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panharmonium · 3 years

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@dreamersscape said:

Part of why I like Shikamaru testing the would-be chunin with Kakashi’s principles so much is that Kakashi living by those words keeps Obito alive through them, right? And Obito already had those values, but he was verbalizing them in connection to why he believes Sakumo was a hero, so this combined principle that defines who Sakumo, Obito, and Kakashi are, is now going to live on in Naruto, Shikamaru, and the rest of their generation. And ofc “don’t put the rules above your comrades” is a good way to live regardless of whether any of their names are attached to it…I dunno, is it dumb to just want this to be Kakashi’s legacy over his other prowess/renown? (x)

NO IT IS NOT; I AM RIGHT THERE WITH YOU! (And I agree with what you said, that this is likely already how he’s going to be remembered - and I’m so grateful for that, because I think we know that there are many things in Kakashi’s life that have brought him renown but that he doesn’t want to be remembered for. Thinking specifically about that scene where Kakashi takes out an enemy and Yamato makes that comment about “keep this up and you’ll be famous,” and Kakashi is clearly so uncomfortable with that...Kakashi doesn’t want that kind of recognition, the kind you earn from being particularly efficient at killing people. He doesn’t want to go down in history as “cold-blooded Kakashi” - that was never something he wanted to be known as in the first place.)

Anyway, I was partway through writing the below post when I saw your replies about Kakashi’s family/legacy in relation to the new Chunin exams, and I just went, “we REALLY are having the exact same thoughts about this show” 🤝 so I’m just turning the rest of this post into a response to your comments, because I could not possibly agree with your angle on this topic more, and I knew my response wasn’t going to fit in the replies XD

The thing I kept thinking about when I saw that Shikamaru’s version of the Chunin exams was passing/failing students based on Kakashi’s criteria was that this is a HUGE paradigm shift for the Leaf Village (and for shinobi culture as a whole). The new exams say that if you abandon a teammate to complete your mission (aka to pass your test), you’ve made the wrong decision. The mark of a worthy shinobi, in this new framework, is your commitment to choosing people’s lives over the success of your mission. But to have something like this enshrined into the Chunin exams would have been unthinkable in earlier generations. When Kakashi’s father made a decision like this, he was breaking the law, and nothing about his choice was considered honorable or worthy or in any way acceptable. He was blamed for it by the Land of Fire and the Leaf Village, “slandered and vilified” by his peers (even the ones whose lives he saved), and hounded to the point of suicide. And even as little as four years ago, when Kakashi started working as a Jonin Leader, his philosophy for evaluating genin was still notorious, and his standards were considered to be abnormal (“It’s a good thing we didn’t get that jonin everybody talks about”/“Who does he think he is, making up his own criteria?”).

But just a few short years later, the script has been completely flipped. Now you can’t even become a chunin unless you demonstrate your commitment to putting your comrades’ lives first. And I just keep thinking about how that must feel for Kakashi, to see the systems that punished his father so mercilessly finally start to crumble and fall. To see a shift in the culture that indoctrinated Itachi and brainwashed Yamato into murdering family and friends, on the pretense that it was necessary for the sake of a mission. To see the values Kakashi has tried to live by ever since Obito’s death incorporated into the official structures of the shinobi world, when previously they were grounds for vicious persecution.

To have Sakumo’s choices validated and affirmed by the shinobi world’s promotion structure when just a few short years ago those choices were universally reviled and earned Sakumo nothing but shame, hatred, and harassment must be such an emotionally overwhelming experience for his son, who went through his own kind of crucible in the wake of Sakumo’s departure but ultimately came out the other side more committed to his father’s ideals than ever. To finally see things changing, and for these changes to be the direct result of Kakashi’s own teaching choices - I can’t imagine what that must feel like. I don’t even think that Kakashi ever expected to see a world that’s progressed this far, to be honest. He made a decision to embrace his father’s values, yes, but he did so long before they were considered acceptable, long before they were something he could ever expect to be rewarded for. That’s why Obito told him “no matter what the village or anyone else may say, I think you’re a great jonin” - he knew Kakashi broke the rules to rescue Rin the same way Sakumo broke the rules to rescue his comrades, and he knew it was entirely possible that Kakashi would catch flak for it upon returning home. In the shinobi world, the mission is absolute, and people who buck the system are branded as traitors. If the Battle of Kannabi Bridge had gone poorly because of the detour Kakashi and Obito took, Kakashi may not have been welcomed home quite so warmly.

Kakashi never really expects his choice to be rewarded or respected. But despite this, and despite the fact that he knows the potential consequences better than anyone, he chooses to stand by his father’s values anyway. He makes that decision the day he loses Obito, and he never looks back. No matter how lost he becomes, or how much pain he goes through (I’ve thought this world was hell, too), he never loses sight of this one thing: he’ll never abandon a friend, and he’ll never bow to anyone who tells him that his mission requires him to do so. That’s true throughout his time in ANBU (if your orders are to kill a friend, then those orders are wrong. and the one who gave you those orders is wrong!), and it’s true when he becomes a teacher, too. He persists in his convictions, no matter how unpopular they are, and he teaches them to an entire generation of children, even when people keep giving him the side-eye for failing entire teams of genin year after year.

He never expects his behavior to make this kind of difference, and he’ll probably never give himself credit for any of the changes that we’re starting to see now, but the only reason these things are happening is because of the choices he made back then. The new world we’re on the brink of building now is a direct result of Kakashi having taught his students the values that his father and Obito died for. Kakashi’s teaching is what helps Naruto go from “when I become Hokage, the whole village will have to stop disrespecting me and start treating me like i’m somebody important” to “how could i ever become hokage if i can’t even save one friend/a true hokage never steps over his comrades’ bodies.” It’s what helps Sakura go from “you obsessed about Sasuke, who was gone, while Naruto was right in front of you and you wouldn’t lift a finger to help him” to a decision to put her feelings for Sasuke aside in order to release Naruto from the promise he made to her, which is killing him. It’s what helps Sasuke go from "you thought [your teammates] were so far beneath you they were worthless” to “I don’t ever want to see that again - my trusted comrades falling right in front of me,” as he offers to die for them against Gaara. It’s what helps even Neji Hyuga go from a disdainful “who does he think he is, making up his own criteria” to an affirmation of those same criteria when telling the Hidden Rain ninja “it’s just the Chunin exams. The safety of our teammate is more important than passing.”

All of the changes that we’re seeing now are happening because Kakashi was committed to teaching the next generation the lessons he feels are important, contrary to widely-held public opinions and in defiance of the people who made a near-successful attempt at turning him against his own father: We never abandon our friends. We never sacrifice our comrades. If your orders are to kill a friend, then those orders are wrong. We do what’s right, not what we’re told.

The Hatake clan may not have a hereditary jutsu to be passed down to others, but THIS is their legacy. This massive sea change in shinobi culture, the hard-fought shift away from a repeat of the tragically sacrificial Sakumos and Itachis and Tenzos of the old shinobi world, the total inversion of Mission > People to People > Mission - all of that started with Kakashi’s father, who died before he could see his work completed, but whose torch was picked up by Obito, and then by Kakashi, who made it his mission to pass on those ideals to the Leaf Village’s children, some of whom are now making policies that affect promotion criteria for the entire shinobi world.

Just...I’m thinking about Kakashi taking Sakura out to celebrate and to hear all about her test, and I know she won’t even give Shikamaru’s last question a second thought, because to her it’s just natural that they’d be tested on that; Kakashi’s been testing them on that stuff since day one; it doesn’t even occur to her that there’s anything novel or strange or revolutionary about it; it’s just expected and accepted by her entire class that the principle “people are more important than rules” is something all shinobi should understand - when in reality, things have NEVER been like that before, and it’s taken SO much work to get here. A question like this being included as pass/fail criteria on the Chunin exams would have been unimaginable just a few short years ago. Kakashi’s father was harassed to his death for answering this question in the exact same way that is now required of anyone who wants to pass the test.

What an incredible feeling that must be for Kakashi, who worked so hard and endured so much to keep these values alive. To see how far the world has come - and to know how much of this progress is the result of his own choices, which he never thought would amount to anything so substantial - what a bizarre, beautiful, bittersweet feeling that must be.

#i wrote in some other post about how kakashi's teaching of obito's values is tantamount to performing a resurrection #and it's happening again here #kakashi lost every single person who mattered to him back then #but his refusal to give up on what they believed in eventually brings them back to life #no reanimation jutsu needed #kakashi's friends and family are alive in the hearts and minds of the next generation #they're still shaping the future #even from beyond the grave #WHAT A LEGACY TO LEAVE #naruto #meta #i got lost on the path of life #pan watches naruto

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lazymilkshakecolor · 6 years

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New leaves

Prologue

Naruto groaned as he struggled to open his eyes, he could have sworn he felt the whole building shake.

He stared at the ceiling for a minute recalling what happened, facing the Kara leader with Sasuke and Sakura who was planning on destroying the leaf, defeating him but getting sealed along with his teammates in a scroll that locked them in another dimension by a person they didn't recognize, the dimension they trapped in was the snow dimension, he remembers saying they were lucky it wasn't the acid dimension.

They stayed there for about three months, judging by Sasuke's rather complicated calculations, and it wasn't until one sunny morning, well as sunny as it could get, that Sasuke startled awake, accidentally rolling Sakura, who was sleeping against him, into the snow, much to her anger.

But that anger faded when he informed them that he could access dimensions again, something he wasn't able to do during their stay in the snow dimension.

'Hmm, so someone must have unsealed us… who might it be?’ Naruto thought as he was trying to get up.

''Sarada!'' A voice that sounded like Sakura's screamed from outside, so he got up quickly, running outside of the hospital room, where Sasuke was still resting on the bed next to his.

Naruto froze upon the sight in front of him, too stunned to move.

His apprentice was being carried by two ninja , as Sakura was rolling a stretcher towards them, behind them was a crowd of villagers that were looking worriedly at the girl in Sakura's arms.

But that wasn't the only thing that stunned him.

It was the wreck outside that took his attention, the place that used to be the village capital, was now a pile of wood and cement on the ground.

'What the hell happened?' he thought as his eyes caught the familiar figure in the crowd.

The seventh hokage is known as the hero of the world, as the strongest man alive and as the most unpredictable ninja of all time.

