After helping Hyuga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto still wanted to find Jokichi to play with. But Jokichi refused. He still had to train, and having just obtained Hyuga Hinata's hair, he really wanted to know what kind of items the Byakugan Princess's hair could forge.
Uzumaki Naruto actually also thought about training together with Jokichi. But he had not trained much before and could not keep up with Jokichi's training pace. He did not want to drag down Jokichi's training progress, so after training together once, he never raised the request to train together again. He just made up his mind internally to work doubly hard in the future to catch up.
The two parted ways at the intersection, and Jokichi went straight home.
...
Returning home.
Jokichi closed the door, then sat in the middle of the dojo and took out Hyuga Hinata's hair.
[Ding! Found special material "Diluted Otsutsuki Hair", can forge special items "Fragrant Rice Bowl", "Diluted Otsutsuki Crystal", "Mangekyo"]
Mangekyo?
Jokichi tilted his head slightly, a large question mark floating above his head. He was not surprised that four hairs could only forge three items, because Hyuga Hinata only possessed the materials to forge three items; any extra was useless. It was just this Mangekyo... Isn't it only the Mangekyo Sharingan contact lenses that are called Mangekyo?
"Forge."
Amidst his confusion, Jokichi agreed to forge.
In the next second, three items appeared in his hands. A red porcelain bowl the size of an adult's palm, with various festive paintings on it. A pure white crystal the size of a thumb. A pair of ordinary-looking contact lenses.
"Fragrant Rice Bowl: Eating with this rice bowl will greatly stimulate the owner's appetite, making them exceptionally capable of eating."
"Diluted Otsutsuki Crystal (Upgradeable): Contains the diluted Otsutsuki bloodline. After absorbing it, it will transform a person's body, granting them the Hyuga clan's bloodline and awakening the Byakugan."
"Mangekyo (Upgradeable): These are contact lenses of the Otsutsuki eye with diluted bloodline and degraded abilities. The wearer can use the abilities of the Byakugan."
"Uh! Are all visual jutsu contact lenses called Mangekyo?"
Seeing the item information on his retina, Jokichi was somewhat speechless.
At this moment, the system notification sound rang in his mind once again.
[Ding! Detected that the host possesses the Eternal Mangekyo, it can be fused and upgraded with the Mangekyo. Do you wish to fuse and upgrade?]
[Ding! Detected that the host possesses two Broken Sage Crystals, they can be fused and upgraded with the Diluted Otsutsuki Crystal. Do you wish to upgrade?]
Jokichi considered for a moment and did not choose to upgrade.
Based on the previous fusion effects, fusing the Broken Sage Crystals with the Diluted Otsutsuki Crystal would grant a crystal weakened by several versions of the Otsutsuki. As for the two different Mangekyo... It should simultaneously possess the effects of the Byakugan and the Sharingan!
He prepared to fuse and upgrade the Byakugan Mangekyo into the Tenseigan. The items needed for the upgrade should be obtainable from Toneri. As for the weakened version of the Otsutsuki crystal... He was very resistant to the image of himself having pale skin and keratinous tissue, so he did not plan to take the route of evolving into an Otsutsuki.
If he used it for the people around him in the future, the effect would be too strong. He would not give it to anyone he did not completely trust.
Anyway, the items were in his hands. If he wanted to fuse and upgrade them later, he could just do it then. It was always better than fusing and upgrading them now, regretting it later, but being unable to separate them.
Throwing the three items into the system space, Jokichi prepared to continue training.
Just as he stood up, a gust of cold wind blew against his face, and then quickly subsided, making him feel as if he had an illusion. However, glancing at the blowing snow in the room and the reflection on the ground behind him, Jokichi could confirm that this was no illusion.
He slowly turned around and looked at the figure standing under the wall, wearing a tanuki mask, completely wrapped in a black cloak. Although he could not see the face, the familiar aura allowed him to instantly recognize the incomer's identity.
—Uchiha Itachi.
"Tch, I thought you would not show up!" Jokichi could not help but mock.
For the past two months, he had been paying attention to the people around him. With the Book of Omniscience, no one could hide their tracks to monitor him. During these two months, Uchiha Itachi frequently appeared around him. Although he used the Transformation Technique and was in a very concealed position, his every move could not escape Jokichi's eyes.
However, since Uchiha Itachi did not come out, Jokichi did not go look for him either. Anyway, he was not in a hurry; the one who was in a hurry was him.
The contradiction between the Uchiha and the village was intensifying and had reached the point where it was about to erupt. Although the Third Hokage and a few rational people in the Uchiha wanted to resolve it peacefully and tried hard to do so, regarding the interest relationship between a clan and a village, even if the leaders of both sides were willing to make mutual concessions, the clan members or village ninja whose interests were harmed were not willing to step back.
The matter had reached a dead end, and no one could stop a military conflict from breaking out between the two sides. Shimura Danzo had told him what kind of outcomes different choices would face and told him to be prepared to make a choice between the Uchiha and the village.
Uchiha Itachi was very clear about these things. But all he could do was stall for time, delaying the day the conflict erupted as much as possible, in hopes of finding a way to resolve it peacefully. Itachi had been trying hard to think, but still could not find a way to peacefully resolve the dead-knot relationship between the family and the village.
Seeing the atmosphere between the family and the village getting more and more tense, Uchiha Itachi could not sit still. None of the methods he could think of were useful. The only hope he could see was Jokichi. Although he was unsure whether Jokichi truly had a way to resolve it peacefully, being almost driven to a dead end, he chose to treat a dead horse as a living horse doctor.
Hearing Jokichi's mocking words, Uchiha Itachi was silent for a while before asking, "Why are you certain I would definitely come?"
"Didn't you say last time that you would come find me again in the future?" Jokichi said matter-of-factly.
"No." Uchiha Itachi shook his head gently. "A suspicious person who rashly broke into your house and probed you, the words said by this kind of guy, after such a long time, an ordinary person would think they were deceitful words!"
After saying that, the eyebrows under Uchiha Itachi's mask knit together. Turning his words around, for the other party to have that kind of reaction meant the other party understood him very well. Whether it was his personality or the things happening around him; otherwise, he would not be so certain that he would come looking for him.
But exactly where was he exposed? Itachi was very puzzled.
He could confirm that "Jokichi and Uchiha Itachi had never met", and he could also guarantee that he had not shown any flaws during his actions. Moreover, as an Anbu, his identity was usually kept secret. Even if there was some flaw he did not know about that led the other party to see his face, it was impossible for them to recognize his identity.
...Is it an existence beyond common sense like that Nine-Tails' chakra and Sharingan?
Thinking of this, the corners of Itachi's mouth curled up slightly, outlining a smile. Even though it was very passive for his identity and intentions to be grasped by the other party, Itachi was still very happy. Because the more the other party performed beyond common sense, the more likely they were to resolve this dispute that could not be resolved by common sense.
As for other things, he could figure something out.