Total one-shot. No way I'll make this a multi, I tried to hard to make this a good story as it is right now. I hope you all enjoy it, but be warned: Spoilers are in this story. If you read this story fully, remember that I don't own Naruto.
Today is a silent day, a cold day of sorts. As snow peacefully drifts down on a windless night, one person leaves a trail of their footprints in the snow-covered road. Hands in his pockets, and a heavy black jacket covering him as well as orange pants and stationary shinobi sandals. He walks alone, silently, almost as if his soul isn't present within his body. It is almost surreal: to see the one & only Naruto Uzumaki silently walk down a lonely road, seemingly unfazed by nature in any sort.
That is because today was a special day. Not one he liked, but a special day nonetheless. As he walked, his hood flew back by a sudden gust of wind. There you could see Naruto's eyes: once a vibrant blue & full of life, now greyish with no emotion at all. His face, though retaining the whiskers, looked matured, however too much for someone only about 27. People could say he was easily in his mid-thirties maybe forties if they had not known who he was. His lifeless eyes were partially closed and his jaw practically locked shut with a distant frown apparent on his face. The frown: though thought of by many as an annoyed look when someone does or says something obnoxious enough to get on your nerves, instead is one of…mystery. No one knows why Naruto has that frown; no one knows anything much about Naruto anymore since The Third Great Ninja War ended over 5 years ago. All they knew was that Naruto saved Konoha from Madara Uchiha by killing him after an epic 3 day battle that killed 200 civilians & shinobi caught in the crossfire.
However, no one knew what happened to Sasuke Uchiha: the runaway ninja, catalyst of the war, and Naruto's 'brother'. People knew what happened to Lady Tsunade: She was one of the 200 killed in the final battle, sacrificing herself for Naruto for the final time. Many say when that happened, Naruto snapped. He summoned every ounce of his power & abused it to kill Madara. Even in that state, it took him 3 days. After the fight, he spent the next 18 months recovering in a make-shift hospital, and the last 5 months in the new hospital that was finally built.
Naruto continues walking down the road, almost at a mechanical pace as the snow continues flurrying down now at a slightly faster pace. In an hour, 7 inches of snow covered the ground, but Naruto walked the same pace, as the chakra in his feet sliced & blew the snow away. Since the war, his power had tripled, possibly quadrupled. No one messed with Konoha, because they would all be dead before any civilians were harmed. All by his hands…
"It's a nice night", said Naruto, finally speaking. Everyone used to know him as the Loudmouth Ninja: obnoxious, mischievous, social outcast, demon, and a loser. Now however, he is greatly feared & respected among the ninja world, and barely says a single word if any at all, and plays fair with everything and everyone. Orange is still & will always be his favorite color, Ichiraku Ramen is still his source of food, and he still lives in an apartment, though not the same anymore as his old one. Though he has enough money from all of his missions to buy three countries, he saves it all...every penny; His life in Konha is simple and questionable for someone of his stature at best, but there's one more thing that has changed about Naruto: He doesn't care what people think about him anymore.
He walks down the road some more, chakra slicing at & blowing away the snow on the ground at a mechanical pace. Until he stops abruptly. A rumble in a bush about 25 feet away from him, a faint chakra signal is what he detects, and whoever it is has malicious intent directed towards him.
"Come out, worthless coward. I know you're there." he yells before summoning 2 Shadow Clones without moving his hands. Instantly, they both vanish & reappear with the coward held tightly. He yells loudly to let go, but they instead tighten their grip slightly, thus breaking his arms. As the real Naruto turns around to face the screaming man, he whips out his kunai & slashes his throat immediately. The clones vanish again, and quickly bury the man before poofing out of existence. As he continues walking, he hears a distant explosion behind him: the guy was a suicide bomber. Naruto didn't have explosives on him, only smoke bombs, so he knew immediately that the malicious intent was real. Sighing heavily & shaking his head in pity, he continued on down the road. He hesitated however before moving on.
"Can't believe it's been 7 years already...Kami punishes me with fucked up irony yet again." he says as he stops in front of a crater in the ground. This 'crater' however, looks more like a gigantic meteor strike. At least half a mile in width & length, and over 50 feet deep on an easy decline. It as well, is covered in snow, though not very much. Naruto took his trail down the crater: his footprint trail leading all the way to the center at the bottom. Before he walked directly into the center, he stopped & simply asked himself:
"If I killed him 15 years ago, would she still be alive?"
