Disclaimer: I did not create, nor do I own Naruto, Masashi Kisimoto did and does. I cannot claim any characters of my own creation either, because I imagined them from the inspiration of Narutoverse.

Chapter 27: Ten Years Back

The funerals progressed slowly. Civilians went about their own personal funerals, as shinobi funerals were open, performed at midday as the sun shined down overhead. Patchy clouds lazily drifted throughout the sky as the Hokage began the ceremony. It wasn't long after that when all ninja lined up and went to each fallen warriors' memorial and said their goodbyes. Some of the people cried as others stood tall and proud, while others were lost within a dazed state.

"These three lives may have been lost, but will never be forgotten." That was Kakashi's final words before he left the ceremony, and left the faithful to morn over their comrades. This left Sasuke and Inochi Yamanaka to stand by Ino's memorial alone.

Kaiya lightly whined as nin passed. Some gave the ex-shinobi their condolences, as others glared at Sasuke. It gave the black-haired man the clear expression that it should've been him buried deep beneath the earth within a coffin, not Ino.

"Don't let it affect you, Sasuke."

Sasuke glanced at the elder blond – a man from whom Ino had gained her appearance, but in much more womanly and attractive way. Time had been kind to the man, but it was starting to show now with the crow's feet etched around his eyes. Inochi gently clapped Sasuke's shoulder and serenely smiled.

"Their glares and hateful stares don't let them get to you," said Inochi.

"It's a little hard not to." stated Sasuke as he scowled. "Their killing intent is clear . . . It's upsetting Kaiya."

Inochi frowned and said, "They know no better. No matter how much we try to erase hate from the world, it's still there." He turned his blue gaze to Sasuke's black one as he said, "It'll never go away, and that's why it's up to us as parents to teach our children not to cling to hate or let it control them." Inochi shrugged and once again smiled. "Things like this happen. . . As shinobi we know this, and if the other cannot accept this, then don't worry about them. It doesn't matter what they think, it's what you believe in and think. I believe that you've redeemed yourself, Sasuke. Ino saw this long ago, before anyone else, so believe in her faith. See yourself in how she saw you."

Sasuke turned his gaze to the thinning line of shinobi and said nothing. He couldn't reply to that, because he had no faith in himself at all. He didn't deserve this life . . . this chance.

"Sasuke," said Inochi, causing the dazed man to look to him. "Will you allow Kaiya to be a part of our lives?"

"What?" asked Sasuke stumped.

Inochi smiled at the infant as he said, "If not we understand-"

"Why would I keep Kaiya from you, Inochi-san?" questioned Sasuke confused. "She's your granddaughter. I never had any intentions of keeping any of the Yamanakas' out of her life. Ino wouldn't have wanted that."

Inochi's smile broadened as he said, "I'm glad to hear that." He once again pats Sasuke's shoulder as he said, "Well, I'm off. We'll see you around, Sasuke. Take care."

Sasuke watched the man turn and begin to walk away, only for Sasuke to quickly catch up to the man and shout, "Inochi-san! Wait!"

Inochi stopped and turned as he mumbled, "What?"

"Can . . . Would you be able to help me with her?" asked Sasuke, as he looked almost as desperate as he sounded.

Inochi blinked as he mumbled, "Say what?"

"If I ever need help, would you please help me with Kaiya?" said Sasuke as he stared the man down. "I have no idea what I'm doing, Inochi-san. "

Inochi stood there, shock on his face as he said, "Never in my life did I ever believe an Uchiha would come asking me for help . . ."

Sasuke's expression became deadpan as he grumbled, "It's not that shocking."

"Yeah, it is! Hah, ha. Ah, come on now. Don't look at me like that, son-in-law. You may not have any chakra or the Sharingan, but you're still as scary as hell when you look like that." chuckled Inochi as he smiled. "But, sure. Anytime you need help or just have a question, just ask, Sasuke. We'll always be here. Just knock on the door and we'll answer."

Sasuke nodded as he asked, "Even at three in the morning, when I can't get her to stop crying?"

Inochi grimaced as he rubbed his forehead and mumbled, "Uh, yeah . . ." he backed away as he said, "Let me get back to you on that."

The raven-haired man actually smiled as he looked down to the bundle in his arms, while Inochi laughed gleefully.

