[Okada Renge]

Ouritsu’s reputation preceded him, the Young Illusionist, a man who utilised dirty tactics like genjutsu in battle. There was no honour in that, no glory in winning a battle through tricks and heelish means. Renge had twisted her face when informed that she’d be learning from the man on that fine spring morning, but there was point in arguing the point, the decision had been made and she’d been sent off grumbling and mumbling. She was going to be a taijutsu specialist! The kind of high-flying, hard-hitting grappler that she could brag about to her family. The kind of fighter that so many of her cousins seemed to be! What was the point of learning how to fight from the kind of man who thought it was appropriate to rob the senses of his enemies in pursuit of victory. Renge grimly thought that such a fighting style almost certainly lacked pizazz and finesse. But he’d offered out of the kindness of his heart to take a look at her skills, and she’d be foolhardy to deny such an offer. So she sat outside the front of the Academy, sulking and muttering under her breath about cool flips, but sitting all the same.

Nōhime Ouritsu

[Nōhime Ouritsu]

bleed it out

Another day another dollar, or in this case another kid in need of some training. It was an opportunity for higher ranking shinobi to keep their skills sharp while showing young ones the ropes and often times it was more specialized than the generic lessons students were taught in the academy and today was no exception as the Nohime had been tasked with imparting some genjutsu lessons which he was more than happy to oblige. Ouritsu had always found it difficult to find training partners for the illusory arts either out of fear or... yeah, mostly fear. People were afraid of things they didn't understand and assumed that they were signing up to have their minds melted or something, when in actuality being subjected to genjutsu was a great way to recognize the different signs of being in one which was only a good thing.

Alas, it was like having an argument with a brick wall and the chunin had resorted to unique means to improve his skills --even going so far as to travel to a different village-- so he was happy to at least have the opportunity to stay home and do some training. As he made his way to the academy Ouritsu kept an eye out for his charge for the day: a young student by the name of Renge who, ironically enough, was an Okada of all things. Taki's country bumpkin voice echoed through his head and he wondered if this girl would be just as difficult to understand. Putting eyes on the girl it was easy to see that she didn't look all too happy, no doubt probably wanting to rather be putting someone in a headlock or something. "Good morning, I take it you're Renge? I'm Ouritsu and I'll be helping you out with your training today. We'll be using one of the classrooms today, but why don't you tell me a little about what you know about genjutsu as we walk."

With a motion he'd beckon the girl to follow him into the building and towards the room they had been given to practice. While young, there was a chance Renge knew a little something about genjutsu and finding out her base level knowledge would ensure his teachings weren't redundant.

words - Okada Renge - notes

(C) ELLIE @ GANGNAM STYLE

[Okada Renge]

Renge did her best to hide her pout when the chuning arrived, she really did. It just wasn’t very effective. The best she could muster was a grimace and a thumbs up, it would have to do. Still, she fell in behind him all the same, trailing after thim with a sort of dejected hesitance. She didn’t want to be rude, not really. But, genjutsu was just so utterly boring, so well and truly not what she wanted to be doing. She was an Okada! She should have been putting someone in a headlock or practising jumping off of tall things. But while she may have been mopey, she at least remembered her manners well enough to speak when spoken to. The man had offered his time, even if it was in an art that Renge thought was dumb. "Its like, um, you know the brain magic, makes the head go all fuwa-fuwa and swirly-wirly,” She pressed her fingers to her lips as she spoke, attempting to answer the question, "Y’know for when you can’t hit someone so you trick them using illusions and stuff like that. Does that make sense?” As far as she was concerned, it made perfect sense, the jumble of words and feelings that left her mouth unfiltered a genuine attempt to explain her understanding of the combat style. Illusions messed with brains, did they not?

Nōhime Ouritsu

[Nōhime Ouritsu]

bleed it out

Ouritsu had heard all manner of definitions over the years for what people believed genjutsu to be or what it did to people and each was more unique than the last with Renge's being no exception; granted, there were almost as many sound effects as there were words but the Nohime was able to decipher most of what the young student was saying. "That's certainly one way to describe it." He replied with a chuckle. He'd stop at the assigned room before sliding open the door and walking in, the room was nothing special and looked like every other classroom in the academy but with only the two of them there'd be plenty of space to practice and chill out should the mental strain prove too much.

