As dusk approached and the sunlight turned warm, Kakashi bid farewell to Naraku, promising to bring him a souvenir before leaving Konoha alone.
When he walked out of the village gate with his travel bag, only the setting sun and the evening breeze saw him off.
[Kakashi's silhouette looks so frail; it makes my heart ache.]
[No one knows if this farewell is forever...]
[Hey, you in front, I'm warning you not to jinx it!]
The scene shifted.
Naraku rushed home and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Sakumo was safe and sound, collapsing onto the ground.
[Naraku is so perceptive; just a few words and he realized something was wrong.]
[Old Thief, you have no heart! Can't you let the kid recover properly?!]
[Indeed, it feels like he's constantly rushing around while injured.]
As Sakumo came to help him up, Naraku met his gaze and realized the man was indeed about to do something dangerous, though he hadn't had the chance yet.
"Master... I'm sorry..."
Naraku decisively used a jutsu to knock out the unsuspecting Sakumo, then, dragging his weakened body, he settled his teacher down.
Afterward, he silently began preparing weapons and chakra-replenishing soldier pills.
He paused once, seemingly overwhelmed by extreme emotions, lowering his head weakly as his hair fell to cover his face.
The audience could only see his slightly trembling arms.
But Naraku quickly suppressed his emotions, his movements returning to their original crisp and decisive state, hiding his expression from the world.
[No matter what Sakumo is going to do, Naraku doesn't want him to risk himself.]
[Naraku hasn't given up! He's got weapons!]
[He's not going to try a suicide mission, is he? A final desperate struggle.]
[What's he going to fight with? He's still severely injured and his chakra is mostly depleted.]
[The passion of youth: even if you can't kill the enemy, you'll take a chunk of their flesh with you.]
[Baby, if you're too sad, just cry.]
[The 'crybaby' Kakashi spoke of has once again learned to hold back his tears.]
[Are you trying to kill me with this heartbreak?]
Before leaving, Naraku gazed longingly at the Hatake household bathed in the twilight.
He looked at the group photo on the counter, the dining table once filled with laughter, and the courtyard where he loved to bask in the sun.
He took in everything, engraving it deeply into his mind as an indelible memory.
Then Naraku turned and left, choosing to face his destiny alone.
Only a few soft whispers lingered behind him, echoing in the ears of the viewers.
"Take care, Master... Kakashi."
[Nooooooo—]
[This time, he's really going to die, sobbing.]
[I can't bear to watch; I can't accept Naraku walking down such a desperate path alone.]
[What did he ever do wrong to have to experience a life like this?]
The audience was still wailing, but the scene remained on the Hatake household.
Amidst the faint chirping of insects, the light and shadow gradually transformed into the colors of night.
Sakumo suddenly opened his eyes and sat up from under the covers.
The screen flashed back to Naraku's Sharingan, indicating that he realized he had been caught in a genjutsu.
But now, the jutsu had been dispelled.
He looked at his palms, sensing the chakra within his body.
"No depletion."
No one had approached him.
For a genjutsu of this level to spontaneously dispel, the only logical reason was the death of the caster.
[Huh???]
[Wait a minute! My brain is fried!]
[How did Sakumo wake up?]
[Naraku isn't... already gone, is he...?!]
[Ahhhhhh!]
[I'm sending death threats to the author!!!]
[What's the use of the author dying! I want Danzo to die!!!!]
The scene began to show everything Sakumo had experienced during this period.
He stood before rapidly flashing memories, leaving only a silhouette against the past.
From when he discovered something suspicious about Naraku's mission in the Land of Rain, to the boy's near-death, the unsuspecting Uchiha, and the rampant rumors.
He remembered encountering Root on the way to pick up Tsunade, learning of the order to abandon Naraku, and finally, the reappearance of Root ninja threatening Kakashi's life.
All these memories, accompanied by Sakumo's self-questioning, were displayed before the audience.
"Are you truly only a man of this caliber, Sakumo Hatake?"
"Unable to protect even your own family?"
He raised his head, his face filling the screen in a close-up, his eyes blazing with an unprecedented intensity of anger and determination.
"Everything."
"I can give everything."
The next second, he was already tearing through the night, blade in hand, storming into Root and slaying all in his path.
Only the blood of his enemies could quell a father's hatred.
[Danzo thought he could threaten Sakumo with these things, but he misjudged the man!]
