1 Chapter 1

Naruto's theme: Flow (Sign)

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In a landscape bare of all life and clear from even the smallest pebbles, there stood two figures of infinite power. The destruction around them was a result of their battle and nothing was left untouched for thousands of miles. Even the world itself would have fractured if not for the combatants desire to keep the world intact.

Just like all battles, the current battle had also come to an end. There was a winner and there was a loser like always. But from the strange scene, it was difficult to conclude the winner.

With his hand through the abdomen of his best friend, Naruto stood with weary eyes that seemed to be losing their shine. It was like the sun being encased by the darkness.

On the other hand, it was Sasuke who had a smile on his face.

It was a battle between best friends that were close as brothers, and were technically brothers on a spiritual level.

Left with nothing on their bodies, the duo stood close to each other staring each other in the eyes. It was an end that Naruto had never dreamed off. No, it was one that he didn't want to face.

"Please, don't make me do this." Naruto's voice cracked as he felt Sasuke's life force leak. He wanted to stop the battle and keep him alive, but the foe didn't desire such a thing.

"Hahaha, you look pathetic to the end. If you can't even handle this, you should let me kill you. I think it would be better for you than to live in this cruel world. You are still too naïve and inexperienced." Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle at his words. Though, it wasn't out of malice.

"Why won't you listen to me? We can fix everything together. Why do you need to kill me? Why do you need to kill every one of us?" Naruto couldn't understand what his friend was thinking. It made no sense. Together there was nothing to stop them. People wouldn't dare go against their ultimate power and all should go according to order soon.

"That's why you are still a kid. You actually believe that people would fall into line because of our power. Why didn't that happen with Hashirama? Naruto, people are selfish and it won't take them long to go against our desires. It would be worse once they know you are not going to kill. Tell me; will you kill the evil scum in this world?"

Hearing those words, Naruto denied them. He believed that people would change and nobody was inherently evil. He wouldn't go on a killing spree. He would reform the world and guide them on the right path as he had promised to his teacher and Pain.

"That's why one of us has to die and since you are not willing, then I shall do it. I could revive everyone from the war like Pain, but I want you to understand consequences. With this you will learn and grow stronger, because I know that nothing can keep you down.

You are like a little brother to me, Naruto. I hope this world won't be too cruel." Sasuke hugged Naruto and blasted him with all his chakra, leaving behind an empty husk.

Naruto shielded himself on time but he was unable to stop Sasuke from moving on. Stopping himself by pushing against the wind, Naruto walked slowly towards the fallen warrior.

His steps were extremely slow as he couldn't believe his senses. He couldn't feel life from the body anymore. He wanted to deny the reality of the situation.

"Partner, he is…"

"Don't say it." Stopping Kurama from continuing his words, Naruto reached Sasuke and fell to the ground.

There was nothing more to say. He could only regret that he wasn't strong enough. He wasn't convincing enough.

The loss stung worse than Jiraiya's as he was the one responsible for it. Just like Sasuke said, Naruto was going to remember the day forever.

"He isn't dead, as he just went to a better place." Naruto muttered as he saw the smiling visage of his best friend and saw his soul walk towards the people waiting for him. It was a nice dream that he could wish for.

Looking at his eyes, Naruto thought about undoing everything. With the rinnegan he could bring everyone back to life in exchange for his soul. Unlike Pain, Naruto's soul was extremely strong at the moment and could bring back half the world back to life if they died during the current day.

It was an equivalent exchange.

However, he couldn't do it because the world needed him. There were still too many unknown threats and the world was without a guardian to protect it.

He would have given up his life, if there was no need and Sasuke was available.

Picking up the body, Naruto walked towards the location where he could sense Sakura. He needed her help to transplant Sasuke's eyes. He needed them to release the world from the eternal dream and he wanted to show Sasuke that he was wrong. From Obito's experience, he knew that the owner of the sharingan could see through their eyes even when they were transplanted.

Finding Kakashi and Sakura not far off from his location, Naruto went through the operation in absolute silence. There were no words to be exchanged. All of them were too tired of life. The only sound was Sakura's tears as they fell on Sasuke while she took out his eyes.

Transplanting the powerful bloodline into Naruto, she took his blue eyes and gave them to Sasuke. It was too cruel to leave him without them and Naruto wanted it that way.

With the eyes implanted into him, they fused without a problem like they were naturally his eyes. It was the first time after the death of the Sage that the eyes had fused with the body. Naruto possessed the body of the sage while Sasuke had the eyes, and now they were in a single place.

The power was dream like, but Naruto didn't feel a thing. He felt dead inside. Walking towards the Shinju tree, Naruto released the world and allowed the people to return to the grim reality.

Just like that the 4th ninja war had ended and in the history of the world this was the worst event that ever took place. Millions had died in this battle without having a chance to retaliate or escape.

The Juubi blasted randomly and erased landmass of the planet causing immense damage followed by the collapse of the Shinju tree, which dealt even worse damage.

No one had ever expected the outcome or what took place during the week of war, the casualties and collateral damage was beyond anyone's imagination.

It was a victory against the monster that wanted to put the world in a dream but the cost had been very heavy.

There was no joy in the eyes of the victors and weary souls traveled back home to see if their families survived or not. Nonetheless, the alliance leaders decided for a group gathering where they praised the valor and courage of the martyrs to bring hope to the survivors.

