Chapter 9: Shonanoka

"So, are you going to tell me what's up with you or do I have to take it out from you by force?" Ino asked.

Sakura sighed. She really didn't really want to talk about this. Not yet, at least. The whole dream from the previous night has been translated into such a whirlwind of emotions that she didn't even know where to start if she were to talk about it.

"Can we better not?" Sakura asked. She looked straight into her blonde friend's eyes. Her look, pleading for secrecy. At least for a while.

But Ino wasn't having it. She had to, no, needed to talk and it was obvious to her. Carrying that load on her shoulders wasn't going to help her in any way.

"What are you doing here anyway?" she asked the blonde, curious.

"So early in the morning also," Sakura said.

Ino shrugged.

"The Hokage called me for some reason. Apparently, it's something related to my father," she said.

"But don't ask me about anything more as Kakashi didn't tell me a word extra," Ino added.

"Heh, curious," Sakura said.

"But enough about you, forehead, trying to derail the subject," Ino said. She looked towards her friend with eyes that pierced. She knew what Sakura was trying to do and it wasn't cutting it.

"Spill it out," she said. "Let me know what's happening on that big brain of yours," Ino said, while she came closer, stopped Sakura for a while and poked her forehead. Like they used to do when they were little and Sakura was yet a bud, fearing to bloom.

"By the way, I forgot to tell you, with this whole war stuff, but… Speaking about the war, I just wanted to say that you bloomed into a flower more beautiful than the cosmos, forehead!" Ino told her dear friend, as she recalled their childhood years. She looked at her warmly and smiled.

Realizing that by force she won't make Sakura talk in any way, Ino decided to change the approach. "For as much as some things change, as much as they stay the same," she thought.

"And so do people, apparently," she continued thinking while gazing into her friend's eyes.

Sakura blushed. Her friend's words got to her in an unexpected way.

Ever since the battle they had in the chuunin exams, she hadn't heard Ino telling her those beautiful words. It was always this friendship mixed with rivalry between them, that sometimes they forgot to tell each other beautiful words like these.

So now that they came, and from no less than someone who she looked-up to since her early childhood, it felt warming. It felt like her being could relax for a bit. And she did.

The tension that you could sense in the air and read on her shoulders went away for a minute.

Sakura sighed. Put her head to the ground and said a small "If only that were enough". Almost untraceable.

But Ino was there and heard her. Not to mention she knew her all too well. Sometimes it was like looking in a mirror for as much as she didn't like to admit.

"What do you mean by that?" Ino asked.

But Sakura kept being silent.

"Oh come on, forehead! We both know each other very well and we're past you trying to hide away from me. It's me you're talking to, remember? The one who can see through this whole facade of yours," she said, pointing all up and down Sakura's silhouette.

But Sakura kept her silence. Ino puffed.

"Fine, fine… if you don't want to talk now, I won't insist." She said, shrugging.

"But do know that if you ever want to do it, I'm here, eh forehead?" Ino said, pushing elbow to elbow. She then smiled warmly at her friend and continued to walk alongside her.

"I know," Sakura replied.

"Thank you, Ino," Sakura said, responding herself back with a warm smile.

The two kept advancing together towards the Hokage building.

As they walked, Ino thought that she should change a bit the mood, and start talking about something else.

"So, tell me, how are things for you and your team now?" Ino asked.

Sakura looked at Ino and started thinking.

"Well, Naruto should be in Tsunade-sama's office by now," she said.

"We're preparing him a prosthetic arm given that he lost his in the last battle he had with Sasuke-kun."

"Pfft, guys. Always solving their issues by firsts," Ino said, shaking her head in disapproval.

"Mmmyeah, well…," Sakura said, shrugging. She pondered for a while at the fact that no matter how much she tried, she still couldn't reach them and understand them in that specific way.

They had their own code. A code of heart, of some sorts. She remembered the words Naruto said back when they all met before the war. If Sasuke could see what's in his heart.

And it made her think… Although she cared about them so deeply, it felt like she couldn't reach their hearts. She was about to fall into another spiraling thought when Ino interrupted her once more.

"And how are things for you and Naruto, now that Sasuke left once again?" Ino asked.

Sakura brought herself to the reality in front of her. When she heard Ino's question she recalled what she had asked Sasuke before going. Then about the whole talk she had afterwards with Naruto.

"Well…" Sakura said, blushing. She avoided her friend's direct look. But Ino caught-up on it immediately. She giggled.

Sakura mustered the courage to be sincere to Ino. It was not like she could hide it too much.

"I… might have asked Sasuke to take me with him on his trip," she said, looking back and forth at Ino, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh?" Ino's eyebrows raised. She took a step back in amazement at Sakura's courage. She really wasn't that young bud anymore.

"Don't get yourself too worked-up. He said no," Sakura quickly cut it. She sighed and continued to walk alongside her friend.

Ino couldn't help but want to tease Sakura a bit. So she did.

"Still got those academy days hots for the guy, eeh, forehead?" Ino asked her. She smiled and stuck her tongue out at her for a slight second there.

"Oh, stop it Ino!" Sakura snarkily said.

"But yeah, we're all okay, thank you very much. Naruto, too!" Sakura said.

"Thanks for asking! All is well between us," she concluded. But for a moment there, her heart ached a bit as she recalled Naruto's words from the previous day.

'Sakura-chan… when you told me you loved me, for that brief moment I was the happiest man in the world,' the words echoed in her mind.

"Yeah… Naruto is okay too…" Sakura said in a mild tone, as you could see her losing herself in another dimension of thinking.

Ino couldn't help but notice Sakura's reaction, but didn't comment on it. She just let everything flow freely out of her friend's heart. She felt it was one of those moments of opening up about something. Interruption would've been a terrible thing to do right now.

Sakura then gathered her composure a bit. She realized her on and off emotional states and she didn't want to exhibit them right now. Not in front of Ino who might've read her like an open book and started questioning her.

She herself didn't know exactly what it was, so how could she give a conclusive answer anyway?

She had a lot on her mind and this was not one of the things she would've wanted to dwell on. There were other things more important to take care of now.

"He most certainly should be with Hinata now," Sakura said.

"They've been spending a lot of time together lately, since Neji died," she told Ino.

"You know how wonderful of a friend Naruto can be. How he can bring someone back from the pits of despair, even in their darkest times," she said as she recalled the multitude of times Naruto had done that for her.

"Hinata could really use that kind of support right now," Sakura said with her trademark smile. The one she used at certain times. Her heart had fretted earlier when saying those words. So she decided to smile through the fretting rather than analyzing it. Wasn't the moment, nor the time.

Ino just stood there and listened. She walked alongside Sakura without saying a word.

When Sakura finished her little speech, Ino focused her look on her friend.

Eyes turned sharp and looked at her, thinking.

'Oh, forehead… you have so many things that burden you now. Whether you want to admit it or not.'

She sighed. 'I just hope you can untangle all that's going on through your mind and heart and lift that burden off of your shoulders.'

"I see," Ino said on the surface.

"Well, it sounds like a lot of good, positive things are going down," she added. For a second, Ino was reminded of her father's last words in the war. About the positive love she symbolized.

So she made a promise to herself. To be that positive love that surrounds everyone. Especially her best friend. No matter if she feels like opening up for now or not.

"Yeah," Sakura answered.

Before they realized, they were both in front of the Hokage building.

