Naraku clicked on the directory and glanced at it. With only two episodes left, he might as well watch them all in one go now.
After all, what would happen when the Hashirama cells entered his body, and how long it would take for them to take effect — wasn't that all up to him?
---
In the second to last episode, the timeline reverted to the day Tsunade left Konoha after attending Uzumaki Mito's funeral.
Walking on the road, Shizune occasionally looked back in Konoha's direction, hesitantly asking, "Lady Tsunade, Naraku's condition… Is it really okay for us to just leave like this?"
"Hmm, it's quite stable. He'll be fine for a year or two."
Tsunade exuded the calm demeanor of an experienced traditional doctor, fiddling with her fingernails.
A memory fragment flashed back: Tsunade had indeed hesitated about whether to take Naraku with her when she left Konoha, so it would be easier to treat him at any time.
But seeing Naraku busy attending to Sakumo by his sickbed, she knew he wouldn't come with her.
-- In his remaining days, Naraku probably wanted to stay with the Hatake Father and Son.
Fortunately, the child was diligent and learned two advanced Medical Ninjutsu and Sealing Jutsu in a short time. Even if she wasn't there, he could stabilize his condition and prevent it from worsening.
Taking it easy, lasting two years wouldn't be a problem.
[One or two years? Huh?]
[So Naraku only had a little time left… ]
[But that damned Danzo couldn't even wait that long!]
[Yeah, if he had left with Tsunade, Naraku wouldn't have seen Kakashi and Sakumo… ]
[Too bitter, Naraku is too bitter]
Tsunade received the first letter, slowly read it by candlelight, then wrote a reply and sent it out.
But she never received a second one.
When she got anxious, Tsunade went to the casino to try her luck. The dice rolled, and it was the "Big" she had bet on.
She slumped in her chair, oblivious to the surrounding noise and cheers, her shoulders slumping slightly as if a weight had been lifted.
In the scene, the dice that brought victory and money lay quietly on the table, pulled away by a zoom lens, remotely cursing her fate.
The black dots on each face of the dice, liquefied and distorted, transformed into the heartbreaking truth on the scroll.
She had just made up her mind not long ago, willing to endure the pain of separation for that child again, and he had just slipped away so lightly.
The scroll in her hand felt like it weighed a thousand catties, so heavy she could barely hold it, and it fell straight to the ground, unfurling.
-- Don't wait for the world to get better on its own.
-- That will only cause all beautiful things to vanish.
Tsunade's dazed eyes regained their light when she heard Shizune sobbing, but this light came from the fiery anger in her chest.
She crushed the corner of the table with one hand, gritting her teeth and thinking fiercely.
-- Why cry?
-- I'm going to chop him into pieces!
[Tsunade's victory at the gambling table meant another failure in her life]
[The Ninja World is full of tragic fates]
[Without struggle, without fighting, you can't even protect a child]
[Actively changing the world is the way to break the chain of tragedy]
[Tsunade, determined to get revenge, is so cool! The Tsunade Hime who slaughtered battlefields is back!]
The animator only used one shot of Tsunade snatching the scroll from Uchiha Fūyō's hand and dragging him along to briefly explain everything.
Tsunade, as a direct descendant of the First Hokage and a disciple of the Third Hokage, chose to "rebel" and cooperate with the Uchiha, just to avenge her newly taken little apprentice.
But it was also quite consistent with her usual style of action over the years.
The next shot showed Tsunade stepping into Kusagakure.
In a flash, she tracked down Shimura Rō, who had been hiding for many days, and sent him flying through two layers of ceiling with one Monster Strength Punch.
[Fūyō… Oh my god, even he left the village]
[The Uchiha are reliable, with their intelligence gathering ability]
[Do you know why Konoha is wary of the Uchiha? With such financial and material resources, and the chosen cheat code Sharingan, who wouldn't be intimidated?]
[A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure makes him guilty]
[A gentleman's revenge is not too late in ten years; Tsunade's revenge is not too late in a day]
[Tsunade: If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die in the evening!]
[After taking a punch and a kick from Tsunade, is the person still alive?]
[Fūyō must have wanted to tear this guy to pieces, but he couldn't. The Uchiha needed evidence for this revenge to be justified.]
[When he stood in front of Tsunade, wasn't his own heart bleeding? Wuwuwu]
Jiraiya's timeline once again intersected with Tsunade's. He tried to persuade her to hand the person over to him, but she flatly refused.
Tsunade looked into her old partner's eyes, observing with persistent care, checking if his gaze had been stained by that great dye vat.
-- Don't become like them, Jiraiya. You clearly know what the outcome will be.
-- If you're going to fight for justice, don't always be timid and indecisive.
-- Whatever the consequences, that is the karma they should bear. They made their own mess, and they must clean it up themselves.
Jiraiya, of course, understood what Tsunade meant, and was startled to realize that his way of thinking was almost completely different from when he was young.
-- Is this the power of time?
-- It makes us no longer brave and upright, no longer persistent in pursuing fairness, but instead willing to betray our once vibrant selves for the sake of maintaining the status quo.
-- If it were me at fifteen, what would he say?
Jiraiya thought, and the white-haired youth in his memory was so vivid he almost leaped out of the screen. He stood with his hands on his hips, loudly telling the heavy-hearted man of today:
To hell with it! Jiraiya!
Jiraiya threw his head back and laughed, transforming back into the dashing and unrestrained hero he once was.
"Let's go, let's drink!"
