I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ITS CHARACTERS, I OWN THIS STORY AND CHARACTERS I CREATE
Cannon Pairings and one non-cannon pairing
Plot
The War has ended; Naruto has risen to the saviour of the world and is highly known in all the lands. Now as his Mentor takes up the mantle of Hokage he will go on a Journey to discover what his new purpose is. Sasuke on the other hand is on a journey of redemption to see the world with his new Clairvoyant view, both Journeys will lead them down the same path of Love, Life and a whole new kind of complications.
Make sure to leave loads of reviews :D
Chapter 1: Journey of the Hero
Rokudaime Hokage
As Naruto looked back at the village that was slowly returning to its old glorious self Naruto couldn't help but feel saddened, after not seeing it for almost a year due to the travelling and the war he really didn't want to leave but he knew he'd see it again. But he wanted to travel like he once did with Jiraiya and see the world and perhaps find himself past being a Shinobi and a member of team 7. Like Sasuke, he wanted to see what everyone thought of the state of the world...however "Hinata" he says without looking behind at her, thanks to his new powers he was now classed as a sensory Shinobi.
"...So, you are leaving" she says looking like she is close to crying, for years she has tried to get Naruto to notice her and now he has but his path and choices were now leading him away from the village...from her.
"During the war...despite all my heroics, I kept yelling about the things I planned to do even though it was an impossible" Naruto states "If I had looked at the situation realistically then maybe I could have save more people...including Neji" he says as she hugs him from behind "I know Neji would scold me for saying something like that" he says looking over his shoulder while giving the Hyuga a small smile "But failures like me say things like that...right?".
"I've never seen you as a failure" she states, "The world is only now seeing you like I always have...a hero" she smiles causing him to blush. "And I know your journey will be successful" she adds releasing him "Just promise...to comeback as a person I can recognise" she states and he nods.
"Believe it"
_Meanwhile_
In the Village Rock Lee and Shikamaru lay in hospital, Lee suffered a few fractures, 3 of his ribs, his left ankle and right wrist were broken and he had a minor concussion. Shikamaru only suffered minor damage to his eye however he was quite and barely eating, so many people died in the war, families were torn to shreds...Shikamaru and Ino's Fathers Shukaku and Inoichi were among the casualties. Because of this they where inconsolable since Shikamaru was now the head of his clan which was a lot of responsibility for someone who wasn't 18 and grieving, Ino had spent more time away from the Flower shop and wondering the village with a fake smile. Kiba, Shino and Hinata returned to regular duty keeping the village safe from missing Nin who may try to invade while the village is in a weakened state. While Lee recovers in Hospital Tenten trained with the legendary ninja tool known as the BashÅsen which is a fan that is able to generate all five of the basic elemental chakra natures, however it uses up enormous amounts of chakra to do so, so right now she is building up her chakra reserves. When not in the hospital visiting Shikamaru and the others or out trying to comfort Ino, Choji spends most of his time reading up on the History of his clan as he prepares to take over from his father.
"I wonder how the other villages are coping right now" Shikamaru says glancing at Lee, since the war ended there have been many funerals to honour those who died, "Now both heroes are gone from the village and who knows if Sasuke plans to come back"
"But Sasuke did say he wanted to become Hokage" Lee states causing Shikamaru to cough "What" he asks looking at Shikamaru "That is what he said" he points out.
"In truth I think that was just an elaborate joke to ease the tension" Shikamaru says "He knows he has no shot at becoming Hokage even with his Criminal record dropped" he explains "Fair or not the world will judge Sasuke on the actions of Obito and Madara". "Even if Sasuke saved them"
"You clearly don't know Naruto's unique ability to make those who have given up believe again" she says walking to Lee "Sasuke is on a path to find what his place in the world is" she sighs remembering how he rejected her offer to go with him, "For the first time in his life he has no direction" she continues " first he wanted to avenge his clan who were slaughtered by his brother" she says taking Lee's temperature to see if his fever went down, when she got to eye level Lee's face must have heated up as she shined a light in his eyes checking cornea and dilation. "Then he wanted to destroy the village that manipulated his brother into killing their clan" she continues, the night at camp before returning home Sasuke explained what had really happened to his clan, this made Sasukes previous actions more understandable, Tsunade was livid with this knowledge being kept from her so once they returned to the village Tsunade stripped the Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane of their positions as council members deeming them to entrust worthy to remain in office.
