Arc 2:

Chapter 26: Mourning and Dawn

Himawari faltered in her steps towards everyone when she saw with her Byakugan the dark chakra overtaking Naruto's body. It was like a sinister being enveloped itself around him, making her shiver.

To Naruto's side she spotted the Akatsuki member that took Gaara with him, hiding under a bush. Without thinking twice, she turned and headed straight towards him.

While she trusted her brother and Kakashi to handle Naruto, she couldn't forgive the Akatsuki for hurting kind people like her father and the Kazekage. She may not be so outspoken about her anger like Sarada and Boruto are, but she did feel it.

And right now, she wanted to show the Akatsuki exactly what happens when you try to hurt her family.

Boruto stared stunned at his young father as he grew a tail made of an odd chakra.

"That's what Jiraiya-sama was talking about," Kakashi said as the chakra engulfed Naruto completely, forming the vague shape of a fox around his body. "The Nine Tails' cloak."

That's the fox inside of Dad? Boruto scanned Naruto's chakra cloak in confusion. His father always glowed yellow when he used Kurama's chakra. But it looks nothing like his Nine-Tails' Form!

Naruto smiled sadistically. "HAH!" he yelled as he smashed to pieces the clay body of the clone Deidara left behind. The force of his punch caused the ground to erupt around him, a cloud of dust rising above the trees and rocking the earth.

As the dust settled, Naruto appeared standing in the middle of his self-made crater before he jumped a little further away, his tail moving around like that of an actual fox.

Boruto did a double-take at the tail, noticing that somehow, another one was growing from the cloak. Two tails?

Next to Kakashi, Naruto's clone collapsed to his knees and clutched his head in pain, and so did the clones who stood guard next to Gaara. "It burns!"

Boruto didn't know what to do. What should someone do when watching their young father and his clones suffer like that?

This cloak-covered Naruto seemed so menacing, filled with the urge to hurt others. Boruto's closed eye began bugging him, informing him of the amount of negative emotions in his vicinity.

I'm well aware, thanks, he thought to himself sarcastically.

Suddenly, Naruto jumped in the air and punched a tree, destroying it and all the other trees behind it.

Boruto gulped. This was definitely not good.

Himawari heard the explosion and saw the damage, speeding up her steps and ignoring the ache in her foot.

She didn't like this one bit, and she wanted to finish taking care of the Akatsuki member as soon as possible and get to Naruto.

He needs help.

Next to Kakashi, Naruto's clone dispelled.

"Ugh, already, huh?" Kakashi eyed Naruto worryingly. Jumping down from the branch, he landed next to Boruto behind Naruto. Immediately, his student turned around with a growl.

"Easy Naruto," Kakashi strived to remain calm. He saw how pale Boruto was as he looked at Naruto and hoped this wouldn't make the boy think too badly of Kakashi's adorable little student. Out of nowhere, Naruto launched himself at them, his fist ready to crush Kakashi before Boruto appeared to Naruto's side and kicked him away mid-air, sending him flying.

"Tch!" Boruto glared at Naruto. But not the way you would glare with hatred and fear at a rampaging beast, but the way you would glare at a person you're fed up with. "Would you stop it? Or do you need me to kick your ass in order to make you stop?"

What is he…? Kakashi frowned.

"Boruto, he's not thinking rationally," Kakashi tried to reason with the rookie. "You can't-"

"No," Boruto sent a glare towards Kakashi too. "He can't go ahead and do crazy shit like that! How am I supposed to react to this?" Without waiting for an answer, he took a step closer to Naruto, who was walking on all four and scowling at Boruto.

"It'll be dangerous to try and get close to him, you have to-"

"I don't give a crap!" Boruto's voice was raw with an emotion Kakashi could not name. "He's my Da- I mean, he's my teammate! There's no way I can just ignore all of this!" He took another step forward, and another. Naruto hissed at him and lunged at his throat, but Boruto jumped back and evaded him, pulling out a blunt kunai.

"You wanna go?" Boruto taunted Naruto, making the latter agitated. "Come on then! What, scared I'll beat you?"

Naruto jumped at him, fist ready. Boruto evaded him again, this time barely escaping the groundbreaking punch that cracked the earth where he stood a moment ago.

"You're really trying to kill me, aren't you?" Boruto smiled at Naruto sadly. "Well, not the first time it happened to me, but…" he aimed a kick to Naruto's gut from his angle, but Naruto avoided it, jumping back.

The chakra cloak-covered teen growled with all his might, only making Boruto seem sadder.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Boruto's lone eye shone before he lunged forward at a speed that astounded Kakashi. One second he was several meters in front of Naruto, and then he was behind him, the blunt kunai no longer in his hand but rather on its way to Naruto's back. Naruto's tails swung the weapon away, and he turned to look at Boruto, but the blonde teen was already in front of him, punching him in the gut. Naruto flew back, hitting a tree trunk and breaking it with the force of the blow he was dealt and sliding down to the ground.

