Til death and beyond

Epilogue

The young brunette turned out to be so energetic and talented at an early age and was almost a spitting image of his father were it not for his short brown hair. While he had been frail as a baby, he grew up to be very healthy, not running a fever ever since arriving at the village. He had a smile so bright, he may have been born on the sun and his voice was charismatic and rich like fountain of chocolate. He would occasionally get into trouble and perform some pranks on his fellow classmates, although it was never anything too serious.

As much as the third Tsuchikage tried to keep it a secret, people had gradually noticed the boy's abilities and figured out he was the son of one of the most notorious criminals from this village; it was hard to deny the striking resemblance and the forbidden Kekkei Genkai he was born with, attracting suspicion and distrust from the villagers, some even going as far as assuming he would follow in his father's footsteps and attack the village. Many also criticized the former Tsuchikage for spoiling him rotten.

His father was described as an insane pyromaniac obsessed with art. He was apparently raised by the previous Tsuchikage, and childhood friends with the current one, with a knack in sculpting, had stolen the village's forbidden jutsu, joined terrorist groups, and attacked this village after joining a criminal organization. The boy had some curiosity about sculpting as well, it seemed very easy with the mouths in his hands but he was afraid he would be even more associated to his father.

Not much was known about his mother, only Kurotsuchi had personally met her before. She was a very talented musician and rather formidable too. There was only very little information about her, as she spent most of her years under Orochimaru. He reckoned he liked music because of her and hoped to master drums one day, all the while teaching the mouths in his hands to sing.

"Hiroaki! What did I tell you about imitating your classmate's voices, pretending to be them?" The current Tsuchikage called him out, still wearing her hat as she fetched him from detention.

"It wasn't me, I swear! I would never say something like that in class, hm!"

"You can't fool me, kiddo!" She poked his nose. "Your mouth speaking prank is getting old now."

"Hey, Aunt Kurotsuchi... can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Why do people think I'll turn evil just like my dad?"

"Is someone bullying you? Give me the names and I'll have a talk with their parents."

"It's not like that! And you'll make me look like an uncool snitch, hm!" He pouted. "It's just that some people don't dislike me for who I am but because I am related to a criminal..."

"They're just jealous because they aren't born with cool abilities like you. Don't worry about it too much, ok? If anyone is giving you a hard time, me, Gramps and even Akatsuchi are always there for you."

"But if I wanna be famous one day, will people love me?"

"I'm sure you'll be, you're talented. And don't forget there are always people who love you, your mother told me to remind you."

Hiroaki beamed and hugged her.

"Now then, I got another meeting with the elders. We'll have ice cream later, alright?"

"Yay! You're the best aunt ever, hm!"

"Can you deliver these medicines to Gramps? His back is getting worse but he's as stubborn as a mule to take them. I'm sure you have a higher chance of blackmailing him to take them."

"No promises, but I'll try!"

He ran off to the retired Tsuchikage's estate.

"Great Gramps, I'm here!"