Naruto Immersive Replay, The Curse of the Sharingan

Kakashi, who remained standing, did not give chase.

You all look so... vibrant, with a childlike capriciousness and boisterousness that Kakashi has long lost, or even never truly possessed.

At that moment, Kakashi's mind was flooded with long-forgotten images: his father's back as he lay in a pool of blood, Obito's last words as half of his body was crushed by a boulder, and Rin's smiling face as she crashed into the Lightning Blade in his hand.

Those heavy, bloody, and desperate fragments of memory, like a cold tide, instantly overwhelmed him.

He always thought that you and he were the same kind of people.

Both are shrouded in shadows, both carry unspeakable pasts, both feel out of place in the crowd, both are... lonely and lucid.

But now, watching you remain indifferent even amidst such noise, watching your undisguised unique charisma that attracts Naruto's sunny presence... he suddenly realized that he might have been wrong.

You may be lonely, but you are not without light. You are more like the moon in the night, cold and aloof, yet you exude an undeniable, bright and eerie light that attracts moths to fly towards you without hesitation.

Your very existence is dazzling.

And he... he was just a pathetic wretch left in the shadows of the past, trying to find solace in the darkness among his kind.

So... he and you were never the same kind of people after all.

An indescribable bitterness and self-mockery welled up in his heart. Kakashi slowly concealed all outward emotions in his eyes and transformed back into the lazy and indifferent Copy Ninja.

He took one last deep look at your retreating figure as you disappeared around the street corner, your silhouette vanishing silently as if it had merged into the air.

As you were walking forward, you seemed to sense something, and your steps paused almost imperceptibly. You subconsciously glanced back at the spot where Kakashi had just stood, but it was empty, as if no one had ever been there.

A faint hint of doubt flashed across your eyes, but you were quickly interrupted by the renewed noise from Kabuto and Naruto behind you, and you looked away without delving deeper.

Meanwhile, at the Haruno family's residence.

After a chaotic and initially unbelievable period, the Haruno family finally managed to accept the absurd yet unchangeable fact that they were about to have an adopted daughter out of nowhere.

Sakura even put aside the ninja academy application form she was most looking forward to, and the family of three began to busily take stock of the furniture and items in their home.

"Since we're having a new member, we need to prepare a room for her." Haruno Mebuki rolled up her sleeves, looking at the slightly cramped layout of the house with a worried expression. "But Sakura's room isn't big either; adding another bed would make it too crowded..."

Haruno Chō looked around the living room. "Perhaps we could move that old wardrobe to the storage room? Or get rid of this sofa?"

"Oh, right!" Yabuki suddenly remembered a crucial question and quickly asked her daughter, "Sakura, did you see that form the other day? Did it have any specific information about the child? Like how old is he? What's his name? We need to know how to prepare."

Sakura tried hard to recall the chaotic events at the Hokage Building and the orphanage gate that day. She tapped her chin with her little hand and said uncertainly, "Hmm... I think the form said... six years old? She's an older sister, and her name... her name seems to be... Uchiha Nagi!"

“Uchiha?!” Upon hearing this surname, Haruno Chika’s brows furrowed immediately, and obvious worry appeared on his face. “Is he a child from the Uchiha clan? This…this could not be…” His worry was palpable.

The Uchiha are a prestigious clan in Konoha and the leaders of the village's security forces, giving them a special and sensitive position in the village.

Would adopting a child from such a clan bring unexpected trouble to an ordinary ninja family like theirs? Or even disrupt their peaceful life?

Compared to her husband's worries, Haruno Mebuki was more open-minded.

She patted Haruno Cho's arm, comforting him, "Oh, it's alright. Since the Hokage has approved it, there must be a reason. Raising another child will put a bit of strain on the family, but we can still manage. Besides..."

She changed the subject, a hint of anticipation even appearing on her face, "I've heard that the Uchiha clan is known for its top-tier looks and strength! Maybe Sakura will get another beautiful and powerful older sister! Wouldn't that be great!"