"Bring her over tonight, Sasuke. You can even stay over if you want. Mrs. Yamanaka and I will show you some tricks to helping colicky baby sleep."

Sasuke nodded as he said, "Thank you, Inochi."

"Not a problem."

Maybe this is what he needs, thought Inochi as he watched Sasuke gently comfort the baby as she fought against sleep. He smiled as he turned and walked away, to then glance back as he thought, A rough road is ahead of you Sasuke, but you'll be okay. You and Kaiya both.

"Hey, Inochi-san!" greeted Naruto as he walked past, causing the elder Yamanaka to do a double-take.

Naruto could almost past as Minato's twin if it weren't for the fact that Naruto had his mother's face. It was good to see the knucklehead back. Minato and Kushina would both be proud.

"Naruto-san," greeted Inochi to the man.

"San?" uttered Naruto as he stopped and glanced back at the retreating man. He scratched his head as he watched Inochi walk on, to then shrug. "Yo, teme!" called Naruto as he continued toward the raven-haired Uchiha. "Hey! Look at that, Kaiya's still alive after three days! Way to go Sasuke!" he pat Sasuke's shoulder hard as he said, "You can care for a kid!"

Sasuke glared and hissed, "Go to hell, dobe."

Naruto reached for the baby as he said, "Let me hold her."

"Hell no!" snapped Sasuke as he quickly spun out of Naruto's reach. "I don't know where you're clumsy nasty hands have been."

"Wh-What! My hands are clean asshole!" stated Naruto with a scowl. He shoved his hands before Sasuke's face as he said, "See, SEE, teme! I washed them about three minutes ago! So let me hold her!"

"No," said Sasuke plainly as he kept an impassive expression.

"Oh come on, Sasuke! Let me freaking' hold her! I'm her Godfather damn it!"

Sasuke kept his impassive demeanor as he said, "Since when?"

"Since I said I was, teme!"

"I didn't say you could be her Godfather."

"I don't give a damn about what you say! I'm her Godfather!"

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"No."

"The hell I'm fucking not!"

"You're not, dobe."

"God damn it, Sasuke, I'll kick your fucking ass!"

"I'm not scared."

"I'm her Godfather."

"Are not."

"Are too!"

"You're not."

"AM TOO!"

"Fine."

"I am - Wait, did you just agree?"

"No."

"You fucking bastard! Put the baby down so I can kick your ass!"

"What kind of Godfather are you to talk like that in front of your Goddaughter?"

Naruto glared as his lips kept puckered in an angry pout. "Does that mean yes?"

"Hm."

"What was that? I don't speak Uchiha."

"YES! YOU'RE KAIYA'S GODFATHER, NOT STOP ANNOYING ME NARUTO!"

Sasuke looked as if he were ready to kill, as Naruto became all giddy as he punched the air and chuckled, "Yeah! That's right! I'm the Godfather! HOOYAH!"

"You're an idiot . . ." Sasuke sighed as he shook his head.

Naruto ignored Sasuke as he wiggled his fingers before Kaiya's wide eyes as he said, "Just wait, Kaiya, Uncle Naruto's gonna teach ya all sorts of awesome stuff! Just wait till I can start telling you stories about all the stupid stuff your dad did as a kid!"

"Naruto . . ."

"What?" said Naruto as he looked to Sasuke. "You did do a lot of stupid stuff, Sasuke, and she'll know what's up from an early age, 'cause of the villagers. She's gonna need friends and people to explain to her what's really up, because we don't need more people like us, Sasuke. We don't want the future to become the past."

A pregnant silence overcame them, for that silence to be broken when Sakura approached. She looked terribly tired with her long hair disheveled and her eyes weary. Though when Sakura neared the two men, a gentle smile graced her lips.

"Sasuke, Naruto."

"You look tired," commented Sasuke.

"I pulled doubles the past couple nights at the hospital." she sighed and moved her bangs from her face. "I haven't got much sleep, which, Sasuke, it looks like you haven't had much sleep either."

"I'm fine," he stated as he switched Kaiya to his other arm.

"Are you sure?" asked Sakura. "Maybe one night I can take Kaiya for you so you can get some rest."

"No, I'm . . ." Sasuke paused and looked up to Sakura. "Maybe, when she's older. The Yamanakas offered to help . . ."

