The weapon, swung to stop rather than kill, came to a halt.
Hatake Sakumo's attack could advance no farther in the face of Leaf Dragon's words.
Leaf Dragon calmly regarded the blade stopped before his eyes. Ignoring its deadly edge, his gaze followed it to the hilt and met the eyes of White Fang's owner.
A trace of bewilderment inevitably crept into Hatake Sakumo's resolute gaze. He felt his understanding begin to waver.
...Had I remembered wrong? Had I gotten it wrong?
Why did the person before me feel exactly like the one in my memories?
Leaf Dragon held Shisui Uchiha in one hand, showing no sense of danger despite the blade pointed at him. His movements were smooth and unhurried. He chuckled softly, then spoke.
"Sakumo, you've put on quite a bit of weight. Been eating too many of Xiao Yun's lovingly packed lunches? You're turning into a middle-aged man with a paunch."
He raised his free right hand, brought his fingers together, then spread them out, gesturing at something growing bigger and wider.
It was a simple greeting, like their everyday teasing, as relaxed and carefree as the conversations they used to have when everyone gathered together, before any of these upheavals had happened.
Ah, don't look at me like that and say those things...
I really will believe you.
White Fang's tip trembled faintly. The heavy rain fell upon it and split in two.
Hatake Sakumo felt that the rain was too heavy. The sword in his hand was so slippery he could barely hold on.
And every repeated strike of the rain, every questioning tap, shook the wielder's resolve even further.
His weapon-bearing hand finally dropped in defeat. Those few words of greeting shattered the uneasy warnings in his heart, and his vigilance ultimately succumbed to