Naruto and Sakura Next Generation:

Attention, as of 6/8/22 this this story is being edited to be improved for any inconsistencies and other things that could be improved. New chapter will come out hopefully on the 15th or 16th of this month.

Well, I have had 3 ideas for a Narusaku story featuring my favorite Naruto couple. One, an alternate ending where they get married and have children of their own. Two, one where Sakura starts falling for Naruto early in the story, so it would basically be a retelling of the story since the beginning. Third, a genuine confession in the Land of Iron. Along with many of my fellow shippers here I was greatly disappointed with the ending putting Naruto with Hinata. For a while I just accepted it, but in the last year or so I've been leaning toward rejecting it. Now after seeing a few things by Kishimoto that I really don't agree with I'm officially disregarding it.

Things Kishi has said that has made me disregard the ending he gave.

1. Sakura not loving Sasuke and moving to Naruto would make her a terrible person.

2. Sakura was supposed to be in the same boat as Shikamaru.

3. The story was always about Naruto and Hinata falling in love.

4. It is said in one of the Naruto databooks that Sakura was confused on her feelings for him and Sasuke.

5. Naruto is a battle manga not a love manga.

6.I heard Kishi admitted he'd never done a love story before.

These things seem contradictory to me. Sakura moving on from Sasuke and choosing Naruto over him would make her a terrible person? This is the same guy that tried to kill her at least twice, right? I don't think that's a betrayal. While I like forgiveness and unconditional love I never saw Sakura's crush on Sasuke as true love and more an obsession. And Naruto moving on from Sakura to be with Hinata doesn't make him a terrible person? Seems a bit hypocritical. Nothing wrong with moving on.

If Naruto and Hinata were meant to be the end game early on and Sakura was supposed to be in the same boat as Shikamaru then she should not have been on the same team with Naruto to begin with, Hinata should have.

Now I don't have anything against Naruhina, except for the execution in canon with The Last consisting of Naruto being put under a spell, and that downright lie Sakura tells him about his crush on her just being another way to compete with Sasuke. In fact I have a couple fanfics on them I have favorited. But statements 3 and 5 contradict each other, action stories can have romance in them, and often do if I'm not mistaken. I find it hard to believe that Kishi wasn't involved in making the databooks unless I'm missing something, why would Sakura be confused on her feelings if he wasn't thinking of the possibility of having her get together with Naruto?

But enough of the rant. Let's get into the story. This will take place just after Naruto and Sasuke have fought it out. I may do the one where Sakura and Naruto fall in love early on as well. I plan on rotating stories every weekend.

Chapter One: The Aftermath

Sakura helped Kakashi as they both made their way to the Valley of the End. As she did so, she thought back to her last memory before waking up. Sasuke declaring his goal of Revolution and her begging him to stop, only to be hit with that genjutsu of him piercing her chest. She'd professed her love, poured her heart out in an attempt to change his mind, and he'd just casually done that to her.

Sakura sighed. Enough was enough. She'd held on to him for so long, and he'd only gotten further and further away. This love was killing her inside. It was time to let it go. Sasuke clearly wasn't interested in her since he'd rejected her AND tried to kill her… twice each. That was not someone that deserved her love anymore.

She looked over the ledge and saw them, laying there on the ground. Naruto and Sasuke, both of whom had lost an arm. Naruto his right, and Sasuke his left, blood soaked out from their elbows, creating a trail that looked as though they were holding hands. Sakura leapt down and ran to her teammates, immediately healing them to stop the bleeding.

"That's great Sakura!" Naruto said, looking at her with a bruise covered face.

"Sakura," Sasuke spoke.

"Don't talk Sasuke. I need to concentrate," the pink haired medical ninja said.

Sasuke waited a moment then said, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" she asked. "For what?"

"Everything," the last Uchiha said.

She looked at him with teary eyes, but then steeled herself.

"I'm glad you're back now Sasuke. But after all you've done I… I can't hold onto this love I have for you anymore! You tried to kill me! Twice! Thrice if you count that time in Orochimaru's hideout! I poured my heart out to you to get you stop! But I just get knocked out both times! I can't do this anymore Sasuke! Uggh! If you weren't so bruised already, I'd give you a hell of a beatdown!"

Sakura finished her work as the bleeding arms stopped. She then turned to Naruto, wanting to hit him as well, but seeing him already in so much pain she couldn't bring herself to do it. She raised her fist as Naruto sat up with a smile. He made a scared expression as he prepared himself for a konk on the head. But instead she hit the ground between them.

"You idiots! Both of you!" she wept and then threw her arms around Naruto.

"Sakura," he said.

"Thank you, Naruto," she said through her tears.

"Huh? For what?" he asked.

She chuckled softly while still weeping. "You idiot. You brought Sasuke back to me!"

"Yeah. Guess I did. Though… I wasn't expecting that!" he said.

"Well… it's not like I deserve her after all I've done," Sasuke said.

Sakura broke away for a moment and her tears intensified upon looking at Naruto's destroyed arm.

"I can't believe you'd go so far for me!" she said before sobbing harder into his chest. Naruto put his remaining hand on her back to comfort her.

"It's okay Sakura. Everything will be okay."

She released him from the second hug and saw his foxy grin. She smiled back at him through her tears and then glanced over at Sasuke who was giving a pained smile as well.

Kakashi watched his team all reunited with a smile under his mask. He's finally back.

"Well, I guess we still need to undo the infinite tsykuyomi," Naruto said.

