Summary:
Sakura had lost everything, constantly left behind she'd finally caught up, only to have Sasuke block Kaguya's attack so that she and Naruto could land the killing strike. And now, here he was bleeding out in front of her and she could do nothing to stop it.
Sasuke lost everything, he'd lost his wife and daughter and now his brother in arms was telling him to abandon him too. They'd both suffered losses, and now he'd have to leave him to do what chase after a maybe future
Naruto won the war, but she'd lost so much more than she'd gained, where were her precious people, oh, they were buried by her own hands. She was all alone again, no one there to soother her, no one there to hold her. At least she wasn't alone in her loneliness.
Shikamaru wasn't one to turn down a dead man's request even less so inclined when said dead man had a solution for all this madness. He could see why he could just turn down this request, but hope springs eternal, after all.
Hagoromo only wishes to see them succeed, perhaps their different experiences will allow them to reach a peaceful future, on where there is no more bloodshed, and where these children could be happy
Inspired by Naruto Shippūden: The Legendary Team「伝説的なチーム」 by HerPrettySmile.
This was actually inspired by more than just the listed inspiration:
Soul /works/7545533
Tuna-Fish and Red Splattered /works/6285832
Silent /works/5996737
One Eye Full of s/11016559/1/One-Eye-Full-of-Wisdom
Walking Backwards on a s/8230399/1/Walking-Backwards-on-a-Tightrope
Deadlock: /works/4780328
These just about sum up my inspiration for this fic.
...
Konohagakure no Sato, a place that changed the very structure of the Shinobi world. Some say it's the center of all the worlds problems.
Maybe they're right.
...
"Huff...Huff...guh!" Sakura had promised, she'd promised not to cry again, a shinobi must never show their tears-! She let them fall anyway. What was the use in hiding them when there were no more enemies to hide them from?
Through blurry vision, she surveyed the battlefield, she was a field medic first. Not that it would matter.( They're dead-dead,lyingatfeet,deadanddying,whatgoodamINarutoSasukeKakashi,EVERYONE)
The one survivor was right in front of her, and no amount of chakra would save him.
"Stupid Naruto...Stupid, why did you have to do that? You and Sasuke-kun-?!" She clenched her fists, dragging dirt under her nails. It hurt, being left behind again.
"Don't cry Sakura-chan, it messes up your pretty face...*cough*Hackk!" Naruto ground out, coughing heavily in pain, the pool of blood beneath him.
"Stop, all you're doing is hurting yourself," Sakura cried, they'd won the war but at what cost, half the shinobi world was decimated, lost and no longer strong as it was before. Not to mention, she was alone again, they'd left her behind, and this time there'd be no way for her to catch up.
"Hey, Sakura-chan, can you do one last thing for me...?" she shut her eyes wiping away her tears, one last thing he'd said, one last thing, she didn't want this to be the last time. Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei were gone, so was Ino and her Shisho. Naruto was all she had left.
"What you idiot?" She asked with sorrow and fondness.(I'm sorry I wasn't here in time, I'm sorry I wasn't stronger to stop you from leaving Sasuke, I'm sorry I didn't perfect my seal in time Kakashi-!)
"Kurama...has a way to undo this," her heart leaped into her throat, a chance for all this to be over, to have never have happened?!," says you have to meet with Rikudo-Jiji though...will you do it...for me...I don't-"
"Naruto,"Sakura interrupted grabbing his hand,(cold and bloodied, he's dying I can't stop this), shut up and take me to him...if I can stop you from dying if I can keep Sasuke from leaving, I'll take any chance," laying a kiss on his bloodied forehead, she smiled at him, or tried to," I love you Naruto, make sure to tell Sasuke and Kakashi too."
Naruto gripped her hand with whatever strength he had left, which wasn't much considering it was all the Kyuubi's, grinning weakly he promised," Will do Sakura-taichou, make sure to kick Teme's ass for me."
"Yes, Hokage-sama..." And Kurama's chakra enveloped her whole, and she was set down in an empty space, filled with white wherever she looked.
"So, you are the young Sakura hmm?"
Turning around, face to face with the Rikudō Sennin, she felt hope in her heart.
