The Wanderers Last Chapter Everything Comes to an End, a naruto fanfic

The Wanderers

Last Chapter – Everything Comes to an End

A/N: I firmly believe that if you are finishing a story and don't intend to write further on it, you should give some proper closure. That is why I wanted to write a look into the future for my story. I don't have the intention of writing a sequel for The Wanderers, as it is easily long enough for probably ten novels. There could be more for me to write, as I could describe in detail everything that happens in each of these sections below, but I no longer have the time to dedicate myself to writing a fanfiction any longer. These sections will just be general glimpses into the future of the characters in the story. I've done everything I've wanted to for this story and I hope you have enjoyed it up until the end. If not, then please tell me what specific bits I could have improved so that I can learn from this experience more. If you have, I'd love to hear which parts you enjoyed.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't have written a fanfiction on it.

***Previously-On***

A/N: Yeah, I'm not writing a summary this time. Read the story if you want to know what happened.

***End Summary***

***Two years after defeat of Benkei***

It was quiet in the house, which was a strange turn of events for Naruto. He'd been so used to people coming and going that he hadn't really been sure that they'd ever been given proper peace. However, now that it was quiet he found himself bored and wanting to get out and see people.

He couldn't, of course, but that didn't mean the desire wasn't there.

While sitting on the couch and reading one of the books he'd been given as a gift, Naruto nearly fell over himself as he heard the doorbell ring, racing to see who it was.

Opening the door, Naruto was surprised to see the former Kazekage standing in his doorway, wearing the casual clothes that his friends had picked out for him after he'd realised that he couldn't wear his shinobi garb all the time. They had spoken a few weeks ago before Naruto's temporary withdrawal from his position on the Council of Six, but the two of them had been close for years and it wasn't uncommon for them to converse for hours at a time about the progress they had made and where they were taking steps he didn't agree with.

Something told Naruto that wasn't the kind of conversation Gaara had come to have though. For someone as calm and collected as the red-haired shinobi to be so fidgety and out of sorts, it must be serious.

He offered the shinobi a seat and asked whether he wanted a drink or not, to which Gaara replied that he was fine without. They had enjoyed a fairly cordial relationship in the past, and now he felt that Naruto was the one person he could speak openly without risking his position.

"So what is the problem?" asked Naruto finally, having taken a seat opposite his old friend and leaning forward intently.

Gaara glanced around the room for a second before taking a long breath and staring his friend in the face. "I would like your advice regarding Matsuri."

Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion; that could mean any number of things. "Can you be more specific? Are you worried about what you guys are doing in the bedroom…or what?"

Upon hearing that, Gaara immediately put his hands up defensively, showing a more frantic side of himself that Naruto hadn't really seen before. "No, no, no…nothing like that. We haven't done anything like that. It's not like that…" He kept repeating himself over and over again, but each time was less and less convincing as he talked. Eventually Naruto got sick of it and put up his own hands to calm him down.

"Gaara, if there a problem with Matsuri, why don't you talk to her about it? I'm sure she'd be happy to talk to you."

The former Kazekage shook his head quickly, "The thing is…you know how I'm not very good with emotional things, right?"

"I may have compared you to a cold fish, from time to time," said Naruto back with his regular grin.

Gaara ignored the friendly barb and continued on, "I've been thinking about her more and more, and I believe I would like to spend more time with her on a personal level. However, I am unsure how to proceed in this regard and I was hoping you could assist me."

Naruto wasn't sure he'd heard him right the first time, but he gathered from his friend's tone that asking him to repeat it would only hurt his feelings. Regardless, he had at least one question he had to ask before he could help him. "Gaara, how have you not already taken that step? You live with the woman. Are you seriously telling me you aren't a couple?"

"It hasn't been like that, we decided that if she were to continue her assistant and bodyguard work that it would be better served in the same household. It's not as if…" His eyes began to unfocus as certain things began to come together in his mind. "…but it's not like she does my laund…or makes me di…" His sentence ran off completely as he fell back into the couch with his mouth in a big o.

Naruto chuckled as he saw his friend figuring it out for the first time, before his eyes lit up when he saw a figure enter the living room from the bathroom. He stood up and moved to help her, but was quickly shooed away back to his seat as Hinata walked into the room, clutching at her stomach with an exhausted look on her face. Her presence drew Gaara's attention despite his shocking revelation, but Hinata waved off his attempt to help her as she plopped herself onto the large seat and sighed loudly.

"I swear if I reach for any more of those noodles you have permission to kill me."

Naruto smiled widely, "I'll keep that in mind, honey."

His young wife placed her hands on her stomach and groaned loudly, though most of it was for show. Her white eyes turned to the former Kazekage and a smile emerged on her face, "Gaara, it is so good to see you again. We have missed you these past few weeks."

"You are looking well, Lady Hyuuga," said Gaara back.

Despite her current state, Hinata barked out a laugh and pointed down to her feet sticking out of the ends of her baggy pants, "Please, I'm a mess. Look at these giant hippo feet."

"Yeah, they're pretty gross," commented her husband with a chuckle.

Hinata tried to glare at him, but failed to produce any real vitriol. "It's your fault I'm in this state. If I could reach you, I'd strangle you myself." She sighed and ran her hands through the long dark blue hair behind her head. "If I don't have these children soon, I might go inside."

Seeing that she was as exhausted as she sounded, Gaara stood up from the couch to excuse himself, but Hinata waved him down quickly. "Don't be ridiculous, Gaara. I'm not disabled, I'm just with child. Well, with children. What can we help you with?"

"Gaara believes now is the time to make a move with his darling Matsuri," said Naruto with an amused tone of voice. "I was just giving him some friendly advice."

"You aren't already with that young girl? She's been asking for help for yea…ah, I see." The Hyuuga kunoichi grimaced for a moment with her hands on her stomach before regaining her composure and continuing. "That's great dear. The two of you make a lovely couple. I think you should…"

She grimaced again, and this time Naruto leapt to his feet and moved to her side. Hinata tried to wave off his concern, but from the pain in her stomach she wasn't able to concentrate. Gaara's eyes widened as he realised what was happening, though he suddenly found himself not knowing what he was meant to do now.

"Naruto, I'm fine, I'm really fine," said Hinata quickly, trying to get up from the chair before she found the strength in her legs not responding. Her husband moved around to her front and helped her to her feet, placing his arm around her waist.

"Hinata, it's time! We've got to go to the hospital!" Naruto began creating clones to make way for her and open the front door, while one of them apologised to Gaara and told him they would have to speak later.

The Hyuuga kunoichi began to moan as the pain intensified and then wavered before disappearing completely. She stood up straight and took a long breath, pointing to an object at the side of the room. "Don't forget my bag, honey." She saw one of his clones pick up the bag and place it on their shoulder before grabbing Naruto's bags and they moved to help her to the door. Hinata waved off their help again and only allowed her original husband to help her walk as they made their way out of their home and into the city beyond.

Back in the house, one of the clones of Naruto offered to escort the former Kazekage out of the house, apologising once again for the fervour of their departure.

"It's perfectly okay," said Gaara back to the clone, knowing that the original would learn of the conversation once the clones dispersed. "Tell the original and Lady Hyuuga that I wish them well and I shall visit them once the babies are born."

The clone of Naruto grinned and nodded in response, watching him leave their house before he turned and locked the door with a small amount of chakra. He looked over at the original escorting Hinata down the road towards the hospital, the realisation hitting him the same time as all the other clones in the area.

They were about to become a father.

***Four years after defeat of Benkei***

Rock Lee wasn't sure he'd heard the man right. He asked him to repeat what he'd just told him, refusing to believe that it was as he feared.

The doctor tried to be as tactful as possible, but they were short on time and they needed the taijutsu master to make a decision. "It's what we've been discussing for the past few weeks, Master Lee. Your wife's body is deteriorating and we have to make a decision here."