Flashback, 8 years ago. (Warning! Spoilers from manga #469! You have been warned.)
"...What...did...you just say...Sakura-chan? I dunno if...I heard you wrong. Can you...say it again?", he asked his teammate, love, and best friend. She stood there, covered by a Sand-Leaf trench coat, and her stationary clothes as it flurried on the ground. Her face staring directly at his shocked one from not even five feet away. Her squad, consisting of Kiba, Akamaru, Lee, and Sai standing at a slight distance away. They felt this situation would get really awkward, and simply wanted no part of it.
"What I said, Naruto...is that I love you.", she said. She was slightly blushing and looking away from him as she gave a shy smile. "I'm saying there's nothing between me and Sasuke anymore! I don't know what I was thinking, liking a person like that...I'm confessing my feelings here so listen up!", she said, almost forcefully. She was 'gently' barking an order to Naruto, and of course he listened though still in complete shock. The expressions on his face were of complete shock...however, his face slowly turned to a frown, as if he thought she was joking. His face then turned completely serious as he slowly brough his arms up in exasperation.
"But...how...? Why...?", he asked her, obviously confused. "If you tell a joke like that in a situation like this, it ain't funny Sakura-chan..." he said, starting to convince himself that she was, in fact, joking. "Just what happened...-", he asked as he was cut off.
"Nothing really. I just suddenly realized there's no point in continuing to like someone who is a fugitive and a criminal. I can't stay a kid forever...I want to face reality...so Naruto...no need to keep that promise....won't you stop chasing Sasuke...?", she asked him nicely. Naruto looked at her apprehensively as something finally clicked into his brain: it's about the promise.
"What the hell are you...?!-", Yamato growled as Kakashi blocked him with his left arm. They both were traveling with him at the time to aid in The Third Great Ninja War, which they all had been assembled for. As that happened, Kiba remembered what Sakura told them all, and remained quiet.
"Did something happen...Sakura-chan...? Why me of all people all of a sudden...?", he asked her, now looking slightly upset at this revelation.
"Nothing happened! If you want to know why I started liking you, I'll say it clearly..." she said as she flashed back to all of the times in the past she swooned over Sasuke, cried for him, and promised Naruto they'd bring him back together. She immediately snapped out of the thoughts, walked up to him...and hugged him. She hugged him with as tender a touch as one can imagine, much to Naruto's surprise. Kakashi mumbled something under his breath as Sai looked on in apprehensive silence as he watched intently, as did everyone else currently there.
"Sasuke-kun keeps getting further away from me...but Naruto...you've always stayed by my side...you've encouraged me...I...finally realized who you really are, Naruto. The hero who protected the village...beloved by everyone in the village...I'm just one of them. That mischievious little dummy I knew...little by little is becoming this great and important man...and I've been watching from right next to him...but all Sasuke's done is commit crimes and break my heart...more and more he's becoming a different person than what he was, so distant...but Naruto...you're right here where I can touch you like this...you make me feel safe...right now, from the bottom of my heart, I-", she was cut off as Naruto slowly pushed her off of him.
"Gimme' a break, Sakura-chan...I told you that joke's not funny." he answered her as she was shocked into silence, and looked to be nearing tears as they stared into each other's eyes for a moment longer.
"Have you flipped? I just switched from Sasuke to you...they say a woman's heart is as changeable as the autumn sky, don't they...?" she replied nervously. Another moment of silence came between them, but this time it was Naruto's turn. He took his hands off of her shoulders suddenly.
"I hate people who lie to themselves!", he yelled, staring directly into her eyes with a hurt & angry look on his face.
(Still more, this time spoilers from #470-474. You have again been warned.)
As soon as Naruto finished speaking, everyone expressed a look of utter shock on their faces, including Sakura, who was more in a state of disbelief rather than shock at what Naruto had just said to her.
"Are you...saying...I'm lying to myself?", she asked. His stare of seriousness proved her right.
"I'm the only one who knows what I'm thinking! If you don't like me, then just say so! If you're gonna make up excuses--", she was abruptly cut off by Naruto.
"You came all this way just to tell me something like that?! It's just weird!", he slightly yelled. At that point, Sakura's heart was just about to break.
"...something like that...!", she growled to Naruto. All of a sudden, something inside her snapped.
"Something like that?!! You think it's easy for a girl to confess her feelings?!! All this way!!? Of course I'd come all this way!! You've always been chasing after Sasuke and putting yourself in danger! Akatsuki is after you because you're the Kyuubi's host! You should be worried for your own safety!", she screamed at him, getting slowly louder through the rant.