But to her, he was always uncle Naruto, she might not call him that, but he is and will always be the person that was like a second father to her, but as the years passed, they saw each other less and less because of his hokage duty, and because of her training and missions.

So as the years passed she saw him less and less until one morning after a mission has gone wrong.

‘‘Lord seventh,’‘ she said as she got into his office, posture straight as a board and eyes staring ahead.

‘‘Hey Sarada-chan.’‘ he cheerfully greeted, but the grin on his face quickly disappeared as he took in her appearance.

She was standing with the help of crutches, face covered in bandages, and breathes shaky, no doubt the trip from the hospital to the hokage tower tired her.

Naruto closed the report that Konohamaru submitted yesterday and gestured with his head to the chair in front of his desk.

''Lord seventh I can't…''

''Sarada, this is going to take a while and your foot is beginning to shake, so don't make me order you to sit.''

The girl thought for a second before taking a seat, putting her crutches by her side.

'It's like Sasuke's and Sakura's stubbornness has been added and multiplied by ten,' Naruto thought, but if she wasn't as stubborn as she is, she wouldn't be here right now.

''Konohamaru filed me in on what happened,'' Naruto started, the girl raised her head, her gaze on him.

'' You and konohamaru were tasked with delivering a scroll from the kazekage to me, on your way from Suna, you got ambushed, Konohamaru got immobilized after beating the leader of the criminal group, and you stayed with your sensei instead of running to get the scroll to safety, care to explain why?''

He knew why, he just wanted, no needed, to hear her say it, cause it's been so long since he's heard someone from the younger generation say the words that he and his teammates have taken as a lifetime rule.

Sarada gulped as her head lowered, she knew she'd be in trouble when risking the mission like that, but she didn't regret it, cause Kakashi's motto has been taught to her from a young age by her mother, a motto that her father's influence helped drill into her mind.

“Those who break the rules are scum… but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.” Sarada declared proudly, head raised and eye to eye with the hokage.

''You still say that after the beating you took?'' he said, pointing with his eyes at the bandages covering the entirety of the girl's body.

Judging by Sakura's report, the girl didn't have an uninjured spot on her body.

Sarada didn't speak for a couple of seconds and Naruto thought that she had nothing to retort back, but not a beat later she spoke.

''When it comes to my family, I swore I would never let someone hurt them,…''

''And who exactly is your family?''

Sarada smirked, recalling the baker that offered her fresh pastries this morning, the florist that gives flowers away every evening, the kid that bid goodbye to his parents on his way to the academy, smile wide on his face, a smile that filed her heart with warmth, and a second later she responded with the answer Naruto only hoped he would hear somebody say it so confidently.

'' My family… are the villagers lord seventh, I would never let somebody hurt my family, I don't care if it was a lowely criminal or a god, I would face them head on, and would do everything to stop them, cause I swore I would, and…''

'SAY IT, SAY IT, SAY IT…'' he chanted in his head, excited at the prospect of someone other than him saying it.

''I never go back on my word shanaroo!''

He would have got up and hugged her if he wasn't sure she'd be uncomfortable as hell and that Sakura-chan would kill him if he causes any of her wounds to reopen, so instead he just smiled, much to Sarada's confusion.

Naruto got up from his chair and went towards the girl and stood in front of her, she looked up at him in confusion, wondering what he's planning on doing since he's not called the most unpredictable shinobi for nothing.

To her surprise, his hand patted her head in a fatherly gesture, as a wide smile showed on his face.

'Is this what Tsunade saw in him back when they first met?' he thought as a memory of Tsunade kissing his forehead and entrusting him with her grandfather's necklace surfaced in his mind.

''Seventh?''

''I'm proud of you Sarada.''

Not many genin would stay behind and protect their sensei, who was much stronger than them and would probably be fine in the situation they were in, but Sarada stayed, took a beating but protected both the scroll and her comrade.

That, in addition to what she said earlier and her fighting prowess, is what prompted him to make a decision he's been trying to make for a year now, ever since seeing Sarada's powers in the chunin exams, but he needed to see her standing towards the village and whether she's strong enough to handle the burdens of ruling the village, and today, he got the answers he was searching for.

''And I was hoping you'd accept me as your master.'' He said as his hand left Sarada's head, so he could get a clear view of her face.

Sarada stared at him for a second too shocked to say anything.

'He wants to be my master?' she thought, it was almost unbelievable, the hokage wanted to be her master…

Sarada stood up hurriedly and bowed her head, '' It would be an honor lord seventh!''

''Great! From now on you will call me shishou, now come on, we're going to have our first master apprentice activity Dattebayo!''

''Yes shishou!''

Ten minutes later, Sarada's excitement of the secret activity the seventh planned for them has vanished as she saw what it was.

''Ramen?''

''Ichiraku ramen! The best ramen in town dattebayo!''

Sarada sweatdropped.

'Mama did mention that Uncle Naruto is a ramen addict.' The girl deadpanned.

''Sarada.'' He said sternly, standing up to face his student of three years.

She can do so much more, so much better things…

''You need your parent's permission first.''

''I'm jonin, and by law, a jonin can apply to any sector of Konoha's forces without parental consent regardless of age.''

Of course she took that into consideration, cause there is no way Sasuke and Sakura would let her do this, he doubted they even knew.

Naruto sighted before signing the anbu admission forum that Sarada handed him earlier, he was forced to look at this objectively, but he had a bad feeling about this, especially since sarada has been rather odd these past few months.

''Here, '' he muttered as he handed the paper to his newest anbu recruit,'' I don't know what's your true motive behind this Sarada but I will find out sooner or later.''

Sarada didn't even flinch, she just turned around and walked out of the door.

''What happened?'' Naruto asked himself as he looked at his student's retreating back, she was acting normally until these past couple of months, when she's been constantly at edge and angry, angry at who, he doesn't know, but she's taking it out on everybody, even Boruto, who has been the girl's crutch during hard times, so she was to him.

Naruto took a deep breath as he decided to just wait, because judging from experience all will come clear sooner or later.

A beat after that thought Naruto smirked.

''Kakashi was right, I am starting to sound like old man third.

''What the hell is wrong with you?!'' he bellowed.

He couldn't believe it, he couldn't believe that his student, the same student that said that the whole village is her family, injured almost a dozen civilians when she was supposed to guard a truck that was full of missing-nin.

The girl didn't answer, she just kept her gaze on the ground.

'At least she feels ashamed.' He thought, he was actually worried that she wouldn't be affected by what she had done.

''You prioritized a mission in front of the safety of the civilians.''

''I…'' she started but she didn't have anything to say, anything to justify what she did.

''You are suspended from ninja duty for three months, and you are to turn in your headband by tomorrow morning or you will be declared missing nin.'' He ordered.

Stripping a shinobi of their headband is considered one of the harshest punishements applicable on a ninja, since it meant stripping them of their honor and their status as a village protector.

Sarada tore her eyes from the floor towards him, eyes wide and posture tense.

''You can't do that! If you do that I won't be a Konoha shinobi!''

Naruto felt a pang of guilt upon hearing the girl's voice, but he won't go back on what he said, she needs to be punished for her actions, and maybe this will knock some sense into her.

''Well a Konoha shinobi would never endanger the lives of civilians for the sake of a stupide mission, no matter the stakes!'' he retorted angerly.

Sarada who normally had a strong personality, was now cowering in frot of her master as she took a couple of steps away from him.

''I'm sorry, shishou I just don't know why I did that…''

''Sorry doesn't return the lives of the fallen Sarada.''

Sarada tightened her jaw as she took a deep breath, before reaching inside her pouch and grabbing her headband, them setting it on his desk.

''You'll get it back when I see that you deserve it back.''

''And when is that exactly?'' she lashed out, three tomoes spinning in her eyes as her fists clenched, anger surfacing instead of sadness.

''You were more deserving when you were thirteen! What happened to the girl that said that the whole village is her family?! That said that she would do anything to protect them?!'' he bellowed.

Sarada didn't say anything back, she just looked at the floor, anger fading to be replaced by sadness as she realized that he didn't just take away her headband, he took away her status, her status as someone who the villagers could depend on, someone who they could turn to for protection.

She would do anything to protect them, but that's not what previous hokages did, Sarada contemplated telling him that, but that would just complicate the situation, and he wasn't the hokage that she's referencing, other than that, she just wanted to get out of here, to get out of his analyzing gaze, partly because she was tired but mostly because what he said stung deep.

After a minute Naruto excused her, and Sarada turned around and marched towards the doors, but just as she opened the door she spoke in a cracked voice,

''But family don't lie to each other, do they Uncle?''

She saw the hokage's eyes widen and posture stiffen before she closed the door behind her, then she ran out of the hokage building after hearing him call out her name.

''Sarada wait…!'' He called out, but it was too late, she was already out.

'Could it be that she knows?' he wondered silently, thinking about the she could have known, since everything about the Uchiha clans relation with the village is restricted..

Sarada leaned her head on the tree behind her, removing her glasses and wiping her tear stricken face.

Mama, papa, shishou…

They all disappeared about a day ago in an explosion that wiped half of the village.

They're probably dead…, whispered a voice in the back of her head.

But they weren't, they couldn't be, could they?

Her father could have transported them into another dimension, or coated them with susanoo with Naruto's nine tails chakra and Sakura's healing seal on it to keep it from getting damaged.

They had a big chance of survival, but they also have a big chance of death…

Sarada sniffled as she remembered their last words, it was like they almost knew what was going to happen when they headed to face off against Kara's leader.

Naruto grabbed her shoulders, pulling her close to him as he leaned down to speak, voice almost a whisper.

''Never give up on what you believe in.''

The problem was that she didn't know what she believed in…

Another bang erupted which tore Naruto's attention away from her.

He gave her one last look before sprinting towards the source of the noise.

''Catch up guys!''

Sakura sighed, '' as reckless as always…''

Sarada would have laughed at them, but the situation was too grave.

''Hey, come here.'' The older women said as she gestured for her to come, and she immediately obliged as she ran to stand infront of her mother and father.

Sakura put her hand on Sarada 's head, starring right into her eyes.

''Hey kiddo…'' she muttered.

At that day, it would have been almost a month since she spoke to her mother, partly because of her mission to Suna, but mostly because she was mad at her, mad that she kept secrets, mad cause she lied, and mad because she thought she couldn't handle the truth, that she wouldn't understand her father's situation.