"Oh, that's sweet, Sasuke!" cooed Sakura as she smiled brightly and giggled.

"Awe, teme's getting soft in his old age." teased Naruto. He then turned to Sakura as if he suddenly remembered something important as he shouted, "Oi! Oi! Guess what, Sakura-chan!"

"What?" she chortled as she crossed her arms.

Naruto pointed his thumbs to himself and proudly stated, "I'm the Godfather!" he threw his arms up as he said, "Ain't that awesome!"

Sakura turned to Sasuke with a deadpan expression. "You made him Godfather over Kaiya?"

"Hm."

"Well then," said Sakura dignified. "That makes me the Godmother then." She bent closer to the baby and softly said, "Don't worry, baby. I won't let these two idiots corrupt you. I'll show you how to knock some sense into them, and then heal them after so you can knock some more sense into them if needed."

Both men sweat dropped with their lips pursed in fear. Naruto forced himself to swallow as Sasuke's eyes remained round.

"Dude," muttered Naruto to Sasuke. "Do not let Kaiya EVER be alone with Sakura-chan too long."

Sasuke curtly nodded. "Already ahead of you, dobe."

"What was that boys?" questioned Sakura as she lifted her milky jade gaze to the two men's faces. Her visage was all too innocent.

Sasuke cleared his throat and looked away as Naruto nervously rubbed the back of his head and said, "Ahh . . . that you're going to be an excellent Godmother?"

"That's right." she replied.

"An awesome mother too. . . o-one day that is," added Naruto nervously as he placed his hands behind his neck.

Sakura smiled humbly, to then sigh. "So boys . . ." her features turned more nervous as she said, "Where are we going to talk?"

"Where we used to meet before we went out on missions." said Sasuke.

"The bridge," asked Naruto. "Is that still there after the reconstruction ten years back when Nagato destroyed it?"

Sakura nodded. "It's not the same exact bridge, but there's one there."

"I'm going to the Yamanakas' tonight. I'm sure they'll watch her while I meet you both there at sunset. It'll be a good time for them to begin bonding with her." said Sasuke as the baby began to fuss. He smiled down at the small dark-haired bundle as he said, "I have to go . . . Duty calls."

"Later, Sasuke." Called Naruto as both he and Sakura watched the last two Uchihas leave. Naruto smiled. "He's gonna be okay. The Uchiha will never be the same again, but I think the teme will make it."

"Who would have thought," mumbled Sakura. "Just a little baby can change everything so much. He actually smiles when he looks at her . . . he didn't even really smile at Ino like that."

"He didn't feel as if he deserved her . . ." said Naruto. He looked to Sakura and smiled as he said, "One day, I want to have a big family." He went back to watching Sasuke walk into the village as he said, "Not a huge one with like ten or twenty kids, but like four or five . . . That'd be cool."

Sakura nodded, her eyes scrunched in thought as she said, "I wouldn't mind a large family like that . . ." She smiled as she looked to Naruto and said, "I just have to find the right man to eventually start a family with."

Instantly Naruto pouted at her and whined, "That actually hurt, Sakura-chan!"

She laughed to then pinch his cheeks. "You're twenty-seven, baka. Quit making those childish faces."

Naruto's mature response was to stick his tongue out at her.

Night had fallen and a waning boat moon hung on the horizon. Sasuke kept leaned against the torii, as Sakura sat upon the blue bridge's rail with her legs hanging over. The wind blew, teasing her stray locks of hair and forcing them to tickle her face.

Naruto came running up and instantly began to apologize. "Sorry! I didn't mean to be late! Baa-chan had me undergo this stupid physical and tried to do some freaky thing that involved her trying to stick her finger up my-"

"It's a prostate exam, Naruto," laughed Sakura as she turned to him. She calmed her giggles as she said, "It's required for all shinobi to have one done over the age of eighteen."

"Ain't no one sticking ANYTHING up my-"

"Let's get to the point of why we're here," said Sasuke as he rose from the post and strolled closer to his old teammates. He kept his arms crossed as he said, "Naruto, you remember what happened between us, right?"

"Yeah, you won," said Naruto impassively. "I could've sworn you killed Sakura though."

