NARUTO:AFTER THE WAR
A NEW BEGINNING
CHAPTER 1
3 DAYS AFTER THE WAR HAD ENDED
*Madara had been defeated. The First Hokage and Naruto together had put an end to him and sealed him with the help of the Fourth Hokage and some priests from the Fire Temple in one of the most intricate seals the world had ever seen*
"Approximately 50,000 shinobi have sacrificed their lives in this terrible battle. We have lost 2 complete villages in the random attacks of Juubi in addition to our headquarters. Along with it, the entire warzone was in the middle of a flourishing trade route. So it goes without saying that trade through this area is also at a standstill. Also, all the villages have contributed their best in weaponry and other resources like food and wood. So its safe to assume that we are low on them too. That completes the initial battle assessment keeping in view that data is still coming in as we speak."
Mabui, the Raikage's aide finished reading off a scroll and bowed to the assembly. It was quite a room of people. Not because of the size or its location in the middle of a battlefield, but due to its participants. She was lucky to be one of the few people who had been allowed to be in the room, Mabui thought.
As she walked back to her place, she was still in awe of what had happened over a span of a month. The attack on the Five Kage meeting, Raikage-sama losing his arm, the formation of an alliance, the war, the losses, the wins, the heroes….ahhh..the heroes. Most, if not all of them, were present in this room, under a single roof. If someone had told her a couple of months before that there would be a war where dead people will fight and that the villages will seek help from the tailed beasts and their Jinchuriki, she would have laughed her head out and asked Raikage-sama to send that person for a mental checkup.
She couldn't help but once again scan the people present in the room. A huge table had been setup at the head of the room. It seated all the five Kage, Mifune, the commander of the Samurai, the first, second, third and fourth Hokages and an empty seat. She thought she knew who it was for. But then again, who wouldn't.
A slight distance from the table were chairs in 3 rows. Hatake Kakashi, Kitsuchi, Kurotsuchi, Darui, Shikamaru, Temari, Kankurou, Shizune, Ao and some jounin from every village took up the seats. Every individual in this room was exemplary, in his or her own right. 10 ANBU guards were present for security, though she couldn't come up who they were guarding against. Nobody was stupid enough to attack this assembly. Especially not now, when they had literally conquered the creator, the Juubi, which was the origin of all chakra.
Still, a man was missing from this gathering and he was the reason the reason the meeting could not take up its next agenda. Nobody blamed him though. If it were not for him, they would all be in a dreamy state staring at the moon.
Outside, at the other end of the battlefield sat together a group of shinobi. They were all childhood friends and were usually full of talk but were strangely quiet today.
Naruto was the first to speak up. "So, the war has finally ended huh."
Hinata looked up from her feet at the man she loved most and said "y-y-yes Naruto-kun. And it wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for you". She turned a deep shade of red saying this.
"Ohh common, now don't you again faint on me Hinata" Naruto said and the group started laughing and she turned an even deeper red.
"Chann-araaa" *thud*
"OWW…Sakura-chan..you didn't need to hit me that hard. And by the way, why did you even hit me?"
Sakura sighed and said "its enough hard as it is for Hinata to accept her feelings in front of everyone for you. Don't make it even harder, you moron."
This cracked up the group again and everyone was laughing except Naruto. He just had a hint of smile on his face as he mentally captured the time and the scenes. Its seems like such a long time seeing everyone so happy. Anyone who tries to take this laugh away from my friends will have my wrath, he decided.
Ino was silent. She was smiling at the jokes but not participating. It saddened Naruto to see her like this and it showed on his face. He was about to say something when Choji touched his shoulder and whispered "She'll be alright Naruto. Don't worry. But she needs time."
Naruto just nodded. His silence drew the attention of the group. Sakura looked like she wanted to say something but stopped in the middle. It was Kiba who spoke up.
"Oiiiiii Naruto…don't you think even for a second that all that happened gives you a free pass to become the Hokage. You'll still have to fight me for that title…huhh". Akamaru snorted at it and again laughter erupted.
Shino suddenly started talking from somewhere "It will be a waste of time and energy for that kind of a fight. Why because Naruto has surpassed all of us and is the most deserving candidate in Konoha. Even the villagers support him. On the other hand, Kiba, it seems even your dog is not on your side this time."
