Chapter 54: The So-Called Illusion Arts

Don’t misunderstand—Feng Xue had no intention of transplanting the Sharingan. He simply found the true essence of illusion techniques from these jutsu. Yes, illusion techniques! Whether it’s Tsukuyomi, Izanami, or Izanagi—abilities that are obviously illusions—or Amaterasu and Susanoo, which seem more like ninjutsu, in essence, they are all illusions!

Why say this? To explain, we must begin with the origins of illusion techniques.

What is the essence of illusion? Anyone with a bit of intelligence will tell you—the essence of illusion is deception.

Though that’s the common wisdom, the history of illusion techniques in the world of shinobi is not so straightforward. Perhaps, in the beginning, people used chakra to influence an enemy’s visual, auditory, or even tactile nerves to produce hallucinations. But as the use of chakra became more sophisticated, ninjas discovered that, by directly disturbing the chakra flow within an opponent’s body, they could induce hallucinations or even immobilize them—the Golden Binding Technique. Thus, illusion techniques evolved from mere deception into a form of almost home invasion—a forceful art.

Yet, they didn’t realize that the reason illusions succeeded was because the enemy’s chakra contained a will not his own—the will of Princess Kaguya. Normally dormant or latent, this foreign will would interfere with the body when chakra was disrupted, resulting in immobility or hallucinations. This crude method, strictly speaking, is less an illusion and more another form of ninjutsu.

True illusion, however, is a subtle, almost imperceptible deception—one that cannot be broken by pain or chakra shock. In the shinobi world, only two clans truly mastered this art: the Kurama clan and the Uchiha clan. Yet, with the Kurama bloodline so difficult to awaken, only Kurama Yakumo remains, and she, through her talent, birthed the monster known as Idō. The Uchiha, too, are nearly extinct—a genuine tragedy.

Returning to the matter itself: though illusion is deception, there are levels of deception. The lowest level is simply lying. The range of this level varies widely—from telling a fib, up to the so-called strongest illusion, Kotoamatsukami. Many basic illusions don’t even require jutsu, such as the Straw Cloak Concealment or the Transformation Technique, which are better suited to the term “illusion” than even the Golden Binding Technique.

The second level is deceiving oneself. At this stage, the difficulty skyrockets, for one’s own mind is the hardest to fool. Any who reach this realm are already at the level of secret arts. For example, Kurama Yakumo, burdened with her clan’s hopes, deceived herself into becoming the person her family wished to see. With her unique talent, this resulted in the terrifying monster, Idō. Yet this is not the limit of the realm—merely its threshold. This level contains jutsu capable of circumventing death—such as Izanagi. Though described as converting dream and reality, in truth, Izanagi is self-deception. Using the Sharingan, one convinces oneself they have not died or been injured; the body responds accordingly, and the injury disappears. The price, however, is immense: the eye is drained of its power and loses its light.

Conversely, Izanami still belongs to the first level of deception, but the energy required is so great that it similarly exhausts an eye’s power, rendering it blind.

The highest level, though, is deceiving the world itself. That’s right—deceiving the world! The Mangekyō Sharingan, true to its reputation as the “eye reflecting the heart,” can transform the wielder’s deepest thoughts into tangible power, and this power is, at its core, deception.

Amaterasu, though it appears to be a fire technique, is utterly unrelated to fire. It is born from the Uchiha’s innate affinity for fire jutsu and their pursuit of power, but fundamentally, it is an illusion that deceives the world. Or rather, all Mangekyō techniques are illusions. When an Uchiha wields Amaterasu through the Mangekyō, they are tricking the world into believing that there should be a flame here. The world accepts this, and thus the flame appears. Because this fire is conjured through deception, it cannot be extinguished. Yet, since the world believes it is real fire, it can still be sealed by fire suppression techniques. Its essence, however, has nothing to do with true flame.

Tsukuyomi is much the same. Itachi wished to change the world, and upon reading the tablet’s record of Infinite Tsukuyomi, he naturally awakened Tsukuyomi as a preliminary technique. Its essence is nothing but deceiving the world—telling it that the victim’s consciousness is now within his own, and the world obliges.

Kamui follows a similar principle. Before Rin’s death, Obito’s foremost thought was his teacher—the Yellow Flash. If he had the Flying Thunder God Technique, he could have reached Rin in an instant. Thus, his Mangekyō gained a spatial attribute. After Rin’s actual death, upon awakening his eye, Obito’s only wish was to escape reality. The world responded, creating a realm where he could hide. (As an aside, the author often wonders—if Obito’s thought at that moment had been to revive Rin, would his Sharingan have granted him a power akin to Rinne Rebirth, reviving her through sacrifice? Like Izanagi, deceiving the world by declaring Rin had not died, and then she would live. In that scenario, Minato would not die, the Nine Tails would not rampage, and Naruto would not lose his parents…)

Susanoo, which requires both Mangekyō to activate, operates at a higher level. The connection between the Uchiha clan and the tengu is well documented (those interested can search “Uchiha tengu”; in the world of shinobi, tengu are almost a faith, as evidenced by their veneration at the Temple of Fire). Because the Uchiha wished to protect themselves or others, Susanoo manifested. Due to their reverence for the tengu, this guardian deity took on a tengu form (indeed, Susanoo’s design features the small cap atop its head, just like the crow or great tengu, and every Susanoo has such a headpiece). As for why Obito could not activate Susanoo, it’s not, as Itachi claimed, because Susanoo is a fusion of the strongest mental and physical attacks (after all, Sasuke’s Kagutsuchi isn’t a mental attack, yet he can summon Susanoo; Obito’s two eyes are both Kamui, and when given to Kakashi, Kakashi can use Susanoo). The real reason is that, after gaining the ability to become intangible, Obito had no desire for a guardian deity’s protection—he could evade any attack on his own. When both eyes were eventually entrusted to Kakashi, Kakashi’s wish to protect himself and his comrades summoned Susanoo.

The gradual loss of light in the Mangekyō Sharingan is fundamentally due to insufficient ocular power; after deceiving the world, one is struck by its backlash (if it were simply a matter of chakra consumption, the power could be restored slowly). Upon obtaining the Eternal Mangekyō, this backlash can be resisted, and the light is preserved.

As for the Sage of Six Paths—Otsutsuki Hagoromo—he elevated deception to its utmost limit. By deceiving the world, he split the Tailed Beast into nine, and by the same means, created ninja tools like the Purifying Bottle and Seven Star Sword, which possess powers alien to the shinobi realm. He even deceived the world so that his soul could linger after death.

All of this—born from deception—could not be a more fitting inspiration for Feng Xue!