Many saw the explosion in the sky.
And many saw the nine beams burn through Uzushiogakure.
Umigakure.
Yamanaka Ino stared.
Nothing.
There was nothing left.
Nothing... coming from the bond, either.
And the moment it happened was crystal clear. Naruto died.
She was sure of it. The feeling that echoed through the bond — which felt more and more like a tapestry of the dead — was unmistakable. Like falling headfirst through icy waters.
(The same way she had been so sure that Toru had died.)
(That Sakura died.)
(That Karin died.)
Naruto was…
Gone.
He was gone.
No fucking way. Not him. Not him. Not Naruto.
There was so much they still were supposed to do. So much she still wanted to say.
She closed her eyes and collapsed. Then only, she started screaming.
"NO!"
It was a heart-wrenching scream.
"No! No no no nono no!"
Her scream was an incoherent sound that tore her throat apart. Her hand shattered the stone under her.
It didn't do anything for the pain. She was still screaming.
Someone pulled her bloody hands away.
Ino whirled around in rage. That was Hanabi, one of the three other people — three, not seven, as it should be — she could feel through the now ripped apart bond.
Hanabi… who had done what Naruto had asked her to do and had summoned all of them away from the floating Uzushio in the first place.
Hanabi, who had made an impossible shot. Ino had been angry, then, but she could put it aside still.
Hanabi, who had summoned all of them to Umi, right after.
"How could you…?" Ino asked, instead of all the things she wanted to shout.
She knew the Hyūga well, she knew exactly where to push to hurt. How to make her nothing more than a sniveling wreck—
But it wouldn't do anything, either. It would just make her feel better for a moment, and then worse.
And Hanabi was already crying, anyway.
Ino tried to push down on her own rage. Hanabi didn't deserve that.
"Why…?" Ino asked again. "Why did you do it…?"
Hanabi just shook her head helplessly.
"…I couldn't refuse." Hanabi said at last, quietly. "If staying there would have changed things… I would have done so gladly."
The only other conscious person here began speaking.
Sasuke… looked like shit. His clothes were torn in most places, and his hair clung to his face from the mix of sticky blood and sweat that ran down his forehead.
Still, there was something solemn about him, now.
He had calmed down from his own anger before Ino did.
"For you." Sasuke murmured. "He did this for you. And… me, too… I think."
Hanabi sniffled.
"…For us? For me…?!" Ino raged. "I want no part of this! I would have — I should have died with — I would…"
Ino trailed off. She picked up on some of his thoughts, unwillingly.
Sasuke felt… empty. He was the last of his team, now. Again. Both of his teams were gone entirely. Kurenai was dead. Toru was dead. Kakashi was dead. Hell, even Jiraiya was dead. And so was his father. Was Sasuke cursed, he wondered…? Now… Sakura was gone. And Naruto was, too. Before they could even—
Hanabi looked just as lost. She felt numb. She was hurt, she felt alone.
Ino was angry.
At Nagato. At the world. At Naruto. At Hanabi. At herself.
Only then did she begin to cry.
She fell to her knees and wept silently, the tears burning her eyes.
Sakura was dead.
If Ino had been stronger—
Karin was dead.
If Ino had been able to use the King of Hell—
Naruto was dead.
If she hadn't been so damn useless—
Her chin wobbled and her sobs shook her.
Great, shuddering spasms of grief that wrenched her whole body. Hanabi began to sob as well. Ino huddled closer to her, and Sasuke watched on, painfully.
Ino wept for the end of a dream, the darkness of the shinobi world, and the departure of three people she had loved with all her heart.
Sasuke looked away, and his own shoulders shook.
Unfortunately, there were wounded people to heal and the end of a battle to call.
The three ninja pulled themselves together slowly and dragged the two unconscious Uchiha, as well as Anko, away.
Hanabi was the first to notice the seal on Sasuke's wrist. And she knew exactly what to expect.
When they reached Umi itself, Hinata was already waiting anxiously.
She saw her younger sister; she saw Sasuke's face. Hinata put an arm around their shoulders wordlessly.
Itachi woke up a few hours later.
"Sasuke — you…" He began, voice croaking.
"It's over. It's all over." Sasuke nodded slowly, eyes red.
"Who…?" Itachi looked around. Shisui was lying in a hospital bed, and his breathing was even. Anko was sitting up on her own, looking just as lost as she had been when Orochimaru had died.
"Karin, Sakura." Anko confirmed, voice tight. Itachi knew about them already. "Naruto, as well."
They had won, and some of them had paid the price for it.