"No, no, I got that," said Rock Lee, annoyed that the doctor was talking to him like he didn't know what was happening. "But this decision you are asking me to make is impossible." He glanced back into the open hospital room, hearing the loud breathing from the patient and the constant back and forth of the attending nurses. "Surely there is another way."

"We are out of time," warned the doctor quickly. "Either we finish this procedure through to its completion, or we don't and then you assume that risk."

Rock Lee clenched his fists and resisted the urge to take out his anger at the nearest wall; this was the worst situation he could possibly encounter. Instead of attacking the wall, he reached forward and placed his hand on the doctor's shoulder and stared him in the eyes, "Let me get this straight. If we go through with this, my wife won't survive. And even if we don't, our baby probably won't live?"

"That is correct. I know this is a difficult decision to make, but the next few minutes are critical."

The taijutsu master dropped his head and turned back to the open hospital room. He knew what he should do, and what she would want him to do, but asking him to make such a decision was too cruel.

"Master Lee?"

The taijutsu master grinded his teeth, before stepped back into the room as he gave the doctor his decision. He took his place at the side of the bed and took his wife's hand with a sad smile.

She had been in labour for ten hours and had been suffering for months, but Sakura still had the look of fire in her eyes despite the sweat on her face and the pain she was suffering. While the doctors and nurses went about their jobs, she focused her attention on her husband at her side.

"It'll be okay, Lee. This is how this is meant to go." Her voice was weak, but she sounded confident despite the circumstances. "I'm thankful that I was able to spend what time I had with you, and that we're able to do this, at the last."

Rock Lee tried not to cry and failed, as he saw the woman he had saved from the depths of her own madness and despair, the strongest person he knew, suffering as she had. It had been something they had known was going to happen eventually, as her body had been rejecting the power that had been injected into her from Sensou tore her apart from within. They had wanted a child before that happened, and Rock Lee had made his peace with that to the extent that he thought he was able, but now that it was happening in front of him, he kept trying to think of ways they might be able to get through this and have a happy ending.

But Sakura knew that wasn't going to happen, as she squeezed his hand as tight as she could. She gave him a small nod, as if transferring her strength to him before she turned her attention to the doctors at the other end of the bed. "Let's do this."

The doctors and nurses all acknowledged her agreement and began the procedure. They began feeding drugs into her drip and the nurses between her legs began to advise her on when she needed to push.

They say that childbirth is a beautiful process, but during the following hour Rock Lee saw very little that was beautiful. He was so immensely proud of his wife during every moment there, even when her strength spiked through her hand and nearly crushed the bones in his hand. If he hadn't fortified his hand with physical energy he doubted it would have lasted the length of the process.

It was back and forth for a long time, with a few instances of the doctors scrambling to keep her vitals steady as the baby seemingly refused to be born.

But at the end of it all, Rock Lee's mind was blown as he heard the first cry of his baby come into the world. It was bloody and tiny, with a small tuff of black hair on its head and a pair of lungs that could deafen an elephant.

He looked back at his wife with immeasurable pride on his face, to see a tiny smile on the pink-haired woman's face. Her pain-wracked expression had disappeared and she seemed just relieved to be done with it.

"Congratulations you two," said the doctor as they cleaned up the baby. "She's very healthy."

Neither of the married couple paid attention after that, as they knew it was only a matter of moments before they could no longer be together. Sakura's vitals were dropping quickly and there were a few things she wanted to share with him before it was too late.

"Can you believe we have a baby?" said Rock Lee, smiling through the tears on his face. "Gai-sensei would have been so proud."

Sakura tried to smile despite her eyes threatening to close on her forever. "Lee…I'm so happy…for the time we had together. It has made me…grateful…for my life."

"I'm the one that is grateful," said Rock Lee back to her. "You've made me happier than I ever thought possible. I can't even…"

His sentence ran off as Sakura shook her head, indicating that she was out of time. Her other hand reached up and gently grasped the side of his face, with as much strength as she could muster. She pulled his face down to hers and kissed the tips of his lips before tapping her forehead onto his as the sign of affection they had shared for years.

Then her head fell back onto the pillow on her bed and her vitals tanked. The doctors and nurses scrambled to try and bring her back, but Rock Lee paid no attention to them as he kept a firm grip on her hand and tried to keep his eyes fixed on the woman he had loved and now lost.

After a few minutes, Rock Lee finally let go of her hand, placing it on the middle of her chest as he wiped away his tears and turned to see a nurse approaching him with a small bundle in her arms.

"Master Lee, would you like to hold her?"

The taijutsu master looked at her with shock on his face, as he had legitimately forgotten about the baby for those last few moments before Sakura had died. He placed his hands out and took the tiny thing in his arms, feeling the strange warmth through the woollen clothing that the baby had been clad in. It had stopped crying a few minutes after being born and now seemed content to sit in his arms and move its tiny hands around in front of it.

He'd thought he was out of tears to cry, but holding his baby in his arms didn't even give him a chance to recover as new tears came down his face. His child was surprisingly heavy for its size, but adorably cute in a newborn-way, with a tuff of black hair poking out of the wool hat and a pair of bright green eyes staring up at him with complete wonder in its eyes.

"Have you thought of a name yet?" asked the nurse that had handed him the baby.

Rock Lee smiled warmly and shook his head as he sat down in the chair behind him and began to rock the baby slowly, "We couldn't make up our mind…she's so beautiful."

"Congratulations," said the nurse, though there wasn't much joy in her voice as they were both aware of what the cost had been. She could see that he needed some space; after reminding him that she would need to be fed in a little bit she left him in the room.

He sat there for a long time with his newborn daughter, marvelling at how much life could exist in such a tiny form and then being reminded of what he had just lost as well. He promised his daughter that he would raise her right, and that she would never want for anything.

Everything else, he'd have to figure out as he went along. He still had to grieve as well.

The members of the Council of Six slowly filed into the room, taking their respective seats for the weekly meeting, each talking to the others about their lives beyond their jobs before they had to buckle down for work. Neji was the first to enter, as he generally was the first to arrive and he took his seat quietly, observing the others through his pale white eyes. It had been a long time since he'd worn the garb of the office of Kage, since they had dispensed with the village system, yet he wished he was able to wear it now.

It had been surprisingly comfortable, whereas his work clothing as a Councilman was tight and uncomfortable. Each member had their own garb to wear, but his was the most formal by far.

Taking his seat beside him was the former Kazekage, looking more tired than he had seen in a long time. Gaara had been in negotiations with various Daimyos that had finally been elected, and it had taken an obvious toll on the Tailed Beast container. They were the leaders of their various sections of the city, but they were becoming increasingly blended together and the lines between what used to be Otogakure and Sunagakure had become quite blurred. It was what they had wanted to achieve when they began construction, and now that their vision was coming true it was fascinating to watch it develop.

Though it might mean they'd be voted out of office by the general vote. Such things were now possible.

The next to enter was the former Mizukage, who looked a little out of sorts despite her usual immaculate attire and appearance. There had been rumours of dissent among the former Kirigakure shinobi and she had been working tirelessly to keep their people together as a single people within their newly populated home. As much as anyone at the table, she had been a voice of reason and experience, to counter-act some of the more brash and bold ideas put forth.

The last of the shinobi representatives entered the room with a long flowing cloak behind him that he insisted on wearing despite everyone telling him that it looked ridiculous. He wore the same grin he always did, greeting his fellow Councilmembers with a smile and a handshake before taking his place.

"How are the babies, Naruto?" asked Neji as his companion took his seat.

The blonde shinobi chuckled and produced a pair of photographs that he pushed across the table, "Great, though I'm convinced my wife is going to kill me at some point."

"I think it's great," said Mei with an amused expression on her face. "Though you should give that poor girl a break."

Naruto put up his hands defensively, "Don't give me any grief; I'm doing the best I can. It's not my fault."

