(Note: "Naruto" - denotes lyrics of the song)
Shikamaru groaned.
He definitely felt like he's been bulldozed by a train and over. He noticed Temari beside him, leaning on his right shoulder. Sitting up, Shikamaru moved her gently so that her head would be lying on his thighs instead. He brushed a few hairs out of her face, a small smile forming on his lips. He heard the others moving.
"Ughhh. I feel like I've been hit by a truck ten times over." Kiba moaned with Akamaru whining in agreement.
"Kiba, Stop being so overdramatic." Ino rolled her eyes while unconsciously leaning against Sai, who was smiling (creepily) at all of them.
Shikamaru honestly felt the same. However, he's not stupid enough to voice it out. Kiba, on the other hand, simply stuck out his tongue in response. Chouji and Hinata smiled at them. The latter was helping Yamato-taichou sit upright, while Sakura worked her magic on him.
From his left, Shikamaru could sense the Young Kazekage approaching, no doubt to check over her sister. On his far-right, he could see Tsunade-sama healing the other Kages and Shinobis. And surprisingly, Kakashi was hunched over Sasuke's shoulder.
Meanwhile, Naruto was ecstatically conversing with the Reanimated Yondaime, who simply listened intently to his son in endearment.
From the looks of it, aside from Team 7, the reanimated Hokages, and the weird floating guy, only Team 8 and 10, Sai, Yamato-san, the Kazekage, Fifth Hokage, and a few nameless Shinobis were awake.
"-And then, and then. Kakashi-sensei and I-"
However, before Naruto could finish whatever story he was retelling, The Rikudou Sennin cut in.
"Naruto-" He started solemly, "-I can grant you the one thing you yearn the most. After all, it's the least you deserve from saving humanity from perishing."
Naruto looked at him stupidly before responding, "Ramen?"
And silence.
"YOU IDIOT!" Sakura sprinted next to his side and smacked Naruto in the head, hard.
Minato chuckled beside his son. From a few meters away, Kakashi and Tsunade simply shook their heads in exasperation. But, there's a definite fondness in their eyes. One by one, the Shinobi smiled with affection in their antics.
"But, Sakura-chan. I'm starving." Naruto complained petulantly.
"Idiot." Sasuke sighed disappointingly (fondly). Naruto quickly spun around to face him.
"What was that, Sasuke-teme?" Naruto remarked annoyingly which earned another punch from Sakura. Naruto childishly massaged the bruise forming in his poor head.
And with that, the entire battlefield fell into laughter.
Gaara was now standing next to Shikamaru, whispering how Naruto never changed, while helping his slowly awakening sister. Shikamaru grinned in affirmation (and warmth). Sakura, on the other hand, moved away from Naruto when the Rikudou Sennin approached closer. Instead, she went towards Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei.
The Rikudou Sennin shook his head in amusement, "No, Naruto. What I meant to say is-" he looked at Naruto gravely in the eye, "-I could bring your father back to life."
Both Blonds (aka Minato and Naruto) looked at him. Astonished. The former looking a little bit skeptical while the latter was full of eagerness and hope.
"But you must understand, the Law of Life* dictates: To obtain something, anything, another of equal value must be lost. In other words, another life must be given in return."
Everyone stilled, Naruto's smile froze on his face.
The Yondaime seemed to have expected the Rikudou Sennin's response. Not that, any of them did not. After all, it was just too good to be true.
Minutes passed.
Everyone held their breaths as they waited for Naruto to speak up.
"By voicing all the feelings in my heart, I knew where I would wind up from the start"
Naruto slightly wavered as he stood up, not looking at anyone as he brushed the dirt from his pants. His father, the Yondaime, followed his actions and straightened himself.
"You're right. More than anything. Even more than wanting to be Hokage or bringing Sasuke back to Konoha-" Sasuke perked up at the mention of his name, intently listening to their conversation.
(Technically, every awake Shinobi did.)
"-More than anything else in the world. I... I wanted to be with my parents."
Silence.
Nobody moved, all their breaths felt constricted.
There was only silence as they waited for the Blonde to continue.
