AN
"Blah"- Normal Speech
'Blah'- Thoughts

Naruto/Final Fantasy VII
Lost Son of Konoha

Chapter 40
Epilogue
A new day had dawned over the village of Konoha. Three years had passed since the allied forces of the major Ninja villages had engaged those of Orochimaru and Madara in Oni no Kuni, bringing an end that both of them posed to the Elemental Nations.

Whilst not on the scale that the conflict on Oni had been that time had far from without incident, several of the lesser Ninja Villages had tried to take advantage of the losses suffered by the major villages had, old alliances renewed and new ones forged and broken as they looked to improve their standings.

They were also far from the only ones as various criminal organizations and gangs had also been quick to take advantage of all the weakened states of their militaries, dealing in a multitude of illegal activities ranging from the transportation and dealing of drugs and other contraband gong as far as to slavery to extortion and assassination.

Knowing that none of them had the man power or the resources to deal with this threat individually the leaders all five of the major villages agreed to continue their alliance with one another as a means to mitigate the chaos that would no doubt ensue if they were to dissolve now, chaos that would only lead to bloodshed and further conflict undermining the peace they had fought for in Oni.

The peace between them was far from perfect however. Despite fighting shoulder to shoulder with one another old grudges, petty squabbles and bad blood are hard things to let go of and some old wounds have trouble ever healing fully.

Another concern for all parties was that despite their best efforts they had been unable to locate any trace of either Kabuto or Zetsu, in the chaos following the conflict in Oni had seemed to have vanished into thin air. Individually both these men were considered to be dangerous when left to their own devices, Kami only knew what damage they could cause if the two of them were to ally with one another.

Despite the new challenges and trials that had arisen the previous five years had also brought with them many other changes. Two of those changes being the mantles of both Mizukage and Raikage being taken up following the demise of the previous holders of the positions.

In Kiri a blue haired man by the name of Chōjūrō, who had previously been a retainer of Mei Terumi, had been appointed to the position of Nanadaime Mizukage whilst in Kumo the position of Rokudaime Raikage had been filled by Darui, a tan skinned man who had been the right hand man of Ei who had been Raikage and the grandfather of Aoi.

And for the people of Konoha a today was a day of celebration at it marked an event that would be remembered for years to come: the appointment of a new Hokage.

Inside the walls of the Hokage's Tower Sakura Haruno strolled through the hallways as she ambled towards the Hokage's office that was located at the top of the tower, the pink haired Konouchi watching as attendants and staff rushed back and forth, making last minute preparation as the ceremony where their new leader would be appointed was just a little over an hour away now.

Watching them go about their business it then dawned on the pink haired woman that today would mark the third time in her life that she would witness a new Hokage be instated and the fourth that she would work under.

The Sandaime Hokage had been the first she could recall following, being an infant to the time she'd been too young to recall the Yondaime Hokage, the old man having been the village's leader through her entire childhood until his death at the hands of Orochimaru.

Not long following the elderly Sarutobi's funeral Tsunade Senju, the same woman who would become her teacher in the field of medical Ninjutsu, had been returned to the village due to the efforts of Jiraiya and Naruto and installed as the Godaime Hokage. A position she held for ten years until she had been forced to relinquish it due to pressure from the council. However before stepping to down she named her former teacher and team leader as Kakashi Hatake as her successor as the Rokudaime Hokage.

Sakura couldn't believe that this would be the third time in her lifetime that she would see a new leader of the village be instated.

As she ambled along a booming voice, the sound of that rang out above the chatter and noise of everyone else in attendance, the sound loud enough to snap Sakura out of her musings. "What do you mean he's missing!"

Recognizing whom the voice belong to the sole female member of Team 7 picked up her pace and was soon arrived at the door to the Hokage's office and opening it Sakura was greeted by the sight of an angry looking Tsunade standing before a pair of ANBU, the masks standing there as the former Hokage berated them.

"Either of you care to explain how the two of you managed to lose the man who's to become the new leader of this village in an hour." Tsunade snarled, her face twisted into a look of pure irritation.

"We apologized Senju-sama." One of the masked men. "The incoming Hokage managed to give us the slip."

"Something that he's quite apt at doing." The other added.

"Shisho, what's wrong?" Sakura spoke up, the sound of her student's voice catching Tsunade's attention and turned to look over in her direction, seeing the rosette standing there in the open doorway.

