15 Chapter – 14 Requirements of Genjutsu
Two Months Later
"Alright… this is the final step of the first stage of the Leaf Concentration Practice… let's see the maximum number I can reach with my current skills…" muttered Sasuke as he gave a nod to his Shadow Clone.
"Get ready, I am sticking them up…" said the Shadow Clone Sasuke and drew several leaves from a pile and started throwing them on Sasuke at several different points on his body.
Immediately Sasuke controlled his Chakra and directed it at eleven different points on his body, the forehead, left and right shoulder, left and right shoulder blade, the left and right pectoral muscle, the midpoint of the vertebral arch, the Navel, as well as the back of the left and right hand. Surprisingly, none of the eleven leaves fell off… rather, all of them remained fixed at the point as if stuck by an invisible adhesive.
"How is it?" asked Sasuke with his eyes closed. He was simultaneously focusing his Chakra at eleven different points in his body, and it required a lot of concentration, he couldn't afford to open his eyes and look at the leaves.
'Sharingan!'
The moment the Shadow Clone Sasuke activated the Sharingan, he could clearly see all eleven leaves stuck to the points they were thrown at with the help of a purple Chakra. "There are no abnormalities, the output is also good… rather it's far more than required so you are wasting Chakra, but that's acceptable for the time being since we haven't done advanced exercises for controlling the output efficiency of Chakra, in any case, let's try to maintain this state for a minute longer after that I will increase the number of leaves one at a time."
"Hmm," nodded Sasuke and continued to maintain the same output of Chakra. Unlike the Hyuga Clansmen, Uchihas are incapable of expelling Chakra from all 361 Tenketsu Points in their bodies, as such Sasuke had to consciously direct Chakra to these eleven different points to make sure that the leaves remain stuck and take a lot of concentration.
A minute later, Sasuke's forehead was already covered in sweat, but he was fine… Noting this, the Shadow Clone Sasuke nodded approvingly, and spoke, "I am increasing the number of leaves… the first will be at the xiphoid process."
"Got it," mumbled Sasuke as he directed some Chakra toward the small cartilaginous extension at the interior end of the sternum. The moment the Shadow Clone stuck a leaf at the xiphoid process, it was stuck there by the Chakra Sasuke directed at that part, however, it seemed that the adhesive was weak so it would leave.
Looking at the twelfth leaf through the Sharingan, the Shadow Clone spoke, "It's barely stuck… increase the Chakra output…"
"Hmm," nodded Sasuke as he slowly increased the Chakra output…
The Shadow Clone immediately spoke, "Oh no, you are putting too much Chakra, tone it down a little…"
"Yeah? How about now?" asked Sasuke as he decreased the Chakra output step by step.
"Now it's good… alright, continue to maintain this state for a minute, then I will add another leaf…" spoke the Shadow Clone.
"Hmm," Sasuke nodded and continued the state after which another leaf was added, then another, then another, then another, and another… Steadily, the number reached twenty-one. Sasuke had twenty-one leaves stuck on different parts of his body with his Chakra, as a result, he had to simultaneously focus on 21 different points on his body and simultaneously direct Chakra to them which he was able to manage somehow but with extreme difficulty. His entire body was sweating profusely forming a puddle of sweat beneath his feet.
"Alright, a minute has passed, I am adding the twenty-second leaf…" the Shadow Clone spoke, and put another leaf, this time on top of the manubrium.
In response, Sasuke directed his Chakra at that point, and using it he tried to stick the leaf to his body which he almost succeeded in, but only a second had passed as a drop of blood flowed down his nostril, the next moment his concentration was cut off as a result all the leaves fell off, the Shadow Clone disappeared, and Sasuke too collapsed on the floor breathing profusely, he was overwhelmed.
Drenched in sweat and collapsed on the floor Sasuke cleaned the blood using a towel, then took deep breaths and thought to himself with a tired expression, 'Twenty-one, that's my current upper limit…'
He was really tired at the moment and fell like falling asleep for a while. Fortunately, he was at his apartment while carrying out this exercise, otherwise, it would have been very troublesome.
In fact, had an ignorant onlooker been watching Sasuke carrying out the exercise, they would have been very confused, and they would have wondered just what the hell the boy was trying to do by sticking all those leaves on his torso.
The exercise Sasuke was carrying out earlier is generally performed using a single leaf to focus on a single point in order to increase concentration as well as improve Chakra Control, but the young Uchiha on the other hand was trying to simultaneously focus his Chakra on multiple points, this is different from traditional Leaf Concentration Exercise.
So, the question is, what was he trying to achieve by deviating from the norm?
The answer is quite simple actually. Aside from improving his Chakra Control, Sasuke is trying to increase the number of tasks he can simultaneously focus his attention on.
As for the question of why exactly? To answer this question, let's first focus on another set of questions and answer those questions.
Why was it that Uzumaki Naruto had a problem using Rasengan without the help of his Shadow Clone? Why was it that when using the Rasenshuriken, he needed the assistance of another Shadow Clone?
When using the Rasengan, Naruto had to simultaneously focus on two tasks, number one maintain the rotation, and number two keep the Chakra contained. Carrying out these two tasks at the same time was difficult for him to do on his own hence he used a Shadow Clone.
