After pulling Kushina away, Kimura couldn't help but smile helplessly. He looked at the two of them with a soft chuckle and said gently,
"It was just a figure of speech. Minato's always reminded me so much of Sosuke back then."
"It feels almost as if the two of you have become one."
At Kimura's words, Minato and Kushina stopped what they were doing and listened closely.
Minato in particular. His clear blue eyes sparkled as he seemed to picture the older man's manner.
Suddenly, he spoke softly.
"Teacher Kimura... Senior Sosuke... he worked really hard, didn't he...?"
Minato's sudden question caught both Kimura and Kushina, who had been muttering to herself nearby, by surprise.
Kimura quickly recovered. A wistful look appeared in his eyes as he turned to Minato and replied softly,
"You're right, Minato. Sosuke... really was a very hardworking child."
Kushina's pretty face froze for a moment at his words. She looked confused.
That didn't quite match what she'd heard.
Minato nodded slightly, as if Kimura's answer had confirmed something he'd been thinking.
Seeing Kushina's puzzled expression, Kimura smiled kindly and said,
"Kushina, like everyone else, you think Sosuke was a super genius, right? After all, what he achieved at that age was truly astonishing."
Kushina gave a small nod, agreeing with him.
Kimura only smiled and gently shook his head, his voice warm.
"That wasn't really the case."
A wistful look passed through his eyes, as though he were recalling memories long buried in his mind.
Beneath the dusky evening sky.
In the last rays of the setting sun, Kimura followed the sunlight and shadows to Konoha Forest.
He had come to gather some precious herbs used to treat wounds.
As he searched carefully with his head bowed, the sound of heavy, forceful blows reached him