The woman who had come here was Uchiha Sakuya, who had grown from a girl into a beautiful young woman.
She buried her face in the giant bear's fur and sobbed softly, her voice choked with emotion.
"Big Brother is gone... Sosuke is gone too..."
"But... Little Bear, how could you leave me too...?"
As she choked back sobs, tears soon streamed down her cheeks, soaking the giant bear's fur.
For some reason, her crying grew louder and louder.
It was as if she were finally letting out all the grievances she had kept bottled up for so long. She made no attempt to hide her feelings, and cried as sorrowfully as she had when she first learned of Tokino's death.
The giant bear had become almost as intelligent as a human. Though it was still just a child among the Bear Clan, it could sense the sorrow in Sakuya's heart.
So it sat there in a daze, its enormous body shielding Sakuya from the harsh sunlight as it let her pour out her grief.
Sakuya cried for a long time before her sobs finally began to subside.
Her eyes were red, and her fair little face had turned even paler.
For years, the pent-up thoughts she had kept buried inside had filled her heart with deep resentment. Only now had she finally let it all out.
The two people who cared most about her had left her one after the other, making Sakuya feel as though the whole world had abandoned her.
The news of Tokino's death had already been devastating enough. But not long after, Sosuke, who had always cared for her like a big brother next door, was branded a Konoha traitor by the village!
When the news reached Sakuya, she could hardly believe it.
In truth,