"Sakura," Tsuande replied, her features shifting from a look of frustration to one of surprise at seeing her former student standing there. "What brings you here?"

"I heard the sound of you yelling, I figured that something was up." Sakura informed her former teacher. "So what's wrong?"

Recovering from her momentary state of surprise Tsunade features once more twisted into a look of frustration. "What's wrong is that our so-called elite forces somehow managed to lose the man who is supposed to become the new leader of the village an hour before the ceremony is mean to be taking place." She informed her, a cold glare still fixed on the two ANBU standing behind her.

Hearing this caused a frustrated sigh to escape from the pink haired konouchi. 'Figures, I really shouldn't be surprised he'd pull something like this…' "I take it you couldn't find him?"

"I'm afraid not Haruno-san." One of the ANBU replied, "He checked the area's that the incoming Hokage in known to frequent on a regular bases however he found no trace of him."

Letting out another sigh a thought popped into Sakura's head, they said they checked everywhere that he was known to frequent but it was possible that… "Look I think I might have an idea where he might be holed up." She informed the three people before her. "Tell you what, I'll go get him. No offense Shisho but knowing who we're dealing it will probably be better if I go rather than you or either these ANBU. At least there will be a lot less yelling at least."

Tsunade turned her gaze from the two ANBU onto her former student, seemingly mulling over her suggestion. "Fine, you do that." The older woman replied after a few seconds. "Just make sure you bring him back here, if you can't I will go there myself and drag him, Hokage or not."

Sakura shrugged. "Very well Shisho." With that said she bowed politely before taking her leave.

Making her way through the village it wasn't long before Sakura found herself standing arrived at her destination: the entrance of Training Ground 7, a place that filled her with a sense of nostalgia.

Entering through the gates it wasn't long before she was passing through the familiar wooded area, following a well-travelled path, one she had followed many times, it wasn't long before she emerged into a large clearing, in the center she was greeted by the sight of a trio of wooden stumps along with a robed figure sitting in front of them.

'I knew it…' Sakura sighed as she approached, shaking her head before calling out to figure in front of her. "Oi, Naruto…"

Hearing her voice the figure turned their lead and she was greeted by the sight of her blond haired teammate, his hair now shorter than it had been three years prior, now looking similar to how it had been back when they were Genin.

"Sakura, what are you doing here?" He said, surprised at seeing his teammate approaching him.

"I could say the same thing idiot." Sakura replied sounding rather strict. "You do know that everyone is in an uproar looking for you."

"Sorry about that." Naruto replied, letting out an embarrassed sounding chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head. "Everything was getting a little overwhelming back at the tower and I needed to get some air, I stepped out and before I knew it I was here. Guess I just got lost in thought."

His voice trailed off as he turned his attention back to the wooden stumps, her expression soften Sakura crossed the rest of the distance sat down next to him where the two of them were silent for several minutes.

"So," Sakura spoke up. "What brought you out here?"

Naruto shrugged in response. "I dunno, just stuff I guess." He said.

Sakura looked over at him. "Y'know you don't have to lie to me." She told him. "So come on, out with it. Why'd you come here of all places?"

Hearing this Naruto let out a small chuckle. "Same old Sakura-chan." Taking a deep breath he turned his gaze to the sky, seemingly enjoying the warmth he felt on his face. "It was all becoming a bit much back at the tower, everyone barking orders and telling me what to do and what's expected of me. It was so annoying, I had to get out of there to clear my head and lust kind of ended up there. It was so quiet compared to the tower and I kinda just got lost in my memories of this place, before long I then remembered everyone who wouldn't be here to see this."

Hearing this the stern look on Sakura's features softened, a melancholy look appearing on his features as she processed her teammate's words, the faces of individuals that were no longer with them momentarily flashing before her eyes. "Yeah," She spoke up. "This place has that effect."

The two of them fell silent again, both of them lost in their respective thoughts. Before long, Sakura's gaze was drawn to the central stump that was sticking out of the ground, more precisely a pair of words that were carved into the base, she didn't even need to look over to know that Naruto's attention was also fixed upon those words.

Written there was a pair of names: Sasuke Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha.

It was the only memorial that the two of them would ever get. To this day both brothers were still regarded as criminals throughout the Elemental Nations and neither Naruto nor Sakura had shared what they had learned in Oni from Madara, knowing that no one would believe them.

