Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the Naruto franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit.

- - -So Much For an Epilogue - - -

Three full years had come and gone since the day Naruto had been installed as Konoha's Hokage. Despite some initial struggles involving various (particularly administrative) facets of the job, he had eventually begun 'getting the hang of it' so to speak. So much so that Tsunade, Kakashi and Iruka were slowly becoming involved in less and less of his major decisions.

But getting used to being Hokage wasn't solely what Naruto had hoped to accomplish. Rather, ever since obtaining the position, he'd promise he'd carry out a new goal during his reign. It was a dream more even greater than becoming Hokage itself; the blond haired shinobi wished to do as Jiraiya and Nagato had set out to do and end the cycle of hatred.

Alas, how does one end the cycle of hatred? The entirety of human history had been perpetuated with hate fueled violence and blood lust. There was not currently a conflict between the five great nations of the world, but history had also been littered with brief ages of peace. What was to stop the current age from faltering as well? Aware of this, Naruto had begun taking his first real steps towards securing peace.

"It's been a while Gaara!", Naruto said, shaking hands with the Kazekage of the sand village.

Alongside Shikamaru, early in the afternoon, the two had just taken their seats at one of the leaf village's outdoor restaurants. The three were sitting at a patio table with an umbrella protruding out of its center.

The red haired Kazekage merrily nodded his head. "With the both of us being as busy as we are these days, it's nice to finally have a moment to drink saké together."

All three shinobi had grown a little taller over the past three years, but Naruto was the only one with any real changes to his wardrobe. He still wore orange pants, but now wore a solid black buttoned vest. In addition, he was now wearing the iconic, HoKage's haori, one similar to his father's design, instead with the words "Sixth Hokage" written in kanji on the back.

A waiter passed by the trio, placing three cups on the table and filling each with sake. The waiter then placed three menus on the table. "Let me know when you're ready to order."

"I'll probably get the usual", the blond shinobi chuckled. "But Gaara and Shikamaru probably need a few minutes."

"As you wish, Lord Hokage", the waiter formally bowed, before walking away.

Gaara glanced at his menu. "I'm not due back in the sand village until tomorrow. Perhaps after the Kage meeting today, you'd accompany me to see that The Last: Naruto the Play production I've been hearing so much about."

Both Shikamaru and Naruto glared at Gaara, shocked by his suggestion.

"What? Is it not a good production?"

"Are you kidding me, Gaara? It's like whoever wrote that play never bothered learning a thing about me."

Shikamaru buried his face into the palm of his hand. "There's that love interest they give you. What was her name again? 'Princess Mary Sue'? She spends the entire play knitting Naruto a scarf for some reason . . . even when her little sister is in danger."

Naruto started snickering. "Yeah, and get this. At the end of the play, they have me fighting . . . what was his name again? Jin Eric Villain? They have me fighting him on the moon!"

Gaara let out a light laugh, better understanding the other two shinobi's reactions. "Sorry I asked."

The Nara clan member took a sip of his saké . "If you two do decide to do something time consuming, it'll have to be late. Naruto has important business to handle throughout much of the day.

"That's right! There were some reports you wanted me to immediately know about."

Shikamaru shifted his attention to the Kazekage. "If you don't mind Naruto and I stepping to the side for a few minutes, we'll-"

"No", the Hokage interrupted. "This is part of the reason I called the Kage meeting today. We have nothing to hide from, Gaara. Go on with your report."

"With all due respect, your chief adviser is wise, Naruto. I should not so easily be privy to your village's-"

"It's fine."

Complying with his employer's orders, Shikamaru began. "Lately, our research and development operatives have been detecting spontaneous tremors at the Valley of the End crater. Upon close inspection, they have determined that the shockwaves causing the tremors aren't coming from the ground; the waves appear to be coming out of the rift itself."

Naruto scratched his chin for a few moments, his head and hands now in a thinking posture. "What about the latest set of shadow clones that were sent inside?"

"Nothing. As usual, they're destroyed the instant they touch the rift."

Gaara appeared to be intrigued by the discussion. "Rifts in space and time. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that something your jonin, Kakashi Hatake has proficiency in?"

The Nara clan member glanced in Gaara's direction. "You're certainly well informed."

"As the Kazekage, even during times of peace, I'm responsible for insuring that my village is prepared for every possible contingency."

Although other leaders would perhaps take offense to Gaara's remark, Naruto simply laughed it off. "If all goes as planned, you won't need to make those kinds of preparations anymore. Besides, Kakashi lost his sharingan years ago, so it's not something he's currently able to do."

Shikamaru gave a disapproving look. "Naruto! Friend or not, he didn't need to know that."

"It's no big deal. Move on to your next report."

"The rogue ninja: Kabuto Yakushi. Team Ebisu was unable to apprehend him."

Naruto frowned in disappointment. "Oh yeah? That's too bad. I fought Kabuto before myself. I thought for sure Konohamaru would be able to handle him now."

The Nara clan member shook his head. "No, that's not it. As soon as the team reached the confirmed location he had been residing at, all they found was this . . ."

In Shikamaru's hands was a card with the image of a hawk flying under the moon in the night sky.

"The Yoru Society again, eh?"

"Should I send word for Team Ebisu to continue searching for Kabuto? If they can find him, chances are, they'll find the Yoru Society's base of operations as well."

"No. If the Yoru society has captured Kabuto, Orochimaru is sure to not be too far behind. Konohamaru is strong, but not on that level yet. Have Team Ebisu report back. Besides, I get the feeling Yoru knows what it's doing."

"Naruto", the Kazekage interjected. "What's your personal opinion on this Yoru Society group? Surely you have one."

"Well . . . they definitely do a good job rounding up criminals and helping the poor. And the villagers, especially the children, think of them as a group of heroes."

"But they don't act within the scope of the law and issue out their own brand of justice as they see fit", Shikamaru added.

Gaara nodded in agreement. "Our village has similar sentiments, which is why we've so far limited our actions towards gathering intelligence on them."

The Nara clan member sighed. "Let me guess: You've had a hard time gathering information."

"How did you know?", the Kazekage asked.

Naruto laughed aloud. "We haven't found anything either!"

"The information control in their organization is also top notch", Shikamaru remarked. "Of the few members we've apprehended, none of them could give us any useful data."

"We can talk more about this at the Kage meeting today. Is there anything else to report, Shikamaru?"

"Yes. I've prepared a list of candidates for Project Paradigm. You'll find all the relevant paper work on your office desk."

