A/N: I started working on this story back after Naruto issue #650, but put the whole thing on hold when I started writing my fanfic "Snow Angels" which was originally written as a one shot. I had some requests to continue that story and so I did, but with things quickly accelerating in the real storyline I decided it was now or never to go ahead and start putting this story out.

Since some things have changed since I originally plotted out the story arc and I don't feel like going back a rewriting an entire notebook of plot notes please consider this a slightly AU storyline.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to anything in the Naruto-verse

Summary: As the Fourth Shinobi War comes to a close choices are made that at the time seemed for the best, but sometimes actions have unintended consequences.

As the final act in the conflict with Madara Uchiha came to an end, the once teammates and rivals, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha were able to stop Madara from making his vision for the world come true. Unfortunately, the ten-tailed beast had reached a critical level with the Eye of the Moon Plan and could only be broken by siphoning off the chakra and expelling it elsewhere. Naruto and Sasuke being bloodline descendants of the two parts of the Sage of the Six Path, the body and the eye were able to bond together and redirect the massive amount of chakra needed to stop the plan. Naruto had looked down at the battlefield and saw the bodies of allies and friends alike and his heart wept to see all of those lives lost and wanted nothing more than for all of them to be alive and have a chance to live out their lives in peace. Sasuke, the fire of vengeance all but burned out, looked across the battlefield and felt nothing but emptiness. Naruto saw the look in his friend's face and knew what Sasuke desired above anything else, so he reached out to his friend and shared through their connection his plan to fix what had happened.

In a bright flash of massive chakra the ten tailed beast's body was returned to the moon and it's chakra once again separated back into the nine biju, but the act of being used to initiate the Eye of the Moon Plan and then their chakra being diverted to fulfill Naruto's plan drained the biju and left them with only a fraction of their previous power. It would be years before they would be strong enough again and thankfully it would be decades, maybe centuries, before anyone could even attempt Eye of the Moon again. Most of the nine had scattered when separated while Shukaku hovered near Gaara and Gyuki along with Kurama stayed with Bee and Naruto respectively.

Once the jutsu was completed Naruto was hailed as the hero of the war who had returned their lost allies to life, like he had done after the Pain attack on Kohana. Sasuke was treated as an assistant to Naruto and not as an integral part of what had been done to save so many lives. Naruto, who could feel Sasuke's anger at having his contribution to the war pushed back to a minor role, did his best to point out that none of this would have been possible if Sasuke had not helped by reviving the dead Hokages and it was their teamwork that finally defeated Madara and made the final jutsu possible.

This praise from Naruto only seemed to fuel Sasuke's frustration because he did not want the looser, who had always been following him around as children, taking pity on him and throwing him scraps. There were only three others who saw what was going on: Sakura, Kakashi and Shikamaru. Shikamaru who's tactical mind missed no details quickly saw and filed away what he was seeing as a possible future problem for the Leaf Village. Kakashi recognizing the signs of anger and frustration in his former student stepped forward and gave Sasuke a smile and offered him praise on how far he had progressed since the old days as part of Team 7. This praise did seem to sooth some of the young man's ire at being brushed aside, but that was short lived as all of the gathered ninja from the allied shinobi forces began chanting Naruto, Naruto, Naruto.

Even the five Kage's came forward and gave their tokens of respect. Ay the Fourth Raikage flanked by Bee came forth and gave Naruto a fist bump while Bee made a rap about their victory. Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, floated forward and offered the young man a nod of respect. Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage, stepped forward and offered his hand in friendship which Naruto took happily and pulled the shocked leader of the Sand Village closer and pats him on the back. Naruto was in shock when Mei, the Fifth Mizukage, steppped forward struck a seductive pose and offered him the chance to become her consort and solidify the good relations between the Leaf Village and the Bloody Mist Village. He was saved from a potential diplomatic incident by Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, when she stepped forward and gave the young man a warm motherly embrace and looked into his face and congratulated him, which he said "Thanks Granny Tsunade" and gave her one of his famous fox smiles.

Sakura as usual was staring at Sasuke while all of this went on and saw her chance to approach him and offer her thanks in returning and helping save the day. "S-S-Sasuke-kun, thank you coming and helping. Without you there we could not have stopped Madara." She blushes and starts touching her fingertips together.

'What is wrong with you?'Yells her inner voice, 'You are acting like that weakling Hinata and you know Sasuke-kun hates weakness stand up straight and act like the strong woman he will want.'

