A/N The ultimate battle has finally ended, and light has returned once again to the former World of Shadows. It's only good/sad at times touchy feely stuff from her on now folks. See you at the end.

Chapter 37 - Never Say Goodbye

- Several Hours Later -

With some communication and splitting up into several groups, the Akatsuki and company managed to reroute the scattered people across the globe back to their villages. And with some assistance from Hagoromo's Rinnegan, they were able to rebuild them all as if they had never been destroyed in the first place Almost an entire day later they arrived at the shattered island that used to hold Uzushiogakure, and in the blink of an eye it was back again thanks to Hagoromo.

"Well, now that everything here is in order, let's return to the Pure Land shall we? Hamura?" asked Hagoromo of his brother.

He nodded and the two sons approached Kaguya, giving her a hug each and saying their goodbyes before their chakra returned to the Pure Land, Ashura and Indra parting soon after. A moment later and Naruto and Kurama's reincarnated bodies started to glow, their souls getting called back to the Pure Land since their contract was now complete.

"I guess this is goodbye." said Naruto with a shrug before he looked at Nagato and beckoned him over.

He unclipped his signature cape and draped it over Nagato's shoulders, smiling as he did so before the body he was using started to crumble to ash. Suddenly he formed a trio of signs and his soul was rebound to the body, keeping him on the material plane for a little while longer.

"Actually, there's one thing left I have to do before I go. Sarada, Nagato, Genkaku and Naoshi, please come with me." he said, waiting for the called out people to get up close to them before he transported them in a column of fire, instantly reappearing outside a barren patch of land that used to be the hidden village of Konohagakure.

"What are we doing here for? Didn't you destroy this place a long time ago?" asked Naoshi, Naruto nodding as he walked to where the Arena would've been and closed his eyes, remembering everything that had transpired so long ago.

"Yeah."

"Then what are we doing here?" asked Genkaku, Naruto starting to go through a long chain of seals.

"I'm going to make things right." he said, going through the seals before he reached the final one and slapped his palms onto the ground, a wave of his chakra spreading out across the earth. "Ichi Hyaku Shīru no Jutsu - Kaijoton - Gyaku tenchi henkō!"

Suddenly beams of white light shot out of the dirt as before their very eyes after images of the events that transpired here seemed to rewind themselves, going back in time to the first point when Naruto in his younger years and the original Akatsuki approached the village gates, but at that point he erased that and then activated the second half of the technique, fast forwarding it as if it had never happened and getting to the point when all his former friends and companions had stayed in the Arena stands instead of fighting him and the Akatsuki in the streets.

A small smile appeared on his face as the image of Sakura and Sasuke, his former teammates under Kakashi on Team 7, appeared in the arena just like they had been before with the exception of the injuries, and with the final touches put in in different parts of the village, he picked his hands up of the ground and opened his eyes.

"Release."

The buildings suddenly became real, and following behind them came the people, their bodies and souls becoming inexplicably restored in the blink of an eye, their minds telling them they had just woken up from a deep sleep when in fact they had been dead for decades.

"Ugh...what the hell happened…" muttered Kiba as he rubbed his head and looked around, seeing everyone still sitting beside him before he felt the same chakra that had sent shivers up his spine present in the Arena.

He looked down and nearly jumped out of his seat at the sight of Naruto and the others standing there looking up at them.

"Oh shit he's back!" he yelled, Shikaku, Inoichi, Chōza, Tsume, Hiashi and Gai moving to protect their children and their friends from Naruto.

"Stop it!" he snapped, the six halting for a moment as Naruto raised his hands up as a sign of surrender. "I'm not going to attack."

"Wait, who are you? Where's Naruto?" asked Shikaku, Naruto grinning a little before he pointed at himself.

"That would be me. If you'd let me talk...I can explain everything." he said with a glance at Tsunade still standing up in the press box with Iruka and Yamato.

She doubted him at first, but his chakra was unmistakably the same, so she nodded and everyone relaxed for the time being except Sasuke and Sakura, who still stood on their toes in case anything happened, especially after what he and Kakashi did to them the last time they were alive.

"Relax, Sasuke, Sakura, it's fine." said Naruto with a glance at the two, his gaze and casual smile confirming his identity with them.

"Naruto? What happened to you? You look...older." said Sakura, Naruto's grin widening before he crossed his arms.

