"You're a mysterious guy… You remind me of my old self. I think I shall try to believe in you, Uzumaki Naruto. Gedou: Rinne Tensei no Jutsu!"
He was exhausted. No, he was beyond exhausted. There was nothing left in him. His stamina was drained, mind weary, heart spent. He couldn't force himself to keep moving with chakra; there wasn't any left. Sage Mode had run out what seemed like an eternity ago, and the Kyuubi had gone into a deep sleep, enraged that it had been so close, yet so far from freedom. His feet were heavy as lead, each step taking more effort than the last, until Naruto didn't have the willpower to move anymore. He stopped, resting a hand on a tree trunk and slumped heavily against it, breath coming in harsh pants. His vision swam, and turned black at the edges, darkness creeping ever-closer, and finally, he allowed himself to collapse.
He landed on Kakashi-sensei's back.
"Good job, Naruto."
"Kakashi-sensei…"
"Just lean on me."
Cheering. They were cheering… For him?
"Welcome back!"
"We knew you could do it!"
Kakashi set him down on his feet, and Naruto took a few hesitant steps forward. "Wh… What's going on?"
"They were waiting for your return," Kakashi said, the pride in his voice unmistakable. On some unseen cue, the villagers of Konohagakure no Sato rushed forward, the young children at the forefront of the crowd. They surrounded him, tugging on his sleeves and pressing their hands against him, asking him a million questions.
"Hey, hey, what was the enemy like?"
"Are you hurt?"
"Ow!" Naruto cried, as one of the kids poked at his stomach, which was still sore from where Nagato's chakra rod had impaled him. "Don't push!" The blond was shoved back a few steps, and he was just about to scold the children for being so rowdy (not that he had any room to talk, considering how he was just three short years ago), when he caught sight of that blue hair. He was gently pushing through the mass of children before he even registered that his feet were moving, and when his mind finally caught up, he had his arms wrapped around her, face pressed into her shoulders as her sweater absorbed his tears. She clung to him just as tightly, and together, the two cried in relief. In the back of his mind, he knew he'd have to, eventually, but in this moment, Naruto never wanted to let Hinata go again.