"Perhaps you should stop getting her pregnant then," commented Gaara as he took a long sip of the cup of coffee in front of him. He'd been working at developing a better sense of humour and his partner had told that sass would work quite well for someone of his sensibilities.

The look that Naruto gave him that him that his attempt had been successful, though he wasn't sure what the next step was so he continued to drink his coffee even though it was too hot and was burning his tongue.

The door to the Council of Six room opened up and the final two members entered the room. They were Kai Tozomu and Juu Jirachi, the representatives of the civilian population with the city. After the shinobi remnants from the Quiraji War began building a settlement within the areas near the scarred battlefields in the Land of Fire, various groups of civilians that had suffered under the Quiraji's control had offered to assist their efforts under an agreement that they could join the settlement.

After a year of building and an unprecedented level of diplomacy, the city state of Hinansho had been founded in the Land of Fire. Its name had been Naruto's idea; it meant 'haven for all'. They had started with an uneven number of shinobi and civilians, and now they were being brought up higher and higher in population numbers to the extent that the other parts of the continent were paying attention and making offers of alliance.

But their system of governance was very different from the shinobi village system. The various populations within the city had taken it upon themselves to choose representatives for their best interests, and they had elected their previous leaders and the two civilian leaders. In addition, they had decided to also elect one of the largest contributors to the building of Hinansho and someone who had brought in the vast majority of civilians to understand that the shinobi had changed after the Quiraji War.

It had felt like an odd choice to elect Naruto to the Council of Six at first, but after the first weekly meeting he had proven himself a valuable asset and worthwhile member of the Council. There wasn't a single person in the city that didn't believe that any of them deserved their positions, though even with the amount of power they held, the people of Hinansho were empowered to elect the Councilmembers every three years.

After each of them had taken their seats, the Council administrator took attendance and gave a rundown of the results of the previous meeting's decisions. They had just negotiated a new trade agreement with the new Daimyo of the Land of Water and he'd sent a response back, but that wasn't on the agenda for the week.

"What are we going to do about the rumours?" asked Tozomu after the administrator indicated he was ready to begin taking minutes. "I don't like what I'm hearing."

"None of us do," said Neji with his hands clenched in front of his chest on the table. "But this is not a time for obvious military action. Our city is still in its infancy and we cannot make such an aggressive action without knowing all the facts."

Gaara flipped through a set of documents that had been placed in front of his seat before shaking his head with a drawn-out breath. "Even so, this isn't something we can ignore. You are right in that we cannot take aggressive action, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't act. I propose that we sent in a few shinobi on an information-gathering mission and see what they can find."

Before it could be seconded, Naruto coughed loudly to get everyone at the table's attention, "If these rumours are true, that will probably only incite more problems. Shinobi will only exacerbate the anger that these rebels might have with Hinansho."

"Perhaps we can find a peaceful solution to this," suggested Jirachi, pulling up a document from his stack. "I have some diplomatic ties in that area; we have not exhausted all possibilities here yet."

"It's something that we have to monitor, before it turns into another conflict," said Mei with a nod of approval. "But until we get more information, we have other problems to face on the domestic front."

They talked for almost an hour about a variety of issues, which including the continued construction of additional schools and the resolution of conflicts between a few civilians and a group of shinobi who had previously come into contact before the end of the Quiraji War.

By the end of the meeting the Councilmembers were exhausted of talking and had covered everything on the agenda for the session. The way the meetings normally ran was that they would break for lunch for an hour before talking about the issues of the city without the administrator present. In such a volatile continent from the end of the Quiraji War, there were some things that they had to talk about off the books.

But before that, Mei indicated there was one final item she had to discuss before they broke for lunch. They had no items of office as Councilmembers; it was something that had yet to be figured out, but she had decided to symbolically produce a kunai and move it across the table until it sat in the middle between all of them equally.

"I would like to inform the Council that I am withdrawing from my position before the next election period." She looked around the room to garner the reactions of her compatriots, but it occurred to her that these were the most powerful people in the city and likely knew exactly why she was leaving. There were no secrets in the room, despite the nature of their political system. "There will be a new candidate elected from my district at some point."

"I'm sure they will struggle to fill your shoes," said Gaara with a respectful tone. "We should hold off any major decisions that require a vote until your replacement is in place. We're in a fairly good position now, regardless."

Neji stood up from the table and gestured to her with his hand, "Gaara is right, that would be best. We all wish you well on your next venture."

With that, the Council of Six meeting broke up for lunch. Mei would stay on the Council under the next election period, but she doubted that would matter too much as one was coming up relatively soon. The districts were being determined less and less by population types and more by just the areas within Hinansho that the representatives come from. She suspected within a few generations the lines between the old villages won't matter anymore, as the lines between shinobi and civilians were becoming.

During lunch, Naruto tried to pry out information on who the person was that she was leaving the Council and the city for, but Mei remained tight-lipped as she argued it was none of his business, but she kept an amused tone as she didn't want to offend him. After he had given up, she asked him how his children were and looked at the photos he showed her with a smile on her face.

It was nice to see the younger generation moving ahead as they were. She had initially been concerned that having such young shinobi in positions of power would cause instability, but they had proven themselves competent enough that she no longer felt an obligation to remain in an oversight position.

She was tired and wanted a quieter life now. She still had her own life, such as it was, to live.

***Five years after defeat of Benkei***

Sasuke fired off a small cluster of fireballs towards his target and nearly lost his head for the effort. He fell back quickly and put up his hands defensively, trying to deflect the rapid-fire punching that was in his personal space. His Sharingan eyes gave him the advantage of ability, but his opponent was faster than he was and he couldn't deflect every strike without taking some damage. After a few moments he realised that if he kept fighting defensively he was going to lose again.

Suddenly changing his tactics, Sasuke shot forward with a leap, taking his opponent in the chin with his knee while suffering several heavy blows to his shoulders at the same time. His opponent fell back with a stumble, as his strike had been unexpected, but Sasuke wasn't going to relent at such an opportunity.

He dove forward and flicked his wrists to summon two short blades from seals he had placed on them earlier, slicing through the air towards her with an indication that he was willing to kill her to finish the fight. With his Eternal Sharingan granting him the temporary protection of Susanoo, Sasuke blazed through his opponent's final defences and placed his two blades at either side of her throat; giving the clear intention that he would remove her throat at a moment's notice.

"You are beaten," he said with a snarl. "I have won."

Her mind calculated a number of openings she could take advantage of, but none of them were feasible without the battle becoming fatal, so the Uchiha's opponent took in a long breath and motioned with her hands that she was defeated.

With a smirk of triumphant, Sasuke stepped back and held his short blades at his side while his defensive doujutsu slowly faded away. His opponent stood back up to her feet and brushed herself off, barely showing any effects from the battle while the Uchiha shinobi was breathing heavily and knew he was going to have a huge number of bruises on his body.

But he had won, and that was all that mattered to him.

Elika let out a huff and walked over to the side of the battlefield to retrieve her cloak, placing it around her shoulder and shoving her hands into the pockets. "I will admit it, Uchiha. You have defeated me. I now consider you worthy of being with my daughter, at least on a temporary basis."

"We've been partners for nine years and now you give your acceptance?" Sasuke felt a scoff was appropriate, but his ribs hurt something awful and he wasn't willing to give her the satisfaction of seeing him grimace in pain.

The leader of Cascading Flow looked away from him to see the crowd disperse with clear disappointment on their faces, amused at they had expected to happen. "It took you nine years to win. Don't sound so proud of your accomplishment."

"I'll take what I can get," said Sasuke, wary of the battle that he'd been fighting for a long time. He made his way off the battlefield and asked the nearby bartender to mix him a stiff drink. As he pumped back a few shots of spirits, he didn't take notice of what was happening at the other side of the main Cascading Flow area.

As Elika spoke to a few of her subordinates, she noticed a female figure approaching her with a small object in her hands. She would never admit it, but her vision was still a bit shaky from when Sasuke attempted to blind her with a flash of light, so seeing the figure was more difficult than she would have liked.