The life of a shinobi was short and no one knew when one die, since some even died at the age of 12. It was extremely rare for one to survive into their forties. Death in the battlefield was an honor to these warriors if they had not died without a purpose, reminding the survivors that they had fought against a legend and written history, brought light to their dark souls.

Watching the countless people cry for their loved ones, Naruto stood alone as he stared at Sasuke's statue. None knew that Sasuke had betrayed them at the last moment, except Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi. To the world, Sasuke died like a hero.

"Did it feel like this?" Naruto asked as he felt Kakashi appear behind him.

Kakashi looked towards his dead student and felt regret. He didn't know if he could have changed anything, but there was definitely a path where all of them could have been happy. No matter how much time passed, it seems his life was cursed. It started from his mother to his father, his friends to his teacher and now it even got his students.

"I don't know since everyone feels differently. Maybe, it is worse for you since you are a lot more sensitive than I am."

"I see. I am sorry." Naruto felt like he had uttered some rude words.

"No, I am sorry that I allowed this to happen." Kakashi walked closer turned him around and saw his tired eyes. Naruto had been holding back his tears.

"You don't have to hold back, Naruto. It wasn't your fault, you couldn't have changed anything."

"I could have changed everything. I could have trained seriously and captured him when we met, but I tried to pointlessly learn how to control Kurama's power. I could have put my life on the line and fought him at the Kage summit, but I hesitated after seeing him in pain. I had so many chances, but I never used them. Kakashi sensei, it hurts so much." Naruto shook his head as tears came down. He couldn't help but think of his mistakes.

"Naruto, listen to me. It was not your fault. Sasuke was his own person and this duty is not for children to take responsibility off. It was my mistake and the other adults around him. We failed you, you didn't fail us. You are still a child, Naruto. So, don't try to take the world on your shoulder." Kakashi stared him in the eyes and conveyed his heartfelt thoughts to him. He could see that Naruto was thinking in the wrong manner. He had always been thinking in such a manner and it was extremely harmful for his mental wellbeing.

Listening to his words, Naruto didn't want to start blaming the adults. He knew that more than half the fault lay with the adults, especially Jiraiya and Hiruzen. If they had trained him properly, Naruto knew that the tragedy would have been avoided completely. However, what had happened couldn't be erased and there was no point in whining about the unchangeable past.

Naruto understood the laying blame on anything wouldn't change the fact that it happened. He had just wanted to open up his heart and let out his frustration. He wanted to cry out like a child and scream at the unfairness. However, he stopped himself from such a manner. Sasuke was watching the world through him, so he didn't want to show such an undignified face. It was not right for him to act in such a way, when he was trying to become someone that stood above others.

Everyone had a when they would leave the world, it was best to show them off with a smile and remember the good memories instead of crying about what had been lost.

He really wanted to act in such a manner.

But, he was still not there yet. Naruto's body shook as he hugged Kakashi and let out the tears that would not stop. It felt like a part of his soul had left him. He had run so far and tried so hard, yet the goal slipped through his hands.

The two men stood in silence as there were no words that could bring back what was lost.

"I need to go somewhere." After a minute or two, Naruto felt a life force that reminded him of a duty that he had yet to fulfill.

Disappearing like lightning, Naruto appeared behind a crowd of people within the boundaries of Konoha. He had left the 4th war battlefield and arrived back home, which was quite the distance but he had never left the Sage mode since he woke up and it allowed him to feel the souls across the countries.

He wanted to feel the life force surround him and feel their emotions. He wanted to know what the world had lost and what the world felt.

He was submerged in the world of grief and suffering with the hope and happiness acting like the candle in the darkness.

To change the world into a better place, Naruto understood that he had to endure such pain and suffering. He had to understand it and know the way to get out of it.

Walking through the crowd of people gathered to honor the heroes of the battle, Naruto passed through the gate of the Hyuga clan to their ancestral graveyard where all Hyuga clan members were put to rest.

At the front stood the clan leader and his family and it was where he found Hinata Hyuga. The girl who was usually filled with shyness around him was nowhere to be seen. Just like the rest, she was overtaken by the storm of grief.

The adrenaline had worn off and the spirit of battle had gone to rest, and reality had to be faced. She had lost many family members, but only one had mattered more than anything else. Neji Hyuga had died in battle. He was the one person that had supported Hinata in the cold family.

He had been the hope of the Hyuga clan, a genius that would help it rise to a new level and now all had been lost.

Neji had asked Naruto to protect Hinata and he couldn't deny the words of a friend. Seeing the beautiful young woman cry without support from her father, Naruto stepped forward to provide his shoulder. His presence was unexpected but the clan allowed it because he was the young hero, the savior of the world.

There was not a single being in existence left that could rival him in the world. His mere presence showed his higher realm, it didn't feel human.

It was otherworldly.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Hinata looked to the side and saw Naruto. Her eyes were red from crying and the pain felt unbearable that she was reminded of the time her mother had died.

"I am here for you." Naruto stood beside her and read the name of his friend. Another friend lost, he didn't know if this was life really meant. Will he continue to lose people on this path? Did he ever wonder such thoughts before? Of course not, he used to dream of the perfect world where all of them would live to their death beds and live a satisfactory life.

'I will not allow it. No more, I will not lose anything more than this.' Naruto vowed and believed that he held such capability with his new power.

On his side, Hinata took refuge in his presence and found her spirit once again. He was the love of her life and with him on her side she could take on anything in the world. For him she could endure anything in life.