Sasuke's arrival

Hidden Rain Village.

"Hey, hey, Itachi, Itachi! Why are you frozen stiff like a log? And you just shuddered!"

Inside Itachi Uchiha's residence, the house that would normally have been quiet was unusually lively today.

White Zetsu Tobi chattered away right beside his ear!

Yet Itachi Uchiha's expression didn't change at all. He remained in a daze. Indeed, he was watching that battle in his mind, and Orochimaru's imposing presence had surprised him, not frightened him.

Judging by that power alone, a battle between them would at least end in a draw. If he used Susanoo, he might have a sixty-forty advantage. There was no way he could defeat Orochimaru in one move like he had last time!

This seemed to be the period after he had defeated Orochimaru in one move.

Could he have held back his real abilities?

That's unlikely. He wanted to steal my eyes. Why wouldn't he give it his all?

Yet even after thinking it over, Itachi couldn't figure it out. How could Orochimaru, one of the renowned Sannin, have lost to him in a single move? They might face each other in the future, so wouldn't it be best to get some information early?

Orochimaru had his sights on his younger brother, Sasuke. It looked like he would have to seek Orochimaru out when he went to capture the Four-Tails!

But he had no information right now. After hesitating for a while, Itachi suddenly remembered that the chatterbox beside him seemed to know a great deal.

"Hey, Tobi, do you know anything about Orochimaru?"

"Oh, the guy who joined the Akatsuki before?"

Beside him, White Zetsu Tobi, who had taken human form, rubbed his chin and thought for a moment before sharing what he knew.

"One of the Konoha Sannin. He likes doing some sort of research? He reeks of chemicals. I don't really like him."

As a notorious chatterbox, he was delighted that Itachi Uchiha was willing to talk to him.

"Who asked whether you liked him? I'm asking how strong he is. Have you ever seen him fight at full strength?"

Itachi Uchiha pressed a hand to his forehead in exasperation. Who asked whether you liked him? Besides, smelling like chemicals is better than the stench of the poop you love digging around in!

"Oh, so that's what you meant."

"He's pretty strong. I once watched him fight Hanzō. That huge snake he summoned was incredibly powerful, and both it and Orochimaru were just shy of Kage Level. By now, he's probably reached Kage Level. His fighting style is kind of gross, though. A snake spits him out, and he spits out a sword!"

At that, Itachi Uchiha pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes at Tobi beside him. Who could be grosser than you?

Tobi paid no attention to Itachi Uchiha's look and simply kept talking.

"Kage Level opponents really are tough to deal with. Taking him down in one move was pretty impressive."

"I don't think that's what happened. He doesn't seem to have used his full strength."

"Not using your full strength in a fight to the death? Wouldn't that mean there's something wrong with you?"

Tobi shrugged as though he had just heard a joke.

"Besides, hasn't he always wanted your Sharingan?"

"Then do you think it's possible he was prevented from using his full strength?"

Itachi Uchiha rubbed his chin, curious. Orochimaru's greed for his eyes was hardly anything new.

There was no reason for him to suddenly hold back when he attacked.

Watching Itachi Uchiha ponder, Tobi patted his shoulder and asked with a smile.

"All right, all right, this is so boring to talk about. Let's discuss something else. How about we go do some research?"

"No. Pass along a message for me. I want some information on Orochimaru!"

No matter what, Uchiha Itachi would never allow someone who threatened his younger brother's life to remain alive. Whether Orochimaru had used his full strength or not, Itachi's injuries had mostly healed, and he could use Susanoo without any trouble. At the very least, fighting him to a draw wouldn't be a problem.

"What, do you want revenge for him trying to steal your Sharingan?"

Tobi paused briefly, then asked curiously, connecting it to their earlier conversation.

"That's right."

Indeed, Itachi Uchiha wanted to kill him.

"All right, I'll pass it along."

The pocket world.

Luo Mang pressed his palms together and prayed fervently. He wasn't asking for gold light-even purple would do!

A flash of white appeared, and Luo Mang's vision went dark. He flopped onto the bed and went straight to sleep without even looking!

Daybreak the next morning.

Knock, knock, knock!

He had just left the pocket world when a knock came from outside his room.

"Good morning, Luo Mang, are you awake yet? Take me out to do missions with you today, please!"

Naruto Uzumaki's voice quickly rang out from outside.

"Ah, well..."

Luo Mang rubbed his chin. That's true. I really do

need to take him along sometime. I was going to pick up a mission today anyway. We might as well go out together.

Just as Luo Mang was about to head downstairs, he suddenly heard another voice outside the door.

"Hey, stuck-up Sasuke! What are you doing here?"

"Idiot!"

Sasuke Uchiha's mocking voice sounded outside, followed by another knock on the door.

Inside the room, Luo Mang froze for a moment when he heard Sasuke's voice.

It seemed there was another person who might possess the Diary.

After all, judging by the way things were supposed to go, Sasuke would only seek out strong people to learn techniques for dealing with Itachi. He would never come to someone like Luo Mang, who hadn't even graduated from the Academy.

There was only one possibility: he had obtained the Diary, read Luo Mang's comments, and formed some ideas and suspicions. Perhaps, because Luo Mang had written about the Sharingan, Sasuke even thought he was a long-lost member of his clan.

Luo Mang had made it this far as an orphan, so he naturally wasn't stupid. At the very least, he knew how to read people's expressions.

Combined with his knowledge of the plot, which was almost like foresight, figuring this out wasn't too difficult. In fact, it was perfectly reasonable.

Since Diary Instances existed, they would most likely be given to important people or the main cast. He was just worried the Diary might pull some ridiculous stunt and insist on giving one to some random nobody!

Or, just to mess with him, it might give one to Danzo and send him after Luo Mang. That would be trouble.

Fortunately, his cheat was a proper one.

Click.

He opened the door, revealing Sasuke standing silently outside and Naruto glaring straight at him, sulking.

When the door opened, Naruto whipped his head around, smiled, and greeted him.

"Morning, Mang! Want some ramen? My treat."

For Naruto, treating someone to ramen was the best way to show goodwill.

He hadn't completed many missions, but he could still earn a little. At least he had something to look forward to and could afford a bowl of ramen every day. Treating someone else still hurt his wallet a bit, though. But when asking someone for a favor, he had to say something nice and offer something in return.

Hearing Naruto's offer, Sasuke curled his lip, then gave Luo Mang a confident smile and said,

"Luo Mang, I came to ask you for some guidance. I heard you've taken on a lot of missions, and I hope you can help me get stronger. If you teach me well, I'll pay you."