Necessary Evil: Chapter 15

Life After

"Its finally over."

Naruto turned to look at his mate with a small smile, "you know its not Kyoshiro."

Kyoshiro hummed softly while bringing Naruto into his arms, "Well its as good as done right now Naru."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, "Konoha is the last chapter and then we can be done with this chore."

Naruto wrapped his arms around Kyoshiro and both of them stayed silent for a few moments.

"I am proud of you Naru," Kyoshiro said softly, "You could've razed this village to the ground with a thought but you didn't. I mean that would have been the easiest method of fulfilling your promise to Kaguya but you chose the difficult path and spared their lives. I am glad."

Naruto smiled, "Thank you... I assure you it wasn't easy."

Kyoshiro chuckled, "Oh I know. Most of the time I wanted to do it myself. Ignorant fools these humans!" Kyoshiro huffed.

Naruto laughed freely, the weight of the promise he had been carrying since he became the jubi easing up a little, "I love you."

Kyoshiro smirked smugly, "Oh I know."

Naruto rolled his eyes and made to pull back only for Kyoshiro to pull him back into his arms, "And I love you too."

"Now let's go face the council."

Konoha Council Chamber

It was eerily quiet in the usually loud room. All of the clan heads and merchant's heads were accounted for along with the Hokage and the Fire country and Whirlpool Daimyo.

Naruto and Kyoshiro watched the proceedings with a lazy smile. The Hokage stood up and addressed the council and daimyos properly before beginning the meeting.

One foolish merchant stood up hastily, "Daimyo-sama, we want you to reconsider the terms of this competition. 75% of the village's properties are owned by the clans and if we lose all right to them there won't be a village any longer."

And then the shouts and pleas began in a similar strain. Naruto just smiled while all the clan heads had enough pride to keep silent.

Hibara kept her face carefully blank.

Finally the fire daimyo had enough and send a meaningful look to Danzo.

"Enough!" Danzo said, his words carried a power that was never there before. The council quieted almost immediately.

"Daimyo-sama, whatever your word is we will obey," Danzo said unusually subdued.

"As you should have from the beginning," the daimyo scorned and then cleared his throat before addressing the whole council, "There will be no change in any of the terms. If I remember correctly, you all brought this on yourselves."

All of them were starting to look panicked.

"The clan compounds, scrolls and properties that had been part of the wager have been already transferred to Namikaze-san. I cannot be changed. But I request Namikaze-san to consult me before going forward with any plans he may have for the properties as it is a matter of security."

Naruto nodded respectfully.

"He will destroy us, daimyo-sama!" one merchant cried out causing Naruto to shake his head in pity.

Self-absorbed fools, he had other things to do than exact unnecessary vengeance.

Before the daimyo could retort to the outburst caused by the man Naruto stood up. Everyone's attention turned to him, he was not someone you can ignore.

"I have already decided on what to do with the properties I have acquired. If it makes this go any easier, I am willing to share it with the council."

Silence greeted the announcement. One of the merchants scoffed as if he expected Naruto had some plan to bomb the village center.

Surprisingly it was Tsume who spoke calmly, "We would like that Namikaze-san."

Naruto nodded, "I plan to renovate all the clan houses."

Inoichi asked in dubious surprise, "And by renovating you mean..."

Naruto shrugged, "I will tear down the entire compound before rebuilding. I may or may not keep some the same, depends on the architecture."

There was an instant uproar from the civilians while the clan heads all looked pained.

"And what is the purpose of this renovation?" Shikaku asked calmly.

Naruto sighed, "My current plans include a cheap housing facility for working orphans and another as an orphanage, a public school, a multi-specialty hospital and I plan to use the other compounds for the Golden fox and Fire rose corporations. A startup company from Grass country has requested aid in branching out to other nations and I plan on giving one compound to them after ironing out the details of the agreement. A school for medicine will be established and the student selection criteria will be the same as the demon country ones. Then the remaining will become resorts and hotels."

The civilians were stunned, they didn't think that Naruto had any plan other than ruining them.

