52. A United Kirigakure part 1

'Urk…'

Naruto's body tensed up as he slowly tried to pull himself up. He realized quickly that he was not in the cemetery where he had previously been. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and fully pulled himself up. He then took in his surroundings.

The blonde was now sitting on top of a hospital bed in a plain, white room. There was a potted plant in the corner of the room and a brown wardrobe with an ornate design, but they were the only things present in the room. Two windows on the wall brought in sunlight from the outside, showing Naruto that it was most likely around noon-time. He looked downward and noticed that his outfit was different; he was wearing a blue robe and pants, both of with had the Kirigakure symbol printed on them. He also had bandages on around his body.

'Ugh, my head.' Naruto rubbed his head. 'How long have I been out?' His eyes widened as he repeated that thought. 'Wait, how long have I been out? What happened in the war?'

He pulled himself off the bed and stood on the ground. His body stiffened slightly and he winced slightly, but he started to slowly walk around the room to get his body used to it. Once the pain started to fade away, he opened the door to the room and started to walk out.

After a few steps out of the room, Naruto bumped into a man. The two fell down to the ground.

"Ow…" Naruto rubbed his head slightly. He then looked over at the person he hit. "Sorry about that-"

The words died on his tongue as he focused his eyes on the man. He recognized him as Doku Sugita, the medical ninja Mei had placed in charge of the Kirigakure rebels. Seeing the man walking around and seemingly alright brought a relief to Naruto; the war, overall, must have ended well for everyone.

"Naruto-san, I am surprised to see you like this!" Sugita was looking at Naruto in shock. "You've been unconscious for three days, so I didn't believe you would be moving about freely like this!"

"Three days?" Naruto's eyes widened at the words.

"You were physically exhausted, your incredibly large chakra reserves were drained, and you sustained heavy wounds. I predicted that you would have remained unconscious for a whole week. Guess the Kyūbi expedited your healing." The medical shinobi said with a chuckle.

Naruto shook his head as he tried to recall his last thoughts. He remembered the fight with Yagura and taking a lot of wounds from him. He also recalled the mental strain of fighting Madara in Yagura's mind and the physical strain of allowing the Kyūbi to take control of him for the fight. It made sense for him to be that drained, but the idea was still surprising: three days unconscious? And it was expected to be a full week?

"Heh." Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Guess I am pretty tough then." His eyes widened once again as an image of his friends came into his mind. "Hey! Where are-"

"Now that you are awake, Naruto, I must ask that you get dressed if you can and report to Mei." Sugita stated, interrupting Naruto's words. "She wanted to talk to you as soon as you woke up. I can lead you to her."

"I can do that." The blonde nodded his head. "But-"

"Great, then I must ask you hurry." Sugita interrupted Naruto again. "She will be greatly pleased to see you're fine. She has things that she needs to discuss with you. So go get dressed. Your clothes are in the wardrobe."

After getting interrupted again, Naruto sighed and walked into back into his room. He would just ask Mei about his friends when he talked to her. As he closed his door, Sugita reached his hand forward, catching the door.

"Naruto-san?" He called out. Naruto turned his attention back to the medical shinobi. "Just to let you know; the Konoha shinobi are fine. Your friends are alright. They have been visiting you multiple times each day. I'll send you to them after your meeting with Mei."

With those words, Sugita closed the door. A relieved smile developed on Naruto's face as he walked over to the wardrobe to get dressed.

Upon getting dressed, Naruto was escorted from the hospital room through the streets of Kirigakure.

The village was, surprisingly, intact. There were a few buildings that had been destroyed and a few areas that appeared to be under construction, but for the most part, Kirigakure seemed as if it had not been just invaded.

"It's a good thing the village isn't ruins or anything." Naruto mumbled to himself.

He was not talking to his escort, but Sugita heard his comment and decided to respond: "The village was worse immediately following the invasion, but the rebels started to assist with the repairs. We are not against Kirigakure and were only trying to change the way the village was being run, so we made efforts to show. Every able-bodied shinobi has been helping and the repairs have been going remarkably fast. I believe that the villagers are just starting to come around."

It was that comment that inspired Naruto to take note of all the people on the streets. Civilian villagers and a few shinobi were walking down the streets of the village. Most of the civilians were eyeing Naruto and Sugita fearfully while the shinobi appeared to be on edge.

'This feels familiar. It's just like it was years ago.' Naruto shook his head, trying to ignore some of the looks and the tension in the air.

"The villagers of Kirigakure were not our enemies, so we did not kill more than necessary. Only people who could be confirmed as Yagura supporters were targeted and we tried to minimize shinobi casualties to the best of our abilities. Despite this, though, Mei-sama's rebels do not have the best of appearances to the people still in the village." Sugita sighed. "To them, we look like a warmongering group that overthrew Kirigakure. It's going to take time before they come around to us, but I'm sure it'll come in time."

"… Yeah. They'll come around." Naruto nodded his head confidently. 'The people of Konoha have started to come around on me; I'm sure the people of Kiri will come around once they realize that the new government is going to be a lot better!'

Conversation between Naruto and Sugita died as they continued on their walk towards Mei. They headed in the direction of the Mizukage's Mansion

"In here, Naruto-san." Sugita instructed as he opened a door to Mei's office before walking off.

Naruto nodded his head before entering the room. The room was very reminiscent of the room he saw in the vision he saw from Isobu's mist-genjutsu technique. Sitting at the desk in the room was Mei. Directly on the desk in front of her was the Mizukage's hat. Standing by her side were Utakata and Jiraiya. All three shinobi appeared to be in the middle of a discussion, but the conversation died as soon as Naruto entered the room.

Both Mei and Utakata smiled at the sight of the blonde while Jiraiya rushed over to his side and hugged him.

"I was wondering when you'd wake up, Naruto! Did you finally get enough sleep?" Jiraiya laughed loudly as he tightened his grip on Naruto.

Despite the joking-nature of his comment, there was evident-relief and joy in his voice; the Sannin was ecstatic to see his godson was conscious again. Naruto smiled back as he returned the hug.

"Long enough to heal up." Naruto replied with a chuckle. "I'm good, Ero-sennin. Don't worry about me."

"Who said anything about worried?" Jiraiya questioned as he finally broke the hug. He placed his right hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I'm glad to see you're up, but I had no doubt you'd be waking up eventually and you'd be fine. You're a tough kid, Naruto."

"I knew you'd be fine as well, Naruto-san." Mei commented as she stood up from her chair.

Naruto turned his attention to the rebel leader. Mei walked forward towards him until she was directly in front of the boy. She then brought her hands together and bowed to him.

"I may not know fully what you did to Yagura, but you managed to free him from his control and end the war in a way that he did not have to die." Mei stated. Tears seemed to develop in Mei's eyes, but the kunoichi quickly rubbed them away before they could fall. "Words cannot express my gratitude fully. Naruto-san, you have an eternal ally here in Kirigakure for your support. From the bottom of my heart; thank you."

"I-I-" Naruto began to stammer. The sincerity and emotion in Mei's voice took him by surprise. He did not know what to say.

