Supreme Genetics - Creation of a New Bloodline

Epilogue:

It was a joyous time in the Leaf village with the marriage of the only son of their adored Yondaime with two of Konoha's most beautiful kunoichi's Hinata Hyuga and Sakura Haruno. The village became ever more elated after the announcement of the impending nuptials of their current Hokage Kakashi Hatake to Kurenai Yuuhi and of the forthcoming birth of their first child. Alas this festive happy mood of Konoha would not last, as within weeks the Leaf village would be plunged into the Fourth Great Shinobi War. And now the people lived with fear and uncertainty in their lives of what the future would hold for them.

The Fire Country had joined with the lands of Wind, Earth, Lightning, and Water to form the Five Great Nation Shinobi Alliance in an effort to stop Madara Uchiha from enacting his Moon's Eye plan of plunging the world into an Infinite Tsukuyomi Genjutsu that he would control. The first few months of the war were a stalemate between the Alliance forces and Madara's army of Zetsu soldiers and Edo-Tensei revived warriors. However, the Alliance army fought valiantly, but soon it became abundantly clear that while they were slowly winning the battles, the toll of those victories was weakening them and because if it, emerging victorious in the war was becoming more and more unlikely with each passing day. The Alliance army only hope would be that soon Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze would complete his training with Killer Bee to gain full control and mastery of the Kyuubi no Youko beast within him and then the power of the strongest of the tailed-beasts could be brought to bear against Madara.

Naruto was able to form a bond with the nine-tailed fox demon and joined in the battle to stop the elder Uchiha once and for all. However, even with Naruto's enhanced power of the Kyuubi, it proved to be not enough when Madara along with his long thought dead kinsman Obito Uchiha were able to revive the ten-tailed demon Juubi. Just when hope seemed loss of winning the war, new and surprising reinforcements arrived to bolster the Shinobi Alliance forces battling the Juubi and the two Uchiha. Many Konoha shinobi were shocked to see the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Hokage's revived by the Edo-Tensei technique appear on the battlefield to help. Even more surprising was the arrival of Konoha's two most prominent traitors the Snake Sannin Orochimaru and his protégé Sasuke Uchiha. Following them were the current Kage's of the five great nations led by Kakashi Hatake the Rokudaime Hokage of Konoha.

With all of the strongest and most skilled shinobi both past and present bolstering the Alliance army, it was now time for the final climatic battle to commence and ultimately decide the winners and losers of the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Meanwhile back in Konoha, both Jiraiya and Tsunade stood on the balcony of the Hokage's office and gazed forlornly at the horizon where the final battle was about to take place. The two Sannin had argued vigorously that they should be on the frontlines of the war battling against Madara with everyone else. However, both Kakashi and Naruto had countered that the Leaf village would need strong leadership within its walls to provide a sense of security, support, and comfort for the people. And who better for the villagers to look to and provide that than two of the legendary Sannin. Reluctantly, both Tsunade and Jiraiya agreed and the Slug Sannin reassumed the position of Hokage on a temporary basis, while Jiraiya was in charge of the forces left behind to protect the Leaf village and its people.

On a more personal note, both Kakashi and Naruto had wanted Tsunade and her medical prowess to be present to supervise the births of their children from their wives. A few weeks ago, Kurenai had given birth to a girl who had her mother's crimson-colored eyes, but with her father's silver hair. Meanwhile, on the eve of the final battle, both Hinata and Sakura were currently in the hospital about to give birth. Both Namikaze women were terribly worried about their husband and wanted nothing more than to be by his side. However, they knew their first priority was the safe and successful births of their children and could only pray to Kami to watch over their beloved Naruto.

The final battle was a horrific affair with many casualties, as Obito had merged himself with the ten-tailed demon Juubi to become the Supreme Jinchuuriki. Doing this had infused Obito with almost unimaginable power and with the Edo-Tensei Madara also fighting against them, it looked as there was little hope for victory. However, Madara made a fatal error when he engaged the Rokudaime Hokage in battle. After a vicious and bloody fight, the elder Uchiha had managed to critically injure Kakashi and was moving in for the kill. Obito had seen his former friend fall and for reasons known only to him suddenly unleashed his power and fury against Madara, while Naruto and others were able to rescue Kakashi. And while Madara Uchiha may have been one of the strongest and most skilled shinobi to ever live, his power was meaningless against the power of the Supreme Jinchuuriki and he was wiped from the face of the earth.