"Huh, I hoped that would knock the Nine Tails out of you," Boruto's tone held iron in it. "But I guess I don't have Hima's touch when it comes to these things."

Naruto rose to all four again, glaring at Boruto and walking in one direction and then the next, like a caged animal. Kakashi glanced at Boruto, who was watching Naruto with anger and… sadness?

"Naruto," Boruto called out to the blonde. "Please, come back." The request was odd, sounding heartfelt and sincere, but there was an underlying tone beneath it. It was like Boruto was begging someone who was no longer there to come back to him.

"I know you're hurting over Gaara," he didn't call Gaara the Kazekage, Kakashi noted. "Trust me, I understand how it feels," Boruto walked closer to Naruto, his hands in the air. Naruto recoiled, snarling at him, but Boruto ignored his reaction, looking straight at Naruto, a pleading look in his eyes. "But it gets better," he huffed in bemusement. "Well, not better better, and it never stops hurting, but you learn to live with it."

Boruto was now closer to Naruto, who seemed somehow both agitated by the teen's closeness to him and a little bit relaxed by the genuine tone in Boruto's voice as he spoke. "It sucks, y'know." Boruto was now a mere few meters from Naruto, who flinched at Boruto's proximity. Yet, he didn't try to attack Boruto.

Kakashi looked at it all in amazement, the way Boruto went from beating up Naruto and avoiding being beat up by quick reflexes only to trying to console him. Or maybe, that was the plan all along. Get Naruto to let out some of his anger by trying to attack Boruto, get beaten back to his senses, and then be consoled.

"It royally sucks, I know," Boruto crouched in front of Naruto, who was growling slightly but didn't move, hypnotized by the person in front of him. "But I'm here. You're not alone. You'll never be alone again," and with those words, he leaned forward and brought Naruto in for a hug. Naruto immediately growled and snarled, fighting and scratching at Boruto's arms and back and face in order to make him let go, but Kakashi saw how his arms were putting less and less of a fight by the second, like something in Naruto wanted to sink into the embrace. His hand sneaked into his pouch, taking out the seal Jiraiya gave him for emergencies like this.

Boruto squeezed Naruto as Kakashi snuck behind them, patting his back despite the many cuts the blonde Jinchūriki was giving him. The one-eyed rookie made eye contact with Kakashi and urged him with his gaze. Do it, he said.

Kakashi nodded. Stepping in front of Naruto, the boy immediately began to struggle against Boruto again when he spotted his sensei, but it was no use, the blonde rookie having a metal grip on him.

Kakashi breathed in. "It's time to wake up, Naruto." And with that, he slapped the seal on Naruto's forehead. The effect was immediate, the chakra cloak dispersing away, and Naruto's eyes going back to blue, the red forgotten. His snarl disappeared, leaving only a confused and hurt expression on the young boy's face as he slumped in Boruto's embrace.

"There, there," Boruto patted his back as Naruto breathed heavily. "You're okay."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the odd line, and Boruto shrugged. "I'm not the best at comforting people."

"It seems to me like you did a pretty good job with this one," Kakashi gestured with his head at Naruto, who didn't make any moves to escape from Boruto's arms. Kakashi removed the seal from Naruto's forehead, leaning back to examine the boy. "Are you alright now, Naruto?"

While the boy tried to catch his breath and answer, Kakashi glanced at the woods broken in Naruto's tantrum. Master Jiraiya… what did you see? What was the thing that made you give me the seal?

Kakashi sensed someone approaching and turned around just as three women landed in the now-clearing. Sakura was there, battered and bruised but overall fine, supporting Chiyo with her body. Next to them was Sarada, who looked the worst out of all of them, with blood smeared on her face and the hems of her shirt tattered and a tear in the fabric indicating she was stabbed in the gut.

"Sarada?" Boruto looked up from Naruto to stare at his wounded teammate. "What the fuck?"

"Boruto!" Sarada's face sagged with relief before turning into an expression of dismay. "Don't curse like that!"

Boruto moved and catched her just as her legs gave out, keeping her upright.

Naruto was finally able to look up and see the newcomers. "Finally caught up to you," Sakura smiled at him.

"S-Sakura," Naruto smiled back, his face showing how fatigued he was.

"You found us, nice work," Kakashi complimented them. Naruto and Sakura looked at each other. Boruto was checking Sarada's wounds more thoroughly from up close.

"We felt a huge tremor a few minutes ago," Sakura said in a questioning tone.

"I'm glad you're here," Naruto said, his face drenched in sweat and grim. "So you guys did it?"

"Yeah," Sakura nodded. Chiyo sighed and looked around. "It looks like you're still having some trouble here, though."

