In the next episode, as an additional condition for exchanging departmental allocations, "allowing intermarriage" also began to exert its power.
Previously, the Uchiha rarely intermarried with outside Ninja Clans, which led many Ninja Clans who felt kindly towards Uchiha members to back away early, and naturally, there would be no results.
Now it's better; everyone knows that the Uchiha have freedom in marriage, and everything can be discussed. Many budding affections began to sprout and grow, turning into ardent pursuits.
Many single Uchiha who were particularly handsome or beautiful became hot commodities, receiving a stack of love letters one after another just by walking on the street.
Among them were genuine and false intentions, and the mix of truth and falsehood was dizzying, causing many Uchiha to unanimously choose to reduce their time outside, staying at home and complaining to friends.
—
Watching the chaos that had lasted for five or six minutes from the beginning of this episode until now, Naraku touched his handsome face and felt that he had missed a lot by staying at home all these days.
He should have known to go out more; perhaps he could have appeared in this episode and gained some popularity points.
Speaking of which, who would be the lucky one to first win over an Uchiha?
—
Uchiha Karin, as one of the few Uchiha who, after graduating from the Ninja Academy, did not join the police force but instead spent years traveling and performing missions with her teammates, was rarely on vacation at home.
Early this morning, Karin had just finished washing up when she heard a knock at the door.
Opening the door, she saw her teammate, Aburame Tsuku, standing rigidly at the entrance, his hands hidden in his wide sleeves. Even through his sunglasses and high collar, she could see how flustered he was.
"Why are you here?"
"I, I came to, to..."
"Oh, for crying out loud." Karin clicked her tongue impatiently and said, "Why are you so wishy-washy? Speak quickly if you have something to say!"
Several Uchiha, watching the commotion, quietly poked their heads out, their gazes burning towards them.
Only Aburame Tsuku was left standing alone in the middle of the screen, with pairs of red eyes behind him, their fervent gazes almost solidifying.
Under the scorching gazes from behind, Aburame Tsuku's heart pounded like a drum, he was covered in sweat, and his body was so stiff he couldn't move, a hint of retreat involuntarily rising in his heart.
His inner monologue was also used by the unscrupulous animator and broadcast without any concealment.
--So, so many people...
--Should I spend more time building up to it?
--Or, at least find a place where we can be alone... [Oh oh oh oh new character get!]
[Why is this Aburame a stutterer?]
[Holy crap, that kid isn't here to confess, is he?!]
[Hey, hey, hey, you guys, how can you watch young people's confessions!...Take me with you!]
[It's over, a new beauty just appeared, and she's already getting a partner? (crying)]
A memory suddenly flashed across the screen.
Last night, he chatted with another teammate, Nagafuji Yuichi, over late-night snacks, and the subtle implication in Yuichi's words seemed to be that his family was urging him to quickly pursue an Uchiha.
[You know, Tsuku, my old man is anxious.]
[He said this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.]
[But if you think about it, he's not wrong...]
--No, if I drag this out, there will be complications!
--Who knows if that kid Nagafuji also likes Karin?
Aburame Tsuku suddenly sobered up, convinced that he absolutely could not delay any longer.
"Ka, Ka..."
--Damn it, why am I stuttering now!
--Just say it, mouth, quickly!!
Aburame Tsuku was anxious, and too nervous, so he couldn't speak clearly for a long time, which made the Uchiha also anxious, gritting their teeth one by one.
"Speak up, you good-for-nothing!"
"You're killing me!"
"How can you pursue little Karin if you can't even confess!"
The person in front of her couldn't string together a few words, and Karin was initially a bit impatient, but then she remembered that he was usually quite reliable and not someone who would come all this way just to play a trick on her.
So she asked curiously, "Are you possessed?"
That short sentence dealt critical damage, and Aburame Tsuku was on the verge of tears.
--Forget it! If I die, I die!!
He steeled himself, pulled out the tulip bouquet hidden in his sleeve, thrust it forward, closed his eyes, and shouted, throwing caution to the wind.
"Karin! I like you! Please go out with me!"
"From the first time I saw you, I liked you!"
"I think you're really, really great! Please consider my request!"
With each word Aburame Tsuku spoke, the audience could see Karin's face turn a shade redder, until finally, even her hair stood on end, and she glowed red as if she were fully ripe.
"I, Aburame Tsuku, swear that this life, I will—"
"What, what, what, what, what are you saying!!!"
Karin, finally reacting, shrieked, her mind blank. She couldn't even remember to cover her mouth, and frantically dragged this inappropriate live-in father inside the door.