Not a single Shinobi could honestly blame Naruto if he chose another person's life to bring his father back. Naruto already did too much. He fought the war for them, protected them from further harm, stopped them from falling further into the effects of the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Naruto, he saved all of them.
Another life for the sake of his happiness? Even Shikamaru believed it wasn't too much of a price. Every single Shinobi went to this war, prepared to die. If Naruto truly wanted, it was the least they can do to repay their debts.
It took Naruto a few more moments of silence before they heard him continue.
"-But… That does not mean-" Naruto's voice croaked, "-an innocent life must be sacrificed."
At the end of that sentence, almost every Shinobi witnessing the scene burst into tears.
Ino sobbed harder at Sai's arm, muttering how stupid he is. Chouji crying beside them. Same with Kiba, who's also hugging Akamaru. Shino may be silent, but droplets of tears are falling in his vest.
Truth to be told, Ino felt ashamed. If she was in Naruto's position, she might have accepted it, trade another life just to have another day with his father.
"Stupid Naruto." Sakura whispered while furiously rubbing the tears out of her eyes. She was now crouching next to Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei in an attempt to heal the two.
Some of them, like Sasuke, still couldn't believe a person like him exists.
Heck, Sasuke's positive if the offer was given to him. He would have sacrificed everything to have Itachi back, to be with his brother again. He could sense Kakashi-sensei tear up beside him, a proud smile hidden behind his mask.
"I can't believe him." The awakened Temari wheezed out as she was supported by both Gaara and Shikamaru. Tears are brimming in the corner of their eyes.
"That… that's what makes him Naruto." The Young Kazekage muttered softly to which Shikamaru could only agree.
"Very well. If that's your final decision-" The Rikudou Sennin closed his eyes as if waiting, but undeniably satisfied with the Blonde's answer. "-I'll give you a few more minutes to say your goodbyes."
"Bidding you goodbye, Bidding you goodbye, just tears me up inside"
"Hey, Dad? I'm not really good at this… But, tell mum 'I love her' for me, will you? And, stop worrying too much. I'm eating other food aside from ramen-"
Naruto laughed. But everyone knew it was empty.
All of them, those who managed to stay awake after the Infinite Tsukuyomi was broken felt like they're intruding. This moment. This moment solely belonged to Naruto and his father. Nobody else should witness this. Yet, none of them could tear their gaze away.
"-Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan, even Tsunade Baa-chan always make sure that there are green, yucky vegetables on my plate. And-" Naruto continued on his ramblings, ignoring the existence of other Shinobis aside from his father.
"If we were to grant the wish we wished the most, someone else will lose something they hold close"
Hinata hated all of it.
She loathed the unfairness of it all, how cruel the world could be to him.
Naruto-kun – he never deserved any of it.
Beside her, she could hear Yamato-san mumbled a soft apology repeatedly towards Naruto-kun. She couldn't blame him. Hinata could only follow his lead. None of them deserve to invade this moment, to witness such heartbreaking farewells.
But they still did.
"-Just... Don't worry too much. I can always handle it. After all, I'm the Yondaime's and the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero's son." Naruto ended proudly, extending a fist bump in front of his father.
And by the end of his speech, Minato's eyes were streaming with tears – tears full of regret, joy, and pride.
He reciprocated the fist with a faint 'Thump'.
With that, Minato started to glow in green and float, his soul slowly detaching from the nameless corpse.
"So I have to say, Goodbye to you now."
"I guess, that's it-" Naruto scratched the back of his neck, eyes shut too tightly with a big (forced) grin on his face. "-You can now go to where Mom is… And thank you, Dad."
With one last smile, Minato's soul finally left their world.
His father may not have said anything, but Naruto clearly understood.
Words were no longer needed between them. The smile his father gave him, it was enough for Naruto to understand. More than enough for him to hear his father's final message.
'No. Thank You, Naruto. I'm proud of you, son.'
And just like that, the War Hero from Konoha fell on his knees and cried.
The End...
Hopefully, you enjoyed it! It's actually my first attempt to write something angsty. Hahahuh. Anyways, for those interested, here is the link for the song: /IjUqO62LWn4 (Title: Heaven, covered by Rachie).
Note:
*Correction: It was actually the Law of Alchemy. But it fits. Hahah.