This is Ryu Kotei with a message that during the long wait for this chapter, I learned I had to change a couple of things with previous chapters due to the recent Steven Bomb.

On a final note, I do not own Naruto, Steven Universe, or any of the songs I used in my stories.

"Believe in Steven!" normal speech

"Believe in Steven!" thought/mind speak

"Believe in Steven!" demon speak

Chapter 28: Aftermath

*Sunagakure; Kazekage's Mansion*

Lapis Lazuli was standing on the roof of the Kazekage's mansion, staring out towards the beautiful full moon in the starless night sky.

I wonder what had happened back in Konoha? Lapis thought to herself as she remembered feeling an intense wave of power and she had thought of going back to see what was going on, but Yamato had convinced her that everything was handled and that the Kazekage must get the message immediately.

But when they had arrived at Sunagakure after a day and a half of travel, the blue Gem was mad for different reasons: 1) Sunagakure was located in the middle of the DESERT where there was NO WATER and 2) Gaara was kidnapped by this Akatsuki group. She and Yamato, along with one of Suna's well-known elders, Chiyo, had given chase after helping Kankuro get some needed medical attention.

They had managed to find the kidnappers after they had done something to Gaara as the young man was unconscious. Lapis and Chiyo had gone up against Sasori while Yamato had gone after the other one, Deidara, and the battle with Sasori was one the Gem had never expected…

What would drive a person into doing something like that to themselves, Lapis thought as she felt a chill run down her spine when it was revealed that the only thing human about Sasori was his heart while everything else was just a mechanical puppet. True that she and the other Gems, save for Naruto and Steven, only had a physical projection of a human body, but Sasori…

Lapis and Chiyo had managed to kill the former Suna ninja, but the rogue ninja had left them a message about his spy with this Orochimaru character. She gave the message to Yamato after he and a conscious Gaara manage to escape from a massive explosion done by Deidara and after hearing an explanation about Orochimaru, Lapis officially decided that the Snake Sanin was one to avoid like the plague.

"There you are," said a voice as Lapis turned to see Temari approaching her with a glass of punch in each hand, "the Savior of Suna!"

"Oh please, I'm no savior," Lapis said with a sheepish chuckle, "I was doing what I thought was best. I'm no hero…"

"You are to a lot of people here," Temari said with a soft smile as she handed the Gem a glass, "especially to me considering you had helped save both of my brothers from death."

Lapis took the glass and a small sip of the punch as the kunoichi continued, "You don't know how glad I am that you had saved Gaara from a permanent death with that artifact you had given him. You're the second person to save Gaara on such a level."

"I'm guessing the first person was Naruto." Lapis said with a small smile on her face while Temari chuckled.

"Yeah." the blonde said before taking another sip of her punch, "After meeting Naruto, Gaara had done a complete flip with his personality as he had gone from psycho-killer to respected Kazekage with such little time."

It was silent between the two girls until Temari then said, "I know my little brother has a thing for you."

"What!?" Lapis asked after doing a small spit take and coughed a few times, "When was this?"

"I saw how Gaara was looking at that ring you gave him and how he was looking at you during the party." Temari answered with a smile on her face, "I also saw you kiss his forehead that day."

A navy blue blush formed on the blue Gem's cheeks as she said, "I just…I thought…"

Letting out a sigh, Lapis then said, "After what Naruto had told me of Gaara and everything that had happened to me, I sort of…feel a connection with him as we both had very rough lives. I was going from one prison to another and he…"

Temari placed a hand on the Gem's shoulder as Lapis continued, "After Naruto had saved me from Jasper, I had fled into the ocean and thought about how all that has happened. I felt so out of place back at Homeworld and I was scared. That was when I thought about Gaara and how he must have felt so alone on the inside, wishing that there was someone who could be his friend or be there for him…just like me."

Temari smiled as she then said, "Tell you what, I wouldn't mind a girl like you being with my baby brother as I can tell that you really care for him. I'll take you on a little tour of Suna and I can even set up a little picnic for you and Gaara tomorrow."

Lapis thought for a moment before she smiled as said, "That sounds lovely, Temari."

The kunoichi chuckled a bit before a dark, threatening look formed on her face as she said, "However, if you hurt Gaara in ANY way…I'll make you regret it!"

"Yes ma'am!" Lapis quickly said in fright.

