There wasn't a single clan in the entire shinobi world that could tolerate their kekkei genkai or secret techniques being leaked. Shimura Danzo had already angered every clan by forcing them to hand over members to join Root. Now, this new information would send those clans into outright revolt.
Kakashi no longer doubted a single word Kaede Kitahara wrote about Danzo committing every atrocity imaginable.
And the next part hit even harder. Hashirama Cells.
It couldn't be any clearer. The "Hashirama" in Hashirama Cells was the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
But Hashirama had died decades ago. He died not long after founding Konoha. At this point, his body should've been nothing but dry bones. So where did these Hashirama Cells come from?
Had Konoha been secretly researching them all along?
Once the idea surfaced, Kakashi felt his breath catch. As an adult elite Jonin, he wasn't ignorant of Konoha's darker corners. His faith in the Will of Fire had never burned as brightly as Naruto's or Sasuke's.
But deep down, he had still wanted to believe in it. That was the only reason he'd managed to crawl out of Root's brainwashing and return to the light under the Third Hokage.
Now, that belief started to crumble.
Did the Will of Fire even exist anymore?
The man who created it, Senju Hashirama, didn't meet a good end. And after his death, his body was dug up for experiments?
To the point Danzo could implant Hashirama Cells into his own arm?
Kakashi's worldview shattered. Everything he believed wavered.
Did the village elders know? Did the Third Hokage know?
He'd originally considered reporting the diary to the Third Hokage, warning him that Konoha might face destruction in the future. But that impulse weakened.
He needed to observe longer before deciding.
Compared to Kakashi's turmoil, Uchiha Sasuke's reaction was explosive. He didn't understand Hashirama Cells and didn't really care. But he understood Sharingan.
It was the Uchiha Clan's sacred treasure. Their claim to supremacy in the shinobi world.
Right now, only two and a half people in the world had a Sharingan. Uchiha Itachi. Kaede Kitahara, who Sasuke believed carried a branch of Uchiha blood. And Kakashi, who technically had only half his own eye.
Not even Sasuke had awakened his.
That alone showed how priceless Sharingan was.
And Danzo had dozens of them stuffed into his arm.
Sasuke wasn't disgusted. He was devastated.
Other people might see those eyes as nothing more than tools. But he saw his clan. Each eye belonged to someone. A cousin. A friend. A relative.
Maybe even someone close to him.
"Ahhhh!"
Sasuke's scream tore out of him. If the Uchiha Clan were still alive, seeing this would've made him furious. An insult to the clan's pride.
But now? It wasn't anger. It was agony.
A pain that clawed straight into the soul.
He collapsed onto the floor and curled up. One hand clutched his chest. His eyes flickered with a strange glow, and in the next moment, both turned into single-tomoe Sharingan.
Strictly speaking, this wasn't a new awakening. He'd awakened his one-tomoe Sharingan on the night of the massacre. But he'd buried those memories so deeply he didn't even know he had it.
Now, the emotional shock brought it back.
It was similar to Kakashi back when he killed Rin to free her. In that instant, Obito awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan. But Kakashi had awakened his own Mangekyo as well. He'd simply passed out from the trauma. He didn't realize it until years later during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Borrowing Obito's "title" for a moment, only to lose it again afterward.
"Shimura Danzo!"
Sasuke finally caught his breath. It felt like he could breathe again, barely. His single-tomoe Sharingan glowed with fury as he spat out the name.
His kill list had always held only one name: Uchiha Itachi.
Now it had a second.
He would reclaim the eyes stolen from the Uchiha Clan.
He would never let their Sharingan fall into the hands of a monster like Danzo.
At that moment, he felt a burning anticipation toward Kaede Kitahara's diary. He'd learned more from it than he'd known his entire life.
If not for the diary, he never would've known his brother would return one day. Or that Danzo held the eyes of countless Uchiha. He wouldn't have even known who to take revenge on. That would've been pathetic.
"No. I have to get stronger. Stronger than this."
Sasuke was painfully aware of his own weakness. He barely understood Danzo, but one thing was certain: the man was powerful.
And he held immense authority in Konoha.
Kaede's strength far surpassed Sasuke's, yet even Kaede didn't dare retaliate after being hunted by Danzo. All he could do was vent his rage through his diary.
Sasuke wasn't stupid. Cocky, yes. But not stupid. He knew he was nothing right now.
"Should I join forces with Kaede Kitahara?"
The thought flashed through his mind.
Then a terrifying pressure locked onto him. A killing intent so sharp it felt like his heart stopped.
If he approached Kaede without permission, he would die.
Kaede's secrets were too many. Even with Uchiha blood, Sasuke didn't dare get close.
His head throbbed. One more enemy on his list, but his strength was still pitiful. And this time, one of those enemies sat high among Konoha's leadership.
Killing him meant preparing for war against the entire village.