The training ground became clear once more, but before Geto Suguru could fully steady himself, he felt a faint ripple of Cursed Energy coming from behind him.
He whipped his head around, only to find Rin already standing behind him, a hand resting lightly on his back. The Three Tomoe in Rin's eyes were slowly fading from scarlet, returning to ordinary black pupils.
"Mr. Geto, you're awake." Rin's tone was calm, devoid of any fluctuation.
Geto Suguru looked at the hand on his back, recalling the "freezing" and "dissipating" in the illusion just now. A drop of cold sweat unconsciously slid down his temple.
For a Jujutsu Sorcerer, a situation like this occurring during battle would essentially be a death sentence.
He raised a hand to wipe away the sweat. When he looked at Rin again, the worry in his eyes had vanished, replaced by undisguised praise.
"Your Genjutsu... is far more sophisticated than I imagined. To be able to make a sorcerer of my level fall into an illusion without noticing, and nearly succeed in a sneak attack... this ability far exceeds that of an ordinary Grade 1 Sorcerer."
"I'm still curious, though. How exactly did you do it?" Geto Suguru's tone was full of inquiry, a flash of interest appearing in his black eyes.
"Can you activate this ability under any circumstances, leaving the enemy completely defenseless as they fall into an illusion?"
If Rin could truly achieve this so easily, then this Genjutsu ability would likely be even more troublesome than his Cursed Spirit Manipulation. After all, Cursed Spirits can be cut down, but mental attacks are often impossible to guard against.
Hearing this, Rin shook his head slightly, his calm tone breaking the excessive speculation.
"It's not that exaggerated. There are specific conditions for casting a realistic illusion like the one just now."
He raised a hand to rub his brow. Using this ability for the first time made him feel a bit unaccustomed, and a faint trace of fatigue lingered in his eyes.
"The principle of this ability is actually to inject my Ocular Power into the opponent's body through the Sharingan. First, it disrupts their Cursed Energy flow, and then, following that turbulent ripple, it interferes with their five senses, eventually causing them to fall into an illusion."
Hearing this, Geto Suguru unconsciously rubbed his sleeve with his fingertip, asking thoughtfully, "So, the core lies in 'injecting Ocular Power'?"
"Yes," Rin nodded and continued to explain. "To activate the kind of Genjutsu that can make even you lose focus momentarily, the enemy must first make eye contact with my Sharingan.
Once they see the tomoe in my eyes, the Sharingan's Ocular Power acts like an invisible hook, immediately establishing a connection with the Cursed Energy in the victim's body. It's equivalent to building a'spiritual bridge'."
He paused, trying to use a more common description.
"Through this 'bridge', I precisely deliver Ocular Power into the opponent's cranial nerves, first disrupting their originally stable Cursed Energy circulation, making them unable to control their body normally or perceive the outside world."
"Once the opponent's sensory system develops a breach, I can use the Ocular Power left in their body to construct an illusion according to my will."
Rin's voice softened slightly, as if describing the operation of a precision instrument. "For example, making them see non-existent Cursed Spirits, hear fake voices, or even simulate physical pain. This is the complete principle behind the Sharingan's powerful Genjutsu."
After listening, Geto Suguru nodded slowly. The curiosity in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a clear understanding.
"I see. It seems the activation of this ability isn't without limits." He changed the subject and threw out a key question. "So, if the opponent deliberately avoids eye contact and doesn't look at your Sharingan, would you be unable to activate this Genjutsu?"
"It can still be activated, but the effect will be greatly reduced."
Rin answered honestly, "If I can't establish a 'bridge' through eye contact, I can only forcibly wrap the opponent's mental plane with Cursed Energy to disrupt their five senses.
But this method is crude. At most, it causes brief hallucinations, tinnitus, or fleeting phantoms. It's impossible to construct a realistic illusion like the one just now."
"It's already very impressive." Geto Suguru's tone carried undisguised praise. He looked at Rin, a hint of anticipation rising in his black eyes. "To be able to directly control the mind through eye contact and simulate physical pain... if this ability is polished well, it could become your trump card even against a Special Grade Sorcerer in the future."
The surprises Rin's Sharingan brought to Geto Suguru had long since exceeded the scope of an "accident."
These scarlet ocular techniques not only held the heaven-defying ability to "devour Cursed Spirits" and turn their power to his own use, but also hid the infinite possibility of "continuous evolution."
From the Insight and copying of the initial Double Tomoe to the powerful Genjutsu awakened with the Three Tomoe, these three stages and three core abilities—any one of them placed on any Jujutsu Sorcerer would be enough to make their combat power soar and place them among the top tier.
Yet, these three powerful traits were all concentrated in Rin alone. This talent made even Geto Suguru, who was used to seeing jujutsu prodigies, sigh inwardly: "Simply terrifying."
What interested him even more was that the evolution of these Sharingan seemed to have no end.
The Three Tomoe was already so troublesome; what ability would awaken in the next evolution? A stronger Genjutsu, or a new method to overturn the battlefield? Geto Suguru couldn't suppress his curiosity and looked at Rin beside him, his tone full of inquiry.
"Rin, can your Sharingan evolve again?"
Rin was silent for a moment, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing his palm. He knew better than anyone that the next form of the Three Tomoe was the "Mangekyo Sharingan," something unheard of in the Jujutsu World.
But the price of this evolution was likely beyond even Geto Suguru's imagination, not to mention the difficulty of achieving it.
He spoke slowly, his voice calm but carrying a heavy weight.
"It can evolve, but the conditions required are much harder than before." He looked up at Geto Suguru and continued to explain.
"Going from Two Tomoe to Three Tomoe took ten Grade 1 Cursed Spirits. But after evolving, I can clearly feel that the benefit Grade 1 Cursed Spirits provide to the Sharingan is now negligible. Even if I devour a hundred more Grade 1 Cursed Spirits now, I'm afraid it won't progress even half a step."
Geto Suguru's brow furrowed slightly as he vaguely guessed what came next. "So, you need stronger Cursed Spirits?"
"Yes, it can only be Special Grade Cursed Spirits." Rin nodded, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness. "I've roughly sensed it; to evolve to the Mangekyo, I need to devour at least ten Special Grade Cursed Spirits."
"Ten?" Geto Suguru froze abruptly, even the hem of his black monk robes stopping mid-air.
Even though he sat atop Star Plasma Vessel Society and controlled nearly five thousand Cursed Spirits, he couldn't help but reveal a bitter smile upon hearing this number. In the entire Jujutsu World, there were only sixteen registered Special Grade Cursed Spirits, including those already exorcised. Whether ten living Special Grade Cursed Spirits scattered across the world could even be gathered was an unknown.