Well, here we are at the final chapter! Just for the record, thanks to the great reviews I've gotten from this story + me coming up with an idea of what I want to do, I will be writing a sequel to Jinchuriki's Husk. I'm debating between "A Jinchuriki's Strength" or "A Jinchuriki's Radiance" as the titles atm. See the bottom of this page for more details on that.
As always, I appreciate the reviews/favorites/follows and thanks to everyone who has reviewed thus far! Motivation is good!
Shout out to everyone who reviewed since last time (most reviews so far for any chapter might I add!): Freespeedingbird, holydemon90, Nutt Man 117, newserkzzz, Gravenimage, Lobo Argost, Kaelin the Black Swan, Blazing CobaltX, cmcwiki, ragnrock kyuubi, Toasty Warrior, Echo Uchiha, TheRealLifeAlucard, Kyuubi loves NaruSaku, Goddess of Night Eternal faith, Serenity Namikaze
Freespeedingbird: Sorry. The story is rated T, not quite mature enough to write a lemon. Also, I'm not much of a lemon writer anyways. I may write a lemon one shot set between this story and its sequel, but that's not a guarantee.
holydemon90: Ya, it was reckless of Tsunade. But she defends herself this chapter! Your other suggestions are actually planned for the sequel! Thank you very much also for the compliment! I blushed a little when I first read it! =P
Nut Man 117: That would be awesome until you had to do your laundry =P I hope you enjoy the finale!
newserkzzz: I guess. You just don't see much in the ways of temples or temple masters in the manga. Maybe I'm being a little harsh, and it's not as off canon as I think...
Gravenimage: Thanks! I hope you enjoy the finale!
Lobo Argost: Haha, no problem. Sasuke isn't exactly my favorite Naruto character in the world either =P
Kaelin the Black Swan: Well... I looked at like this while writing. Sakura really loves Naruto and she already thought she lost him earlier without ever being able to tell him the truth. With Sakura's psychi it just seemed natural to me that she would fight tooth and nail to get what she wants. But don't worry, in the sequel she won't let Naruto forget who's responsible for them being together =P And I'm glad you enjoyed the story, hopefully you enjoy the finale as well!
Blazing CobaltX: SHANAROO! :D
cmcwiki: Here here! Three cheers for Sakura!
ragnrock kyuubi: Thanks! I hope you enjoy the last chapter of this story. But don't worry, a sequel is sure to follow!
Toasty Warrior: Hehe, I'm tricky like that from time to time =P I'm glad you enjoyed it and hopefully you enjoy the finale as well!
Echo Uchiha: No worries, a sequel is coming ;)
TheRealLifeAlucard: Thanks =)
Kyuubi loves NaruSaku: if I were the Kyubi I'd personally still be a little grumpy towards Sakura for restraining me with damned chakra chains while Minato reseals me again =P
Goddess of Night Eternal faith: I REALLY enjoyed writing Sakura drag Naruto into bed. Sooo much fun =P Glad you enjoyed! /e salutes. Update complete!
Serenity Namikaze:Who knew Naruto had it in him to reject Sakura...oh wait, nevermind. He doesn't :D And "that's my Naruto" made it in that chapter, (and I think this chapter?) primarily because I just watched the third movie again yesterday =P And no worries, I will definitely be doing more stories. Including a sequel to this one =)
Whew, I feel so cool doing all those responses. Anywho, let's get onto the finale shall we?
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or else I would be filthy stinking rich and Naruto would've learnt more sweet jutsus from the forbidden scroll Mizuki tricked him into stealing right away. Also Naruto would've handled Zabuza one-on-one while Kakashi and Sasuke eat some popcorn and Sakura swoons over how freaking cool Naruto is the entire duration of the fight!
Please do enjoy "A Jinchuriki's Husk"- Chapter 10: Love
"I've came to say hello… Tobi. Or… are you going by Madara now?" a snake-like Kabuto greeted.
"I'm surprised you found me." Madara calmly responded.
"I travelled from land to land as a spy… and was even part of Akatsuki for a while. Don't underestimate how much I know."
"You were one of Sasori's spies… You betrayed Akatsuki." Madara said before leaping towards Kabuto.
I don't know what you have planned Kabuto, but it won't be good for me. Time to take care of you before you can become a problem…
Kabuto leapt backwards, forming handseals. Suddenly a row of coffins burst out of the ground between Madara and Kabuto.
"This is…" a surprised Madara muttered. "Edo tensai."
"The forbidden jutsu only the Nidaime Hokage and Orochimaru-sama could use… But now I'm the third." Kabuto said with a sneer. "This is a special performance just for you… so you will believe my strength… But don't worry. I haven't come here to fight."
"Then what do you want." Madara asked in a suspicious tone. The ancient Uchiha didn't trust the snake-like man as far as he could throw him.
"I want to join forces with you." Kabuto said with a suspicious smile.
"You want to join forces. What would I gain by that?" And what do you gain by that Kabuto… Madara thought as he tried to figure out what the scaled man was plotting.
"I hear you plan to start a war soon. I'm offering my support… Here are Itachi, Sasori, Deidara, Kakuzu, and… Nagato. They're all strong… and they are not my only pawns." Kabutu casually said, as his snake tail waved in the air.
Akatsuki is all but destroyed. I only have the Zetsu army left, and I still need to capture the Hachibi and Kyubi…
"Can bodies revived by your Edo-tensei extract biju?"
Kabuto frowned, "I'm afraid not. But they can capture biju."
"What do you want in return?"
"Sasuke's body." Kabuto replied with a sick smile.
"What makes you think I saved Sasuke's body?"
"Please Madara-sama, I thought I already told you not to underestimate how much I know."
