"Itachi, although you spend a lot of time practicing ninjutsu," she began. "I have always felt that you neglected genjutsu. And today I did that to make you aware of this fact as well."
Now that he thinks about it, she is right. He did spend a lot of time on ninjutsu, followed by shurikenjutsu and if he is left with more time in the day, he would spend it on taijutsu.
He had only ever learned about genjutsu from the various scrolls at his home and the Uchiha clan library. There was a reason he didn't practice it.
Aika paused for a moment before continuing, "While it is true that you haven't awakened our clan's Sharingan, which greatly aids with genjutsu, that's no excuse to neglect genjutsu training, or worse, ignore it altogether."
That hit the nail on the head. Itachi's ears turned red and face felt hot. He figured, why learn basic genjutsu now, when the Sharingan would make it both easier and more powerful later?
Aika stared into the now slightly pink sky for sometime to organize her thoughts. Itachi leaned forward toward Aika.
"Genjutsu holds a special place for us, the Uchiha," she said in a light voice. "There are not many people in this world who have an aptitude for it; and the few that have the aptitude end up being mediocre at best.
"But us, the Uchiha, we not only have a natural aptitude for genjutsu, we can get as good as the amount of time we put in it; as is the case for ninjutsu. But for people outside our clan, they could work an entire year on genjutsu but have nothing to show for it."
Itachi perked his ears up and listened with rapt attention.
"While ninjutsu is the combination of technical and creative fields, then taijutsu and genjutsu represent the extremes of each of these fields; taijutsu being the technical extreme, and genjutsu being the creative extreme," Aika said this and paused to let Itachi consider the implications of what she just said.
After Itachi nodded in understanding, she continued, "To put it very simply, genjutsu shows the target what you want them to see. Knowing what you want to show the target is the easy part, the tricky part is not what you want to show but how."
Itachi's eyes narrowed in thought.
Aika went on, "And even after a ninja figures out how to transmit what they want to show, even the slightest inconsistency in the illusion means that the jutsu is broken—and the target will now have their guard up against genjutsu.
"The Sharingan solves all of these problems: transmitting and consistency in illusions. Sharingan only requires eye contact with the target to transmit the illusion and we have many Sharingan-specific jutsu passed down within the clan that maintain the integrity of the illusions—what jutsu we use depends on how complex of an illusion we want to put the target under, and of course the chakra needed increases with complexity."
Itachi felt like he was on the verge of grasping something important but not quite. So, he asked, "But grandma, if it's just about how to transmit the illusion and maintain consistency, surely there are many jutsu to help with both—let's call them 'Projection Jutsu' and 'Stabilization Jutsu' for now, lacking better terms. After all, genjutsu has existed since the beginning of our world alongside the other two jutsu categories—ninjutsu and taijutsu.
"Then the Sharingan's only real benefit is skipping the Projection Jutsu, leaving us to focus solely on Stabilization Jutsu, isn't it?"
After saying his thoughts out loud, he felt that his logic was sound; he couldn't see why his grandmother considered Sharingan to be such a game-changer. Itachi's brows scrunched together. He once again fell into silence mentally reviewing his grandmother's explanation.
Aika waited for a while to let Itachi think about it. She wondered if Itachi could figure it out on his own; after all, he was the most talented Uchiha ever born in the clan—and that's saying a lot.
After all, the previous person who fit that bill was Uchiha Madara—the most feared and talented ninja the world had ever seen. And looking at the clan records, Itachi had always been ahead of Madara so far.
While it was true that the First Hokage defeated Madara, even he would agree that it was only possible due to his Wood Release and the sheer amount of chakra he possessed; he was never a match for Madara in talent.
And the implications of surpassing Madara's talent were undeniable.
Just then a familiar face appeared in her mind. Aika believed that only Minato would be able to match Itachi in sheer talent—she had personally seen him growing up, always visiting the Uchiha to play with Mikoto; and he had that absurd space-time affinity and a knack for developing jutsus—truly, Minato was taken before his time and that was a great loss for Konoha and the world.
Suddenly, she heard a sharp intake of breath and turned to Itachi to find him with eyes wide and mouth gaping. Sure enough, it seemed Itachi managed to figure it out.
