A/N: Good news, everyone! * hobbles in on cane * We've got a new delivery to the sewer planet of YUKY-1!
… I mean, new chapter, just a day or two (depending on when you get the update message- the last was the day 'after' I updated for my own) from the last one!

The good news is that I seem to have found my muse again. I know exactly how I plan to progress from P-Z in terms of story conclusion, for the most part. All that's left is the actual journey, there shouldn't be any more plot hang-ups for me, at least. That is, if I can write down my notes and thoughts before I forget 'em. :D
This chapter's more than it seems, by the way. It's 'not' just fluff, though it might seem like it. The heavier stuff is coming, though. Secrets revealed, destinies chosen, blah blah... all too soon. Oh, and I wrote this late and may have missed stuff while proofing- if you notice any mistakes, feel free to let me know and I'll try to clear them up asap. Hopefully I'll remember to proof again tomorrow anyway when I'm more functional.

Enjoy!

Chap. 26 Take what you can get

"N- Naruto?"

Sakura's voice echoed uncertainly in the apparently empty cabin. A nervous glance back at her companions revealed Ino's still surprisingly-subdued demeanor and Sasuke's determined expression. The shinobi nodded once, firmly, then flicked his eyes back into the shadows of the cabin as if to say, "he's here".

Slowly, as if unsure that she would be allowed into her own home, Sakura put one foot inside, then the other, before setting her traveling pack down and taking off her sandals, slipping into her house slippers.
Behind her, she registered only distantly her companions doing the same, not sparing a thought for who's household foot-wear the two were likely borrowing. "Naruto?"

This time, she felt a wash of shame at how weak she sounded. She was the apprentice of a Sannin! A powerful kunoichi in her own right! How dare she sound so... so pathetic?

But there was no answer.

Ino offered, after a moment of dismal silence, "He's been here recently, I can feel his chakra signature. I can't tell exactly where he is, though, 'cause it's over everything. Like... like he was bleeding it off at a furious pace."
Sakura nodded woodenly, "The Fox... he's letting out some of it's power, I... I think."
Sasuke's voice was firm, "Then we need to find him fast. Sharingan!"

After a few moments, the young man's hand came to rest on Sakura's right shoulder, the other pointing beyond her, toward the rear garden, "He's that way, a little ways off. His chakra's... wild. I'm not sure it's safe to go talk him down right now."

Again, the medic-kunoichi nodded slowly, forcing herself to slide into the couch. "Make- make yourselves at home, I guess. I'll... I'll go talk to him in a minute. Unless you want to, Ino?"

Sakura herself wasn't sure if there was more fear or hope in her voice. Either way, she hated herself for it.

Nonetheless, she was relieved when the taller blonde shook her head quickly, "No, no, I think it's better if... if you do it. I've seen the Fox before, and I can feel the chakra from here. I don't want... I don't want to get anywhere near it when he's like this."

Sasuke, though, simply rolled his eyes. He could understand not wanting to put themselves in harms way- he'd just recommended it himself, after all- but their reasons smacked of cowardice to him. That was a trait he simply wouldn't allow himself. Not if he was destined to do what he was.

"I'll go," he muttered after a minute or two of uncomfortable silence, "I think I get where he's coming from. You two... get dinner or something ready, I guess?"

It wasn't until the raven-haired shinobi had slunk half-stealthily and half-bravely out the kitchen door that the two girls realized exactly what he'd delegated them to and shared a mutual snarl that promised retribution later.

(O)(O)(O)

"You know they're right," was Sasuke's extremely tactful greeting to the blonde.

This might have been perfectly normal between two trained warriors that happened to both be male. However, in retrospect, as the Uchiha watched his teammate and possibly friend withdraw the chakra-covered hand from inside a massive redwood, he began to rethink that position.
Still...

"You're too involved, and you know it. Look at it objectively. Would you sacrifice Sakura, Ino, Tsunade-sama or Jiraiya-sama for your goal of rescuing this Kumo Jinchuuriki?"