"I see. I don't know what you want with Sasuke's body, but even with your help I would still need to recruit new Akatsuki members. So instead of accepting your help, I think I'll just kill you right now and be done with this Kabuto." Madara said, as he calmly walked towards Kabuto, planning on sucking him into another dimension.
"Kuchiyose edo tensei!" Kabuto yelled, as another coffin came up from the ground. The coffin opened and Madara gasped.
"Th… That's!"
Kabuto smirked at the ancient Uchiha. "Did you really think I came here without an ace up my sleeve? That's right… you can't refuse!"
Madara wanted nothing more than to kill Kabuto right where he stood. "You… bastard. Where did you get that?" he spat.
Kabuto gave him another twisted smile. "It's complicated… Don't worry. I won't tell anyone about this."
To Kabuto's surprise, Madara burst into laughter. He arched an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"
"Kabuto Yakuishi. I had no idea… you had this in you. If I fought you now, I will only weaken myself. I'll join forces with you, but I will only give you Sasuke's body after you've proven yourself."
Kabuto smiled back. "You're a smart one. I expected nothing less of Madara Uchiha. So, when do we begin our war?"
"We're going to need to wait until we can recruit some new living members into the Akatsuki. We will act after we've done that. Now, let's go."
I will keep you close Kabuto, and the second I get an opportunity, I will kill you.
Naruto was standing on barren earth, as the rain poured down. His spiky blonde hair was matted down, slightly covering his sapphire eyes as he stared at the rinnegan and sharingan eyes of Madara Uchiha. Lightning flashed, illuminating Madara as he stood with his fan.
Naruto closed his eyes, and opened them again to reveal toad-like eyes.
"Now we finally end this Madara. I will stop you here, and save this world."
"What makes you think you can stop Madara." The hate-filled voice of Sasuke spat in his ear.
Naruto twisted around and came eye to eye with a the mangekyo eyes of his former best friend.
"Sasuke…" he gasped. "You… you're dead, how can you be here?"
"You're right Naruto. I'm dead. You failed to save me. If you can't save your best friend, what hope do you have of saving the world from him?" Sasuke snapped as he pointed at Madara.
"Sasuke… I tried. I tried so hard, but you refused to listen. There was nothing I could do… It was impossible to save you…"
"Oh? Naruto Uzumaki admitting something is impossible? That's not you dobe. You believe you can do anything."
"I… I'm sorry I couldn't save you Sasuke."
"It's too late for apologies Naruto… Now you join me!"
Sasuke charged at Naruto with a chidori filled hand, on instinct Naruto countered with a rasengan.
"CHIDORI!"
"RASENGAN!"
The resulting explosion blew the former brothers backwards. "Sasuke… stop this. I don't want to fight you. I need to focus on Madara!"
"SHUT UP DOBE. I'm dead because of YOU. I will avenge myself by taking your life!" Sasuke suddenly transformed into his curse seal lvl 2 form.
"What… I thought Itachi destroyed Orichimaru during your fight. How can you still use the curse seal?" Sasuke started cackling like Orochimaru.
"Kukuku. What's wrong dobe? You don't like seeing the monster that YOU created?"
The jinchuriki's toad-like eyes stared into Sasuke's mangekyo sharingans. Naruto couldn't help but shudder at Sasuke's appearance, it had been a while since he had seen it after all. Purple skin with dark blue hair, and bat-like hand wings sprouting from his back.
"Sasuke… we don't have to do this. Please st…"
The Yondaime's legacy was interrupted as he leapt back to avoid Sasuke's chidori.
Naruto summoned a ring of shadow clones surrounding the two combatants. Each clone took out a three-pronged kunai.
"I don't want to fight you Sasuke, and I can't afford to waste my time fighting you. I need to stop Madara. I'm going to ask you one last time Sasuke, stop this. Please stop this. If you don't, I will be forced to kill you…"
"I'M ALREADY DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU NARUTO! WHAT ELSE DO YOU THINK YOU CAN DO!" Sasuke yelled with a crazed look in his eye as he charged Naruto. The jinchuriki sighed. His clones began throwing their kunai and Naruto flashed around Sasuke. Not even the Uchiha's mangekyo sharingan eyes could come close to keeping up with the sage.
Naruto flashed around Sasuke slicing his brother with a kunai over and over. Naruto stopped and dispelled the clone ring, as his best friend dropped to the ground, thousands of cuts and slashes littering his body.
"Naruto…"
Naruto couldn't bring himself to look at Sasuke…
"Naruto… look at me…"
Naruto looked straight into Sasuke's eyes as Sasuke muttered, "Tsukuyomi."
Naruto was tied to a cross, in a black and white world. Three Sasuke's stared at Naruto with hate-filled eyes. You couldn't save me Naruto, you can't beat Madara. This is your punishment! All three Sasuke's simultaneously stabbed Naruto with chidori charged kusangi's.
Naruto screamed out in pain, as he coughed out blood. Naruto felt something tighten against him.
"Naruto!"
Before he could figure out what the voice was, Sasuke had brought Sakura before him.
"You failed me Naruto, now I will kill the one you love."
"No, Sasuke… NO! DON'T!" Sasuke suddenly transformed into Madara. The King of Hell statue rose from the ground, and Madara begin ripping the Kyubi from Naruto's body. That terrible pain, that pain that defied all logic again enveloped Naruto's body."
"Please…. Stop…" he gurgled.
Madara laughed cruelly before turning back to Sakura. "You care for her no? Your soul is going to be ripped out of your body…" Madara turned back to Naruto pointing to his rinnegan. "You wouldn't believe the things this eye can do… Here, watch."
"NOOO!" Naruto screamed as pain enveloped his body. Again, he felt something tighten against him, he felt warmth.
"Naruto… wake up!"
