Uchiha Sasuke's pain, however, wasn't as overwhelming as it had been in the original timeline. He knew more now. He knew that the one who had triggered the Nine-Tails' rampage had been a member of the Uchiha Clan, that Namikaze Minato and his wife had both died because of it, and that countless people had perished that night at the hands of the Nine-Tails.
Losing his entire family had left him in unbearable agony, but others had suffered just as deeply.
Especially Uzumaki Naruto—the so-called dead last he had once looked down on. Naruto should have grown up with a stable, privileged life as the Fourth Hokage's son, yet that future had been destroyed by Uchiha Kenji.
And when the village moved to wipe out the Uchiha Clan, it wasn't as if the clan had been entirely innocent. They had been preparing for rebellion, and the village couldn't simply stand by and do nothing.
Because of all this, Sasuke's pain and hatred were far less absolute than they had once been. The more he understood, the less pure his hatred became.
He still hated Uchiha Itachi, but at the same time, he wanted answers from him—wanted to know what had really happened back then. Beneath that, there was even a faint, unspoken desire that only he himself seemed aware of.
He wanted Itachi not to be that kind of person. He wanted to believe things weren't as they had seemed. Maybe there had been a reason, some hidden truth behind it all. Even after all these years, even knowing his parents had died at Itachi's hands, he still longed for even the smallest trace of warmth.
Maybe Itachi could still be the brother he remembered from his childhood.
The thought itself was almost laughable, yet he desperately needed that kind of comfort.
In the end, he was still just a teenager.
Whether Itachi had his reasons or not, there were two names on Sasuke's kill list. One was Uchiha Kenji, the man claiming to be Uchiha Madara. The other was Shimura Danzo. Without those two, things would never have escalated this far. The Uchiha Clan would never have ended up like this.
But Sasuke also knew how weak he was. Whether it was the elusive Uchiha Kenji or the powerful and influential Shimura Danzo, neither was someone he could face right now.
He needed power. He had to become stronger.
In the original timeline, every time Sasuke gained a significant boost in strength, he would grow arrogant and end up getting beaten down—earning him the nickname "Sunny Sasuke." That arrogance came from believing he was already close to invincible.
But when he understood that he was at a disadvantage, he became extremely cautious. His battle against Itachi had been proof of that—he had used every preparation and tactic he could muster.
From Itachi's perspective, though, those preparations had still been childish. If Itachi had truly wanted to kill him, there were countless ways to do it.
Just gathering the members of the Akatsuki to surround and kill Sasuke would have been more than enough.
Now that he clearly recognized his own weakness, Sasuke was far calmer.
The three enemies he had identified—Uchiha Kenji, Uchiha Itachi, and Shimura Danzo—any one of them possessed Kage-level strength.
And each of them had allies, subordinates—at the very least jonin, even elite jonin.
As for Sasuke's current strength, he couldn't even defeat an ordinary jonin. Judging from his future self in the timeline he had seen, he would need at least three more years of quiet growth.
And he needed those eyes—the Mangekyō Sharingan.
But how was he supposed to awaken it? Did he really have to kill Uzumaki Naruto? Or would he have to personally end Uchiha Itachi's life?
Sasuke didn't know.
Just as he was about to close the diary, it suddenly updated again.
[Speaking of which, Uchiha Itachi's genjutsu really is top-tier in the ninja world. Purely in terms of genjutsu skill, ignoring differences in overall strength, even Uchiha Madara can't compare to him. Maybe only Uchiha Shisui could match him.
Here's a funny joke. One day in the future, Hoshigaki Kisame suddenly realizes he's been caught in a genjutsu and cautiously asks: "Itachi-san… don't tell me I've been the only one doing missions all these years? Be honest—were you even there on any of them?"
Itachi: "No. I showed up the time I beat my little brother."
Kisame: "That wasn't a mission!"
The Battle of Returning to the Village in the Morning Mist
Itachi: "Let's go. Our opponent is Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin. We're no match for him."
Kisame: "Even working together, we can't beat him? Is Jiraiya really that scary?"
Itachi: "Of course he's scary, idiot. I'm not saying we can't beat him—I'm saying you can't. My real body isn't even here."
Inside the Akatsuki base—
Sasori: "What's Kisame muttering about to thin air every day?"
Deidara: "No idea. He keeps talking to the air, calling out 'Itachi-san' or something."
One time—
Kisame: "Itachi-san, tell me the truth. Does the Akatsuki even exist? Or have you been lying to me this whole time just to make me do missions?"
