Open Genjutsu 101: Life within an Illusion [CLASS]

[Chikamatsu Shin]

It had been a few weeks since the exams. Shin was running out of personal time off quickly, so he found his way back to the Toraono Dojo, the Shinobi Academy within Sunagakure no Sato. He let out a sigh as he walked back into his classroom.

​

The room felt empty. He looked around the classroom and took a deep breath. While he was in mourning, the students of Sunagakure deserved the attention and dedication of their Sensei. While Shin wasn’t the only one within the village to offer classes in the Toraono Dojo, he was one of the more tenured teachers as he had been giving instructions since he was about ten years hold, and he was approaching thirty soon. Nearly two decades of coming to this class and teaching those around him what he knew.

The Medical Chief of Research and Development wasn’t giving a lecture on Medical Ninjutsu today, which was uncommon for him, but instead he would be going back to his roots, Genjutsu.

There would be very few students coming into his class today that had the potential for Genjutsu as it requires immense chakra control, and unfortunately that seems to be a skill that very few actually strive to perfect. Shin has notified that this village, while they love their Ninjutsu, lacked in their Genjutsu studies. The few he knew that practiced their Genjutsu have all been students of his, such as Kanmuri and Hina.

As the first few students would make their way into the classroom Shin would walk up to his podium and give them all a soft partial grin and a nod to each of them, welcoming them into the classroom.

 

[Tanatsu Neko]

Neko would enter the classroom hesitantly. upon getting a nod from the teacher, she'd rush to find a seat and avoid the spot light as was her norm. After taking her seat and pulling out her supplies, the smile on her face would grow to almost face splitting.
This was it, her first class of her future. She knew that she couldn't have been more lucky at what the class was too, a medical focused class. This was exactly what she was needing, except...

Ggggggrrrrruuurrrgllleeee

She sighed and buried her face into her notebook, her stomach betraying her. She hadn't thought to try and get any food before class and now it was reminding her.

 

[Chikamatsu Shin]

”Good morning everyone.“ As he spoke his voice would slowly become distorted. ”Today’s subject…“ The line of sight the students could see would break like a pane of glass. ’is Genjutsu…‘

As the glass continued to break and shatter the pieces of reality would fall into a dark void, black nothingness and absolute silence would fill the senses of the students. Voice could be heard whispering and jeering in the distance. Every few seconds each student would be able to hear their name coming from a different direction.

Seconds or minutes or hours would pass before the students would begin to see the world around them return in shades of blue and green. Their reality shifting and changing.

’Can anyone tell me what Genjutsu is? And why it is a tool that can shift the tides of combat?‘

As Shin spoke the shifting colors around the students would shift back to reality and their hearing would return as well.

Was the Genjutsu lifted or were they still in their sensei’s created world? The man that stood before them, though the students may not be able to realize this, was not only of the Yamanaka Heritage allowing him to seemlessly weave illusions as easy as breathing but he possessed a forbidden technique known as Grandeur Phantom which allowed him to see the shadows, the physical embodiments of the darkness, anxieties, and fears dwelling within a soul, of his students as well.

 

[Tanatsu Neko]

Neko Smiled and raised he hand excitedly. This wasn't healing, this was something much better. This was about to be a course on her favorite type of techniques. If she could keep learning about them and more of them, she might even be on level with Chikamatsu Shin someday.

"Genjutsu is manipulation of chakra in order to create an illusory technique. This is effective in pacify enemies, but also can shift the course of battles as the Genjutsu will only effect the minds of those under the users influence. Essentially creating an opening and causing the enemy to become flustered making them more susceptible to tactical errors or even morale drops in fights with multiple enemies, Shin Sensai"

She lowered her hand and continued to be glued to the lesson in front of her. She knew that wasn't the entire answer, but hoped it covered enough. After all, in her free time all she did was study and train now, with Genjutsu and chakra control being the two things she has worked the hardest on.
She also took a few notes as she answered, particularly about the visual jutsu used on the class in that moment before. If that was something she could eventually learn, she was going to make a note now so that she could study up on the technique. Any and all information about these things, would only further push that tiny voice in her head talking her toward another path.