"I'd argue, however, that placing someone under a genjutsu does just as well if you were to hit them in the face with your fist. Generally the longer a fight drags on the worse chance you have of winning, so being able to hit someone hard and fast and take them down gives you a greater chance of living to fight another day. Some people may think they're just cheap tricks or an undignified way to fight, but I don't see it any different than laying an exploding tag as a trap or using a feint to set up for another taijutsu move, y'know?"

The chunin had momentarily stepped onto his soapbox as he was known to do every now and then. It was an uphill battle getting people to take the illusory arts seriously but even if they didn't use them having the knowledge of what it felt like to experience one was crucial. "But enough of me rambling, let's try something more practical. While you may never end up using genjutsu it's critical that you can spot the signs of being placed under one and what those sensations feel like.. at least, a little more than fuwa fuwa and swirly wirly."

Putting a bit of space between the two of them Ouritsu would then stomp his foot on the ground creating a multitude of after images around the room that would move at a speed which would be difficult to keep track of. "Tell me what you see and how you know you got placed under a genjutsu."

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Ichimokusan [As Fast As One Can Go]


RANK: D


CHAKRA USAGE: To Use: Very Low | To Maintain: Very Low


CLASSIFICATION: Genjutsu


ELEMENT:
-
HANDSEALS: 0

TRIGGER: Visual


DESCRIPTION:
After stamping one's foot, the user will cast a Genjutsu upon their opponent where it will appear as if they can move at speeds that match those who use the Eight Gates. Countless after images will begin to move about them, the user seemingly moving about in such a fashion that the opponents eyes simply cannot keep up, when in truth the user is completely unseen. It can be seen through by those who use Doujutsu.

words - Okada Renge - notes

(C) ELLIE @ GANGNAM STYLE

[Okada Renge]

At least she hadn’t made a complete fool of herself in attempting to explain genjutsu, that was something of a silver lining. After all, ‘one way to describe it’ was surely the highest praise for her creative description of the family of techniques. Of course, her description was far more accurate than that of the so-called specialist. Using exploding tags and traps? That wasn’t much better than genjutsu, after all. He had proved his own point, it was a rather cowardly way of fighting, built out of the need to avoid direct confrontation. Were shinobi supposed to be stealthy? Yeah, probably, she supposed. But it just didn’t sit right with her. Maybe she could go on to be the explosive future of shinobikind as a whole, fighting with brutal taijutsu that would inspire the masses. But she bit her tongue, and instead puffed her cheeks out into another pout. It was obvious that she disagreed, even if she had decided it was best not to verbalise such disapproval. Of course, the huff under her breath didn’t count. Instead, she would focus on making it through this training. If that meant she had to be put under a silly little illusion, then so be it. Of course, she’d never actually experienced a genjutsu before. Ouritsu stomped his feet, and all of a sudden every little move he made left a series of after images. Logically, she knew that he had used a genjutsu, but the disconnect from her known reality and the images that her brain was processing left her entirely disoriented. She shook her head, but it did nothing to dissipate the after images surrounding Ouritsu. "It looks,” She hissed, "Like you’re moving at an utterly absurd speed.” But she shook her head, "But I don’t get your question? I know I’m under a genjutsu because I saw you do the little trigger thingamajig. You stomped your foot and the rest followed. What am I supposed to be seeing? What’s the secret?”

Nōhime Ouritsu

[Nōhime Ouritsu]

bleed it out

Renge was an observant child which was a good trait to have, and though Ouritsu had purposefully chose a technique with a very obvious trigger to start things off he was still pleased to hear the girl be able to articulate what she correctly believed the trigger to be which was all the Nohime was looking for. "That's the secret." He replied while ending the jutsu as the afterimages began to fade out of existence. "It was pretty straightforward but I wanted you to recognize the trigger I used. Some are obvious, others a lot more subtle, but every genjutsu has a trigger and they may even look like regular ninjutsu."

