Ch.244 Physical Genjutsu!

Almost instantly, Ido infiltrated Naruto's mental world.

She glanced around, frowning slightly, "This guy is clearly a clueless idiot, so why is his mental world so dark and gloomy?"

Before long, Ido arrived at a massive iron gate.

"Huh? Why is there a gate here?" She paused, then curiously peered inside, "Could there be something hidden behind it?"

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a shadowy figure burst through the cracks of the gate, lunging straight at her.

Startled, she quickly retreated.

"What!?"

After retreating, she was horrified to discover that the shadowy figure was actually a set of claws, each thicker than her entire body.

At that moment, a massive shadow loomed behind the gate, revealing an enormous, mountain-like silhouette.

Then, a disdainful snort came from within, "Hmph, so it's just a little bug."

Ido trembled as she stared at the monstrous figure before her.

Its sheer size, combined with the overwhelming, suffocating chakra, made her spirit feel as if it were on the verge of collapsing.

Fortunately, the iron gate still stood between them!

It was then that she suddenly remembered the rumors about Naruto at the academy and recalled Sasuke mentioning something about a Jinchūriki during a few gatherings. She realized that the monster before her was likely the Nine-Tails, the demon fox that had once ravaged the village and was now sealed within Naruto.

The Nine-Tails was also curious about the sudden intruder.

Although the seal prevented it from controlling Naruto's will, it couldn't completely stop its chakra from leaking out. In just a moment, a large amount of Nine-Tails chakra seeped through the seal, spreading across the ground and surrounding Ido from all directions.

Regaining her senses, Ido fled in a panic, disappearing from Naruto's mental world.

Outside.

Due to Sasuke's unexpected failure, the students, who had initially treated the competition as mere entertainment, became even more intrigued!

Even Jiraiya and Kakashi, who were on the rooftop, turned their attention to the scene.

"Ah!"

At that moment, Yakumo let out a startled cry, taking two steps back with a look of panic on her face.

Naruto, the target of the genjutsu, was completely baffled, "Yakumo, are you okay?"

Yakumo's face was pale, and she quickly shook her head, her gaze toward Naruto now filled with unease.

It was clear.

Ido could share Yakumo's perceptions, and Yakumo could also access Ido's experiences. When Ido fled Naruto's mental world in terror and returned to Yakumo's mind, Yakumo was naturally affected.

"What's going on?"

"Did Yakumo fail too?"

"This is so strange!"

The students immediately began whispering among themselves.

Sasuke's earlier failure had already surprised them, but now Yakumo had also failed, and in such a baffling manner, leaving them even more confused.

Iruka was also taken aback, but as the teacher, he couldn't let the situation spiral out of control. He quickly stepped forward and said, "Alright, this match between Sasuke and Yakumo ends in a draw! Everyone, disperse now. It's time for class!"

Yakumo's failure made Sasuke feel slightly better, but he was still puzzled, unable to understand why his genjutsu had failed.

At that moment, he noticed Shinji in the crowd.

From start to finish, Shinji was the only one among the spectators who hadn't shown any sign of surprise.

"He was the one who suggested using Naruto as the target. Did he already know I would fail? No, how could he have known my genjutsu would fail!?"

As this thought flashed through his mind, Sasuke became eager to confirm whether Shinji had been certain of his failure when he proposed Naruto as the target.

Just as everyone was about to disperse, Sasuke suddenly said, "Shinji, why don't you give it a try too?"

The students, who had just started to leave, immediately stopped and turned their attention to Shinji.

In the eyes of the students, Sasuke, who had awakened his three-tomoe Sharingan, was indeed strong. But Shinji, who had topped the academy exams twice in a row, was an even more unattainable figure.

At their age, they didn't fully grasp the significance of the Sharingan. They only knew that Sasuke had lost to Shinji—twice!

Moreover, Shinji was also from the Uchiha clan.

Who knew when he might awaken his Sharingan? In their eyes, Shinji wasn't weaker than Sasuke, and many students from civilian backgrounds even believed Shinji was stronger.

Instantly, the students' gazes filled with anticipation as they looked at Shinji. Even Shira, Karin, and Mion, who were always by Shinji's side, were no exception.

Yakumo, her face still pale but regaining some color, looked at Shinji with a competitive glint in her eyes.

Iruka, knowing that Shinji was a highly independent student, could only ask helplessly, "Shinji, do you want to participate?"

"Challenging me to a genjutsu match? You've picked the wrong person!"

Shinji smiled and slowly walked toward Naruto, who was standing in the center of the training grounds.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, his crimson Sharingan glowing as he focused intently on Shinji's every move.

Yakumo, on the other hand, also stared at Shinji, unwilling to miss a single detail.

Since both Sasuke and Yakumo's genjutsu had failed on him, Naruto was feeling quite smug, "Shinji, I'm not so easy to trap in a genjutsu, you know!"

Shinji raised his hand slowly and said, "Naruto, my genjutsu is different from others. Be careful."

Seeing Shinji about to form a hand seal, Naruto grew nervous, gulping audibly.

The surroundings fell silent as everyone waited for Shinji, the academy's top student, to make his move. Sasuke and Yakumo, who had just failed, stared intently, as if trying to see through Shinji's every action.

Whoosh!

At that moment, Shinji's figure blurred, and he appeared behind Naruto.

Before Naruto could react, Shinji delivered a precise chop to the back of Naruto's neck. With a "thud," Naruto collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"What!?"

Everyone stared at Naruto, who had been knocked out by Shinji, their faces filled with confusion.

Sasuke was annoyed, "Shinji, is this your genjutsu?"

Shinji shrugged, "I already told you, my genjutsu is different from yours. Mine is physical!"

"Ph-physical!?"

Yakumo's face turned red, but she couldn't find the words to retort.

Shinji then crouched down, flipped Naruto over, and smiled, "Look at this. Isn't this baby-like sleep proof enough of the power of my genjutsu?"

Everyone looked over and saw Naruto lying on the ground, drooling, sleeping as peacefully as Shinji had described.