I had a dream about a much different end to Naruto.
The Epilogue
Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha lay side by side, in the wasteland of a battleground that they had created. It had been a long, hard fought battle, a measure of one another's belief in their own way of doing things.
By the barest of margins, just barely staying on his feet a few seconds longer, Naruto won.
Now, suffering injuries, blood loss and Chakra exhaustion, he lay staring at the sky. Next to him, Sasuke was silent, but had a look of peace on his face.
Naruto felt… conflicted. He had won, the nations were at peace. The Kyuubi was gone. He could feel it. More, it was what he didn't feel.
The constant burn, subtle though it was. Energy, hyperactive and always present, forcing him to always be on the move. A bubble of hate incarnate that was a constant reminder of what he had sealed inside of him for his whole life. It had soothed, very minutely, over the last few weeks, but not completely.
None of that was present. The Kyuubi, Kurama, was… dead.
"Naruto-" Sasuke started, but was interrupted. The young man in question began to glow with the red burning chakra of the beast sealed inside of him, lifting into the air. In only a few seconds he dissolved into nothing, seemingly devoured by the bubble of malignant energy that still churned and boiled.
Another Place
Naruto looked up at Kurama, confused, but happy. Sadness was also there, but he had never let that control him before.
"Am I dead, too?"
"No," the great fox smiled at him, "But I am. And that is why we are here."
"What's happening?" The blonde teen asked, starting to reach out for the fox.
"When I was young, the Sage of the Six Paths told me that I would meet his successor. It would be a person like no other, strong in character, body and mind. It was my duty to help and guide him. After the first hundred or so years, I began to lose hope. By the time the second century rolled around, humans started practicing with seals. Using them, they imprisoned and killed some lesser demons. I feared dying before I could follow the Sage's advice. So, I made a contingency."
Naruto was paying the Kyuubi rapt attention, not daring to utter a sound.
"I placed a seal on my soul, Naruto. If ever I were to die, it would activate. It's purpose was to create a new Kyuubi, a new Nine Tailed Fox, out of the nearest living creature. I recorded a message, telling my inheritor about the purpose that was given to me, and left it that way for nearly a thousand years. Just a few weeks ago, I realized that you are the Successor of the Six Paths. I rewrote the message into what you hear now," even as he spoke, Naruto noticed that Kurama was fading, "You will do many great things, Naruto. You've already done so much, but you aren't even fully grown. The longer you live, the more good you will do. And so, I allowed this to happen. You, the Successor of the Six Paths, shall have the might and wisdom of the Kyuubi no Youko, just as I promised the Sage," only the creature's head was left, and it was smiling at the teen, sad yet content, "There is one thing above all that I have learned, Naruto. Do not be afraid to love. I was, and came to know only hate. Goodbye… my friend."
Teary eyed, Naruto accepted the power into himself. He swore that he would help everyone, in honor of Kurama and the Sage of the Six Paths. Not just Konoha, but everywhere.
He felt his body change, become more than it was. He faded slowly back into the world of the living.
The Living World
For Sasuke, only a few seconds had passed. Naruto had dissolved, leaving behind the red chakra. A small bubble of yellow formed and began to fuse with the red, becoming orange. In only a few seconds it formed into Naruto once more.
The teenager dropped to the ground, the glow slowly fading, but leaving something behind. Nine somethings, actually.
"What was that?" Sasuke asked, clutching his missing arm.
Naruto was looking at his hands, "Kurama died. I… I inherited everything he was." Nine orange tails fanned out behind him. He felt the weight of Kurama's knowledge, just waiting in the wings for his perusal.
"Wha-"
"Come on," the blonde shook away the emotions that didn't matter just then, and pulled Sasuke to his feet by his remaining arm, healing him as much as he could while doing it, "There are a lot of people waiting for us, back home. You're coming back this time, if I have to tie you up and drag you along like a sack of potatoes." His smile took what meager heat there was out of the words.
"Naruto," Sasuke sighed, turning his head away. He tried to think of what to say, how to explain how no one would want him back.
"Sakura is waiting for you," the other teen said lowly, still smiling, "And Hinata for me. I'm not going back until you do. You really want to make both of them cry?"
Sasuke shook his head. He felt his mouth twitching upwards, a small smile, an honest smile, forming for the first time in years. He shook his head again, and turned to look at Naruto. This was his brother, the only man that he would ever love. Itachi may have been his hero, and the devil that haunted his nightmares, but it was Naruto that made him feel like he could have hope for a better future. It was Naruto he didn't want to disappoint.