Obito then turned his focus back to battling the Alliance forces, but something seemed different, as he was no longer fighting with the same ferocity that he had been. In the end, the combined power of all the Kage's both past and present along with a Sannin his protégé and several high ranking shinobi from all of the nations unleashed a simultaneous attack onto the Supreme Jinchuuriki. Unfortunately, even this appeared to be not enough, as Obito was still able to defend himself even against the incredible power of this attack. However, for a brief moment, an opening appeared in Obito's defense and instantly using the Hiraishin technique, both Naruto and his father teleported close enough to drive a Kyuubi enhanced Rasenshuriken and a Kage powered Rasengan directly into Obito's chest and head and literally obliterated the Uchiha. With no vessel containing them anymore, the remaining Bijuu were freed and flew straight into the sky, before dispersing in various directions all over the earth.

As Naruto and Minato were delivering the final killing blow, back in Konoha Hinata had given birth to twins, a boy and a girl. And currently Sakura was in the process giving birth to her own set twins, also a boy and a girl. However, whereas Hinata's twins had been blessed with their fathers blonde hair and their mothers eyes, it was the opposite for Sakura's twins, as they had their mothers pink hair and their fathers azure eyes. After a check-up by Tsunade, both mothers and babies were healthy, happy, and anxious for the return of their father.

It was a week later when the Leaf village shinobi returned from the battlefield to Konoha with their wounded in tow. The villagers were most concerned when they saw their Rokudaime Hokage was one of the seriously injured, but Tsunade through her medical expertise was able save him. However, due to his wound and upon seeing his newly born daughter who with Kurenai's blessing they named Rin. The silver-haired Kage announced his retirement as Rokudaime and promptly nominated Naruto to become the new Nanadaime (Seventh) Hokage and the villagers roared with approval of this.

Naruto was excited to have finally achieved his lifelong dream. However, it was nothing compared to the joy he felt when he first laid his eyes upon his newborn children. He and Hinata named their twins Hiashi and Hitomi after Hinata's parents. When Hiashi learned of this the normally stoic and reserved Hyuga patriarch openly wept in appreciation, gratitude, and happiness at the honor his daughter and son-in-law were granting him. As for his twins with Sakura, they decided to name them Minato and Kushina after Naruto's parents. It was a joyous happy time within the Namikaze clan, as they waited for the official day that Naruto would take over and the Leaf village's seventh Hokage.

A month later with much celebration and laudatory fanfare the official ceremony took place and that is when Sasuke arrived at the village gates. This came as a surprise, as the five living Kage's had granted Sasuke and Orochimaru a pardon for their past crimes as recompense for their help in defeating Madara, Obito, and the Juubi. However, the two of them were also forever banished from ever stepping foot inside any of the five great nations ever again. Orochimaru returned to the Land of Rice and their village Otagakure and it was assumed that his protégé had gone with him. Now Sasuke was standing at Konoha's gates looking as smug and arrogant as ever and everyone waited to find out what he wanted? They didn't have to wait very long.

The Uchiha demanded that he be the one named the Nanadaime Hokage and that Sakura Haruno's marriage is annulled, so she could become his first wife, with others of his choice to follow to help rebuild the Uchiha clan. So it was with a breaking heart that Naruto watched Sakura place their twins in his arms and walk towards Sasuke with a smile on her face. Sasuke merely smirked, as he saw Sakura come to him and silently reveled in the pain Naruto must be feeling. The dobe should have known that Sakura was always his and Naruto was nothing more than a consolation prize in her heart.

So when Sakura arrived and smiled sweetly at him, Sasuke grinned wickedly. However, the Uchiha was not prepared when Sakura's smile became a scowl and she delivered a chakra enhanced kick right between his legs. Sasuke immediately fell to the ground and looked up to see Sakura bringing her boot down onto his groin and effectively crushing his testicles under her heel. The last Uchiha let loose a blood-curdling scream, before his former kunoichi teammate was already upon him and raining down chakra-filled punches as quickly as she could. Again and again Sakura brought her fists hammering down one devastating blow after another onto Sasuke all the while cursing and calling the Uchiha every vile thing she could think of. Sakura could hear the sickening crunch of Sasuke's bones breaking, as she kept punching him until his face was almost unrecognizable from bruising and blood that now adorned it. The pink-haired kunoichi's own knuckles were a bloody mess, as they came pummeling down determined to disfigure Sasuke's face, until the majority of the Konoha 12 was able to pull the enraged pink-haired kunoichi off of him.