"Unfortunately," Kakashi closed his eyes.

"...What about Gaara?" She asked, looking down. "Where's he?"

Naruto clenched his teeth, and looked away before gesturing with his chin at where his clones were holding the Kazekage's body.

Chiyo nodded. "Alright."

Deidara pulled out of the bushes after seeing the girls joining the group of shinobi, realizing that Sasōri has been beaten. Turning around, he came face to face with another girl, her face shadowed, but her eyes white and glowing.

He never knew such a little girl could invoke such fear in him.

Himawari glared at the Akatsuki member with her Byakugan, her fists clenched.

"You…" Something in her chest tightened. "Where do you think you're going?"

His eyes widened, and his face went white. "W-who are-"

"Mhm," Himawari raised a finger to shush him, the corners of her mouth ticking up. "I'm very angry right now."

He pulled back, staring at her. She tilted her head, scanning him up and them. "Now, what should we do?" She brought her hand to her chin in thought. "Since I'm pretty angry I want to punch you, but it also feels like it won't be enough for what you did to Naruto and Gaara..."

"Himawari?"

"Ah!" She turned around to look at her uncle's face. She saw them come from behind her with her Byakugan, but she was busy being angry, so she didn't greet them. "Brother Neji, how are you feeling?" She let her gaze rack over him and check for any serious wounds. He seemed fine, if not a little worn out.

"I'm fine, what about you?" Neji raised an eyebrow at her and her odd chatting companion behind her.

"Well, I think I sprained my ankle, but other than that I'm good!" Himawari turned back to the frozen Akatsuki member. "He, on the other hand…" Her smile widened and the man shivered.

"Good work finding him, Neji," Guy complimented the Hyūga.

Neji smirked. "Child's play, actually."

"That's true," Himawari examined the many chakra points in the Akatsuki member's body. "I used to play hide-and-seek all the time when I was a kid."

"I get it," the man spoke, his eyes locking on both Himawari and Neji who had their dōjutsu. "The Byakugan, one of the Kekkei Genkai of Konoha. Just like the Sharingan." He laughed bitterly. "You used those eyes of yours to sneak up from my blind spot, hm? This is my first time seeing it in person, I'd be curious to see how it differs from Itachi's Sharingan, but I think my escaping takes precedence at the moment."

Himawari tensed, turning to face him fully.

"Ha!" Guy smirked. "You're looking at Team Guy here, my friend, the number one squad in Konoha. You're not going anywhere."

"That is a promise!" Lee took a stance.

"I hope you're ready," Tenten prepared her scroll and Neji leaned forward slightly.

"And it will be a shame if you left before I calmed down," Himawari noted, pouting. "I'm still pretty mad."

Deidara smirked before disappearing from sight, all five of them hot on his heels.

They met him in the middle, Tenten throwing her weapons at him and him deflecting them with a kunai in his mouth. He jumped backwards, and then pushed himself off the tree he landed on with his feet, only for Lee to drop from above him and attempt to kick him.

Tenten threw a large shuriken at him that divided itself into four shuriken mid-air, getting stuck to the tree trunk he was running up on.

"SEVERE LEAF HURRICANE!" Guy kicked the tree, breaking it and making it fall to the ground, Deidara with it.

The blonde man was running away, only for Lee to drop from above in front of him. "Here I come!" He shouted and jumped in the air, roundhouse kicking and attempting to punch his head. Deidara avoided him, not noticing Lee had been pushing him to Himawari and Neji's range.

"Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!" They shouted, making a coordinated attack with a double gust of wind. The wind sent the man flying across the clearing until his back hit a tree, where he slid down before attempting to get up.

Tenten's coordinated shurikens followed him up the tree he was climbing to avoid the weapons, embedding themselves in the wood once they missed him. He jumped on a branch tree and then the next, attempting to escape. So Himawari decided to do something about it.

Taking a stance, she pointed her fingers at his escaping form in her vision. "Locked on," she said, rushing ahead by pushing the ground with her right leg, forgetting it was injured, and shooting forward after him.

"Himawari!" Neji called after her in concern.

She followed him through the woods, concentrating on his chakra network. If she could just get close enough…

She was so focused on him, she hadn't noticed what he was running towards.

"He's dropping!" Tenten said as Deidara dropped from the branches and landing in another clearing.

"Watch it, we don't know what he's planning, stay on your guard," Guy cautioned, but Himawari was locked on the Akatsuki member, and even if she was in a state of consciousness, she still needed to finish thing with him. Dropping after him, she hit the ground running and ignoring the pain shooting up her ankle.

Deidara landed next to the white body of a clay bird, and Himawari landed just in front of him. Behind her, Team Guy landed but kept a safe distance away.

"Himawari, draw back," Neji told her but she shook her head.

