Author's Note:

You're all probably wondering what the hel is this. Well to be perfectly honest, this is an out of place part of the story. I really wanted to include this scene but I honestly could not find the right place to add it in without messing with the flow. So I said fuck it and made it an epilogue. I hope it satisfies you as much as it did me; and pisses off the Narutards.

Enjoy!

Epilogue: Reap What You Sow

It was an oddly cool evening for summer in the village of Konoha, causing the villagers to turn in earlier than they normally would. Naruto on the other hand remained outside. He sat atop the Hokage monument, specifically on his father's head, and gazed at the village bellow. It was still the same day that the Mugiwara Kaizoku-dan had returned to their home world, but due to how much had transpired, it felt that a greater amount of time had passed. The blond had been thinking greatly on what Luffy had told him; to travel the world and discover his new dream. And while he agreed and planned on doing so, how to execute such a plan proved to be more difficult.

While he had made it clear to Tsunade and the others that he no longer wanted to become Hokage, he had not told anyone that he now planned to leave the village for an undetermined amount of time. He was sure the reactions would be negative and immediate restrictions would be in place, though if he were to be honest, he would not abide by those restrictions and would leave anyway.

What made things even more difficult was that the one person who needed to know what he was planning had been busy for the entire day. After Hinata had revealed she had met a mysterious man who knew the location of the ANBU HQ, she was asked to be interrogated by the commander of the ANBU. She was then asked to have her mind read by Inoichi to get an accurate image of what the mystery man looked like. When Inoichi entered her mind however, he found that the man Hinata had spoken of appeared only as a black outline with his body filled with bright golden light. Due to this strange anomaly, the best they could do was have a composite sketch made with Hinata as their guide.

Needless to say, this took a great deal of time.

Naruto knew that he had to tell her as soon as possible, but at the same time he wanted to postpone, for few of what she would say. Kurama had reassured him that she would be by his side no matter what, and while he knew that was true, there was still something holding him. In the pit of his stomach he felt there was something bothering him; a lingering uneasiness as if he was forgetting something, along with a sense for foreboding.

And then he remembered.

Naruto looked up at the moonless night sky and knew what needed to be done. And this night was the perfect one to do it.

xXx

Naruto knocked on the door of the Nara home and waited a few moments until the door opened. Before him stood Shikaku who looked at him in surprise.

"Naruto? What are you doing here at this hour?" he asked.

"I'm sorry for that, but I was wondering if I could speak to Shikamaru privately" Naruto replied politely. The Nara head looked at him for a moment before nodding and turned around to call his son. Surprisingly, the heir arrived quickly, but still had his usual frown.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" he asked, not pleased by the late visit.

"We need to talk" said Naruto firmly before turning his back to his friend and walked away. While Shikamaru was amazed by the blonds' tone and actions, he saw the look in his eye and knew the reason he was at his home was a weighty one. Without saying another word, he followed his childhood friend after closed the door behind him.

They walked a short ways from the Nara compound, at least far enough that Naruto knew they were out of earshot; assisted by Kurama who was watching to see that no one was eavesdropping. When he was satisfied, he allowed Shikamaru to ask the million dollar question: what was on his mind? And without anymore waiting, he answered him in full.

"You're serious" the lazy ninja said, more to confirm the blonds' resolve than to ask of it.

"Very. Are you in?" asked Naruto.

"Why are you asking me to take part? Isn't this something personal?"

"And is it not personal to you as well? I'm asking you to join me because you have equal claim to it as I do and I will not cut a man out from what he has earned with his own sweat and blood. Are you with me?" he asked again, his face never losing its uncharacteristic seriousness.

Shikamaru took a deep breath and looked up at the night sky, unable to see the clouds as the stars did not shine enough to make up for the lack of moonlight. He remained silent for a moment before looking back down at his reborn friend and held out his hand.

"I'm with you" he replied, having his entire forearm grasped in a warrior handshake.

