All The Broken Pieces

by Mononoke-hime x sukai kurora

"Death comes with being a shinobi. There are times when death is hard to accept, but if you don't get over it, there's no future." The Fourth Shinobi World War has ended. The shinobi of Konohagakure and other ninja villages are grieving and broken alike from their losses. Will the narrators in this story accept their comrades' deaths or will their suffering destroy them?

1. Naruto

Uzumaki Naruto surveyed the scene around him. The Fourth Shinobi World War was over, but the signs of the damage were still there. A make-shift hospital for the wounded and dying was in the center of Konohagakure, where Sakura was working. Many houses were mere rubble; the few places that stood were the Hokage's mansion and the Academy, among others. Naruto sighed. Konohagakure, formerly the strongest of the shinobi villages, had been rebuilding its strength since its invasion from Nagato and the Fourth Shinobi World War. There was a slight breeze in the air, ruffling Naruto's spiky blonde hair that he inherited from his father, the Yondaime Hokage. For once, Naruto didn't brighten at the thought of his father. Instead, he wondered if Minato Namikaze would have been able to save his teammates when Naruto had failed. When the Allied Shinobi Forces came to his and Killer Bee's aid against the masked man, they were all prepared to die what they believed in. The four kages were ahead of them, Ōnoki having died in the battle with Madara. Gai-sensei had sacrificed his life to save Naruto's when the masked man had come behind to kill him after their forces had merged together. "You…are the light…" Naruto remembered how those eyes had looked at him with sincere trust and hope, instead of their usual corny and old-fashioned expression. He died with a smile on his face.

Lee was devastated by his sensei's premature death, and had attacked the masked man in a fit of rage. His punches had eventually hit their target, and the masked man flew through the air and landed on the ground. The mask, noticed to everyone's shock, was falling off in small pieces. Naruto saw the masked man's mouth move as he spoke. "Revenge is sweet." Another chip of the mask had fallen, and every shinobi had frozen where they stood. "You wouldn't recognize me now, would you, boy?" Naruto realized that he was talking to Lee, who was roaring in rage and grief. "Behold...the power of the Uchiha!" Naruto still remembered how the ground shook, and seeing the fingerless glove weave hand seals too fast for him to follow. Naruto could feel the malice and vengeance within him. "Run!" He had shouted desperately the Allied Shinobi Forces. But by then it was too late.

The blast exploded through the landscape. Many shinobi had burned to death, their skin burnt to a crisp, and their eyes leaking fluid and mucus. Some of the shinobi had been Naruto's friends; Inuzuka Kiba and his ninken, Akamaru, who had died together. Naruto had never seen Kiba look so peaceful. Aburame Shino had died as well, blood leaking out of his insides, protecting his comrades of the Fifth Division with his insects. His glasses had cracked, and Hinata held his hand as he left the world of the living as she cried her tears for both of her lost teammates. Naruto had been protected by Kuruma's chakra, and had been possessed with rage at his friends' death and Hinata's sorrow. He had ignored Kakashi-sensei's warning, and had charged at the masked man before falling back onto the ground, blood seeping from his mouth. "Who are you?" Naruto had screamed. The masked man remained silent and composed in contrast to Naruto's burning fury. The wind from their immense chakra seeping from both of them tamed down the flames surrounding the survivors. "Someone who you wouldn't recognize," had stated the masked man preparing to unleash his ninjustu again. Naruto's eyes met with his, and Naruto saw nothing but emptiness. "I will destroy you for all you've done for me!" Everyone had been bewildered by that statement, and before Naruto could shout out another warning, the ninjutsu had come to life. However, they were protected. Naruto still didn't understand how he had come to their side. The shield had covered the entire range of where the shinobi stood. The jutsu was dark blue and covered in scales, Naruto saw, and had a beak-shaped face. Some had stood with their mouths gaping open; others were dazed, rubbing their eyes; and some, like Sakura, were crying. The word disappeared around Naruto when he realized who the caster of the jutsu was. "Sasu…ke…" Uchiha Sasuke was standing in front of him, who would have gotten the brunt of the blast. His black hair was noticeably longer than when Naruto saw him last, and he sensed and aura around him. He was…different. Naruto couldn't sense hate in him, or desire for vengeance. He started to cry, thick tears dripping down his cheeks. "Sasuke!"

Sasuke hadn't turned. His onyx eyes didn't glance his way. Naruto suddenly became aware that there were new companions beside him. There was a very tall orange shinobi with a serious face who didn't make a sound; next to him was a shorter shinobi with white hair and purple eyes, shark-like teeth who carried a blade with him; the lone woman was beside him, although Naruto could her anger from her; she had short red hair and wore glasses.

"So…" Naruto sharply turned his head toward Sasuke's direction. His friend's voice filled the silence. "Here we meet again…Father."

Naruto shook his head and focused his mind on the present. His mind still couldn't wrap around the fact that the masked man had been Sasuke's father. It made since. The masked man's knowledge of Konohagakure, his interest in Sasuke, and his hand in Kuruma's attack on Konohagakure at Naruto's birth. His hate. Naruto still remembered how he and Sasuke had fought to the bitter end to kill the thought-dead shinobi. It had taken them many more sacrifices before Sasuke had impaled the older Uchiha with his Chidori, ending his life. Naruto had watched half consciously as Sasuke impaled his father in the heart. "As expected from my child." Sasuke's eyes had widened at his father's last words before he collapsed. Naruto had fallen unconscious.

Naruto knew that his team had been miraculously saved, and fortunate. Team Gai and Team 8 had been fractured beyond repair. Gai-sensei and Tenten had died in the final battle of the Fourth Shinobi World War, as had Kiba and Shino. Although Sasuke was currently in a coma and Yamato remained missing, Team 7 had survived. Naruto smiled for the first time in days. Looking back he realized, his father would have done no different. Despite everything that had happened in the last four years, everything was alright now. Naruto quickened his stride to find Hinata, who needed him more than anyone else at this moment.