And he had quite a few years to make up for.
"Yeah," he said finally, "Let's go home."
Konoha, Years Later
Naruto watched with the purest joy as Hinata was made Hokage. He was in the crowd, holding their children on his shoulders. They were cheering and clapping as she accepted the hat. He was hooting and hollering as well.
It had been a shock, to everyone aside from Sasuke, when he refused to take the job. It had been his dream since so young, it was inconceivable that he would turn it down.
"I'm not fit for the position, not anymore," he said with confidence, "I'm… well, I'm immortal. We can't have an immortal leader." There were arguments for him to take it anyway, but he still refused, "No, Hinata will be Hokage. She will do better than any of us. Sasuke, Sakura and I have been working with her for years. She is more than ready for this."
Now, with Bolt and Himawari on his shoulders, he knew he made the right decision. His tails wagged, showing his real joy for her. He knew, no matter what may come, that she would hold the title with the grace and power that it deserved. Honestly, Naruto didn't think he would be able to balance the workload and having a family all that well. He would probably end up relying on Shadow Clones to spend time with his family. That would be unacceptable.
Hinata, though? Hinata would stop the village cold, just to make time for their children. They would not have an absentee mother. More, she would not allow the village to stagnate, trying to keep to the old ways. Having lived in her clan for so long, she knew the value of change.
"You'll lead us to some interesting places, Hinata," he said softly, still smiling up at the woman, "Come on, you two," Naruto addressed the kids, "Let's go meet mom in her new office."
"Yeah!" Bolt cheered, and Himawari nodded emphatically.
Sixty years later, Hinata Uzumaki would die of natural causes. Naruto's children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren would mourn with him. He stayed at home for a solid week, just reminiscing about all the time he had spent with his wife.
Hinata's reign had lead to many a great changes, just as he thought. Perhaps the strangest, and best, change was the removal of the Kage system.
His wife was the Last Hokage. She helped end the Era of Ninja, by making them obsolete. With the help of Naruto, and the other Kage, they created a council, containing elected officials, from all the countries. They weren't the strongest people, but they were specifically chosen for the job.
Kages were not completely gone, nor ninja, but the mercenary role they filled had been removed. Starting with the Village Hidden in the Leaves, their military stopped being privatized. The change was small, and yet massive.
They retained the various ranks- Gennin, Chuunin, Special and Elite Jounin- but a new rank was added. Kage. By the time Hinata had passed, there were four Kages in the Leaf. Not acting as Supreme Leaders, merely generals.
And the jobs had remained the same for each rank, but their pay was made into an hourly wage, or salary, with pay increases based on rank. In short, they were really an army, not a force of assassins for hire.
For the last thirty years it had been running perfectly fine without his input.
"I think," Naruto said one night at the family dinner, "That I will go on a walk. I'll be back, someday," he moved around the room after that, hugging each member of his family, "Goodbye."
He used the power he contained to overcharge the Transformation Technique, making it permanent. His hair had become red, like his mother's and he kept his whisker marks, but decided to use a face that more closely resembled his father, mixed with a bit of Shikamaru.
Naruto would have taken a new name, but no transformation could hide his tails, so there really was no point. He traveled the Elemental Countries for forty years, helping who he could, when he could. He had stopped a civil war, staged a rebellion against a tyrannical leader, and finally got around to finishing the Rasengan.
Eventually, he made it back to Konoha, and was reinstated into their military. Another ten years there and he found love once more.
Nina Inuzuka was her name. She didn't care that he was the Kyuubi, or a Sage, she just loved him. With her, he had three children. Their first born they named after the matriarch from his time, Tsume. The twins they named Rika and Taichi. Considering the mischief the two of them could get up to, Naruto nicknamed them Des and Troy.
Nina died at the age of seventy two, but had given him so many good memories that he could hardly think about her without a smile on his face. He remembered the words she had said to him on her deathbed.
"You should try being a woman for a couple centuries," she had smiled weakly at him, "Might give you a new perspective. Hell, have a couple kids," Nina laughed at the idea of her husband walking around, pregnant.
"You know," he kissed her aged, wrinkled hand, "I just might do that." She died, two hours later.
Again, Naruto mourned for a week, then approached the Mayor. That was a change that was made during his forty years away.
He told the man that he was leaving again. He then changed into a woman, right in front of the Mayor.