Ouritsu would go through the motions for the summoning technique complete with 'biting' his thumb and making a string of seals before placing a palm on the ground. In a poof of smoke a sizable tiger would appear growling as it bared its fangs at the student. It would work to slowly circle the girl allowing her to see that to the naked eye this looked to be a real animal. "How would you be able to tell you had just been placed under a genjutsu?" The chunin asked of the Okada. In truth he had been purposefully sloppy on one part of the technique but would Renge be able to recall what it was?

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Nise no Kuchiyose [False Summoning]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: To Use: Low | To Maintain: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Genjutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 0
TRIGGER: Visual
DESCRIPTION:
A fairly simple, yet useful technique for tricking an opponent. The user will proceed through the process of summoning in the normal manner. Upon the target(s) seeing the user place their hand on a surface the technique will be triggered. The technique allows the user to summon a small to medium size summon of any animal type they wish, which then may be used to "attack" the target(s). It may even appear to do damage to them, but of course this is all fictional. Generally the technique is utilized to make an opponent waste time and energy fighting something that is not even there.

words - Okada Renge - notes

(C) ELLIE @ GANGNAM STYLE

[Okada Renge]

"Huh,” Renge pursed her lips, "So, what? I just look out for a trigger and boom-bam-bing, I can piece the whole thing together.” She shoved her hands into her pockets, "Don’t seem all too hard to me. If I can just keep my eyes peeled then what’s the issue?” The apparent summoning of a tiger changed all that. Renge hadn’t been paying attention, at least not to the degree that she should have been. If Ouritsu had deliberately left a part of his faux-summoning sloppy, she could not perceive it. Every part of her body screamed to her that the tiger in front of her was real, hungry, and very, very dangerous. Instinct forced her to jump back, and that same instinct forced a yelp out from her chest. "O-other than the fact that I know that you’re a genjutsu user?” She shot at Ouritsu, while trying to avoid the tiger that she knew was logically, almost certainly, fake. Renge tried to think back to what he had done, she tried to think as to what tells there were other than the logical steps before her. But nothing came up, all she knew was that there was a tiger in front of her, a tiger that looked like it had been summoned through the same means as any other summon. "I don’t know!”

Nōhime Ouritsu

[Nōhime Ouritsu]

bleed it out

Sometimes it was as simple as just being observant when it came to realizing one was under a genjutsu, but other times --as Renge was now finding out-- they looked so real that the body's natural responses made it difficult to think rationally, because who in their right mind would take the chance of a hungry looking tiger being fake? If even for a few moments an opponent's focus was concentrated on the illusion it was enough of an opening to get in a true attack.

As the girl would jump back so would the tiger jump forward to keep the distance between them minimal. Ouritsu wasn't doing this as a scare tactic but instead letting the Okada become familiar with just how thoroughly genjutsu could trick the mind as even though Renge knew the tiger wasn't real her body was reacting as if it were. He'd listen to her be unable to spot the flaw in his techniques execution, albeit a small one, prompting the chunin to lift a hand as he ended the technique sending the tiger fading into the ether. "No blood. All summonings require a blood sacrifice and though I made the motion like I was biting my thumb no blood was drawn. It's nit-picky I know, but something small like that can be the difference between spending unnecessary energy on an illusion or focusing on your opponent."

He'd give Renge some time to digest the new information and ask any questions she may have had before moving on. Singular genjutsu was good and all, but there were those who had enough skill to set up lingering techniques and even use two techniques at the same time, which they'd get into next.

words - Okada Renge - notes

(C) ELLIE @ GANGNAM STYLE

[Okada Renge]

The tiger disappeared and with it, Renge released a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding. No matter how hard she had tried to peer through the illusion, to see beyond the proverbial veil, she had been unable to do so. In a way that her family would have put it, she hadn’t been able to see past kayfabe. The false reality, the unreality, that Ouritsu had put forth to her as the truth had seemed so real. The tiger had seemed alive, had seemed vicious. But his explanation only caused her to puff out her cheeks in frustration. Of course, she hadn’t gotten it! She didn’t know how summoning worked! She was barely in the academy, she knew writing and some basic jutsu and all that stuff but something like summoning requiring blood, that was a lot! And so she made her dissatisfaction known, "No fair! I didn’t know summoning needed blood! I just saw you got psshaw-kapow and then the tiger was there! I mean… I guess that the moving of your hands like fsha-fsha was the trigger like stomping your foot earlier, but I didn’t know the difference between that and a real summon.” She crossed her arms and continued her childish pout, "Are there other genjutsu that look like other jutsu? That’s unfair! How is someone supposed to know if they don’t know the jutsu.”

