The animation shows that several days have passed since that battle. Naraku and Kakashi's injuries have improved, so they returned to Konoha with Minato.
After the team disbanded, he went home with Kakashi, only to be summoned by Fugaku's men for a meeting.
On the way to Fugaku's house, Naraku seemed to have grown accustomed to returning to the Clan Grounds. He wasn't as nervous as before, and the surrounding chatter didn't faze him.
He watched the clean, bright street with focused eyes, observing the Clan Member around him whose expressions were slightly curious and surprised but not malicious, and Kakashi, who was close by his side.
Everything seemed so peaceful.
He lowered his gaze, seemingly lost in thought.
[He hasn't even had a drink yet.]
[Fugaku, you don't have to be so impatient, do you?]
[You'd better provide food, Fugaku!]
[Everyone seems suddenly interested in Naraku. Before, their attitude towards Naraku was pretty indifferent, like 'whoever'.]
[A Two-Tomoe Sharingan at nine years old? Which Uchiha wouldn't want to take a look?]
[Villager: Good morning, have you eaten?
Uchiha: Oh, how did you know we have a Clan Member who awakened Two-Tomoe Sharingan at nine?]
[You two, what are you trying to do? No challenging on the spot!]
[Actually, most Uchiha are pretty good.]
[That's right, most of them are ordinary and normal people.]
[They just don't know what Naraku suffered before.]
[Given the Uchiha's temper, if Fugaku hadn't kept it a secret, Shinji wouldn't have seen the light of day.]
[That's true.]
[What is Naraku thinking about?]
[Perhaps he's contemplating the future of the Uchiha?]
[The forum says Naraku actually understood. Now that he's back in the Clan Grounds, his feelings must be very complex.]
[After all, they're of the same clan. How could he not care?]
——
Naraku:??? Who's backstabbing me?
There are so many analysts on the forum... He looked up at the sky, speechless.
——
Upon entering the Uchiha Clan Head's residence, Fugaku confirmed the intelligence was true and was overjoyed.
Even though he tried hard to hide it, the audience could see that he was absolutely beaming, wishing he could set off firecrackers at his doorstep to celebrate.
[Fugaku, restrain yourself a little.]
[His mouth is almost stretched to his ears.]
[Fugaku: It's New Year! It's New Year!]
[Since Mirror died, the Uchiha haven't had such a genius appear in a long time. How could he not be happy?]
Just as the audience was teasing Uchiha Fugaku, the scene switched to the Hokage Building.
Sunlight streamed in from the window behind Hiruzen Sarutobi, illuminating his back but obscuring his expression.
The camera zoomed in, making his expression clear, but it was filled with worry.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sucked on his pipe, exhaling a thin wisp of smoke, his eyes fixed on the detailed mission report submitted by Minato after his return.
The camera focused on the text on the scroll, informing the audience that this mere b-rank mission contained quite a few noteworthy incidents.
First, Matsukata underestimated the mission's difficulty, leading to an enemy far exceeding the Jonin level and causing casualties; then, the Matsukata mansion suffered extensive damage, a fact that could not be concealed and was likely known throughout the Land of Fire by now; and there was Uchiha Naraku awakening his Two-Tomoe Sharingan...
[Hiruzen: Family, who understands? Why can a b-rank mission cause so much trouble?]
[I bet Hiruzen Sarutobi is baffled right now. Why are there such strong tentacle monsters in the Ninja World, and Konoha has no intelligence whatsoever? What is the intelligence department even doing?]
[Who can understand the frustration of starting work only to have a pile of messy problems waiting for you to clean up?]
[As a corporate slave, I understand all too well, boo hoo hoo hoo.]
Especially with Uchiha Naraku awakening the Sharingan at the age of nine, Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at it for a long time, letting out a deep sigh.
--Those troublesome guys are going to get restless again.
--And... Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes moved, realizing someone was rapidly approaching his office, so he put away the scroll, preparing to deal with his old friend.
"Hiruzen!"
Danzo Shimura pushed open the door and walked in, his cane clanking loudly on the floor.
"You must make a decision immediately!"
"I won't do anything, Danzo, and neither will you."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was calm, completely unfazed by his old friend's agitated look, even warning the latter not to make any moves.
"I know what you're thinking, Danzo, but as Hokage, I tell you, you are not allowed to take any further actions against the Uchiha, especially Uchiha Naraku, to escalate internal village conflicts and worsen their clan's emotions."
[Who's getting restless?]
[This posture, is Danzo Shimura here to demand an explanation?]
[What decision is he talking about?]
[Targeting Naraku? Why target Naraku?]
[Further? You said 'further'? Has it happened before?]
[No wonder Matsukata Seigou said 'Uchiha' and 'protecting the family', and Naraku understood!]
[So Naraku really felt that his clan was being targeted!]
Just as most of the audience was still confused, Danzo Shimura's rebuttal finally answered their questions.
Like a clap of thunder, it pierced through the chaotic thick fog.
"Do you want to wait until that brat grows up and becomes a threat to all of Konoha?!"
"Sensei already said that the Uchiha are too unstable!"
"Who knows if he'll be the next Uchiha Madara?! By the time something happens, it will be too late!"
"Only by having him enter my Root can he be controlled to the greatest extent!"
[Huh???]
[Danzo Shimura, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?!]
[So it was you!!!]
[It all makes sense now, it all makes sense.]
[The prophet was right again, holy crap!!!]
[Reasonable suspicion that the prophet is actually an internal member of Old Thief's team.]
[Good heavens, so Danzo Shimura really thought that way.]
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