Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Sorry for the super long delay, I had an essay and was too busy to write.

I added a few sentences at the end of Chapter 3 that I forgot to write. It isn't really important to the plot or anything but I felt that without it Kakashi's death just wasn't complete.

Also, I'm only watched up to Naruto Shippuden #242, so I don't know what Kabuto's abilities are after he put Orochimaru's cells or something inside him, and I don't want to spoil anything by searching it up, so I'm sorry if I overestimate or underestimate Kabuto's abilities.

(A few minutes earlier)

Kakashi knew that he had no time to waste, and he should take the tags off as soon as possible, but this was something he had to do. He quickly took out a blank scroll and a pen and wrote several words down. After he took the final tag off, the one on the memorial stone, he would hide it there. However, he knew that his team would be able to find it. Kakashi placed it in his weapon pouch, making sure that he wouldn't lose it. He took a deep breath, placed his hand on it, and ripped it off.

(Also a few minutes earlier)

"Konoha Daisenpu! (Leaf Great Whirlwind)" Gai lifted his body off the wheelchair using his hands and extended his good leg, knocking all the dead soul bodies near him away. It was already 11:59, and based on Kakashi's orders, every shinobi should be leaving the village right now, even if it meant abandoning the rest of the civilians. However, no one obeyed. Gai bet Kakashi knew that no one would follow his order, and he couldn't make anyone follow them anyway. Gai would have no regrets dying for the village, though he wished he could have said goodbye to his students and Kakashi.

"Gai! Watch out!" Pakkun, Kakashi's ninken, shouted. Gai quickly spun his wheelchair around and saw a group of dead soul bodies that had come too close.

"Gate of Limit, open!" The dead soul bodies were pushed back by the sheer amount of power coming from Gai. He was even able to completely obliterate a few of the bodies before he had to slump down in his wheelchair to rest a bit. Most of the jonins had gone to evacuate the village, so only some of the best jonins and Kakashi's ninkens were here fighting back the wave of dead soul bodies.

Gai knew his body couldn't stand it any longer. Ever since he opened the eighth gate against Madara, his body had become less resilient to the effects of the chakra gates. Still, he would defend the village to his very last breath. Gai leaped off his wheelchair and bowled into a group of dead soul bodies while hopping on one leg. He was in the middle of succeeding in pushing them back when he felt something...wrong. Gai glanced at Kakashi's ninkens. They had felt it too, and were even more worried than him. They had froze, and after a few seconds, they all turned and ran towards the east side of the village, completely ignoring the dead soul bodies that were left and the rest of the jonins.

Gai stopped dead and stared after them. For Kakashi's ninken to abandon their posts and rush away only meant one thing: something had happened to Kakashi. He longed to run after them and check on his rival himself, but he could not abandon his fellow comrades. Gai returned to the battle, anxiety still clouding his mind.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto stared at his teacher's still form, hoping for any movement, any movement at all, but there was none. Sakura used her medical ninjutsu again, not caring that she was using up her chakra. Sasuke closed his eyes, wishing that this was all a dream, but he knew it was not.

"Sensei! Don't leave us! Don't go off and-" Naruto stopped, unable to come to terms that his teacher really is...dead. He punched the ground in anger and frustration as tears blurred his vision.

"He's not dead, he's not dead, he's not dead…" Sakura muttered frantically to herself as the green glow coming from her hand intensified.

"He's dead Sakura, there's nothing you can do." Sasuke laid a hand on Sakura's' shoulder, but she shrugged it off.

"Sensei's only hurt, I have to heal him." Sakura said stubbornly. Naruto looked at Sakura helplessly, and was just about to answer when someone cut him off.

"Sasuke-kun is right, your sensei is dead, trying to save a village that is going to die anyway." Naruto looked up and saw Kabuto standing casually a few feet in front of them. Dimly he sensed Sasuke and Sakura shifting into fighting stance, but his focus was entirely on the grey haired scoundrel in front of him. Naruto felt red chakra come out of his skin and cover him like a cloak, three tails appeared behind him. His appearance became more animal-like and frightening. Naruto closed his eyes, and when he opened them, they were red with slitted pupils.