Yet it didn't take her too long to recognise her daughter, who she had suspected had followed the Uchiha to their current location with his mad quest to gain her approval. She hadn't seen her daughter in a year, though they had corresponded through messages as they regularly did. When she could actually see her properly, she could see that Fiore looked good, even though she still clearly had the effect of looking a little bit older than she should have.

Not as bad as her Uchiha partner, who looked closer to Elika's age than her daughters, but it was still something noticeable. She had a tired look on her face that Elika could have sworn she recognised, but she looked relatively well.

"Nice of you to grace us with your presence, dear daughter," she said with a grin, happy to see that her daughter was still doing well.

Fiore gave no verbal response, but rather she motioned to the bundle in her arms with her head while moving back a part of it to reveal its nature when she came within her mother's area.

Elika's eyes opened wide as she realised what her daughter was trying to show her. Nestled in Fiore's arms was a young child, barely more than a few months old with a thick head of black hair and a big set of rosy cheeks. All the amusement about the previous battle vanished and she smiled warmly at what her daughter was presenting her.

"Mother, I would like you to meet my son."

The leader of Cascading Flow reached forward with one of her hands and felt at the arm of her grandchild, withholding all of her questions for the time being as she was overjoyed for her daughter. She kept to herself that she'd been expecting a grandchild years ago, but she wasn't about to say anything bad at this stage.

"He's beautiful," she said after a few moments. "This explains why you haven't come here for a while. Afraid of how I would react?"

Rocking her child in her arms, Fiore matched her mother's grin, "The last time someone displeased you, you burnt down a castle with them inside it. I think my concern was justified."

"Perhaps," said Elika as she withdrew her hand. With a sly look on her face, she stepped back from her and nodded her head slightly, "If you would excuse me for a moment."

Fiore rolled her eyes as her mother moved away from her and began to march towards where her previous opponent was recovering. Sasuke barely noticed her approach in time before she grabbed him by the collar and hurled him back onto the battlefield to go another set of rounds.

At the sidelines of the battlefield, Fiore showed the gathered Cascading Flow warriors her child while keeping an eye on the battle that was now more in the background than anything. All of the fatigue that Elika had been hiding from the others had disappeared completely and she had begun thrashing the father of her daughter's child up and down the grassy battlefield. Sasuke had burnt out much of his chakra and strength defeating her previously and she now came at him with such ferocity and speed that Sasuke had to essentially take the beating he clearly deserved.

While the others circled around her and remarked about her baby, Fiore motioned towards the combatants with her son's hand in hers. "See over there, Itachi? That's your daddy. He's getting the crap beaten out of him by your grandma. This is why we didn't marry him, no we did not." She had found it hilarious that she was now allowed to use a baby-voice when she talked to her son, and it always got a smile from little Itachi when she did.

While she amused herself with her son, Sasuke lay on the ground under the hard fists of Elika's assault, regretting some of his previous actions in his life. He had chosen this path in the full knowledge of the consequences, but now that he was here he was starting to suspect that he may have taken a misstep at one point or another.

She didn't seem angry with him though, that was something he noticed as she continued to beat him into the ground. Sasuke could have responded and fought for his life, but he didn't want to cause any collateral damage and he'd already gotten his win earlier. Elika was justified and seemed to just want to prove a point.

He'd be feeling it for quite a long time; at least he hoped this was the apex of her reaction.

After nearly twenty minutes, Elika wiped her hands on her jacket and returned to her daughter to admire the adorable child in her arms. She reiterated what she had hoped her daughter had assumed; that she was immensely proud of both her and her child and that she couldn't be happier for her. She didn't promise that she'd treat the child's father any better, as it was far too much fun as it currently was.

She didn't have to ask about the name; that much she felt was right. He even looked like the long deceased shinobi. In the cheeks at the very least.

***Six years after defeat of Benkei***

After finishing up his solo performance, the shinobi that was the container for the Eight-Tails pointed to the young men and women gathered in the room in front of him, scribbling into their notepads and asked them what they thought.

None of them seemed particularly enthusiastic about speaking up, so Killer Bee decided for them and directed his attention to the young man seated directly in front of him. "Kei, what were the main themes presented in that piece?"

The young man scrambled with his notes for a moment before standing up and coughing to get himself going. "The main theme was, as usual, about the fall of the shinobi and your experience in the streets."

Killer Bee nodded and gestured for him to continue.

"There was a few things I missed during the middle section, but I think the gist of it was about you throwing a beat-down on the Nine-Tails container and a…giant fox creature."

"You're close," said Killer Bee, turning his attention to the rest of the class. "When you are rapping, one of the most important things you need to remember is that each theme needs to flow into the next. It isn't just about keeping a beat; it's about feeling it in your soul." He placed his fist on the centre of his chest, "It comes from here."

His students ate up his words and scribbled furiously into their notebooks, while Killer Bee walked back to his desk and tapped his pen on it habitually. He was already planning the next rap that he would demonstrate for them, but before he could begin to perform his next masterpiece he saw a figure standing in the doorway, staring at him intently.

Recognising the figure with a sigh, Killer Bee cracked his neck loudly and dismissed his class for the day, giving them a short rhythm assignment for the next day and waiting until the classroom was empty to turn his attention to the intruder. "How many times are we going to do this?"

The figure stepped into the room and pulled out two angular swords from her back before giving him a sharp-toothed grin, "Until I beat you. This time will be different, old man."

Killer Bee reached into his desk and retrieved his sunglasses, placing them on his face before motioning for her to follow him outside. Despite the obvious challenge, she seemed content to wait until he was ready, her body itching to get going as he retrieved his blades from their holding place and they emerged into the training field that was attached to his little school.

"The outcome will not change, little girl. Just because I'm not active anymore doesn't mean you can take down the boss."

Ameyuri snarled at him and flicked her hands to activate the lightning along her Kiba blades, "Shut your face, old man, and fight. I am sick of my defeats by your hand hanging over my head."

Hearing his occupant egging him on, Killer Bee undid the strap containing his swords and flung them into the air between them.

Clearly she wasn't going to listen to reason. That much hadn't changed.

oOoOoOo

Ameyuri covered herself with the blanket and glanced over at her opponent, shaking her head for several moments. "How does it keep ending up like this?"

The Eight-Tails container grinned beneath the sunglasses that he had kept on the whole time and placed his hands behind his head casually, "Don't look at me, kiddo. You're the one who keeps coming back. It's hardly my fault you can't handle me."

The ex-Swordsman breathed through her sharp teeth angrily, but couldn't find any words to deny his statement. Shaking her head, Ameyuri threw the blanket off herself and launched herself out of the bed in a vain attempt to find the clothes she had so brashly thrown around his room. After a few moments of searching she threw up her hands in defeat and turned around to see Killer Bee watching her intently.

She wasn't self-conscious about being looked at; Ameyuri had a long history of using everything at her disposal to get what she needed, though that usually involved people underestimating her to their own doom. No, it was the fact that he still had the habit of looking down on her.

She hadn't won his respect yet. That might have been due to the running tally of fourteen battles between with the two of them, with none of them ending in her favour.

It was infuriating, but no more so than the fact that he was yet to take her seriously since their battle before the fall of Kirigakure. She'd trained every day against a variety of foes, but he was always the obstacle she couldn't overcome.

She still had no idea how they kept ending up in bed together though. That part still mystified her.

"You can show yourself out, whenever you are ready," said Killer Bee as he stood up from the bed and retrieved a robe from a nearby clothes-hanger.

Watching him put on the robe and cover up the numerous cuts and wounds that he had accumulated over the years was a secret indulgence of Ameyuri's, though partially because she liked to count the ones that she herself had inflicted upon him that he hadn't let heal completely. Despite the small peep show, Ameyuri still felt compelled to speak her mind on something that had been bothering her since they had begun their fight a few hours earlier. "I think I preferred you when you only spoke in rap. You seemed to have more joy in you then."