 

[Chikamatsu Shin]

Shin’s face would stretch into a soft smile as he lightly applauded the student before him. ’That is correct, what was presented before you was most obviously an illusion that affected your sense of sight. We call this a “Visual” Genjutsu. Additionally I was able to support this technique through the use of using illusory sounds to mimic my speech. This is “Audial” Genjutsu. These two are the most direct and straightforward types of sensory manipulation that can be accomplished with Genjutsu.‘

Shin would begin to walk around the podium to stand before it. Raising a finger and a grin. ’These types of illusions are the basics of Genjutsu and should be learned by all Shinobi, even those without a proficiency in the Illusory Arts. Additionally? There are two, more eccentric, types of Genjutsu that can be commonly utilized. “Kinetic” Genjutsu directly inhibits the target’s body. This could be to cause them to move slower than they think they are moving or even make them believe that they are bound to a single point in the battlefield, preventing them from moving.‘

He paused and looked around the classroom to make sure he had moments to answer any questions that might arise. ’The final category is actual a specialty of mine, thanks to the genetics I inherited from the Yamanaka lineage, and that is “Will” Genjutsu. This category of Genjutsu is one of the most powerful and can cause the target’s mind to alter in such a way you can change their thought process entirely. Or, if you are like me, you could simply completely possess the target and use their body like a puppet.‘ He wiggled his fingers like a puppet master would for their controlled ninja tool.

’My question for the class, if you were against an opponent which used mostly Ninjutsu, the art of the Shinobi where you can manifest chakra into elemental powers, which Genjutsu do you think would be the most effective?‘

 

[Tanatsu Neko]

Neko thought for a moment comparing the options, it felt almost like a trick question as every jutsu had its advantages and disadvantages. "Shin Sensai, would it be safe to say that any genjutsu that altered the speed or accuracy of ninjustu would be most effective in this sort of combat? Or would it be more useful to use things like paranoia and blurred vision to create openings"

She didn't in fact know the answer for once. She was stuck feeling both more curious and oddly frustrated by that fact. Either way she was incredibly excited to find out what the real answer was. She grabbed her notes flipping to an open page and prepared to write down everything he said word for word.
If she was going to pursue a Genjutsu specialty then she was going to need to know how to be more effective in it.

 

[Chikamatsu Shin]

Shin smiled. ”Neko-chan you may think that, but under the discipline of Audial Genjutsu you will find that the majority of them affect the target’s use of Ninjutsu the greatest.“ he would tap his ear.

”You would be amazed how much the inner ear plays into molding chakra properly.“

Pulling out a five scrolls, each slowly growing larger, she would place the smallest onto his podium.

”Favourtism, an Audial Genjutsu that causes an inaudible pitch to strike the target’s inner ear. This causes the their chakra to become weaker if the target consistently uses the same Change of Nature. So if you were to be facing an opponent who seems to be using the same elemental release, the use of Favourtism will cause their attacks to lose more than a quarter of its strength. Likewise, there is the technique known as Wasteful. If your opponent is switching which type of Ninjutsu they are using, the use of Wasteful cause their body to overestimate their chakra needs, causing them to overproduce chakra and burn through their reserves much quicker than they would otherwise. And this is a trend that continues as you master stronger and stronger Genjutsu. Trembling Music, Leak, Wither, Chakra Ravage. All Audial Genjutsu which ruins the target’s sense of chakra control altering their strength of and expenditure for Ninjutsu techniques. It is ideal to learn to prevent or stop these Genjutsu if you wish to be a Ninjutsu specialist.“

He pauses once more. ”Are there any questions before we carry on?“

 

[Tanatsu Neko]

Neko was furiously writing. Of course it made perfect sense that throwing someone's equilibrium off would alter the flow of chakra, but she had never thought to put two and two together. Ever detail of his explanations were being painstakingly copied word for word as he went on. By the time he had asked for questions, one of her bandages was slightly tinged with crimson from her hands breaking open once again.
She looked around the room when he finished asking for questions, then slowly looked back to him before speaking. "Shin Sensai, would it be possible to counter these more effectively with your own genjutsu or are we only talking about ninjustu specialists in this scenario?"