''You know that what we did was what we thought was the best right?''

Sarada nodded, she did know, but that didn't help sooth her anger.

But, Sarada wouldn't be herself if she held that against her parents, cause they loved her with all their being, and she felt the same towards them.

So she reached towards her mother's hand and held it, but she was still frowning, to show that this wasn't over yet.

But Sakura was more than happy with what she got as she pulled Sarada's head towards her and hugged her, Sarada didn't hug her back, she just settled with leaning her head on her mother's shoulder.

''You'll always be my brave little girl.'' She said before she pulled away, she then looked at her husband who was staring at his daughter.

Sarada met his stare, and all that was needed was exchanged, his regret over what he had done, his apologies, her forgivness…

''Whatever you do, I will always love you.''

A second later, two fingers pocked her forehead, one finger was her father's, and the other her mother's.

And that was the last thing they did before the dashed towards the battleground.

''I love you too…'' she muttered to herself, as the tears came back to her eyes and she buried her head between her knees.

''Hey Bo…'' she muttered.

She was waiting outside the Konoha meeting room, when she was going to meet the elders to discuss that future of the village.

Apparently the hokage has told his advisor before his disappearance that he wanted Sarada and Boruto to approve of any thing that comes from the elders before it would be applicable.

''Hey.''

It was the first time they saw each other after their parent's disappearances.

''You holdin'up?'' he asked, cause it would be idiotic to ask her if she was okay, cause she was clearly not.

''Yeah, you?'' he didn't look well, he looked like he's been running all night.

''Yeah.''

She sat beside him on the chair in the waiting room and they sat in silence.

But as always, Boruto was always the one that broke the silence.

''You know I'm here for you right?''

Sarada looked at the floor for a second before looking at him.

''You know I'm there for you too right?''

Boruto smiled a little, something he hadn't done in a while, as he put his hand on Sarada's hand, who was resting it on the arm rest, in a gesture of comfort, but he didn't expect Sarada to grab onto his hand, as if afraid to let go.

In the end, she lost her parents and uncle, and he lost his father and his aunt and uncle, but they both lost the people that made them them, but they still had each other, and their was no way they would let the other go.

So Boruto interlocked his fingers with hers, and they stayed like that until Shizune came into the room and called for them.

Before they entered, Boruto spoke.

''I need to talk to you about something after this.''

Sarada nodded, before he opened the door.

''I will not let you do this!''

''Do you propose we just sit and wait till one of the villages attack us? '' the elder answered.

'' None of the villages would attack us, they won't endanger the alliance they worked so hard to accomplish.'' Sarada retorted, but the elder was not convinced.

''Some of the villages now are ruled by shinobi that have not felt the sting of war, much like yourself, so I see no reason why they wouldn't, that's why we should attack first, we'll start with Suna which is the closest to us.''

He wanted to attack the village that had the strongest alliance with Konoha…

''We can't do that! Do you think the hokage would have agreed to that if he was here?!''

''But he isn't! he's dead, that's why Konoha would be targeted.''

''He isn't dead!'' she hollered as the elders stepped back, as if afraid.

''Sarada.'' The sixth said harshly, which made her look at him, and it wasn’t until then that she noticed that her vision was red.

''Turn that thing off!'' the elder ordered, and as much as she wanted to defy him, she had too.

''Alright, this meeting was set to discuss the division of power now that the seventh is missing, so the later conversation will be had on a later date, this meeting is closed.'' Shikamaru declared.

Sarada took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but the elder's glare didn't help.

But Boruto's hand on her shoulder directed her towards the exit.

''Come on, let's go somewhere and talk.''

So he took her to their old training grounds, which was empty, probably because it destroyed during the attack.

''God…'' she said as she leaned against a tree.

''I think our parents are stuck in another dimension.'' he said suddenly, which made sarada startle.

''Explain.'' She ordered.

''In the place where the explosion appeared, there was a seal on the ground, I recognize the seal from one of the Uzumaki special sealing scrolls, the ones designed to lock someone up in a dimension, and even in abnormal cases, like uncle Sasuke's case where he can travel dimensions, it will seal his ability to do so.'' He said as he drew the seal he saw on the ground using a stick.

''So the only way to get them back is to open the scroll?''

''Yeah, but I don't know where the scroll is.''

''Hmm.''

Silence befell on them again, but this time, it was Sarada that broke it.

''I think Kashin Koji is the one who has it.''

Boruto looked at her, as if asking her to clarify.

''Back in our last mission regarding Kara, one of the outers we captured told me that Kara had a sealing master, and that master was Kashin Koji, and since the seal we're talking about is space time sealing, the most complex form of sealing, I think it's highly likely it's him.''

''So what do we do now?''

''We have to find him.''

''How?''

''I don't know, we just have too.''

Boruto nodded in agreement.

''Now, about the meeting we just had, do you have any proposition to propose in the next meeting? I think it's better if we coordinate beforehand.''

He's right it is better but there is a problem, she's got nothing.

''I got nothing.''

''You got nothing?'' Boruto was surprised that Sarada hadn't already formulated a plan like she always did.

''no, I'm just confused.''

''Confused? About what?''

Sarada raised an eyebrow, politically confused, sexually confused, hell, she's been suffering from confusion about her clan for about three years now.

''Trust me, you don't wanna know.''

''Why are you keeping secrets from me?'' he blurted out suddenly.

''I'm not.'' She is, there's a lot of stuff she hasn't told him, but that's only cause he probably already knows, like the truth of the Uchiha clan massacre, probably he learned about it from all those scrolls he read from his dad's office, or because she felt that I wasn't time to tell him, like her brief relationship with her former anbu teammate Takira.

''What about your eyes?''

''What about my eyes?''

''You didn't tell me you awakened a new form of the sharingan.''

Sarada's eyes widened, as she activated her eyes and headed towards the lake to look at her reflection.

She found herself staring at six tomoes in her red eyes.

Add ability confused.

''I'm 19 grandma tsunade.'' Sarada muttered as she declined the older lady's sake offer.

''Old enough to kill, old enough to drink kid.'' She said as she pushed the full glass towards the girl, '' and do you really expect me to believe that you've never drunk before?''

Sarada's lips turned into a sheepish smile, she was right, she's been drinking since last year, but only on occasions like the completion of her first anbu mission and such.

Sarada's smile faded as she remembered the nights she had with her anbu team, it was a common misconception that anbu teams aren't close, but the opposite the true, she was really close to her teammates, especially Takira and Kubo, who saved her life on numerous occasions.

''Yeah, thought so , now drink I want to have a talk.''

Sarada raised the glass towards her lips, as she drunk its contents.

She really needed that.

''How's the hospital lately?'' Sarada asked, she has heard rumors of the hospital's budget crises and short staff and they're effects.

''Shit, your mother was a patient lady Sarada.''

''Well, she raised me didn't she?''

Tsunade leaned back in her chair as she let out a laugh.

''You were no easy kid, I still remember the time you accidently broke your arm trying to punch the brick wall.''

''That was just the beginning too.''

''Yeah, your mother told me about the time you thought she wasn't your mother and left the village to look for your dad, you were a real idiot.''

Sarada smiled, it was truly absurd that she would think that.

A moment of silence passed before Sarada broke it.

''Why did you call me here grandma?'' she said.

Tsunade's smile faded as she spoke, '' there has been talks of the alliance disinbanding.''

''why?'' she asked calmly, she knew it would happen sooner or later after Suna's kazekage died.

''Suna and Kiri came out of the alliance cause they are not able to support other villages as per the alliance agreement says they should, but don't worry about them attacking us, I doubt the both have the military power to do so.''

Sarada let out a bitter grin, '' what happened to keeping with the spirit of the alliance and keeping peace?''

Tsunade stared at her for a second before speaking.

''You're a good kid Sarada, but maybe that's the problem…''

''Huh?'' Sarada startled as Tsunade stood up, filled her cup with sake and started to walk away, but sarada still heard what she said.

''You're just a kid.''

She was tired, so gut wrenchingly tired, both mentally and physically, but there was no way in hell she would let the sword that she just blocked fall on kid's head.

''Sarada Uchiha.'' Muttered the mysterious figure, who had just attacked Konoha's ninja academy.

''You should behave your children.'' He said, glaring at the kid who stood up to him and shot a kunai at him in a desperate act of defense.

''Who are you?'' she asked, not bothering with idle chat.

The stranger smirked, before putting his hand on his waist and bowing.

''Kashin Koji, pleasure to meet one of the village's strongest ninja and the last Uchiha heir.''

Sarada's magekyou sharingan blazed to life, partialy because she knew that the holder of that name was a high ranking Kara member but mostly because of the scroll she spotter tied to his waist.

It had the same seal Boruto showed her drawn on it.

''What do you want?''

The man grinned before answering and pointing behind her, towards the kids that were cowering behind the instructors.

Of course, Kara would want kids they could groom and conduct experiments on, especially Konoha's kids who had the most clans between the ninja villages.

The sound of an explosive kunai tore her from her thoughts as she unleashed susanoo, which caught the kunai that was headed towards the kids, and it exploded in its hand.

''Run! And order everyone, ninja and civilian to hide in the special bunkers!'' she shouted as she unsheathed her twin swords and charged at her enemy.

After exchanging blows, Sarada finally managed to knock his sword out of his hand, but he only smiled when she did that.

''I underestimated you girl, but what else to expect from the daughter of two sanin and the apprentice of the third?''

''What do you guys want from all of this?'' she asked because of curiousty and to stall time in order to formulate a strategy.

But he didn't wait, he just unleached a barrage of water and lighning style attacks at her.

''We want peace.'' He answered simply.

''Peace?! It was because of you the alliance that kept the peace was disbanded!''

''What you had was just the image of peace, an image that could break at any hit, peace can only be achieved when there are no ninja to threaten it, especially kekkei genkai users.''

A dangerous glim appeared in his eyes as he said those last words, Sarada thought he meant her at first, but then she remembered what he was doing here in the first place.

Konoha has the highest percentage of kekkei genkai users, a quarter of every graduating class has special abilities unique to their clans.

So he wanted to…

Sarada's teeth clenched, as she realized what his true intention in the village were.