Sasuke was rushed to the hospital and Tsunade was able to repair one of his testicles, so the Uchiha clan could live on. However, the damage to the rest of Sasuke's….….equipment had been too severe and the only way he would be rebuilding his clan is through a tube in the medical ward of the Konoha prison facility for the rest of his life for daring to return to the Leaf village. The Civilian Council was in an uproar and wanted to punish Sakura for her actions against the last Uchiha. However, a dose of killing intent directed at them by their new Hokage was so oppressive most of them soiled themselves and they quickly realized no punishment was going to be enacted against his wife. Not if they still wanted the privilege of having a heartbeat in the future.

A new era in the annuals of the Leaf village began with Naruto's ascension to Hokage and the rebirth of the Namikaze clan. The four Edo-Tensei revived Hokage's were able to see this new era begin and were pleased, but none more so than Sarutobi and Naruto's father Minato, as they held the closest bond with Naruto. Unfortunately, they knew their time was coming to an end in the land of the living, as according to Tobirama Senju the Second Hokage and creator of the Edo-Tensei jutsu, the technique had a time limit. One of Naruto's first acts as Hokage was also one of his saddest, as he ordered the construction of a special mausoleum cut into Hokage mountain where first four Hokage's could be interred. So it was a sad day for the Namikaze family and all of Konoha in general when the first four Hokage's were laid to rest for a second time in their lives. However, Hashirama and Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Minato Namikaze were comforted by the fact that the Leaf village would continue to survive and prosper under Naruto's leadership.

And prosper Konoha did, as under Naruto's guidance he was able maintain the Five Great Nation Shinobi Alliance, which proved beneficial for all the nations. As increased commerce and trade between them made all of the nations flourish financially and with this boon, hostilities between the countries lessened with each passing year, as all of the countries realized that quite simply war was bad for business.

Naruto established a board of trustees to be known as "The Committee" to oversee all activities in the Elemental Nations and serve to mediate conflicts between countries. The Committee consisted of the five Kage's of each nation's shinobi village: Naruto Namikaze of Konohagakure, Gaara Sabaku of Sunagakure, Mei Terumi of Kirigakure, Oonoki, of Iwaagakure, and Ei of Kumogakure. Naruto was appointed the Chairman of the Committee and they agreed to hold meetings every five years or when they needed to discuss Alliance problems. As a result, a new Golden Age of the Elemental Nations began with the peace and prosperity the Committee established throughout the lands.

As for life in the Leaf village for many of Naruto's friends and comrades, their own lives mirrored the changes that were happening all around them. Tsunade, Sakura, and Hinata were able to heal and restore Jiraiya back to full health. He and Tsunade married shortly thereafter and Naruto named the two Sannin as his Hokage advisors replacing Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane.

Naruto appointed Shikamaru Strategic Commander of Konoha's shinobi forces replacing his father Shikaku Nara who was tragically killed in the war. Initially, the new Nara clan leader refused the appointment, but when his beautiful and volatile wife Temari formally of Suna saw how much the job paid, he was…encouraged by her to accept the position and did so the next day. The Nara patriarch was blessed with a daughter named Shikamari a year after the war. The child was an exact replica of her mother Temari and much his chagrin she did not inherit Shikamaru's leisurely attitude, but to his dismay took on her mother's fiery personality. Forever dooming the Nara clan head of living in a house controlled by troublesome women, as he would put it.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru's former teammates had gotten married as well and a short time later Ino gave birth to a gorgeous blonde baby girl. Itoichi inherited her mother's beauty, but fortunately not her attitude, as it was apparent she gained Chouji's personality and was liked by everyone who knew her. Ino took over her late father's position in the Konoha Torture and Interrogation section of the Anbu. She also still worked part-time at the Yamanaka flower shop, as it gave her a chance to spend time with her mother, who took over the Yamanaka clan leadership after Inoichi's death in the war. As for Chouji, he assumed the mantle of leader of the Akimichi clan upon his father's retirement after the war.

Kiba after the war assumed the Alpha position as leader of the Inuzuka clan, when his mother Tsume retired and he married a civilian girl. He was soon blessed with a son of his own who Kiba named Kibo and the young boy would grow to be as energetic and boisterous as his father. Kiba's teammate Shino Aburame also ascended to become leader of his clan after the war and married a girl from within the clan. Soon he was gifted with the birth of his own child, a daughter he aptly named Shina. Hokage Naruto, as with all of his friends who were now leading their respective clans, kept their shinobi duties to a minimum. However, he did appoint Kiba, Shino, Rock Lee, and Tenten, as his wives personal bodyguards whenever, the Namikaze women had to travel outside of the Leaf village.

