21 Chapter 21 - Kurama Clan's Kekkei Genkai

"What kind of genjutsu do I want to learn?"

"Yes. When it comes to the Kurama clan's Kekkei Genkai, its real power of it comes from its flexible nature. It naturally enhances all of your genjutsu prowess, on top of that you are able to control the victim's five senses as well. This is fueled entirely by your spiritual energy and your imagination. So, just tell me what you want to do and I'll help you refine it."

"Hmmm."

Mikumo thought for a moment and then told Shinku about her idea for project Kyoka Suigetsu, without telling him the name.

Shinku rubbed his chin and thought deeply.

"This is definitely possible, actually the concept of the jutsu itself isn't that hard to create. But I see you already realize the problem with this technique, a genjutsu clone, no matter how high quality or convincing, can't fool experienced ninjas forever. All it takes is one person to escape from a battle with you alive and your technique will lose its advantage afterward. For the level of quality you want this clone to be, it'll require a lot of chakra to use. If you limit yourself to only a clone, maintaining it won't be too costly, but that initial cost is still high..."

Shinku scratched his head with his eyes closed and brainstormed further.

"Once people know that your clone is genjutsu based, they'll take precautions against you. They'll engage you in pairs always in order to have someone to help break free from your technique."

"But what about the second Mizukage's technique?"

"Hmm, from what I know about the second Mizukage, Gengetsu's jutsu, he uses a giant clam summon to maintain the activation of the genjutsu. Actually, your proposed genjutsu is a lot like his, except what you want to do is combine it with your Kekkei Genkai to make it a real clone instead of just a mirage...I see."

Mikumo nodded her head and clarified.

"If the genjutsu clone I create can actually harm the enemy instead of being a mirage, that will buy me time to sneak attack the enemy, as they can't simply ignore it. I can also use it to play mind games, and make my enemies wonder if it's even my real body they're attacking if they find me."

Shinku nodded in excitement.

"Yes, indeed, this jutsu is quite useful, much more than I originally thought. Still, there is still that hurdle about the weakness of the technique. The second Mizukage had a summon to help him with maintaining his mirage, although I don't know exactly how it works, I can speculate. I heard that Gengetsu's technique was unbreakable without finding and stopping his giant clam. This fundamentally breaks the rules of genjutsu, if we imagine that casting a genjutsu on someone was the same as splashing them with water, then breaking free of genjutsu is shaking that water off. We know that Gengetsu's technique is a combination jutsu with his summon, so the key to an unbreakable genjutsu must be in this fact."

Mikumo agreed with Shinku's theories as she has already pondered this before.

"But I don't really want to have to rely on a giant clam though, I don't even know where I'd find one."

Shinku nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, although this technique is strong, having to rely on an immobile summon is not exactly exciting. The goal is to create a perfect genjutsu, this limitation is too much."

Mikumo hummed in thought and then suddenly had a stray thought.

'Gengetsu's clam continually exuded mist from its siphons to maintain the activation. Why is that? Just to create a mist to reflect light? If that's why then why not any other mist-creating jutsu like Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hiding in Mist Technique)? What if...'

"Sensei, you likened casting genjutsu to splashing someone with water, so what if we just submerged them in water, then they can't shake free from it, right?"

Shinku raised an eyebrow and questioned Mikumo.

"Submerging them in water? Sure that works in terms of the analogy, but in reality, genjutsu doesn't work that way. Once you cast the jutsu, that's it, you can't permanently keep controlling your victim's chakra flow to keep them from breaking free, at least not without permanently staying in physical contact with them. Unless..."

"Unless your chakra is what is in constant contact with the enemy, right, sensei?"

Shinku's eyes lit up and nodded.

"That's right. That must be how Gengetsu is able to maintain his technique. The mist created from Gengetsu's giant clam must be created from his own chakra, which technically means he's always in 'contact' with the victims of his genjutsu. This would explain why his opponents can't break free from the genjutsu without stopping the clam, they must stop it from continually producing the mist."

"Right! So that means, if I just do the same thing, then I will be able to create an unbreakable genjutsu as well!"

Shinku has a crooked smile at Mikumo's claim and lightly bonked her on the head.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, even the second Mizukage had to use a giant clam summon that specializes in producing mist to perform the jutsu, how are you going to do it by yourself?"

Mikumo rubbed her head with a pout as she brought herself back to reality. Shinku chuckled seeing her downtrodden expression.

"Heh, well, don't be too discouraged yet. At least we've figured out the basic roadmap for the technique now. Besides, it's going to take you a lot more growing before you can reach the level of skill needed to perform this level of jutsu. For now, let's start with something simple first. Here, learn these hand signs."

Mikumo turned her full attention back to Shinku as he showed her a short string of hand signs.

"This is one of my special concealment techniques. Shinkiro!" (Mirage)

As Shinku activated the jutsu his body faded away.

Mikumo scratched her head wondering how this is different from any other concealment jutsu as she put her hands together to dispel it.

"Kai!"

Mikumo disrupted her chakra to dispel the genjutsu, but even after doing so, nothing happened.