"You haven't even been Mizukage for a week and you're already bowing to a foreign shinobi, Mei-san." Utakata commented with a chuckle. "Although I understand why. Naruto-san, you did a good job. Thank you for your support; for not just Yagura's and Kirigakure's sake, but for the sake of all of Mizu no Kuni."

The Uzumaki's cheeks brightened and he began to rub his head sheepishly.

"I-I don't think I deserve all of the praise. You two did most of the work during the fight with Yagura. I only did what I could to help him break free." Naruto admitted. "Um… how is Yagura, by the way?"

Mei lifted her head upward. A small frown developed on her face.

"Yagura is unconscious, just as you were." She answered with a sigh. "He's considered to be stable and the medics I trusted to look after him are expecting he will wake up within the next two days, but for now, he's being held in a hidden room in the hospital, away from everybody else in the area."

"A hidden room?" Naruto blinked in response. "Why? Has anybody tried to kill him or something?"

"That's a fear, yes. There a few rebels that, if they knew that Yagura was still alive and just unconscious, they'd kill him." Utakata replied.

"The fact that Yagura is alive and the truth of his control is going to be an S-Rank secret." Mei said sharply.

"Huh? What?" Naruto shouted as his eyes narrowed at the woman in front of him. "You aren't going to force him to remain hidden for the rest of his life or something, are you?"

"I am already in the process of creating an alias for him to live out his daily life, as either a shinobi or a civilian; whatever he wishes." Mei replied, her frown deepening. "But as for him reclaiming his identity as Yagura… yes, he can never do that again."

"Why? That's not fair to him! Uchiha Madara was controlling him!" The Kyūbi jinchūriki declared.

"Unfortunately, Naruto-san, the truth comes across as unbelievable. I know I didn't really believe it fully, even though I was going on the mission to fight him." Utakata admitted with a sigh. "There are going to be plenty of people, especially amongst the former rebels, who will not believe it."

"I can attest to this. There are only a few shinobi amongst the rebel ranks that knew of what I was hoping to do with Yagura, but I tried to bounce out theories amongst everyone to see if they would accept the idea of him being controlled. Hardly anybody believed it." Mei added. "The Yondaime Mizukage did absolutely horrible things in Kirigakure and people won't accept that he was 'just being controlled' without visible evidence. It's a horrible position, but the people view Yagura as having a lot of blood on his hands, so there is nothing that can be done for him."

"So what if it's unbelievable? It's the truth!" Naruto crossed his arms and repeated his defense.

"It is, but there point stands; not many people will buy it. Especially once you factor Mei-san's and Yagura's former 'relationship'." Jiraiya commented.

"Hmm?" The blonde's eyes narrowed further at Mei in confusion.

Mei looked around the room for a moment, uncomfortable with the discussion. A few seconds passed by before she sighed.

"Yagura and I were teammates throughout our shinobi career and, sometime before the war ended, we became a couple. By the time the war was over, there were rumors that he was planning on asking me to marry him." She admitted with a slight blush on her cheeks. The blush faded almost immediately after it arrived, as her face became slightly hollow. "It's going to look suspicious that I overthrew him and allowed him to live. At best, people will think I made an emotional decision and judge my rule on that notion. At worst… people could view the entire Yagura regime and the civil war as a political scheme between the two of us to ensure that we both became Mizukage. It could effectively destroy Kirigakure."

"What?" Naruto's eyes widened at the thought. "B-But, you would never! You would-"

"She wouldn't, Naruto-san, but that doesn't stop the thought from existing. Conspiracy theories exist for a reason, and if people knew that Mei-san spared Yagura, it would spark multiple that could potentially jeopardize life in Mizu no Kuni again." Utakata stated.

Silence filled the room. Mei looked incredibly uncomfortable as she thought back to her time with Yagura and the amount of precautions she had to make to keep him alive and prevent outcry from spreading throughout the village. Naruto, meanwhile, was processing everything he had heard and was horrified. Jiraiya and Utakata remained quiet, waiting to see who would break the silence first.

"So… the world thinks he's dead, huh? The people are going to think we killed him?" Naruto finally spoke, asking his question quietly.

Utakata nodded his head in affirmation: "It's going to go on all of our records, yes. To anybody not privy to the information, the three of us killed the Yondaime Mizukage."

The blonde shook his head in response. "… I don't feel comfortable with that. At all."

"Neither do I, Naruto. Yagura… he really is… was… is…" Mei shook her head for a moment as she resisted the urge to tear up once again. "Yagura is the love of my life and I'm going to have to convince the world that I had a hand in killing him. But it's for the best. I don't want somebody doing something to Kirigakure and I don't want anybody trying to kill him."

Silence, once again, filled the room. A few minutes passed before a knock on the door to the office sounded through the area. The four shinobi became much more attentive and turned their attention to the door.

"Enter." Mei stated.

The door opened up and a Kirigakure shinobi, dressed in standard attire and wearing a Hunter's mask over their face, entered the room and bowed.

"Godaime-sama, the escort you sent to Kibō has arrived. The village mayor, as well as the lady you requested to be brought here, Hotaru, has arrived." The shinobi reported.

Utakata smiled at the mention of his companion. Mei quickly noted the look and a small smile of her own developed. The two shinobi shared a look before the Mizukage nodded her head in understanding.

"Understood." She said to the newly-arrived shinobi. "Would you be willing to escort Utakata-san here to Hotaru-san?"

"Of course!" The shinobi replied.

"Thank you very much, Mei-san. I'll be back to discuss more things with you after I meet with Hotaru." Utakata replied.

Mei simply nodded her head. Utakata followed the Kirigakure shinobi out of the room. After they left, Mei closed the door to the office and let out a small chuckle.

"Utakata and Hotaru are together again at least… that's some good news. Hopefully their relationship with be able to grow organically and not have anything happen in it like mine." Mei commented to herself, her chuckle picking up a slightly bitter-tone to it.

"Mei-san? Are you alright?" Naruto questioned.

"… I'll be fine. I just need Yagura to wake-up already." The newly-appointed Mizukage sighed. She then turned her attention to Naruto. "Speaking of that, I'll put a notice to my trusted shinobi looking after Yagura that you are to be reported to when he wakes up. I presume that you may want to talk to him as well."

"I would like the chance, yes." Naruto replied.

The blonde's eyes moved towards the door. Watching Utakata leave the room to be reunited with his friend reminded Naruto of his own friends. He really wanted to go meet up with them.

"Um, Mei-san, may I be-"

"You may go meet with you friends, Naruto. They should be staying at the inn just across from this mansion." Mei interrupted him. Her eyes narrowed at Naruto. "I've actually gotten to meet Anko-san, Hinata-san, Shikamaru-san, and Dosu-san. I trust them, I think they are good people, and I believe they have Kiri's best interests in mind. Therefore, if you wish, I'm allowing you to inform the secret of Yagura's circumstances if you wish. However, I will hold them to the standards of an S-Rank secret. I would advise you warn them of that and let them know that it is a secret that I will make sure remains secret with all of my might."

With each word, the Mizukage began leaking more-and-more killing intent focused on Naruto. The blonde gulped once she finished her declaration, but he nodded his head in understanding.

"I-I will inform them of that, yes." He replied.

Instantly, the killing intent stopped and a small smile developed on Mei's face: "Good. Then tell them hi for me, please."