Nōhime Ouritsu

[Nōhime Ouritsu]

bleed it out

Ouritsu couldn't help but laugh at Renge's frustration with being duped by the minutiae of the technique he had used. The girl was not at fault by any means and she was well within the means of not noticing due to her still being in the academy and not at all familiar with more advanced techniques. Still, he had demonstrated it so that the Okada could begin to familiarize herself with various techniques. "That's a good point, so no marks lost but there's no better time to get familiar with how jutsu look so you can know what to look out for in the future."

He'd listen to her question if there were any other genjutsu that mimicked actual techniques and immediately a couple popped into mind. "There are, and they feel just like the real thing. For instance..." Ouritsu would render a single seal before speaking "Keizokuteki Enmu no Jutsu!" as a thick fog would begin to fill the room seemingly out of nowhere. The damp feeling of moisture would cling to the skin as vision became obscured. "This one is similar to the hidden mist technique that our pals in Kiri use. I've also made one that mimics jinton techniques, but that one will probably get me in trouble with your teachers if I were to use it, so you'll just have to imagine for now."

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Keizokuteki Enmu no Jutsu [Continuous Fog Technique]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: To Use: Low | To Maintain: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Genjutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 0
TRIGGER: Auditory
DESCRIPTION:
Developed as a genjutsu version of the hidden mist technique it allows for the same effects as the ninjutsu version with much less chakra utilized. The target seeing a thick fog or mist rising up to obscure their vision and even their hearing. Less experienced users of genjutsu usually leave it at this, but more experienced practitioners will add in the proper smells and even the damp feel of the fog to the target(s) senses. The technique is triggered by the user saying the techniques name; although they'll often render a handseal or two as well to make the target(s) believe it is actually a ninjutsu.

words - Okada Renge - notes

(C) ELLIE @ GANGNAM STYLE

[Okada Renge]

Renge’s pout would only deepen as Ouritsu laughed. She’d made a good point! She didn’t know all these fancy jutsu, she couldn’t tell them apart from fancy handwork. Of course, her pout faded once he admitted her point was good, replaced by a beaming smile and slightly rosy cheeks. A hint of pride flooding into her at that. She’d cracked how to get past the genjutsu, she just had to do the prep work in order to recognise the real justu, then recognising the fakes would be easy. For some reason, all the genjutsu discussion and rules seemed to click a lot easier than anything she’d ever done with her physical training. Patterns, triggers, it all just seemed to make sense, the kind of thing that flowed naturally into her brain. All the better to defeat cowardly genjutsu users. Of course, she would find herself once again the cowardly one in the room when the false mist filled the room. The jutsu was announced, and water vapour appeared from nowhere, clinging to her skin and obscuring her senses. It was eerie, like being lost in the fog at night. An involuntary shiver ran down her skin, and not just from the dampness of the perceived mist. Perceived. That was the trick to it all. "But the jinton wouldn’t actually damage me would it?” She asked, forcing her voice to steady, "Perceived pain…” "Is that the trick to it all? Being able to identify that you’re under a genjutsu… That’s what you’re saying right. Knowing what the real thing is, knowing what the trigger is, if I can reason that it’s fake. That it’s an illusion.” She inhaled, and straightened herself, "I can disregard the effects.” Renge wished she felt as confident as she sounded.

Nōhime Ouritsu

[Nōhime Ouritsu]

bleed it out

"No it wouldn't, but if you aren't quick enough to realize it's not then that gives your opponent an opening to do something that will hurt you." Ouritsu replied. He had designed the jutsu to look like someone was getting atomized to give him enough time to actually use his jinton. Hell, him learning genjutsu at all was for the same reason. Jinton was painfully slow to form --which, considering the level of concentration needed made sense-- and actually getting a hit on someone who wasn't sitting still was tough so he needed every advantage he could get, and if that included making people see things that weren't really there then so be it.