"Dobe!" Sasuke ran after Naruto, his arms full with the last part of his life worth protecting,(no point now, her heart stopped beating three hours ago), his Hokage three feet in front of him, in the same boat as him,(His first student and he'd failed him too, Naruto he's dead, they're gone, they're both dead, why am I-)
"Teme," Naruto responded, tired and weak, he'd stopped moving to lay Boruto down on the ground. This part of the forest was secluded enough that they didn't need o worry about being found. Naruto had lost an arm back there to a hysterical swordsman(he'd cut down Sakura, who'd been protecting Sarada, and then he'd struck Sarada, he wasn't fast enough, they'd killed his wife and now his child, he couldn't protect them, he couldn't do anything, how weak!)
Now they were both down and arm, and devoid of any family. Sasuke laid Sarada down next Boruto, closing her open eyes and tying a blindfold across both of their eyes. (Why would that matter, shinobi will no longer exist they'll be a thing of the past. no need to hide dōjutsu, need to worry about anyone finding their graves. The Uchiha burn their dead anyway.)
"I need you to do something for me Sasuke...consider this my last request as your friend and your final mission as your Hokage," Naruto said, and he joined his hands with Sasuke, mechanically going through the hand signs for a Katon Jutsu,( better to burn their bodies then risk burying them).
"What is this mission, and what do you mean 'last request'?!" Sasuke asked vehemently, Sasuke would go above and beyond for his Hokage but not if that meant leaving him behind.
"You still have the Rinnegan, I need you to go with Kurama to Rikkudo-Jiji," Naruto began, his remaining hand gripping Sasuke's shoulder, "There may be a chance for you to change all of this yet."
Sasuke opened his mouth to protest but the sudden hug from Naruto stopped him, "I haven't got much time left, that sword back there was laced with something Kurama is wasting his life force to cure me of...and at this point there isn't much reason for him to do that.
"I am asking you as your friend Sasuke, and as an order from your Hokage, you are to find a way to prevent this future from happening with the help of Rikkudo Jiji and Kurama," Naruto said, and giving Sasuke no room to argue forced him to activate his Rinnegan, and sent him off to meet with the Sage.
Sasuke grit his teeth as he landed in that white space(white space, I'm about to die, I let them down, Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, Sarada,)
His head down, eyes glued to his feet, he gripped his tantō and met the gaze of Rikkudo Sennin, his Mangekyo Sharingan spinning glowing red.
" Well then Sasuke, what is it that you intend to do?"
Naruto grimaced as she lay yet another one of her Precious People to rest, Kurama rumbling along with her. Kurama was all alone now, his siblings sealed within the Gedō Mazō. (Two peas in a pod, all alone with no one there anymore .no shukaku, no matatabi, no isobu, no son Goku, no kokuo, no saiken, no chomei, no gyuki,)
All alone, just like when he separated from his siblings. Kurama wailed within her, his crying spurring Naruto to tears as she kneeled before the graves of her two most precious names glaring at her with all the hate she'd thought they'd felt towards her.
(As if they'd ever hate her, they made sure to remind her they didn't between stolen kisses in the inn and soft touches eating out, a promise of always loving her when they curled up next to each other, the warmth of another two bodies comforting after a particularly bad mission with Anbu, the hospital.)
She was looking forward to spending the rest of her days by their sides, as Hokage, and in her retirement. That dream came to an end soon, enough. The Fourth Shinobi War came and went, taking as many lives as it deemed necessary, including her lovers.(It hurts, it hurts, it's gut-wrenching, it hurts, the wound is there, Sakura would know what to do, but she's not here, Sasuke could calm the pain, but he's not here either.)
Crying wouldn't bring them back, and she'd long since made her decision.
/Gaki...it's time./And all around her the world faded to black and enveloped her in white. Face to face with her ancestor, she held her head high, there was no turning back, she'd take this chance for everyone's happiness!
"Rikkudo-Jiji, please-!"
Shikamaru lay next to his teammates. The tale of the 16th Generation Ino-Shika-Cho had come to a close, and with that, all that remained of his Sensei's legacy was him and Konohamaru, who was probably bleeding out back at the base camp, last he'd heard from the medics.(He's bleeding internally near several arteries that require the most delicate of chakra application to heal, and even then we'd need someone of Tsunade-hime's, Shizune-san's, or Sakura-san's medical prowess to even begin to get rid of the internal brain bleeding.)
Sitting up, he moved towards their bodies, still whole in one piece. A small blessing considering the state of his fellow graduates near the end of all this, he alone survived, well he and Sasuke, but considering how his fellow Uchiha was throwing his power around recklessly in revenge of his teammates he doubted Sasuke even made it out alive.