"Himawari!" Came Boruto's distressed voice, as he and the rest of the group were a mere dozen meters away from them all.

Deidara let the kunai drop from his mouth and instead latched onto the bird's body with his teeth, trying to rip it apart. After a moment, he managed to take out a bit of clay with his mouth, rising to stand tall next to the bird and smirking at them, jumping just in front of Himawari and chewing the piece he bit out like it was gum.

"I think it's about time I revealed my ultimate work of art!" He exclaimed before swallowing, Himawari watching as the piece of clay infused with chakra made its way down his body. Suddenly, his body started to grow violently bigger, growing lumps all over. Her eyes widened when she witnessed the drastic change in his chakra network.

"He's concentrating all of his chakra into a single point!" Himawari cried out.

"Oh no," Neji turned to the rest of them, coming to the same conclusion. "EVERYONE GET OUT OF HERE, IMMEDIATELY!"

Himawari turned back to the man, angrier than ever. First, he hurts the Kazekage, now he has the nerve of threatening her friends and family? Not acceptable. She may be an Uzumaki, but she's also a Hyūga. And as a daughter of the Hyūga, she will not allow anyone to threaten the things she cares for. Everyone else moved back but her. Her anger ebbed inside of her, growing in size like Deidara's body.

"HIMAWARI!" Both Neji and Boruto shouted, but it was too late. Himawari felt the edges of her consciousness darken, and she knew what was going to happen next. She smiled confidently just as she lost control again.

"Art, is an EXPLOSION!" Deidara declared as he exploded.

Boruto watched that moment in slow motion.

Deidara blew up, Team Guy racing towards them to escape the explosion, and Himawari, striking a stance and drawing her palms back.

The heat from the explosion was making the air around the slow down, feeling almost like he was swimming in jello.

He pushed Sarada behind him and stared at Neji, who was looking back at where Himawari was, standing alone against the explosion threatening to swallow her at any moment.

And then, the world around him started to warp. He panicked, the last thing he heard before disappearing was Himawari shouting.

"HIMA!"

The smoke settled around them, all of them suddenly next to each other, unharmed. Everybody looked around, disoriented, as a hole above their heads sucked in all of the remaining smoke and dust.

"It worked," Kakashi panted. "Just in time."

They all looked at where the explosion was happening, not seeing anything but a large crater.

Boruto gasped. "Himawari!" He yelled, stumbling to his feet and running to the crater, with Neji following after him.

Reaching the edge of the crater, he peered down. In the middle, laid his little sister, unconscious and wounded, her yellow hoodie's side painted red as blood seeped through it.

"Hima!" Boruto slid down the crater and ran to his sister, checking on her. Neji examined her with his Byakugan. "She used too much chakra, and has several injuries including a few cracked ribs, a broken ankle, and a deep cut on her stomach."

Boruto gritted his teeth. "She's so reckless! What was she thinking?!"

"I'm in agreement," Neji's tone of voice sounded peeved. "When she wakes up I suggest we'd give her a piece of our minds."

"Deal," Boruto nodded, before embracing his sister tightly and breathing in her scent. "Thank god you're alright," He whispered in her ear.

"Boruto?" Sarada's voice came from outside the crater. "How's Himawari?"

"She's alive!" Boruto shouted back, rising to his feet and holding Himawari in his arms. "But she's getting a scolding after she wakes up!"

Sarada sighed in relief. He and Neji climbed out and walked towards the group, Boruto making sure Himawari was comfortable before placing her on the ground. "Sakura, do you mind…?"

"Right," Sakura gently moved away from Chiyo and removed her gloves, starting the treatment and closing the wound on Himawari's stomach. "I don't have much chakra right now, so this will have to make do until we reach Suna."

"Thank you," Boruto watched as some of the color returning to his sister's cheeks and her eyes fluttering open, staring blankly at the sky. "Big brother?"

"I'm here," he squeezed her hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Everything hurts," she admitted. "How are everyone else?"

Boruto scoffed. "Everyone's fine," he told her. "Worry about yourself for a change."

She smiled then winced. "Sorry."

"It's...fine," he sighed. "Can you stand?"

"I can," she pulled herself to a sitting position, but her eyes were squinting as if she was trying to see something from really far away, and she was blinking rapidly. "But I don't think my leg can take it."

Right, Neji said she had a broken ankle.

"Lee can carry you," Neji volunteered his teammate. "Right, Lee?"

"Of course, Neji!" Lee crouched down next to Himawari. "Feel free to use me as a means of transportation!"

"Thank you, Lee," Himawari sighed as she climbed onto his back.

Kakashi chose that moment to collapse, falling down and having Naruto to catch him. "Kakashi-sensei, hey, are you alright?"

"I don't get it," Sakura stared at her sensei. "What did you do?"

Kakashi tried to catch his breath for a moment. "Sent the explosion… off into a different space."