"You! You're the one who caused all this to happen! You killed sensei!" Naruto shouted. To his anger, Kabuto only smirked.

"So what? I'll make you a deal, Naruto. Right now, my Dead Soul Jutsu has raised an army of more than a thousand dead bodies, and I can raise more whenever I want to. Your village is lost, and you are outnumbered. Give up right now, and I'll let your friends go and give all the civilians a quick and painless death. If you don't, everyone of you dies slowly and painfully, no exception, right down to babies right out of a mother's womb. It's your choice."

Naruto clenched his fists and his body quivered with rage. "I would rather die than agree to your deal! You invaded our village and tried to destroy it! You attacked the safe houses cowardly and killed a ton of people! You killed our sensei! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU! Kurama!" Naruto felt the Kyuubi give him a bunch of chakra, and his body shone bright yellow and glowed with power.

Kabuto laughed. "Like you can do something? Oh wait, you can. You can die like your useless sensei did. You know, I was actually surprised that Kakashi was brave enough to try to take off the explosive tags. After all, people were always saving him, not the other way around. Well, maybe he was too stupid to realize the danger-"

Kabuto was cut off abruptly when Naruto snarled and punched a nearby wall in anger. The wall was obliterated instantly. Kurama's voice told Naruto to calm down, but he ignored him.

"Shut up! You're going to pay for what you did!"

"What makes you think that you can beat me alone?" Kabuto asked confidently.

Naruto smirked. "Who said I was alone?"

"That Kabuto needs to be taught a lesson." Sakura said from his right. She cracked her knuckles menacingly.

"I agree." Sasuke's voice came from his left. He activated his sharingan and rinnegan. For a second, Naruto saw a flicker of uncertainty appear on Kabuto's face, but it disappeared as soon as it came.

"It's futile, you're just digging your own graves."

Naruto ignored Kabuto's words and stood up straighter.

"I'd like to see you try to defeat Team 7 together!" Naruto tried to make his voice sound as confident as possible, but he knew that all of team 7 wasn't here. As much as he hoped that Kakashi didn't really die and this was just a false alarm like last time, he knew this time...Kakashi really was dead. His teacher's dead body behind him proved that.

But right now he had to focus, he could grieve later. Right now, he had to protect Konoha and his comrades.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A hundred clones appeared and ran towards Kabuto, who was trying to get away while Naruto was distracted by his thoughts. Kabuto snorted as he dispelled them easily with his snakes.

"Is that all you've got?" Kabuto said while staring in the general direction of team seven (the smoke from the dispelled clones made it hard to see). For a few moments there was only silence, then the sound of birds chirping came from his left. 'Too easy.' A snake shot out from his sleeve with near untraceable speed towards where the sound had come from.

Kabuto smiled as a scream rang out, but his smile quickly faded when he heard the unmistakable "pop" of a clone dispelling. He growled in frustration and took a deep breath.

"Futon: Daitoppa! (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)" A powerful gust of wind blew away all the smoke, but no one could be seen. Kabuto frowned, 'where did they go?'

Suddenly, the ground in front of him exploded, rocks and debris flying everywhere.

"Shannaro! This is for my sensei!" Sakura yelled as she pulled back her fist.

Kabuto leaped backwards, but was too slow to avoid the fist coming straight towards him. He just had enough time avoid a punch to the face that would have surely knocked him out for a punch in the stomach. Kabuto winced in pain as he flew backwards. Ignoring the pain in his stomach, he tried to twist around, but before he could an intense pain flared in his right shoulder.

"Chidori Eiso! (Chidori Sharp Spear)" A calm voice said behind him. Kabuto turned his head to see a spear made out of blue electricity sticking out of his shoulder. Already, the spear was making his entire right arm numb. Kabuto gritted his teeth and ran forward, pulling the Chidori Spear out of his shoulder.. He turned around to face Sasuke.