There was silence for a few minutes aside from the constant rustle of leaves in the chakra-fueled breeze, and the occasional audible crackle of the same.

"Don't..." Naruto eventually said, his voice hoarse as if he'd been yelling for hours, not the few minutes they had been behind him, "Don't call... don't call her that!"

The last had been roared with a ferocity that reminded the Uchiha- rather forcefully- of his very faintest, earliest memory- red flame and pain, the smell he later identified with death. The night, he thought, the Kyuubi had attacked Konoha. Maybe it was later, after the other Hidden Villages had moved to pounce on the vastly weakened Leaf. Either way, there had been fire, blood, and death. It was, he also now knew, the night his older brother had spirited him away from what was left of his Clan.
Involuntarily taking a step back, Sasuke still stood firm as best he could. "What, Jinchuuriki? Face it, Naruto! It's what she is! What you are! The sooner you can admit that, the sooner-"

He was cut off by a flaming mass of chakra, vaguely claw-shaped, that ripped from behind Naruto to smash him in the chest.
Once Sasuke came to rest against a tree several additional feet away, he spoke again, this time his voice even firmer while his red Sharingan eyes blazed, "Grow up! Power of the Human Sacrifice! You are that Power! You are that Sacrifice! No matter how much you hate it, hate the very idea of it, it is who you are! It's a disgusting idea, but it doesn't change the truth, Naruto!"

Another chakra claw lashed out, but with his Sharingan active, it was a simple matter for the Uchiha to simply step aside, allowing the tree he'd stopped against to take the blow instead. It fell slowly to his left, leaving him free to stand facing Naruto still.
"Don't... not just... we're people!"
Sasuke nodded solemnly, his lips set in a firm line, "Yes... like I said, you are the Power, you are the Sacrifice... and you are also the Human. Containing those... those beasts doesn't make you any less human, no matter how much the others might try and convince you otherwise. I know that. Sakura knows that. Ino does, too. I'd also bet everything I own- hell, I'd bet my eyes- that my older brother, Tsunade, Shizune, and Jiraiya know it, too. If anything, I'd say the pain you've suffered because of them makes you more human. So fucking get over it, Naruto! Accept what you are, 'cause it's not changing no matter how much you try. Take the hand you're dealt, fight to change it if you must, but play it no matter what!"

There was another blast of chakra from the blonde that knocked Sasuke flying once again. Just before he blacked out, he saw three tails begin to form out of the chakra mass behind Naruto.

Oh, crap...

(O)(O)(O)

When Sasuke came to, an unfamiliar male voice was talking calmly to Ino and Sakura.
"He'll be all right. Mostly, I think his injuries are from the Bijuu's chakra, as it burned his skin away. The new-skin pink is already fading around his hands, see?"

Ino murmured appreciatively while Sasuke could feel the subtle wash of Sakura's medical chakra moving nearby.
"Hrk-" was his only sound before he lurched upright and sideways in agony before vomiting the contents of his trail bar- the only food they'd allowed themselves in their hurry to catch up to Naruto before he did something rash- onto the floor near the couch he was laying on.

Once he opened his eyes (to a fresh wave of stabbing pain), he could make out a fuzzy Ino who also looked a little green around the gills, and a more controlled, but still obviously disgusted, Sakura, who only spared a glance at him before turning back to the other, shorter couch where he could make out a patch of blonde.

The unfamiliar man was outside his field of vision, but the kunoichi seemed comfortable with his presence, so Sasuke allowed himself to fall back onto the couch.
"Sorry," he muttered, "I meant to say- who're you?"

The older man chuckled in a deep, casual way before stepping into Sasuke's field of view with a bucket and a towel. "No problem, I was waiting for you to wake up and purge the tainted food anyway. Name's... well, you can call me Yamato Takeru, or just Yamato, I guess. Lucky I happened along when I did, there's probably not three people in the whole world that can suppress a Bijuu's chakra so easily. Sorry about knocking your friend out, though. I thought he was attacking you."