"Everyone, gather 'round. Now...I'm going to be blunt with you guys. You've all been dead for decades now, and the world's advanced beyond anything Konohagakure has at the moment. I'll start off with how all the hidden villages are allies and friends with one another and how the Akatsuki Organization has not only evolved into a world peacekeeping force but as well into its second branch, the Akatsuki Corporation, an international business company that manufactures anything you can think of. We have a headquarters in all the villages." he started off, the group sitting or standing being left speechless at the sudden onslaught of new information.

"Could you run that by me again?" asked Ino, Shikamaru and Shikaku glancing at one another while Tsunade made her way out of the press box with Iruka and Yamato in tow.

Naruto noticed he had been brought back in the same condition he had left him in and glanced back at Nagato, motioning with his thumb up at Yamato.

"Nagato, could you fix up Yamato up there? The guy's in crutches for christ's sake." he said, Yamato flinching when Nagato appeared in a flash beside him and smiled.

"Hi." he said before, without argument, he placed his hand on Yamato's back and used the Six Paths Yang Power still present on his hand to instantly heal all his injuries.

He walked down the steps and joined Sarada's side after leaping back into the arena, Yamato removing the casts and bandages he wore and flexing his limbs to make sure they all worked properly.

"Better Yamato?" asked Naruto with a small grin, the Wood Release user nodding slowly before he looked back at the crowd assembled before him.

"As I was saying, here's another thing that's happened. My clan's home village, Uzushiogakure, has been rebuilt and is now a bustling metropolis once again, home to not only the Akatsuki but the corporation as well. We also took your spot among the Five Great Countries too. Sorry." he apologized with a cheesy smile, the Konoha ninja absolutely shocked at his change of personality since they last saw him.

"Can you please explain as to why you look older and who those other people are?" asked Sasuke as he and Sakura walked over to get a better view of him.

"Of course. The reason behind that is that I married and had a kid, Menma Uzumaki. I became the CEO of the Akatsuki Corporation and helped in the construction of Taiyō City, which by the way is a city populated by shinobi and people from all the villages and has its own military comprised of shinobi, regular police forces and other stuff as well. You'll figure it out."

"Wait, you married?!" stuttered Lee, Naruto grinning and nodding before he remembered Hinata sat up there and looked her way. "Sorry, Hinata."

"It's okay…" she said, Naruto taking a deep breath before he continued his story.

"Anyways, my son, Menma, went on to succeed me as leader of the Akatsuki while my right hand man, Genkaku here, became the CEO of the Akatsuki Corporation. I, unfortunately, was struck with the same incurable illness your brother had, Sasuke. I think you can guess what happened afterwards." said Naruto with a glance at the Uchiha, Sasuke's eyes widening.

"Now we get to the good part. Well, through a series of events I won't explain since it's too long, Menma gained the Rinnegan and married a Kirigakure shinobi named Amari Ringo and had a son."

"Which is?" asked Shikamaru before Naruto motioned to Nagato.

"That would be me. Nagato Uzumaki, fourth inheritor of the title of Kyuubi and Uzukage." said Nagato with a grin as he turned around and motioned to Naruto's cape that was now his, the group getting blown away at the fact that he was also the Kyuubi, let alone the fourth.

"And as an added bonus, since my father gained the Rinnegan...look what I got." said Nagato before he widened his eyes for everyone to see and activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, Sasuke hesitating at the sight of his clan's eyes in an Uzumaki.

"You inherited the Sharingan?" he asked, Nagato nodding before he deactivated them.

"I remember those two guys…" said Sakura as she pointed at Genkaku and Naoshi. "But...who are you?"

Sarada raised an eyebrow for a second before she lowered her facemask and smiled. "The name's Sarada. Sarada Hatake."

"Hatake? As in-" started Iruka before Sarada nodded.

"Yup. I'm Kakashi's daughter. I inherited his Sharingan too, but I took a step further then Nagato here and got the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan." she said as she formed hers and smirked at Sasuke, the Uchiha blown away yet again.

"I want to know one thing...Naruto." asked Tsunade, the Uzumaki looking up at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Why bring us back? You destroyed the village. What changed your mind?"

Naruto opened his mouth and closed it, unsure of what to say at first. He thought about it for a moment before he looked her in the eyes again and sighed.