When mastering the Rasenshuriken, the difficulty further increased, and he had to focus on three tasks simultaneously, he had to maintain the rotation, contain the chakra, and simultaneously add Wind Nature Transformation Chakra to the Rasengan. Naruto described the difficulty of that task as having to look left and right at the same time, a task that is nearly impossible without employing the use of a Shadow Clone.
From these two examples it is easy to understand that because he was unable to simultaneously perform multiple tasks on his own, he required the assistance of Shadow Clones. In order to overcome the problem that Naruto faced initially; Sasuke is carrying out this exercise.
Now, just because Sasuke was able to stick twenty-one leaves on his body at the same time doesn't mean that he is already capable of performing twenty-one different actions simultaneously, that's not how it works… Even if he was focusing on twenty-one different points, he was performing a single action and that is 'sticking the leaf,' which is different from performing twenty-one different actions simultaneously.
There are advanced exercises for that as well and he would be able to carry out at least more than one different action simultaneously after performing those exercises, but he hasn't reached that point yet, it's something to look forward to in the future.
Being able to carry out multiple different actions simultaneously is very helpful and very important.
For one, using a Nature Transformation Kekkei Genkai becomes possible. Indeed, the Kekkei Genkai such as Lava Style, Vapor Style, and Ice Style are all a fusion of more than one Chakra Natures, which means the wielders of said Kekkei Genkai needs to be able to use two different Chakra Natures at the same time. Those who are born with said Nature Transformation Kekkei Genkai do not have to face this difficulty, however, those who develop their very own Kekkei Genkai from scratch need to be able to perform more than one action simultaneously.
Though Sasuke is currently not focused on creating a Kekkei Genkai or Kekkei Tōta, he would do that in the near future, currently, he is focused on Genjutsu.
Genjutsu users ought to have vivid imaginations as well as very good Chakra Control, but those are just basic requirements to start on the path of Genjutsu. Just because someone has these qualities doesn't mean they can become a Genjutsu master.
Another very important requirement is to be able to perform multiple actions simultaneously. In fact, the stronger and more complex a Genjutsu is, the higher the number of tasks the user needs to be able to perform simultaneously.
When using a Genjutsu several factors such as world-building, the subject's Chakra Control, plot development, and sensation, as well as the information that is fed to the victim in order to fool their five senses which include sound, sight, smell, taste, and touch have to be carefully focused upon as well. In order to carry out these multiple tasks in a split second the user obviously needs to be able to perform multiple tasks simultaneously. This is the case for just a single layer Genjutsu, if the number of layers increases, the number of simultaneous actions needed to be performed increases as well.
A mind that cannot carry out many different tasks at the same time can never excel in the field of Genjutsu, this is why even though Genjutsu is one of the three basic Shinobi arts, the number of true Genjutsu masters like Uchiha Itachi is very small in the Shinobi World.
'In any case, I am starting to get a hang of it… I think I can now use some low-ranked Genjutsu as well,' thought Sasuke as he got up after a short rest and went to the kitchen, the Chakra control practice from earlier had left him drained, and he needed to eat something quickly in order to recover his physical energy for the Kenjutsu Training in the evening.
.
.
'I want to grow up to be a great ninja… strong like Chichiue-sama, and kind like Hahaue-sama…'
"Hinata-sama…"
'Strong Chichiue-sama, and kind like Hahaue-sama …'
"Hinata-sama…"
'Kind like Hahaue-sama…'
"Hinata-sama…"
'Hahaue-sama…?'
"HINATA-SAMA!!!"
With a jolt, Hinata woke up, "Huh?" She looked around in confusion and noticed a familiar face in front of her looking at her with concern in his eyes. Hinata wiped her eyes, and asked, "Ko-san?"
Hyuga Ko–Hinata's caretaker–looked at her with a worried expression as he noticed the dried tear stains on her face. It was obvious she dozed off while crying, but what could he do to console her at such a time? Would saying anything even work? After all, she has just lost her…
The older Hyuga sighed, and spoke, "Hinata-sama… it's time for the ceremony… We must not make them wait…"
Hinata nodded, "Hmm…" and got up. There was no need for her to make any preparations, she was already wearing the color she needed to wear for the ceremony.
"Let's go…" said Ko as he held the little girl's arm and led her to the shrine.
Just as the two made their way out of Hinata's room, the two ran into Hanabi and her caretaker Natsu making their way to the shrine as well. When Hanabi noticed Hinata, the tears that had just stopped once again came out and she ran into Hinata's embrace while crying, "Nee-sama… Hahaue-sama… why did she go?"
"Hanabi…" whispered Hinata as she tightly embraced her little sister. Watching her sister cry, Hinata's tears also came out, but she tried her best not to cry. At such a time, she had to be strong… strong for her little sister, but no matter how much she tried, the tears didn't stop.
Ko and Natsu watched the sisters crying in each other's embrace with regretful expressions. How do they even console the two at such a time when they have just lost their mother?
.
.
.
As always, drop your power stones, comments as well as reviews, and also if you like the story so far, then make sure to add the book to your library for constant updates of new Chapters.