Sasuke was about to give her a dismissive comment and send her away when he notices how Naruto's eyes was on her the whole time as she approached. It was so easy to see that all Naruto really wanted and needed was for Sakura to come forward and acknowledge him and all other praise was secondary to this desire.

He turns and starts listening to the pink-haired girl's praise with more attention than he ever had before which made her start to blush and look away, when for the first time she saw genuine interest in her childhood crushes face. As she stood there trying not to shake he steps closer and wraps he calloused hands around her fidgeting fingers. With a slight smile he looks into her eyes and says, "Thank you Sakura, I appreciate your praise more than I can express. I had not realized till this moment how much I have missed hearing your voice." He pulls her closer and wraps his arms around her in an unexpected embrace and casts a sidelong glance towards his blonde haired teammate.

Sakura at first is stunned by this unexpected change in her childhood crush, but she quickly recovers and her eyes begin to glisten with tears. Then a realization hits her, 'What about Naruto?' she asks herself and glances over to look at her friend and teammate.

Sakura's eyes were not the only ones looking towards the young blonde shinobi not knowing what to expect. Many of those gathered around knew of his love for the pink-haired girl being embraced by the outlaw, who not too long ago attacked the five Hokage's conference and cost the Raikage an arm. But Naruto just looks over at his rival, and the girl he has loved most of his life, and gives them one of his famous fox grins.

Sakura smiles back at Naruto, her eyes brimming with happy tears, and wraps her arms around Sasuke returning the unexpected hug while many of their friends begin to cheer.

Not everyone was fooled by Naruto's smile though. Hinata Hyuga has spent most of her life watching the young shinobi while they grew up and knows every subtle nuance to his facial expressions. She could see in his eyes behind that big smile the heartache and his very soul crying out in pain. Her heart was breaking to see him hurting so much and she wants to reach out and comfort him till the tears he refuses to shed were gone.

'Good pink-haired tramp will finally be out of his life and he will see that there is only one person who can truly love him.' She looks about for a moment before she realizes that the voice, so filled with frustration, came from within her own heart. She blushes and puts a hand to her mouth hoping that she had not said such harsh words out loud. She really does like and admire Sakura for her strength and owes her a great deal for saving Naruto's life, so how could she think such harsh things about her?

A hand upon her shoulder pulls her out of introspection and she turns to see a familiar pair of pale eyes looking deeply into her own. "Neji, but you were killed?" It took her a few moments to remember that as the Shinju collapsed and separated back into the nine tailed beasts again that all those killed in the last few days stood up again as if nothing had ever happened.

Neji nodded, "It was Naruto, I was on the other side talking with my father when I heard him calling out my name. He told me to get up and that the Hyuuga clan would never change that stupid rule if I laid there on the ground." He looks around and then back to his cousin, "So, here I am."

She buries her face in his shoulder and lets the tears flow. All of the raw emotions from seeing friends and allies die, the high emotions of the victory and now seeing her cousin back from the dead, finally comes to a boil and she can no longer hold them back.

Neji leans his head down and whispers in her ear, "We can celebrate once we get home, right now he needs you. He needs you there more than anyone else. He needs your comfort and he should be the one comforting you Hinata."

He gives his cousin a gentle shove that catches her by surprise and she stumbles about off balance. Her left foot steps on one of the many loose stones scattered about the battlefield and she begins to fall. Just before her butt would have painfully sat down on the broken ground a pair of strong arms catches her. In panic she wraps her arms around the neck of her rescuer and looks up into a familiar pair of blue eyes.

"Are you okay Hinata?" asks Naruto.

'He feels so warm.' She thinks to herself and her cheeks begin to burn brightly as a blush washes over her face and everything starts to go dark. A voice somewhere deep inside her starts screaming at her. 'Oh no you don't, not when we are finally in his arms, wake up dammit and say something!'

"Y-Y-Yes, I think I tripped on a rock or something." she says as her arms tighten around his neck and she presses her face against his shoulder.

Naruto smiles down at the girl in his arms and slowly the two of them realize that the noise, particularly the nearby voices, around them have begun to ebb. As one they look up from each other to see many of the nearby faces looking at them, some smiling and others in mild surprise. As he gently lets her slide out of his arms and back onto her feet he begins to chuckle nervously and scratch the back of his head. "I'm glad you are not hurt Hinata. Somebody should really clean up around here before somebody trips and gets hurt."

