"But you're right. If not for him, I really can't imagine why your mastery in genjutsu is so high at such a young age. But I'm pretty sure he is dead. Are you lying to me?" Mei looked at Ryoha displeasedly.
"I haven't finished yet. It was you who interrupted me. To be precise, I wasn't taught by Yuuhi Shinku himself. Instead, I got my hands on his records, which contain everything he knew about genjutsu."
"He prepared them for his daughter Kurenai, so she could still learn everything about his genjutsu even if he died early. Unfortunately, he didn't expect Konoha to be so stingy. They didn't want her to become another version of him. They didn't even teach her anything since she was a child."
"She could only rely on herself. If not for her great talent in genjutsu, let alone Jonin, she would be stuck at Chuunin level. Since she didn't have anyone to guide her, even with Shinku's records and her talent, her strength was only at the level of a Jonin."
"The further she read her father's records, the more difficult it was for her to understand the contents. If she purely relied on her own reading and research, she would have gotten nowhere."
"Also, if not for the Third's teachings in ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu, and his help in answering my questions, I might only be a bit stronger in terms of genjutsu."
"Thanks to the Third's guidance and my hard work, I was able to fight a very dangerous genjutsu battle with Itachi. By implementing my knowledge and practice in that fight, I was able to achieve my current mastery of genjutsu. Now, do you understand what I said?"
Ryoha briefly explained his growth history in one breath. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Here, he could see the importance of having a good teacher to teach him.
Itachi was born in the Uchiha clan. He obtained a lot of ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu from his clan. But without Madara's teachings, would he be as strong as he is now? In other words, he needed guidance from a good teacher to reach his current strength.
Sasuke was also the same. Although he was a bit trashy, He had Orochimaru to guide him. His massive strength in the original work was because of Orochimaru's teachings, despite Orochimaru's plans for his body.
While he did obtain some ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu from the records left by his clan, when he graduated from the Academy at the age of 12, he was not that strong. Even with Kakashi's help in mastering his Sharingan and Chidori, his strength barely passed the level of an elite Chuunin.
However, it was only after being taught by Orochimaru that his strength began to rapidly improve. In two and a half years, he had reached the level of an elite Jonin. In addition to his frantic use and reliance on Mangekyo Sharingan, as well as the power given to him by Itachi, he was able to fight against a Kage-level ninja in a short period of time. However, if his allies didn't come to help him, after using the Mangekyo, Sasuke would either run away or die.
Although he was still fairly weak in the original work even after opening the Mangekyo, seeing the gap in strength between him and the current Ryoha, one could see the importance of having a good teacher.
If Kurenai had a good teacher like her father, then with her talent, she would have reached the Kage level for all these years.
"I really didn't expect that. Your journey seems like a series of adventures. Well, enough with the small talks. You have my thanks for solving my trouble. Then from now on, I'll be serious. I will show you the real strength of a Kage. This time, you better go all out. Otherwise, don't blame me for your meaningless death."
Mei's eyes flashed. After saying that, she moved and flew in front of Ryoha. She threw a very strong punch. Even the strong wind from her punch made Ryoha feel pain on his face.
Now Ryoha was sure that the current Mei would have the upper hand even against Sasuke's Susanoo.
This woman was really not simple. No wonder she could take back the control of the Kirigakure and drive the Akatsuki out by herself.
"Eh, using taijutsu against me is a little bit..." Although Ryoha was calm, his Inverted Cross Mangekyo started to spin again. He easily saw through Mei's movements and copied her movements. At the same time, he predicted her next move. Each time, he perfectly cut off Mei's attacks and then used her taijutsu in return.
"It seems that ordinary taijutsu is useless against him, but I'm not going to fight you with taijutsu. Whether you can survive, depends on your ability. If you can still survive, it proves that you have the qualifications to talk to me. Lava Release - Lava Monster Jutsu!"
Mei kicked Ryoha, making him dodge backward. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Mei completed a seal in an instant, spitting out gorgeous but destructive lava. At such a close distance, Ryoha had no time to dodge.
"Sure enough, I knew that this woman would not be so stupid to rush over and fight me with taijutsu. So it turned out to be like this. I initially wanted to avoid using my visual jutsu as much as possible, but this is getting troublesome Amaterasu!"
A spiral-shaped black flame immediately appeared in Ryoha's right eye, continuously expanding and forming a large net that collided with the lava and began to burn.
This time, Ryoha was actually able to control the Amaterasu. It seemed that his pair of eyes, combined with the three best Sharingan genes, was really terrifying.
Especially after the integration of Wood Release and Nine-Tailed Chakra, his potential became more and more terrifying. He could even control Amaterasu. Other ninjas' Amaterasu could not change form unless it was combined with another visual jutsu.
But now, Ryoha could use Amaterasu with his right eye and control it to change its form. Normally, Amaterasu's shape wouldn't change unless another visual jutsu, the Blaze Release - Kagutsuchi, was used to control its shape.
Ryoha's Amaterasu seemed to be different from the other Mangekyo users. His Amaterasu had its own ability to change its form without using the Kagutsuchi. In other words, Ryoha's Amaterasu was stronger than Sasuke and Itachi's Amaterasu.
There was no need for any visual jutsu like Kagutsuchi. Ryoha's Amaterasu could change according to his will. It could be said that Ryoha's Amaterasu was not an ordinary Amaterasu, but a perfect version of the combination between Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi.
Therefore, he could control Amaterasu's shape at will, without needing to use other visual jutsu. His Amaterasu was much more perfect and powerful than Sasuke and Itachi's.
No wonder the Nine-tailed Fox agreed to make a deal with Ryoha before. He had already seen that Ryoha's potential was huge, and it would become more and more terrifying as he became stronger.