Kakashi rubbed the spot where he was hit and continued to eat in silence.
Seeing that this stubborn young man still couldn't get over it, Kana, frustrated, snatched his empty lunchbox the moment he finished his last grain of rice, then grabbed the spoon and threw it into the box with a clatter, snapping the lid shut.
Leaving only the words, "I'll bring you dinner tonight," she walked out, huffing and puffing, without looking back.
Kakashi:?
He felt like Kana was a bit angry, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out why, so he simply leaned back in his chair and stared blankly out the window.
Naraku, who had just regained consciousness in the mental space and was silently idling, was already numb.
Why was Kakashi's mental state so much worse than when he went to train with Jiraiya?
Perhaps the fact that his good friend was murdered was too stimulating?
"But I'm not dead yet, and I've come back perfectly fine..." Naraku mumbled guiltily, pacing a few times in the mental space.
The system had just notified him that a few more episodes of the anime had been updated, and he had wanted to see how the animator would handle the Konoha and Uchiha civil war arc first.
"Forget it, I'll deal with this first."
Naraku controlled his eyelids to flutter a few times, then slowly opened his eyes. Once his vision cleared, he touched Kakashi's finger.
Kakashi quickly looked down, and seeing that he was awake, he immediately stood up from his chair, not knowing where to put his hands.
"Na-Naraku! You're awake!"
Seeing him frown, he bent down and brought his face closer, asking, "Does anything hurt?"
Hearing the last sentence, Naraku immediately shook his head slightly to indicate he was fine, then looked at Kakashi blankly. The white mist from his breath condensed on the oxygen mask, then quickly disappeared, in a continuous cycle.
Realizing that Naraku wouldn't speak on his own, Kakashi immediately poured out all the heartfelt words he had accumulated for a long time, becoming a bit incoherent because he had too much to say.
"I'm sorry, Naraku, it's all my fault. I said a lot of terrible things."
"The necklace is lost. I'll definitely find it, no matter what, I'll find it."
"But I didn't mean it that way. I swear I never thought of blaming you. I couldn't control myself at the time..."
Kakashi's voice grew softer and softer. He hung his head, not daring to look into Naraku's eyes, afraid to see anger or resentment in them.
"Can you forgive me, Naraku?"
"Let's make up, okay?"
He barely managed to finish speaking in a trembling voice, tightly pressing his lips together to swallow his sobs, and closed his eyes, silently waiting for the other party to deliver his verdict.
Then, a faint, somewhat strained gasp came from in front of him, almost drowned out by short, hurried breaths.
"Kaka...shi..."
"Did you...forgive...me...?"
"I'm so...rry..."
In an instant, Kakashi's long-held tears fell like broken pearls, one after another, down his cheeks.
He leaned forward, his arms loosely embracing Naraku's shoulders, their heads pressed tightly together.
The sound of falling tears hit his eardrums, muffled and distinct, but more importantly, Naraku clearly heard Kakashi repeat firmly in his ear.
"It's not your fault, Naraku."
"Neither before nor now."
"None of this is your fault."
Naraku didn't respond again. Instead, he tilted his head slightly towards Kakashi, raised his other hand to pat the other's back, and stared blankly at the ceiling.
Soft white hair brushed against his face, a little ticklish.
"But it's been a long time since we've been this close."
Naraku suddenly missed the days when Sakumo was still alive, when he didn't have to deal with Madara and Black Zetsu, didn't have to act like he had multiple personalities, didn't have to dance on the edge of a knife... and didn't always have to see Kakashi cry.
Sleepiness washed over him, and Naraku blinked a few times drowsily, his hand sliding from Kakashi's back.
He had used his Mangekyo a bit too much last night, and he still needed some time before he could recover enough to stay awake for extended periods.
To avoid revealing any flaws, from the very beginning, only "Jian" was healed. Only "Jian" could use Hashirama cells to suppress the bloodline limit sickness and use the new bloodline, Black Flame, not "Uchiha Naraku."
When "Uchiha Naraku" appeared, all abilities unique to "Jian" would go dormant, and this body would remain no different from before.
As for the principle behind this?
With popularity points, all these abnormal processes could be faked, making them logical and seamless.
No matter how the animator looked at it, he could only attribute this matter to the "magical" nature of the Ninja World.
After all, this world is just that unreasonable... Naraku returned to the mental space. Seeing that Kakashi was doing well after he fell asleep, he clicked on the new episode.
He was curious what crazy moves the animator would make to hide the fact that Uchiha Naraku and Jian were the same person using existing material.
Or would he choose to fabricate a part of Uchiha Naraku's experience?
—
Dim yellow light flickered in the dark room, accompanied by the sound of stone slabs rubbing together, as Uchiha Fugaku walked in through the doorway.
This was the eighth day since the witness was brought back, and the Uchiha still had nothing.
As the audience guessed in the last episode, Shimura Rō was a tool to provoke the Uchiha. His purpose was to be found by the Uchiha and then die at the hands of Konoha's Anbu.
Even if the Uchiha had miraculously saved him, the complete and ruthless Sealing Jutsu on him cut off any possibility for the Uchiha to obtain evidence.
Fugaku walked along the path where cold wind howled, his head slightly bowed, even his shoulders slightly slumped, fully conveying the young Clan Head's confusion.
"Should I give up?"
"If I continue the investigation, I might have to stake the fate of the entire Uchiha Clan."
"Is it worth it?"
He stopped at the fork in the road and stood for a long time, exhaling deeply. In his confusion, he remembered Naraku's obedience when he was home, his wife Mikoto's tearful eyes, and the indignant faces of his Clan Member.
If they gave up, what would become of the Uchiha in the future?
Could an Uchiha stripped of its backbone still be called an Uchiha?
"I cannot yield."
Fugaku murmured softly.
"The Uchiha have never survived by selling out their Clan Member."
The Uchiha Clan Head, known as the "Fierce Eye," straightened his back again, sharply raising his head in the darkness, his blood-red eyes filled with killing intent.
[If the Uchiha could take on everyone in Konoha, then they wouldn't need to worry about evidence.]
[Unfortunately, that's not really possible, and there are too many villagers at the grassroots level. Their information is blocked, so they need evidence to believe the Uchiha.]
[Fugaku, you need to step up!]
[As things have developed, Fugaku is actually making a choice for the Uchiha Clan: to be a dog or to be a human.]
[The Uchiha, as victims' families, actually need to settle things peacefully to have a slightly better life. Konoha is truly rotten.]
[Fugaku! Rise up!]
[Better to be broken jade than a whole tile!]
[To perish in struggle is better than to be devoured by a pack of wolves.]