"Good, glad we got that settled." Temari said as she headed inside, "Good night!"

After seeing Temari head inside, Lapis let out a breath that she was holding and said, "With someone like her for a sister, Gaara shouldn't have any problems with people taking advantage of him…"

*Konohagakure; Hospital*

The morning light was shining brightly on Lee's face, causing the taijutsu expert to stir awake from his slumber.

"Aw man…" Lee said as he slowly sat up, body aching sorely as he held his head with a hand, "What happened?"

Images ran through his head as Lee began to remember all that had happened…

Gai-sensei telling him and his teammates of the Hokage's plan…

Tenten volunteering him to distract Amethyst…

Revealing the plan to said Gem…

Fighting Zircon…

Amethyst taking a fatal blow to the back from Zircon's guitar/ax…

"Amethyst!" Lee said as he saw his vest on a nearby chair and grabbed it, ignoring his aching pains.

As he dug around the pockets, Lee began to worry as he couldn't find Amethyst's gem.

"No, no, no!" the taijutsu expert said with fear in his voice, "Where is she!?"

"Where's who?" said a familiar voice as Lee looked up to find Amethyst standing at the entrance to his room with a tray of food.

The purple Gem was now wearing black tights, white ankle boots, a lavender sleeveless shirt under a pinkish-purple long-sleeved jacket that had star-shaped cutouts near her shoulders, and bandages on her hands. Her hitai-ate was also hanging loosely around her neck with the metal plate just inches above her gemstone.

"Amethyst!" Lee said before he had to grab the side of his chest from a sharp pain coming from his ribs.

"Whoa, easy there!" Amethyst said as she set the tray of food on a nearby table before rushing to Lee's side, "Zircon done a pretty good number on you and some of the others."

An awkward silence made itself known as the taijutsu expert cringed uncomfortably at the memory of fighting the Gem fusion.

"I'm really sorry about what had happened…" Lee said as he looked to the side away from Amethyst, "I know that I do not deserve your forgiveness nor from your friends and Naruto-kun."

"Hey don't be so hard on yourself," the purple Gem said as she placed a comforting hand on Lee's shoulder, "you were just following orders from the Hokage…plus I did enjoy our time at your dojo the other day."

Lee remained shamefully quiet as he couldn't bring himself to look at the girl.

But how could he after what he had done?

"Look, I talked to Pearl and Garnet after my regeneration," Amethyst said as she jumped up and sat on the bed, "and it might take some time for them to forgive everyone for what they had done…especially Garnet considering that Naruto and Steven were forced to fuse."

The purple Gem carefully nudged Lee with a smirk on her face as she then said, "But from what Naruto has told me and what I've seen, you'd do anything to repay for some of the damages and that makes ya a good guy to me."

Lee finally looked at Amethyst with a small, thankful smile donned on his face and said, "Thank you for your kindness and I WILL work hard to earn the forgiveness of the other Crystal Gems…once I am out of the hospital."

Amethyst chuckled a bit before Lee then asked, "So how did Zircon came to be?"

Amethyst shifted nervously with a shamed cringe on her face as she said, "Well…it actually began a couple years ago. We decided to try and teach both Steven and Naruto to fuse, looking back on when Stevonnie was formed along with how Topaz was formed. Full-blooded Gems can't fuse with humans, but since Naruto and Steven are only part-Gem and Steven did fuse with Connie, we kind of thought to give fusion another shot…"

Flashback

*Beach City; Crystal Temple*

Naruto and Steven stood before the Crystal Gems after watching a quick demonstration of them fusing into Alexandrite.

"And that's how it's done." Pearl said after the giant Gem had defused back into the trio.

"But you must remember that fusion must be in agreement between the Gems," Garnet added with a stern voice, "and it must also represent the bond you have with one another."

The two boys nodded in agreement before turning to face each other. Naruto and Steven looked at each other with great determination until…

"How do we start off?" Naruto asked, breaking the tense atmosphere and causing the trio to face fault at the question.

"Just DO it!" Amethyst answered with slight sharpness, "You both have fused before, meaning that you can do it again!"

"Be easy with them, Amethyst!" Pearl scolded the purple Gem, "Naruto was only able to fuse with me because I had taught him; he's a kinetic learner!"