Ino shook her head, "No, don't apologize. You've done enough that we should be thanking you."

The older man shrugged casually again, "Listen, I don't suppose you four know where I can find the new village, Ootori, do you? I noticed your ninja gear, so..."

The atmosphere in the room suddenly felt charged and tense, despite the older ninja's casual attitude. It was Sakura who replied, "Twelve miles northeast you'll find the edge of the ruins. Keep going in that direction and you'll find them, if the patrols don't find you first."

The tall man nodded, moving into the kitchen to, Sasuke assumed, deposit the bucket filled with his sick, then returned. "Thanks, then. Listen, when your friend wakes up, will you apologize to him for me, for going overboard? I didn't think it'd be that easy... I had to put down a Jinchuuriki a few years ago, and it was a lot more work, that's all."

Ino nodded, "We'll tell him. Thanks again, Yamato-san."

The other man nodded with a grin, gave a wave, and walked out the door before shutting it quietly behind him.

There was a few minute's silence as Sakura continuing moving her hands a few inches over Naruto's body before Sasuke caught the blonde kunoichi's eyes, and she got the gist of his unasked question.

"Well... we aren't really sure. Both of us ran out there right when he lost control. We caught you before you hit the wall- at the speed you were moving at, you'd have probably gone straight through the cabin if we hadn't, head first."

Sasuke's eyes widened a little, but Ino pressed on, "Then Naruto was just... just staring at us, with so much anger, and pain... It was like he was a whole different person right then, like he... like he wanted to kill us. Is that... is that what he's really like?"

Sakura shook her head slowly, "No... no, that's not Naruto. The Naruto I know is kind to a fault, almost always cheerful, except when he feels helpless... that was the Kyuubi, peeking out of him."

Sasuke could not miss the relief, however faint, slip over Ino's face with that reassurance.
The young woman shook herself free of her dark thoughts before continuing, "and just then, out of nowhere, these... I guess you'd just call them trees started sprouting right up out of the ground. They were all around Naruto. They caught him, twisted all over him, and pulled him down, then they... they started to stick into him like little thorns, and drain... well, I'm sure they got a little blood, but the orange chakra, the Fox's, I guess, just... went. Pulled into the trees and then the ground, I guess. After that, the trees shrunk back and withered away, and this guy, Yamato, steps from behind a tree and moves to kill Naruto... that's when we stopped him, told him he was our friend, and he brought him over to us, helped us get you two inside, and... well, you can figure out the rest."

Sasuke nodded. That sounds almost like the First Hokage's jutsu. But Tsunade-sama never had children, right? So how could this man have that bloodline?
His musings were broken by Naruto stirring.

"Ugh... Sak..ra... In..o... Sasiki?"

The girls got a chuckle out of the way the half-delirious shinobi butchered the other's name, while Sasuke could only glare half-heartedly to the occupant of the other couch.

A few minutes later, after they'd relayed what had happened to Naruto, the blonde was finally sitting upright, head buried in his hands. "Tenzo, that sneaky bastard. Ero-sennin probably sent him to keep an eye on me. He's probably been shadowing us since we got back from Kumo. Maybe earlier."

"Tenzo?" Ino asked, "I thought his name was Yamato?"

Naruto shook his head, not bothering to look up, "Might be. He introduced himself as Tenzo to me and Ero-sennin. He was a Konoha ninja. Graduated from the exam and made Chunin in the same year, when he was nine, because of his unique ability... he has the bloodline of the Senju Clan, even though he's not one of them. Ero-sennin put him to work for his spy network, it was mostly him that spread the word about Oootori coming back. That's what we spent most of our last year doing, when we were on the road."