"You've failed to beat me Naruto. You were a fool to ever think you could." Madara said in a cruel tone, as he ripped Sakura's soul from her body. "You can't beat me Naruto Uzumaki."
Tears streamed down Naruto's face, as the pain of having the Kybui extracted continued to plague his body. Suddenly everything stopped as he felt something soft pressed against his lips…
Sakura was stirred from some of the best sleep she had ever experienced as the personal heater she had her arms wrapped around began lightly thrashing about. She lifted her head from his stomach and saw the look of despair on his face.
"I'm… sorry I couldn't save you Sasuke." Her knucklehead mumbled in his sleep.
He's beating himself up for that? I could use the yume-no sakura jutsu on him, but that would just be a temporary fix. I can heal him fully now.
Naruto began wildly thrashing about as he cried out in pain. Sakura just tightened her embrace around him.
"Naruto!" she nearly yelled. But the thrashing didn't stop.
"Please… stop…" the jinchuriki mumbled.
Sakura looked into his tear stained face, that was twisted in an expression filled with pain and grief.
"NOOO!" Naruto suddenly yelled, as tears began streaming down his face like a great waterfall.
"NARUTO! WAKE UP!" Sakura yelled. Her knucklehead continued twisting about, Sakura was about to use the yume-no sakura jutsu when she had one last idea. Grabbing the back of the sleeping blonde's head, she pulled his lips down into hers.
Naruto woke up from his nightmare with the lips of his emerald-eyed angel pressed into his. His eyes shot open in surprise, as he pulled back from the kiss.
"Sakura-chan…?"
Sakura blushed a little, as she gave him a concerned smile. "You were having a nightmare, so I had to wake you up…"
Naruto shot her a foxy grin. "I could get used to that. Getting kissed by the most beautiful girl in the world to wake up…"
This caused Sakura to blush, before she lightly bopped him on the back of the head. "Pervert." Her boyfriend pouted back at her, before getting a devious look in his eye.
"Hey, I'm not the one kissing people in their sleep…"
Sakura shot him a dirty glare, and pulled her fist back to teach Naruto a lesson. Panic set in on Naruto's face as his girlfriend prepared to punch him.
"Ne, sorry Sakura-chan! I was just joking. You're a beautiful emerald-eyed angel, and angels can't be perverts!" the Yondaime's legacy said quickly, hoping flattery would save him. And indeed, flattery did save him. He was rewarded with a warm smile, and a soft peck on his cheek.
"That was sweet Naruto, but don't think you're getting off the hook. I'm still going to make you pay for what you said later…" Sakura muttered in a sweet tone. "Now, what were you dreaming about?"
The happy look on Naruto's face was quickly replaced with a frown as Naruto made sure his eyes were looking away from Sakura's.
"Oh… nothing to worry about Sakura-chan. There was this guy who was stealing my ramen…" Naruto lied, praying to kami that his overly intelligent girlfriend would just this once be fooled.
"You're lying Naruto. I heard you apologize to Sasuke before you started thrashing about in pain…"
"It was just a dream Saku…"
"It was a nightmare. And you're going to tell me about it, don't forget I'm in charge of this mission still."
"Sakura-chaaan, that's not fair." Naruto said in a playful tone, hoping it would distract the pink-haired kunoichi currently in his arms.
"I don't care. You're my baka now, and I'm going to take care of you. I have a jutsu I could use to make sure your dreams are happy, but I would rather get to the root of the problem and fix it instead. Now talk. Your taichou commands it."
Naruto sighed. His eyes were again pointed anywhere but Sakura, until Sakura grabbed his chin and made him stare into her beautiful emerald eyes. The jinchuriki stared, mesmerized, momentarily forgetting what was going on. So beautiful…
"Naruto!" Sakura managed to snap Naruto out of his hypnosis.
"Ah...right. Sorry Sakura-chan. I sorta got distracted by your eyes there…" Sakura blushed again and had to fight the urge to kiss him. No, I need to get some answers so I can help him.
"Well… I was standing across from Madara on the battlefield, and just before I started fighting him, Sasuke appeared out of nowhere. He told me if I couldn't even save him, my brother, there was no way I would be able to defeat Madara and save the world. Then he blamed me for his death…"
"That's ridiculous Naruto, there was nothing you could have possibly done to save him, he chose vengeance over his bonds!"
"I know…" the whiskered blonde whispered. "But he didn't listen, and attacked me. He said he was going to avenge himself by killing me… Then…"
"Naruto wait… There's something you need to know about Sasuke. At the end of our fight, we were both nearly out of chakra, and only had enough left for one last attack. Sasuke charged at me with a chidori, and I charged at him with a rasengan that your mother taught me how to use. My rasengan landed, and killed him, but he had an opportunity to strike me with his chidori which would've killed me. But he didn't it, he instead let his chidori dissipate."
"What? Why would he…"
"Before he died, he told me I stopped him, and he thanked me. Naruto, there was no way to save Sasuke during life, but I believe that you helped save him in death. I don't think Sasuke would want to kill you, you were one of his precious people."
Tears formed in Naruto's eyes as he fought them back. "That's good…" the spiky haired blonde whispered. "But… If I couldn't keep Sasuke alive who's to say I can beat Madara and save the world…"
"I am." Sakura replied without missing a beat. Emerald met sapphire, as Sakura cupped Naruto's cheeks. "Tsunade-sama is. Kakash-sensei is. Iruka-sensei is. Your mother and father. Jiraiya. Everyone believes in you Naruto, everyone knows you can do it." Sakura kissed her boyfriend on the cheek as he tightened his grip, holding her even closer.
"Thank you Sakura. Thank you so much." He said as he kissed her. Sakura returned the kiss and the two were quickly engaging in a war of tongues, after seven straight minutes they pulled back and smiled into the others' eyes.
