Takasaki Starts Writing a Diary

In terms of age, Takasaki and Chiyo were not a match at all!

If Takasaki were a boy, Chiyo could practically be his grandmother.

Yet the question remained: what was Chiyo's purpose in wanting intelligence on Takasaki?

Ebizo felt he needed to get to the bottom of this, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to rest easy.

He did not want his sister, who had always been by his side, to be pining for someone else—even if that someone was just a boy.

"Sister."

Ebizo took a few steps to catch up. "What is your relationship with Takasaki, and why do you want information on him?"

"He..."

Chiyo instinctively wanted to speak about the Diary.

But just as she was about to open her mouth, she felt a sense of crisis envelop her entire body, as if she would die the very next second if she revealed even the slightest detail about the Diary.

She knew the rules of the Diary, and naturally, she dared not defy them.

"I'm sorry, Ebizo. I cannot tell you the specific reason why I want information on him. I can only say that this is a personal matter, and it has nothing to do with the Land of Wind."

Chiyo added, emphasizing her point: "Takasaki is very important to me. You must help me with this."

Ebizo fell silent for a second, his wrists trembling slightly, but in the end, he nodded. "Fine, I will help you."

"Let's end our walk here for today. I'm heading back. Once you have information on Takasaki, you must tell me immediately." Chiyo turned and left.

It would take at least a few days for Ebizo to gather intelligence on Takasaki.

Chiyo did not pin all her hopes on Ebizo; she wanted to return home to continue studying the Diary.

Ebizo watched Chiyo's retreating figure without a word.

Not until her silhouette was gradually obscured by the dust blown in by the strong wind did he sigh. "If Chiyo wants information on Takasaki for personal reasons, it most likely has to do with her feelings."

Ebizo suddenly recalled the scene earlier during their meal when Temari had asked the Kazekage if he had any information on Takasaki.

He clearly remembered that Chiyo, who had been absent-minded the entire time, had instinctively turned her head to look at the Kazekage.

So, even back then, Chiyo had been thinking of Takasaki.

In fact, for the past few days, the person Chiyo had been thinking about was Takasaki.

Yet, in the days prior, the person Chiyo had been thinking about was clearly him.

Even for something as simple as taking a walk after a meal to aid digestion, it was usually Chiyo who took the initiative to call him.

Now, because she was preoccupied with Takasaki, she had almost ignored his existence entirely.

And the fact that Chiyo wanted information on Takasaki for personal reasons—if it wasn't for love, what else could it be?

"A twilight romance?" Ebizo felt quite conflicted.

Logically speaking, he was not Chiyo's husband, but her younger brother; he shouldn't interfere with her love life.

The problem was that the only family member currently by his side was Chiyo.

It would be more accurate to say that Chiyo was not just his sister, but his lifelong companion.

If Chiyo really were to start a twilight romance with Takasaki, wouldn't she leave him?

This prospect made Ebizo feel somewhat distressed. "Who exactly is this Takasaki fellow, to be able to occupy the thoughts of both Temari and Chiyo at the same time?"

Always tolerant and gentle toward the younger generation, he felt a strange sensation in his heart at the mere mention of Takasaki's name.

He felt an absurd sense of having his loved one snatched away by a junior.

Inside a bungalow in the Leaf Village.

At the home of Sakura Haruno.

After finishing lunch, Sakura Haruno went out with her parents to buy some seasonal food.

Sakura, who was usually lively and talkative around her parents, seemed somewhat silent today, walking with a distracted air.

Her parents assumed she was worried about her written exam results and offered comfort: "Sakura, don't worry. Your grades are excellent; you will definitely pass the written exam. The ones who should be worried are the dead-last students in your class who don't study."

Sakura smiled but didn't say much.

Her mind wasn't on the exam results, but on the content of Takasaki's next diary entry.

She had offended Takasaki quite obviously in the exam hall today; surely he would write about her in the diary, right?

The key was:

If he wrote something detrimental to her, would the system reward her or punish her?

Sakura felt very uncertain.

"Sakura, that young boy looks quite handsome," her mother said, pointing in a certain direction.

It was Sasuke, dressed in his standard blue Uchiha uniform, hands tucked into his pockets, checking the price of three-colored dango by the roadside.

Sakura Haruno glanced over casually and nodded perfunctorily, "Yeah, yeah, I know."

She was still preoccupied with the diary.

The crux of the matter was that Takasaki had handed in his exam early and left before the morning session ended, and he still hadn't written a single entry in his diary.

What on earth was Takasaki doing?

If she didn't see the content of Takasaki's next diary entry soon, Sakura Haruno felt like she would remain on edge.

