But Yogetsu had failed to cross that threshold.
It seemed Itachi's storytelling skills were too weak to give Yogetsu the necessary shock.
"My apologies, senior."
Itachi looked somewhat ashamed. It was his first attempt at fabricating such a story of clan annihilation, and with little time to prepare, it was inevitably full of holes. The mental stimulus for Yogetsu was insufficient.
Yogetsu's memories slowly returned. He recalled the clan head wanting to use him for an experiment and realized he had just been subjected to Itachi's genjutsu. Yogetsu opened his mouth to speak but forgot what he was about to say.
Kawasaki, standing nearby, asked, "Yogetsu, tell me what you just experienced."
Yogetsu recounted everything to Kawasaki in detail.
Kawasaki commented aloud, "How terrible. There was no plot to speak of."
But he thought to himself, *It seems Itachi has never constructed a scenario like this before.* That's why the story within the Tsukuyomi world was so flawed. Furthermore, Yogetsu's spirit was clearly damaged after dying in the genjutsu.
The mental shock of Tsukuyomi is most effective the first time. On subsequent uses, the subconscious detects the illusion, greatly diminishing its effect.
However, even if it couldn't be used for a mental shock, that didn't mean it was useless.
Kawasaki thought for a moment, then instructed, "Keimei, get ready."
"Itachi, for the next illusion, I want you to do this..."
On an endless battlefield, Yogetsu had lost count of how many enemies he had slain.
"Hah... hah..."
Yogetsu gasped for breath, feeling an unprecedented level of exhaustion. But he knew he had to hold on to hope and eliminate as many enemies as possible. Though he could be revived, his personal challenge was to kill more enemies with each life than the last.
On the distant horizon, countless more enemies wearing the headbands of different villages appeared.
Sand, Stone, Cloud, Mist, Konoha...
Yogetsu raised his blade and charged back toward the enemy lines, shouting, "The Uchiha are the strongest!"
...
In reality, the effects of Tsukuyomi lasted only an instant.
As Itachi cast Tsukuyomi on Yogetsu, Keimei's Mangekyo Sharingan activated at the same time.
Divine Guardian!
It ensured that when Yogetsu died in the Tsukuyomi world, his spirit would remain unharmed.
The Tsukuyomi ended, and Yogetsu's eyes snapped open. A sense of relief seemed to fill the room.
Yogetsu stared blankly for two seconds before he fully came to his senses.
"I'm back... Hah..."
Yogetsu took a deep breath. His mind had been under intense strain for so long that he now felt incredibly weary.
Kawasaki turned to Itachi and asked, "How much time passed inside the Tsukuyomi this time?"
Itachi, looking a little tired himself, replied, "Three months."
Kawasaki observed Itachi's slight fatigue, unsure if it was due to his newly fused ocular power or Yogetsu's relentless fighting. The duration of this Tsukuyomi, while longer than the story Itachi had fabricated before, was still far short of his expectations. After all, in the original story, Izumi had lived an entire lifetime within it.
Perhaps the Itachi of that time had pushed his body to its absolute limit to make her stay so long. But now, Itachi possessed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and no longer faced the risk of blindness.
If once wasn't enough, they could simply do it a few more times.
The focus then shifted to Keimei.
"Keimei, how's the strain on your Mangekyo?"
Every time Yogetsu died in the Tsukuyomi, his spirit would be damaged. Dying repeatedly would have a devastating effect. That was why Kawasaki had Keimei use Divine Guardian to stabilize Yogetsu's spiritual state.
Keimei deactivated his Mangekyo Sharingan, looking quite relaxed.
"Tsukuyomi only lasts an instant, so my Divine Guardian doesn't consume much ocular power. At this rate, my eyes will be fine for dozens of uses."
Kawasaki nodded in satisfaction. "Good. The clan will have much for you to do in the future."
Keimei broke into a bright smile. "I'm happy to be of service to our clan."
Kawasaki turned his head to Yogetsu. "So, what did you gain? Was it a bountiful harvest?"
