Chapter 3: The Correct Countermeasures Against a Genjutsu Ninja (Part 2)
Genjutsu works by interfering with the enemy's five senses. Most genjutsu, in fact, rely heavily on sight. In theory, if you just shut your eyes, you can nullify the majority of genjutsu techniques.
"So that's how it works!" Might Guy exclaimed, his eyes lighting up like he'd just discovered the perfect path to defeating genjutsu users.
"You idiot! How the hell are you supposed to fight with your eyes closed? You can't even see your opponent's movements—might as well ask to be killed!" Obito snapped back. As someone usually at the bottom of the class rankings, he rarely got chances to feel superior. Ridiculing another underachiever was a rare treat.
If Kurenai had known a little more about Hagoromo, she wouldn't have reacted so emotionally. Hagoromo had a particular talent for provoking people.
"Fine, stick to your brilliant strategy," Kurenai said, eyes narrowing. "But don't come crying when you lose!" Without even checking if Hagoromo was ready, she flicked her wrist and sent two shuriken flying straight at him.
Sure, she specialized in genjutsu—but that didn't mean she couldn't fight with regular weapons. Shuriken and kunai were still part of her arsenal.
Hagoromo raised an eyebrow, opening his eyes just in time to see the two shuriken speeding straight for his chest.
Of course, for any trained shinobi, a frontal shuriken attack like this was easy to handle.
With a flash of movement, Hagoromo pulled a kunai from his pouch and parried both shuriken with pinpoint accuracy.
Clang! Clang!—the two projectiles clattered harmlessly to the ground.
"I thought you were gonna fight with your eyes closed?" Kurenai taunted, catching his eye.
In these sparring matches, teachers rarely interrupted verbal spats—they were often considered part of the psychological warfare between ninja.
And Hagoromo was good at getting under people's skin. But to be honest, that wasn't even his goal. He just genuinely liked talking trash.
"Hmm? I did say I'd close my eyes to deal with your genjutsu," Hagoromo replied, feigning innocence. "Did you already use one? Ohhh... that was your clan's genjutsu? Funny, we usually just call that a 'shuriken throw.'"
"The audacity of this guy..." thought the three classmates who knew Hagoromo well. The same thought echoed in all their minds.
Predictably, Kurenai—furious at being mocked—hurled three more shuriken at him in a rage.
Hagoromo calmly parried them all again and commented, "Throwing shuriken? Really? No genjutsu? That's a shame. See, when it comes to shuriken techniques, I'm a lot better than you."
And then she noticed it—a single shuriken, flying at her from a wide arc.
"When did he throw that?!"
She hadn't seen any movement from him. There had been no sign, no warning. How did he launch an attack like that without
her noticing?
However, because the shuriken had to arc around into her blind spot before reappearing, by the time it reached Kurenai, its momentum had weakened. She quickly deflected it with her kunai.
Clang!
It looked like Hagoromo's attack had failed.
Kurenai was just about to mock Hagoromo's supposedly "superior" shuriken technique—as if such a cheap trick could ever land a hit on her.
But then, someone suddenly shouted with urgency, "Watch out! It's a Shadow Shuriken Technique!"
"What?!"
There weren't just one shuriken—there were two. Both had followed the same wide, sweeping arc toward Kurenai. One flew high, the other low, the second hidden in the shadow of the first. The lower shuriken skimmed the ground at a height of just ten centimeters, and right as it reached a meter from her, it shot upward at a deadly angle, aiming straight for her chest!
The warning snapped Kurenai to her senses—she ducked and twisted to dodge, narrowly avoiding a serious hit.
The blade tore through her sleeve, grazing her outer arm and leaving a shallow cut.
If no one had warned her, that second shuriken could have disabled her—or at the very least, left her with injuries that would take weeks to heal.
"Sarutobi Asuma!" barked their instructor, Aizawa. "This is a one-on-one match—outside interference is forbidden! If you interrupt again, Kurenai will be immediately disqualified!"
The teacher's tone was sharp, clearly furious, with not the slightest deference to the fact that Asuma was the Hokage's son. This was supposed to have been a decisive strike—but because of Asuma's interference, it became a meaningless scratch.
"Yes, sensei…" Asuma bowed his head, shamefaced. He knew he'd messed up. The moment he saw Kurenai in danger, he shouted before he could stop himself.
The blame for turning a potential match-ending technique into a minor injury was his, and his alone.
Two shuriken flying in perfect unison with a hidden shadow technique—that alone required a level of precision far beyond what most genin could manage. These were standard-sized ninja shuriken, not massive Demon Wind ones. Controlling them like that was next-level.
Kurenai inspected her injury. Just a surface wound—not too bad. The real problem was her right hand, the one holding her kunai—it was numb.
In a flash, she realized what had happened.
"You infused that shuriken with Lightning Release, didn't you?!" she asked, wide-eyed. Only a handful of students in the entire academy could even use elemental techniques, and she was sure Hagoromo hadn't formed any hand seals during their match. So how had he done it?
Hagoromo just shrugged, not bothering to answer.
Unwilling to let it go, Kurenai pressed, "How did you manage the Shadow Shuriken with such small weapons?"
This time, Hagoromo actually answered—his inner science nerd too eager to stay quiet.
"Synchronizing two small objects in wide-arc trajectories with built-in acceleration at the final moment? Not easy. It involves magnetism, magnetic declination, and adjustments for Coriolis force. I even came up with a fairly complex formula for it. Though I'll admit, it puts a real strain on the brain's calculation capacity when using it in combat…"
"Magnet… what?" Kurenai blinked. That explanation made things worse. Those were words she'd never even heard before. Her brain was starting to spin.
"From a physics standpoint," Hagoromo continued, "magnetic fields and electric fields are the same thing. Electricity is magnetism. Magnetism is electricity. And Lightning Release, at its core, is just an applied use of electricity."
Kurenai: "…"
Sensei: "…"
The whole class: "…"
Everyone was screaming internally: What the hell is he even talking about?!
Nobody had understood a word—but then they started glancing at each other, searching for signs of comprehension. Someone was nodding furiously—wait, did he get it?
And so, not wanting to look like fools, everyone else began nodding too.
"Obito," whispered Guy, "did you understand what Hagoromo was saying?"
"Me? Of course I did! Want me to explain it to you?"
Guy, though not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed and often acting like a rare beast, still knew better than to trust that. He gave Obito a long, skeptical look before replying:
"No, no need. I think I got it too…"
(T/N: Damn Bro. 😂)