Naruto formed a hinge sign with his hands, only for a shadow clone to appear right next to him. The shadow clone then speedily leaped away, heading towards the Hokage mansion.

"Convenient", Gaara noted, sipping his sake. "What is 'Project Paradigm', if you don't mind me asking?"

"It's an idea Shikamaru and I have been kicking around for a while. If it goes as planned, it'll be a good step towards long term peace. Don't worry. My clone needs a little time to look over some papers, but we'll talk more about it at the Kage meeting today."

"This Kage meeting is certainly shaping up to be highly eventful. I look forward to hearing what you have planned."

The genius shinobi cleared his throat. "Naruto, there's something else you should know. I know today is Naruto Day, but you might want hold off on some of the . . . usual festivities."

The young jinchuriki couldn't help but notice his chief adviser's emphasis on the last two words, as if they were related to a problem of some sort. "What's wrong, Shikamaru?"

"We've received word that . . ."

Just then, a group of female shinobi barged onto the scene. Some adults, some teenagers.

"There he is! It's the Lord Hokage!"

Naruto found himself amused at the sight of this. "Gaara. Shikamaru. Go ahead and order on my tab. I'll see you both back at the Kage meeting later."

"Quick, don't let him go away!", another girl shouted.

Two girls hurled themselves towards Naruto from two different angles. Before they could nab him, however, the Hokage swiftly ducked, inadvertently causing both girls to headbutt one another. The leaf ninja then emerged from the chair he had been sitting in.

"Naruto, wait!"

"Relax Shikamaru!", the jinchuriki replied while running away from the restaurant with dozens of kunoichi hot on his trail "Even with all those rules, you know they'll never catch me!"

Shikamaru rubbed his face against his palm. "That's not what I'm worried about."

The red haired Kazekage looked on with astonishment as his friend dashed away. "Why are all those women chasing him?"

"Ah, this is your first time visiting the village on Naruto Day, isn't it? This is one of the many festivities the villagers take part in. Basically, whichever female ninja can tag Naruto gets to go on an all- expense paid date with him to any place in the village and is immediately promoted to chuunin or jonin depending on their current rank."

"Has anyone ever succeeded?"

"As part of the rules, Naruto isn't permitted to do anything besides run and avoid; he can't use any taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, Sage Mode, Sage of Six Paths Chakra or tailed beast chakra. Despite that, in the two years we've had this tradition, no one's been able to even lay a finger on him."

"Speaking of dates, that reminds me. My sister tells me you and her have been-"

Shikamaru sighed. "Your sister sure has a big mouth. Keep it a secret, alright? If my mother found out about it, the questions would be nonstop. And Naruto has been bugging me enough about it as it is."

"As you wish", the Kazekage lightly laughed. "But tell me: Naruto . . . what do you think of him now that he is the Hokage?"

"We don't always see eye to eye. He can be a bit too naive and optimistic at times. But . . . I've never seen a Kage that cares more about the people he serves. He went to great effort to master skills he doesn't have any natural aptitude towards and will spend countless nights without sleep even if it's just to solve one villager's problem. The unyielding love the villagers have for him is well placed if you ask me."

The sand shinobi let out a content smile, recalling the past differences he had with the blond haired leaf ninja. As a former jinchuriki himself, he understood better than most what being Hokage meant to Naruto; it warmed his heart to know that the position was working out well for his friend.

A worried and panicky Iruka suddenly came out of nowhere, quickly approaching the Nara clan member. "You did tell Naruto 'you-know-who' was visiting the village today, right?!"

"I tried to, but he ran off before giving me the chance."

The academy instructor couldn't help but swallow the sudden lump in his throat. ". . . this can't end well."

[. . . . . . .]

High up on a chimney to a multi-story building in the leaf village stood a certain kunoichi, notably from Konoha given the headband tied around the top of her head. The shinobi looked to be 20 years of age, had green eyes, radiant pink hair reaching all the way down to her mid-back. The young woman was donned in a white as snow doctor's coat, black fingerless gloves, sturdy black boots and a stylish red combat dress befitting a kunoichi. She also carried a brown bag strapped to her side.

From the young woman's view, she could see much of the village, including the Hokage mountain. She seemed particularly intrigued by what appeared to be a new addition of the faces carved into the mountain.

"Not too shabby, Naruto."

The kunoichi leaped down from atop the chimney she stood, landing in the busy village street below her.

"I, Madara Uchiha have returned to destroy this village once and for all!", a nearby voice shouted.

The young woman was taken aback by these words, swiftly honing in on the place the voice was coming from. Within no time, she found herself in the leaf village town square. It was there that she noticed a big crowd gathered around a large grandiose stage.

On one side of the stage stood someone holding a microphone and dressed up in an obvious paper mache Madara costume. It looked just like the villainous Uchiha responsible for the Fourth Great Shinobi War, although not as he was upon obtaining the Sage of Six Path powers.

The fake Madara continued to speak, this time melodramatically into the microphone. "WHO AMONG YOU WOULD DARE CHALLENGE ME?!"

"I will challenge you!", another voice shouted, this one coming from behind the large crowd.

Many turned their heads, only to notice that someone else in an obvious paper mache costume was nearby. This one was dressed just like the Lord Hokage. As the crowd caught sight of this, they cheered wildly, the fake Naruto politely bowing in response.

"Oh no! The Lord Hokage!", the fake Madara fearfully cried.

The fake Naruto jumped high into the air and descended into the middle of the stage like an angel. Everyone in the audience but the pink haired kunoichi looked on with awe and sparkles in their eyes.

"Oh please. Am I the only one who sees the wire?"

"Curse you Lord Hokage! You will not interfere again with my evil schemes!"

"When will you learn, Madara? Your evil schemes are no match for the power of love and peace!"

The fake Madara stomped his foot on a button beneath him. "Let us see how love and peace fairs against my fireball jutsu!"

At that moment, a vent opened in front of the fake Naruto and a full assortment of glitter flew out from within it. The fake Lord Hokage merely took two steps to the side to avoid this barrage.

"Ah ha! Your fireball jutsu has been bested. Now, taste my rasengan of justice!", the fake Naruto said, now holding a clear hand sized water balloon.

"Not the rasengan of justice! Anything but that!"

The fake Hokage rushed towards his nemesis and smashed the water balloon into his face.

"Nooooooooooooo! I am defeated", the fake Madara said before exaggeratedly falling on his back.

Having bested his foe, the fake Lord Hokage theatrically placed one foot upon him and made a peace sign with his right hand. "Once again, the village is safe! You need not fear him any longer!"

