowed as he looked at Itachi.

"This isn't about some petty departmental rivalry, Itachi," Shisui's voice turned grave. "Danzo's ROOT is something that shouldn't exist. The worst part is that they operate with complete autonomy. Do you know what response we get every time we ask them specifics about a mission of theirs? They give nothing as they refuse to share any details. And because "Elder Danzo," we can't force them to turn things over— WE! ANBU can't get access! I don't know why Lord Hokage allows ROOT to exist, but it does, and every day they exist, they operate under the name of the Hidden Leaf, doing who knows what for the supposed good of the village, with zero operational oversight."

Itachi had only been in the ANBU for a year and didn't know about ROOT because of all the secrecy and fog surrounding them.

"Why does he want to meet you?" Shisui asked, half to Itachi and half to himself.

Itachi shrugged. He got no additional information except an invitation from a ROOT operative and the way to contact them when Itachi was free to meet.

"Do you think Lord Hokage shared our information with him?"

Itachi shook his head. "No, he has assured me that he has kept the risky truth to himself." The Hokage had initiated talks with the Uchiha Clan and thus had to work with his office as people needed to know to start the diplomatic process. But the Hokage had kept the fact that the Uchiha Clan was planning a Coup D'état against the village. The Hokage was still the only outsider aware of that hazardous information.

But Itachi could tell that every failed conversation with the Uchiha Clan thinned his patience and willingness to work using 'non-aggressive' means. Sarutobi Hiruzen had been cooperative, but the man had been thru three Shinobi World Wars— once the "Kind Professor" stepped back, the "God of Shinobi" was bound to step out, and that man wouldn't have any kindness if the village were threatened.

Shisui clicked his tongue. "Then the clan might have been too aggressive with their moves recently. Danzo might've gotten a whiff of something suspicious."

Itachi glanced at Shisui, wondering where he put Danzo on the scale of an omniscient devil to a highly trained bloodhound.

"… Do you know that we were once able to steal some of their mission details from ROOT?" said Shisui. "The information we got was that ROOT assassinated a series of influential figures in the Daimyo's court. The ROOT treated them as threats because they spoke against the Hidden Leaf in the high political circles; those people hadn't actually done anything to harm the village, just showed their detestation for the village's policy. Danzo had them assassinated over the course of two years, making every death an accident or a scheme from the victim's potential enemy. We weren't able to prove anything… not a single death was ever connected to ROOT… or the village.

ROOT has poisoned an entire inn just to take out one man, they killed an entire caravan and staged it to look like a bandit robbery just for another person, and so much more…"

The expression on Shisui's face was a mix of pure anger and disdain. Itachi had known Shisui since before he could remember, and his current expression was rare enough for him to count on one hand.

"I won't meet him, don't worry," said Itachi. He didn't want to freak Shisui out after the last time.

"Tell me if he tries to pull something," Shisui's eyes glowed until four-side pinwheels rotated in red, "and I might pay him a visit…"

Itachi didn't know why, but he felt a weight settle in his chest. He immediately changed the subject.

"How is your father doing?"

With a blink, Shisui's eyes returned to normal. "Better than usual… well, as better as he can be. He recognized me for the entire last week." A peaceful smile surfaced on his face.

"That's good. I haven't met him in a while. I should visit," said Itachi. Shisui's father had severe health complications from his injuries from the Third Shinobi World War— he had even lost a leg. Due to that, Shisui had been pushed into the role of sole breadwinner for his family of three from a very young age. There was nothing Shisui cared about more than his parents. There was probably no one with better medical treatment in the Hidden Leaf than Shisui's father. Whatever an Uchiha with three-tomoe Sharingan, who was a jonin, and was currently serving as an ANBU, could procure, Shisui had gotten more.

"He'll be happy to see you. Bring Sasuke along if you want," Shisui smiled. "How about you? What's happening in your life?"

"Things… have been a bit rough with father; these days, all we do is get into arguments every time we talk." Itachi didn't want to discuss his relationship with his father, so he moved on. "Sasuke's doing well in the academy; he has been pestering me to show him how to use shurikenjutsu," a soft smile bloomed on his face. "And well, I believe mother has been having the most interesting time of us all. She has taken a student."