(They'd sworn to end the war with this last attempt and they had, but they're dead, they were already dying you made it happen faster, didn't you promise your dead predecessors you'd protect them, now look what you did. Sai was gone and with him the last of Ino's ideas of self-preservation, she put herself in front of you, a hole in her stomach and Choji-)
"Nara...*cough, cough* Oi, Pineapple-head!" Shikamaru heard the faint voice of Sasuke, running quickly to where he'd heard him, he came upon the Last Uchiha leaning against a rock, one arm missing and one eye was gone, his good arm clutching the stump where he'd cauterized(badly, he was no medic that was Sakura's job) it.
Approaching him slowly so as not to startle him he gingerly began to put his arms around Sasuke's body only for the injured party to stop him.
"I'm not gonna make it back to the village, Lazy Genius," Sasuke bit out, his breathing labored. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes and attempted to lift him up again.
"That's bull, I'm taking you to a medic," Shikamaru argued, only this time to be physically stopped by Sasuke once again,"Listen to me would you, I don't have much time left, but I need you to reach into my breast pocket, and read the contents right now*cough, cough, cough* hrkk!" He'd begun to cough blood, solidifying how little time was left.
Shikamaru, not one to deny a dying man's wish, did as he was asked, and grew paler by the second, grabbing Sasuke's shoulder, he asked in a hurried tone,"Hey, is this thing real or are you just fucking with me, because Uchiha I swear if you are-"
"Use your head, Nara, would I really go to such lengths for you to kill me all for the sake of pride,"Sasuke bit out, coughing as he did so, "whatever was left of the old me died with the last of Team Seven...so ready to meet the Creator of Shinobi...?" Shikamaru didn't answer only storing the scroll in his breast pocket and grabbing onto Sasuke's shaking hand.
Shikamaru found himself face to face with the Rikkudo Sennin, so-called Creator of Shinobi, and asked before Hagoromo could even speak," Please help me protect my precious people."
Hagoromo found himself grinning a grin he hadn't grinned in years, not since before he realized the truth of his mother's Ritual and her want for power. Closing his eyes in deep thought he asked, "I have an offer, but the price may not be what you truly want."
"Why would-" Sakura stopped herself, thinking better of it, and countered,"What's the price to change the past?"
"Well," Hagoromo began," In the first place you wouldn't be able to change the course of your timeline."
Sasuke sucked in a breath,"Then...why is it that you're offering a solution if it can't fix my problem?"
Hagoromo opened one eye to gaze at his descendant before him,"My reasons are two-fold. First, your timeline is set, changing it would require me to sacrifice the remaining lives of your timeline to allow me to even begin to allow you to change your timeline. A price to reset fate is equal to the life itself."
"And you know I wouldn't want to do that," Naruto reasoned,"But what's the other reason?!"
He looked the young Nara in eyes and smiled, "It takes quite a bit of energy to move four souls around no?"
Shikamaru was confused," Four souls, timelines? But I'm the only one from my time-"And the answer came to him, a chuckle made its way past his lips, becoming a full-blown laugh, throwing his head back and holding his stomach. Hagoromo, joined in on the laughter, knowing that he'd come to his answer.
'I'm not the only one carrying this burden from my Hokage!'
"No way, Rikkudo-Jiji you better not be pulling my leg,dattebayo!"Naruto exclaimed, her air of austerity as Hokage gone, not that she cared. She wasn't alone in this, she wasn't on her own anymore.
"Kurama, Kurama! Didja hear?!" Naruto cheered as she raced up the Biju's body and onto his head, said Biju grunted in false irritation but rumbled affirmation, that he had heard, which meant he'd see his siblings one way or another, and prevent this damned war.
/Chichiue,/ he called to Hagoromo, /who are these others that also mean to go back in time?/ Hagoromo grinned in response to his question, his gaze settled upon Naruto in nothing but fondness.
"Two of them you know very well, they've been on your side no matter what and the third is an addition you'll be very thankful to have if you decide to take a leap into the unknown."
Sasuke heart lurched, he may not have been Sakura but being the Hokage shadow required him to know all the going on's of Konoha and the latest gossip, which put his wife at the top of the social food chain...Sakura...Naruto.
Through slowly shed tears he accepted this chance at a new life.