The sound of crunching sand caught everyone's attention as everyone looked to see Connie wearing a sky blue shirt under a pair of denim overalls approaching them.

"Hey everyone," Connie said as she jogged toward the group, "what's going on?"

"Well…" Pearl began hesitantly until she remember that the young girl had fused with Steven before, "we're trying to teach Naruto and Steven how to fuse. Since you had fused with Steven before, do you mind if you could tell us how you both fused?"

"W-well…" Connie answered with a slight blush, "Steven and I w-were just dancing and having fun when I felt something warm and fuzzy. Next thing I knew, we were Stevonnie. What about Naruto?"

It was Pearl's turn to blush as she then said, "Uh…Garnet and Amethyst were facing a powerful monster, so I had to quickly teach Naruto how to fuse. He had only fused with myself twice and Amethyst once."

"It was pretty cool to have Star Sapphire around." Steven said before an idea came into his mind, "I know! Naruto, pretend I'm Amethyst!"

The blond gave Steven a questioning look as the younger boy said, "Maybe if you pretend that I'm Amethyst while I pretend you're Connie, it might work!"

Naruto scratched his head before he said, "Uh, sure…let's try that."

Naruto and Steven looked at each other before letting out a breath to calm their nerves. The Gems and Connie watched as the two began to dance with both dancers having an upbeat tone in their steps and movements…but their rhythm was off. The two then accidentally collided into each other, causing them both to fall onto the floor.

"That could have gone better…" Naruto said as he helped Steven onto his feet.

Before another word was said, a powerful quake from outside alerted everyone towards the window to see a mansion-sized metallic squid approaching the temple.

"Gems!" Garnet called out, "The fusion lesson will have to wait! We need to stop that monster!"

Flashback End

*Konohagakure; Hospital*

"Then what happened?" Lee asked, curiosity itching at him badly along with some of his healing wounds.

"Pearl, Garnet, and I faced off against the monster while Naruto and Steven helped protect Connie after it had summoned some friends." Amethyst answered before letting out a sigh, "We were getting out asses handed to us until both Connie and Pearl were caught in the monster's slimy tentacles. Next thing we knew, there was a bright flash of light and Zircon arrives and defeats the monster."

"At first we were kind of skeptical, but we were proud that Naruto and Steven were able to fuse." Amethyst continued before an uncomfortable look formed on her face, "But then we learned that Zircon was incredibly unstable and dangerous. We really don't know what caused Zircon to become so unstable; both Naruto and Steven get along just great and they had both agreed with the fusion. We were completely unsure as to why Zircon was unstable and out of control. After they had defused, Naruto and Steven both agreed to never form Zircon again unless it was an ABSOLUTE last resort!"

Lee remained silent as he could only imagine just how bad Zircon was back then if what had happened was any proof.

"I am sure that even if they fuse into Zircon willingly," the taijutsu expert said as he placed a hand on the purple Gem's shoulder, "Naruto-kun and Steven-kun WILL be able to control Zircon if they keep believing in themselves."

Amethyst smiled a bit as it could be possible since she and Garnet can keep Sugilite under their control for a good while, then maybe there's hope just yet…

*Namikaze Mansion*

Pearl was looking over some of the scrolls that she had found in the library with one of Naruto's gems and Steven's gem nearby.

"Your parents had quite the collection of jutsus and fighting techniques, Naruto," Pearl said as she spoke to the lone amber gem, "no wonder they were couple of Konoha's strongest shinobi."

Pearl then set the scroll aside and let out a sigh as she sadly looked at the two gemstones and said, "I know it's only been a week since you both retreated into your gems, but I'm already missing you both."

The pale Gem knew that they had to take their time with their regeneration, but Pearl hated feeling alone and even though Garnet and Amethyst would be around sometimes, they could never fill the void like Naruto and Steven could.

Steven was just like Rose Quartz in so many ways: he was compassionate, always excited by something new, and so loving. It bothered Pearl when she remembered how she had acted when she learned that Rose had kept more secrets from the pale Gem, even if she was her personal confidant. Pearl saw the feared look on Steven's face when he was jumping towards her, and she felt so guilty about blaming Steven for what happened to Rose. She didn't ever want to go through that again.