She slammed the door shut with a "bang," blocking the curious and teasing gazes of her fellow clan members.
[Is this reasonable?! How can others not even beat a bug-controlling gu master! All useless! (pointing.jpg)]
[Laughing to death, a steel straight girl only thinks her teammate is possessed.]
[Uchiha: Good! Very spirited!!]
[Hahahahahaha, the big sister is visibly blushing.]
[The first one to dare confess to an Uchiha is actually an Aburame?! This really breaks stereotypes.]
[So brave!]
[Brother, you're awesome, you made the Uchiha girl break down directly.]
[The florist owner is quite good at choosing; tulips are for a clumsy but sincere confession, so fitting.]
[I think this couple has a chance.]
[No, I disagree!! (jealousy)]
Pulled inside the door, Aburame Tsuku held the bouquet in his hands, his heart still pounding.
His courage seemed to have been exhausted in those few words just now; at this moment, he stammered, unable to utter half a word.
Just as he was caught between a rock and a hard place, his sunglasses were suddenly removed, and a clear, bright scene burst into his eyes, including Uchiha Karin under the morning sun, so beautiful that he was lost in a daze.
"Look at me and say it again."
Karin looked him in the eye seriously, with an expression of seriousness Aburame Tsuku had never seen before.
Many people now coveted the Uchiha bloodline; she had to confirm whether his "liking" was truly pure.
"Tell me, are you sincere? Or do your Aburame want the Sharingan?"
Along with the three words "Sharingan" that pierced into Aburame Tsuku's heart, were a pair of scarlet eyes with a single tomoe.
"No!!!"
Aburame Tsuku, anxious, took a step forward, almost bumping into Karin's nose, the bouquet of tulips in his hand rustling as it swayed.
"I'm not! Even if Karin wasn't an Uchiha, without the Sharingan! I would still like you!"
"Everything I just said came from my personal will! It absolutely has nothing to do with the family!"
Seeing Karin seem to be stunned, he was afraid that the proud and sensitive Uchiha in front of him wouldn't believe him, so he gritted his teeth and made a decision that even he found quite radical.
"If you are willing to marry me, I can be adopted into your family!!!"
This loud shout echoed between the two, spilling out of the small courtyard, and even the neighbors eavesdropping over the wall couldn't help but exclaim how brave the young man was, willing to go to such lengths.
"Quiet down!! Idiot!!"
Karin punched Aburame Tsuku on the head, fuming, "Do you want all of Konoha to know?!"
Then she shouted towards the courtyard wall, "And you guys! As Uchiha, don't you feel ashamed to eavesdrop here?!"
The few people outside the courtyard flinched in fright and immediately scattered and fled.
"Oh, disperse, disperse..."
"Little Karin is angry, hehe."
"Let's get out of here."
[Oh my god, this is the legendary love filter!]
[Nonsense, Karin is naturally this beautiful!]
[Aburame Tsuku looks quite handsome without his sunglasses, his green eyes are so pretty.]
[Brother, you are really brave, so brave.]
[Aburame parents: My son went out this morning and got married off??]
[Bad news: Son eloped; Good news: Married an Uchiha.]
[Aburame parents: Then it's fine.]
[Karin: Keep your voice down! Is this glorious!!]
[Hahahahaha everyone is so cute.]
[They're like those mischievous kids near my house, always playing little pranks.]
After chasing away the neighbors, Karin looked at the trembling Aburame Tsuku and couldn't help but laugh, her hand continuously patting his shoulder.
"Hahahahahahaha... You, you're really quite clumsy... Hahahahaha..."
With that laugh, Aburame Tsuku, feeling even more uncertain, was almost in tears, wishing he could bury his head in his chest.
Then he felt his hand empty, and looking up, he saw that Karin had taken the bouquet and was deliberately waving it in front of him.
"I'll take the flowers for now."
Karin smiled at him, a hint of crimson still on her face, whether from laughing or embarrassment, he couldn't tell.
"Then, then we..."
Aburame Tsuku's eyes lit up, and he started to stutter again in his excitement.
"Hmph," Karin turned and walked into the house, inviting him in for breakfast, "As for the matter of being adopted into the family, we'll see how you perform in the future ~"
"Okay!"
—
Like the audience, Naraku, despite all his calculations, never expected that it would be an Aburame who took the lead, becoming the first person to successfully achieve a mutual relationship with an Uchiha after the reforms.
An Aburame and an Uchiha child, if they could inherit insect manipulation techniques and awaken the Sharingan, it would be really cool.