After walking a dozen meters, she suddenly snapped to her senses. She turned back, grabbed her mother's wrist, and said excitedly, "Mom, that boy just now is the most handsome guy in my class, his name is Sasuke! He's also the top student!"

"He's handsome and gets good grades, so why did it take you so long to recognize him?"

"Huh?"

Sakura Haruno was stunned.

She seemed to suddenly realize that something was wrong.

That's right, in the past, even if Sasuke were hidden in a crowded pedestrian street, she would have spotted him the moment he entered her line of sight.

Yet this time, the street wasn't even crowded, and even though her mother had pointed him out to her, she had only recognized him after the fact.

What was going on?

This shouldn't be happening.

Sakura Haruno realized the reason.

She had been dwelling on Takasaki, so distracted that she had even ignored her favorite Sasuke.

Sakura Haruno suddenly felt a bit annoyed, thinking to herself, It's all Takasaki's fault! He made me fail to recognize Sasuke immediately. He better hurry up and write that diary entry; I'm waiting to read it, otherwise, I can't focus on anything.

The sun set.

8:00 PM.

Night shrouded the streets of the Leaf Village.

Hyuga Clan Mansion.

Training Room.

Hanabi let out a shrill cry as she was sent flying seven or eight meters by a single palm strike from Hinata. She tumbled onto the floor, scrambling up while sobbing uncontrollably, "Big Sister Hinata, you clearly said you would go easy on me, so why did you use so much strength?"

"I... I..."

Hinata looked down at her own palms, somewhat dazed.

She had clearly made an effort to control her strength.

Coming to her senses, she hurriedly helped Hanabi up and wiped the tears from her cheeks, "I'm sorry, Hanabi, I'll be more careful next time."

She had intentionally held back during this sparring session with Hanabi.

In the past, she would have ended up defeated by Hanabi in this situation, yet this time, she had won with ease.

Sure enough, after receiving the reward from Takasaki's diary for the second time, she had grown significantly stronger.

After soothing Hanabi's emotions, Hinata returned to her room.

She locked the door, drew the curtains, and took out the diary with great anticipation, only for her hopes to be dashed.

There was no new content in the diary.

If Takasaki had written a new entry, given that she had helped him cheat in the exam hall today, surely her name would have been mentioned a few times, right?

She suddenly recalled the scene from this morning at Ichiraku Ramen, where she had pinky-promised with Takasaki.

The moment the skin of her pinky finger touched his, that electric sensation still made her heart tremble whenever she thought back on it.

"I wonder if Takasaki-kun has ever pinky-promised with a girl before."

A faint blush spread across Hinata's cheeks.

Konoha Bay Apartments.

Takasaki sat slumped on the balcony, drenched in sweat.

Ever since he finished his exam and ate ramen with Naruto at Ichiraku Ramen, he had been focusing entirely on grinding his ninjutsu upon returning home.

Takasaki checked the stats of his Clone Technique.

It had originally been: <strong>[Level 3 Clone Technique (360/500) (2 Chakra)]</strong>

Now it was: <strong>[Level 4 Clone Technique (0/1000) (2 Chakra)]</strong>

He had leveled it up once more.

The effect of upgrading from level 2 to level 3 had been to shorten casting speed and increase power by 100%.

Takasaki took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his cheek with his sleeve, "Clone Technique!"

The Clone Technique, which originally required hand seals from both hands, could now be performed by Takasaki with just one.

At level 1, Takasaki could manifest two clones.

At level 2, he could manifest four.

Right now.

Eight puffs of smoke erupted around Takasaki.

In a mere second, he had channeled his chakra to manifest eight clones.

Setting aside the Substitution Technique and Transformation Technique, Takasaki, once the dead last in his class, had reached a level of mastery in the Clone Technique that even an average Konoha Genin could not match.

Most importantly, reaching level 4 in the Clone Technique was the requirement to unlock the next entry in his diary.

"My chakra is drained, and my stamina is nearly spent. Training in ninjutsu is so exhausting, but finally, I can write in my diary and enjoy myself!"

Takasaki went to the bathroom to take a shower, dried his hair, and walked over to the desk in his bedroom. With a thought, he pulled the diary out from his consciousness space, picked up a pen, and began to write.

At the same moment.

Ninja Academy, Kurenai Yuhi's private office.

Kurenai Yuhi, who had been grading papers until late into the night and had just laid down on her recliner to close her eyes for a rest, suddenly opened her eyes, a feeling washing over her: "Takasaki has started writing in his diary!"

She immediately stood up and turned on the lights.

After ensuring the office curtains were drawn and the door was locked, she went to her desk, took the diary out from her consciousness space, and began to read it intently.