"Good. Let's get moving" Naruto said straightforwardly and turned before walking away with the heir just behind him.

"Is it just going to be us or do you have others in mind?"

"A few more."

"Who's next?"

"Choji."

xXx

"I don't know about this" said the heavy set ninja nervously, sweating a little as he looked at his friends. "This feels wrong and I don't even think you should be doing it."

"I figured you would say that, Choji, but it needs to be done anyway. I trust you can keep this a secret?" asked Naruto patiently.

"Well...ya, but if you knew that I would refuse, why did you ask?"

The jinchuriki merely smiled. "You had every right to know and withholding such information would be the equivalent of spitting in your face. And that I would never do to you; least of all you."

The Akimichi heir looked at Naruto puzzled as he did not understand, making him laugh before resting a hand on his shoulder. "Listen Choji, you are a good man. An honestly good man, one not meant for combat. In my opinion you should not be in this cloak-and-dagger field of work and focus on what you love: food. Open a restaurant or a market or something else along those lines as it suits you far better.

But if you do want to proceed in this line of work, take solace in this: demons run when a good man goes to war."

He gave Choji a friendly slap on the back and wished him a good night, as did Shikamaru who followed close behind. He watched them go, remaining uneasy by the whole thing but decided that interfering in any way would also be considered spitting someone in the face. Without another word, he returned to his home.

xXx

"Are you serious?" asked Kiba wide-eyed as he looked at Naruto, then Shikamaru, and back to Naruto.

"We wouldn't be saying it if we weren't" stated Shikamaru flatly.

"Are you in?" asked Naruto, knowing they didn't have all night.

Kiba remained quiet for a moment before punching his left palm. "Damn right I'm in. Let me get Akamaru."

Before he was able to turn around however, the blond grasped his shoulder. "No. Just us."

"Nani? Why? He has just as much of a stake in this as we do."

"Naruto's right. Akamaru is just going to make things complicated for is. What we are doing needs to be done in secret, and your dog will not make it any easier" added Shikamaru.

The Inuzuka heir growled very unhappy with the ruling, but finally gave in and followed his friends. "So who else is in the pack?" he asked.

"We've asked Choji to join us but as I expected he turned us down" Naruto replied.

"That figures. It would totally go against who he is. So who else?"

The jinchuriki grinned.

"His exact opposite."

xXx

Naruto knocked on the sliding door of the main Hyuuga compound and waited patiently for a servant to answer. Kiba on the other hand was not so patient.

"You can't be serious here, dude" he hissed. "You want Hinata to come with us? I mean sure, she has every right to be, but she is NOT the opposite of Choji. I know she's your girlfriend now but she's been my teammate for years and I know her. She's gonna say no."

To the dog ninja's surprise, the blond smiled. "I know very well that she would say no as it's completely against her nature to take part in this. Which are the exact reasons why I'm not asking her."

Before Kiba could speak again, the sliding door of the compound finally opened revealing that it was none other than Hanabi who answered. The three teens looked down at the 10 year old who looked back up at them with the same curiosity.

"Well this is unexpected" said Naruto finally, "Good evening Hanabi. This is the first time we've spoken I believe."

"Yes it is. Are you here to speak to Hinata-onee-san?" she asked.

"Actually-" began the blond, but what interrupted by a hand grasping the sliding door.

"Hanabi, who are you speaking to?" said a older man's voice, who revealed himself to be Hyuuga Hiashi when he pulled back the door and looked Naruto right in the eye. "Ah. You."

"Evening to you too, Hiashi-dono" said Naruto, causing the Hyuuga head to squint at him.

"Uzumaki Naruto. If you are here to see my daughter, then you must return at a more reasonable time."

"Actually, I'm here for your nephew. But if it wouldn't be much trouble, could you let Hinata know that I'd like to take her out to lunch tomorrow" said Naruto calmly.

This made Hiashi turn his head slightly. "Neji? Why do you wish to speak to him?"

"That is between him and myself; with all due respect."

