Chapter 135 : S-Level Illusion, Comparable To Tsukuyomi
But this kind of Lightning Style obviously couldn’t hurt them.
The two quickly leapt out of the water.
Jiraiya looked at Riku with surprise. "You released Lightning Style without hand seals?"
Riku smiled but didn’t offer any explanation.
There was nothing unusual about him casting that Lightning Style without hand seals—after all, he could even use high-level techniques like Chidori and Lightning Fang without forming any seals.
Even Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu didn’t require hand seals for him anymore. Not that he focused on that specifically; if he put in the effort, Riku could likely release any elemental ninjutsu without hand signs.
It just wasn’t necessary.
Orochimaru, standing over twenty meters away, narrowed his eyes at Riku and said to Kabuto beside him, "We need to deal with Riku first. As long as he’s here, we’ll never get through to Tsunade."
Today, Orochimaru had to take Tsunade away. He needed his arms restored. Sure, he could keep reincarnating into new bodies using the Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu, but he still wanted his original arms back.
After all, each reincarnation left him weakened for a period—and that weakness was dangerous.
Kabuto frowned. "The opponents we’re facing now aren’t easy—especially Riku. I can’t take him on. He’s far too strong."
Judging by the speed and power of Riku’s earlier move, Kabuto was certain he was no match for him.
Orochimaru thought for a moment, then said, "Use the Summoning Jutsu. Summon Manda."
Kabuto’s eyes widened. "Wait... In your current state, summoning him might be uncontrollable!"
He knew very well—if Manda realized Orochimaru couldn’t use ninjutsu with either hand, he would immediately betray him. Summoning Manda under these conditions would be extremely dangerous.
But Orochimaru looked again at Riku and scowled. "If we don’t summon him, we’ll have to give up on Tsunade. And that’s something I absolutely won’t accept."
Just as Orochimaru was preparing to summon Manda, Riku spoke, sounding disappointed.
"Tch... I thought this would be a good fight. Guess not."
Jiraiya, hearing that Orochimaru intended to summon Manda, grew anxious. She felt her chakra had recovered a little and gritted her teeth, preparing to forcefully summon a toad from Mount Myoboku.
Tsunade, still kneeling behind Riku, showed no sign of recovering.
If this went on, Riku could tell she’d never overcome her phobia.
After a moment’s thought, Riku turned to look at Jiraiya.
Jiraiya blinked, confused about what Riku was trying to convey.
Then Riku turned and walked toward Tsunade. When he reached her, he crouched down in front of her and frowned.
"It seems restoring you through conventional means won’t work."
Tsunade raised her head with a trembling expression, staring blankly at Riku. She had no idea what he was about to do. Even her lips were trembling.
Shizune also knelt beside her, watching Riku closely, not sure what he intended.
The same went for Naruto.
Riku cupped Tsunade’s face gently in both hands. Under Shizune’s and Naruto’s stunned gazes, he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan—though they couldn’t perceive it.
What they did notice, however, was that Tsunade’s eyes suddenly turned blood-red the moment Riku locked eyes with her.
Shizune immediately realized what Riku was doing.
"Riku, why are you using genjutsu on Lady Tsunade?!"
Riku frowned, focusing hard as he pumped chakra into the illusion. His Mangekyō’s power surged through her.
Tsunade’s eyes grew redder and redder—until they even took on a faint purple hue.
Her trembling body suddenly stopped shaking.
And then... tears began to flow.
"Riku... don’t die!"
That cry drew everyone’s attention.
Orochimaru and Kabuto were at a loss—neither of them could comprehend what Riku had just done to Tsunade.
Jiraiya also turned toward them, frowning in concern.
Shizune and Naruto both saw Tsunade crying—but she was no longer shaking.
Riku still held her face in both hands, his expression serious. For some reason, the genjutsu he had released wasn’t just powerful—it was terrifying. It had turned Tsunade’s eyes crimson, and Shizune had never seen anything like it.
Still, she didn’t stop him. Deep down, she trusted that Riku wouldn’t hurt Tsunade.
After nearly twenty seconds, Tsunade’s eyes began to fade back to normal. The red vanished slowly.
Once she came to, Tsunade threw her arms around Riku in a tight hug.
Riku didn’t resist. He simply noted that her body had completely stopped trembling.
"Huh. I didn’t expect it to be this simple. If I’d known, I would’ve used this genjutsu earlier."
What Riku had just cast was a powerful S-rank illusion fueled by his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Inside the illusion, Tsunade couldn’t tell whether she was still in the real world or trapped in a genjutsu.
And in that illusory world... Riku had replaced Naruto as the victim in a reenactment of a possible tragedy.
There, Riku was actually dying.
It was a psychologically devastating experience. If her willpower hadn’t held up, Tsunade’s mind could’ve completely shattered.
That’s why Riku had hesitated to use this technique on her—it was dangerous.
Even so, he had held back significantly. If he had unleashed its full power, Tsunade would’ve collapsed instantly.
This genjutsu wasn’t a standard Mangekyō ability; it was a custom technique Riku had developed himself.
Its effect was similar to Tsukuyomi, rivaling it in power, though the mechanics differed. While Tsukuyomi physically tortured its victims in a warped perception of time, Riku’s illusion pulled the target deep into a mental world—similar to Infinite Tsukuyomi.
The victim would be forced to relive their worst trauma or deepest fear over and over again.
For instance, if used on Sasuke, he would constantly relive the Uchiha massacre—watching his parents die again and again, each time in a crueler way—until he broke.
That’s why Riku rarely used this technique.
The reason he placed himself as the dying protagonist in Tsunade’s illusion was simple: her bond with Naruto hadn’t yet grown strong enough to trigger the full effect. But she had formed enough of a connection with Riku for the illusion to work.
If that hadn’t succeeded, Riku had already prepared alternative scenarios: Jiraiya dying, Hashirama dying, Mito Uzumaki, Nawaki, or even Dan Kato.
He’d have continued adjusting the protagonist until something finally cracked her walls.
Because in this genjutsu world, the target has no way of realizing it isn’t real.
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