Chapter 266 : Kakashi: I have PTSD
Land of Fire, Northern Front.
Lady Tsunade, with two dark circles under her eyes, looked up from the mountain of documents, placed the folder aside, and asked her adjutant, who was sitting behind the desk next to her, "Kakashi and the others still haven't returned?"
The adjutant put down his pen, which had been grinding sparks from correcting documents, and respectfully replied, "No, Lady Tsunade. It's already 12 hours past the scheduled time."
"Tsk."
She irritably scratched her hair, thinking it was highly probable something had happened.
Even if Kakashi and Naraku, those two boys, were so close they wanted to stick together all day, neither of them was the type to neglect duty for personal reasons, so it was impossible for them to delay their return.
"Immediately send a message to Minato Namikaze, tell him not to return after completing his mission, but to go check on Kakashi and Rin's situation."
"Yes."
...It wasn't until midnight, after Tsunade had finished her work for the day, that she was sitting in her chair, dizzy and spacing out, when a golden flash appeared in the tent.
"Minato, how is it?"
"As you expected," Minato said with a solemn expression, a hint of relief at almost losing his comrades hidden between his brows, "Kakashi and Rin were ambushed by Hidden Mist on their way back from the Eastern Front. By the time I arrived, the battle had already ended."
"Where are they?"
"They're at the Medical Squad, but the situation is a bit tricky; you might need to treat them personally. Also, there's another situation..."
"I'll go see." Tsunade put on her coat and walked towards the door, beckoning Minato to come with her: "What else?"
Minato's face showed bitterness, and he forced a small smile, attempting to calm the commander who was about to lose her temper.
"Naraku was also present."
"What?!"
Tsunade immediately realized that Naraku, that boy, had probably been reckless again, and who knew what state he had gotten himself into this time!
"You brat, you're dead meat!"
Hurrying to the Medical Squad, Tsunade had barely entered when she saw Naraku, whose face was as white as paper, and her heart leaped into her throat.
Seeing his chest still rising and falling slightly, her suspended heart finally settled back into her stomach.
"Alright, alright, this time I'm definitely going to smash both of Kakashi's legs in front of this brat!"
The Medical Ninja responsible for treating Nohara Rin asked her for help: "Lady Tsunade, please come see..."
Tsunade turned around to examine Nohara Rin's condition. From the Medical Ninja's words, she learned that Rin had been in a state of suspended animation for a long time and her vital signs were difficult to restore. She immediately began to use advanced Medical Ninjutsu to save her.
When Rin's heart regained its strong, powerful beat, a residual Chakra not belonging to a human also became active.
Tsunade couldn't help but widen her eyes: "This is..."
...The surroundings were filled with a thick scent of blood, and soreness and weakness crashed against his nerves like waves, constantly reminding Kakashi that his body had long reached its limit.
Clang—
Sparks from the clash of blade and claw splattered on his eyelashes. He staggered back a few steps, and the moment he looked up, a massive, ferocious monster had already opened its bloody maw and charged towards him.
The next second, he appeared further away, and the person facing the danger in his place was Naraku, who was charging forward with a long sword.
The moment the blade pierced through the monster's chest, Kakashi suddenly opened his eyes, sat up abruptly from the hospital bed, and stretched his arm straight forward, wanting to stop it.
"Naraku!"
Bright sunlight filled the room, its intensity making him instinctively squint and pull his hand back to block the light.
—Did I survive that battle?
Kakashi gradually recalled his experiences before losing consciousness.
The nightmare-like scene reappeared before his eyes, and he covered his face in unbearable pain, trying to calm his overly rapid breathing.
—Naraku... Naraku killed... Rin...—No, it wasn't his fault... It was all Hidden Mist's fault for pushing us into such a desperate situation with no choice!
—After Rin's death, there seemed to be a... subsequent memories became fragmented and blurry. It seemed a person in a black robe joined the battle, but Kakashi couldn't remember what Ninjutsu they used.
Later, it seemed a second Mysterious Person appeared, and he was struck by their sneak attack, losing consciousness and collapsing.
—It must have been when he snapped his fingers that he cast some kind of Genjutsu on me, right?
Kakashi, who had developed Genjutsu PTSD since the rainy night, was full of anger and slammed his fist on the bed frame.
—Damn it! Are my memories, my personality, things that can be toyed with at will!?
—What about last time! Was it his doing last time too!?
Kakashi covered his throbbing temple, ignoring the pain and eager to get out of bed to find Naraku. After a few steps, his whole body stiffened, and he stopped in place.
"No, I can't... What if I, under the influence of Genjutsu again, unknowingly hurt Naraku?"
"He's already suffering so much after all this..."
"If I say something I shouldn't... Naraku would surely..."
Kakashi, caught in his dilemma, didn't notice a figure gradually appearing outside the door curtain, and was startled by a sudden voice.
"Kakashi, are you awake?"
"Naraku!? You, you, you... You don't come in yet!"
Outside the door, Naraku, holding a bento box, was about to enter when Kakashi's series of surprised and flustered responses confused him. He stopped, thinking, *Why is Kakashi so scared?*
—*Is he sleeping naked or something? Embarrassed for me to see?*
—*No, that's not right. We've been together for so many years, he's never had that habit.*
Naraku pondered, while obediently standing by the door and waiting.
At this moment, he suddenly thought that this was another good opportunity to torment the audience, and with the curtain between them, Kakashi wouldn't notice his act.
—*Perfect!*
—*System, where are those inner monologues I set up? Hurry and bring them out for the audience to enjoy!*
As the system resignedly began to operate and play the pre-prepared internal monologue, Naraku quickly got into character.
He lowered his head and took a step back, his shoulders slumped. His fingertips seemed to tremble uncontrollably, but he forcibly clenched his fists to stop the shaking.
He used so much force that his fingernails dug deep into his palms, leaving fresh red marks.
But Naraku seemed not to feel the pain. His face, shadowed by his long hair, was expressionless, showing only the silent despair of a heart turned to ashes.
Gradually, the pain turned into tears that slowly flowed from the corners of his eyes, dripping into the dirt at his feet and disappearing in an instant.
He raised his arm, about to wipe his face with his sleeve to avoid Kakashi noticing any flaws later, when he heard footsteps approaching from not far away. He quickly wiped away his tears.
After healing the wounds on his palm with Medical Ninjutsu, Naraku looked up at the person walking quickly towards him, no longer able to resist the urge to complain.
—*Why is it like this again...*—*I mean, can you please not interrupt me at such a crucial moment when I'm deep in character?*
—*Do I really have to keep Sensing Ninjutsu active every moment I'm acting from now on?*
"Naraku, move aside!"
The other person's body was clearly still very weak, yet their aura grew stronger and stronger. They shoved Naraku, who was standing dazed at the doorway, aside, lifted the door curtain, and burst inside.
Immediately, an angry shout rang out from inside the room.
"Hatake! Ka! Ka! Shi!"
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