"The woman who constantly tries to kill me is going to give me life advice?" Killer Bee had to laugh at the notion. "You sound like the Eight-Tails."

"Is it because of your village?" She wasn't sure why she was making conversation with him, but it seemed an appropriate thing to do, particularly since she suspected they may have destroyed her shinobi clothes in the throes of passion.

Even with his sunglasses on, she could see his expression darken at the mention of his destroyed home. They had all lost people during the war with the Quiraji, but only Killer Bee could claim the status of being the sole survivor of an entire people. He had secluded himself in the Land of Lightning and kept himself steady by teaching his musical craft to the select few that wished to learn, despite repeated attempts from Hinansho to bring him into their nation.

He had chosen to let Kumogakure die with him and that was all there was to it. Ameyuri didn't care much about his motivations, but as someone who had tangled with him over the years it was troubling to her to see someone of such a grand stature lead such a basic life.

The fact that he could still thrash her into submission with little-to-no training involved still ate at her though and kept her coming back. He was the closest thing she had to a friend.

"I only rap to perform for my students now," said Killer Bee, harkening back to her question. "What I tell them about rap is true; it comes from the heart and the soul." He pulled up one of his large hands and clenched it for a few seconds before releasing it, "There isn't much of that left in me."

He turned back to her and saw the pity in her expression, which was enough to make him keep his gaze at her face rather than at the rest of her. He could feel himself getting annoyed at the situation and turned back around to tie up his robe, "You should leave now, kiddo. I'm not in the mood for any other games today."

Ameyuri didn't apologise, rather she decided that if she wasn't able to find her own clothes she would simply use one of his and return to her small apartment in Hinansho to reconsider her options. She rifled through his wardrobe for a little while before finding a robe that fit her that wasn't too garish.

"I'm borrowing this robe," she stated without caring whether he would let her or not, slipping it over her shoulders and letting it fall over her body before she flicked her long red hair out the back.

"Keep it," said Killer Bee shortly as he reached into a drawer in his desk and produced a small notepad that was covered in dust. He blew the dust off and opened it carefully, silently absorbing the words he himself had written down on the day he had stood in the place that had once been his home and realised how empty it then was.

The Eight-Tails within him made no comment as Ameyuri excused herself and promised that she would return when she was stronger, retrieving her Kiba blades from the outside battleground and leaving his school. The Tailed Beast had lived with Killer Bee a long time and knew when its advice was warranted and when it wasn't. It had been dealing with the grief of losing not only the Six-Tails, but also the Seven-Tails during the falling of the Quiraji bombs. The meaning behind those actions would forever change the remaining Tailed Beasts, even though it suspected it would not see the rest of them for a very long time.

Not everyone got a happy ending. Both Killer Bee and the Eight-Tails knew as much, but that didn't stop them from living their lives.

Their days of fighting wars were over and they were satisfied with their current lot. That was enough.

***Twelve years after defeat of Benkei***

Yamanaka Ino opened up the door to her house with the silver key on her keychain and immediately felt all the tension leave her shoulders after another day at work had finished. Her body had only just gotten used to the erratic pace that the hospital demanded of her, but she made good money from it and enjoyed helping people so she wasn't going to complain any time soon.

The open air of her living room was a welcome relief though. She had about five hours before she was on call; being the second-in-command gave her a lot of responsibility and she had to make her presence felt on the floor of the hospital.

After placing her bag on the kitchen counter and fixing herself a small drink of honey to help her take a long nap before her shift, Ino turned around and leaned her back against the counter. It was then that she noticed the pair of bags sitting on top of the dining table, both of which she recognised; she'd bought them herself.

"What are those bags doing down here?" she called out to the seemingly empty house. She didn't need her sensory techniques to tell when she wasn't alone, but it also due to her knowledge of schedules.

Upstairs she could hear the movement of feet dashing from one room to the next for several seconds before a figure appeared at the top of the staircase and popped its head out to see her standing in the kitchen. Though she bore no blood relation to Ino, the only daughter of Asuma and Kurenai had grown up to look very similar to her, with her brunette hair long and straight down to her waist with a single strand in front of one of her eyes and she had started to wear similar clothing to those that Ino had worn during her time as a working shinobi.

Having seen it from the other side, Ino had baulked at the image of her daughter in such clothing, but just as she had discovered when her daughter had gotten her belly-button pierced and had gotten herself a boyfriend, Ino knew that she had little real power in compelling her to stop doing things.

"Mum! I thought you had a later shift!" It was clear by the look in the eye that wasn't covered up by hair and the tone of voice that she was trying to conceal something and failing miserably, which Ino always found difficult to work out in relation to her daughter. Airi was a walking lie-detector with her telepathic abilities, though it took up chakra for her to do so and she had, so far, expressed no interest in pursuing a career as a shinobi. Yet she was still a teenage girl and prone to lying when it suited her and Ino was accustomed to sorting out fact from fiction.

"That was yesterday," said Ino as she took a long sip from her drink. She indicated to the objects on the dining table, "Mind explaining the bags? Are you going somewhere?"

Airi made her way down the stairs slowly with a small cluster of jewellery in her hand, "I…uh…thought you knew."

Ino's daughter was not a good liar by any capacity, but the medical shinobi could appreciate the effort she put into it, however pathetic. "Enlighten me, as the forgetful old lady that I am."

Her daughter moved in front of her and slipped the jewellery into one of the bags before turning to give her a serious look, "I was given the opportunity to study across the sea at the new settlement, as I've told you a bunch of times."

She hadn't told her even once, but Ino wasn't going to call her on that just yet. "And what exactly would you be studying? Dance? Musical poetry? Literature?"

The look Airi gave her could have burnt a hole through a wall of stone. "Mother, you know that was just a time in my life when I was exploring different creative arts. I don't appreciate you making fun of me for that."

Ino put up her hands defensively, recognising that her daughter was still smarting from the previous year's studies that had caused her mother no small amount of amusement. "So this overseas study…is it something you were offered by the Council?"

"Yes it was…how did you know that?"

She didn't have to be a mind-reader to figure out what had happened and why she had been left out of the loop until now. Airi's abilities made her the perfect choice for a spy and her relatively serious attitude towards everything gave her a unique perspective on an issue that had been plaguing Hinansho since they had started to expand their influence beyond the continent they had started on.

But Airi was sixteen and not wise enough to understand when she was potentially being used for political purposes. Ino would have to see her have a bad experience and return with scars to tell a horrific story.

As if reading her mind, because she likely was, Airi sighed and turned around to place her hands on the back of one of the chairs at the dining table. "I know it's not something you are excited about, but it's a great opportunity, Mum. I'm going with a group of people that are on the same mission. Shikayuu and Hanabi are going too."

It shouldn't have mattered, but the knowledge that Shikamaru's daughter was accompanying was the most comforting thing that she had heard so far. The young woman was more mature than most people Ino's age and had sensibilities that rivalled most of their leaders.

Most of those benefits were offset by the knowledge that Naruto's hellcat was joining them, but with that much influence going she felt less concerned that Airi was getting in over her head. She was the oldest of the new generation of people that were likely to take up leadership positions in the future and Ino knew that she would have to let her little girl out into the world eventually.

She liked to think she had power, but Ino doubted she could say anything to stop Airi from going.

With that apparently decided in her mother's mind, Airi's face broke out into a grin and she turned around to kiss her on the cheek before returning to packing her bags. Ino sighed loudly as the signal of her attempt at resistance and drained the rest of her drink while Airi ran back upstairs to grab more things out of her room.

Perhaps now might be a good time to tell her about the birds and the bees…at least give her a good education as to what to expect in relation to boys.

The thought was enough to cause Airi to respond with a loud derisive snort within her head, though that was quickly replaced by a gurgle of disgust as Ino flooded her mind with disturbing images from her own memories of particularly graphic gynaecological examinations.