"So...what if Sasuke does come back?" Shikamaru asks causing Sakura to pause momentarily "you really think he will be welcomed back with Open arms?" he asks and she looks at him "Whether you and Naruto like it or not, he aided the enemy in capturing the tailed beasts and killed a village elder even if it was Danzo" he points out "and this so called change of heart about the village what if he really is planning to attack the village from the inside?" he asks and though she hated to admit it Sasuke had shown he had a dark side...if it hadn't been for Naruto and Kakashi he would have killed her at the bridge but for the sake of her team she had to believe in him.
"...I have faith in him" she says "you were asleep for the last part of the war and his eyes were softer" she explains, of course they weren't aware of what the Uchiha wanted to do after Kaguya was sealed.
Meanwhile
Since returning from the war Tsunade had been very busy restoring the village, thanks to the invasion and war she was way behind on her paper work, but with no Homura and Koharu getting on her nerves at least she had that going for her which was nice. Kakashi and Sai enter the office; they along with other healthier Shinobi were patrolling the roads keeping them safe for villagers returning to the village, many of the villagers left temporarily since there wasn't enough accommodation for them all; thankfully the Feudal Lord aided them in finding places to stay. While the rebuilding was going well the chief carpenter said it could at least 5 years to completely re-build the village.
"Nice work Kakashi" Tsunade says "You too Sai" he looks at the pale smiling teen "Did you meet Naruto?" she asks and Kakashi shakes his head which causes her to sigh.
"I'm sure he'll be alright" Kakashi says "I mean he's the most famous Shinobi at the moment" he adds, true enough that his accomplishments are known throughout the nations and you'd be nuts to attack him but there is the possibility.
"Dismissed" she says and the two nod and they turn to leave, as they walk to the door they are greeted by the arrival of Tsunade's assistant Shizune who flashes a smile at Kakashi as he smiles under his mask nodding as they walk past her and closed the door. "it's nice to see you happy" she hears Tsunade say "And Kakashi is a great man" she says and Shizune blushes "...do you think I should have let him go alone?" she asks and a serious look forms on Shizune's face knowing this was about Naruto.
"This is something he needs to do" Tsunade states, "Naruto, like the Uchiha wants to discover himself" she explains "Naruto believes he can discover what kind of Hokage he can be by travelling and he would be hindered if he had company" she adds "Besides Naruto is a hero whose power is well known so who'd be crazy enough to attack him"...
Meanwhile
Since leaving Sasuke has said his goodbye to Karin who went with Orochimaru to the Sound village, Orochimaru plans to transform the Sound into a peaceful village like the Leaf and Karin wants to help. Orochimaru asked if Sasuke felt like joining him to but Sasuke declined, Suigetsu and Jugo disappeared once the war ended and he wasn't sure where they went.
Standing at Samurai Bridge observing the wreckage Sasuke sighs, remembering the events here made him reflect on his life, he did not feel guilty for killing Danzo in fact he was pleased to have rid the world of him but the fact that he tried to kill Kakashi and Naruto made him feel ashamed but the worst part was when he tried to kill Sakura...twice and would have if it hadn't been for Kakashi and Naruto 'How could Naruto think things can go back to the way they were' he thinks to himself, 'how can I face all the people I turned on...I don't deserve to be alive...' he thinks taking out a head band with the leaf insignia on it that had a scratch going through the leaf symbol, placing the headband back into his pocket he walks back debating where he should go now. As he walks he sees a young lady and an Old Lady who is holding a boy with black hair and Onyx eyes, the baby also had pronounced tear-troughs under his eyes walking down the opposite path, they had been surrounded by a group of thugs as the chuckled evilly their minds filled with lewd thoughts ogling the younger girl.
"P-Please I'll go with you and...And do anything you want but please don't hurt them" she says shielding her grandmother from the thugs who are closing in.
"Like we have to agree to anything you say girl" the big bad leader says grabbing her wrist and throwing her to the ground as he grabs the baby from the old lady, the then grabs the woman by her throat and holds the now crying baby above his head "Pick one and I'll let that one live" he smirks as his men laugh as the young girl begins to cry begging for mercy. H-Hey boss" the Leader stops his taunting and looks at his subordinate who is pointing, following the man's finger the Leader spots a dark navy robe and an Onyx eye and a purple rippled eye looking at them, more specifically the little baby the leader was holding.
"That looks like..." Sasuke thinks removing his hood "Who are you" he asks the woman but the man holding the baby laughs...
