Naraku dragged his injured body over to Fugaku, and the two conversed for an hour or two.
It wasn't until Naraku's face turned alarmingly pale that Fugaku snapped out of his joy.
He had just been thinking, "The Uchiha Clan has really found a treasure," when he remembered that the boy was still seriously injured and had not yet recovered.
"I'll have someone take you back to the hospital right away."
Fugaku called for a clansman from outside, instructing him to take Naraku back to the hospital to rest.
He then dressed and headed to the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters to prepare for the morning meeting with all the members.
It happened to be Uchiha Fūyō who arrived.
Seeing that Naraku's lips had lost all color, he frowned deeply.
Ignoring Naraku's protests, he picked him up in a bridal carry and used the Body Flicker Technique to rush toward the hospital.
"You're truly reckless. If such a deep wound reopens, do you want to go back into the operating room?"
"It would be too late if I waited until dawn," Naraku mumbled.
He lowered the hands that had been covering his face out of embarrassment.
He turned his head to look at the ground, which seemed to blur, alternately appearing near and far.
The cool night breeze gently brushed past his ears, stirring Naraku's soft hair as if trying to carry away his worries.
Uchiha Fūyō looked down at the young man in his arms, who was hailed as the Uchiha Clan's greatest genius.
Even without seeing his expression, he knew that many things weighed heavily on the boy's mind.
However, when they arrived back at the hospital, Naraku saw a silver-haired boy standing in the lobby, anxiously questioning a nurse.
He immediately jumped out of Uchiha Fūyō's arms like a startled rabbit.
He timidly approached the other boy, exuding an aura of guilt and an eagerness to please.
He had completely lost the melancholic and pensive demeanor he had possessed just moments before.
"U-chi-ha Na-ra-ku!"
Kakashi tilted his head slightly, looking down at the patient who had run off in the middle of the night for who knows what reason.
His voice wasn't loud, but it was enough to make Naraku hunch his shoulders, not daring to utter a single word.
He was obediently led upstairs to the second floor, only managing to cautiously wave goodbye to Uchiha Fūyō from the stairwell.
Naraku had no choice but to be timid.
Looking at Kakashi's angry expression, one might think that if he had been born into the Uchiha Clan, he probably would have awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan by now.
"Do you even know how serious your wound is? If it tears again, you'll be in the Pure Land in a matter of minutes!"
"I'm sorry~"
"Hmph! I don't think you're reflecting at all!"
"I am reflecting, I really am..."
Dawn had broken, and the villagers of Konoha felt that the number of Uchiha in the Police Force seemed to have increased.
They patrolled the streets everywhere, and the atmosphere was frighteningly tense.
If anyone gathered to chat, the police would quickly arrive and arrest the ringleader, completely ignoring the complaints and protests of those around them.
Their assertiveness was no less than usual.
"What's wrong? I can't even say a few words here?!"
"Exactly, does your Uchiha Police Force control everything, even chatting?"
"You're abusing your authority! I'm going to complain about you to the Hokage!"
The officers had heard countless such remarks.
They knew these people had ill intentions, but they didn't know how to refute them, so they could only silently make arrests.
But soon, the Uchiha on the front lines received several notes.
They detailed how to respond to the villagers' questions, whether it was patiently explaining the reasons or publicly announcing charges like "spreading rumors."
Everything was written clearly and systematically.
When they followed Fugaku's orders and acted according to the reminders on the notes, they saw the villagers turn either sullen or thoughtful.
A sense of triumphant satisfaction welled up within the officers.
It turned out that confronting these people with words was such a satisfying thing to do!
As the arrests proceeded, and with the loss of the few agitators, Konoha's once-boiling public opinion gradually cooled and subsided.
Although these rumors had damaged Sakumo's image in the villagers' minds, the situation was not yet critical.
After all, the matter had never been officially concluded.
As long as timely refutations were made later, the negative impact could still be mitigated.
After another day, not only did the Hokage Building show no signs of addressing the chaotic public opinion, but a document also arrived.
It ordered Fugaku to release the villagers arrested by the Police Force.
The reason given was that they had unjustly arrested people and incited public outrage, causing numerous complaints to pile up on the Hokage's desk.
The Hokage, in his busy schedule, had inquired about the matter and deemed the punishment too severe.
Therefore, he ordered the Police Force to immediately release the people.
He further ordered a deeper investigation into the masterminds, with the Anbu taking full responsibility.
Upon receiving the news sent by Fugaku, Naraku almost let out a cold laugh.
Indeed, he shouldn't have held much hope for Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Even after the Police Force had stated the crimes these people committed, he didn't even bother to conceal his blatant favoritism.
Investigate?
He could investigate for ten years and still wouldn't find Danzo Shimura!
Telling the Uchiha and Danzo Shimura to each let the matter rest... how was that any different from directly helping Danzo target the Uchiha?
Naraku wrote back to Fugaku, expressing his opposition to releasing the people.
He urged the Clan Head to carefully weigh the pros and cons and not to compromise easily.
But he also knew that Fugaku would likely eventually succumb to the pressure and release everyone.
Once these instigators returned to the village, the public sentiment, which had initially eased, would undoubtedly continue to ferment.
It would refuse to stop until their objective was achieved.
Naraku touched the wound on his abdomen, estimating how many popularity points he would need to heal quickly.
Kakashi walked into the ward and saw Naraku sitting on the bed, lost in thought.
He asked, "You look terrible. Is your wound still bothering you?"
"No." Naraku subconsciously smiled. "I was wondering where Sensei has been these past two days?"
Kakashi sat on the chair by the bed and replied, "Father received a reply from Lady Tsunade and has left the village to pick her up."
A rare silence fell between the two.
Kakashi hadn't told Naraku what had happened outside these past few days, but he felt Naraku must have heard something.
Otherwise, why did the Police Force start making arrests after Naraku went to the Uchiha Clan Compound that night?
"Naraku, tell me."
Kakashi looked down at his hands resting on his knees, never having found a question so difficult to ask.
"Why is this happening?"
Are missions more important than a comrade's life?
"I don't know, Kakashi. As someone saved by Sensei when he abandoned a mission, I feel any answer I give would be strange."
Naraku propped himself up on the edge of the bed, slowly moved closer to Kakashi, and spoke with an extremely serious expression.
"I only know one thing..."
"If you are in danger, I will save you no matter what."
"I will spare no cost, no matter the sacrifice."