Even Kaede Kitahara gained a lot just by sitting in on the training.
These were things he could have figured out himself eventually, but how much time would that have taken? How much effort? Listening in saved him an absurd amount of both.
Because of the diary's records, both of them already knew that Kaede carried Uchiha blood as well and had awakened the Sharingan. Naturally, there was no need to hide anything from him. Sometimes, Hatake Kakashi even deliberately waited until Kaede was present before teaching Uchiha Sasuke specific techniques for using the Sharingan.
By Kaede's estimation, Sasuke now firmly possessed elite chunin-level combat strength. As for chakra reserves, after awakening his eyes, he had already caught up to a tokubetsu jonin.
The Uchiha Clan was, after all, a Kekkei Genkai clan. They could not compare to Kaede's outright cheating growth, but rapidly increasing chakra in a short period of time was not unreasonable. Especially when Sasuke's chakra reserves had never been lower than an ordinary chunin's to begin with.
It had already been like this when he graduated.
That was the terrifying part of ninja clans, especially bloodline clans. Awakening a Kekkei Genkai was monstrous enough. Even before awakening it, they were still stronger than most people.
That was also why Kaede, back when he had been nothing more than a disposable chunin, never stood out recklessly. The gap in strength was simply that vast.
And this was with Sasuke having lost his entire clan at the age of seven. Otherwise, by now, he would already be an elite chunin. Not in strength, but in official rank.
With things moving a bit faster, even promotion to tokubetsu jonin would not have been impossible.
"The Chunin Exams in half a year… I have to go further." Uchiha Sasuke panted heavily.
Kaede's diary had mentioned the Chunin Exams again and again. It was obviously a critical turning point.
He had to break through and reach tokubetsu jonin level before that moment arrived.
Sasuke thought carefully about it. Compared to the version of himself he had once seen in that video, the one who had fought Gaara during the Chunin Exams, how did he measure up now?
Aside from speed, where he still fell short, he was probably equal in other aspects. Maybe even better.
The speed shown in that video had clearly been tokubetsu jonin-level speed, something achieved through some kind of insanely brutal special training within a single month.
"I'll reach that speed too. No matter how insane the training is, I can endure it." Sasuke clenched his fists.
If his future self could do it, then his present self could do it as well.
And during this time, his thoughts of defecting from the village had already faded. He did not want to walk the same road his other self had taken.
That version of him seemed ignorant of the truth of the world, blindly following Orochimaru.
But he was different.
He had seen a higher view.
Leaving aside Orochimaru's coveting of his body, even if he went with him and let his body be used, he still would not be able to defeat Uchiha Itachi. That would just be sacrificing himself for nothing.
And then there was the Akatsuki organization that Itachi belonged to. It was far too powerful. Could he really succeed in revenge by himself?
Pulling out anyone at random from that group, their strength was no weaker than kage level. Even Orochimaru had once been nothing more than an ordinary member.
So rather than relying on Orochimaru, it was better to use the power of Konoha itself to take revenge.
Suddenly, he sensed a signal from the diary.
The diary had updated.
"Ahahaha, this is good. This is really good."
On a rooftop in Konoha, Jiraiya held a monocular telescope, peering toward the scenery inside a distant bathhouse. A lewd grin spread across his face.
Suddenly, he felt the diary update. Reluctantly, he lowered the telescope and opened the notebook.
At a cemetery in Konoha, under the moonlight, Hatake Kakashi stood before a grave and placed a bouquet of flowers in front of it.
"Obito… I never thought that even after dying, you'd still leave me such a huge surprise," Kakashi said softly.
The name engraved on the gravestone was none other than Uchiha Obito.
A hero of Konoha, remembered only on cold stone.
What Kakashi referred to was naturally the Mangekyo Sharingan ability Kaede had mentioned before, Kamui.
Just like Uchiha Sasuke earlier, after learning that he possessed such a hidden treasure, Kakashi had tried to figure out how to activate it. But the Mangekyo was clearly different from the basic tomoe Sharingan. He had found no method at all.
Even so, simply knowing that the Mangekyo Sharingan existed was priceless.
Because for him, it represented a second path toward kage level.
The awakening of a Kekkei Genkai could clearly and directly elevate a ninja's strength. The Mangekyo Sharingan happened to be the dividing line of kage level. Anyone who awakened it would naturally step into that realm under its influence.
Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke were prime examples.