"G—Grandma… y—you… don't mean… to say…" Itachi spluttered, his hands clenching and unclenching.
"Yes. That's exactly what I mean to say. The Sharingan changes everything, doesn't it?" Aika said, smiling. "And that's only one reason why the Uchiha clan has always been so dangerous."
"B—But… that's… impossible… it's an unfair advantage," Itachi was finally almost back to being coherent, though still in disbelief. His mind raced, trying to reconcile this new information with everything he knew about genjutsu.
Aika couldn't hold herself back from laughing out at Itachi's innocence. "It's neither impossible nor is it unfair. This is simply the nature of our gifts, Itachi. And such is life; you have to work with what you are given. And never reject or feel guilt over your inheritance."
Aika reached out and patted Itachi's back, hoping he would learn to accept his gifts wholeheartedly. And Aika didn't have the heart to tell him how people with Kekkei Genkai are persecuted in the world; she didn't think he was ready for that yet.
In fact, the Uchiha clan was one of the few Kekkei Genkai clans that people were too scared to offend much less persecute, and that speaks volumes of its power. The Hyūga within Konoha comes a close second.
Itachi closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and attempted to calm himself, with moderate success. He considered the two crucial steps—Projection and Stabilization—required for a successful genjutsu, and how each demanded mastery of distinct jutsu categories. He opened his eyes and summarized what he had figured out earlier.
"So, grandma, while the Sharingan eliminates the need for a Projection Jutsu, the other step might as well not exist. But that's absurd," Itachi opened his eyes and began to summarize his thoughts.
"You said the Sharingan-specific Stabilization Jutsu maintains the integrity of the illusions by using the appropriate jutsu and amount of chakra depending on the complexity of the illusion. You made it sound as if it's simple and automatic. However… no… it can't be…"
Itachi's voice trailed off, his eyes widening and his breath coming in short, shallow gasps. He shook his head slightly, as if trying to clear it. "For people outside our clan…" he began again, but stopped, unable to voice the full implication of his discovery.
Aika continued patting Itachi's back, smiling warmly and with obvious pride. "That's my grandson, figuring it out."
"Firstly, 'Projection Jutsu' and 'Stabilization Jutsu' are popular terms among genjutsu users to refer to the jutsu required for the two steps. 'Casting Jutsu' and 'Anchoring Jutsu' are also sometimes used. Think of 'Projection Jutsu' as the initial spark, the moment you ignite the illusion in their mind. 'Stabilization Jutsu', on the other hand, is like tending a delicate flame—you must make sure it doesn't burn too intensely, while also simultaneously adding more firewood to it to make sure it doesn't go out—keeping it burning steady." Aika gestured with her hands, cupping their palms together as if keeping an invisible flame from going out. "This, Itachi, is so difficult that those from our clan will never be able to appreciate this delicate task, the Sharingan makes it an afterthought."
"And you are right, while the Projection Jutsu is not even needed for us, the Stabilization jutsu might as well not exist. This is also the reason I said we can get as good at genjutsu as the amount of time we put in it; because you only need to master the clan's Sharingan-specific Stabilization Jutsu—which are only as difficult as any other ninjutsu and they get easier with time."
Understanding dawned in Itachi's eyes, the implications of the Sharingan's power settling within him. It wasn't just about skipping a step; it fundamentally changed the landscape of genjutsu for the Uchiha.
Aika watched Itachi, a thoughtful expression on her face. 'An unfair advantage, he had called it. But in the turbulent world we live in, perhaps such advantages were not a gift, but a necessity; especially with how the village has been treating the Uchiha, we need every little advantage we could get. However, it's not the time for Itachi to learn about these things yet.'
She hoped this conversation had truly sunk in, that he would finally grasp the importance of genjutsu and the immense power the Sharingan offered. But she also knew that understanding was just the first step.
She could only teach someone, what they would do with the knowledge is something beyond her control. However, she really hoped Itachi would dedicate himself to mastering it; after all, he was the most talented Uchiha to have ever been born, and it would be a travesty if he didn't embrace and hone his clan's gift.
She did not speak for a while so that Itachi could reflect on what she had just said.