Five Years After... Five Years to Come

Chapter 1


This story is based on Naruto, all copywrites and trademarks still belong to their proper owners and I make no claim, implied or otherwise, to owning any piece of it. Only characters, likeness, and some plot direction has been borrowed from the original owners. This is for entertainment purposes only and not for any profit what so ever. A big thanks goes out to Kishimoto for his famous works.


Five years after…

Five years is a long time in a young person's eyes. In this time cities can become metros, relationships can bloom and shrivel, and even authors can disappear into thin air just to return for one final excursion into creativity. Many things can come to pass which shape a person's life in five years; both hardships and blessings, but, concurrently, the same five years can be too short.

In five years you can accomplish little; so little in fact that you are just letting life pass you by without realizing you aren't holding on to anything, or anyone. Time can pass so quickly that one can actually lose themselves in work, only to look at the sky one day and realize that time has gone by without even attempting to grasp your meaning and purpose in life. People can pass you by in an instant, so fast that you can't even wonder if there was something between you and that girl you just met or even why you no longer talk to that friend of yours from way back. Life can just skip by you while your mind slips unvisited memories to the back of your consciousness from neglect.

In five years you forget; forget the faces of ones you once cared for, the feelings you once had, and even conversations that were so important that you thought you would never have to think about to remember. Dreams you once had, desires which were left unfulfilled, and even who you once were can fade away in the dark overcast recesses of your mind never to see the light which holds your frequented and treasured memories. You can forget wrongs done to you as well as the positives done for you, leaving your life and who you are to be shaped only by the passage of time.

Five years is an interesting time frame. It feels like eternity as you are growing up. It feels like a blink of an eye when you're older. Even your life can take unseen changes and turns bringing you to another point in the confusing time-line that is life. After all these changes of time, time-frames, memories, goals, triumphs, defeats, utter joy, and teetering on the brink of death, there are still questions left unanswered by the most intelligent of persons which beg to be solved but is still out of the reach of modern man to this day.

Why am I here? Where did I come from? Is there someone out there who can understand ME?


Five years after…

It has been five years after the end of "the end of the world". Five years after the end of violence, persecution, hate, and despair brought down by those shaped by the previous five years, and most likely the five preceding them. Five years since Akatsuki, Pain, Madara, and Tobi attempted to overthrow and/or destroy Konohagakure. Five years since the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War, where our blonde hero played the greatest role in ending the fight, where almost all had lost hope moments before his arrival…

Five years after… is now…

Now 22 years old, Naruto is no longer the orange clad ninja boy everyone grew to love despite their hate from years previously, he has now matured as a man. His thick muscular build is the epitome of masculinity as many would see from afar, yet there was a softness not seen in many of his caliber. His piercing blue eyes glittered in the midday sun like the deepest, bluest, oceans man had ever gazed upon. Gone was the overwhelming harshness of the terrible orange coloring which used to adorn him in his attempt for attention as it was finally impressed upon him that it was not a great ninja color. There were still a few stitches of orange, flaring down the sleeves of his black jacket, revealing that his playfulness still exists behind his matured and relaxed attitude. The rugged denim material of his pants and jacket concealed many small pockets to which stored kunai, shuriken and other various tools and necessities for the various missions he would be involved in without showing their designed purpose.

The Hitai-ate, which adorned his forehead, was an evolution of his last design. Still the same piece of metal which was given to him by Iruka when he became a genin; it was now dulled from the brilliant sheen which used to reflect light for miles making for an easy target from afar. Everything he wore now was strictly for a purpose, including the folds of material mounting that precious plate, which could unfold into a bandana to restrict his easily distinguished hair from view. He was much different than before and could blend in with the best of them.

The past five years molded this trained ninja into the ultimate warrior of Konoha with his new found stealth and ever present confidence. His seasoned, steely gaze could freeze an unprepared ninja in his tracks while his gentle smile could make married women blush as he passed by without a glance. It was an interesting turn of events for him, although much stayed the same… Not a blade of grass could move unnaturally without catching his eye, yet he still failed to notice these alluring glances scattered about him when returning from a mission.

In the five years after the war, not much was accomplished in the eyes of the few, whereas the majority could see the age of great prosperity was indeed upon them. The village's rebuild plan continued its course and was approaching the much desired completion. To make matters more interesting, the smaller neighboring towns and villages needed assistance as well, evidenced by the constant mission requests rolling though the front gates of the Hokage's tower. Although the missions were plentiful, they weren't of high level, but still paid well and were greatly needed to expand Konoha's coffers.

Naruto was recognized as an exceptionally powerful ninja immediately after the drawn out war where he took an integral part. Due to the massive losses in the war, and the increase in missions needing to be completed, it was deemed necessary to divide up the current teams into the smallest group required to complete the various missions. Most were cut down to pairs, except for Naruto, who was allowed to be a one man team most of the time with his special ability with clones and his new found recognition. It was a tiring job, but he didn't give much for complaints as he just threw himself into his work.