Both Naruto and Sakura were completely entranced in the others' eyes and stared at each other with soft smiles for the rest of the night.
It was early afternoon by the time Naruto and Sakura woke up, and it was mid-afternoon by the time the two managed to get out of the sleeping bag. Neither wanted to leave the others' embrace. But they unfortunately had a temple to get to.
Nartuo grabbed Sakura's hand, an action that earned him a smile, as the couple took off at a comfortable jog. Naruto knew of a town right near the temple that he visited while traveling with Jiraiya, so the pair decided to get there a few days early so they could relax together.
The two jogged in a pleasant silence, smiles fixed on both of their faces.
"You seem to know more about this mission than I do… I know Baa-chan said I'm to spend as much time as I need training here, but what if we're needed back at Konoha? We are two of the most powerful ninjas Konoha has."
"I gave shishou the three-pronged kunai you gave me when you first came back. If anything comes up, she'll send one of her fastest falcons to us with a message and we'll use the hirashin to get back instantly." Sakura replied.
"That was good thinking Sakura-chan." The jinchuriki complemented with a foxy grin on his whiskered face.
Sakura returned his smile. "Thanks Naruto, I was pretty proud of the idea myself."
Naruto's eyes widened as he suddenly stopped, still holding onto Sakura's hand.
"I just realized something Sakura-chan… That means I can't instantly flash to you whenever you need me." The future Hokage said with a worried voice.
"It's alright Naruto, I can take care of myself, I'm not some weak little girl that needs protecting!"
"I know Sakura… It just puts my mind at ease knowing I can get to your side in a second." Sakura fixed her boyfriend with a soft smile. He's so sweet…
"Ne Sakura-chan… I was wondering something…"
"And what were you wondering baka?"
"Well… I've learned a lot more about the hirashin, and I can even do hirashin level 2 now when I spend my time concentrating on it. I was wondering…" Naruto looked extremely nervous as he scratched the back of his head. "I was… nevermind."
Sakura wasn't sure what could make her boyfriend so nervous, so she captured his eyes with hers. "What were you wondering Naruto?" she said softly.
"Well… with enough time, I can put a chakra hirashin seal tattoo on someone. I was going to ask if you would mind if I put one on you, so I can always flash to your side in an instant. But that's pretty dumb ne?" he chuckled nervously.
Sakura surprised him by kissing him softly on the lips and smiled at him. "I'd like that Naruto."
Naruto's startled sapphire eyes met with her calm and warm emerald eyes. "You would? I half expected you to punch me… In a way, it's sort of like me marking you, and it's a permanent thing."
Sakura again gave him another soft kiss. "It's cute how much you want to protect me. I don't mind being marked by you, and as an added perk, it brings you peace of mind. How does the seal work?"
Naruto's face twisted into a giant soft grin as he stared at her. "Well, the seal is actually my own upgraded version of my dad's. In addition to it allowing me to instantly flash to you, it also allows you to alert me whenever you need me. All you have to do is push a little bit of chakra into it, and I'll know, and flash to you. Even more, if your body is ever poisoned or pierced the seal will let me know so I can know to come to your side, even if you don't have the time to notify me yourself. Oh, and since it's a chakra tattoo, it won't be visible unless it's activated."
Sakura looked at him with a proud smile. "That's very impressive Naruto, I'm sure your Father would be both impressed and proud."
"Thanks Sakura-chan… Now what design do you want the seal to be in, and where?"
"What do you mean what design?" Sakura questioned, eyebrow raised.
"Well… even though it's a seal, it still is going to be a chakra tattoo, and I can make it in any image you want. For example, if you want "Shanaroo" tattooed on your back, I could make the seal so that it spells out "Shanaroo." Naruto explained, getting a laugh out of his emerald-eyed angel with his tattoo example.
"You baka…" Sakura smiled at Naruto, and took off her shirt, so she was now standing before Naruto in just her regular skirt and a pink bra.
Naruto was not expecting this, and stared at Sakura as if she was a goddess. "So… beautiful…" he mumbled. Sakura winked at him.
"I'm up here baka." Blushing, slightly embarrassed sapphire eyes met smug emerald eyes.
"I want it to be in the design of a cherry blossom tree with a kitsune laying at its base, and I want it over my heart. If you can control the size, make it about the size of a fist."
"Hai Sakura-chan." The whiskered boy responded, as he placed his hand over Sakura's heart, blushing slightly as he felt Sakura's breast touching the edge of his hand. Sakura again smirked at him even though she was lightly blushing herself.
Naruto pictured the design in his mind as he began using his chakra to permanently put the seal over Sakura's heart. After about 20 minds of concentration, Naruto sat back and admired his handiwork. His Sakura now had a pink cherry blossom tree with a golden fox laying at its base and the tattoo was the size of his fist.
"Alright! All finished Sakura-chan, and it looks pretty good!"
Sakura pushed chakra into the seal so she could see it and smiled. "You did great Naruto."
"Now let's test it!" Naruto said as he sprinted away. Sakura watched him go until he was out of sight, then she felt her seal activate. It didn't hurt, and it didn't even feel weird. It just filled her entire body with a warm feeling. There was a yellow flash and the next thing she knew Naruto was standing right in front of her.
"YATTA!" Naruto cheered, causing Sakura to giggle.
"Naruto… thanks." Sakura said softly.
"I should be the one thanking you Sakura-chan!" he enthusiastically replied. Sakura wrapped him in a hug, and softly kissed him on the cheek.
"No, I need to thank you. For always caring about me, and for always being worried about my safety. I know I haven't always shown my appreciation, but I do appreciate it. Even if I don't need protecting, I still feel so happy and safe knowing you are watching over me." Sakura's hand pulled Naruto's head down, so that their lips could meet, and after a couple of minutes of passionate kissing, the happy couple pulled back from each other, genuine smiles present on their faces.
