Manicherryblossom33
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Okay here it is, the final chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you everyone who read even a single chapter, and a special thanks to those who commented. Your encouragement helped me to keep going. I've been considering doing a second fanfiction, for which i have two different ideas for. One sounds too much like dragon ball z so i probably won't do it. But the other might catch the nartobase peoples interests, so watch out for it in case i decide to post it.
-Sincerely, manicherryblossom33
Part 21: the end
All of Konoha had crowded together for the funeral.
A week after the nine tails attacks, their fallen comrades were buried together, and their names carved onto the memorial stone. As was tradition, the hokage was buried in front of the leaders memorial with his predecessors.
After the funeral, many went home to mourn their dead loved ones, while others helped with the repairs. The third hokage was reinstated as village leader until the time when he would select the fifth hokage.
Time moved on, and Minato’s friends were dedicated to their children, to their clans, and to their village.
But Fugaku, as Minato had predicted, was stuck in the past.
He approached the grave once more. Minato didn’t have a nameplate, like the others. The symbol of fire statue that overlooked the three dead hokage served as that. However, his grave was very much decorated.
Pictures, offerings, flowers, and gifts from the villagers, the children he played with, his followers and friends covered his grave space. Candles were lit in his memory, and Fugaku kept them lit until they melted away. When they were gone, he replaced them with new ones.
Every night, in his dreams, he saw Minato. His memory of the man who became his younger brother, best friend, and the only person he would ever follow was beginning to haunt him.
“Sasuke turned four today.” He told him, expressionless. “He’s a little selfish, but he’s a good boy. Mikoto says he’s just like me, but honestly… For some reason he reminds me of you. The way he works so hard, and the way he smiles and laughs. It makes losing you more painful…”
Fugaku looked up at the sky.
“I’m sorry.” He said. “For not trusting you enough to handle yourself, for not being able to save you like I promised I would. Like you saved me, countless of times.
“You were always there for us. For Uchiha, for the village, for the young shinobi. I was actually kind of jealous of you, to tell the truth. Among us all, you shined the brightest, ran the farthest. The most talented, the most good. Inside of you was the blood of that savage clan, the Namikaze. But even so, you were the best person I knew, next to Mikoto. You just…”
He recalled that night, the night of the nine tails attack. When the beast suddenly vanished, he immediately remembered Minato. Throughout the attack, he had been focused on getting his wife, children, and clan to safety.
Then while fighting the beast, he had seen Minato appear, with gamabunta, then disappear with the fox. He had raced off to help him, to keep him from doing anything stupid.
But when they got there, they were already too late. Minato and Kushina were found dead, covered in blood with a huge hole through their stomachs, their arms wrapped around each other. Their eyes were still open, with old tears dripping from them.
Even seeing them wasn’t enough. Fugaku ran up to them, touched their faces, and tried to get them to wake up. But their chakras were already completely gone.
He would never forget how pale they were, how cold they were… Just like stones.
“No…” He had said, wanting nothing more than to be trapped in some horrible genjutsu. “No… This can’t be… Minato, wake up!”
Of course he didn’t. He wouldn’t. It was impossible.
“Minato… Please…” He begged. “You… can’t be dead. Not you… It’s not possible…”
But it was. What Minato had said before had been correct.
if I were to drop dead right now, you would not be able to handle it. You could not accept it. You would not let it go. And Sasuke and Itachi and Mikoto would suffer for it. But it is different for me. It's not as if I expect you to die any minute, but if you did, I would be able to handle it. Because its always there, in the back of my mind. Because I lived through it when I was very little. That is the difference between Mikoto,me andeven Itachi, and you. We can accept the death of our family, and move past it. We can look to the future. But you would remain stuck in the past, get caught up in revenge, and destroy everyone around you.
Still, Fugaku couldn’t accept it. This was just too sudden, too simple. Too unbearably painful.
