Naraku opened the shop. His popularity points had accumulated quite a bit again, enough for him to upgrade his perception Ninjutsu once more.
Although Black Zetsu's ability to conceal his aura and Chakra was exquisite, his perception Ninjutsu might still not detect him, but he had to try to be sure.
While the system was upgrading his Ninjutsu, Naraku opened the forum.
As expected, this plotline had distressed many people, and various posts were popping up like crazy.
The top trending post was a petition, "Ten Thousand Signatures for Danzo's Failed Rescue," and the second was "Hoping Danzo Shimura Doesn't Have a Chance to Be Rescued Successfully," which truly made Naraku laugh.
There were also some plot discussion posts, but the audience didn't know as much as Naraku himself, so they couldn't analyze anything conclusive.
However, some people still grasped the key point: how did Kyoka Suigetsu fail?
Sakumo's abnormality during the battle could be explained by Danzo having certain methods, but he couldn't have remotely dispelled the Genjutsu to make Sakumo kill him, could he?
Some posters even flat-out believed that Naraku's Ninjutsu had issues, causing Sakumo to regain consciousness midway, and the subsequent abnormalities were all after-effects of the Genjutsu, pinning the blame for Sakumo's severe injuries on Naraku, which also garnered considerable attention.
Besides that, Hiruzen Sarutobi's actions in the last episode also sparked much discussion.
— —
"Does Anyone Else Feel Hiruzen Sarutobi's Orders Were Disjointed?"
1L (OP): Everyone, look. At first, he said, "Control the situation, avoid excessively severe conflicts, and wait for my decision on everything."
Then it suddenly changed to, "You must apprehend Sakumo Hatake; he absolutely cannot be allowed to escape."
Finally, he withdrew the pursuit order, saying, "Seal off the information; no one is allowed to discuss it. Announce to the public that tonight's situation was the capture of a village spy."
It's hard to imagine these were orders issued by one person in a short period.
2L: Indeed, it felt a bit too forceful when he wanted to arrest Sakumo.
3L: He's an old waverer; is vacillating left and right a habit?
4L: Reply to 3L: It shouldn't be that much wavering, should it? Having been Hokage for so many years, he must know that orders shouldn't be given lightly.
5L: Reply to 4L: Is it possible he thought his good buddy (crossed out) old friend almost died, so...
6L: Reply to 5L: Ugh—I don't believe it!
... "Regarding Why Hiruzen Sarutobi Chose to Keep the Peace."
1L (OP): As titled.
Originally, attacking Root was a serious crime, and Sakumo Hatake would inevitably be held accountable. Even labeling him a rogue Ninja wouldn't be too harsh.
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew in his heart the reason Sakumo did this: Danzo had pushed him to the brink, forcing him to resist. It was entirely Danzo's fault.
If Sakumo Hatake were held accountable, half of the Jonin Squad would have objections, and then all of Danzo's dirty deeds would not be able to be hidden.
Once the darkness hidden beneath the firelight was exposed, the entire Konoha would be in turmoil, which would be detrimental to stability.
So he ultimately decided to cover up this matter, leaving both Sakumo and Danzo unpunished.
2L: If the Uchiha had helped, at least Sakumo wouldn't have ended up like this.
3L: Even if Uchiha Fugaku had chosen to openly defy Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sakumo probably wouldn't have asked him for help. Otherwise, the situation would have escalated beyond control.
4L: Reply to 3L: Right, and I also feel Sakumo didn't want to implicate anyone else. After all, a surprise attack on Root is almost no different from betraying the village. He just wanted to kill Danzo by himself and be done with it, but he was ambushed.
5L: Reply to 4L: No one expected Sakumo to lose, including himself.
6L: So Danzo Shimura had already mastered the skill of "using" Hiruzen Sarutobi. As long as the deed was done and punishing him would cause greater losses, Hiruzen Sarutobi would choose to hold his nose and accept it.
7L: Reply to 6L: Upstairs, you've hit the nail on the head.
...— —
Naraku grumbled, "The word 'using' looks strange..."
The top-ranked posts in the fanfiction section were mostly new. Due to Sakumo Hatake's increased highlights in these few episodes, both solo fanfics and CP fanfics were at the forefront, and short edits were also broadcast in clusters.
Thanks to Sakumo's new surge in popularity and his performance with the other party, there were even more'ship' fanfics.
There was even a highly skilled fan artist who made a misleading CP edit with no Photoshop traces and posted it on an external bullet-comment website, currently ranking third on the trending list.
In the comment section below the video, fans tacitly played along, expressing their tears for the beautiful master-disciple love, so sincere that many passersby who hadn't watched naruto asked if it was real.
Looking at the chaotic comment section, Naraku couldn't help but feel his vision go dark again and again.
Naraku: Is this good? This is not good.
He continued to scroll down the progress bar, and finally, some fanfics he was somewhat interested in appeared.
One of the titles looked very familiar. Naraku clicked on the avatar to view the posting history and then remembered that it was indeed the same author who posted "Abandoned" last time.
— —
"Naraku Always Disregards Himself, and Finally Kakashi Solves This Problem."
1L (OP): **Blackened imprisonment trope, super OOC, beware of triggers**
This was already who knows how many times Naraku had been to the Hospital.
Kakashi thought, screwing the lid of the hot water kettle tightly, and slowly walked back to the ward...
"I can grasp the future, I can grasp a cold blade, and I can grasp the lives of those who stand in my way, but I just can't grasp your hand."
"Winter has arrived; let's go watch fireworks together."
... "If I don't watch Naraku properly, you always hurt yourself."
"Isn't it good to stay here? Others will take care of everything else."
"Don't try to leave, don't you dare leave me!"
... "This is great, Naraku, finally it's just the two of us."
"Just keep looking at me, only at me... okay...?"
... 2L: First!
3L: Good heavens, this is too dark and twisted; it makes my stomach hurt.
4L: Naraku hasn't even blackened in the anime, but Kakashi has already blackened in fanfiction!
5L: So fragrant, so fragrant... I can't speak for other characters, but if Kakashi became like this, it must be because he cares too much about Naraku.
6L: Reply to 5L: Sakumo: So love disappears, right?
... 11L: Online: Yandere boyfriend I love, love, love; Reality: Police officer, hurry, hurry, hurry!
12L: Online: Wow, so cool, this blackened feeling is so cool; Reality: Quick! Run! My dead legs, hurry and run!
13L: Hahahahahahaha
...— —
Naraku: Good, good, good, I still didn't torture them enough! All you fanfiction writers, just you wait!
He fiercely wrote down the author's name in his small notebook, and after thinking about it, he also noted down the accounts that posted those meme comments.
Naraku: You guys don't think you can escape either! None of you want to live!
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