Naruto continued, "Then I plan on changing the layout for the market district," listening to the beginning protests Naruto reminded them, "which used to belong to three clans Namikaze, Senju and Uchiha and hence now belong to me."

The protests died down.

"The Forest of Death, which belonged to the Senju, will be placed under the care of our corporations and as a means to protect and preserve the exotic wildlife, will be banned from being used for any other purposes."

"But what about the chunin exams?" Someone asked.

Naruto shrugged, "Not my concern. I want to reestablish the Civilian police and a Merchant council for managing all the import and export of goods and services."

"But Namikaze-san we already have the shinobi as police and a merchant council."

Naruto shook his head, "The terms of our wager states that any property owned by me will be beyond your jurisdiction. And I want a method for control without having to rely on you. Which is to say, I don't trust you."

He ignored the resultant protests.

"The property owned by the Sarutobi, Inazuka, and Abarume will be reclaimed, which would include multiple pet clinics and shops beyond the market district."

Naruto looked at them all and watched their dismay and then gleefully continued.

"Then there is the property owned by the Higurashi and Haruno."

Some of the merchants gasped, in their worry regarding the clan properties they had almost forgotten that Higurashi owned the major weapon supply for the shinobi and the Haruno controlled almost all their imported goods.

"I am still deciding on those," Naruto said.

The council was left in complete despair.

The fire daimyo looked resigned, "I approve of all your plans Namikaze-san."

Naruto stood up straighter, "I would also like to inform you that I don't plan on giving anything to the village in terms of taxes."

That caused an uproar even the daimyo looked concerned.

"But then how will we run the village!"

"Our military will fail"

"The economy!"

"You can't do that..."

Hibara decided to talk then, "Actually he can. You forget that he and everything he owns is no longer under Konoha's jurisdiction."

"But he is still under fire country jurisdiction," the fire daimyo said.

"Of course," Naruto agreed, "I will pay the taxes due to the fire country."

"Namikaze-san..." Inoichi began, "If you do that, there won't be much of Konoha left. You already own 80% of the village's properties."

Naruto laughed, "I am sorry Yamanaka-san but that isn't much of my concern. But I am not cruel. Even though the properties will be reclaimed I do not plan on removing the merchants from their jobs. The only difference will be that they will be under my payroll and I do have some strict policies about how I run my businesses. If they don't abide, I will kick them out but I won't harm them out of any personal issues. Of course some businesses will be completely removed to make a place for other investments but I am willing to offer jobs to the villagers provided they are willing to work under me, since the majority of Konoha have problems with that."

The fire daimyo had nothing else to say to that. If things continued down this path he may have to dissolve Konoha as a shinobi village.

"Well then as there is nothing further to discuss..."

"Naruto-sama, we found the tenth."

Naruto looked up at Tayo with a smile, "Great. Where is it?"

"The crypt is under the Yamanaka complex," the man informed Naruto.

Naruto stood up and moved to put on his coat while speaking to himself, "Hmm... I had thought it would be under the Senju or Uchiha complex but this is a pleasant surprise."

Once he put on his coat, he turned to face his employee, "I'll be there shortly. Go and make sure there is no repeat of last time."

Naruto stepped outside and his two bodyguards joined him.

"Naruto-sama?" Keiran questioned.

"We found the last one Keiran. It's time to finish this."

'Kyo meet me at the Yamanaka complex.'

'I'll be there Naru.'

The tunnel began from beneath the old building that used to belong to the Yamanaka clan head. The building had been abandoned for years seeing as it had been destroyed during the invasion and they never rebuilt it.

Instead the Yamanaka had built another home for the clan head.

The foundations of the building were weak and most of it had been reduced to rubble.

Naruto observed the building from outside when Kyoshiro appeared beside him.

"Shall we go in?" Kyoshiro asked.

Naruto nodded somberly. This was it.

They found the entrance to the tunnel from what used to be the clan meeting room. It must have been used as some sort of escape tunnel.

All of Naruto's workers stood outside the tunnel not daring to step inside. Only Naruto and Kyoshiro would go in from here.

Naruto nodded at Tayo, the head of the deconstruction and mining group.

"Make sure all of you stay safe. Let the work go on to reduce suspicion."

