Prologue
The sun had risen once again. The nightmarish night has ended and they all have survived. However, the cost of this survival was too great.
Shinju, the God-Tree, the source of all the Chakra in the world, had been given back His consciousness after the long exhausting battle. The Juubi's Jinchuuriki, Obito Uchiha, was derived from the powers of the Ten-Tails thanks to three extraordinary shinobi. To show His gratitude, the deity returned life to everyone who lost it in the war of hatred, in exchange for the one. The most precious one.
"N-Naruto-kun…" cried Hinata and in relief falling with her knees on the rocky ground, not fully aware of her surroundings as soon as he landed nearby. All she could see was Naruto in his golden glory, covered in bright deep yellow Chakra, smiling his cheerful grin.
Then he could see it all.
Her. All his friends. Their families lost to this war coming back from the dead. Great love and joy. Edo Tensei Hokages and Madara Uchiha who were disappearing, dispersing into ashes they have been for years, coming back to Shinju. Naruto knew he was to follow them. The blond looked at the inviting tree vibrating with life hidden beneath it.
"Naruto." said a tired voice. Stumbling from the exhaustion Sasuke Uchiha came closer to his best friend. "What's happening, Naruto?"
"Hey, Teme, can I ask you a favor? A life-time one?", asked Uzumaki in his pleasant nostalgic-like voice. The young men looked themselves in the eye. "See, I'm not going to be here anymore, you know. Kurama and I have a deal with the tree-dude. Damn Kitsune is actually enjoying the idea of being together forever with the rest of Bijuu."
The boy chuckled and then took his friend's hand and pushed him down so he was kneeling next to Hinata. Naruto looked at both of them. They were both tired, but never tired enough to deny him help and support. It was a time to pay them back for their acknowledging him when no one did and for their love, even if it was from afar. In one way or another, it was thanks to Sasuke and Hinata he was now who he was.
The sixteen-year-old kunoichi was silently crying, not daring to blink, being afraid that if she did so, Naruto would disappear. Suddenly, she felt a kind and warm hand on her wet cheek. It was the same gesture she provided him back then…
"Hinata-chan, thank you for loving me all this time. I'm sorry I was so dense as I was. It looks like I took it after my dad. But you know what? I think that if my parents are my suns, you are my supernova."
He laughed and then as if the realization hit him he said loudly to himself:
"So this is what the Ten-Tails has been talking about… you really are a supernova. Your love will always reach the darkest places."
"N-Naruto-kun, I don't know what's going on, but I beg you don't talk as if it was a goodbye…" she whispered, not trusting her voice to be heard better, "I-I won't bear it if you leave me.. leave us."
"Nah, you will be alright. Besides, the Ten-Tails likes you. You will be able to talk to me whenever you like, as long as you love. It is a promise, dattebayo.", Naruto bowed before her to reach and kiss her forehead, putting into the kiss so much love and warmth she thought she would die. Or faint, then die. When he straightened up, somehow he took off his coat shining with golden flames and put it on both Hinata's and Sasuke's arms, who then realized how close actually he had put them to each other.
"Teme, I want you to take care of everything in my place. Can you do this?" Naruto said out-of-nowhere in business-like voice. Sasuke was serious and smart enough to know what his brother thought about.
"You have my word, Naruto."
"Good. And one more thing, Sasuke. Please, protect Hinata. She is so-damn-strong, but she is our beloved supernova and I know that both me and the Ten-Tails will be mad-beyond-belief if something bad happens to her. And we all know that getting the tree-guy mad is like a bad idea, so do your best."
"B-b-but, Naruto-kun, what about being the Hokage? What about not giving up until you become the Hokage. As far as I know you aren't. You can't leave!" shouted Hinata, hoping it would stop him. "Y-You can't leave me! I love you so much! I can't be a-a-a supernova if you are not here!"
"Hinata-chan, you are strong enough to shine your light without me, I know it. You did it all the time without me, and I hope you will forgive me one day that I couldn't be there for you when you needed me the most." The boy stood up and looked at both of them. "Be awesome Hokage for me. I know I can trust you with this one."
He walked closer to the tree, no one able to move to reach him.