"I...I don't want you to go after Sasuke if it means putting yourself in danger like that! I've come here because I want you to come back to the village with me! That's all!!" she screamed again. This time, it was Naruto who looked mentally cut to the bone on those final sentences. However, he wasn't done yet.
"That just sounds like an excuse to me. I think I know you better than that.", he said calmly, though he looked completely enraged by this turn of events. Sakura fired back.
"You don't know anything! I don't care about Sasuke at all anymore now that he's a criminal! So forget about your promise to me!" she yelled, starting to downtone herself a bit.
"This isn't about that promise. I know why Sasuke...is so obsessed with revenge...he loved his family and his clan...he loved them so much that he can't let it go." Naruto said. Everyone other than Kakashi and Yamato were surprised, then Kiba couldn't take it anymore.
"Then why did he join Akatsuki...after he defeated Itachi?", he asked. Naruto immediately answered.
"That's no what happened...the truth is...-", he was abruptly cut off by Kakashi.
"NARUTO!!!", he yelled, stopping Naruto just before he spilled the top secret truth. This immediately got everyone confused, except Yamato, Kakashi, and Naruto.
"It doesn't have anything to do with my promise to you. I want to help Sasuke.", he answered. Sakura & Sai looked at him with slight shock, more from Sakura than Sai. Suddenly, Kiba stepped forth, and whispered.
"What do you want to do, Sakura? Should we tell him the truth...?" he asked. As he finished, Sakura slammed her foot down on to his foot, earning a pained howl from both Kiba and Akamaru, who knew what it was already. She was mad, really mad.
"Fine! I'm going home!", she yelled as she turned on her heel and walked away from Naruto. "Kiba! Lee! Sai! Let's go!" she ordered. Kiba simply muttered under his breath as did Lee, and they both followed her. Sai stayed for a moment before slowly turning and walking away. Naruto just watched them go, and had a sad look in his eyes. However, Sakura's heart was hanging by a thread at that point.
"Naruto...I'm sorry!" she yelled to herself as her heart broke. Sai waited for his moment, then hid himself until they were past him. Meanwhile...
"Are you sure about this, Sakura?-", he was cut off.
"Kiba, I have a favour to ask." Sakura said.
"What is it?", he asked her. What she said next shocked everyone.
"I'm going to go look for Sasuke! And I need your help!"
Meanwhile, as Naruto sensed a chakra presence, he found Sai using his Bunshin to cloak.
"Sai...why did you...-" Sai cut him off.
"When Sakura confessed to you earlier...I will now tell you what she could not.", he finished with a look of complete seriousness.
"...You're kidding me!" yelled Naruto.
"I figured something was up." muttered Kakashi. Naruto's attention now to Sai, he exchanges serious glances.
"What is it, Sai?" he asked.
"Sakura didn't come out here to confess her love. She was supposed to tell you the collective decision made by all your former academy classmates." he said.
"I KNEW something didn't feel right. So she was hiding something." Naruto said, in exasperation.
"With everything I've learned, I can understand...why she acted the way she did." said Sai.
"Sai, please tell me..." said Naruto. There was a brief pause of silence as Sai prepared to deliver the message.
"The Leaf is going to dispose of Sasuke itself. Your ex-classmates are preparing to act as we speak." he said. Naruto...was shocked beyond belief, as was Yamato and Kakashi. Suddenly, Naruto grabbed Sai by the shoulders.
"AND SAKURA-CHAN, SAKURA-CHAN'S OKAY WITH IT, TOO?!" he screamed hysterically.
"But Sakura-chan loves Sasuke...she wouldn't just-" he was cut off by Sai.
"Sasuke is only helping spread his darkness across the world. Letting him live will only sow the seeds to another war. He's just another criminal now. Sasuke lost all hope of coming back when his group, Akatsuki, attacked our village. Your fellow Leaf shinobi would never accept him now. Sakura's not stupid either. She understands the position he's put us all in. That's why she came out here. To tell you herself." he finished. A pause ensued as Naruto's arms fell to their sides. a few seconds later, his whole body tensed up as he seethed with anger & hurt.
"Th...Then why...didn't she tell me the truth?!" he gritted through his teeth.
"It's not an easy thing to say, especially since she knew how much it would hurt you. But still...giving up on Sasuke and choosing you was Sakura's way of freeing you from your promise. She just couldn't bring herself to tell you the truth when you refused to stop trying to save him. She was only thinking of you. And...I think you understood that. Actually, Sakura forbade any of us from telling you the truth. She said she wanted to tell you in person...that it was her duty." Sai said.
