After a day and a night of relentless travel, Naraku finally brought Kana into the Land of Fire, and the heart that had been constantly on edge finally relaxed a little.
The Hidden Rain Village and the Grass Ninja Village were unlikely to pursue them across the border; they wouldn't dare to openly enter the Land of Fire in pursuit. Now, the only thing to be wary of were the Root members sent by Danzo.
Food and water had run out. Considering Kana was already weak, Naraku refused to use her blood after the second time and forbade her from harming herself. He relied on popularity points to slowly replenish his Chakra, ensuring he still had the most basic ability to move.
The Land of Fire had a higher density of Villages and towns, so he should quickly find supplies and properly recover his body. Therefore, he was not in a hurry.
But everything seen through Kana's eyes was a different matter.
From her perspective, Naraku was at his limit every moment, enduring until they entered the Land of Fire, and now seemed to be on the verge of collapsing. This made her so anxious that she wished she could jump off the stubborn man's back.
When she finally saw the curling smoke of a distant Village, tears welled up in her eyes, and she choked as she patted Naraku's shoulder.
"Naraku, Naraku, there are people there!"
"Okay."
Naraku's voice was even hoarser, and he looked too exhausted to utter another word, but he still held Kana's thigh tightly and ran towards the small Village.
Upon reaching the outskirts of the Village, Naraku first hid Kana, then stealthily entered, found a relatively prosperous household, quietly took some food and water from the granary, and also got a pair of shoes for Kana.
Before leaving, he left enough silver on the lid of the water jar... With food and water, Naraku and Kana's luck also improved. They found a small, overgrown sinkhole. From its structure, there was another exit on the other side, making it an excellent hidden resting place.
After eating, Naraku originally wanted to use the Chakra replenished by the system to stay awake and guard alone, and also check if the animator had any updates, which might provide some useful information.
But Kana absolutely forbade it, saying that she could sense a larger area and should be the one on night watch.
Unable to argue with her, he had no choice but to sit against a rock wall and close his eyes to rest.
Once he relaxed, the physical and mental exhaustion immediately surged forth, engulfing his consciousness like a tide.
In just a short while, Naraku fell into a deep sleep.
The system automatically played the anime in the form of a dream, allowing him to watch the progress in his mental space.
The anime's progress, after Kushina became the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, showed several episodes of other people's experiences. The animator likely hadn't discovered the abnormal situation with Naraku at the time, so they aired other, more interesting storylines first.
But soon, Naraku's figure appeared on screen.
He went on missions alone, returned home to rest alone, trained alone until late at night, staring blankly at the night sky, his dark pupils reflecting the myriad stars, accumulating into an unknown complex emotion.
[Leaving Kakashi and Sakumo, Naraku spoke even less.]
[He looks so lonely.]
The screen went dark and then bright again. Naraku walked out of the Hokage Building and, in a flash, left the Village, traveling through the jungle.
A light rain gradually began to fall from the sky. Beside the boundless dark clouds, it was marked as the Land of Rain.
Next, he disguised himself and entered the Hidden Rain Village, then feigned illness to infiltrate the Akatsuki Organization.
[Such beautiful long hair was cut so cleanly? (╯‵□′)╯︵┴─┴]
[Gray-haired Naraku feels so different, so refreshing.]
[Indeed, I already liked Naraku a lot, but this made my heart pound even more.]
[More like the Hatake Household.]
[It's hard to say if he deliberately dyed it a whitish-gray, hehe.]
[Naraku's disguise is so heartbreaking, it reminds me of the hardships he endured before.]
[Eating hair? And giving medicine? Is this really some evil organization?]
[No, in a Ninja World accustomed to schemes and deception, the Akatsuki Organization's kindness is a bit eerie.]
[The Akatsuki Organization is either truly a savior or an astonishing villain.]
Everyone initially thought he would successfully gather intelligence, but after searching through files for a long time, he couldn't find anything unusual.
As Naraku quietly left the office, the episode was nearing its end. In the last few seconds, paper fluttered, and a blue-haired girl emerged from the wall, startling a large wave of bullet comments.
[Holy crap, he's been discovered!]
[Beautiful young lady!]
[This, isn't this Konan?]
[It really is!]
[Yay! Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan are finally back in the main storyline!]
[So this is the organization Yahiko and his group founded? No wonder it's like doing charity.]
[It makes sense.]
[Marararara, our own people are fighting our own people!]
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