"It'll definitely be easy...with Shikamaru with us, he gave Naruto plenty of strategies to use when things got tough, and plenty of ideas for us Medic's..." with renewed resolve she found her answer," Rikkudo-Sennin, please grant me passage to this new timeline!"
Hagoromo nodded, pleased by her answer.
"Rikkudo-Sennin-" "Hagoromo Otsutsuki." "What?"
Hagoromo turned to Shikamaru,"My name, being called by my title is a little tedious, and at least young Naruto addresses me without formality, I'd rather be called by my name."
Shikamaru took a second to process the information, and with a hand rubbing his neck, he smirked," How , at any rate, please give those three troublesome people a message, we'll meet within the Founding Tree." And thought a moment longer," And that Dead Last should come armed with Privacy seals."
"That Shikamaru!" Naruto huffed,"Who's he calling Dead Last, I'm the freaking Hokage, 'ttebayo!" Turning to Hagoromo, she snapped," Rikkudo-Jiji, let's go, let's go!"
Hagoromo chuckled at his descendant's actions, and complied," I hope this second chance grants you good fortune...Naruto-kun."
"Eh...?Kun?"
/Kek, gahaha! Now what he said makes sense Gaki! Heh, you've switched genders!/Naruto blushed heavily, looking at her new body, well his new body now. How did this stuff even work, he hoped he wouldn't have to deal with any morning wood. Walking through her-his apartment, Naruto found some paper that he could use to make those seals.
/Please Gaki, with your sex drive, you won't have to worry, for all your Oiroke no Jutsu and its variants were worth, you have the sex drive of Father/
"So...none at all?"
/ Nada...well, in the case of your lovers your body may be singing a different tune./
"Grr, shut it furball!" Naruto didn't have to worry about alerting the ANBU on watch thankfully, her-his rambunctiousness was the same no matter what dimension they were in. Adding the final touches to the seal, Naruto began to fill it with the slightest bit of chakra, his control was still sloppy, but at least her...his reserves had carried over, but that also meant the tiny amount of chakra and control needed for it, had to be doubled and that was tiring, dattebayo!
But Shikamaru wasn't his advisor for nothing if he said they needed privacy seals, that's what he'd do. Ambling about the rest of his apartment, Naruto cleaned up whatever he could(for now), and would take care of the rest when he met up with the others, Sakura and Sasuke should know some pretty good cleaning methods.
/Not that it'd help you./'Quite you.'
He'd set up the wards for his apartment, and good grief it was a mess, and door, grabbing the privacy seals, she made her way down the stairs and through the streets, moving towards the populated ones, knowing that the villagers would give her a wide berth, if only to not risk touching the 'demon-child'.
Doubling back to avoid running into any of the Military Police, although they were mostly apathetic to her-him in his timeline, they did help him out from time to time and walk him to and from places, and if they happened to be nearby when shopkeeps were gouging their prices, they'd throw a Sharingan filled glare their way and move on.
They were still dicks sometimes though.
Making sure no one noticed him, he quickly ducked into the Founding Tree and set up. Now all she-he had to do was wait.
This gender change thing would take some getting used to, dattebayo.
Sasuke could scarcely believe his eyes, and yet he knew he'd have to anyway. He struggled not to cry and instead thought of things that made him gag. It helped a little bit. And then he'd remembered that his mother was still alive. That made him tear up a bit, and she stopped in the middle of her greeting to him to see what was wrong, she'd believed his lie of a nightmare easily enough and decided he'd help make lunch.
He'd figured he'd make extra to take to the rest of them. Getting the rice and reaching for the plum, he'd finished...his brother's bento. He felt himself begin to cry again, and pushed it away, wiping his eyes with the sleeves of his shirt. He started on the batch he was going to bring the others.
...
"Hmm, Sasuke,"Mikoto began,"we're done making lunch for the others?" Strange, her younger son rarely agreed to do housework with her, believing it to be a thing only girls did, and even then, he never willingly did more than he had to.
"I'm making them for my friends," Sasuke said, and with it, he carried a voice of finality, one she certainly expected from her husband and not her baby. He wasn't growing up already was he? She'd already lost Itachi when he was much younger than Sasuke, and already she was losing him.
"Sasuke...why are you in the kitchen?" Mikoto jumped, had she been so distracted she didn't notice Fugaku come up from behind her? Sasuke stiffened at the sound of Fugaku's voice but continued to make more onigiri, this time filling it with Salmon. How odd, usually Sasuke was obedient and constantly looking for his father's approval...what changed?