"Well forehead, see you later. By the way, the memorial service for Neji is still on, right?" Ino asked.

Sakura nodded.

"Okay, just wanted to make sure because I know we talked about doing this ourselves, outside the family one, and I want to make sure I split myself properly between the one for my and Shikamaru's father and Neji's one,' Ino said.

"Yeah, I'm having Naruto help Hinata with the last preparations necessary, while I'm gathering everyone for the ceremony along with Lee,' Sakura said.

"Okay, see you then!" Ino greeted Sakura. She then went towards the Hokage's office, while Sakura headed down to the medical offices within the building.

Before leaving the place, Hinata looked once more towards Neji's grave. With a new resolve to not lay to waste his sacrifice, she left the place.

On her way back home, she couldn't help but think about her younger sister's words.

'You don't know everything,' were the words that popped into her head continuously. What was that she didn't know? And more importantly, what was so important that it needed to instill that old treacherous practice?

She walked some more time lost in those thoughts as she pondered about them.

Sure, she knew very well that she wasn't fit to be the Hyūga leader. Her father had made that very clear a long time ago. By those rules, she wasn't allowed access to many of the clan's affairs.

And truth be told, seeing how things ran inside the clan she didn't even want it.

But still, what was so important that the Caged Seal had to be brought back to practice when they had made a big fuss about it at Neji's funeral, announcing to everyone in the clan at the private ceremony that such practice will be no more?

Something was up and even she knew it. But what could she do?

Lost in those thoughts, Hinata didn't even notice when she bumped into Naruto right outside the road that led to the Hyūga compound.

"Oh, Hinata!" Naruto said. "I'm sorry, I didn't even notice you there for a second," he excused himself.

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata said, blushing, taking a step back.

"What are you doing here so early in the morning?" She asked, completely caught off-guard to meet him in such a place...

"Well, uhmm…" He started mumbling, slightly nervous.

"I… aah... I was supposed to be somewhere else right now, but before that I wanted to make sure everything was okay with you. Sakura-chan asked me to assist you with everything that was necessary for preparation for Neji's memorial service," he said, slightly tense.

It was a slightly uncomfortable situation, the one he was in at the present moment. He should've been at the hospital by now. But he put in balance two things: the promise he had made to Sakura about helping Hinata and the fact that he should've been at the hospital.

He figured the Hinata promise should be fulfilled because he would get some good ol' smacking from Sakura. Especially since he was one day late.

The other one he can always take it upon himself and his airy head that sometimes lets himself get carried away. It was after all the reason he was in this very mess to begin with.

He should've been at Hinata's place, but then the talk with his former master had carried him away that he forgot.

So he figured at least he can make it up today by being at Hinata's place and see how he can help. And then take the blame for the hospital appointment fully on himself and his surprising ways. Putting them in balance, one was easier to take on then the other.

Hinata put her hand to her chest and smiled.

"Sakura-san is always so thoughtful," she said.

Naruto nodded and grinned hard without even realizing, when he agreed to that.

"You are right on that one," he said, as he put his hand behind his back.

She scanned Naruto from top to bottom and back-up. There was something about him that radiated whenever he talked about Sakura.

She couldn't help but feel her heart start getting heavy for a moment. Thinking about what she said in the war that she'll stop chasing and be next to him, Hinata got a little down. How was she to compete with something like that?

As her demeanor changed, Naruto noticed. And for an instant he didn't realize why, when the sudden realization from his earlier revelations hit his head once more.

Damn! His mind started racing with uncertainty and blood felt like it slightly started boiling.

What was he to do now? Hell, this wasn't going to be easy now, was it?

He cleared his throat and tried to diffuse and lighten-up the situation.

"So… what are you doing here at this hour in the morning?" He asked. Hinata raised her head from the ground. Smiled warmly at him, and straightened her back.

"I… I come from Neji's grave," she said.

"I... uhh," she mumbled. Her eyes took her away from Naruto, trying to hide what she was feeling.

In the back of her mind, the whole scenario from earlier the morning was running down.

Naruto's emotional acuity picked up and immediately asked her what was wrong.

"Nothing, I just… some family quarrels, but there's nothing important," she tried to assure him.

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed. He knew very well the old stories of the clan from his battle with Neji and Hinata's with him. Not to mention that was literally what he had thought about the whole road to what was initially supposed to be his way to the hospital. And now with the whole situation of Neji's death, who knew what could be going on?

"Hinata", he said. "Look at me," Naruto insisted.

Hinata's eyes, filled with worry, moved towards Naruto's figure.

"Is everything okay?" He asked.

She wanted to say that yes, it was. But she knew very well it wasn't and Naruto was reading her like an open book.

What was she going to do? Hide it all and lie to Naruto, although it was clear as daylight or let it all out?

"You see…We just had a… misunderstanding. I'm not even sure I wrapped my head around everything so, I am not exactly sure what to tell you," Hinata told him, in an attempt to be as discreet as possible, but also hide the gravity of the situation.

Which was partially true because well… she had left the meeting while they were all discussing in order to take that decision. She was sure that the decision they took was probably in that sense, but she didn't yet have the confirmation, so saying anything would just mean adding unnecessary drama to the whole flame.

"It's… hard with my family," she said, as her eyes once again fell to the ground.

As Naruto watched her, his mind led him back to the times he made Neji a promise.

He sighed and for a moment his eyes followed Hinata's to the ground.

"I once made him a promise…" Naruto said.

His eyes then looked back to Hinata as hers fixated on his when she heard Naruto talking about a promise.

"I…" He paused for a second.

"I told him that when I become Hokage, I will change the Hyūgas' ways," Naruto said.

Hinata looked at him and felt her heart pounding. For more than one reason. She brought her hand to her chest, as if she tried to cover away her beating heart.

"But…" he said, as his breath became heavier and heavier.

"I wasn't even capable of saving him from his destiny," Naruto said, saddened.

She picked on what Naruto was saying with all of this. She remembered all too well from back in the chuunin exams when they fought. She knew very well what Neji had thought back then.

And thinking about it, that's how his life ended-up finishing. With him, dying for her.

Her heart started aching at the realization and she took a step back.

Naruto took notice of this himself, as his racing mind took him back to the realization of his morning thoughts.

A dead silence placed itself between the two of them.

Oh, dear. What was he supposed to do now? The dead silence between them had to be broken.

"But, we made him a promise, didn't we?" Naruto then said, as he lowered his head a bit to grab her attention. He smiled warmly then brought his right clenched fist next to his heart.

"That we will keep him inside here and continue to move forward," Naruto said.

"Right, Hinata?" he asked, smiling candidly at her.

He was aware of the strangely vague situation he was in given everything that had happened.

But, as he previously concluded, all he could do, at least for the moment, was to be a good friend to Hinata. So he started walking that road.

Hinata nodded in agreement at him, visibly embarrassed. She very much enjoyed Naruto's encouragement, so that only made her get back to her more cheery self.

"Mhm, you're right," Hinata said.

"I too, will do my best to keep brother Neji's memory alive and cherish it to the best of my abilities," she added, clenching her fist harder, next to her chest.

She was reminded of her own promise that she made at Neji's grave.

And although she faltered there for a second and she and Naruto started talking about the less pleasant realities, as soon as his encouragement followed, Hinata's resolve strengthened.

"So, let me know, is there anything I can help you with, Hinata?" Naruto asked. "Let's make this memorial service one of the most beautiful out there," he added before she could even respond, getting all pumped.