There were times when having a telepathic daughter was advantageous as well.

While Airi continued to pack in her room upstairs, Ino finished her drink and began washing up when she heard the door open behind her. Wiping her hands on her shirt, knowing she'd have to clean it anyway, she smiled widely and reached forward to kiss the man on the lips affectionately.

She heard another snort of derision in her head as she suspected her daughter had seen them from the stairs, but she paid no attention as the man placed his coat on the nearby hook and ran a hand through her blonde hair before asking her how her day was.

It wasn't a particularly complex life that Ino had now, but she was grateful for every moment she could get. She told him about Airi's trip, to which he responded that he assumed she had already known about it.

He was less forgivable than her adopted daughter was, but Ino wasn't about to argue the point at this stage.

After all, she figured Airi would want to go out with her friends relatively soon before she left for her trip, which would give them some private time that they desperately needed.

But not before scarring her daughter a little bit more so that she didn't take up smoking or other bad habits. Being Asuma's daughter gave her a propensity towards it, at least that's what Ino assumed. She had to scare her somehow. That seemed like all she did as a mother of a teenager now.

***Eighteen years after defeat of Benkei***

Tapping his foot on the wooden surface, Sasuke sighed in boredom and leaned on the side of the ship. "Why the hell did I have to come along?" he complained for the third time since beginning the trip.

Beside him, a long haired woman came up to him and shoved him with her shoulder. "Because the world clearly hates you, that's why."

Sasuke grinned and spun around to pinch the woman on the backside. "Yet you came along. You could have stayed with the kids."

"Not on your life." Fiore took a long breath and pulled at her shirt to try and air it out. "You aren't the only one who needs a break from those two at times."

Sasuke nodded and walked her to the upper deck of the ship. "Is Eya still demanding to be taught by Naruto?"

"I think she's jealous of Itachi's training under Mother. I don't think you understand how dangerous she has been making him. Your insistence about the Uchiha clan still eats at her."

Sasuke scoffed and tapped the wooden barrier in front of them. "I don't care about that. As long as he stays away from Naruto's daughter, I don't care what he learns."

"Oh, build a bridge, Sasuke. The girl is perfectly fine; you just have that stupid rivalry with her father. He built a nation, you know. Besides, the twins are lovely children."

"Don't remind me." Sasuke looked around at the ship they were sailing on, taking a moment to glare at the sailor in the crow's nest. "Something's up."

Fiore nodded, she could feel it as she looked out across the sea. When they had set out it had been clear skies and a light breeze, it had been several hours and she hadn't been on the deck for too long.

So the encroaching fog that was drawing towards only unsettled her a small amount.

Sasuke on the other hand, had been up on the deck the entire time, and considering their mission he was highly concerned about how quickly the white fog was moving towards them.

"Fiore, signal the other ship to retreat back to the capital."

"What? We were told to only do that if the rebels were spotted. I don't see anything."

Sasuke turned to the woman he'd spent a third of his life with and put a concerned hand on her shoulder, "I know you never listen to me, but trust my instincts. Just send the signal, and then come back here while I speak to the captain."

Seeing how serious he was looking at her, Fiore gnashed her teeth and turned around to give a few hand signals to the sailor at the other side of the ship. They had only been given a few basic orders and an overriding order to take command if necessary and the sailors recognised them as very powerful fighters that had helped forge the city nation that they were all beholden to.

So when Fiore gave him an order, the sailor jumped to comply. He pulled out a small firework marker and lit it with a match, sending a long green flare spiralling into the air above the battleship they were sailing on. They had been on the water for a while now with a trail of similarly armed battleships behind them, though that was mostly a precaution as they had been sent to lay waste to a specific rebel location that had been suspiciously empty.

Upon seeing the signal, the three battleships following them sent off their own signals in acknowledgement of the order before turning around and making their way back to the mainland.

With that done, Fiore turned back around to see Sasuke staring into the approaching fog with his Eternal Sharingan activated and his chakra fluctuating around him. He was clearly worried about something; she'd known him long enough to figure that out, but she couldn't quite pick up on every cue from his back.

It was impossible to really know Sasuke completely, but she was okay with that. Part of her attraction to him was the aura of mystery that he exuded. That and other reasons as well.

"We need to go out there," he said as she came up behind him to check up on him. "Without the others."

"Is that really necessary? We have the power of a battleship behind us." Fiore tried to look through the growly dense fog and couldn't see anything, but her partner wouldn't be reacting the way he was unless he could see something with his doujutsu.

Sasuke ignored her for the moment and bit at his finger while turning to regard the ship's captain above their position on the deck. "Captain, you need to follow the other battleships back to the mainland. This is a fight where you guys will suffer too much collateral damage."

The captain wasn't about to argue with the Uchiha shinobi, having worked with him in the past and knowing that he was only thinking about saving the crew's lives rather than personal glory.

Running through the handseals, Sasuke summoned a large hawk and leapt onto its back, not needing to signal Fiore to follow him on her wooden platform as he took to the skies and flew straight into the fog. She followed behind him quickly and the two of them disappeared within the fog from the sailors' on the battleship's view.

Trusting that the two renowned fighters could handle themselves, the captain of the battleship occupied himself with keeping the ship on track to return to the mainland with the rest of the fleet, praying that the two of them returned so that he wouldn't have to explain to the Council what had happened over the past week.

Since he had no idea and didn't want to know.

oOoOoOo

The fog was more dangerous than either of them had thought; though Sasuke was glad he had thought to keep his Eternal Sharingan activated as his Susanoo extended around himself and his hawk instinctively. Fiore suspected it was just a precaution, but she flew close to his Susanoo to be safe as they followed Sasuke's eyes closer to the ocean's surface.

The fog finally broke, but neither of them saw what they had been expecting.

There was a large empty zone of ocean beneath them, with a single figure standing on the surface with his gauntleted hands pointed towards the fog-covered skies. He wore a large set of plated red armour that appeared to bellow out the fog that was expanding out around them.

They both recognised him immediately, though not because they had had previous contact with him.

He had been on their watch list for years; none of them had truly believed that he had disappeared or died during the fall of the Quiraji bombs.

The container of the Five-Tails slowly dropped his arms and shifted his gaze to the two warriors that had intruded on his sanctum.

Sasuke and Fiore shared a look for a moment before they both descended towards the ocean's surface to stand at their foe's level. Fiore wasn't able to stand on the water like the two shinobi were able to, so she stayed on her platform, but Sasuke dismissed his hawk and kept his doujutsu defensive technique active, wary of what he knew about the man before them.

"Ah, more subjects have arrived." His voice sounded strained but unconcerned over their presence, while fog continued to pour out of the back of his armour. It had originally been designed for steam, but for the moment it served his purpose as the less-harmful gas.

Fiore knelt down on her wooden platform and placed her hand over the edge in preparation, "We can't take it easy here. You know the word on this guy."

Sasuke cracked his neck loudly and reached for the sword behind his back, moulding as much chakra as he could while maintaining his Susanoo, "We'll go for Slicing Whirlwind. If he transforms, we'll have to retreat."

"Not going to say anything?" The Five-Tails container felt at his red gauntlets for a moment before clenching them into fists and taking a step back into a stance. The fog that was pouring out of his armour changed composition and began to emanate an acidic green steam.

Sasuke and Fiore engaged Han before he could set up his defences any further, with the Cascading Flow warrior segmenting off tiny sections of her wooden platform to use as projectiles while Sasuke blasted at their foe with a combination of fire and lightning ninjutsu.

oOoOoOo

Hours later, Sasuke and Fiore limped onto the mainland, flopping onto the sand with groans of exhaustion and pain. Sasuke's entire right side was numb and Fiore suspected she might lose her right hand to poison, but they had survived their encounter and that was more than they could say for their opponent.

Neither of them would ever tell anyone how they defeated Han though. Some things were better left untold, particularly when it came to finishing off someone as psychotic and delusional as he was.