As the nation's only solo ninja, Naruto had to temper his boisterous side to increase his safety during his missions. Even though the ninja nations retained their alliances, there were still strong missing nins at large. If he ran into someone dangerous, there would be no one to bail out his carelessness and reckless behavior, so his changes were all realized through the necessity of staying alive. His changes were easily achieved with the help of gained maturity derived from age and experience; of which the latter he had plenty through his clone usage. It was seemingly strange how being alone most of the time can create loud and obnoxious behavior as well as cure it, but here was living proof of this phenomenon. Even though he wasn't obnoxious like before, he still had glimmers of that juvenile side that would crop up from time to time reminding everyone that he was still the same person who pulled all those annoying pranks in his youth. That mischievous grin would forever live in the hearts of the villagers as they remembered his earlier antics.

It was truly a blur for the blonde ninja as the five years passed. The questions he had after each battle in the past, especially the blur in which all the events of the Pain fight took place, were pushed further and further out of his immediate consciousness to the point that it was all just a meaningless pile of jumbled memories. Even that whole ordeal with Hinata's confession seemed to fade into nothingness without having the chance to reflect upon it. All the body-guarding, build assistance, and intelligence gathering missions just kind of seemed to flow and mix into one another to the point that there seemed to be no start or end to any of his missions despite the growing bank account in his possession.

These same five, short, busy, and sometimes seemingly long, years weren't only a bane to Naruto's existence, but to many of the others as well. The hectic mission schedule prevented much of the interaction the ninjas were accustomed to resulting in the falling out of many friendships and the cooling of many old desires once held in high regard. The tightly knit teams of old were long gone as the usual members would be grouped with the younger chuunin for their paired up missions creating many more possibilities, combinations, and possible romantic encounters than previously possible without breaking up the teams. It was a benefit and a curse, but as the missions start to subside to their usual volume, these overworked ninja will finally get a chance to rest and determine if their past friendships were just out of convenience or if it could actually stand the test of time…. Or maybe they have all grown past their previous relations and desires in favor of their new ones.


It was a bright and sunny afternoon as the trees started to fade into shades gold and red heralding in the coming winter season. Squirrels were seen gathering up the required sustenance for the onslaught of cold weather which was soon to be experienced. Naruto shielded his glistening eyes from the rays of sun piercing through the ever depreciating foliage ahead as he watched a flock of migratory birds fade into the horizon.

"How long has it been since I took a moment to enjoy nature?" he asked himself before hurrying his steps when he saw the massive gates leading to Konoha.

He steadily gained momentum as the shadows cast off the gates increased in size displaying the inevitable coming of dusk. With a simple rise of his eyebrows, he silently greeted the gatekeepers on duty as he headed to the Hokage tower for his most recent mission debriefing. The village seemed less frantic than usual as he weaved through the busy streets while returning the many greetings of the villagers who recognized his status as a ninja. He had been out of the village so much recently that just by a simple glance, no villager would really recognize him, but that was to be expected. Deciding that he had wasted enough time wading through the scads of villagers, taking care of their last minute business before the local shops closed for the day, he disappeared in a sudden flash of light.

A tiny light seemingly appeared out of nowhere in the middle of an empty hallway before bathing the walls in a brilliant and nearly blinding light, which subsided quicker than it arrived, revealing the muscular ninja in its place. He was shocked as he looked around the deserted hallway since it was usually bustling with chuunin and jonin clamoring to get their next mission. Not dwelling on the situation for too long, he headed down the hall and pushed open the door into the Hokage's office.

Tsunade looked up past the rims of her gold rimmed bifocals towards her new intruder. With a slight smile on her aging face, despite her rejuvenation jutsu, she waved to him to approach her desk. Pushing aside the paperwork, she removed her glasses, setting them on the rather large stack of papers, and proceeded to rub her temples softly to ease away the discomfort of her lenses.

"Another one completed?" She asked in a soft voice. You could tell that her age was getting the best of her, despite her appearance. She seemed to move slower and talked softer than before displaying just how much time was taking its toll. Add that to the fact that she greatly reduced her drinking in recent years as well shows that she knows it too.

"Went without a hitch, baa-chan." he replied in a satisfied tone. Although he looked and acted much more mature, there was still no hiding the fact that he was Naruto and would always greet the sannin in such manner.

"Where is everyone?" He asked as his curiosity got the better of him. Tsunade relaxed in her chair and placed her hands behind her head and let out a tired sigh.

"Well, it would seem or mission surplus has ended." She let out a large yawn as she stretched her limbs carefully.

"We all finally get a few weeks off, so enjoy them." Naruto was slightly taken aback by her revelation. It has been so long since the idea of time off even was thought of for the working ninja.

"Really? I don't even know what to do with free time." He replied with a slightly relieved look crossing his visage. Tsunade reached for the chain on her desk lamp and clicked it off while standing from her chair.

