Well here is 37, hope you all enjoy it :)

now then, wow, i had a lot of reviews for 36, i was so happy to read them all, and now its my turn to respond to them all :D

Gravenimage - lol yes, classic Sakura, showing her love by beating him up :P well i hope i didn't make you wait to long :) thanks for the review and i hope you enjoy 37 and i also hope you keep reviewing :D

chickenman00712 - thanks for the review, the wait is over, chapter 37 is here :D

Bombat1994 - it wasn't exactly the REAL reunion, yes, it was the first time they finally see each other since the time skip, and yes, she kissed him in the heat of the moment, but the true reunion and the consequences are in chapter 37 :) hope you enjoy, and thanks for the review :)

crsstlk - thank you, your continued support as always makes me happy :) i hope you enjoy 37 :D and thanks again for the review

xzavx - x9 - that's great, i am just happy that i didn't lose a fan :) its great to have you back, and i hope that you are enjoying the story once more :D Thanks for the reviews as always

naru-ca-titan - Sakura is not the type to do things quietly :P and this way was more fun, as for the kissing part, as i explained, to bombat, yes she did kiss him, but it was more of an impulse then anything, think about it, you have Sakura who has probably been dreaming of this moment for the past twenty years and finally, Naruto is right in front of her, she is pumped full of adrenaline as well, plus it made the slap funnier :P hope you enjoy 37, and as always thanks for the review :D

lilal6 - This chapter has somethings about going back to the past :) hope you like the chapter and thanks for the review :D

RSfan - Really? would you mind telling me why? I am just curious, maybe i can fix it so i don't do it again in the future, until then, i hope you enjoy 37, and thanks for the review :)

Chi-Neko - Thanks a lot for the review, i hope you continue to enjoy this story as it progresses, please enjoy 37 :D

hersheyisathaynes - Thank you very much for the compliments, i plan to keep on writing until you all get tired of me and shoot me...err i mean until the story is over :P (yes, i do have an ending planned at some point...:P)

Well that's everyone, i would like to thank you all for the continued support, both from my long time reviewers and me new ones, now then, here is chapter 37!

This chapter was revised on June 1st 2017. Most grammar errors should have been addressed (Hopefully :P) I did a few enhancements and changed a few things around but the story remained unchanged

Saving old bonds

Chapter 37 (Revised)

Sakura was leading the group until they had reached Itachi Sasuke Toshiro and the Kyuubi "Hokage Sama, you are safe, and I see that Naoto is also safe" Itachi said as he got back to his feet

"Yeah, thanks to Sakura Chan and her team" Naruto responded as Sasuke and Toshiro got up

"It's time we got out of here while we still can" Toshiro said as they got ready to leave

"WAIT, we can't leave yet" Hanabi shouted out "We still haven't found Konohamaru and Yuki" she said concerned

"Konohamaru and Yuki are missing?" Naruto said also showing concern for his team

"Yeah, they fallowed your team in and sent me to get reinforcements. But none of you have seen them so I am worried"

"They could be anywhere; it is too risky to stay here and most of us are still recovering from our fights" Toshiro said wanting to leave now

"I don't know how the night country does things, but Leaf ninja's never leave our own behind" Sasuke said even though he knew Toshiro was right about most of them being in a weaken state. But Konohamaru and Yuki were his responsibility and he wasn't going to abandon them

"I am not saying abandon them, we just need to regroup and rest, I will even offer my help" Toshiro said

But before Sasuke could respond they felt the presence of two others as Kunais went flying pass them missing Sasuke by mere inches. Two masked rock ANBU appeared on the battlefield, one of them Naruto recognize as the ANBU captain that had just attempted his capture "We have finally caught up with you" the masked man said

"So, you're still trying to bring me back?" Naruto asked as he got into a defensive position

"You believe just because you have us outnumbered that we are at a disadvantage? Don't make me laugh" The ANBU Captain said

The other one, who they could see was a blond girl due to her hair began making hand signs as earth began swirling around her "You will come with us, dead or alive, it's up to you really" the girl added

They stood waiting for Naruto to respond "I am giving you two ten seconds to get out of here before I make you pay for what you did to Naoto and Naruto" Sakura said stepping in front of group. There was fire in her eyes as she stared at the masked ninjas. She clenched her fists as they began to radiate chakra "1, 2, 3…"

The masked man began taking a few steps back. Naruto could have sworn he had heard him say "She is as scary as ever" in a very low tone of voice causing him to smile

"Sakura Chan, stand down" Naruto simply said

Sakura turned to face him, obviously surprised by his request and outraged at the same time "You are hurt and in a weaken state, do you think that I cannot handle them without your help?" she asked him

"No, I am just afraid that you will hurt them so badly that they won't be able to reveal their identity in time to save their lives…" Sakura and everyone else for that matter looked at him puzzled, except for Hanabi that had caught on "Isn't that right team?"