"Ah…" Itachi closed his eyes. "I am sorry to hear it."
"Fukasaku and Shima, too." Sasuke finished. "So…" He said tightly.
"…What do we do, now…?" Hanabi finished.
Ino looked conflicted.
"…We promised one thing to Shisui." She said at last. "We… uphold the promise."
Later that day.
The man woke up to see nothing but darkness.
He was fed every day through a seal that released three meals a day and water, but he had been entirely isolated for…
Gods, he couldn't tell how long.
Life — if he could call it that — was very slow and… boring. Dreadfully boring.
Someone was drawing closer to his cell, he thought.
Yes, that was it, definitely. Footsteps.
The door opened, and the light nearly blinded him.
"Uzumaki Ryūjin." A man's voice called, raspy but firm.
Ryūjin looked up. The room was too bright, now that the door was open. He saw curly black hair. Facial traits that he knew all too well. He had faced many Uchiha in the past, before. And had hoped not to meet this particular one.
"No—" Ryūjin began, terrified. Something forced him to look into the monstrous red eyes.
"Kotoamatsukami." Uchiha Shisui said flatly.
"Are you sure this is how we should go about things…?" Hanabi asked Ino.
The Rinnegan hadn't faded from their eyes yet. There were still traces of Naruto's chakra floating through their systems, and before they used it up entirely, the Rinnegan would likely remain.
And they had a spare around anyway. The one Naruto had sealed into Sasuke's wrist, without him realizing right away. They could manage.
But Ino…
Ino looked tired. There was no other word for it. She was in no state to take any decisions either.
That was probably why Anko had said she would go and warn the Kage by herself.
"I don't think there really is another way. The initial plan was to go for Nagato himself, but Shisui confirmed that the jutsu would not have worked — either of them."
"…I know."
"And considering how weak Ryūjin is right now, one person… especially one who died months ago, is probably the limit. If he was any stronger… eyepatch or not… he might be able to counter it. The Sharingan is strong, Shisui's especially, but—"
"Might."
"I don't like it any more than you." Ino shook her head. She looked a bit desperate. "But… Naruto promised that much to Shisui. And I—"
Made it binding.
And now it was time to make good on it. Shisui had even seemed to feel a bit hesitant about it, but the terms of the promise had been pretty clear.
"I know, Ino." Hanabi nodded. "Naruto was the one who insisted on it. That's what he wanted, too."
"I'm… I'm very glad to see him again, of course—" Ino blubbered. "But the others—"
"I know." Hanabi said quietly. "But… The eye will still remain. We can still find a way, in time. With him, as well."
"Yeah. Yeah…" Ino nodded, trying to stop the tears.
She didn't manage.
The prisoner whispered the name of the jutsu, thinking of only one person.
The eye that he now unknowingly bore had replaced his own.
(He did not notice anything peculiar about his eye, for an eye-patch had been put over it. And what did it matter, anyway...?)
Ryūjin knew what he had to do, anyway. And it was the only thing that made sense, in this eternity of waiting.
He dismissed the thoughts about Uchiha Shisui. What did he care about that Leaf bastard…?
But speaking about caring… There was one person he still cared about, despite everything. And he knew that he could bring him back.
His brother, his equal. The one he had grown up with, and faced so much danger with.
The only person he could trust.
He knew how to do it, even though he could not remember why. It was as natural as breathing, really.
His chakra, unbound entirely, flew back through him. Its burn was a comforting, burning thing. He said the three words.
"Gedō: Rinne Tensei."
The jutsu worked, he knew already.
How could there be any doubt? He had been born for this moment. Ryūjin smiled.
Then his head slowly fell sideways. He was finally going to sleep.
But it didn't matter, because his little brother, who had been taken from him, would live again.
Ryūjin had brought his dear Toru back to life.
Uchiha Toru's eye opened blearily.
The last thing he remembered—
He gasped and tried to sit up, but the only thing he managed to do was to groan in pain.
What… happened?
He remembered the most horrible dream in his entire life… He remembered terrible, terrible confusion.
He remembered the Yamanaka men.
Toru's hand went to his throat. There was nothing there. No wound, no mark. And… his eye was in place, too.
He felt his bile rise up.
Where was he? He was laying on a bed, and feeling very sluggish.
Then he managed to turn around and he froze entirely.
Not because of the typical Uchiha ashes jar, that he understood right away… had been his own. Although it would have been creepy enough.
Not because he was mostly naked — someone had draped a cover over him. Rather, it was because of who was here with him.
Uchiha Shisui was looking at him, eyes full of tears. And the same thing went for Uchiha Sasuke and his fiancée, Hinata.