[Jiraiya still wanted to use peaceful means, but that was unlikely to happen]
[You reap what you sow!]
[Tsunade stopped Jiraiya before he became the next Hiruzen Sarutobi]
[Seeing young Jiraiya really makes me want to cry… Wuwuwuwu]
[How he hated evil back then!]
[Hero Jiraiya!! My great martial artist, the Frog Sage, he's revived!!]
[Naraku's death really changed so many people]
[But my youth will never return, wuwuwuwuwu]
---
Naraku had to admit he was touched to see Tsunade so heartbroken for him, but he was also a little afraid that he would receive a "fist of love" after he returned.
Maybe I should make myself look more miserable, so Tsunade won't have the heart to hit me, right?
Naraku thought to himself that he was quite a clever little guy.
It was almost the last episode, and Naraku guessed he would make an appearance, of course, still as "Jhin."
He hoped the animator would follow his plan.
---
The last episode opened with Uchiha Fūyō carrying a person and breaking into a stronghold, ordering the guards to gather all Uchiha on the western front and cover him as he brought the witness back to Konoha.
On the way, they were indeed attacked by what appeared to be Rōnin, but one of the enemies used a distinctive family Secret Technique.
Even the audience remembered that this Ninja Clan only had bloodlines remaining in Konoha.
Fūyō barely managed to tear through the encirclement and escape, only to soon encounter a second wave of pursuers.
Facing several enemies while carrying a heavy load, even with Fūyō's considerable combat power, he gradually became overwhelmed and fell into a disadvantage.
[What's going on? These are Konoha Ninja?]
[I don't understand, if they wanted to silence him, why didn't they do it earlier? If they had killed Shimura Rō at the beginning, there would have been no risk of him being captured by the Uchiha?]
[Yeah, and now they're rushing to silence him, and doing it so crudely]
[Brothers, if you don't understand something, just attribute it to Danzo Shimura's conspiracy, and you'll understand]
[What does that mean?]
[It means Danzo did it on purpose! He just wants to provoke the Uchiha!]
Just as he was about to make a desperate stand, the atmosphere suddenly changed.
The entire forest seemed to plunge into an icy hell, with bone-chilling cold, and it was also like the killing intent emitted by some monster, eroding everyone's sanity.
Birds shrieked as they flew out of the forest. The camera panned from bottom to top, sweeping over Uchiha Fūyō and the sky above him. A strong wind carried a dense flock of birds, circling overhead, blotting out the sun.
Then the camera gradually approached from behind Fūyō, seemingly mimicking the perspective of a beast preparing to hunt him.
After a faint "pat" sound, the scene returned to the front.
Accompanied by terrifying and eerie buzzing sound effects, the audience saw a shadow appear on a thick branch above and behind Fūyō.
Perhaps he had arrived much earlier, but only now decided to reveal himself.
[A storm is brewing, startled birds flocking to cover the sky]
[This is too cool!]
[Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, this oppressive feeling, definitely a big BOSS]
[My hair is standing on end]
The three Ninja pursuing Fūyō fell into madness due to excessive fear, shouting wildly as they charged towards the Mysterious Person.
The next moment, the Ninja who attacked first was already lying on the ground.
The remaining two Ninja soon followed suit, paying with their lives, only to receive a dismissive "Uninteresting" from the other party.
From beginning to end, the Mysterious Person did not make any obvious hand signs or attack actions. He just stood there, and the enemies walked to their own deaths.
[Directly scared several adult Ninja crazy? This is too terrifying]
[No? How did they die?]
[This behavior, this sense of style… I'm reminded of a certain pleasure-seeker… ]
[Holy crap, Jhin! What is he doing here?]
[This big shot's expressive power is too overpowered!?]
[Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah so cool so cool so cool!!]
[Who understands! I just love Jhin's attitude of seeing everything as ants!]
[Jhin-sama, step on me! I want to be your dog!!]
Fūyō thought he would be next, but the Mysterious Person just glanced at him and then disappeared.
He froze in place, motionless, until his clansmen arrived to rendezvous, and he snapped out of his trance.
Without time to ponder whether that person was friend or foe, or what his purpose was, Fūyō urged everyone to leave quickly. Getting the witness back to the clan was the most urgent matter.
[Jhin didn't kill Fūyō? Was he here to save him?]
[I feel like this pleasure-seeker just loves to watch chaos, wanting the Uchiha to stir things up]
[Jhin: Oh, there's an internal Konoha conflict to watch? Then I, Jhin, must help out!]
[I don't accept Jhin being whitewashed, ha]
[A big villain doesn't need to be whitewashed anyway! Being evil is also part of his charm!]
---
Naraku carefully watched his appearance in the segment twice.
As expected, to conceal Jhin's identity, the animator did not reveal how the three Ninja died. Instead, the camera zoomed in on Jhin, blurring out the bodies in the corner.
After all, "Uchiha Naraku" and "Jhin" were not truly enemies.
Earlier in the dream, Naraku used popularity points to create another version of himself, playing two roles and fabricating the specific process of a sub-personality's birth.
The animator knew that the main personality Naraku would definitely appear again in the future. If he used Mangekyo abilities similar to Jhin, his identity would be exposed, so he naturally helped to conceal it from the audience.
As for Fūyō, Naraku had cast a genjutsu on him from the start. He couldn't remember this battle, and his memory would blur before he even returned to Konoha.
Later in the plot, if needed, Naraku would give him a suitable opportunity to remember…