At this, the audience clapped and cheered, many demanding an encore. The pink haired kunoichi, however, found herself cringing irrepressibly. This wasn't quite the way she recalled the battle

The young woman had begun to walk away, the Fourth Great Shinobi War reenactment no longer peeking her interest. That was when another young kunoichi, one with a long and blonde ponytail, called out to her.

"Sakura! I'd recognized that pink hair anywhere!"

The pink haired kunoichi turned towards the other woman and waved her hand. "Ino! Long time no see!"

"I see you've grown your hair back out."

"It's not a big deal", Sakura responded, slightly blushing.

"I'll bet", Ino sarcastically remarked. "What are you doing back here anyway?"

"I've hit a snag in my research. I was wondering if I could get Lady Tsunade's opinion on one of my findings."

"Well you're out of luck then. Rumor has it that Lady Tsunade is doing some 'research' of her own again in the hidden Village of the Cloud.", Ino replied, emphasizing and placing air quotes around the word 'research.' "They say that after the big Kage meeting today, the Raikage is going to go back and assist her with her 'research.'

"What's that supposed to mean?", Sakura asked, a sudden scowl manifesting itself on her face.

"Don't play dumb with me, Sakura. You've been out of the village for three years all so that you can improve your medical ninjutsu skills? Yeah right. You've been out looking for Sasuke all this time, haven't you?"

And like that, the pinked haired medical ninja's scowl disappeared, replaced by an amused grin. "Before I left the village, I'm pretty sure I told you I was seeing Naruto."

Ino found herself caught within a wave of laughter. "Don't . . . try to change the subject with that hilarious joke again."

"It's not a joke though."

"You and Naruto together? Not in a million years!"

Sakura appeared to be puzzled. "What's so strange about that?"

"Well . . . I guess he's sort of handsome now and a lot cooler than he was as a kid", Ino responded, her laughter dying down. "But he's no Sai . . . and definitely no Sasuke. That's for sure."

"Even though he's committed so many sins, I will always think fondly of Sasuke. Him and Kakashi? They're like family to me. But I'm telling you: I'm no longer in love him."

"You can't fool me, Sakura. You've been trying to steal him away from me since we were students at the academy. You must be trying to get me to think you're over him so my guard will be down!"

The pinked haired kunoichi politely shook her head. "Ino, why do you love Sasuke?"

"Are you kidding me? He's the hottest guy I've ever seen. What's not to love about him?"

"What do you love about Sasuke besides the way he looks?"

The blond young woman took a few moments to ponder on her friend's question, vigorously scratching her head for an answer. Before long, she let out a long sigh. "Look Sakura . . . I get what you're trying to say, but love doesn't really need a reason."

"I used to think that. But over these past years, I've had plenty of time to come to a different conclusion. Love isn't that simple. If you're going to love someone, it should be someone who makes you happy. Someone who understands you and is willing to stand by you through thick and thin. Someone who lives for you just as much as you live for them. For me, that someone is Naruto."

"Stand by you, eh?", Ino said, giggling and pointing at something behind her pink haired friend. "Does that include standing by fifty other women as well?"

Sakura turned around, only to spot the Sixth Hokage, in a nearby street, running away from a large group of kunoichi. If that wasn't enough to grab the young woman's attention, the fact that Naruto was smiling and evidently having a good time certainly was.

"C'mon ladies!", the young jinchuriki exclaimed. "You've gotta be quicker than that if you want to win a date with me!"

"Excuse me, Ino, but that's another thing about true love", the Sakura said, gritting her teeth with an overtly forced polite demeanor. Without any further pause, she instantly bolted off in Naruto's direction. "IT PISSES YOU OFF!"

Startled, Ino looked onwards as her friend flew out of her sights. "Maybe she was telling the truth after all."

Unaware of his girlfriend being hot on his trail, Naruto continued to jot around the village, as the legion of genin and chuunin females continued to aggressively follow behind him. Many amongst the group didn't just resort to running after the young Hokage. Some set traps, others tried concealing themselves with the transformation jutsu. But no matter how many attempts were made, Naruto easily eluded them.

All while running, Naruto was reminded of his early days with his sensei Kakashi. This very much reminded him of the bell test Kakashi had issued to the team so long ago. Back then, touching those bells seemed impossible; the silver haired jonin was just that good. T'was an enticing thought, now being able to do as the master did in his youth.

As the Sixth Hokage continued to jog, he suddenly found himself caught within a smoke bomb. It was then that two raven haired middle aged women leaped inside the smoke in an effort to grab him.

"I got him!", both women yelled simultaneously.

However, as the smoke cleared, the two women found themselves grabbing a hold of each other, with Naruto cheekily standing in front of them.

"Anko? Shizune? Aren't you already jonin? Never knew you two were interested!"

Shizune immediately dismissed the thought. "Don't get the wrong idea. We're just after that all-expense paid free-dinner is all."

Anko smirked deviously. "Then again, you are a grown man now and you've come out cuter than I anticipated. Maybe that's not such a bad idea after all."

"Anko!", Shizune spat.

"What? I'm kidding! Besides, it's not like you have a chance of getting a man any other way."

"For your information, I'm too busy for that sort of thing right now!"

"Busy doing what?"

"Uh . . . look, he's getting away!"

Anko turned her head towards the Hokage, now aware that he had jotted away so quickly that he was nowhere to be seen.

"We can settle this later", Shizune said, the duo once again preparing to give chase.

Though just as they were about to move, a pink flash soared right past them.

"Was that . . . Sakura Haruno?", Anko remarked, her jaw having dropped and her eyes having widened.

Shizune, in similar disarray, simply nodded her head.

Further up the road, Naruto was still sprinting merrily. He took a quick peak behind him, only to notice that none of the girls were in sight. "Maybe I should slow down a little."

As the young Hokage slowed down, he sensed someone coming straight at him from behind. "That didn't take long."

A pink flash zipped over Naruto's head, standing right before him.

"Not bad!", the young jinchuriki audaciously remarked, not yet looking at the figure in front of him. "But you probably should have tried tagging me . . . from behind?!"

With those last two words, Naruto looked upon this bold shinobi face to face, flabbergasted at who it was. "Sakura-chan? When did you get here?"

"Never mind why I'm here!", the medical ninja snarled, using both hands to grab the Hokage's coat collar and furiously shake him back and forth. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Sakura-chan, you've gotten a lot prettier since I last saw you!'