[So cool, Sakumo! A true man!]
[Let Danzo experience despair firsthand!]
[A man among men, a father among fathers!]
Amidst the flashing blades and bloodshed, he finally saw the culprit—the source of the darkness.
Hideous and repulsive.
Sakumo's chakra almost boiled over, his hair and clothes fluttering with rage.
Arcs of electricity burst from his blade, transforming into countless lightning snakes that pierced the air.
They remained bound to the sword in his hand, roaring and thrashing wildly as they tore through the darkness of the underground cavern.
Lightning and gales whipped up a storm, shattering metal and stone, sweeping away everything in their path.
He coldly watched the "Darkness of the Shinobi World" desperately dodging his blade, no different from any other victim.
"So why...?"
"Why did he do it—!!!"
Wind and thunder coiled around his blade, slashing through the darkness toward his opponent.
[Let Konoha witness the rage of the White Fang!]
[So incredibly cool!]
[The wrath of the heavens!]
[All resistance in the world stems from one question: 'Why?!']
[Go, Sakumo! Kill him!]
Just as everyone believed Danzo was doomed, Sakumo's body visibly faltered.
This allowed Danzo to seize the opportunity and counterattack first.
The animator did not continue the fight, perhaps wanting to hide the details, and directly cut back to Naraku.
[What's happening?]
[What happened to Sakumo?]
[Nooooooo!]
[It's over, it's over! This is a plot kill!!]
[It shouldn't be a plot kill; Sakumo must have had a physical problem.]
[I think Danzo poisoned him; he has many underhanded methods.]
[Sakumo could have killed Danzo, but now it's uncertain.]
When Naraku first arrived near the Forest of Death, it wasn't completely dark yet.
Before revealing himself, he had hidden in the shadows, observing with his Sharingan.
He confirmed that Root had not set traps and realized that he was beginning to perceive chakra within a certain range.
[So, both Naraku and Sakumo are fighting Root? A two-pronged attack?]
[Does the Sharingan have such strong perception abilities?]
[Did his Pupil Power mutate?]
[Possibly; Naraku is the first Uchiha to receive this kind of treatment, and the seal might have changed the nature of his eyes.]
Naraku waited for a short while, then suddenly looked toward a distant spot behind him.
His expression became uneasy as he used his eyes to observe his surroundings again.
A faint tremor came through the ground, and a light breeze brushed Naraku's cheek.
He looked in that direction; several Anbu were rushing there under the moonlight.
"Something... is wrong there..."
Driven by intuition, Naraku moved closer to the source of the tremor.
Then, a ball of flame entered the edge of his perception range.
"Master...?"
[Goodness, super intuition!]
[This is the telepathy between father and son!]
Naraku broke through the Anbu's obstruction and entered the deepest part of the Root base.
There, he saw Danzo raising his blade for a final strike on the kneeling Sakumo.
He knocked away Danzo, who was also at his limit, and finally saw Sakumo covered in blood.
The man's white hair was soaked red, hanging limply by his face as blood dripped to the floor.
[!!!]
[Sakumo, no!!]
[Damn him! How dare Danzo?!]
[No way, Danzo couldn't possibly beat Sakumo fairly.]
[Big problem! This is a disaster!]
Naraku's pupils instantly constricted, his fingertips trembling in too much pain to utter a sound.
"Master..."
"Why... did you go to such lengths?"
"I clearly... have no value anymore...!"
"Why wouldn't you abandon me?!"
Accompanied by a heartbreaking thought, a red light flashed in Naraku's eyes.
He used his blade to pin the struggling Danzo firmly against the wall.
Blood splattered behind the man, covering the stone in a dark red smear.
[How could Sakumo abandon you? Sobbing.]
[This might be the only time Naraku wished Sakumo wouldn't want him.]
[Is he going to awaken the Mangekyo now?]
[Old man Danzo, good riddance!]
Lying on Naraku's small shoulder, Sakumo cracked a joke about "failing to look cool" with his dying breath.
This angered the usually good-tempered Naraku, who loudly told him to shut up.
Sakumo's eyes curved slightly in satisfaction before he closed them.
The life force behind him had weakened to the point of extinction; Naraku had no time to waste.
He met the incoming Anbu with a Fire Release, not caring if he was caught in the flames himself.
By the time he emerged from underground, he was swaying precariously.