Neji's death in protecting Naruto during the war had hit both Tenten and Lee very hard. Tenten had lost the man she loved and Lee had lost his best friend and rival. They mourned for many months after the war and leaned heavily on each other for support during that sorrowful period. Eventually, through their time together, the grief they felt over their loss began to lessen and new feelings started to develop between the two former teammates. However, it was difficult for both Tenten and Lee to come to terms with the feelings that were developing between them, as they both felt they would be betraying Neji if they acted upon them. And even though many of their friends tried to convince them that it wouldn't be a betrayal of Neji's memory, it was Naruto who finally got them to let go.

Naruto couldn't stand seeing two of his precious people denying themselves happiness within their lives with each other, because of their perceived disloyalty of Neji. The blonde Hokage himself held a tremendous amount of guilt over Neji's death, as the Hyuga prodigy had died protecting him. So he called both Tenten and Lee into his office and shared his feelings of guilt with them and asked for their forgiveness. Both of his friends were shocked about this and angrily told Naruto he had nothing to feel guilty for, as Neji died with honor in protecting him and to feel guilt over it was both stupid and insulting to his memory. Naruto accepted this, but then countered that the two of them denying themselves any happiness with each other, because of some sense that they would be betraying Neji was equally as stupid and insulting to his memory. The Hokage pointed out that he had loved both them and would not want the two of them to continue to grieve his passing, but move on and live a long and happy life. Naruto convinced Lee and Tenten that they would have Neji's blessing not his scorn if the two of them could live that long and happy life together. And two years later, an infant named Neji Gai Lee was born to two very happy and proud parents.

Iruka and Anko married after the war shocking everyone that someone could actually tame the Snake Mistress of Konoha. However, they were a model of happiness and nine months later Anko gave birth to twin boys named Akio and Akira. Anko kept her job as second in command of the Konoha Torture and Interrogation section of the Anbu, while Iruka was promoted to Headmaster of the Konoha Shinobi Academy.

Because of all these births happening within a one to two year period from all these exceptional shinobi couples. By the time the children all reached sufficient age to attend the academy. Everyone in the Leaf village proclaimed that the second coming of the Konoha 12 had been born, as all the children showed even greater promise and potential than the original Konoha 12 of becoming outstanding ninja in the future. At the lead of this talented class were none other than the offspring Naruto had produced from his wives.

Tsunade had indeed been correct, as two new bloodlines had been developed within Naruto's children. With Minato and Kushina, their chakra capacity was off the charts, as their chakra coils were more developed than anyone had ever seen before. Tsunade suspected this was because of the Kyuubi no Youko's influence. So not only did the Naruto and Sakura's children possess incredible chakra reserves, they also attained pinpoint chakra control and the most difficult jutsu's in which such control was needed, they were able to use with relative ease even as young kids. So, having their father's huge chakra capacity and their mother's chakra control, made both children devastatingly powerful and fast against any opponents they would face.

As for Hiashi and Hitomi, they too gained their fathers highly developed chakra capacity and coils and their own mother's impressive chakra control. However, it was their bloodline Byakugan that was enhanced to unbelievable levels in terms of range and sight. Not only could they see miles upon miles in the distance, which effectively made them the perfect early warning alarm in case of an impending attack. Their increased Byakugan also allowed them to scan and see all the way down to a microscopic level. It was Sakura who immediately picked up upon the ramifications of that skill. If Hiashi and Hitomi could see to such a level, they would be able to scan and find the earliest onset of cancer within people. Because of this, people within the Leaf village who became inflicted with that horrific disease, their survivability rate rose to nearly 100%, as doctors could treat the disease caught in its initial stages, because of the skills Hiashi and Hitomi possessed.

Everyone from the original Konoha 12 would go on to have many children over their lives. However, the greatness of this group showed in the kids now comprising the new Konoha 12. As they did indeed strive to surpass their famous parents exploits within the shinobi world.

Shikamari Nara inherited her parents incredible IQ's and unparallel strategic thinking that both Shikamaru and Temari possessed. Because of this Konoha and the Fire nation in general would never lose a military battle during her lifetime. And with her lively personality, it was a perfect match with Kibo Inuzuka's own and they would fall in love and marry.

