Naraku gave a little nod. The system's functions checked out.
Still, all he'd done since waking up in this world was get his ass handed to him. If he wanted fans, looks mattered. Charisma helped, sure—but if you weren't hot, good luck pulling in a massive following.
He brushed his bangs aside and caught his reflection in the classroom window.
Yeah. Pretty damn good. Uchiha genes never missed. Give him a few years and he might even outshine Sasuke.
His face stayed neutral as he let his hair fall back down, but inside he was grinning. Then he called out to the system.
"Alright. Hook me up to the Animator's internet. I need to see where the anime's at right now."
[As you wish, traveler.]
Naraku stared blankly at the blackboard like he was paying attention, but in reality, a translucent panel only he could see opened in front of him. He flicked through options with a thought until he pulled up a site.
The homepage slammed him with a giant banner.
The smash-hit anime Naruto III is here! More action, more drama—don't miss it!
Naraku whistled silently. Damn. Already on Part Three? That's one hell of a franchise.
He clicked straight in. Four episodes out so far. Perfect. He cranked the speed to 3x and hit play. He needed to know what part of the story they were in.
Episode one opened with the Hidden Cloud in chaos, the Eight-Tails running wild. Desperate, the elders debated kidnapping a girl in Hidden Leaf with unusual chakra. Some were cautious, but most dismissed Hidden Leaf like it was nothing.
The screen was buried under scrolling comments.
[It's back, baby!]
[Finally updated—do you know how I've survived the last six months?!]
[Bet it's Kushina. If it's not Kushina, I'll wash my hair upside down.]
[Man, if Hashirama were still around, Cloud wouldn't dare breathe wrong.]
Naraku blinked. Wait. Hiruzen Sarutobi has stans?
The rest of the episode showed teenage Kushina Uzumaki, tsundere as hell, forced to team up with Minato Namikaze.
[Ohhh, so this season's going full romance.]
[Kushina, babe, tsundere's out of style now, sorry.]
[Pretty Boy Minato still can't shake that nickname, huh?]
[Calling it now—next episode, he's gonna play knight in shining armor.]
Sure enough, episode two had Kushina kidnapped at home. She fought, but got dragged toward the border. Her only move was dropping strands of red hair as breadcrumbs.
Hidden Leaf's defenses? Total joke. Fans raged.
[Seriously? All the jonin, ANBU, and trackers couldn't keep up?]
[Cloud ninjas didn't even clean the trail. What are they, blind?]
[Whole damn village is secretly shipping them, I swear.]
Cue Minato's heroic entrance. He swept in under the moonlight, crushed the kidnappers, and landed in a tree with Kushina in his arms. Her eyes wide, his smile soft.
The chat went feral.
[My boy Minato nailed it!]
[Bet she doesn't think he's a sissy now!]
[This is too sweet, I'm getting cavities.]
Episode three was politics. Cloud started it, but Hiruzen let it slide. Fans screamed about blood pressure meds.
Episode four shifted to a white-haired boy at the academy—six, maybe seven years old, short sword strapped to his back, already colder than ice.
[Kakashi!]
[White Fang's kid!!]
[If I can't marry Sakumo, at least let me marry his son.]
Naraku leaned closer. Called it. The Animator's all-in on Kakashi. An entire episode dedicated to his genius, even solving problems for the teachers.
Meanwhile, Naraku? A blurry extra in the corner of a couple shots. Even Obito, Asuma, and other kids had more screentime.
He sighed. Guess I've got a long road to stealing the spotlight.
At least today's spar meant he'd pop up again. But cameos weren't enough. He needed proximity. He needed to anchor himself to Kakashi, wedge into the main storyline, and prove he had the potential to be a breakout star.
Sorry, Obito. Best friend role's mine now.
Naraku felt zero guilt about hijacking his screentime.
When the final bell rang, Naraku didn't move. He sat until the classroom emptied, then slouched his way out, heading toward the Uchiha compound.
His chest tightened. God, I don't wanna go home.
The original Naraku Uchiha's memories painted a bleak picture. A mother gone at birth. A father who barely acknowledged him—just enough money to keep him alive, zero affection.
When Naraku was old enough to train, his father finally showed interest. The harsh kind. Blows too heavy, drills too brutal, blood on the floor. Half the time, it was impossible to tell if it was "training" or just venting rage.
Then school started. And every time Naraku lost to the "genius" Kakashi, his father's disappointment curdled into fury. More yelling. More beatings. More booze. Food money vanished, and Naraku grew thin, malnourished, hollow.
Naraku whistled under his breath. Damn. Tragic backstory unlocked.
And then the idea hit.
Tragedy meant sympathy. Sympathy meant attention. Attention meant Popularity Points.
Fans loved a character who was beautiful, strong, and suffering. The holy trinity.
Naraku smirked. Perfect. All he had to do was play it right, and the fans would eat him up.