Hinata, head bowed and index fingers touching says, "I'm sorry for being so clumsy, I just need to look where I am going."

Ino, Tenten, and Kiba just look at Naruto with a tear drop expression while Shino and Shikamaru just look at the ground in embarrassment for their friends.

The moment was saved by Neji, who again came to Hinata's aid, by walking out of the crowd and stepping up to Naruto who just stares in disbelief for a moment before grabbing the Hyuuga shinobi by the shoulders and begins to jump up and down in absolute joy. The joy is soon magnified as Rock Lee and Tenten rush in and join in the celebration.

Nearby, Guy tears running down his face elbows Kakashi, "Look at that display of youthful happiness; it almost makes the heart weep with joy." He holds out an arm and gives the members of Team Guy his signature, nice guy pose.

The celebration in Naruto's vicinity quiets down as the reanimated forms of the first four Hokages approach the crowd gathered around the Leaf Village shinobi. As one they bow to Naruto and then also to Sasuke, though the second Hokage seems to bow a little less the second time. Their bow was returned by all those gathered, but to be honest Sasuke's bow would have been more of a nod than a bow if anyone had really been paying attention.

Naruto was the first to break the silence he stepped forward and wrapped his father in a long overdue embrace. Everyone nearby let out a cheer and the other remaining Hokage began to disperse. The First and Second Hokages, and brothers, Hashirama and Tobirama Senju respectively, walk over to talk with Tsunade and see exactly what sort of person their lineage had produced. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, steps up to Kakakshi and Guy and was soon surrounded by nearly all of the Leaf Shinobi to get one last chance to see the man who led and protected the village for so long.

Minato, the Fourth Hokage, pulled his son away for a little private chat and gestured to Sai to come closer and winks at the nearby Hinata who is hovering nearby. His roguish wink makes her pale skin turn crimson.

Sai holds out a scroll to Minato who takes it and partially opens it to reveal a complex looking seal. "I'm sorry that your mother and I were only able to leave you a name and a burden. Inside this scroll I wrote a summoning circle that will give you access to something that your mother and I had left behind and meant to give you when you were old enough, but there was no time there at the end to pass it along." Pointing at the center of the summoning circle, "Cut yourself and sign this so that only you will be able to use this Fuinjutsu."

Naruto bites his thumb kneels down and spreads his blood across the writing which glows for a moment then the blood shifts and forms the Uzumaki symbol in the center of the seal in bright red.

"Follow the instructions I have written on your friend's scroll and guard well what we left behind." He leans closer to whisper in his son's ear, "Nice girl, and a Hyuga to boot, are you two seeing each other? I notice she can't seem to keep her eyes off of you"

Naruto glows bright red and struggles for a response. His father smirks and asks, "Or is there something between you and that pink-haired girl you can't seem to stop looking at when you think nobody else is watching?"

In shock Naruto leans backwards and ends up sitting with a thump on the rocky ground.

Minato stands with a laugh and holds out a hand to help his son stand. "I see that you are doing just fine. You mother would have been very proud."

Naruto's face goes from red to deathly white, "Father, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking when I wished for everyone who was killed in the war to still be alive. I could have brought you and mother back too…I'm sorry." His eyes begin to tear up at what might have been."

Minato held up his one remaining hand to silence his son. "No, you did the right thing son."

The other three reanimated Hokages approach Minato. "He's right my boy." says the Third, "We are the past and time has moved on without us and we should only be memories now."

"The dead should just stay that way. I learned that long ago and now this age has had to learn that lesson again." injected the Second Hokage.

"But most of the ones they revived today are different brother." The First Hokage puts his hand upon his sibling's shoulder. "Only their comrades have had time to grieve and very little of that due to the intensity of this war. Their families will not have to know the suffering of loss because of this young man's actions. Is it not the grief of loss and desire for revenge that fans the flames of hatred and perpetuates conflict?" Small pieces begin to flake off of the First Hokage.

"The past should stay where it belongs, so guard well against this temptation. We have done what we can to eliminate my old mistake." The Second Hokage also begins to break apart.

The Third Hokage's body begins to disintegrate as well. "As I look upon all of you here I see that my time as Hokage was not a failure and I can go with few regrets."