"You… sent it somewhere?" Sakura repeated in confusion.

"I am not sure I understand really," Lee said as he hoisted Himawari over his back. "But it seems the enemy has been defeated, Tenten. Do you agree?"

"What the- are you kidding? What the hell are you asking me for?" Tenten moved away from her teammate, her reaction making Himawari hum. "Lee is in trouble."

Kakashi chuckled. "More importantly, is everyone okay?"

Two of Naruto's clones jumped down from the branch they were perched on, Gaara's body between them. One of them looked at Gaara and then at Sakura. "Sakura, can you…?"

Sakura nodded.

They came out of the forest and walked to a field in order to get away from the reminder of the fights and take care of their wounds.

Gaara's body was gently placed in front of Sakura on the grass, and she was channeling her remaining chakra into him.

"Sakura?" Naruto stared at her as her hands moved away from Gaara and she stood up, not looking at him directly and shaking her head.

Naruto looked down at Gaara's face looking so serene as if he was only sleeping and felt his eyes burn. The silence was suffocating, the only sound heard was the wind rustling the grass around them. Sakura turned to walk away from Gaara, leaving only Naruto to stand in front of the Kazekage as everyone else stood behind him.

Naruto's lip quivered, and his shoulder shook. Tears streaming down his face as he silently wept for his friend.

"Why?" He asked. "Why is it always Gaara?" This wasn't fair. "If he dies like this…" he walked towards the young redhead laying on the grass. "He's the Kazekage! He just. Became. The Kazekage!"

"Try to calm yourself, Naruto Uzumaki," Chiyo told him, void of emotion.

Naruto whirled around to face her. "YOU SHUT UP!" he threw his hand protectively in front of Gaara, to shield him from everything. Tears streamed down his face openly, but he didn't care. None of it mattered. "Just shut up! If all of you Suna shinobi hadn't put a monster inside of Gaara, then none of this would have ever happened to him!" He choked on the lump in his throat. "Did you ever even consider how Gaara felt? Did you ever even ask?!"

He closed his eyes, letting the tears stream down his face freely. "Calling us Jinchūriki… what gives you the right to label us? Who are you to decide someone else's fate?" He stumbled on his feet, shaking. Not being able to be silent anymore, he buried his face in his hand, lowering his head so nobody could see him. "I couldn't save Sasuke, and I can't save Gaara either. For three years, I've trained so hard, but nothing has changed."

The was a rustle of movement, and then his hand was forcefully removed from his face. He stared up at Boruto, who's pained expression matched Naruto's inner storm. Without a word, he hugged him. Naruto stood frozen for a moment before breaking and letting his head fall onto Boruto's shoulder.

Boruto wrapped arm around Naruto's torso, and his chin dug into the crook of his neck. Nobody spoke. Having Boruto hug him felt so… comforting. He sank down, shaking.

There were the sounds of steps behind him, as Chiyo made her way shakingly to Gaara. Naruto stopped crying, though tears were still running down his cheeks, and stared at her in confusion through the mist of his eyes.

She sat on her knees next to him, looking down at his face and closing her eyes before placing her hands on top of his chest and channeling her chakra into him.

The effect was so strong it shook the ground for a moment, sending out a warm wave.

"Lady Chiyo, that jutsu-" Sakura gasped, and Sarada stared wide-eyed at the elderly woman.

Chiyo turned to look at them and smiled, not answering.

"I don't get it," Naruto stared at the woman. "What's she trying to do?"

"Is that...?" Guy

"Yeah," Kakashi confirmed.

Naruto didn't understand. What was she doing to Gaara? "Leave him alone, will you? What do you think you're doing?!" He was about to step forward to stop her when both Boruto stopped him, placing a hand on his chest.

"Boruto…What…?" Boruto turned to Naruto, the shadow of his scar seeming darker than usual. When he glanced over to Sakura, she looked at him with hardened resolve, like this was something they needed to allow Chiyo to do.

"It's gonna be alright," Sakura told him confidently. "She's bringing him back."

Naruto's eyes widened and his gaze shot back to Chiyo. Bring Gaara back? Was it possible?

"She's bringing him back?" He repeated after her. "What are you talking about? I mean, how's that even possible?"

"This jutsu…" Sakura began, "only Lady Chiyo knows it. It's a special jutsu "

"What, are you serious?"

Chiyo faltered for a moment before continuing again, the chakra around her hands fading. "Dammit… not enough chakra… come on..."

Naruto stepped forward, crouching in front of her and offering her his hands. "You can use my chakra! Take as much as you need to!" He practically pleaded. "That'll work, won't it Granny? Please?"

Chiyo stared at him in surprise before her face softened. She glanced at Gaara before returning to looking at him.

