Naruto stared blankly at his close friend. After a moment, a knowing and wistful smile appeared on Naruto's face as he leaned back against his chair and looked out the window at the brilliant sunshine of Konoha.
"Inheritance, huh... That's fine, too," he said softly, a trace of relief and anticipation in his voice. "Some secrets, some responsibilities, and some possibilities concerning the future are also about time to be handed over to the children of the new era."
"The two of us," he smiled as he looked at Sasuke, "couldn't possibly stand in front of them forever to shield them from all the wind and rain. The path of the future must ultimately be walked by their own feet and pioneered by their own hands."
Sasuke did not reply, simply turning as well to stand shoulder to shoulder with Naruto, looking out the window.
As far as the eye could see, Konoha was full of vitality in the afternoon sun. On the Training Ground, youths shed their sweat, while the streets were crowded with a stream of people and joyous laughter; that was the peaceful scene the two of them had created with their own hands.
Outside Kirigakure, Jackie Chan rubbed his temples, which were throbbing from the long drive, and slowly steered his dust-covered jeep into the village.
However, the sight before him instantly woke him up, his hand gripping the steering wheel tightening instinctively.
Kirigakure, which in his memory had well-proportioned and scattered architecture, unexpectedly had nearly half its area covered by scaffolding, protective nets, and mountains of piled construction materials!
Many familiar streets and alleys had disappeared, replaced instead by busy construction sites. The booms of cranes moved slowly through the air, the clanging of hammering and the shouts of workers rose and fell, and