"But she must've known how Naruto would react...she never intended to tell him the truth at all, did she? What's she going to do now?" asked Yamato.
"I honestly have no idea, but if I had to guess, I'd say Sakura...-" he stopped as he couldn't will himself to say it.
"She plans to kill Sasuke herself." said Kakashi. Naruto's head lifted in shock, and Yamto's did as well.
"Does she, Sai?!" Yamato asked hysterically.
"Probably, yes." said Sai. He slowly continued.
"Sakura smiled at me & said she would work with everyone, but THIS time, I knew it was a facade." he finished. Naruto's knees almost gave out as he keeled over slightly, trying to grasp what Sai has just told him.
"No...way...Sakura-chan would never-...she loves Sasuke so much..."
"It's because she loves him..." they both said in unison.
"that she doesn't want him to sink any lower. It's because she loves him that she wants to rescue him from the dark path he walks if the only way is to kill him with her own two hands, I believe she's prepared to do it...because she loves him." Sai finshed. As Naruto heard that last part...his heart broke, his soul was crushed, and...Sai cut him off.
"Which also means...she's willing to let you hate her forever, Naruto....I think it's her way of atoning for saddling you with the burden of that promise for so many years. She's asked too much of you...so she's trying to end this all herself." he finished. A long silence ensued between the four. It was Naruto that finally spoke up.
"Sai...why are YOU telling me all this?" he asked. Sai remembered back a bit to when he made Sakura know that Naruto is slowly dying from the burden she put on him, then continued.
"I feel like I may have helped push Sakura into her current state of mind too. So I wanted you to know. I knew I couldn't just let her go alone. Like I said, I'm part of Team 7 too." he explained. Naruto was slowly cracking. All he could manage to say was:
"Uh-huh." through desperately held back guilt, sorrow, and pent up raw emotion. Naruto thought back to the picture of Team 7 back then: how they were then, so innocent. Finally, Naruto Uzumaki cracked, and with it, all good memories of Team 7 back then...were shattered.
"Nnh!" he mumbled as he clutched his head in agony. His mind was reeling from all of this, and it cut to his core really deep. Just then, footsteps were heard running from nearby...it was Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari. (I'm going to skip that other stuff, but the jist of it is Sasuke attacked Kage Summit, was knocked unconscious, and Madara got him out of there. Gaara told Naruto that if he was going to be future Kage, then as Sasuke's friend, 'you know what to do'.
End Flashback:
Naruto's eyes welled up with tears at the horrid memory afterwards. Sakura did kill Sasuke...and Naruto finished him off. However, the horrid memory happened when Sasuke made a last-desperation move, and released a Sky Chidori that hit Sakura right before Naruto finished him. He quickly summoned a Shadow clone to try to save her, but it was too late. the lightning struck her head-on as she was trying to get up. She screamed in agony as the light dispersed & she fell to the ground. Naruto looked back, and desperately tried to help her. After a half hour, and almost all of his chakra spent...he saved her. It took over a year for both of them to recover back in Konoha. Only 3 days after Naruto was released, an enraged Madara attacked Konoha. Naruto & Sakura fought side by side against him, but Naruto forced her to get out of there and help the injured. When his back was turned, that's when Pain struck. However...just as he would kill Naruto, Tsunade, who had long since the battle with Pain, recovered, stepped in front of Naruto as Madara struck. She was instantly killed...Naruto snapped...and the rest is history.
Naruto let the tears fall, for he knew he wouldn't be able to hold them back no matter how hard he tried. He slowly stepped into the center of the crater. There, in the ground laid a plaque. On it, it read. Sasuke Uchiha: best friend, brother, greatest enemy. Naruto slowly reached into his jacket, and took out a large bouquet of flowers, and laid them before the plaque. It was then Naruto made his decision.
"Sasuke...this is the last time I'm ever coming here again. This time...-" he paused as he reaches into another pocket and takes out Sasuke's old Leaf headband. He laid it over the plaque, and continued.
"I'm returning what belongs to you....brother." He slowly said as he paused & prayed for over 5 minutes at least.
"I need to get back now. I'm being sworn in as Hokage in a week, and Sakura-chan's gonna need my support when she gives birth to our first child...you're a lucky bastard...we're naming him after you." he said to the grave as he turned and walked away into the snowy night, never looking back as his eyes returned to life.