He'd listen to Renge boil genjutsu down to spotting the triggers and being able to figure out what was reality and what was illusion. It was simple and covered most of the bases, but not all of them. "Those are two big parts, yes, but simply knowing you're in an illusion doesn't mean your brain will ignore what it's being influenced to feel. You still need to free yourself from the genjutsu. Depending on the rank of the technique and your skill with genjutsu you may be able to simply Kai yourself out, but other times you'll need to jolt yourself out of it with pain or have someone else free you."

Given how much disdain Renge had shown throughout the lesson Ouritsu figured she'd be relying on the pain option throughout her career as a shinobi, but it was good to at least know the other options available.

words - Okada Renge - notes

(C) ELLIE @ GANGNAM STYLE

[Okada Renge]

"Kai?” Renge asked, "What do you mean?” The question was one of genuine curiosity. She understood the theory behind having someone else break you out of genjutsu, that made sense. If one was confused enough that their very perception was warped to the point of being unable to see through an illusion, then assistance from an outside source was a logical solution to that. Similarly, pain made sense, she could comprehend the way that worked. Something about waking the body up, the same way that a sudden jolt of pain could rouse someone from a restful sleep. Both were logical. But kai. That was something she didn’t quite get. "Is that like a reversal technique?” She asked, trying her best to piece it all together, "So what? You see the trigger, realise you’re in the genjutsu, then use the kai to break out? That doesn’t seem all too complex.” Renge pursed her lips, "Although if it requires skill in genjutsu then it must be a genjutsu technique itself…” Half-speaking to herself and half-asking questions she continued, "So the pain works like how? The same way but instead of using genjutsu you just hurt yourself… how much pain do you need to use..?”

Nōhime Ouritsu

[Nōhime Ouritsu]

bleed it out

"It's actually just ninjutsu, basically you're sending out a pulse of your own chakra to expel the foreign chakra in your system and that breaks the genjutsu." Ouritsu replied just now realizing he didn't explain what kai was before rattling it off as a way to break free from genjutsu. "But it's not a perfect technique. If the difference in skill between you and the person casting the genjutsu is too high the technique won't work, then you'll be forced to use one of the other methods I spoke about earlier." He added.

"Pain does work similarly, yes, but just like I mentioned with kai the skill gap determines how much pain you need to break yourself out. Sometimes it can be as little as biting your lip hard enough to make it bleed, other times you may need to break a finger or worse." Genjutsu was a powerful tool not only in the myriad of effects it could induce on the brain but on how it could be so difficult to escape from even if a person knew they were in an illusion, and having to damage themselves to varying degrees just to break free of the technique was a prime example.

"But hampering yourself should be a last resort. Staying vigilant to alert yourself or allies is the best way to get out genjutsu quickly. Not everyone on your team may have access to Kai or be proficient in genjutsu but working together will free you from the illusion pretty much every time."

words - Okada Renge - notes

(C) ELLIE @ GANGNAM STYLE

[Okada Renge]

Renge’s frown only deepened, and she pinched the bridge of her nose as she thought through and considered everything Ouritsu was saying. Genjutsu, it seemed, was a lot like any other type of combat. Skill differences determined the victor. Being able to acknowledge and notice the technique of an opponent was all well and good, but that didn’t mean that she’d be able to defeat them without some skill of her own. That frustrated her somewhat, but at least it was in a way that she could comprehend. She could recognise when one of her more skilled cousins applied a guillotine choke, she just didn’t know how to break out of one. Even where said cousins were considerably older and more bark than bite. "So…” She started, withdrawing her hand from where it sat on her face, "Genjutsu can incapacitate a team if they don’t know what they’re looking for and they don’t know how to break out of it.” Renge sighed dramatically, "This seems overpowered, man… Where’s the honour in taking out a team before they can even fight? Where’s the pizazz? Hell… why don’t we just send every team out with a genjutsu specialist to badabing-badaboom enemies if they’re a bunch of ninjutsu only guys and then wreck house?”

Nōhime Ouritsu