"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.
This also meant that he still relied on Kakashi in his heart, rather than creating a shield to keep him out.
[Only when she saw Naraku wake up did Kana dare to cry.]
[Naraku's catchphrases: "It's all my fault," "It's all my mistake," "I'm sorry"…]
[Who will wake up this guy who only blames himself, boo hoo hoo hoo!]
[Actually, Kakashi probably wants to cry the most, but he doesn't dare to in front of Naraku.]
[When faced with an insoluble problem, Naraku's first reaction is to look at Kakashi. I'll take this candy.]
Sensing that the atmosphere between them was still off, Sister Kana directly chased Kakashi out and directly asked Naraku if they had argued back then.
Naraku was clearly terrified and pained by that memory, but he still answered the question, taking all the blame upon himself.
Even when Sister Kana mentioned Kakashi acting strangely, he only said that those accusations were deserved.
Sitting outside the door, Kakashi tightly gripped the lunchbox, his knuckles white from the force.
In the scene, sunset and rainy nights repeatedly intertwined; the originally happy Naraku was torn apart little by little, until only a silhouette crying softly in the heavy rain remained, with blood tears streaming down his face.
[Well done, Kana, someone has to force them to make up! You two mute gourds with mouths that don't speak!]
[I thought Kana would be more direct and let go of her concerns, but I didn't expect her to be this direct.]
[Even if someone asks him to open his wound, Naraku will endure the pain and obediently comply, then reflect on whether he made the other person unhappy… o(╥﹏╥)o]
[Every word is a dagger to Kakashi's heart, boo hoo hoo hoo!]
[Naraku originally thought he could be loved unconditionally T-T]
[But his master was harmed so badly because of him, and Kakashi also hated him. At that time, Naraku must have truly not wanted to live.]
[Even after all this, he still went to Tsunade to become her disciple, wanting to save Sakumo, instead of completely giving up.]
Sister Kana's slightly exasperated explanations came from the room, clarifying that Kakashi had been under genjutsu.
But Naraku's first reaction wasn't relief that Kakashi hadn't genuinely blamed him, but rather worry that Kakashi would suffer sequelae because of it, and in his urgency, his coughing grew louder and louder.
Kakashi muttered "idiot" and rushed into the Hospital room to pat Naraku's back, only to hear him apologize for having squeezed his wrist red.
[Kana! My reliable mouthpiece! Scold them both fiercely!]
[I guarantee that genjutsu was done by that prankster, Jin!]
[My baby! Just think about yourself for a moment!]
[Naraku's priority in his thought process: 1. Kakashi/Sakumo; 2. People who care about him; 3. …; n. Himself.]
[These words were truly critical hits for Kakashi, almost shattering him.]
[Because that idiot cares about you so much, Kakashi!]
Sister Kana ran off to find Tsunade, leaving only Naraku and Kakashi in the room.
Kakashi held Naraku in his arms almost reverently, apologizing to him, again and again.
And Naraku gently said it was okay; no matter how absurd the reason, as long as Kakashi said it, he would believe it and choose to forgive.
Even though there was no light in his eyes and he couldn't smile, the audience knew he was truly willing to forgive everything, needing no catharsis, no compensation.
"Kakashi is my close friend…"
[It's all my fault, okay, I'll kowtow to you two, just speak your true feelings! (Angry)]
[You've already hugged, can't you just kiss?]
[Another day of crying for kakashi, but today they made up, so I've decided to forgive the whole world.]
[What will happen later? If Old Thief really lets Naraku die of illness, won't Kakashi go crazy?]
[Don't be afraid, I bet Old Thief will give Naraku a cheat! Dying of illness is too cruel.]
[close friend is a lie for gay people.]
[MVP: Kana]
[When kakashi gets married, give Sister Kana her own table.]
—
Naraku rubbed his temples, his head aching from having been too professional back then.
If only he had been a little OOC then, look what he's done to Kakashi.
In the future, when giving the audience knives, he still needs to hide it from Kakashi, lest he gets hurt along with them.
—