That title was a humiliation to all three of them.
The three had not even managed to defeat Hanzo while fighting together. The only reason he spared their lives and bestowed the title of the "Three Ninja" was because he feared Konoha's retaliation.
At the time, Amegakure only had half a Hanzo holding the line. If he had truly killed the Three Ninja, a furious Sarutobi Hiruzen would have flattened the Land of Rain without hesitation.
Back then, the Third Hokage was at his absolute peak, hailed as the Professor of the Shinobi World. He was nothing like the weak old man he later became. That version of Sarutobi Hiruzen was fully capable of doing something like that.
That was why Hanzo let them go and granted them the title of the Three Ninja of Konoha.
Yet all three of them regarded it as a disgrace.
In the years that followed, each of them found their own path and stepped into the ranks of Kage Level.
Even so, if any of them were to truly face Hatake Sakumo at his peak, the outcome would still be uncertain.
And Hatake Kakashi was the son of the White Fang of Konoha. If anyone could push the Sharingan all the way to awakening the Mangekyo, it was not completely impossible for him.
Still, no matter how one looked at it, the idea felt a bit absurd.
And those ocular techniques called Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, were they exclusive to the Mangekyo Sharingan?
One was said to be the strongest genjutsu, the other the strongest physical attack.
That certainly made things far more interesting.
But would Uchiha Madara really appear on the battlefield again?
Jiraiya thought of the masked man who called himself Uchiha Madara. Was he truly as terrifying as Kaede Kitahara implied?
From the diary alone, it was obvious how wary Kaede Kitahara was of Uchiha Madara.
"At that age, and he's still this active," Jiraiya said helplessly, pressing a hand to his forehead.
[Among all the Mangekyo abilities, the one people truly can't stop talking about is Uchiha Obito's Kamui. Offense and defense in one, an ability that stays top-tier even into the Boruto era. Early on, it's outright broken.
Most other Mangekyo abilities fall a bit short by comparison. Uchiha Itachi's Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu combine both physical and genjutsu attacks, and in his hands, he really made them shine. In terms of battle intelligence, Uchiha Itachi absolutely ranks among the top few in the entire ninja world. That's why people say a healthy Itachi is such a tragedy.
Uchiha Madara is strong too, but he relies more on raw stats and experience. His battle intelligence doesn't stand out as much.
Uchiha Sasuke's Amaterasu paired with Flame Control is a solid combo. It's great for crushing weaker opponents, but against the increasingly absurd enemies later on, it barely makes a difference.
What I'm really curious about is Uchiha Fugaku's Mangekyo. What special ability did he have? He never revealed it before his death, so no one knows. Come to think of it, did the Uchiha Clan's luck just explode in that family? Three generations, four pairs of Mangekyo. Has there ever been such a dense awakening rate in all of history?]
Before Jiraiya could think further, the diary updated again.
The new content made his eyes widen.
It was all classified information about the Mangekyo Sharingan.
For a ninja, the importance of intelligence went without saying.
After all, he would later die in the Land of Rain while pursuing information about the Rinnegan.
Now he could painlessly obtain critical intelligence about top-tier ninja directly from Kaede Kitahara. How could that not be incredible?
Uchiha Obito.
That was the Uchiha kid from Minato's team, right? The one who entrusted his Sharingan to Kakashi.
So the Mangekyo Sharingan Kaede Kitahara mentioned earlier, Kakashi's, was Kamui.
But Kaede Kitahara only described it as an ability combining offense and defense, without explaining the specifics.
As for Uchiha Itachi's Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu, Jiraiya had already seen them, or at least seen them separately.
Itachi had used Tsukuyomi against Kakashi before. Later, Uchiha Sasuke used Amaterasu. If they were the same ability, then he had essentially seen both.
Kaede Kitahara joked that Amaterasu couldn't kill people, but Jiraiya knew better.
Amaterasu absolutely killed people, and it was terrifying.
Shimura Danzo had been burned to death instantly by Uchiha Sasuke, only to trigger Izanagi and revive. Ordinary Fire Release techniques, no matter how powerful, could never incinerate someone that quickly.
From the diary, Kaede Kitahara held Uchiha Itachi's battle intelligence in extremely high regard, ranking him among the very best in the entire ninja world.
Healthy Itachi.
That was another trait Kaede Kitahara had mentioned before, related to that future named Boruto.
Did that mean that the current Uchiha Itachi was already unhealthy?
Otherwise, why would a "healthy Itachi" be considered such a great regret?
Thinking of how both brothers bled tears whenever they used the Mangekyo Sharingan, it was clear that using it placed an enormous burden on their bodies.
