i am and forever will be, bitter about Naruto's ending for many reasons. What happened to Sasuke as a character is just one of them.

Hope you like it!

1.

This is an incarnation of reality in which Sasuke has found redemption.

He's not exactly back at Konoha, not the way Naruto or Sakura had wanted when he first stepped away, but he's back nevertheless. He's not a criminal anymore, he works directly under the Hokage's orders, and he's acknowledge as one of the keys to the victory in the war.

So he's back. And he has found redemption, of all his crimes and sins against the village, against the country and against the world.

He is no criminal anymore and he is no avenger, he is not to be feared or looked down: he is a ninja of Konohagakure; something he never thought he would be allowed to call himself again.

This is redemption, he thinks, and he should treasure it. If Naruto had just a slightly colder heart, and Sakura's love had waver just a little…

This is redemption, he thinks, and he should treasure it, he should cherish it, and he should be thankful, so very thankful that his friends, that the village, that the world and the gods have given him this opportunity, that they have looked at his tormented, stained soul and said: You deserve this.

This is redemption…

2.

This is an incarnation of reality in which Sasuke has found justice.

There will be none but the directly involved that will know of Uchiha Itachi's sacrifice. There will be none but a handful that will know of the man that took out his own heart and offered it as tribute to the village that he loved so dearly.

But this handful, these chosen few, should be enough, he thinks. They must be, he thinks, because there isn't anyone else that can bring actual justice to Itachi and to the memory of his clan; and if there is someone that can bring change and purge their world of the hatred and the fear, and the system that permitted the fate of his people, that someone is Uzumaki Naruto.

Uzumaki Naruto that rules Konoha with stern gentleness and that watches over the people with the loving of the parents he didn't have.

Uzumaki Naruto, that calls him to his office and says:

"You're to be send on an assassination mission."

And Sasuke doesn't know why these people will have to die, Sasuke doesn't know of their crimes, but he knows there's no way they're worse that his, and wonders, silently…

The thought doesn't form. Because this is Uzumaki Naruto, the man that has always walked on a brighter path than him, that has always been more righteous than him and what can Sasuke know about justice, anyway, when he saw the darkness of the world and allowed it to engulf him, when he has been so weak and dared mistake vengeance with justice…

The people die as they're supposed to, like Naruto told him so.

3.

This is an incarnation of reality in which Sasuke found death.

Time moves slow. In Konoha, sometimes it seems to him like it has completely stopped. It's like peace has brought a dull fog to cover the town with, and make every day feel like every other day.

So he goes away, every time he can, when missions don't come and his presence isn't required he goes away, as far as he can, travels around the country, around the world and when is too tired, or too hungry or too thirsty, to keep going anymore, he lays on the ground.

He lays on the ground and closes his eyes and waits.

But he isn't sure what he waits for.

4.

This is an incarnation of reality in which Sasuke finds none of these things.

He's not sure what redemption is, at all. Redemption is not something he has ever yearn for. He chose his path and was sure of it, he may had been wrong on his ways but he knew no other mean. He is a ninja after all and even in a world at peace he was thought that the goals, even the purest ones, were to be meet through bloodshed.

He chose his path and was sure of it, so he never need redemption. He doesn't want redemption, the only person he would have ever want forgiveness from was Itachi. And Itachi gave it to him.

He doesn't want redemption. He doesn't need redemption.

And he knows, just as he knows the world is wicked and wrong and in need of change, that he doesn't deserve redemption.

Justice is a slippery concept, at best. And Sasuke is no sage or philosopher and he will not claim to know what justice is, but he thinks he knows what justice is not.

He knows it's not revenge, that much he has learnt in the cruelest of ways. Revenge leave him with nothing but with an empty space that he only know to fill with more retribution. He knows justice is not senseless murder, that, too, he has learnt.

And he knows justice cannot be served through an unfair system.

He doesn't know what justice is, or how to achieve it. Probably he will never know.

But this, he thinks, looking at his bloodstained blade, and his hands that have already taken too many live, this is not justice.

A part of him has always loved theatrics, so he thinks it's a shame that in their last battle they destroyed the Valley of the End, that this fight will be fought in a less worthy location, because now he's heart is in the place it should be and his resolve will not falter.

Now he can reject a redemption he doesn't want, doesn't need, doesn't deserve.

Now he is ready to discover what justice is.

And now he's ready to kill, in a different way from when he fought Itachi, or Danzo, or Naruto, so many years ago. His soul is at peace, and there is no anger, nor pain or doubt in his heart, as he readies himself for battle.

He doesn't know if he can kill Naruto, though, their power is too even for him to make a guess, and this battle will be a gamble.

But if dies here, then…

"Sasuke" Naruto voice is stern and tired and hurt "Why?"

And a lot of time ago, Sasuke would have answered him, and make him tried to understand.

But Naruto never understood, and never will.

Naruto loves him, has always loved him, so dearly and so deeply that it almost killed him; and Sasuke has loved him with the same intensity for such a long time that he even thought, in that which was supposed to be their last battle, that Naruto could save him.

But know Sasuke realizes that he does not need saving, and for all the love that inhabits Naruto's heart, it isn't enough for them to reach understanding, not in this.

So Sasuke doesn't answer. The time for words has passed. And he attacks first.

And if he dies in this fight then…then he will do with the peace of a man sure of his ideals.

I feel like there was actually a lot more to say about this, but I if is that so, i'm incapable of doing it. So here, have this.

Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it, every comment is appreciate!