"You can say hello to him."
Mikoto smiled at Naraku, holding the baby, and motioned for him to come and try.
Naraku stood up from his wheelchair, supporting himself on the edge of the bed with one hand, and reached out with the other, touching the baby's palm with his fingertip, just as Mikoto had done.
The small, tender fingers unconsciously tightened, gripping his finger and bringing a soft and wonderful sensation.
Naraku turned to Fugaku: "Clan Leader, what is the baby's name?"
"Itachi, Uchiha Itachi."
"Eh~ Itachi, huh…"
Gently swaying Itachi's small hand with his finger, Naraku found him increasingly adorable and thought to himself that this time, Fugaku absolutely could not lead him astray again to become Konoha's filial son.
Although Fugaku's temperament had changed a bit now, the Third Generation's faction was still present, and the Village's attitude towards the Uchiha was still not good. If, by some oversight, history repeated itself, where would he go to cry?
—It was time to discuss with Fugaku how the Uchiha could change.
He sat back in his wheelchair, and with just one look, Fugaku understood that he had something to say to him.
So Fugaku pushed his wheelchair into the corridor, where they conversed through genjutsu to avoid being overheard by various passersby.
In the Hospital room, Kana was busy playing with Itachi, while Kakashi, having nothing to do, could only see outside through a small pane of glass in the door.
He saw Fugaku stare blankly into Naraku's eyes for a moment, then suddenly gasp as if startled awake, his expression becoming hesitant before he finally nodded with determination.
Naraku, however, maintained a firm gaze throughout, and after receiving Fugaku's affirmation, he said something else; from his lip movements, it looked like, "Wait until next time…"
Kakashi didn't know then that these few minutes would, in the future, completely change the fate of the Uchiha.
He also didn't know that the Uchiha Clan, which would be allowed to survive, would be one of the most important "legacies" Naraku left for him… The days of recovery passed quickly. Naraku either read and studied, or ate with Kakashi, took care of Sakumo, and even found time to meet Orochimaru with Tsunade and Fugaku.
Orochimaru at this time was obsessed with eternal life and had little interest in the Sharingan; he took this job purely to earn funds so he could continue his interesting experiments.
At the scientist's request, Naraku provided a large tube of his own blood, plus various biological samples, offering them with both hands.
Fortunately, Naraku had been recuperating for so many days that he could withstand the ordeal, otherwise that tube of blood would have sent him back to the emergency room for resuscitation.
Returning to the Hospital room, the blood-replenishing herbal soup Sister Kana sent was still steaming.
Under Kakashi and Sister Kana's unyielding gazes, Naraku could only tearfully drink every last drop, his small face scrunched up from the bitterness, with no candy to eat.
A moment later, Naraku was lying on the Hospital bed, tasting the bitterness with a look of utter despair, when he heard that the system's animated update had new episodes.
This time, several new episodes were released, but from the titles, only the first one seemed to be about Kakashi and him.
—
The scene opens with the camera following Kakashi to Sakumo's Hospital room.
Konoha Village's hero seemed to have lost some weight from prolonged bed rest, but his complexion indicated that the Hospital's care was very thorough, without any neglect.
Even his hair and nails were regularly maintained, and he remained clean and presentable.
Kakashi sat on the Hospital bed, telling his father about his experiences during this time while massaging his body.
[When will Sakumo wake up, you Old Thief! Look, he's lost so much weight!]
[There are still good people around, after lying here for so long Sakumo is still clean and has a rosy complexion, this must take a lot of effort.]
[What do you think Sakumo would do first if he could hear everything happening outside, once he wakes up?]
[First, give Kakashi a good whack.]
[Then, desecrate Danzo's corpse, challenge Sarutobi, and kick Konoha's ass!]
After Kakashi finished his tasks there and returned to Naraku's room, he saw the latter lying with his eyes open, seemingly lost in thought.
Hearing Naraku reply that he wasn't uncomfortable, Kakashi's expression visibly darkened, knowing that Naraku was just lying to him.
He was somewhat disheartened, thinking Naraku still had a barrier between them, but then Naraku took his fingers and gently comforted him in a tone no different from their usual interactions.
[It's over, with this situation, I feel like Kakashi will become the first protagonist in Hokage history to turn dark.]
[More than that, imprisonment play is inevitable too.]
[Naraku's desire not to make Kakashi worry about him is ingrained, a pure instinctive reaction.]
[Baby, please care about yourself, I'm truly heartbroken.]
[What is this! Holding hands?! Rounded up, it's marriage!!]
[What a rounding up.]
The audience was chewing on candy with razor blades when they suddenly saw Sister Kana rush in through the door, crying loudly, which perfectly broke the slightly oppressive atmosphere.
Realizing that apologizing was useless, Naraku's subconscious choice was to ask Kakashi for help.
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