Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 29: Epilogue

Sasuke stood within the old Uchiha meeting place and stared at the written history of his clan.

It was here that it had all started, all those years ago, when Itachi had learned the truth. But instead of wanting to overcome the darkness of the Uchiha past, he had wanted to embrace it. And because their ancestors had preserved that knowledge, Itachi had all the information her needed at his disposal.

Sasuke would not make that mistake. He would make sure that future generations would never know the type of power they held.

He had craved it once—power. It had been a hard lesson for him to learn, but he knew now that only the power to protect the people you cared about mattered.

If you were alone in the end—as Itachi was—then all the power in the world couldn't help you.

He held the flame up to the tapestries, watching as they burned.

And when the room was empty, he climbed back up the stairs and covered over the secret entrance once again.

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Tsunade walked along the pile of tumbled rock that marked the tomb of the Akatsuki statue. She was impressed. Good planning and unshakable determination had won them this victory.

They were unsure just what had happened to the tailed-beasts within the statue. By all rights, they were probably dead. Just as they would have died if they were sealed away within a human form—by being sealed within the statue, it was only sensible that once it was destroyed so were they.

But Tsunade had her doubts. Perhaps they still lived and had simply took their opportunity and vanished.

They might never know.

She glanced over at the youth next to her.

"Well, Badejiru. I cannot thank you enough. I was surprised, to say the least, to see shinobi from Earth Country arrive to save the day."

He smiled slightly. "Our countries have always been at war—but no longer. When I return home, I will see to it that the Tsuchikage honors that alliance."

"Eh? Not planning on leaving so soon, are you?"

"There is no reason to stay, Hokage-sama."

The sannin shrugged. "I'm not so sure. I think there are some people who would like to see you before you left."

He didn't look at her. There were some people he wanted to see too.

But that would be it. He would say his goodbyes and then he would leave.

It had become clear to the young man just how he would best be able to make amends—

--and that was something he had to do from the position of Tsuchikage.

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Sakura looked up as the door to her hospital room opened. She had been there for three days and this was the first time Tsunade had allowed anyone else to enter.

She looked down at her hands as Sasuke shut the door behind him.

He stood there, silent, and stared at her.

"I…I'm sorry Sasuke-kun!" She said quickly, concerned that he was still upset about her leaving to find Ino. "I just…I had to, you know? I had to find Ino and I knew that you and Naru—"

Sasuke closed the distance between them in a flash and placed his hand over Sakura's mouth.

"No," He said quietly. "You should be proud, not sorry."

He moved his hand away and watched her face. She still hadn't looked at him.

He sighed and sat quietly with her. Eventually, her green eyes looked at him and she attempted a smile.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

Relief washed through the Uchiha. He had been worried that she wouldn't be able to face him after being held prisoner in her own mind by his brother.

Part of Sasuke wanted to ask her just what had happened to her inside the mangekyo sharingan. He wasn't sure he wanted to know, really, but he couldn't bare the thought of what Itachi might have done. And the other part of Sasuke knew that if she wanted to tell him, that she would.

He stared at her. Since she and Naruto had rescued him, he had watched as she almost slipped away from him numerous times. What would it have done to him if she had died and he had never told her how he felt?

Sasuke swallowed hard and suddenly pulled her into his arms.

He couldn't express the feeling of pure contentment that surrounded him as she returned his embrace.

He held her and held her and he knew that he would never let her go.

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Tsunade shook her head, chuckling softly. It had been months since Akatsuki were defeated and things were finally starting to get back to normal.

She watched out her office window, amused, as she followed Naruto and Hinata's walk down the street below. Both the blond and the heiress were blushing furiously at each other—a sure sign that they were beginning to acknowledge their feelings for one another.

The Hokage sighed.

Was she making the right decision?

The images of Dan and her brother flashed through her head. Yes, there is no doubt. Now is as good a time as any.

She turned to the door as Sakura entered.

Another amusing situation. The sannin smiled. She had never seen Sakura more alive and happy than the young woman had been lately. And to the healer's experienced eye, it was no surprise as to why.

Though they never expressed it in public, Tsunade could see the depth of the relationship between Sasuke and her apprentice. They never held hands. They rarely embraced. She didn't think she had ever seen them kiss. But she could tell—by the way they casually touched and by the way they smiled at one another—that they were as bound to each other as any two people had ever been.

"You sent for me, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes." The sannin looked down at the message scroll on her desk. "Please go round up Naruto for me."

Not even registering what Sakura said as she left, Tsunade shook her head.

Changes. Big, big changes.

She rolled the scroll up, It was amazing enough that the five countries were getting along…but it was even more amazing that they had listened to her when she had suggested a certain Kyuubi host as a possible overall ruler—a king, so to speak. She largely had Badejiru to thank for it. After leaving Konoha, he had become a strong ally and had used his good standing with the other countries to help press Tsunade's interests.

Of course, it would have to start small. She would name him her successor—the official sixth Hokage. And then, once he proved himself a good leader, things would be decided from there.

But first…

She looked up as Jiraiya opened the door. He was followed by Kakashi and then, lastly, Naruto.

"Eh, Granny Tsunade. What is it now?"

She smiled.

"Naruto…I think it's time we told you about your father…"

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THE END

Final Author's Note: A huge 'Thank You' to those of you who took the time to read this story… and most importantly to those of you who have been die-hard fans from the beginning.

Let me just say that I know the true Naruto manga line will be way better than anything I could write, but it was fun trying to write something that at least could stand on its own.

And to those of you who like to skip chapters when you read…chapter 25 is the chapter with the sasu/sauk moment… for some reason it seems like many people skipped over this chapter. And I don't mean to disappoint, but I don't write lemons. I think you can convey enough emotion in normal writing that lemons are unnecessary. Plus, it just seems so out of character for Sasuke to even kiss Sakura… which was why I developed the emotions at the end the way I did.

Also, my next venture will probably be a Kakashi/Rin story… about what happened after Obito died. I'll start it soon, so keep your eyes open. I do, however, have another good idea for Sasuke/Sakura. So we'll see.