"I thought so too," stated Sasuke as he looked away from Naruto, and out to the moonlit water of the river. "I was very foolish then . . . thick-headed and thought to have been invincible. I didn't think anyone could take me on, and I truly believed that I would burn Konoha to the ground, but it was all an illusion . . . one that I created without even realizing it. That night after out battle, I thought I'd won, but I was fooled. Fooled by myself, and by her."

Sasuke turned his dark gaze to Sakura as she continued to sit there, staring at the moon. Naruto followed Sasuke's gaze as the woman's features slumped and she let out a sigh.

"The Toad defeats the Slug, as the Snake defeats the Toad, as the Slug defeats the Snake . . ." She lifted her feet and slid around to face her teammates as her pale face showed her turmoil. "That is how the game is played." Sakura hopped down from the ledge as she said, "That's how it was always meant to be . . . I knew it would end like that, that you couldn't face the burden of changing Sasuke all alone, Naruto. When we were children I was always the one in the way, watching both of your backs as you excelled far faster than I could . . . Instead of Naruto being the dead-last and holding the team back, it was me."

"Sakura-chan-"

"No, let me finish, Naruto." she softly pleaded as she stared at him glassy-eyed. "Every time I tried to step in and help, I'd only end up messing up and ending up having to be saved. I was weak . . . in both of your eyes, and I knew that I'd never make it to either of your levels . . ." she frowned as she brushed her bangs from her face and turned her gaze to the wooden planks of the bridge. "At least, I believed that at first. I figured that if other people could become powerful by hard work like Rock Lee, or sure dedication like Naruto . . . then I too could become powerful, even god-like as you two were.

"I planned everything," she said with a shake of her head as she began to pace. "I couldn't tell anyone what I was doing though . . . not even the Godaime. It was too risky because if she at all became worried, she would've told you, Naruto, and you would have tried to convince me not to try and get involved in trying to save Sasuke. So I kept quiet and done the only thing that seemed I could do. I researched. I read and studied everything I could find to try and gain some type of edge, and I did. The thing though that I needed to help me with my plans wasn't easy to get. I had to ask Tsunade-sama about one of her jutsus, and when I asked about it, she questioned me like I was a spy. I didn't know that the technique, Genesis Rebirth was a family jutsu, passed down from the Uzumaki clan to the Senju. I had to lie . . . tell her that I was just interested in learning how it worked, and she gave me all the required documents I needed to research the technique . . . and improve it.

"I just wasn't expecting you to freak out like you did, Naruto. I mean, I knew you'd get upset, but I thought you'd gotten over me because of how close you and Hinata grew to be after the event with Pain."

"I-It wasn't like that!" Naruto shouted in defense. "We just became closer friends! That's all!"

"Stop talking, Naruto, and let her finish." said Sasuke as he glanced at Naruto.

Sakura shrugged and said, "It didn't appear that way back then with you and Hinata . . . at least to me, it didn't. And it hurt. The affection you once held toward me, you shared with her, and the feelings I thought I only shared for Sasuke, were also for you. Only the affection toward you grew more and more every day as I began to worry more about you, as I began to miss you, and wonder what you were doing on the days you were gone off training with Killer Bee. I tried to hide the feelings I felt when you were around. I concealed it because it was war . . . We all had duties, and neither of us had time for some type of teenaged romantic bullshit on the battlefield, and I knew that you'd never give up on your promise . . . the promise that you made to me . . . the promise you made to Sasuke. I knew you'd never give up, even if it killed you." she turned her jade gaze to Naruto as she said, "And that's when I vowed to myself, that I would do everything in my power to help.

"I trained harder, to the point of exhaustion trying to build up my chakra, and began to work on a new jutsu . . . a revised version of Tsunade's family's technique. I turned it into my own." Slowly Sakura pulled down her shirt, exposing the top of her chest were centered above the valley of her breast was a five point star. "I improved the Genesis Rebirth." She let her shirt free, covering the mark as she said, "I have seals on various points on my body that store forty percent more chakra than Tsunade's original seal. It's dangerous, more dangerous than releasing the chakra gates . . . and the first time I activated the seals it didn't work. Basically, nothing happened. Through trial and error, I discovered how to activate the seals . . . I had to be at a near death state. When I finally accomplished the jutsu, Tsunade told me to never use it again, classified it as a Class S jutsu, and named it Angelic Retribution."