"Now let's get going, I want to get there a couple of days early. That town you were talking about sounds great!" Sakura cooed lacing her fingers together with her knucklehead's.
Sakura and Naruto made it to the town near the temple three days ahead of time. The sky was just beginning to give off an orange glow as they walked through the town's gates. Sakura rested her head on Naruto's shoulder who had made sure to loop their arms together as soon as they saw the town and stopped jogging.
Nartuo led the way to a quaint little inn. It was made of gray stone bricks, and had a cute thatched roof.
"Naruto-chan? Is that you? You sure have grown since I last saw you!" a kind little old woman greeted. "And who is this with you?"
"Hey old lady, it's been a while. This is Sakura, my..." Naruto blushed and scratched the back of his head, while looking at Sakura as if asking her permission. Sakura rolled her eyes.
"I'm his girlfriend. My name is Sakura Haruno, it's nice to meet you." Sakura politely finished for her knucklehead.
The old lady chuckled a little. "So, what brings the two of you out here? This is a far ways away from Konoha."
"I'm due at the temple near here in three days for assistance in my training, so Sakura and I are spending a couple of days here beforehand." The old lady chuckled.
"Why am I not surprised. Naruto-chan here for training. It seems you haven't changed much over the years, always training to get stronger. Where's Jiraiya-sama?"
Naruto's happy smile dropped with his eyes as they focused on the floor. Sakura instantly grabbed her boyfriend's hand, and gave it a tight squeeze while fixing him with a caring gaze. She knew how much Jiraiya meant to her boyfriend. She also had suspicions that her favorite jinchuriki still hadn't fully gotten over his death.
I'm here now, I'm not going to let you face this by yourself. The pink-haired kunoichi thought.
"Jiraiya-sensei… is gone. He was killed by a very powerful ninja while he was gathering information on an evil organization." Naruto replied sadly. He shot Sakura a grateful look for her support. His emerald-eyed angel just smiled at him.
"That's too bad. I'm sorry to hear that Naruto-chan. I know how close you two were. Here's your room key, and don't worry about paying, it's on the house."
"What?" a startled Naruto asked preparing to object.
"After what you and Jiraiya-san did for this town, you will always have a free room here." The old lady quickly elaborated.
"Arigouto, Mai-san." The Toad Sannin's apprentice replied with a grateful smile on his face. Taking the key, the happy couple bounded up the stairs, and entered their room. The room wasn't the biggest, it had one twin-sized bed in the center, a small dresser, and a surprisingly decent sized bathroom. The bare wood floor creaked a little as they set their stuff down.
"Sakura-chaaan! Naruto called out in a voice reminiscent of their genin days. "Want to go out on a date with me?" he asked in his "hopeful genin voice" while giving her a wink. Sakura chuckled at her blonde's antics.
"I suppose Naruto-kun. But only if you're paying!" she playfully retorted with a quick peck on his whiskered cheek. Naruto responded by capturing her lips for a brief moment, before pulling back.
"Of course Sakura-chan! Let's go!" He began dragging his girlfriend out of the room, but was rewarded for his enthusiasm with a fist to the back of the head.
"Sakura-chaaaan, why…" Naruto groaned from his new spot on the ground.
"Both you and I are not dressed for a date! This will be our first official date as a couple and I refuse to go looking like crap, and I'm not letting you wear orange either!" Sakura scolded with a cute smile on her face.
"Sakura-chan… I don't have any nice clothes. I didn't really think I would be needing them when were leaving on this mission." Naruto awkwardly mumbled, not really wanting to remind his new girlfriend that just a few days ago he was dead set on rejecting her.
Sakura just smiled at him. "Well, when I requested the Hokage give the two of us a mission I…"
"NANI? You made Baa-chan give me a mission with just you?" Naruto gasped.
His pink-haired girlfriend fixed him with a confident smile. "Of course! I knew that you loved me like I loved you, and I wasn't going to take no for an answer. So all I needed was to force you into a mission with me. Obviously when it was just the two of us, you wouldn't be able to resist me." She explained with a smug smile on her pretty face.
"Now, as I was saying…" Sakura continued, as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened, "When I requested this mission, I knew that you would give into me, and I bought you some nice clothes to match mine. Now whenever we go out on dates, we'll match perfectly! It's going to be so cute!" she cooed, taking out a scroll. She unsealed a package of clothes and tossed it to him.
"Now go change!"
"Hai… taichou." Naruto replied with a wink, as he walked into the bathroom.
Sakura began giggling as she heard Naruto groan when he saw what she was making him wear. After much swearing, the jinchuriki emerged from the bathroom 15 minutes later fully clothed in the dress clothes Sakura had bought for him. When his eyes fell upon Sakura, he froze and couldn't help himself from gawking.
"So… beautiful…" he mumbled to no one in particular. Sakura was wearing a stunning ruby red strapless dress which had a very generous neckline that showed off Sakura's modest cleavage. Her ruby heels heels clicked on the wooden floor as she sashayed up to him with a cute smile, and quickly pecked him on the lips, to bring him back to the real world.
"Just as I expected, you look pretty good yourself Naruto-kun." She said as her eyes probed her boyfriend. He was wearing a pair of black dress shoes, black pin-striped dress pants, a matching black pin-striped shirt, a ruby red vest, with a ruby red poorly tied tie. She giggled at the sight of the tie.
"So… I guess I've figured out why it took you so long to get ready." His emerald-eyed angel teased as she fixed her knucklehead's tie. Once she was finished she drew him into a passionate kiss, that ended all too soon for Naruto's liking.
"Now, lead the way Naruto. This date was your idea after all!"
Her knucklehead simply grinned at her and offered his arm, which she gladly took. The happy couple left arm-in-arm.