In a strange way, Sasuke suspected that Han had wanted them to kill him. He had fought harder than either of them had expected, but at the end the fact that he had shown himself and fought them directly was far too suspicious.

Regardless, it was over now. At least, that's what they hoped.

They would hate to have to fight that battle again.

***Forty-five years after defeat of Benkei***

The dust storms had settled down for the first time in two decades. It had been a treacherous place to traverse, with only scattered villages along the ocean's edge and those closest to the borders to the rest of the shinobi world able to survive.

It was as if the land itself was grieving, though only the most spiritual of beings truly believed as such. As he felt the sand moving around him, the One-Tails container felt an odd sense of peace that he hadn't felt in a long time. His senses could feel every movement within the ground beneath his feet, yet there was a great emptiness that held a strange comfort within his soul.

It had been decades since Gaara had been in the Land of Wind; he wouldn't have returned at all if not for the spurring of the young woman that had accompanied him. He had sixty-five years on his ticket and she had barely eighteen, yet his time with her had shown him that she was far wiser than he'd ever been at that age.

She pulled back her hood to reveal a long mane of bright red hair, free-flowing in the winds despite the hours she had spent previously taking care of it. The sun seemed to brighten up her wide-eyed expression and Gaara had to admit that her good mood was infectious.

"This place is amazing," she said with excitement in her voice. She knelt down and picked up a small cluster of sand, feeling it through the tips of her fingers before blowing it away into the wind. "Is this where you were born?"

Even through his wrinkles, Gaara found it easy enough to express his amusement at her excitement. "Not quite. I was born in the village, as was everyone at that time. We'll be there soon."

His companion's eyes lit up at that and she bounded ahead of him, uncaring about the fact that she was getting ahead of herself and they had to conserve their energy. Gaara smiled as he saw the spectre of her grandmother in her shadow with each step, though that didn't last long before a cloud of depression struck him once again.

That was why he had allowed her to convince him to return here. He needed some time away from the grief-helpers and well-wishers.

"Are you coming, Grandpa Gaara?" shouted his companion as he realised she had gotten further and further away from him.

The former Kazekage gave her a wave to indicate that he was okay and motioned with one of his hands to create a small sand platform to carry him towards her. As he landed beside her, he reached out and brushed a small cluster of sand from the side of her red hair, "Sorry about that, Saishi. I just got caught up in my own memories."

"Thinking about Grandma again, right?" She wasn't sure what she was meant to say, as it had only been recently that they'd lost her, but she hoped that their trip would be able to bring some light back into his eyes. She knew as much about their people's history as anyone alive, but until she saw it for herself she couldn't call herself a historian.

Gaara didn't reply to her statement, as even now he wasn't one to display his emotions openly. The two of them travelled for a few more minutes in the desert, with Gaara looking around to see that the decades of sand storms had covered much of the desert and many of the landmarks were gone. It wasn't something he would have thought possible, as there had been lots of mountains and walls that had been erected during the Shinobi Wars nearly a century ago.

They were all gone. Even as they completed the first part of their journey and came to the area of the Land of Wind that Gaara knew had held the place of his birth, there was nothing left.

The village of Sunagakure had been swept away by the sands of the desert. The graves they had dug and placed stones in them were covered under layers of sand that would take a normal person months to dig to, while the ruined buildings of the village and the rubble from the final battle was all gone.

His granddaughter asked him whether they were in the right place or not, and Gaara slowly nodded before rolling up his sleeves and placing his hands out in front of him.

He didn't regret leaving the Land of Wind to help establish Hinansho, as they had enjoyed decades of prosperity and things couldn't be better for shinobi/civilian relations. He'd wondered whether he had done the right thing as the last Kazekage, and now his son sat on the Council of Six in the same position he had sat in for a long time.

Despite those thoughts lingering in his mind, Gaara still summoned up a massive amount of chakra and blasted away the sand in front of the two of them. It took more effort than he would have thought, though Shukaku was quick to remind him that he was older now and couldn't take as many liberties with himself than he used to.

He hadn't told his old friends or family yet, but he didn't plan on returning to Hinansho. He suspected Saishi knew his plan, as she had packed far more in their backpacks than he would have thought necessary, but she'd always been the more perceptive of his descendants. That was why he'd enjoyed his time with her more than the others, and why he'd allowed her to go on such a trip in the first place.

Otherwise, he doubted she would have left Hinansho at all. She wasn't a shinobi; she had no capacity for chakra as she'd inherited from her father, a civilian, but that meant little in the modern world.

As the sand blasted away in front of them, the remnants of the village were slowly revealed in front of them. The pieces of broken siege engines and shells had been destroyed over time, though there were still small amounts that he noticed before the main sections of Sunagakure were revealed to them.

It was a profound moment for both of them. Gaara had always held onto the memory of his home before he had left it, but now that it was laid out before him he knew that such a place no longer existed.

Sunagakure had become something else, once again. He had mixed feelings about it, but that was nothing compared to his younger companion.

Saishi gasped at what she saw in front of her, it looked nothing like the paintings that former Sunagakure shinobi had made for their history. The walls that had been revealed beneath the sand were cracked and mostly destroyed, as would any place that hadn't had anyone living in it for over forty years. It had been a freak of nature that the village and most of the surrounding desert had suffered the world sandstorms in memory, yet seeing the village now and her grandfather's reaction had convinced her that she had made the right decision to come.

There was so much to learn and investigate. She could barely contain herself.

But first, they had something they had to do.

The two of them moved into the village proper, paying no heed to the obvious signs of the sacking, until they came to the place near the back of the village that had contained a cluster of statues that were now mostly destroyed.

It was the shrine to the former Kazekages and their families. Every member of their families had been buried here at one point or another, and as the last Kazekage Gaara had wanted to make the trek as a final memento to the old ways of their people.

"Would you like me to wait here?" asked Saishi as they approached the shrine, knowing that it was something very personal for him.

Gaara shook his head and placed his arm around his granddaughter, letting her walk him towards their destination before they came to the statue that represented the Fifth Kazekage. It had been destroyed down to its feet, as had all the others, but his name was still etched there and a plot had been laid out for his family.

Reaching into the backpack his granddaughter had packed for him, Gaara produced a small urn that he placed on the ground in front of the shrine's plot. With a wave of his hands he moved away the sand beneath it and buried it within, before the both of them placed their hands together and said a silent prayer.

Goodbye, Matsuri said Gaara within his mind, hoping that she heard him. Inside his mindscape, he could hear the One-Tails saying a similar thing, as the Tailed Beast had developed quite a good connection with his wife over the years and time they had spent in his mindscape. A little trick he had learnt from Naruto that had paid off quite well.

"I'm sure Grandma would have liked this," said Saishi after a few minutes, when she felt it was appropriate. "She really loved you; everyone could always tell."

Gaara closed his eyes and hung his head, determined not to show his grief to his favourite grandchild. They had come all this way for a few reasons, but one of those had been so that she could study their old culture and see if there were any relics that could be brought back to Hinansho for historical purposes. Her field was not a particularly popular one in the city, as much of the newer generations had little interest in remembering the past. They only wanted to focus on the future, and that frustrated her to no end.

"Where would you like to go first?" asked Gaara eventually, not wanting to bring her down with his melancholy. "I can use my abilities to remove the sand over any areas you want to explore."

Saishi smiled warmly at him, but put up her hands to deny his request. She reached into her own pack and produced a large shovel and a pair of glasses that had a detachable microscope. "As a historian, I should find things on my own, Grandpa. I know you have things that you want to do here anyway and I should do my own thing."

"If that's what you would like," said the former Kazekage softly. He was a little disappointed she didn't want his help, but he was also relieved that she understood when he needed time for himself.

There were many things that he wanted to do in his former village, though most of them would first involve making sure that a sandstorm wouldn't come back to claim his old home once again. From their discussions on the journey here, he suspected Saishi would want to be here for a while and that would be fine by him.