Tayo nodded, "We are currently tearing down the main complex."

"Good," Kyoshiro said, "Keep doing that. Nobody comes near this building until Naruto or I give the all-clear."

Tayo nodded and he left with all the other workers.

As soon as they left eight figures materialized out of the shadows.

Naruto looked at the bijus present and Shukaku assured him.

"Go in Naru, we'll make sure everything's fine outside."

With that Naruto and Kyoshiro went inside.

Inside the tunnel was darkness.

Kyoshiro conjured a ball of foxfire to illuminate their way.

As they crept forward it was obvious that the tunnel had been used during the past decade or so.

"I think this is an escape tunnel," Kyoshiro said.

Naruto nods, "But it's here. I can feel it, the emptiness, the threat..."

Kyoshiro placed one arm around Naruto as he always does.

"It's just the instinct Naru. You're safe. It is no threat to you."

Naruto nods. He knew that intellectually and Kyoshiro always assured him but like Kyoshiro said, the instincts always warred with his intellect. Right now, his instincts, his chakra, was telling him to run, to escape because the danger was ahead. Then there was the undercurrent of longing, the pull towards the emptiness that was more dangerous than the fear.

He gripped Kyoshiro's hand tightly and moved ahead.

The tunnel stretched ahead of them but Naruto suddenly halted with a frown. Kyoshiro looked at Naruto in confusion.

"We're going the wrong way..." Naruto said.

Kyoshiro looked around and hummed, "I think these tunnels were built over the maze. Which means..."

Kyoshiro moved towards the walls and placed his hand on the surface before letting out a burst of yokai.

Naruto stood there looking around trying to understand where the pull was coming from.

Kyoshiro was frowning thoughtfully, "There is no tunnel or passageway parallel to us."

"Below us... It's below us," Naruto murmured and crouched down feeling the ground.

Kyoshiro spoke calmly, "Allow me."

One of his tails came out and smashed into the ground just ahead of them with a force strong enough that the ground fell through to reveal another tunnel below them.

Naruto shook his head, "Getting a bit careless there Kyo, this is a tunnel. Please keep that in mind."

Kyoshiro just chuckled and opened his mouth to speak but whatever sarcastic comment he had was stopped by the ground under their feet crumbling and both of them fell downwards.

"Was that a scream?" Shukaku asked the others.

Matatbi nodded, "Sounds like it."

"DO you think we should go and help them," Son Goku asked hesitantly.

All of them looked at each other before saying at the same time, "No."

"Kyoshiro!" Naruto said frustrated.

"Uh... so much dust..." Kyoshiro sneezed before looking sheepishly at Naruto, "Sorry?"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Come on," he said moving ahead, "It's this way."

Kyoshiro caught up with Naruto and both of them walked until they reached a massive wooden door.

"Yup, this is it..." Kyoshiro muttered, "Thank God Kaguya did not booby trap this one..."

Naruto scoffed, "Oh she did. I just asked her in advance and disabled them all."

Kyoshiro sighed, "Good thing that you did. I do not fancy getting my fur burned."

Naruto took a deep breath and placed one hand on the door and Kyoshiro grabbed hold of his other hand.

Naruto's hand fits perfectly into the handprint left by Kaguya's human form.

Then with a burst of the Jubi chakra the door opened. Kyoshiro quickly took over and covered Naruto in yokai until Naruto was able to pull back the Jubi chakra and cloak it with his yokai; perks of being a demon's mate.

Then both of them walked inside.

Kaguya had consumed the chakra fruit from the God tree for the power it offered.

She didn't understand until too late that the power was as addicting as it was corrupting. And while her sanity slowly withered, so did the tree. There was nothing to be done. It was inevitable that the tree would die once she had taken the fruit but what she didn't know was that the tree had a way to take back what it had given.

When the God tree died it left behind ten seeds. It wasn't to grow a new tree but the seeds had the same ability to absorb chakra that the tree had, only that they would absorb chakra that was once part of the tree. Which in essence means Kaguya's chakra and by technicality, her sons and their descendants who had inherited her chakra.