Naruto, once again, nodded his head before excusing himself from the room. Mei and Jiraiya were now alone together.

"You can be a scary woman, you know that, right?" Jiraiya questioned with a slight shiver. Even he felt the killing intent she was releasing and, despite experiencing war and the trials of being a shinobi for over forty years, even he was intimidated by it.

"I am aware, but I have to have some fun from time to time, even if it's just messing with someone with killing intent." Mei replied with a sigh. "These past few days have been draining and I'm still concerned about Yagura. I need to lighten up my mood somehow."

"I understand." The Sannin commented. "… Do you want to take a break? I know we have more things that you and I need to discuss, but we can put them off for a little bit."

"No point." The Mizukage shook her head. "I'll reward myself with a glass of sake later. For now let's get back to business; let's talk about the alliance between Konoha and Kiri."

Jiraiya nodded his head in understanding as his and Mei's business continued from there.

Naruto rushed into the inn and quickly asked the worker at the front desk for the room of his friends. Upon getting the information, he quickly rushed up a flight of stairs and down hallways until he reached the door. He then proceeded to knock on the door.

The blonde stood outside the door, waiting for someone to arrive. Nearly a minute passed by before he knocked again.

"We're coming, we're coming. Just wait a second!" Anko's voice could be heard.

"Take your time." Naruto replied with a chuckle.

The blonde heard no verbal reply. Instead, he heard the sound of loud, quick movement. Almost instantaneously, the door to the room was opened, with Hinata standing in the entrance. Her eyes were wide in surprise and were focused on Naruto.

"Hey Hinata!" Naruto smiled at his girlfriend. "How are you-"

The blonde was interrupted as Hinata closed the distance between the two of them and hugged him tightly. She squeezed him hard, causing him to wince slightly. Hinata loosened her grip slightly, but made sure to remain hugging him. He quickly returned the hug, keeping her close to him.

"You're awake. You're finally awake." She said happily as she smiled brightly at Naruto. "I was getting worried, Naruto-kun! I'm so glad you are finally awake and well!"

"Heh. I'm well, yeah." Naruto replied with a chuckle. "A little sore, but I'm doing good."

"We'd been visiting you every day whenever we could. I wanted to be there when you woke up." Hinata admitted with a shrug. "But whatever; you're good now! Now-"

"-you two can get a room?"

Both Naruto and Hinata turned their heads to see Anko, Shikamaru, and Dosu standing by the door. Anko had a grin on her face as she eyed her former genin students teasingly. This immediately caused the two of them to separate, blushes developing on their cheeks.

"A-Anko-sensei!" Hinata nearly shouted.

"Get your mind out of the gutter! We're thirteen!" Naruto exclaimed, equally flustered.

"Two things," Anko held up two fingers, "one, you're almost fourteen. Two, old enough to kill, old enough to-"

"Anko-sensei…" Hinata's blush brightened.

"Lighten up, you two; I'm kidding." Anko laughed as she walked forward to Naruto. She placed her hand on his head and rubbed his hair affectionately. "All seriousness; I'm glad you are alright, Naruto. No idea what happened in your fight, so it made it concerning to see you in a coma for a few days. Glad to see you're up and moving again."

"Indeed." Dosu spoke up with a chuckle. "And while we don't know much about how your part of the mission went, I'm willing to bet most people in your situation would have been in the hospital for longer if they were in your shoes. You're strong, Naruto-san."

"Heh. Thanks, Dosu." Naruto smiled back at his friend.

The blonde walked over and exchanged a handshake with the bandage-wearing boy. After greeting him, he turned his attention to Shikamaru. He held out his hand to greet him, but he was taken by surprise as Shikamaru, instead, grabbed his hand and pulled him closer, bringing him into a hug. Naruto quickly returned the hug.

"I'm glad you're alright Naruto. We all are." Shikamaru replied quietly, a small smile on his face.

While Naruto could hear the sincerity in Shikamaru's voice, he also detected a trace of sadness in his tone. There was something off with him; something he wasn't fully certain of. Nevertheless, Naruto ignored it for the time being and opted to simply greet his friend with a smile.

"And I'm glad to see you all are alright too. I got a lot of things to talk to you about." He said.

"Wanna go get food real quick, then? My treat and we can chat and catch up on everything." Anko offered cheerfully.

"Nah. We'll get food later, but I have a few things I need to talk to you all in private." Naruto said with a sigh. "Some things that I really need to get off my mind that I just learned."

The mood in the room sobered slightly after his speech. Anko nodded and the group all went back into the room, closing the door and making precautions to make sure nobody could hear anything that Naruto was about to say.

Knowing that he was given the okay from Mei, Naruto told his friends everything; Mei's correct suspicions about Yagura, how the fight went, how the encounter with Isobu and Madara went, Yagura's current health, and Mei's dilemma regarding Yagura. It took him a while to explain everything and the group remained in silence. Hinata, Shikamaru, and Dosu all appeared visibly shocked by his statements. Anko, on the other hand, had closed her eyes as she processed everything Naruto had said.

"… Well… fuck." She finally mumbled after accepting everything he told her. "That's some messed up stuff right there."

With the silence finally broken, the group finally found themselves able to speak their opinions.

"I feel so bad for Yagura-san…" Hinata mumbled, shaking her head slightly.

"He's going to wake up and be forced to accept a whole new identity. And this begs the question; was he aware of what this Madara was having him do?" Dosu questioned quietly. "If he wasn't, then this situation could be even worse for him once he wakes up."

"I don't know if he'll be aware or not." Naruto shook his head. "I don't really know what to do about this. I know that I'm going to be alerted when he wakes up and I'm supposed to have a conversation with him. I hope I can be of some help to him. I can't help but wonder if he'll be okay."

"His whole entire reality is going to be shattered… if it's not already shattered." Shikamaru said. "It's probably going to take more than a few conversations…"

"I'll do whatever it takes." The Uzumaki tightened his hands into fists as his eyes filled with determination. "If it's many conversations or if it's just being a friend, I'll do anything."

"Hmm…" Shikamaru mumbled, as he closed his eyes.

"I'm also still processing the fact that you said the person controlling him was Uchiha Madara." Anko spoke-up again. "I mean, is it really the same Uchiha Madara from history?"

"That's what Ku-Kyūbi. That's what the Kyūbi told me." Naruto stated, correcting his name choice.

Kurama was apparently very picky with who he felt worthy to know and use his name. Knowing that the fox had not given the information to Naruto's friends, the boy made the decision to not use the name around them.

"That dude must be over a hundred then. And that makes me scared about how he is alive and what he has planned in the world, if causing bloodline genocide in Kirigakure is part of it." The Konoha jōnin stated.

"In regards to his age… I know that Orochimaru-sama was experimenting with immortality. There is a chance that Madara may have that ability." Dosu commented.

The mention of her former master caused Anko to shiver.

"I feel like Madara is something that shouldn't be discussed without Hokage-sama." Hinata suggested. "I think the concern should still be focused on Yagura-san and what we can do for him."

"Well, we can't do anything until he wakes up." Shikamaru sighed. He looked over to Naruto and shook his head. "You should probably wait to try and think about what you can do for him until he's awake and you can figure out what he's thinking."