"You brat! Betraying Orochimaru and I like that. You won't defeat me, not like this!" Kabuto hissed as he gathered his chakra.

"Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei! (Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation) Madara!" Kabuto still had one more trick up his sleeve, he had already prepared it beforehand. He would summon the one and only Madara. Kabuto grinned maniacally, but was surprised to see Sasuke standing calmly, and instead of being shocked or cowering in fear, he was smirking.

"What's so funny?" Kabuto asked suspiciously. All he had to do was clap his hands together and the jutsu would begin, but he didn't just in case the young Uchiha had something that could stop the jutsu. "You've fought Madara before, you know how powerful he is."

"Look behind you." Sasuke said. Kabuto turned around, and...saw Sakura merely two feet away, arm pulled back for another punch. He quickly leaped up into the air to avoid her.

"Did you really think you could hit me with that-" An explosion rocked the whole area, and Kabuto saw entire houses getting destroyed instantly, huge clouds of smoke rose up. A humming sound filled his ears, and in the middle of all the smoke, there was the shadow of a person holding a humongous shuriken above his head. The humming sound started growing louder and louder, and ferocious gusts of wind blew the smoke away.

"This is for Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said, eyes blazing with anger and hatred. "Futon: Choodama Rasenshuriken! (Wind Release: Ultra-Big Ball Rasenshuriken)"

Naruto threw his arm forward, and the deadly jutsu flew towards Kabuto. Kabuto desperately tried to protect himself by making his snake summons surround him, but it was all in vain. The jutsu tore through the snakes like they were paper and smashed into him. Thousands of slashes cut into Kabuto's body, damaging his chakra coils beyond repair. For several seconds Kabuto was suspended in the air, screaming from the pain the jutsu caused, then fell several meters down onto the ground.

Miraculously, Kabuto was able to get up even after being hit by Naruto's ultimate jutsu. 'Orochimaru's cells must have protected him from my Rasenshuriken, but I'm not done yet.' He started gathering chakra in his palm.

"This is for all the people who died tonight because of you!" Naruto charged forward with a giant blue spiraling orb of chakra in his hand.

"Odama Rasengan! (Giant Rasengan)" He smashed the Rasengan into Kabuto's chest, throwing him backwards. Kabuto's body flew backwards until he crashed into the wall of a house. He coughed up blood as he laid there, unable to move or create jutsus. Kabuto looked up, and saw Naruto standing over him, expression murderous. And for the first time in a long time, Kabuto felt fear fill his heart.

"This is for the village!" Naruto shouted as he punched Kabuto hard enough to break his nose. Kabuto saw stars as he felt black spots appear in his vision. Naruto took out a kunai, and Kabuto waited for the killing blow that Naruto would surely deliver, but none came. He lifted his head saw Naruto panting harshly, his kunai an inch away from Kabuto's throat.

"Aren't you going to kill me now?" Kabuto rasped. Naruto's eyes darkened, but the kunai didn't move.

"I want to kill you, I want to kill you so badly. But if I do, the cycle of hatred would continue, and I'm not selfish enough to do that." Naruto flipped the kunai around and hit Kabuto unconscious with the end of the kunai. He then took out a spool of ninja wire and bound Kabuto's wrist together. The Rasenshuriken destroyed Kabuto's chakra coils, he would never be able to use his chakra again. Naruto dimly sensed the rest of the leaf village ninjas coming towards them, but he didn't move. Naruto stared at Kabuto for a few more minutes before straightening and walking over to his teammates.

"The dead soul bodies are disappearing! The summoner must have been defeated!" A random jonin shouted. Gai looked around disbelievingly as the dead soul bodies fell one by one and crumbled into dust.

"Wait, it's 00:05. The village hasn't been destroyed yet!" All of them had been too worried about the dead soul army to realize that a minute had passed. The other jonins were cheering with joy and going off to check on their family, but Gai was rolling his wheelchair as fast as he could towards where Kakashi's ninken had ran to. He had to make sure his eternal rival was okay.