He had no intention of leaving again. There was too much to do here, and too little remaining in Hinansho to keep him there. After he had spent enough time setting things up, he planned on letting Shukaku out of its seals and back into the world, as it had earned its freedom and he had made his peace with the consequences.

But for now, he was going to sort out a few things and enjoy the time he had with his favourite granddaughter. There were worse ways to end a life.

***Fifty-nine years after defeat of Benkei***

The house was quiet.

It had been this way for a long time, but he really noticed it for the first time when he sat down at the dining table and he realised that besides the place that he usually had his rice bowl, tea cup and fish plate, the rest of the table had a fine layer of dust on top of it.

There were no sounds in the house besides the slow boiling of his kettle behind him. The house had been designed to keep outside noises from entering within, but it made his ears ring at how quiet things were.

The former Otokage and founding father of Hinansho ate his breakfast in a dull silence, going about the daily routine of his life. Neji's muscles creaked with each motion of his hands and legs as he finished up his food and began washing his dishes. He still wore the faded black and white Hyuuga robes that he'd had made after they had built the house for the family, though things had not turned out how he had wished.

Despite his intentions, he had not been the one to bring about the revival of the Hyuuga clan. He and Yuko had had three children and they had subsequently had families of their own, but none of them had kept the Hyuuga name and the Byakugan had not been passed down. He suspected it had something to do with the seal he had removed, but Neji had not been the patriarch of the revived Hyuuga clan as he had thought he would have been.

That wasn't to say the Hyuuga clan was gone, however. Just that he hadn't created the legacy he had wanted to.

And now here he was, in an empty house, living out his life day-by-day.

Neji sat down on one of the cushioned seats and looked across his living room, taking notice of each of the memories that adorned the walls. He had pictures from each of his family members and various achievements they had accomplished over the years. He was particularly proud of the achievements of his three children, though he hadn't had much connection with their children.

They didn't come to visit him anymore, not since Yuko had died. She had been the main driving force between keeping the family together at gatherings, and that took too much energy for him to do anymore.

He didn't mind though. Neji's life had been full of many different interactions with a variety of people over the years, and a part of him was grateful for the quiet life that he now led.

It was lonely though, he couldn't deny that. At times he wished he had someone to talk to just so that he could remember the sound of voices that weren't his own.

Reaching onto the table in front of him, Neji opened up a book and began reading the pages as quickly as his failing eyesight would let him. It was something he knew he had read several times before, but he couldn't quite remember what it was about. Each time he read it felt like a new experience, though whether or not that was a good thing or not, he couldn't quite say.

Neji was now waiting. It wasn't the worst thing in the world. He had created a place for his people to thrive and he had led a long and mostly happy life.

For everything he had done, he had no regrets.

***Sixty-two years after defeat of Benkei***

It had been a logistical nightmare to organise and they had to hire a caterer just to feed everyone for the few days they would be here, but after the last person had arrived they felt completely at home in their household with all of their family around them.

They hadn't been able to fit in the living room or the dining room, so they had decided to hold the lunch in the courtyard in the middle of their housing complex, with a giant table able to hold every member of the family that had arrived and they shared in the festivities and the food provided to them.

At the start, each of them gave the two recipients a loud cheer and well-wishing tributes, with both Naruto and Hinata sitting together at the end of the table with wide smiles on their elderly faces. It had been one of their children's ideas to gather everyone in the family together for their wedding anniversary and now that they saw everyone together in one place it brought an unimaginable joy to their hearts to see everyone they cared about.

While their extended family eating the feast that had been laid out in front of them, Naruto and Hinata amused themselves by making small observations about the people in their lives.

"I think Hoyu is a little bit drunk," said Hinata while she held her husband's hand on top of the table.

Naruto chuckled and grimaced as he felt his sore ribs rubbing against his chest, "I don't blame him; I've spent time with his wife."

Besides them, their eldest children were sitting with their respective partners and watching their grandchildren running around making a lot of noise. "I still think he could take him," said Hanabi while she threw back a shot of sake and let out a loud gasp in response. "Even in his best form, I don't think he could handle the combination of ninjutsu and the clones."

Her twin brother shook his head as he generally did when arguing with his sister, "I love Father as much as the next person, but there is no proof to show that he could have defeated the former Otokage in his best form. They never fought and Neji was extremely powerful in his prime."

While their eldest children argued, Naruto resisted the urge to tell them what had happened when his cousin-in-law and he had fought after the establishment of Hinansho, primarily as an example of competitive sparring for the next generation of shinobi. His wife had been there and a few others, but in practice they had almost killed each other and decided to not use each other as a demonstration.

"I can't believe everyone came at once," said Hinata as she looked over their extended family. "It really is lovely to see them all again."

"I heard that Ginyu's wife is pregnant as well," said Naruto as he glanced down the large table to one of his grandchildren with his brothers around him. "So there might be more great grandchildren that will join the clan."

His wife didn't respond verbally, but she squeezed his hand to show her response and she tried to stay awake at the table. Both of them had been having a few problems over the past few years and this much energy in one place was exhausting even to them, so Naruto knew that they wouldn't be able to spend much time with their family before they needed to excuse themselves to take a nap.

"I heard that Minato got into Hinansho University," came one of the voices of his children, though Naruto couldn't recognise it immediately. "He'll go far, that one. Maybe even political."

"But what about Zabu's election though? We Hyuuga can't have too much influence on the Council; otherwise people will think we're trying to take over."

"Actually I heard she was going to leave her position for one of her opponents because of the controversy with her daughter."

The conversation continued, but Naruto found it difficult to follow so he turned back to his wife to see that Hinata was struggling to keep herself awake more and more, which told him that they would have to go.

He slowly rose from the table amid the chaotic conversations and he was immediately assisted by one of his great children, who was barely older than twelve, while their youngest child helped Hinata to their feet. They all understood that they were both elderly and needed lots of rest, but they expressed their gratitude to their family members for coming and promised that they would be back in a few hours to hear about all the things that their great grandchildren had gotten up to.

They were helped into bed and both of them apologised for their state, but their family members dismissed their concerns and bade them to get their rest before returning to the courtyard to continue the feast.

"We're very lucky, aren't we?" said Hinata as she adjusted her pillow and reached forward to pull the blanket over herself. "I wouldn't trade this for anything."

Naruto settled in beside her and smiled as he felt her falling asleep beside him. They had had a wonderful time with themselves up to this point and he was extremely grateful for the things they had done and experienced.

You don't have long, you know that.

He didn't need the Kyuubi's reminder to know that. The two of them were in the same situation; particularly as two of the last of their generation still alive.

He didn't have any regrets or things that he wished he'd had more time to do. He'd been blessed with the people and family that he'd always craved as a child and he could never say that he'd been bored with their lives.

But they weren't going to go now. They had more celebrations to enjoy once they woke up.

Their family was waiting.

Author's Note:

And after nearly three years, this story comes to a close. It's been an interesting experience to write such a long story within a single universe and a single big story. I tried to utilise every character introduced in the manga and incorporate them in a meaningful way, but there were times when that was probably being stretched.

The main reason I kept writing this story, besides the fact that I wanted to know how it was going to go and use a bunch of different little ideas to make a larger story, was because it gave me a reason to practice my writing and get feedback on it. I'm very grateful to everyone that reviewed my story and gave me feedback, as it has helped me write better and craft better stories for the future. I won't say that I won't ever come back to writing fanfictions again, as I have plenty of ideas, but now my first goal with my writing is to write one of the novel ideas that I've been floating around for a while and try to get that published, to compliment the short stories that I've already gotten published.

Again, thank you for indulging me with this story and I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Please review and tell me what you think. I try to take each review into account, and believe me I read them all. Tell me what can be improved, what you liked, what you didn't, everything. I'm a writer so I'm always open to criticism.