"You really think . . . . wait a minute, don't change the subject!", the young woman responded, flustered, but still fuming. "You think that just because I'm gone, you can flirt with every tramp under the sun? Is that it?"

Naruto found himself sweating copiously, immediately picturing how one could misinterpret what he was doing. "N-n-no, you've got the wrong the idea."

"I've got the wrong idea, do I? Then I guess I must've imagined you running around town with a big dumb look on your face, telling every girl to try and a win a chance to date you, right?!"

"It was Iruka-sensei's idea. He said it would build morale."

"Build morale? That's the dumbest excuse I've ever heard!"

Numerous other kunoichis drew near the pair, disappointed at the sight. Someone had finally tagged the Lord Hokage it seemed.

"Awe man; all that training for nothing", one of the kunoichis sighed.

"Oh well, there's always next time", another commented.

Still holding Naruto by his coat collar, Sakura turned her head, raised an eyebrow and glared at the group of uninvited guests. "Who said anything about a next time? This guy is officially off limits; now and forever. Got that?"

"That's not how it works!", one of the other women responded. "Just because you got lucky and touched him today doesn't make him yours. You only get one date and a promotion to chuunin or jounin."

Sakura released her apparently now official boyfriend from her grip and turned her full attention to all the other shinobi present. "Listen here you skanks! I'm not going to repeat myself. Stay away from Naruto or else."

"Who are you calling skanks?! You ugly pink cow! Or else what? In case you're as stupid as you are ugly, there's a bunch of us and there's only one of you."

The medical ninja held out her index finger, steadily walking closer towards the group of rivals.

"Sakura-chan, they don't know who they're talking to. Just let them off easy", the Lord Hokage chimed in, fearful of his girlfriend's wrath.

"Shut the hell up!", Sakura countered, steam practically coming out of her head. "Don't think this lets you off the hook. After I'm done here, we're going to continue our conversation."

[. . . . . . .]

On the tree branches of one of the many trees outside of the Hokage's mansion sat a busy Kakashi. The copycat ninja was uncharacteristically hard at work, feverishly writing something on a notepad.

"And then the two passionately kissed under the pouring rain", the silver haired jonin muttered to himself while writing.

A look of dissatisfaction appeared in Kakashi's eyes and he quickly erased the last line he had written. "No . . . too cliché. Needs more subtlety. How about . . . he gazed deeply into her exuberant eyes, affectionately ran his fingers through her silky hair and . . ."

"There you are!" a gruff middle aged man with short brown hair and almond eyes said, walking towards the tree the copycat ninja was sitting in.

The silver haired jonin ceased writing, greeting his visitor by waving one of his hands. "Ah, Yamato! Congratulations on becoming the chief commander of the Anbu black ops"

"To my understanding, it was on your recommendation", Yamato said, politely laughing.

"You've done great work for our village. If anyone can get that unit back into shape, it's you."

Yamato sighed. "Yes, it's unfortunate how Danzo's schemes and influence actually ended up weakening the overall effectiveness of the unit. I'll do everything I can to see to it that the black ops are in tip top shape for future missions. From what I've seen already, Shino Aburame, TenTen Hisagia, Hanabi Hyuuga show a great deal of promise."

"I'm glad to hear that. Naruto has big plans for the future and it's important that we be his pillars of support at every turn."

"Understood. But what about you? Even without your sharingan, you're still very formidable. Why not come back to the black ops?"

"I'm content serving as Naruto's advisor on foreign affairs. Besides, with this sort of job, I now have more time for my other hobbies."

Yamato glanced at the pen and notepad in the copycat ninja's hands. "I never pictured you for a writer, Kakashi."

"With Jiraiya gone, there's no one to draft the next volume of his 'Make Out' series. I figured I would take a shot. Fortunately, Naruto inherited everything belonging to him and Naruto agreed to transfer all rights to the series."

"How's it coming so far?"

"The difference between reading a story and writing one is enlightening to say the least. You have to be careful not to write in a way that sounds repetitive and don't want to risk alienating your readers with overly complicated subplots that you don't intend to immediately explain. You also don't want to write solely for the purpose of entertaining your readers' every whim. Honestly, it's a lot easier to criticize someone else's work than it is to write your own."

"Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you. I'll let you get back to your work."

With that, the new Anbu black ops commander began walking away. As soon as he was out of sight, a bird with a twig in its mouth hovered around the tree Kakashi was sitting in and descended upon a nest resting upon another of its branches. The bird remained perched within its nest for several minutes before flapping its wings again and soaring back into the sky.

Kakashi looked around the area, making certain that no one was watching him. He then swiftly placed his hand in the bird's nest and grabbed the single twig the bird had been carrying. Upon closer examination, the silver haired jonin confirmed the twig not to be a twig, but a small capsule identical to a twig. As he opened the capsule, he pulled out a small rolled up piece of paper that was about the same size as paper found inside fortune cookies. On the paper itself was nothing other than the number "3."

"And here I thought I'd actually get the whole day to work on the novel."

[. . . . . . .]

Elsewhere, Sakura was swatting accumulated dust off her hands. "That takes care of that."

What was earlier a peaceful roadway now looked like a miniature war torn battlefield, with several craters in the ground and multiple bandaged kunoichis trudging away from the scene at a slow pace. Evidently, only a few girls bothered engaging the pink haired medical ninja. The rest presumably ran away upon witnessing her monstrous strength.

"They're lucky I only used one finger and took the time to heal them afterwards."

"I'll say!", the young jinchuriki laughed. "I can tell just by looking at you. You've gotten a lot stronger over these past three years, haven't you?"

Sakura proceeded to walk back towards her boyfriend, still fuming. "I'm not done yet, Naruto."

The blonde Hokage swallowed the lump in his throat, suddenly recalling the reason this woman was so angry in the first place.

However, what came afterward wasn't a punch, kick or any violence of the sort. Rather, the medical ninja threw her arms around the young man as she had done after the great battle with Nagato.

"I missed you", Sakura whispered.

Naruto appeared to be a little surprised, having become accustomed to being pounded into the ground or launched into the air as payment for his foolishness. But as the moment continued, the Hokage returned the embrace, tightly wrapping his arms around the woman he cherished for so long. The two stayed like this for a full minute before finally letting go.

"Now, as the winner of your stupid contest, which you shall never host again, I demand you take me on a date this instant."

"Where to? We can go any place you want!"

The pink haired kunoichi rubbed her chin for a few moments, pondering on what she was in the mood for. And then the thought hit her. "Ichiraku's Ramen!"

"Sakura-chan, I know I hardly had any money in the old days, but now, I can afford to go to any place in the village. We don't have to eat ramen if you don't want to."

