Hoshino Akira finally managed to carry Naraku to the hospital, panting heavily. After a simple examination, the Medical-nin launched into a tirade of abuse at him.
"Why is it so late? If it had been any later, he would have been ruined!"
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," Hoshino apologized repeatedly, not wanting to waste any time arguing. "Please, please save this child!"
Seeing that he was remorseful, the doctor's anger quickly subsided. While treating the boy, she said, "Although it is very serious, he will recover after a period of recuperation. Don't worry, there will be basically no aftereffects."
"Okay, thank you."
Hoshino Akira breathed a sigh of relief and turned to say, "Kakashi, could you please stay here and watch over things while I go pay the bill?"
"Okay, leave it to me."
Kakashi stood in front of the hospital bed, watching the Medical-nin skillfully apply medicine and bandage Naraku. The serious injury even required the use of Medical Ninjutsu, and Kakashi felt uneasy.
He originally thought that Naraku was bullied by powerful clansmen, which was why he was often injured. But now, it seems that who else but his father could beat Naraku like this at home?
No, do men who abuse children deserve to be called fathers?
...
Late at night, the System began weaving dreams for the Animator according to Naraku's prior instructions. These dreams were mostly selected from Shinji Uchiha's verbal taunts and violent actions towards him. To avoid being exposed, Naraku himself was shown a different dream that would terrify him and wake him up.
At the height of the dream, Naraku suddenly sat up, drenched in cold sweat as if from stress, panting heavily, and inwardly complaining that the System must have a grudge against him.
It's just a dream, so why make it so terrifying? Tomorrow is the first day of school, and I still have a stack of test papers half a meter thick to finish, and my pen is out of ink so I can't write anything.
This System is utterly unethical; I strongly condemn it!
Once he caught his breath, he noticed that he was in an unfamiliar environment—clean and white, filled with the smell of disinfectant.
Konoha Hospital?
It couldn't have been my scum father who sent me here. As long as I don't die, he'll act like he didn't see me.
Who could it be? Could it be Kakashi?
Ouch, it still hurts.
He pursed his lips carefully and curled up silently. "System, how many Popularity Points have you accumulated?"
[Your Popularity Score is currently 4122 points.]
Hey, good progress!
Naraku was somewhat satisfied, putting aside all his resentment towards the System. He threw off the covers and was about to get out of bed, muttering to himself, "I need to hurry up and pick up the shards of the pottery jar. I'll need them later. If I'm too late, they might get thrown away."
[Notification: Host, someone is approaching.]
Naraku, enduring the pain, quickened his pace. Just as he reached the door and touched the doorknob, the sliding door was opened by the person outside, and the two of them stared at each other for a moment.
"You're awake." Kakashi broke the silence first.
"Hatake?" Naraku didn't even have time to marvel at how Kakashi had actually sent him here. He immediately switched into dramatic mode, frantically taking two steps back, avoiding Kakashi's eyes. "I-I'm sorry, I..."
Before he could finish speaking, Kakashi interrupted him: "Does it still hurt?"
"Huh?"
"I'm asking you," Kakashi said, raising his voice a few decibels when he saw the other's blank expression, "Does your wound still hurt?"
"N-no, it doesn't hurt," Naraku denied, but his palm was suddenly pinched by Kakashi. The stinging pain caused him to instinctively try to pull his hand back. "Ugh..."
"What exactly happened? Where did you get these injuries?" Kakashi stared into Naraku's eyes, which were trying to dodge the question, and forced him back to the bedside until he had nowhere left to retreat. "Was it your father?"
Naraku opened his mouth, but the words stuck in his throat, and he lowered his head helplessly.
"Please don't ask anymore, okay? Hatake... It's all my fault that things turned out like this..."
Footsteps approached from outside the door, and Naraku recognized who it was, his face turning pale.
In the blink of an eye, the door was violently pushed open.
Shinji Uchiha, reeking of alcohol, walked into the ward and, without saying a word, grabbed Naraku's forearm and dragged him out, not even sparing Kakashi a glance.