"Yeah, I know." Naruto nodded his head for a moment as a smile developed on his face. "So, I'll guess change the subject. Is there anything good to eat here in Kiri?"

The conversation lightened immediately as the group began to chat about Kiri and fill in Naruto about various places to eat and visit that they felt he would enjoy. Naruto eagerly listened and commented whenever he could. It felt nice for him to have just relaxed conversation, especially after the invasion and all the war preparations leading up to it.

About twenty minutes had passed before conversation stopped; Naruto's stomach interrupted it. His friends all looked at him while he rubbed his head sheepishly.

"Heh… so… about food?" He laughed.

"It is probably time to eat, yes." Dosu nodded his head. His visible eye widened slightly as an idea entered his head. "Why don't you, Shikamaru-san, and Hinata-san go pick food up and bring it here? Anko-taichou and I can work on preparing some tea."

"I like that idea! I like that a lot!" Anko declared as she looked at the bandage-wearing shinobi intently. "I've been meaning to see more of your recipes and it's been a while since I actually brewed anything. This should be good!"

"I would assume so." He chuckled. "I actually have a brew I've been thinking about trying and would like your opinion on it."

"Hell yeah I'll give my opinion!" The jōnin nodded her head fervently.

"Yeah, so in the meantime, we'll pick up food. Probably some type of meat or something." Shikamaru shrugged as he started to walk to the door. "Naruto, Hinata; I'll be waiting outside. Meet me when you're ready to get food."

With those words, the Nara left the room. Naruto turned his attention to Hinata and frowned. The thought he pushed away momentarily about Shikamaru had come back and was now stronger than ever.

"Is he okay?" He asked his friend.

"I… I don't think so." Hinata shook her head. "He's been quiet like that since the invasion after he woke up from a coma of his own." A frown of her own developed on her face. "He hasn't really talked to me about it whenever I've asked him about how he's doing. I, um, would like to think he was just waiting for you to get up so he can talk to the three of us together."

"I see." Naruto sighed as he turned his head towards the door Shikamaru had just walked out of. 'Shikamaru…'

"Whatever's bothering him, we need to be with him. If he just doesn't want to talk, then we need to be with him. That's the motto I've been taking with him so far and I'm going to stick with him." Hinata stated as she held out her hand to the blonde. "Come on Naruto-kun; let's go meet with him."

The jinchūriki nodded his head and took her hand. The two chūnin proceeded to walk to the door and left the room hand-in-hand. Anko and Dosu were now by themselves and began to prepare tea immediately.

Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru walked through the streets of Kirigakure together in the direction of a nearby restaurant to pick up food. Along the way, Naruto and Hinata engaged in small talk, catching up with each other. They tried to prod Shikamaru to contribute to the conversation, but the Nara was remaining quiet and slightly detached along the way; he only added few-word answers and seemed more-than content to have them talk without him.

Both Naruto and Hinata frowned whenever Shikamaru dodged conversation, but he seemed to be almost unaware. He had a far-off look in his eyes; his mind was seemingly focused on something else.

After a few minutes of walking, the trio arrived at a small restaurant and placed in order for food: teriyaki chicken, yakitori, and some dango for Anko. As they waited for the food to cook, Shikamaru sighed and pulled himself away from his thoughts. He then looked at Naruto and Hinata.

"Can I ask you both something? Have either of you truly hated someone before?" He questioned. "Hated someone so badly that you want nothing more than to watch them die?

Both Naruto and Hinata turned their attention to him, shocked at his question. Naruto paused for a moment to think about his answer while Hinata simply shook her head.

"I… can't think of anybody." She said. "I know I felt hatred for Aō once I met him, but I don't think I feel as strongly about him anymore. I'll never like him, but he's a person who puts his love for Kiri above all else. I can't hate him for that."

Her answer brought a frown to Shikamaru's face, which in turn caused Hinata to frown.

"Shikamaru-kun, what's-"

"I hate someone like that." Naruto spoke-up, having come up with an answer.

Both Hinata and Shikamaru turned their attention towards the blonde. The Nara made a gesture with his hand, encouraging him to continue speaking.

"I've… told you both everything. About what happened to my parents, why I'm a jinchūriki, and what really happened with the Mizukage." He whispered to them. His eyes narrowed as his thoughts became more focused. "I know I've disliked and hated some people before, like that asshole Mizuki and the Orochimaru guy who tormented Anko-sensei. But I don't think my feelings for them compare at all to what I feel towards Madara. Our small talk before the fight showed me just who he was; a selfish asshole who doesn't value anything other than himself. I have never felt so strongly about someone in my life; I hate him. I hate him so much. And I can honestly say; he's the only person that I have met that I think truly deserves to die."

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata looked at Naruto softly as she grabbed Naruto's hand again and squeezed his hand affectionately. He looked over to her and let a small smile cross his lips as he returned the squeeze.

"I see." Shikamaru mumbled. "I… I think you feel about him the same way I felt about Karitoriki."

"Karitoriki?" The Hyūga turned her attention back to Shikamaru. "Isn't that the name of the executioner you fought in Chishio?"

"And here. My part of the mission involved me fighting and killing him." He said.

"He's dead? You got him?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"I did." Shikamaru nodded his head. "… Naruto, out of curiosity, does your hate for Madara make you feel like a hypocrite?"

"Huh?" The jinchūriki blinked in confusion at the question.

"Because if you do get to kill him, you are getting your revenge. You're getting back at him for everything he did to you. But doesn't that make you just like him?" Shikamaru's hands tightened into fists. "I… I took pleasure in killing Karitoriki. A lot of pleasure. I killed him with an explosion, the same he killed the hostages in Chishio and I loved the irony so fucking much. I felt myself getting revenge for what he did to him and the feeling was so strong." He shook his head before continuing to speak. "But, in that moment, was I no worse than him, who took the same joy in killing those hostages because of some belief of revenge he had in his own mind? Wasn't I the same person?"

"The same person?" Naruto's eyes widened. He let go of Hinata's hand and put his hands on the Nara's shoulders. "Shikamaru, you aren't-"

"Because it really feels like I'm like him." He spoke-over Naruto, his voice getting louder. "I took some sick joy out of killing somebody and I was able to easily justify the other kills I made. It was about revenge. I let hate guide me and I feel like some kind of goddamn monster."

Naruto shook his head again and tightened his grip on Shikamaru's shoulders: "You know that's not-"

"I can hear Karitoriki's voice still in my head!" He exclaimed, interrupting Naruto again. "His dying words cursing me and telling me that I am just like him in my head. I see and hear him almost every frickin second of every day. And I'm sick of it. I'm absolutely sick of it! I-"

He finally stopped talking as Hinata walked forward and slapped him. She did not hit him hard, only enough to get his attention, but the impact seemed to stun Shikamaru. He looked over to the Hyūga with surprise and fright in his eyes. Hinata returned his look with a determined glint in her eyes.

"Shikamaru-kun, you are not like him. You are not like Karitoriki at all, and you know that." She said confidently.

"H-How do you know that?" He asked quietly.