It might even cause long-term, irreversible damage.
But what truly left Jiraiya stunned was the revelation about Uchiha Fugaku's family.
Three generations, four Mangekyo Sharingan.
That was beyond absurd.
According to what Kaede Kitahara had revealed, Uchiha Itachi already possessed the Mangekyo. Uchiha Sasuke would awaken it in the future. Even Sasuke's daughter, Uchiha Sarada, seemed destined to awaken it as well.
All of that made sense to Jiraiya.
The one person completely outside his expectations was Uchiha Fugaku, the former head of the Uchiha Clan.
Fugaku had once earned the nickname "Wicked Eye Fugaku" on the battlefield. Among Konoha's many elites, he was a notable figure.
Yet to think that he, too, possessed a Mangekyo Sharingan.
Based on Kaede Kitahara's earlier hints, awakening the Mangekyo almost always meant stepping into Kage Level.
If that was true, how had Uchiha Itachi won back then?
Even if Itachi had awakened the Mangekyo before the massacre, there was no way he could have silently taken down Uchiha Fugaku.
What really happened on the night of the clan's destruction?
Were there hidden forces at work?
Did Konoha's upper echelon truly get involved?
At that very moment, Uchiha Itachi was already in tears as he read the diary.
He remembered that scene all too clearly.
His father had entrusted Sasuke to him, then calmly went to his death.
In truth, his father had a hundred ways to survive. Especially if he had already awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, his strength would likely have surpassed Itachi's.
A solid Kage Level, without question.
Six years ago, Itachi had been far weaker than he was now.
Realizing all of this, Uchiha Itachi broke down, tears pouring freely as his heart twisted in agony. He thought of his loving parents, and of the woman he loved, Uchiha Izumi.
All of them were gone now.
Between the village and the clan, he had made his choice.
Now his hands were stained with the blood of his entire clan.
His life had been reduced to a single goal.
To help Uchiha Sasuke obtain the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Father… Mother…"
Uchiha Itachi wept openly.
Uchiha Sasuke was no better. Memories of his warm childhood flooded his mind, and his heart ached beyond words.
Compared to Uzumaki Naruto, who had never known his parents, was someone like him, who had enjoyed years of warmth, more fortunate or more unfortunate?
No one could say.
"Uchiha Itachi!"
Uchiha Sasuke growled under his breath, like a young lion baring its fangs.
At last, he understood the name of his other Mangekyo ability.
Flame Control.
The power to manipulate Amaterasu.
This ability was not weak at all. The fact that he had used it to kill a Kage Level opponent like Shimura Danzo proved that much.
Yet in Kaede Kitahara's evaluation, the combination of Amaterasu and Flame Control did not seem particularly strong.
Did that mean he could awaken a different ability?
Or was the Mangekyo's power predetermined from the moment of awakening, impossible to change?
[If we're talking about the most terrifying Mangekyo ability, it has to be Uchiha Shisui's Kotoamatsukami. And the worst part is that the person who awakened it was far too naive. He actually trusted Shimura Danzo and revealed the secret of Kotoamatsukami to him, only to have one of his eyes stolen.
Completely handed over for free.
But then again, if he weren't that naive, he probably wouldn't have awakened Kotoamatsukami in the first place. The Mangekyo Sharingan is the eye that reflects the heart. Every ocular ability is born from the deepest desire within.
Uchiha Shisui desperately wanted to balance the relationship between the village and the clan. That desire gave birth to Kotoamatsukami, the ultimate mind-altering genjutsu.
Right now, one of Shisui's Mangekyo is in Shimura Danzo's hands. That's something to be extremely careful about. One slip, and you could be brainwashed without even realizing it.
Still, it probably won't be used lightly. Kotoamatsukami has a massive cooldown. If Danzo does use it, it'll likely be on someone truly important, like the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
As for Uchiha Madara's Mangekyo ability, no one really knows. Some speculate that it enhances Susanoo, since Madara's Susanoo is absurdly massive. Other Uchiha look like children standing next to it.
Only Indra, long ago, might have reached that level.]
Reading the new diary entry, Jiraiya sucked in a sharp breath.
If Kotoamatsukami truly worked as Kaede Kitahara described, then he would have to be extremely wary of Shimura Danzo.
Just like Kaede Kitahara feared being brainwashed into becoming Danzo's loyal subordinate, Jiraiya feared it too.
A genjutsu that directly rewrote a person's will, without reason or warning, was terrifying. Ordinary people would never notice it, much less break free from it.
As for Kaede Kitahara's implication that Danzo might target the old man, Jiraiya had no doubts at all.
That old bastard's ambition was truly terrifying.