Shisui looked visibly surprised. Uchiha Mikoto was a jonin who had been out of shinobi duty since Itachi's birth, which was more than a decade ago. The only time she had done anything remotely shinobi-like was participating in the emergency during the Nine-Tail invasion. For her to take on a student wasn't only a big deal in the Uchiha Clan but also village-wide. Every year, the village had to move jonin around for academy graduates. At least half of them didn't want anything to do with green genin and had to be convinced to train the next generation of Hidden Leaf shinobi. For a jonin like Mikoto to take on a student meant there was potential for her to take more in the future. Every single jonin mattered.

"Who is it?" asked Shisui.

"A genin named Takuma, no last name," Itachi replied.

Shisui furrowed his brows. "Why do I feel like I have heard that name?"

"You have met him. Junior Officer Takuma of the Department of Organized Crime. You questioned him on how the new recruits were being treated in the Police Force."

"Ah, I remember now. He was a pleasant fellow, if a little. I remember his answers being intelligent."

"I don't know any details, but he's apparently doing quite well for himself in the Police Force. And mother says she likes him, so she's probably going to continue teaching him." Itachi had to explain to Shisui the special circumstances of his mother and her new student and how it wasn't a true jonin-genin mentorship but simply daily genjutsu lessons.

"Well, he must've done something right to get himself lessons from Lady Mikoto." Shisui hummed for a moment before continuing, "If they're willing to prop up an outsider like this so early, then the clan really might be able to attract more talented people and phase themselves out." One of the Uchiha Clan's goals was to reduce their concentration in the Police Force and spread them around more important positions in the village. They didn't need that many Uchiha to retain control of the Police Force, but they did need people elsewhere for growth.

"I just hope he doesn't crumble," Shisui finished.

"What do you mean?"

"The entire clan is in an aggressive mode right now. If our friend Takuma continues to perform well, they might try to push him as the poster boy. He'll see more opportunities, which is good for him. But there's a fear that he might be overwhelmed to the point he might break… There are many cases of shinobi being too lost in their work until they become too lost and aren't able to claw their way back out. Then comes opium, heroin, cocaine, painkillers— anything to keep them working. It's a bad cycle…."

Itachi asked, "You knew anyone like that?"

"Not anyone close, but there are some right now in ANBU who're ruining their health and personal life just to be able to work and not fall behind."

Itachi thought about if his clan could ruin a man, and they were very much capable of doing it. What was a single man against an entire clan? But then he recalled a conversation he had with Izumi— Takuma's academy batchmate— and how she had told him about her observation of Takuma since their academy days and how much he had changed. A potential conclusion they had reached was that Takuma was always pretending to be less competent than he was, so he could use it later to have a jump in ability when he desired and exude a highly positive impression on others. He knew close to nothing about Takuma; they lived in very separate worlds. But from what little he had heard from others, it seemed Takuma had continued to climb up, grabbing opportunities on the way.

"I don't think he will break," said Itachi.

"Oh? Why makes you think he won't?"

"Let's just say that Genin Takuma is capable of a lot more than he shows."

Looking at everything, it was clear that his clan was laying the groundwork to potentially use Takuma as a poster boy. Yes, it would benefit Takuma but also bring him harm. It wasn't just the things that Shisui talked about— those were speculations based on very limited knowledge, unlikely to come true. But Itachi did know one thing solidly based on reality: the Uchiha Clan weren't the only one running the Police Force. Ally clans had a significant stake in the Police Force.

And it was ugly human nature to feel jealousy and envy because of other people's success— especially those they thought didn't deserve it.

Itachi liked to think that Takuma was using his clan just as much as they were using him; someone smart in his position would definitely do so— and his impression of Takuma was of someone who understood a lot but spoke less. And he didn't mind it. What relationship didn't have aspects of selfish motivations— some had them more than others. If Takuma was able to get what he wanted while the Uchiha benefited as well— who was he to ruin good things for a single genin?

"I look forward to hearing about him the next time he comes up; I wonder how far he would've climbed," said Itachi— until then, the man named Takuma would return to the dark recesses of his mind, forgotten until bought up.

The two Uchiha eventually left for their homes.

They, however, didn't notice a figure observing them from the shadows

— a figure wearing an orange mask.




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[Fiction]

"What will we be learning today?" asked Takuma as he took his genjutsu notebook from his backpack.

It had been two weeks since Takuma's first lesson with Mikoto at her home, and in just that short time, Takuma felt like he had learned more about genjutsu than he had known before. That knowledge in no way helped him create genjutsu or improve his ability to cast genjutsu he knew, but by no means was that knowledge useless. He could feel how the building blocks Mikoto was imparting him would one day be of tremendous use as he explored the world of genjutsu.