In the eyes of just both of them would be criminals, two men that reeked untold amounts of damage and were responsible for untold numbers of casualties. Put simply both the brothers had simply done too much to ever be forgiven for what they had done.

"Even now all these years later I don't know how to feel about him." Naruto spoke up. "Much as I hate to admit it I was always trying to catch up to him, even when I was in Kumo and all I wanted to do was kill him he was still always the bar that I wanted to measure up to. "

"I know what you mean." Sakura replied. "Like you I spent so much time trying to catch up to him. Back when we were a team all I wanted was his approval, to show him that I could be useful. And despite all that he went ahead and became a monster, I felt like such an idiot after that."

"And after everything we learned?" Her companion asked.

Sakura sighed. "I…I don't know." She told him. "Like you I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about him anymore."

Naruto nodded. "I keep thinking about what he said in Oni, about how he was always at the mercy of someone else and never really having a choice." Naruto said after a few seconds of more awkward silence. "It's pretty sad, believing that someone could think they have no control over their own fate and always being at the mercy of others. I don't want to think about the person I could have become if I had to live like that."

Just then his expression then shifted to a smirk as he let out a chuckle, one that the pink haired woman beside him knew lacked any humor. "Who are we kidding, I was almost like that. I was such an ass when I first came back, especially towards you." He told her. "It was only because of Ino and Itachi of all people did I actually pull my head out of my ass, if I hadn't I don't want to think about what kind of person I could have become."

His expression shifted again, this time a sterner one. "No one should ever have to live like that." He continued. "I don't think I can ever fully forgive Sasuke for what he became but, if nothing else, I want to make sure that no one else ever has to experience life the way he did. I want everyone to live their lives the way they chose to and not be taken advantage of by others."

Hearing this Sakura let out a chuckle. "That's a pretty tall order, one that even you can't accomplish by yourself without a lot of help." She said as she got to her feet and turned to head in her teammate's direction. "Not without a lot of help anyway. You, me and everyone are gonna have to work really hard to make sure this dream of yours becomes a reality."

The pink haired konouchi then offered her hand to her blond haired companion. "Well come on, we need to get going." She told him. "It's not going to look good for the Hokage to be late for his own inauguration."

Hearing her say this brought a smile to Naruto's face. "No, guess it wouldn't." He replied before taking her hand and let himself be pulled up to his feet.

Their business at the Training Ground concluded the pair returned to the Hokage's Tower where they were greeted by a rather irate Tsunade, the older woman's features twisted into a look of barely contained anger.

Following a brief all be it loud shouting match between both Naruto and Tsunade the Inauguration Ceremony got underway, the event itself going off without a hitch.

Standing on the balcony Naruto gazed out at the sea of people gathered below him, the crowd a mixture of both civilians and military as well as honored guests from the other Ninja Villages as well as other important figures from around Hi no Kuni.

Seeing this he was reminded of his encounter when he found himself in a dark void where he met a strange blond woman, to this day he was still unsure whether it had actually happen or if it was merely some hallucination brought about by the pain caused by Kurama trying to consume him.

Whatever the case he recalled the mysterious woman's words, how a person was the sum total of the experiences as well as all the people that they met over the course of their lives, meaning that the people of the village were just a much a part of him as he was a part of them.

What the future had in store for the Village he was certain, that being said standing there Naruto was filled with a sense of purpose. Regardless of whether he failed or succeeded he'd use every of his power to give these people a better future, one where they were free to shape their own destinies without interference from anyone who might seek to use them for their own ends.

The City of the Ancients stood tall and imposing, a monument built by one of the first civilization's on the planet now silent as the grave, the people who had built it along with the remaining traces of their bloodlines having long since vanished from the world.

The deafly silence was then broken by the of footsteps that echoed through the still landscape was a figure clad in black leathers moved through the empty landscape, a large item wrapped in cloth mounted on its back as it made its way through the empty streets.

The deafly silence was then broken by the of footsteps that echoed through the still landscape was a figure clad in black leathers moved through the empty landscape, a large item wrapped in tarp mounted on its back as it made its way through the empty streets.

It had been a long time since he had been here last, the last time had been when during the incident with Kadaj and his two companions, the three Remnants of Sephiroth had kidnapped children from Edge that had been infected with Geostigma and brought here to drink the infected water.

