As the primary holding facility for Uchiha prisoners of war, the Senju Clan's underground dungeon was heavily fortified. However, Chu Yang now possessed the absolute authority to come and go as he pleased.
The news that he had become the direct, personal disciple of both Hashirama and Tobirama Senju had already spread like wildfire throughout the clan.
Chu Yang's status was completely different from what it used to be.
Therefore, when he arrived at the dungeon entrance, the guards only asked a few routine questions before respectfully letting him pass. They even assigned an elite shinobi to personally escort and protect him inside.
However, before Chu Yang descended into the darkness, the head guard specifically warned him, "Please ensure you do not endanger the lives of these captives. Many of them are highly valuable bargaining chips used to exchange for captured Senju clansmen."
As the bitter war dragged on, both sides inevitably took prisoners. When the dust eventually settled, prisoner exchanges and negotiations were unavoidable realities of the conflict.
Chu Yang nodded in understanding. The "experiment" he was about to conduct wouldn't put the prisoners' lives at risk anyway. If anything, he was the one putting himself in danger.
With the guard at his side, Chu Yang stepped into the damp, gloomy dungeon.
Hearing footsteps approach, the Uchiha prisoners locked behind the iron bars subconsciously turned their heads toward the sound.
It was only then that Chu Yang realized both of their eyes were completely covered by thick, black blindfolds plastered with intricate Sealing Jutsu formulas.
Managing the Uchiha captives in this extreme manner was a harsh lesson the Senju Clan had paid for in blood. Beyond completely blinding them, the Sealing Jutsu directly suppressed their chakra networks, making it impossible for them to extract or mold chakra.
If Chu Yang wanted them to cast Genjutsu on him, those seals had to come off first.
Chu Yang turned to his escort. "Go find me the one with the heaviest injuries and the lowest amount of chakra."
The guard's face instantly twisted in hesitation.
Chu Yang smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. I just want to personally experience the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan Genjutsu."
Hearing this, the guard let out a sigh of relief and chuckled. "Ah, understood. That won't be a problem."
A few moments later, the guard returned, dragging a young Uchiha boy out of a cell. The prisoner was actually even younger than Chu Yang.
The boy was emaciated, his skin sallow and his spirit completely broken. He looked severely malnourished; even Chu Yang doubted this kid could squeeze out more than a drop of chakra.
He must have been starving down here for quite some time, Chu Yang thought, watching the boy slump against the wall like a puddle of mud.
Originally, Chu Yang considered asking the guard to swap him for someone a bit stronger, but he quickly reconsidered. It was better to be cautious. For all he knew, the kid was just faking how weak he was to lower their guard.
Without the aid of a visual dojutsu like the Byakugan or Sharingan, it was incredibly difficult for an ordinary shinobi to accurately gauge an opponent's exact chakra reserves unless there was a massive disparity in power.
"Please be careful. I'm going to lift the seal now," the guard warned. He reached out and forcefully ripped the talisman off the boy's eyes.
Chu Yang didn't even need to say a word to provoke him. The very instant the seal was removed, the Uchiha boy snapped his eyes open, glaring at Chu Yang with pure, unadulterated hatred.
His Sharingan was fully activated. One eye possessed a single tomoe, while the other possessed two tomoe.
The moment their eyes met, the boy's vengeful glare violently dragged Chu Yang's consciousness straight into an illusion!
Chu Yang's expression instantly went completely blank, his eyes losing all focus.
Seeing this, the escort guard's breathing hitched in panic. He instinctively raised his hand, preparing to strike the back of the Uchiha boy's neck to violently break the Genjutsu connection.
"Wait."
A deep, mature voice suddenly echoed from the dungeon corridor, halting the guard in his tracks.
The guard snapped his head around, his eyes widening in shock before he immediately bowed deeply in respect.
The man who had just arrived was Tobirama Senju.
Standing with his arms crossed, Tobirama watched the scene with keen interest. He chuckled softly. "This kid is actually quite cautious. With this kind of proactive mindset, keeping himself alive on the battlefield won't be an issue. My brother told me not to be too harsh on him, but it seems there's no need to worry about him breaking."
Hearing Tobirama's words, the guard's heart skipped a beat. Tobirama was clearly evaluating Chu Yang as a true successor. The guard realized he had somehow still underestimated the boy's importance to the clan's leadership.
