"So let me make sure I understand. One man tried to stop the transcontinental railroad from polluting the village and harming the population by attempting to blow it up?" The Fire Daimyo summarized. "But since you stopped him, the chakra-eating outbreak happened. However, your medical and health department was able to deduce the cause of the virus was from the train fuel that made contact with some sort of mineral in the air and were able to develop an antidote. The problem was solved, right?"

Naruto suppressed his initial reaction to wince at the oversimplified summary and kept his expression neutral, "Yes, Sir."

"Well, I'm not sure why we need this new proposal if all ended well," The leader of the land of Fire hummed, "But you have served me well, Seventh Hokage, so I will let the decision be yours. I look forward to our next update."

With that the image of the Daimyo disappeared from Naruto's computer screen.

The Hokage breathed a sigh of relief, at least the Fire Daimyo seemed supportive of the new initiative. The door creaked open, revealing his trusted advisor.

"So how did it go?" Shikamaru questioned.

"You could have stayed in the room."

"And receive a scolding from the Daimyo?" Shikamaru held his hands up in surrender, "No, thank you. I'll pass."

Naruto huffed. Sometimes his old friend was too smart for his own good. "The proposal is a go. Did you bring it up to Sakura-chan?"

"I did, but it's up to her to accept it."


Sakura inhaled slowly, enjoying the warmth of the sun on top of the Hokage mountain, overlooking the village below. The leaves from Konoha's birch trees blew past her, fluttering downwards onto the building's rooftops. She watched them long after they fell.

It had taken some time to get Konoha back on its feet after everything, but the village had endured. Now, she had to make a decision.

"I thought I would find you here," an unexpected voice rang out.

The medic-nin turned towards the sound, "Neji-san," she greeted. She had seen him at the party Hinata had organized, but hadn't gotten a chance to really talk with him at all.

"I wanted to thank you." The Hyuga began, "Tenten is feeling much better especially after your suggestion about the chakra replenishing tea."

"I'm glad she's feeling better." Sakura flashed him a grateful smile, letting herself lean back on the railing."But you really didn't have to come all the way to thank me. I was just doing my job."

Neji's opalescent eyes seemed to study her for a moment before they flickered upwards to the blue sky above, "Are you still feeling unsure?"

She shouldn't have felt surprised by Neji's perception. There was a reason that he had been promoted to Jonin before anyone else in Konoha 12. Yet, she still felt taken off guard by his statement. "It's complicated." She took another deep breath, the thought coming to her after a moment, "Did Naruto put you up to this? To gauge my reaction?"

Neji crossed his arms, "Naruto doesn't need me to do that. He could come himself."

The medic-nin chuckled, recognizing the truth in the statement.

"I came to check in on my friend."

Sakura hummed, her heart-warming at the statement. She invited the Byakugan user to come over with a wave of her hand, turning back towards the overlook.

The Hygua joined her by the railing, observing the village below with a watchful gaze. To their left, they could see children playing in the streets, chasing the breeze as it blew by, their joyous laughter floating in the air. To their right, the various vendors were calling out to tourists, inviting them to take a look at their various wares. The village was in full swing, filled with people of almost every background.

As they watched on, Sakura couldn't help but wonder how often she took those little moments for granted in the past, a time before everything seemed so...complicated.

"No one would blame you if you'd rather walk away from it all."

That was another surprise. Sakura tilted her head over her left shoulder slightly, allowing her to catch the expression on Neji's face from her peripheral vision. Sensing no humor in his voice or on his face, Sakura allowed herself to truly think about his statement.

"After the war," Neji continued, seemingly content at carrying the conversation, "Everyone took time to adjust and discover who they wanted to be moving forward. And over time, some of us realized that they'd rather serve society in another way."

"Is this your subtle way of telling me that I should 'explore other avenues'?" Sakura joked, air quoting the infamous phrase given to shinobi and kunoichi who were moments away from being decommissioned.

The Byakugan user allowed a small smile to break through his usual composure, "If those other avenues are more suited for what you want to do, then I say go for it. However," Neji emphasized, "Don't let us pressure you into accomplishing what we would like you to achieve and certainly don't let us stop you either."