This feels so right both boyfriend and girlfriend dreamily thought at the same time.
Tsunade stood in front of a seething Koharu and and Homura.
"What were you thinking Tsunade? Sending one of the last jinchuriki out on an extended mission with one bodyguard, not to mention sending our most powerful shinobi out of the village during such turbulent times?" Koharu asked in a disrespectful tone.
"That was very irresponsible Tsunade. You let your attachments to the jinchuriki and your apprentice cloud your judgment. I know you are rash Tsunade, but this sort of decision is not befitting of a Hokage. I'm starting to wonder if it was a mistake in appointing you Hokage after all." Homura added.
Tsunade met their angry gazes unflinchingly. It's not going to help me to let of go of my temper. I need to remain calm.
"Naruto is this world's only hope at defeating Madara, and yet when he faced off against Madara in the Akatsuki base, he was barely able to land two blows while Madara was simply toying with him. If it hadn't been for the timely arrival of the Yondaime, Naruto would've been defeated. He needs training, and the master at the lightning temple is highly knowledgeable and will be a great asset in Naruto's training." Tsunade said in what she hoped was a calm tone.
"He could've trained here. Kakashi was Minato's student, I'm sure he would've been able to help in Naruto's training. For sage training, Naruto has been known to summon Lord Fukasaku to assist him. There was no reason for him to leave the safety of our village." Homura retorted.
"I've heard rumors that this mission was your apprentice's request Tsunade. That she wanted the mission so she could become romantically involved with the Kyubi brat." Koharu spat. Tsunade's calm face instantly transformed into a furious expression on the words Kyubi brat.
"THAT'S ENOUGH. Sakura did request this mission, I would not have given it to them if I didn't think it would be beneficial to Konoha's future. I know Naruto will return from this mission strong enough to beat Madara. And if I EVER hear you refer to Naruto as "Kyubi brat" again I will personally execute you where you stand. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" The furious Hokage bellowed.
"Are you threatening me Tsunade?" Koharu stammered, with a look of fear on her ancient face, that she was clearly trying to hide.
"No. I'm simply telling you what will happen if you ever say those ugly words again. Naruto is the son of the Yondaime, he is the hero of Konoha, he deserves respect." Tsunade spat, a glare still on her face.
"Fine. We just wanted to raise our concerns Hokage-sama." Koharu interjected, trying to remove some of the tension from the room. "We apologize for coming off so rude. But what will happen if we need Naruto back in the village, should another person like Pain attack?" The old man calmly asked.
Tsunade's face turned into a small proud grin. "Sakura actually thought about that, and found a solution." The Hokage withdrew a three pronged kunai. "Should anything happen we will send our fastest falcon to them, and Naruto will use the hirashin to transport the both of them back instantly."
Homura calmed down slightly at these words. "What if Madara attacks the two while they're travelling?"
"Naruto knows that he can't beat Madara right now. He will use the hirashin to get both him and Sakura away instantly. Sakura will have told Naruto about me having his kunai, so if I were to guess, I would say he would probably flash the two here."
"You've thought this mission out Tsunade, and it very well could yield great results. But I must warn you, if something happens to the jinchuriki as a result of this mission, we will have no choice but to force you to step down as Hokage." Koharu warned.
"Nothing will happen to Naruto. He's well on his way to surpassing his father, and he has my apprentice with him. Sakura defeated the traitor Sasuke Uchiha, and will defend Naruto with her life. There is nothing to worry about. If you two have nothing left to say, I would appreciate if you would leave. As you can see, I have a lot of paperwork to do."
The elders nodded, and took their leave. Tsunade sat down and stared at the never ending mountain of paperwork and sighed.
Get back soon gaki, people are getting scared. Your presence is going to be needed to keep everyone feeling protected.
Naruto and Sakura sat in a very nice restaurant. Their table had a simple white tablecloth, with a single rose in between the two lovers. Paper lanterns hung from the ceiling and gave off a soft glow which served as the restaurant's only lighting. A man sat in one corner lightly playing a lute to some sort of romantic nameless tune. Since officially being recognized as a sage, Naruto's pay had significantly increased even if he was still technically a genin. Naruto was currently munching away on a large bowl of "gourmet ramen."
This gourmet ramen tastes and feels so weird. It's almost like I'm eating some sort of salad with seared chicken in it or something… The clueless blonde thought. Little did he know that when his girlfriend excused herself to go to the bathroom, she really went and threatened the waiter into changing her boyfriend's order into a grilled chicken salad, then cast a quick genjutsu on him as the food arrived.
The pink-haired girl couldn't help but giggle at the confused look on her knucklehead's face. Like I'd let you eat ramen on our first date as a couple. AND you're starting the most important training of your life in a few days. You're going to eat healthy SHANAROO!
Naruto looked up, even more confused when his emerald-eyed angel pumped her fist into the air with a determined smile on her face. "…Sakura-chan?" he asked as he sweat-dropped.
Sakura hadn't realized she had literally pumped her fist in the air, she just meant to do it in her mind. "How's the gourmet ramen?" she inquired trying to mask her embarrassment.
"It's alright… It tastes and feels like some sort of chicken salad though, it's so strange…" he replied as his mind went to work trying to figure out the mystery of the gourmet ramen. Sakura merely giggled again before returning to her chicken dumplings.
"How are your dumplings?" Naruto asked, deciding to give his mind a break from what he now dubbed "The Great Ramen Mystery."
"They're so amazing! Here, try one!" Sakura cooed, before shoving one in her boyfriend's mouth.
"Wow Sakura-chan, you sure picked the right thing! Maybe you're right. I should've gotten something other than ramen here…" Naruto said before returning to trying to solve the great ramen mystery. The pink-haired kunoichi shot him a smile.
