Kakashi stood in the shadows of the bushes, suppressing the urge to reveal himself and stop Naraku.
If he showed himself now, everything he had done would be in vain.
But Naraku looked so cold... could someone please come and take him back?
He would fall ill if he stayed out there too long.
Kakashi tried to think of someone else, but he suddenly realized: who did Naraku have left to rely on besides him and his father?
He gripped the rough bark of the tree beside him, his heart a battlefield and his soul split in two.
One half screamed for him to go over, take his heartbroken friend home, and cook him a warm bowl of soup to ward off the chill.
The other half coldly warned him not to forget his father's condition—warned him not to let Naraku meet the same end.
As he struggled with himself, the boy on the riverbank finally stood up.
Naraku put on his shoes and socks and began the long walk back to the hospital.
The night was deep.
Naraku walked along the road, passing one dim streetlamp after another.
His figure flickered between light and shadow, looking thin and desperately lonely.
Kakashi watched him disappear into the distance, his own heart feeling empty, as if a jagged hole had been torn through it.
A cold wind whistled through that hollow void, tearing away at his spirit.
Naraku was scheduled to be discharged the next day.
He lay in his hospital bed, opened his system interface, and logged onto the streaming site.
The anime had updated with two episodes at once.
As soon as he clicked the play button, the screen was already buried under a mountain of bullet comments.
[High sweetness warning!]
[This episode is definitely sweet, guys.]
[Take my word for it, just watch it boldly.]
This unusual behavior made many viewers hesitate, but eventually, they bit the bullet and watched, praying that the plot wouldn't be too unbearable.
The story picked up from the previous episode.
Kakashi returned from Tanzaku Gai and entered Konoha under a sky heavy with dark clouds.
[It's over, the atmosphere is all wrong.]
[What good could happen in this kind of weather? kneels]
[Storytelling 101: this episode is doomed.]
With rain looming, Konoha was cold and quiet.
Kakashi encountered few pedestrians on the road.
Those he did see were in a hurry, scurrying past him without a word.
He returned to the empty Hatake household.
Finding no one home and seeing the unmade bed, he still didn't suspect the worst.
"Maybe Father went to the hospital to look after Naraku," he thought.
Kakashi tidied himself up, grabbed his gifts, and headed straight for the hospital.
[This episode has been exuding a strange aura from the start.]
[It's always like this on rainy days.]
[Alas, this day has finally come.]
[Guys, I'm so scared.]
A dango shop was still open on the way.
Kakashi was drawn by the steam rising from the fresh dumplings.
He stood at the shop entrance, debating whether to bring a portion for Naraku.
After all, Naraku had a bit of a sweet tooth.
The camera cut to a shot behind Kakashi.
Two passersby, their faces obscured, walked past him while carrying groceries.
They casually mentioned the "White Fang" matter.
Kakashi's attention shifted.
He inadvertently caught their reflection in a mirror hanging at the shop entrance.
The camera focused on the reflection as one of them brought up the rumors circulating among the civilians.
Accompanied by a chilling sound effect, Kakashi froze in place.
The camera rotated and zoomed in on his trembling pupils.
"What are they saying?"
The two strangers seemed oblivious and continued chatting.
The screen began to twist and distort, the visuals becoming exaggerated and bizarre.
"What exactly are they talking about?"
Everything around him faded into a deep black.
Kakashi stood alone in the center of the void.
His heartbeat grew louder, thumping faintly in the silence.
"What suicide? What Uchiha?"
It wasn't until he heard a faint snap that he woke as if from a dream.
Kakashi looked left and right, but the two pedestrians were long gone.
He silently bent down and picked up the item that had fallen to the ground.
[What the hell? How did it spread like this?]
[How could Sakumo commit suicide? How can people believe such absurd rumors?]
[I suspect this is another one of Danzo's schemes! He must hate Sakumo and wants to destroy him!]
[Very possible! Neither Danzo nor Hiruzen Sarutobi dared to tell the truth about that night, so suicide is a perfect cover!]
[It's over, the kid can't hold it together anymore.]
[With those visuals, has Kakashi gone dark?]
[Before he left the village, his father said he did nothing wrong, but when he returns, his father has "committed suicide." Who could withstand that?]