Naruto's eyes were round as he stared at Sakura, who looked away as she mumbled, "I finally had a trump card . . . one that I could use and no one would know about . . . One that I should've told you about. I couldn't risk it though . . . not when the opportunity came. I couldn't risk Sasuke finding out, so I found you both on the battlefield, and attacked him as rashly as I could so everything would play out as I planned. I needed him to kill me . . ." she looked to Naruto as she said, "And everything I told you that night was true, Naruto, because there was the chance that Angelic Retribution might not have worked . . . So I had to tell you everything . . . I had to pour my heart out just in case it didn't."

"It did though," stated Sasuke as he strolled closer. He looked to Naruto and said, "After we fought, it happened."

"What happened?" asked Naruto.

Sasuke looked to Sakura and said, "The angel of retribution awakened."

~ Ten Years Ago~

Sasuke stood before the crater as the chakra armored shield around him dissipated. He'd used up too much chakra playing with Naruto, way too much upon trying to kill the stupid bastard. Naruto wouldn't give up though, and it cost him his life trying to defeat the last Uchiha. Not even that knock off Madara, Tobi, stood a chance against him . . . Sasuke had become invincible.

Staring down into the crater where the beaten body of his ex-teammate lay motionless, Sasuke said, "You can't stop fate . . . Konoha's next."

Sasuke then turned and continued on his path. He paused when he felt life behind him . . . a very miniscule source of life. Damn dobe didn't know when to give up . . . He scowled as he slid his hand along the hilt of his sword. The air stilled as the pressure slowly filled it. He grimaced as he turned to the battlefield, expecting to see Naruto begin to move around and start climbing his way from the crater, but it wasn't him.

Soft green tendrils of energy rose from Sakura's still form from various places on her form. The tendrils became violent as another energy spike vibrated the ground and pushed away from the very air. Sakura's body gained the soft green hue as the tips of the tendrils burned pink. The girl's defeated form arched, her eyes opening wide as she took in a deep gulp of air. Then, everything went white as the energy exploded.

Sasuke shielded his eyes. When he looked back to where Sakura once lay, his eyes widened. Weak and pathetic Sakura . . . She wasn't at their level. She was a worm; nothing. Sakura was never at their level . . . so who was this?

Glowing tribal lines appeared over her skin, shimmering between green and pink. The tendrils of energy congregated to her back, looking as ethereal wings. The girl looked like an angel, and for a moment, Sasuke was momentarily stunned. It was Sakura though . . . Same old pathetic Sakura . . . her fancy light show was nothing. She was nothing.

"Do actually believe you can defeat me?" questioned Sasuke impassively. "Once I'm done with you, Konoha will burn."

"You will not leave here, even if I have to kill you, Sasuke, I will make sure you never reach Konoha or harm anyone there!" stated Sakura as her eyes narrowed. She shifted, falling into a solid stance with her fist raised before her as she said, "I won't allow you to hurt anyone else."

"You can't defeat me," growled Sasuke to then sneer.

"We'll see about that," said Sakura as she narrowed her eyes in determination.

She charged forward with her fist cocked back and charged with chakra. Sasuke drew his sword within a heartbeat to block her fist, for the impact to shatter the blade. Quickly she ducked low and performed a low sweeping kick. Sasuke easily missed her leg strike but was hit full force by the wing-like energy tendrils. Once it hit him it took his breath. It was as if the air was knocked from his lungs as he backflipped away to stumble.

Sasuke rose his hand as he watched light blue tendrils of chakra wisp into the air to vanish. He looked to Sakura, watching the tendril absorb a larger portion of the blue chakra. She leeched his chakra . . . like a damn slug, she drained him of his most vital of needs.

"You bitch!" roared Sasuke as his chakra and killing intent flared. Chakra wrapped around him and began to reform as Uchiha's eyes burned red . . . for his vision to momentarily go black when a chakra flared fist crashed into his face. It sent him airborne, flying though the air with more of his chakra stolen. Stupidly he watched the world flash by . . . then the angel appeared. Sasuke crashed to earth before he even realized he was struck.

