Root's second underground base.
Only a dozen Root ninja remained to keep the facility operational.
Despite being short-staffed, everything was still functioning in an orderly fashion.
Inside a heavily guarded room, respirators and various monitoring machines lined the walls.
Tubes and sensors were all connected to a medical bed in the center.
Danzo lay on the bed, his body covered by a thin medical sheet, his chest rising and falling faintly.
A black shadow emerged from under the bed and climbed up the post.
It burrowed into his arm, spreading across most of his body before hiding itself beneath his bandages.
Then, Danzo sat up and called out in a low voice.
"Someone."
A figure flashed into existence in the empty space, kneeling on the floor behind a mask in a respectful posture.
"Danzo-sama."
"Spread the word in Konoha. Say that..."
Danzo briefly issued his orders.
Once the Root ninja had left, he lay back down and fell into a coma again.
It was as if his moment of lucidity had never existed.
A rumor began to circulate quietly among the civilians of Konoha.
The incident where the White Fang abandoned his mission, which had caused such a stir recently, had a new development.
It was said that the White Fang deeply regretted his actions and, to show his remorse, had attempted to take his own life to atone for his sins.
At first, the people were skeptical, as this was an outcome they had never dared to imagine.
But with a little inquiry, they learned that someone had indeed brought a blood-soaked Sakumo Hatake to the hospital in the middle of the night.
He was still lying in the intensive care unit, having not yet regained consciousness.
"So, did we kill him?"
"Were we too harsh...?"
Someone eventually raised the question.
But soon, many others stood up to proclaim the "justice" of their massive condemnation.
"If we were wrong, why would the Hokage order the Police Force to release the person he saved?"
"If everyone was not right, why would the White Fang choose to atone with his life?"
"If you ask me, we won!"
"We fought against a high-ranking shinobi who did wrong, and in the end, we made him admit his mistake!"
"Yes, we were not wrong!"
"It turns out everyone's voice is important. As long as we all loudly rebuke someone, we can make them realize they are wrong!"
Countless seeds were planted in their hearts, nourished by drops of malice and darkness, waiting for the day they would break through the soil.
Once the "righteousness" of their actions was acknowledged, the narrative of the White Fang's suicide became the absolute truth.
Even many low-ranking shinobi from civilian backgrounds began to believe that he had indeed admitted his fault and sought death.
Even if someone felt the facts were otherwise, they couldn't produce any evidence to the contrary.
Besides those involved, only a handful of Anbu knew what had actually happened that night.
Without the Hokage's orders, they could not disclose top-secret information that had been officially sealed.
As for the medical ninja who participated in the rescue, by the time they realized what was happening and wanted to speak up for Sakumo, it was too late.
Their faint explanations were drowned out by the irrational, surging tide of public opinion.
Hiruzen Sarutobi guessed the culprit behind the rumors as soon as he received the report.
He sent people to confirm the situation, but the medical staff reported there were no signs of Sakumo waking up.
"Perhaps it was a contingency plan," he thought.
Actually, this was also beneficial in a way.
It could cover up the truth to a certain extent, shifting all blame so that the incident became a suicide.
It would also deeply instill the values of "the mission is everything" and "prioritizing the village's interests" in the hearts of every low-ranking ninja.
Furthermore, he harbored some resentment toward Sakumo Hatake's actions that night.
Why couldn't he have discussed things properly with the Hokage instead of choosing a lose-lose situation?
The village had lost a massive amount of combat power for nothing.
The state of the shinobi world had been unfavorable in recent years, and this only made things worse.
So, he merely issued a symbolic order for people to stop discussing it, letting the matter rest there.
Public opinion was temporarily suppressed, but the facts were never clarified.
This stigma would be Sakumo Hatake's punishment.
Two days after that night, Naraku's body finally recovered enough for him to regain consciousness.
During this time, the animator had updated an episode about Kakashi's experiences in Tanzaku Gai.
Naraku watched it in his mental space, but nothing special had occurred.
After leaving Konoha, Kakashi's mental state had visibly improved.
The more this was the case, the more Naraku worried that the boy wouldn't be able to accept the current situation upon his return.
On the third day, Naraku was finally able to open his eyes.
The first thing he did was remove his oxygen mask and sit up.