"It took me a long time to think about it, and I mean a really long time...but I finally realized that I overreacted with the whole council and Danzo throwing me out. By the way they're still dead. You're welcome. But anyways, I'm really sorry for what I did and I decided I would right my wrong and bring back you guys and the village. It's the least I could do." he said honestly and with meaning behind it, Tsunade's gaze softening a little before she shrugged.

"I guess it's over then. And since you guys are-"

"I'll take care of everything. I'll oversee the modernization of Konohagakure and have it done in a week." said Genkaku, Tsunade nodding before her gaze returned to Naruto.

"What will you do now?" asked Sasuke, still wary of his intentions.

"Well…" he said in thought before he uncrossed his arms and sighed, smiling. "I guess return to the Pure Land."

"The Pure what?" asked Sakura.

"The Pure Land. Its where the souls of the deceased go to after passing through Limbo to meet with loved ones. I remember Kakashi had a bout with that after the attack by Pain. Heh, ironically, Nagato here was named after Pain himself...his real name was Nagato, and he was from the Uzumaki Clan like I was." said Naruto as his body finally began to decompose, his soul rising out of the host body in a pillar of light.

"Naruto!" shouted Shikamaru, but all that he did was smile at them and wave. Then he turned to Nagato and winked.

"See you all later."

His soul vanished in a flash of light and the body he used crumbled away to ash, leaving the world once again to return to where he belonged...back at his cottage in the middle of that tranquil field where all he had to do was wake up, relax, drink some tea and observe the world from there. Maybe he might even visit his old sensei when he got back.

"He really is something." said Chōji with a chuckle before Nagato and Sarada walked back over to Genkaku and Naoshi.

"We'll be taking our leave, if that's alright with you all. Like I said, I'll be back." said Genkaku, Tsunade nodding.

He glanced at Nagato and he nodded, morphing his eyes to the Mangekyo Sharingan and grinning at Sasuke as he teleported them all away with Kamui, leaving the Konoha-nin alone with their thoughts. Sakura walked over to where they once stood and noticed a neatly wrapped parchment on the ground, picking it up and unravelling it.

"Tsunade, we've been invited to a Kage summit being held at that Taiyō City place in two days." she said, Tsunade nodding before she turned to leave the Arena with Yamato and Iruka.

"Good. We can sort everything else out there...and get a chance to see who's in charge now."

- Uzushiogakure -

Nagato reappeared with everyone else before the Kage Tower and after bidding farewell to Naoshi and Genkaku, he and Sarada turned towards his home. "Wait, Nagato. One more thing." said Genkaku, the Uzumaki glancing his direction before he motioned to their right. "I believe there's some people here that want to meet you two."

He nodded at Nagato and Sarada before taking his leave with Naoshi, the two glancing at one another before a concentration of chakra appeared out of thin air to their right next to Kakashi.

Nagato's heart filled with happiness and joy when it took on the appearance of his father while Sarada instantly ran into her father's embrace.

"Sarada, baby…" said Kakashi as she hugged him, the only thing he could do was rest his chin on her shoulder since he still had no arms.

"Are you going soon?" she asked after stepping back, Kakashi taking one look at her missing arm and nodding.

"Yeah...I can't stay here forever Sarada. I'm a reincarnated shinobi with no arms...I won't be of much use."

"But you're still my dad!" pleaded Sarada, Kakashi smiling at her.

"I know...but I've watched you grow into the beautiful and strong young woman standing before me, and I think my job is done. Besides...there's someone else who's going to look over you for me." said Kakashi before he motioned with his head at Nagato, Sarada realizing what he meant a second later and smiling.

"Dad!" said Nagato before he embraced Menma, the two sharing a moment of silence before he noticed Nagato's missing arm.

"Nagato you're-"

"It's okay, I'm fine. I'll get it back soon enough." he replied, Menma chuckling to himself before he looked to the setting sun and instantly remembered something.

"Oh yeah, there's something I've gotta tell you." he said, Nagato raising an eyebrow before Menma smiled, the sun's rays bathing his face and smile.

"Happy Birthday. You've grown so much Nagato…"

"Yeah, thanks." he said, Menma nodding once before swallowed once and held his hands behind his back, noticing his father's cape he now wore around his shoulders and chuckling again.

"We don't belong here...so we can't stay for long. This is it." he said, Nagato's smile fading and Menma's gaze dropping before his chakra began to fade away, his eyes clenching shut to try and hold back the tears while his body shook uncontrollably at the thought of not watching his son continue to grow up in person. "I'll tell Amari all about it…she said so many things that day..."