They both stared one another down; Hiashi to decipher what Naruto was planning, and Naruto to remain static and give nothing away. Finally the head of the Hyuuga clan nodded and sent Hanabi to find her cousin. This left the two, along with Shikamaru and Kiba, to stand in an agonizing silence as they waited. Thankfully it was not a long wait as Hanabi returned with Neji who was just as confused as his uncle by the late night visit.

As he did at the previous two, Naruto walked out of earshot before telling Neji what he had planned. This required even more delicacy as Naruto saw Hiashi slowly close the door to the compound, but eyeed him with very sharp eyes. When Kurama confirmed that no one was watching or listening, Naruto told the stoic ninja their plan.

"Well well" said Neji folding his arms. "No matter how many lifetimes I would be given, I would have never have believed that you of all people would want to do such a thing."

"People change, Neji" the blond answered promptly.

"Only if something occurs that warrants change" challenged the older teen. "Most people do not change for they do not see the point of it. While I may not harbor the same feelings towards Hinata-sama, my feeling towards Hiashi and the rest of the Main House has not changed."

"And you'd be a fool if you had" said the jinchuriki, taking the others by surprise. "You have every right to hate the Main House; Hiashi especially, and even more so now that they have done nothing to right their wrongs. How about helping me right some wrongs tonight?"

The stoic ninja looked at the jinchuriki with new eyes. He hadn't spoken to him since their fight during the Chunin Exams and still hadn't since his return, but it was still clear to him that over the past few days, Naruto had changed greatly. There was a conviction in his eyes that had never been before, and he knew instantly that the boy he had lost to in battle by chance, was now a man worthy of his respect.

"For the first time in my life, I am at a loss for words" Neji said in a humble tone. "I have never had much loyalty for this village or even my own clan due to their actions. I have hated the Main House for betraying me and sacrificing my father, I have hated the Branch House for standing down and never fighting, and I have hated the Hokage for never interfering. For these reasons I have always stuck out for myself and no one else.

And yet, here I am, looking upon a man that I feel that I can follow. Yes Uzumaki Naruto, I will help you right your wrongs" he said holding out his hand.

"Save swearing an oath to me until I have earned such an honour" said Naruto grinning, taking Neji's hand in the warrior manner. "In any case, welcome aboard. Now let's get a move on. We don't have all night."

"I feel like a fool for not asking sooner, but do you even know where it is?" asked Shikamaru. Naruto smiled.

"There are many benefits of sharing a body with an old demon god."

xXx

It didn't take the tetrad long to reach the Hokage Monument and with the help of the black sky, arrived without being discovered. Nevertheless, they remained in the shadows as Naruto began feeling the cold stone for a secret door.

"So you're telling me that all this time, the ANBU headquarters has been inside the monument?" asked Kiba in disbelief.

"A few hundred feet due South Southwest yes" confirmed the blond with his ear to the rock as he tapped it with his knuckle.

"Next to the emergency bunkers no less" added the Nara heir.

"You'd think they would put it somewhere less obvious and hard to get to, like the Forest of Death. I'd never go back there."

"That's where we put it in the first place" said Kurama rolling his giant eyes. "Where do you think it got its name?"

"Perhaps that was the point; to hide it plain sight" Neji suggested.

"That's giving us way too much credit. Got it" said Naruto pressing onto a patch of stone which gave way and revealing it was a switch. foot cut of rock sunk into the massive outcrop and slid to the left revealing a well maintained tunnel. Taking point, Naruto walked into the secret passageway with Kiba, Shikamaru, and Neji close behind. As soon as all four of them were inside, the door quickly closed behind them, covering them in darkness.

"Great. Anyone got a lighter?" asked Kiba."

"Ya just give me a second" muttered the lazy Chunin as he began to fumble through his pockets.

"Just stay quiet and hold onto one another" breathed the jinchuriki as his eyes turned demon red, allowing him to see in the darkness.