He and Sasuke used their good arms to form a hand seal, and everything went back to normal. Almost. They made their way back to the Hidden Leaf village, where Sasuke was put in prison with a medic to watch him as well as a seal over his eyes. Naruto was put in the hospital to recover. Though he managed to attend Neji's funeral and stand by Hinata's side. It took a few weeks for all the damage to heal. Kurama had used so much chakra in the battle with Sasuke that Naruto's healing was no different than a normal person. Sakura would visit him almost every day.

Finally, the time came when Sasuke was released. The original Team 7 stood just outside the gate to the Hidden Leaf village. Naruto stood a bit deeper in the forest out of sight but he could hear every word.

"Well, got to be honest with you. Under normal circumstances you'd be imprisoned for life," Kakashi Hatake, now the Sixth Hokage said. "But since you helped defeat Madara and Kaguayua, as well as dispel the Infinite Tsykuyomi, Naruto and I were able to put a good word. Just don't go crazy on me. Cause if you do they're gonna hold me responsible."

"Right, sorry." Sasuke apologized.

Sakura looked at her friend. "You're sure you're leaving?"

"It won't be for long," Sasuke assured her. "I just need some time to figure things out. Now that I'm not an Avenger anymore, what am I? I need to find out for myself. I promise to come back in a few months. Besides, you said you weren't in love with me anymore."

Sakura looked down. "That doesn't mean I don't care about you anymore, Sasuke."

"I'm grateful to you for that," he said. "Thank you for everything. I hope everything works well between you and Naruto."

Sakura blushed at that.

"You love him, don't you?" Sasuke asked.

She nodded, her blush deepening.

"For so long I was confused on my feelings for him. I was torn between him and you."

"Well… he's always been there for you while I kept pushing you away," Sasuke said. "You should tell him how you feel."

"I did," Sakura told him. "In the Land of Iron, I said I loved him… but he said I was lying to myself."

"Were you?" Sasuke asked.

"Well… I did tell him that I'd forgotten about you. That was a lie. I was still in love with you during that time and not letting go. But I loved Naruto too."

"Well… good luck. The idiot could use a smart girl like you," Sasuke said.

She giggled.

"Bye Sasuke. Be back soon!"

"I will. Take care of yourself, Sakura."

And the last Uchiha walked off down the path, he hadn't gotten more than a few steps when Naruto stepped out of his hiding place. Sakura sweat dropped as she had a feeling he'd heard the whole thing.

"Didn't think you'd be here to see me off," Sasuke said.

"Nah. I just came to give you this," Naruto said as he reached into his pocket.

He drew Sasuke's old headband. It still had the scratch on it from their first battle in the Valley of the End.

"Thanks. Well… see you Naruto. She's all yours now. Take care of her," Sasuke said. "Even if it's me going after her."

Naruto grinned. "Don't worry. She's in good in hands. Or at least hand."

Sasuke nodded and continued on before disappearing into the forest of leaves. Sakura stood there watching him then gazed at Naruto. Kakashi smiled with his eyes both of which were now visible as he had a new headband that he kept on normally rather than as an eyepatch.

"I'll leave you two alone," he said.

Sakura blushed as she walked over to Naruto.

"So… I guess you heard all that?" she asked.

"Yeah."

She sniggered. "If I'd known you were there, I wouldn't have said that you idiot!"

Naruto just smiled.

"Hey… have I ever told you that you have a large, charming forehead?" he asked.

Sakura looked at him and was stunned as his head came closer to hers, his lips touched her forehead. Inside her head, she remembered the day they had come together as Team Seven. When she and Sasuke sat on the bench and he'd said those words to her. But Sasuke had never acted the same way again.

"It was you! You were transformed as Sasuke that day!" she said.

"Yeah. Sakura," Naruto hesitated, the words catching in his throat. "I-I love you. I always have. You're the only girl I could ever see myself spending the rest of my life with."

Her green eyes widened as they looked into his blue ones.

"Naruto," Sakura was astounded at the conviction in her teammates voice.

For a moment they stood there, Naruto thinking she was gonna reject him. Then before she knew what she was doing, Sakura slowly stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck and kissed him on the lips. Naruto stood stunned for a moment, but he swiftly returned the kiss from his dream girl. For a while they remained like that. Then they broke apart.

"I love you too Naruto," Sakura said with a teary smile. "And I mean it sincerely. I wasn't completely truthful in the Land of Iron. I was still holding onto Sasuke… but I also loved you."

"I know Sakura," Naruto said. "It's alright."

"You're the only one for me. I know that now," Sakura said grasping Naruto's remaining hand. "After all we've been through together. You've become the light when things grow dark. You've protected me so many times and been there for me when I was down. You mean the world to me. Also… I'm sorry for being so mean to you back in the old days. I had Sasuke high up in the stars and you had to work your way up from the bottom of the earth."

"That's okay. I mean... I am an idiot after all."

"You're the idiot I fell in love with," Sakura said as she gave him a light, playful smack on the head and then a peck on the cheek.

Naruto chuckled. "So does this mean we're together?"

Sakura nodded. "Of course, Naruto!"

"Wahoo!" Naruto leapt for joy.

Their new lives together were about to begin.

Well that's the first chapter done. We'll see how long this goes. I don't intend to make a 100 chapter story, but maybe 25. I was inspired part way with the fanfic How It should have Ended. I might have some further similarities as well. But I don't intend to copy off everything. In fact, instead of Naruto and Sakura having a son as the main character I was considering making them have a daughter as their eldest child. I might use one called Amai Uzumaki, a character I saw in one of my favorite Narusaku videos on Youtube. Naruto and Sakura First Daughter. But we'll see. Please review and let me know what you think. I might have them have a son yet, and it would probably be the popular one Shinichiku or however its spelled. Then Amai can be the middle child, and I think I'll have a baby sister as well.