[Even an adult couldn't bear it. No matter how much of a genius Kakashi is, he's still a child.]
Kakashi ran into the hospital.
After asking which room his father was in, he disregarded all protocol and burst through the door.
The man lying in bed, swaddled in monitoring equipment, was indeed Sakumo Hatake.
Images of his father calling his name flashed through his mind—loving, strict, full of life.
This was the father who had always protected him, Konoha's invincible hero, the goal he both admired and sought to surpass.
Kakashi took two steps forward then stopped.
He desperately wanted to see Sakumo's condition, yet he was terrified of what he would see.
His focus was so entirely on Sakumo that he didn't even notice Naraku's new bandages.
He didn't see that Naraku's complexion was far worse than it had been days ago.
[I'm crying T-T... Who could bear to see their father like this?]
[Kakashi's world has collapsed.]
[No one is left to shelter these two from the storm, boo hoo.]
[Danzo, you really deserve to die.]
Naraku walked over and tried to reach for him, but Kakashi shook his hand off.
When Naraku looked at him, he found Kakashi in tears.
"Why is it like this... why?"
Before he left Konoha, his father still believed that the lives of comrades were more precious.
How could it have come to this?
"Was my father wrong?"
"Was his belief—that comrades were more important than missions—wrong?"
Kakashi desperately wanted to refute the thoughts, but with his father lying there, he couldn't convince himself.
[Kakashi is crying... for the first time in the series.]
[No, no, no, Sakumo didn't commit suicide!]
[Damn Danzo, he's definitely the one behind this!]
[Look at what this has done to Kakashi.]
[Danzo, you villain! I'll take your life myself!]
As night fell, the pre-storm winds grew stronger.
The wind rattled shop signs and flags, kicking up dirt and gravel against the last few villagers rushing home.
The camera followed behind Kakashi as he ran through the streets.
The screen shook violently, catching blurred faces in the crowd.
Gradually, the passersby turned into mere silhouettes.
Their curved eyes seemed to bleed malice, and whispers filled the air.
Even with his eyes shut and ears covered, the ill-intentioned voices penetrated his mind.
In his confusion, Kakashi stumbled down the riverside path and onto the rocky bank.
[This is so tragic. Kakashi is developing inner demons.]
[How many people can actually ignore what everyone else says? Especially at his age.]
[Wuwuwu... Stop tormenting our Kakashi! Author, I'll fight you!]
The last ray of sun vanished.
Kakashi stared blankly at the darkened world, his heart utterly lost.
He wondered if his father had finally succumbed and admitted he was wrong.
He remembered Naraku's words and questioned how he could protect Naraku from the same fate.
Then, he found his answer.
"If missions are more important than friends..."
"Then I won't be Naraku's friend."
"That way, he won't make mistakes because of me, right?"
[The sun has set, and the light in Kakashi's heart has gone out.]
[No, Kakashi! This isn't the way!]
[Naraku really can't handle any more trauma!]
[Kakashi, I don't care what you're thinking! Throw those thoughts away right now!]
[Agh! Danzo, you old fossil, die ten thousand deaths!]
By the time Naraku finally caught up, all he received was Kakashi's cold avoidance.
Naraku thought Kakashi was just struggling to accept the situation.
He forced a small smile and said it was okay.
He wasn't sure if he was comforting Kakashi or himself.
Then, he heard an accusation Kakashi had never uttered before.
"Uchiha Naraku..."
"Everything..."
"Is your fault."
As the last words fell, Naraku's eyes on screen suddenly lost their luster, turning into a blurry black void.
The comments section erupted in screams.
[Ahhhhhh Kakashi what are you doing!]
[Please don't do this to him.]
[You really know how to hurt him the most, wuwuwu.]
[Kakashi, I hate you T-T... How could you say that? It's like gouging out Naraku's heart!]
[Actually, Kakashi is suffering too, okay? His father is dying, and he thinks he has to break ties to save his friend.]
[He wants Naraku to live like an ordinary shinobi so he won't be persecuted.]
[But Naraku is already prone to self-blame; he'll truly believe Kakashi means it.]
[I'm dying, sisters. When I shipped this, I never thought it would end like this.]