They walked quietly through the tunnel until they reached its end that opened to a large spiraling column. It was fairly lit with lamps strung across the walls, exposing the great number of ANBU angents either moving around or standing at their posts. Most of the walkways and stairs were made of wrought iron giving the place a darker and more secretive look. The shaft appeared to descend forever and the teens knew that finding their target would be a greater challenge than they had originally imagined. Undoubtedly he would be in the lowest level of the HQ, but how were they to reach it unnoticed? The iron walkways would echo when they walked across them, and the bare walls would leave them exposed in the lamp light.

"So what do we do?" asked Shikamaru in a low voice.

"Better make use of that brain of yours because I have no idea" groaned the blond.

"If I may make a suggestion," said Kurama cockily, "why don't we just stroll in?"

'Just like that? And alert the whole damn place?'

The old fox just smiled a large smile. "There are many benefits of sharing a body with an old demon god" he said with slyly pride. Naruto simply smiled and shook his head, realizing that he was going to have his hands full now that the vengeful bridges of the past had been burned down. He whispered to the others to follow and he walked without fear into the light and began to calmly descend the cold iron steps.

Naruto's accomplices were of course alarmed by his actions but could do nothing but follow him. It did not take long for them to be spotted and the ANBU immediately began to swarm them, greatly alarmed that their secret base of operations was infiltrated once again.

"Halt! Identify yourselves!" ordered one ANBU agent.

"You know very well who I am as well as my associates. Now please move we have urgent business with one of your prisoners" said Naruto, again remaining calm.

"No matter what business you have, you cannot be here. Leave now or you will all be placed under-"

"Move" ordered Naruto with his eyes flashing red once more. The ANBU froze in fear, knowing how serious the jinchuriki was. They could of course try to fight the blond, but they all knew that it would cost them their lives if they did. Slowly they backed away, giving the tetrad enough room to pass and continue their way down the headquarters.

Moving in relative silence, the four walked down the winding staircase until they reached the bottom, where a large prison cage stood before them. Inside sat a figure that appeared to be sleeping with his back to the cold stone wall at the rear of his cage. Not wasting any more time, Naruto gave the gate a strong kick sending a rattling bang throughout the shaft.

"Wake up, Sasuke" he said in a low voice. The captured Uchiha slowly opened his eyes and saw his former teammate, making him sneer.

"What do you want, Naruto? I don't have the patience to hear your sad speeches" he muttered unhappily. He then looked up a little more and saw who else was with him. "Well this is a surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure of you three visiting me this evening?"

"We'll leave that to Naruto to explain" said Shikamaru flatly, looking at the traitor with sharp eyes.

"In that case, I'm going back to sleep."

"I think you should hear what I have to say, filth" said the blond with malice in his voice and his brow furled. This caught everyone's attention, Sasuke's especially as he had never heard him speak in such a way to anyone, let alone himself. "The reason I have gathered these three men along with myself before you is to settle some old debts. All four of us, including Choji and Akamura who could not be present, all tried to bring you back home when you were taken by Orochimaru. It was an incredibly risky assignment and we nearly all paid with our lives for taking it. And for what? Because I so desperately wanted to appease your ungrateful fan girl and because I thought you were by friend? You were right to call me the king of fools.

That has now changed. After fighting with Monkey D. Luffy, as well as speaking to him, I finally learned the error of my ways. I realized that I no longer had to lie about my ambitions and what I truly felt, and that I can live my life on my own terms. But I learned this at a cost. I nearly lost the one person who had faith in. The one person who actually loved me for me and put herself in harm's way for my sake despite being against what I stood for. Because of you, Hinata nearly died. Because of you, Neji nearly died. Because of you, Choji, Kiba, and Akamaru nearly died. Because of you, Shikamaru had to carry the shame of failing as a commanding officer for years.