For the next few hours as true darkness fell, the two kunoichi busied themselves readying the cabin to have four occupants again, something that hadn't happened since the Hyuuga had arrived at the ruins months previous.

For reasons unknown to Naruto or Sasuke, both of them had decided that all four would be sleeping in the living room. Sasuke assumed simply that either Naruto or Sakura, possibly both, were not comfortable loaning out Shizune, Jiraiya, or Tsunade's rooms to their companions. While that was certainly true, both Ino and Sakura had entirely different reasons.

"So, Naruto," Ino asked in a would-be-casual voice as she unrolled her bedroll to fill the floor between both of the male ninja's heads, "How're you feeling? That Yamato, or Tenzo, or whatever his real name is said you basically had chakra poisoning, but that you were getting over it fast. Sakura said the same thing, right?"
The rosette glanced away from her own bedroll to nod once at the blondes, "Yes. I helped Shishio treat it a few times on both Naruto and Jiraiya-sensei, so I recognize it pretty easily."

"Sorry..." Naruto muttered, so quietly that each of the three had to strain to catch the last half of the word.
"What for?" Sakura asked now slipping into her bedroll still fully dressed.
"I put you guys in danger... that's why I wanted to get away, I knew I was losing control. So..."

Sasuke snorted. "You didn't chase after us, we chased after you, dimwit. We put ourselves in danger. But we're all fine, right? Mild chakra poisoning, we'll be up and about by tomorrow, according to Miss Medic over there. No harm, no foul."

Naruto's eyes flicked up from between his hands to glare at Sasuke.

Nope, guess he still hasn't forgiven me. Mouth shut, Uchiha.
"He's right, Naruto, so stop giving him the stink eye," Ino said firmly, "We knew what we were getting into. Me better than most, 'cept maybe Forehead, here."

The medic in question shot a glare at the blonde before reaching up to dim the one light they'd left on, "Gotta have somewhere to keep my brain. Something you wouldn't know anything about, bubble-brain. Maybe bubble-boob's more appropriate, though, since you seem so proud of them."

The two Shinobi shot worried- though appreciative- looks at each other before mutually deciding, for their own safety, to lay back and pretend to be asleep, while enjoying what promised to be a healthy round of sniping.

"Hmph, is that the best you've got, Pinky? You'd think, with a brain so big, you could actually come up with something original rather than boobs or blonde jokes. Guess brains aren't everything, are they?"
"I wouldn't know, Blondie, 'cause that's not all I've got!"

Ino snorted, "Couldn't tell it from lookin' at your chest, that's for sure!"

"Ooh, did you think of that all by yourself? I'll have you know, Naruto's not the type of guy to care about breast size! I imagine he'd be turned off by your oinking, though, Pig!"

The escalation of verbal violence was suddenly unnoticed by the two males. Now that Naruto's name had been brought up, there was undoubtedly a greater risk that they'd be called in to confirm or deny something that was said. Both feigned sleep at once with everything they had.

Tactically speaking, there was no other option.

However, a few minutes in, Sasuke, who had, he would freely admit, the least experience of anyone in the room with the opposite sex, made what he would later call the biggest blunder of his life- and yet one he would happily make again as long as he got to watch the results one more time.
"Oh, will you two just get over your repressed hormones and kiss and make up already?"

But while Naruto quailed under the sudden pressure of the kunoichi's anger, he could not help but crack an eye when Ino spoke in a much lower, huskier voice than they'd heard from her before, "Maybe I will. I've kissed a few girls before, and I have to admit, Forehead's lips are just the... perfect... shade..."

Three pairs of eyes widened as Ino's closed to a half-lidded state while her head moved slowly, enticingly toward the other woman's. Sakura seemed paralyzed, while the breathing of the two men was quickly increasing in tempo.

One meter became centimeters.

Millimeters.

