Chapter 231 : "So you can feel it too, Kakashi."
The camera returns to the south.
Reinforcements had not yet arrived, but Shukaku's Tailed Beast Ball was almost ready, and the surroundings fell into a deathly silence.
The setting sun dragged the afterglow, gradually sinking into the earth, its remaining light reflected in Naraku's blurry eyes, smudging into specks of soft radiance.
The harmonious flow of flute and zither quietly streamed, like wind and rain, seemingly narrating a longing etched into the bones.
As the angle shifted, the camera was blocked by Inuzuka Tsume's back and turned black; after moving around to the other side, it suddenly arrived at the Konoha-Iwagakure front line.
Dusk spread from the western horizon, and the clouds in the sky seemed to undergo a grand burning, with firelight permeating half the firmament.
Kakashi stood on a branch spanning mid-air at the top of a giant tree, gazing intently at the setting sun, warm afterglow scattering on his silver-white short hair, reflecting fragmented golden light.
The pottery shard on his chest swayed slightly in the wind, every etched line filled with the sunset.
Two people, a thousand miles apart, were at this very moment gazing at the same sun.
[BGM: What are you trying to do?!]
[The sun has set, the flowers should also fall.]
[Oh my god... Kakashi is also watching the sunset... (ㄒoㄒ)]
[I've breathed the same evening breeze as you, so don't we count as embracing?]
[Kakashi must have sensed something in the dark, right?]
[They didn't even get to see each other one last time...]
[Wah wah wah wah wah wah wah ah (Spiral Crying.jpg)]
[Stabbing Sister Kanai's heart...]
[I'm crying so hard I can't breathe, woo woo woo woo woo woo]
—
"He really is watching."
Naraku stared at the screen, only feeling as if wild grass had broken through the soil in his chest, rapidly growing wild until it filled his internal organs, then broke through the confines of flesh and blood, rushing out of his body, winding into all his limbs and bones.
The soft tendrils of the grass vines wrapped around his wrist, controlling his right hand to reach forward and gently touch Kakashi's flowing hair on the screen with his fingertips.
"So you can feel it too."
"Kakashi."
—
"It's alright now."
In the animation, Naraku's soft murmur was scattered by the night wind, and a grand, surging clamor approached from afar, sounding like countless people shouting with all their might.
At one point, this sound seemed to break through a barrier, suddenly becoming clear.
Inuzuka Tsume heard every word and every syllable that reached her ears, and her eyes involuntarily grew hot; she lowered her head and bit her lip hard, barely preventing hot tears from sliding down the corners of her eyes.
The camera zoomed out, and the audience saw the Konoha Ninja who had come to reinforce, grouped together like a tide surging from both sides of the ridge, their eyes burning with the fire of revenge.
This fresh force crushed over the scorched earth, crashing into the hill occupied by Sunagakure; for a moment, blood splattered, and shouts of killing filled the fields.
[They're finally here, woo woo woo woo]
[Listen, behind you is the call of the entire Konoha Village!]
[Tears gushed out the moment I saw everyone rush out!]
[How many names of those who won't return are hidden in these shouts of battle?]
[The sun has set? It doesn't matter, our anger is the second sun!]
[As long as such fervent emotions exist, Konoha's green will never wither!]
The long-suppressed audience finally saw hope, especially when they saw Shukaku and its Tailed Beast Ball taken care of by one of Kushina's Chakra rays; the bullet comments completely erupted into a frenzy.
[It's Kushina! We're saved!]
[Kushina in a Ninja vest is really cool! Heroic and spirited!]
[It's stable, this is stable!]
[Nine-Tailed: You're amazing, you're aloof, you hit Shukaku using my Chakra!]
The mountaintop became a safe rear, and Naraku wanted Inuzuka Tsume to take out the talisman from her bag, but another long-haired figure came to his side, performing the healing with the talisman.
Naraku realized who the newcomer was and with difficulty turned his head to look at them, but forgot that he couldn't see anything clearly at all.
A farewell letter on a low table flashed across the screen, along with his guilty monologue.
--She must be angry, right...?
But the imagined reprimand did not materialize; instead, there was a warm, soft embrace, and a heartache so palpable in her words it seemed to solidify.
Drops of water fell one by one onto his face, and Naraku slowly widened his eyes, as if seeing a mother he had never met.
--So she won't blame me...--Mom...[It must be Mikoto who rushed over.]
[I'll never be able to see Mom's face clearly again, woo woo woo.]
[The creases on the farewell letter are all unspoken apologies!]
[So Naraku misses his mom too...]
[If Kako in heaven saw all this, her heart would ache to death!]
[Those who truly care about you won't blame you; they'll only worry about how you're doing.]
[A father's embrace is sunshine and wind, so what about a mother? A mother's embrace is tears and love.]
Only for a brief moment of blurriness, pain brought Naraku back from his daze.
Blood overflowed from his mouth, staining his comfort and apology to Mikoto with a sweet, metallic taste in his breath.
He stubbornly refused to fall asleep until Mikoto promised not to tell Kakashi everything; only then did weariness overcome his wavering will, allowing his body to rest.
[When will Naraku stop blaming himself?]
[Probably until the moment of death.]
[Why won't you tell Kakashi? (╥﹏╥)]
[No, no, no, how will Kakashi accept this when he returns from the battlefield (crying)]
[Kakashi will regret it his whole life, woo woo woo.]
Minato's Shadow Clone came to assist Kushina, and upon seeing her pinning Shukaku to the ground and rubbing him, he felt as if he wasn't really needed.
"Kushina...?"
"I don't need help here!"
Kushina raised her Chakra-formed fist and slammed it hard into Shukaku's jaw, forcing it to close its gaping mouth that was about to fire a Tailed Beast Ball.
"Minato, go check the back later! There..." She paused, unable to bring herself to say it directly, "The situation there isn't good!"
After a chaotic battle, Minato confirmed that Sunagakure had lost the ability to counterattack, and he hurried through the crowd to the rear of the front line.
Seeing the young man on the brink of death in Mikoto's arms, he finally cut off the last shred of hope—perhaps that white Susanoo wasn't Naraku after all?
But reality told him to stop holding onto self-deceiving fantasies.
--How could Naraku be moving with the reconnaissance squad...?--Without Hokage-sama's command, there's no way he could appear here.
Minato clenched his fist and quickly released it, suppressing all his conjectures deep in his heart.
"How is he?"
"He's still alive."
Mikoto answered concisely, her arms tightly embracing Naraku's shoulders, wanting to make him a little warmer.
"Oh, and Minato, when you go back over there..." She hesitated, but still decided to respect Naraku's wishes, "Don't tell Kakashi about this."
"...I understand." Minato nodded.
[So even Minato didn't want to believe Naraku was on the battlefield.]
[Please, please tell Kakashi... he's already sensing it, woo woo woo woo]
[With so many people here, how can it be kept a secret? Kakashi will find out sooner or later, what then?]
[I was wrong, now it seems more likely that Kakashi will turn into a yandere male ghost.]
[Luckily Uncle Dai didn't come over, otherwise wouldn't he have opened all Eight Gates on the spot?]