"For starters, I can tell that already from the fact that this is a concern to you. Based on everything I had heard about Karitoriki, he wouldn't regret making a kill out of revenge." Hinata stated. "You're worried about this; you're worried about potentially being a monster. I think that concern itself shows that you aren't one."

"I suppose, but I still enjoyed killing him." The Nara repeated. "I-"

"But that wasn't why you killed him. That's not why you wanted him dead." Naruto spoke-up, interrupting his friend. "Didn't you want to fight and kill him to make sure he could never perform an execution again? Didn't you want to make sure that nobody died like those hostages did ever again?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"But nothing, Shikamaru-kun." Hinata spoke-over him. "Karitoriki was motivated solely by a desire for revenge; you fought to make sure other innocent people wouldn't die. That's what your concern was about. That doesn't make you like him at all. It makes you a caring person!"

"You asked me if I felt like a hypocrite for hating Madara, Shikamaru." Naruto said. "I have a question for you then; do you think I'd be a monster for killing him? Is that what you would think of me if I did? Because believe me; a part of me probably would enjoy getting the kill on that bastard for everything he has done."

After asking his question, Naruto tightened his hold on Shikamaru's shoulders. The Nara was unable to look him in the eye for a moment and opted to look down at the ground. He remained still for a moment before he finally looked back to Naruto and shook his head.

"I wouldn't. You wouldn't be a monster." He answered softly.

"But why? I just said I'd enjoy killing him." Naruto continued to question.

"Because that's not why you would be killing him." Shikamaru answered softly once again.

"Right. So why would you think of yourself a monster then? Because everything you said about me applies to you!" The Uzumaki declared.

Shikamaru gave no verbal reply. The trio remained silent. Naruto and Hinata stared at their friend while Shikamaru closed his eyes, processing everything they had said. The silence was broken, however, by the restaurant attendant, who delivered bags of food for them. Naruto and Shikamaru took the bags while Hinata quickly paid for the food. The trio then walked out of the restaurant.

"We mean it, Shikamaru-kun." Hinata said as she looked at Shikamaru as the group started to walk back to the inn. "You aren't a monster like Karitoriki. You're a brave shinobi and someone I'm honored to call one of my best friends. And Naruto-kun and I will always be here for you."

"Always." Naruto nodded his head in agreement and smiled.

Shikamaru stopped walking for a moment, prompting Naruto and Hinata to stop. Tears began rolling down the boy's face. Despite the crying, Shikamaru smiled brightly at his two teammates.

"I… I'll try and tell myself. I'm glad I have you two with me." He said quietly.

He briefly set the bag of food in his hand down to rub the tears out of his eyes before picking them up again.

"What are best friends for?" Naruto offered with a chuckle.

"I don't know. I always thought they were just there to whine about me being lazy and drag me into troublesome situations." Shikamaru commented, letting a small chuckle out himself.

"Ha! There's the Shikamaru I know!" The blonde proceeded to laugh in excitement.

HIs laugh was infectious, as Hinata and Shikamaru joined in. The three friends continued on their walk towards the inn; the air in the conversation much lighter.

Shikamaru still appeared to be a little guarded and less talkative than usual, but it did appear as if there was definitive improvement in his mood. This improvement made the smiles on Naruto's and Hinata's faces even wider. Any little bit counted in their heads, after all.

After eating and trying tea, the rest of the day went by quickly. Naruto spent every moment of it with his friends. By the time the day ended, he had been invited to stay the night with the group.

The room had two beds and a couch. As the person just entering the room, Naruto offered to take the couch. Hinata and Anko slept in one of the beds while Dosu and Shikamaru shared the other bed. The four shinobi quickly fell asleep, while Naruto had some difficulties.

'God, I'm asking for the bed next time and not offering to take this again.' He grumbled to himself.

After roughly an hour of trying to fall asleep, Naruto finally started to find some peace and began to fall asleep. This peace was interrupted, however, by the sound of movement. The boy quickly opened his and looked around the room. Nobody was up in the room, moving around. Instead, Shikamaru was tossing and turning in his bed.

"Shikamaru?" Naruto mumbled to himself as he got up from the couch and walked over to his friend.

The blonde got a close look at his friend and noticed that Shikamaru had a troubled expression on his face as he moved around in bed. He frowned, realizing what was happening.

'He's probably having a nightmare…' Naruto shook his head.

Naruto placed his right hand on Shikamaru's body and rubbed it soothingly. The gesture, after a few seconds, seemed to calm Shikamaru down slightly. The Nara stopped moving around in his bed. However, he still had a troubled look on his face. Naruto's frown deepened slightly.

'He's probably going to be feeling like this for a while.' He sighed. 'There's got to be something I can do. Something that can help him a little more, even if it's just a little bit.'

The blonde remained still for a moment as he tried to think of something he could do. After a minute, an idea entered his head. The frown on his face had morphed into a grin as he rushed over to the table in the room. He grabbed a piece of paper and an ink pen and started writing a letter. After ten minutes, he finished writing. Once that was done, he bit his thumb and started to make a series of hand signs.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

In a poof of smoke, Gamakichi appeared in the room. The little orange toad hopped in place for a moment before looking at Naruto with a grin.

"Hey, you're Naruto, right? I remember ya!" He exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's me. But can you be quiet for a little bit?" Naruto whispered to the toad. He received a nod in response. "Good. Now, I have another question; how long does it take for you toads to get around places and deliver a message?"

"Well, it shouldn't take long. It doesn't take that long for us animal summons to travel. Us especially, since Jiraiya has made precautions so that we can always travel to places whenever he can't physically get there." Gamakichi replied. "However, it all depends on where you want to go. Do you have a message for me to give to somebody?"

"I do." Naruto nodded his head.

The Uzumaki proceeded to give Gamakichi the note he wrote. He whispered in the toad's ear where to go and who to give the note to. Gamakichi nodded before disappearing in a poof of smoke, heading towards the location to deliver the note.

Feeling satisfied with his plan, Naruto went back to the couch. His eyes briefly went over to Shikamaru's sleeping figure.

'You'll like what I did, Shikamaru. Trust me.' He thought to himself as he lied down.

Now, Naruto went back to his earlier struggle: trying to sleep on that damn couch…

The next day began quickly for the group; Hinata woke up early and announced that she wanted to go to a funeral. She, along with Naruto, Shikamaru, Dosu, and Anko, proceeded to get dressed and headed in the direction of a cemetery.

While on the way, Naruto realized which cemetery they were heading to: the cemetery directly in front of Yagura's house and the location of his battle with Yagura. A frown developed on his face.

'Whose funeral are we going to?' He wondered.

As the trio finally arrived, Naruto's eyes moved up to the gate. He read the quote written on it again: "You shall never die, for you shall remain in the hearts of those who inhabit the land". After reading, he joined the rest of his friends as a group of people began arriving at the cemetery. There was an open grave with a coffin inside. Directly in front of the grave was a picture of Akebino Jinin.

"I knew Akebino Jinin well. I have never seen such a hearty man in my life. He had an infectious attitude towards life. He looked forward for everything. There was absolutely no way you could ruin his mood." Mei informed the crowd of people at the cemetery, a sad smile on her lips. "Even when his fiancée died the Third Shinobi World War, he still managed to soldier on. 'She wouldn't want me to be stuck in a rut' is what he would always say if you brought it up with him."