As for Naruto…

He was able to reignite the feelings Pearl had for Rose with the exception that the pale Gem had fallen for him. Naruto, in a way, was also like Rose as the blond was compassionate and cared so much for others, loving, and had that aura that was just inspirational. Pearl had even remembered how her boyfriend had his moments of weakness and would either confide those feelings to either Garnet or Pearl.

Naruto also had helped Pearl cope with the loss of Rose by being there for her and even going to her for advice on his Gem powers. The time they had spent together, either through their dates or training, had helped them become closer and when they had formed Topaz for the first time…it was an amazing sensation.

Like Rainbow Quartz, Topaz was the ultimate form of their bond as each movement and action felt so right. Topaz had Pearl's knowledge along with Naruto's unpredictability, the fusion had fierce determination while also displaying caution. He also knew when to be serious in fights while also getting his opponents to lose their focus in combat.

Topaz was perfect in every way.

A knock on the door caused Pearl to get up from her seat and opened the door to reveal Ino and Tenten standing outside.

"Hey Pearl," Tenten said nervously as said Gem was giving them a sharp glare, "we were just wondering how things have been going."

Seeing the small scowl on Pearl's face, Ino let out a sigh and said, "Look, we're here to apologize for what had happened; we were just following orders. We never meant for any of this to happen."

"Then why didn't you just heeded our warnings about Zircon?" Pearl countered as she was just tempted to slam the door, "We have told Tsunade just how dangerous Zircon can be, and she still does this to Naruto and Steven!"

"Look, we really are sorry about the whole Zircon Incident," Tenten said as she held her hands up, "but we'll make it up to you and the others in whatever way possible!"

The pale Gem looked at the two girls as she seriously was thinking about slamming the door in their faces…but it wouldn't feel right after what she had seen from Rose and Naruto.

It wasn't right for what they had done to both Naruto and Steven, Pearl thought as she remembered Rose's teachings, but it wouldn't be right for me to hold a grudge against them for just following Tsunade's orders.

Pearl remained silent before she let out a sigh and said, "I'll…think about it for a while…but for now, please just leave."

The Gem politely closed the door as Ino and Tenten looked each other and sighed.

"That…" Tenten said as she thought of what had transpired, "…wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

"It could have been a lot worse," Ino said as she and Tenten turned around and began to walk away, "considering that we're talking about Pearl's boyfriend as well as the son of her own idol; she looked like she wanted to kill us right on the spot."

"We'll just let her be for a while," Tenten said as she did have in mind of making Pearl a sword as a means of earning her forgiveness, "maybe she just needs to think about our offer."

"And if she refuses?" Ino asked with slight worry.

"We'll just have to work hard until we earn their forgiveness!" Tenten said as a part of her couldn't help but look back on Gai's teachings as despite how eccentric the taijutsu master was, he did have some great wisdom when it comes to better improving oneself.

"That almost sounded like something Gai-sensei or Lee might say!" Ino chuckled a bit as she saw the look on her colleague's face.

"Please don't remind me…" Tenten said depressingly as she began to remember the more eccentric moments that her sensei and teammate would have, "and with Lee and Gai-sensei still in the hospital, I feel bad for the staff for being exposed to them…"

A few more days had passed as Jiraiya carefully approached the door of his old student's home, silently thinking that not a lot had changed despite the years that had passed.

Hopefully Garnet will be in a good mood to listen to my offer, the Toad Sage thought as he gave the door a few knocks.

Jiraiya waited for what felt like hours when the door opened up to reveal Sapphire.

"How can I help you?" the blue Gem asked stoically, but the sage could detect a hint of venom and accusation.

"I was hoping that I could talk to Garnet about the whole Zircon Incident," Jiraiya asked with a nervous chuckle, "but I can come back later if you want me to."

"It's alright, Ruby's cooling off at the hot springs with Lapis after she and Yamato returned." Sapphire said as she motioned Jiraiya to enter, "She…wasn't really happy when she learned about what happened to the boys."

Jiraiya took a seat in the kitchen and twiddled his thumbs until Sapphire returned with a tray of tea along with one of Naruto's gems and set them on the table.

"Where's Naruto's other gem and Steven's?" the sage asked as Sapphire poured some tea in the cups.

"They're with Pearl and she's with Ino and Tenten." the blue Gem answered before she handed the cup to Jiraiya, "What do you wish to talk about?"