Hearing his wife say this, Haruno Chizuru thought about it and agreed that it made sense.

Now that things have come to this, and the Hokage's seal has already been affixed, what's the use of them worrying anymore? They can only take it one step at a time.

Sakura, listening to her parents' conversation, didn't show much joy on her face as she thought she would soon have a playmate or older sister.

She saw her parents worrying about this, discussing which furniture to sell to make room and save money... She only knew that because of her unintentional action, the family's financial pressure and living burden would increase again.

She even began to regret why she had meddled that day and insisted on taking the form she had found to the orphanage.

If they had simply handed it over to the staff at the Hokage Building, or even just thrown it away... wouldn't all this trouble be avoided now?

The pink-haired girl lowered her head, looking at her toes, her heart filled with frustration and a hint of barely perceptible guilt.

The initial anticipation and excitement for the ninja academy were overshadowed by this sudden 'adoption' incident.

On the Fire Shadow Rock, three small figures sat side by side, their legs dangling in the air, looking down at the village below, where lights were gradually coming on from every house.

A gentle breeze swept by, bringing the cool air unique to the evening and ruffling the hair on my forehead.

Before we knew it, you two had been making a ruckus from afternoon until evening.

"...So, you're all orphans too..." Naruto Uzumaki hugged his knees, his voice lower than usual, his blue eyes gazing at the distant smoke rising from the chimneys, a complex and indescribable emotion in them.

It wasn't sympathy, but more like a feeling of...finding a subtle resonance; he had always thought he was the only one who was disliked and rejected.

"So what if he's an orphan?" Dou pushed up his glasses, his tone carrying a hint of stubbornness and defensiveness that was barely perceptible, but it had softened considerably compared to his hostile demeanor that afternoon.

Perhaps it was during his childish bickering with Naruto that he briefly shed his usual excessive precocity and scheming.

“We can still take good care of ourselves without our parents, and even be better than those hothouse kids.”

"Yes! That's right!" Naruto seemed to be injected with energy by these words. He suddenly stood up, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted loudly to the entire Hidden Leaf Village, as if to declare to all those who had once looked down on him.

"I can do it too! I, Naruto Uzumaki, can take good care of myself! I'm going to become Hokage someday!! And everyone will recognize me!"

His vibrant shouts echoed in the evening sky, carrying the indomitable dreams of children.

You sat quietly between the two of them, as silent as a finely crafted statue.

The warm orange light cast an illusory halo on the pale skin, but it did nothing to warm the lingering chill that surrounded you.

The black eyes reflected the burning clouds on the horizon, yet seemed to be separated by a layer of ice glass that could never be penetrated.

In reality, your thoughts have already drifted far away.

The conversation between Naruto and Kabuto about their orphanhoods did not stir any emotion in you.

You never felt the slightest sadness or self-pity because of being an orphan or having a taboo identity; to you, these were just insignificant labels.

Compared to these meaningless emotional drains, your brain is constantly working at high speed, trying to piece together useful information from the chaotic fragments of memory, searching for answers about yourself, about the past, and about the power hidden deep in your blood.

A strong intuition tells you that Konoha is not the end, and one day you will leave here to pursue the truth hidden behind the mist.

As darkness fell, the last rays of the setting sun were about to disappear below the horizon.

You support yourself with one hand, standing up lightly and steadily, the hem of your black dress swaying slightly in the wind.

"It's time to go back." The voice was cold and indifferent, as if stating an objective fact, without any hint of reluctance.

"Huh? So fast?" Naruto's face immediately fell, and he reluctantly pointed to the horizon. "It's not completely dark yet! How about we play a little longer? We can go to the river to catch fish! I know a good place!" His blue eyes were full of anticipation.

