Takuno's pupils contracted as he read the message; he felt nothing due to the lack of that memory.
But now he needed to assess himself: did the sealed memory of the illusionary realm still affect him?
He organized his thoughts but didn't know how to evaluate it. He pondered his future plans in his mind, and they were no different from before.
So, the memories from the illusionary realm had no impact on him after being sealed?
Takuno's eyes flickered; he didn't believe it. One must always prepare for the worst. The current lack of impact merely meant there was no concrete verification method.
Or perhaps the change was too subtle to be verified immediately.
He looked at the device; this wasn't entirely unexpected. After all, how could an additional memory have no effect?
But this was the price he paid for awakening his Sharingan. Compared to how others awakened their Sharingan in Naruto's story, his method seemed relatively easy.
If not this, did he want to be like others? Suffer stimulation in reality first, then awaken his Sharingan?
Clearly, that was impossible.
So, even if this device affected him, he would still continue to use it, though he didn't plan to use it again in the short term.
He needed a period of settling down and to ensure the impact of that illusionary realm memory was minimized before continuing the experiments.
If he rushed things, even if he successfully awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, but the cost was that he was no longer himself, then it would be meaningless.
Then he looked at the third point, which seemed to be the last.
'Now that you, or rather, I, know the problem, it's time to think about how to solve the mental or personality issues.'
Takuno smiled as he read this point. Indeed, even his past self, before the memory seal, had never considered not using the device.
To become stronger, paying a small price was worth it; all he needed to do now was minimize that price!
Takuno sat in his chair, tapping his fingers on the table. Then he looked at his fingers, his eyes dim and unreadable.
He had this habit, but the tapping style was different from before; the frequency was much faster.
Takuno watched his fingers for a long time before closing his eyes. When he reopened them, he lowered his hands, leaned back in the chair, and pondered how to solve this problem.
Constantly relying on memory sealing was one method, but not the best, and the recent discovery proved its effect was limited.
The recent discovery also indicated some subtle changes that he himself found difficult or even impossible to detect.
Moreover, memory sealing was, after all, just a Sealing Jutsu; it could also be broken.
His mind was filled with Ninjutsu and peculiar items from the original work, such as the spiritual Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques... As for seeking psychological counseling, Takuno didn't even consider it. He would not expose his state to anyone, no matter how trustworthy they might be!
"Yamanaka secret techniques?" Takuno frowned. These would be troublesome to acquire.
And even if he acquired them, whether they could solve his mental problems was a big question.
Their role in the original work was more for peering into others' memories, and his problematic memories had already been sealed. Could the Yamanaka secret techniques help him discover those subtle changes? Probably not.
Takuno could only put this option aside and continue to ponder other possibilities.
There wasn't much about mental affairs in the original work. Besides the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques, the only things he could think of were the Sharingan's genjutsu and the Spiritualization Technique.
And neither of these would be very useful for his problem.
Finally, he did think of something that might be able to solve his current problem. It wasn't a Ninjutsu, nor was it in Konoha, but rather near the Hidden Cloud Village.
That was the Waterfall of Truth.
Its ability was to make ninja confront their inner darkness, such as hatred, fear, obsessions, etc... The waterfall's flow and special environment would induce illusions, forcing the practitioner to confront their negative emotions.
As long as one could pass the waterfall's trial, the practitioner could 'make peace with themselves' and purify their spirit.
What if they didn't pass? Then they would naturally be devoured by their own dark side... Compared to the Yamanaka secret techniques, the Hidden Cloud's Waterfall of Truth seemed more suitable for solving his current problem.
However, that was Hidden Cloud territory. Safely using the Waterfall of Truth was also a huge problem. Pretending to be a Hidden Cloud ninja participating in the trial? Or using his strength to stop everyone and gain access?
This also needed long-term consideration, as undergoing the trial itself required time.
He remembered that this trial could seemingly be interrupted. Naruto, after failing the first time, found the answer within himself and then retook the trial to successfully complete it.
However, these were not things he needed to consider right now.
Because he still needed to awaken his Mangekyo Sharingan, he would definitely need to use the device several more times. Even if he solved the problem now, it would reappear later.
The Hidden Cloud's Waterfall of Truth was not a place one could just come and go as they pleased.
Therefore, it would be most appropriate to go to the Waterfall of Truth after he had awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan and no longer needed this auxiliary device for awakening.
Or, when his mental state had clearly changed to the point where he had no choice but to go.
After reading the contents of the scroll, Takuno rubbed his forehead with a sense of helplessness.
This was the price of gaining power.
After he used the Chimera Technique, the black markings that appeared on his body could only be concealed. He was actually constantly wrapped in bandages, though not as many as Hiruko in the original work.
It was foreseeable that, one day, he too would need to wrap most of his body in bandages!
Now, to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan, he still had to pay the price of potential mental problems.
And this was without even considering the changes brought by awakening the Sharingan itself, which also seemed to have mental effects on the user... After a long time, Takuno let out a deep sigh, and then his eyes showed an unwavering resolve.
To become stronger, paying a price... was normal!
Takuno stood up. At this moment, he saw that there seemed to be... more content behind the scroll.
When he saw that content, he froze, then a smile curved his lips, and he left.
The scroll on the table, after a large blank space following the previous points, once again had writing.
'One last point: Are 'you' Takuno?'
Below it was the current answer.
'I am, and always will be.'