D1: You know the drill by now. On with the show.

Chapter 4 – Aftermath

Smoke rose from many places throughout the leaf village as the last of the fires were doused. Teams of Ninja searched the village, carrying the wounded to the makeshift command centre, a set of tents in the middle of the village. The Hokage mansion, ninja academy, hospital and any other building large enough to house the forces having been heavily damaged by the assault. The hurriedly erected campsite had been placed on the site of a former block of houses that was now just rubble. Moans and screams floated from under the white canvas as Naruto carried an Anbu towards the tent. He pushed inside and stopped short, the huge tent filled with row upon row of folding cots and almost all of them held an injured Konoha or Suna Shinobi. Medical ninja were dashed between the casualties. After managing to find an empty bed, Naruto looked up to see Sakura and Hinata. Hinata was kneeling next to a bed, green chakra flowing over her hands. She cursed as the green glow wavered and faded. Naruto crossed to her and placed his hands over hers.

"Use my chakra," he told her.

Hinata looked up at him, blushing furiously, then turned back to her patient. Naruto pushed chakra into his hands; he felt it flow into Hinata's hands and her using it to heal the ninja. After the ninja was healed, Hinata mumbled an excuse and vanished. Sakura wiped her face and hands as she came up to Naruto.

"I thought you we going to let Orochimaru destroy Konoha," she said.

"Things change."

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The burnt orange of sunset had been replaced by the navy of twilight as Sakura and Naruto finally left the medical tent, Sakura had insisted on checking him out after she caught him. She led him through the menagerie of other tents until they found the mess tent. They both entered and found something to eat.

"We have to ration and prioritise the little resources we have," Sakura scolded Naruto as he looked disappointed at the small portion of food, "patients are first priority."

"Why do I suddenly wish a sound ninja had managed to hit me?" Naruto asked no one in particular.

Sakura shook her head as she left they looked around for somewhere to sit. There were other ninja spread out around the tent, Naruto and Sakura scanned the crowd until they found a group of their friends. Neji, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji and Kiba were gathered around a small fire as they ate. They looked around as Sakura and Naruto joined them.

"Damn, I'm beat," Shikamaru groaned, flexing his shoulders.

"That attack was brutal," Kiba said around a mouthful of food, "even by Orochimaru's standards."

Akamaru barked in agreement from behind Kiba.

"I took down almost two hundred enemies," Lee announced as he appeared, "and I shall do the same again next time they attack or I shall run three hundred laps..."

"Don't you ever get tired?" Naruto interrupted.

"Never! The power of youth gives me all the energy I need!"

"Lee, Shut up and eat," Tenten told him as she sat next to Neji.

The group fell silent as they resumed eating. Sakura finished her food; she saw Naruto was sitting with hunched shoulders as she set down her tray.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked.

"I'm cold," Naruto grumbled.

"It's the middle of summer, even the nights are scorching," Sasuke muttered.

"It may have escaped your notice Sasuke, but I have been living in the desert for the past four years."

"But the nights are colder in a desert," Shikamaru countered.

"The buildings, rocks and sand soak up the heat during the day then keep the village warm during the night."

The talking faded again but the atmosphere was lighter this time.

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Naruto wandered aimlessly through the campsite/village, he looked up into the sky as thunder rolled overhead. He watched the black clouds massing on the horizon for a minute then went back to wandering. Looking up to the Hokage faces, he thought about climbing up there again but dismissed the thought.

"Knowing my luck, I'd probably be hit by lightning."

Naruto saw Gaara, Temari and Kankuro and moved to join them. Kankuro was cursing under his breath as he tried to fix one of his puppets and apparently failing. Temari offered Naruto a water flask as he sat, he took it and drank.

"That attack seemed a bit over the top," Gaara groaned.

"Orochimaru seems desperate to destroy Konoha," Naruto agreed, handing the flask to Gaara.

"I heard the Konoha forces talking; they were in awe of your speed and power," Temari smiled.

Naruto didn't react to Temari's words, but secretly he was grinning from ear to ear. He finally had the respect he'd craved from his Genin days. But there was still a lagging doubt in the back of his mind. Were they just admiring his power or him?

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The occasional chirrup of a cricket was the only sound in the moonlit training grounds. Naruto was sitting on top of the middle post again. He focused chakra into his left hand, forming it into the blade. Naruto focused on the blade, concentrating on making it sharper and longer. The blue chakra crept forward. He swore as the edges flickered and the chakra dissipated.

"That form of chakra has a specific length at which it can no longer maintain its shape," someone said as they entered the clearing.