"Place your hands on top of mine, son…" she told him weakly. He was startled for a moment before snapping out of it and nodding, doing as she said. Immediately, the glow of chakra amplified, the jutsu continuing to work. It hurt him, and he understood why Chiyo looked so in pain while performing it, but it was worth it if it meant saving Gaara. He gritted his teeth and powered through it. His face were already drenched with sweat. But he didn't care.

"In this world of shinobi, created by frivolous old people, it's a great comfort to know that new souls like yourself have come along," Chiyo told him with a small smile. Naruto stared at her in bewilderment. What did she mean by that?

"Up till now, everything I've done in my life has been wrong," she continued. "But at least, here in my final hour, I can finally do something right for a change." She looked at Gaara's face before looking up at the sky. "Suna and Konoha, may the future that awaits them be different from the way things were in our time." She looked down at their joined hands, smiling. "This special power of yours that Kakashi spoke of, that power will change the future dramatically, become a Hokage, the likes of which has never been seen. And as for you, Sakura, Sarada," she addressed the two. "In the future, help those closest to your hearts, not some old grandmother with one foot in the grave. You're a lot like me, girls. So few women possess such strong spirits. You'll surpass your master as a kunoichi, I've little doubt."

"Right!" They both answered, their voices shaking.

Finally, she looked straight into Naruto's eyes. "Naruto… do an old woman a favour, will you?" Naruto nodded. "You are the only person in the world who knows the extent of Gaara's pain. He also knows your pain. Please, look after Gaara…"

Naruto glanced at the Kazekage's face and closed his eyes.

He was with everyone he knew who supported him, all of those who acknowledged him. But something was missing.

What's missing?

Gaara.

He walked through the crowd of people, searching for something. But what was it?

Gaara.

Running through the grass, he searched for an answer.

Gaara.

"Gaara!"

Gaara opened his eyes.

"Gaara!"

"Who is that?" He wondered. "Who's… who's calling me?"

"That'd be your friend," a voice told him.

Gaara turned around to see a young man standing in front of him, looking right back at him. His dark hair was spiky, and those green eyes… they bore into him. His face reminded Gaara of his brother, painted red.

"Who are you?" Gaara asked him.

The man shook his head. "It doesn't matter, you'll know eventually."

"Gaara!"

The man pointed at where the voice was coming from. "Aren't you going to answer?"

Gaara shook his head. "I won't."

"Why?"

"Because eventually, even that voice will go quiet. And I'll be alone."

The man frowned. "Everybody is alone at some point. I was too."

"Gaara!"

"Really?" Gaara glanced up at him from the ground.

"Yes," he nodded. "And then, one day, I wasn't anymore." He glanced down at Gaara. "But you shouldn't worry about stuff like that if you're not alone."

"Gaara!"

"I'm… not alone?" Gaara couldn't understand.

"Of course not," the man pointed in the direction of the voice again. "Would someone who is alone be called to come back like that?"

"GAARA!"

"Am I… not alone anymore?" Gaara was too afraid to look where the man pointed. What if this is not real? What if the voice calling him stops?

"You will never be alone again," the man gave him a small smile. "Now go to your friend," he pulled Gaara up by the hand and then pushed him forward in the direction of the voice.

"Wait-" Gaara turned around, but the man was already gone.

'Go to your friend.'

Gaara looked around for the voice again.

"Gaara!"

"Who is it?" He asked. Looking down, he stared at a hand. "This hand… oh, it's just my hand." He tried to clutch the air. "My… hand…" his vision cleared a little. In front of him, a person who recognized was sitting on the ground, curled to a ball and alone. "Me…?" He was crying and shouting, but frozen in time, so no voice was heard. "Who am I?" He was alone. He was a monster. He was something. He wasn't anything. "I… I am…"

A hand on his shoulder caused him to look up and see a person with whiskers and blue eyes smiling brightly at him.

"Gaara."

Gaara stared wide-eyed at his friend, who has grown since the last time he saw him. "...Naruto…"

He turned to look around him, stunned, and realized they were surrounded by people, all of them looking at him. "What is this…?"

"They all came running to help ya," Naruto told him with a grin. "You've had everyone worried half-to-death!"

"Lord Gaara!" One of the shinobi ran forward. "Sir, are you alright?!"

Gaara, still shell-shocked, could only nod and stare as everybody's faces lit up and they cheered, all seeming relieved.

"YEAH!"

"HE CAME BACK!"

"LONG LIVE OUR KAZEKAGE!"

All of the Suna shinobi surrounding them continued to cheer and hug each other, some even opting to openly weep. Temari walked towards them and kneeled down in front of him, smiling.

"You sure had us worried there!" Naruto told him, though he didn't seem mad at Gaara.

"No kidding," Kankurō walked next to Temari, his head uncovered and his usual gear not equipped. "You caused us a whole lot of grief there, little brother."