Yet somehow, he found the strength to continue toward the hospital.
[Even at a time like this, he's still making jokes; it's truly him.]
[Can he make it? He has to make it!]
[Naraku hasn't fully recovered; it's truly touch and go.]
[What are these Anbu doing?! Can't they see this is Sakumo?!]
He encountered many more Anbu along the way, either flashing past them or clearing a path with fire.
In just two or three minutes, he reached the hospital entrance and collapsed from exhaustion.
An adult man was heavy, but now Sakumo felt like a mountain pressing down on his powerless body.
But he couldn't stop; he had no right to stop.
This pathetic sight, coupled with the emotional music, made the audience wail.
After getting up and taking a few steps, Naraku saw a blonde figure jump from the rooftop.
She walked toward him but then sat down on the ground, unable to come any closer.
[My heart is breaking.]
[My tears won't stop!]
[Waaah—!]
[Naraku spat up so much blood, and Sakumo is bleeding out too.]
[Lady Tsunade, please stand up! I beg you, pull yourself together!]
Emergency personnel rushed out of the hospital and took Sakumo away.
Naraku almost crawled, leaving a long trail of blood on the ground.
He came before Tsunade and bowed his head to the floor.
"Lady Tsunade... please... save Master... save him..."
His voice was dry and hoarse, the syllables indistinguishable, filled with sobs and trembling.
[I can't take it anymore... this is too sad.]
[Naraku's throat is ruined.]
[He truly brought Sakumo here with his own life.]
[What kind of despair is it to watch the person you love grow cold, little by little?]
[How did it come to this?]
Only after Tsunade entered the operating room did Naraku get up.
He stood with difficulty and staggered step by step into the hospital.
The wound in his abdomen had reopened, soaking his clothes dark red.
He couldn't tell if the blood beneath his feet was Sakumo's or his own.
The scene cut to the operating room.
The heart monitor flatlined, and the sharp alarm pierced through the walls and into Naraku's soul.
He sat leaning against the door, his eyes dark and unfocused.
He stared blankly at the ceiling, allowing endless despair to envelop him.
Memories flooded his mind, forcing him to realize what he was about to lose.
"It's okay, Naraku, everything will be alright."
"You are very talented."
"I thought that firework was beautiful..."
"God..." Naraku covered his face, tears streaming through his fingers.
"Eating bracken today?"
"How was your graduation exam?"
"Watch closely, I'll teach you a super powerful jutsu!"
"I wish..." He could no longer suppress his sobs, his eyes turning blood red as three tomoe spun rapidly.
"Sorry... I still needed Naraku to save me..."
"I originally wanted to... deal with it... in a cool way..."
"I failed..."
"Let Master live...!"
The afterimages of the tomoe merged into one, gradually developing sharp edges.
[Why why why why why!!!]
[Stop with the memories, it's too much!]
[Please, please, don't die...]
[I'm going to cry myself to sleep.]
[If Sakumo dies, Naraku won't want to live.]
[Oh my god... Mangekyo?!]
The seal on his forehead and the rampaging Pupil Power were at a standstill.
With the aid of Tsunade's Shadow Clone, the Pupil Power was cut off just before it could shatter his mind.
The moment Naraku fell to the ground, the monitor filled the frame.
The flat line began to undulate.
With a steady beep-beep, it showed signs of a heartbeat, again and again.
[He's alive... He's alive!!!]
[Sakumo is alive!!]
[I'm literally crying right now.]
[That's great... he's alive!]
[Master is alive! Naraku, you have to cheer up now!]
After watching the parts he knew, Naraku calmed himself down.
Only then did he have the mental capacity to think about his previous questions.
The animator had not revealed the truth, but there were two clues.
The mysterious dispelling of his jutsu and Sakumo's strange pause during the battle.
If his genjutsu hadn't failed, Sakumo wouldn't have attacked Root.
If there hadn't been that strange pause, Sakumo wouldn't have been struck down.
Therefore, the purpose of that "other person" was to make Sakumo seek out Danzo and then die at his hands.
If Sakumo had died, Naraku would have almost certainly awakened the Mangekyo.
The only ones whose existence the animator had concealed until now were Black Zetsu and Madara.
And what they needed most was a successor who was utterly desperate with the world.
"So, it's you, isn't it?"
"Black Zetsu!"