After seeing Naraku off that night, Kakashi spent two days in a daze, holed up in his house.
He finally cleared his head on a warm afternoon.
Looking back at the two days he spent alone, he felt as if he had been sleepwalking.
He vaguely remembered something happening, but whenever he tried to recall the details, they were hazy, like a world hidden behind a white veil.
The only fact he could clearly grasp was that he was the only one left in the house.
The shadow of loneliness weighed heavily on him, and his stomach rumbled with hunger.
"Naraku… what are we eating today…?"
Kakashi's murmur was dry and hoarse.
His vocal cords sounded like two heavily rusted iron plates rubbing against each other.
But this time, no one was there to complain about why he was the one asking, only to answer him immediately.
Knock knock knock.
A knocking sound came from the entrance.
Kakashi dragged his sluggish body to open the door.
His eyes met Minato's golden hair, which seemed to shine in the sunlight.
"Kakashi, are you alright? You don't look so good."
Minato was startled by his appearance.
Having not rested for two days and barely having any food or water, Kakashi's complexion was so poor he looked like a refugee.
"Ah, no wonder Kushina was so anxious for me to come over," Minato thought.
"Kakashi's condition really can't be delayed any longer."
Minato realized the seriousness of the situation, but he acted with his usual discretion.
He didn't dig into what had happened, but instead let a gentle smile curve the corners of his eyes.
"There's a mission that requires you and me to go together."
"How about we find a place to eat first and chat about it?"
"Okay," Kakashi replied hoarsely.
He nodded slowly, his neck moving as if it were rusted.
Early the next morning, Kakashi met Minato at the Konoha gate with his backpack.
After a night of almost forced sleep, he had finally returned to normal enough to leave the village for the mission.
To ensure Kakashi got enough rest, Minato hadn't talked much during dinner the previous evening.
He had only offered a few simple words of concern before urging the boy to go home and sleep.
He planned to gradually inquire about his well-being or offer counsel during the mission.
"Hopefully, it will have some effect..."
"Will this work?"
Kushina sensed that Minato and Kakashi's chakra had already left Konoha.
She asked Kana, who was also using perception ninjutsu.
Kushina felt it wasn't enough.
If Kana hadn't stopped her, she would have long since dragged Kakashi and Naraku to her house for a forced heart-to-heart.
She hated relying on Mikoto and Minato to look after the two children separately.
How could Sakumo-senpai, such a kind and reliable person, leave his only son and his apprentice to quarrel like this?
When he finally woke up, he would be heartbroken.
"Let's take it slow, Sister Kushina. It will get better."
Kana wasn't entirely sure herself.
But no matter what, she knew they couldn't use Kushina's blunt methods to force a reconciliation.
Ever since she realized there was a real problem between Naraku and Kakashi, she had been too worried to sleep.
She had turned to Kushina, but Kushina's suggestions were each more radical than the last.
Kakashi was a stubborn ox and Naraku was a quiet soul; neither would respond well to being pushed.
Forcing them together would likely be counterproductive.
After their more "brilliant" ideas were rejected, Kushina and Kana had sat together scratching their heads for hours.
The two sisters were so tired they had flopped onto the bed to sleep when a light bulb finally went off.
If they couldn't think of a solution themselves, they would find others to help.
Kushina had brought in her good friend, Mikoto.
Upon learning of the situation, Mikoto felt incredibly guilty for her oversight.
She decided to bring Naraku to her home to comfort the child's injured heart.
To do this, she had chased her husband out of the house that morning to make room.
Fugaku had tried to protest, but Mikoto firmly packed his luggage and sent him to a residence closer to the Police Force headquarters.
She argued that if the Clan Head were home, Naraku would feel anxious as a junior.
How could the boy recuperate properly under such pressure?
As the head of the Uchiha, shouldn't he care for a well-behaved, sensible, and helpless child like Naraku?
Fugaku was left speechless and, not wanting to upset his pregnant wife, he complied.
With Naraku taken care of, Kakashi was entrusted to Minato.
Minato happened to be resting at home between missions.
After learning about the situation, he had gone to the Hokage Building to take on a light assignment before heading to Kakashi.
Kana had considered involving Might Dai, who was known to be on good terms with both boys.
However, Minato explained that Dai's personality wasn't suited for such a delicate task.
Now, they could only hope that Mikoto and Minato would be effective in reconciling the two.
"Why did they even quarrel?" Kushina mumbled with a puzzled expression.
"They're both such sensible children!"
Kana shook her head. "I don't know."
Then she complained angrily, "Who knows what those two big idiots are thinking!"
"Achoo!"
Naraku was in Tsunade's office waiting for his sealing formula to be adjusted when he suddenly sneezed.
He felt as if he had been cursed.
He rubbed his itchy nose and put the book he had finished back on the shelf.
"Next, read the third and fourth books on the right."
Tsunade was busy writing sealing incantations and didn't even look up.
"Okay, Tsunade-sensei."
Naraku pulled out the two thick tomes: Detailed Explanation of the Creation Rebirth Technique and Theory and Practice of the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique.
The characters on the covers were faded from years of use.
"Alright, come over here."
Tsunade motioned for Naraku to sit.
She removed her forehead protector and lightly tapped the mark on his forehead with her finger.
A long chain of more than ten runes shot out from the mark, spreading throughout Naraku's body.
The incantations coiled tightly around him, reaching even his fingertips and toes.
After the inspection, Tsunade found that the seal's effect was better than she had anticipated.
The erosion of Naraku's body by the Sharingan's ocular power had slowed significantly.
As long as he didn't use the Mangekyo, she conservatively estimated he could live another three to five years.
If further improvements were made, his lifespan could likely be extended even further.
Tsunade's expression relaxed visibly as she considered the next steps for his treatment.
Her hands didn't stop moving as she placed a scroll on Naraku's forehead.
She activated it with chakra, and the modified formula began to automatically replace the old one.
Once the modifications were complete, the runes retracted back into the diamond-shaped mark.
"Alright," Tsunade said, taking back the now-blank scroll.
"The next session will be in three days."
"Thank you."
Naraku put on his forehead protector, completely covering the mark.
"By the way," Tsunade reminded him.
"Sakumo is doing well and has been moved to a regular private room."
"Don't go to the wrong place if you want to visit him."
"Yes, I understand."