Nagato looked at his father for a second before he gave him his cheesy grin and laughed. "Tell her that I'm eating a lot and doing fine! I'm not a picky eater either, so she won't have to worry about that either!"

Menma's eyes widened as Nagato went down the list.

"I shower almost everyday! And I sometimes go to the hot springs. Apparently it's called the Crow's Bathing Tub or something like that. Oh, and I've made a ton of friends, they're all exceptional people and companions whom I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. And I've only just become 20 today, but my life's just now starting and I've finally found the girl I want to spend my entire life with…"

Tears started to form at the corners of his eyes as he closed them shut, the tears starting to roll down his cheek as Menma's body continuing to fade away into light while Kakashi and Sarada looked on.

"I'm glad you were my father, I'm glad that you trust me with the title of Uzukage and Kyuubi, and I'll be sure to uphold the honor and privileges that come with being those! I just wish you can stay a little longer to help me through with all of these things, but anyways...So tell Mom over there, won't you... To not worry about me. I'm going to be fine! And...to never say goodbye." finished Nagato with a shaky breath, Menma smiling as his soul ascended to the Pure Land once again, his detached voice leaving one final message for his son.

"Got it...I'll tell her everything."

"I guess it's time for me to go too…" said Kakashi as he shed a tear and instantly the binding on his soul to the host body he used broke, his soul starting to ascend to the Pure Land after Menma's.

As Sarada watching him ascend, he looked down at her and winked, saluting her for the last time. "I'll always be with you, watching the future with you through that eye of yours. I love you, Sarada. Farewell." he said, his soul vanishing in a flash of light.

She wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled, Nagato walking over and placing his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "I'm fine, thank you."

"You know, Sarada...remember what I said before, when we were fighting Oshoku?" asked Nagato, Sarada's lips curling up into a smile when the words came back to her while her hand unconsciously reached up to pull down her facemask.

"Yes."

As soon as she responded Nagato took her into his arm and kissed her with a passion, the two standing like that for a few seconds before an obnoxious voice blared out from behind them.

"Okay, what the fuck is going on here? Can someone *please enlighten me on this matter?"

Nagato and Sarada separated and they watched Torazame walk towards without a scratch on him beside Natsumi and Hana.

"It's okay Torazame, I already knew about this a long time ago." said Natsumi while patting him on the shoulder, the swordsman shaking his head before he mumbled to himself and took out a cigarette.

"Where's everyone else?" asked Nagato, Hana crossing her arms and pointing back over her shoulder.

"Seiryu's with Genkaku and the other Akatsuki members since he was originally a part of them first. Takashi left to go back to isolation as per our deal, Genbu left to go back to Kirigakure to make sure everything is squared away there, he'll come back, and then Toneri is with Kaguya talking to Naoshi and Ryūzetsu about establishing a village for the Otsutsuki Clan on the other side of the island, and finally Matatabi and Chomei decided to retire and return to their old homes before they were captured." she explained, Nagato chuckling as he and Sarada walked over.

"So that just leaves you three here. Awesome." said Sarada, Hana grinning before Torazame slung an arm around her shoulder, Nagato looking up at him and grinning when he winked at him.

"Nice."

"So I heard that you're the Kyuubi now?" asked Natsumi, Nagato nodding as he pointed to Naruto's cape still over his shoulders.

"Yeah, plus my father passed on the title of Uzukage to me. I'm old enough to be one since I'm 20 now, today's my birthday." he replied.

"And it's time we got you two your arms back as well."

They turned and watched as Hashirama and Madara walked over to them, both dressed in an entirely new set of gear that they had been given to them. Hashirama had taken off the chest and shoulder guards of his old armor, keeping the thigh protectors, and slipped on an Uzushiogakure-standard flak jacket with two pouches strapped to the back and a scroll pouch over the left side of his chest. Madara had preferred to keep his battle armor, modifying it just slightly, but underneath he had replaced his body suit with the Uchiha clan's standard high-collared mantle that splits down the lower half, a simple brown obi and a belt that held his pouches on each hip.

"What do you mean?" asked Nagato before Hashirama held up his hand.

"My cells can be used to synthesize you two replacement arms."

"Oh right."

A/N Jutsu Translations

Ichi Hyaku Shīru no Jutsu - Kaijoton - Gyaku tenchi henkō / One Hundred Seal Technique - Demonic Release - Reverse Heaven and Earth Change