Chapter Seven: Second Try
Itachi moved into view, holding a pair of bells in one hand as if he'd always been there. His outfit had not been scuffed by travel at all, and there was no sign of mud. It was a sharp contrast to the three of them. They had bruises and scratches on them, and their clothes were mudstained.
And Tenten realized he had gone through everything they did without getting dirty. How? His hair looked untouched? Was this a genjutsu? And had this been here all this time?
Those merchants who had committed suicide, he'd done nothing while they died. And then let them be led away to be crucified. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, she found herself taking a combat stance.
"I must confess, you've done better than expected," said Itachi. His expression was calm and approachable. "You'll be pleased to know that the Hokage has been informed of the situation. I expect you will not face any consequences for these actions.
"The murder of those two ninjas raised quite a stir in the village."
"You were here the whole time, weren't you?!" said Tenten. She wasn't sure if that was better or worse than him not being there.
"I was," said Itachi.
"Then why didn't you save those people? You could have stopped Suzaku yourself," said Rock Lee. He sounded angry, genuinely angry. Tenten didn't blame him. Things had not been fun so far—especially where they got shoved onto the ground while those merchants were slaughtered.
She still had dirt on her from that.
"I could have done so," said Itachi, expression unchanging. "However, it would have rendered the learning experience worthless. Your lives were worth more to me than the lives of five merchants. In any case, you did not need my help."
"You coward!" said Lee, and he surged forward.
Itachi made subtle movements as Lee unleashed flurries of punches and kicks. He hardly seemed to put any effort in and, in fact, seemed bemused at best. Like he didn't understand why he was angry. "Hmm, I did not say we had started.
"But then, I suppose the exercise never ended, did it?
"Defend yourself."
One of Itachi's hands moved quickly, and something happened. Lee fell backward, screaming as he hit the ground. He seemed to be trying to get something off of him. "Rats! There are rats on me! Get them off; they are biting me!"
"Lee!" said Tenten, rushing forward and drawing her dagger. "Leave him alone, you bastard!" She hurled two kunai at Itachi, only for them to be caught.
Tenten drew out both her daggers and prepared to throw them. Even as she did, she felt her legs melting downward. Her arms began to seep down as her body lost form. Tenten screamed as the pain came to her. "What is... my body is melting around me..."
Tenten saw Lee rising up despite writhing in pain. He was flinching, but his eyes were narrowed as he took a perfect stance. "No matter, even if the rats are on me, I shall fight you nonetheless."
And Lee attacked.
"Hmm, you're back on your feet, Lee. And you are avoiding my eyes," said Itachi, weaving beneath Lee's attacks. "No matter, I do not need such methods to defeat opponents of your level." Behind him, Neji appeared and struck from behind with a sword, only to be frozen in place.
Forcing herself to move, Tenten struggled forward. She felt as though her body was made of slime, but she managed to attack. Forcing herself on, she snapped her body and hurled a kunai. Itachi moved aside, but it wasn't aimed at him. It grazed Neji's shoulder, and he was awake.
Tenten, Lee, and Neji attacked Itachi together. They coordinated their attacks to strike from different sides. Itachi began to move his hands in response to them, disarming Neji easily. Tenten lost her kunai, and Lee was dealt a rap upside the head that sent him falling.
Lee caught himself and pulled himself up, striking together with Neji in unison. Itachi moved aside, leaving both on a collision for each other. But both turned in midair and struck at Itachi just beyond.
Itachi caught both their hands, and Tenten saw her chance. He had the two bells gripped between his fingers. Vaulting over Lee and Neji, she hurled two kunai at Itachi, who twisted his body away. Even as he did, however, Tenten reached for the bells-
And then Itachi broke the deadlock in an instant. He landed beyond them, and as they turned, he was on them. Tenten felt an impact on her stomach and chest and hit the ground, winded. Looking up, she saw Lee and Neji standing still. Then both of them fell to the ground, stunned.
Itachi stood in the middle of the three, face impassive as always. Raising a hand, he cast a genjutsu.
And then they saw Tenten, Neji and Lee were in a black void. Itachi was still there, but no matter how they ran toward him, he got no nearer. Tenten could feel nothing beneath her feet or anything on her face, even air.
"...Where are we?" asked Neji.
"You are within my genjutsu," said Itachi. "Time here has been greatly slowed down. A single instant outside is hours within this place. And since you are wholly incapacitated, I may now give you proper instructions.
"I will now teach you to release a genjutsu."
"Why should we cooperate?" asked Neji.
"Your perceptions have been slowed to the extreme," said Itachi. "It will appear to last a period of three weeks. However, if you successfully perform the genjutsu release, it will be broken.
"Now, for a start, you will make the following hand sign."
They followed his instructions quickly; however, Tenten got one of them wrong. As she did, she felt a searing pain go through her body. Falling to one knee, she struggled to get out.
"Tenten!" said Neji.
"If you form the hand signs incorrectly, you will experience pain. The pain will continue; you correct them," said Itachi. "Do you understand?"
"Yes, Itachi-sensei, I understand!" said Tenten.
