Ninja Ice House

Chapter 578 From Pretense to Reality

When Naruto Uzumaki finally arrived, Jiraiya could hardly believe his eyes.

Despite facing a large and powerful enemy, Jiraiya remained unfazed. He believed that none of them were a match for him. Even with the most imposing Kaguya Kimimaro, Haku, and Hyuga Neji all together, the Toad Sage was quite confident of escaping unscathed.

It wasn't until... that the blond boy, whose Nine-Tails chakra fluctuations were barely concealed, appeared that Jiraiya truly felt he was no match for him.

"By the way, Minato, why hasn't he made a move either?"

It's one thing if the other Konoha ninjas didn't notice or were powerless to do anything, but Minato Namikaze had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique and had a very deep understanding of space-time techniques.

As a teacher, Jiraiya knew his favorite student's skill level very well.

The moment the space-time technique is activated, he will sense it and arrive immediately using the pre-placed Flying Thunder God mark.

If dealing with things alone is a bit difficult, with Minato Namikaze, an assassin-type master who is least afraid of being surrounded, the master and apprentice are confident that they can fight their way through the ninja world and go wherever they want.

Upon seeing Naruto's blond hair, Jiraiya suddenly realized that he hadn't even noticed Minato Namikaze.

"Haven't you realized it yet, you lecherous sage? It all ended the moment you were transferred here and quarantined!"

Naruto asked with a hint of sadness,

"What is it about this place that you can't let go of, that you're willing to abandon even the real world, preferring to stay in this fake place rather than face reality?"

What...do you mean?

Jiraiya suddenly realized that this blond boy was important and that he needed to listen to him, but his ears had been ringing since earlier, his mind was blank, and his thinking ability seemed to be limited.

At the same time, Kaguya Kimimaro stopped pressing forward and instead retreated slightly, using her hands to launch bone spike projectiles to harass Jiraiya and keep him from stopping.

Silent and smiling, Shiro laid out ice crystal prisms, shuttling back and forth at incredible speed, occasionally scattering ice spikes. With the enhancement of illusionary power, a storm of ice rain, alternating between reality and illusion, swept through the area, and even Jiraiya's secret technique, Needle Jizo, was almost unable to defend against it.

In short, the opponent's tactics can be described in one sentence: they were like a surging and continuous wave, leaving Jiraiya no time to consider anything beyond tactics.

"Ninja Art: Summoning Technique!"

As Jiraiya unleashed his chakra without regard for the cost, the three brothers Gamabunta, Gamahiro, and Gamaken arrived instantly. With the seal on the stomach wall of the giant toad Iwajuku broken, it was better to have powerful allies hold the line while he took the opportunity to sort out what was happening.

"I was wondering about that earlier."

Hyuga Neji, who had been relentlessly using Gentle Fist to disrupt Jiraiya's chakra flow, asked,

"Logically speaking, since this isn't her true body, she shouldn't be able to activate the Blood Pact Summoning Technique. Or... perhaps Karin's side can isolate external spacetime fluctuations?"

Hinata Hyuga, who was assisting Neji Hyuga, answered breathlessly:

"I've heard of that before. Back then, Yakumo Kurama explained that the effect of Genjutsu Shinsengumi (True Life Illusion) isn't just about having a form; it has a foundation for existence. If the core of the dream space... Lord Jiraiya truly possesses a complete understanding of the mysteries of the Summoning Jutsu of Mount Myōboku, then given enough energy, it can also be materialized..."

"So, the disgusting toad's stomach lining from earlier, and the three large toads now, are not 'native natives' of the dream world, but real spiritual toads from Mount Myōboku in the real world?"

"Correct!"

"Why not seal it away? With Yakumo and Karin's abilities, it shouldn't be difficult, right?"

Why seal it?

This time, it wasn't Hinata Hyuga who offered a half-baked answer, but rather Haku, who was in complete control of the situation, responding calmly and methodically:

“The spacetime pathway itself is neutral. If it is sealed, it will be less convenient for the outside world to manipulate the dream space. It’s like creating ventilation. While it can bring in fresh air and make people feel refreshed, it also makes it hard to prevent flies and bedbugs from flying into the house.”

"This... is truly amazing."

Only Naruto Uzumaki, who was waiting for his chance, didn't understand at all and asked with a blank expression:

"What do you mean?"

Faced with someone who only half-understands ninjutsu theory, whose brain isn't sharp enough, and whose actions are better than his thinking, Haku didn't look down on him. Instead, he answered directly:

"Genjutsu... is essentially a type of ninjutsu. In the current ninja world, there is a common misconception that genjutsu is deception, that it's fake..."

"Isn't that right? Genjutsu is just using various methods to create chakra imbalances within the opponent's body, causing cognitive errors?"

"That's just a principle taught in books to children and students who don't understand. Everyone here is at least a Chunin, and some are even Jonin. Some paths you have to walk yourself, and you need your own unique understanding."

"Is that so!"

Naruto Uzumaki scratched his slightly messy hair sheepishly. Everything else was fine, but when it came to theories and logical reasoning, that wasn't his forte. Although he had brushed up on the basics while traveling the ninja world with Jiraiya, he still didn't really grasp many of the concepts.

After all, Jiraiya wasn't a theorist, and teaching written knowledge wasn't his forte.

"Naruto, Haku's point is that he's still quite active. Genjutsu is indeed a ninjutsu that uses various methods to deceive the enemy in order to achieve victory, but no one said that deceiving someone has to be fake!"

"Then... does that mean you're using genuine products to deceive people? Is that even possible?"

The companions around him smiled without saying a word. Some things are just a thin layer of paper; once you break through it, everything becomes clear.

The Kurama family's illusion-type bloodline limit has three typical abilities: magic insensitivity, terrifying illusion, and illusionary life. These abilities are nested and used in combination. Its most powerful aspect is that it can make the illusion real and then deceive the world. At least within the area covered by the bloodline limit's power, it can almost achieve the miracle of wish fulfillment.

Of course, to be truly that powerful, the person performing the spell must be incredibly strong and powerful.

Even Tsukuyomi, limited Tsukuyomi and infinite Tsukuyomi, all require the Mangekyou Sharingan, Rinnegan with tomoe, and the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki as prerequisites for casting.

Putting everything else aside, the entire Hidden Leaf Village went all out for this operation, even with some support from the Kosugi clan. Even so, it couldn't last long. After using manipulation techniques with different time flow rates to suppress the countermeasures in the dream space, the consumption of chakra was terrifying. It had dragged on for too long, and relying solely on the Slug Sage's clones to replenish the combined caster's chakra was probably already a stretch.