After getting familiar with the other Uchiha clan members in the camp, Uchiha Yuan followed Uchiha Mei back to his tent.
"Pick any spot you like. This tent used to house three people, but not long ago, the other two were killed together in an ambush," Uchiha Mei said, his expression tinged with sorrow.
Uchiha Yuan didn't say much in response. He chose the bed further inside and started arranging his belongings.
After tidying up, Uchiha Mei took Yuan around the camp to help him get familiar with the layout.
Meanwhile, in the Hyuga camp, Hyuga Asana first went to greet members of the Hyuga main house before heading to her assigned quarters.
She had been arranged to room with two other female Hyuga kunoichi.
Compared to the Uchiha clan, the Hyuga had far more people stationed in the Land of Bears—nearly 150 in the camp already, with 50 more reinforcements on the way.
However, 99% of those Hyuga were from the branch family. Only two were from the main house.
Hyuga Asana sighed. This kind of inequality was all too common in the Hyuga clan.
"Asana, you don't look too happy."
As she walked back toward her tent, a familiar yet distant voice rang out behind her.
She turned quickly—and standing before her was a man with a face pale as paper, long black hair, golden vertical-slit pupils, purple eyeshadow stretching to his nose, and blue-green tomoe-shaped earrings. It was none other than the commander of the Bear Country battlefield—Orochimaru.
"Lord Orochimaru, it's been a while," Hyuga Asana greeted him respectfully.
"Apologies, Asana. Due to Lord Hiruzen's orders, I couldn't allow you to stay in the rear as a medical ninja like we originally planned."
"It's alright. Don't worry, Lord Orochimaru—I'll protect myself."
"I have full confidence in your abilities. Besides, you've got Shibi Aburame watching over you. Among all of Konoha's Jonin, he's an exceptionally capable one. With him guarding you, there shouldn't be any problems."
"Then… does that mean the frontlines in the Land of Bears aren't so dangerous?" Asana asked, changing the subject.
"If it were just the three of you, you'd have a 100% chance of dying. You should be grateful you have a good teacher. With Shibi Aburame's ability, as long as you avoid the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, he should be able to keep you safe.
But if you run into more than one of the Swordsmen… well, in any case, Asana, I don't want to hear bad news about you. Do your best." As soon as Orochimaru finished speaking, his body dissolved into a puddle of water.
"A water clone? Makes sense. I'm not important enough for Lord Orochimaru to meet me in person yet…" Asana muttered, then turned and walked away.
—
The next morning, Hyuga Asana, Uchiha Yuan, and Yamanaka Kagetsu all returned to the place where they had agreed to meet.
Uchiha Yuan immediately brought up his desire to test something related to his Sharingan.
Kagetsu readily agreed.
Yuan then led Asana and Kagetsu to the training grounds within the camp.
They found a quiet corner, and Yuan—without activating his Sharingan—used the Naraku Seeing Technique (奈落見之術) on both of them.
Both of their minds fell into the genjutsu immediately. After about a minute, Hyuga Asana broke free. She took a deep breath, calmed herself, and said, "It felt about the same as the first time I was caught in your genjutsu.
Back then, you released the genjutsu yourself. If you hadn't, I probably would've broken free eventually."
Uchiha Yuan nodded silently.
Another minute passed, and Yamanaka Kagetsu also escaped the illusion.
Given that Kagetsu specialized in the Yamanaka clan's mental techniques, his mental strength should theoretically surpass Asana's and grant him better genjutsu resistance. Yet he had taken longer to break free.
Kagetsu looked pale and drenched in sweat. Clearly, he had recalled something unpleasant during the illusion.
"You okay, Kagetsu?" Yuan asked.
"Y-yeah… it's nothing. First time being caught in a genjutsu—I wasn't prepared. Next time I'll handle it better."
"You don't look great. Let's wait before starting the next round."
Kagetsu nodded and sat down on the ground, closing his eyes to recover.
Asana jogged a few laps with Yuan to loosen up.
—
Half an hour later, Kagetsu had recovered. Yuan activated his Sharingan and once again used Naraku Seeing Technique on both teammates.
This time, it took them both two full minutes to escape.
They both looked mentally drained—the illusion had clearly hit them harder.
"This time, the illusion felt more realistic," Asana said.
"Yeah. I didn't use my Yamanaka clan techniques to resist the first time, but this time I gave it everything I had—and still needed two minutes to break free," Kagetsu added.
"Seems like my Sharingan does indeed enhance genjutsu."
"That's good news for us, right?" Kagetsu asked.
"Definitely. We're a team. If my ocular power boosts genjutsu, that's like having an extra trump card against the enemy. It raises our chances of survival on the battlefield."
"That's great and all, but… huh? Why does my sensory range feel wider?"
"Your sensory range increased? By how much?" Asana asked.
"It was 15 meters before. Now it's 16 meters—an increase of 1 meter," Kagetsu replied.
"It just happened suddenly?" Yuan asked.
"I think so."
"Then maybe your mental technique improved while resisting my genjutsu. Want to try again?"
Kagetsu didn't want to be a burden to the team. Though being caught in genjutsu wasn't pleasant, he still nodded in agreement.
Yuan once again cast Naraku Seeing Technique on him.
Kagetsu took another two minutes to escape.
The first thing he did afterward was check his sensory range. Sure enough, it had increased again.
Now Kagetsu was fired up. He asked Yuan to keep casting genjutsu on him.
They established a rhythm—Kagetsu would rest for an hour after breaking three genjutsu illusions.
And so, the two of them spent the entire day this way.
Over nearly ten hours, Yuan used Naraku Seeing Technique on Kagetsu thirty times.
Initially, it took Kagetsu around two minutes to break the illusion. By the end, he needed only a dozen seconds.
His sensory range had increased from 15 meters to 22 meters.
Now, the genjutsu no longer had any real effect on him—and his sensory range wouldn't increase further from it either.
(To Be Continued...)