Since then Cloud had avoided this place, not wanting to travel near it unless necessary. For him it would always be the last place that he had seen Aerith alive, kneeling on the ground with a serene look on her gentle face moments before being run through by Sephiroth.

Steeling himself Cloud did his best to push aside the memories of what had happened here in the past, regardless of his aversion to this place he had come here for purpose. He'd made a promise to Aerith that he'd move forward with his life all the while keeping the memory of her in his heart, coming here was the first step he needed to make in keeping that promise.

Silently he made his way along the winding pathways it wasn't long before he arrived at his destination: the large lake that was located in a wooded area at the heart of the structure, the final resting place of the woman he loved.

As he approached the shore Cloud slowly he reached behind him and removed the mass of tarp that has hanging from his back, unwrapping it to reveal the Buster Sword gifted to him by Zack, the same one that had not too long ago had stood on a cliff that over looked the ruins of Midgar.

Taking a deep breath the blond haired swordsman walked up to the edge of the lake and in one fluid motion drove the blade of the weapon into the ground, a sound filling in the air. Certain that the sword would be able to stand on its own Cloud then reached to the pink ribbon that was tied around the bicep of his left arm, removing it before he carefully began tying it around the handle of the Buster Sword.

The Buster Sword, the weapon given to him by Zack, and the pink ribbon that he and the other members of AVALANCHE wore in memory of Aeirth. Two people that meant a great to him, both of who could now share a final resting place together.

His task finished Cloud silently stared at the blade, remaining there for several minutes till took a step backwards, moving away from the shore before turning on his heel. Continuing to move, his gaze fixed upon the path that lay before him.

As he walked Cloud was brought to a halt when he felt unexpected coolness in the air that seemed to come from behind him. Looking back Cloud's gaze was fixed once more upon the impaled sword, he could not explain why but he felt somewhat lighter at the sight of it quietly standing there, as if a weight he had been carrying had lifted.

After a few more moments of staring at it Cloud nodding his head before turning his attention back to the path ahead and began to walk away once again, the sound of his footsteps echoing as the distance between him and the lake grew wider until he vanished from view.

Fini

AN And with that here we are, the final chapter of this tale is fini.

So yeah I'll admit that this was kind of on the short side, I didn't go into this expecting it to be this length but it just happened to work out that way. Sometimes when I've sat down to write something's I've done I've expected to be quite sizable turn out to be shorter and some things that I thought would be quick scenes turn out rather lengthy, the scene between Cloud and Ino in the last chapter is an example of this.

Regardless I hope the length isn't a problem and that you all enjoyed it.

Cloud's part of this chapter isn't as long as Naruto's part, this wasn't meant as a slight towards him or dismissing his role in this story. It was a challenge to myself to see what kind of scene I could write that didn't have any dialogue in it. I think it turn out pretty good but that's just my opinion and you may disagree.

On a side note that's nothing to do with this story but I want to point you in the direction of 2 people.

One of those people is Tokai2000 who's an artist on DA, I've been meaning to mention him for a while but it kept slipping my mind.

He's been doing a reimagined version of The Last that's, at least in my biased opinion, better then the actual movie (not a high bar to clear I know). It more or less follows the same plot as the film with some changes, such as removing that canon breaking flashback at the beginning of Naruto saving Hinata as kids and removes Hinabi entirely, which is for the best since she was absent for the entire Shippuden era and only popped back into existence just to serve as an excuse for the plot to happen, also all the character involved in this feel like they're in character plus Sakura, Shikamaru and Sai actually get to contribute and Sasuke has just turned up and looks like he'll actually have a role to play unlike in the film where he popped up for 10 seconds as fan service.

(deep breath) Even if you did like the movie its worth checking out just for the art alone, he's managed to recreate Kishi's art style if you didn't know it was fan you might think that this was done by the man himself.

The other is DevilArtemis on Youtube, his stuff is funny. One of his video's is with Obito and Kakashi where he reveals that the real reason he started the Shinobi War was because he's pissed that he didn't get to sleep with Rin and that the only thing he ever got to smash with is with a rock. Honestly makes more sense then what happened in the manga.

And with that I'm done, thanks to everyone who stuck with me till the end of this tale and I'd be grateful if you'd leave me some feedback and tell me what you thoughts. Also whilst this is the last proper chapter there will be another post after this that will serve as a wrap up to this story.

Till then, peace out y'all.