Conclusion
~Changes~
The kanji for sumi 墨 is the combination of "black" 黒 and "earth" 土 or more accurately, "black above earth." Despite his pale white skin, black was Sai's color - black hair, black eyes, black outfit, black ink, black past…but in contrast, his bright legacy would forever remain above the earth, in the hearts of those who knew him.
Sai would never know just how much his sacrifice meant not just for his friends but for the whole shinobi world. The creature meant to attack Konoha was only the first of a handful sent out to the five Great Countries as a form of bio-chemical warfare twenty years in the making. From what Ino saw from the cloaked stranger's mind, the instigators were a group of men threatened by shinobi existence and made it their mission to rid the world of all Hidden Villages. Fear of what they did not understand led them to delve in mystic knowledge and they mixed it with their science to come up with a live container for the killer bacteria.
Further investigation by ANBU revealed that one egg capsule per hidden village was to be just a first trial of the bacteria they had painstakingly formulated in all of twenty years. But those saved by Sai's blood developed antibodies that would counteract the poison for good. Their blood sample was then used by Tsunade to develop a serum to help Konoha and other villages gain immunity from the bacteria through mass vaccination. The nefarious plan had thus been nullified.
It would become big news for a time, but like all news, the events would soon be relegated to mere history and eventually forgotten by most…but not by a certain few…whose bond held strong...like the permanence of ink.
~墨~
Kakashi was right from the beginning when he expressed concern on how fast Sai's jutsu had improved. At the back of their minds Sai's friends somehow knew that it was something more than the issue of friendship that caused him to retreat into his shell. It was not like Sai to give up that easily. It turned out his very blood was a tool in service of the country. Danzo hid this knowledge to save Sai's life but he still took a risk and assigned the boy with someone who could serve as a trigger to awaken the secret. Was it overconfidence? Or did Danzo really take pity on Sai and deemed him more than just a tool? Or was it because the jinchuuriki was indeed more important and it was to be Sai's suicide mission to protect him at all cost? The true reasons would forever remain a mystery, but whether Danzo's decision came out of mercy, strategy or foresight, it saved more lives than the Root founder could possibly have intended.
Sai thought himself a weapon but in the end, he turned out to be a cure. His friends knew there was no other way around it. They were alive today because Sai made a choice. But sometimes they would still ponder, almost dream of a made up time where that giant creature never existed. They would think about ways to convince Sai not to use his blood as a weapon…You're already an excellent shinobi without it, Sai…The way those imitation beasts would emerge out of your scroll is way cooler-looking…Using blood is gross…We need you alive…We want to fight with you until we grow old together…It was all wishful thinking and they knew Sai would not really need convincing.
It was an endless series of 'what ifs' that would always lead to the same conclusion. If they appreciated Sai more, if he felt less out of place, he would not have left the team, he would not rejoin ANBU, he would not get ambushed in Suna, he would not discover his Kekkei Genkai, none of them would join ANBU, they would not be able to stop the giant creature, not in time, it would infect Konoha...they would all be dead...except for Sai who was immune to the bacteria.
But instead, the opposite had occurred. And so Sai was gone and he had left a hole in their hearts that no one else could fill…or put it another way…the hole existed from the beginning and Sai's purpose was to fill it in order to change them all for the better…
~墨~
It was strangely ironic how a young man once bereft of emotion was able to make them a bit more in touch with their own feelings. But it wasn't without the sad consequences in their relationships too.
Team 7 members needed time away from each other after Sai's death, time to rethink their own lives. Sai would have hated the idea but it was his memory that would help keep them together even if they were apart. After all, their bond was not limited to being in close proximity to each other, and it certainly did not end with death.
It did have that bittersweet atmosphere to it every time they would gather for the occasional reunion and talk about old times. But no one would be able to say they were no better for them.
Hatake Kakashi finally considered his current friends not just people to have drinks with but close enough to open up to them even his worries and weaknesses. And because of that, he felt he had become stronger, strong enough to pursue a real woman instead of a fictional one trapped in fantasy books. He married a few years later, Gai was his Best Man.
Tenzou too had changed his somewhat timid ways. To have survived traumatic experiences from when he was young, being a subject of Orochimaru's experiments and as Kabuto's captive during the 4th War, had already proven his strong character. But he never really considered how precious life really was until Sai's death. He realized he needed to make permanent bonds of his own. His first child with his wife was due in spring.
"I will shoulder all the pain and hatred by myself. That's my duty."
That was what Naruto said to Nagato in the past. He also once said that he was not fit to be Hokage if he could not save one friend. Losing Sai further ingrained in him the reality that life did not rest solely in his hands. He could only move on and save as much as he could…with the help of his friends. Because of this less idealistic outlook, he became stronger and became the wisest Hokage Konoha ever had.
Sakura graduated from being Tsunade's apprentice and became the best jounin medic of her age. She was well loved by her patients for not only did she care for their physical wounds but made sure she encouraged them in a way that made them feel she truly cared. This indirectly increased the recovery ratio of her patients. Most of those she inspired did not know that her dedication was driven by a memory of one precious patient and friend who she almost neglected because of petty inner conflicts.
As for Sasuke…
He took to smiling more often. The incident when Sai provoked him brought to his consciousness not only his need to understand people better but also to loosen up a little. He learned that people didn't always mean what they said and they didn't always say what they meant. And as such, it was important to wait...to be patient…to understand…
Sasuke would always regret his dark past. He would always think of ways to make amends. And there came a time that he even asked Sakura to marry him…But there was nothing there, not anymore. Sakura had outgrown her teenage crush. And Sasuke resembled Sai so much that it pricked her heart every time she looked at him too long. One particular conversation would always stand out from that time.
"I'm sorry," Sasuke said.
"It's not your fault," Sakura replied.
Not my fault? Sasuke was apologizing for all the pain he had caused from the time he was a 12-year old genin spurning a 12-year old girl's affections down to his cold attempts to murder her during his time as a rogue nin. What wasn't his fault?
"What are you referring to?" he asked.
"Huh?" Sakura blurted out absent-mindedly. "Oh..uh…what's past is past, Sasuke."
Sasuke didn't say anything more. It had taken all his courage to finally ask for forgiveness for what he had done, for the hurt he had caused in all his years of rogue activity and Sakura had waited for so long for that moment…and yet… when it finally came to it, it was no longer relevant. Their lingering sorrow no longer had anything to do with either of them.
Sasuke later decided to join ANBU permanently. The council tried their best to dissuade him but no amount of coaxing could convince him. After shedding his veil of selfish pride, he found ANBU suited him well. He was never comfortable with fawning attention that clients accorded him in the first place. And his natural talent and personality made him quite suitable working in the shadows.
But to the others who were close to him, it seemed like he did it to take the place Sai left behind, perhaps Itachi's too. And maybe they were right.
By the end, he was the replacement...
But he didn't mind…
Because for him,
Sai was right…
It was his turn.
~Fin~
You take the breath right out of me
You left a hole where my heart should be
You got to fight just to make it through
'Cause I will be the death of you
'Breath' by Breaking Benjamin
Naruto & Characters ©Masashi Kishimoto
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Next: Epilogue ~Reality~ (A Reunion - likely not what you expect, but that shouldn't be a surprise by now…)