It felt like eternity to Gai, though it probably was much shorter. What he saw made his heart freeze. Kakashi's students were standing off to the side, their faces were contorted with sorrow. Pakkun and the rest of the pack were huddled around a dark shape on the ground. Gai rolled his wheelchair slowly towards them, dread filling his mind. Clouds started to drift across the moon, making the moonlight disappear, but Gai could clearly see Kakashi's masked face, already pale from death. No, this couldn't be happening. What were his last words to his rival again?

How can we be Eternal Rivals if we do not fight together? Don't worry, this will not diminish my YOUTHFUL spirit at all!

He had believed he was stating the truth then, but he had been speaking a lie.

'I have failed you, Kakashi. I couldn't come to aid you when you needed help. What are rivals for if we do not even fight together? How could my spirit remain youthful with you gone?'

Gai wheeled his wheelchair to a stop beside his longtime friend and rival's dead body. He fell forward out of his wheelchair and landed on his knees painfully, but he hardly noticed. Tears flowed freely from his face as Gai choked out the name of his closest friend.

"Kakashi…"

They stood several meters away, giving Kakashi's pack and Gai space to grieve. More ninjas started to appear, and soon most of the village's ninja population was here. Half of them stared in horror at Kakashi's body, while the other half crowded around them, pelting them with questions.

"What happened?"

"Is the village safe?"

"The dead soul army just...disappeared. What's happening?"

"Is Kakashi...dead?"

"Is that Kabuto?"

Naruto closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind. Right now, all he felt like doing was going far away from this place and forgetting everything that had just happened. But Kakashi had passed on the title of Hokage to him, and even though he wasn't officially Hokage yet, if the Daimyo disagreed he'd probably have a revolution on his doorstep. Naruto never wanted to earn the Hokage title this way, but he had to take up the mantle. Everyone was looking for a leader now, someone had to step up and take charge. Naruto straightened and tried to project an aura of calmness and confidence.

"I will tell everything that has happened on top of the Hokage Tower. Gather everyone below the Hokage Tower, including the civilians, in ten minutes. Take the wounded to the medics. Go!"

Everyone obeyed and left, glad to have someone to tell them what to do. Naruto nodded to Sakura and Sasuke, signalling for them to take Kabuto into Konoha's prison. Now, only Gai and Kakashi's ninkens were left. He walked over to them and crouched down. Naruto looked with a feeling of detachment as Pakkun nudged Kakashi's hand and crawled under it, whimpering the whole time. The other ninkens lay down around Kakashi and buried their nose in their master's cloth, trying to remember his scent before it faded. After a few moments, Gai spoke.

"Did...my rival die an honorable death?" Gai wasn't crying anymore, Naruto noticed, but that didn't mean the pain was any less. Most people in the village thought Gai was eccentric, overemotional, and weird, so they generally avoided him. In the whole village, probably only his students, the Hokage, the Rookie 9, Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi didn't look down upon him. However, Kakashi was Gai's best friend, the only one who thought of him like an equal (at the end of the war), and the pain of losing your best friend could not be expressed through tears.

"Yes, he saved the village."

"What happened?" The red dog with bandages said.

Naruto hadn't wanted to tell the story two times, but he figured he owed it to Gai and Kakashi's ninkens. He told him what had happened, all the way down to the last detail, though he kept Kakashi's words to his team to himself. After he finished, Kakashi's ninken were all trembling with fury, and Naruto was thankful that he hadn't told them that Kabuto was still alive. Naruto looked at Gai when he exhaled in relief.

"Though it seemed that he was in pain before he died, Kakashi was happy at the time of his death. It was the best death a shinobi could wish for except for dying of old age, being surrounded by his most loved ones. I just wish...that I could have talked with him...one last time." Gai said wistfully. He shook his head and said to Naruto, "go, go talk to the village. Show them that Kakashi's sacrifice wasn't in vain, that the village will survive, and that one day, peace will come. I'll stay here."