Minato was his friend. The hokage, the strongest in the village. Minato was the one person, other than Mikoto, that he could truly count on, and trust, to be able to read him like a book. To know him well enough that he could see through any genjutsu Fugaku created.
Minato never needed the sharingan. His own eyes were better than any sharingan, be it the normal sharingan, or the mangekyou. Minato didn’t see people as extras, put there to fill up the background. It was like he saw them in colors, a million different colors. No one people was the same color. Even the Uchiha. Even Fugaku, who, thanks to Minato, was able to accept he was more than just his clan.
The cry of a baby brought him out of his daze. His first thought was Sasuke, who was still an infant himself. But then he remembered that Minato was going to be a father too.
He looked at Kushina. The hole through her stomach had made him believe the baby was dead as well. But…
“Naruto…” His eyes widened and he got to his feet, looking in the direction of the crying to find a ritual alter with a baby lying on top. He ran to it and looked down, breathing heavily.
A boy with blonde hair and bright ble ees, just like Minato’s, was crying. He had a good set of lungs on hi, to be able to cry so loudly. Or was it that he knew his mother and father lay dead not two feet from him?
Fugaku was reluctant, having never held any baby besides his own children. He had never wanted to, but…
He picked up Naruto anyway, and took him over to Minato and Kushina. Kneeling down, he looked at their dead, lifeless eyes and started to cry.
“You did it, Minato, Kushina.” He told them. “Naruto is safe. Sasuke, Itachi, Mikoto are safe too. You saved everyone, again. You won, Minato…”
Fuji
Fuji!
Fuji!
“Minato…!”
“Uchiha Fugaku.”
Fugaku looked over his shoulders. There were anbu, all around him. Root anbu, and they looked very hostile.
“Hand over the Jinchuuriki or face the consequences.” One ordered, holding his hand out as if to receive some object.
Fugaku glared and shot to his feet. It wasn't like he wanted to keep naruto, but he wouldn't give him to Danzo's lackeys. Not in amillion years.
“Never.” He spat. “Not to you.”
“Stop!”
Fugaku turned to see the third hokage walking over with a pair of unfamiliar shinobi. He stepped inbetween Fugaku and the root anbu and held his arms out to Fugaku.
“Give him to me, Fugaku.” Hiruzen said politely, looking sincere.
Fugaku hesitated, but remembered how this man had always been on Minato’s side, protecting him from Danzo when he was still a child.
He gave Naruto to him.
“Go and gather your classmates.” He ordered. “I’ll tell them myself. You root anbu, go and help the villagers. You two shinobi, watch over the fourth and Kushina until the anbu I’ve summoned here arrives.”
Everyone followed their orders. Fugaku looked at his friends one last time before leaving to gather everyone.
The others did not take the news well. They’d been wise to leave their children at home with the clan elders. Babies could have sensed the crushing, agonizing atmosphere.
Naruto was hidden away somewhere, and Fugaku hadn’t seen him since.
He was crying again. “I used to be really confused. I wasn’t sure how or why you could die for Naruto. But now… I think I understand. When you’re children’s lives are threatened… You do whatever it takes, even stooping to things that could brand you a monster for all eternity…
“I’m sorry, Minato. But I’m going to do whatever it takes to protect Itachi and Sasuke. I can’t do anything for Naruto. He’ll have to suvive by luck and his own skill. Forgive me for that. And goodbye…”
Later, on his way home from attending the Academy Entrance Ceremony with Sasuke, the two overheard someone
scream in outrage.
“I’m not that thing!” A young boy cried out. “I’m Uzumaki Naruto! I’ll be hokage someday! You’ll see! I will!”
Fugaku flinched. He saw Minato racing towards him, smirking like he used to. He was always too fast for Fugaku. Just like a bird, he would tturn his nose up at FUgaku, then fly away. There, then gone. All in an instant.
He blinked and saw the truth.