The young woman giggled innocently and began walking along the street, presumably towards the renowned ramen restaurant. "No, I have a taste for ramen today."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders, having expected his companion to instantly jump on his offer to eat someplace else. Nonetheless, despite years of maturity, he loved the taste of ramen every bit as much as when was a child. Rather than question the medical ninja about her appetite, he instead began walking closely alongside her.

"Say Naruto . . . is it really a good idea for us to be walking out in the open like this? It's not like the whole village knows that I'm the winner."

"It shouldn't be a problem. As long as we're walking close like this, the remaining kunoichi's will probably put two and two together."

"That's good to know. I'd hate to have to beat up more floozies who legitimately don't know we're a couple. Speaking of which, did it ever occur to you to just tell everyone we were dating?"

"I tried, but that didn't stop many of the girls in the village from constantly flirting with me. Iruka figured we could kill two birds with one stone by motivating female genin and chuunins to work harder while having them focus their efforts to win me over all into one day."

Sakura slammed her right fist into her left palm. "Hmph. As long as I'm here, you won't have to worry about that."

The young jinchuriki let out a light laugh. "I don't think I've ever seen you get this jealous before."

The kunoichi's face turned beet red. "W-w-what? I'm not jealous! I just don't like seeing you waste time on nonsense is all."

"Whatever you say, Sakura-chan", Naruto said, playfully winking an eye. "By the way, I've been hearing a lot of rumors about you. Does the Cherry Blossom Healer ring a bell?"

Just hearing the words out aloud made the young woman sigh and bury her face in the palm of her hand. "Don't tell me that name is actually sticking?"

"Word is spreading fast about your adventures. Curing a cursed village from an incurable disease and stopping a Jashin cult from taking over the hidden village of the Stone."

"All of that has been incidental to me trying to find a way to cure that chakra scar of yours. I had come back here to talk to Lady Tsunade about some clues I found recently, but from what Ino tells me, she's in the Land of Iron."

The Hokage frowned, disappointed at his companion's implication. "So you won't be staying?"

Sakura answered, tenderly caressing one of her companion's cheeks and looking warmly into his eyes. "I'm afraid not, but I'd like to stay the night . . . with you."

"Sakura-chan . . ."

"Good afternoon Lord Hokage! Hello Sakura!", said a dark haired young man with pale skin. "It's good to see you again in the village."

"Damnit Sai!", Naruto growled. "Why don't you ever read the situation?"

"All the books I've read consistently insist that it's polite to greet people you are on good terms with. Am I mistaken?"

"Not at all, Sai", Sakura said, lightly elbowing the young jinchuriki in the ribs. "It's good to see you again. How have you been?"

"Rather well. Lately, I've had much more time for my paintings. Ino thinks I should open an art gallery and has even agreed to help me manage it."

The medical ninja raised an eyebrow. "Ino said that?"

"Indeed. She's been most helpful to me lately. Even as we speak, she's heading to the bank to acquire the loan we need for the art gallery."

"Have you and Ino done anything else?", Sakura asked inquisitively. "Like stroll the park together, watch the sunset, hold hands . . . that sort of thing."

"Well . . . I don't see why we would do any of that", the pale skinned man replied, scratching his head in confusion.

"Are you and Ino . . . more than friends?", the kunoichi asked, trying hard to be subtle.

"Ino and I are not just friends. We are good friends."

"Are you in love with Ino?", Naruto bluntly blurted.

Sakura again lightly elbowed her blonde companion in the ribs. "Naruto!"

"What? That's what you wanted to ask him."

"You don't just ask people that out of the blue!"

"Ah. To answer your question: No", Sai answered, not the slightest hint of conflict on his face.

"What the heck is wrong with you, Sai?", Sakura snapped. She had known Ino's situation all too well, having previously been in her shoes with Sasuke. "Ino is busting her ass for you, even as we speak, but you're not even a little interested?"

"Ino is a good woman, but no, I am romantically interested in another."

"A-nother?!". Sakura and Naruto exclaimed simultaneously.

"Indeed. I read about this in a book, but whenever you feel . . . I believe the words were 'warm and fuzzy about someone, that means you're in love with them."

"Who is this other person?", the Hokage asked.

"Shizune Katō."

"WHAAAAAAAAT?!", both Naruto and Sakura exclaimed in unison, this time their eyes bulging and their mouths agape.

Sai scratched his head in uncertainty "Is there a problem?"

"Are you kidding me?!", Sakura growled. "She's 14 years older than you!"

"Yes, but in a book I read about May-December romances, it says . . ."

"Forget the book!", the Sixth Hokage interrupted.

"Honestly, if this were a book, the author would have to be out of his mind to put you and her together", the medical ninja added.

"But the love I have for Shizune is real. No different than the love you have for Naruto."

Sakura glared at the pale skinned man skeptically. "How did you know that? "

"There's this book I read about Tsunderes and it said . . ."

"On second thought, I don't want to know!", the pink haired young woman interjected, noticeably flustered.

"My apologies, but I must be going", said Sai, politely waving his hand and walking away. "After Ino is finished with her business at the bank, I promised to go over the interior design of the art gallery with her. It was nice seeing you both."

Naruto nudged his girlfriend. "Should we . . . say something to Ino?"

"She's a bit hard-headed . . . like I used to be. It's best she figures this out for herself."

With that distraction out of the way, the couple continued strolling alongside one another on their way to Ichiraku's Ramen. As they walked to the restaurant, they also walked down memory lane, discussing all the good times they had together, not just as team 7, but even after Sasuke had left the village. To talk about these events now, with the benefit of hindsight, brought the two many laughs.

Sakura was particularly fascinated about Naruto having met his mother, Kushina. The more the pink haired kunoichi heard about this woman with a fiery temper, the more she wished she had had the opportunity to meet her. Hearing about Kushina's request that Naruto "find a girl like her as opposed to picking a weird" especially put a bright smile on her face.

Naruto couldn't believe that Yamato had known the truth about Sakura all along. The Sixth Hokage was glad to know that his love had shared his feelings somewhere deep down for a long time, but was mentally kicking himself in the shin for not having figured it out himself as well as having woken up before Yamato could finish talking.

It wasn't long until the two finally entered the famous restaurant. Naruto approached the bar table and chivalrously pulled out a bar stool for Sakura to sit in. As she seated herself, he scooted her towards the table and then took a seat of his own.

Teuchi Ichiraku, and his daughter, Ayame came out of the kitchen, both appearing to be ever so cheerful.

