A/N: And here comes the epilogue! It basically offers some perspective into the future and can be read ambiguously in some ways. You'll see :)
Konohamaru stepped into his new office as the recently inaugurated co-president of the Republic, stretching his legs as he lodged himself on the chair before his desk. After Kakashi's six-year term had expired, the man had resolved to not seek for re-election and retire permanently, contenting himself with writing sequels to Jiraiya's Icha Icha Series, a long-awaited life goal of his. As a result, Konohamaru ran for election alongside Sakura, who had decided to serve another term. Both were elected with large margins.
It had been six years after the mysterious trio departed for their own world, six years after the continent was finally freed from the yoke of dictatorship.
A lot has changed since then.
Sasuke Uchiha or simply 'The Hokage,' as many citizens still referred to in fear, received blistering criticism for his brutality, unnecessarily repressive methods and cynical ideology from all strata of society, old and young, rich and poor, male and female, shinobi and civilian – and yet, paradoxically, he was not entirely reviled. Many had acknowledged the work he had done to unite the continent into one single entity and though many despised the way he achieved it (granted, there still exists some apologists for the former dictator), most believed the Continental Republic, the successor state of Sasuke's dictatorship, should remain in place and not dissolve into various separated former states. In some ways, his legacy persisted. There was no going back to a land of fragmented countries and clans.
Out of all the stakeholders of the old regime, the Hyuuga protested the most regarding the change in power. In fact, the potential for them creating conflict was so great that, initially, it was Sasuke who had to deal with them, convincing them that they had not lost much in this new configuration. Yet ultimately, their traditions and special place in society cannot be maintained. A wedge was driven amidst the clan, with one faction preferring to accept the new realities and integrate itself into the essence of the republic, and another favouring open rebellion. With much political maneuvering, and aided by the fact Hanabi Hyuuga's death left them without a strong figurehead, Sakura and Kakashi managed to help the former faction gain an upper hand.
Konohamaru gazed out of the window, overlooking the vast array of construction projects undergoing within Konohagakure, the capital of the Continental Republic. Its eighth skyscraper – and tallest so far – was in the process of being built, so were three new hospitals and three hundred new public homes for the poor. Something called a Games Arcade, the first of its kind, was also under work and predicted to generate a pretty decent amount of revenue.
Moreover, in the past few years, there had been an economic boom fuelled by the construction and expansion of railways, which connected disparate parts of the Republic, made trade within it easier and drew people closer and closer together. While before it would take days to commute between Sunagakure and Konohagakure, now it took hours. Recalling his first time riding a train two years ago, Konohamaru grinned. It was truly a marvelous invention.
Tens of thousands of political prisoners had been released, finally getting the chance to live with their families in peace. Food and water shortages in Sunagakure were no longer a regular phenomenon due to the elimination of corrupt officials who squandered everything for themselves and patronized on their own subjects – and also because the railways made food transportation much easier. Books were no longer burned and Naruto Uzumaki was finally given a place in history, with his name, his deeds, and his ideas being taught in classrooms across all of the five autonomous states. Mostly, people seemed happier, no longer afraid and being released from a state of perpetual caution and self-censorship.
Sakura Haruno, once a divisive figure viewed by half of the population as a freedom fighter and half as the commander of the continent's most dangerous terrorist organisation, had become one of the Republic's most revered figures, as many came to admire the way she endlessly and tirelessly dedicated herself to working on the problems it faced, as well as the fact that she was presiding over a period of unprecedented prosperity. Though there had been a few attempts by some men to propose to her, she remained unmarried, preferring the status of singlehood. There was speculation as to whether she kept a secret lover and regarding the identities of the said secret lover, yet no concrete evidence had been produced regarding this matter and this question was soon relegated to the fringes of popular gossip.