"Of course, you don't come to a fancy restaurant and order ramen baka! And you need to start eating more than ramen, I want to enjoy a long life with you. I won't get that if you keep eating nothing but ramen!" she scolded playfully.
"Ne, sorry Sakura-chan, I'll try to eat more than just ramen from now on…" Naruto chuckled as he scratched the back of his head.
After the two finished their dinners (Naruto never did solve the ramen mystery), they left the restaurant arm in arm. They walked through the small town taking in the sights, before Naruto stopped them at a small ice cream stand.
"You have to try this ice cream Sakura-chan! Pervy sage took me here after my first day of training in this village. This is some of the best ice cream in the world ttebayo!" the blonde excitedly chirped.
"I'm still pretty full from dinner Naruto…"
"Then we can just share a cone! I'm not going to let you not try this ice cream!" a determined Naruto said.
After ordering three scoops of strawberry ice cream in a waffle cone, Naruto and Sakura walked to a bench in a secluded park underneath a large willow tree. Naruto held the cone between them, as they both lapped away at the delicious ice cream.
"This is amazing Naruto!"
"See? I told you! And you weren't going to have any because you were 'full'!" Naruto used his free hand to put full in finger quotations as he said it. Which got him a playful hit on the shoulder from his girlfriend.
Sakura took the cone out of Naruto's hand when there was a small amount of ice cream left, giving Naruto a seductive wink. Naruto, the ever clueless baka, simply gave Sakura a smug smile.
I knew she would enjoy this ice cream. Next time I'm going to make sure she gets her own cone!
Sakura still held Naruto with a seductive gaze, took the last of the ice cream into her mouth, then grabbed the back of his head and crashed her lips against his, instantly shoving her tongue and ice cream into his mouth.
A surprised Naruto quickly responded to the kiss and the two pushed the sweet treat into the other's mouth as their tongues passionately danced together for seven minutes. As they pulled away gasping Naruto smiled into his favorite cherry blossom's emerald eyes.
"That…was amazing Sakura…" Naruto breathed. Leave it to my Sakura-chan to come up with something like that.
Sakura smiled back at him. "I thought it was the fairest way to finish our ice cream."
"Note to self- NEVER let Sakura-chan get her own cone, ALWAYS insist that we share a cone…" Naruto said with a playful smirk.
"I don't know if I can do that Naruto. That was some good ice cream; I might want my own cone next time. You're going to have to give me something special to get me to agree to that." The pink-haired girl retorted with a playful smirk of her own.
"That sounds fair…" Naruto said in a husky voice before pressing his lips into his emerald-eyed angel's. Sakura pressed back and soon the two were engaged in another war of the tongues. Naruto snaked his arms around the waist of the woman of his dreams, and pulled her even closer, deepening their kiss. Sakura responded by placing her hands on the back of her baka's head and pulled him into her even tighter. The two's lips were pressed so tightly together that it hurt a little, but neither cared.
After 20 minutes of furious kissing, Naruto pulled back panting and gave his girlfriend a foxy grin. "So… do we have a deal?"
His emerald-eyed angel gave him a cute smile. "For now… I think we'll have to make this some sort of regular payment system to keep this deal in place."
The jinchuriki gave her a quick kiss, before standing up and scooping her into his arms.
"Naruto, what are you doing? I can walk just fine!" Sakura huffed.
"Sai said he read in a book that girls like being carried, I just decided to give it a try!"
"You took romantic advice from Sai? Really Naruto? You're such a baka…" the pink-haired kunoichi teased, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head against his chest.
"You don't seem to mind all that much." Naruto retorted with a smirk. She answered him by kissing his jacket-clad chest.
"Where to now?" she asked, looking up into his sapphire eyes.
"Well, it's getting kind of late. We could catch a movie if you want, or we could keep walking around, or we could go back to our room and curl up together." Naruto listed thoughtfully.
Sakura squeezed him tighter with a soft happy smile on her face. "I vote the last option."
"As you command, taichou!" Naruto joked, walking in the direction of their hotel.
The trip back to the hotel was enjoyed in silence by the happy couple, each with a soft smile plastered firmly on their faces.
Madara held one of his spies by the throat.
"Where is the list of new potential Akatsuki members?"
"Madara-sama… It's almost done, I just need another week. Please…"
The ancient Uchiha motioned for another one of his spies to take the scroll from the spy who was currently in his grasp. Once the scroll was safely in the other spy's grasp, Madara turned his gaze back to the man who's throat he was gripping.
"You've had more than enough time. I warned you that I didn't tolerate failure, yet you still had the gall to fail me. Now you will face the consequences of your actions."
The spy started screaming hysterically before he was sucked into another dimension, never to be seen again.
The spy who now had the scroll with potential Akatsuki members shivered as the Uchiha turned to him.
"You have exactly 24 hours to complete that list. You just witnessed what happens to those who fail me. I will expect to see you tomorrow with a complete list."
"Hhh… hai… Madara-sama." The spy quivered before disappearing into the night.
I need to get new members quickly. If I give Naruto too much time to train he might become a serious problem…
Sakura and Naruto were wrapped together in a tight embrace as they lay in the twin-sized bed in their room. Both stared into the others' eyes silently enjoying the warmth given off by their partner. Breaking from his hypnosis, the jinchuriki captured his girlfriend's lips and the two's tongues danced about in their mouths for five minutes before they had to pull back for air.
"Naruto…" the emerald-eyed angel gave her boyfriend an alluring smile. "We've only been dating for a little while. But tonight just feels so right…"
"What do you mean Sakura-chan?"
"I mean… I love you. I want to officially claim you as mine, and you claim me as yours."
"I love you too Sakura-chan. And I thought we already did that when we became an official boyfriend…" a clueless Naruto replied as he tried to figure out what his pink-haired girlfriend was getting at.
