Watching Tsunade smile so brightly, Sosuke hesitated, looking uncertain.
It was the first time Tsunade had seen Sosuke like this. Her smile faded, and she asked in confusion,
"What's wrong, Sosuke?"
Sosuke gazed at her with his deep eyes, his expression grave. In a low voice, he said,
"Tsunade, I've figured out the location of the Sand Ninja's last stronghold. What do you plan to do?"
At Sosuke's words, Tsunade froze. A flash of grief crossed her eyes, and her expression turned cold as she replied,
"I have to go!"
Then, as if realizing how coldly she had spoken to Sosuke, Tsunade quickly gave him an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry, Sosuke... I was just so..."
Seeing this, Sosuke gently raised a hand to stop her. He tapped her forehead lightly with a slender, pale finger and said warmly,
"You don't have to be so polite with me..."
Tsunade pretended to be hurt, clutching her head as she glared at Sosuke and complained,
"Don't flick my forehead, Sosuke! That's something you do to little kids!"
At her words, a glimmer of remembrance passed through Sosuke's eyes. He spoke softly,
"You've never grown up in my eyes..."
Tsunade's pretty face flushed slightly, though she put on an exasperated expression.
But even as she rubbed her forehead hard and glared angrily at Sosuke, the smile at the corner of her mouth looked utterly blissful.
Within the Land of Rain.
The clouds overhead began to churn again, gradually blotting out the sun.
Yet none of this affected the land below.
In the lush forest,
"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"
Three dark figures flashed between the massive tree trunks!
Outside a Sand Ninja stronghold near the Land of Wind,
on the trunk of a massive tree that looked to be nearly a hundred years old,
"Thump!"...