In the stem of the god-tree, the shining crack appeared. Naruto once again turned his back towards the tree and looked upon all the shinobi. He knew the Kages heard his every word. Tsunade was crying, furiously wiping out the falling tears. The Mizukage, Raikage and Tsuchikage looked sad and miserable. Gaara was trying to get closer, but some power was keeping him in place. Somewhere near were standing his friends, all of them on the edge of breaking down. He smiled to them his smile full of hope and said his last words:
"It's not like it's a goodbye. All souls are ending in this tree. I am joining my parents and Ero-Sennin and all the previous Kages and so many shinobi that aren't here anymore. We will meet again, I'm damn sure of it. Believe me, dattebayo!" In a flash, his golden entity linked to the crack in the god-tree and he started to fade never failing to smile with a hand rising in the friendly gesture meaning see you. Naruto Uzumaki, the child of prophecy, saved the shinobi world, befriended a deity and disappeared in the unfading glory of the sun that was now dawning upon the world in the day of seventeenth birth anniversary of the legendary gutsy ninja.
The victorious day was celebrated as cheerful as it was possible on the funeral. The news spread around the world evoking the joyful cheer followed by the mournful cry. The united forces were slowly coming back to their villages, in the spirit of unity as never before. The hours changed into the days, yet it looked as if the time had frozen. After Naruto's joining with Shinju, after all could move freely again, Hinata had clanged to the root of the divine tree and refused to let it go. She had fought furiously whenever someone had approached her, even if it was her beloved coming-from-dead cousin Neji with a bottle of water to keep her hydrated.
After two days of taking care of this business in the camps, Sasuke came closer to the tree, looking for the objective of his mission until now observed from afar, given to him by Naruto. It pained him greatly to accept the reality, but he clearly did better than the Hyuuga. She pressed her forehead to the hardness of the stem and never failed to loosen the grab on the tree. When he looked at her closer the first time, it took him a while to realize several things. Firstly, Hinata was seemingly sleeping due to exhaustion, which happened quite often during the next hours. Secondly, there was something on her forehead that looked to him like some sort of the princess-emblem, the same Tsunade had and even Sakura now. And thirdly, her ebony hair grew to the ridiculous length. Long cascades of straight perfect hair were falling on her arms and back and shaping rivers on the ground never failing to shine in the golden sun of twilight. Not thinking much, Sasuke reached his hand for a strand of hair and prayed silently to the god and Naruto, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. After a minute, he let go of this tempting black strand and covered the girl with the coat Naruto trusted them with, which strangely lost its shine and became a simple orange cloak soon after Uzumaki disappeared.
"Uchiha." said the voice behind him. He stood up and looked at the blond woman.
"Would you mind joining us for a minute?", her voice was devoid of emotions, but it was not unnerving, just empty. He just nodded and followed the Fifth Hokage into the tent, which was erected for the leaders. Inside he found the current Kages and the heads of clans of the United Shinobi Forces. Tsunade has taken her rightful place at the table.
"Glad you joined us, Uchiha Sasuke." said the Mizukage, sadly smiling at him. "Please, accept my condolences as I have not had the opportunity to express them earlier." The brunette again nodded without a word.
"We came to the agreement in several matters and we would like you and all of the clan leaders here to hear us out." stated the Kazekage in a slow monotonous voice. Sasuke repeated the gesture.
"We are forming the Unity of Nations in memory of Uzumaki Naruto." claimed the Raikage in a firm, but not heated tone. "We cannot imagine a different situation right now. It is against our hearts to act against his will. Learning about the past of shinobi and the past of the Uchiha clan, we declare you to be forgiven for all the deeds you have ever committed. You are free to come back to Konoha or to any other place you deem fit."
"We also know about promises Naruto wanted you to fulfill." added Tsunade, not raising her face from the papers, "I'm going to retire in upcoming years. The Kages agreed you will become the Hokage in four years when you turn twenty-one."
"But you won't be alone." interrupted the Tsuchikage. It was his words that broke Sasuke's indifferent face.
"What do you mean?", he asked in a low, long-unused voice.
"Angel of Konoha will join you on the post as the Seventh Hokage.", answered the old man.
"Let's all think of it as of an experiment." Sasuke almost grimaced at those words. He, without a doubt, had enough experiments for the rest of his life. And then he understood what had been said.
"Angel of Konoha? The Seventh Hokage? I do not understand." He frowned.