"The way you say it makes it sound so simple." Sakura teased with a flash of a grin before sobering, eyes turning back towards the village. The children had long since dissapeared from their view, but their laughter and joy that they carried seemed to settle within her. They were sounds that were so rare during times of war, and even if they sounded, they always carried a tinge of apprehension and restlessness.

But here in this moment, with the future as bright as the sun that hovered above them now, the sound remained free and unburdened.

Now she had a chance to protect that sound.

"I do want to do it." She admitted softly, "But…I'm afraid. I'm afraid that regardless of what I choose I will let everyone I love down." The quiet confession made her feel lighter and heavier at the same time as if speaking her fears out loud had opened the door for the flood waters to enter through.

To his credit, Neji seemed unphased by the water rushing in; if anything he simply invited her to swim. "It's healthy to acknowledge one's fears." Neji commented, his words sounding suspiciously similar to one of her old psychology scrolls. "If I may offer my personal perspective?"

Sakura nodded.

"If that's your only worry, then you have nothing to fear." The Byakugan user assured, "Everyone who loves you knows that sacrifice is at the core of who you are. How could we ever be disappointed when your decisions stem from that?"

If her face looked incredulous, Sakura did nothing to hide it. "That is probably the last thing I would have ever guessed you would ever say, Neji-san." It was a corny statement, yet somehow his encouragement seemed to put her worries to rest. The knot of complicated feelings and thoughts seemed to unravel with its loosened threads pulling her forward.

Almost as if sensing the shift within, Neji lightly patted the railing, signaling the end of the conversation. "You know someone once told me long ago to stop waiting around." His opalescent eyes gleamed with mirth, "Maybe you should take her advice?"

Sakura narrowed her own eyes at his suggestion, but couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face. "You've become quite the therapist in these past sixteen years, I see."

"I found that the healing of the mind was just as needed after the war as was the healing of the physical." Neji added, "It was also one avenue where I found I could honor the life of a fallen comrade."

Before the medic-nin had time to respond to Neji's own admission, the Byakugan user was already fifteen feet down the path descending into the village.

"Be sure to stop by my residence sometime," Neji instructed, his voice echoing from the distance, "I need to give you compensation for the uniform Rachi ruined."

"And I told you, don't worry about it!" Sakura yelled back. Neji did not turn around, only lifting a hand skyward as a goodbye. The medic-nin huffed, a sound both half-amused and half-exasperated. The Hyuga clan and their stubbornness.

He was right though.

It was time to stop waiting.


The door to the Hokage's office swung open. Naruto and Shikamaru's head turned at the sound.

The Seventh Hokage grinned at the sight of his visitor, "So? Have you decided?" He asked quickly.

"Leading the health and safety initiative overseeing the operations of companies in the five nations is a big responsibility. It's okay if you need more time to think about it." Shikamaru reminded, shooting Naruto a look that meant the village leader needed to be mindful about his tendency to rush into action.

Sakura Haruno shook her head, "No, I'm ready to give my answer now."

Naruto leaned forward in his chair, "And?" He prompted.

"I accept," Sakura grinned, cracking her knuckles, "Let's do this."

She was ready.


Author's Note:

It's finally done! (Throws confetti!)

When I first wrote this concept in 2016, it was supposed to just be a one-shot. Now fourteen chapters (and almost seven years, yikes!) later, I hope that this project was a semi-enjoyable read? Hopefully? Thank you all for sticking around, especially those of you who were here from the start.

I know that there are a few loose ends that this story leaves unfinished, so I apologize for those narrative threads. I wasn't able to weave the Uchiha storyline (Why Sarada? How Sarada?) into the main plot as I had originally intended when I was much younger and still watching Naruto/Boruto. Cutting that B-Plot was the only way I was going to be able to finish this story.

(It would have been nice to see Sasuke appear, but dude left the writing village and never came back, what more can I say?)

Concerning our glasses wearing Uchiha, logistically speaking, I didn't want to create another OC to explain and insert into our next generation Team 7, so Sarada Uchiha stayed. My fictional explanation was it was an Orochimaru experiment, and we would explore a bit of that background with Sakura, Sasuke, and Sarada in a similar fashion to the canon Sarada Uchiha Arc in Boruto Episodes 19-24.

As for me, I'm pretty sure my writing days on this site are over, so anyone who would like to take any concepts from War of Sacrifice and use it for their own story is welcome.

Thanks for the ride!

~Writer of Yore