Chapter 28 – Genjutsu?
In the Academy, Genjutsu lessons extensively focused on learning how to detect, defend against and free ourselves from Genjustu.
Our grading on the subject was also reflecting just our ability to deal with enemies using genjutsu.
This is of course, because the use of offensive Genjutsu requires very specific talent, seldom found in your regular ninja.
Most genjutsu techniques are also clan staples and are mostly unknown to outsiders or unusable without the bloodline of the clan they originate from.
This leaves only a few generic techniques for the public which aren't all that powerful so in the Ninja Academy nearly nothing was taught on how to cast those techniques, likely a remnant from when the Uchiha clan was a common presence in class.
For the rest of the day, Anko instructed me on a simple Genjutsu control exercise using a snake, a bird and a rock.
The goal was to analyze how the snake tries to eat the bird, how its simple-minded brain reacts, and try to use my chakra to fake that reaction to convince it to eat the rock instead.
At first try the task seemed daunting, impossible even.
It was only after a few hours that I got somewhere.
I had to analyze the nerve messages the eyes were sending when they saw the bird and replace the image of the rock with them.
The smell the snake felt wafting from the bird also had to be faked for the illusion to be convincing.
Finally, through the knowledge I had gotten from Earth on the anatomy and functioning of the brain, I was able to detect the small electric patterns formed in reaction on the snake's brain.
I then relied on my knowledge of electricity.
Electricity is formed by the flow of electrons from overcharged atoms to undercharged atoms.
It took me some trial and error, but I managed to use my chakra to coerce the electrons from one very small section to another.
This unbalance corrected itself by forming a small electric discharge bringing all the electrons back to their original place.
Through a few such discharges, I simulated the desired brain reaction.
The snake tries to eat the rock. Until it realized the taste was wrong.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST DO YAMI"
Anko's eyes are wide as saucers.
An expression of extreme shock on her face.
"I did... the Genjutsu?"
"NO Yami, that was not a Genjutsu!
Genjutsu is done by manipulating the chakra every living being uses in their brain.
You were supposed to learn how the chakra flowed around the brain and alter it, the snake's brain would then react to the altered chakra accordingly.
What you just did went beyond that. You directly wrote the reaction inside the snake's brain itself and even more fucking insane, the only way that would ever be possible would be through an extremely minute lightning chakra nature conversion."
Anko-sensei was beside herself in excitement.
"Your previous technique was able to control the signals between the body and the brain through the nerves, but this one is controlling the brain itself, forcing control on it.
There is no telling the potential of such a technique.
It requires an incredible awareness of the workings of the brain and sensitivity to the electrical impulses to even attempt.
And then... to be able to create such a small electric current is simply unheard of!
Lightning Release is considered the most unruly and uncontrollable of the five basic chakra nature transformations."
I don't know what to say...
We tested further for the rest of the day. I needed to understand exactly what I had done that made it seem like Lightning Release.
The conclusion came when Anko explained to me the known theory behind how Lightning Release was achieved, the vibration of chakra to create looping arcs of electricity.
The answer lies in physics once more, AC/DC currents.
Lightning Release is achieved by using chakra to stimulate the electrons back and forth in a loop, this is what an Alternating Current does.
A Directed Current has the electrons move only one way, that was what I compelled my chakra to do, just make a single pass.
My efficiency was beyond horrid, but I seemed to have just pumped enough chakra that it just had to happen through brute force.
It was in essence the chakra conversion necessary for Lightning Release, but just like how Naruto at first could only spend a ton of chakra to nick a leaf first, I had just taken the very first step, creating a small spark and using it practically.
As for my "Genjutsu," I realized I had many different ways of achieving the same result.
I can make the snake's eye nerves send the image to their brain that they see a bird so it tries to eat it.
I can make the snake's brain 'see' a bird so it tries to eat it. This one is similar to genjutsu but I achieve through writing in the brain with electricity instead of changing the surrounding chakra network.
I can make a snake's brain try to eat a bird.
I can make a snake's muscle move so it eats the bird.
It's quite honestly ridiculous...
Over the next week, we kept our intense team and individual jutsu training.
We'd only stop once our reserves couldn't keep up or the sun had completely set each day.
More than once we'd collapse from exhaustion or lack of chakra and end up carried home by Anko.
It was a lonely week…
But a very productive one.
Hinata showed off her Hiding in Mist Technique.
Though it was a simple D-Rank jutsu its true power lies in how one could make use of blinding the entire battle site.
In our case, we had alternative ways to see through the mist,
Hinata has a Byakugan, need I say more?
I have my hormone sensing, precise enough to keep track of enemies and allies however with the flaw of being unable to 'see' clones.
Finally, Sakura has been practicing kneading chakra during combat to detect chakra signatures, the general sensing technique used by most trained sensor ninjas. The flaw is that while she has to focus on it she's unable to use other chakra techniques.
Now it was time for a well-deserved day off.
Though I really really wanted to meet up with Sakura or Hinata for some fun time there was someone else in need of attention.