Chocho Akimichi had, much to Konohamaru's surprise, married Shikadai Nara. They are now expecting their first baby. Then again, he supposed that opposites do attract – and Shikadai's lackadaisical attitude did provide some balance to Chocho's bombastic demeanour. Inojin was getting engaged to a civilian girl. Konohamaru was feeling old; it felt strange to see the young ones all grown up and married.
He started wondering whether Boruto, Sarada and Mitsuki – those three strange travellers – had settled down on life yet. They seemed to be of age.
~X~
Four years after retiring from his shinobi and political career, Kakashi was enjoying his newfound status as the Continental Republic's most popular author of sappy, romantic novels. He had had enough of politics, politely declining the vast majority of his interviews and, when his refusals weren't enough to deter pesky little journalists, indulged in all sorts of antics like being late and claiming he was "lost on the road of life" or using these interviews as opportunities to promote his new books ("so… will Aina get together with Denki? Tune in for the sequel!")
His sales were skyrocketing, with Out of the Darkness - a grim love story set in a totalitarian dictatorship that featured the turbulent and passionate relationship between young revolutionary seeking to overthrow the regime and an ambitious young woman working her way up the government – topping the charts across the continent. His new series, Icha Icha Makeout, was gaining followers on an exponential level as fan mail flooded his inbox and as his most recent book-signing event saw hundreds and thousands of enthusiasts line up before his eyes. There was even talk about making it into a movie.
Sipping on some tea, the man sighed in content as he watched a few birds fly by his window.
All was going well.
~X~
Less than three years after returning to his own world, Boruto – aged sixteen – finally found the courage to ask Sarada out, properly this time and not under the pretense of wanting to game with her just 'like any one of the bros.' They had both been promoted to joinins recently and were celebrating at a seafood restaurant. She happily agreed and gave him a peck in the cheek, remarking that she would have agreed three years ago and would still have agreed three years later. It would be the start of a long-lasting relationship.
Six years after, Boruto and Sarada made the momentous decision to move in with each other – and away from their parents. They rented an apartment downtown of Konoha (and fairly far away from their old homes) together. Their parents were feeling emotional, though both Naruto and Sasuke gave their whole-hearted approval. Mitsuki was ecstatic when the news broke to him; he had claimed credit for Boruto and Sarada's ever-burgeoning relationship. Chocho started insisting on being the new godmother of Sarada's children, much to the chagrin of the young woman. Himawari simply squealed in delight and gave her brother a mischievous wink.
Eight years after, Boruto proposed and Sarada immediately accepted. They were married in Konaha in a wedding attended by their families and closest friends. When Sasuke escorted Sarada down the altar, Boruto saw tears in the man's eyes tears of happiness. He promised he would make her happy to the best of his abilities. He thought Sarada looked stunning in her white wedding gown, the most amazing woman in the world, who was not only beautiful but also smart and capable, someone with the potential to become Hokage one day. They kissed and from then on, their lives were bounded together.
Nine years after, Sarada gave birth to their first child, a son they named Itachi, as a way of honoring the uncle Sarada never got to know. As Boruto held little Itachi, cradling the baby - his baby, in his arms, he thought himself the luckiest man in the world.
Eleven years after, they had their second and third children, the twin girls Asami and Eriko, who were identical in looks but different in disposition, with the former being reserved and bookish and the latter being outspoken, boisterous and a little… troublesome in the academy as the years went by, landing in playground brawls and terrorizing boys and girls alike. Thirteen years after came Keisuke, their second son, who resembled his maternal grandfather in looks and his paternal grandfather in his love of pranks.
All the while, Sarada Uchiha continued to rise through the ranks, balancing career and family, becoming a special jonin, a special advisor to the Hokage and a member of the Konoha Council, tirelessly working for the village. Mitsuki often eagerly volunteered to be the nanny, being one of the few people who could effectively subdue Eriko's rambunctiousness. Boruto rose with her too, yet opted to join the ANBU for a few years instead of dipping into the more political side of things. He became a distinguished agent, protecting Konoha from the shadows, occasionally guided by his now father-in-law Sasuke Uchiha.
