"Are you ready?" Shinji asked the cat and person standing in their respective positions.
"I'm ready."
Shisui formed hand seals, poised to act, his three tomoe Sharingan spinning wildly.
Mimi nodded. He lightly lifted a front paw, and stepped onto the Fuinjutsu formula Shinji had set up.
After a while, he spoke, "It's ready."
Hearing the response, Shinji nodded, then immediately formed hand seals, slowly channeling the recently absorbed Senjutsu Chakra into it.
"Shisui, activate it."
Shisui, who was nearby, heard Shinji's command and began to unleash a Genjutsu towards the shinkirou pearl. As the Genjutsu activated, the Chakra shield, which had formed a circle, began to transform.
"I think it should be ready." Shisui said uncertainly, as this was his first time releasing such a Jutsu formula.
"We'll know if we try it." Shinji said indifferently.
Then, a Shadow Clone that had been waiting nearby stepped into the circle. A brilliant light bloomed, and the entire Chakra shield turned black, signifying that the shinkirou pearl had begun to operate.
"Alright, let's wait for my Shadow Clone's feedback."
Shinji stood up. As it was just an experiment, he didn't need to continuously output Chakra.
"Do you know how this pearl was made?" Mimi, who was nearby, licked his lips and asked Shinji.
"What's wrong?" Shinji tilted his head, wondering why this cat was suddenly so interested in this item.
"I smell something on it that makes me feel like I can eat it." Mimi said, continuously sticking out his tongue and licking.
If Shinji hadn't been here, he would have lost control long ago.
"???" Shinji blinked.
Could this thing be eaten?
Mimi noticed Shinji's strange gaze and quickly explained, "It's not that it can be eaten, but the scent it emits. I estimate it's probably the raw material used to make this pearl."
Shinji shook his head and said, "I don't know. After all, this is from a very long time ago. Everyone who knew the specific materials of this pearl has died."
Mimi said with a regretful expression upon hearing this, "That's a shame."
Shinji asked, "A shame?"
Mimi nodded. "Yes, I feel that if I could eat the raw materials, there would likely be unexpected benefits."
This pearl was no longer necessary because it had already lost this effect due to forging, only the scent remained.
"Unexpected benefits..." Shinji mused, stroking his chin.
If it could be collected by the Uzumaki clan and used to make something, it was most likely something passed down from the era of the Sage of Six Paths, after all, the Uzumaki clan had Hagoromo's bloodline.
"Hmm?"
Shinji, who was still deep in thought, suddenly froze, then looked at the Chakra shield.
In the next instant, the Chakra faded from black, reverting to its initial state.
"It succeeded?" Shisui, who was nearby, asked.
"Yes, my Shadow Clone was forcibly dispelled." Shinji nodded.
"It wasn't for long though." Mimi said with a puzzled expression.
Shisui shook his head and said, "It's different. Although the Genjutsu I activated doesn't have lethality, the affected person themselves won't have a concept of time."
"Or rather, as long as they don't actively break the genjutsu, their concept of time will be muddled."
"So, Shinji's Shadow Clone might have experienced a very long time inside just now?" Mimi's whiskers twitched, and he walked towards Shinji.
Shinji nodded, holding up two fingers.
"Two hours? Then this genjutsu is pretty good." Mimi exclaimed with an amazed expression.
"No, it was two days." Shinji's eyes narrowed slightly.
Currently, if his Shadow Clone didn't use Ninjutsu, its maximum existence time was two days.
When the Shadow Clone transmitted information back, its Chakra had been depleted. That's why it was dispelled. Moreover, the Chakra did not return to Shinji but was absorbed by the genjutsu.
"Two days?!" Mimi yelled in fright.
"It seems I underestimated this shinkirou pearl a bit. As expected of something crafted by the Uzumaki clan." Shinji's lips curled upwards.
Mimi said with a serious expression, "This is no longer a matter of underestimating or not. Not even a daiyōkai could activate such an illusion, unless they reached the divine realm. This thing is not simple."
It increasingly felt how dangerous this world was, that such a thing could subvert traditional concepts.
"Actually, it's not so bad." Shinji said, touching his nose.
After all, Itachi's Tsukuyomi seemed to last about seventy-two hours, right?
However, Tsukuyomi requires the Mangekyo, while this only needs ordinary Genjutsu combined with Senjutsu Chakra.
Mimi's positioning and the shinkirou pearl are only one link in the medium.
"Indeed." Shisui, who knew Itachi's Mangekyo ability, nodded.
Mimi's whiskers twitched. He might not believe Shisui's words but Shinji's words were definitely enough reason for him to take seriously.
"It's truly... terrifying."
—
"Hey, Shikamaru, aren't you looking a bit scary like this?"
Naruto, who had just finished training, but poked Shikamaru with his finger, asking worriedly, "Are you really okay?"
"I feel like you're about to collapse?"
Shikamaru looked up, with deep dark circles under his eyes, and said weakly, "Naruto, let me rest for a bit. I'm very tired right now."
Although Naruto looked puzzled upon hearing this, he still stood up.
He quickly ran to Shinji's side and asked, "Sensei, Shikamaru's condition doesn't look right?"
Shinji turned his head to look, then chuckled. "Don't worry, he's just overused his brain."
After all, eight hours of strategic thinking and individual intense brainstorming would exhaust anyone, especially when the opponents were such abnormal levels.
Whether it was the strategic, long-term planner Lelouch, or the manipulator of human nature, Light. Any one of them would be enough to give the current Shikamaru a hard time.
This made Shinji admire the Uzumaki clan who had made this shinkirou pearl. He only needed to implant some memory fragments. The genjutsu could then directly operate, thereby constructing this character.
Although it couldn't be one hundred percent similar, it was sufficient. At least, looking at Shikamaru's condition, if he could defeat these projections later, the Ninja World would see a highly intelligent, abnormal individual emerge.
Shikamaru, who was still resting, suddenly felt an inexplicable chill. Opening his eyes, he saw his teacher looking at him with a satisfied expression.
"Someone save me..."
Shikamaru now had the same thoughts Sasuke had before. Why did he have to make demands of his teacher when he had nothing else to do?
Isn't this just asking for trouble?