By the time she realized the seeds were a danger to her power, she had already made enemies of her sons and feared that they would use the seeds to defeat her regardless of what may happen to them.

She took the seeds and hid them in various locations in the elemental nations, away from her children's reach and believed herself to be safe. Alas, her children managed to outwit her even without the seeds.

When millenniums later Naruto had inherited her power and she had regained her sanity, she had only one request for him; use the seeds to take back the power she had stolen.

"I have seen child, what chakra does... what the temptation of its power does. And I want you to fix my mistake."

Naruto had scoffed then, "War and chaos are in human nature Jubi not in chakra."

She had closed her eyes in pain, "Yes but you see chakra is a powerful weapon. One man can destroy a village of thousands if he knew how to use his power right... I want you to take that power away, I want you to take that weapon of mass destruction away. That way at least wars would be less devastating..."

Naruto thought about it, in a way she did have a point but still...

"If I take their chakra they will die. I will not be like you..."

"I have a solution for that..." and she told him about the seeds.

"If you do this," she tempted, "I can help you gain control child."

Naruto swallowed nervously.

She laughed, "You thought I don't know? Your Uzumaki heritage and your connection with the Shinigami might be keeping you sane but managing to control all that chakra? Impossible without my help..."

Seeing his mutinous expression, she added, "I know you think I am using this to gain my powers back but I am not. I swear in the name of the Sacred that I will guide you, help you gain control and make sure that you wouldn't hurt anyone unintentionally if you swear to fulfill my wish."

She looked at him think hard about her words. She knew he didn't have many options not if he didn't want to accidentally blow up a few villages.

Finally, in a voice so soft she heard it only barely, he said, "I swear that I will fulfill your wish."

"Thank you... And child, call me Kaguya. I am no longer the Jubi, you are."

And that had been the beginning of the tentative alliance between Kaguya and Naruto.

Naruto had learned control under Kaguya and then with Kyoshiro and the other biju's help accomplished a lot more.

Discovering the seeds had been a problem. He couldn't sense until he was close enough and there was no other way to locate. Kaguya had given him their location as best as she could but then the landscapes had changed and villages had been built over them so digging out the seeds would be difficult.

It helped that Naruto owned a construction and mining company that operated all around the elemental nations.

The one place that skipped past him was Konoha. He was planning on an intervention himself when they had come and dropped the opportunity in his lap.

The seed of the God tree looked like a smooth spherical glass ball.

It was pitch black; the kind of darkness that made you feel empty just looking at it.

Naruto nodded at Kyoshiro and he picked it up. To Kyoshiro, who no longer had the Biju chakra and was a simple demon, the seed was harmless. To Naruto and any other who had chakra, it was another matter entirely. The seed would suck in any chakra it could reach and while Naruto may survive, an ordinary person would die from the shock of having his chakra ripped out.

Needless to say, it was the seeds that inspired Naruto's chakra removal technique, which was much safer than the actual seeds.

The only thing that saved Naruto from such close exposure was the fact that Kyoshiro had him bundled under layers and layers of demonic energy and Naruto was suppressing his chakra so deep and covering it up with his demonic energy.

They went back the way they came.

Once outside the other demons quickly took the seed and disappeared with it to the demon realm where it would be kept until Naruto found a way to use it without having it kill the people. Luckily, he already had people working on that.

"Naruto..."

"Yes Iruka?" Naruto was busy typing away on his laptop that he didn't pay much attention to.

"Naruto look at me please..."

"I am a bit-" he closed his mouth when he looked up and saw Iruka holding a baby, to be specific, a baby Orochimaru.

Iruka looked concerned, "Someone dropped him off here and told me he was yours."

Naruto saw the look on Iruka's face and said, "What, no! I didn't get anyone pregnant if that's what you're thinking... But yes he is mine."

Iruka blinked, "Are you going to explain that?"

"Do I need to?"

Iruka looked flustered, "Naruto I know you're a demon and have all sorts of powers and I wouldn't find it... uh... wrong if you could... I mean you can tell me anything... I wouldn't judge."

Naruto frowned, "What are you- Oh!" his eyes widened and then shook his head, "No, no... He is not... I didn't and I cannot get pregnant." Iruka looked ridiculously relieved at that, "He is mine in the sense that I saved his life and he has no one else."