Mei continued to talk about Jinin and his contributions to Kirigakure. All shinobi, even the Konoha visitors who had not known him well, were in somber silence as they paid their respects to the member of the Seven Swordsman of Kirigakure. Hinata, in particular, had her hands together in prayer.

'If there is a God out there, please; take care of Jinin-san. Reunite him with his fiancée and let him have peace in the afterlife. Please.' She prayed.

The funeral lasted an hour and a half before the grave was covered with dirt and a tombstone was placed in the earth. Soon, the crowds of people began to leave the area. Hinata, however, remained. She informed her friends that she would meet up with them a little bit later and asked if she could have a moment by herself. She remained there, her eyes focused on the grave.

She wasn't, however, the only person that remained. Aō, whose body was covered in bandages from nearly-fatal injuries he received from Uchiha Itachi, remained. The man continued to look back-and-forth from Jinin's grave to Hinata.

After staying silent for roughly thirty minutes, Aō finally walked forward to Hinata. The Hyūga briefly turned to look at him and acknowledge his presence before turning back to his grave.

"How did you know Jinin-san?" Aō questioned her.

"We met by chance." Hinata answered curtly. "He offered to help me train for the invasion and I accepted it."

"Did you get to know him well?" He asked.

"I… I like to think I did." She answered with a frown. Tears started to run down her eyes. "We didn't talk too much about our personal lives much, but he just seemed to care about me. He told me in training that he was going to make it a priority that I made it out alive. And he told me to enjoy love and life with his dying breath." More tears began to fall, but Hinata didn't bother to try and wipe them away. She just let them free-fall down her face. "He seemed to care so much about me for some reason. He was one of the nicest, most genuine people I've ever met."

"That sounds like him." Aō mumbled, shaking his head slightly. "Jinin had an attitude about life that I really respected. He saw the best of everyone and everything and seemed to have just the right attitude to be a great shinobi; someone with a thirst for battle, adventure, and a desire to make a difference in the world."

"He didn't deserve to die." Hinata stated.

"Nobody does, but him especially." The Kiri shinobi said with a sigh. "It's… how war works, though."

The two shinobi remained quiet for a moment as they focused their attention on Jinin's grave. Five minutes passed before Hinata finally rubbed the tears out of her eyes and turned around to walk away.

"Hinata-san?" Aō spoke to her. She stopped walking away and turned back to him. "If Jinin wanted you to live, then live in his honor. I tell myself that I am living for every shinobi I knew that passed away from war. You should try and do the same."

"I… I will." Hinata nodded in understanding.

With that thought, the Hyūga walked away. She repeated Aō's words and Jinin's final words to her in her head for a moment as a small smile developed on her face.

'I'll… I'll live in your honor, yes. I'll enjoy life to its fullest for as long as I can.' Hinata told herself.

She only wished that she could be telling it to Jinin himself.

After Hinata left the cemetery, she met up with her friends back at the inn. After reuniting for a brief period of time, everyone went off in separate directions; Dosu left to meet up with Misora, Naruto and Hinata went to go have lunch with Honoka, and Shikamaru decided to go try and find Haku. Only Anko remained, claiming that she needed to get ready for some important meeting that night.

Shikamaru walked through the streets of Kirigakure, trying to find the ice-style user. After aimlessly searching throughout the village for nearly an hour, Shikamaru finally spotted him at the hospital.

Haku was standing in front of the village, talking to a medical shinobi. As Shikamaru walked closer, he identified the medic as Kiri. Just as Shikamaru was about to approach them, the two shinobi embraced each other in a hug. The hug lasted for a few seconds before Kiri finally broke it and walked back into the hospital. Haku stayed outside the building, smiling slightly to himself. Shikamaru let a small smirk grace his lips as he approached him finally.

"So, are you two a thing yet?" He questioned.

Haku turned his head towards Shikamaru in surprise. The Yuki's eyes widened and his cheeks reddened as he processed the question. He proceeded to quickly shake his head.

"I-I have no idea what you are talking about." Haku replied quickly.

"I already know about your feelings for him, Haku. I remember that conversation. And, to be honest, that looked a little more affectionate than just a friendly hug." The Konoha shinobi continued to tease. "Did you finally decide you want to pursue it?"

"I-I-I…" The Kirigakure shinobi's face brightened further, now resembling a color that Hinata would be surprised to see existed. "M-Maybe. I'm s-still not certain wh-what I plan on d-doing about that."

"Well, hope you find out soon. Just try and find some happiness, Haku." Shikamaru stated. "You deserve it."

The blush on Haku's face started to fade and a sincere smile developed on his face.

"Thank you for that, Shikamaru-kun. It means a lot." He said cheerfully. "As do you. I'm pleased to see you are in good spirits."

"I'm… well, to be honest, I'm still not in the best of moods, but I'm getting better." Shikamaru admitted with a sigh. "My friends are helping me in that aspect."

"At least you are getting better. That's a good thing." Haku commented, still smiling. "I'm always available if you wish to have another person to talk to."

A small smile developed on Shikamaru's face, but he shook his head. "Thanks Haku, but I think I just need to do some thinking about things. I got a good talk out yesterday; I just need to think and deal with the rest of my demons myself I think."

"I understand, but the offer is still there." Haku said. "I appreciated you being there when Zabuza-sama was out of the village for me, so I'll always be there for you if you just need to talk."

"Thank you for that." Shikamaru replied, still smiling. "So, you have been doing good though? Other than stuff with Kiri?"

Another blush developed on Haku's face, but the Yuki-clan shinobi's smile seemed to grow at the question: "Things have been great just on virtue of the fact that the war is over. Peace can finally start to develop in Mizu no Kuni. I'm hoping this spreads quickly throughout the region and everything will be at ease in the next few years."

"Hopefully." The Nara nodded his head in agreement.

"I actually have requested Mei-sama to send me on missions throughout Mizu no Kuni, actually. I want to be a part of making sure that policies are enacted to prevent discrimination and violence towards any kekkei genkai users that are still living in Mizu no Kuni." Haku said, his smile picking up a sad undertone. "I want to make sure that nothing like what happened to myself and my mother can ever happen again. I think, with time, that can become reality and violence like that will be a distant nightmare."

"That'd be good. Sounds like a lot of work, but it would do good. And I think you'd be able to help make that happen." Shikamaru commented.

"Hopefully." Haku replied. The boy then looked over at the Konoha shinobi and gave him a grin. "Shikamaru-kun, this may sound like a weird question, but are you up for a spar? I have not done any training since the end of the invasion and I don't want to become lax. I feel like I need to make sure that I'm at my strongest in case if anything happens."

Shikamaru looked at Haku, processing his request. Truth be told, he had not done any training either since the end of the invasion and he told himself he was going to be taking his training and development more seriously since the mission in Chishio. He was uncertain how long he and the rest of the Konoha shinobi were going to be in Kiri anyway, so it would be taking advantage of a chance to spar with Haku again for what could potentially be one of the last times.

'Besides, maybe getting a fight in can help me get over some of my demons.' Shikamaru realized.

"Yeah sure, I'm up for a spar." He replied. "Lead me to a training ground."