Naruto nodded and stood, throat too tight to speak. He looked at Kakashi and bowed, a gesture of respect he had never showed to anyone before. Naruto turned and walked toward the Hokage Tower, and though the pain wasn't entirely gone, it was eased a little bit from Gai's words.

Gai watched Naruto leave. 'He will make a fine Hokage, rival. You left the village in good hands.' Gai looked down at his forever broken leg. He remembered when he had opened the Eighth Gate, the Gate of Death. Gai had expected to die then, but miraculously, he had survived. However, back then, there wasn't enough time for him to say goodbye to Kakashi. Just like right now, Kakashi didn't have enough time to say farewell to him. Gai sighed and laid down, looking up at the night sky.

'Farewell, Eternal Rival.' Gai thought to himself silently, hoping that Kakashi could hear his words, wherever he was right now. He felt his hair move slightly as a gust of wind came, lifting up the leaves scattered on the ground. The leaves swirled above him, and he heard an achingly familiar voice.

'Thank you, Gai, for everything.'

"Kakashi!" Gai bolted upright as the wind then carried the leaves to Kakashi's ninken. Kakashi's voice spoke again as all the ninken whined sadly.

'Pakkun, Bull, Urushi, Shiba, Akino, Uhei, Guruko, Bisuke, I'll miss you all. Thank you for staying by my side this whole time.'

After that the wind stopped, and the leaves settled back on the ground. Gai stared at it for a moment longer, then leaned back and smiled at Kakashi's body. Seems like his rival was still able to say goodbye after all.

'I should thank you, my rival.'

Naruto stared down at the crowd below, desperately trying to think of what to say. Sasuke and Sakura were behind him, the only other two people who knew what had happened last night. The sky was still dark, and Naruto estimated it was about one in the morning, but it seemed like everyone in the village was here. When Naruto saw no more people coming, he knew it was his time to start speaking.

"What do I say to them?" Naruto asked his teammates without turning his head, speaking softly so that the crowd below could not hear.

"I don't know, you're the inspirational one here." Sasuke replied.

"Ignore that idiot. Just do what you always do, be yourself. The village needs a hero to rely upon. Everyone's surprised that an attack happened after the Fourth Great Ninja War, they're afraid." Sakura said. Naruto looked at the crowd, and saw that everyone was staring at him, waiting for him to begin. 'Well, now or never.'

"Tonight, an attack was made on the village. Kabuto Yakushi, a former accomplice of Orochimaru, was the cause. However, not only did he bring with him the jinchurikis and the Dead Soul Army, he also brought four explosive tags with him. These explosive tags were not the normal kind, each one of them could blow up a village by itself. Not only that, if someone tried to take even one of them off...they would die."

Gasps of astonishment came from the crowd. They had thought they were evacuating because of the Dead Soul Army, but now they knew how close they came to dying. Naruto took a deep breath, 'now for the hard part.' He had to explain to them how Kakashi died, though he knew some of the smarter ones had already figured it out based on their stricken expressions.

"Kakashi-sensei…" Naruto's voice shook a bit as he continued. "...took all four of the explosive tags off...and died in the process. Many other people died tonight as well. Kabuto is no longer a problem, he has been dealt with." Naruto didn't want the news that Kabuto was alive to become common knowledge. Most of the village might call for his head based on what happened tonight, and he himself was barely able to restrain from killing Kabuto right there on the spot. Naruto didn't want to lie to the village, and technically "dealt with" did not necessarily mean that Kabuto was killed, but he still felt a little guilty.

"The funeral shall be held tomorrow at noon. Everyone is welcome to attend." Naruto paused, and the crowd started shouting, each voice trying to top the rest.

"I thought this was supposed to be an age of peace?"

"Was the Fourth Great Ninja War fought for nothing?"