She tried the hand signs again and made them. The pain went away slowly.
"Excellent," said Itachi. "Now, focus on centering your chakra. Close your eyes if you wish and call upon your chakra. Lee, you have fallen out of proper form."
Lee howled in pain.
"Leave him alone!" said Tenten. "We just got finished raiding a castle, and you're expecting us to perform an entirely new- Ah!" The pain hit her again, worse this time.
"If you waste time, you will also experience pain," said Itachi. "In the Shinobi World, one must often adapt to unfavorable circumstances. You will escape this genjutsu; you will spend what feels like three weeks attempting to do so. Or you will experience pain."
"Both of you, do as he says," said Neji. "We're in no position to fight him."
"Now, genjutsu is the art of manipulating the perception of reality," said Itachi. "You were brought to this place, so you would better understand that. Suzaku was performing a genjutsu of sorts, even if no chakra was involved. His words manipulated others so that he could distort their worldview. With this power, he turned them into mockeries of themselves.
"However, a sudden disruption to that genjutsu broke the bonds he had established. In this case, his death. It freed those under his control from his will.
"The art of releasing a genjutsu is thus the art of disrupting the will of the one who casts it. By centering oneself, the illusionary world is weakened. With a surge of chakra fueled by your own will, it can be broke. It is akin the image of a moon reflected on the surface of a lake.
"Now, center yourself. Gather your chakra within you, let it build up within your system. Focus, and unleash it."
They followed his instructions, and Tenten tried to contain her terror. The idea of being in this place for two weeks was... horrible.
"...Again," said Itachi.
They tried again.
"Again," said Itachi.
Neji suddenly vanished.
"Neji!" said Tenten.
"So... Neji appears to have already escaped," said Itachi. "I did think he would. You will follow suit."
"But Itachi-sensei, I can't escape genjutsu!" said Rock Lee. "I was never able to perform ninjutsu or genjutsu of any kind!"
"Then you should spend this time giving thought as to why that was. Think of how you can avoid being caught in a genjutsu in the first place," said Itachi. "You will have plenty of time."
Tenten drew out a kunai and tossed it to him. "Lee! Take my kunai!"
And then it was snatched from him before he could move.
"Your kunai has been stolen," said Itachi. "You now have no means of running your blade into yourself. How will you cause yourself physical pain now?"
Lee stood silent. Tenten tried to focus, centering herself on sending a chakra pulse.
"...Nothing?" asked Itachi. "Do you have no ability to adapt to setbacks?"
"You will not defeat me!" said Lee. Then, grabbing ahold of his shoulder, he wrenched it. Lee vanished.
"Lee, he's out..." said Tenten.
"So, he dislocated his shoulder in the genjutsu," mused Itachi. "It is fortunate for him that I disabled his motor control.
"So, only you remain, Tenten."
Tenten thought about the prospect of being trapped in this void with only Itachi for company. Forming the signs, she tried again and again. "Genjutsu, release!"
A pulse of her chakra shot through her, and she escaped, the blackness shattering.
It had been... easy.
"So, all three of you managed to escape," said Itachi. "Of course, such a genjutsu is obvious. You did not see or feel anything. More advanced ones will be far more difficult to escape."
And then Tenten saw that Neji was before forced up against a tree by the throat. Tenten stepped forward. "Let Neji go!"
Itachi nodded and let him go. "As you wish.
"He attempted to interfere with the lesson by hurting you with a kunai. Still, I am satisfied with your results. But, in the end, you still failed to get a bell.
"Follow me, if you desire.
"If not, return to the Leaf.
"Either way, I expect you three to practice that technique and have a better strategy next time."
"Go to hell!" said Tenten.
"If I do, will you follow?" asked Itachi. And he was gone.
Tenten kneeled down by where Lee was getting up. "Lee, are you alright?"
"Yes, Tenten, I am," said Lee. "I thought I had dislocated one of my arms, and I feel the pain. Though I still have a full range of movement."
"...Perhaps we should return to the Leaf Village," said Neji. "I cannot believe that the Hokage would expect this level of devotion from trainee genin. And Itachi Uchiha is clearly insane."
"No way!" said Tenten. "I am not going to let that jerk beat us! He's leading us on and trying to make us stronger so he can claim the credit like last time! But we're going to beat him."
"I agree with Tenten. It would do us no good to quit now," said Rock Lee.
"Your actions are irrational," said Neji. "What if we accept that Itachi would intervene against Suzaku. His training methods are insane. We are under no obligation to put up with this. Itachi himself says as much."
Tenten had to admit, he had a point. Itachi might be unstable and if they got caught in a dark place alone with him. Then the obvious came to her. "...We should continue on for at least a bit."
"Why?" asked Neji.
"Because Hinata is going to fight her little sister," said Tenten. "And that means whoever wins will want to get even right after. At least this way, we're far away from the Hyuga Clan."
Neji paused for a moment and nodded. "I see your point, Tenten.
"Very well, we will follow him for a time."
"Let's just hope it isn't a full year," said Tenten.
And together, they followed Itachi once again. And as they walked, they trained together to break genjutsus.