Jiraiya was silent for a moment before he said, "I was wondering if there's a way for the Crystal Gems to forgive Tsunade for what had happened with Zircon."

Despite her hair covering her sight, Jiraiya could see the calculating glare boring into his eyes as he then said, "I'll even help with that project of Naruto's that he was working on."

Jiraiya took a sip of his tea as Sapphire was silent, contemplating the offer given on the table.

After taking a sip of her tea, the blue Gem then said, "We'll talk to Tsunade about what she made our boys do, but I'll let you take a look at the project first."

"Okay…" Jiraiya said as he noticed that it was starting to get colder in the room before he went to take a sip of his tea before noticing that it was now frozen, "Mind if I take a look at it right now?"

"Sure." Sapphire said as she floated towards the basement while Jiraiya followed…wondering just how the blue Gem was floating like that.

Once in the basement, Jiraiya began to examine the structure to see that it was just wooden arches that seemed to be infused with chakra and a mystical aura.

"Here is the scroll." Sapphire said as she handed a scroll to the sage, "Hopefully it should help with whatever the portal needs."

With a thankful nod, Jiraiya unrolled the scroll and read over the contents. He had to admit that Naruto's ancestor was knowledgeable about chakra and its use, but didn't have a grasp on using certain types of elements when it came to jutsus. However, the Toad Sage noticed a certain passage in the scroll…

I don't know how I had done it, but I had just teleported back to Uzushio's home with Rosie jumping for joy at what I had done. Uzushio was pretty startled when he just saw my student and I just jump out of thin air between two arching trees. I sent Rose off for her training with some of Uzushio's visiting relative while I tried to think back on what I had done as all I remember was grabbing the branches of two trees that were parallel to each other and feeling some sort of energy that was similar to my own…except that it was slightly coarser. I had meditated on this matter while supervising some of my students' training until I had felt that same energy again.

I was about to investigate it until one of Gre…Bloodstone's follower had attacked and I had to protect my students as this was one of my former love's more powerful followers. Much to the surprise of my students, Bloodstone's follower, and even myself, I had become stronger than I was before and I was able to protect my students much more effectively as it appeared that this new energy had increased my Gem's power to the point that I could have taken on even a Midnight Bone Dragon and win without a scratch on me!

But poor Rosie looked at me with such fear in her eyes, and I was confused until I saw my reflection in the river nearby to see that my physical appearance had changed. At first I thought I was going corrupt, but my appearance returned to normal after sometime and I was more tired than normal.

I took me years for Rose Quartz to approach me again afterwards…

After meeting some of the animals that were called Summons, I learned that I had tapped into something that was called…

*BOOM!*

Jiraiya was startled out of his thoughts as the sound of stomping echoed from upstairs.

"I'll be back," Sapphire said with slight urgency in her voice, "but please, keep reading."

"Actually…" Jiraiya said with a smirk on his face as he rolled up the scroll, "…I think I found the missing piece to the project. I'll just need some time though as to see if my suspicion's correct."

Jiraiya and Sapphire then went upstairs to find Lapis at the kitchen table helping herself to some tea while Ruby was in the living room pacing around angrily.

"Hello Lapis." Sapphire addressed said Gem, "How was the trip to the hot springs?"

"Might have been better if Ruby didn't try to cook me and the others." Lapis responded as she pointed a thumb towards the stomping red Gem, "She's been like this all day."

"You don't get it!" Ruby growled out as she looked at Lapis, "This is FUSION we're talking about! It is a BOND between two Gems, not some silly magic trick or weapon!"

Did it just get hotter in here? Jiraiya thought as he tugged at the collar of his shirt while sweat began to form under his hitai-ate until Ruby saw him.

"YOU!" the red Gem yelled out before she stomped towards the sage, "What are YOU doing here!?"

"Ruby, let talk outside…" Sapphire said as she approached Ruby and placed a hand on her lover's shoulder, "…before you burn the house down."

Seeing the charred imprints of her feet on the floor, Ruby grumbled as she let the small blue Gem guide her outside.

"Well…" Jiraiya said as he sat down on a now warmed chair to find that the tea in his cup was evaporated judging by the steam the cup was emitting, "…that was something."

"So what brings you here?" Lapis asked with a slight defensive tone in her voice as she looked at the Toad Sage.

