"Much better..."
Before Sasori had fully regained consciousness, Chiyo had already wrapped him in her arms.
"Sasori... you foolish child..."
An ache filled his heart. The love he had longed for all this time had been right beside him all along...
The Third Kazekage stood and bowed to Sasori.
"Sasori, blame me if you must. I failed you as Kazekage."
Sasori lowered his eyes, seemingly unwilling to acknowledge him.
Seeing his reaction, the Third Kazekage sighed helplessly.
Orochimaru decided he was no longer needed and left first.
Xuanhui nudged the Third Kazekage with his elbow a few times, signaling for him to follow him outside.
They might bicker every time they met, but deep down, each knew what the other was thinking.
The two left the room and watched the drizzling rain.
"You're in luck, Lord Kazekage. You hardly ever see rain in Sunagakure, but now you get to stand in it."
"Oh, stop it. I've been to Amegakure plenty of times. It's not nearly as novel as you make it sound."
They sat right down on the steps.
Anyone who saw this would have been stunned.
A Kazekage and the strongest of Konoha's new generation were sitting on the ground without the slightest concern for appearances!
"Do you smoke? If you do, I can get you a cigarette from my teacher, Hiruzen."
"No. I don't like it."
Both of them sighed.
"Being Kazekage isn't easy, is it?"
The Third Kazekage nodded. His eyebrows were short, but the furrow in them was still plain to see.
"In life, you're always paying for either your past self or your future self."
"That's why I don't want to be Hokage. When you're that high up, you always have to worry about what came before and what comes next. I like living in