Then, he calmed down a bit realizing that this wasn't exactly the type of event to get too worked-up over. He apologized to Hinata as he strengthened his back and just stood there, calmly, awaiting her instructions.

"Well, uh, there's still one more thing that needs to be taken care of," she said.

"But I need to go back home and get some money to buy them."

Naruto then interfered.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" he said.

"But… what about where you had to be, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, visibly worried.

"Didn't you say you had something to take care of?"

Naruto laughed nervously. An image of Sakura's fist and worked-up face appeared in his mind.

'She's so going to scold me for not getting on time,' he thought. 'But she would even more if she finds out I didn't help Hinata out, so eh, I gotta pick my poison.'

"Yeaaah, I… uuh, I should've been somewhere else indeed, but it can wait, no worries,' he said.

No, it couldn't and he knew it, but what else was he going to do?

Hinata wasn't convinced enough, but she appreciated the fact that Naruto wanted to accompany her, so she didn't insist too much on the matter.

They both headed towards the Hyūga compound, walking alongside each other, as a slight tension danced around the air.

On the other side of the town, a young man dressed all in black knocked at the door in front of him.

Ever since his precious comrade had been taken from him, he had replaced the vibrant green with the gloomy black.

He found no pleasure in having to live like that, in this world. What good does it do when the man you looked up to your whole life was now a vegetable in a wheelchair, while your closest friend was two feet beneath the ground?

And although this is what he felt most of the time, he could not try to at least take care of his former master.

"Yes, Lee, enter!" The voice on the other side of the door said.

Gai had known it was Lee's turn to come visit him. Between him and Tenten, they were taking turns on who visits their master and makes sure that everything is taken care of.

"Good morning, Gai-sensei!" The young man said. His voice was lacking its usual vitality though.

"Good morning, Lee!" Gai answered back, as he watched his student taking a seat next to his bed.

"How are you today, sensei?" he asked, watching him longly.

"Well, nothing much changed for me," Gai said, unphased.

"Same old, same old. The doctors are doing their best to try and see exactly what they can do for me but eh, it is what it is," he said, shrugging.

"How are you, though?" Gai asked his student.

He knew him very well. The boy always tried to be stoic and keep his head held high. And most of the time, he managed. But this was war. And war had taken a toll on all of them in one way or another.

"I'm fine," Lee replied dryly. You could hear absolutely no inflection in his voice, to tell you if he feels one way or the other. It was like he was dead on the inside.

Which wasn't exactly far from the truth anyway.

Gai looked at his former student with sensible eyes. He felt so bad that he couldn't do more for now.

He guessed that trying to be all cheery and dandy wasn't going to cut it this time. These were times for mourning. And it was yet too soon for Neji's memory to get cold and fade black from their memories.

In the war, when you're in the heat of the moment things don't get to settle in too much. Your mind stays occupied with battling the enemy and surviving, basically.

But after all, has been said and done and you get back, where you are alone with yourself and your mind, that's when things get harder to bear.

He knew it very well from his rival, Kakashi. He hadn't been the same after the whole fiasco with his former teammate, Obito. Not even talking about afterwards, when he found himself killing his other teammate, Rin.

He had tried to be there for him as best as he could after falling into his deep state depression. He never thought he would get out of it. And for a long period of time, he didn't. He just survived through it.

So yes. He knew firsthand how war and the atrocities it can put the human spirit through. And the time such events take for the spirit to get healed.

So, no. Pushing Lee to be his cheery self wouldn't have been the solution for now.

He scanned the boy sitting in front of him and observed that today he was carrying something with him.

A piece of braid cut. What was that all about? But, to smooth out the conversation, he mustered the courage and asked him, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was.

"What's that in your hand, Lee?"

The young man looked at it with warmth. But at the same time grief engulfed his whole heart.

And while most of the days Lee had managed to be calm and collected, today he broke.

"Sensei!" Lee said between the tears that started flooding his face. He took his other hand up to his face in an attempt to wipe off the tears. He kept it there for a while.

As if he wanted to hide the weakness he felt in that very moment…

"How can one keep their youth when they feel their spirit has aged in a moment more than an entire lifetime?" He asked.

Gai instantly picked-up what his former student was talking about. He was referring to Neji. And probably that's where the braid cut from his other hand was.

Gai put his hand over the hand that held what was now a piece of memory of their former teammate.

Gai lowered and softened his voice.

"By honoring the spirit of those that have left us," he said.

"We do it for them. We move forward and keep them in our memory. And we honor life in their name, for we are the ones left to wear the mantle in their stead. The biggest disservice we could do to a fallen comrade would be to throw away the very life they sacrificed for us. So live, Lee! Honor life and wear a youthful spirit! If not for you, for Neji who is now no longer among us to live his!" Gai concluded.

"O-okay, sensei!" Lee said between even more tears and hiccups that were making it hard to breathe or speak.

He tried to excuse himself for his inability to be the pillar of support that his convalescent master would've needed. He had managed for a while, but the fact that Neji's memorial service was approaching struck a chord more than he even realized.

So much, that now he was crying like a baby in front of Gai.

To break him out of that estate, Gai asked Lee to pull him out of the bed and help him get on the wheelchair.

That proved itself to be a great idea as it took Lee out of his poor state.

"Let's sit by the window," Gai said. Lee followed his command.

Pushed his master's wheelchair right next to the table that was placed near the window. Pulled the seat that was placed there, to make enough space for his master's wheelchair. Then pushed him to his place, while he then turned around and sat on the chair from the other side of the table.

Lee drew breath, put his elbows on the table and asked his master something that popped on his mind right after Gai's words from earlier.

"Is that what you did with Kakashi-sensei?" He asked, looking down at the floor, slightly spaced out. He then shook his head and raised his head to meet Gai's eyes.

The old man smiled softly, realizing what Lee was asking him.

"I guess you could say that, yeah."

"Even if he was your rival?" Lee asked, as he looked down at the braid cut on his right hand.

"Even," Gai nodded.

"You know where I got this?" Lee said, opening his clenched fist to expose the braid cut from Neji.

"We made a stupid deal right before we were called into the war."

As he remembered, for a second, he puffed at the bitter sweet memory of that moment.

"You know we've always had that rivalry of ours. Well, more like mine with him, because I was the one who wanted to prove that someone as talentless with ninjutsu as I was, can match a genius like him." As he was talking about those moments, the images of when they made that pact were passing in front of his mind's eye.

"We said that we would fight to test out our abilities and if I managed to touch a single strand of his hair which you know he always kept tied at the back, he would cut it and give it to me as a sign of respect for my skills."

Lee smiled softly as he recalled the deal.

"And to make sure that in case I did manage, the hair would stay and not fall from the tie, he braided it."

Gai listened carefully as Lee unloaded his soul in front of him. He reckoned that this was what Lee needed the most. To share the pain he felt deep down his very core.

And had he been in a better state, he would've been closer to his student.

But, he was where he was.

Good thing that at least he could do it in this form.

"And I reckon you managed, seeing the result in your hands?" Gai asked.

"I'm quite curious how you did that, though?"

He specifically asked that very question. This way rather than thinking Neji was no longer there with them, he would be immersed in the times they have lived together.

"Well, I had to open 4 gates to match his speed and surprise him at the last minute with a spin in the opposite direction he expected me to come from, to even be close to touching a hair strand of his," Lee said, smiling.