A young boy, Sasuke’s age, with blonde hair and blue eyes. But his expression was just like a certain little troublemaker, a redhaired girl that Minato had told Fugaku he would marry someday.
The boy raced past them, and Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him.
“Loudmouth, shouting in the streets.” He looked up at Fugaku. “Right father?”
Fugaku looked down at him. Should he tell him anyway, even though he was ordered not to? Tell him all about Minato, how they met, how they were friends. How they grew up together. How Minato lived and how he died…
But that boy wasn’t Minato. What would be the point in telling Sasuke Naruto’s parents history? What if he developed preconceptions, and started looking at Naruto like he was Minato’s ghost?
Minato would hate that.
Best to let Sasuke judge Naruto with his own eyes, and not the eyes Fugaku possessed.
He smiled wistfully. “Right…”
“Father? Is something wrong…?”
There were a million things.But Fugaku just looked forward.
“Lets go home.”
SEVERAL YEARS LATER
“They were our enemies, but I kind of liked them!” Naruto grinned. “Is that weird?”
Kakashi laughed. “No, I feel the same way.”
“Cool! Hey, Sakura!”
He dashed ahead to join his teammates, but Kakashi stayed where he was. Those three… They reminded him of the past.
He looked at Minato-Sensei, who stood beside him with his arms crossed. Kakashi was a little surprised to see him, but even so…
“You were right, Sensei.” He told him, smiling.
Minato looked confused. “About what?”
Kakashi’s smile softened, becoming fleeting.
I know what you must be feeling now… Is painful. But, listen to this… And please believe me. Though dead, they are not gone. Rin and Obitos friendship will come to you again. The salvation for the pain you’re feeling now will be found in the form of other friends.
“What you said to me before.” He answered. “You were right.”
Minato was shocked for a moment, and chuckled. He looked at Sakura, Sasuke, and especially Naruto happily.
“May your time be different from mine…” He said.
“Sensei!” Sakura called, getting Kakashi’s attention. “Come on! You’re slower than Naruto!”
Naruto looked disappointed. “Sakura-chan!”
Sasuke was bored, staring on.
Kakashi looked at Minato-sensei once more, only to find him gone.
He stepped forward. “I’m coming, calm down you three.”
THE END
-Sincerely, manicherryblossom33
Part 21: the end
All of Konoha had crowded together for the funeral.
A week after the nine tails attacks, their fallen comrades were buried together, and their names carved onto the memorial stone. As was tradition, the hokage was buried in front of the leaders memorial with his predecessors.
After the funeral, many went home to mourn their dead loved ones, while others helped with the repairs. The third hokage was reinstated as village leader until the time when he would select the fifth hokage.
Time moved on, and Minato’s friends were dedicated to their children, to their clans, and to their village.
But Fugaku, as Minato had predicted, was stuck in the past.
He approached the grave once more. Minato didn’t have a nameplate, like the others. The symbol of fire statue that overlooked the three dead hokage served as that. However, his grave was very much decorated.
Pictures, offerings, flowers, and gifts from the villagers, the children he played with, his followers and friends covered his grave space. Candles were lit in his memory, and Fugaku kept them lit until they melted away. When they were gone, he replaced them with new ones.
Every night, in his dreams, he saw Minato. His memory of the man who became his younger brother, best friend, and the only person he would ever follow was beginning to haunt him.
“Sasuke turned four today.” He told him, expressionless. “He’s a little selfish, but he’s a good boy. Mikoto says he’s just like me, but honestly… For some reason he reminds me of you. The way he works so hard, and the way he smiles and laughs. It makes losing you more painful…”
Fugaku looked up at the sky.
“I’m sorry.” He said. “For not trusting you enough to handle yourself, for not being able to save you like I promised I would. Like you saved me, countless of times.