"Have you ever asked yourself why people don't question themselves in the face of the impossible?" asked Mikoto. A plate of light refreshments sat between them as usual.

"What might you mean?" Takuma returned.

"There are genjutsu which can be created through realistic practical means, but most genjutsu often lie in the category which can't be created or are near impossible to exist. So, my question to you is, why do we believe the truly bizarre we are made to experience while under the influence of a genjutsu?" Mikoto continued, "Why can a person see their long-dead loved one appear in front of them and wholeheartedly believe it to be true— and experience the full force of emotions without doubting that the sight in front of them is false?"

Takuma was left speechless in the face of Mikoto's question. He had no answer for it; he didn't even have a guess. In fact, Takuma had never questioned how genjutsu worked. Before he learned Genjutsu: Mist Servant Jutsu, the question was never in his orbit, and after he learned it, he simply accepted a genjutsu working as a fact. He was sure there was no explanation in any of the five genjutsu scrolls he currently possessed.

Takuma wondered why he had never questioned it. Was it because ever since Yuhi Kame had trapped him in a genjutsu which brought out genuine fear in him until he naturally slipped out that he accepted it as a universal truth?

"I didn't know, ma'am." Takuma's curiosity peaked, and he hung onto the next words Mikoto spoke.

"Until three decades, we didn't have the answer as to how genjutsu actually worked. The creation of jutsu, be it ninjutsu or genjutsu, was such a long time ago that much of the knowledge had been lost through the passage of time. We knew that certain series of hand seals and molding chakra in peculiar ways would create genjutsu, and the knowledge of creating different effects was more than plenty— but we didn't know how genjutsu actually interacted with the brain and mind to cause the intended results."

Takuma nodded. Chakra and jutsu weren't completely understood fields. Just like any scientific field, they too were studied every day by specialists and academics who devoted their lives to understanding the mystic force which made the impossible possible. It could be said that the study of chakra was still in its infancy, used only as a weapon because the researchers were shinobi, and the topics of research were funded by shinobi, making the research topics very biased towards militaristic uses. The only field with applications beyond warfare was iryo-jutsu which anyone could enjoy.

Takuma was sure one day, the secrets of chakra would be unlocked to a level where it would leak into normal lives. As for when that time would come, he didn't know— if the nature of this world didn't change, perhaps he wouldn't see it in his lifetime. The thought made him feel sorry for the world.

Mikoto continued, "However, four decades ago, we developed the technology which allowed us to inspect the brain." It was the invention of the MRI. "One of the experiments conducted in those early days was to study how the brain reacted under the influence of genjutsu…."

"Oh!" Takuma felt excited learning about knowing such a piece of history.

"…. the study resulted in us learning nothing."

"Oh…"

"It was a decade after the initial study that one of the researchers noticed how the scans of the brain of someone under genjutsu looked similar to those of people suffering from mental diseases like schizophrenia," Mikoto smiled. "We simply didn't have enough data when the initial study was conducted, but after a decade of studying all types of people, enough was recorded that previously asked unanswered questions gained answers."

Takuma released a breath he didn't know he was holding and subconsciously sat up straighter. He was not a naturally curious person who asked questions, but learning new and interesting things was always a welcoming experience.

But then he focused on Mikoto's words and realized what she had just revealed.

"I-Is there a chance of developing a mental condition because of genjutsu," Takuma asked with trepidation. Neither did he want to get a mental disease, nor did he want to subject anyone to one.

Mikoto laughed as she hid her mouth behind her hand. She laughed for a good few seconds before calming down. "You don't have to worry about that. A few studies have been done, and a correlation hasn't been found yet."

Takuma breathed a sigh of relief.

"To put it crudely, genjutsu alters the brain's functionality to something similar to mental diseases, but unlike mental diseases, the user has much more control and freedom. The brain is so disrupted that it loses touch with reality and begins accepting everything you throw at it, just like how an unstable mind accepts hallucinations as reality."

Mikoto took a pause and picked up her teacup. Knowing she had stopped for him, Takuma wrote everything he had not yet.

"What about when the target realizes they're in a genjutsu?" asked Takuma.

