In the clean, tidy little house, only Teuchi's soft voice echoed as he slowly told his story.
The faint yellow lamplight fell across everyone's faces, reflecting the different expressions they wore.
As they listened to Teuchi's unhurried account, Tsunade and Jiraiya both fell silent.
Just as Teuchi had said... they had never truly understood Sosuke's heart...
The atmosphere in the house grew slightly heavy. Teuchi gave a light cough, breaking the silence. The wistful look on his face faded, replaced by a faint smile.
He turned to Kushina and Minato, his eyes narrowing slightly as he said softly,
"I'm truly grateful that you've always looked up to Big Brother Sosuke."
"If Big Brother Sosuke knew, I'm sure he'd be very pleased."
At his words, Minato and Kushina's expressions grew solemn.
"Teuchi, from what you've said, do you think Sosuke never set his sights on Konoha in the first place...?"
Tsunade lowered her eyes and asked in a deeply dispirited voice.
Teuchi looked at her, a bitter smile appearing on his face. He said softly,
"That's only my personal guess. But you should all know how clever Big Brother Sosuke was... If he'd been keeping an eye on this village... how could he have exposed himself so easily and been discovered by the village...?"
Teuchi's words made Jiraiya's expression turn grave, while a flicker of dejection passed through Tsunade's lovely eyes.
She walked over to the table and slowly ran her pale hand across its surface, as though trying to feel traces of the life Sosuke had once lived there.
Deep in her heart, she couldn't help letting out a sigh.
So... I never understood you at all?
Meanwhile,
outside the quiet little house, several figures were slowly making their way toward it.
Seeing how drastically the surroundings had changed, Aizen