Itachi's visit

Three nights later, Lin Ye was sorting through his list of last wishes in his apartment.

After the mission in the Land of Tea, he had fulfilled another dozen or so wishes, bringing his total to 35 Mangekyō Shards. But he was still far from the hundred he needed.

And Danzo's threat was a thorn in his back. For the past two days, he had constantly felt watched, yet every time he searched with his Sharingan, he found no one. Root's methods were growing ever more covert.

Suddenly, the window opened without a sound.

A figure stood outside, wearing an Akatsuki cloak. His face was hidden in shadow, but his scarlet Sharingan glowed like ghostly flames in the darkness.

Uchiha Itachi.

Lin Ye sprang to his feet, a kunai in hand.

"Relax." Itachi's voice was calm. "If I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead."

"What do you want?" Lin Ye asked warily. Against Itachi, he stood no chance as he was now.

"To talk." Itachi entered the room and sat in a chair. "About the Forbidden Grounds, about the Curse, about... the Uchiha's future."

"How much do you know?"

"I know the Uchiha's fate is cursed. I know every reincarnation of Indra will fight the reincarnation of Asura. I know Sasuke is this generation's reincarnation," Itachi said. "I slaughtered the clan for three reasons. First, to stop the Uchiha coup. Second, to make Sasuke hate me and give him the emotional shock needed to awaken his Mangekyō Sharingan. Third... to sever the chain of the Curse."

Lin Ye froze. "Sever the chain?"

"If I killed every Uchiha except Sasuke, Indra's chakra would reside in him alone. Then, if I let him kill me and obtain the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, he would have the power to fight the Curse," Itachi said. "That was my plan."

"But you didn't account for me," Lin Ye said.

"No. An anomaly." Itachi looked at Lin Ye. "Your appearance threw everything off. The Wish System, collecting Sharingan shards, combining them into a Rinne Sharingan... Kagami really did leave behind a way to break the Curse."

"You met Kagami?"

"Before the night of the massacre, I entered the Forbidden Grounds and met his chakra consciousness," Itachi said. "But he told me I couldn't use that method, because I'm a reincarnation, and my chakra carries the Curse. Only an 'anomaly' could."

"So you won't kill me?"

"Not for now," Itachi said. "I want to see whether you can accomplish what Kagami couldn't. If you truly can break the Curse, Sasuke won't have to bear the burden of destiny, and the Uchiha bloodline can finally be free."

"What about you?" Lin Ye asked. "You slaughtered the whole clan. If Sasuke learns the truth, will he forgive you?"

Itachi fell silent for a moment. "I don't need his forgiveness. I only need him to live, and to live freely."

Lin Ye studied the man before him. For his younger brother's sake, he had shouldered every sin and earned everyone's hatred, including that of the brother he loved most.

"If I can break the Curse, I'll tell Sasuke the truth," Lin Ye said.

"Don't." Itachi shook his head. "Let him hate me. Hatred will make him stronger and help him survive these troubled times."

"That's not fair."

"The world has never been fair." Itachi stood. "I came to tell you two things. First, Danzo has ties to the Akatsuki. He's helping them gather intelligence on the tailed beasts. In exchange, they help him eliminate his political enemies."

Lin Ye was stunned. "Danzo is betraying Konoha?"

"He's simply using the Akatsuki. Once they and Konoha have crippled each other, he'll step in to pick up the pieces, become a hero, and take the position of Hokage," Itachi said. "Second, the Akatsuki's leader, Pain, is very interested in you. Your Wish System can collect the Sharingan's power, which made him think of the Rinnegan. He may send people to capture you."

"When?"

"I'm not sure, but soon." Itachi walked to the window. "Finally, a word of advice: get stronger as quickly as you can. The Mangekyō Sharingan is only the beginning. What you'll face is the Rinnegan, the Ten-Tails, and the Otsutsuki. Without enough power, you won't be able to change anything."

"I will," Lin Ye said.

Itachi gave him one last look, then leaped out the window and vanished into the night.

Lin Ye sat on his bed, digesting Itachi's words.

Danzo was colluding with the Akatsuki, Pain had his sights on him, and there was the Otsutsuki threat...

There wasn't much time left.

He looked at the system panel. Wishes fulfilled: 78/1344. Far too slow.

He had to pick up the pace.

For the next month, Lin Ye threw himself into a frenzy of activity.

By day, he attended school and trained as usual. At night, he accepted wish missions, slipping into every corner of Konoha to fulfill the Uchiha's last wishes. Some were simple: deliver a letter, pass on a message. Others were complicated, requiring him to decipher clues, fight, or even change someone's fate.

He fulfilled a Uchiha Jonin's wish to "protect my granddaughter." The granddaughter, now dead, had been a nurse at Konoha Hospital and had suffered harassment from a corrupt Medical Department official. Lin Ye gathered evidence and secretly passed it to the Third Hokage. The corrupt official was dismissed and investigated.

He fulfilled a Uchiha Chunin's wish to "find the real killer." The Chunin had been betrayed and murdered by a teammate during a mission, but his death had been passed off as a mission failure. Lin Ye interrogated suspects with Sharingan genjutsu, exposed the true killer, and sent the evidence anonymously to the Anbu.

He fulfilled a Uchiha Genin's wish to "confess my love." The Genin had secretly loved a civilian girl but never had the chance to tell her before the night of the massacre. Lin Ye found the girl, who now worked at the Flower Shop, and gave her the Genin's last letter. She cried and placed a bouquet at the Uchiha's grave.

Every wish fulfilled earned Lin Ye shards and helped him better understand these dead clanspeople. They weren't background figures from the original story. They were flesh-and-blood people, with love and hatred, dreams and regrets.

And as he fulfilled their wishes, Lin Ye built his own network of connections in Konoha.

His bonds with Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura deepened. Naruto treated him like an older brother and came to him for advice about everything. Though Sasuke remained prickly, he always invited Lin Ye to train with him. Sakura learned medical knowledge from him and improved rapidly.

He and Kakashi developed an unspoken understanding. Kakashi covered for him and handled the Anbu's inquiries. In return, he helped Kakashi analyze missions and offered tactical advice.

He even became friends with the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio, Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, and others. During a joint training session, he used his tactical mind to help Team 10 win their match, earning Shikamaru's newfound respect.

In one month, Lin Ye fulfilled 102 wishes.

[Wishes fulfilled: 180/1344]

[Mangekyō Shards: 68/100]

[New abilities acquired: Shadow Clone Technique (proficient), Rasengan (beginner), Lightning Release: Chidori (incomplete), Medical Ninjutsu (basic)...]

His strength rose steadily, but it still wasn't enough.

The Mangekyō Sharingan required a hundred shards. He was still thirty-two short. And awakening it also required "intense love" as a catalyst.

Lin Ye didn't know what his "love" was. His feelings for this world were complicated. There were Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, who cared about him; the Uchiha future he wanted to protect; and the tragic fates he wanted to change.

But did that count as "intense love"? He didn't know.

Until that day.