I think I might be the only person whose pairings got canonized, but was still entirely dissatisfied with the ending. Feast on my denial.
In the end, they go together, disappearing into the light, and Sasuke continues to watch them until long after they're gone.
Everything started and ended with them, he thinks as Hashirama's voice echoes in his mind, as Madara's gaze still pierces his soul.
What is a shinobi? What is a village?
And for a long moment, it's as the entire fight with Kaguya had never happened, as if the goddess had never appeared at all. All that matters now is Hashirama and Madara, together at last after so, so long.
That which is destroyed can always be rebuilt.
Sasuke closes his eyes and inhales deeply.
And so I will rebuild.
"Oi, Sasuke!" Naruto shouts from somewhere behind him. "Stop spacing out and help me end this thing!"
I'm supposed to fight him, whispers a voice at the forefront of his mind. After all, fighting is what Madara would have done with Hashirama, what Indra would have done with Ashura.
But the weariness blanketing everything in a blurry haze is impossible to ignore.
To hell with it all.
Something quietly grasps his hand, and Sasuke nearly jumps in surprise at having let Sakura get so close to him in proximity without him noticing even once. "Are you okay?" she asks, and the bright, relieved smile she'd adorned after Kaguya was finally defeated is conspicuously absent now.
Behind her, Kakashi is staring at him not quite suspiciously, but still somehow without a hint of trust.
This is my choice.
Sakura's hand feels warm and secure around his, anchoring him to the ground. For the first time in what feels like forever, he allows himself a small, relaxed, contented smile. "I'm home," he whispers instead of answering her question.
As if he's flipped some sort of switch, Sakura's bright smile is back, and she gives his hand a comforting squeeze. "Welcome back," she replies.
Kakashi quickly relaxes, his eyes crinkling with a smile under his mask that Sasuke can't see.
Naruto grins. "Took you long enough, bastard."
Sasuke takes one last look at where Hashirama and Madara used to be, gripping Sakura's hand tightly.
We won. You can rest now.