To remember those times, it felt for a moment like his spirit was getting warmer.

He started to understand Gai's words from earlier. Now, tears of joy were dropping from his eyes again.

"We said that after the war would end, we'll try even more, to see if I can actually get close to winning in a battle against him," Lee said.

"If only we could've gotten the chance."

Gai looked at the braid cut inside Lee's hand and smiled warmly one more time.

He knew just what to tell Lee so that the memory of Neji could start being a source of inspiration to move forward rather than one of pain.

And one that would mix perfectly with his mantra and ninja way.

"Then the rest of the gates aren't going to open themselves alone. You won't know if you would've been able to win in a battle against Neji or at least stand as his equal unless you've mastered them all," he said.

"So then, take this moment between you two as a token of celebration of Neji's memory by becoming your best version. If it's something you owe him, it's that," Gai said, clenching his fist. As he said that, his spirit became refreshed and filled with hope.

A sensation that he managed to send to Lee, too. Now the young man in front of him brimmed with a hope and a refreshed sense of purpose that you couldn't find earlier. It lit up his spirit again.

"Gai sensei…" Lee murmured at the realization, watching his master.

He finally and fully grasped his words. His immediate body response was to clench harder the fist that carried the braid cut. His last connection to Neji.

Then, he nodded in agreement.

That was what he was going to do. Live and honor Neji's life. And the way he would do that would be to become the best version of himself.

As soon as they got to the Hyūga compound, Hinata invited Naruto inside. He felt a bit embarrassed at first, but accepted the invitation. He was extremely surprised when he saw so many people around along with so much space. It seemed like a small town inside a town itself.

"Wow, things do seem lively around here!" He said.

Hinata's eyes fell to the side, knowing very well the reason behind that.

"Y-yeah…" She said.

Immediately after, she noticed her sister across the other side of the big yard.

On the other side of the place, when Hanabi saw Hinata and with Naruto no less, she frowned.

What was he doing here? And out of all the days in the world, today he had to appear?

She had to get an explanation for this, so she headed straight where they were located.

After Hanabi, soon Hiashi along with a squad of Hyūga ninjas behind him appeared as well.

He noticed Hanabi with Hinata and Naruto. What was the boy doing there anyway?
For a second, a flash of his fight with Neji from a few years ago flashed in front of his eyes.

He closed his eyes in pain. He realized the implications of everything that he was about to do.

But… given the newly acquired info, thinking about this would bring nothing good.

So, he opened his eyes and moved forward.

When he reached Hanabi, Hinata and Naruto he saluted fast and dryly.

"I'm going to the Hokage's office. We must discuss some important matters. See you later," he said to Hanabi, while side-eyeing Hinata.

Naruto, for as much as an oblivious person was, he noticed that something was off. Which was pretty odd because he remembered something else from the war interactions. They had been so supportive of him. All. Together.

This dry attitude was something that he, frankly put… didn't expect. Sure, he wasn't going to expect them to greet him with a red carpet, but still...

What was happening? Was something going on or was just all in his mind? Why were they looking like their old selves now?
The man hadn't even noticed when he bowed in respect. He just vanished right after talking to, what it seemed, Hanabi only.

"Naruto-kun, if you'll excuse us for a second… Please, in the meantime make yourself comfortable on the porch. You'll be served immediately with a cup of tea, to your liking. Please inform Kō of your preference" Hanabi said, pulling her sister to the side. But not before signaling Kō to deal with Naruto.

Then the two sisters took a few steps back, to be as away as possible from Naruto.

"What is he doing here?" Hanabi whispered.

"He's here to help me," Hinata replied, visibly disturbed, retracting her elbow from her sister's grip.

"We are to go together to prepare the last things that are needed for Neji's memorial service," she replied.

"Oh, you mean the one outside our family's?" Hanabi asked. Hinata replied instantly that that's exactly the one. And that she'd very much be at that ceremony than the one the family prepared.

"Doing that ceremony only proves how fake everything is, given what you all want to do to Neji's memory!" Hinata said, half shaking.

She felt her heart beating fast and muscles quite tense. She gripped her right arm with her left hand in an attempt to control her body's response.

It wasn't like her to be that upfront. On the contrary, she used to be the shy one, backing down. But ever since the horrors of the war and Neji's death and now all the things she witnessed; it was like something inside of her felt the need to break out. Break free and express itself. Against all those injustices. Against all those ridiculous rules she had to live under.

All that pain and trauma both her and Neji had to go through under the rules of a clan consumed by those ridiculous rules.

All those things that she had been keeping buried deep inside her bones for too long. Her mind might have toned them down but her body remembered.

Her muscles, her bones and her heart. All those were burned through her very being.

She had been silent for far too long. All that accumulated baggage, all those restrictions that she had to live under, her fears, her insecurities, her being told he's not good enough.

All those were close to exploding. And that's why her body was shaking up right now. Because it felt the need to release all that nervous tension accumulated over the years.

You can only carry some burdens up to a point…

She closed her eyes and drew a big gulp of air, so as to calm herself. The shaking reduced.

But on the other hand, Hanabi being caught in the middle of all this felt even more pressure.

She clenched her fist.

"You don't even know what all this is about… You speak only from what you see on the surface and you think you know everything," Hanabi said, through her teeth. She was clenching them hard, trying to contain the flaming rage that she felt was building inside.

Because she too, felt fury. She always felt like a free spirit and would've loved to do something else. But no, she couldn't.

She couldn't because she had to become everything that her older sister wasn't. She had to carry every responsibility that her older sister couldn't. Every rule, every responsibility that comes with that rule, every burden that comes with having to take a decision.

So instead of running free like a child, she carried all that.

And in a way it wasn't that bad. Her fighting spirit matched the position of a leader. But what irritated Hanabi the most was this talk of Hinata's, without knowing all the details.

Things weren't easy.

That decision was one of the worst decisions they had to make because yes. Given what they had initially proposed to do, now going back on that word meant defiance. It looked like staining the very memory of the person who sacrificed for all of them.

But… There was a really strong reason behind it. And it wasn't something that could easily be told to anyone and everyone freely. It was a heavy burden that all of them, as Hyūgas, had to carry.

Some didn't even understand why. Some like Neji, for example. And it wasn't their fault. Absolutely not. But… It was a necessary method. That's what had been agreed upon for aeons by the predecessors of their clan because… had such a power like the one Byakugan truly was capable of having been awakened to its true potential, it could've meant you could very well turn the world upside down.

But that was something only her as a clan leader knew.

Given that she had to take those responsibilities as a clan leader, she was informed of it.

All of it.

But she was sworn to secrecy. So how could she explain to Hinata all this? She couldn't.

Not like this…

Although, personally, Hanabi felt like Hinata should know certain things if this family was ever to be repaired in its entirety. But things were… hard.

'What should I do?' Hanabi asked herself while memories of the day she was first introduced to this secret of Byakugan ran through her mind. The shock she felt, the weight placed on her shoulders that came along with finding that secret.

For a moment she would've wanted to share it with someone else but… she couldn't. She wasn't allowed to.

Now, that feeling was running through her body again.

"Hinata… Come with me!" Hanabi asked. "I need to talk about something very serious with you right now."

Hinata's eyes widened. For as much as she felt the tension between them, she also felt the sincerity of her sister's words. She truly felt like it was a moment that she couldn't miss. She shouldn't. That's what her mind and heart dictated.

She sighed.