"...Sasuke, didn't you hear your father call for you?" Sasuke mumbled an answer along the lines of being upset with him. And Mikoto couldn't help but repeat those words."You're...upset with him?" Uh-oh.
"Ah...Sasuke why are you upset with me exactly?" There was the Uchiha pride back again. Sasuke turned to glare at Fugaku and continued to do so as he washed his hands, answering,"Because I had a dream last night, and Otou-sama said I could never make an Onigiri half as good as Okaa-san's." Mikoto bit back the urge to laugh. Fugaku was suited more for shinobi training rather than child rearing.
"...Sasuke, that was a dream-"
"Are you saying you lied?!" Oh, this was too precious, she activated her Sharingan to memorize it all. She wished she had her camera!
"Sasuke it was a dream, nothing I said in a dream could be the truth," Fugaku said sternly wondering why he was arguing the nuances of whether a dream could be truthful when compared against real life, not only that but with his youngest son.
"So you're saying my Onigiri is as good as Okaa-san's?" Sasuke threw back, his eyes sparkling with that childlike innocence, Mikoto saw the look Fugaku threw her way, smiling silently urging him to continue. Fugaku glared at her, and with a sigh, "Well, I would have to try one first-"
"Here." Fugaku stared at the plate with a single Onigiri and the hopeful look on Sasuke's face, he could just say no and leave, but the burning gaze of retribution he felt from his wife urged him not to. As much as he'd like to say he was head of this household, he only held weight in the Clan matters. In the house, Mikoto ruled with an iron fist and the threat of chores.
And as they say, A Happy Wife is a Happy Life.
Sighing once again, he took a bite expecting it to taste as crudely as it looked...and yet it tasted oddly like Mikoto's own, and yet not because she'd never let him eat one filled with tomato. While he didn't outright hate the vegetable it wasn't his favorite. Sasuke awaited approval and Fugaku not being one for words, patted Sasuke on the head, took his bento and left. The sheer look of happiness and underlying look of laughter on Sasuke's face went unnoticed by Fugaku, but Mikoto saw everything and so did Itachi.
He had it on film.
Mikoto never felt more proud. Her baby was just like HER.
Sakura hummed alongside her mother, making bentos for her boy's and Shikamaru, she added more tomatoes to one, remembering how much Sasuke loved tomatoes, and mackerel to the other, she couldn't make ramen, but she recalled that Naruto was fond of Tempura, and added some in, although his bento was the healthiest of all.
He needed to get healthy in some extra ingredients, she placed the lids on them and stacked them atop one another. They weren't too heavy, or maybe that was just her chakra enhanced strength allowing her to do this with ease. Her mother was putting the finishing touches on her fathers when Kizashi finally took notice of all the bentos.
Chuckling, Kizashi teased, "Sakura-chan, trying to impress a boyfriend?" Sakura shook her head no, smiling," Nope they're for my friends." Kizashi chuckled good-naturedly, but in his head, he was breathing in relief, his daughter wouldn't be leaving the nest anytime soon.
Mebuki sighed at her husband's antics, and sent him off with a kiss on the cheek, Sakura was putting on her boots by the door, and Mebuki still couldn't help but stare at her daughter and the way she'd held herself. Like a proper shinobi.
"Kaa-chan, I'm off!" Sakura called after her.
Mebuki waved, "Be back by dinner."
Sakura smiled and waved, easily carrying the bento boxes to wherever she was going. Her daughter was growing up way too fast.
Shikamaru was up when his mother called, although, in reality, he was up much earlier than that anyone would know but him at least. He leisurely made his way downstairs, grabbing a few bills worth of Ryo and headed out the door, he'd stop by the Akimichi owned market for a drink and some cups because if he knew Sakura he knew she'd bring food.
Settling for some generic juice, not too sweet and not too bland, he made his way the counter, noticing his shadow out of the corner of his eyes, his old man had sent someone to follow him. Grinning to himself, he'd decided to use this to his advantage. He'd been meaning to test how much of his ability had carried over from his timeline.
Besides, while both of them had the equal advantage in having survived a war, Shikamaru had fought a losing battle and come back with the knowledge that could decimate a platoon of Shinobi easily.
...
The Shinobi of today really wasn't anything to look at. No wonder had been wiped out so easily out so easily. Sighing, muttering a troublesome, Shikamaru made his way to the Tree, he had his work cut out for him.