Just as the guard opened his mouth to reply, the Uchiha boy suddenly let out a muffled groan. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed to the stone floor, completely unconscious from chakra exhaustion.
Simultaneously, Chu Yang violently snapped out of the Genjutsu.
Life returned to Chu Yang's eyes, accompanied by a fleeting flash of lingering dread. Even though he had mentally prepared himself, the Sharingan's illusion was far more terrifying than he had anticipated.
"You're awake? How does it feel?"
Hearing the familiar, strict voice, Chu Yang hurriedly turned and bowed respectfully. "Good morning, Sensei!"
Tobirama looked at him coldly. "So you still remember that I'm your Sensei? Sneaking into the dungeon without a word to do something this dangerous! Do you have any idea how terrifying Sharingan Genjutsu can be?"
Chu Yang hurriedly explained himself: "During my last mission, the Uchiha I encountered didn't have their Sharingan activated. I wanted to experience a true Sharingan illusion now, in a controlled environment, so I wouldn't have to pay the 'tuition fee' with my life on the battlefield."
"Better to bleed a little in training than die scrambling at the last minute!"
Tobirama, who had initially been slightly angry, felt the corners of his mouth tilt up upon hearing this reasoning. Chu Yang's pragmatic, hyper-cautious mindset aligned perfectly with his own philosophy. Tobirama had always believed in anticipating threats and planning ten steps ahead.
The thing that gave Tobirama the most headaches in life was his older brother Hashirama's naive, "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it" mentality.
Realizing Chu Yang shared his logical approach, Tobirama dropped any intention of reprimanding the boy for his recklessness.
Instead, he asked, "What did your first encounter with a Sharingan Genjutsu feel like?"
"It was terrifying," Chu Yang replied, his expression deadly serious as he analyzed the experience. "It's drastically faster than normal Genjutsu, making it nearly impossible to guard against. I actively reminded myself to be careful right before he opened his eyes, yet I still fell for it in a fraction of a second."
"But the truly despair-inducing part is that Sharingan Genjutsu is incredibly resistant to conventional dispelling methods. I had to rely entirely on my own sheer willpower to endure it until he ran out of chakra."
Tobirama nodded approvingly. "You are absolutely correct. To this day, when fighting Uchiha Genjutsu masters, aside from strictly avoiding eye contact, there is almost no reliable way to evade a Sharingan illusion once it is cast."
"The only silver lining is that the sheer advantage of Genjutsu diminishes significantly in massive, chaotic wars. The battlefield is incredibly turbulent, and external factors constantly disrupt a caster's focus and the victim's chakra network."
Chu Yang's eyes lit up in sudden realization. "Which means, outside of small-scale skirmishes and one-on-one duels, the overall impact of Genjutsu on a grand scale is actually quite limited."
"Exactly," Tobirama affirmed, warning Chu Yang. "Therefore, you only need to understand the characteristics of Sharingan Genjutsu so you know how to survive it. Do not dive any deeper into it; it will only waste your precious time and energy."
Chu Yang nodded obediently. "Understood, Sensei."
In truth, Tobirama didn't actually believe Chu Yang would stop his research just because of a single warning. In his eyes, this was a highly opinionated young man who followed his own path. Having made his point, Tobirama didn't press the issue further and promptly turned and left the dungeon.
Once Tobirama was completely out of sight, Chu Yang closed his eyes and silently assessed his internal Haki.
It worked! Under the violent stimulation of the Genjutsu, his Haki had genuinely grown!
The intense negative emotions and horrific scenes projected by the illusion had forcefully stimulated his spiritual domain. In response to the mental trauma, his willpower had forcefully erupted to protect his mind, which in turn directly permanently expanded his Haki reserves.
His crazy hypothesis had been perfectly validated!
Furthermore, Chu Yang discovered that as his Wood Release continuously enhanced his cellular vitality and strengthened his physical constitution, his Haki was passively growing as well—though at a much slower pace compared to the extreme Genjutsu stimulation.
Unable to contain his excitement, Chu Yang let out a long breath. He glanced down at the unconscious Uchiha boy passed out on the floor, his face completely devoid of empathy.
"Next!"
And so, after surviving the grueling baptism of three successive Sharingan illusions, Chu Yang's Haki successfully broke through its bottleneck.
Not only did his Armament Haki advance to an entirely new level... but he successfully awakened Observation Haki!