"Wait here. I first need to go to Naruto-kun and deal with our initial agreement," Hinata told her sister.

Few steps across the yard and she found herself where Naruto was standing there, waiting.

"Naruto-kun… I... uhm… I need to cancel our initial agreement for the moment" she said.

"There's this urgent matter that I forgot about that I need to take care of with my sister. Would you excuse me for the moment and meet me sometime later today?" She asked, bowing in the traditional respectful way.

Naruto's eyes widened.

"Oh, of course… uuh, no problem," he said, rising from the porch. He put the tea to the side.

"I was supposed to be somewhere else, like I said, so I can take care of that for now and we can meet later on sure. Just let me know when!"

Hinata smiled candidly.

"Of course! Uh... Some-somewhere around noon, would that be okay?" She asked.

"Sure thing!" Naruto said with a big grin on his face.

"Let's convene at the same point we met today. Would that be okay for you?"

"Absolutely! See ya then!" Naruto said. He then made himself disappear. But as he was heading towards the exit age of the Hyūga compound, he couldn't help but look back at the two sisters that were reuniting as he was leaving.

Something felt fishy. Extremely. It wasn't his job to stick his nose into their business in a way. But he couldn't shake the feeling.

However, he set that feeling to the side and headed towards the hospital. Full speed ahead.

Tsunade and Sakura were surely waiting for him, ready with a lecture. And a punch or two, probably. He could already see a bump or two growing on the place that he would get smacked.

As soon as he got to the hospital, Naruto headed directly to Tsunade's office. He was ready to repent because he knew what he had made.

As soon as he found himself in front of the cabinet's door, he gulped, while a slight tremble already started walking underneath his muscles.

He was so gonna get it. But oh well, he was owning his decision. He knocked and waited for a response.

"Come in!" The voice from the other side of the room shouted.

Naruto put his hand on the door handle and opened it, slowly sliding his head on the door.

"You're late!" Tsunade said, while she browsed through the multitude of dossiers and papers on her desk, looking at different information.

Naruto was preparing to say his prayers and excuses when Tsunade's voice continued talking.

"You're lucky the prosthetic hand is still not ready yet. While you two are compatible by the looks of it, I still need to find a way to stabilize the process itself," she said, waving her hands in the air, as to release a little bit of the tension that had accumulated inside her body.

'Oh, thank goodness!" Naruto said relieved.

Tsunade raised a brow, as she looked him directly in the eyes, although her head position didn't move for a second.

"I mean, I'm sorry," he quickly excused himself, realizing what he had done.

"Yeah, I guess you're lucky and you escape for now. From what it seems, molding something out of my grandfather's cells isn't as easy as it seems at face value. But, I reckon we should be ready in a day or two. I'll let Sakura announce to you when you should get back for a reschedule," Tsunade said.

Speaking of Sakura, he couldn't help but notice that she wasn't there.

"Oh, where is Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. It seemed odd to him that she wasn't present. Usually, she and Tsunade were almost inseparable all day long.

"Well, since you didn't show up on time, she went to occupy her time with something else. She's now visiting Gai to check-up on his condition."

Now that she spoke about this, Tsunade's mind clicked. She remembered a little detail from her earlier discussion with Sakura. The one regarding Naruto's curious ability that helped keep Gai alive. She raised her head from the paperwork to face Naruto.

"Speaking of which... I need to know something from you, Naruto," Tsunade said.
She invited him to sit on the chair in front of her desk.

"Sakura tells me that when you guys fought Madara and Gai and Kakashi got injured, you were somehow able to stop the complete damage of Gai's body and even give Kakashi a new eye."

Naruto kept nodding as he was listening to her.

"How did you do that, exactly?" She asked. Tsunade was indeed very intrigued by what had Sakura told her because it sounded like a certain technique, but for someone to be able to actually perform it? Now that was something close to the realm of impossibilities.

"Well… uhm… like I told Sakura-chan… uuuh..."

He started fidgeting. He wasn't good at explaining these things. Naruto rolled his eyes up and down as he searched through every corner of his mind in the effort to remember exactly how.

Or better said, explain it. That wasn't his forte.

"Well, it's like I took a piece of Kakashi-sensei and uuh, I copied it in my mind and infused that piece with the chakra and ta-daa!" Naruto said at the end, with his hands in the air.

"But how did you know how to do that?" Tsunade asked.

"Well, it's not that I knew-knew it. It's uuh... How do I tell you?"

He scratched his head again, as his mind tried to put into words the innate feeling from back then that he felt.

"It just came like… like I knew that already in me after the Super Gramps Six Paths gave me that Yang seal thing. The one who helped me seal Kaguya along with Sasuke. I had Yang, while Sasuke had Yin. After he gave me that power it felt like I could do anything," Naruto said, looking once again towards his right arm. He then put his left hand over the remaining half of his other arm.

"Well, that seal was then gone and in the battle with Sasuke since I lost my hand now it doesn't feel like that anymore, but yeah, that's what I can tell you."

Tsunade joined her hands and brought them close to her chin.

Then rested her face there for a moment.

'This sounds like that technique,' she thought. 'Could it be that that respective seal is what made it possible for him to attain that respective power?'

Tsunade wondered about all those things as she looked towards Naruto.

"And how are you feeling now, physically?" Tsunde asked. "Is there anything out of the ordinary you feel your body going through or any odd sensation? Any changes you've experienced?" She waited in silence for the answer. But her attention was fully focused on the boy in front of her.

"Well, not necessarily, I guess?" Naruto replied. He shrugged. Tried to think if there was anything of the sort.

"I mean, after that whole thing with Super Gramps yeah, both me and Sasuke remained with something. Him with the Rinnegan and I with a portion of every tailed beast chakra, but the power of the Yang and Yin he gave us is gone. My body does seem super strong, but that particular power… Well, it disappeared once we were able to seal Kaguya. But the body, yeah… the body seems slightly stronger because it's like I don't feel fatigued as I presume I should at all after this war." Naruto scratched his head.

"That's the only body change that I can tell you about, I guess," Naruto said.

He shrugged afterwards because he couldn't think about anything else that he could tell Tsunade.

"So, you'd assume that the particular technique that you used on Gai and Kakashi were due to that Yang seal?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto nodded.

"I tried applying the same thing on myself after I and Sasuke fought to see if I would be able to rebuild my arm the same way I did for Kakashi's sensei eye, but…"

He looked to the side. Slightly pissed at his inability he pouted.

"I couldn't do anything of the sorts, as you can see," he said, shrugging one more time.

"I see," Tsunade replied.

She put her hands down and pushed her chair a bit to the side, leaning in it. Her right hand stood on the desk, her fingers tapping one by one in unison as she disseminated what Naruto had told her.

"So basically, if what you're saying is correct, it would seem like you and Sasuke Uchiha went through a mutation of some sort, if you want to call it that."

Naruto scratched his head once more and looked with confusion towards Tsunade.

"A change in your body, if you may" she replied immediately.

"You did remain with certain enhancements, if you want to call it like that, but neither you nor Sasuke Uchiha possess the power that sourced that very enhancement. Hmm… interesting," she said.

"Uuugh, I guess? I'm not sure what you mean..." Naruto said, scratching his head once more.

"Let me explain it to you in simpler terms. Let's take as an example your ninja salary, okay?

So basically, with every mission you perform you get a sum of money, right?"