Yogetsu patted the sword at his waist and said with brimming confidence, "The number of enemies I've killed now is more than all of you combined."
A smirk played on Kawasaki's lips. "Alright then. Itachi, once he's recovered, put him in another Tsukuyomi. Let him experience Obito's Susanoo."
Itachi nodded in agreement. The last illusion had been too simple, failing to showcase many of Obito's abilities. But as he was now, Yogetsu couldn't even touch Obito's intangible form, let alone deal with a Susanoo.
Yogetsu's face fell. "How about a different opponent? I really can't handle someone like Obito."
Kawasaki smiled and nodded. "Sure. We'll switch you to the Fourth Raikage, A."
Although he knew he would likely get beaten badly, Yogetsu still chose the Raikage over an enemy he couldn't even touch.
...
Unfortunately, Yogetsu had been tricked again.
What Kawasaki called a choice was actually just a different ordering of the same opponents. He had simply moved the Fourth Raikage to the front of the line.
The simulations in the Tsukuyomi world were all based on Itachi's knowledge. Itachi had never fought the Fourth Raikage, but Kawasaki knew the Raikage's attack patterns and abilities like the back of his hand.
After communicating this to Itachi, Itachi had Yogetsu and Shisui experience the power of the Fourth Raikage.
Just when Yogetsu thought it was all over, Kawasaki told Itachi to prepare the illusion for fighting Obito.
Only then did Yogetsu have a sudden realization. It wasn't a multiple-choice question; it was a sequencing question!
In truth, the more difficult Obito was to deal with, the more Kawasaki wanted all his clansmen to face him. Thus, there was no escape for Yogetsu.
In the days that followed, Kawasaki had Yogetsu and Shisui take turns entering the Tsukuyomi world. There, they were "killed" by Obito countless times.
The day's training only ended when he saw that Itachi and Keimei were growing tired.
In terms of effectiveness, if Itachi's Tsukuyomi was to provide a sufficient mental shock, the story had to be compelling, and the effect was always strongest on the first exposure. On a second try, a person would instinctively realize it was Tsukuyomi. However, even if it couldn't be used for a mental shock, it still made for an excellent training ground. This time in Itachi's Tsukuyomi, Yogetsu and Shisui's experience in fighting Obito was greatly enhanced.
Even if Obito were to attack, the Uchiha clan would not be caught so off-guard.
...
Kawasaki already had a plan in mind. The next time a clan member was on the verge of awakening their Three-Tomoe Sharingan, he would arrange a special Tsukuyomi training session for them to increase the chances of them awakening the Mangekyo.
Currently, in the Uchiha clan, besides Kawasaki, there was Itachi with his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. The next step was to wait for the right time to support Orochimaru in becoming Hokage.
Kawasaki put on a good public front. For instance, he visited the major ninja clans to lobby for votes. He even organized a discount event in the food district. Combat training within the clan was also ongoing.
Nowadays, Uchiha clan members were respectfully addressed as "senior" wherever they went in Konoha.
Orochimaru's prestige stemmed from his severed limb cloning technology. During this period, Orochimaru had already saved ten jonin, and many more severed limbs were currently being cultured. The number of jonin waiting in line for treatment was still growing.
Even the Hyuga clan was considering it. After all, the Hyuga had also suffered casualties and disabilities in past battles. But now was a critical time, with Uchiha Kawasaki and Orochimaru competing for the position of Hokage. The Hyuga clan chose to remain neutral, planning to wait until the matter of the Fifth Hokage was settled before making a move.
...
Mountain's Graveyard.
"Have you still not found it?"
Obito sat up in bed, his upper body bare. His right side was embedded with five Sharingan. They were located on his ribs, collarbone, shoulder blade, right upper arm, and right forearm. The eyes would occasionally turn of their own accord, a sight that was both grotesque and terrifying.
Black Zetsu gave the Sharingan on Obito's body a deep look. This was the entire stock Madara had left behind. Obito had implanted all of them into his own body.
It was a clear testament to the immense change in his mentality.