If he could awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan, even if the eye itself was not originally his, his body would undergo a massive evolution to adapt to it. Even if he could not reach full kage level, he would not be far off.
That was why he sighed with emotion. The eye Uchiha Obito had left him did not only grant him the title of Copy Ninja. It also left him a road leading toward kage level.
A second road, aside from mastering the Hatake clan's inherited sword style, Hatake Kenjutsu.
"Can someone as useless as me really receive such a gift?" Kakashi murmured. "But no matter what, I see a brand-new hope now. I'll live on properly, for you, for sensei, for madam, and for Rin as well."
Suddenly, he sensed the diary updating. Without hesitation, he used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished from the graveyard.
The moment he left, the air nearby rippled.
A short-haired masked man wearing the Akatsuki cloak appeared, only a single Sharingan visible through the mask.
"Obito, should we take his Sharingan back? That way, you'd have both eyes again."
A black-and-white head emerged from the ground beside him. It was Black Zetsu.
Uchiha Obito glanced at the bouquet before the gravestone and said coldly, "No need. Don't alert the enemy over that useless Kakashi and expose our plan early."
Black Zetsu watched as Obito's figure gradually disappeared into space, let out a sigh, and then sank back into the ground.
Inside one of Akatsuki's bases, under dim lighting, Uchiha Itachi was writing furiously.
If one could get close enough to see, it was a growth guide tailored specifically for Uchiha Sasuke.
It contained extensive techniques for using the Sharingan, related genjutsu, records of clan jutsu, and Itachi's own cultivation experiences.
This was something he had been refining continuously as of late. He was writing down everything he had learned in his life, including his training insights and his experience with using the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Though it was prepared for Sasuke, it was not something Sasuke could see.
At least, not until Uchiha Itachi died at Sasuke's hands.
When that day came, this contingency would activate, and Sasuke would obtain everything within it.
It was one of his small compensations.
After all, he had caused Sasuke to lose his parents and the clan's inheritance at such a young age. Later, Sasuke would even have to rely on Orochimaru and learn Orochimaru-style jutsu. For a proud Uchiha to fall to that point was, frankly, humiliating.
So Itachi did his best to recall every bit of inheritance and education he had received, carefully recording the distilled essence of over a thousand years of Uchiha teachings, leaving it for the future Uchiha Sasuke.
"Sasuke, I hope you can forgive me this time. Just this once," Itachi murmured.
Before he could finish, a fit of coughing overtook him.
He hurriedly covered his mouth. When he pulled his hand away, vivid crimson blood stained his palm.
His time was running out.
Sasuke, you need to grow faster.
Suddenly, he sensed the diary updating and quickly picked it up to read.
[The Land of Waves mission is finally over. I didn't expect the final evaluation to be S-rank instead of the originally estimated A-rank. When did the Third Hokage suddenly become so generous? Not only did he raise the mission rank, he even gave me the Second Hokage's Sword of the Thunder God as a reward.
I have to say, it really lives up to being the Second Hokage's personal blade. It's on a completely different level. A true divine weapon.
Compared to it, the Seven Swords of the Mist feel pretty average to me. Other than Samehada in Kisame's hands, the rest don't really measure up.
That said, when people talk about divine weapons, they rarely mention the Sword of the Thunder God. That's because of the humiliating record it earned while in Rokusho Aoi's hands, getting completely smashed by Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto when they were still genin.
If I count the time correctly, that was shortly after the Chunin Exams, before Sasuke defected to Orochimaru.
A mere chunin had no way to bring out the Sword of the Thunder God's full power. Wielding it only boosted his combat strength by one level at most.
He defected to the Hidden Rain Village, became a jonin, and thought he was the real deal.
But how could a jonin from a small village like that compare to a jonin from a major village like Konoha?
A jonin from a small village might not even match an elite chunin from a major one.]
S-rank?
Uchiha Sasuke recalled how excited the team had been when Hatake Kakashi re-evaluated the mission as S-rank and told them the news that afternoon.
An S-rank mission. Something ordinary chunin could not accomplish.
Even most jonin had not completed many S-rank missions. And even though they had mostly played supporting roles this time, with the real work done by Hatake Kakashi and Kaede Kitahara, not them…
All of it would still be recorded in their service records.
As mere genin, they had completed an S-rank mission.
He just wanted to ask one question.
Who else?
[A/N: Enjoying the story? You can read more chapters early and support me here:patreon.com/Aeroscissors]