Uchiha Itachi stood nearby, looking as emotional as Toru ever saw him.
Yamanaka Ino was crying, and even Hyuuga Hanabi wiped something away from her face.
Toru meant to say a great many things.
"What the fuck."
Long-Distance Call.
"Namikaze is dead, then…?" Ōnoki asked, trying not to sound too gleeful.
He was failing.
Nara Shikaku nodded, looking somewhat relieved. "He is."
Yugito said nothing. She just kept a tight expression. Anko had told her in person, anyway. She knew already.
Mei knew as well, because Anko had called her right after that. With Naruto gone, the power plays between Konoha, Suna and Iwa were likely to start.
Which was why the others needed to present a stronger, more united front. Fortunately, Naruto had picked his allies well.
"Hold your horses." Anko said dryly. "This changes nothing."
"Indeed." Mei confirmed. "The Alliance still stands."
"Bah." Ōnoki chuckled, now in a merry mood. "What need does Iwa have for it…? And for that matter, what use does Suna have for it?"
Chigusa said nothing, weighing her options.
"No matter what you decide to do… Tsuchikage." Yugito finally spoke. "The Umikuri alliance still stands."
"Of course, of course." Ōnoki laughed, and the sound made Anko pinch her lips. "I wasn't about to forget that. Very well, Iwa won't leave the alliance."
For now.
The message was clear. And Ōnoki would undoubtedly prepare himself. And from the looks of it, so would Suna.
In terms of military strength, Kumo was a shadow of its former self. Kiri had been weakened too, although not anywhere close to the same degree.
And Konoha… Konoha was still strong.
Would it be war again…?
In truth, Naruto's death changed everything. And of course, he had to leave the mess to her. Orochimaru's student, indeed.
Three days later.
Uzumaki Nagato Killed
Yamanaka Ino, Umishinbun
"My name is Yamanaka Ino.
Today, I can report to people all over the world that the allied operation that has been conducted three days ago has successfully killed Uzumaki Nagato, the leader of Akatsuki, and a terrorist who's directly responsible for the murder of thousands and thousands of innocents, as well as the latest Great War.
It was only over a month ago that the village of Kumo faced the most direct attack a Great Village had ever seen. The images of that day are seared into the survivors' memory. A man descending from the clouds, and a wave of pressure. Smoke billowing up, and the wrecked remains of the world's strongest village.
And this is the tragic sort of event people in smaller villages had to face silently, until now.
No more.
Empty spots around a table. Children, forced to grow up without their mother or father. Brothers, sisters, friends gone.
In the wake of such tragic events, it is time for the world to come together. And to stay together, without needing the threat of a man that this very system has created.
Because Uzumaki Nagato is simply a product of this broken peace.
To face his threat, the Nations came together. Shinobi from all over the land offered their neighbors help. No matter where they came from, they were united as one.
And at Umigakure's direction, the Allied Shinobi Forces launched a targeted operation against Nagato's fortress. The joint land forces and navy provided the firepower needed for a small team of shinobi to carry out the operation.
We suffered losses.
Still, Uzumaki Nagato and his followers, including Uchiha Obito, Sasori of the Red Sand, Hoshio Yasuhiro, Hyūga Neji, Deidara of Iwa and Yuki Haku died during the battle.
For decades, the organization has been responsible for attacks, plots, murders and wards. Their deaths mark a significant achievement.
And yet, their deaths do not mark the end of our alliance.
Because there is no doubt that the world will continue to see a fair amount of people like Nagato, should it not change.
Going forward, it is essential that all of the Nations continue to work together in order to fix the root issue.
That is why Mitarashi Anko, leader of Umigakure and of the Alliance, calls for the Five Kage to maintain the current alliance.
Imperfect as it will likely prove to be at times, before it shapes up to become something that we have hopes will last for a long, long time.
All of us understand the costs of war.
It is now time to learn about the costs of peace.
Today, we give thanks to the countless shinobi who have worked tirelessly to achieve victory.
We give thanks to the men and women who helped carry out this operation, who protected our homes, and have borne the heavy weight of duty.
We shall not forget you."
Uchiha Toru read the newspapers absentmindedly.
The article was somewhat impersonal, but none of them had had any desire to change that.
Neither he nor Hanabi had been in any sort of mood to draw comics, either. Of course, they had some in reserve, but it felt more sober that way, considering the type of article it was.
He sat in the room with Hanabi and Ino.
Itachi, Sasuke, Hinata and Shisui had left already — summoned by Hanabi near Konoha.