"Ugh," Temari rolled her eyes. "Will you two quit putting on airs already? Gaara's the Kazekage, remember?" She made a clicking sound with her tone to make sure her displeasement with Naruto and Kankurō was well-established. "Show a little respect, you knitwits."

Naruto frowned at that while a sound of laughter was heard from behind them. Turning to the source, Gaara saw an almost identical twin of Naruto holding his stomach as he laughed, pointing at Naruto. "She totally lectured you just now, ha!"

"Hey!" Naruto's eye twitched. "You wanna go?!"

"Pfft," the Other Naruto said. "Pretty sure I could take you…"

"Knock it off," a girl with red glasses next to the blonde smacked the back of his head and he yelped.

Suddenly, Temari grabbed Naruto by the shoulder and pushed him away, leaning closer to her little brother. "Gaara! Talk to me, how do you feel?" She scanned his face worriedly.

Gaara turned away from her and attempted to get up, his limbs shaking at the thought.

"Easy," Temari warned him. "You shouldn't get up too quickly. Your body hasn't fully recovered from the rigamortis yet."

Gaara leaned back in defeat and let out a barely audible sigh.

Naruto was relieved to see how well Gaara was doing right away, sighing and leaning back a bit as he finally relaxed after this long and stressful week.

Behind them, some of the shinobi started bickering.

"I thought we lost him!" A Suna shinobi wept. "Without the Kazekage I don't- ow!" He cried out when a kunoichi hit his head.

"Get a hold of yourself!" She berated him. "There's no way we'd ever lose our Lord Gaara!" She sighed. "Lord Gaara is the hottest thing ever! He's a quiet, wholesome, strong and elite warrior!"

Another girl joined in with her musing. "Yeah! Lord Gaara is totally gorgeous, isn't he? After all, he is our Kazekage!"

"If anything should happen again I'll protect him!" The first girl exclaimed. "With all my heart!"

"No, I will!" The second girl pushed her away, and they ran to Gaara, pushing each other out of the way.

"Lord Gaara!" They shouted, one of them elbowing Naruto and pushing him tumbling down the grass. He landed on his side and frowned.

"I know I'm still a genin and all but come on, cut me a break," he uttered in apprehension as he eyed the girls surrounding Gaara critically. A giggle from above caused him to look up and see Himawari, still looking pretty weak, offering him her hand. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Naruto grabbed her hand and got up, dusting himself off.

"If it helps, I think you're pretty cool," she smiled at him cheerfully. He blinked and rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Thanks Himawari…"

"Yeah Naruto," Kankurō walked closer to them. "Don't sweat it, women always go for the cool, elite-type of guys. So what can you do, am I right?"

Naruto pouted, though his expression had made apparent his dismay of the subject. "I'm pretty sure Shikamaru said something like that once, too." He glared at the girls who were trying to get closer to Gaara only to be stopped by Temari, who tried to shield her brother from them.

"Hey Naruto?" Kankurō smiled at him. "Thank you."

Naruto laughed. "Hey, don't look at me! It's Granny over there that you should be thanking," he gestured with his head towards Chiyo, who was laying with her eyes closed in Sakura's arms while Sarada was sitting next to them. "She saved Gaara with some kind of incredible medical ninjutsu. She tired herself out and fell asleep, but I'm sure she'll be fine once we get to the village-"

"No, she won't," was Kankurō's sharp answer.

"Huh?" Naruto didn't understand.

"Granny Chiyo used that jutsu," Kankurō was looking at Chiyo with a hardened expression.

"What are you talking about? Why won't she?"

"She wasn't using medical jutsu," Kankurō explained. "It was a reanimation ninjutsu. Granny Chiyo is… dead."

Naruto's eyes widened at that and he whipped his head to look at woman in Sakura's arms.

"W-what are you saying? How can she be dead?" Naruto shook his head and turned to Kankurō again.

"It's a ninjutsu that allows you to bring someone back from the dead, in exchange for your own life," Kankurō was quiet for a while after that before he spoke again. "Years ago in our Puppet Master Core, a jutsu was secretly developed to breathe life into actual puppets. Granny Chiyo lead that project."

Slowly, everybody's eyes drifted to Chiyo. "They did eventually come up with a method, but midway they decided it was too risky to get involved. It was classified as this forbidden jutsu before human testing could be done, and sealed away."

Naruto stared, unmoving, as he recalled the smile and last words of Chiyo as she was bringing Gaara back.

'In this world of shinobi, created by frivolous old people, it's a great comfort to know that new souls like yourself have come along.'

'Up till now, everything I've done in my life has been wrong, but at least, here in my final hour, I can do something right for a change.'

'Sunagakure and Konohagakure, may the future future that awaits them be different from the one in our time.'

This couldn't be happening.