He tore off the obstructive wires and sensors from his body and staggered to the adjacent bed.
Sakumo lay there quietly, still showing no signs of waking up.
"Wait! You can't get out of bed yet!"
The supervising nurse quickly came in to stop him, forcing him to lie back down as she reattached the equipment.
"Master... how is he?"
Having not eaten or drunk for a long time, combined with his previous burns, Naraku's voice sounded hoarse.
"Don't worry," the nurse said, tucking in his blanket to comfort him. "Lady Tsunade will find a way."
After speaking, she went to find Tsunade, as she had been instructed to report immediately if either patient woke up.
"The kid's awake?"
Tsunade pushed the door open, saw Naraku was conscious, and gave him a cursory check-up.
"Besides the bloodline limit sickness, everything else is just superficial. Get some rest."
"Lady Tsunade, Master... he—"
"Aside from not being able to wake up for now, he's fine."
Tsunade then walked to Sakumo's bedside, checking various data and making notes in the medical record.
The situation was much trickier than expected.
Sakumo's vitals were slowly recovering, but there were no signs of consciousness returning, and his brain activity was gradually weakening.
If this continued, his body would become an empty shell without a soul.
Tsunade didn't reveal this; the Uchiha kid had already suffered enough.
Moreover, there was Kakashi to consider.
As for the rumors circulating among the civilians and low-ranking ninja, Tsunade had been too busy to even have a drink.
No one would dare gossip in front of her, so she was completely unaware of the narrative.
The only sounds in the room were the steady beep of the monitors and the rustling of a pen on paper.
"Is it because of me...? Because I'm an Uchiha...?"
Hearing the faint murmur behind her, Tsunade's writing paused.
She continued as if nothing had happened, pretending to be impatient to interrupt him.
"Don't think too much, kid. It has nothing to do with you."
When she didn't hear him speak again, Tsunade turned to look and found that Naraku had fallen back asleep.
He was still too severely injured to stay awake for long.
"Seriously, they're all so troublesome!"
Tsunade complained in a low, exasperated voice, tossing the medical record onto the soft blanket.
She stood with one hand on her hip, the other pointing at the oblivious Sakumo.
Her voice remained a whisper, but her tone was extremely agitated.
"Why do I have to clean up the mess you left behind?"
"I haven't been to the gambling dens in a week!"
"How the hell are you going to compensate me for this stress?!"
Kakashi stayed outside Konoha for three or four days.
Most of the time was spent traveling, but the absence of gossip had lightened his mood.
As he neared the village, he reconfirmed that the souvenirs he bought for Naraku and his father were safe.
He unconsciously quickened his pace.
The weather was poor today; it looked like rain would fall after sunset.
He managed to enter Konoha's gate just before dark.
He had been nervous, worried the villagers were still talking about his father, but as he walked the streets, he heard nothing of the old rumors.
Indeed, as his father had said, everyone had lost interest.
"That's great."
Kakashi's steps became lighter.
When he reached home, he found it empty, the bedding in the bedroom left unmade.
He assumed his father was at the hospital taking care of Naraku and hadn't had time to tidy up.
He decided to shower first to wash off the dust and sweat before visiting the hospital.
After a cold shower and a change of clothes, Kakashi packed the souvenirs in his bag and left the house.
The sky was dark, and the evening wind carried a chill that stole away the last bits of warmth.
Passing a small shop, he looked at the steaming dango and debated buying a few skewers to take with him.
Two villagers carrying supplies were chatting as they passed him.
"Did you hear? About the White Fang?"
"Mmm, yes, I know. It's because he abandoned the mission, right...?"
Kakashi's mood plummeted instantly.
He thought, "Here we go again. They still won't let it go."
When would it ever end?
"Not that," the first villager said.
The man subtly glanced over, making eye contact with Kakashi through the distorted reflection in a metal sign.
A faint red light flashed briefly in the man's eyes.
After that illusory glance, he leaned in conspiratorially toward his companion.
"I heard that the White Fang committed suicide out of guilt."
"What are they saying?" Kakashi thought.
He stared at the ground, unaware that he was trembling.
The other person's voice continued, sounding distant yet as if they were speaking right into his ear.