"Just wondering if I could convince Garnet to talk to Tsunade about the whole Zircon Incident," Jiraiya answered as he suddenly saw a bright orange glow from the window nearby before seeing that Ruby had engulfed herself in fire, "…guess they need more time."

Looking at the scroll in his hand, the sage then said, "Sapphire had allowed me to look at Naruto's little project and from what I could tell, it's missing a certain key energy for it to work."

"And that would be…" Lapis asked as the orange glow had died down.

"From what I could tell from reading Amber's notes," Jiraiya said as he set the scroll to the side, "the key is something related to Senjutsu, or Nature Chakra. But I'll need some time to look into this…maybe even try and 'borrow' a certain teme's notes."

Looking to see that Ruby wasn't on fire anymore and now hugging Sapphire, Jiraiya got up from his seat and said, "I believe that I've stayed here long enough seeing how Ruby's calmed down some. Tell Sapphire that it was nice talking to her and thank her for letting me look at that project."

Lapis nodded as Jiraiya walked out the front door before Pearl soon entered with shopping bags in her hands.

"What was Jiraiya doing here?" the pale Gem asked before Sapphire and Ruby entered.

"He was hoping to talk to Garnet about talking to Tsunade before I allowed him to look at my grandson's project." Sapphire answered before a smirk formed on her face, "I believe that his research into Naruto's project will be beneficial."

"So the portal will work now?" Pearl asked with slight confusion.

"It's a surprise!" Ruby said with a smirk of her own until she saw the shopping bags, "Whatcha got?"

Seeing how the red Gem was looking at the shopping bag curiously, Pearl blushed a bit as she said, "I decided to go clothes shopping with Ino and Tenten; they said it might help mine and Naruto's relationship."

Ruby was about to take a look when Sapphire gently grabbed her hand as her face was slightly bluer than normal for her.

"I don't get why humans would get some clothes just for the sake of removing them," Pearl said with an embarrassed tone in her voice, "but I did get some nice swimsuits."

Another knock on the door had alerted the Gems as Pearl set her shopping bags to the side and opened the door to reveal Kakashi.

"Greetings Kakashi," Pearl said with a slightly annoyed tone, "What brings you here?"

"Just checking up on things," the jonin said as his mask hid his nervous smile.

Pearl looked back to see Sapphire giving her a nod to allow Kakashi in the house.

"Jiraiya was here earlier hoping to talk to Garnet." the pale Gem said as the jonin walked into the living room and took a seat on the sofa, "So what brings you here?"

"It's just like I said," Kakashi said as he delicately picked up a small framed picture of Minato and a pregnant Kushina, "just checking up on things."

It was silent as Sapphire opened the nearby window until Kakashi said, "I failed both Naruto and Sensei badly."

"You mean about not teaching Naruto as much as you should have?" Lapis asked as Ruby and Sapphire took Pearl's shopping bags upstairs.

"It's not just that…" the jonin said as he let out a sigh of regret, "…I had only protected Naruto back in my ANBU days and after that…I didn't do much considering that this was Sensei's son. Minato would be greatly disappointed in me and Kushina…she'd probably kill me for not doing more for Naruto."

A bright light shone in the room as both of Naruto's Gems and Steven's Gem floated into the air. After the light died down, three figures were now standing before everyone.

"Rose!" Pearl cheered happily at seeing her mentor, who was wearing a white sleeveless shirt that exposed her midriff and khaki pants.

"It's good to see you too, Pearl." Rose answered with a chuckled as the pale Gem hugged her.

Kakashi was looking at the other two figures that bared Naruto's two gems on one of their arms.

"Hey Kakashi," said Minato as he was wearing a green vest over a red shirt that had a lightning bolt in the middle and denim jeans as one of Naruto's gems was on his right wrist, "long time no see."

"Sen-"

*POW!*

Kakashi couldn't even start his sentence before he was interrupted by a sharp punch to the face from Kushina, who was wearing a forest green shirt that had a nine-tailed fox on it, blue jeans that hugged her form, and Naruto's other gem on her left wrist, that sent him flying through the open window.

"So that's why Sapphire opened the window." Lapis said as she looked out the window to see Kushina beating up Kakashi mercilessly, "Should we…stop her?"

"Best thing to do actually is to let her get it out of her system." Minato said as he watched his wife toss his student around like a ragdoll, "Although Kakashi did deserve this, I can't let Kushina actually kill him since he is my student and our son's teacher."