Naruto looked to the source of the voice and saw Sasuke; he looked back to his hand and resumed his training, focusing chakra into his hand again. Sasuke shrugged and sat at the base of one of the other posts. Naruto gave up on his training and looked into the starry sky. He thought back to when this had all started, when he was back in Suna reading the letter from Tsunade. A random thought appeared in his mind as he mentally reread the letter.

"Hey Sasuke, you got any idea why Hinata was moping around the village while I was gone?" he asked.

"You really are an idiot," Sasuke sighed, "she missed you because she likes you."

"So? You, Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei and Sakura must have missed me to. Why should she be any different?"

"Why do I even bother?" Sasuke groaned to himself, "I'll spell it out for you."

Sasuke stood up, "Hinata likes you the same was you used to like Sakura. And the way Sakura, Ino and almost every other girl in the village like me."

Naruto blanched, "how do you know that?"

"Please Naruto, she practically stalked you. You'd have to be blind or as dense as you are not to notice her."

The blonde fell silent, mulling over what Sasuke had said. The more he thought about Hinata, the more obvious it was. Sasuke saw he'd gotten through to Naruto and sat down again. Naruto thought for a minute more before he smacked himself in the head, remembering Hinata trying to tell him something before the battle.

"I am such a dummy," he muttered.

"Finally we agree on something," Sasuke smirked, looking up to see a sandy cloud where Naruto had been.

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Hinata, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru were sitting around the dying embers of the fire. Hinata's body drooped from exhaustion and from depression. She'd finally managed to work up the courage to tell Naruto how she felt about him and he'd vanished before she could tell him. Akamaru yawned and his ears pricked up as Naruto materialised behind Hinata and grabbed her around the waist.

"Hi guys. I need to borrow Hinata. Thanks, bye," Naruto said and vanished, taking Hinata with him, before Shino and Kiba could react.

"Naruto!" Kiba yelled.

Naruto and Hinata reappeared on top of the wall surrounding the village. Naruto let Hinata go and she turned to face him.

"N…Naruto," she stammered, "why d…did you b…bring m…me h…here?"

"So we could talk without being interrupted again," he smiled, "now, what were you going to tell me this morning?"

Hinata's face took on a beetroot hue, "I…I wanted to…to tell you…I…I…"

Her voice failed and she looked at her feet, eyes hidden by her fringe. She felt two fingers touch her chin and tilt her head upwards, forcing her to look into Naruto's face.

"I think I know what you want to say," Naruto said, "a friend explained to me."

Hinata's face went even darker red; she tried to look away again but Naruto wouldn't let her. Instead, he pulled her closer. She realised he was speaking again and forced herself to listen.

"I'm not sure I feel exactly the same as you do, but give me time."

Hinata felt light-headed as she realised her face just an inch from his. She flinched as she felt his arm around her waist again tighten.

Go on. A little voice in the back of her head said. Do something impulsive for once in your life.

Hinata gulped, closed her eyes and closed the distance between their faces.

Naruto was surprised when Hinata kissed him but he quickly got over it. Hinata broke away after a second, mumbling an apology. Naruto didn't let her go, just kept holding her. After getting used to the man she'd had a crush on since the academy holding her, she relaxed and rested her head against Naruto's shoulder. Naruto let Hinata go and they sat, looking out over the sea of trees. Hinata's small hand found Naruto's and their fingers locked.

"Hinata, did you really stalk me?" Naruto grinned as Hinata went red again and looked away.

"I should stop teasing but you're really cute when you're embarrassed."

They stayed on top of the wall until the black sky started to turn grey then yellow. Naruto and Hinata's heads turned as one at the barely audible sound of running ninja.

"Warn the village. I'll hold them off," Naruto growled.

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The sound ninja in the lead smirked as the walls of Konoha loomed over him. He was going to be the first to enter Konoha and start the massacre. Lord Orochimaru would reward him for his bravery and…

The ninja's thoughts ceased as both of Naruto's fists slammed into his head and drove him into the ground. The squad that had been following him scattered and Naruto gave chase. Naruto rammed his chakra blades into an enemy before rushing after another. These ninja were smarter than their leader, all scattering in different directions. Naruto summoned a crowd of clones and sent them after scattering enemy. He followed another sound ninja as she dashed away. Naruto burst through a dense patch of bushes and his eyes went wide. There was a mass of enemy ninja waiting for him. Naruto gritted his teeth and threw himself into the enemy swarm. Thunder shook the sky as the first enemy fell to Naruto's fists and blades. He flickered from ninja to ninja as fast as he could, trying to form a one person barrier between the enemy and Konoha. But more by sheer weight of numbers than anything else, they slowly forced him back.