"The mistake he made was simply too severe. For a shinobi to abandon a mission just to save someone..."
"They say he's still in the ICU... and won't wake up..."
"What exactly are they saying?"
"If you ask me, he shouldn't have gone to save that Uchiha in the first place."
"He was already a failure... and he implicated the White Fang..."
"Exactly. It's all that Uchiha's fault. It was all for him..."
Each sentence was like a demonic whisper piercing his ears and shaking his consciousness.
"What suicide...? What Uchiha...?"
Just as his reason was about to snap, Kakashi suddenly blinked.
There was no one around him.
In front of him, the freshly made dango was still steaming.
Cold sweat dripped from his forehead.
In a daze, he felt as if he had forgotten something, but he couldn't recall what.
Subconsciously, he turned and ran toward the hospital.
Deep underground.
Black Zetsu removed a Sharingan from the socket of the White Zetsu it had possessed.
It stored the eye within its body, feeling slightly puzzled.
It had successfully placed Kakashi Hatake under a genjutsu, but the boy's resistance was high.
Either that, or there was a seal within him; regardless, the genjutsu had slipped from the creature's control.
Though the jutsu was still active on Kakashi, even Black Zetsu didn't know what the final effect would be.
"I have to go and see."
In the intensive care unit.
Naraku was sitting by the bed, talking to the unconscious Sakumo.
Hurried footsteps sounded at the door, and Kakashi burst in.
He was gasping for air, his eyes lifeless as he looked at his father.
Tears welled up in his eyes as his entire body trembled with grief.
He opened his mouth several times, but the words caught in his throat.
"Fa... Father..."
This was the hero he had been proud of for as long as he could remember.
Konoha's sharpest White Fang, a mountain enemies could never scale.
His sun lay there, barely kept alive by machines.
The sound of the equipment felt like a hammer striking his heart, each beat leaving him more broken.
Intense pain assaulted Kakashi's nerves, leaving him bewildered.
His soul retreated to the deepest part of his mind, leaving his body to be controlled by instinct.
To prevent Black Zetsu from harming Sakumo, Naraku had kept his sensory ninjutsu active since waking up.
At this moment, he sensed an abnormality in Kakashi's chakra flow.
The anomaly was subtle and faint.
If he hadn't upgraded his perception, he might not have noticed it.
"Kakashi!"
Naraku stood up and grabbed Kakashi, intending to help him dispel the genjutsu.
Unexpectedly, Kakashi shook off his hand and stepped back.
"Naraku... why is it like this...?"
"I..."
Sensing the edge in Kakashi's tone, Naraku was about to explain when he felt a faint, unfamiliar chakra enter the room.
But there were only the two of them there.
Between the genjutsu on Kakashi and this presence that could hide itself right under his nose, Naraku realized the truth.
"It's you again, Black Zetsu!"
However, this time his upgraded senses could detect a sliver of the creature's aura.
Naraku looked at Kakashi, whose expression of sorrow and indignation carried a hint of internal conflict.
"Fine. So you want Kakashi to break ties with me?"
"What could be a greater blow than his closest friend believing I caused his father's death?"
Naraku gave up the idea of dispelling the genjutsu in front of Black Zetsu.
If he didn't let the creature have its way, it might try to assassinate Kakashi next.
He slowly lowered his head, pressing his lips together in silence.
"I'm asking you why! My father...!"
Kakashi spoke against his own will.
But seeing Naraku's face—even paler than when he had left—his heart ached.
"How could I ask such a thing?"
"Am I... blaming Naraku?"
"It's not Naraku's fault!"
Then he heard his own voice again, but it sounded alien, like another person entirely.
[Whose fault should it be?]
Kakashi looked at his father again, his eyes filled with confusion and bitterness.
His father had told him to cherish his comrades' lives before he left the village.
But when he returned, his father had tried to take his own life because of that very belief.
"So, was my father wrong?"
"Did he admit that comrades being more important than the mission was a mistake?"
The voice in his mind gently enveloped him, repeating the thought.
[Yes. He proved it with his life.]
"No, it's not like that—"
Kakashi shook his head, retreating step by step as his mind collapsed under the weight of this "truth."
He turned and ran out of the room.
"Kakashi!"
Naraku forced himself to chase after him, terrified of what might happen.