Before the emotions could fully spread, a second atmosphere-ruining character walked into the ward.
Tsunade picked Kakashi up like a chick and, after examining Naraku, severely lectured the three rascals. Finally, she forcefully demanded Naraku go to sleep immediately.
She even threatened that if Naraku dared to apologize, she would break Kakashi's leg.
The effect was quite obvious; the next second, Naraku was already lying down properly, zipping his mouth shut.
Kakashi watched Naraku act silly like he used to, a gentle light in his eyes, and a close-up of his face clearly showed the corners of his mouth curving slightly under his mask.
[Tsunade picking up Kakashi like a chick]
[As expected of Tsunade, she firmly grasped Naraku's biggest weakness]
[Kakashi:???]
[Naraku: Already obedient]
[It feels like it's been a long time since I've seen such a lively Naraku]
[Yes, it has been a very, very long time... everything has changed]
[It will get better if you two just coax each other a little; don't love each other too much]
There was still a little time left in this episode, and with a relatively cheerful BGM, several short clips played consecutively, with a calendar-like icon in the upper left corner, showing numbers being torn off page by page.
Naraku was approved by Tsunade, who held his medical record, to transfer to a regular ward, and he, Kakashi, and Kana celebrated with their hands raised high.
Shisui, Obito, and the other children came in carrying various generous gifts. In a flash, Naraku could only make a bitter face, holding a rice bowl and drinking porridge, while the gifts were thoroughly divided among them.
Immediately after, Fūyō came to visit and was also given a drumstick, having to sit and eat with a group of children, often being fed various small snacks.
Tsunade brought Shizune over. Upon opening the door, she saw a large group of children crowded in the ward, and surprisingly, there was even an adult Uchiha over twenty years old among them, helplessly watching Shizune also join the ranks of snack destroyers... [It's good to celebrate after recovering from a crisis]
[Now Kana is actually the most energetic one; Kushina really raised her well]
[But, hey, you guys should at least bring something the patient can eat!]
[Eating your own gifts is really too informal, hahahaha]
[Fūyō, you...]
[Reliable Big Brother (×) Immature Adult (√)]
[Shizune: I'm here to join this family~]
Amidst a warm and harmonious scene, this episode came to an end.
—
Naraku had the system tally his recent gains, and sure enough, he had earned a full amount of popularity points.
Previously, in order to make the appearance of "Jhin" reasonable enough to deceive the animators, he spent a lot of popularity points to create illusions in the spiritual world.
Buying the Bloodline Limit "Black Flame" and various powerful Ninjutsu for "Jhin" also cost a large sum.
Plus, using [Pseudo-Izanagi: Time Reversal Modification] to ensure only "Jhin" enjoyed Hashirama cells, and achieving various coincidences... his stored popularity points were depleted rapidly.
Now, these deficits have finally been replenished, with several tens of thousands more.
A full two hundred thousand popularity points, enough for him to "squander" for a long time to come.
With food in hand, Naraku hummed a tune and opened the remaining episodes.
As expected, the art style of these later episodes changed, abruptly switching from a microscopic narrative centered around the "protagonist group" to a grand narrative involving the entire Ninja World.
The animators seemed to feel that trouble was brewing and finally bothered to shift the camera outside Konoha, spending several episodes detailing the movements of the major Ninja Villages.
Since Danzo was summarily executed by Fugaku, Konoha and the Uchiha Clan temporarily kept to themselves, but the situation in the Ninja World became increasingly volatile, with undercurrents surging.
According to the anime's plot, during this period, every Ninja Village was restless, especially Kumogakure. Hearing about Konoha's debacle with Danzo, they caused trouble every few days.
Either they frequently provoked and repeatedly jumped around at the borders, or they used this opportunity to spread propaganda about Konoha's moral decay, thereby snatching Konoha's mission shares.
If it weren't for Sunagakure's even more outrageous actions, which caused Kumogakure to temporarily redirect its focus, Konoha would likely have started fighting with Kumogakure within a few months.
As for what happened in Sunagakure, it even silenced Naraku, who was watching the anime.
Leaving aside why Sasori wanted revenge and, upon finding that White Fang was "gone," decided to kill his own Kazekage, and leaving aside why the Third Kazekage could be killed one-on-one by a Sasori who was barely a teenager, just Sunagakure's actions after the Third Kazekage's disappearance were enough for the comments to complain for a day and a night.
The Village's leader mysteriously disappeared, and they responded by mobilizing the entire nation to search for him?
How is that any different from openly telling the entire Ninja World, "My boss is gone, come and attack me"?
Alright, alright, now Kumogakure is sharpening its blades, satisfied?
If it weren't for Rasa appearing in the last episode to temporarily bear the pressure and withstand Kumogakure's attack, Sunagakure would probably have been wiped out in one go.
Naraku: Subway old man phone.jpg
After finishing the anime, Naraku knew that the Third Great Ninja War was about to break out.
Several prominent figures in the forum also gathered in one thread, discussing for hundreds of replies, and finally, based on the various clues presented in the anime and their own strong theoretical knowledge, they largely guessed the general direction of the war.
Naraku: This is possible? Aren't you guys a bit too hardcore?
There wasn't much peaceful time left. He had to resolve the Uchiha problem before the Third Great Ninja War fully erupted... As Tsunade's student, Naraku was well aware of the criteria for discharge. As soon as he reached the standard, he completed the discharge procedures.
After agonizing for a long time between returning to the Hatake Household or Mikoto's house, Naraku ultimately decided to temporarily go back with Mikoto.
After all, he had promised to help with the children, and it wouldn't be good to go back on his word. Moreover, this would also make it convenient for him to intervene in Fugaku's subsequent actions at any time, preventing any unexpected troubles.
When Naraku was in a dilemma, Kakashi already knew what his decision would be, and his expression couldn't help but show a hint of disappointment.
The house was empty and too quiet; he didn't want to live alone.
But with Naraku in his current state, wouldn't he get better rest living in the Uchiha Clan Head's house?
Kakashi sighed almost imperceptibly.
This made Naraku feel inexplicably guilty. Just imagining how lonely Kakashi would be living alone at home made him want to go back on his word.
However, before he could even open his mouth, Mikoto had already started her act of feigned misery.
It was the same old trick she used to persuade Naraku, now applied to Kakashi. In addition, she also mentioned how good Sakumo and Fugaku's relationship used to be, describing it in the most flowery language.
Kakashi had never seen anything like this. His mind was so swayed that he couldn't think straight. Plus, he was truly worried about Naraku, so he vaguely accepted Mikoto's invitation and moved in as well.
Poor Uchiha Fugaku, a dignified radical Clan Head, thought he was going to be kicked out by his wife to "wander" again.
However, Mikoto had already made arrangements early on. In the Clan Head's residence, she had allocated a separate small courtyard for Naraku and Kakashi, separated from her side by only a wall.
If anything happened normally, they could hear each other by shouting from the courtyard...