Sakura sighed. "You're still a total baka when it comes to women." Naruto responded with a quick pout.
"Tonight is perfect Naruto. Our date was so wonderful. I want to end tonight by fully giving myself to you." The pink-haired girl explained as she lovingly smiled into her boyfriend's eyes.
"Sakura… are you sure?"
"What… you don't want to have sex with me?" Sakura playfully smirked.
"NANI? No! Of course I do. You're the most beautiful girl in the world. I'm just perfectly fine with waiting until you are ready. I wouldn't want to do anything you didn't truly want." Naruto said softly.
"That's very sweet of you baka. But I wouldn't say I wanted it if I didn't mean it."
"YOSH! ALRIGHT SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto excitedly called out as he jumped out of the bed, and much to the kunoichi's frustration, out of her embrace.
"Naruto.. what are you doing? You're ruining the mood…" the frustrated kunoichi grumbled.
"Sorry Sakura-chan! But I need to make sure this is perfect! Naruto pulled a three pronged kunai out of his pack and threw it against the wall before disappearing in a flash.
"NA-RU-TO!" Sakura yelled.
Naruto appeared in his apartment in a flash. He quickly ran into his closet and pulled out a hidden box.
I can't believe it! I'm finally going to get to put these gifts from pervy sage to use! The blonde thought excitedly. He opened the box and took out the romantic candles and the massage oils before disappearing in another flash.
Stupid Naruto… I offer my virginity to him, and what does he do? Flashes away. I am going to beat him within an inch of his life, heal him, beat him within an inch of his life again, heal him, then soundly beat the hell out of him some more… Sakura thought with an angry expression on her face.
Suddenly Naruto appeared in a flash and Sakura's angry face softened considerably when she was what her knucklehead had in his arms.
"Sorry about that Sakura-chan, but I wanted this to be perfect so I had to go and get these." Naruto explained as he and some clones he summoned placed and lit candles around the room. Dispelling his clones, Naruto laid down in the bed and began kissing his girlfriend. He slowly took off her bra, and rolled her over.
Putting some oil on his hands, he began to rub his emerald-eyed angel's back.
"Ohhh… Naruto. I could get used to this." Sakura cooed.
Naruto leaned down and kissed her cheek. "And you were mad at me a few minutes ago…" he joked.
"Well you just flashed away without any sort of explanation baka!" Sakura huffed, as she tried to force an annoyed look onto her face. She failed however, due the amazing feeling of Naruto's massage. Instead her face stayed in a dreamy happy smile.
After 20 minutes of the best massage of her life, Sakura couldn't wait anymore. She flipped over, much to her boyfriend's surprise. Naruto had not mentally prepared himself and stood hypnotized by Sakura's breasts, which elicited a happy giggle from his girlfriend.
Sakura brought him out of his reverie with a soft kiss on the lips. "I want you now Naruto, I don't want to wait anymore."
"Are you absolutely sure Sakura?"
"Yes Naruto. I'm yours, and you're mine."
The two came together in a soft kiss, then stripped the other of their underwear.
Soft sapphire eyes met soft emerald eyes.
And with a smile on both faces, the two lovers offered themselves to the other.
Naruto awoke with a naked pink-haired goddess in his arms. I can't believe last night was real. I really am the luckiest guy in the world… Sakura stirred and kissed him.
"Good morning Naruto-kun. Sleep well?" she said with a soft smile.
"Best sleep of my life. How about you Sakura-chan?" he replied matching her soft smile.
"Best sleep of my life too. We have two more days before we need to be at the temple, what do you want to do today?" The pink-haired girl asked a little too innocently.
"I can think of a few things…" Naruto replied with a smirk.
Naruto and Sakura stood before the gates of the large temple. The jinchuriki would have much rather stayed in the town where he had been making love to Sakura for the past two days in between dates. But he had a destiny to face.
This is it… Naruto thought nervously.
His girlfriend noticed his nervous expression. "What's wrong?" she asked, capturing his eyes with her own loving ones.
"It's just… this is it Sakura-chan. This is where I'm supposed to become powerful enough to beat Madara… This is the beginning of the end of all of this. I just can't help but worry what will happen if I fail..."
"You won't fail." Sakura quickly interrupted with a confident tone. "You're my Naruto. You can do anything. And you have me, I won't let you fail. Believe it!" she winked.
Her boyfriend gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you Sakura-chan. Thank you for pushing until we were finally together. This is going to be a lot easier with you by my side."
"Damn straight!" Sakura boasted with a fist pump. Naruto gave her one more kiss. Grabbing her hand, the couple walked into the temple to take steps towards their destinies.
Whew! 8,057 words, a bit longer than the usual chapter, but I figured I would give the final chapter a bit more. It's extra fluffy and as you may have guessed, set up the sequel. Thanks to everyone who has read this, reviewed it, favorited it and all that good stuff. I truly appreciate it. I can't believe it's already finished! I'm waiting to see how Madara fights with his rinnegan and fan in the manga, and would also like to see how the Zetsu clones fight. I got some other things I'm going to be working on, but I think it's safe to guess that you'll be seeing the start of the sequel sometime near the end of the next month.
Basic plot- Naruto and Sakura face off against the Akatsuki and it's allies as they make their way towards the final confrontation with Madara.
Hmmm... I was planning on that being my summary for the sequel, but that kind of sucks... Ah well, I got a month or so to work on it. So keep your eyes peeled for it and my future works!
And again, thanks to everyone who took the time to review this story. Your reviews helped keep me motivated to continue and certainly made the decision of writing a sequel MUCH easier =)
Thanks again (and please do let me know what you think of the final chapter/the story in general... aka review! It would be really cool to somehow get 100 reviews on my first story!)
-NaruDeeds