To outsiders, this Sealing Jutsu array was the culmination of Naraku's months of painstaking effort, a miracle achieved through the unwavering persistence and sheer luck of a short-lived Uchiha genius who refused to give up.
In reality, Naraku did work hard, but not to the extreme extent they imagined.
Whenever he encountered a difficulty that couldn't be resolved quickly, he would spend popularity points to use Pseudo-Izanagi: Time Reversal Modification, wishing for himself to reach a future where he had overcome that obstacle.
By continuously using this cheat, his research progressed at an incredible speed, compressing what should have been nearly a decade's worth of work into just three months, completing this almost impossible array.
"Alright," Orochimaru said, putting down his notebook. As he walked out the door, he looked back at Naraku again. "We agreed that if you completed the Sealing Jutsu, you would come here to help me."
Naraku bowed in response: "Yes."
Working in Orochimaru's laboratory wasn't a bad thing.
When the Third Great Ninja War began, Orochimaru would surely be deployed to the front lines, and he would likely be left behind by Fugaku to guard the Uchiha Clan Compound, unable to go to the battlefield. At that time, a significant portion of the experiments would fall into his hands to continue.
He only needed to find some opportunities, increase the probability, and he could legitimately create several BUG-level skills for himself in the laboratory.
In the animator's eyes, all these Ninjutsu were scientific achievements. They would only think he had incredibly good luck and talent, and wouldn't find anything amiss... Naraku packed up his things, took off his lab coat, and left the research base. He found Kakashi to have dinner at Mikoto's place, and even played with Itachi for a while, listening to him babble in a childish voice, unsure if he was calling for Mama or Papa.
After returning home, showering, and lying in bed, this busy day finally came to an end.
Yawning, Naraku had just closed his eyes to sleep when he heard a long string of "ding ding ding ding ding" notification sounds in his mind, reminding him that the animator had updated again.
"Alright, I'll watch it then sleep."
Opening the animation website and entering the directory, the animator had updated several episodes in one go.
Actually, that wasn't quite accurate; it was more like Naraku, guided by the system, had directly jumped to the present world where the naruto III anime was updated to its latest episode.
Continuing from the previous progress, sure enough, the animator focused mainly on Minato and Kakashi. Naraku would likely only get some screen time when he met these two or when his condition changed.
After all, Kakashi was on a male lead's growth arc, while he had been recuperating.
—
After the Uchiha reform incident concluded, the next episode started directly from the graduation ceremony, spending about half an episode showing Obito's entire graduation ceremony, including the part where he waited for Kakashi and Naraku at the school gate.
[He really looks like a child eagerly rushing his parents to come see him get an award, hahaha]
[Obito's Uchiha tsundere attribute has fully awakened]
[Tsundere is super good!]
[Uncle Dai is doing horse stance?! Who is he trying to outdo, oh my god]
[This is the youthful Ninja Way!]
[Baby Obito has finally shed his dead last title and become an excellent student!]
[He already unlocked his One-Tomoe, there's no way he's still the dead last]
[Do you understand the value of the Uchiha Sharingan?]
[Is Naraku asleep listening to this?]
[Kakashi doesn't even dare to move, he loves him too much]
[So even a good boy like Naraku doesn't like listening to long speeches]
[Then I think it's understandable that I fell asleep standing during the all-school assembly. Why did the teacher punish me with a self-reflection essay?]
[Upfront, you're not that legendary figure from my school who stood asleep on the stage for the entire assembly, receiving two hours of focused stares from all the teachers and students, are you?]
[Good heavens, truly a divine person!]
The ceremony ended, and the graduates returned to their classrooms to await their homeroom teacher's announcement of team assignments.
Obito, hearing he was on a team with Rin, cheered excitedly and dragged her along. When they arrived, he was dumbfounded; his teammate was actually Kakashi.
Minato appeared before the three using Flying Thunder God. After explaining why the school made such arrangements, he pulled out two bells from his pocket, which were very familiar to the audience.
This episode ended here, and the great bell-snatching battle would officially begin in the next episode.
After a whole afternoon and multiple skirmishes, the three young Ninja lay on the ground in various postures, unable to get up, having not even touched a single corner of their teacher's clothes throughout the entire process.
However, their outstanding perseverance and gradually growing rapport still made Minato very satisfied.
Especially Kakashi; Minato had initially thought that having no fixed teammates for a long time and experiencing so many changes would make his actions more independent, but he quickly adapted to Obito and Rin's rhythm.
— I underestimated Kakashi.
— He has always been a very smart and considerate child.
Minato silently reflected on himself, but his smile grew even wider.
It was not in vain that he had specifically applied to Hokage-sama to be assigned to this squad as their guiding Jonin, in order to look after him.
With a little training, a rough stone could transform into a flawless jade.
[I knew it; as soon as Obito and Rin's teammate didn't show up, I guessed it]
[Kakashi: Are you looking down on me now?]
[So from now on, Kakashi can't team up with Naraku anymore? I thought they would always be together...]
