Unveiling New Strengths

Haruto woke up before the sun had risen, feeling the usual rush of information from the dispelled shadow clone as it merged back into his consciousness. Entering his hyper-focus state, he processed the clone's experiences seamlessly. Another night spent on fūinjutsu, but again, he felt limited—there wasn't much more he could do with just the basics. Haruto sighed, knowing he needed more advanced scrolls to make real progress.

With that in mind, he made another clone. This one would focus on medical ninjutsu while he trained with his team. As the clone got to work, Haruto grabbed his gear and left for the training grounds.

By the time Haruto arrived at the training field, Daichi and Shisui were already warming up. Sakumo was away on a mission, leaving them to push themselves without his guidance. They knew what was expected of them and stuck to the routine, starting with their brutal conditioning exercises.

The morning was filled with sprints, weight training, and body-weight exercises that made their muscles burn. It was grueling, but necessary to build the kind of endurance and stamina they would need as shinobi. Haruto, as always, thrived in these workouts, his Tier 2 Stamina allowing him to recover quickly. Though he never said it out loud, he loved this—the feeling of being pushed to the edge, just as he had in his past life as an MMA fighter. This was what he lived for.

Daichi, on the other hand, was more vocal about the difficulty. "Man, I swear Sakumo-sensei put something in these training plans to kill us," he muttered between heavy breaths.

Haruto just smirked, pushing through the last set of squats. "You'll thank him later."

After the conditioning, they started discussing jutsu. Shisui, as usual, was calm and composed as he talked about the new C-rank jutsu he'd been perfecting. His one-tomoe Sharingan made everything he did seem effortless.

"I've been working on my Body Flicker too, but it's not at your level yet," Daichi admitted, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Same here," Haruto added, adjusting his gear. "We're not catching up to you anytime soon, Shuisi."

It was true—Shisui's mastery of Body Flicker was far ahead of theirs, and his Sharingan only made him more difficult to hit in their sparring matches. However, Haruto had started to notice something about himself. His Two Minds ability seemed to give him a natural resistance to genjutsu. He wasn't immune, but the separate streams of thought made it harder for Shisui to fully trap him.

Haruto mulled over the idea, realizing that if his ability gave him an edge without training, maybe it was time to seriously consider learning genjutsu himself. The defensive advantage was there, but if he trained properly, he could also develop offensive genjutsu skills. He added it to his growing list of priorities.

As the sun began to climb higher, Haruto and Daichi exchanged a glance. They had a plan in mind.

"Hey, Shisui," Haruto called out. "Why don't we train a little differently today?"

Shisui raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "What do you have in mind?"

"We want you to use your genjutsu on us," Daichi grinned. "And don't hold back."

Shisui's eyes lit up with interest. "You're sure? Genjutsu's not easy to break, especially with my Sharingan."

"That's why we need to practice against it," Haruto said with determination. "Better to face it here than out in the field."

With a nod, Shuisi activated his one-tomoe Sharingan. "Alright. Let's see how you handle it."

The sparring that followed was intense. The moment Shuisi cast his genjutsu, Daichi struggled almost immediately. The illusions were subtle at first—tiny shifts in perception that made Daichi second-guess his movements. Haruto, however, felt his Two Minds kicking in, splitting his focus between the illusion and reality.

This was the moment of realization. Haruto could actually feel both his minds processing the genjutsu separately. It was as though the genjutsu could never fully take hold of him because one mind would still remain aware, even if the other was caught in the illusion. He'd stumbled onto a huge discovery—his Two Minds ability gave him a natural resistance to genjutsu.

While Haruto wasn't completely immune to the illusions, the fact that he could feel the difference made him more confident. Daichi, on the other hand, was overwhelmed. "Damn it, I can't shake this off!" he grunted, clearly frustrated.

Haruto, though faring better, still felt the strain. He realized just how much he still had to learn about defending against genjutsu. His natural advantage was a start, but without proper training, it wouldn't be enough in more complex situations.

After a particularly rough round, Haruto broke free from the illusion and turned to Daichi. "You should think about learning some water jutsu to mess with his Sharingan."

Daichi, still catching his breath, perked up. "You know what? That's actually a solid idea."

Haruto then considered his own path. If his Two Minds could help resist genjutsu this much, what would happen if he actively trained for it? And if he mastered genjutsu, how much more dangerous could he be offensively? The thought intrigued him, and he decided he'd add it to his training regimen.

Once the session ended, Haruto invited Shuisi for breakfast, but the Uchiha declined. "Clan training today," Shisui said. "But I'll join you guys for dinner."

As Shisui left, Haruto and Daichi made their way back. Daichi rubbed his temples, still feeling the effects of the genjutsu. "Man, that Sharingan is no joke. But I'm definitely learning that water jutsu."

Haruto smirked, already planning his next steps. Between mastering genjutsu defense and honing his other skills, he had a lot of work ahead. And he was ready for it.