The girl took a deep breath before she charged at him again, this time more determined than ever to protect the people that she considers family.

Sarada almost laughed, but she couldn't because of the pain in her lungs, when the academy building tumbled to the ground, for the third time in her lifetime.

There goes the childhood memories, she thought bitterly as she tried to get up, again, but another kick to the gut sent her flying to crash into the nearby building.

''You're not going to stop until I kill you right?'' Kashin said, but instead of the teasing grin he had at the start of battle, he was frowning, anger clearly showed on his face, probably of the challenge Sarada proved to be.

''I should have got rid of you sooner, but I didn't expect you'd be this powerful.''

she tried to get up again, using her unbroken arm to lift herself up, but Kashin puts his foot on her back and pushes down.

She lets out a grunt of pain as she spites out blood.

''I will never give up…'' she breathed out, not able to continue her sentence as the world blurred.

''On?'' he taunted.

''My oath.'' She spit out.

She heard him laugh as he got his foot off her and picked her up by the neck and bashed her head against the wall.

''We'll see about that!'' he roared as he tightened his grip on her neck.

Sarada resigned to the fact that she would probably die, but she won't leave Konoha without a protector, that's why when her clone burst from the ground underneath Kashin's feet and grabbed the scroll on his waist, then quickly threw it in the air where a hawk she previously summoned was told to take it to Boruto.

Kashin let her go out of shock as he starred at the direction the hawk was headed, he was probably thinking of pursuing it, but her clone engaged him in a taijutsu brawl which didn't let him take one step towards the direction the scroll is heading.

Sarada stood up, using the wall for support, then she took a deep breath and directed the last of her chakra towards her hands.

She crouched down and charged her chidori, weary of her enemy that was trying to reach her, but the clone, was blocking him and his injured state wasn't helping either.

He would have been dead from her earlier attacks if not for the barrier that was surrounding him, a barrier that could be broken by brute force, as shown when it cracked from her susanoo's punch.

She charged at him, and he directed his barrier to the front where she aiming, but she was actually aiming to a couple of centimeters beside him.

Kashin breathed a sigh of relief when she passed him, thinking that she missed, but his relief vanished when he turned around to see her jumping from the top of the building she just ran up too towards him.

Mama, papa, this is the power you gave me… she thought as she directed her super strenght enhanced chidori punch towards Kashin.

''Shanaro-da!! '' she roared as her punch connected with the enemy , and then everything turned to white.

I will never give up, and that's my ninja way!

Pink was the first thing she saw when she woke up.

''Mama….?'' Her vision was extremely blurry, but she could still make out the green of her mother's eyes and pink of her hair.

Am I not dead?

''Sarada, Sarada.'' A soft voice called out to her as a gentle hand brushed her cheek.

Sarada's eyes widened and body stiffened as she woke up fully.

''Mama?!'' she screamed as she rose up.

She was going to look around to see where she was when she was pulled into her mother's embrace.

''I'm here, my brave little girl.'' She whispered in her ear.

The girl grabbed onto her mother's coat fiercely, as she burrowed her head between her neck and shoulder.

''You're here.'' She muttered to herself in relief.

Sakura didn't respond, she just tightened her embrace around her daughter.

If she's here that mean papa and shishou are too…

She could already feel it, the weight lifting off her shoulders as her mother's embrace and comforting words engulfed her.

A couple of days later, Sarada was allowed out of the hospital, coincidentaly, it was the day the hokage requested her presence in his office.

''If it isn't the new hero of the leaf.'' He said as he stood up when she entered through the door.

He headed towards her and helped her into a seat.

''You never show up in my office without injuries do you?.'' He remarked jokingly.

''Yeah, I just can't manage to walk through those doors undamaged.''

''You got that right.''

''So how was the snow dimension?''

''The weather was kinda nice, I spent four months on a fiche diet and I'm pretty sure I lost half my weight, and your parents kept cuddling all night and it's disgusting, how about you?''

''Where do I start?'' she said after laughing, she laughed and smiled these past two days more than she did in the last year.

''How about the part you put a kunai to an elders neck after he wanted to assault Suna?''

''How did you know about that?''

''Shikamaru filled me in on everything.''

''Ahh.''

Naruto stood up from his seat and went towards Sarada, when he got close, he patted the girl's head in a gesture similar to the one he made about six years ago.

''Good job hero.'' He said as the girl blushed and smiled back at him.

A day ago, after Shikamaru filled him in on everything, he decided on two things, first was to fire the current elders, second, he decided to resign in about five years.

Five years is what it took for Kakashi to teach him everything that has to do with the hokage business, and five years is what it will take to teach Sarada.

''A wise man once told me that to be hokage you have to be acknowledged by the villagers first.''

Sarada's head fell instead of rising, which surprised Naruto.

''What?''

''But the villagers…''

''You don't know who pulled you out of that rubble you were stuck beneath? And who carried you to the hospital, and who was waiting at the gates eagerly for their hero?''

Sarada's lower lip quivered, as she also remembered the academy students she saved in her hospital room yesterday.

''You're not the only that protects their family Sarada, they protect and care for you too, practically half the village was waiting outside the hospital doors as your mother was healing you.''

Naruto headed towards his desk and grabbed something from his drawer and handed it to her.

It was her headband.

My family, Sarada thought as she traced the leaf symbol engraved on the metal plate.

She reached with shaky hands and tied it on her forehead.

A second later the meaning of his previous words came to her.

''The villagers acknowledged me that that means that…'' she stuttered as she looked at Naruto who just smiled and nodded.

Sarada stood, not even wincing because of her injured leg and jumped on her master, wrapping her arms around him and letting out happy tears.

''I did it, I did it I did it shanaroo!''

''You still have a long way ahead young lady.''

Sarada jumped away from him and stood up straight.

''Of course sir, may I be excused?''

''Yeah sure, take this week off.''

''Thank you sir.'' She said as she headed to the door.

''And say hi to Boruto for me.''

Sarada stopped in her tracks as her neck reddened, but she didn't turn around and just continued on.

Naruto walked towards the window, where the whole village could be seen.

Construction workers were working hard on rebuilding the village, shinobi were going on missions non stop to get funding for the village, the police force were staying up all night to assure that the villagers are safe, the medical corps are still searching in the rubble for any injured people, kids and housewives making homemade bento's to give to the people who couldn't afford it after the damages they suffered, and of course he noticed the person that just ran out of his office, joyesly greeting the villagers and patting kids on the head as she ran towards what seems to be the hospital, where his son was resting.

Naruto smiled as he looked up, towards the hokage faces, his gaze settled on the third's, then the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, himself, and then on the empty space beside him.

‘’Our family will be in good hands.’‘ he muttered as he thought of all the sacrifices the previous hokages have made to protect the village people, and about all the sacrifices the future hokages will make.

‘‘So is it final?’‘ Shikamaru, who just entered his office asked.

‘‘Yeah, I told you didn’t I?’‘

‘‘Told me what?’‘ Shikamaru asked, a confused expression on his face.

‘‘That their will be always new leaves.’‘

#sarada uchiha #fanfiction #fanfic #boruto uzumaki #slight Borusara #Sasusaku hints #naruto uzumaki #boruto naruto next generations #naruto #new leaves

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sufferthesea · 7 years

Text

Iacta Alea Est

Kakashi Week 2017 - Prompt #5: Brotherhood

“The die is cast. There is an immovable force heading towards the future, and its path is decided. There is no changing of destinies, no rewriting the script. We must watch and wait and see what happens - though, deeply, we already know the outcome.”

Rating: Teen Warnings: Reference to violence, just general Kakashi Guilt, angst? Words: 1.007 Read on ao3

Kakashi is horrified when he hears the news. The words ring in his ears like shrill bells, sending a sharp pain through his skull to back of his eyes - his eye - the Sharingan.

“The entire Uchiha clan has been massacred. The only survivor is Fugaku’s son —”

Kakashi’s breath catches in his throat and his chest tightens as he waits in fearful anticipation.

“— the littlest one, Sasuke.”

His mind reels. Sasuke? But where’s Itachi? Fugaku’s first born - one of the most impressive shinobi to come out of the Leaf Village? Where is he? Kakashi doesn’t know if he asks it, or someone else does, or if the other shinobi have read his mind, but next he hears,

“Itachi, Fugaku’s oldest, is missing.”

Missing? What does that mean? They haven’t found his body among the rest of the corpses? Is there a body to find? Itachi’s young but cold face surfaces in his mind. Where is the Uchiha? Has he escaped? If he’s alive, why hasn’t he alerted anyone for help? Has he gone after the murderer in hopes of getting justice?

Dismissed from the meeting, Kakashi finds himself rushing out of the Hokage building and to the farthest part of the village. His lungs burn inside his chest and his throat feels raw. It isn’t until a few moments later that he realizes he is screaming. Only one word clouds his mind and tumbles from his lips in rapid, dizzying succession.

“Itachi!”

He hopes - prays - the ninja is safe, is away on a mission, is somewhere else other than here. He’s already lost one Uchiha, and he’s had the reminder of it sitting (un)comfortably in his left eye socket that still throbs and aches.

The thought of one of his subordinates returning from a mission to find their entire family slaughtered makes him sick. An entire clan as great and powerful as the Uchiha, gone in a single evening. Who could do such a thing? Who is strong enough, smart enough, fast enough to do all of that?

Secretly, he knows. Secretly, he pretends not to know. He wants to believe that the eldest of Fugaku’s children hasn’t committed the appalling crime. That he hasn’t fled from the village to become a rogue nin. But his subconscious knows better and soon he finds himself screaming into the early morning sky, a single drawn out cry.

“Traitor!”

In the years that pass, Kakashi tries his best to ignore the irony of his relationships with the Uchiha. One who had been his enemy up until his death; the other who’d been his friend up until his defection. It seems like Kakashi can’t get it right. But hindsight is 20/20 and Obito was his friend and Itachi was not.

When Kakashi sees Sasuke, the guilt from years before rise up in the back of his throat and taste like bile. A moment later he finds himself hidden behind a tree, vomiting into the bushes, sick at the sight of the young - the orphaned - the only surviving - Uchiha.

I could’ve stopped it. I could’ve prevented it. I could’ve …

When he finds out Sasuke will be his student, he is pretty sure the universe is just screwing around with him now. He’ll have to look at Sasuke every day and be reminded of what Itachi has done - and that Kakashi hadn’t done anything to stop him.