Sakura descended upon him, for her eyes to widen when a huge fireball roared to life below her. Her fingers smoothly and quickly went through the seals, and she vanished to be replaced by a large chunk of stone. Sasuke roared as he kicked the boulder away, causing it to shatter and scatter its remains all over the ground. His Sharingan eyes shifted into a different design as he searched the area for the girl. Jet black flames roared to life when he caught sight of her. Sakura ran as the flames of Amaratsu followed closely behind her. Sakura zigzag her way toward Sasuke, only for the girl to get caught into his flames. Once they touched her, it was over. The girl screamed as the black flames overcame her and burn her into nothing.

"Die! DIE!" shouted Sasuke as he stopped the black flames from conjuring and watched the burning Sakura collapse to the ground.

Something wasn't right though . . . As he stared at the flames, Sasuke noticed that it wasn't a girl burning within the black flames. It was a log of wood. Did she replace herself that fast to where his eyes didn't detect it? No . . . That couldn't have been!

"Over here, teme! Shannaroo!" shouted Sakura from behind him as Sasuke quickly turned, to watch Sakura's fist crash to the ground.

Instantly the ground rippled to then shatter and break apart. Sasuke growled as he leaped into the air as the ground below him quaked. The very ground reformed as water began to relentlessly flood the area from underground springs. Roots snaked from the ground as trees toppled over. Sasuke landed upon a tree trunk, to shout when he countered one of Sakura's kicks. He tried to block her left hook, only to take the force of one of Sakura's trademark chakra-induced punches to his gut. With the chakra dancing around her fist, when she pulled back it ripped more of his chakra from him. Sasuke screamed in pain as he doubled over. Sakura's knee collided with his face. Once again the tendrils lashed his skin, leeching away his chakra. What kind of jutsu was this!

"Get away from me!" screamed Sasuke as he pushed her away. He stumbled back, to once again go flying when a roundhouse kick sent him airborne once more.

He hit the ground hard. Bones cracked and shattered, muscles refused his commands. It was hard to breathe. What was going on? This was Sakura . . . Naruto was the challenge and he defeated him! Sakura was nothing! She was nothing!

"Give up now, Sasuke, or I'll end up killing you." stated Sakura as she walked to him.

He spat blood at her, and said, "K-Konoha . . . will burn."

"I can end this with one more hit, Sasuke." said Sakura all too calmly as she showed him her fist. "Or I can just drain you of your chakra. Surrender and face punishment for your crimes."

"Never," he spat. "I'm Uchiha! I'm. . .invincible!"

Sakura shook her head. "No, you're not. You're at your limit. Naruto forced you to use up far more chakra than you intended to use . . . By me leeching more and you using high chakra amounts, you're done. You're defeated, Sasuke."

"Never," groaned Sasuke as he tried to push himself up. He smiled crazily as his eyes widened as he shouted, "Amaratsu!"

Sakura watched as his Sharingan eyes swirled . . . crimson was overcome by black. He began to laugh as he cried, "BURN! BURN EVERYTHING!"

She felt sorry for him . . . Sasuke's mind, it was gone. Sakura felt bad for him as he continued his crazy rant, believing that he was burning everything to nothing, when in fact he wasn't.

"I'll kill everyone! I'll destroy it all! Konoha will burn! I'll destroy it and everything it-" Sasuke was silenced when Sakura's decked him.

She watched him slump to the ground, defeated, deranged, and near death. She looked over the area as paranoia clenched at her. She messed up the area trying to catch Sasuke off guard and lost track of Naruto. Fear gripped her heart as she began to overlook the area, to gasp when her own energy suddenly began to drain. The tendrils shrunk as Sakura winced.

The shimmering lines of her form became dark as she collapsed to her knees, uttering, "No . . . not now, not now!"

Chakra swiftly vanished as her body suddenly became very heavy and numb. The numbness faded when the darkened lines retreated back into their seals . . . then the pain came. Sakura screamed as she felt the effects of the chakra overtake her battered form. Nerves twitched as her chakra system burned from being overloaded. It was the side effect of Angelic Retribution. A body not conditioned to contain and use high amounts of chakra would become vulnerable, weak, and damaged . . .

Sakura gasped as she felt her body start to shut down. She cried as she forced herself to move, forced herself to keep searching . . . It took mere moments for her to collapse to the ground as thunder rolled in the distance. She watched fat drops of rain hit the ground, as her eyes began to slowly drift closed. As the rain began to pour down, the world became pitch black to Haruno Sakura.