Sakura's eyes, previously wide with something approaching terror, calmed immediately, as if resigned... or, perhaps...
They had no sooner closed, the rosette's head tilted slightly to one side, when Ino burst out laughing at full volume. "You- you should see the look on your face! You actually wanted to-"

But what she claimed Sakura may have wanted was never revealed, because the rosette took that moment to seize the initiative. She moved forward in a blink, capturing the blonde's lips with her own.

For a moment, time in the cabin stood still.

Someone moaned.

Lips- Sakura was not sure, later, if they were her own or Ino's- opened, allowing a tongue to slip by.

Minutes, seconds, maybe an hour or more later, someone moaned again.

When the rosette pulled away, Ino's eyes were once again half-lidded, clouded with... something.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see both Naruto and Sasuke staring, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, at the kunoichi.
Feeling braver than she ever had, Sakura moved in for one last lingering taste, before gently pushing Ino back to her own bedroll and climbing the rest of the way into her own. "'night," she said casually, before dimming the light completely to hide her own furious blush.

An hour later, Ino's mutters of "Grandpa naked, Grandpa naked, Grandpa naked" only served to further distract both Naruto and Sasuke from their own attempted distractions, causing them to fail at driving the scene from their minds far enough to sleep.
Of them all, only Sakura was able to get a good night's sleep.

(O)(O)(O)

As a result, when Sakura woke up in a cheerful mood and saw the others gathered bleary-eyed around the kitchen table, she couldn't shake the smirk of victory from her face. "Hey, guys. Sleep good? I hope you had pleasant dreams... I know I did."

She wasn't sure who, but the medic was entirely certain that someone muttered, "too pleasant..." before the three stood as one and raced for the two showers, competing for who got to take a cold one first.

Naruto was, unfortunately, the loser. As he slunk downstairs again, he resumed his place at the table, refusing to meet Sakura's gaze.

"Talk to me, Naruto," she said after a few minute's uncomfortable silence. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right? I'm not... well, you know I'll get mad about some things, but it's not like whatever it is is going to make me hate you."

When that still didn't get a response, she prodded again, "It's not about yesterday, is it? You know it's more our fault than yours. We want you to be safe, just like you want us to be."

He shook his head slowly. "It's not that."

"Is it me? Are you mad at me because of what... well, last night?"

He shook his head, suddenly blushing again.
"Well... did you like it?"
When his blush deepened further still, Sakura's own cheeks began to heat up, but she would not be deterred by her own discomfort. She'd done it all for a reason, whether she understood what that was herself or not. "It's okay to admit it if you did. I mean... I kind of did. It was weird, but... if she asked, I might do it again. If it didn't bother you, anyway."

Naruto's eyes closed tightly, his brow furrowed with concentration, making him look entirely too cute for her own good, if Sakura had been asked to voice her opinion just then. Instead, she acted. Sliding her chair over, she gently pried his head up to turn toward her own, and kissed him.
Like the last one with Ino the night before, this was quick, gentle, much like their first kiss had been.
"Do I taste different?"

His eyes opened at last, peering deep into hers as he licked his lips. "N- no..."

"I didn't think so. I know she uses lip gloss, but I couldn't taste it last night, either. Oh well... she tastes different than you, though."

Naruto blushed again and tried to look away, but Sakura's hands were still holding his face toward her own. "Nope... you need to talk to me, Naruto. If... if I'm going to be your girlfriend for real, we have to talk about things. So... Did. You. Like. It? Did you like watching me kiss Ino?"

He tried to shake his head, but with a mischievous grin, Sakura held him in place. "Ah, ah- don't lie. I saw your face afterwards. You were dreaming of me- of us - all night, weren't you?"

His eyes closed again, but this time, he nodded once, quickly, before jerking away.

At first, Sakura was confused, until... "Oh, Naruto... we really did a number on you, didn't we?"

It was his turn to look the part, until she clarified, "Me and Tsunade-shishio... you know, how we used to act around Jiraiya, or when we caught you peeping, or..."