"Oh... What do you plan on doing with him?"

Naruto sighed, "I need to find a couple ready to take him in. I mean, Kyoshiro and me, we're not sure we could raise a baby safely..."

Iruka watched as Naruto moved forward to trace his fingers against the sleeping baby's face softly. Naruto smiled widely when the baby cooed adorably.

"But it needs to be someone we both trust because he is important you see..." Naruto looked up at Iruka and when he saw the expression on the man's face Naruto understood.

"Iruka..." Naruto said softly, "Do you want to raise him?"

Iruka looked at Naruto in surprise and then hope, "Are you serious?"

Naruto smiles, "Yes. I trust you to take care of him Iruka."

Iruka swallowed thickly and looked at Naruto gratefully, "Thank you Naruto..."

Naruto smiled softly as Iruka left the room, "You'd make a great parent Iruka..."

"Asuma."

"Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade laughed at the title, "No need for that anymore since I am no longer the Hokage or the Senju clan head."

Asuma nods with a smile because Tsunade doesn't seem all that upset with everything. She looks more carefree than ever.

Both of them had run into each other outside the Hokage's office. Asuma coming out after seeing the Kage and Tsunade about to enter.

"So why are you here?" Tsunade asked Asuma.

"Well," Asuma started, "I was here to hand in Kurenai and my retirement forms..."

Tsunade's face lost its happy smile, "And how did it go?"

"Surprisingly well!" Asuma said befuddled, "I don't know what happened but Danzo is very... mellow... I think it is the word."

Tsunade looked surprised at that, "Well I just hope that mine goes as good as yours did."

"You're quitting?"

Tsunade shrugged, "Yeah... It's way past my time of retirement. I will still work at the hospital and Naruto offered me a position at the new research facility that I just couldn't refuse."

Asuma smiled, "I had almost believed that it would be all over. That he would leave Konoha crippled and destroyed but seeing the village now, I think it's all for the best. The village is more peaceful right now..."

Tsunade smiled, "That is true... He would've made a great Kage."

Asuma laughed at that, "Oh I think he was always meant for something greater than a Kage..."

They parted ways and Tsunade was very surprised with how easy it was to get approval from Danzo. When she had arrived, Danzo was just sitting there looking like he was enjoying the wind and view, looking like a child almost. Tsunade had her suspicions but since things were going this good why bother with it? She was sure that Naruto was behind it anyway.

It took Tsunade five months of research and sleepless nights before she was able to find the solution for Naruto's problem.

The day she told him how to use the seeds without killing people was the day, she thinks, he truly forgave her. She felt happier these days, lighter.

She had been horrified at first when he told her how he planned to take the chakra back from the humans. She was almost unwilling to help but when Naruto explained, she understood. Taking the knife away from a fight would always lessen the damage, in theory.

She had been desperate for his forgiveness and she agreed quickly but he stopped her gave her till the day of the match. And when Tsunade had forfeited, that was her way of saying yes to helping him. And now she had done it. It would take a few generations but in the end, it would be done. Chakra would be gone.

She closed her eyes and laid back, a vacation in Demon country sounded nice right now.

It had been a hardship for the contestants who had woke up after they lost only to find out they had lost the ability to use chakra entirely.

Then they found out about their new living arrangements, which was a single complex courtesy of Naruto until they all managed to find better living arrangements.

Sasuke, however, was a different story. He had woken up with no memory of the last fifteen years of his life. His last memory was the leaving for classes on the day of the massacre. He didn't remember witnessing the massacre or the mental torture or anything that happened afterward. But he knew that his family was gone. He knew that he had tried to kill his brother for his family. He knew that his brother had been innocent. He knew that he had done some horrible things. But he had no memory of going through any of it.

When Sasuke and Naruto fought Naruto spend a lot of time carefully undoing the damage done to Sasuke's mind by Fugaku's abuse, witnessing the massacre, his brother's betrayal, then the cursed seal. He had known that he was giving Sasuke a free pass but Itachi, who believed himself responsible for what became of his brother, was a close friend. And Naruto did give his word.