Hoshino Akira, who had been waiting at the hospital, rushed in and blocked Uchiha Shinji at the door: "Wait, Mr. Shinji! You can't just leave like this!"
"Huh?" Shinji Uchiha glanced at Hoshino sideways, not giving this meddlesome guy a friendly look. "You can get the money from me later."
"This isn't about the money!"
"That's a question for you to ask. Do I need to report to you if I take my son with me?"
Hoshino Akira argued forcefully: "Please explain clearly, what happened to Naraku-kun's injuries? The doctor told me that some of his old injuries are several months old! There are also several signs of fractures! He even suffers from long-term malnutrition!"
Uchiha Shinji was speechless: "This is our family matter; it's none of your business! Who do you think you are?"
Upon hearing this, Hoshino Akira became even more determined not to let him take his student away: "I am this child's homeroom teacher; you should explain yourself to me!"
"The Uchiha never explain!" Shinji was immediately enraged.
It was already embarrassing enough for the clan to know that their child was taken to the hospital by someone else; if they came to the hospital to take someone home and were stopped by a commoner Ninja, they'd lose even more face.
"And you can't bear the wrath of the Uchiha!"
The two men were on the verge of a fight, and a single spark could ignite a violent outburst.
If they didn't find a way to back down, the two were about to fight. Naraku tried to step between them: "Hoshino-sensei, it was all my fault, it has nothing to do with my father—"
Snap!
"Shut up!"
Shinji Uchiha felt a wave of humiliation and casually slapped Naraku across the face, interrupting his clumsy lie.
Naraku was already weak, and his body involuntarily tilted to one side. Fortunately, Kakashi reacted quickly and caught him in time; otherwise, he would probably have fallen directly to the ground.
"Hey, are you alright!" Kakashi quickly brushed aside the long hair that was in the way and saw that Naraku's left cheek was covered in blood—that bastard hadn't held back at all.
Shinji Uchiha roared, "Let him go, you brat from the Hatake Clan!"
"Shinji Uchiha!" Hoshino Akira's anger flared even higher. He simply couldn't believe that the other man was abusing a child right in front of him. "You won't be taking Naraku away today! You don't deserve to be a father!"
This really hit Shinji Uchiha where it hurt.
He even sacrificed his wife's life for this good-for-nothing, yet now he was being accused of not being a father?!
What do you know! Do you know how much I gave up for him?!
"That's enough."
A white-haired man with a heavy aura appeared at the door. The oppressive aura emanating from him broke the tense atmosphere inside the room, and everyone looked towards the doorway.
Kakashi exclaimed in surprise, "Father!"
"Lord Sakumo!" Hoshino Akira calmed his anger and greeted him respectfully.
Nice! Hatake Sakumo, you are my god!
Naraku lowered his head and secretly cheered in his heart; even the slap on his face didn't hurt much anymore.
Hatake Sakumo saw his son kneeling and protecting the poor boy in his arms, gave him a slight nod of approval, and then looked at Uchiha Shinji with a calm gaze.
Shinji Uchiha gritted his teeth, knowing he was no match for his opponent, and practically forced out the words, "What brings you here?"
"Is this the attitude a Chunin should have towards a Jonin?"
"...Sakumo-sama."
Seeing that he had given in, Hatake Sakumo gave a faint "hmm" and said in an unquestionable tone, "I think Naraku has good talent and I plan to teach him for a while. What do you think?"
Everyone in the room almost lost their composure.
Allowing an Uchiha to become the disciple of an outsider? This is the first time since the Second Hokage recruited Uchiha Kagami into his Escort Unit!
Even Naraku himself was a little taken aback. Had he just gotten rid of the scum father and reached the pinnacle of life?
Sakumo, determined to protect Naraku, added another layer of leverage: "I don't think Fugaku will object."
"Hmph."
Even his own Clan Head was brought up, so Shinji Uchiha could only swallow his anger and forcibly suppress his resentment. He glared at Naraku and left in a huff.