He blushed again, but she continued relentlessly, "Well, I just have this to say, then. You aren't a little boy peeping on me in the bath just to be naughty, Naruto. You're a grown- ish- man, and I... well, I'm not the scrawny little slip that you peeked on, either. I'm grown... maybe not as much as Ino-pig... but I'm a woman, too, and honestly... it's okay. I like to be looked at like that... at least, by you. It makes me feel... well, beautiful."

"You are beautiful," he said earnestly, making her blush again.

"Thank you."

Several quiet minutes later, Sasuke and Ino returned at nearly the same time, the former muttering, "You might want to wait until after breakfast for your cold shower, Naruto... this Oinker over hear used all the hot water herself."

The two kunoichi's fists struck each of the Uchiha's cheeks at the same time. They shared a glare of solidarity before the male threat to their domain, followed by a "Hmph!", before sitting down on either side of Naruto, leaving Sasuke twitching on the stairwell.

"It's like this, Naruto," Ino was explaining as they cleaned up their breakfast dishes, "we know you've had a shitty life in some ways. But look at the good in your life. You have Ero-sennin and Tsunade-hime, Shizune, and two smokin' hot babes after your tail. There's good stuff in life too, you know. Sometimes, you just gotta take what you can get and run with it."

Naruto's demeanor changed once again from the brooding self he'd been since arriving at the cabin (though the hormonally-driven aspect had yet to fade since last night), but it was not a return to his usual perky self.

Instead, his eyes developed a strange sort of far-away focus for several minutes as his hands, which had been drying the dishes, fell still.

Once they resumed, he was quite distracted until Ino shoved him aside and took over. Numbly, he nodded, mumbled, "Cold shower now, gotta think straight," and then left, with the grins of two very evil kunoichi following him.

He didn't even notice himself stepping over Sasuke's still-twitching form at the bottom of the stairs.

A/N2: I got several reviews over the last couple days, but as I'm sure you (at least, those that review...) know, I don't often respond here. I just want to say thanks. Even the more negative ones are still a great help as far as motivation and improving my skills. In fact, one negative reviewer (we actually had a several-PM discussion about some issues- a misunderstanding, mostly) prompted me to get this chapter out two weeks earlier than I was planning on it, and the next is likely to be soon too- since I'm not done for the night. We'll see, though- only time will tell for sure. 'till next time, kiddies- don't let the kunai hit you in the ass on the way out! (No, really, don't- I imagine that kinda hurts)

Edit: To Izzy848- you've not seen 'anything' yet. :D

Glossary:

Yamato Takeru aka Tenzo: This is the Yamato/Tenzo described in the anime and manga, with a few minor (mostly history divergence-related) differences. He was still given the Senju DNA by Orochi, etc etc, and has the same abilities as in canon. The biggest difference is that while he was trained by an ANBU, he was not in ANBU at the time of Konoha's dissolution. He was taken in by a team who had been ordered to keep him and his bloodline (to this day in the fic-verse, they are not sure if he can pass it on- but he likely can, given how well he can use it) alive for the future. Now, his teachers are all dead, but Yamato (who went by Tenzo at the time) met up with Jiraiya and Naruto at some point (might come up, but isn't terribly important) and they had an 'adventure' or two together before Jiraiya sent him on his way to alert the scattered Clans that the time of Konoha's rebirth was close by. He was the one who met up with both the Uchiha and Hyuuga, amongst others, to confirm their suspicions about it- and this most likely will come up in future, since he's the one thing almost all the survivors have in common. In fact, he's a highly likely candidate for Hokage... now that I think of it... I might have to pass on Tsunade. Not that it makes much difference in the story. /shrug

History Lesson #1: This, again is an entry based largely on assumptions and/or misunderstandings voiced by the above reviewer- who I share no ill will toward, by the way- so thank him (or her?) for it later if it clears anything up for you. This stuff could be important, but isn't likely to come up in the story- the characters know it, it's all fact for them, so they don't discuss it much. Just consider it assumed knowledge in the younger generation- they'd have been taught it- and things the older actually experienced.

