Hatake Kakashi was genuinely fed up with Bei Yuan Feng's strange sense of humor, especially the way he loved giving people ridiculous nicknames.
Calling him Hatake 50/50… he could sort of guess what that was implying, but he still had no idea why anyone would call him that.
And this "Itachi" nickname? Who was that supposed to be?
Itachi… Itachi… Itachi. Tou?
Wait. That was it.
Kakashi froze for a moment before the realization finally clicked.
He had never fought any members of the Uchiha clan who possessed the Sharingan. If he ever did, it would have to be sometime in the future.
Hardly anyone in the world even had the Sharingan anymore. And once he read those characters quickly, the silhouette of a certain name practically rushed out of the page.
Uchiha Itachi.
Would he really cross blades with Uchiha Itachi someday?
And a Sharingan battle, no less?
The thought made Kakashi's expression tighten. There was only one reason. He knew exactly how terrifying Uchiha Itachi was.
In terms of talent, Itachi was exceptional, but Kakashi wasn't far behind. They were both geniuses.
But blood was the dividing line. Even without activating the Sharingan, Uchiha Itachi's strength was on par with his. Once he activated it, the gap only widened.
A man who single-handedly wiped out his entire clan… just imagining how much stronger he might be now was enough to make Kakashi's stomach knot.
If he encountered Itachi while out on a mission, Konoha's rules were clear. He would have to engage. An S-rank criminal couldn't be ignored.
And there weren't many in Konoha who even had the ability to go after someone like that. Kakashi was one of the few.
But what was that "sea battle" supposed to be?
A battle at sea… the Land of Water? Kirigakure?
That was the only thing he could think of.
Meanwhile, in the Uchiha district, a single light glowed from within one of the large compounds.
Sasuke Uchiha held the diary in both hands, staring at its contents.
"Orochimaru…"
He was staring at the video from the diary showing Hatake Kakashi facing off against Orochimaru.
To be honest, Kakashi's presence alone was already suffocating. The overwhelming pressure of a veteran jonin, someone who had lived through countless battles, wasn't something a genin like him could endure.
But Orochimaru's aura was worse. It hit him so hard he nearly fainted on the spot.
He watched himself collapse in the recording, saw the Cursed Seal on his neck, and saw Kakashi standing between him and Orochimaru.
Orochimaru looked completely confident, as if certain Sasuke would eventually come to him for power.
Because he was an avenger?
Yes. He was an avenger.
Sasuke nodded to himself. If it meant killing Uchiha Itachi, he would make a deal with the devil without hesitation.
He didn't yet know what exactly Orochimaru wanted from him, but it didn't matter. As long as it helped him get revenge, even a sliver of usefulness was enough.
Part of him was tempted already. His strength was nowhere near enough.
Compared to Itachi at the same age, the gap wasn't just big. It was enormous.
That man had slaughtered their entire clan in one night, barely older than Sasuke was now.
Staying in the academy any longer was nothing but a waste of time.
His future mentor would be Hatake Kakashi?
From what he saw in the footage, it wouldn't be long before he graduated. And Kakashi would be his teacher.
Kakashi was strong, strong enough that even Sasuke had heard of him.
Konoha's Number One Technician.
But now there was someone even stronger on the table. Orochimaru.
A man so dangerous that even the Konoha's Number One Technician couldn't drag him down with him.
Sasuke understood that Orochimaru definitely had his own agenda. He didn't know what it was yet, but it wouldn't be anything good.
Then the next part of the diary made his entire body jolt.
Awakening the Sharingan?
Sasuke's hands trembled around the notebook. He had never imagined such a thing.
Only true Uchiha could awaken the Sharingan.
And now there was another out there?
Even if this Bei Yuan Feng had some distant bloodline, cases like that weren't entirely unheard of in Uchiha history.
The clan had existed for over a thousand years. It was normal for a few diluted bloodlines to remain outside the clan's main family.
Those rare awakenings did happen, and whenever they did, the Uchiha would bring that person back.
Hardly anyone refused. The pride of the Uchiha clan was something no one walked away from.
No one.
In the past, it was just a casual topic for conversation. But now, with the clan nearly wiped out, it had become vital.
Especially for Sasuke, who wanted to rebuild the Uchiha clan. Every additional clan member mattered.
He was already thinking about how to convince Bei Yuan Feng to acknowledge the clan and change his surname to Uchiha.
Ironically, Sasuke hadn't even awakened his own Sharingan yet. Right now, Bei Yuan Feng was the only one with awakened eyes.
As for Itachi… that traitor didn't count.
The idea that someone could awaken without any help didn't even occur to Sasuke. If the Sharingan awakened, the Uchiha bloodline had to be there.
Even if the blood connection was almost nonexistent and centuries distant.
Under normal circumstances, there'd be no need to go out of their way to bring such a person in.
But now, Sasuke needed every last trace of their lineage.
Just who was this Bei Yuan Feng?
Unlike Kakashi, Sasuke didn't have access to resources that could tell him who Bei Yuan Feng was. He would have to dig for that information himself.
Itachi… Itachi… that nickname was Itachi.
Sasuke figured it out even faster than Kakashi. "Itachi" obviously referred to Itachi. It was a name he repeated in his mind thousands of times every day.
And he could guess that Hatake 50/50 referred to Kakashi. But why was Kakashi's fight with Itachi described as a brief Sharingan clash?
Or… could it be connected to him?
If he ended up on Kakashi's squad in the future, maybe they would run into Itachi together and fight him.
The thought of seeing Itachi in the future filled him with raw excitement. He wanted nothing more than to confront him right now and kill him.
Whether he stood any chance or not didn't matter.
Revenge had burned away any sense of caution.
But before he could think further, a new video appeared in the diary.
[Morning Mist, Coming Home!]