In the early morning, sunlight streamed through a gap in the curtains, casting a bright line across the room, slowly moving onto Naraku's face as time passed.
"Ugh…"
Stung awake by the bright light, he half-opened his eyes and climbed out of bed. Before he could fully grasp the situation, he felt a faint, throbbing pain in his temples and instinctively rubbed them hard with his palm, trying to alleviate it.
—My head hurts so much.
—What did I even do yesterday? Did I get into a fight with someone?
Just as Naraku was wondering if he had been ambushed last night, which was why he felt so unwell, a cup of warm honey water was placed in his hand.
A faint, sweet aroma wafted from it, gently filling the air. Before even taking a sip, one could already imagine its sweet, warm taste.
"Drink this, and it won't hurt anymore."
"Oh…" Naraku obediently drank it all, then looked uneasily at the serious-faced white-haired man in front of him, cautiously asking, "Kakashi, what happened last night?"
"Well," Kakashi raised an eyebrow, ready to teach his close friend a good lesson, "it was nothing major. You just drank an entire bottle of Kana's high-proof beer."
"I… I drank alcohol…?"
—And blacked out???
Naraku's scalp tightened, fearing that he might have said something he shouldn't have, and that Kakashi or even the animator might have noticed something.
"Then I… didn't do anything strange, did I?"
"No." Kakashi nodded in affirmation.
Just as he let out a sigh of relief, Naraku saw the other turn his back to him, letting out a distinct, barely suppressed laugh.
He instantly froze in place.
—No, I definitely did something embarrassing, didn't I!?
—It's over, it's over, it's over! My image, my persona, my fans!
—I can't become a comedic character, seriously!
Kakashi secretly observed through the mirror in the corner. Seeing Naraku looking very dejected, curled up in his quilt, questioning life, he felt a little guilty.
He leaned down, pulled him out of the covers, and patted the small head resting against his chest, refusing to look up.
"I'm sorry, Naraku, I was just teasing you… I swear you didn't do anything strange; you were quiet the whole time."
Naraku's muffled voice came from his chest: "Really?"
Kakashi repeated, "Really."
By now, Naraku understood that he had been tricked, led astray by the cunning and outwardly reserved Kakashi.
—Oh, Kakashi, you're not playing fair!
—You came to trick and ambush me, an innocent little boy!
—You're truly awful!
Naraku silently clenched his fists inside his sleeves.
—I'll give him a taste of his own medicine… "Forgive me this one time, okay, Naraku?"
"…Mm."
Naraku, who was originally fuming and planning revenge, immediately decided to abandon his "revenge plan" upon hearing this.
—So what if I was tricked? It's no big deal~
Thinking back to all the years he had performed in front of Kakashi, Naraku's anger instantly vanished.
—Anyway, I've always been the one to wrong Kakashi first…—What right do I have to be angry?
He sighed silently, quickly convincing himself.
—Indeed, it's better to torment the audience; their teeth are stronger and better suited for eating knives.
Seeing that he had been sufficiently appeased, Kakashi struck while the iron was hot: "I made breakfast. It's still warm. Want some?"
"Mm."
…After eating and drinking his fill, Kakashi went to the yard to wash clothes, while Naraku stayed in the kitchen to wash pots and pans, and incidentally watch the animation.
Before, the animator hadn't updated for a long time, probably waiting for the post-war reckoning of the Sandaime to conclude.
Now that Minato's succession as Fourth Hokage was settled, the animator finally decided to release this major event.
—
At the end of the last episode, Hidden Mist Village's sneak attack on Konoha failed. They were routed by Maito Dai, losing all their war advantage.
The Sandaime, Hiruzen Sarutobi, feeling "the advantage is with me," actually proactively invited Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Hidden Mist to peace talks in order to end the Third Great Ninja War as soon as possible.
This brain-dead move infuriated the audience, who cursed him for his constant blunders and senility.
The result was as expected: the other three Ninja villages either ignored him, took the opportunity to bargain, or feigned compliance… In short, it was three words: No deal!
[What the hell! Hiruzen Sarutobi, how dare you say such a thing!]
[The war was won; did you have much to do with it?]
[If it weren't for you three, Mount Kikyo wouldn't have been so difficult to fight.]
[Proactively seeking peace when you have the advantage… I can't, my blood pressure is rising…]
[Old Thief: We have a successor, folks!]
[This is just asking to be slapped in the face; it's too embarrassing!]
[How can Konoha's high-ranking officials endure this without raising objections? Truly Ninjas! (Sarcasm.jpg)]
The blood-pressure-raising plot continued for a whole half-episode, leaving the audience half-dead with anger.
Fortunately, the latter half of the episode wasn't as disgusting.
Uchiha Fugaku in the Eastern Theater cursed the Third Hokage for being inhumane and, together with Nara Shikaku, strategized to thoroughly deal with Hidden Mist, who were feigning one thing while doing another.
Victory reports came one after another, finally dispelling some of the audience's resentment.
[Well said! I declare Fugaku my mouthpiece!]
[Look, look! What has Hiruzen Sarutobi driven honest people to?]
[Now Fugaku is a complete Uchiha Bomb Man, ready to explode at the slightest provocation.]
[Since the middle of the war, the Third Hokage's baffling actions have been endless. Fugaku's reaction is already quite restrained.]
Several consecutive short clips showed Kakashi and Naraku shining brightly in this stage of the conflict, leading a group of young Uchiha with unmatched prowess.
In the final close-up shot, the two looked down at their enemies from the top of a large tree, their backlit, one-crouching-one-standing posture exuding murderous intent.
Around them, nearly ten figures of varying sizes slowly lit up with blood-red eyes.
Against this backdrop, amidst terrifying sound effects, Kakashi and Naraku's eyes also suddenly turned red.
So cool that the audience immediately declared it another iconic scene.
[Do I lack that much traffic? Show me the battle process! I want to see Hidden Mist get a good beating!]
[Punishing Hidden Mist Village (×) Uchiha Team Building (✓)]
[Just by their posture, I know these two are incredibly strong.jpg]
[Ah ah ah ah ah ah KakaNara babies are so cool!!!]
[Damn it, this is too cool, isn't it!? _(:з」∠❀)_]
[Little Uchiha: The sun was nice that day, the enemies were weak, and it would have been even better if that white-haired guy next to Naraku-kun wasn't there.]
[LOL, only Shisui's gaze was fixed on Naraku, showing the potential to be a male ghost at such a young age.]
[Kakashi: Suddenly feeling a chill down my spine~]
—
Naraku: Terumī Mei didn't appear? Forget it, they're probably saving her for a flashback later, I get it~
—
In the next episode, Hidden Mist, whose plans were repeatedly thwarted, had no choice but to settle down and honestly sign a ceasefire agreement.
Immediately after, the stubbornly resisting Iwagakure and Kumogakure, having gained benefits, also agreed to sign a truce.
The Third Great Ninja War officially entered its final phase.
[Hidden Mist tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice in this one.]
[The Third Hokage should step down quickly; what kind of garbage is this he's signing?]
[Ōnoki must be laughing like crazy; Konoha is truly good at picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons.]
[Not just him; Fourth Raikage Ay must be dying of laughter too; his desk for the next few years is finally settled.]
[If Hiruzen Sarutobi continues to be Hokage after this, I'll go down with Old Thief!]
[Hiruzen fans still around? Dare to speak up!]
[Who would willingly admit their cyber-criminal record, seriously?]
...