Haku nodded his head in affirmation before he started to walk off. Shikamaru followed behind, ready to start training again.

"Thanks for meeting up with us, Honoka-nee!" Naruto told his fellow Uzumaki.

"No, thank you both for meeting up with me!" Honoka replied with a chuckle.

Naruto and Hinata had quickly found Honoka and agreed to go get lunch together. They agreed on a nearby bakery and quickly ordered treats. Hinata got herself a plate of cinnamon rolls. Naruto, too, ordered cinnamon rolls, but the number on his plate failed to compare to the amount Hinata had. Honoka, on the other hand, decided to order uirō steam cakes. Upon getting their food, they immediately sat down and began eating.

"The sweets here are great." Naruto declared after taking his first bite of a cinnamon roll.

Hinata nodded in agreement but gave no verbal reply; she was too focused on eating her own cinnamon rolls to actually say anything.

"Yup. I can tell that I'm going to actually going to enjoy staying here." Honoka grinned as she finished the first of uirō cakes.

Naruto was about to say something else, but Honoka's comment made him notice something about her. Honoka now was wearing a Kirigakure forehead protector on her forehead. The metal on it was particularly shiny, suggesting that it was brand new.

"Are you officially a Kiri shinobi?" He questioned.

Honoka looked towards Naruto and blinked in response. A quick smile developed on her face as she brought her finger up to the forehead protector and flicked it lightly.

"Looks neat, huh?" She said with a chuckle. "Yup, I'm a shinobi now. Got placed as a jōnin and everything. I already did all of the paperwork and crap, so everything is official."

"Congratulations!" Hinata finally took a break from eating to smile at the Uzumaki.

"Thanks." Honoka replied, grinning. "I'm actually kinda happy with this. I was going to probably become a wanderer throughout the elemental nations and continue to do some mercenary work. I'm kinda relieved that I actually have a place I can settle down in and call home, especially now that the war is over and everything is at peace."

"If you're looking for a place to stay, you could come to Konoha." Naruto offered. "Me and Tayuya-nee are trying to find all of the Uzumaki scattered across the globe and try to revise the clan."

"You told me that. I think that'd be cool to be part of that, but I really feel like I need to stay here." Honoka replied as she looked towards the window of the bakery, looking outside into the streets of Kirigakure. "I kinda got attached to some of the rebels and Kiri in general. I feel like I can do some good here and I'd like to keep doings things for them. I think this place is my home."

"I see." Naruto nodded his head.

While he understood her logic, he was slightly hopeful that maybe she would take up his offer. He really enjoyed meeting another Uzumaki and someone passionate about fūinjutsu. Having Honoka in Konoha would have been amazing for him.

Honoka seemed to notice Naruto's slight disappointment. She quickly shook her head.

"Don't be upset, Naruto. I'm still here and you'll always have family if you ever are in Mizu no Kuni." She told him. She then pumped her fist, looking determined. "Besides, the Uzumaki were a clan that had spread out around the world. I can help with that. You can establish them in Konoha and I'll establish them in Kiri. Together, we'll create two strong Uzumaki clans that can show the whole world just how powerful the Uzumaki Clan is!"

Her comment seemed to immediately please Naruto. A grin developed on his face as he nodded again in understanding.

"Of course, dattebayo!" He exclaimed, pumping his own fist in a similar manner to his cousin.

"The Uzumaki clan will grow. Do not worry about that." Hinata commented after finishing another cinnamon roll. She smiled at the two Uzumaki clan shinobi. "We'll find more of your family around the world. And if there's anything I can do to help find them, then I'll do whatever it takes."

"I know we will. And thanks Hinata-chan!" Naruto grinned as he smiled at his girlfriend.

Hinata returned his smile. She opened her mouth, about to ask another question, but was interrupted by the sound of the bakery door opening.

Doku Sugita walked in and quickly walked over to the table. The medic had a serious look on his face.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I was looking for you." He said.

"Why?" Naruto blinked in response. "Is Mei-san wanting to talk to me again?"

"No, although someone actually did get sent to her to talk to her. Hopefully they'll report to her soon." Sugita mumbled to himself before shaking his head. "I'm here to report to you about the information that Godaime-sama wanted you to be informed of. You are to come with me."

Naruto's eyes widened. He realized what this meant; Yagura was awake!

"Do you need to go somewhere Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, a slight frown developing on her face. She had been hoping to spend more time with him.

"It's important, Hinata-san. My apologies." Sugita bowed to her.

"I'm sorry Hinata-chan." Naruto told his girlfriend as he stood up. "I'll meet up with you as soon as I'm done!"

Hinata stood up and gave her boyfriend a hug goodbye. After bidding farewell to her and Honoka, Naruto followed Sugita out of the bakery. Hinata proceeded to sit back down with Honoka, turning her attention back to her cinnamon rolls.

"That kinda sucks. I didn't even get to the cool thing I wanted to share with you both." Honoka frowned as she turned her attention to her second uirō cake.

"What was that?" Hinata looked at the Uzumaki curiously. "You can tell me and I can tell him later… or you can tell him later."

"Heh. I can tell you now if you want to know. There's more to my appointment as a shinobi of Kirigakure than what could be considered normal. It's actually going to be a big deal." She said with a chuckle. "Momochi Zabuza needs to reform the seven swordsman of Kirigakure to counteract the fact that Jinin, Jinpachi, and Kushimaru are dead and their swords have been reclaimed. He extended the offer to me, so I'm going to be joining the group."

"What? Really?" Hinata's eyes widened at the information.

"Yup. He's going to have a meeting tonight to make this more official and give me sword, but it's going to happen." Honoka commented with a grin. She rubbed her nose with her index finger for a moment before looking at Hinata. "Pretty cool, huh?"

This sparked a new discussion, focused on Honoka's appointment.

Sugita led Naruto to Kirigakure's hospital and escorted him through a series of secret passageways. The two ended up going deep into an underground floor underneath the building. The walls were made of stone and torches were on the walls, providing the only light in the hallways.

After walking for ten minutes through these hidden hallways, the duo reached a wooden door. Sugita opened the door before bowing and walking off. Naruto proceeded to walk inside. He was greeted with the sight of what appeared to be a standard hospital-room. It was very reminiscent to the room he had woken up in, only the room had no window. Instead, four seals on the walls created the light that illuminated the room.

Sitting on the edge of the bed in the center of the room was the Yondaime Mizukage. Yagura was not wearing the standard clothes that Naruto had remembered him in; he was wearing a green hospital robe that covered his body. There were a few bandages that could be seen on parts of his body that weren't covered by the robe.

Naruto's entrance to the room alerted Yagura's attention; the now-former Mizukage was looking at Naruto intently with blank, almost dead-like eyes. Realization seemed to appear in his mind, as if he recognized the boy in front of him.

"Um, Yagura?" Naruto said the man's name awkwardly. "I, um, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. I don't know if you know who I am-"

"I know who you are, Naruto-san. You're a pretty central figure in my most recent memories." Yagura replied.

The man's voice no longer had the harsh, sinister sound to it that Naruto noticed during their battle. It was seemingly replaced with hollowness; Yagura spoke with almost no emotion.