Naraku stroked his chin, deciding that after they got married and had children, he would try to use Pseudo-Izanagi: Time Reversal Modification to increase the child's awakening probability.
It would be really fun!
—
The scene shifted, and Karin and Tsuku, now a couple, frequently showed affection during missions without realizing it, making Nagafuji Yuichi sick of their public displays of affection, and he suddenly felt a bit of regret.
--Why did I meddle and provoke Aburame Tsuku, that blockhead, to confess to Karin?
--In the end, I'm the one suffering.
--Damn it! On the day you two get married, I'll eat a whole table by myself! I'll eat you both out of house and home!
The single dog roared in his heart with resentment.
[Nagafuji, I admit I misunderstood you, you're a true brother!]
[I also misunderstood Nagafuji, I thought there would be a dramatic love triangle.]
[Tsuku: You're not allowed to steal my wife; Yuichi:... (speechless)]
[Immeasurable merit, wingman brother!]
[We'll definitely set a separate table for you at the wedding.]
Further on, Hiruzen Sarutobi, seeing that he couldn't stop it, simply went with the flow, leveraging some goodwill for various Ninja Clans.
Thus, the Sarutobi Clan, unwilling to be outdone, joined forces with the Mitokado Clan and the Koharu Clan to join the ranks of those pursuing the Uchiha.
However, the results were minimal.
Every Uchiha disliked the family members of the Konoha F4, and would rather walk around them, leading to young people complaining bitterly about their clan leaders' past actions.
[Sarutobi: If you can't beat them, join them.]
[I guess no Uchiha would like that.]
[Only when retribution falls upon themselves do they feel the pain. Serves them right.]
[Shimura Clan: We are wronged! At the meeting, the Shimura were one of the clans who strongly agreed! Wuwuwu...]
[Don't cry, it's all debt left by your ancestors, hehe.]
At the end of the last episode, with two or three minutes remaining, it was finally time for the Uchiha who had gone to the Matsukata Family as guards to appear.
Even Matsukata Seigou, who was not a Ninja, could see that compared to the Rogue Ninja his family had gathered, the Uchiha, from a great Ninja Clan, were disciplined and appeared more elite.
He spoke with many probing questions, but Uchiha Fūyō, who was responsible for the handover, was impeccable, not revealing a single flaw.
[The difference between an elite army and a ragtag bunch.]
[To be honest, the quality of awakened Sharingan Uchiha is formidable throughout the entire Ninja World.]
[Good heavens, fourteen Uchiha?!]
[What kind of secret deal did Fugaku and Matsukata make? He's willing to part with this much?!]
[Did they guess it was Naraku after all?]
[The unspoken understanding between two smart people.]
[If Matsukata goes a step further, then the Uchiha would be... Hiss, I dare not imagine, I dare not imagine.]
[Uchiha: Your Majesty, it's cold, put on more clothes.]
[Matsukata: Alas, my dear minister has truly caused me much trouble.]
[I'm dying of laughter, what Chenqiao Mutiny.]
—
The latest episode ended, and Naraku checked his popularity points. As expected, the income was not as much as before, with only a meager ten to twenty thousand gained.
However, something is better than nothing.
He closed the website and scoured the forums.
Various prominent users' plot threads were predicting whether Iwagakure or Kumogakure would win, and the netizens below were arguing fiercely, roughly divided into Iwagakure and Kumogakure factions, neither side willing to concede to the other.
The fanfiction section was consistently active, providing him with much mental sustenance, leading him to read until the late hours of the night.
Naraku felt that he couldn't blame his lack of self-control for staying up late; the fanfiction section was simply too exciting.
Not only were there many new excellent fanfictions, but artists also flocked, producing exquisitely crafted and heartfelt secondary creations, fan art, and hand-drawn animations, making it impossible to look away.
Especially the artist named "Chub Mackerel," who enthusiastically fulfilled everyone's wish by drawing a high-definition image of Naraku as an adult, covered in sealing talismans.
With such technique and highlights, Naraku genuinely suspected that Chub Mackerel might have taken up some sideline studies during this period; otherwise, how could she draw something so indecent (but beautifully done)?
The netizens downstairs also treated each other like family, their underwear flying everywhere, splattering Naraku's face.
There was also a girl who said something like, "Despite my best efforts, I still made a mistake with adult Naraku," and other scandalous remarks, followed by dozens of replies like "It's human nature," "Not enough effort," "Not a mistake"... various popular memes that made him really struggle to keep a straight face, and the more he watched, the more hooked he became...