Chapter 46: Deprivation of the Five Senses, Twin-Blade Slash

Uchiha Teika was not someone who could not accept people younger yet more talented than himself.

However, when it came to genjutsu... in the entire ninja world, if the Uchiha clan claimed to be second, who would dare to claim first?

Oh, right, the genjutsu of the Kurama clan was also quite good.

Too bad they had already declined.

Uchiha Teika could have entirely accepted being defeated by Genuin Shimosawa’s Water Release.

But to be taken down in a split second by genjutsu left him utterly frozen in place, temporarily forgetting even to release the genjutsu.

It wasn't until the cold blade of Genuin Shimosawa's weapon pressed close enough to sting the skin of his neck that he snapped back to reality.

The examiner immediately announced, "Genuin Shimosawa wins!"

Uchiha Teika dispelled the genjutsu, turned his head to look at Genuin Shimosawa, and declared, "Genuin Shimosawa, I've remembered you!"

"Next time, I'll make you understand that the Uchiha's genjutsu is the strongest!"

As his voice fell, Genuin Shimosawa saw a single tomoe appear in Uchiha Teika's eyes.

A two-tomoe Sharingan!

Damn it!

A two-tomoe just like that?

That's cheating!

Someone is cheating here!

This time it was Genuin Shimosawa’s turn to be stunned, while Uchiha Teika deactivated his Sharingan and vanished with a few leaps.

Genuin Shimosawa looked at the back of Uchiha Teika, feeling the urge to gouge out someone's eyes for the very first time.

He had to admit, he was jealous.

This was far more ridiculous than cheating with a system!

Returning to the spectator stands, Genuin Shimosawa couldn't help but ask Uchiha Namai, "Namai, is advancing the Uchiha Sharingan really this simple?"

He just lost a single match and ranked up.

This is even more absurd than Uchiha Obito!

How is Sasuke supposed to feel about this?

Uchiha Namai shook his head. "Teika is a genius."

The reason he currently possessed a two-tomoe Sharingan was because several of his comrades had died.

Hatake Sakumo was not the squad leader who guided him after graduation.

He had graduated at ten, became a chuunin at thirteen, and was now sixteen years old.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Teika was only ten years old now, having awakened his eyes at nine just last year.

Genuin Shimosawa had already calmed down.

So what if he had a two-tomoe Sharingan?

Short of the Mangekyou, he really wasn't all that afraid of genjutsu!

He just needed to be careful of the Uchiha clan's Mirror Heaven and Earth Change, which could reflect genjutsu back.

However, that technique likely required a three-tomoe Sharingan and a high level of mastery in genjutsu to execute.

"I need to study genjutsu more deeply... the advantages of mastering genjutsu are still huge," Genuin Shimosawa muttered to himself.

Take the Demonic Illusion: Mirage, for instance—suddenly stripping away an enemy's vision would result in anyone with slower reflexes being instantly eliminated.

However, the powerful genjutsu he remembered were basically all exclusive to the Uchiha clan.

Especially the Mangekyou genjutsu.

As for the genjutsu used by regular shinobi... even A-rank techniques like the Demonic Illusion: Descending Hell Technique left jounin like Kakashi and Might Guy completely unaffected.

Even a genin like Haruno Sakura could quickly break out of it.

Not strong enough.

In contrast, Sharingan genjutsu usually required someone else to help release the victim from the trance.

Of course, the Kurama clan's manipulation of the five senses was also terrifying.

It was just a pity that the Kurama clan hadn't produced a kekkei genkai ninja in a very long time.

"Manipulating the five senses..."

Genuin Shimosawa fell into deep thought.

Seeing this, Kakashi and the others refrained from speaking and disturbing him.

"The Demonic Illusion: Mirage strips away vision, which is one of the five senses. Could I continue exploring in this direction?"

"Manipulating all five senses is undoubtedly extremely difficult, but when it comes to stripping away senses, with the Mirage technique as a reference, I might be able to try developing genjutsu that strip away hearing or smell."

The more he thought about it, the more feasible Genuin Shimosawa felt it was.

Besides, since he finally had talent in genjutsu, he couldn't let it go to waste.

Through practicing Wind Release, Genuin Shimosawa had realized the importance of natural talent.

Wasting talent was absolute foolishness!

...

The third round of examinations continued.

The winners would go on to face other winners.

