Great ideas often emerge unexpectedly, and at this moment, the more Shinji thought about it, the more promising this idea seemed.
With the final battle against the Akatsuki looming, everyone in the village—from the Hokage to the freshly graduated genin—knew the urgency of improving their strength.
To grow stronger, one could either learn new ninjutsu, secret techniques, or taijutsu skills, or hone tactical techniques and gain real-world experience to enhance combat ability.
Learning new ninjutsu or secret techniques was out of the question. Techniques that significantly boost strength often take time to master, and amassing too many techniques isn't always better. After all, everything requires a digestion process, and cramming too many techniques can hinder their full utilization in combat.
Thus, refining already-mastered tactical techniques, gaining practical experience, and boosting combat ability became the urgent need for many shinobi.
But this wasn't something one could achieve through solo training.
True combat training required a sparring partner of equal or greater strength.
Only a sufficiently strong partner could expose flaws in one's tactical techniques.
This led to a manpower shortage issue.
Everyone wanted a sparring partner stronger than themselves to improve their combat skills. But when everyone, strong or weak, shared this need in the short term, where could they find so many qualified partners?
At this point in time, this was a critical need for the entire Hidden Leaf Village!
Realizing the feasibility of this idea, Shinji ate his barbecue while his mind raced, constructing a framework to execute it.
First, Shinji needed to build a space or platform—whether within a genjutsu or a spiritual dimension.
Only by creating such a platform could he meet the needs of Hidden Leaf's shinobi and draw them in.
At this thought, Shinji furrowed his brow slightly.
His own genjutsu skills could create such a platform, but with his current mastery, he couldn't sustain it for long, let alone cast genjutsu on tens of thousands of targets simultaneously.
This wasn't about the strength of his dojutsu power—it was simply that ordinary genjutsu couldn't achieve it.
"Unless it's 'Tsukuyomi,' no other genjutsu can perfectly manipulate time and matter within a genjutsu space," Shinji realized.
The uniqueness of 'Tsukuyomi' lay in its ability to control time within the genjutsu space. A moment in the real world could equate to a day or even a month inside!
This was something other genjutsu couldn't match.
Coupled with 'Tsukuyomi's' terrifyingly precise control over the genjutsu space, no genjutsu was more effective for fully controlling a person.
This was why Black Zetsu chose 'Tsukuyomi' as the foundation for the 'Infinite Tsukuyomi' plan to revive Kaguya Otsutsuki!
But Shinji didn't just need to control others—he needed a platform that could provide Hidden Leaf shinobi with memory and experiential feedback.
While 'Tsukuyomi' created a genjutsu world, it was still just an illusion. Training in it might yield memories, but it was hard to carry over the subtle, nuanced sensations of combat. Thus, 'Tsukuyomi' alone couldn't fully meet Shinji's needs.
"'Jikibi.'"
In a flash, Shinji thought of his Mangekyo dojutsu, 'Jikibi.'
His 'Jikibi' and 'Wazunagi' were inferior to Mumei's 'Yachihoko' in many ways, but one thing 'Yachihoko' couldn't do was create a 'Jikibi Space' accessible only to spiritual forms.
Unlike a genjutsu space, the 'Jikibi Space' created by 'Jikibi' was real, existing in a spiritual dimension where only spiritual forms could enter, and physical bodies could neither access nor observe it!
Training in the 'Jikibi Space' would allow shinobi to bring back all their experiences and insights, even the smallest epiphanies, to the real world.
"Which one should I choose?"
Shinji found himself torn, unsure which Mangekyo dojutsu to base his platform on.
'Tsukuyomi's' genjutsu space offered perfect control over time and matter, but shinobi entering it could only retain basic memories, unable to carry over finer, more subtle insights.
'Jikibi's' 'Jikibi Space' allowed shinobi to bring back all memories and insights gained within, but it couldn't perfectly control time and matter within the space.
Both dojutsu had their strengths and weaknesses, making the choice difficult.
At that moment, Ino asked Choji, "This plate is beef, and this one is pork belly. Which do you want?"
Choji hesitated. "Can't I have both?"
Shinji chuckled, then seemed to realize something. His expression grew serious as he thought, "Right, why do I have to choose one? If I combine 'Tsukuyomi' and 'Jikibi,' wouldn't that solve everything perfectly?"
'Tsukuyomi's' control and 'Jikibi's' realism—if Shinji could merge the two, the resulting genjutsu space would meet all his needs.
With this, his thoughts suddenly became clear.
Using 'Yachihoko' as the core, with 'Tsukuyomi' and 'Jikibi' as the platform, he could create a large-scale immersive genjutsu combat training space. Once its reputation spread and it was promoted in the village, it would continuously draw in Hidden Leaf's strongest shinobi, who would willingly step into the trap.
This would not only bolster the strength of the five great shinobi villages, balancing the scales against the Akatsuki, but also allow him to complete 'Yachihoko's' marking without anyone noticing, turning tens of thousands of Hidden Leaf shinobi into his personal chakra reserve.
"This could work!"
The more Shinji thought about it, the more excited he became.
If this plan succeeded, he'd be well-equipped to face the Akatsuki, the Ten-Tails, or even Black Zetsu lurking in the shadows.