Itoichi Akimichi, would grow to become every bit the beautiful and deadly kunoichi her mother. She trained with her friends Hitomi and Kushina Namikaze, and Rin Hatake to become certified as a medical shinobi. She was placed upon Genin Team #10, as her parents had been along with Hiashi Namikaze and Shikamari Nara under the supervision of Jounin Shino Aburame and together those three proved to be one of the finest Genin teams ever assembled between Shikamari's genius, Hiashi's power, and Itoichi's clan skills and medical prowess made them an outstanding team. Upon her promotion, Itoichi joined the Anbu and served with distinction for many years. Eventually, she would become the new head of the Yamanaka clan upon her grandmother's death.

Kibo Inuzuka grew to become one of the finest shinobi in the Leaf village attaining the rank of Jounin at an earlier age than his father had. He along with Shina Aburame and Hitomi Namikaze reformed their parents Genin Team #8 under the guidance of their Jounin instructor Rock Lee and they brought further honor to the history of that team. As Kibo's power along with Hitomi's exceptional clan skills and medical genius, and Shina's strategic thinking and clan skills made them as formidable a team as their parents had been. When he was promoted to Jounin, he became a team leader to a future Genin team before retiring to assume the Alpha leadership of the Inuzuka clan from his father.

Shina Aburame also grew to become one of the finest kunoichi within the leaf village. She would marry a clan member and take over the Aburame clan leadership upon her father's Shino retirement.

Neji Gai Lee became a supreme weapons specialist and one of the greatest taijutsu fighters in the history of the Leaf village. He along with his teammates Minato and Kushina Uzumaki under the tutelage of Kiba Inuzuka as their Jounin sensei would become their generations Genin Team #7 and break the curse that had inflicted that team number in generations past. Neji became Minato's best friend, while he and Kushina fell in love and would be married. When he was promoted, he served a distinguished career with the Anbu forces.

Akio and Akira Umino grew to be splendid shinobi in their own right. However even though they were identical in appearance, their personalities were completely opposite of one another. Akio had his mother's fiery personality and temperament, while Akira took after his father's calm and reserved personality. As they grew older, they were placed on Genin Team #9 along with Rin Hatake under the leadership of their sensei Ino Yamanaka who had apprenticed under Anko in her youth. They would prove to be a powerful team, as Akio's shinobi skills including those based in the snake arts, along with those same skills for Akira and his high intellect combined with Rin's genjutsu and medical skills made them a team with few weaknesses.

Upon their promotions to Chunin, Akio would follow Anko in a career within the Konoha Torture and Interrogation section of the Anbu. And Akira would follow in Iruka's footsteps and become a revered instructor at the Konoha Shinobi Academy. Akio would marry the daughter of Ibiki Morino the Head of the Konoha Torture and Interrogation section of the Anbu. While Akira and Hitomi Namikaze fell in love with one another and would be married.

Upon their promotions to Chunin, both Hitomi and Kushina Namikaze decided to follow in their mothers' footsteps in the medical field and would grow to become two of the finest shinobi doctors within all of the elemental nations.

For the next twenty years there was no strife or trouble within the Leaf village, as everyone was happy and content with the peace and prosperity brought forth by their Nanadaime Hokage. However, discord did rear its ugly head, when Naruto decided he needed to name a successor to be the next Hokage. It was a difficult decision for the Hokage, as there were only two candidates strong and skilled enough in his mind for the job, his sons Hiashi and Minato. Both brothers had grown up happy and each loved the other, but there was always a friendly rivalry between the two from even the earliest of ages. As they grew their rivalry intensified and helped to push both boys into becoming two of the most powerful and skilled shinobi in the world. However, while their rivalry had grown over the years, it had never gotten malicious or contentious between Minato and Hiashi. Unfortunately, that was beginning to change, as both boys had fallen in love with the same girl...Rin Hatake.

Rin had grown into a very beautiful and desirable woman just as her mother had been. Growing up her best friends were Hitomi and Kushina, so she grew up and interacted with the Namikaze household her entire life. And through no fault of her own, she loved and cared for both Minato and Hiashi deeply, but Rin didn't know if it was the same type of love, they both held for her. It wasn't until day of the battle between the two brothers for who would succeed their father as the next Hokage, that she made her decision.

So, it was with a heavy heart and having to bear the strenuous opposition from his wives, that Naruto decided the only way he would know who his next successor would be was to order a spar between his two sons. Hiashi held no desire to fight his brother and pleaded with his father to just name Minato as his successor. However, Minato refused to accept that title under such pretenses and having some of his mother's infamous prideful temper grew angry at Hiashi, feeling as though his brother was offering him charity. So the day of the battle came and Minato eagerly jumped onto the Konoha stadium floor and waited for Hiashi. Minato viewed this battle as having two purposes, one to finally end his rivalry with Hiashi and show everyone that between the two of them, he was number one. Minato's second purpose was that with his victory over his brother, he would prove to Rin once and for all that he was the best man for her.