"Look boys the hero has arrived" he says sarcastically as his men grin "Give him a big warm welcome fellas" he orders and two men rush him only to be quickly cut down as Sasuke vanishes from sight "What the! How dare you attack my men!" he yells angrily, however his angered expression is replaced by a shocked one as his arm falls limply to the ground and the young boy is now in Sasukes arm whose stares at the infant with his blazing red Sharingan.
"Itachi...why does this boy remind me of you?" he thinks as he notices the rest of the men are charging and the two women have retreated to as safe distance "Susanoo!" Sasukes purple Susanoo forms around them in its incomplete form and quickly dispatches of the men.
"I know who you are!" the Leader says holding where his arm was detached "Uchiha Sasuke"
"...trash like you shouldn't say my name so casually" Sasukes cool tone says "Amaterasu!" the man bellows out as he is engulfed by the black flames, once the man is dead he puts the flames out and walks over to the two women now running towards him, "Are you alright?" he asks and the old woman smiles and nods he then glances at the younger women who nods as well.
"T-Thank you so much" she says as he hands the baby back to her "If you hadn't of come when you did then..."
"It's nothing" he replies surprising them both "I hate people who gang up and then pretend to be strong" he states "Where are you two going...if you don't mind me asking?" he says and the young woman smiles.
"Konoha" she smiles and Sasuke's eyes widen slightly surprised they were heading to a pretty far location "My baby's father was from their so I want him to grow up there" she explains, Sasuke didn't miss how she said "was"... "Plus the Hero Naruto lives there...maybe we can meet him and my son can become his student" she says with a happy look.
"Well good luck but I recommend using the main road from now on" Sasuke says in a way which showed he was clueless on giving safety tips to travellers "there are regular patrols in order to prevent what almost happened here" he adds.
"We thought this was the main road" the elder woman says and Sasuke roots through his knapsack and pulls out a map "Thank you young man" she says as he hands her the map. "There aren't many Shinobi like you".
"That's a good thing" he thinks before wishing them well and continuing on his way
3 days later
It had been 3 days since he left the village and Naruto found himself journeying to the different locations where battles took place during the war, the moments that defined him as the hero of the world.
"Naruto, why are you visiting these places?" Kurama asks while relaxing in Naruto's inner world "Opening old wounds won't help you discover a new purpose or make you a better Kage" he adds. Naruto doesn't reply right off the bat but simply smiles at the huge fox.
"This will be a reminder to never act to rash again" he says and Kurama's eyes widen slightly, "Hokage have the lives of all the villagers in their hands and I don't want to make poor choices because I didn't think of the ramifications" he states.
"Don't worry too much about it" Kurama states sitting up "You won't be alone, Hokage always have advisors to ignore" he grins, "And with your thick head I'm sure you will be plenty good at ignoring people...and making all new rash decisions" he laughs.
"Sorry...did you say something?" Naruto says absentmindedly looking over his shoulder, "Cheeky brat" Naruto smirks at Kurama's comment before he continued travelling.
A month later
The village slowly started to return to normal, Team Guy disbanded due to Neji's death and Guy Sensei's retirement, despite Naruto's interference sparing him from death Guy's body was destroyed and now he needed a wheelchair to get around. It was crushing for both Lee and Tenten who still worked together on missions but they lacked the same thrive as before.
Team Asuma went on the occasion mission together but with them all become Jonin for their actions in the war and final battle; and with them becoming clan heads things around them were different.
Ino spent a lot of her free time with the fifth member of Kakashi, Sai had become more...involved with his age group and opened up showing more personality, his new favourite past time was painting Ino in secret. While she had modelled for him he preferred capturing her in her day to day activities which annoyed her to no end since he always picked the moments where she is either, bossing her teammates, yelling in annoyance or doing something embarrassing.
Shikamaru spent most of his days when not on missions learning what it meant to lead the Nara clan, he rarely saw anyone as a result. However a certain blonde Kunoichi from Suna made sure his fighting skills and intellect hadn't dulled.
As for Choji, he spent his time in Kumogakure as a representative in alliance missions cleaning up after the war; he went on missions with Omoi and Karui which he enjoyed because their banter reminded him of how Ino and Shikamaru act.
Team Kurenai stayed together for a while, doing missions on Recon looking for Shinobi who were MIA, they also rooted Rouge Shinobi that were trying to get weapons and other tools from battlefields so they could strike at the villages.
