A possible plan

[Was it because he saw Naruto and me taking missions together today and getting along, so he made that decision?]

[I mostly took Naruto on missions to build a good relationship with him, the Child of Prophecy and savior. He's also genuinely pitiful. Is that why he wants me to teach Naruto?]

[No, probably not. I've dropped out, and I'm not even a ninja. If he really wanted to keep him in check, Iruka, a veteran teacher, or someone else-even the Copy Ninja-would be more suitable than me.]

[As a student of Minato, the Fourth Hokage, it would only make sense for the Copy Ninja to look after his teacher's child. Building that bond would probably be better than relying on a half-trained stray like me.]

Inside the two-story house.

Sasuke Uchiha looked curiously at the Diary.

"Naruto again? Is that idiot really so important?"

He couldn't help it. The Diary actually said that Luo Mang wanted to build a good relationship with Naruto, and that Naruto had asked him to go on missions and he had agreed.

They were all trivial little things, but little things like that really could build affection. His clansman actually had a good relationship with Naruto!

Then was he, a direct descendant of the clan head, just there for decoration? Luo Mang should at least become friends with him. He was even a genius with a two-tomoe Sharingan.

The Fourth Hokage's child...

After the earlier revelations about the Nine-Tails, the Child of Prophecy, and the protagonist and savior, Sasuke had already grown numb to Naruto's many identities. Seeing "the Hokage's child" added to the list didn't provoke much of a reaction.

"The Hokage's child struggles to cast even the Clone Technique. Is he really his biological son?"

Sasuke frowned as he recalled Naruto's performance in class.

It was hard to put into words.

[I also ran into Danzo while taking missions. Sure enough, he looked just like he did in the videos, with that sinister face. Hopefully I didn't catch his attention. I'd rather not have him discover my Sharingan and steal it.]

[Once I'm strong enough, I'll have to steal from him instead. I want to get my hands on Shisui's Sharingan-the Mangekyō Sharingan.]

The eye with the ultimate genjutsu, which could permanently rewrite someone's will, was in Uchiha Itachi's hands. The one Danzo held only worked temporarily, but who could guarantee he wouldn't use it on Luo Mang?

So it would be better to keep it in his own hands.

[The Mangekyō Sharingan... I wonder what abilities I'll have in the future? But no matter how powerful or useful they are, without hashirama cells, I'll probably go blind sooner or later.]

[I won't be like Sunny-Day Sasuke, firing off Amaterasu at every stray dog by the roadside, but if I end up fighting for too long, my eyesight could deteriorate and my body could weaken like Itachi's.]

[The so-called unsolved mysteries of Naruto: lesbian Kaguya, fully informed Jiraiya, healthy Itachi, mosquito Hidan... The one most worth discussing is just how strong a healthy Itachi would be.]

[His body's so weak he has to cough every couple of steps. Obviously, the Mangekyō puts too much strain on him, and killing his father and mother weighed too heavily on his mind. That's why.]

Amegakure.

"Cough, cough!!"

Reading those words, Uchiha Itachi felt his vision darken and broke into a fit of coughing.

The writer was very accurate. Ever since he had done that deed that night, he always woke with a start from his dreams whenever he slept.

"Still, there is some information here."

He felt mentally exhausted. Trying to analyze any useful information really wasn't easy.

Judging by the nickname "healthy Itachi" the writer had just mentioned, his current condition really was poor. If he became healthy, his strength could indeed improve considerably, though not by too much.

But those words also mentioned two other people and pointed to their shortcomings. He didn't quite understand the first, but he knew Jiraiya very well: one of the Konoha Sannin, and enormously famous.

Information...

Judging by the Diary's writer, those words must refer to setbacks they would suffer in the future. If those weaknesses were addressed, they would certainly improve.

Just like his health. That meant Jiraiya might lose a very important battle in the future because of information. Incomplete intelligence would lead to his defeat or death.

Otherwise, there would be no reason to use that as a nickname.

[To avoid becoming a sickly wreck like Uchiha Itachi, I'd better come up with a solution.]

[I remember that Uchiha lolicon used his intangibility ability every day, even just to travel, and he never went blind. That must be the hashirama cells at work. It'd be great if I could get some of those.]

[Or I could have Tobi possess me to enhance my cellular activity, then transplant hashirama cells to reduce the cost and drain of using my abilities. If my luck is bad and I can't draw any good rewards, that might be my only option.]

Finally, the Diary stopped glowing and slowly dimmed, indicating that today's writing had ended.

Uchiha Itachi was stunned. As he looked at the method described in the Diary, his eyes instantly lit up!

With all his underlying ailments and the burden of the Mangekyō Sharingan, was there actually still hope of restoring his weakened body?

If the writer could use that method, why couldn't he?

That meant he needed to find someone who could locate what the writer had mentioned ahead of time.

The Uchiha lolicon?

Uchiha Itachi was genuinely speechless at the writer's fondness for nicknames, though it wasn't too bad.

Uchiha Itachi's mind raced.

Actually, there was no need for it to race. After all, he had already killed off the Uchiha Clan...

The person mentioned in the Diary was most likely the Masked Man who wielded Space-Time Ninjutsu!

"He uses his Mangekyō abilities every day, yet there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him?"

Thinking about it that way, the man really did have a method of reducing the cost of using the Mangekyō.

Uchiha Itachi lightly tapped the word written on the paper. This time, he hadn't written much, just one name: Kaguya.

However, he wasn't thinking about that name. He was thinking about how to negotiate a deal with the Masked Man when they met.

Uchiha Itachi's original plan had been to make Sasuke hate him and awaken the Mangekyō, then transplant his own eyes into Sasuke to grant him the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and have him protect Konoha.

But now things had diverged too far from his plan. He couldn't die. Not yet. He needed to help Sasuke sweep away every obstacle so that he could become Hokage without trouble and protect Konoha.

So the person he needed to find now was the Masked Man, the man who called himself Madara Uchiha.

The man seemed to have been afraid all along, but apparently it wasn't Itachi he feared. It was a certain object.

Shisui's eye.

Kotoamatsukami.

There was no way he would use that as a bargaining chip. Even setting aside the fact that it was a memento of his closest friend, its ability alone was enough to frighten him too. What would he do if the man used it to control him?

No one wanted to become a puppet without even realizing it.

"Maybe I should ask the organization's leader to pass on a message."

For now, that was the only method he could think of. After all, the Masked Man was usually elusive. His space-time abilities really were difficult to analyze.

And since the man deliberately avoided him because of the eye, he could only have someone else relay the message.

At present, the greatest remuneration Uchiha Itachi could offer was probably his own service.

"All right. That's what I'll do."

It still wasn't too late, so Uchiha Itachi immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to leave and head toward the place where the little organization's leader and the others were resting.