"Ah, if it isn't my favorite customer, the Lord Hokage, Naruto", said Teuchi, welcoming his two patrons. "And do my eyes deceive me? He's finally brought a lady friend."

"Dad, that's Sakura Haruno. She used to come here all the time."

"Sakura, is that you? You've grown into a lovely young woman."

The medical ninja smiled at the compliment. As one who had once been insecure about her appearance, she could listen to comments like these all day. "Thank you."

"Wait a minute, Naruto.", Ayame teasingly remarked. "This isn't another one of your friendly dates is it?"

The young jinchuriki grinned from ear to ear. "Nope!"

The ramen waitress squealed in delight. "Way to go!"

"This calls for a celebration!", Teuchi shouted while placing two steaming bowls of distinct ramen onto the bar table.

Naruto mouth salivated as he sniffed the aroma coming from his bowl. "Is this what I think it is?"

"That's right!", Ayame boastfully nodded. "It wasn't easy, but we finally mastered that recipe you told us about. I present to you our Ichiraku style: Ramengan!

The pink haired kunouichi winced at the utterance of the title for the new dish, but the Hokage eyes sparkled and awe. "That has to be the coolest name ever!"

Sakura took a good whiff of her bowl, only for her mouth to begin salivating as well. "It's the exact same dish Naruto prepared three years ago!"

Naruto picked up his chopsticks, preparing to prod at the ramen in bowl. Though before he could take a bite, he noticed Sakura, out of the corner of his eye, uncharacteristically devouring the contents of her bowl. Before the young jinchuriki had even tasted his dish, Sakura had finished all of hers."

"More please!", the medical ninja requested, holding her bowl out with one hand.

"Uh . . . sure", Teuchi responded, befuddled at the young woman's appetite.

Sakura began her second helping, devouring the contents of her bowl at the same pace she had devoured the first. Naruto, still not having touched his food, continued to watch his girlfriend's movements with astonishment.

"Pssst . . . Naruto", Teuchi whispered mischievously. "You might want to hold off on taking her here too often. At the rate she's going, she'll need a wedding dress Chouji's size."

A thought of the pink haired kunoichi being as big as Chouji instantly came to mind. A thought the young man found to be quite disturbing. "Yikes. Good point"

"I heard that", Sakura irritably mumbled, still chewing her food. "We've only just started dating. It's a way too early to be talking about marriage, especially if you're going to say things like that!"

Beads of sweat appeared on the young Hokage's face! "I was only kidding!"

As the medical ninja finished her second bowl, she sighed in content and manifested a cheerful smile. "Shinachiku."

"Shinachi-what?", Naruto asked, perplexed by the medical ninja's sudden and random statement.

"Shinachiku. Our son's name; lets call him Shinachiku."

Upon hearing this, Naruto, Teuchi and Ayama all face-faulted to the floor.

Naruto immediately got back up. To say he was shocked by his girlfriend's comment would be an understatement. "Uh . . . Sakura-chan, we have never even . . . wait, how do you even know it'll definitely be a boy?"

To which Sakura responded, still smiling. "Because I'm his mother."

[. . . . . . .]

Somewhere in a far distant land, several miles underground laid a series of gargantuan caverns. Within these caverns rested an isolated city of sorts, cut off from the rest of the world. Despite being underground, the city was well lit and was populated with thousands of people, seemingly unaffected by the unusual environment.

Like the five great hidden villages, this city appeared to have its fair share of shinobi. Each was masked and donned in a jet black colored shinobi shōzoku. In addition, each shinobi wore a headband with the symbol of hawk wings imprinted into them.

Dozens of boats were docked at the edge of the city where a massive body of water was present. The water flowed from an adjoining cavern, presumably used as transportation in and out of the caverns, though it was unclear how anyone could reach the surface.

The architecture throughout the city, however, was vastly different than that of the architecture in the mainstream villages. As opposed to Japanese inspired housing, they greatly resembled Victorian era homes. Even the roads themselves were different, being entirely comprised of cobblestone. At the very center of the city was a grand Victorian era castle with large doors at the entrance. Two of the city's shinobi vigilantly stood guard at the front, both armed with crossbows.

Deep within the castle itself, there was a grand throne room with a glorious throne to match. Above the throne hanged a banner looking precisely like the card Shikamaru had shown Naruto earlier; it had the image of a hawk flying under the moon in the night sky.

At that time, there was an individual sitting on the throne wearing a jet black hawk mask covering everything on his head and face besides his mouth and eyes; the pupils in his eyes were also black in color. He was also donned in a menacing black cloth cape, black cloth pants and black leather boots. Although his cape had been covering most of his upper body, a dark blue high collared shirt could barely be seen beneath.

As this mysterious man continued to sit on his throne, three additional individuals walked into the room. Two of the three individuals were the city's shinobi, but the third was a young woman with long and spiky red hair. The woman had fair skin, crimson eyes, wore brown glasses and was donned in a sleeveless black dress.

"Lord Hawk!", the red haired woman formally shouted. "Your guest awaits outside the castle as ordered."

"Good", the man on the throne responded. "You two show him in while I discuss matters with Karin."

The two city-shinobi obediently nodded the heads and proceeded to exit the room. Karin, however, approached the man sitting on the throne, her demeanor growing informal and flirtatious as soon as the two shinobi were gone.

The young woman amorously ran her finger down the masked man's arm. "Are you that impatient to get me alone? After a night like last night, a girl can hardly blame you. Maybe we could . . ."

"If you have time to thinking about such things, you have time to be briefing me on your progress for the operation we discussed earlier", the masked man nonchalantly replied.

Karin sighed. "Always such a tease when you're working. What is a girl to do? I'm sure you'll change your tune later."

"Has our ambassador in the leaf village received his orders?"

"Yes. Jugo informs me that the Konoha ambassador is cleaning up that unsightly mess under the Sixth Hokage's nose even as we speak. As ordered, he'll ship one of them back to us for questioning as soon as he's finished."

"While he's at it, have him send a copy of all the data Konoha has collected in regards to that hole in the sky at the Valley of End. Our guest might find it useful."

"That's assuming he's willing to comply with your offer."

"He doesn't have a choice."

The two city-shinobi re-entered the throne room, this time accompanying none other than the infamous legendary sannin, Orochimaru.

"Leave us", the masked man on the throne ordered, glaring at the two shinobi who had escorted Orochimaru into the room.