"Huh?"

Then Mikumo felt a hand on her shoulder from behind.

"Wah!"

"Ahaha! Surprised?"

Mikumo turned around to see Shinku standing behind her.

"How? I didn't hear you move at all."

Shinku nodded happily and explained.

"Exactly, Shinkiro allows you to conceal not only your body but also the sound that you make. Not only that, but it can conceal your chakra as well, which is very useful against sensor ninjas. As it's quite an inconspicuous technique, it's helpful to use in a bind as your opponent might not even realize they're caught in this genjutsu."

"Wow, cool! That's quite useful."

"Heh, well I did say I prefer techniques with high utility, it's not the flashiest jutsu in the world, but it gets the job done, although it does have a mild chakra cost. I estimate with your current chakra pool you can probably use it around five times. Once you have sufficiently mastered this technique, you will be able to reduce the number of hand signs required to perform it."

"Awesome! Okay, now let me try."

Mikumo copied the hand seals she memorized from Shinku and performed the technique.

"Shinkiro!"

As Mikumo faded away and tried to move behind Shinku, he suddenly caught her by the hand. Mikumo was surprised that Shinku caught her so easily, she was sure she performed the jutsu accurately. As she looked up, she saw Shinku with his eyes closed.

"Kai! Not good enough, Mikumo. I could still feel your presence. You must account for everything, be more imaginative! You have already unlocked your Kekkei Genkai, I should be able to feel the breeze that was previously blocked by your body after you use the technique. Try again."

Mikumo pondered for a moment and nodded with a more focused expression on her face. After a few deep breaths, she performed the hand signs for the technique again.

Shinku watched as Mikumo's body faded away. Unlike before, this time, he could no longer feel her presence. He looked around the empty field and truly felt like he was the only person there. After nodding in satisfaction he weaved a hand sign to dispel the genjutsu.

"Kai. Very good Mikumo-"

Shinku paused as even after he dispelled the illusion, Mikumo was nowhere to be found. However, sensing danger from behind him, Shinku quickly dodged to the side. Then, Mikumo was revealed as her body slid on the ground.

"Aw sensei, why'd you dodge?"

Shinku had a crooked smile as he sighed in exasperation.

"Why wouldn't I dodge, Kurenai was right, you are quite the troublemaker."

"Ehe."

"Anyway, that was...double activation?"

"Yep, I sneaked behind you and as soon as you dispelled the genjutsu, I timed it to cast a second one."

"Heh, cheeky kid. Alright, before we end for the day, you got enough energy for me to show you one last technique?"

Mikumo nodded with a thumbs up.

"For sure!"

"Alright, the last thing I'm going to teach you today, is an experimental jutsu I created for my previous student with the Kurama clan's Kekkei Genkai in mind. I hope that with your Kekkei Genkai, you will be able to perfect this technique. Watch carefully."

Shinku put one hand on the sheathed sword on his back and the other in front of him.

"Pay attention."

Shinku then started weaving one-handed hand signs. Mikumo's eyes lit up with shock as she watched.

"Maboroshi no Ken!" (Phantom Blade)

Mikumo watched as Shinku unsheathed his sword and slashed right at her. Her instincts took over as she panicked and raised her arms up to block, but the sword went right through her guard and slashed right at her torso.

Although she was struck, she felt no pain as she was left only with a rapidly rising heartbeat and sweat rolling down her forehead. Mikumo looked back up to see Shinku's hand still on his unsheathed sword as if it was all just an illusion.

"Sensei, what was that!?"

"Maboroshi no Ken, a specialized genjutsu and kenjutsu combination attack. After my opponent raise their guard to defend against the phantom attack, I would then attack with my real sword. I have used it on a few occasions but it's still an imperfect technique. An experienced ninja can recognize the difference between a phantom attack and a real one and react fast enough to block it. However, if you were to combine this move with your Kekkei Genkai, your opponent would feel that your phantom attack actually had force behind it, leaving them wide open for an attack."

Mikumo's eyes lit up in excitement, realizing just how amazing this technique really is.

"And you're going to teach this to me, sensei!?"

"Hahaha, of course, if it wasn't going to, I wouldn't have shown it to you. I hope you can perfect this jutsu for me and show the world the real power of the phantom blade."

"I will, I will! Please teach it to me!"

"Alright, alright settle down. That's enough for today. I promise to teach you this technique, but first, you must learn proper kenjutsu. For that, I'll leave it to Sakumo to do, as he's much better than me. In the meantime, I'll incorporate genjutsu training into the training plan you have with Sakumo already in order to increase your chakra control, got it?"

"Mhm, got it!"

"That's all for today. Okay, why don't I treat you to some ramen, huh?"

"Sounds good to me, let's go!"

"Heh, so full of energy still. I'll take note of that when I'm writing the training plan."

"Geh."

Black lines seem to appear on Mikumo's forehead as she heard Shinku's last remarks.

Shinku laughed as he patted Mikumo on the head and started exiting the training ground toward the village center with Mikumo in tow.