But just as much as their pain and suffering is due to your traitorship, the blame falls equally of my shoulders for dragging them through the dirt to their deaths. I should have stopped chasing after you from the beginning but I didn't listen, and all it has done is cause pain to myself and everyone around me. You were, and always will be a cruel malicious bastard who cares for no one but himself. In your delusion to get power and kill Itachi, you became far worse than he ever was. And while I am responsible for a lot of bad things, I've decided to take the path to redemption; something that you can never do.

You nearly killed Hinata, Sasuke, and for that I can never forgive you. The crimes you have committed are beyond pardon and your blood will do nothing to help you in the eyes of the village. But it sadly does with the council and they will undoubtedly pardon you just so that they can keep the Sharingan in their arsenal. We're not having any of that, Sasuke. Justice will be served today, and it will be done by the hands of those you have wronged. Today Uchiha Sasuke, you will die."

On cue, all four of them drew forth their weapons in preparation for the deed that needed to be done. Naruto and Kiba popped their claws and fangs with the blonds' eyes burning bright. Neji activated his Byakugan and Shikamaru drew Asuma's trench knives. From inside the prison cell, Sasuke began to panic.

"You've got to be joking" he shouted, sweat beginning to pour down his neck. "You can't be serious about this, Dobe. This is us we are talking about. Team 7."

"There was never a Team 7" Naruto replied coldly. "There was you, your fan girl, a sensei who paid the bare minimum of attention to me as a way of showing his 'respect' to his own dead master, and then there was me. I have burnt my bridges, Sasuke, and now it is time to burn the last one."

"D-Do you actually believe that you will get away with this? You will be hunted down like animals!"

"Yes...and no" said Naruto with such a sincere smile that it made the Uchiha sick to his stomach. "Shikamaru and Kiba will be safe as their clans will rally behind them which would cause a civil war if the council carried out with their arrest. As for Neji, he is more than welcome to come with me as I plan to leave this place for good. But alas, Uchiha Sasuke, while what we are doing is murder in the eyes of the law, the law has failed to bring justice, so we are your judge, jury, and executioner."

"Stop you son of a-"

Naruto grasped the bars of the cell, and with inhuman strength ripped it off its hinges. "Oh, I almost forgot" he said tossing the door to the side "there is someone else who wants to get his just deserts. You've met him before I believe."

Before the terrified Uchiha could ask, he saw something appear behind his former teammate. It was a figure of a man but he was made of black smoke and it seemed that no one other than Sasuke was able to see him. The figure then opened its eyes that blazed like a raging fire and spoke the words that identified itself.

"The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children when they do nothing but walk in their shadows" he said as 9 horrid tails arose behind him. Both Kurama and Naruto led the charge as they ran into the cell with the others right behind them. Sasuke let out a blood curdling scream that rang throughout the ANBU headquarters, before he finally met his fate.

xXx

"He was right, Naruto, they will come after all as soon as the ANBU tell the Hokage" said Shikamaru in an urgent voice.

"Yeah what are we gonna do now?" asked Kiba, clearly worried.

"Stay calm and listen to me" said Naruto strongly, walking briskly towards the entrance. "You two, go back to your homes and tell your parents what happened. Tell them to stay on high alert and stay low until this all blows over. Neji, go home and pack you things and be ready to bug out at a moment's notice. If they come for you and the Hyuuga refuse to protect you, then wait for me at the Forest of Death. From there we'll head southwest and find asylum in Suna for a few days before we head north."

"And what about Hinata-sama?" asked Neji, knowing how his cousin would react if her boyfriend had to become a missing nin. Naruto stopped walking and closed his eyes.

"Tell her that there is nothing in this world that I care for more than her, and no matter what happens, I will come back to her" he said with sadness in his voice. "Now let's move, we don't have much time." Naruto began to walk briskly once more and stopped when he exited the secret tunnel with the others nearly bumping into him. "Do we have to spill more blood tonight?" he asked.