“You were always there for us. For Uchiha, for the village, for the young shinobi. I was actually kind of jealous of you, to tell the truth. Among us all, you shined the brightest, ran the farthest. The most talented, the most good. Inside of you was the blood of that savage clan, the Namikaze. But even so, you were the best person I knew, next to Mikoto. You just…”
He recalled that night, the night of the nine tails attack. When the beast suddenly vanished, he immediately remembered Minato. Throughout the attack, he had been focused on getting his wife, children, and clan to safety.
Then while fighting the beast, he had seen Minato appear, with gamabunta, then disappear with the fox. He had raced off to help him, to keep him from doing anything stupid.
But when they got there, they were already too late. Minato and Kushina were found dead, covered in blood with a huge hole through their stomachs, their arms wrapped around each other. Their eyes were still open, with old tears dripping from them.
Even seeing them wasn’t enough. Fugaku ran up to them, touched their faces, and tried to get them to wake up. But their chakras were already completely gone.
He would never forget how pale they were, how cold they were… Just like stones.
“No…” He had said, wanting nothing more than to be trapped in some horrible genjutsu. “No… This can’t be… Minato, wake up!”
Of course he didn’t. He wouldn’t. It was impossible.
“Minato… Please…” He begged. “You… can’t be dead. Not you… It’s not possible…”
But it was. What Minato had said before had been correct.
if I were to drop dead right now, you would not be able to handle it. You could not accept it. You would not let it go. And Sasuke and Itachi and Mikoto would suffer for it. But it is different for me. It's not as if I expect you to die any minute, but if you did, I would be able to handle it. Because its always there, in the back of my mind. Because I lived through it when I was very little. That is the difference between Mikoto,me andeven Itachi, and you. We can accept the death of our family, and move past it. We can look to the future. But you would remain stuck in the past, get caught up in revenge, and destroy everyone around you.
Still, Fugaku couldn’t accept it. This was just too sudden, too simple. Too unbearably painful.
Minato was his friend. The hokage, the strongest in the village. Minato was the one person, other than Mikoto, that he could truly count on, and trust, to be able to read him like a book. To know him well enough that he could see through any genjutsu Fugaku created.
Minato never needed the sharingan. His own eyes were better than any sharingan, be it the normal sharingan, or the mangekyou. Minato didn’t see people as extras, put there to fill up the background. It was like he saw them in colors, a million different colors. No one people was the same color. Even the Uchiha. Even Fugaku, who, thanks to Minato, was able to accept he was more than just his clan.
The cry of a baby brought him out of his daze. His first thought was Sasuke, who was still an infant himself. But then he remembered that Minato was going to be a father too.
He looked at Kushina. The hole through her stomach had made him believe the baby was dead as well. But…
“Naruto…” His eyes widened and he got to his feet, looking in the direction of the crying to find a ritual alter with a baby lying on top. He ran to it and looked down, breathing heavily.
A boy with blonde hair and bright ble ees, just like Minato’s, was crying. He had a good set of lungs on hi, to be able to cry so loudly. Or was it that he knew his mother and father lay dead not two feet from him?
Fugaku was reluctant, having never held any baby besides his own children. He had never wanted to, but…
He picked up Naruto anyway, and took him over to Minato and Kushina. Kneeling down, he looked at their dead, lifeless eyes and started to cry.
“You did it, Minato, Kushina.” He told them. “Naruto is safe. Sasuke, Itachi, Mikoto are safe too. You saved everyone, again. You won, Minato…”
Fuji
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Fuji!
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Fuji!
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“Minato…!”
“Uchiha Fugaku.”
Fugaku looked over his shoulders. There were anbu, all around him. Root anbu, and they looked very hostile.
“Hand over the Jinchuuriki or face the consequences.” One ordered, holding his hand out as if to receive some object.
Fugaku glared and shot to his feet. It wasn't like he wanted to keep naruto, but he wouldn't give him to Danzo's lackeys. Not in amillion years.
“Never.” He spat. “Not to you.”
“Stop!”
Fugaku turned to see the third hokage walking over with a pair of unfamiliar shinobi. He stepped inbetween Fugaku and the root anbu and held his arms out to Fugaku.