When the spar began it was an exciting battle, as both Namikaze boys appeared to be equally matched. The power and skills they demonstrated left the packed stadium in awe and the villagers roared in applause and approval, as the stadium literally vibrated from the power of the attacks the Namikaze heirs were using. However, many of the veteran shinobi including those of the original Konoha 12 and their various sensei's, but especially Naruto could sense that something was not right about this fight. One could easily see throughout the battle that Minato was the clear aggressor and because of this he would sometimes leave himself vulnerable to a counter-attack from Hiashi. In spite of these obvious openings, Hiashi would bypass them in favor of a more difficult route to counter-attack, one that Minato could more easily defend.

As the battle continued on, Minato's frustration at not being able to defeat his brother began to grow. Because of this, the pink-haired Namikaze started to draw upon more and more of his immense chakra reserves and his attacks became more powerful and violent he was now unleashing against Hiashi. It seemed Minato was bound and determined to end the stalemate this spar had become once and for all. However, as Minato increased the power of his attacks, much to the confusion of many of the shinobi watching Hiashi did not. It appeared as though the indigo-colored haired Namikaze male either wouldn't or couldn't draw upon more chakra. Whatever the reason, the tide of the fight had clearly swung in Minato's favor, as Hiashi was only fighting a defensive battle now.

Minato could see that his brother was reeling and increased the power and ferocity of his attacks even further. As he drove Hiashi further and further back, Minato began to get lost in the heat of the battle. So when he created the Namikaze clans signature jutsu the Rasengan, he had empowered it more than he had realized. As he thrust the spiraling ball of intense chakra forward, Hiashi attempted to defend it by calling upon the ultimate defensive technique of the Hyuga clan the Hakkeshou Kaiten. Hiashi began releasing a large of amount of chakra from his tenketsu points. While at the same time began to spin like a top, creating a whirling vortex of chakra that acted as a 360° degree shield surrounding him.

Unfortunately, his Kaiten defense was not powerful enough to stop Minato's Rasengan, which punched through the shield like paper and impacted Hiashi directly in his chest and sent him flying across the arena and smashing into a wall. When the attack hit Rin screamed Hiashi's name in frightened alarm, as tears rolled down her face. In fact many of Minato's friends and comrades were shouting for him to stop, as he rushed forward to follow up his Rasengan attack with another one, but Minato was still too caught up in the thrall of battle to hear them. As Minato thrust his hand forward, a yellow flash appeared in front of him and a large hand covered his Rasengan and crushed it, before a painful slap from Naruto brought him out of his battle influenced stupor.

As Minato approached his brother, his eyes grew wide in horror of what he had done. Hiashi was currently lying on the ground gasping for breath, his head being cradled in Rin's lap, while Sakura along with Hitomi and Kushina worked to stem the bleeding coming from circular wound on his chest. A tearful Hinata was being kept back by Ino and Tenten, as everyone looked on with concern. All Minato could do was stand rooted to the spot and gaze with sorrow at Hiashi, before heard his father's voice angrily ask.

"What did you think you were doing using that much power?"

"I'm, I'm sorry father, I, I was so caught up in the fight, I didn't even realize I had made my Rasengan so strong. I, I didn't mean to hurt Hiashi." Minato answered in a sad apologetic voice.

Naruto inhaled and then exhaled a deep breath to calm himself, before he said.

"I know one can find themselves overwhelmed in the heat of battle if they allow themselves too. I do believe that you weren't intentionally trying to hurt your brother, but you wield substantial power within you my son. And with great power comes great responsibility."

Minato could only nod his head in understanding and look to the ground in guilt ridden shame. Naruto saw that Minato was truly remorseful about what had happened and he put his hand onto his sons shoulder and gave it a squeeze for comfort, before he said.

"I know you're sorry about what happened to your brother and that you're hurting right now, but his injuries are not entirely your fault are they...Hiashi!"

Everyone looked to Naruto with confusion save for Hiashi who bore the same guilty apologetic look Minato had, as he stared at his father, before Naruto ordered.

"Hitomi-chan, remove your brothers shirt."

Hitomi looked at her father in puzzlement, but complied with his wishes and when she removed it, a collective gasp was uttered by everyone at what they saw. There was a strange intricately drawn ink pattern on Hiashi's stomach and his sister asked in confusion.