"Naruto has chosen you two to become his successors. After Hinata Hyuuga's words, we decided to give Naruto the title of the Sixth Hokage as the posthumous honor." Claimed Gaara. "Tsunade-sama has told us that Hinata-san will turn twenty-one on December 27th. This day will be the first of your ruling."
"How… How do you think it will work?!" shouted Sasuke to the congregation, finally releasing his grief and anger. "She's broken! She's on the point of insanity clinging to this tree as some mistreated child seeking shelter! How is she going to be alright and run the village?! Have you lost your mind?!"
"I'm going to be fine, Sasuke-kun.", answered the delicate voice. As one all the participants of the summit had turned to see Hinata Hyuuga standing in the entrance with her dirty war clothes, partially revealing some parts of her milk-white body, with Naruto's coat on her shoulders covered with long to the ground black hair. What was the most shocking was her pale face on full display without the fringe, white tired eyes and a little drop-shaped crystal on her forehead in the color of the summer sky.
The clan leaders created a path for her to come closer to the round table where she bowed slightly and with sad smile she declared, ignoring any response Sasuke had been preparing on the tip of his tongue:
"Naruto-kun has left me a task to complete and I will not hesitate to do it, but for the time being I ask for permission to leave the shinobi forces to train."
"Train? Hinata, what are you talking about?" asked Tsunade, both upset and confused.
"I cannot become a Hokage in the condition I am now." She replied and looked at Sasuke, who wasn't leaving his onyx eyes from her. "I know Naruto-kun told you to protect me, Sasuke-kun. You don't have to feel obliged to fulfill this, though. He gave me the contract to the White Divine Tigers and I will depart with them to become a Sage. I promise to come back as quickly as it will be possible."
"No threat is going to befall on your village, Angel of Konoha.", claimed the Tsuchikage reverently. "There is no need for you to train. The war is over. The peace is to be maintained."
"Tsuchikage-sama," she addressed him with a slight bow, "I was in no power to stop Naruto-kun from leaving. How can I lead my village in the future if I remain as I am now?"
"That's easy," Sasuke cut in. "I will be there. In time you will learn. On the other hand, I am in a far less fortunate situation. I may be forgiven, but people will not forget what I have done. As the Hokage, I will be treated as an usurper and a traitor."
"That's easy." answered Hinata softly in reflection of his own saying, turning to him with a light smile, "You just have to work hard to regain their trust during those four years."
"I challenge you, Hyuuga." claimed Sasuke coming closer to her, ignoring all the gathered. "If you manage to become the Sage in four years, I lose. But if I manage to win over the hearts of people in Konoha, I win."
"What is the prize?", asked Hinata mildly.
"The prize is a wish one fulfills for another."
"Deal." Hinata reached her hand for him to shake, which he did, but firmly with no lingering, much to Hiashi's approval, who stood close enough to witness all of it. "Kage-sama, I humbly ask for your permission to train.", the girl repeated in a bow.
"I shall grant it on my part, if you answer me a question.", said Gaara. Hinata looked at him, awaiting. "When did Naruto give you a contract with White Divine Tigers you speak about?" all in the tent had held their breaths.
Hinata's smile got wider, which beamed like a star ray.
"These days I have discovered I am connected to Shinju. I can talk with anyone who resides in the divine entity. That includes Naruto-kun. However, it was a gift from Shinju himself. I think he left me this crystal, this key", she touched her forehead blushing a little, "when Naruto-kun kissed me. This is his promise, I can speak with him whenever I like as long as I love."
"He never fails to amaze me." chuckled the Kazekage. "Let me talk to him sometime, Angel."
"Please, call me Hinata. And I will try my best."
"Hinata Hyuuga!" the solid voice of her Hokage command caught her attention. "You are permitted to leave next week. Before your departure, you will connect anyone who wishes to speak with the god-tree, to speak with Naruto." Hinata laid her hand on a slightly trembling Tsunade, who held her tears in check as well as she could.
"It will be my pleasure, Tsunade-sama. And thank you." The sixteen-year-old girl embraced the powerful woman in her thin arms, hiding her face. All the witnesses were ready to swear that they saw nearly invisible angel wings that adorned the tired body of Hinata Hyuuga, the divine bridge to the consciousness of Shinji, the Father and the Destiny of them all.