When Sarada ultimately became Konoha's Hachidaime Hokage twenty years after, Boruto stood alongside her on the balcony of the Hokage tower with their children as the crowds cheered. Itachi, the most composed one out of the four and a recently made genin, maintained a calm disposition, trying his best to look professional, while Eriko initially bounced up and down in excitement before yawning in boredom when Sarada's speech began. Asami, a little shy, blushed at the sight of so many people. Keisuke smiled sweetly (all while plotting how to prank a clueless Konohamaru, who was still running around the plaza looking for his coat.)
Boruto looked down and grinned. Then, he found his thoughts wandering far and wide. For some reason, he started thinking about that strange alternate dimension they stumbled upon all those years ago and the starkly different situation this world was in. Neither he nor Sarada would have been born there, much less their wonderful (and at times, vexing) children Itachi, Asami, Eriko and Keisuke. They would most certainly not be standing here before an excited crowd, surrounded by euphoria. Naruto and Sasuke would not be below, looking up at their children with all the pride in the world.
So many divergences, so many paths not taken, so many lives unlived.
~X~
It has been a decade since Sasuke willingly stepped down as dictator and departed this world.
Sakura Haruno had been a busy woman, overseeing the largest economic expansion across the continent in recorded history. On a macro-level, lives were clearly improving, people were getting richer – and yet, that didn't mean there weren't any problems. She could sense that inequality had become more pronounced, that illegal activity (especially gambling and prostitution) was rising, that people being wealthier did not necessarily mean that they were happier. While in the long run, she believed the current developments were definitely for the better, she wasn't prepared to accept the status quo as an inevitable side-effect.
Finishing the final bit of paperwork for the day, she shut her eyes and took a deep breath, stretching her arms and yawning.
It was then that she received her first message from Sasuke, written on a special scroll that was able to travel through dimensions, carried by a hawk belonging to the man. She opened it:
To Sakura,
I'll keep this brief.
I just managed to resolve a civil dispute between the Ootsusukis living on the moon. A faction of them planned to attack Earth; the opposing faction that preferred peaceful existence ultimately won out.
I suppose I should explain a little more about them. They're a clan of roughly three hundred members, all descended from Hamura Ootsusuki, brother of the Sage of Six Paths. Ever since Kaguya's defeat, they have been living on the moon, keeping watch. I encountered them during my travels.
From them – and from my wanderings in general – an organisation named Kara has caught my attention. Their activities across different worlds appears to be extensive and insidious, though their motives are yet unknown. I'll keep on my investigation of them; please inform me anything you've heard about them from your world.
All the best,
Sasuke
Taking a long, hard moment to read the message, Sakura finally took out her pen and began responding. She may never forgive the man for all his crimes and all the damage he'd done to her, but at least they can strike up some form of co-operative correspondence, in pursuit of some common goal of security.
She could deal with that.
~X~
This world was one of his favourites.
It was a pocket of untainted space, filled with pristine lakes and streams, fresh foliage and flowers, with strange birds chirping melodically in the distance. An Eden still untouched by signs of intelligent life, without a trace of civilisation.
Exhausted from hours of dimension hopping, Sasuke sat down and then lay on the grass, gazing at the purple sky.
For fifteen years, he had wandered in exile. For fifteen years, he had traversed worlds, unable to return home.
He encountered many things, seen places far and wide. Deserted planets previously ravaged by Momoshiki and Kinshiki, declining centers of life plagued by conflict and disease, infant dimensions where life was still yet to form, thriving cosmopolitan worlds where different peoples and species mixed, isolated planets like his own with their peculiar cultures.
It was really a fitting fate for someone like him, to roam the worlds forever alone.
But was he ever alone?