~Present~

"She won because I used up most of my chakra fighting you." Sasuke stated as he looked to Naruto. He looked away and admitted, "If you wouldn't have let your emotions get the best of you back then like you did, you could've won, Naruto. Sakura took that victory, along with the praise and hate of defeating me."

"What happened after all of that? How did we all get separated?" asked Naruto baffled.

"I rearranged the area, remember," said Sakura as she looked between Naruto and Sasuke. "When I did that, I must've partially buried you or rolled you someplace else . . . and it didn't help that a storm came in."

"A tropical storm," added Sasuke. "Kenjima found you far before Konoha did, and the other rescuers overlooked the area because, after Sakura's Impact, it made the area rugged and hard for ordinary people to search."

"That's when Konoha was called in, and they found Sasuke and me," said Sakura as she leaned back against the bridge's railing and propped her elbows upon it. "When they found us, Tsunade rushed over and had the entire area canvassed for you."

"They couldn't find you though," said Sasuke. "Sakura was taken back to Konoha for treatment, while I was heavily bound and sent to Kumo for punishment against the crimes I committed against them. They destroyed my chakra holes to where I can't mold chakra."

"You can't mold chakra," uttered Naruto in disbelief. "Why would they do that!"

"Out of mercy for you," said Sasuke as he stared Naruto in his eyes. "I was sure the Raikage was going to have me killed, but instead he made it so I could never use my chakra again.

"When I returned to Konoha, I believed I was going to be executed, but they didn't grant me that wish. Instead they took away the Sharingan . . . It can't even be passed on to my offspring, which I'm thankful for that. Sharingan is nothing but a curse, a curse that ended up destroying the Uchiha Clan.

"After they sealed my eyes, they threw me into prison for seven years. I was released when Kakashi took the Hokage's seat. I went through rehabilitation for a year . . . and for once in my life, felt remorse. I tried to apologize to Sakura on the first day I was released and allowed to wander around the village, but she hated me, because I was the one who killed you."

Sakura looked away and mumbled, "Nobody's perfect . . . and I was angry because no one would listen to me."

"Listen to you about what?" asked Naruto clueless.

"She believed that you were still alive when everyone else gave up hope." Sasuke crossed his arms and said, "It drove her mad for a while."

"I just felt that he was somewhere out there, waiting on me to find him," admitted Sakura.

Sasuke nodded. "And he was."

Sakura looked to Naruto. The night concealed her blush as she said, "Yeah . . . he was."

Naruto rubbed his head, causing his hair to tousle as he said, "Yeah . . . but I messed up everything by coming back . . . look at what happened to the village because of me."

"It's not your fault, Naruto." mumbled Sakura as she pushed up from the ledge and placed a comforting hand on his arm. "Everyone knew the risk, and even though there's been chaos, everyone is glad you're home."

Sasuke nodded. "We have to remember though that things can't go back, or change to how they used to be. All we can do is start over . . . we can all turn over a new leaf."

Silence overcame the trio as they accepted Sasuke's words. It was true . . . it was time to change. Time to grow up. Time to take a new step in life and move forward.

Naruto looked to Sasuke and Sakura as he said, "You're both my best friends . . . I love you guys . . ."

Sasuke walked to Naruto and embraced him as he said, "You were always my best friend, Naruto. Thank you for saving me," He looked to Sakura and said, "For both of you saving me."

Sakura's eyes leaked tears as she joined them in their group hug and whined, "I love you both too!" her grip tightened as she cried, "Even though you piss me off, I'd do anything for either of you!"

"Fuck you guys! You're making me cry!" pouted Naruto as he smiled and hugged them tightly.

"We're a family," muttered Sakura as she released them, letting the two men to regain their baring.

"We'll always be a family," stated Sasuke as he raised his hand out with his fist clenched.

Sakura met his fist with hers, for Naruto to then join his fist together with theirs as he said, "Family, teammates, and friends till the end."

"Till the end," said Sakura and Sasuke together as a soft wind blew, casing stray leaves around them.

Notes: And that's it. I did originally intend to take this further, but I had to end it here. I lost motivation all those years ago to continue and left a few plot holes. I had alot going on in life back then. Young kids, moving a lot, unpaid bills, no computer . . .

This was like my first fanfic that became popular. It got flames and love, and maybe it'll continue to do so.

Hope you enjoyed it.