I do not own Naruto
Two days later, Konoha's cemetery
Suna had lost.
Their conjoined attack with Oto against Konoha had cost them twenty percent of their total shinobi forces.
Their Kazekage was dead. Their council massacred in a very public act that had also demolished the Kazekage tower and set ablaze decades worth of medicinal herbs. The heirs of the Kazekage were captured, their jinchuriki was currently held in a secret room in Konoha awaiting trial.
Konoha and Kusa both were out for blood for the death of their respective kages.
The wind Daimyo had been saved by Konoha shinobi instead of Suna ninjas and in his outrage had decided to completely cut off all support to the village's current regime.
Suna had lost the ability to wage any kind of battle.
Billions, if not trillions of Ryo had to be paid to Konoha in reparations and a smaller, but by no means negligible, amount was also to be directed to Kusa. Clan secrets, ancient artifacts and jutsu scrolls dating back since before the founding of the village had to be sold in order to appease Konoha and avoid a retaliation the village would not be able to survive.
Sunagakure was broke.
Sunagakure was dead.
And in a few years, Sunagakure would be nothing more than a Konoha outpost.
But now, it was a day of mourning.
For Hiruzen Sarutobi, who died in the battle against Orochimaru.
For Hayate Gekko, whose body was used as a sacrifice for Orochimaru's Edo Tensei.
For Shiranui Genma, who lost his life fighting Baki.
For Aoba Yamashiro, who died from poison after defeating two puppeteers.
For Maen Nara, who died defending the academy students from Oto ninjas.
For Takajo Torikai, who died to one of Orochimaru's snakes.
For Muta Aburame, who died protecting their clan's hives and future generations.
For Tokuma Hyuuga, who died defending Konoha's hospital from an Oto assassination squad.
And for many, many more heroes that had given their lives for the village.
The entirety of Konoha was in mourning. The ceremony had been a simple affair, with friends and teammates of the deceased walking to the podium to say a few words.
Many ninjas promised themselves they wouldn't cry, but sooner or later every one of them broke down.
For Naruto, it was Yugao's eulogy to her fiancèe.
For Sakura, it was Asuma's eulogy for his father.
For Sasuke, it was Shibi's speech about the bonds and the sacrifices made in the name of one's own clan.
For Risu, it was seeing the picture of a clan member and an old friend.
For Jiraiya, it was during his own eulogy, when recounting a shared moment with Sarutobi during his genin test.
Once the ceremony was over, everyone silently dispersed, going home to tally the damages and mourn.
The councilmen headed to the Hokage tower, where Suna's clan leaders were gathered in chains to offer their unconditional surrender.
Karin and her teammates had left for Kusa the day before, but had promised to take up any delivery mission to Konoha, which meant they'll probably come visit every other week, possibly more considering the current Suna situation.
Naruto, however, had other plans. He needed to talk to him. Figure out what exactly went so wrong with Gaara that turned him into a monster.
They were both jinchuriki, in another life they could have been friends. In another life, Naruto could have been the same as the Suna boy.
He walked to a very tired Koiji Tokara, the bags under his eyes betraying how little the man was sleeping, pulling double duties in the Kekkai-Han as well as guarding the Ichibi's jinchuriki.
"Koiji-san, I'd like to offer my condolences for Hayate-san."
Koiji nodded, only half listening "It's alright kiddo. Me and Hayate have been through a lot, but deep down we always knew it could end like this. It's part of our life as ninjas."
The man sighed "What can I help you with?"
"I'd like to speak with Gaara"
The man nodded, grabbing a set of keys and guiding Naruto to a large room covered in seals wall to wall. Gaara was chained in the middle, his arms tied behind his back and a suppression seal glued to his forehead.
"Your teammate did a number on the boy's legs. We had to amputate, but thanks to the scrolls on puppeteering we're getting from Suna, we should be able to make perfect replacements. Assuming, of course, that the boy survives his trial."
Gaara said nothing, simply staring at Naruto, who felt a shiver down his spine.
"Are you afraid of me?" he finally asked. "You, who were so brave during our last battle."
"It doesn't matter if I'm afraid or not! You were trying to kill Sasuke! I had to fight to protect him! To protect Karin! To protect everyone!" shouted Naruto with conviction.
"To fight for others or to fight for yourself…" Gaara seemed lost in his own thoughts for a few seconds. The image of Yashamaru's dying moments appeared into his mind, shattering his doubts. "No! Only love yourself! Fight only for your sake! That's what being strong is all about!" he screamed, his voice filled with desperation "I will kill you and prove my existence! I won't be put out!"
