It was only after moving into the Hatake Household that Naraku felt like he was living a normal life.
He would wake up early every day for school, grab some breakfast on the way, attend classes all morning, and then fill his stomach with a nutritious bento prepared by his guardian for lunch.
Afternoon classes were shorter, leaving him time to find a place to train, often receiving guidance from his Master. In the evenings, after washing up, he could sleep soundly until morning.
Sakumo had kept Naraku's Sharingan awakening a secret, instructing him to reveal it as late as possible.
Even though he wasn't from the Uchiha Clan, he knew that awakening the Sharingan was no easy feat. Naraku was too young, and if he became a target, even the entire Uchiha Clan might not be able to protect him.
Without knowing Naraku's talent, the Konoha higher-ups remained silent on the matter of Naraku becoming a disciple of Sakumo Hatake, who was currently at the peak of his fame, offering no opinion whatsoever.
However, given their long-standing habit of targeting the Uchiha, they were likely planning some covert maneuvers to test him.
The Uchiha Clan, on the other hand, considered this good news. The White Fang's reputation was widespread, and some even believed he was a strong contender for the next Hokage. Naraku becoming his disciple was akin to the Uchiha gaining a powerful ally, so Clan Head Fugaku sent people to deliver some supplies and money as a gesture of goodwill.
Beyond that, this incident sparked several days of discussion in Naraku and Kakashi's class. Students from civilian backgrounds were filled with envy, as the White Fang was an idol to Konoha Ninja, and becoming his disciple was something they couldn't even dream of.
However, students from Ninja Clans, such as the Sarutobi, Ino–Shika–Chō, Uchiha, and Hyuga families, weren't particularly concerned. Their own family traditions could meet all the requirements for becoming a Ninja, and the White Fang's kenjutsu and Ninjutsu weren't especially important...
Naraku tapped his pen and stopped racking his brain over these thoughts. He looked up, staring at the blackboard, pretending to listen to the lecture, but in reality, he had already opened the System's network to browse forums.
The anime hadn't updated yet, likely because the Animator still needed to observe the plot.
Naraku browsed the forums for a while. The number of posts about him wasn't increasing as rapidly as before, and because his appearances were still too few, there was no material or content for fan creations.
Returning to the video website, Naraku chose to open the first and second parts of Naruto, planning to binge-watch them at high speed to better understand the main storyline the Animator intended to show.
As he watched more and more episodes, he could confirm what the System had said: the Animator was indeed just an observer.
The Animator's arrangement of this anime was entirely chronological. The first episode of the first part began at the end of the Warring States Period in the Ninja World. He guessed this was when he first connected to this world; otherwise, it should have started with Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's descent to Earth.
The first episode mainly discussed the distribution of powers in the Ninja World and some influential Ninja Clans, with the Senju and Uchiha being the most prominent. These two clans had a legacy spanning over a thousand years, were generational enemies, and had deep-seated entanglements.
Later, a child who seemed out of place in this world was born into the Senju Clan. His name was Hashirama Senju. He grew up in a world of hatred but was full of goodwill towards everyone.
The Uchiha Clan also welcomed a prodigiously talented Young Clan Head, Madara Uchiha. When they grew up, the two became friends by concealing their surnames at the Naka River.
Naraku more or less understood. The first part was probably the story of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha: their childhood, youth, and middle age. From being close friends, they became bitter enemies, then put aside their hatred to establish Konoha and end the chaotic era, only to eventually part ways due to fundamental differences in ideology.
Indeed, as he expected, the final episode of the first part depicted the great battle between Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha in the Valley of the End. This battle ultimately concluded with Madara Uchiha's defeat.
A few years later, Hashirama Senju also passed away in sorrow, passing the Hokage position to his younger brother, Tobirama Senju, before his death.
The story of Naruto Part One ended here.
The overall tone of the story wasn't entirely a battle shonen. It interspersed the pain caused by war, the sorrow of various clans being unable to stop fighting even if they wanted to, the clash of ideologies between the two protagonists, and the various open and covert struggles during the village's establishment, adding a serious flavor to the narrative.
It was precisely the detailed nature of these contents that increased the audience's immersion and stirred their emotions, making Naruto instantly become a highly popular, phenomenon-level IP at the time.
