Naraku was effortlessly brought back to the Mountain Prison by White Zetsu, and he couldn't help but exclaim:
"White Zetsu truly lives up to its name as a versatile material; even when used as a single-person high-speed train, it's exceptionally efficient."
As he pondered these random thoughts, Naraku had barely stepped a few paces into the underground cavern when he felt a dull pain in his chest. He quickly pulled off his mask.
Sure enough, before he could even inhale half a breath, he began to cough violently, spitting out two mouthfuls of crimson blood between gasps.
"Cough, cough..."
Ever since his fall, his bloodline limit sickness had worsened day by day. If not for the popularity points sustaining him, he probably wouldn't have lived long enough for Madara to heal him.
Hashirama cells were potent, but Madara still needed to make some adjustments; he couldn't just use them directly on Naraku. Otherwise, the corpses hanging from the trees would be the result.
Madara glanced at Naraku, who was wiping blood with his sleeve, seemingly unconcerned by the latter's affliction. He retorted coldly, "What's so good about that inferior bloodline that you had to go out and save him?"
Naraku wiped away the blood, and once the pain subsided, his coughing stopped.
He slightly curved his lips upward, displaying a smile with the face that gave Madara a favorable impression. There was no self-pity or despondency, despite being a terminally ill patient.
"Lord Madara, completing the plan certainly can't rely solely on me. Otherwise, who knows how many years it would take to revive you."
Madara watched the young man actively trying to take credit, and said, with a tone of disappointment, "I already have arrangements for such matters."
"But I've seen that fellow named Nagato; he seems rather dull and unresponsive, not someone who would act according to your wishes. We need a backup plan, don't we?"
Naraku placed his hands on the back of the chair, circling Madara from behind.
Like a bird feigning happiness, even in such a dark and oppressive environment, he could sing a strange, unsettling song while spitting blood, leaving no one in peace.
"You're too loud! Go train!"
"Alright, alright. Oh, by the way, Lord Madara."
Just as he was about to head to the training ground, Naraku remembered the new name he had given his sub-personality and turned back to announce his new alias.
"My name is Jhin. Please don't call me Naraku anymore."
Madara felt inexplicably annoyed, snorted, and forcefully ignored the message: "No matter who you are, to me, you'll always be called a stupid brat."
He couldn't understand why he was always dissatisfied with Uchiha Naraku's sub-personality, even though the sub-personality was more desperate and insane, and skilled at disguise, deception, and lying.
Perhaps it was because the other party was always chattering, just too noisy.
"How mean! And here I was, worshipping Lord Madara as my idol... Back then, you were so magnificent..."
"Stupid brat, aren't you annoying?"
"Look at you, getting impatient again..."
Seeing Madara's graying hair almost stand on end, Naraku quickly made his escape... When he decided to create a new alias, Naraku chose to give "Jhin" a different bloodline limit as a means of attack, other than the Sharingan, to avoid revealing the connection between the alias and his main body too early.
So he had already exchanged for a cost-effective new bloodline that didn't conflict with his original abilities: the Ninjutsu of Black Flame.
Based on intensely hot flames, supplemented by immense lightning, it possessed both the destructive power of raging inferno and the devastation of a grand natural disaster.
Compared to Ninjutsu, "Black Flame" was perhaps more akin to the superpowers Naraku knew from various fantasy works in his previous life, controlled freely and at will, capable of creating unique shapes that were as cool as could be.
It was guaranteed to become one of the most captivating villains in naruto.
Just as he arrived at the training ground and stood still, Naraku was considering finding an opportunity soon to show the animator that he had awakened a new bloodline limit, when he heard the system notify him that two more episodes of the anime had been updated.
Excellent. It was finally time to decide which path to take in the future.
Naraku sat cross-legged, pretending to extract Chakra, but in reality, he had already retreated into his mental space and clicked on the anime to watch.
—
He had just skipped the opening theme, and before he could even clearly see the opening scene, the screen was already densely packed with bullet comments.
[This episode is high-octane throughout! Non-combat personnel, evacuate immediately!]
[Brothers and sisters, this episode is super sweet!]
[Friends, take my advice, skip to 8 minutes and 35 seconds, and go straight for the candy!]
[I don't believe you! Won't it just give me a heart attack?]
[Get your tissues ready, that's all I can tell you.]
Kakashi and his teammates entered Konoha with the morning light. After greeting each other, they dispersed in different directions.
The animator must have skipped the report and directly showed the scene where Minato went to find Kushina.
Noticing Kushina's unusual state, he quickly entered the room to ask what had happened, only to be caught off guard by a piece of devastating news.
"Naraku... is dead..."
[Hearing others say this news, my heart still aches so much.]
[My heart feels like it's been sliced into knife-cut noodles.]
[naraku fans are truly in so much pain...]
[Minato is barely holding it together. Sakumo's entire family is so tragic.]
[Smart people can all realize there's something wrong with this, but Hiruzen Sarutobi just doesn't care.]
When Kana came out from the inner room and saw Minato, she knew that Kakashi had also returned to the village.
Facing her clan sister's earnest persuasion, she gently shook her head, stating directly that she would not argue with Kakashi.
She knew Naraku wouldn't want to see such a thing; if that fool knew in heaven, he would surely blame her for making so many people grieve for him.
Tears dripped one by one onto the cold iron, and Kana sobbed, pouring out her regret.
"I just really regret... that I didn't dare to ask anything back then..."
"If I had been more direct, would they have reconciled earlier?"
"Then Naraku wouldn't have... felt all alone when he died..."
[Kana... boo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo]
[For the rest of her life, she will repeatedly ask herself why.]
[I feel like Kana is imagining Naraku's despair before his death over and over again, and I'm about to break down too.]
[Naraku, who was once her spiritual pillar, has met such a fate. Kana is strong not to have gone insane.]
Kana arrived at the Hospital entrance in a daze, looking down at the forehead protector in her hand. All the excuses, comforts, and instructions she had prepared earlier were gone; her mind was empty, as if her soul had been extracted.
After a long while, she noticed Kakashi walking out of the Hospital with his hands in his pockets, approaching her.
The young man's figure grew closer and closer. In her blur, she seemed to see another figure accompanying him, with a tall posture, hair gently swaying in the wind, revealing dark eyes, and a gentle, compassionate expression as he looked at her.
--Ah... Naraku... She blinked hard, pushing the tears back into her eyes. As her vision cleared again, the illusion also vanished.
[Poor Kana is even having hallucinations.]
[Even if it's an illusion, he still stays by Kakashi's side.]
[Or perhaps in Kana's heart, Naraku would choose this; he would definitely return to where Kakashi is.]
[Everyone around them knew how much Naraku cared about Kakashi.]
[But Kakashi so cruelly pushed him away.]