Chapter 189: Genjutsu: Punishment King
Konoha Main Street.
Team 7 was in the middle of chasing Tora the cat.
"Over there... over there... Dammit, it ran away again!" Naruto shouted. Unfortunately, Tora was highly experienced and escaped their grasp once more. It took another ten minutes before they finally cornered the feline.
Naruto, holding Tora by the scruff, followed behind Kakashi with a pout. "Kakashi-sensei, why are we doing such low-level missions? We're clearly much stronger than this now."
"Don't get ahead of yourself. Even though you've been through Tonbo Tobitake's combat training, a ninja's duties aren't just about fighting. These small tasks are also meant to hone your capabilities as a shinobi," Kakashi lectured while keeping his eyes glued to his copy of Make-Out Paradise.
Internally, he couldn't help but marvel at how effective Tonbo's training had been. Had he not been watching them the entire time during the bell test, he might have been caught off guard by their coordination. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura now possessed incredible reaction speeds in both direct combat and ambushes. If I had this kind of training back then, maybe Obito wouldn't have died, he thought wistfully.
"Whatever," Naruto muttered. "These missions don't show off my strength at all." Sasuke and Sakura felt the same, but they had no choice but to follow Kakashi's lead.
Suddenly, a voice called out. "Hey! Big Brother Naruto!"
The Konohamaru Squad poked their heads out from around a corner and waved.
"Konohamaru? What are you guys doing here? Don't you have class?" Naruto asked.
Konohamaru flashed a triumphant grin. "It's Sunday! Big Brother, that jutsu you taught me is amazing! Two days ago, I finally defeated my arch-nemesis. I came to tell you the good news!"
"...You beat your rival? What's that got to do with me?" Naruto glanced at Sasuke before turning back to the kid.
"Jutsu?" Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura all perked up. What had Naruto taught this brat? Surely not the Shadow Clone?
Konohamaru nodded vigorously. "Hehe! I used your jutsu to beat my rival and Grandpa Third. Eventually, I'll beat you too and become the Hokage!"
"Tch, the Hokage title is mine!"
"I'll beat you first!"
Konoha's 18+ Bookstore.
Tianyu and Maki peeked inside like little thieves. They saw the owner nodding off behind the counter.
"Genjutsu: Hundred-Year Slumber."
Tianyu cast a basic illusion. The owner's vision blurred into a swirl before he slumped onto the table, fast asleep.
"Success!" The two shared a proud look and walked in openly.
"Hmph. Konohamaru thinks he can distract me with those transformation jutsus. We can play that game too. Dad said that to create a truly realistic illusion, one must have vast and extraordinary knowledge. We need to find some 'special' books here. Once our new Genjutsu is complete, Konohamaru will always be our subordinate!"
Faced with Konohamaru's "disgusting" techniques, Tianyu and Maki decided to fight fire with fire.
"This is the one: The Most Bizarre Humans of the Five Great Nations."
It was a book detailing famous, grotesque individuals across the continent, complete with photographs. As they flipped through, even they were a bit shaken by the imagery. There was the "Number One Slacker of the Land of Fire," whose stomach was full of maggots and head full of lice because he was too lazy to bathe. There was a woman with a face half-black and half-white, covered in birthmarks and missing half a lip. There was a man covered in snakes—snakes slithering out of his collar, sleeves, pants, and chest.
Every entry was hideous—a true assault on the senses.
"If Konohamaru can transform into ugly things, he must have seen books like this. If he can do it, so can we," Tianyu told his sister.
Maki nodded. "Exactly. We'll make everyone terrified!" Even just looking at the pictures made their skin crawl.
Naruto's main story arc has begun; I need to work hard too.
Tonbo Tobitake was unaware that his children were browsing "adult" bookstores for grotesque inspiration. Having secured data from Naruto and Sasuke, he had plunged back into his research.
His study of the nervous system had never stopped. "Contact Evolution" was only the first stage of his technique. The second stage was "Neural Projection." He wanted to be able to project his nerve-sensing outside his body—similar to Minato's Flying Raijin markers—so he could control them remotely. He even aimed to read enemy information from a distance.
This was the second stage of his ultimate Yin Release. If he could attach his nerves to a shuriken or kunai, he could plant them into an enemy upon contact to read their memories and find their weaknesses.
At the moment, he was back at the hospital, poring over medical texts. As the Head of the Analysis Division, he had ordered the collection of medical knowledge from across the Land of Fire and beyond. Between his deep-dive research, he occasionally monitored Naruto's progress and spent time with his family. He was a man who truly enjoyed life.
A few more months passed in this productive bliss.
Ninja Academy.
"Genjutsu: Punishment King!"
Facing Konohamaru, Tianyu wove his signs. A massive, hideous giant manifested behind him. The surrounding students and Iruka, who was acting as the referee, all felt their stomachs churn.
The giant had two snakes for eyes. Its body was covered in squirming, writhing maggots. Its face was a distorted patchwork of black and white, with only half a mouth. It was a visual nightmare. Just looking at it made Iruka feel like the "Eight Scents of Fire" he usually smelled was a luxury compared to this.
Konohamaru, who was about to weave his own seals, was so horrified that he froze in place.
"You lose."
Tianyu flickered in front of him, a kunai pressed against his throat.
"Dammit! What kind of jutsu is that? It's too gross!" Konohamaru complained, his secret move still uncast. The feeling of nausea lingered in his heart as he reluctantly surrendered.
"Hmph. It's just a normal Genjutsu, just like yours," Tianyu laughed triumphantly. After months of development, he and his sister had finally perfected this "genius" technique. In reality, it was just a standard illusion; if one could endure the sheer disgust and use the Academy's dispelling technique, it would break easily.
"Tianyu-kun, you are forbidden from using this disgusting jutsu at school ever again. Otherwise, nobody will be able to eat lunch," Iruka said, stepping forward. Who could eat after seeing that? The image kept flashing back into his mind.
"How can you say that? I worked so hard to develop this!" Tianyu lamented to the Sky.
Iruka was speechless. How is this any different from Naruto's Sexy Jutsu? Tianyu could have beaten everyone with Taijutsu alone, yet he insisted on using such an unpleasant Genjutsu. He was nothing like his father. Tonbo-sensei used high-class, dignified Genjutsu—not whatever "walking biohazard" this was.
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