Karin glared into this snake loving fiend's eyes, finding herself stepping back towards her masked leader for support. Despite no longer serving under this villain, she still feared him with every ounce of her being; all too often in the past, she had seen firsthand the evils he was capable of. During the Great Shinobi War, she at least had the comfort of knowing that he was a temporary ally. The same couldn't be said at the moment.

"Karin, I'm hurt", Orochimaru remarked, his words dripping with sarcasm. "Why are you so reticent all of the sudden? I'd never do anything to harm you."

The masked man glared at his subordinate indifferently. "Karin, do not lose your composure."

"Forgive me, Lord Hawk", the red haired woman replied, doing her best to pull herself together.

The snake sannin gazed around the room with wonder, appreciating the craftsmanship that went into its design. "My my my, Hawk. This is quite the organization you've put together here. In such a short time, you not only put together your own militia, but you even have your own villagers. I did my best to look around as I was being escorted into your city here, but I couldn't find even a single beggar on the streets, much less any hint of criminal activity. It's as if you've created your own personal idyllic society. But this isn't the limit to your ambitions, is it . . . Sasuke Uchiha?"

The masked man on the throne was unresponsive. If there were any surprise towards Orochimaru's deduction, there certainly wasn't any visible hint of it.

"What is your real aim, I wonder. What do you hope attain with this Yoru Society of yours? Or are simply trying to play hero? To enforce some naïve and misguided sense of justice? No no, that's not the Sasuke I know; it's not the Sasuke I trained. There's always something underneath the underneath so to speak. After all, it's how you succeeded in betraying me. Even me being here is all part of some greater scheme, isn't it?"

"You are correct", the mask man responded. "For the past three years now, you've been on the run, Orochimaru. You've been unable to maintain any base of operations long enough to elude the five great hidden villages. In the past, you easily had the power to do this, but with Konoha having becoming so powerful with the addition of its new Hokage, it's too dangerous. As opposed to conducting your precious research, you've been to having to run like a scared dog. But this is only the beginning. Not only is Naruto immeasurably powerful, but the people around him are becoming powerful as well. Your right-hand, Kabuto Yakushi, once feared and renowned in many circles, would've surely been awaiting interrogation in a leaf village holding cell by now, if not for my cloud village ambassador's hasty interference. In light of your troubling circumstances, I have an offer for you."

The snake Sannin had a conceited smirk on his face "Do you now? And what sort of offer does the great and righteous Yoru Society have for a renowned criminal?"

"On the outskirts of this city is an estate equipped with a state of the art laboratory. Kabuto is currently waiting there. You will have access to nearly any resource you can think of within reason. However, you will remain in this city at all times under my protection, you will live under my laws and you will not so much as touch a hair on anyone here."

"Supposing I am interested in your offer, what does the great Hawk want in exchange?"

Karin walked up to Orochimaru and handed him a file with several documents inside. The snake Sannin promptly opened the file, fascinated by the information inside.

"You will work on that project and any other project I assign to you. You will continue to do so until I am no longer interested in your services."

"Tempting, but you're familiar with my work. You should know I prefer . . . live test subjects."

"You will be given access to a limited pool of criminals I've deemed worthy of the death penalty."

"Tell me, Sasuke, what's stopping me from leaving this strong hold of yours and bargaining away its location in exchange for refuge with one of the great villages? I'm sure they'd also be interested in knowing your true identity."

Even in the face of threats, the masked man remained ever nonchalant. "If you think you can leave this room, much less this city, without me allowing it, then by all means . . ."

All of the sudden, Orochimaru found himself sweating. This feeling . . . it was one the snake Sannin hadn't truly felt in ages; it was . . . terror. In a split second, there was something about this man, something so dreadful, so intimidating, so outright deadly, that one's intuition made it clear not to so much as trifle with him. Orochimaru felt as if he were a snake gazing upon a tsunami. To think there actually existed someone in the world that could not only oppose this masked man, but defeat him as well. The thought was truly maddening.

Orochimaru quickly regained his self-control, not wishing to expose his fear, much less lose sight of his own ambitions. For now, it was best to play along with his former student's demands. "Very well, I will accept your offer."

"Good. Suigetsu, show our guest to his new residence."

At that time, a young man with white hair tinted blue and shark like teeth leaped down from above, apparently having hidden himself well on the ceiling beforehand. This man was donned in a black sleeveless shirt and black cargo pants. He was also wielding two twin katanas.

As the katana wielding shinobi touched the floor, he held both of his swords inches away from Orochimaru's throat. "What a pain in the ass. I was really hoping you'd be stupid enough to turn us down. I've been itching to chop you into little pieces for a long time. Guess I gotta wait until you try to double cross us."

The snake Sannin boastfully laughed aloud. "Suigetsu, I'm happy to see that you're as spirited as ever. You've even gotten a little stronger, haven't you? If I were you, I'd be thankful to have someone like Sasuke watching over you. Had he not been here, I'd get the joy of dissecting you again. I'm curious to see how much you've evolved since last time."

"What did you just say?", Suigetsu snarled.

"Oh dear. It seems your brain isn't the only faculty to have grown flaccid. Has your hearing left you too?"

"Laugh all you want, bastard, but the minute you betray us, which we all know you will, you're mine!"

[. . . . . . .]

An hour had passed since Naruto and Sakura's date at Ichiraku's ramen and the two had just made their way back to the Hokage mansion. The Kage meeting was designated to take place inside the conference room and start within the next three minutes. The two made their way next to the room's door, content with chatting a little bit more before the meeting started.

"So I guess that makes me a jonin now, right?", the medical ninja remarked with amusement. "But in a village where a genin can become Hokage, something tells me the title doesn't mean as much as it used to."

"Most people don't feel that way", the jinchuriki replied, grinning and scratching the back of his head. "But Konohamaru? He refuses to take the chuunin exam. Says he's going to do exactly what I did."

"That sounds like him. But in such a peaceful period, do we even still need the chuunin exam?"

"What do you mean?"

"Chuunin. Jonin. These ranks are given to shinobi assigned to handle highly dangerous tasks. Tasks that usually result in having to deal with enemy ninja. On that mission we had in the Land of Waves years ago, it became an A-ranked mission due to Zabuza Momochi and Haku becoming involved. But times are a bit more peaceful than back then. For the first time in history, we have all five kages from all five great hidden villages actively working together. That says alot, even to the smaller hidden villages. In times like these, there's really not much need for higher ranking shinobi."

