(. . .THREE YEARS LATER. . .)

Karin throws the front door open with a bang. Her grin is triumphant, scarlet hair burning in the afternoon sun. There 's a thin scroll caught between her fingers, tied together with a familiar orange thread.

'Naruto 's letter came! ' she crows, and the house erupts in a flurry of motion.

Toshiro looks up from his cup of coffee, his tongue numb to the bitter tang. The liquid in the cup has nearly gone cool, his focus having been on the scroll before him for some time now.

Gangly teens crowd around Karin, their voices overlapping and creating a mess of limbs without thought. It 's the same each time. Almost every Hatake is here 'aside from Kakashi and Chiasa. Kakashi is off at the memorial stone, and Chiasa spends most of her time these days under a mask.

'Shut up! ' Karin finally snaps. 'I 'm gonna read it, so back off! '