[Nooo, why is kakashi being split up again, boo hoo hoo hoo]
[There's nothing we can do, Naraku isn't well right now, so he can't go on missions with Kakashi]
[The bell-snatching battle, passed down through generations]
[Flying Thunder God is too much of a BUG, you can't even touch his clothes]
[I'm crying, Kakashi is truly so, so good]
[Minato is also so good; throughout Konoha, only he and Kushina are good to Kakashi]
[Add Jiraiya too]
By the time the first day of training ended, the sun had already set, and night gradually unfolded. A few scattered stars hung in the sky, winking as they saw the group home.
Kakashi, dragging his sore body, returned to his residence. Pushing open the door, he smelled the fresh and rich aroma of dinner. Seeing Naraku still busy in the kitchen, his eyes, dimmed by fatigue, immediately lit up.
The light hit his dark eyes, brewing into a warm, flowing glow that shimmered and burned in his gaze.
"I'm home."
"Welcome home, Kakashi."
Kakashi casually placed his cherished ninja sword by the entrance, took off his shoes, washed his hands, and was about to eat, but Naraku pushed him towards the bathroom, not allowing him to eat until he had showered.
While Kakashi was washing up, Naraku retrieved the sword from the entrance, carefully wiped it with a clean towel, and neatly placed it on the sword rack, alongside the pristine new sword.
[Wait, this isn't the way to the Hatake Household!]
[Why is Kakashi in the Uchiha territory? Masaka?!]
[Holy crap! Kakashi is living with Naraku in the Uchiha Clan Compound? You two, this, this, this...]
[Roughly speaking, they're already married]
[I'm not lying, I think I just saw a husband coming home from work and his virtuous, home-loving wife]
[The person before me, you're not alone]
[Ten-year-old old married couple (solemnly swear.jpg)]
[Is this right? This isn't right!]
[Actually, it's quite reasonable. Given Naraku's condition, Mikoto would definitely want to keep a close eye on him, so Kakashi could only come over]
[That's the logic... but the sense of déjà vu is too strong (covers face)]
[It's over, Naraku is too much of a devoted wife, he's destined to be a bottom for life]
[Ignorant, devoted wife 1 is very appealing, okay!]
[To each his own, to each his own]
[Ah ah ah ah ah, it's Naraku's ninja sword!]
[Even their swords are together, I'd like to see who can shake the status of our kakashi pairing!]
This episode ended with the heartwarming scene of the two young Ninja eating dinner together. Even as the ending song began to play, the audience hadn't recovered from the huge shock, wildly devouring the sweetness provided by the animator.
[It feels like a dream]
[This sweetness is so cloyingly sweet]
[Our Sister Kanai seems to be eating too well this episode, I'm scared]
[What's there to be scared of! Eat!]
[Live for today! Who cares about heartbreak tomorrow!]
[The main point is to enjoy the moment]
—
With the barrage of comments running wild, Naraku felt that his image as a beautiful, strong, and tragic character might be a bit distorted in the audience's minds...?
He reached out and touched his slightly flushed face, thinking it was all the animator's fault, cutting in all sorts of random scenes and using such strange filters.
But it was fine; as long as he had the chance later, he could still salvage his cool image.
—
Continuing to watch, after a chapter and a half of adjustment, the young Ninja of Minato Squad became increasingly harmonious, finally looking like true companions, and many tactics could be coordinated with tacit understanding.
In the latter half of the second episode, Minato took them on a D-rank mission for evaluation. The completion was quite good, but he also noticed that Kakashi seemed a bit distracted.
Although it didn't affect the mission, Minato still felt they needed to talk.
After announcing their dismissal, Obito and Rin left separately. Kakashi, who was left behind, knew he couldn't hide it from Minato, so he simply took the initiative to explain.
"I just... remembered doing similar missions with Naraku before."
"I'm sorry, Minato-sensei."
"I'll adjust as quickly as possible."
Kakashi lowered his head, staring at the small green grass at his feet.
This blade of grass had landed in a poor spot, wedged between two stones, yet even so, it stubbornly took root and sprouted, determined to survive.
Now, its green leaves swayed in the wind, welcoming the spring that belonged to all living things.
— Will Naraku also live on stubbornly, like it?
Minato didn't say much, patting Kakashi's shoulder reassuringly.
[Endless bridges to repair, endless roads to mend, endless cats to catch, endless wild boars to kill]
[Genin beginner's starter pack]
[Kakashi seems to be spacing out?]
[It turns out he was thinking of Naraku... Indeed, they haven't fought side-by-side in a very, very long time]
[So heartbreaking, boo hoo hoo hoo... Kakashi has already realized Naraku's time is running out...]
[Unless a miracle happens]
[Spring is inherently a miracle of life]
[The resilience of wild grass is beyond imagination. I hope Naraku can also be as vibrant as wild grass]
—
Naraku sighed deeply.
From the moment "Ashes" appeared, he had no way of turning back.
— However... looking at Kakashi's slightly melancholic brows in the screen, Naraku whispered softly.
— I will try my best to stay with you for a while longer, Kakashi.