"What is that?"

"That is a chakra suppression seal." Naruto calmly answered.

"What is Hiashi-kun doing with a chakra suppression seal and who put it on him?"

"I put it on him Rin."

Everyone turned to see Jiraiya and Tsunade walking towards the group.

"I suspected it was your grandfather who put it on you son, now the question is why?"

"I asked him to do it father." Hiashi answered, as he struggled to get to his feet, leaning on Rin and Hitomi for support.

"That answers why he did it, but now I want to know why you wanted it done?"

Hiashi exhaled a heavy sigh, before answering in a regretful voice.

"I asked jiji (grandfather) to place that seal on me, because I was afraid that during this spar I might lose control during the heat of the battle and inadvertently hurt Minato."

"You, you threw the spar against me!" Minato exclaimed in a hurt tone of voice.

"No brother, I wasn't trying to throw the fight, I fought you with all my skills and the power the seal would allow me to draw upon. I never wanted this fight, it just wasn't as important to me as it was to you. You wanted to become the next Hokage more than I did. I'm sorry, I just didn't want to hurt you, that was my only motivation for having the suppression seal placed upon me."

A pall of silence gripped everyone, as they pondered what they had just learned before Naruto spoke up and stated.

"I can understand your feelings Hiashi and sympathize with your plight about it. However, you may not want to be the next Hokage, but what you did here only cements my decision that you will be my successor, as the Hachidaime (Eighth) Hokage."

Both Hiashi and Minato looked at their father in shock and were about to protest, when Naruto held up his hand to silence them and spoke.

"I know technically you won the spar Minato, but if you and your brother recall, I never said that the winner would be named my successor. I told you that this spar would help me to make my decision and I have. You Hiashi will become the next Hokage when I retire in a few years."

A look of hurt and disappoint spread across Minato's face, which Hiashi saw and asked his father in utter confusion at his decision.

"But, but why? It's obvious Minato wants the position more than I do!"

"Becoming the next Hokage is not about desire or want, but who is the best candidate to lead and protect the Leaf village and its people in the future. I've no doubt that your brother will be a fine Hokage, more than likely he will succeed you as the Kudaime (Ninth) Hokage, but right now you are the better candidate to be my successor."

"I still don't understand, Minato proved in this spar that he's stronger than me."

"Hiashi, your brother might be stronger than you, but we don't know because of what you did. And even if Minato is stronger than you, that is not the sole requirement for becoming Hokage. Both of you are very powerful and skilled shinobi, there's no question about that. However, to be Hokage is not about using that power to solve a situation, but in knowing when not to use that power for the same situation. You demonstrated this when you decided to curb your power rather than risk hurting your brother. You put your thoughts and feelings for someone else above your own. And that is the most important quality a Hokage must have. To think and place the welfare of the village and its people above yourself, that is what makes a true Hokage and leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

Hiashi was about to protest, when Minato interrupted him and declared.

"Father is right Hiashi; you are the better choice to succeed him as Hokage. I thought it was me, but I was wrong. Everything he said is the truth about what is needed to be a Hokage and you possess those traits, more so than I do. Congratulations brother, I know you will make a fine Hokage."

Minato then leveled a sad heartbroken gaze at Rin before adding with sadness.

"Just as I know you will make a fine husband for Rin-chan."

"I'm, I'm sorry, M-Minato-kun." Rin offered up in a choked voice.

Minato could only give a forlorn look at the girl he loved, her arm intertwined around Hiashi's and he smiled weakly, as he said in a dejected voice.

"Yeah Rin-chan...so am I."

A scant second later, Minato disappeared via the Namikaze Hiraishin jutsu.

"Is Minato-kun going to be alright Hiashi-kun?" Rin hesitantly asked.

However, before the Namikaze youth could answer, it was Neji Gai Lee who openly lamented.

"Why would you ask such a foolish question? He just lost his dream and the girl he loves in one fell swoop. What would possess you to even think that he's going to be alright?"

Minato joined the Anbu shortly after losing the succession battle and immediately requested to be sent on a long-term reconnaissance mission outside of the Leaf village. Initially Naruto refused, but Minato subtly implied to his father that he didn't want to become a missing-nin. Reluctantly, Naruto finally agreed, but only under the proviso that he team-up with an Anbu partner to go with him. It was at Sakura's dogged urging to her husband that the Anbu partner to be assigned with Minato be Itoichi Akimichi. For the pink-haired Namikaze matriarch had learned from her best friend Ino that the girl loved Minato very much, but had never acted upon it because of the love she knew he felt for Rin. So Sakura dearly hoped and prayed to Kami that Itoichi would be able to mend her son's broken heart.