"If the village ever needs me again," she said, "Tell them to look for Uyoku, in the Land of Waves."
Uyoku spent sixty years in the Land of Waves, quietly mastering new Taijutsu. Of course, that name had fallen out of favor nearly eighty years ago. The people called the physical combat forms Martial Arts, now. It made her smile, thinking about it. The world was in such a state of peace, give or take a few assholes who tried to wage wars, that even fighting was deemed an art.
Every time a practitioner would stroll into town, she would learn from them, then spend time dedicated to mastering it. It helped, being able to create her Shadow Clones. It was something she wished she'd abused the ever loving hell out of when she was still a child.
And she did not leave her mastery over Chakra behind, either. Creating Chakra constructs, matching, or exceeding, that of the Tsusano-o armor created by the Mangekyo Sharingan was hardly a challenge for the woman.
One day, a man in green fatigues approached the little hut she had made for herself in a far off corner of the island nation. On the front of his uniform was a very familiar leaf emblem.
When Uyoku came out to greet him, he took an odd stance. Spine rigid, chin slightly elevated, feet together, and then he snapped his right hand up to shade his eyes, with his bicep pointing straight out from his shoulder.
She tilted her head curiously for a moment before realizing that he was saluting her. Weird way to do it, certainly, but flattering, nonetheless.
"Uyoku Uzumaki?" The man asked.
"Yes. And who are you?"
"I'm Second Corp Chuunin, Sato Arimaki," he introduced himself, "The Village of the Leaf has need of you, again."
She blinked at him, "In what capacity? I've kept an ear to the ground, there are a few spats going on between the Grass Republic and some of the bigger nations, but Konoha is at peace."
The man, Sato, frowned in confusion for a moment, "Right, Konohagakure. We are no longer a hidden village, ma'am. While we could always use more soldiers, the Mayor has requested we seek you out as a teacher."
"Really?" Uyoku said, lifting a single eyebrow at him.
"Yes, ma'am. A History teacher, to be specific."
The current Kyuubi and Grand Sage considered the man and his words. The request intrigued her.
"I'll pack my things."
Forty years later
"...And that's how I came to be your teacher," she said to the class of ten year old children. Uyoku had been delighted to discover that they had done away with the child soldier program that had been the Konoha Ninja Academy. Now it was just a regular school, even if their P.E. class taught them to run up walls and stand on water.
"Kyuubi-sensei!" A little boy stood up, his hand held high.
"Yes, Mister Umino?" She smiled at the descendant of her father figure.
"Is it true that you can catch bullets? Even from a machine gun?!" The look of wonder in his eyes reminded her of herself, back when she would think of rescuing princesses using flashy, explosive techniques.
"Yes, and yes, Mister Umino. If you are a diligent practitioner, you can train yourself to catch bullets. It is much better form, however, to dodge."
"Um, Kyuubi-sensei?" A rather solemn girl stood up, raising her hand.
"Yes, Miss Nara?"
"How did you handle it? Losing Hinata and Nina, I mean. My grandma just…" she sniffled, "It just hurts so much, not having my grandma here. How can you stand it, with your wives?"
For a moment, Uyoku thought about how to answer that one.
"When you think of your grandma, do you remember the good times?" she asked.
The little girl nodded.
"Good, don't lose that. Remember her, all of her, the good and the bad. One day you'll realize that you still miss her, still love her, but it won't stop you from moving forward. Two of the happiest days of my life were when I married Hinata and Nina. Two of the saddest were when they passed. When I think about them, I remember all the times we'd sit together, hold each other and bring children into the world. I also remember every time we'd fight and each time they were sick, and fretting every time they had to be out doing something dangerous.
"I look back on all those things and smile because even the bad parts mean I had someone that I loved enough to remember all of it. You are sad right now because you miss her, and nothing can replace her. One day, you'll have children and grandchildren, and you will realize that loving your grandma doesn't stop you from loving them."
There was clapping from the door. The class turned to look and Uyoku had a big smile on her face as she saw her husband, Kamina Yamanaka.
"That was very well said," he spoke.
"Thank you," she nodded to him, then turned to her class, "Mister Umino, how about a demonstration of my ability to catch bullets. That might be a wonderful end to today's classes."
The kids all cheered and she lead them all outside and to the courtyard.
"You show off," Kamina said with no real heat as he checked his weapon to make sure it was ready to fire.
"You just don't want to get all hot and bothered in front of a bunch of kids, once you see how awesome your wife is," she whispered back to him. He just shook his head with a grin.