Naruto nodded in agreement. He was following up until now. All was clear, at least. He continued following Tsunade in interest.

"A large sum of money can make you very resourceful, right? Thanks to the money that makes you resourceful, you now can now use them to buy a lot of things." Getting the knack of it, Naruto nodded.

"In your case this translates into the tailed beasts' chakra that you have inside you. Or Sasuke's Rinnegan. You guys can make use of those resources that enhance your body. However!" Tsunade said, as she brought her chair closer to her desk once again.

She then raised a finger to capture Naruto's attention.

"You don't have access anymore to the primary source that offered you all those resources you got. Let's say like the bank which is the source of the money you receive your ninja salary from. The source of those enhancements. You now must work with what you have been given, while the access to the source that generates the resources has been cut. Understand now?"

Naruto brought his left hand on his chin. For a moment fell pensive until he could disseminate and integrate all the information that Tsunade told him.

After a while his eyes widened.

"Ooooh, I think I understand now!" he said, excited, smashing his right fist into his left palm.

"Basically, I get the money, but not the way to generate it! As in, I don't get to have access to the ways to create them," he said, proud of himself.

"Exactly!" Tsunade nodded, being fairly impressed by the boy. The war had made him a bit wiser in some ways.

"Ooh, it makes total sense now, granny Tsunade! Because like I told you, when I tried to create the arm again like I tried for Kakashi-sensei's eye, it just didn't work. Even though I thought I could because in the fight with Sasuke I could still use the mode I got from Super Gramps. But after the Yang seal disappeared from my hand, I couldn't do it. I was thinking maybe I can also help Sasuke with his hand and not bother Sakura-chan to heal me all the time. But I couldn't do it. That was curious for me too. I didn't understand why that happened. But now, thanks to you, it's all clearer!" Naruto said, continuing with the same excitement from earlier.

Tsunade nodded. But in the back of her mind, she thought about that piece of information. If Naruto would've had that power still, maybe that could've been the missing link to develop further the field of medical ninjutsu.

Finding how a power like that works, that seems to generate lifeforce itself would mean a lot for their field and could mean that maybe, just maybe medical ninjutsu would be easier to perform since it wouldn't consume so much of one person's chakra.

Finding a source to generate vitality like that would be a blessing for all medical ninjas whose vitality was put to strain at all times when they had to heal someone.

But, apparently it wasn't meant to be. They would still have to use the old ways.

And then there was the matter of stabilizing her grandfather's genetic material to be able to mold it into a prosthetic arm for Naruto. Because from what it seemed it looked like it was a volatile river of ever flowing, not being able to calm down and run smoothly, energy. It seemed like it was like a continuous river of life bursting.

But then Madara was able to and those White Zetsus looked like a stable form so there was definitely a way. She just had to dig a little bit deeper.

So she decided to go and check even more the reports from Shizune's lab.

Tsunade rose from her chair and excused herself.

"I have to leave you for now, Naruto," she said. "There's plenty of work for me to do now and I still need to see how to solve that issue of yours with your hand," Tsunade added, pointing up and down Naruto's arm.

She then took a step back, pushed her chair into her desk and moved towards the door.

Naruto did the same and they met halfway in front of the door.

"If you want to go see Sakura, like I said, you can find her most probably in Gai's chambers."

Naruto's being instantly felt like it was wrapped by a faint but certain feeling of sadness. He wasn't sure he wanted to see Sakura. He failed to keep his promise to be at Hinata's yesterday. So what was he going to tell her?

Sure, he resolved that in the meantime and he would be meeting Hinata later on, but he wasn't yet quite ready to face Sakura and explain all that to her.

So, he elegantly doged the situation.

"Oh, I don't want to interrupt Sakura-chan from her work. You know how serious she is when it comes to those things. Plus, I have somewhere else I have to be right now. So, I'll let her work in peace while I do my thing. I'm sure we'll catch-up later," he said.

"After all, we're closely preparing Neji's memorial ceremony between us, the former Konoha 11."

"Oh, yeah, you guys have that. Well then, see you around, Naruto!" Tsunade said after they went out the door. She took the left side, while Naruto the right.

"I'll inform Sakura when she needs to call you for the hand!" Tsunade said in a high-pitched voice as she got further away from him. With her back turned, she waved at him. SHe wasn't sure if Naruto saw her, but she did want to make sure the young man heard her.

"Yes, granny Tsunade, got you!" Naruto replied, as he headed out of the corridor himself.

On the other side of the hospital, Sakura knocked at the door from Gai's salon. He was under care and her visits were regular. His body had gone through a lot and it was a miracle he could've made it through. A miracle that Naruto performed. One that was still bugging her mind. Especially when it came in connection to her medical ninjutsu.

When she opened the door, she found Lee there. He had just finished wiping his tears from what she could tell.

Of course, he was fast about it because he probably didn't want to show any weakness.

He was always the cheerful one from the Konoha 11 who had been brought down by nothing.

Until the war came.

He had been ready to see his master go because somehow Gai had always prepared them for this possible event. But not for Neji's.

Neji's memory still haunted him.

"Sakura-san!" he said, with a slight twinkle of excitement in his voice. Being around her always gave him a positive feeling.

"Lee-san! How are you? Glad to see you here today," she replied. Her voice, soft and tone as caring and warm as ever.

"You and Tenten decided to switch shifts?" She asked jokingly.

"I am sure Gai-san here is more than thrilled having you both alongside him," she said, as she placed herself next to them.

"How are we feeling today, Gai-san? Anything new to report?"

"Brilliant young lady Sakura, thank you for your sweet visit as always," he said.

"Sadly, other than complete boredom and lack of activity due to these injuries of mine, there's nothing this old man has to report to you. I just want to know though… Am I getting out of here anytime soon?"

Sakura's warm eyes examined Lee's former master's silhouette.

"We… still need to run some tests," she said.

"After what happened in the war and the after effects of the 8th gate, well, your body suffered certain transformations. For example, the bone recovery seems to be going very slowly compared to how it should be. We believe it might be a mitochondrial dysfunction that occurred as a result of the aftermath of the eight gates, like I said. But for that, we still need to run a deep scan on your body and observe how the energy in the body is produced and based on those results, predict from there what can happen next."

Gai scratched his head in confusion.

There were a lot of medical terms there that he wasn't exactly sure he understood. So he asked Sakura to try and explain to him in more… popular terms.

Sakura's face saddened a bit. Her look fell to the ground. Repositioned herself and took a deep breath. Looked first at Lee whose face looked pretty disheartening. Her brows furrowed with compassion.

"From what we can see from the preliminary observations, let's just say the energy factory of your body doesn't produce enough energy for the body to function properly. And that's the reason why your healing process is really slow," she said.

Gai started to understand where she was going. His look now fell to the ground, too.

He was feeling it in his body, though. He didn't feel as lively as he once used to. So, it was maybe as Sakura said. But what could this mean for him in the future? He couldn't help but ask her.

"This can lead to various other conditions such as muscular dystrophy. These conditions are usually rare and are generally genetically inherited, though. So maybe there's nothing to worry about," she said smiling, trying to defuse the situation.

"Like I said, we still have to do more research and more in-depth to see exactly the whole picture. Then and only then will we be able to tell you exactly what is what," she said, finishing her explanation as her look moved from Gai to Lee.

When he got into her visual field, Sakura couldn't help but notice Lee clenching in his fist a braid cut, as he told Gai that he's absolutely certain that Sakura and Tsunade will find a way to heal him.

