Chapter 224 : Jin: I can't wash it off even if I jump into the Yellow River*
The scene shifted from the war-torn front lines to the peaceful Konoha, arriving at the underground research base.
Naraku was doing calculations on a stack of draft papers, and the camera switched from directly in front of him to his side.
At this moment, someone unexpected by the audience also appeared in the shot with him.
[It's over, cutting to Naraku immediately after this means The Old Thief is definitely making a move now]
[The Old Thief, if you dare to torment our Baby Naraku again, I'll fight you to the death!!!]
[Holy crap!!! Jhin!!!]
[What's going on?! How did he get here???]
[Naraku and Jhin... do they really know each other?]
[Oh my god, what kind of development is this?!]
Next, the audience witnessed the most malicious side of Jhin's personality.
Slightly different from his demeanor with Nagato, he showed no restraint in his sarcastic and venomous tongue towards Naraku, even revealing a hint of malice.
He not only knocked over a large pile of draft papers but also deliberately stepped on them several times while Naraku was bending down to pick them up.
Yet, Naraku showed no surprise at his presence, remaining unfazed by the provocations and tests, as if he knew this was simply Jhin's personality.
[Is Jhin here to abduct Naraku? Like he went to save Yun Muyan?]
[Deliberately spilling the drafts is too annoying; if I were Naraku, I'd definitely punch him first.]
[Do you believe he didn't do it on purpose, or do you believe I am Qin Shi Huang?]
[Greetings, Emperor Qin Shi Huang!]
[Was it on purpose, or an accident? — It was a deliberate accident~]
[Don't bully Naraku, you stinky Masked Man!]
[Oh my god, it looks like Naraku really knows him! Look at his 'seen it all before' expression!]
[He's too much, Naraku, stand up and punch him!]
[You even stepped on them with your foot?! I'm really getting angry!!]
[No, this 'one willing to hit, one willing to take it' dynamic, why does it feel so off...]
Jhin found himself rebuffed, but still insisted on eliciting a reaction from the other party, so he dropped the bombshell news that "Konoha is about to be destroyed."
Naraku's hand movements paused, and he finally looked up to meet Jhin's gaze, but still didn't speak.
Knowing he had hit a nerve, Jhin insisted that Naraku beg him obediently before he would reveal the details, his flippant and lazy voice tinged with a hint of triumph.
And Naraku, just as Jhin expected, was willing to set aside his dignity to gain the information.
Upon hearing the specific news, Naraku didn't linger; he vanished from the laboratory in the blink of an eye, leaving Jhin to helplessly spread his hands at the empty air.
[Is Jhin delivering intelligence to Naraku? Is he that kind?]
[I kinda feel like Jhin is like those little boys who try to get their crush's attention by playing pranks.]
[Holy crap, the person before me described it so accurately! I knew something felt off!]
[It all makes sense, everything makes sense!]
[But only news related to Konoha can make Naraku respond, wouldn't that make him even angrier?]
[Oh my god, what am I seeing? What kind of forced play is this?]
[Jhin, you really know how to play, you just enjoy seeing Naraku submit, don't you?]
[Bullying the weak, aren't you ashamed, Jhin?]
[Honestly, who wouldn't want a genius like Naraku to break his pride in front of them?]
[Baby Naraku, I forbid you from begging him! Wuwuwuwu...]
[The way these two interact is too captivating... Sorry, Kakashi, I'm going to ship this for a bit.]
[It's absolutely delicious... A crazy pleasure-seeker who plays with the world, doesn't care about anything, and likes to force things, and a poor little fool who clearly has someone he loves but has to compromise for their sake...]
[I never thought I'd ship this kind of CP in Hokage; Hokage really is too comprehensive.]
[Jhin is definitely a dominant-level DOM; his possessiveness is way too strong.]
[Naraku even knows his name! They must have met a long time ago!]
[The amount of information is too much, I need a moment...]
After the ending credits, this episode wasn't over; the progress bar showed about two minutes of an easter egg.
The screen went from black to bright, showing Naraku kneeling on one knee in the center of the Hokage Office, his posture respectful, enduring Hiruzen Sarutobi's direct, almost harsh, scrutiny.
For nearly ten seconds, no one spoke in the entire scene; the camera zoomed in and out, constantly changing angles or gradually tilting, as tension permeated every corner of the room, making the audience's hearts race.
After the agonizing wait, Hiruzen Sarutobi still decided to issue a few orders as a precaution.
Before the audience could even breathe a sigh of relief, they heard him order Naraku to personally verify the accuracy of the intelligence, and the comments section immediately erupted.
[Although telling the Hokage to organize troops for interception would be more efficient, how would Naraku explain where this information came from?]
[Looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze, Naraku probably didn't expose Jhin.]
[Old man, I advise you not to have any ulterior motives!]
[My hair is standing on end; I feel like Hiruzen Sarutobi could erupt at any moment, grab Naraku, and torture him to force out where the information came from.]
[Thankfully, the old geezer's mind isn't completely muddled; he knows it's better to be safe than sorry.]
[Holy crap, Hiruzen Sarutobi! Do you know what you're saying?!]
[How could you think of sending Naraku to the battlefield?! Aren't you afraid Tsunade will come back and explode on you?!]
[It's over, it's over, it's over; those smarty-pants on the forum really guessed it right!]