Uyoku took a stance, her feet spread shoulder width apart. She breathed in once, held it, then released slowly as she brought her hands before her, her right far forward of her left, but her palms open.
Kamina took a moment more to make sure she was ready. Then he opened fire with his fully automatic gun. It was the latest model, able to shoot out a hundred rounds a minute.
Uyoku's hands moved so fast through the air that the sleeves of her kimono snapped and cracked like a whip. After her husband had fully emptied the chamber of it's bullets she relaxed her stance, and let the bullets she'd collected fall to the ground.
For a moment there was silence, then the class began to clap and cheer. The woman let her tails fan her, to help cool off, and brushed some imaginary dirt off her shoulder.
"That was awesome!" was the general consensus of her class.
"Just remember," she started loudly, getting them to all calm down, "Just remember, anyone can do what I just did, if you remain dedicated. The entire world lays before you. Your past, your history, are there to help you shape the future to come. You can allow yourself to be swallowed by it, or choose to grab life by the horns and push back. The future is yours, never forget that."
Two months later, Uyoku would find out that she was pregnant with her first child with Kamina. When their baby boy was born, named after Iruka, she swore he would be the last. They ended up having four more.
For the following thousand years, Naruto would switch back and forth between himself and Uyoku, forgoing the red hair unless he planned on staying in the Village of the Leaf. Sometimes, he found love and married and had children. Sometimes she would go for nearly a century and a half without even having a date. No matter what, he kept the memories of those he loved close to his heart.
And after nearly a thousand years, he had found a face he never thought he'd see again. It was his first wife, Hinata. The same hair and eyes, the same body and scent. Most of all, it was her smile. Small and shy, but brighter than any other in the room.
They had met in a local coffee shop in the sprawling City of Fire, that had once been the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and had been chatting for little more than twenty minutes. This reincarnation told him that her name was Megumi.
He wished they could have talked for days, years, but his Cell phone alerted him to a case at the hospital that required his direct intervention. He stood up, grabbing his coat and donning it, careful of his ever present tails.
"I'm sorry, Megumi, but I really do have to go. Will you be here tomorrow?"
"Oh, no, I am leaving for the City of Spring for business this evening," she said, visibly saddened by the thought of not speaking to the man everyone knew as the Immortal Ninetailed Sage.
"Oh," Naruto's shoulders slumped, but then he smiled a kind smile at her, "Perhaps we'll meet again, in the future. The pleasure was mine," he took her hand and kissed the back, "I assure you." She blushed and nodded at him, but her smile was back. Nodding to himself, Naruto left.
Hands in his pockets, he walked at a steady, if slightly slow pace down the sidewalk. He knew that he might never see her again. He might never again be lucky enough to see the face of his first wife, his first true love, in another thousand years. He was letting her go because… because he would never want to hold her back. Clearly Megumi was excited to go. Whatever she was doing there, it was worth it to her. What kind of man would he be, if he asked her to give it all up so he could live a life of nostalgia with her?
He smiled, freely and genuinely, remembering the look of happiness on Hinata's face when she was named Hokage. He almost laughed, remembering the look of shock on the faces of Nina's fresh recruits when they found out she outranked him. He remembered the look of joy on Kamina's face, each time he held one of their children, just after being born.
If working in the City of Spring would do that for Megumi, he would never stand in her way.
A hand grasped his arm and he turned around to find Megumi panting and flushed, obviously having run to catch up with him.
"Megumi, what-"
"Listen," she said, a stern look on her face, "I just met you, and this is crazy," she pulled a small note pad out of her cream colored winter coat and wrote something on it before ripping out the page and handing it to him, "but here's my number," he took the note, a smile blossoming on his face, "So, call me, maybe?"
+-99999909
A/N: I added in that last part, simply because I could.
For a more comprehensive timeline: Naruto was sixteen when he became the new Kyuubi. We'll call that Year One. At thirty one, Year Fifteen, Hinata became Hokage. At Year Seventy Five, Hinata died of old age. At Year One Hundred Fifteen, Naruto Came back to the village. Year One Hundred Twenty Five, he married Nina. Year One Hundred Sixty Seven, Nina died. Year Two Hundred Twenty Seven, Naruto, as Uyoku come back to the village. Year Two Hundred Fifty Nine, Uyoku martries Kamina. Year Three Hundred Twelve, Kamina dies. Year One Thousand Two Hundred Seventy Seven, Naruto meets Megumi.