People tend to forget that he was there but he had grown accustomed to that.
His response though got laughter again from the group with Hinata tried to stop Kiba from punching Shino in the face.
"Will you please stop with your stupid logic all the time? Unhand me Hinata…." Kiba retorted.
"Talking about logic reminded me. Where is Shikamaru? I haven't seen him for a while now." Sakura asked, completely ignoring Kiba's ongoing insults at Shino.
"I…90..think…91…he…92…is…93…at..94…" Lee started to say something but was cutoff by Hinata.
"Umm..Lee-san..you can stop training now. The war has ended. You should rest a bit."
Lee jumped down the tree and said "No Hinata-san, we should always be prepared. Guy sensei has distinguished himself in the war. I also want to follow my sensei's footsteps. I cant let him down..this is the springtime of my youth..95..96..97..98.." he started doing push-ups again.
This drew a huge sigh from everyone but Ino had cheered up a bit by now and said "Lee kun, atleast tell us where Shikamaru is please".
"Ohhhh….right..i think he is in that large tent in the middle of the battlefield along with Guy sensei and Kakashi sensei. It's a meeting of all the Kage and really powerful ninja. And Guy sensei made it there in his youth…" Lee started again.
This time Ino sighed.
"Its time they all sat together. Its been a really tough time for the higher-ups too. I wonder how Tsunade-sama is doing" Sakura said.
All of them fell really silent suddenly as they all realized that they had yet not addressed a very pressing question and it showed on Naruto's face.
Only Sakura had the courage to bring the topic up and it was hard for her too. But she said it anyway "Naruto..what do you think Sasuke is going to do now? Or should I ask what will they do with Sasuke?"
The question gathered everyone's attention. Even Lee stopped his push-ups and Choji paused eating his chips.
For a couple of minutes, Naruto was silent. It seemed he hadn't even heard the question but suddenly he lifted his head and was about to say something but was suddenly interrupted by someone else's voice.
2 cloud ninja were running towards them yelling "NARUTO-SAMAAAAA".
After the war, everyone who had seen Naruto fight had a new respect for him and it seemed they had collectively decided to bestow upon Naruto the title of "Lord". The first couple of days Naruto tried to stop people from calling him that but had failed. Today he was too tired to even try.
"Ummm..what is it guys?" Naruto stood up.
"Naruto-sama, the supreme commander of Allied forces, Raikage-sama requests your presence at the meeting of the Kage. He asked me to remind you that you are late by 30 minutes now. He understands that you are tired but requests your presence as soon as possible, sir. What should we tell him?"
Before Naruto could reply, Sakura spoke up "wait a second..remind him? Naruto…don't tell me you were invited to the Kage assembly but you were passing your time here laughing…" She looked scary as she said these words and Naruto was visibly frightened with her look and was thankful to the cloud ninja. He knew if it wasn't for them, he would probably be getting beaten up by now.
"Ummm…sakura-chan..dont get mad at me. I just forgot about it. And besides, I wanted to rest and enjoy and not attend some boring meeting. So I thought…."
Naruto shut up as he saw the look on Sakura's face. He immediately turned and said "Lets go guys. Its not safe for me to stay here anymore. HAHAHAAAA"
The whole group laughed as Naruto walked away.
Choji said "From a brat who was the nuisance of the village to being called Naruto-sama, our Naruto sure has come a long way".
Everyone silently agreed. But most of all, it was Sakura. She had tears in her eyes.
The room suddenly fell silent as the door opened and the man of the hour entered.
Naruto stopped in his tracks as everyone was either seeing him with reverence or respect. The looks in people's eyes had surely changed from the time he was a kid. He looked over to his father. The Fourth Hokage smiled. He was proud of his son.
Kakashi was at his side in an instant.
"Come now, Naruto. Take your seat at the table. We have been waiting for you."
Naruto was embarrassed at being asked to sit at the same level as Kage. He is red as his mother's hair..Minato thought with a smile.
Naruto finally came to the table and sat. All the attention in the room was still on him.
The Raikage said "now that all the members are finally here. Lets begin the meeting."
And with that began the meeting that would decide the future of all the shinobi in the world.