"He figured it out?" The girl said

"That's Naruto Nii-San for you…" he said as both of them removed their rock ANBU mask to reveal Konohamaru and Yuki, Hanabi was overjoyed at finding out that her team mates were safe "But Nii-San, how did you know?" he asked him

"Simple, although Yuki stood her ground, you were smart enough to fear Sakura, meaning that you knew of her power. Since she has not been a shinobi in years, I had to assume that you knew her by other means. Considering we had two missing people, one of which knew about Sakura's power due to having experienced it first hand. I figured it had to be you. It was either that or the rock ANBU captains were weaker than I thought" Naruto said with a grin

"When did you become smart?" Sasuke asked him giving him a friendly push

"Just one question, how did you get those outfits? I assume a rock ANBU captain doesn't just leave his mask laying around"

"We took it off him and the girl escorting him" Konohamaru said with pride "There is a very unhappy tied up man and women somewhere in the forest" he said with a grin

"Good work, you have grown strong Konohamaru" Naruto said with a smile

"It was nothing, my master plan worked without a hitch" He said scratching the back of his head. Yuki on the other hand slapped the back of his head "Yuki Chan! What was that for?"

"What a master plan it was indeed, you want to know what his grand and wonderful master plan was? He used the sexy no jutsu and lured the pig in a secluded area where I knocked him out..."

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?!" Konohamaru said trying to defend himself

"You are such a pervert!" Yuki said to Konohamaru

"Yeah well, you're married to me, so you're stuck with me" he said with a grin

"You're lucky that you're cute, or else I would have left you a long time ago" she said as she held onto him

Naruto looked at them with a smile. He didn't notice that Sakura was staring at him, her mind was going one hundred miles a second "It really is him, he is back and he doesn't look a day older then I remember him. He hasn't aged at all… Look at me…I am now twice his age; how could he ever love me now?" she thought to herself "But I still love him…" she thought sadly

"Well now that we have everyone, might I suggest we get out of here?" Toshiro asked the group, everyone nodded as they continued their path back towards the night borders

During the entire time, Naruto's mind was also thinking about Sakura "Even after twenty years, she is still as beautiful as I remember her. Even her personality hasn't changed one bit, she is still the same girl that I fell in love with since the day I saw her" he thought to himself "Her lips are just as warm and soft as they were when I first kissed her…" his mind continued to revolve around Sakura as they continued to make their way out of the earth Nations borders

Several hours later, they finally reached the safe haven of the resistance village. Naoto was still passed out as her body was still weak and tired as they entered the resistance paradise. Sakura was amazed at what they had accomplished, even Toshiro was surprised. He had no idea that this was hiding behind the stones. He had always just pictured small huts "How did you build all this?" He asked Sasuke

"We got tired of sleeping on the ground in tents, it was hard but we all worked together. Clearing the rock was the hardest, but it did give us a lot of building material for the houses, hospital and academy" he said with pride "So, what are you two going to do now? Return to the night country with Naoto?" he asked them

"I can't go back…" Sakura said sadly "Not after what I did" she added

"As for me, I betrayed my country and leader, how can I return knowing that" Toshiro said in a sad tone of voice

"Do you regret it?" Naruto asked him

Toshiro looked at Naoto and smiled warmly "No, I would do it over and over again… to save her"

"We should get her to the hospital and get her checked out" Ino said as she began leading them to their small hospital. Sakura was about to fallow them but Ino stopped her "Sakura, we can take care of Naoto, and I believe there is something more important you need to deal with right now" she told Sakura. As ever, even after almost twenty years of not talking to each other Ino still knew Sakura better than anyone

"I will go with her" Toshiro said to reassure Sakura that Naoto would be in good and safe hands. Everyone else just left leaving Naruto and Sakura alone

"Let's talk in my house" Naruto said as he led her to his small house "sorry if it kind of feels empty, I have only been here for a day…" he said as he sat down, his legs tired from all the running they had done, not to mention taking all the entire village of Iwa on his own

Sakura just sat down across from him, there was an awkward and even eerie silence that worried Naruto as he stared at Sakura. It looked like she was lost in her thoughts as she just stared at a single point on the table

"Naruto…" She finally said, her eyes not moving from whatever she was staring at on the table "I am glad that you are back, well more than glad, I am very happy, you cannot imagine how much I dreamed that something like this would happen…"

"Why do I have a feeling that there is a but coming" he said worried

"But… As much as I love you, as much as I want to be with you, as much as I want to be happy again, I can't allow it…" she said trying not to break out in tears

"What?! WHY?" Naruto said surprised and wanting answers

"Naruto… I know to you that it's only been like twenty-four hours since the war, but it's been twenty years for me, god, I am twice your age now! How could that ever work!" she said finally losing the battle of keeping her tears in "You have your entire life ahead of you, my life is already half way over, it's only fair that you get to live your life to the fullest, find someone who will love you, and make you happy" she told him as the tears were streaming down her cheeks

"Sakura Chan…"

"Look at me Naruto! I am old! And ugly, my prime is almost over, my glory days are behind me, I am old enough to be your mother! But you, you haven't even reached your prime yet!"