He debates on whether or not to tell him. “I knew your brother,” sounds too simple and doesn’t really mean much. Many people knew Itachi, but how many people knew him? Kakashi feels like he doesn’t know anything about the man. What else can he say? “I worked with your brother. He was in my squad. We were friends. I was friends with the man who slaughtered your family and I did nothing to help you.”

As months pass, Kakashi realizes that, right now, he cannot focus on what he couldn’t or didn’t do - there will be time enough for that later. In this moment, he has to focus on what he can and will do. It is not the first time he has let guilt dictate his actions, and it won’t be the last. So he decides.

He has to train Sasuke. When the youngest Uchiha expresses his hate and his eyes turn cold and he spits words about revenge like venom from the snake he’ll learn to summon, Kakashi decides - he has to train Sasuke. Even if it means he forsakes the other two genin - even if it means he’s giving training and a weapon to a child whose sole purpose is to murder his brother. He has to do it. He’ll pepper his lessons with cautionary tales of revenge and hatred, of forgiveness and healing, of comrades and friends - but in between his silent pleas for Sasuke to give up his self-destructive goal, he’ll teach him deadly jutsu. Friend Killer Kakashi teaches the Orphan Sasuke the Chidori so he can get revenge on the Traitor Itachi. Because, despite his own warnings, there is still anger and betrayal deep in Kakashi’s gut and he too wants revenge - he just knows it’s not his place to seek it. That right belongs to Sasuke and Kakashi can’t take it away. Even if Itachi was his friend, he was Sasuke’s brother first. He betrayed Sasuke first.

So the next time Kakashi sees Itachi, dressed in red and black robes, his heart sinks but his eyes harden. He can’t defeat him - not because he’s too weak (though Itachi has grown stronger over the years) - but because this victory does not belong to him. He fights, but he loses, and he’s mixed with emotions. Has he put Sasuke’s desires above the village’s needs?

And when he hears Sasuke’s left the village in search of power, in search of Itachi, in search of Orochimaru, he still feels mixed with emotions but among the guilt and resignation, he feels hope. Hope that maybe Sasuke can do what he couldn’t. Hope that maybe Itachi will be the last Uchiha he loses.

#kakashi week #kakashifest #mine 44 #akimi.writes #kakashi hatake #hatake kakashi #kakashi fic #kakashi fanfic #kakashi fanfiction #kakashi hatake fic #kakashi hatake fanfic #kakashi hatake fanfiction #kakashi week 2017 #prompt: brotherhood

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kuriquinn · 7 years

Text

Green Fields

Disclaimer & Masterpost

Summary: In the eyes of the world, she and Neji were only teammates after all, and to pretend otherwise is an insult to his memory. Whatever carefully hidden feelings and secret hopes they might have had must remain unspoken, known only to her. [NarutoWeek2017 – Day 3 - Prompt: "Team Gai"]

Konoha's graveyard seems much bigger than Tenten remembers it being when she was a child. She would like to think it's because she didn't come here all that often before, but the sad truth of it is that it's grown in the months following the war.

So many died in the first battles, across so many fields of conflict, that the recovery teams are still looking for the missing. Every day a new headstone is added as more bodies are shipped back home, and she knows this best because of her daily pilgrimages to Neji's grave.

Since returning to the village, Tenten has become a frequent visitor to the Konoha memorial – even more frequent than Kakashi. These days his duties as Hokage don't leave much time for personal reflection. In the early weeks she would encounter him quite often, but as reconstruction and recovery get underway, he comes here less and less.

She also thinks he might finally have started making peace with his losses, which is something she knows she's nowhere near ready to do yet. The wounds are still fresh and the pain still lingers.

There are mornings since the end of the war that she wakes and stares at herself in the mirror, sees the eyes of a woman with a broken heart but who must not cry out or ask for sympathy for it. In the eyes of the world, she and Neji were only teammates after all, and to pretend otherwise is an insult to his memory. Whatever carefully hidden feelings and secret hopes they might have had must remain unspoken, known only to her.

And maybe Hinata, she thinks as she approaches the memorial stone and sees the other girl's familiar form. Neji's cousin might have been the only person to ever suspect, but she is too quiet and kind to ever voice a secret that is not her own. After all, she alone understands and sympathises with all of the reasons being more than teammates and friends would have been impossible.

"It's good to see you, Tenten," the Hyūga heiress says softly.

"You too. How are you and your family doing?"

The words are heartfelt. Tenten can't resent her for Neji's death; he protected Hinata with his life not because she was his superior within the clan but because he genuinely cared for her, and because she is a good person.

"Better every day, thank you," Hinata says. "I was just about to leave – but if you like, I can stay with you."

"No, that's alright. I might be here a while, and I know you're busy."

Hinata has had her hands full with clan business since the end of the war; especially as Neji was not the only casualty within their family. She and Hanabi have been splitting their duties as best as possible.

It also seems as if the death of the branch family's prodigy has prompted the elders to consider changing their generations old policies.

Too little, too late, Tenten can't help but think bitterly.

"Not too busy for this," Hinata says, and tentatively reaches out a comforting hand. Ever since the war, Hinata has been trying to come out of her shell a little more, and Tenten recognises the effort that takes. She accepts her friend's hand and they stand for a moment, the two girls who loved Neji the most, sharing their grief.

After several moments, Hinata takes her leave, recognising that Tenten wants to be alone.

Time passes, but she doesn't really notice. The breeze rustles across the flowers laid at the base of the memorial.

The list of names on the memorial stone is long and ever-growing. Tenten's eyes have long since memorised where Neji's is etched, but she knows the others written there as well.

Inoichi Yamanaka. Shikaku Nara.

Several members of her graduating class as well, which is sad and unexpected.

Not as unexpected as two other names among the list of heroes, though.

She's still not quite sure how she feels, seeing Itachi Uchiha's name written here as well. Even though Naruto and others have insisted that the honor his warranted, and that the world would have been lost without his intervention, she isn't so sure. He was Akatsuki, after all, and responsible for rounding up the jinchūriki that created the Ten Tails.

The creature responsible for Neji's death.

When darker thoughts begin to surface she moves away from the stone. There's no use getting angry about the past – it can't be changed, after all. Instead, she wanders over to the section of the cemetery reserved for the Hyūga, and kneels respectfully beside the all-to-familiar grave.

"I'm back," she tells him. "I can't stay very long today, as we have a mission later, but I thought I'd check in with you anyhow." She bites her lip, looks around to make sure there's no one there, and then adds, "I miss you. It's not getting any easier. It's not getting any harder, either, I guess, but it's still…it's still hard."

She sniffs, shakes her head in an effort to hold back tears. He would hate her crying over him. Either because he didn't appreciate weakness, or because he just wasn't good with comforting people.

"Or both," she concludes. "Probably both. It's what should have tipped me off that the other world wasn't real. You were too…different." She pauses. "I sometimes dream about it – that world that I got stuck in. It was so strange, and there was so much wrong with it – you and all of our friends acted so strange. But it…even if it was all wrong, the fact that you were there, and alive…I think I would have stayed there forever."

His grave is silent in response to this, and she sighs.

"Alright…that's enough moping for today," she decides, straightening her back. "You probably want to hear more about what's been happening around here. So, I'll do my best!"

She adjusts her posture so that she is sitting cross-legged in front of his headstone, deciding he probably wouldn't mind. Neji was never one to have patience with ceremony, considering how often his life was dictated by it.

"I'm improving all of the moves you showed me, and practicing every day," she tells him. "It's not the same, though. I miss your voice telling me to do it better. You always challenged me to do my best and even though I can pretend I still here you…it's not the same." She crosses her arms protectively over her front. "I've been considering asking Hinata to work with me, because – well, she knew your style so well in the end – but I'm worried it would be too painful."

She's not completely sure who it would be worse for, to be honest.

"Gai-sensei and Li are driving me crazy, but you probably already knew that," she informs him. "You'd think being stuck in a wheelchair would make him slow down, but he's as exuberant as ever. You just wait, he'll have an entire taijutsu form based on wheelchairs figured out within the next generation."

She's surprised he hasn't started already, to be honest.

"And oh! I never realised how hard it must have been for you to be the voice of reason," she sighs. "It's exhausting! The number of things I have to talk those two out of doing these days – it's ridiculous!" She smiles. "You were always so good at getting them side-tracked, but it's like they can't hear me when I talk – I keep getting dragged into their schemes and I can never figure out how. And now, you're not even here to commiserate with."

Or share looks of exasperation with.

"I'm not sure if I'm going to go on and try for jōnin," she goes on. "I don't know if I can take any more of the heartache that comes with active duty. But I've been thinking…maybe I'll open a weapon's shop. It's another one of my passions, after all. And I could organize my own hours, and have free time – I could even offer lessons to kids before they start the Academy. Or free lessons for civilian kids." A future shapes itself around her words, and even as she speaks the words the details fill in. "Not just the children of shinobi families, but civilian kids, too. Girls, especially. That way anyone who wants to do their best can get off to the right start. I don't want anyone to ever feel caged..."

At the sound of loud sniffling, she startles and whirls around, having been so lost in her words that she didn't notice she wasn't alone.

Gai and Li behind her, both with tears streaming down their cheeks.

If Neji were here he'd have something to say about that!

Tenten groans.

"Okay, how long have the two of you been standing there?"

"Long enough to experience your most beautiful words!" Gai blubbers.

"So beautiful they couldn't help move us to tears!"

"Such youthful dreams! So strong in the face of tragedy!"

"Truly, you are the cornerstone of our squad, Tenten!"

"Oh, knock it off, both of you!" she grumbles, her cheeks turning red both in embarrassment for having been heard and their absolutely ridiculous behaviour. "Could you at least pretend to have some decorum while we're standing here?"

"There is no need for decorum among friends! Neji would agree."

"He probably wouldn't…"

"Truly, I will fight to make your dream a reality!" Li yells suddenly striking a pose. "I will go to the ends of the earth to find you the best metals for your weapons!"

"And I will negotiate with our best demolitionist to provide the best explosive tags for a low price," Gai insists, forming a determined fist. "Top quality, low price!"

He punctuates each word with a karate chop.