 

[Chikamatsu Shin]

((After this next reply, if you have 1000 words total between all 5 posts you qualify to claim Training Rewards)

Shin chuckled softly. ”Unfortunately Genjutsu is incredibly hard to counter. Outside of the Cancel Jutsu, once you fall victim it is near impossible to force the effects out of your mind. That is why Genjutsu is such a threat in battle. There are very few Genjutsu that exist in this world which can deter a target’s ability to weave and cast illusions, and practically no Genjutsu that can stop another illusion’s effects. The only way to try and not find yourself falling victim to an opponent’s Genjutsu techniques is by preventing them weaving the necessary handseals to cast.“

He paused for a moment. ”But even then that can’t stop true Genjutsuists from performing them.“

He stepped around the tables and placed various scrolls on all of the desks. Within each scroll laid the instructions and jutsu formulation for all of the E-Rank sensory Genjutsu which were commonly taught in Academy’s through the Shinobi world.

”There are some, like myself, that can cast illusions without handseals, and even fewer in the world known as Phantoms which have the amazing abilities to not only make you suffer from Genjutsu even after you cancel and remove them from your mind, but cause new Genjutsu affect you while under the influence of others without your mind’s natural resistance trying to put in a fight.“

Once Shin made it back to the front of the class room he smiled at his students. ”In these scrolls are twelve various Genjutsu. Before next class I expect each of you to be able to cast at least one of them. Even if you don’t have the necessary skills to focus in Genjutsu, improving your illusory skills can improve your chances to resist illusions placed on you.“

 

[Tanatsu Neko]

Neko stared at the scrolls with a fire burning in her eyes. The opportunity was placed in front of her and she fully intended to seize it. She looked each over, the slight differences, the simple markings, she was immediately confused on why they only needed to cast one. She then looked up at the rest of her class to assess their standings with the lesson. The rolling eyes and growns of her peers made it all too clear that many of them had no interest in this sort of thing, which made her realize she might be the only one who wanted to learn more than one.

Given Neo's ability levels, along with her natural attraction to genjutsu, she made a decision right there and then. She was going to learn all of them, not just the ones from this course, but all of the genjutsu she was able to in her lifetime. She would start by learning to cast all 12 of these before next class. If she could handle that, then she could handle the bigger task ahead of her.

She wasn't strong, she was coming to terms with that after her last training that left her in this state she found herself in. But she knew she was incredibly smart and that was something she could use to her advantage. If what Shin Sensei said was true about genjutsu then it was going to be worth her time and effort to learn as much as she could. After all it was going to make all the difference in combat where brute force was a factor she couldn't ignore. If she wanted to live up to the many great name's of the Sand Village, then she was going to have to start pushing herself harder now.

As the others began to file out and leave, Neko stayed at her desk reviewing her notes for an extra moment. Once finished she packed up everything she could into her bag and began to head out. Stopping briefly at Shin Sensei's desk to say a quick "Thank you for the class today Shin Sensei, I think this really helped me figure some things out" before a slight bow. She then quickly ducked out into the hallway and followed the other students to the exit with a new found look of determination on her face.

((1016 word count total for class))
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[Raizo]

Class completion: Approved. Please make sure to link this to your training to receive your full pay out!

 

[Chikamatsu Shin]

Shin would smile as Neko thanked him for the lesson. Something told him that this child would be different than the thirty other nameless and faceless classmates she had today. As if she was the protagonist in her own shoujo manga. ”No problem Neko-Chan. I’ll see you in a week. Make sure you have those practiced, you’ll need them in the next lesson.“

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