The only way they would be able to come back would be through the same means. At least until Toru finally managed to reverse-engineer the way to apply the seal onto them, from Naruto's haphazard notes.
Naruto, who was—
He pushed the thought aside. He was doing a lot of that, since he...
Naruto had taken the time to write notes out, in case anything happened to him, but he had seemingly forgotten that not everyone had been studying the arts for more than a decade.
Sasuke was still an outsider, despite the world being much more open, so the role fell upon Toru.
He was far from being good at the sealing arts, but he could learn, if needed. Hopefully, with Hanabi's help, it wouldn't take them too long.
Ino had seen through Naruto's entire set of memories once or twice by now, so her help went a long way with that. It wasn't a perfect solution, though, since there were lots of holes in her own knowledge.
Well, at least, the Gate network still worked. Apparently, Orochimaru and Naruto had planned for this, too. They would have been in deep shit, otherwise.
Given enough time, all of the artifacts could likely be reverse-engineered.
…Given enough time.
Gods, if only Karin were still here—
Toru stared a bit absentmindedly at his own hands. They were pretty pale, except when he flexed them. Then blood rushed through them, coloring them red.
How strange it was…
All of this.
What was a man, even…? Nothing more than a too-smart-for-his-own-good monkey. A miserable little pile of lies.
…Or maybe that was just him.
He knew he was a bit changed by… dying. But he would be fine, in time.
Because unlike Sakura, he was at least—
And this time, Ino had all but forced him to go to therapy. Then she had dragged the rest of them to that woman, named Kazumi; screaming they needed it, all of them. Ino included.
Maybe she was right. The last thing he felt like doing was talking to someone about his own shit, though. That included dying and coming back to life.
He still did it. Toru knew exactly where bottling shit up had led him already.
"Are you okay…?"
Toru's eye shot up, and he stiffened in answer. He didn't have any weapon on him, did he…? He felt so vulnerable.
But it turned out to be just Hanabi.
"Do you want to eat something…?" She asked quietly.
The answer came almost unbidden.
"No." He felt a bit nauseous at the idea of food, really. "Definitely not."
"Maybe you should eat more, still."
Toru felt a bit of irritation rising. What did she know about it…?
"Maybe I'm not hungry, still." He grunted in answer.
"Even then."
"Why should I?" Toru bit back a harsher retort.
"…Because you're going to fold like a sheet of paper in the wind when we finally resume practice, otherwise." Hanabi simply said.
He stared.
A chuckle escaped Toru, despite himself. And later on, he forced himself to eat something.
Toru steeled himself.
It had taken him three days to muster the will to even see people that were not from the group.
The group, who was missing—
Now that he was in the main square — and people recognized him… There was no turning back. He heard them mutter in disbelief.
He continued to walk, headed to a little coffee shop…
Not so little anymore, apparently. Some time had passed already. …Was she older than him, now…?
Toru's hands felt clammy. What the hell did you say in this sort of situation…?
Sorry I got myself killed haha, but I'm all good now. By the way… you got a boyfriend, or…? Why, you ask? Well, I'm single… and ready to mingle.
Fuck no. That was dumb, even for his lax standards. Toru groaned. Better to come back another time, really. It would give him more time to recover from this.
This was the dumbest idea he had had in awhile. Why did he keep on running away from his real problems..? This was just a band-aid solution.
He took a long breath—
And slipped into the building before his thoughts carried him to more dangerous areas.
Toru blinked. She was right here, in front of him, looking pale as a sheet.
"Hello, Akemi." He greeted, in a way that he hoped to be suave. He had practiced a bit, in front of a mirror. Anything, rather than thinking about—
Apparently… he had missed the mark entirely.
Akemi dropped the plate she had been carrying and fainted.
"...Fuck."
"I thought you were dead!" Akemi bawled.
"…I was."
Akemi made a strange, choked sound.
"Is this something shinobi can do…?" She almost implored, trying to make sense of the absurdity of it. "…Just come back to life after incubating for a while or something?"
"…Not exactly." Toru chuckled, a weak sound compared to his usual boisterous laugh. "I was brought back."
"Okay. Okay… okay. You're here… for good, right?"
"Sure seems like it."
"You're not leaving again, then?"
"No, why would I...?" Toru paused. "Konoha is not that appealing, right now. I already told my big bro—"
"I don't mean it that way!"
"Ah."
"…You're not a flesh-eating, decaying monster either?" Akemi squinted her eyes.
"…I mean, I'm a human and a shinobi, so…" Toru shrugged tiredly. "Depends how you see it, I guess."