After all, they had done the same for Lee himself back when Tsunade returned to Konoha.

Sakura smiled fondly remembering those times.

Ever since Tsunade had come to Konoha, indeed a lot of things had happened. A lot of changes to the better. Her path being one of them. She felt gratitude for that fact ever since that day.

With a fond smile on her face, Sakura tried to shift the focus of attention to something else than the discussion she had just had about Gai's condition.

So she asked Lee about the preparations for Neji's memorial service. He was in charge of the networking part of it. Sakura was just there in the background, helping him with everything that he might've needed.

Her leadership skills were better at more things than the medical field.

It was her idea to have him deal with the networking. This way he would keep his mind occupied most of the time so he wouldn't have enough time to think about the less pleasant realities of their lives after the war.

On the other hand, Naruto was to help Hinata with the logistic side of things. Something that Sakura subtly suggested to Hinata at one medical check-up she was right after they all returned home from the front-lines.

Seeing all those people hurt in the war and especially the emotional scars that they remained with, prompted Sakura to think of solutions of how to get people out of that zone and into something that keeps their mind occupied enough so it doesn't succumb to the darkness of the horrors they had lived through.

Hearing Sakura's question prompted Lee to clench his fist where he was holding the braid cut one more. It seemed like an object of comfort of some sorts. At least that was her observation from the interaction they were having.

"Y-yeah.. Everyone is almost confirmed. We still have to get a hold of Sai-san and Ino-san, but besides him everyone is kind of on board with everything," Lee said.

"Ok then, glad to hear this. Oh, by the way, I bumped into Ino today and she's totally on board, she just wanted to know at what hour we plan to do it since they also have the memorial services for their families," she informed Lee.

"Her and Shikamaru," she added. She then raised from the chair, turned around and headed towards the door.

"Don't forget, if you need anything from me, let me know and I'll gladly help," Sakura said.

"Now if you guys will excuse me, I'll have to finish the other duties. It was nice talking to you two. Take care of yourselves, okay?" She said as she closed the door behind her.

T
he day of Neji's memorial service was finally here. Everyone was thoroughly preparing for the evening, the time they all agreed to meet.

They decided that in Neji's memory, among other things, they would light up lanterns and release them to the sky.

An idea that Hinata came-up with.

She said that she hoped that wherever Neji would be now, he would fly free. And to celebrate that, they, here on earth, would be sending him the guiding lights to light up his path in the heavens.

Naruto had been with Hinata to buy the lanterns, while Sakura had been with Lee to help him with the group networking.

As the sun was preparing to go back to sleep for the day and slowly painted the sky in colors of orange and pink, everyone met at the gates of the Konoha cemetery.

Hinata with Neji's picture in her arms, along with Naruto and some of his clones carrying the lanterns, were seen approaching the gates.

Sakura with Lee, Tenten, Hinata's teammates and Sai were waiting by the gates.

Ino along with Shikamaru and Chouji were already inside since they had paid a visit to Ino and Shikamaru's parents earlier in the day.

As soon as she got there, Hinata greeted everyone and thanked them for coming.

"I am sure brother Neji would've appreciated seeing us all here," she said softly, as she gripped a little tighter the picture of him she kept in her arms.

Sakura went ahead to welcome her.

"Pleasure's all ours", Sakura responded in a warm tone.

"We're glad that we could help you at least with this."

Seeing Naruto loaded, Sakura asked everyone else to help Naruto and to each grab a lantern.

"Thank you for helping out, Naruto," Sakura said. He nodded and immediately excused himself.

"Naah, it was the least I could do. After all this was all thanks to you," he said with a lower soft tone. Naruto then looked at her longly for a small while. Sakura picked-up and swiftly avoided his looks.

Hinata being next to them, picked-up on the slightly awkward situation. She felt a twinging in her chest. Gulping, she looked towards Sakura with soft eyes.

"Yeah, Sakura-san. Naruto has been telling me how helpful you have been through all of this, so thank you," she said, bowing. "Well, you were the one who organized all this anyway, so thank you, once again."

Sakura blushed for a split second. It wasn't exactly the easiest and most comfortable situation to be in. Especially given the special talk she and Naruto had a few days ago and her being aware of Hinata's feelings for him.

For a moment it was like she was cornered by all these contradictions.

But what does Sakura Haruno do best when in a situation like this? She goes through it with a smile. And that's what she did now, too.

"It's nothing," she said, showing her trademark smile.

"It's the least I can do. Anyway, let us now waste any more time. Shall we?" She asked, with her hand pointing towards the entrance to the cemetery.

Naruto and Hinata nodded in agreement. They moved along, together with Tenten and Lee and Hinata's teammates, while Sakura remained behind with Sai.

"You're as gentle as ever, Sakura-san," Sai commented.

She cut him short.

"Not now, Sai!" Sakura said, brows furrowed in tension. She watched Naruto and Hinata along with the others moving in front of him.

"Naruto, hope you weren't a clutz and were really of help to Hinata properly through all of this!" she heard Kiba saying.

"Kiba-kun...!" Hinata said, trying to diffuse his eccentric personality.

"I can assure you that Naruto-kun has been nothing but helpful. No need to worry!"

"Well, I sure hope so because if he wants to become a Hokage one day he surely must know how to serve and help people properly. So, just wanted to make sure he does that properly" Kiba said.

It was his way of being at odds with Naruto for the Hokage seat. Something that no matter how much time had passed, he was still holding onto it.

"Kiba, there's no need for you to get that worked-up," Shino interfered. "Furthermore, had anything been wrong, I am sure Sakura would've set Naruto straight by now," he added.

Naruto started to laugh nervously and put his hand behind his back as Hinata looked at him, smiling.

"Yeaah, haha, I guess you could say that…"

Seeing all that, Sakura smiled warmly. Next to her, Sai didn't say anything but he did pick on the slight change of atmosphere.

"I'm sure he appreciates everything you do for him and for all the others, you know? You truly have a gentle heart."

"Do I, though? Because it seems to me sometimes that no matter how hard I try, I always fall short," Sakura said, remembering the Land of Iron events.

"At least I managed to pull this out okay," she said.

"Well, sure, you might make mistakes sometimes, yeah. But you're human. Aren't we all? Remember the mistakes I made when I first joined Team Seven?"

Sakura smiled for a split second.

"If you guys would've judged me as harshly as you judge yourself, I probably wouldn't even be part of this team," Sai said. He was subtly trying to make Sakura realize some things.

Sure, he wasn't the best in the past at picking up situations or deciphering emotions. But being part of Team Seven he had learned a thing or two about all of these things.

And one of them was witnessing how much pressure Sakura Haruno puts on herself. Much more than she would let people see.

That much he had learned before the war, in the Land of Iron.

For her loved ones, Sakura was capable of carrying burdens enough to last not one lifetime, but three. And not just for one person, but multiple at once.

He had been wrong about her, in his initial assessment from back then.

"I am sorry, by the way," he said.

Sakura looked confused at him.

"What for?" She asked.

"For making you feel guilty about that promise between you and Naruto and being so harsh to you about it," he said.

"Oh, that…"

"It's just that… When I saw him that way, I felt this raging fire inside my stomach. And seeing him bottling it up all on his own…" Sai looked to the ground thinking back at that time. His eyes betrayed a slight sense of sadness.

"Yeah, that's Naruto… that's why you have to force him to let you help him," Sakura said.