He had talked to Nenro and others about how they felt at the point of realization, but unlike his experience of complete, instant detachment, their testimonials were different; according to them, they were still very much under the thrall of the genjutsu, and it took the effort to muster the intention to break the genjutsu. Nenro had specifically pointed out that the amount of effort required to break away depended upon the user's skill level and that if someone was skilled, they could potentially pull the target back into complete thrall after they realized they were under a genjutsu.

"Brain and chakra are complex things beyond human understanding. The brain will try to correct itself, and if gaining control over another's chakra was so easy, genjutsu would be everyone's weapon of choice," said Mikoto. "There are internal and external factors out of your control, which can all lead to the target breaking free. The only way to reliably retain control is to have a strong one from the get-go."

Takuma scratched his head with the pencil. "Then what are the main criteria for a strong genjutsu— its ability to maintain control over the target or affect the target the most? What's considered the strongest genjutsu?"

Mikoto put her teacup down. "You're still looking at genjutsu as if it's ninjutsu. It is not. I have told you this before. While judging a genjutsu, you don't judge the jutsu but the shinobi behind it. Let's take your Mist Servant Jutsu as an example; can you change the connection component from visual to auditory?"

Takuma, of course, couldn't.

"A true user could make that happen. A genjutsu is just a build-it-yourself jutsu that can be adapted according to the requirements of the moment. Why put in the effort and chakra to create a long-lasting connection when you only need the genjutsu to last for a few seconds— similarly, why cast a 'strong' torturing genjutsu when you only wish to detain the target and don't wish to harm them? It's all about managing effort and chakra."

"How long would it take me to become a true genjutsu user, as you put it?" asked Takuma.

"That depends entirely upon. The faster you learn, the faster you'll be able to achieve the goal," Mikoto shrugged. "As to answer your previous question. The strongest genjutsu— as I said, I'll look at the person behind it. What's the quality of the strongest genjutsu shinobi? It's personal preference, and others will give you different answers, but the strongest user would be the one to hold a target in a genjutsu even after informing the target they were in a genjutsu."

Takuma was baffled. How could that be possible? Any person who knew they were in the genjutsu would immediately break it. "Has there ever been any such shinobi?" he asked.

"The Second Mizukage, Hōzuki Gengetsu," said Mikoto with an undertone of respect. "It was said that with the help of his summon, a giant clam, he could cast a genjutsu so strong that even after informing his targets they were in a genjutsu, they would be helpless to break out of it. He could play with a hundred shinobi simultaneously without breaking a sweat."

If it was true, then Takuma could see the Second Mizukage as the contender for the strongest genjutsu user, but he knew two people who he thought held a stronger claim as the strongest genjutsu users. Both were from the same clan as his teacher in front of him, and one was her son.

Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui. The former with his Tsukuyomi and the latter with his genjutsu, of which he couldn't recall the name, only that it was 'Inception' on steroids.

Takuma glanced at Mikoto's onyx eyes. Those eyes were absurdly strong weapons, but what was scarier was that they could become even stronger. So strong that they had made Itachi and Shisui contenders to possessors of the strongest genjutsu. But the most terrifying part was that with the right extremely rare circumstances, the eyes could become even stronger.

He shook his head. It was useless thinking about those two monsters. He didn't know when Shisui gained his Mangekyo Sharingan and if he had it now. As for Itachi, as Shisui was still alive, he didn't have access to his Mangekyo Sharingan.

"A question to you, Takuma. What, according to you, would be considered the strongest genjutsu?" asked Mikoto.

Takuma contemplated the question for a moment. "My answer might change if I give it more thought. But at this moment, a genjutsu that the target wouldn't want to leave is the strongest genjutsu," he said.

"… A genjutsu the target won't want to leave?" Mikoto looked stunned.

"Life can be tough, ma'am. For many, it's miserable. What if a genjutsu gives you everything you desire— a happy life with zero problems? I would bet everything I own that you would find plenty of people who wouldn't want to get out of something like that."

He looked outside. Due to the time of day and the building structure, he couldn't see the sun shining. But he could imagine a moon— a full blood red moon with nine black tomoe on its surface.

"A genjutsu that gives people the life of their dreams."

Takuma closed his eyes, and the faces of his family flashed before his eyes. He wondered if, in ten or twenty or thirty years from now, he could remember their faces, voices, the memories with them… the thought scared him to the core.

If given the choice… he didn't know if he would be able to refuse.
He didn't think his resolve was that strong.

He didn't think his resolve would ever get that strong.





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