Kurenai and Itachi immediately began invading the two prisoners' minds with genjutsu.
With the Sharingan, Itachi's infiltration was swift—after all, the Sharingan itself was a natural talent for illusion techniques.
Kurenai, however, struggled far more.
In the world of shinobi, civilians rarely had the chance to rise.
Even Minato Namikaze had only achieved greatness largely because his teacher was Jiraiya. Yes, the Rasengan was Minato's creation—but at its core, it was a close-range technique. To maximize its battlefield value, it required precise timing and Body Flicker coordination.
Minato's fame did not come from the Rasengan.
It came from the Flying Thunder God Technique—created by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
Minato refined it and became the "Yellow Flash."
But without Jiraiya as his mentor, he would never have learned it from the Sealed Scroll in the first place.
That was reality.
Kurenai, in the end, was still a civilian-born ninja. Even at her peak, she would only reach the rank of jōnin—not elite jōnin.
And genjutsu in this world had a fatal flaw.
It was rarely lethal.
Most illusion specialists only used genjutsu to create openings—then killed the enemy with weapons while they were stunned. Or they used it for interrogation by disrupting brain activity.
But that method carried risk.
What if the opponent woke mid-strike?
Against equal or stronger opponents, such tactics were fragile.
That was why, in later large-scale wars, illusion-type shinobi were rarely seen dominating the battlefield.
Wen Lan activated his own Sharingan and quietly observed.
He infiltrated both prisoners' minds first, watching how Itachi and Kurenai approached their targets.
Kurenai soon found a weakness and slipped into her prisoner's mental world.
Itachi's gaze, meanwhile, sliced into the other's consciousness like a blade. The tomoe rotated slowly in his dark pupils.
Moments later, his target groaned and collapsed unconscious.
Itachi lowered his eyes.
"I'm sorry, senpai. I failed."
"Not bad," Wen Lan replied calmly. "Even making him faint is progress."
He did not measure Itachi by Fugaku's nearly brutal standards.
Children weren't taught through harshness—but through encouragement.
And Itachi had indeed performed well.
Kurenai's approach was more delicate.
She recreated the scene of being dragged away earlier. In the illusion, she allowed herself to be overpowered—then staged her own collapse.
The prisoner captured her as a hostage.
He escaped the prison.
Escaped Konoha.
He tasted freedom.
The wind. The open world. A new life.
Just as joy reached its peak—
A kunai flashed.
His head fell.
Reality followed instantly.
The prisoner's body stiffened—then slumped lifelessly to the ground.
Kurenai's method had agitated his mind to maximum stimulation, elevating his mental state to extreme activity—then delivered a catastrophic psychic shock at its peak.
His brain simply could not withstand the overload.
He died instantly.
Kurenai gasped heavily as she opened her eyes. The sequence had consumed enormous chakra—but she had succeeded.
Wen Lan looked at her in surprise.
He hadn't expected her to achieve it on the first try.
"Well done."
For some reason, hearing his praise filled her with unexpected warmth.
"Training ends here. Tomorrow we continue."
"Yes!" they replied in unison.
That evening, Wen Lan returned home, greeted Pakura and Hikari, then entered his room.
He sat cross-legged.
Biting his finger, he formed seals and pressed his hand to the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Smoke exploded outward. A slug appeared.
"Ah, Lord Wen Lan," the slug said softly.
"Please summon me to Shikkotsu Forest."
"Very well. Please wait."
As the smoke rose again, Wen Lan removed his shirt—and severed one of his arms.
Precaution.
Sage training was dangerous.
At Mount Myōboku, failure meant turning into stone.
If something went wrong, he would immediately sever the connection to natural energy. And even if too late—he could regenerate from the detached limb.
The pain barely registered before he arrived deep within Shikkotsu Forest.
The mist hung thick. Moss-covered roots and ancient stones exuded dense natural energy.
Before him loomed the massive true body of the Slug Sage.
Its antennae quivered.
"Wen Lan… have you truly decided? Sage training is difficult."
"I am prepared."
The Slug Sage slowly split open its massive body, revealing a pale inner cavity filled with yellowish acidic fluid.
"Enter. The acid contains powerful natural energy. It will also corrode your body. When you achieve Sage Mode, your physique will surpass even Sage Bodies—and withstand it."
There was a difference between a Sage Body and Sage Mode.
A Sage Body was innate—like the Uzumaki's chakra reserves or the Senju's vitality.
Sage Mode was cultivated—balancing physical energy, spiritual energy, and natural energy in perfect proportion.
1 : 1 : 1
Wen Lan inhaled deeply—and stepped inside.
The moment the acid touched him, searing agony exploded across his flesh.
It burned.
Corroded.
His cells screamed—
—and regenerated just as violently.
Pain like knives tore at him. But he locked his consciousness onto the flow of natural energy.
Then—
"Oh dear," the Slug Sage's voice echoed casually.
"I forgot to explain how to train Sage Mode."
Wen Lan: …
"You must balance physical energy, spiritual energy, and natural energy in a 1:1:1 ratio~"
His face darkened.
Whether this was deliberate mischief or not, he had no retreat.
In unbearable agony, he forced his will to divide the three energies—
Physical.
Spiritual.
Natural.
He began forcing them into equilibrium.
—------------------------------
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