Time had passed as Kushina eventually stopped her assault on Kakashi, who was now sporting multiple lumps and bruises, before the two of them entered the house.

"I still wonder how you survived Kushina's pregnancy, Sensei." The silver-haired jonin said as a blotch of blood formed on his mask where his lips were.

"I just watched my step very carefully." Minato answered without a second thought as he found an old picture more interesting than his student at the moment while Kushina and Rose were talking about their sons over a cup of tea as Pearl and Lapis went to go check on the smaller Gems.

Yep, Kakashi thought as a thick silence was in the living room, Sensei's disappointed in me.

The silence was still in the air until Kakashi then said, "I'm…I'm really sorry about how things have gone with Naruto. I should have taught him more than I should have, maybe found a better teacher for him during the Chunin Exams."

Minato sighed as he set the picture down and said, "I know that your hands were tied considering how the Council and the village acted towards my son…but you could have at least done more for him when he needed it."

"I'm not really a great teacher, am I?" Kakashi asked as he had an idea of what the answer would be.

"Yeah…" Minato said as he lazily rested his head on the knuckles of his right hand, letting the amber gem gleam in the light, "…but you're not the only one I'm disappointed in; Jiraiya, the villagers…even the Sandaime had disappointed me and Kushina."

Kakashi could only nod as things should have been different for the miniature Yondaime. With Jiraiya being Naruto's godfather, he could have at least taken the boy in and protected him from the blind villagers who saw Naruto as the Kyuubi instead of its jailor.

I'd be disappointed too if Naruto was my son, Kakashi thought as Minato then let out a sigh.

"Once everything's been taken care of," the Yondaime said as he looked out the window, "Naruto and the Crystal Gems are going back to Beach City, a much better place for him there than Konoha could ever be."

"Of course, Sensei." Kakashi said with a nod of agreement, "I'll miss him when the time comes, but I know that it is for the best as Naruto is more happier there than he would ever be."

A small smile formed on Minato's face as he then said, "Still, I am proud of Naruto for making it this far: working on perfecting the Rasengan, training in his Gem powers, having a romantic relationship with Pearl. He's gone too far to give it all up for a place like Konoha."

Kakashi couldn't help but agree with his sensei as Naruto only deserves the best after what he has been through.

Hopefully you will find peace that you truly deserve, the jonin thought as he looked out the window to see leaves dancing freely in the sky, my little brother.

*Hidden Laboratory*

Peridot was sitting in one of the testing areas of one of Orochimaru's many hidden laboratories and taking notes on how the recent resurrected shinobi was reacting to its new powers.

"Subject Kimimaro, which I was allowed to dub as Howlite, had shown great promise." the green gem spoke as she wrote down her findings, "He had actually taken the use of his new powers quiet fondly as it seems to be working in conjunction with his existing skeletal manipulation. Unlike the others that Lord Kyuketsuki had told me about, Howlite shows no signs of corruption and had even shown great promise when training with Aquamarine and Malachite, who are still getting used to their new powers."

Dabbing her brush with some fresh ink, Peridot continued with her notes, "The four failures after Malachite I was told to just let them loose as they offered no use to us in their current state as mindless beasts. However, Lord Kyuketsuki is working on creating his own fusion with his Kindergarten Resurrection Jutsu after seeing my notes on the Cluster. It sounds impossible, but considering that Lord Kyuketsuki had brought back the dead of humans and infused them with Gem power, perhaps even this new Gem was possible. It will certainly be a shock for those Clods if all goes well."

After finishing and letting the ink dry, Peridot looked over toward Kimimaro, who was wearing a loose, long-sleeved shirt that had the Kyuketsuki symbol on the back, black pants, blue shinobi sandals, and had a bone white gem on his right forearm, and said, "Come Howlite, we still have some work to do."

Kimimaro bowed as he said, "By your orders."

What awaits Naruto and his friends in the near future? What is Sasuke's plan that Peridot had mentioned?

I know that some of you might ask me about Malachite, this Malachite is different than the Malachite from Steven Universe since there had been evidence that more than one of that Gem can exists. This Malachite isn't a fusion as it's just a resurrected ninja that had been on the show before.

Don't forget to rate and review!

Ja ne.