"You should know, Naraku, if I let you mess around like this, Lord Madara will scold me."
Black Zetsu, adhering to his persona, adopted the attitude befitting Madara's subordinate.
"So don't make things difficult for us."
"Sorry," Naraku seemed to feel guilty about his impulsiveness, but he wouldn't budge on this matter, "You can't catch me. This is just a Shadow Clone."
Black Zetsu was exhausted.
He knew this kid wasn't that stupid; how could he possibly use his main body to meet it?
"Then I'll have to find your main body as soon as possible before its identity is exposed. Disobedient children need to be brought back for Lord Madara to discipline."
"I told you, I won't hinder Jin. I can give him this body whenever he needs it. I hope you don't hinder me either."
The Shadow Clone was not angry; instead, it repeated its request, even revealing the main personality's weakness: "Don't worry too much. I won't last much longer anyway. Don't force me."
With that, the clone voluntarily dispelled, turning into a puff of white smoke that vanished into the darkness.
"What should we do?" White Zetsu tilted its head and asked.
"Let's try to find that guy's main body first. It would be best if we could take him back directly."
Black Zetsu, feeling speechless, gloomy, and having compared their combat strengths, reluctantly realized that even if it encountered Naraku's main body, it could only take him away when he was incapable of resisting.
After all, Mangekyo was truly difficult to deal with, and making too much of a commotion would alert Konoha, leaving it now somewhat constrained and unsure how to proceed.
But it quickly realized it didn't need to specifically look for Naraku.
The Susanoo that appeared at the explosion site clearly told everyone that a Mangekyo Uchiha was there.
The current plan was that if it could snatch Naraku away before anyone else saw him, it might still be able to contain the situation.
However, before Naraku reached his limit, it first encountered Uchiha Fugaku, who arrived with his Susanoo and immediately began slaughtering the Root members.
As a seasoned, thousand-year-old schemer, Black Zetsu decisively chose to play it safe.
Forget it, as long as Jin could continue to advance the plan, Uchiha Naraku could do whatever he wanted.
It had been planning the Infinite Tsukuyomi for so many years; it couldn't push this kid too hard and have him reveal everything.
It's just that explaining things to Uchiha Madara would be difficult... he'd probably get scolded.
Black Zetsu grudgingly returned to the Mountain Prison and reported Naraku's final decision to Madara.
For some reason, it always felt that Madara had a rather strong reaction when he heard that the main personality Naraku had appeared, but it didn't seem like anger or dissatisfaction; rather, it was a bit like... relief?
--No, I actually feel like Uchiha Madara prefers Uchiha Naraku over Jin?
--They both look the same? Do you need to differentiate between main personality and sub-personality when you're judging by appearance?
--Between the two, I'd rather choose the crazy Jin; at least he's truly unburdened, killing anyone who stands in his way, even gods.
Black Zetsu secretly scorned Madara's taste, while verbally asking how to deal with Uchiha Naraku next.
"Let it be. As long as Jin can come out and do what needs to be done, that's enough."
Madara, to conceal his true thoughts that he didn't really want to do anything to Naraku, added a superfluous remark.
"Anyway, Uchiha Naraku said he won't live long, so it won't be long until he disappears. Don't lose sight of the bigger picture."
"Yes, I understand," Black Zetsu nodded in agreement... Konoha Hospital.
As the sun rose, the morning light dispelled the lingering frost of the night, awakening the Village from last night's chaos.
No matter what earth-shattering events occurred, everyone's lives had to go on as usual: buying groceries, cooking, taking care of children, going to work and school—everything was still the same as before.
Only the broken exterior of the Hokage Building and the large empty space at its entrance stood out, proving how thrilling that confrontation had been.
The sunlight grew brighter, streaming through the window and onto Kakashi's face. He lifted his head from the Hospital bed and immediately looked to see if Naraku had woken up.
Naraku's eyes were still tightly shut, showing no signs of regaining consciousness.
--I'm sorry... Kakashi murmured the apology he had repeated countless times, holding the other's hand, which had finally regained some warmth under the quilt, telling himself again and again that this person was alive, and he was back by his side.
"Have you eaten, Kakashi?"
Kana walked in through the door with breakfast, knowing the answer to that question perfectly well.
Before Kakashi could answer, she handed him the lunchbox and said, "It's freshly made. Eat it. You need to be full to have the strength to look after him."
Kakashi silently opened the lid and shoveled the golden fried rice into his mouth.
Kana pulled up a stool and sat with him, resting her elbows on the bed rail, propping her chin in her hands, her eyes filled with the boy lying on the Hospital bed.
Before dawn, she had learned from Kushina that Naraku was still alive. After confirming its truth, she cried with her sister, and by the time her emotions settled, it was almost daybreak.
Originally, she wanted to rush to the Hospital to take care of Naraku, but Kushina said Kakashi was there, so there was no need to worry too much, and she also explained why Kakashi and Naraku had separated back then.
She was a bit confused: "Genjutsu? Really?"
"I believe it," Kushina said seriously, "Kakashi would never lie about anything concerning Naraku."
Kana thought about how much Naraku cared for Kakashi, so she also chose to believe.
--Kakashi probably hasn't eaten yet, has he? He can't take care of Naraku on an empty stomach.
Cheering herself up and busy all morning, she finally recreated the fried rice she had tasted in the Hospital back then; it tasted exactly like the one Sakumo had brought.
To her, it was the best thing to eat.
"I'm sorry, Kakashi, I said a lot of harsh things to you."
Kana turned to look at Kakashi, only to realize that he looked a little different from when she first met him.
But she couldn't pinpoint exactly what was different.
Kakashi shook his head, swallowed the food in his mouth, and after a long pause, said, "You didn't do anything wrong, Kana. In fact, you woke me up from my dream. Thank you."
"I should be the one to say I'm sorry."
"Naraku was so important to you, and I lost him."
Kana's nose stung, and she quickly turned her head away, secretly wiping her eyes with her sleeve behind Kakashi's back, then let out a low, helpless chuckle with a tear-streaked face.
"You two are both fools."
She composed herself and then asked, "Are you going to tell Naraku that you didn't mean it back then?"
Kakashi knew what Kana was referring to. He rubbed the spoon handle with his thumb, then suddenly scooped another mouthful of rice into his mouth, answering indistinctly.
"I don't know."
"If I tell Naraku, will he feel better?"
"Will he still not forgive me...?"
"I just feel like... I'm shirking my responsibility..."
Bang!
Kana couldn't resist flicking Kakashi's head, with a force that truly reflected the style of her two older sisters: "Calling you a big idiot really isn't wronging you."