"Myeah…"

"Anyway, don't worry about it. It's all forgotten. I know you had the best intentions behind it," Sakura replied, smiling.

Sai smiled back. Why? Because unlike the other times he could tell that this time it was genuine. With time he had gotten to know which was which.

"Now all we need to do is make sure him, Hinata and all the others that have suffered lost in this war are taken care of. We need to be there for them," Sakura said, as she looked forward towards Naruto and Hinata and the others, smiling.

But this time, it was the other type of smile. The one he knew very well what it meant.

She was hiding something.

Between that realization and the meeting the Ino-Shika-Cho team, it wasn't long.

Shikamaru and Chouji with the others welcomed one another, while Ino came straight-up to Sakura.

"There you are forehead! How are you doing? Still hiding from me?" Ino teased her about their encounter in the morning.

Sai picked-up that up. So it wasn't something that he had observed. Her friend, Ino could tell it too.

Slightly irritated, Sakura snapped silently at Ino.

"Would you stop with that? We're at a memorial service!" She said, as frustration bursted open through her lips a bit.

"Relax, I was just trying to make you relax for a bit because you seem tense lately. Very tensed Sakura."

This time Ino spoke seriously. Everyone could notice it, less her.

Well, it was more that she was denying the tension rather than not noticing. Which was even worse, if you think about it.

" Ugh, you're impossible. I'm going to make sure everyone else is readying their lanterns and ask Hinata when she wants to release them," Sakura said.

This way she made sure that she can dodge the weird situation.

Ino was now next to Sai.

"She'll explore one of these days if she doesn't come to peace with whatever it is that it's bugging her mind," Ino said, as if she would be talking to herself.

"Well then, I guess that makes two of us, thinking about the exact thing," Sai said from behind Ino.

She turned to him, slightly blushing.

"Oh, Sai, hi. I'm… sorry for being rude and not welcoming you earlier."

She blushed for a little. She and Sai had a good start but he was still kind of the odd ball that she knew nothing about.

However, it was clear as day that he could pick some of the same things about Sakura as her.

Then as they both stood in front of each other, they looked towards where Sakura was.

"
Myeah… I guess it does, doesn't it?" Ino said, as they looked at her longly.

On the other side of the yard, Sakura was next to Tenten and Lee as they were watching Hinata lighting up some candles next to Neji's tombstone.

She put the picture she carried with her on it for a while until she could light the candles up.

Seeing the picture, Lee clenched his fist once again, and headed towards where Hinata was asking her if he could help with anything.

He was carrying the same braid cut he had in the morning, Sakura noticed.

Curiosity peaked, so she asked Tenten.

"What's that, what Lee is carrying with him? Looks like a piece of… hair? Braid cut? I'm not sure," she said.

"Yeah, it's a piece of braid cut from Neji," Tenten replied. "It's a token from Neji to Lee right before the war started. Now that Neji is dead, Lee is carrying it with him all over," she said.

"Oh, I see…" Sakura said, looking at Lee with warm eyes. Poor him, he was suffering so much. So much pain around her.

Deep down inside her she hated it. She wished she could take away all that pain and misery from her friends' hearts.

She sighed deeply.

"Yeah… It's his way of dealing with Neji's death."

"How are you dealing with it, though?" Sakura asked Tenten.

"Well, I miss him. I feel as if I'm alone now, but what I can say is that I'm definitely taking it a bit better than Lee, that's for sure. He was more affected than I am. So, I have to be strong for him," she said, shrugging and smiling.

"Yeah… it's like I used to say…. Women have to be strong in order to survive, heh," Sakura said.

"Well, you are right about that, definitely. And well, with you being the disciple of the fifth Hokage you surely can live up to those words," Tenten responded.

Sakura blushed for a while. Tenten's words felt a tad bit weird. She wasn't exactly sure she knew how to respond to her.

Tenten giggled at Sakura's sudden confusion.

"You know, I always used to tell those two dorks that I couldn't wait for the Legendary Tsunade to return so I can be her apprentice. But sadly, you beat me up to it," she said, smiling, throwing her hands into the air.

"I'm… sorry about that. I mean, not sorry, but you get it."

"Yeah, no worries. I get what you mean. I wouldn't have been able to apprentice under her anyway with my skill set. But it's nice to have you further the torch of that legendary power that she had and to be a resounding name for women into the ninja world."

Sakura blushed once more.

"Ah, you're too kind, thank you!"

"Maybe one day me and you could spar or something. Since Neji's gone now, I'm left without a partner and well, Lee's style is different from mine."

"Oh, I'm sure we can work something out. Plus, we need to keep an eye on Lee and make sure he's going through this okay, so yeah..." she said as they both looked towards Neji's grave where Lee was.

At first, they couldn't see because he was positioned with his back turned on them, but soon his tears casted small shadows and were seen falling on the ground.

Seeing him like that, Sakura's heart tightened. If only Neji wouldn't have been lost to them and she wouldn't have had to see him suffer like this.

Next to him, Hinata gripped his arm as she rose, tearful herself and went towards Naruto, to ask him to help her light-up the lanterns.

Seeing her like that as well, only piled up that feeling of impotency and helplessness in her heart. It made Sakura's heart tighten even more.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that they had to fight literal gods with powers way above their own. How were they supposed to win when the power of one or two gods were way above that of an entire world, almost?

How are they supposed to stand that? Sure, they had Naruto and Sasuke. But these two were only two people. And Naruto had been close to death in her arms.

What if something like this would hit the world again? What then? What if something were to happen to Naruto and he'd end-up like Neji did?

Sakura gasped. The mere thoughts paralyzed her for a minute there.

Tenten picked-up on the situation and asked her if she was okay.

"Yeah", she replied quickly. "It's just.. Nothing. A mere moment of needing a bit more air, that's all. The situation is heavy here."

She had to find a solution. She had to do something with her medical ninjutsu. Something to bring the dead back to life if needed be, because to hell if she were to give-up and stand still.

Her master was right. She had to find a solution. Her father was right. These gods haven't met Sakura Haruno after a fight with her mother.

W ith a newfound resolve, Sakura clenched her fist. She won't give up, no matter how hard the path ahead of her looks.

She'll fall down seven times while trying? She'd make sure she'll rise up and try the eight time, and keep going at it. Time and time again. No matter what it takes!

That's the new promise she made to herself, when her train of thought was interrupted by Naruto in front of her.

Sakura looked to the sides and observed Tenten was next to Lee consoling him, while Ino-Shika-Cho and Sai all had their lanterns lit up. Hinata was helping her team light up theirs.

"You need to light-up yours too, Sakura-chan," Naruto said looking straight into her eyes.

"Mmyeah, sure," Sakura nodded.

"Thank you, Naruto," she said as Naruto made her just carry it while he lit it up for her.

"Let's leave it to the side for a bit before we release it as we join the others. Hinata wants to say a few words before that.

"Of course, after you," she said.

"No, after you," Naruto responded.

They both walked-up to all the others. Naruto and Sakura placed themselves next to Hinata who was next to Lee, while all the others were in the back.

With his picture next to her, Hinata looked down at the tombstone with Neji's name on it, where the two candles were lit.

She started saying a few words, while others were keeping a solemn silence.

Her voice was trembling between the tears. Sakura placed her hand over her shoulder for comfort.

This helped Hinata recollect and continue with her speech, while all the others listened in respectful silence.