You turn your head to look at Naruto. The afterglow of the setting sun dances on his thick eyelashes. His unfathomable black eyes appear less aggressive in the warm light, yet they remain unsettlingly calm.

"Maybe next time," you offered a vague promise.

Although Naruto was somewhat disappointed, he still nodded obediently, his golden head drooping down like a puppy that had been refused playtime.

"Okay... well... Nagi-chan, Kabuto, goodbye!" He looked up, forced a smile, and waved vigorously.

Kabuto merely raised his hand perfunctorily, not even bothering to glance at Naruto; his attention was entirely on you.

You didn't respond again, but simply turned around and walked down the mountain along the path you came from. Dou immediately followed closely behind like a little tail.

Naruto stood there, watching their figures gradually disappear into the twilight, one cold and distant, the other following closely.

The evening breeze ruffled his golden hair, but he felt a warm glow in his heart, enveloped by an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

Today... I'm so lucky!

He not only broke the record for eating ramen, but also made friends!

Although Nagi seemed aloof and Kabuto was annoying, you two spent the whole afternoon together sitting on the Hokage Rock, enjoying the scenery and chatting!

Is this what it feels like to have friends? You joke around, you argue, but in the end, you still watch the sunset together and promise "next time"...

This feeling is absolutely amazing!

Thinking this way, Naruto's disappointment was overwhelmed by immense joy.

Unable to contain his joy any longer, he skipped and hopped along another path down the mountain, even humming an off-key tune as he disappeared into the deepening twilight.

Chapter 242 Background

In the simple apartment, Naruto Uzumaki tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep soundly.

The excitement and joy of the day seemed to have consumed too much of his energy, yet it also left his nerves in a strange state of heightened arousal, resulting in bizarre and fantastical dreams.

Just as he was about to fall off the bed in his restless turn, a powerful and ruthless force suddenly seized his consciousness.

After a dizzying spin, he found himself once again standing in that damp, dark, and dripping sealed space.

Behind the enormous iron cage, a pair of crimson, malevolent, and violent eyes were staring intently at him.

"It's you again, you stinky fox!" Naruto rubbed a non-existent sore spot and yelled at Kurama in the cage, "Why did you drag me in here so late at night instead of sleeping?!"

"Hmph! You brat! You're sleeping so soundly!" Kurama's deep roar echoed like muffled thunder in the empty space, making Naruto's eardrums ache. "Do you know who that black-haired little girl you were hanging out with today is?!" Its tone carried an almost urgent questioning tone.

"It's Nagi-chan!" Naruto answered matter-of-factly, even with a hint of pride, as if knowing her was something extraordinary. "My new friend! Pretty cool, huh?"

"Nagi-chan?" Kurama seemed disgusted by the intimate address, exhaling a scorching breath from its massive nostrils and baring its fangs. "Idiot! Who asked you her name! I'm asking if you know anything about her background!"

"Background? What background?" Naruto blinked his blue eyes, looking completely bewildered. "She's Nagi-chan, she lives in an orphanage."

"..." Kurama felt like he was talking to a brick wall. His massive fox paw slammed against the ground in frustration, causing the entire space to tremble slightly. "That icy chakra aura emanating from her! I won't mistake it! Even if she were reincarnated a hundred times, I'd still recognize her! She's the reincarnation of Hannya!"

"Han...Hannya?" Naruto tilted his head, even more confused. "What is that? A new flavor of ramen?" He couldn't understand Kurama's tense, almost apprehensive, demeanor.

"Eat, eat, eat! All you know is eating!" Kurama was so angry that he almost spat out a mouthful of blood. He suppressed his anger and tried to warn this idiot Jinchuriki in the most straightforward way.

"She's the crazy woman who hung out with Uchiha Madara during the Warring States period! A monster who treated human life like dirt, yet possessed ridiculously high strength! She and that madman Uchiha Madara were a perfect match! Back in the day... I suffered quite a bit at their hands!"