"Are we going to have to keep living in fear and suspense that something bad is going to happen, forever?"

"Wasn't defeating the Akatsuki and Kaguya enough to achieve peace?"

"Can there never be peace?"

"Enough!" Naruto shouted, and the crowd went silent.

Hinata watched anxiously as Naruto's blue eyes shone with determination. He pointed a finger behind him towards the Hokage Monument.

"Each one of the previous Hokages fought wars, risked their lives, sacrificed many things in order to achieve peace. It is our duty to not give up and believe that peace will come. It is our duty to insure that Kakashi-sensei's, and the other Hokage's sacrifices were not in vain. Peace is not an impossible thing. Though there are many obstacles standing in the way, one day, there will be peace! If the shinobi world is cursed to stay in a cycle of hatred, then I will break that curse! If there's such thing as peace, I will find it. I won't give up!"

Hinata's eyes widened as she recognized the famous quote from Jiraiya's book. All around her, everyone was listening in rapt attention as Naruto continued.

"However, I can not find peace alone. So, in order to help your friends, your comrades, your family, never, never, think that peace is an unachievable goal. If we all believe in it, and never give up, one day, one day, peace will settle among the shinobi world and finally break this cycle of hatred!"

A loud cheer went up in the crowd, and Hinata felt her heart swell with admiration and love for her husband. No matter what happened, Naruto was always able to inspire confidence in everyone. Naruto dipped his head in acknowledgement and turned to leave. Hinata was about to go talk to him when she felt pain in her pregnant belly. She let out a gasp and almost fell to the ground.

"Hinata-sama!" Neji, who was beside her, said as he gently supported her.

"The...doctor...I think...it's time."

The funeral was a plain event, though almost everyone from the village showed up. Laid out on a long table in front of the memorial stone were the photos of everyone who had perished last night. Kakashi's photo was in the middle. Instead of using the photo that was taken when Kakashi became Hokage, Naruto used Kakashi's jonin photo. Naruto knew that his sensei had never wanted to become the Hokage, and Naruto would rather remember Kakashi as team 7's sensei.

For a moment, Naruto was reminded of the time Kakashi had "died." But this time, he was dead for real, and the jar he was holding in his hand was proof of it. Civilian bodies and ninjas that didn't have any kekkei genkai or special qualities were buried, but otherwise the bodies were burned and the ashes were put in a jar. It was to prevent the secrets of the Leaf village in case the body was robbed, but it still left a bad taste in Naruto's mouth. Personally, he thought burning the bodies were kind of disrespectful to the dead, though he knew many ninjas didn't mind.

Naruto hadn't felt like speaking during the funeral, thankfully he wasn't officially Hokage yet, so he wasn't required to say anything. The Hokage ceremony was going to be sometime in the next few days, as soon as the Daimyo agrees.

Near the end of the funeral, Kakashi's ninken pack started howling in front of Kakashi's picture. The heartbreaking sound conveyed many emotions, including pain, sadness, grief, sorrow, and most of all, love. The howling ended after several minutes, where each ninken went up to Kakashi's picture and licked it gently before disappearing.

Finally, the funeral was over, and the names were carved into the memorial stone. Now only Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were left. The day was warm and sunny, a direct contrast to the general mood of the village, though it gave Naruto hope that perhaps...perhaps his sensei was finally resting in peace.

Naruto opened the jar, and as a gust of wind came, he tipped it over. They all watched as the ashes were blown further and further away until it disappeared from sight. Naruto turned his gaze onto the memorial stone. The name Kakashi Hatake stood out, freshly carved.

"Sensei, I hope that wherever you are right now, that you're happy." Sakura murmured.

"I guess we're going to be spending a lot of time in front of the memorial stone now, just like you used to." Sasuke said.

"Kakashi-sensei, thank you. You taught us teamwork, a lesson we'll never forget. You always cared about other people more than yourself, I guess that's why you did it what you did. You were a great sensei, Hokage, and person." Naruto suddenly chuckled, remembering something.