"You sound like an infomercial," she deadpans. "And stop it – I can do all those things myself."

"Nonsense! It is our duty to help you with your dream and ensure Neji's legacy! It is what he would have wanted, I have no doubt!"

"Now, hold on, I don't think –"

"We shall have to find permits!"

"Not to worry, my most dedicated student, I can ask my old rival Kakashi for help there," Gai grins, nudging Li conspiratorially with his elbow. "It pays to have friends in high places."

"But wait," Tenten begins again, "I don't even –"

"and we will need a catchy slogan for advertisements," Li cuts her off.

"Aren't you two getting a little ahead of –"

"Perhaps we can have a special on jumpsuits!"

"And dumbbells!"

"Hey! Stop horning in on my dream!" Tenten yells, fists clenched and three seconds away from stabbing them both.

But they are already leaving the cemetery, Li jogging off behind Gai's wheelchair, both of them merrily chatting and becoming steadily more excited.

Against her will, her mouth begins to twitch, and a small smile escapes. Tenten sighs and stares up at the sky, watching a hawk soar in the distance.

Are you watching, Neji?

＊

Ever and away, a pale-eyed spectre watches three of the people dearest to him and smiles. "Always."

つづく

Well, this turned out a little more sad and a little more shippy than I expected, but I still enjoyed writing it. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it too!

クリ

Next Chapter

#narutoweek2017 #naruto shippuden #naruto week #naruto fanfiction #team gai #tenten #rock lee #maito gai #hinata hyuuga #hints nejitenten #chapter 699 #legacy of fire

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sutekiyomitsu · 7 years

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the naruto ending as it should have been

My friends and I had an hour long conversation about the Naruto ending that we deserved and I thought some of our collective ideas about what it should have been like were really interesting so I made this post to share them!

Note that we were talking from the angle of being mostly canon-compliant (except that we wanted Neji to be alive) so the canon ships are still depicted (even though I’m a SNS shipper at heart).

When he becomes Hokage, Naruto reveals the deep, dark secrets of Konoha to the public, such as the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre, the existence of Root as a corrupt system etc

In doing so, he acknowledges the mistakes of Konoha’s past and begins to flush out the corruption that has been plaguing Konoha

He creates a new Council consisting of clan leaders (like Kiba, Choji, Shino etc.) and he splits the work rather than concentrating the power to himself

Kind of like a Parliament, really, and also somewhat more of democratic structure where all the clans in Konoha are represented and have a say in making important decisions

This prevents the marginalisation of any one clan, hence preventing what happened to the Uchiha clan (that pushed them to plan a coup)

He is advised by Shikamaru and Kakashi

As he has revealed the truth about the Uchiha Massacre, Uchiha Itachi gets a proper burial and is honoured as a true Konoha shinobi

As a result of the revelation of the truth, the people are not as resentful towards the Uchiha (i.e. Sasuke) and more sympathetic towards his difficult childhood/teenage years

Just air Konoha’s dirty laundry already oh my god

Sasuke decides not to leave the village on some redemption pilgrimage

Instead he revives the Konoha Military Police Force

In doing so, he ‘revives/cleanses’ the Uchiha legacy into one associated with order and justice rather than death and destruction

This also helps to rid Konoha of its corrupted, twisted system, preventing any further Danzos from happening

Sakura becomes the head medic of the hospital and trains other young medics to fulfill Tsunade’s wish of having a medic/someone with basic medical training in every team, drastically lowering the chances of fatalities on missions

Specifically, I had in mind a scene where she is either 1. shouting orders at the other medics, in the midst of saving someone’s life or 2. tutoring someone to revive that fish like we saw her do, or both

Naruto increases the budget for the hospital so they can fund such a programme

(In keeping with the canon, maybe we can have a scene where Sasuke, a long day’s work, pops by the hospital and says to Sakura, who is bent over a patient hard at work, “I’m going to pick Sarada up from the Academy.”)

As a result of the whole democratic system/splitting up of duties among the Council members, Naruto is also not overworked and gets to spend time with his family.

The Uzumaki children thus grows up happy and healthy and not neglected

Hinata, instead of being depicted as just ‘Naruto’s wife, waiting for him at home’, is shown to have taken up her duties as the head of the Hyuuga clan

However, in an effort to break the mould that her ancestors have set for her, she gives up her position as the clan head to Neji (who is very much alive, thank you very much), acknowledging that he has more natural leadership capabilities than her

In doing so, she breaks the main/branch family divide and also branch family cursed seals are not a thing

Hanabi is supportive of this decision and admires her sister for having such bravery to rebel against the system

Rock Lee decides to join the Konoha Military Police Force

His relationship dynamics with Sasuke is one that is both odd and very comical because of their starkly different personalities and would probably make for a great spin-off series: Sasuke and Rock Lee: Cop Adventures

Still, they have a sort of mutual respect for each other

Lee and Gaara are pen pals

Again, a very odd and amusing pair but one that somehow makes a lot of sense

Gaara is doing well as the Kazekage – people respect him greatly for leading the shinobi forces in the War

Gaara is aro ace – either he gets married (for political reasons, because Suna’s Council wants him to get married according to Gaara Hiden) to someone who he has a queerplatonic relationship with or he doesn’t get married at all

Either way, he is aro ace, and perfectly fine with it, fight me on this

Kankuro trains the next generation of puppet masters in Suna

Temari is the ambassador of Suna, and she’s married to Shikamaru, the main political advisor to Naruto

(Shikamaru finds it troublesome, but at least Choji’s on the Council too)

Ino is the new head of T&I

(She is just as brutally effective as the last)

Team 10 takes turns helping out with Asuma and Kurenai’s child, even when she is grown up, it’s like she has them as godfathers/godmothers

Gai is an instructor at the Academy, almost like a motivational speaker

He encourages the kids, even those who have no innate talent in ninjutsu/genjutsu to strive for excellence

“If I, who can’t walk, can do handstands, so can you!” [yells about Youth]

Tenten is a jounin instructor, probably

#naruto

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naruto-oc-critiques · 7 years

Photo

(I’m so sorry it’s long! And also forgive me if the English is somehow broken, it’s not my mother language… Anyways, thank you so much in advance!)

Hello there! Thanks so much for submitting Junko to us! Your English is great, no need to apologize :)

Overall opinion: I really like this OC, a lot.

-Shir

Appearance: Goodness, Junko is gooorgeous. I love her design so much! I can’t really review her outfit very much, but I think it looks great. I love the adaptations you made to the standard uniform. And even though her hair is very long, it is tied up in such a way that it won’t get in the way. It is very fitting for the series!

Name:Junko ( 純子 - “Pure Child”. Her name, however, have the same phonology of “Obedient Child”) Clan: Yōsai ( 要塞 - “Fortress” ) Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: Bisexual Birthplace: Konohagure Current location:Konohagure Family: Yōsai Isami (father, deceased), Yōsai Risa (mother, deceased), Akagi Kaede (aunt, alive) Age: 24 (first part), 26 (shippuden) Rank: Jounin Graduations:Gennin - 12; Chunnin - 16; Jounin - 18 Chakra Release:Water (main), Fire(secondary) Kekkei Genkai: Rasutoshīrudo ( ラストシールド - “Last Shield”) Raises the defense to extremely high levels by keeping a layer of chakra under the skin. During its use, it’s impossible to use any jutsu but 1000-Nichi no shōheki no kakudai no Jutsu ( 1000日の障壁の拡大 - “Expansion of the Barrier of Thousand Days” ). Later, she can use Gētokīpā no hōfuku no Justu ( ゲートキーパーの報復 - “Retaliation of the Gatekeeper”) Occupation:Shinobi, teacher (started leading a Gennin team a few time after the first time skip), leader of Konoha’s Search and Rescue Squad (started a few time before The Last, occupied this position until her retirement) Team:Team Nao(as gennin)- Uchiha Yumeko (teammate - deceased), Furusawa Yuudai(teammate - alive, curently a medical nin), Igarashi Nao (sensei - alive) ; Team Junko (as sensei), Search and Rescue Squad (as leader) Relationships: Uchiha Yumeko (platonic), Furusawa Yuudai, Hatake Kakashi

General information: Everything looks fine to me! I am happy to see an OC that is LGBT. I would love to know more about her stats (in genjutsu, taijutsu, ninjutsu, etc.) and more about her relationships. Maybe a sentence or two about her relationship with each character you listed?

Her Kekkei Genkai is interesting, and I do like how there is a drawback—the inability to use any jutsu while it is activated sounds good to me. I think a few more sentences about what the Kekkei Genkai does and how it works would be great! I am a little worried that it is like Gaara’s protective sand layer (the one he wears over his skin).

Personality: As a child, Junko was obedient, introverted and docile. Following her father’s last wish, she trained as hard as she could to raise her resistance - and in her free time, she would help her aunt with the shop. Her personality changed a little when she entered the Academy, becoming more opened to others since she started making friends. Her obedient side was kept intact, however. The major change came after she was designed to Team Nao with Firisawa Yuudai and Uchiha Yumeko. The Uchiha’s girl had an extroverted personality that molded Junko somehow, breaking a little of her obedient spectre and turning her into a more bright teenager. Right after Junko became a Chunnin, a mission finished her personality’s changes, with her becoming more determined to do what she believed in, and abandoning her “clan’s duty” to live as she wanted.

Personality: I like how you wrote about her personality change and character development! It is interesting to see how she changed completely, but from what I can see here, I think it is done in a believable way. I would like to know more about other traits, especially faults, since I don’t see any listed here. A general rule that I read is to have ten traits: five strengths, five flaws. I think listing them out would really strengthen this section.