However, with popularity came controversy, and the massive fan base led to countless differing opinions among them.
Most of the comments in the final episode expressed regret over how the two protagonists ended up, while the comment section debated whose ideology was right or wrong.
The top comment argued that Hashirama Senju's actions were incredibly stupid. He had given one or two strategic weapons to all neighboring countries at Konoha's strongest point, attempting to create a mutual deterrence to stop war, and his unrealistic, love-based fantasy of peace was simply unachievable.
Another popular comment felt that Madara Uchiha was also all talk and no action, truly believing that he and his brother could conquer the world and unite all nations, and wanting to establish a dictatorial rule—what a pipe dream.
Below, some people complained about why Ninja, who could move mountains, fill seas, and destroy the world, still had to be respectful to the Daimyo of various countries. Why couldn't they just kill the Daimyo and take charge themselves?
Naraku also glanced at the other comments, which were pretty much the same as what he remembered from watching the anime before.
Finally finishing the first part, Naraku stretched his shoulders and looked at the clock above the blackboard. It was less than half an hour until lunch break, so he closed the website, planning to watch the second part in the afternoon after lunch.
The bell for class dismissal rang on time. The moment the teacher left the classroom, the entire class immediately became lively. Students gathered in groups of three or five, discussing the bentos they brought today or heading out of school to find a place to eat lunch.
"What are you spacing out for? Let's go."
A figure stood in front of his desk. Naraku looked up to see Kakashi, who had a slightly speechless expression. He was holding a few banknotes and turned to walk out the door, speaking over his shoulder.
"Didn't we agree to go eat ramen for lunch today?"
"Oh, sorry, I zoned out."
Naraku smiled slightly and quickly stood up to follow him.
The two arrived at Ichiraku Ramen and took two seats inside.
While waiting for the noodles to cook, Kakashi looked at Naraku with a bit of boredom. Naraku's hair was still very long, covering most of his face, which explained why other classmates always called him gloomy.
"You should tie your hair up."
"Huh?"
Naraku touched the hair by his face and felt it was time to change his image a bit. He couldn't always maintain a gloomy appearance; as an Uchiha, he should be arrogantly handsome.
"Like this?"
He used his fingers to sweep his hair back from his forehead, leaving only a few wisps, and gathered the rest behind his head, fully revealing his features. Combined with the sunlight shining on his face from outside the window, it briefly stunned Kakashi.
"Uh..." Kakashi averted his gaze and scratched his cheek. "Better than before."
"Then I'll keep it like this from now on."
Naraku smiled brightly.
"Mm, mm, whatever you want."
Just then, two steaming bowls of tonkotsu ramen were placed on the table. The clear broth, with oil glistening on top, emitted an inviting aroma.
Kakashi broke apart his disposable chopsticks. "Eat quickly; it won't taste good when it gets cold."
"Okay, I'm digging in."
The warm noodles filled their stomachs, and the happiness of being full made both of them quite pleased. They even drank the broth down to the last drop.
Returning to school, the lunch break had just ended, and almost everyone in the class was in the classroom.
Naraku, with his new hairstyle, attracted many gazes as soon as he entered the door.
"Who's that guy?"
"Hey, isn't that the Uchiha Crest?"
"Could that be Uchiha Naraku?"
"No way, Naraku-kun is actually that handsome?"
"Oh my god, why didn't I notice this before?"
"Wow..."
Obito saw Rin looking at Naraku with eyes full of admiration and immediately felt jealous. He crossed his arms and grumbled indignantly, "What's so great? It's just a new hairstyle..."
Asuma Sarutobi was similarly devastated. He had been secretly in love with Kurenai Yuhi for a whole year, but now her eyes were practically sparkling as she looked at Naraku. Thinking about his own appearance, he felt much more disheartened.
The numerous gazes and whispers secretly pleased Naraku, but he still had to maintain his persona. He showed a slightly awkward expression and subtly hid behind Kakashi.
Kakashi knew Naraku's personality wouldn't change overnight, so he helplessly shielded him from much of the attention.
Fortunately, the teacher arrived in time, finally allowing them to return to their seats smoothly.