Naruto shook his head. "No, it's not that simple. Back during the academy days, I didn't care much about all the lectures that had nothing to do with fighting. I thought they were boring and pointless. I thought all I needed to be a good Hokage was good ninjutsu and taijutsu. I couldn't have been more wrong. Since becoming Hokage, I had Iruka-sensei tutor me on the world's history. This time, I paid attention. And one thing I've come to understand is that there's never been guaranteed peace. The world has had many peaceful eras, but war and conflict always found their back. If we don't learn from the past, we're doomed to repeat it."

"But Naruto, you're talking about achieving something no society has ever done. Shouldn't you be content keeping the lands peaceful throughout your lifetime? Eventually, you and I are going to die and we'll have no say in what transpires in the next era."

"Sakura, you said you are Shinachiku's mother, right? Well I'm his father. And as his father, it's my job to do everything I can to not only protect everything throughout my lifetime, but his as well. To do that, I'm going to find a way to keep everlasting peace."

The pink haired kunoichi sighed. "I guess it can't be helped. He'll be this stubborn too, won't he?"

"Maybe", Naruto laughed. "But luckily, he'll be just as sharp as his mother."

"And just as charming as his father, I hope", Sakura remarked, affectionately leaning in towards her companion.

His lips melted into hers, his arms wrapped around her waist, her arms wrapped around his neck, their eyes tightly shut, their bodies pressed close together. Three years apart, three years of built up tension, much being relieved.

But alas, the Kage meeting was about to start. They'd have to save much of their reunion for later. The pair broke apart, the Sixth Hokage pecking his love on the forehead before treading into the conference room. The medical ninja blushingly smiled as she watched her love walk away.

Naruto entered the room, noting that all the Kages and their right-hand men/women were present, sitting at a five sided table with ten chairs respectively. Gaara and Temari, representing the hidden village in the sand. A and Darui, representing the village hidden village in the clouds. Mei and Chōjūrō, representing the hidden village in the mist. Ōnoki and Kurotsuchi, representing the hidden village in the stone. And lastly, Shikamaru, who was sitting in the chair next to the one at the head of the table, representing the village hidden in the leaf.

The Sixth Hokage proceeded to sit himself in the seat next to his chief adviser's. "Welcome Everyone!"

[. . . . . . .]

Meanwhile, at the Valley of the End, where a massive crater now stood due to the events three years ago, at the perimeter of the crater stood a sizable fence, going all the way around. Restricted Area signs were posted all along the fence. At the epicenter of the crater were a series of tents and machinery. A great deal of leaf ninja were present, many wearing goggles and labcoats.

For a week now, at the first second of every hour, the ground would shake. Sometimes for a few seconds, sometimes for a full minute. All of the personnel present were constantly gathering data on this strange phenomena, attempting to better understand the cause of it. They knew the shockwaves were being produced by the rift in the sky. Alas, there had not yet been any indication of a solid answer.

It was just about time for the ground to shake again. Those present stood around, awaiting the opportunity to gather more data. Just as the clock hit three on the hour, the ground did not shake. No shockwaves came about. The scientists processing data were a bit befuddled by what had just transpired, wondering if the tremors they had been experiencing throughout the week was just an anomaly.

But then it happened. Out from the rift in the sky came a thick black mist. By the second, the mist was expanding wider and wider.

One of the leaf ninjas in the area, against his better judgment and against the warnings of others, approached the growing mist. He touched the strange gaseous substance, but felt nothing. Seeing this, other ninjas also began touching it, but most were at least cautious enough hold their breath in case the mist carried some kind of toxin.

Just then, at the edge of the crater stood a handsome young man with pale skin, shaggy white hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in a white, high-collared ceremonial kimono with a yellow sash tied over his right shoulder and a black sash around his waist. Beneath his robes, he wore black fingerless gloves, long black pants, and shinobi sandals.

The young man observed the leaf ninjas from behind the fence up high and spoke in the most kind and gentle voice. "Rejoice mortal men and women! Lord Jashin has bestowed upon you all a kind and gracious gift today; he has granted you the gift of nothingness; rejoice knowing your meaningless lives need not tread any further."

He stretched his hand out into the air, sincerely smiling. "Book of the End: Verse 5: And then there were none."

As these words came out of the young man's mouth, horrendous screams of pain and suffering echoed throughout the area. The mist had covered everything within crater, thus whatever was transpiring could not be seen. Nonetheless, the dark mist remained in the area for a little longer until there were no more screams. It was then that the strange gaseous substance began to vanish.

As soon as the inside of the crater was visible again, just about everything below was still intact. The tents, the machinery, both present. However, the leaf shinobi, the personnel . . . only their clothes and skeletons remained.

And just like that, just as one story came to an end, a new story began. Rather than epilogue, twas the prologue to a new and enticing tale to be told at another time.

. . .

To Be Continued

Author's Note:

(1) And this chapters ends the fic. Sorry it took longer to upload than others, but I've been extra busy lately. I realized I added a bunch of new subplots, but those are to be resolved in sequel fics (assuming I get the opportunity to get around to writing them). Overall, I'm content with the final product. Whether I get to write the sequel, the main point of these new plot threads is that there's always going to be something for Naruto and the gang to resolve. This isn't just the case in fiction, but in life in general. Does the grass ever permanently stay cut?

(2) I had commissioned Silver Queen from deviantart make an image of what my Naruto and Sakura look like. The cover art reflects what they look like in this chapter as far as my canon is concerned.

(3) Thanks for all the feedback (positive and negative feedback). I'm sorry some readers feel my second chapter was 'out of tone' with the manga. I strongly disagree, but apologize for letting you down. Another reader expressed disappointment in me not killing Sasuke off. Sorry. I see where you're coming from, but I don't think his death adds anything to the story. If anything, it invalidates much of part 2. Naruto promised to bring him back and Naruto always keeps his word. Also, 'Lord' is the honorific equivalent to 'sama' by the way. Sorry if that threw some people off.

(4) I had initially intended to include a scene with Lee, Tenten, Chouji and Killer Bee, but I think it'll be more appropriate in the next fic, again assuming I get to it. Otherwise, I think I wrapped up just about every noteworthy thing in the manga to the extent one is able to within eight chapters. There are a lot of other things, but that would require me rewriting the last 250 chapters, LOL.

(5) My description for the not-new character at the end of this chapter had came straight out the Naruto wikia. Feel free to guess his name in the comments, assuming it isn't obvious! ;)

(6) It was fun guys! Glad you all gave me the chance to write this fic. I'll admit that I mainly wrote it for myself as my own farewell to the series, disappointed with the original ending, but I'm happy some people got some closure out of it as well.