“Give him to me, Fugaku.” Hiruzen said politely, looking sincere.
Fugaku hesitated, but remembered how this man had always been on Minato’s side, protecting him from Danzo when he was still a child.
He gave Naruto to him.
“Go and gather your classmates.” He ordered. “I’ll tell them myself. You root anbu, go and help the villagers. You two shinobi, watch over the fourth and Kushina until the anbu I’ve summoned here arrives.”
Everyone followed their orders. Fugaku looked at his friends one last time before leaving to gather everyone.
The others did not take the news well. They’d been wise to leave their children at home with the clan elders. Babies could have sensed the crushing, agonizing atmosphere.
Naruto was hidden away somewhere, and Fugaku hadn’t seen him since.
He was crying again. “I used to be really confused. I wasn’t sure how or why you could die for Naruto. But now… I think I understand. When you’re children’s lives are threatened… You do whatever it takes, even stooping to things that could brand you a monster for all eternity…
“I’m sorry, Minato. But I’m going to do whatever it takes to protect Itachi and Sasuke. I can’t do anything for Naruto. He’ll have to suvive by luck and his own skill. Forgive me for that. And goodbye…”
Later, on his way home from attending the Academy Entrance Ceremony with Sasuke, the two overheard someone
scream in outrage.
“I’m not that thing!” A young boy cried out. “I’m Uzumaki Naruto! I’ll be hokage someday! You’ll see! I will!”
Fugaku flinched. He saw Minato racing towards him, smirking like he used to. He was always too fast for Fugaku. Just like a bird, he would tturn his nose up at FUgaku, then fly away. There, then gone. All in an instant.
He blinked and saw the truth.
A young boy, Sasuke’s age, with blonde hair and blue eyes. But his expression was just like a certain little troublemaker, a redhaired girl that Minato had told Fugaku he would marry someday.
The boy raced past them, and Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him.
“Loudmouth, shouting in the streets.” He looked up at Fugaku. “Right father?”
Fugaku looked down at him. Should he tell him anyway, even though he was ordered not to? Tell him all about Minato, how they met, how they were friends. How they grew up together. How Minato lived and how he died…
But that boy wasn’t Minato. What would be the point in telling Sasuke Naruto’s parents history? What if he developed preconceptions, and started looking at Naruto like he was Minato’s ghost?
Minato would hate that.
Best to let Sasuke judge Naruto with his own eyes, and not the eyes Fugaku possessed.
He smiled wistfully. “Right…”
“Father? Is something wrong…?”
There were a million things.But Fugaku just looked forward.
“Lets go home.”
SEVERAL YEARS LATER
“They were our enemies, but I kind of liked them!” Naruto grinned. “Is that weird?”
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“Cool! Hey, Sakura!”
He dashed ahead to join his teammates, but Kakashi stayed where he was. Those three… They reminded him of the past.
He looked at Minato-Sensei, who stood beside him with his arms crossed. Kakashi was a little surprised to see him, but even so…
“You were right, Sensei.” He told him, smiling.
Minato looked confused. “About what?”
Kakashi’s smile softened, becoming fleeting.
I know what you must be feeling now… Is painful. But, listen to this… And please believe me. Though dead, they are not gone. Rin and Obitos friendship will come to you again. The salvation for the pain you’re feeling now will be found in the form of other friends.
“What you said to me before.” He answered. “You were right.”
Minato was shocked for a moment, and chuckled. He looked at Sakura, Sasuke, and especially Naruto happily.
“May your time be different from mine…” He said.
“Sensei!” Sakura called, getting Kakashi’s attention. “Come on! You’re slower than Naruto!”
Naruto looked disappointed. “Sakura-chan!”
Sasuke was bored, staring on.
Kakashi looked at Minato-sensei once more, only to find him gone.
He stepped forward. “I’m coming, calm down you three.”
THE END
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