The pressure Pain brought

Amegakure.

Uchiha Itachi was also reading the diary. Already frail, he looked utterly pale from the tension gripping him, and fine beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead.

Beside his slightly trembling hand lay a sheet of paper. Its contents were much the same as Kakashi's notes.

"An Akatsuki robe. Could this man be the organization's leader?"

That was the only conclusion he could draw from watching the video.

"Kakashi has both strength and intelligence. He certainly is qualified to teach Sasuke!"

With so little information available, Uchiha Itachi could not work out much else. He could only keep watching, hoping to discover his leader's weaknesses.

[The video continued.

After meeting up with the reinforcements, Kakashi worked with Choji and his father to successfully figure out the Deva Path's ability!

Kakashi summoned his Summoning Beast and coordinated with it while burrowing underground.

He rapidly closed in on the Deva Path, emerging from the ground with a kunai in hand.

A trace of surprise actually crossed the Deva Path's expressionless face. Then white light flashed again, and Shinra Tensei repelled him.

Rumble, rumble!!!

"Human Bullet Tank!" Choji and his father turned straight into balls of flesh.

They circled rapidly. The Deva Path did not notice that they were now holding something extra. Once they found the right positions, the two pulled hard on the chains in their hands.

Bang, bang, bang!

Chains burst out of the ground!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

They bound the Deva Path tight!

Kakashi formed a Lightning Blade in his hand. "Now!"

Yet at that critical moment-

The Asura Path flashed over and blocked the attack for the Deva Path.

Crackle, crackle!

Gritting his teeth, Kakashi poured in more chakra. "Pierce through!"

He thrust his hand forward with all his strength, trying to pierce his opponent and strike the Deva Path. But despite giving it everything he had, he could not reach his target before the next Shinra Tensei's cooldown ended.

"Shinra Tensei!"

The attack left Kakashi near death and unable to move. Choza died outright, leaving only Choji kneeling beside his father's corpse.]

The Hatake Compound.

Inside the bedroom where Kakashi was staying.

"Hah... hah..."

He was panting heavily now. Watching his onscreen self die after exhausting his chakra to save someone, he felt as though a hand had clenched around his heart.

It felt as though the person dying just now had not been his onscreen self, but the man he was right now!

"This is an illusion. Why does it feel so real?"

This man named Pain was definitely stronger than Kage level, while he himself was only an elite jonin right now!

"Will the village have to face an enemy like this in the future?"

[The video did not pause. It continued playing.

The Deva Path had arrived in front of the Hokage Building, searching for the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's whereabouts, but he found nothing.

"The great nations suffered losses too..."

As Tsunade finished speaking, the Deva Path-or rather, Nagato, who was controlling him-was thoroughly enraged by those words.

"What a joke! How could people from great nations like yours ever care about small nations like ours? Only by making you feel pain, experience pain...!"

"Those who do not understand suffering will never understand true peace!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!

Right before Tsunade's eyes, the Deva Path flew high into the sky. His cold, emotionless gaze paid no heed to Konoha's ruins!

"Let the world feel pain! Shinra Tensei!"

Whoosh!!!

Clang, clang, clang!!!

A powerful wave of energy rose beneath the Deva Path. With just one move, Konoha was razed flat.

Hummm-

Even the ruins ceased to exist. All that remained was the earth swept bare by the blast!]

The footage ended.

Sasuke Uchiha sat stunned on his bed, his back soaked in cold sweat. His mouth hung open, and he did not know what to make of it.

The video had been so real that it felt as though he had experienced it himself, as though he had already died beneath Shinra Tensei. Only now, with his heart racing, did he begin to recover. His face and lips were pale.

Slap, slap!

Sasuke raised his still-trembling hand and slapped his face hard to pull himself together. Then he rose from the stool, intending to move to his bed.

Clatter~

After just two steps, his legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the floor.

Sasuke lay there with his face pressed against the ground. Only the chill of the floor helped him recover and feel that he was still alive, that he had not died.

He made no move to get up, simply lying there and thinking.

"Could I really survive against this man?"

If this truly was an enemy Konoha would face in the future, he really could not blame his fellow clansman Luo Mang for choosing to flee. The pressure was too great!

The mental strain was overwhelming.

Feeling that he was still alive, Sasuke Uchiha thought for a while. His mind relaxed, and he fell asleep right there on the floor.

Like Sasuke Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake had a back soaked in cold sweat and slightly trembling legs. Fortunately, he had not collapsed.

The video had stopped, but the hand holding his pen was still shaking. He could not help it. This was the fear of death.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked at the information he had recorded.

Pain's invasion. Six people. Unusual eyes. Different abilities. Shared vision. A powerful repulsion technique usable once every five seconds.

More importantly, he had circled the words: objective, Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Kakashi had now recovered from the shock, though his hand still trembled whenever he recalled it.

The Nine-Tails!

They seemed to have come in search of the Nine-Tails. What could their purpose be?

The video was too short and revealed little about the situation.

But the one thing he could be certain of was that they had come for Naruto Uzumaki. They were also incredibly powerful-so powerful that even Konoha would be razed in the future!

"No!"

Kakashi hurriedly stood up. He had to report this. Even if he could not reveal the information in the diary, he had to find some special way to pass along a warning and put the Third on his guard.

Creak~

But just as he stood up, Kakashi sat back down.

Would the Third really believe him? Would he think Kakashi had gone mad?

After all, no one could ever imagine such a diary existed. Yet he had no choice but to believe it, with a miracle-like scene appearing right before his eyes.

Besides, the video just now had felt like something he had truly experienced.

After thinking for a long time, Kakashi finally decided to try first. If the diary would not let him tell anyone, he would offer indirect warnings. If the Third did not believe him, then he would work on it himself.

At the very least, he had to establish their identities. The video had shown their clothing, so he could start there. Matching outfits might mean an organization. Black-and-red robes were not particularly common. A thorough investigation was bound to turn up some clues.

If all else failed, he would post an investigation commission in the underground Black Market.

At the very least, he had to find out who would attack Konoha in the future.

Having made his decision, Kakashi turned his attention back to the diary.

"It seems today's test was quite accurate. If he sees someone, he'll mention them in the diary."

It seemed Luo Mang really did possess a special ability, more than just the Sharingan Kekkei Genkai. Could he truly predict the future? Otherwise, why would he be so despondent? Had he seen this future for Konoha, become afraid, and decided to flee?

Yet none of this could yield answers or results merely by thinking about it.

But he could not simply stop thinking, either. The pressure the Deva Path placed on him was too great. At that thought, Kakashi lowered his head again. Without even looking at the copy of Icha Icha Paradise beside him, he picked up the sheet of notes and began writing and sketching, analyzing his opponent's openings and weaknesses.