Both Uchiha Namai and Kakashi stepped down to fight in their respective matches.

Unfortunately, Genuin Shimosawa had lost interest in the rest of the bouts; spurred by Uchiha Teika, his mind had completely shifted to pondering genjutsu.

Genjutsu can't compare to the Sharingan?

Who says he couldn't catch up?

If ten years weren't enough, he'd take a hundred!

Without talent, no amount of time could bridge the gap.

But with talent, things were different.

Soon, Genuin Shimosawa heard his name called.

He stepped onto the arena once more.

His opponent this time was a Hyuga shinobi.

Since genjutsu was useless here, Genuin Shimosawa didn't bother using Water Release and went straight into close combat.

He tried hand-to-hand combat first, but he was no match for the Hyuga ninja and quickly fell to a disadvantage.

Switching to swordsmanship, Genuin Shimosawa finally managed to secure the win.

He had to admit that bare-handed, the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist was truly formidable, easily striking chakra points and disrupting the flow of chakra.

When chakra flow was blocked, physical strength plummeted drastically.

His ability to withstand blows also dropped by a tier.

Moreover, in pure hand-to-hand combat, Genuin Shimosawa’s skills were only average, so taking a beating was par for the course.

Having won this match, the final round quickly approached.

It was the ultimate showdown.

Genuin Shimosawa versus Kakashi.

Since the two of them had won every match from start to finish, they naturally faced each other in the grand finale.

"Kakashi, use your full strength!" Genuin Shimosawa smiled.

"Alright!" Kakashi nodded.

The next moment, sparks of lightning burst forth from his hands.

Genuin Shimosawa immediately formed hand seals to execute the Soldier Mantra.

In a flash, the two bolted toward each other in a head-on charge, moving at extreme speeds and leaving afterimages in their wake.

"So fast!" Gasps of astonishment erupted from the spectator stands one after another.

Even Uchiha Teika looked startled. "This guy was holding back before."

On the other side, Sarutobi Hiruzen watched Genuin Shimosawa’s noticeably enhanced speed and asked, "Sakumo, is this a body-flicker technique developed by Gen'ichi himself?"

Hatake Sakumo nodded. "Yes, it's a secret technique with immense potential."

No need to elaborate further.

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, completely trusting Hatake Sakumo's judgment.

Down in the arena, Genuin Shimosawa and Kakashi were already locked in intense combat.

They knew each other inside and out, making it impossible for either to gain a decisive advantage for a long time.

Yet the spectators watched with rapt attention, eyes glued to the action.

Uchiha Teika instinctively activated his Sharingan. "I didn't expect this guy's swordsmanship to be quite decent as well."

If he hadn't opened his Sharingan...

"Under the two-tomoe state, he wouldn't be my match," Uchiha Teika thought to himself.

Suddenly, the short blade in Genuin Shimosawa's hand slipped from his grip, tumbling through the air.

Kakashi's gaze was naturally drawn to it, but Genuin Shimosawa smoothly used his left hand to draw the ninja saber slung at his waist, slashing outward in one fluid motion.

Clang!

Kakashi barely managed to block it, but the overwhelming force sent him blasting backward through the air.

Genuin Shimosawa caught the short blade with his right hand, exploded with power from his legs, and gave chase.

The long and short dual blades attacked in an alternating assault.

Overwhelmed and unable to defend against both, Kakashi took a kick from Genuin Shimosawa and had barely bounced back to his feet when Genuin Shimosawa was already right in front of him, sheathing both blades only to draw them simultaneously once more.

His left hand drew the long saber from his left waist, while his right hand pulled the short blade from behind his back.

Dual-Blade Draw Technique!

Kakashi's pupils shrank violently as one blade thrust straight toward his upper chest and the other aimed directly for his abdomen.

He could only block one blade!

Clang!

Reeling backward, Kakashi landed on the ground and looked down. The clothing across his abdomen had been cleanly sliced open, though he remained uninjured.

Genuin Shimosawa had already re-sheathed his weapons.

Kakashi let out a helpless sigh. He had no idea when this guy had learned to fight with dual blades, catching him entirely off guard.

In the stands, Uchiha Teika also felt a chill run down his spine.

With the dynamic vision of his Sharingan, he was confident he could use a long blade to block both of Genuin Shimosawa's strikes, but he might not have been able to completely withstand the full impact of the attacks.

This guy was truly extraordinary!