Naraku looked at the screen and still felt a wave of sadness.
Even knowing Kakashi's will had been distorted by Black Zetsu, the words were still painful.
Naraku gnashed his teeth. "It's all Black Zetsu's fault!"
On the screen, distant streetlights cast a dim, yellow glow.
Naraku seemed to regress to the time before he joined the Hatake household.
He lowered his head and clutched his clothes, suppressing the tears in his eyes.
Kakashi's breath hitched, a moment of clarity flickering through him.
"What am I doing?"
He saw Naraku instinctively apologize, just as he used to, taking all the blame upon himself.
"I... I'm sorry... Kakashi... It's all... my fault..."
A brief flash of heartache appeared in Kakashi's eyes, but it was quickly masked by coldness.
[Wake up, Kakashi!]
[If you keep this up, you'll really lose Naraku!]
[Guys, Kakashi's behavior isn't right.]
[There's a problem here, a huge problem!]
The camera followed Kakashi's hand as he reached for his collar.
It showed him picking out the necklace and forcibly breaking the cord.
The pendant, which the audience had wondered about for a long time, hung from his hand.
It was just an ordinary shard of light-gray clay, polished into a teardrop shape.
It was clear the owner had cherished it; the surface remained smooth after all this time.
The scene suddenly shifted.
The clay shard was still in the center of the screen, but now there were two.
Both necklaces were held in Naraku's hands.
The camera zoomed out to show bright sunshine and lush trees.
Naraku, a recent Ninja Academy graduate, held the necklaces out to Kakashi with a shy smile.
"Happy graduation, Kakashi."
"I hope it can protect us like a charm."
The scene shifted again.
The shard swayed in the center of the screen, and a blurred Kakashi behind it came into focus.
He was sitting by a bed, his expression a mix of worry and irritation.
Naraku's voice came from off-screen.
"It's okay. See? It will protect me."
"Mm," Kakashi responded, the gloom on his brow lifting slightly.
Back in the present, the shard in Kakashi's hand swayed in the wind.
Naraku stared blankly, instinctively reaching out to catch it.
As he moved, the identical cord around his own neck became visible.
But Kakashi flicked it away.
The speck of light arced through the night and fell into the river, lost forever.
[So it really was a charm... and Naraku's graduation gift.]
[Kakashi, you are so heartless! You don't even want his gift?]
[Bro? What are you doing?!]
[Why did you throw it away, ahhhhhh!]
[Ah! Marmot scream]
[Couldn't you just give it back? Don't throw it away, wuwuwu.]
[Sisters, my heart is officially dead.]
[You're strong; I've already died several times this episode.]
A flash of lightning illuminated the pair.
Naraku saw Kakashi's empty hand.
Kakashi saw Naraku's lifeless eyes.
Boom—
Thunder shook the world, and in that roar, Naraku's whisper was completely drowned out.
[Author, look at what you're doing! Frantic]
[What did Naraku say?]
[Can't see, the lip movement wasn't clear.]
Kakashi didn't even look at the water. He turned and left Naraku standing there.
The moment he vanished into the darkness, the rain poured down.
The rain was a thick curtain, making Naraku gasp for breath.
Large droplets smashed against the ground, flowing into the river through the gaps in the stones.
Suddenly, a drop of dark-red liquid fell into the puddle at Naraku's feet.
Then several more fell, spreading through the water.
The camera cut to a close-up of Naraku's face.
His expression was blank, but tears of blood were streaming from his eyes.
In his scarlet irises, the beautiful, intertwined black moons began to revolve.
[I am genuinely shocked by this.]
[Heavy rain like that actually hurts; it's hard to breathe.]
[Holy crap.]
[Mangekyo?!]
[Mangekyo at less than ten years old!]
[It's over... Naraku can't survive this!]
[Why are you doing this to my baby Naraku? Crying loudly]
[Naraku finally found love, only for fate to snatch it away, leaving him with so little time.]
[Sharingan activated by love, evolved by the loss of love... what a sense of destiny.]
[Hahaha, everyone's wrong. Naraku didn't activate the Mangekyo—I did. I've gone mad.]
[Drag him away, we lost another one.]