History: Junko is the only child of Yōsai Isami, the last member of the main branch of the clan. Her mother, Yōsai Risa, was a kunoichi from a civilian family with distant connection with the Yōsai. Both of them were the last ones to present the Rasutoshīrudo, a Kekkei Genkai that once was relatively common(* explained better in the Clan’s History). Born and raised within the clan’s traditions, it wasn’t a big shock for her when her parents died on a mission: even if she only had five years, she understood that they died for the honor of the clan. For a long time, Junko firmly believed that dying in mission, holding the enemies back, was the only honorable way for a Yōsai to leave this world - and, because of that, the girl had no trauma for losing her parents so early. Her mother’s sister, Akagi Kaede, took care of her. Kaede, however, wasn’t a shinobi: she was a civilian, a rich owner of a shop that saw her younger sister die because of her unique ability: the Rasutoshīrudo. Because of that, the woman disliked ninjas. Strict but yet loving, Kaede raised Junko with civilian habits, even if the little girl never abandoned her clan’s traditions, becoming a ninja with her aunt disapproval. After graduating at the Academy, she became member of the Team Nao and met the most important person of her live: Uchiha Yumeko - a young girl, daughter of an outsider with a member of the Uchiha’s. Yumeko was extremely extroverted, confident and cheerful, contaminating Junko with her joy. The girls became best friends and partners in battle. Yumeko awakened her Sharingan almost as the same time Junko learned how to use her Rasutoshīrudo. It took a few years until their sensei, Nao, was convinced the team was ready to participate the Chunnin exams, and his over protection resulted with three of them being promoted at their first try. Even if Junko was happy with her life, she knew that anytime they would call her to a particular mission… The day came months after the exam. Junko was called to a secret mission - a mission in which time was fundamental. She immediately understood her role: hold the enemies while the others did their job. Die for the mission. Preparing herself alone for the mission, she had no authorization to tell her teammates about it… But Yumeko didn’t need the details to understand. The Uchiha insisted for Junko to stay, desperated to stop her. It was there when Yumeko realized she loved Junko, but kept it to herself. Against her friends desires, the Yōsai went to the mission. Many details was left obscured to her. She was going to work with an Anbu squad - for her total surprise and terror. She was supposed to stay behind and let them do their job: what they’re doing wasn’t of her business. When the time has come, they would command her to activate her Kekkei Genkai and stop the enemies with the 1000-Nichi no shōheki no kakudai no Jutsu. That’s all: no questions, no further information. And so she did. They were coming back to the village when the order came. The number of the enemies were bigger than the expected, and pontuality was fundamental for that mission. Taking them all down would take too long… So Junko should stay behind - it was her clan meaning, after all. Activating the Rasutoshīrudo and invoking the barrier with the 1000-Nichi no shōheki no kakudai no Jutsu was the easy part. What came next… Wasn’t. Junko wasn’t resisting as long as she thought - in a little less than five hours, she knew she was about to die. Her injuries were deep, even with the Rasutoshīrudo… And she was ironically disappointed. Her father told her that there was no grater honor for a Yōsai than dying for a mission. He said that a member of the clan would feel immense pleasure to serve it’s village. Junko couldn’t feel it, though. All she could feel was “I don’t wanna die”. She was barely conscious when her wish became true. An Anbu has returned. Taking down the enemies one by one, Hatake Kakashi was merely completing a request the Hokage made.“If possible, bring the girl back”. She was the last with the Kekkei Genkai and it would be a shame to lose her. The main mission was successfully done - so it was time to finish the “extras”. Her state was critical when she was brought to the hospital, and the recovery was really slow - but but it gave her time to think. After years, she returned to the Yōsai house, and there decided to abandon the clan’s duty: she would no longer die for the village, but live for it. This decision gave her determination to become stronger. During her recovery, Junko studied the clan’s techniques and adapted everything to create her stronger jutsu: The Retaliation of the Gatekeeper. Meanwhile, Yumeko changed. Her cheerful personality got bitter - and Yuudai had no idea why. When Junko confronted her, the Uchiha broke her heart: blaming the girl for holding back her growth as a shinobi, Yumeko cut any kind of bond she had with her friends. For the remaining members of the Team Nao, her behavior was unexplained - and the girl never explained the reason: her father wanted to force Yumeko to awaken her Mangekyou Sharingan… In other words, kill a friend. Because of that, the kind Yumeko decided she couldn’t have friends. Being brokenhearted, Junko became obsessive with training: constantly pushing herself to the limit of her strengths, she grew fast. Two years later, she was promoted to Jounin. Two more years passed and another major event happened in Junko’s life. She was outside the village on a mission when it happened, so Yuudai was the first to tell her: the Uchiha Clan has been massacred. Yumeko was dead. After the inicial shock, Junko got depressed. Yuudai stayed by her side until she gets better, and it was the start for a very calm and healthy relationship. They dated until they were 24, realizing it was actually a good friendship. The time they spent together, however, was fundamental to heal Junko’s mind. She was more mature now, and most of her ghosts were now in the past. When she was 27, she trained a team of gennins, but as soon as they became chunnin Junko started working on a project with all her heart: a Squad of Search and Rescue, training shinobis with abilities to never leave anyone behind. Her job as leader of this squad brought her closer to the current Hokage, Hatake Kakashi. Junko had no idea he was the Anbu who once saved her, but she felt a connection. It took time to form an actual bond, but Kakashi and her eventually started a discreet relationship. They only got married after Naruto became Hokage.

History: The story overall seems good to me! I am wondering if both her parents had the Kekkei Genkai or not? I think it is also a little strange that they both died around the same time. Were they both on the same mission? If so, it might be redundant to have two shinobi that have the same techniques on the same squad. There is not really a lot of information about their deaths, but those are some things to think about! Also, Kaede’s dislike toward ninja is reasonable and interesting for the story. I would want to know how Junko convinced Kaede to let her become a ninja. I love her relationship with Yumeko! How is her relationship with Yuudai and Nao during this time?

Also, for Junko’s mission, I think it would be better if she worked with a squad of Jonin instead of ANBU, since it would be strange for a non-ANBU member to tag along with an ANBU team.

I also think that five hours is an awfully long time to keep a technique activated! Even if she had very large stamina (like the Uzumaki), I feel as though she would run out of chakra to maintain the jutsu. Of course, running out of chakra would result in death. I would shorten the length of the jutsu to maybe one or two hours at most. Anything more than that I think would be really pushing her chakra reserves. Plus, I am guessing that she is being actively attacked? Being beaten by enemies for five hours would also be a stretch, even with her Kekkei Genkai. Again, I would suggest a one or two hour time frame—maybe even less, since the Kekkei Genkai will also be using her chakra resources.

Kakashi’s involvement is good, I can see the Hokage assigning him to her! Again, I am unsure about her joining an ANBU squad, so maybe Kakashi could be there independently and not part of the overall mission (there is a filler where Kakashi and Itachi track Gai and a group of Jonin/Chuunin on a mission—I think the same sort of formation could work here).

Her resolution after the mission is great. Her change in thought is logical and makes sense for what has happened to her. However, I am curious about Yumeko’s change in personality. I understand why she feels as though she cannot have friends anymore, but I do not know if it makes sense for Junko’s story. Like, if this detail was removed from your story, I don’t see a significant impact. Perhaps she becomes more dedicated to her training after Yumeko’s death? But I’m glad to get more development between Junko’s and Yuudai’s relationship, too!

Junko making the Search and Rescue squad is soooo good, it is perfect for her development! It really makes sense for her character. I would only suggest adding more information about her instructor days. Right now, since there is not a lot of information on her being an instructor, it seems like an unnecessary detail.

I also like her relationship with Kakashi and how they end up together. It’s very sweet! Overall, I think there are some details in her story that need some minor tweaking, but it all looks good to me. I really love Junko’s development and can see that you really thought her story through. Well done!

Clan’s History: The Yōsai are an old and numerous clan, but with little to no influence. Known to marry early and to die early, they were considered useful due their Kekkei Genkai, being true human shields to the others. Inside of the clan, there’s a huge sense of honor and sacrifice - their lifes only find a good ending if they die for the village. They were constantly used trough the years and, to keep their numbers, marriage outside of the clan became popular. Because of that, the Kekkei Genkai, once common, started to appear less and less. There’s a lot of civilians in Konohagure that have Yōsai blood, and eventually someone is born with deep purple nails: a mark the owners of Rasutoshīrudo show. Currently, Yōsai Junko is the last of civil the main branch and the only one with the Kekkei Genkai.

Clan’s history: I think the clan history is very interesting, and you took really important details into consideration. Such as early deaths, outside marriage, and the rarity of the Kekkei Genkai with mixed genetics. I am curious about the clan’s branch system (does it work like the Hyuuga clan? Why is the clan divided into branches?) and if the clan tried to pressure intermarriage again to try to keep the bloodline going. I like how you included the clan’s culture in there as well, it really explains Junko’s childhood personality and her father’s insistence for her to train hard.

Abilities: ☆ Resistance - Junko trained since a child to be more resistant than average, even without her Rasutoshīrudo. ☆ Rasutoshīrudo - She is probably one of the most proficient users of it. ☆ 1000-Nichi no shōheki no kakudai no Jutsu -“Expansion of the Barrier of Thousand Days”. The signature jutsu of the Yōsai. It consist on creating a chakra wall behind the user, keeping the enemies from crossing it - but locking the position of the user, leaving them exposed. The legend said the first Yōsai kept the barrier for a thousand days, protecting his son until he trained enough to defeat the enemies of the clan. The barrier is strictly connected to the user’s resistance, only being useful when Rasutoshīrudo is on use. Otherwise, it’s somehow fragile. It’s the only jutsu that can be used in combination of the Yōsai’s Kekkei Genkai. ☆ Gētokīpā no hōfuku no Justu - “The Retaliation of the Gatekeeper”. Junko’s final jutsu. After activating the barrier, she invokes the clan’s guardian, The Gatekeeper, inside of it. His arms and head emerge from the chakra wall, attacking the enemies that try to approach. The Gatekeeper is sentient and can talk.

Abilities: I am not completely sure what you mean by resistance, but the description of the two jutsu is great! I think if you go into this much description with the Kekkei Genkai itself, then this profile would be really strong.

Her techniques are interesting—I don’t think I have seen an OC with defense-based jutsu before—and they are very refreshing. The fallback of the Expansion of the Barrier of Thousand Days technique is good, and I wonder if the user has the same lack of mobility in the The Retaliation of the Gatekeeper technique? The fallback to The Retaliation of the Gatekeeper technique would be good too, since it is a technique that is good in both defense and offense. I would also like to know what water and fire jutsu she knows, and anything else she knows outside of her clan techniques. Overall, she seems balanced!