Shino had played with the idea of becoming an Academy instructor since the war made him less keen on fighting, Kiba was named heir to the Inuzuka clan after his display of power during the fight with the Ten Tails brought him some high praises from the other Villages, Hinata spent all her free time thinking about Naruto...she couldn't stop thinking about hugging him that day. Remembering how Neji told her to take leaps of faith to escape the boundaries she set on herself was replaying in many decisions made. Unknowingly Naruto had kept his promise to Neji which was to change the Hyuga clan, mainly their branding of branch members. However not once in all the missions that took she around the five element nations had Hinata seen Naruto or any sign of him.
In the village Sakura spent her time tending to the wounded, her fame led the other Kage to ask her to help their wounded so Konoha's hospital was constantly full. However like Hinata her thoughts were filled with the other hero of the world, the last Uchiha and her first and only love...Sasuke, "idiot..." she thinks while healing a young Stone Chunin who was out cold, he sustained a heavy blow to the head during the Ten Tails rampage and even more when the divine tree attacked, it was likely his days as a Shinobi were over if he didn't die from his injuries. Despite how vital she was, compared to her teammates she still felt inadequate.
"Sakura when you are done check rooms 2, 5 and 6" Shizune says without entering "Also a letter came for you, I left it in your office" she adds and Sakura perks up at the last bit. Seeing that the wound had closed and his breathing was stable she left a chart with his medication dosage at the foot of the bed before leaving for her office, she found it weird to have an office but Tsunade named her chief of the Hospital so I guess she'd have to get used to it. Walking up to her desk she saw something that made her smile, stuck to the letter in place of a return address was a hawk feather so she knew who sent it straight away, picking the envelope up she could feel something moving inside and upon opening it her eyes widen at the necklace that falls out, amazingly similar to her dads, it was a cherry-blossom Pendant with a Jade crystal attachment, and a note consisting of three words.
"Thinking of you"
Sakura smiles placing the note and torn envelop on the table before putting the necklace on and checking it out in her reflection "...dummy".
A Week later
Tsunade had decided to step down as Hokage, with the war over she felt her time as Hokage was too, the village needed a new leader...she played with the Idea of bringing Naruto back to take her place, but despite everything he has accomplished he still needed to mature and grow. Thankfully she had the perfect person to take the lead and pass it to Naruto when he is ready.
Kakashi enters at he room, he knew what this was about but he still had to say "You wanted to see me Lady Tsunade?" his calm tone always seemed so refreshing to hear after all the paper work and nagging she has gone through.
"You know why I summoned you here" She says standing up, "The village will be going through a metamorphosis in the next view years, and I am no longer the person suited to lead the village in that path" she pauses looking at him, considering his reaction to almost becoming Hokage after Pain, the fact that he seems at peace with it now. "You are the person, you have become one of the most respected Shinobi in the world" she sees he is about to speak.
"With respect I know Naruto is the true Hokage...My goal now is to hold the position until he is ready to take it off me, it will be the final thing I pass onto him in his fathers place" Kakashi says. "Then its a nice retirement for me" he says and she can almost see him smirking under his mask.
"Not a bad goal" Tsunade agrees...
Two's flew by and the news of Kakashi's ascension to Hokage, it was met with great joy out of respect for the infamous Copy Nin. Kakashi approached Gai wanting him to be his advisor which the long time Rival agreed, the other advisor was Shizune, the two had become romantically linked since the war had ended and Kakashi made it official by proposing to her which shocked everyone including Shizume herself, then the two knew each other for years so perhaps it was expected.
And on the day of his inauguration "I Kakashi Hatake swear to protect and watch over Konoha as the Rokudaime Hokage" he declares as the village cheers loudly, mixture of his pupils class and noticeably Sakura who was cheering loudly. Still the absence of his other two students but a small damper on the day but he knew they where somewhere in the world...hopefully thinking about the village and returning to it.
He turns around and see's two shadows on the Hokage mountain, Naruto and Sasuke both beside one another, Naruto cheered like the rest while Sasuke gave one of his rare smiles and nods of approval "I'll make sure the village is ready for you Naruto...so don't worry about us...find the answers you are looking for...that goes for both of you" he says and they both nod vanishing revealing that they are Shadow Clones
"And so my time as Hokage begins"
The End
Well make sure to let me know if this is worth continuing with plenty of reviews
Next Chapter will have a Wedding...I wonder whose
Till Next Time!
~DoTheBartMan