Still facing the sky, his thoughts turned to his now deceased family, his mother and father, his brother Itachi, who had sacrificed so much in life. They were still with him, they remained lodged in his heart, whether he liked it or not. There was Naruto too, who could never ever leave him, no matter how hard he tried. That persistent, stubborn, frustrating friend, that archrival, that one person that was the closest thing he could call a best friend. Nothing could help detach him from Naruto; Sasuke had resigned himself to the fact.
He took out his old headband, something he had often worn in the past few years as an odd symbol of allegiance, a twisted reminder of home. He twirled it in his hands, contemplating. Technically speaking, it wasn't even his old headband, for it was the old headband of his counterpart in that strange alternate dimension he never thought would exist, that strange place where Naruto had triumphed in the Valley of the End and he ended up with a family, a true home to return to. It was given, gifted, to him by that boy Boruto who reminded him so much of Naruto, the father. The boy who changed everything.
He wondered how Boruto was doing now. The boy was now a man of age, probably married and with his own family. Remembering, in the brief, fleeting period when the two worlds intersected, how close Boruto was with Sarada – who would have been his daughter – and how the two intimately co-operated to defeat Momoshiki, Sasuke wondered whether his other self was now the grandfather to Boruto's children. It would not have been a bad option.
It was all too funny, too funny indeed, how things turned out for him.
Then, out of the blue, his special communications scroll manifested by his side. It was a note from Sakura, most likely. Reading it, Sasuke was overtaken by incredulity. The woman, now in her third and (as per her words) last term as co-president of the Republic, was summoning him back.
He was going home.
A/N: And this is it! Man, I think I've fallen in love with writing this story so much that I might contemplate on continuing this universe via a few one-shots, though as for what the contents would constitute, I have yet to form something concrete. The only thing I can think of is Boruto meeting alt-Sasuke via a dream lol. Feel free to pitch in some suggestions!
Nowww... onto some Q&As?
1) Is the ending between alt-Sasuke and alt-Sakura something of a nod towards SasuSaku?
A: Nope. For their world, the potential for a loving relationship has long sailed. Too much has happened for them to put the past behind. Right now, they're sort of still corresponding on semi-cordial terms - but that is all.
2) What was the most difficult character to write?
A: Sasuke, without a doubt. I mean, for basically the first 25 chapters, his perspective was a bit of a mystery. I didn't write about it because I didn't want to reveal too much about his motivations and thoughts - but also because his line of thinking, his code of conduct was just too damn difficult to get right. He sort of adheres to his own set of beliefs on what is right and wrong and in many ways, he did a lot of very awful things - but he wasn't blindly evil. It was all very calculated and planned. Then finally, after chapter 26, a lot of things were written from his point of view because in many ways, this story was about his transformation too, about his realisation of his wrongs and ability to finally see past his own cynicism. Hence his perspective was needed to get some form of resolution - still doesn't make him any less difficult to write!
3) What was the easiest character to write?
A: Boruto. Like, duh. Granted, as I've mentioned before, when I first started this story, I basically treated his character as a blank slate because most of the manga and anime wasn't out yet, which gave me a lot of room for development and explanation. Still, regrettably, I concede that he faints just a little too damn much, though The Real Chys Latte has pointedly remarked that he merely takes after his mother Hinata :D
4) What was my favourite moment to write?
A: I have three actually and personally can't decide between them. The first one has got to be the interview scene between Boruto and (a disguised) Sasuke in Chapter 5. It was just really fun to build the suspense and incorporate the twist of the secretary being the one who's really in charge. The second one is Boruto's meeting with Jiraiya in the afterlife haha. I just loved vacillating between seriousness and silliness (in case none of you noticed) and that scene was just a perfect mixture of both for me, as the two talked about death, fate, the true meaning of the prophecy as well as porn - sorry, the Icha Icha Series - girls and 'fun stuff.' ;) Lastly, I'd say I actually really enjoyed writing about Boruto and Sarada's heated confrontation in Chapter 11 because of the clash of ideas and all that (and all the tension flaring in the air.)
5) Why did I not kill Sasuke?