"Good enough for me." Akemi decided.
She jumped into his arms. He caught her, and for a moment, he could think about something other than—
Konoha.
Uchiha Sasuke sat still in the gardens, not far from his sleeping fiancee.
He had come back from Mount Myoboku, where he had brought the Elder Toads' bodies, the day before. The toads had thanked him for his actions, which had been the worst part of the day.
It felt as though he had failed and failed and failed again.
These last few months…
His mother had looked at him worriedly, today. There was not much he could say about it.
Itachi didn't, but there was still some frustration there, concerning the way he had sent him off during the last battle. Ironically enough, that was basically how Naruto had sent him off, shortly after. So Sasuke understood the feeling.
But… could he really complain…? His family was alive, all of them.
"Sasuke."
He turned his head, facing Shisui, who had appeared, as silently as ever.
"Mind if I sit?" His cousin asked.
"Of course not." Sasuke shook his head. "Be quiet, though. Hinata's asleep."
Shisui was the only one who didn't seem to treat him like he was a bomb about to go off. Shisui, who seemed a bit conflicted about how to feel about Uzumaki Naruto's death. Shisui, whose shoulders looked a bit less slumped, now that he had recovered his brother.
…To think that Toru was alive again.
He had broken down in blubbery tears that day, as had Shisui, really. Toru couldn't make much sense of their tearful apologies, or what they were apologizing for, really.
They got him up to speed on the latest events. Naruto's actions, following his death.
Kakashi.
Sasuke couldn't remember the last time he had seen Toru look so angry. Or if he ever had.
And then, everything that followed after. The worldly events. Naruto seizing control of the world.
Sakura's death. Karin's death. Naruto's death.
At the end of it, Toru was just looking… empty.
"…Ah. I… I see." He had said. No more words after that.
Sasuke had stayed a bit longer, as if to assure himself that he really was here and fine — mostly —, and once he had promised over and over again to come see him, once Toru and the others managed to design a workable seal…
He had left for Konoha with his fiancee. He wondered—
"I refused the Hokage's seat." Shisui finally said.
Sasuke blinked.
"What—"
"Yeah, I know." Shisui sighed. "After all this shit, after all the rumors of madness… They still tried to give it to me. I can't believe it either—"
"Not that!" Sasuke grunted.
"What…?" Shisui blinked. "Me refusing…?"
"Yes."
"Well…" Shisui shrugged. "Everybody knows that the only reason they didn't ask Itachi first is because he's already the Clan Head — and because people complain about nepotism too much already."
Sasuke didn't necessarily agree. Itachi was well-liked and extremely respected, but Shisui had been beloved in his own right. Or he had been, before the last months, at least… No. Even now, actually.
"So they will ask him, then…?"
"Yup." Shisui nodded. "Which will likely mean you will become Head in his stead."
Sasuke almost cursed. The last thing he wanted now was to deal with clan politics.
Shisui laughed.
"Come on, it won't be that bad."
"…You just refused more responsibility and you want me to believe it's all fine…?"
"Ah." Shisui said sheepishly. "I don't think I'm fit to lead a village, really."
"Why not…?"
Shisui gave him a dry look. "Because rather than entertain the possibility of gaining Konoha the Rinnegan… instead of bringing back some of the Konoha ninja who did die during the battle... I chose to bring my dead brother back…?"
Sasuke winced. If he put it that way…
"…I don't think any of the Umi ninja would have been fine with us taking the eye."
"Perhaps not, but even then. A Hokage is supposed to put the Village first." Shisui shrugged. "I can't do it, easy as that. Itachi—"
"Yeah." Sasuke nodded at last. "Itachi can."
And he wanted peace anyway. Better that he work with Umi, rather than Shisui, who had complicated feelings on the issue—
"Wait." Sasuke blinked.
Shisui looked sheepish.
"…Are you fucking kidding me?" Sasuke growled. "Is it also because of Anko…?"
"Well…" Shisui said slowly. "We can't have a village leader involved with another in this way, right…?"
Sasuke gave him a disbelieving look.
Considering the rumors — a bit more than rumors — Sasuke had heard about Naruto and the current Raikage, back in Umi, he wasn't sure that was actually a valid reason.
But then again, the man had seemed to play by his own rules. And… pretty loosely, at that.
Shisui likely just didn't want to bother with the Hat. Not that Sasuke could blame him.
"Sounds nice, anyway, doesn't it…?" Shisui asked. "Uchiha Itachi, Seventh Hokage of Konoha."
"Yeah." Sasuke smiled slowly. "Doesn't sound half bad."