The (very rough) timeline of events that lead to Konoha's dissolution:
1: Madara's sending the Kyuubi against Konoha. At first, I debated whether I would keep it as canon was (the story was begun before the details of that day- involving Kushina etc- were revealed), but I think I can go with it. It just requires minor tweak of what I thought was the accurate time line of that day (one hour's worth... what a coincidence! … not!).

This had the effect of greatly weakening Konoha's forces, and decimating it's civilian population. Remember, Konoha is in ruins because of the Kyuubi. Much of it, including the Hokage Monument- which was pulled off the mountain and down to bury a good chunk of the village- was laid to utter waste, and plants have a hard time growing in areas where the Kyuubi stopped for a while due to the chakra taint that is still there. On the eve of her death, after Naruto has been taken by Minato to perform the sealing but before she leaves to join him, Kushina slips into a chakra-induced trance, and gives a prophecy. The exact contents will be revealed later, but it stated that if Konoha was to have any hope at all of a future, they would have to rise from the ashes of their demise, under the guidance of the Destined Child- which to those in the know, was a clear reference to either Nagato-Pain, or Naruto, since Yondaime was already planning to sacrifice himself, and those in the know knew that Naruto was both Minato's child and Jiraiya's godson, whom he had planned on training from the day he found out Kushina was pregnant. Still, even though the prophecy- or at least rumor of it- spread like wildfire, no one was willing to abandon Konoha. So they stayed, and fought, and...

2: Several smaller nations and one larger- Iwa, Grass, Rain, Waterfall, Iron, Oto- attacked Konoha in their moment of weakness. Kumo, Kiri, and later Suna, along with all of the minor villages aside from Yu and River- who had no shinobi or samurai forces of note- joined in the attack, laying waste to about half of the total population of Hi no Kuni, and killing another third of the ninja population, and a quarter again of the civilian population of Konoha. This lead the total death toll in Hi to about 65% of the civilian population, including the entire family of the Daimyo (there is, in fact, no one higher than the rough equivalent to a baron left in that country at this time), and 92% of the shinobi population. The few Samurai that were spared- they were cut from about 8000 to 1250- were hard-pressed to even defend their local towns and homes, and have since dwindled in number as lawlessness ran rampant. Here, the first few Clans to leave- mostly minor ones, like the Furoshi- began to vanish in the still of night. Later, once it became clear that there was no way they could win, more and more Clan leaders began listening to the urgings of Jiraiya and Tsunade, who had already taken Naruto and Sakura (along with Shizune) into seclusion, and prepared for departure.
In a final act of defiance, nearly half of every remaining Clan elected to stay behind, hoping the ruse that they were fighting to the last would help the rest escape.
The plan worked, but...

3: The above effects- decrease in peace keeping forces and a subsequent increase in crimes, especially violent ones, further cut the population, more by virtue of people moving away than actually killed. The forces belonging to the other lands withdraw about six months after Konoha falls, with Oto taking a large- very- chunk out of Hi, and assuming it's place amongst the Five Great Nations, due in large part to them also assaulting and taking over Kusa while the Grass ninja were in Hi recovering from their part in the battle. The Clans and other survivors scatter, some into hiding, some become wanderers, and some- like the Inuzuka, Yamanaka, and Nara, return to their ancient homes from before Konoha was founded and resume their lives as close to normal as they can, waiting for the day their hope returns- and praying that they aren't wiped out like so many of their friends and allies were.

4: Story begins 17.5 years later, when Naruto's almost exactly half-way to eighteen.

Anyway, some of that, as I said, could be retold in-story. Sorry if I repeat myself later, but it's not a bad thing that you know now. I suppose I could have made it more clear early on, but meh, hindsight and all that. Until next time, once again!