Naruto slowly got up, staring at the unmoving body of the old woman.

'Become a Hokage, the likes of which has never been seen.'

The sun set down, covering everyone with darkness.

"Look at her," the wrinkly man that was with Chiyo in Suna, her brother, said. "I half expect her to burst out laughing instead of looking so… peaceful."

"Yes," a tear ran down Sakura's cheek as she hugged Chiyo closer. Sarada also leaned in and buried her head in the elder woman's shoulder, seeking comfort and hiding her tears. "Yes…!"

"Naruto," Temari spoke to him. "There really is something different about you."

Naruto turned to stare at her, not believing.

"It's true," she continued. "You do have the power to change people." She looked down, her eyes growing soft. "Chiyo-sama has always said that she didn't care about the future of Sunagakure. She wasn't the kind of person who would do something like this for Gaara." Gaara closed his eyes at that last part, his face grim.

"Lady Chiyo has entrusted the future to you and Gaara," Kakashi told him. "It was a death biffiting a shinobi."

"Yeah," Naruto didn't look at him. "Just like the Third." He smiled a bit. "Hm. I get it now. I understand what Granny wished for."

He felt someone placed their hand on his shoulder, glancing sideways to see Boruto's profile, his permanently-shut eye looking darker in the dimming light of the evening.

In front of them, Gaara sturggled to get up.

"Lord Gaara!" One of the girls tried to help him out. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Gaara shook her off, pushing himself to a stand. He would've tripped forward, too, if Naruto hadn't moved to his side and grabbed the Kazekage by the arm, helping him up.

They both walked forward, coming to a halt in front of Sakura and Sarada, looking at Chiyo.

"Everyone…" in the silence, even Gaara's soft voice was heard through the crowd. "Pray for Lady Chiyo. Bid her farewell." He closed his eyes, Naruto and the others following his example.

Night had fallen at last.

"Himawari, are you okay?" Neji's question drew Boruto's attention as they were walking to Suna with the rest of the Suna shinobi.

Himawari was rapidly blinking and squinting her eyes, and even though Lee was carrying her on his back, she seemed in pain.

"Well, my eyes have been bugging me ever since a little while ago…" she admitted. "Probably overused them."

Boruto sighed in resignation, knowing full-well it was too soon and too late for any lecture about keeping herself safe. Instead, he placed his hand over her eyes. "Just go to sleep and rest."

She obliged, fluttering her eyes closed and sinking into sleep. Boruto rubbed his head, tired as well.

"She probably used the Byakugan too much," he told Neji. The Hyūga nodded, frowning. "She should know better than that. Haven't she been taught?"

Boruto shrugged. "You have to remember who's her dad, though."

Neji huffed. "I don't need the reminder, thank you." Boruto chuckled before breaking into yawning.

"Tired?" Neji raised an eyebrow at him.

"Probably less than any of you guys, but yeah," Boruto shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm dying to get there and go to sleep for a week."

"We'd probably only stay there until Himawari, Sarada, and Sakura are well enough to move out," Neji said logically.

"Speaking of Sarada…" Boruto trailed off while his eye tried to spot Sarada in the front, walking with Sakura.

"Oh?" Neji's tone made Boruto look at him. Was he… smirking? "Are you worried about Sarada, Boruto?"

Boruto flushed, but pretended he didn't know where Neji was heading with that. "Shut it, Brother Neji," he grumbled. "Or do you want me to bring up you and a certain weapons expert-" Neji's hand clamped his mouth as his uncle glared at him.

"Be quiet," he told Boruto hastily. "And there's nothing to say about that."

Boruto removed his uncle's hand from his mouth and snorted. "Sure there isn't."

"There is not, now shut up."

"If you say so, Brother Neji," Boruto said in a sing-song voice.

"Tch," Neji clicked his tongue. "I can see how you're Naruto's son. The intelligence is similar."

"Hey!"

In the sky, the sun was slowly coming out again. A new dawn.

Author's note(written July 17th, 2020): ...one more chapter to go and we're done!

I have to confess I did cry a little when writing the bit about Naruto crying and then getting hugged by Boruto. He saw a side of his father he never knew, and it was a vulnerable side too. Don't judge me.

This chapter was a delight to write because the fights have been wrapped up and all that's left is the two chapters to lead our group back to Konoha before we're done with arc 2 and are ready to move onto something I've been waiting for ever since I started this fic: THE SASUKE MISSION! (*Que explosions and Naruto Shippuden OP 2 in the background*)

Thanks for reading and see you next time,

Quwari, out!

Written September 27th, 2022:

I actually reread the chapter while I was posting it and enjoyed it. If you didn't guess, the guy Gaara sees in the dream is his adopted son in the future. There was this whole theme with dreams of the future because the future and the past are merging together, but I never got to explain it. So there. TA-DA!