"Having fun?" a raven haired Shinobi asked as he landed next to Naruto, bringing several Anbu squads and a pink haired Kunoichi with him. Naruto glared at Sasuke.

"Shut up and help me!" he yelled, grabbing a sound ninja by the arm and using him to knock the rest of his squad off their feet.

Sasuke's hands followed a well know pattern and Naruto ducked out of the way.

"Fire style, fireball jutsu!"

As the fireball died, the heavens opened and rain poured down on the battle, quickly mixing with the blood of the fallen, turning the ground into bloody mire. Naruto slipped in the mud and the enemy took advantage of his lapse in focus. The wave of sound ninja swamped Naruto, burying him under a black mass of bodies. Sasuke and Sakura stopped in their tracks at a strange feeling; they felt it more than heard it, a deep feral growl. Sasuke realised what was about to happen a second before it did. He just had time to grab Sakura and launch himself out of the firing line, when the pile of ninja were scattered by an explosion of crimson chakra. Naruto emerged from the swarm, eyes blood red, whisker scars widened and chakra covering his body, forming a tail shape. The enemy faltered and this time Naruto pounced on them. He, literally, tore into the ranks, decimating their numbers. Sasuke backed away as the remaining strike force split into three, some coming after him, the others going after Sakura and Naruto. The Uchiha's Sharingan flickered and changed shape, becoming the distinctive Mangekyou Sharingan. Naruto happened to look back as a surge of black flames engulfed the ninja. He returned to the battle as the bloodlust of the fox inside him took over again and he charged. Sakura sized up an enemy squad and slammed her fist into the ground. The squad was catapulted into the air as the ground shattered then fell into the canyon Sakura had created. Sasuke appeared at the other end of the gash in the earth.

"Earth style: great mud river!" Sasuke yelled over the thunder.

The screams of the sound ninja were smothered as they were buried alive. Sakura smashed her fist against an enemy on her left, sending him flying through the trees. Naruto roared as he rushed through the enemy ninja, dispatching them left and right. He jumped and landed on a nearby tree before launching himself through the sound army like a red bullet. Sasuke turned his bloody eyes on a squad tying to sneak up on him. They froze as Tsukiyomi took effect then dropped to the ground. Sakura grabbed a ninja and swung him over her head then into the ground. Naruto's rage cooled as he realised there were no more enemies coming at him. His chakra tail faded and his eyes went back to their normal blue as walked over to Sasuke and Sakura. As if on cue, the rain lessened and the wind dropped.

"When did you get the Mangekyou Sharingan?" Naruto demanded of Sasuke.

"Back in the valley of the end, during our second fight when you beat the hell out of me. I used Chidori against you and, technically, I killed you. The only way to unlock the Mangekyou Sharingan is to kill your best friend, but since you came back, I have a different version than Itachi. So far it looks like I won't loose my sigh. I don't know but maybe it's the guilt of killing the best friend that causes the sight loss."

"Well, now that this is over with lets go and get ramen," Naruto grinned.

"Idiot," Sasuke sighed.

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A group of four ninja watched from a safe distance as the Konoha ninja returned to their village.

"Lord Orochimaru will not be pleased," the bulkiest of the four muttered.

"Damn right he won't, he's gonna be pissed…" the only girl started.

"Watch your language!" the big guy interrupted her.

"So what do we do?" the ninja hanging upside-down from an overhanging branch asked.

"We'll have to take them out," the last of the group mutter.

"But brother, last time we fought them we lost," this voice sounded identical to the other, as if he were having a conversation with himself.

"Are you forgetting that lord Orochimaru has given us new powers to slaughter his enemies?"

"We had better report," the upside-down ninja said, cracking his three sets of knuckles, one after the other.

The others nodded in agreement and all vanished.

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Naruto stretched as he led Sasuke, Sakura and the Anbu members back into Konoha. The group dispersed and Naruto found Hinata waiting for him. He smiled at her as he reached her and held out his hand. Hinata took the offered hand and they walked off together. Naruto yawned as looked for somewhere to sleep; he found a spot under a tree. He led Hinata towards it and sat, leaning against the trunk. Naruto yawned again, closing his eyes and was soon asleep. His head slipped and rested against Hinata's shoulder. Hinata smiled at Naruto before she also closed her eyes. However, unknown to the pair, they were being watched by a young girl with lavender eyes.

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D1: This is getting intense! I must have reviews to continue my work! As I said above you, know the drill by now, please R&R. by the way, cookies to anyone who can guess the identity of the four ninja watching Naruto and friends, but I think I've made it pretty obvious. Right that's out of my system, I'm going to bed.