"Go home and rest a bit, you'll figure it out soon enough." She pushed her hands against her back to help her straighten out while silently cursing the size and weight of her chest at her old age.

"When are you taking over?" she muttered under her breath so he couldn't hear. No one really every talked about her retirement or replacement, they just figured it would just happen one day without fuss; everyone already knew who was a shoe in for the position, but for some reason there was something holding the transition back. Had the blonde pushed the matter, it would surely expedite it.

"Home... Now that would be something..." he muttered while looking a little down trodden.

"I guess I could look for one." After the destruction of Konoha during the Pain event, Naruto never had his place rebuilt. It just didn't seem worth it to him to occupy an empty space for so long; it wasn't like he ever really stopped in town long enough to require a place to call home. Tsunade shooed him out of her office while set upon locking the door for the night. As much as she really wanted a drink, she wanted to get some needed rest even more.

"See ya around baa-chan." Naruto called out while making a small gesture with his hand.

"Good night." she called in reply.


Naruto looked out at the village, which was quickly emptying out, while the sun faded into brilliant red shades before ducking out behind the distant horizon leaving a small reddish glow across the sky. Somehow the daily passage of time always happened differently if you really noticed the differences from day to day. Naruto let a faint smile cross his face; he had just stopped for the second time that day to watch nature at its finest. The last time he did all that was five years ago.

Night had fallen over Konoha... The street lights flickered to life along the main traveling roads leaving most of the village cast in a pitch black shadow in comparison. A few villagers hurried their way home as the distinct chirp of a few of the last cricket sounded before they would disappear for the coming cold season. Letting out a contented sigh, Naruto watched as the vapors of his breath glided out across the gentle night air.

"Looks like it could be a cold one." He waited for a moment to see if Kurama, the sleeping beast within, had anything to say. All he heard was the quiet call of a lone wolf in the distance and the illusion snoring deep within him. Kurama did stay very quiet when the cool season started, only waking up if and when his power was needed and could usually be found sleeping, just like a normal fox would be in his den.

Shrugging it off like a usual occurance, Naruto headed towards the large building in the distance which was lit up bright enough to seemingly call all visitors to it. As he leisurely strolled along the road, he noticed just how foreign his very own village was. Everything changed during the rebuild, so much so that off the top of his head, he couldn't even remember where the new Ichiraku's opened up. Before he realized it, he was standing before the doors of the lit up building. He cracked open the large door to the tavern and stepped into the door way and instinctively checked out all the exits and did a quick scan of the noisy bar and dining area. A young woman, maybe a bit older than he was, stepped up to greet him with a smile. She wore a clean white apron and had a white cloth towel tied around her head to keep the hair out of her face.

"Welcome to Ichiraku's Tavern! Is it just you tonight or do you have a party waiting?" She waited for a long few moments as the blue eyed ninja seemingly stared at her intently. Soon a hint of movement was seen in his light streaked, right cheek, making a half smile. The young woman blushed a bit as she averted her gaze with the sudden attention.

"Just one Ayame... Just for a room." Naruto replied kindly. It took him a few long moments at the beginning to recall where he had seen that face before, but once she said the word 'Ichiraku's', he immediately pulled that faint memory back from the depths of his consciousness. Ayame looked puzzled as she disappeared to retrieve a key for one of their rooms for this strange black garbed man. When she returned, Naruto stepped out of the shadow of the doorway, letting the light accentuate the orange highlights on his jacket and glimmer in his cerulean eyes.

"Oh hi," She gasped as she was suddenly caught off guard by his change in position. She looked him over very carefully, being a little more thorough than with most men that came through the door. Her mouth slowly started to open as her hand rose up to cover the exposed opening. Naruto's grin turned into a full blown smile when he figured that she finally recognized him.

"Naruto!? What has it been; like five years or something?"

"Something like that." He was glad to see Ichiraku's was still going despite losing his very profitable patronage. He held out his hand for the key, startling Ayame. She paused before slowly lowering the key to his hand with a questioning glance. Seeing this gaze, Naruto answered before she could ask.

"I never rebuilt after the destruction... just didn't feel right." She gave him a curt smile at his answer and pointed him towards where his room was located.

"If you need anything give me a call." She gently urged before hurrying back to the door to greet the next customers that entered the place of business. Naruto made his way through the dining area, catching the eyes of a few of the ninja who were visiting from outside of the village. He thought he remembered some of them, but nothing came to mind before ascending the stairs and slipping inside the door to his room. He didn't even bother turning on a light but easily found the bed and crashed hard. His eyelids grew heavy as he caught a glimpse of the full moon between the curtains. He stared at it for a few seconds until his eyes drew to a close.

"The moon... I know it should remind.. me of... some...one..." His exhausted muttering faded as he fell fast asleep, not being able to remember who the moon reminded him of.


...Later