Naruto banged his fist on the table, tired of being cut off "Sakura! Do you think I give a damn about all that? Look at you! You are still as beautiful as the day I remember you, your skin is still as soft and as silky, your hair still smooth and perfect, your beautiful eyes, are still the same ones that I fell in love with. Sakura, I don't care that you are twice my age, I still love you! You refused to fall in love with anyone else while you thought I was dead, do you think I can do any better? You are the one who owns my heart, there can be no one else. Without you my life is incomplete, so stop this nonsense, Sakura I love YOU" he said to her as he stared passionately into her eyes

Her heart was breaking "I am sorry Naruto, but I can't" she said as she ran out of the house, leaving Naruto alone, his own heart breaking. This wasn't the reunion he was expecting, although he had to be honest with himself, he had no idea what to expect. But he did know that he still loved her

Meanwhile in the small hospital, Shizune was reading a book, she was still in charge of the hospital since she was the most experienced doctor in the resistance to still be alive. Ino walked in fallowed by Toshiro who was carrying Naoto, Shizune surprised to see one of the night country captains just walk into her hospital got up "What's going on?" she asked

"She has had experiments conducted on her, we need to do a full check up to make sure nothing is wrong with her" Ino said as she got a bed ready. she had become a doctor at the hospital

"And him?" Shizune asked

"He is alright, we can trust him, I will explain latter, right now we need to take care of Naoto" Ino responded

"Naoto? You mean this is Sakura's and Naruto's daughter?" Shizune said as she rushed to the bed

"Yeah, she had been captured by the rock, we were able to rescue her but not before they did stuff to her" Ino said trying not to think of the pain and horrors the young girl was forced to bare

Ino and Shizune began their checkup as Toshiro sat down to rest. He knew that Naoto was safe. His eye lids were heavy and he had a hard time to keep them open, he finally gave in to his fatigue and fell a sleep

Naruto had finally left his house and looked around for Sakura. He had to find her, but instead he found Shikamaru sitting on a rock outside of his house "So, I guess that it didn't go so well?" he asked him

"That's putting it mildly… She seems to be concerned that because she is older than I am now, that she isn't good enough for me, that I should find someone else to love. Trouble is, I can't!"

"Girls are like that, they would like for us all to think that they are smarter than men and more rational. But truthfully, they are just one huge ball of emotions ready to explode at any given time. Right now, she must have had these emotions bottled up inside of her for a very long time, seeing you caused them to pour out all at once"

"I know… And yet, there is also a part of me that understands what she is trying to say. I have a daughter that is just one year younger than I am, and Sakura is twice my age now. When you think about it, it feels weird. But I don't care, my feelings for her are still the same and I know she still loves me…"

"Don't you wish that you could somehow just go back in time and make everything, right?"

"Yeah…But it's not like that's possible"

"It may be, think about it. The one who sent you into the future may have the power to send you back in time. Although, he might not be willing to do it without being forced a bit" he said with a grin

"Shikamaru…You're a genius!" Naruto shouted at his friend

"However, you must realize, if you somehow do go back into the past, none of this will ever exist, the resistance will cease to exist, this small community will have never existed, the children that were born here will never exist. More than likely some of the couples that have fallen in love and married might also never happen, you would be changing our entire future"

"I am sure that most of you guys will fall in love, I mean I remember seeing signs of it back then, even Konohamaru and Yuki"

"Those are possibilities, but nothing is certain. Also, none of these kids will be born, even if Konohamaru and Yuki were to fall for each other the children they have now, will not be the same as they will have then"

"I don't understand, if there the same people…"

"Same people yes, but the time they are conceived will more than likely be different… Look it's all about biology and I know you won't understand it so I won't bother. The only child that will be the same is Naoto"

"Why Naoto?" he asked

"She was conceived before you were thrown into the future, all these kids were conceived after. Of course, her life will be different but Naoto will still be Naoto"

"So if I somehow go back, I will be erasing everything that you have all accomplished" Naruto said sadly

"ultimately, it's your choice, I mean the only way I would have of stopping you would be to have you imprisoned or kill you. But considering I am the one who gave you the idea in the first place I trust that you will make the decision that will be the best for everyone" Shikamaru told him as he began to walk away leaving Naruto alone with his thoughts

End Chapter 37

Well, Sakura and Naruto's talk didn't end well, as well as Naruto has a big decision ahead of him