Kiba, Neji, and Shikamaru began to look around with concern and saw that they were surrounded by the village's most powerful ninjas: Tsunade, Kakashi, Maito Gai, Shikaku, Inoichi, Choza, Hiashi, Tsume, Morino, and an ANBU agent. The three Chunin clenched their fists fearing that they would have to fight for their lives.

"As long as none of the ANBU open their mouths, there will be no need for that; right Commander?" said Morino turning to look at the ANBU agent beside him. The Commander, who wore a dog like mask, said nothing and only gave the leader of the KTIF a small nod.

"So you will be executing us?" asked Neji looking at all who were present, before his eyes fell harshly on his uncle.

"For doing a public service? Why would we ever do that?" asked Shikaku, genuinely amused by the whole situation.

"I can think of a few reasons" said Naruto bitterly as he looked at Tsunade.

"Funny, coming from the kid who only a few days ago was bitching about how it wasn't Sasuke's fault" replied the Godaime just as bitterly. "From the beginning I never like him. Everything you and everyone else had told me about Sasuke gave me immediate red flags. He was like Orochimaru in every way and it wasn't surprising that he chose to become that bastard's student. I hoped you would stop trying to 'save' him before it would consume you and get you killed; though it was far too late then.

When he was captured and brought here, I hoped we could charge him with enough crimes that even the council couldn't arrange a pardon. Knowing them, they would have probably succeeded. So no, we won't be pressing any charges on you. In fact, none of us were here tonight."

"I can do the paperwork if you'd like" said Kakashi cocking his head. "How about this? 'Uchiha Sasuke: died in his cell from suicide to avoid succumbing to interrogation.' Sounds believable?"

"I'd buy that. Commander?" asked Morino with an almost smug smile on his face. Again, the leader of the ANBU said nothing and his only response was a single nod.

"Is this going to be the end of it, or will all of the crimes of the Uchiha be made public? Kurama gave me the good long back-story on their history and how much you all have been hiding. Since Itachi is no longer with us and won't be able to collect his part of the bargain, his memory and service should be remembered for his sacrifice, honour, and loyalty by telling everyone the truth. All of it."

There was a short pause as the clan heads looked at their leader, agreeing with the blond jinchuriki but unsure on how Tsunade would respond. She looked into Naruto's eyes before closing her own and nodded. "Alright. I will make the truth known in a public announcement. You have my word."

Naruto returned the nod and began to walk away, until Hiashi spoke in a harsh tone.

"Do not move, Uzumaki. I want to know exactly what you were planning by leaving this village and leaving my daughter is dismay. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Naruto halted and slowly turned to look at the Hyuuga head and glared at him darkly. "Why do you suddenly care about the wellbeing of your daughter, Hiashi-dono, after all these years of abuse? I knew that as much as Hinata loves me, to abandon her friends and the sister she loves so dearly, would be too much for her and I dared not put her through that. So don't you dare question my actions. Now if you would all excuse me, I'm hungry and I'm tired. I want to get something to eat, take a bath, and get a good night's rest. Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and do please remind Hinata of our date, Hiashi-dono."

And with that, he walked away into the night. The others watched him in both surprise and fascination. They never expected him to act in such a way, and from where they stood, felt as if they were looking at a different person. But if anyone understood what had happened, it was Neji. He said so himself that change only occurred when something deep and meaningful happened to the individual. And given what happened to Naruto, it was certainly deep and meaningful enough.

As Naruto walked home, he realized that Kurama had been oddly quiet during the entire revenge plan.

"I've just been thinking" said the demon lord, as he was able to hear the blonds' thoughts.

"About what, if I may ask."

"You may. Just of what has happened as of late. I keep thinking of what Monkey D. Luffy said to us."

"Oh? Why? Shouldn't that be my job?"

"Ha ha it is, but it reminds me of someone from many moons ago" said Kurama with a soft smile. "Sometimes I forget that hundreds of years have passed since he died."

"Really? Was he a demon?"

"No...he was human" replied the old fox as he looked upward, as if he was looking into the night sky where the stars were now beginning to shine. "And he was my best friend."