NOVEL WEB Chapter 77: Ultimate Art-Level Ninjutsu
As for Shiyu Uchiha and the others' sword training, after Jiraiya returned to the village, he wanted to find a suitable place for Minato Namikaze's practice. He took Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki with him, and the group officially disbanded—mainly because Hatake Sumao's leave had ended and he started taking on missions again.
However, during this time, Shiyu Uchiha got to know many of Minato Namikaze's friends through him, including future clan leaders like the Ino-Shika-Chō trio, numerous elite members from various clans, and other outstanding talents. Deep down, he couldn't help but admire how Minato Namikaze truly lived up to his reputation as Konoha's social butterfly. Just imagining him as the opposite gender was scary as hell.
Shinku Yuhi spent a full year before finally mastering the [Bringer-of-Darkness Technique]. However, although he successfully learned it, he realized that the compatibility between this genjutsu and himself wasn't particularly high. This was a common issue with all A-rank and higher-ranked ninjutsu techniques (according to Konoha's ranking system).
After all, no two people were exactly alike. Every individual created their own techniques specifically tailored for themselves. Some techniques simply couldn't be mastered by anyone except their creators.
Furthermore, in the hands of their creators, these techniques could become incredibly flexible and creative. Since they understood the core principles behind each technique, users could even modify them on the fly against different enemies. These kinds of techniques became known as Ultimate Art-level jutsu.
Take Minato Namikaze's mastery over the [Four Symbols Sealing Style], for example—he could temporarily develop a highly specialized seal specifically designed for sealing Ryūmyaku Chakra Control when necessary. When sealing the Nine-Tails into his son's body, he combined two Four Symbols Seals into an [Eight Trigrams Seal]. His skill level made even the Kage-level ninja from the five great hidden villages want to cry out in despair.
Once you truly mastered an Ultimate Art-level jutsu, it at least got you to the level of a Kage. Without understanding its true nature, however, it would remain merely an ordinary technique—nothing particularly worth noting.
As for Shiyu Uchiha encountering the [Flying Thunder God Technique], his luck was beyond description—it was like dry firewood instantly igniting from a spark. Even so, despite such perfect compatibility, Minato Namikaze later developed an improved version better suited to himself: the [Flying Thunder God — Second Step].
Therefore, Shinku Yuhi also wanted to improve upon the [Bringer-of-Darkness Technique]. Unfortunately, his progress had been minimal, which led him to consider seeking advice from senior ninja.
After much consideration, he realized the only shinobi in Konoha qualified enough to offer guidance was Uchiha Shizhi. Others could only compete in the realm of genjutsu thanks to their Kekkei Genkai abilities. Only Uchiha Shizhi's genjutsu ability already surpassed his own.
Thus, with Shiyu Uchiha's assistance, Shinku Yuhi formally requested guidance from Uchiha Shizhi. Naturally, since Shiyu Uchiha helped facilitate this request, Uchiha Shizhi didn't refuse and agreed to provide instruction on genjutsu to the younger ninja.
That day, Shinku Yuhi visited Shiyu Uchiha's home. After brief greetings, the conversation quickly moved to the main topic.
Mikoto Uchiha and Shiyu Uchiha were also present as observers—an excellent learning opportunity for Mikoto. As for Shiyu Uchiha, he was simply there to understand the power of genjutsu firsthand and enhance his overall knowledge of it.
Uchiha Shizhi spoke to Shinku Yuhi, "The Bringer-of-Darkness Technique is a genjutsu specially developed by the Second Hokage to counter the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan. It simulates the visual deprivation and auditory weakening abilities found within the Yakumo Kurama Clan's Five-Sense Distortion Kekkei Genkai. Yet its power is in no way inferior to actual bloodline limits.
Although this illusion technique is formidable, its application range is quite limited. So you wish to improve it, right?"
Shinku Yuhi replied, "Yes, Senior. Furthermore, this technique demands extremely high chakra, which I barely have enough to support. This has resulted in me mastering the theory behind the technique, yet unable to unleash its true effectiveness. To maximize its effects, this genjutsu must be used together with other ninjutsu."
Then Uchiha Shizhi said, "I have a suggestion for you. You could begin by simplifying this technique. While its power will decrease, doing so will help you better understand its fundamental nature. Once you've built that foundation, you can integrate all you've ever learned to develop your own unique A-rank genjutsu—this would allow you to transcend to the next stage."
At first, Shinku Yuhi didn't fully grasp what he meant, but as Uchiha Shizhi continued explaining, he began to contemplate deeply. The more he thought about it, the more reasonable Uchiha Shizhi's words seemed, and he realized this was exactly his key to breaking through.
Seeing that Shinku Yuhi had finally understood, Uchiha Shizhi started systematically sharing his understanding of this illusion technique while thoroughly explaining the bloodline abilities of the Kurama Clan, hoping to spark new inspiration and offer assistance.
After listening, Shinku Yuhi took some time to process what he had heard. Then he began considering the feasibility of simplifying the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique and raised numerous professional questions about genjutsu to further consult with Uchiha Shizhi. Some of these questions were just now inspired while others were accumulated from daily training. Now that he'd met such an experienced senior, he naturally had a ton of questions to ask at once.
Uchiha Shizhi proved himself to be a truly capable teacher by answering every question with care and even sharing some of his own guesses about genjutsu for Shinku Yuhi to test out through personal practice.
Eventually, Shinku Yuhi got stuck on the concept of genjutsu essence that Uchiha Shizhi had mentioned and couldn't help asking further, "Senior, isn't the essence of genjutsu simply Yin Release? Could there possibly be another explanation?" There was no fault in Shinku Yuhi's confusion since this was practically established wisdom in the ninja world, and even Uchiha Shizhi had only recently come to this realization under inspiration from meditation techniques.
After organizing his thoughts, Uchiha Shizhi responded, "It's true that genjutsu's foundation lies in Yin chakra, but I believe its essence actually resides in the mental energy component of chakra. When the balance between life energy and mental energy within chakra becomes sufficiently disrupted, we obtain either Yin or Yang Release. The basic levels of Yin and Yang Releases cannot coexist primarily because of this imbalance.
Only when the mental energy undergoes qualitative transformation can one truly obtain Yin Release. Similarly, a qualitative transformation of life energy leads to genuine Yang Release. Only at that point can Yin and Yang Releases coexist."
Our Uchiha clan's Sharingan is a Kekkei Genkai originating from Yin Release, which is why our clan's genjutsu become significantly stronger after being amplified by the Sharingan. Although the Sharingan also enhances taijutsu and ninjutsu, its effect on genjutsu is far more direct and powerful.
This was the insight Uchiha Shizhi gained after mastering the Meditation Technique. However, just as her success was achieved through the Mangekyou, so too was the cost she now paid. The enhancements provided by her Mangekyō Sharingan now blocked further growth of her spiritual power – a challenge that Uchiha Shiyu would eventually face as well.
Finally, through back-and-forth exchanges, Shinku Yuhi made tremendous progress in understanding the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, gradually uncovering its essence. Needing time to process everything, he hurried straight home to study without even stopping to eat.
Over the following days, Shinku Yuhi returned several times to further discuss the essence of the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique with Uchiha Shizhi. Finally, under Uchiha Shizhi's explanation, he gained inspiration on how to simplify the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique and then entered seclusion at home.
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