"Sensei, guess what? I'm a father now. Hinata gave birth last night. It's a boy, and his name is Boruto Uzumaki. I wish you could have seen him, he looks just like me. I was thinking about making you his godfather, but I guess it's too late for that." Naruto's grin faded slowly. They stayed there for a few more minutes before deciding to leave.

"Goodbye, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said, turning to leave. However, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a symbol that was sort of familiar drawn on the ground.

"Hey, Sasuke, Sakura, do you see that?" He pointed at the symbol. Sakura gasped in recognition, causing Naruto and Sasuke to look at her in confusion.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"That's a henohenomoheji!" Sakura exclaimed. "It's on all of Kakashi's ninken's backs. Kakashi-sensei must have left it as a message for us."

Naruto quickly walked over there are started digging. Soon, a small scroll could be seen. They rolled it open.

In my apartment, two feet to the right from my bed.

Beside it was a summoning symbol. Sakura put her hand on it and sent a pulse of chakra into it. A key popped out.

"In my apartment...does that mean he left us something there?" Sakura said.

"Well, only one way to find out." Naruto set off towards the direction of Kakashi's apartment, Sakura and Sasuke behind him. They reached it after a couple of minutes, and using the key to unlock the door, they went inside to find the bedroom. The apartment wasn't that big, so the bed wasn't that hard to find. Naruto went to the floorboard that was exactly two feet to the right from the bed and pried it open. Underneath it laid a small book.

"What is this?" Naruto said as he lifted the book up. He flipped it open, and immediately felt a wave of nostalgia.

Instead of words, he found pictures. Pages and pages of pictures, all of them had at least one member of team seven on it. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura looked through the photo album, and memories threatened to overwhelm them.

There was, of course, team 7's official genin photo. Then there was a picture of Naruto proudly holding up Tora, the Daimyo's wife's cat, after finally catching her. Following after that was a picture of them splattered with paint and bound by ninja wire. Naruto remembered that time well. He had tried to prank Kakashi, and had even convinced Sasuke and Sakura to help. But Kakashi had caught them, and turned their prank, which was to cover him with paint, onto them. 'He was smiling so triumphantly when he took the picture, and I just remembered that I felt so angry. Though I wish things could go back to where they were then. It was so simple back then.' Naruto thought to himself.

There were pictures and pictures of them completing D-Rank missions, eating ramen, and just messing around with each other. Then, Sasuke disappeared from the photos. Soon after that, Naruto did too. There was one photo of Sakura becoming chunin, but that was all the photos that were taken before Naruto returned to the village.

The next photo was Team Kakashi, with Yamato as Kakashi and Sai as Sasuke. There were a few photos after that, but then it went straight to after the Fourth Shinobi War, where everyone was celebrating. After that the photos started to be more happier, with the war ending and Sasuke returning. The final picture was all of team 7 standing together, taken just a few weeks ago. Kakashi had said something about showing how much they had matured.

On the last page were a few words, written in their sensei's familiar handwriting. There was a date on top of it, May 31. 'This was written just five days ago.'

You've read my will already, this time I only have several sentences for you.

No amount of words can ever convey how much I care about you three, and how proud I am of you. You have all matured a lot, and have grown into powerful, wise, and compassionate shinobis. Live your life to the fullest, and no matter what, never split up.

I wish you all a long and happy life. I have passed my legacy to you, and now it is time for you three to leave behind your own legacies. And though you three were my only students, I can tell you truthfully that you would have still been the best, out of everyone in the entire world. I have never regretted passing you three the first time we met. Farewell, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura.

-Kakashi Hatake, the sensei of Team Seven.

Three drops of tears fell onto the paper, and outside the window, flecks of ashes bobbed up and down gently in the wind, as if it was waving goodbye.

The End

Thanks for the two people that reviewed, and any other people that might review in the future. Also big thanks to the people who favorited and followed this story. It really encourages me whenever I see that one more person has favorited/followed/reviewed this story.