A: My personal line of reasoning was sort of like Sakura's: death was the easy punishment and he's also the perfect candidate to travel between worlds and look out for sources of danger. Then there's also the fact that him dying was simply too predictable. I guess after all the years of ruling the continent with an iron fist, he ultimately turned out just like his other counterpart sans Sarada and Sakura as family members.
6) Why did I end up pairing Boruto and Sarada together?
A: Because I can :D
7) Why did I not allow Naruto to come to the alternate dimension?
A: It actually took me a long time to think this through. Initially, I thought it would be a pretty good idea for Naruto to come over, chide alt-Sasuke for being a dick basically and work together with the man to defeat Momoshiki OR help overthrow the guy (as back then, I still haven't fully decided which path I would take.) Except, somehow, this seemed like the easy option - like a magical solution to all the problems in the other world. I didn't want that. I wanted the protagonists to actually struggle and deal with things on their own. Mostly, I wanted to place the focus on Boruto. I wanted him to be the one who eventually convinces Sasuke and plays the crucial role in halting Momoshiki given that he (and Sarada and Mitsuki) were the children of the prophecy. So that's why.
8) What are some of my biggest regrets about this story?
A: Mitsuki Mitsuki Mitsuki. When compared to Boruto and Sarada, I felt that he was really underused. This actually made me feel kind of bad. He's actually, in my view, one of the more interesting characters of the next generation. Initially, I planned on giving him some sort of romance with Sayuri, the bookstore owner - that was eventually scrapped because it seemed so unnecessary. I still had them flirt a little though haha. If you blink close enough you'll see it. If I could redo anything in this story, it would be to write Mitsuki better.
Another source of regret was my limited world-building. I mean, I explained in the last chapter about how I deliberately prioritized advancing the plot over it, but still. I kind of wish I did some more exploration about other places in the continent and the lives of other members of Hi no Ishi, for example. Hmmm... I might explore some of that in potential future one-shots. We'll see.
9) Who was my favourite character?
A: Alt-Sakura, actually. Strangely enough.
10) Why did I bring in Momoshiki and Kinshiki?
A: Two reasons mainly. I wanted to forcefully bring together Sakura & Co. and Sasuke and Boruto with a common foe, compelling them to come to terms with each other and work together to save the world. Secondly, the two were a sort of symbol of just how unprepared the world is for an invasion from aliens, a sign of how Sasuke was so consumed by maintaining his rule and enforcing his rigid sense of peace that he didn't take the threat seriously until it was too late.
11) Is this story some sort of real-world political allegory?
A: Nah. Not really. Sometimes a story is just a story. I actually consider myself a pretty politically moderate person; mostly, I'm just interested in getting to know different ideologies and evaluating them. I prefer discussions as opposed to debates and ahem I'll say no more given how toxic politics can be (from many sides). Any resemblances to the real world are purely coincidental :P
12) Does Kakashi actually end up writing porn for the rest of his life?
A: Oh no. He does so much more than that :D In my head, he's basically become a bestselling author and a respected elderly statesman and someone who is viewed as a bit eccentric. Besides, his books also include er... his personal autobiography which is not really... graphic.
13) What does alt-Sasuke's travels include?
A: Use your own imagination! :)
14) Do I mind if someone ends up using alt-Universe, alt-Sasuke or alt-Sakura as a source of inspiration for their own stories and one-shots?
A: Not at all. Seriously. It'll be my absolute pleasure, not that I think this would end up happening anyway :D
15) Am I going to end up as a writer? (Question posed by a very kind reading via a PM)
A: Nah. Writing full time just isn't my thing. I prefer writing as a hobby - like on fanfiction. Nonetheless, I'm very very flattered.
16) What does alt-Sasuke end up doing when he returns to his own world?
A: Again, use your imagination :P It's meant to be something that's open-ended. It is whatever you want it to be.
Yup, and that's all! This story is now a 203 paged word document on my laptop. 0.0