At first Sasuke felt angry at Naruto for taking his chakra and then his memories but he managed to get over it quickly. After all Sasuke could still remember his mother's smile, the days he spent with Itachi and Shisui. It was not like the memories Naruto had taken was anything happy. He felt thankful because in a way he was free. He had never wanted to be a shinobi, it was aways Fugaku's pressure and the desire to be like his brother. But now that he had a clearer view, he could see how toxic the shinobi life had been for him. So the loss of his chakra wasn't that big of a blow to him.

With a lot of therapy and maybe some genuine friends, Sasuke thinks, he'll be just fine... and maybe after some time, he will visit his brother and apologize and he should probably apologize to a lot of others as well...

Ino was devastated. Angry and lost she turned to drugs and suffice to say things were bad. Until her father managed to get her head out of her ass and convince her how lucky she was to be alive... It took a lot of work but Inoichi was a persistent man and he and his wife managed to, finally, get their daughter back. And although he resented Naruto for the state he left his daughter in, he knew that it had been no fault of the man. By the end Ino was a changed woman but in a lot of ways it was a good change.

For Shikamaru, life was easier. No longer having to live up anyone's expectations and duties. He took to civilian life well. So did Choji who started a restaurant of his own later on.

It took time for Shino and Kiba. Their ties to their partners were through their chakra and with it gone it was like somebody had cut out their limbs. Both of them needed a lot of therapy but luckily they had people who weren't ready to give up on them.

Tenten's dream of becoming a great Kunoichi had been crushed efficiently. And with her loss of the weapon's business she had no idea what to do with life. She hated Naruto for what he did to them. It took Neji to slap her silly before she began cooling down. Then the depression started creeping in but there was Neji and he helped her through it. And times like this she could admire Naruto who had gone through hell when all of them had just abandoned him.

Neji and Hinata were the only ones among their group with their chakra left and while Neji remained as a shinobi Hinata quit and became an instructor at one of the schools. They tried to take in a chakra-less Hanabi but she had been resentful and angry and left the village shortly after she quit her ninja life. Years later she would come back as a changed woman with a family of her own and mend the brides she had broken.

As for Sakura, she became suicidal. She had lost her chakra, her possessions and her career. IT was the absolute worst situation she found herself in. Her parents resented her and she truly understood how it feels to be hated by people she loves. Had it been not for Lee she would've killed herself successfully. She had bitched at him non-stop under his care, she just wanted to die. Years later she would thank God for sending Lee her way.

Lee hadn't understood how much of his chakra he had been using until he lost it entirely. But as always he was nothing if not a fighter. His martial arts skills remained even though he lost his speed and power considerably. He took to teaching civilian children self-defense. Then he found Sakura ready to jump from the Hokage mountain. What followed was a difficult year before he finally managed to get through to her. After that it was considerably smooth sailing. Granted sometimes they would run into Sakura's parents and they would be glaring or spitting curses at them but they held strong and together they built a new life for themselves.

Asuma and Kurenai moved to Demon country later on with their triplets and Konohamaru followed them.

Kakashi had never thought he would work at a ramen shop, but that's what he was doing now. And unsurprisingly Gai still showed up with silly challenges that Kakashi found himself enjoying more often these days. It was a good life and though the guilt and self-hatred consumed him some days, Gai was right there to pull him back out.

None of them knew what happened to Jiraiya but Tsunade did. The last time Tsunade had seen the man he had been about to go to the Toad realm. The man was world-weary, the weight of all that he did and didn't do threatening to drown him. As far Tsunade knew, Jiraiya spend the rest of his years as a true hermit. Even if she didn't like him all that much, she hoped he found peace.

Life wasn't perfect for any of them but it was good.

Five years later, Konoha was no longer a Shinobi village but nobody was all that upset about it.

Then a decade later the first infant was born without chakra. And as a century passed chakra became a thing of the past.

After making sure that his word to Kaguya had been fulfilled, Naruto left with Kyoshiro and the other biju to the demon realm.

They had an eternity to spent together.

In the end the child of prophecy did change the world, just not in the ways some expected.