Itachi: "Since you've already figured it out, I won't hide it anymore. There's no ninja world at all. This is the Age of Great Pirates—and I'm the man who's going to become the Pirate King!"]**
Seeing this, Sasuke couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. The whole thing was clearly meant as a joke, but Kaede Kitahara didn't hold back in praising Itachi's genjutsu skills, even calling them the best in the ninja world.
His thoughts drifted back to the footage he had seen earlier. Even his future self—far stronger than he was now, and possessing a pair of Sharingan—had still been repeatedly caught in Itachi's genjutsu. In the end, he had only managed to break free by the narrowest margin after exhausting everything he had.
Aside from the legendary Kotoamatsukami, which could directly alter a person's will, Itachi's genjutsu truly delivered the most overwhelming impact.
"Hahahahaha, that kid…"
Jiraiya burst out laughing when he saw the new diary entry. It was just too ridiculous.
If that shark-faced guy had really been controlled by the Sharingan the whole time, it would've been hilarious.
"Heh… this Kaede Kitahara really does love his pranks."
Namikaze Minato's lips twitched as he read the entry, though the image it painted was oddly amusing.
"That's a bit much…"
Uchiha Itachi himself could only smile wryly. What a joke.
Hoshigaki Kisame was a Kage-level fighter in his own right. Even with the Mangekyō Sharingan, Itachi could only influence him for a short time. Controlling him long-term and making him run missions alone was impossible.
That kind of control went far beyond ordinary genjutsu. Unless he used the precious Kotoamatsukami on Kisame—which would be completely unnecessary—it simply couldn't be done.
"Sasori, Deidara… are those names of Akatsuki members too?"
Hatake Kakashi chuckled at the joke at first, but then his expression grew serious as he caught those unfamiliar names.
He had never heard of Deidara before, but Sasori… that name felt familiar. He dug through his memory, and suddenly it clicked.
A prodigious young powerhouse from Sunagakure.
Back then, Sasori's status and reputation in Sunagakure had been similar to Kakashi's own as a young prodigy—highly celebrated, with immense expectations placed upon him.
His background was even more prestigious. He was the grandson of Chiyo, an elder of Sunagakure's advisory council. From birth, he had been part of the village's elite.
Just like Kakashi, who had been born to the White Fang of Konoha, Hatake Sakumo—both of them had been extraordinary from the very start.
And the battle that had made the White Fang famous had been fought against Sunagakure. Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law had died in that very battle at Sakumo's hands. Thinking about it now, those had likely been Sasori's parents.
Later, Sasori had mysteriously disappeared. Around the same time, Sunagakure's Third Kazekage had also vanished. Soon after, the village had selected the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, and declared war on Konoha under the pretense that Konoha had killed the Third Kazekage, triggering the Third Great Ninja War.
In the end, Konoha defeated its enemies one by one, forcing them into submission—including Sunagakure—and signed an alliance treaty. Kakashi's own teacher, the Fourth Hokage, had risen to fame during that war and secured his position.
And now, it seemed that Sasori had been recruited into the Akatsuki.
Kakashi had a vague sense of something connecting all of this, but he didn't dare jump to conclusions. He wasn't even sure his memory was entirely accurate, so he decided that once he finished his current training, he would dig through Konoha's confidential archives.
Any information about the Akatsuki mattered.
The pressure that organization exerted was simply too great. Even Orochimaru, who had once been a member, had been strong enough to suppress Kakashi single-handedly, leaving him unable even to fight to the death. As for the others, each one was more monstrous than the last.
Take Kakuzu from the earlier footage. If Kakashi faced him now, he wouldn't stand a chance. He had only just begun his recovery training, and his swordsmanship hadn't yet reached a breakthrough.
Even Raikiri—he could only use it six times a day at most.
Yet in the footage, his future self three years later had been vastly stronger. He could casually hold Raikiri while speaking, unleash it multiple times with ease, and even counter Kakuzu's Lightning Release techniques.
All of that proved just how much stronger he would become.
He didn't know how his future self had trained, but now he had his own path.
This time, he swore that in three years, he would become even stronger. He would never again allow something like the Akatsuki leader flattening Konoha in a single move to happen.
At the same time, he placed his hopes in Kaede Kitahara's diary, wishing for more crucial information to be revealed. In the world of shinobi, information was everything—that truth would never change.
If he faced Kakuzu again in three years, it would surely be much easier. After all, he now understood the secrets of the Immortal Duo.
Thinking of that terrifying future, only one feeling filled Kakashi's mind.
A storm was coming.