Recalling the days when he was dominated by Madara Uchiha's Sharingan and Hannya power, even someone as powerful as Kurama couldn't help but feel a long-lost chill and lingering fear in his heart.

"Uchiha Madara?" Naruto vaguely recognized the name; he seemed to have heard it somewhere before. He was a very powerful rogue ninja.

"But... what does this have to do with Nagi-chan? Nagi-chan is great, she doesn't hate me like other people do."

"Good?" Kurama let out a deafening laugh, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world. "Kid! You don't understand anything at all! Madara Uchiha's obsession with that woman is terrifyingly deep!"

"That madman is capable of anything to resurrect her! Starting a war and destroying the ninja world might just be necessary steps in achieving his goals. Getting involved with her now is suicide! You won't even know how you died!"

Kurama's warning was not out of concern for Naruto, but purely out of its deep-seated fear and apprehension towards Madara Uchiha and Hannya.

It had no desire to be involved in anything related to the monster couple anymore.

"What destruction of the ninja world... what resurrection of obsession... all this nonsense! I don't understand at all!" Naruto was dizzy from Kurama's string of words. He shook his head vigorously, put his hands on his hips, puffed out his chest, and loudly announced to the giant fox demon without fear.

"I don't care if you call her Hannya or Pineapple, Nagi-chan is Nagi-chan! She's a friend that I, Naruto Uzumaki, acknowledge, and I'm not going to distance myself from her! Humph!"

Relying on Kurama being firmly locked in the huge sealing iron cage, Naruto unscrupulously expressed his resistance.

"You! You ignorant brat!" Kurama was completely enraged by Naruto's stubborn attitude and his audacity to defy it. A raging fire mixed with eerie red chakra erupted instantly, almost destroying the entire sealed space.

"Get out! You idiot! Don't blame me for not warning you when that woman and the lunatic behind her kill you!"

With Kurama's furious roar, a tremendous force of repulsion violently flung Naruto's consciousness out of his inner world.

In reality, Naruto suddenly sat up in bed, his forehead covered in cold sweat, his heart pounding wildly, as if he had just experienced a fierce chase.

He blinked blankly, looked around at the familiar, simple room, touched his head, and let out a long sigh.

"What...it was just a dream...that stinky fox..." he muttered, scratching the back of his golden head with a confused expression. "But...this time it seemed really strange? It was talking about Hannya...Madara...I couldn't understand a word..."

He shook his head, trying to shake the ravings of that hateful fox out of his mind.

What destruction of the ninja world? What terrifying woman... Nagi-chan is so quiet, so beautiful, with such clear eyes... How could she be a monster? That stinky fox must be confused from sleeping.

Thinking this, Naruto lay back down on the bed, pulled the blanket over his head, and quickly drifted off to sleep again.

But this time, deep within that simple dream, there seemed to be a faint, ancient, cold, and eerie whisper...

Inside the sealed space, Kurama paced anxiously, his crimson eyes filled with unease.

It knew that the girl's appearance meant that the peaceful days were probably really coming to an end.

The conference room on the top floor of the Hokage Building was still lit up, like an eye peering into the darkness.

The thick soundproof barrier completely isolates the interior from the outside world, creating a suffocating and tense atmosphere that almost solidifies into a tangible form.

"What on earth is Hiruzen Sarutobi doing? That 'forbidden' Uchiha has actually been adopted by an unknown little girl! This is absolutely ridiculous!"

Koharu's voice, filled with barely suppressed anger, echoed sharply in the solemnly decorated yet cold conference room.

Her aged fingers struck the polished tabletop forcefully, producing a dull thud that revealed the extreme turmoil within its owner.

Around the oval table sat several advisors and high-ranking strategists from Konoha's power core.

At this moment, most people kept their eyes down and remained silent, not daring to easily respond to the words of this respected advisor elder.

The light from the ceiling cast interplay of light and shadow on their faces, making everyone's expressions appear obscure and inscrutable.