Another close-up of Naraku. He sipped at the miso soup, and his thoughts bled through the screen again.
Hot soup in my stomach… it makes my whole body feel warm.
When was the last time I had something this comforting?
His inner voice kept rolling, paired with flashes of all the abuse and bullying he'd endured. The audience felt every blow.
The view shifted into Naraku's own perspective. Steam blurred his sight, and something slipped from his eyes into the soup.
Why can't Father treat me this way?
Oh. Right. I remember now.
I killed Mother. Made him live with grief. I didn't awaken the Sharingan. I shamed him.
It's all my fault.
I don't deserve happiness.
The camera caught him from the side: blank eyes, tears falling one after another into his bowl.
[I can't watch this anymore. Shinji Uchiha is insane. Get him therapy—or execution.]
[What kind of grudge does he have against his own kid?!]
[Naraku, it's not your fault. It's not!]
[If this keeps up, suicide isn't off the table.]
[Alright, everyone, squad up. We're assassinating Shinji tonight.]
Kakashi froze—his first time ever seeing an Uchiha cry. His gaze dropped to the layers of bandages covering bruises. Finally, it clicked that Naraku was carrying a pain he didn't understand.
He offered Naraku a towel. To cover the awkwardness, he busied himself with cleaning the table, stacking bowls, and taking them to the sink. Naraku started to help, almost calling Kakashi's name before he caught himself.
But the audience heard it.
[Finally figured it out, Kakashi?]
[God, he's dense sometimes.]
[Forget "Kakashi," Naraku—just call him hubby already.]
[Excuse you. Wife. He's wife material.]
[Stop shipping in the public comments, for crying out loud!]
Kakashi glanced back. Naraku's long hair fell forward, curtain-like, hiding his face. Hiding the bruises.
Images flashed in his mind: the past two months, Naraku always half-hidden, never showing his whole face.
And then the realization hit.
Who did this to him?
That frantic excuse—was he covering for someone?
[Finally, some brain cells. Took you long enough.]
[If he didn't notice now, I'd revoke his "genius" license.]
[Shows how well Shinji covered it all up.]
[He hides the abuse but ignores the malnutrition. Typical.]
[Piece of shit. He's not training him, just using him as a punching bag.]
Kakashi was still lost in thought when Naraku spoke softly about leaving.
The kitchen gleamed spotless. The boy stood quietly, lamp light brushing one side of his face while shadows swallowed the other. Balanced on the edge of light and dark, one nudge away from falling into the abyss.
Kakashi dug into the supply box, pulled out a fresh jar of ointment, and pressed it into Naraku's hands. "Remember to reapply."
Naraku's dead eyes flickered, then dulled again.
"…Thanks." He cradled the jar in both hands like it was a priceless relic.
[God, I can't bear to see what happens when he gets home.]
[This is telegraphing it hard—he's teetering on the edge of snapping.]
[Reminds me of when my mom threw out the first gift I ever got from a friend.]
[Shinji will go even further. Guaranteed.]
No matter how much the audience dreaded it, episode six still had minutes left.
Naraku returned home. Shinji Uchiha was waiting in the living room, face dark with anger.
Naraku carefully tucked the earthenware medicine jar into his robes before stepping inside.
Even as a chunin, Shinji's killing intent was suffocating. Naraku couldn't dodge his questions, so he admitted he'd been at the Hatake house.
Shinji's temper detonated. His son had lost again—then dared to crawl to a Hatake? Unforgivable.
The beating began. Naraku bore it in silence, forcing himself to prove he wasn't useless.
But after one rough throw, the medicine jar tumbled free.
[Kid, why didn't you lie?]
[Illusions don't fool your own clan, of course he'd catch it.]
[Shit. He found it.]
Shinji picked it up, saw what it was, and smashed it to the ground without hesitation.
CRASH!
Shards scattered. The fragments glimmered in Naraku's eyes like dying fireworks, stabbing the audience right in the chest.
The battered boy just stared at the floor. Shaking, he reached out to gather the broken pieces.
His whisper echoed through the scene:
Why…?
It was a gift from Kakashi… the first present I've ever had…
Why can't I keep even a scrap of luck?
Shinji's foot came down, crushing shards into Naraku's palm. The sharp clay sliced deep, blood streaking across the floor. Naraku barely flinched, mumbling on.
Kakashi… I'm sorry…
I couldn't protect it. My fault.
The screen went black. The ending theme began.
[I can't breathe.]
[He's still blaming himself?!]
[I came here for fun, not hypertension!]
[My chest actually hurts watching this.]
[So the Animator's doing an anti-domestic-abuse arc now, huh?]
[The man knows how to twist the knife.]
Naraku shut off the video before the final comments rolled and opened the forums.
In the Animator's world, Naruto was a juggernaut. Every big site had its own section. Naraku clicked into the most active board. Threads everywhere: predictions, discussions, daily check-ins, character shrines, even fanfics and fanart starting to pile up.
A hot thread caught his eye—"Speculation on Shinji Uchiha's Abuse".
OP: Bros, you think Shinji's just trying to trigger Naraku's Sharingan by pushing him to the emotional brink?
Reply 2: Makes sense. Uchiha need extreme emotional stimulus to awaken it.
Reply 3: If that's the plan, first thing Naraku should do when he awakens is kill him.
Reply 4: So it's Naraku's fault for being too emotionally stable? [lol]
…
Reply 25: Can't believe the clan let him get away with this for years.
Reply 26: Kid never cries out, never tells anyone. Who'd know?
Reply 27: Neighbors must've heard, though. Ninja should be sharper than that.
Reply 28 (OP): Notice the crowd shots? Mostly old folks and civilians around his house. Probably couldn't tell.
Reply 29: Damn. Shinji really planned this out.
Reply 30: Yeah, same guy who conned his wife into having a kid at the cost of her life. Figures.