Kami indeed answered Sakura's prayers, as Minato and Itoichi did fall in love with one another. When they were recalled from their mission after four years, it was a shock to everyone when they returned with a two year old son in tow named Chino after Itoichi's parents. Upon their return, Hiashi had become the Hachidaime Hokage a few months earlier and had his own two year old son named Narashi after the boys two grandfathers. Hiashi was nervous about meeting his brother again after what had happened, but fortunately the old adage 'time heals all wounds' proved to be accurate, as Minato welcomed his brother with open arms upon their reunion.

Hiashi proved to be a wise and effective Hokage for the next twenty years and Konoha prospered and became even stronger in all aspects during his reign. It was in his twentieth year that war began to loom on the horizon. Several of the smaller nations became jealous of the power and control the five great shinobi nations held banded together in revolt. So, it was at the start of the Fifth Great Shinobi War, Hiashi relinquished the Hokage title and named Minato as the Kudaime Hokage. And though Minato vehemently protested this, Hiashi successfully made a case that during a time of war, the Leaf village would be better off with a Hokage versed as a warrior to lead them, rather than someone who was not. Reluctantly Minato agreed and indeed Hiashi had been correct in his decision, as Minato commanded the forces of the Five Great Nation Shinobi Alliance and defeated the rebel countries. He would then go on to lead the Leaf village for the next twenty years into becoming the most powerful shinobi village of all the elemental nations, before he named Chino to become the Jyudaime (Tenth) Hokage.

The Fire Country and more particularly Konohagakure continued to grow and prosper under the guidance and leadership of each successive Hokage. In fact, for the next 1000 years, one could trace the lineage of every Hokage back to the original Konoha 12 class and more specifically to one extraordinary individual.

Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze.

Author Note: Well as promised, here is the final epilogue chapter of this tale. I know many of you have expressed the longing for a sequel to this tale. Unfortunately, right now I just don't have the time in my life or the desire to write a sequel. Perhaps that will change in the future, but right now I really want to concentrate on my first story I ever punched a computer key for "Naruto vs Sasuke: The Aftermath" I also still have my Naruto/Bleach crossover tale "Do I Have a Purpose Anymore" to finish as well. However, I am proud of the work I did on this story and I hope that when future readers interested in reading a tale involving Naruto/Hinata/Sakura as a romantic pairing that this story will be the benchmark that all others are compared. I want to thank all of those readers who stuck with this story from the very beginning and all of those readers who have become fans of it since. I appreciate it very much and you have my eternal gratitude for your support of this tale.

I'm anxious to see what your reviews will be for the epilogue chapter, as it's the first one I've ever written. I do wish to thank everyone both old and new readers who took the time to review my last chapter. For those of you who did review the last chapter, you all had a lot to say about it and I'm pleased that this story has such a strong fan base with readers who actually write out well thought-out reviews. Because of that, I enjoy reading many of your reviews, so please leave lots of them, as they do help a writer get a sense of the thoughts and opinions of the fans of a story. They also can help lift the spirits of an author as well. Also, to any readers who are staff members to any C2 communities, please feel free to add my story to your community if you feel it is worthy of it. I won't mind, I swear. I'll even pinkie swear if I need to?

Question?

I've attempted to add Sakura's name into the character filters for this story, but everytime I do it kicks out Hinata's name and only allows me to list two names. Can anyone explain this or tell me how to correct or fix this, so I can list more than two names?

News:

In 2010, my fellow author brown phantom initiated a poll asking the following question.

Who is the best Naruto fan fiction writer on this site?

Upon completion of that first poll I finished a very respectable 8th to which I thank all of you who voted for me on that poll very much for making that happen. Now brown phantom has decided to run a second poll asking that same question. So I humbly ask if you feel I'm worthy of being one of your 10 author picks to please place a vote for me on brown phantoms second poll. I thank you in advance for your support and normally I would provide you the links to the profile pages for brown phantom for you to use. However, one of the "oh so wonderful" changes FFnet has recently made is making it more difficult to list a link anywhere even if it's a link on their own freaking site. So just do a quick search for the author, brown phantom. As I said I finished 8th on his first poll and I would be ecstatic if I could improve on that showing, but I will need all of your help to achieve that.

End of News:

Thanks to everyone for your support of this story!

Take it easy and be good!

Kingkakashi