Naraku scrolled through the forum pages, looking for posts that interested him.
——
"Puppy Naru Wandered Three Times, The Fourth Time He Met Kaka"
1L (OP): Cat-Ka and Dog-Naru are so sweet, I couldn't help but write a piece... The two furballs rolled around together, and the warm yellow candlelight outlined a faint halo around their fur, turning them into two flames of different colors, burning brightly in the cold winter.
(END)
2L: Front row!
3L: This food is delicious, I'm stuffing myself! So tasty! (Munching)
4L: Although the author marked it as HE, I still couldn't help but feel anxious. Fortunately, Naraku and Kakashi finally ended up together, boo hoo hoo...
"Fellow Travelers (Kakashi x Naraku)"
1L (OP): Naraku Uchiha has an unknown secret... "I am no longer the weakling who needs your protection, Kakashi."
"From now on, I will be your companion."
...
(END)
2L: So much fanfic lately, I'm eating so well every day. I'm so happy! TAT
3L: Author, it's amazing to have you in the fandom!
4L: The Strong x Strong pairing is really delicious. Naraku is clearly a strong and kind person, but some fanfics write him like a delicate little housewife, always whining and whimpering...
5L: Exactly, it's completely OOC.
...
16L: As for Naraku, he'd rather be Kakashi's companion than constantly rely on Kakashi's protection. He has the ambition to become a towering tree, not a canary.
17L: Strong x Strong is always god-tier!
...
——
Naraku scrolled down further; there were still many new shipping fanfic posts.
"Fox Window (Kakashi x Naraku)"
"[Viewing] The World Where Only You Don't Exist"
"Aphasia (Kakashi x Naraku)"
"If a Sunny Day Has an End (Kakashi x Naraku)"... Especially after reading several angst fics one after another, his head was buzzing, and he felt terrible.
What grudge, what hatred, to torment him so much in fanfiction?
Naraku huffily decided to "retaliate" against these writers, vowing to torment them back fiercely later.
Naraku: I'll smile as I watch each of you cry.jpg
After a while, a title caught his eye, filled with the author's eager excitement to share information, compelling him to click and read.
——
"Shocking! Everyone, look what I found! The Old Thief is secretly dropping hints!"
1L (OP): Look at Kakashi and Naraku's necks. After graduation, they must have started wearing necklaces. One for each of them. They didn't have them before graduation!
[Image], [Image], [Image], [Image].
2L: Do you all watch the anime with a microscope?
3L: The OP is a modern-day Sherlock.
...
5L: So curious! It's itching at my heart! The Old Thief is secretly adding details and not explaining them to us!
...
8L (OP): The necklaces could only have appeared a short time after graduation, because in the scenes the Old Thief released, Kakashi and Naraku hadn't even accepted a C-rank mission yet, but they already had these necklaces on their necks.
9L: Maybe it's an amulet or something. After all, the mortality rate for Ninja is too high. Tsunade has something similar too, right?
10L: What the comment above said makes sense. It can't be like when we were kids, wearing house keys around our necks, right?
11L: Don't even mention Tsunade's necklace. Nawaki only had it for two days before he was gone... He was the last descendant of Hashirama's line... Boo hoo hoo QAQ
...
——
Naraku clicked his tongue.
Good heavens, people discovered it even with such blurry images. It seems the Animator was careless. Wouldn't it have been easier to just use special effects to erase the items?
That might not be appropriate either. If the necklaces were digitally removed and then revealed later, it would be difficult to explain why they hadn't been seen before. It would be too abrupt and would seem like a retcon.
It's better to have it half-hidden, half-revealed like this.
——
"[Plot Analysis] Speculations on Kakashi's Arch-Nemesis"
1L (OP): Based on the current plot, after Minato, Kushina, and Sakumo, the next generation of protagonists will likely be this one, led by Kakashi.
Assuming Kakashi is the next-gen protagonist, his status should be equivalent to Minato's. I estimate he will have two potential arch-nemeses.
The first is Naraku. Although Naraku is his friend now, there's still a possibility of him turning dark. Who knows what changes might occur later, similar to Hashirama and Madara.
Of course, I personally still hope they both have a Happy Ending.
The second is Sasori, who had a scene in Minato's last mission. He's still very young but is already a genius puppet master from the Hidden Sand.
He is Chiyo's grandson, which means his parents were Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law, both killed by Sakumo. This is a blood feud for the murder of his parents.
2L: What the OP said makes sense. Given The Old Thief's usual style, Sasori will likely seek an opportunity to kill Sakumo or Kakashi for revenge when he grows up.
3L: If Sasori and Kakashi really meet, Naraku will definitely protect Kakashi to the death. If either Kakashi or Naraku dies, the other will definitely lose it...
6L: Kakashi is unlikely to die. The Old Thief has spent so much ink on him; how could he let him die for revenge...?
11L (OP): Oh, and there's a third possible person. During the Academy days, there was a boy named Obito Uchiha who always provoked Kakashi. If Naraku hadn't been there, he would have seemed very much like an arch-nemesis template.
12L: Indeed, he liked that girl, Rin, right? But I saw Rin always looking at Kakashi with such admiration. If Naraku hadn't been there, and something else happened in that love triangle, it would have been enough for Obito to turn dark and become an enemy.
13L: Obito Uchiha was the Dead Last in every exam. How could he be an enemy to Kakashi?
14L: Comment above, you forgot: Jiraiya was also ordinary when he was young, but didn't he become a powerful Ninja famous throughout the Ninja World? Besides, the Uchiha are naturally gifted. After being stimulated and awakening their eyes, their strength increases incredibly fast.
15L: Oh right, I almost forgot that all Uchiha are potential cheaters...
——
This generation of netizens is too sharp; they've guessed most of the future plot.
Naraku rubbed his chin, thinking to himself that it was fortunate he acted quickly. If he had waited until Kakashi graduated, it would have been much harder to enter the audience's view so easily.
However, the audience had one wrong premise: this anime was not a story imagined by an Animator, but rather real events happening in this world, not controlled by the Animator.
If there was control, it was by the original creator, forming the original timeline that seemed sunny and passionate but was terrifying upon closer inspection.