Minato looks at his son and smiles as his body begins to disintegrate. "I cannot imagine had we lived to raise you that Kushina and I could have raised a better man than I saw today." He waves one last time. "Farewell Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, my son." The first four Hokages dissipate and then they are no more than memories again.

With the last of the reanimated shinobi gone the Fourth Shinobi World War came to a close.

FLASHBACK

As the dust settled and Madara had been defeated the four reanimated Hokages surround Orochimaru.

"Well, well. That did not take you long." Orochimaru smiles at the four men he had summoned for Sasuke. He raises his hands, "So what now, are you going to eliminate the next threat to the Leaf Village while you are still around?"

"It is tempting, but Minato believes that your aid in this war has shown a real maturity." says Tobimara. "But that jutsu of mine was sealed away, and needs to be sealed away again, so that we can finally rest in peace." He takes a step forward but freezes.

"Well, I can't just let that happen now can I? I think it is time for all of you to leave." Orochimaru raises his hand to make the seal to dismiss the jutsu, but his own hands stop in mid-motion.

"Incorporating my cells into your body was a neat trick, but you made one mistake. I can control those cells as well." Hashirama steps up and places a hand on the white skinned shinobi and the rest of the Hokage are released.

Tobimara disappears and returns quickly with Ino Yamanaka and Sai who unravels a scroll and along with Minato begins writing as Sarutobi begins forming signs. "Most likely you have other copies of yourself hidden elsewhere just in case you died in the fighting so killing you would be no more than a nuisance. Minato has come up with a better solution. It would be less painful for you if you do not resist."

Ino while being bolstered by Tobimara focused Orochimaru's mind on the knowledge of Impure World Reincarnation while Minato and Sarutobi withdrew it out of his mind and into the scroll. The shock leaves Orochimaru gasping on the ground.

As the Hokages and the two young shinobi start walking away Hashirama speaks over his shoulder, "The knowledge was not only pulled from your physical form, but your spiritual connection to all your copies as well. It would have been easy for the four of us to have ended every copy you have and ended you as a threat forever, but Saratobi and Namikaze both felt that you deserved a second chance after helping out with the war, but know this, if you retrieve this jutsu ever again and summon us we will kill you without hesitation, given the chance."

END FLASHBACK

The celebration continues after the Four Hokages disintegrate. Kakashi watching it all feels drained from all of the emotional turmoil that he had went through that day finding out that his childhood friend and teammate had been an integral part of the war and was responsible in many ways for his old sensei's death. He separates himself from the celebration and leans against a bolder trying to come to grips with everything that had happened. He is pulled out of his thoughts when a boy, probably thirteen years of age, steps up and starts talking to him.

"Excuse me sir, I am a little confused of how I got here or even where I am at the moment. You look a lot like my friend Kakashi's dad, and I was wondering if you were a relative of his and knew if Kakashi was around?" The boy was wearing goggles and has spiky black hair. The jacket and pants he was wearing were dark blue trimmed in orange.

Kakashi freezes as he looks at the young body of his childhood friend and teammate. He could not believe what he is seeing or how it even came to be possible and then it dawns on him how and who had made this possible. He looked across the battlefield and sees amongst the celebrating crowd and pair of bright blues eyes staring right back at him. Naruto gives him a smirk and his eyes seem to say, 'Everyone deserves a second chance.'

Kakashi puts his hands on Obito's shoulders and kneels down to look him in the face. "It's okay Obito, I'll do my best to explain everything. It will just take some time, okay."

Obito, confused at the familiar way this strange man was talking to him just nodded. "Okay, but do you know where Rin is? I've been looking for her too and I can't find her anywhere."

Kakashi just sighs and was about to tell Obito a lie when a small voice catches his attention. "Obito, is that you?" They both looked up to see a young girl with brown hair and eyes, running towards them. As Obito and Rin embraced in a friendly hug in front of him Kakashi looks up again towards Naruto who gives a goofy grin and shrugges. Kakashi gave his old student a nod of thanks before reaching down and wrapping an arm around each of his old friends and gives them a crushing hug.

Obito tries to protest but could not break from Kakashi's grip. "Hey you old creep let go of me, and Rin too."

When Kakashi stands up Rin gasps, "Kakashi, is that you? But you are… I mean you have grown up, what has happened."

"It is going to take some time to explain everything so why don't we go somewhere quiet and I will do my best, okay." He leads them away and tells them a tale of friendships and heartbreak.