After parting ways with Kana, Naraku rushed alone towards the attacking Root members.
About a dozen figures appeared from the forest.
All of them wore masks and Root uniforms, not even bothering to conceal themselves.
It was as if they were determined to take his life.
The strongest Ninja among them carried a huge scroll on his back.
As soon as he saw Naraku, he drew it out and unrolled it.
In the blink of an eye, a circular area was enclosed like a wall, with faint runes forming a hemispherical Barrier.
Unless the caster dispels the Ninjutsu, it is an unbreakable cage.
It seemed they were determined to keep him there.
Naraku activated his Sharingan, his face displaying a ruthlessness he never showed to those close to him.
A Barrier, good.
This way, none of you can escape either!
Naraku immediately unleashed the Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation.
A sea of fire flowed and surged across the ground.
When it reached the edge of the Barrier, unable to escape, it spread upwards, forming a massive, growing fiery lotus.
The Root Ninja silently scattered to evade.
Two Water Release users tried to extinguish the Great Fire Annihilation.
Finding it useless, they also climbed into the treetops.
When the flames subsided, the burnt trees, no longer able to support themselves, emitted a grating "creak."
They fell one after another with a rumble.
Naraku stood in the center of the Barrier, seemingly not having completely given up on Konoha.
He asked in a hoarse voice, "Who sent you?"
His only response was the sound of Ninjutsu being activated...
Sakumo lunged towards the increasing number of broken branches and fallen trees.
He finally heard the whistle of Ninjutsu and weapons tearing through the air, and saw the increasingly clear hemispherical Barrier.
As he ran, he split off a Shadow Clone to take Uzumaki Kana, while he himself drew his blade and charged forward.
A large amount of Lightning and Wind Chakra was infused into the Chakra Blade.
It formed a dazzling white light that fiercely struck the surface of the Barrier.
Boom—
As if the sky had suddenly brightened, the white light forcefully broke through the cage and crashed into its isolated interior.
A brutal battlefield came into view, with unextinguished flames everywhere.
The ground was scorched black and barren, emitting heat waves and smoke.
Several scattered bodies lay within his line of sight.
The battle seemed to have stopped the moment he entered; the sounds that had just been there seemed like an illusion.
Sakumo hurried to the deepest part.
Next to two dead Ninja, Naraku had his back to him, his head bowed.
He was leaning against a withered tree with only a bit of its roots left.
His clothes were stained with blood, their original color unrecognizable.
"Naraku?"
Sakumo didn't realize his tone carried a subtle hint of panic.
Naraku sat there quietly, unresponsive, as if he were asleep.
Sakumo quickly walked over and saw a broken blade deeply embedded in his abdomen, pinning him to the withered tree.
Blood slowly flowed from the wound to the ground, mixing with the soil...
When Naraku woke again, his vision was a blur of white.
It took him a long time to make out the Hospital ceiling.
Recalling the flash of a blade he saw in the last second before he lost consciousness, he couldn't help but marvel at his good fortune.
He had managed to hold on until Sakumo arrived.
However, he should have already eliminated all his enemies by then.
With the System, even if Sakumo hadn't made it in time, he wouldn't have died.
At most, he would have had to crawl back to Konoha himself.
Imagining himself dragging his injured body back to Konoha, Naraku let out a miserable laugh at his own plight.
A faint gasp startled the person lying by the bed.
He groggily lifted his head, eyes still hazy with sleep, and then shot up when he saw Naraku's eyes open.
"Naraku!"
"Kakashi...?"
Only then did Naraku notice someone beside him.
He inwardly grumbled that white hair was hard to see when someone was slumped over a Hospital bed.
But a relieved smile, a smile of one who had escaped death, unconsciously appeared on his face.
Kakashi touched his forehead.
The high fever he had when he was unconscious yesterday had finally subsided.
He shouldn't be spitting blood anymore, right?
"How do you feel? Does anything hurt?"
"No."
Naraku gently shook his head, looking out at the bright scenery outside the window.
"Am I in Konoha?"
"Yes, Father brought you back two days ago."
"Did you... did you encounter Sister Kana? Red hair, quite large eyes..."
"Yes, she's in another Hospital room right now."
"Really? Is she alright?"
Seeing Naraku wake up and immediately busy himself with questions, yet not caring in the slightest about his own injuries, a suffocating feeling arose in Kakashi's heart.
He said in a low voice, "Not as bad as you."
He remembered the first time he saw Naraku.
Blood and fire filled his entire vision.
The scarlet color was viscous and terrifying, and the broken blade plunged into his abdomen reflected tiny glints of light, stinging his eyes.
Perhaps because things had been relatively smooth since he became a Ninja, he had never imagined seeing Naraku like this.
This... appearance of being on the verge of death.
"Kakashi..."
Naraku watched Kakashi's troubled expression, knowing he was worried about him.
He raised his bandaged left hand and gently touched the back of his hand.
"It's alright, you see."
Naraku laboriously pulled the necklace out from his Hospital gown.
"It will protect me."
The gray pottery shard swayed before Kakashi's eyes.
At this moment, he suddenly wanted to believe that this amulet indeed possessed special power.
He hoped it was capable of protecting Naraku to be safe and sound in the future.
"Mm."
He made a small sound through his nose, helped Naraku put the necklace back, and tucked in the corner of his blanket.
"I'll go call Father and Uzumaki Kana. Don't move around."
After Kakashi left, Naraku was alone in the Hospital room, and it fell into a long silence once more.
Until Uzumaki Kana ran in, crying loudly and stumbling.
She was followed by his own Master, whose expression was clearly much kinder than when he was threatening people with a drawn blade, carrying an insulated container.
"Naraku! Naraku, you're finally awake, wuwuwuwu..."
Kana wanted to pounce on Naraku, but her rationality prevented her from touching him casually.
She could only lean on the head of the bed, wiping away tears.
"Don't cry, Sister Kana, I'm fine."
Naraku smiled helplessly, then looked at the white-haired man standing by the bed.
His tone was soft, like a young swallow returning to its nest.
"Master."
Sakumo seemed relieved, bending down to ruffle his short black hair.