Koiji snorted. "Your village is in the process of surrendering. Your siblings are in chains. Your father is dead. Your family will not save you this time."
"Father…is dead? No! Impossible! Only I can kill father! ONLY I CAN!" Gaara screeched in denial, his chains rattling but holding the boy still.
Gaara's voice was panting. Was that desperation? Rage? Denial? They didn't know, but it was clear that Gaara wouldn't listen to them until he calmed down. And so they waited.
"Why do you want to kill Rasa?" asked Koiji, finally.
Gaara chuckled "My father taught me shinobi secrets. I was spoiled and allowed to do as I pleased. I thought that was love…" the boy was rambling. "...until that incident."
There was a pause.
"For the last six years, since I was six, my own father has tried countless times to assassinate me." Gaara chuckled "A being too strong can become an existence of fear. To my father, I was the village's weapon, but it seems that by the time I was six it was determined I was simply too dangerous. To Suna, I am simply a defective weapon they wish would disappear."
He took another pause, rambling again. "Why do I exist? Why am I alive? To live I need a reason. The dead don't have a reason, If I don't have reason to live wouldn't that be the same as being dead? I exist to be Suna's weapon, but without Suna what am I? Am I to continue killing? Is that my reason for existing? To kill every human other than myself?
Will my existence end once there are no more humans to kill?"
Naruto dashed forward, charging at the broken jinchuriki.
"Naruto! Stop!" Koiji's protest came too late.
Naruto enveloped Gaara with a hug.
"Being alone…being incomplete…I understand what you feel. I understand your pain." Naruto took a step back, his gaze hardening. "But unlike you I have people that are precious to me. If you are planning to hurt them…If you are planning to kill them…I will stop you."
Gaara looked at Naruto, the confusion clear into his eyes.
"Why? You were scared of me. Why would you face me for their sake? How can they erase your fear just like that?"
"Because they rescued me from the hell of being alone. They acknowledged my existence. That's why they are so important."
Koiji put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I think that's enough. We should leave."
Naruto nodded, stepping away from Gaara.
"Wait!" shouted the prisoner. "If you can… tell Kankuro and Temari…I'm sorry."
Naruto nodded, before following Koiji out of the room.
Meanwhile, Hokage's office
"...and the ten puppets of Monzaemon should be enough to cover the repair costs for Konoha's hospital."
Maki lowered his head in defeat. With Baki being and the other senior jonins being executed, she was the one with the higher authority in the room. She could feel the pleading look of her fellow Suna shinobi, but there wasn't anything she could do. They had lost. Badly. And now Konoha was taking everything they had. Their jutsus, their weapons, their pride. They had even taken the late Kazekage's children as hostages. Kankuro was to live with the Aburame and Temari with the Nara. Wards of the clan, they had called them. Maki had scoffed. Political prisoners, that's what they were. Why else surround Kankuro with bugs capable of eating away at the boy's puppet?
She once again cursed Rasa's idiotic ambitions of grandeur. If the man had just listened to his advisors or just had the common sense to reject Orochimaru's offer, they wouldn't be in this situation.
"Now, the next item on the list is the new Suna council. I propose we send Ebisu to take up a seat in Suna's council and take over as the new headmaster for Suna's academy."
"Wait a minute! You can't elect a Konoha ninja to Suna's council!" protested one of the Suna chunin chained to the ground.
"We have every right." commented Koharu in a cold voice. "You are prisoners of war, your only role in this room is to listen and report to your village our demands. You don't have the right to object to our decisions."
"The people of Suna will not stand for this!" shouted a kunoichi.
The sound of a walking cane cut slamming into the ground called everyone's attention to the figure that just entered the room.
"The people of Suna will obey our orders. They will learn not to question our orders. They will learn to trust in the judgment of their betters. And lastly, they will learn to love their new, improved leadership." said Danzo, calmly stepping forward in between the shocked Suna prisoners.
"You will keep the appearance of an independent village, but you better remember that this is merely a facade. Your village, your tools and your ninjas are now Konoha's property and your lives are ours to command. For your own health, I suggest you don't forget it."
Danzo smirked, his grin half hidden under the Kazekage's hat. "Plus… with my coronation being blessed by the Wind Daimyo himself, and with the tacit approval of the other Daimyos, your village has secured all the funding they need to prosper. In time, you will learn to appreciate your new leader."
A while later, outside of the Hokage's tower
"Do you know why the council wants to see us?" asked Naruto.
"They probably want to reward us for our actions during the invasion." commented Sasuke.
"Ok, but why only the two of us? It's not like we're the only ones who did well. Karin-chan, Ryuzetsu-chan and Sakura-chan helped a lot."
