A/N: Based on a Reddit "prompt." xD Apologies in advance...
It was over. It was finally over. Team 7 panted, covered in grime and dirt and bruises and sweat. They could barely stand and they smelled like hell, but nothing could diminish the weight that had just been lifted off their shoulders. It was over.
Few words had been exchanged as they stood, barely supporting themselves and wavering with exhaustion, but when the hokages and the Sage of the Six Paths appeared, there were more than a few exclamations of success.
"You did it," Minato said, ruffling Naruto's hair affectionately. "I am so proud of you." He winked, "and I'm sure somewhere, your mother is too." Naruto grinned, trying to ignore the odd feeling in his throat as he realized this might be the last time he ever saw his father.
"You got your arms back," was all he said in return, barely managing a chuckle with his low energy reserves. Minato's eyes crinkled with a gentle smile.
"Prepare yourselves," the Sage of the Six Paths warned in his echo of an otherworldly voice. With a flash of light that bleached the world of all color, they were transported back to their dimension.
"You freed them." Kakashi stated, his exhausted voice filled with uncharacteristic relief. Sakura lowered her arm, eyes still squinted, and a smile eased onto her face as she beheld the dazed members of the Shinobi Alliance slowly stirring from the genjutsu. Sasuke glanced over the multitude, stoic as ever. With a glow, the Sage of the Six Paths floated high above, and he began to speak, his voice booming over them all in deep, surreal tones.
"I will ask this once," he stated, his features expressionless. "Do you wish that Uzumaki Naruto, transmigrant of my son Ashura, protect this world?" For a moment, in the wake of his words, the crowd was silent. Then they erupted in a unanimous cacophony of praise, agreement, and adoration. The tangle of words formed into a chant, and for a time NARUTO!, NARUTO! was the only thing that could be heard for miles.
"What does that mean?" Sakura was asking, face filled with concern. Her voice was lost in the din. Minato frowned, brow creasing.
"I will ask this once," the Sage floated downward, eyes trained onto Naruto who gazed up at him with a hard, serious look. "Do you wish to break the cycle and protect this world?" Naruto's eyes flicked to his team members, one at a time, and they lingered on the concerned gaze of Sakura. He looked at his father, whose expression now made him appear just like the face Naruto had looked up to on the mountain for so many years. He looked at the people, only now beginning to end their chant and barely holding themselves and each other up in their exhaustion.
"I do." He said, resolutely. Then he grinned, his hand finding its way to the back of his head. "Someone's gotta do it, right? Eheheh."
There was another blinding flash as the Sage of the Six Paths approached Naruto, and try as they may, no one could quite see what was happening. When the light finally dimmed, Naruto was floating above the ground, surrounded by the Sage's glow. His eyes were rinnegan.
"Naruto..." Sakura said, completely agape. She stepped forward tentatively as the others looked on with similar stares. "You..." Naruto continued to stare forward, his expression flat and unfeeling. She found herself unable to continue, blinking rapidly with confusion.
"Are you the Sage of the Six Paths now?" Hiruzen asked, expression grim.
"I am." He stated, his voice still familiar despite having an eerie echo to it. For a moment, the silence continued. Some of the members of the crowd had begun to move their way up the rocky incline from the battlefield below. Sasuke glanced over to see some of his former Konoha peers curiously staring at the floating Naruto.
"You're still Naruto though, right?" Minato asked, his voice quiet and his face serious. Sakura glanced at his grave expression, finding exactly what she feared: the same quiet panic lingering just below the surface that she now harbored. Naruto did not respond to Minato.
"Naruto?" Sakura had finally found her voice again and had approached, but her hand stopped just before she grabbed his arm, hesitating. He did not answer, still staring straight ahead. "Naruto," she said again, voice choked. Team 10 was here now, and Ino looked on with a severe expression of dread. Choji was much the same. He murmured something in hushed tones, and Shikamaru closed his eyes tightly, head dipping and turning away. Minato swallowed, willing himself to glance around at the other hokages. Their gazes met his with varying degrees of solemnity and sympathy. He dragged his eyes back to his son, no longer trying to hide the hurt he was feeling.
"Naruto!" Sakura shouted now, grabbing his arm finally and clutching it with everything she had. He still did not look at her. Team 8 and the rest of Team Gai had approached, supporting one another and looking on with confusion and worry.
"Naruto-kun..." Hinata murmured, willing him to look at her with all her might. He remained impassive, no sign of a smile on his lips or joy to his whiskered cheeks.
"Naruto this isn't funny, answer me right now you idiot!" Sakura cried, her voice cracking and her eyes beginning to water. "Say something to me!"
"Uzumaki Naruto has amalgamated with Us." He stated finally, though his face remained impassive, as though it had already been carved into the stone of the Hokage Monument.
"What does that mean!? Where's Naruto!" She shrieked, punching him in her frustration as a last ditch effort to make him finally break character. He would admit the whole thing was a silly prank. He was still Naruto, of course, and he would rub his head with tears in his eyes and ask Sakura-chan why she had to be so violent all the time and pout. Then he'd grin and laugh it up, showing off his new powers.
But he didn't do any of that.
He didn't even seem to be affected by the punch, an immovable object.
"Were he still independent from Us, he would likely feel deep remorse for his decision. However, We understand the necessity of ending the cycle and acknowledge that this outcome is correct." It was Naruto's voice, but it wasn't Naruto. Numbly, Sakura's hands dropped to her sides, and she stared at him with disbelief on her features.
"What the hell!?" Kiba shouted suddenly. "Snap out of it, idiot! Let Naruto out you freaky ghost!" He was pointing accusingly at Naruto, and next to him a tired Akamaru barked in agreement.
"The amalgamation will not be undone; We acknowledge that this outcome is correct." He repeated. Now Minato stepped forward, crouching before his son with a look of plea in his eyes. He placed a hand on Naruto's knee.
"Naruto, don't do this. You have worked so hard already. You've never given up. I know you're in there, so please, please don't let things end this way for you. This isn't what you were meant for." His dark, edo tensei eyes stung with something he hadn't felt since that night seventeen years ago, when he'd beheld this wonderful, beautiful child for the first time. His child. Naruto.
"We have considered your statements and continue to maintain that this outcome is correct." After a moment, his eyes flicked to those around him, lingering on Sakura's and Minato's eyes no longer than any of the others. "We appreciate your participation in ending the cycle with this latest conflict. We shall watch over this world and you in particular with great care." There was another great flash of light which left them all blinded for a moment's time, though they remained stunned for much longer.
He was gone.
Naruto was gone.