[I knew giving away the amulet wouldn't lead to anything good! The Old Thief, you * * *!]
A string of text popped up in the middle of the screen indicating that the episode had ended, but the audience clearly had a lot more to say, so they immediately started passionately commenting.
@Black Forest Cake Wizard: Case closed, brothers! Naraku definitely fell off the cliff and was saved by Jhin! Besides that period, there's no other chance they could have met Jhin, right?
Also, everyone, think about what Jhin does? He's a pyramid scheme boss! He definitely wouldn't let go of a good prospect like Naraku; he probably saved him to recruit him, and helping Fūyō was him doing Naraku a favor.
But in the end, it probably wasn't successful, otherwise, he wouldn't have let Naraku run back to Konoha. Didn't Naraku have a small flashback of being chased in his dream? It's very likely that was his escape from Eternal Day.
Comment 1: Well-reasoned! Very well-reasoned!
Comment 2: No wonder Jhin's attitude towards Naraku is so twisted; it turns out he's 'in love but can't have him,' so he 'hates out of love'~
Comment 3: I also have a similar conjecture.
Nagato watched Yahiko die and his dream shatter, which is why he joined Eternal Day's salvation plan. At the time, many people speculated that Jhin most likely watched indifferently, and might have even fanned the flames.
What about Naraku? Did Jhin also know everything that happened to Naraku?
Or rather, could it be that he wanted Naraku to despair of the world and thus be willing to join Eternal Day, which is why he caused so many tragedies?
After all, the 'Kyoka Suigetsu' on Sakumo was dispelled, and Kakashi's mysterious genjutsu, which he fell under at some unknown time, theoretically, only Jhin could have done it so far.
But in the end, Naraku did not fulfill his wish, but insisted on escaping back to Konoha, and out of consideration for protecting his loved ones, he did not reveal any information about Jhin and Eternal Day to anyone.
Comment 4: Reply to Comment 3: Oh my god... I feel like that's so reasonable!
Comment 5: Reply to Comment 3: Thirteen Seat-sensei, is that you?
Comment 6: Reply to Comment 5: It's confirmed to be him; the content is almost identical to the forum post, and the writing style is very similar!
Comment 7: Reply to Comment 5: It's me. The plot analysis was too long to post conveniently in the comments section, so I posted a more detailed version on the forum.
However, these are all just speculations and there isn't much concrete evidence. Coupled with The Old Thief's overall storytelling style, I believe the 'everything is Jhin's conspiracy' theory probably has only a 40 to 50 percent chance of being correct.
Comment 8: I think it's pretty much confirmed that Jhin saved Naraku when he fell off the cliff, but whether he perceived the ugliness and darkness of human nature and saved Naraku opportunistically, or actively arranged Naraku's fate in secret, these two possibilities are equally likely.
Comment 9: Reply to Comment 8: But the former doesn't explain the problems with Sakumo and Kakashi, unless there's an even more deeply hidden character! But does The Old Thief have that many tricks up his sleeve? *chuckles.jpg*
Comment 10: Reply to Comment 8: The former could still be said to be morally ambiguous, but the latter would make him a pure villain!
... @I Am An Optimist: Friends, don't be too pessimistic. Although Naraku gave away his amulet and was sent to the battlefield to intercept Sunagakure while seriously ill, Jhin will likely intervene in a crisis.
Why? Please see Thirteen Seat's analysis on the forum, [Image], [Image].
Regardless of whether those tragedies were his doing, one thing is certain: Naraku is definitely a prospective organization member Jhin values, just like Yun Muyan and Nagato; he wouldn't let such a genius be wasted.
Moreover, it can be seen from the animation that his attitude towards Naraku is more a twisted possessiveness and desire for control, not an extreme malice wanting him to die, so the possibility of him intervening to save Naraku is quite high.
Comment 1: That's right, he wouldn't go to such lengths to deliver intelligence to Naraku just to let Naraku die, would he?
Comment 2: I feel like Jhin is just a bit ill-tempered; he's really not as villainous as some people say. Up until now, whenever he's appeared openly, he's basically been saving people, saving people, and saving people...
Comment 3: Reply to Comment 2: That's why Thirteen Seat, the big shot on the forum, also said it's a 50/50 chance.
Comment 4: Reply to Comment 2: Seriously, some people are like obsessed, only believing in conspiracy theories, and they show off everywhere with a sense of superiority. If someone expresses a differing opinion, they even curse them.
Comment 5: Reply to Comment 4: Obsessed people are everywhere; just ignore them.
---
Naraku had a bit of a headache: It's over; Jhin won't be able to clear his name this time!
Jhin is indeed positioned as a villain, but his plan was for Jhin to be an antagonist to the protagonist, not to become a purely evil character like Mahito from Jujutsu Kaisen, come on!
Although eventually the animator will explain to the audience that it was all Black Zetsu's fault, before that, most of the blame will probably fall on Jhin alone.
While there are still many Jhin fans, he needs to find a way to salvage his reputation.
Occasionally do some good deeds? Or, make himself appear to have many hidden difficulties?
After all, for villains in animated films to increase controversy andTopic, these are generally the two methods.
Naraku scrolled down the comments section, and then he discovered there was a third method.
Moreover, what this viewer said was also the deepest hidden concept he had when creating the character "Jhin."