"Then why don't we just wait to get there and ask them about it?" pointed out Sasuke.
"No need for that, gakis. The council just wanted to assign you two a mission."
The two looked up at the familiar voice of Jiraiya.
"What's the mission, ero-sennin?" asked Naruto.
"Before that, I have something for you two." said Jiraiya, tossing the boys a sealing scroll each.
The two unsealed its contents, revealing a chunin vest.
"While your performance during the finals couldn't be properly judged due to the interruption, the council has determined that your actions during the invasion warranted a field promotion. Congratulations."
"Yatta! We're chunin! We're the best!''tebayo! shouted Naruto, jumping in the air before hugging Sasuke.
"Get off me, you dobe!" protested the Uchiha, trying to shove Naruto to the side.
"Now, calm down you two." said Jiraiya, trying to get Naruto to stop his celebration. It took a bit, but he finally convinced the boy to listen.
"Now, for defeating an enemy ninja you are also entitled to their war gear. Naruto, in your case this means the girl's Kyodai Sensu. Sasuke… unfortunately for this, this means Gaara's sand and his gourd, but… considering it's just regular sand, the council agreed that giving those to you would be pretty insulting. Your sensei has already put forward a motion to give you first pick on one of Suna's treasures when they arrive and it looks like the motion will pass."
"What kind of treasures? A weapon?" asked Sasuke, curious. Naruto had unsealed the Kyodai Sensu and was waving it around with excitement. Something like that could be very useful to empower his Katon jutsus by himself.
Jiraiya shrugged. "I honestly have no clue. Your sensei got himself some piece of rolled cloth and he seems super excited about it for some reason."
Sasuke scoffed. Risu-sensei probably got the cloth from the Suna kunoichi he fought in the arena.
"So, ero-sennin, what is this mission?" he asked while putting on his new chunin vest over his jacket.
"The three of us are going to look for a woman. A very special one." he said, trying to sound mysterious.
The two chunin deadpanned.
"You want us to accompany you…to a brothel?" asked Sasuke.
"Not like that!" shouted back Jiraiya.
"So we aren't going to stop at the red light district?" asked Naruto.
"No! I mean… probably we will at some point…" he said.
"Not interested." said Sasuke, turning around.
"Hell no then!" shouted Naruto, following Sasuke's example.
"Wait!" shouted Jiraiya. He sighed "If you come with me I'll teach you both a super powerful technique."
"Can you get me started on senjutsu?" asked Sasuke.
Jiraiya scratched his head "That's…maybe a bit too advanced. Why don't you ask your summons?"
Sasuke frowned. "They say the risks are too high for a human. When I told them about you, they were in an uproar. A few of them went to the toads to demand an explanation as to how that's possible."
Jiraiya nodded "I suppose they don't have something like the stick. Tell you what, come with me and I'll ask Pa and Ma to lend your summons the stick."
Sasuke observed Jiraiya for a long minute. He had no idea what the hell Jiraiya was talking about when he mentioned the stick, but if it was necessary to learn senjutsu… "If you let me learn the same jutsu you planned to teach Naruto I'm in."
"Yeah! What jutsu were you planning to teach me?" asked Naruto.
"A jutsu created by your father. Are you sure you want Sasuke to learn it? It's technically a clan jutsu, so…"
Naruto scoffed. "Sasuke's basically my brother. Of course he can learn it!" he declared, slapping Sasuke on the shoulder.
"Well, if you're sure about it, pack your bags and meet me at Konoha's gates in 20 minutes. Your sensei already knows about the mission and from what I've been told Sakura is pulling double shifts at the hospital, better not disturb her."
The two nodded, disappearing towards their homes in a Shunshin.
Note
If you were a fan of the characters i killed off-screen I'm sorry, but I felt like having a few named character die was kind of necessary to sell the scale of the invasion. If I get to Shippuden expect some important losses during Pain's attack and A LOT of casualty during the 4th shinobi war.
Naruto's meeting with Gaara is a bit of a mix between their conversation at the hospital and the one after the battle. I tried to make the scene flow naturally, but I'm not 100% satisfied with it. I rewrote it 5 or 6 times, but that's the best I could do. maybe I'll revisit it after I get some more experience as a writer
Danzo... that's one twist I bet none of you expected, uh?
Yes, the Kyodai Sensu will now be part of Naruto's arsenal for the rest of the serie, even in Shippuden
Ah yes... the stick. Frankly I'm shocked that a simple stick can just eject Nature energy, so... it'll probably become something a bit more epic in the future