Summary: I really like this OC, a lot. I think there are many aspects of her that are very well developed and explained, and her techniques are very interesting to me! She seems balanced overall. There are some details in her story that I would suggest tweaking, but it really is fine as is. I would like to see more detail about some personality flaws, ability stats, and information about her relationships, as well. I was also unsure with what you meant by resistance, so I think some clarifying sentences could fix that. But her development is strong and her story makes sense for her character—I really cannot say how great her development is enough. You did a great job with her! I do really like this character. Great work!

-Shir

#submission #Naruto OC #Outfit Critique #Character building #shir reviews

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lazymilkshakecolor · 7 years

Text

The bridge

this was originally a request by this person @ sorimashi2

Summary: Sarada is behaving strangely because of what she has learned of the true relationship between the village and her clan, Naruto confronts her about it.

''Seventh.''

''Sarada.''

Both of them glared menacingly at each other, the atmosphere was tense, as if they were going to start a fight at any second, all it took was one wrong move.

One would expect a fifteen-year-old to cower in front of the seventh hokage's glare, but Sarada was no ordinary fifteen year old, she's the heir to a clan that used to be the mightiest, and she's the daughter of two of the strongest and bravest ninja alive, so of course she won't cower.

''Your move,'' Sarada said, a challenging edge to her voice.

Naruto's brows furrowed in concentration, thinking about what to do, after a few seconds he decided.

Sarada smirked and moved her piece.

''Check mate.'' She said cheerfully.

''Guh, this game is stupid dattebayo!''

Sarada giggled at the hokage's distaste of chess, if you ask her, she'd say that chess is a very entertaining game.

Naruto smiled at the girl's cheerfulness, a cheerfulness he missed these couple of weeks.

The girl has been acting strange lately, he wouldn't have thought much about it, she's a teenager after all, but she started acting edgy, well edgier than normal, she's fighting with everybody that cares about her, her parents, Boruto and him, and she's distracted all the time, he didn't want to talk to her as the hokage but he had too since her distraction affected village business.

Her team failed a mission because of her distraction, Boruto and Mitsuki denied it was because of her, but Sarada admitted her fault, but she wouldn't admit why she was distracted, which prompted him to pressure her, something that he hated, but was forced to do.

And that's why he was glad she came in his office today, he wanted to apologize to her about pressuring her like that.

''Seventh I—''

''Why don't you call me uncle anymore?'' he interrupted

''Emm, cause you're the hokage.''

''Never mind that, you can call me uncle when we're alone.

Sarada nodded.

''Good.'' He said as he remembered the event of a couple of days prior.

''Sarada tell me what happened right now.''

The girl stayed quiet, gaze lowering to the floor.

''I order you to tell me.''

He knew it was wrong to do that, but he had too, he can't have her on the battlefield if she's easily distracted.

''I want to go.'' She said, jaw quivering and fists clenching as she headed towards the door of his office.

''Open that door and I'll label you as a traitor for purposefully failing a mission.''

He went too far, he knew that, and he was about to take it back but she spoke.

''Please, let me go…'' She begged in a shaky voice.

''Please, …Uncle…''

Uncle, she hadn't called him that since she was eight, it was then that Naruto realized that she needed to talk with her uncle Naruto, not the hokage Naruto, that's why he lets her go.

She gets out and he can hear his son's voice outside, he knew he was waiting for her outside, of course he would, Boruto most likely knew what's going on, but Naruto also knew that the boy would rather be labeled as a traitor rather than betray his friend.

''And I want to apologize for pressuring you the last time you were here.''

''Se-Uncle, it's okay It's my fault I should have just told you and I just…'' The girl trailed off.

''Sasa-chan,'' Sarada's head jerked up at the nostalgic nickname, ''you remember those talks we used to have when you were a kid, when you'd make me pinkie swear not to tell anybody what you tell me?''

Naruto held out his pinkie, '' You're talking to your uncle Naruto now, not the hokage, so say whatever you want.''

Sarada remembered a time when Naruto wasn’t hokage, he was just funny uncle Naruto.

She locked her pinkie with his for a second before pulling away.

''So? If you don't want to talk now, you can come to me whenever you want, I don't care if the other four kages are here, if you need me I'll be there, okay?''

Sarada was shocked, but this was so uncle Naruto, and she was happy cause these past few months, she forgot that he’ll always have her back, someone who won’t judge her, someone who will understand her struggle and the thought of letting it all out to someone who will understand brought her to tears.

''Uncle…'' she mumbled, tears filling her eyes, and her whole body was shaking, it was obvious that something was eating her up, and has been for a while.

And then he saw another Sarada in front of him, not the fearless ninja that made it apparent that she'll become a legend, but the eight year old girl that used to cry to him about her father being away and then he remembered twelve-year-old Sarada, who took a reckless journey to find out more about her father, and a thought occurs to Naruto, it's that if he stayed close to her when she was young then that wouldn't have happened, she would've just asked him, not go on a journey and risk her life, so he decided to always be there for the girl.

Sarada decided to tell him what’s been plaguing her for this past couple of weeks, cause she couldn’t take it anymore, every single day, she feels herself slip even more into something so dark she’s not sure she can get out of.

''The rogue that distracted me said that,'' She started confessing as Naruto moved from his hokage chair to sit beside her, '' The Uchiha bring trouble and that the village is going to get rid of us soon.''

''Is that the first time someone told you that?'' He asked since he knew Sarada would have thought he was trying to distract her and wouldn't have paid him mind if she hadn't heard something like that before.

Sarada's lips quivered as if contemplating if she should tell him or not.

''Sarada?''

''A couple of weeks ago I entered your office to get a scroll, one of the elders was here, she said she was waiting for you and she asked me who was I to enter your office without you being there, I told her I was your apprentice and then she scoffed and told me that I'm never going to be hokage cause I'm an Uchiha and that I'm going to mess up sooner and later.''

''What elder?!'' he already knew, but he wanted to make sure before he taught that traitor a lesson.

''Takuma I think is her name.'' the girl answered, as her fist clenched in anger, she could feel it gnawing at her heart, telling her to make that elder pay for what she did, but she didn’t.

At least not yet, that thought that echoed at the back of her mind made Sarada visibly tremble

Takuma is one of Danzo's subordinates and he never trusted her, and he was right not to trust her.

''And I did some research and I found out that the third ordered uncle Itachi to kill my clan and the Uchiha were oppressed and my clan was murdered and and and….''

Naruto waited, judging by his experience, it's the thing that comes out last that's really troubling the person.

Her whole body trembled, and tears streamed down her face as she raised her hands to her eyes as a searing pain came across them suddenly.

''My village, the village I love, the village I want to protect is the reason I don't have paternal grandparents, the reason I don't have an uncle, they're the reason papa was in so much pain.''

''Sarada.'' He said gently, he never expected the cause of her behavior to be so serious, he thought she probably found out something about her father's past, but not about the clan, info about the clan is highly classified, even anbu captains don't know about what really happened, he wondered for a moment how she could find info on them, but he decided to ask her later.

''The village I would've given my life to protect is the reason I have no clan…''

A feeling she could only describe as hatred came over her as a searing pain flashed behind her eyes.

Her use of the past tense worried him, and the presence of a fourth tomoe in her sharingan didn’t' help.

''No, no, no Sarada listen,'' He said as he raised her head gently so their eyes would meet.

''The Uchiha massacre was not the village's fault, it was Konoha's higher ups fault, not the village, if the villagers knew back then that they were planning on killing the Uchiha's then they wouldn't have let them.''

He tried to stay calm and not go and strangle Takuma for starting this whole mess, but it was easy to stay at the sight of a fourth tomoe in her sharingan.

There is no way I'm going to let her lose her path.

''The village of today changed, it's not what it was thirty years ago, this village, the one Kakashi sensei and I made stands on justice, and I will never sacrifice anybody for peace, Sarada, the people responsible for the Uchiha massacre are all dead now, and I promise you I will punish the people who still believe in danzo's beliefs.''

The first one being Takuma, but not just for the treachery of Konoha's beliefs, but because she was planning on indirectly making Sarada lose her path, lose her will of fire and replace it with something much more darker and sinister.

''The third was wrong with what he agreed your uncle do, but he did it for the village, for peace…''

''But he murdered innocents! They were planning a coup because of them! The third betrayed them first!'' Sarada screamed.

My family, my clan died for them and they are proud of what they have done, they don’t deserve to live...

''Yes, and the third was wrong, and a lot of people paid dearly for his mistake, but that's something that will never happen again, you know why?''

''Why?''

She was terrified of the thoughts that are filling her head, but they wouldn’t stop, and she was considering surrendering to them.

''Cause you are the heir of the Uchiha, Sarada, and I think, no I know that you will rebuild your clan with the will of fire burning in your soul, and that you will pass it down to next generations of the Uchiha clan, cause you are one of the few Uchiha in history who have had the will of fire burning in their hearts instead of the curse of hatred, and I trust you in not surrendering into its clutches cause you are one of the bravest ninja's I have encountered.’’

The will of fire, of course, love is what made this village what it is today, hatred and distrust from both sides are what led to the Uchiha’s demise, this urge to kill and destroy is going to end only in heartbreak.

''Uncle…'' the girl muttered, as she wiped her tears away and turned her sharingan off, which signaled to Naruto that he eased her worries.

''And hey maybe you're going to be the next hokage too, that would shut people like Takuma up.'' He said.

A determined look came over Sarada's face, and fire burned in her eyes as she stood up, now no trace of tears in her eyes, body still shaking, but not from sadness and fear, but from excitement.

I’m not going to let this hatred I’m feeling overcome my love for my village, for my family, I will prove people like Takuma wrong, I have the will of fire and I will do everything in power to protect what it represents, which is that love is the key to peace.

She brought her right fist in front of her face and clenched it.

''I swear, I'm going to become hokage and prove that the will of fire burns in the souls of the Uchiha, and that it will always burn brightly shanaroo!''

Naruto smiled, partly because of the familiar battle cry, but mostly because of the determination he sees in her eyes.

She might become hokage someday.

Naruto took a step forward and patted Sarada's head, a gesture Sarada appreciated as she smiled up at him.

A bridge needs supports before it can stand on its own, and Naruto's glad that he's a support of that bridge.

This girl is the bridge that will tie the Uchiha clan to the will of fire, and it appears it's going to be an indestructible bridge.

#sarada uchiha #naruto uzumaki #sasuke uchiha #uchiha clan #uchiha massacre #fanfic #fanfiction #the bridge

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