Assault on Akatsuki's Lair

-Outside Akatsuki's Lair-

Gaara, Naruto, and Sakura were just outside of Akatsuki's hideout. They were discussing how to attack and rescue Hinata. "… okay, let's go it's time to save Hinata."

They were unaware of the choice that Hinata had made the night before. And also, they were unaware of what was happening in Akatsuki's lair right now. The three set off and Naruto did a rasengan on the door while Gaara and Sakura were waiting right behind him in their own fighting stance.

"BOOM!" The door finally gave way to Naruto's constant rasengans. Naruto quickly activated Demon Shield no Jutsu and so he walked in first. Then after him Gaara came in with a wall of sand protecting him and Sakura.

"Well, well, look who came to save little Hinata." An Akatsuki member taunted the three leaf shinobis.

"Yeah and that's exactly what we're gonna do right after we kick your fucking ass!" Naruto yelled out his challenge.

"How about letting me take care of this…" Kisame stood and pulled out his huge sword.

"Then get on with it!" Naruto charged forward when Kisame swung his sword. A huge dust cloud hung in the air. As his sword drove home. Almost drove home would be a correct definition of what happened. His sword glanced off of Naruto's ultimate defense. All the Akatsuki members stared in awe at what happened.

"Heheheheheh, see what I mean? I told you I would kick your ass! So is that all you got you sissy?" Naruto muttered under his voice. The battle raged on until Kisame stumbled and fell as he was bleeding with several cuts and bruises. Naruto then pulled out a kunai and then put some of his chakra into it and shoved it into Kisame's throat. Blood dripped from Kisames lips as he tried to talk. But he could not talk for his vocal cords had been cut by the kunai. The rest of Akatsuki charged into battle so it was now 3 leaf shinobi vs. 6 Akatsuki members. Once more Naruto fought but now with Sakura and Gaara by his side. For hours the two groups fought with neither gaining an advantage until Naruto made a decision in his mind, 'Damn, we're fighting a losing battle, Sakura and Gaara can't hold for long. I've got to end this battle, but how? Wait, Demon Bomb no Jutsu should do the job… but then it would kill Gaara and Sakura.'

"Sakura, Gaara, listen to me!" Naruto yelled over the din of battle. He quickly did a few handseals and then yelled, "Taijuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" (Mass shadow replication technique). Under the cover of kage bunshins he told them his plan, "… so Gaara, you have to take Sakura at least five miles from here."

"Naruto, don't do this!" Sakura was shocked that the boy would give up his dreams just to save Gaara and her. Also she was sad because she had just seen Naruto in a new light, a different perspective, and she liked, no, loved what she saw. That meant that the one she rebuked so long but now loved would make the ultimate sacrifice just for her and Gaara. "What about your dreams of becoming Hokage, taking me on a date, doing Sasuke's dream? Are you just going to give it up?"

"Yes." The short reply answered everything. He was going to go through with his plan. He made two of his kage bunshins henge into Gaara and Sakura. "Go!" he yelled and Gaara and Sakura disappeared in a cloud of sand. "I'll miss you…" He then quickly performed Demon Bomb no Jutsu and then everything exploded.

-In the forest-

5 miles away

Gaara and Sakura saw it all happen. Slowly a red dome of chakra started spreading across the land. Then the real terror began. All sorts of objects were thrown into the air and landing in all sorts of positions. The thing that disturbed them the most was that a Konoha headband landed right in front of the tree. Sakura started to sob and then Gaara decided it was time to go back to Konoha. Right before he left Sakura took Naruto's headband. All that was left of the place was a barren wasteland that was on fire.

-Back in Konoha-

Sakura went to the Hokages office immediately after arrival. Sarutobi was right in the middle of a meeting when Sakura came in with puffy eyes. Right after Sakura stumbled in, she fainted. The Hokage then said, "We'll resume the meeting at a later time." He then brought her to a bed and waited for her to recover. But he did not need to for Sakura started to talk. She talked about seeing Naruto in a new light and how she thought of him now. She listed all the events that happened in her life ever since Sasuke's death. The hokage was shocked. All this turmoil in one fragile cherry blossom's life, how could she hold in all that pain? He then learned his answer shortly after. She mumbled, "… Naruto, why did you have to die?" The hokage almost fell over when he heard that. Naruto made her feel better, and he died for her, but how? He didn't learn until she woke up.

"Huh? Where am I?" She abruptly stopped when all the events flooded her mind. She looked around hoping that it all was a bad dream when she noticed a wrinkled old man staring at her. Then that old man looked familiar. She squinted her eyes hoping to find a memory of seeing him. That's it! He's the Hokage! But what's he doing in my room? This isn't my room… then she realized that she was in the hokages office. She had stumbled in through the door then her memory blanked out.

The hokage asked her to talk about what happened on the mission and she told him. But when she got to the part where Naruto died she broke down in sobs. A few minutes later she regained her composure and then she finally got that last part out. She looked down to her kunai holster and saw Naruto's headband hanging out. The hokage told her to go home and recover from her wounds (which were very little as Naruto had protected her most of the time with kage bunshins.) So she went home and on her dresser she saw Sasuke's headband lying there with team 7s picture behind it. Sasuke was standing there as if he was too good for pictures, then there was Sakura looking happy and lastly there was Naruto with his big idiotic (but lovable) grin on his face. She choked at the sight as she put Naruto's headband on her dresser next to Sasuke's. Then a thought struck her, she was the only remaining member of team seven.

-Deep in the remains of Akatsuki's Lair-

Deep in the remains of the cave that marked the hideout of Akatsuki a body stirred.