"… So you remember me, huh? How much do you remember of what's happened?" Naruto asked him.

"Most of everything. Just not in too much detail." Yagura sighed. "Everything felt as if it was a dream: some type of ungodly nightmare that I couldn't wake up from. I don't remember specific events with the exception of our battle, but I remember general ideas. I can remember mostly every law that I enacted as Mizukage and all of the violence that I generated."

Naruto's face turned into a frown. 'So he does remember…'

Silence filled the room as Naruto tried to think of something to say. Yagura remained still, looking at Naruto intently. It appeared as if he was looking through him, which unnerved him. After a few seconds to gather his thoughts, Naruto opened his mouth to say something. Before he could, however, Yagura decided to speak.

"In the brief time I've been conscious, Isobu told me about what you did in my mindscape." He stated. "I must thank you for everything you've done for Kirigakure. Thank you for destroying that awful spirit that was acting as Mizukage."

"Um, don't thank me." Naruto shook his head. "Thank Mei-san for that. I wasn't much help until I got into your mindscape."

"Mei…" Both Yagura's voice and eyes softened at the mention of the rebel leader. He quickly shook his head. "I owe her more than just thanks; I owe her an apology. And I owe her my life…" The Yondaime Mizukage's eyes seemed to harden once again. "Naruto-san, can you answer me one question."

"What question?" Naruto asked.

With that prompt, Yagura's hollow eyes narrowed.

"Why did you bother freeing me?" He asked. "Why couldn't you just have killed me?"

"What?" The Uzumaki gasped. "You wanted me to kill you?"

"Naruto-san, I've already been dead for the past twelve years." Yagura answered plainly. "The only thing you did was free me from death in time to see, in person, all the death and destruction that was done in my name."

"That's not your fault!" Naruto shook his head. "Madara got the jump on you-"

"I was elected to be the Yondaime Mizukage!" Yagura shouted, interrupting Naruto. "I was supposed to be able to keep Kirigakure safe from all possible threats. After the Sandaime Mizukage, who led our village into the Third Shinobi World War, I was expected to bring peace to our village. Instead, I let the biggest threat the village has ever seen take control of me and use my abilities to destroy not only the village, but the entire nation of Mizu no Kuni! I ended up doing more damage than the man who was responsible for all of the deaths in the last war!"

Naruto remained quiet for a moment as he watched Yagura. The man was releasing killing intent throughout the room, but the intent was scattered and not focused on any one thing in particular. If anything, it seemed as if it was focused on himself.

"I don't deserve to be alive." The man declared. "Not after everything that I have done. I failed Kirigakure. The only fate I deserve is to have the gods send me to hell."

"No you don't. You don't deserve death or hell or anything!" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Yagura gave no verbal reply. He remained focused on releasing killing intent towards himself. Naruto was now starting to become incredibly uncomfortable in the room. His eyes instinctively wandered throughout the room, making sure that there was no weapon in sight. He let out a quick sigh in relief upon not seeing a single one – not even Yagura's staff.

"To be frank, I probably deserve worse than hell. But whatever; I'm alive for now at least." Yagura let-out a defeated sigh. "I suppose I just need to live and accept the sins done in my name."

"Nothing was done in your name, Yagura. That was all Madara!" Naruto insisted, shaking his head quickly. "That man's a monster and he's done so much evil, even outside of Kiri. He also killed a bunch of Konoha shinobi and basically caused the death of my Mom and Dad."

"… Ah, yes. I remember that you said that during our fight. You're Namikaze Minato's son, right?" Yagura questioned. Naruto nodded his head. A small, sad smile developed on the Yondaime's face. "We were the youngest Kage ever at the time. I had always wanted to meet him. He was the ideal shinobi and I heard he was a great man."

"I wish I could have met him too." Naruto replied, letting the same sad smile develop on his face. "My father was the fucking best shinobi ever."

"Please don't use language like that." The Sanbi jinchūriki requested, his smile immediately turning into a frown.

"Huh?" The Konoha shinobi blinked in response.

"That 'f' word. It's vulgar." He said simply.

"What? It's just a word! Everyone uses it!" Naruto exclaimed, letting a laugh out.

"That's no excuse! There are so many words you can choose from in our language; don't simply stick with the most inappropriate of the bunch." Yagura scolded. Despite the nature of his comment, his frown turned back into a small smile and he let out a small, brief laugh. "Regardless, you are correct. Minato was a great shinobi. I had intended on making an alliance between our villages, but then he passed away."

"Really?" Naruto looked at the Sanbi jinchūriki in surprise. "You could have still requested an alliance, you know?"

"I realized, but I wanted to wait. Your village has a particular shinobi that I did not want to see come to power." Yagura shook his head, as if rejecting a memory. "I wanted to wait a little while and see who would be in charge of Konoha. However, in that time, this 'Madara' person decided it was the time to come to Kirigakure and hijack my body."

"He's going to pay for everything he's done." Naruto shook his head in anger. "I'll make sure of that."

"I would like to be of assistance in any way I can with that, Naruto-san." Yagura nodded his head in agreement. His voice picked up an incredibly angry-tone to it. "I don't really believe I have any reason to be alive, but since I am, I feel I have a duty to make sure that that evil is cleansed from this world."

"We can do it. We can do it together." Naruto replied sharply. His face then proceeded to soften as he let a small smile cross his lips. "But Yagura, you still have a reason to be alive. There's more to life."

"I understand that. It's a matter of getting purpose in life again." The former Mizukage sighed. "My purpose, at the time, was to become Mizukage and try and bring peace to Kirigakure. I accomplished my goal, but I brought nothing but peace."

"So make that your new goal." The Uzumaki declared. "I don't know how you would plan on doing it, but you have to understand; Kiri is going to need time and work to become peaceful again. You can play in a role in its restoration somehow. Undo all the damage that Madara did and try and fix the village and the country."

"I suppose." Yagura sighed again. "It's going to be a challenge, but it's irresponsible to not do anything. I'll need to try something to correct everything that's happen."

The small smile on Naruto's face grew, picking up a teasing glint to it: "And not even talking about that stuff, I think there's at least one thing still here in the village that'll give your life purpose."

"Oh?" The Sanbi jinchūriki turned his head in confusion.

Before Naruto could answer, the door to the room was slammed open. Terumī Mei stood at the entrance, breathing heavily. Sweat was dripping off her body. It seemed as if she dropped everything and rushed over as quickly as she could.

"M-Mei?" Yagura's eyes widened at the sight of the woman.

Mei gave no immediate verbal reply she was still trying to catch her breath. After taking a few seconds to recover, her eyes quickly zoomed in on Yagura. She stood still for a moment, her eyes widened slightly as she looked him in the eye. The two remained still for roughly a minute before she finally rushed forward and closed the distance. Mei grabbed Yagura's body and pulled him into a deep, hug. Tears fell from her eyes.

"Yagura, I can't believe you're here. I can't believe I have you back." She sobbed. "I thought the Yagura I had known had been long gone. I-I-"

"I was gone. I should be dead." Yagura said, interrupting her. He closed his eyes as he returned her hug. "I don't know why I'm still here. I don't know why you or Naruto-san or the gods have decided I get to live." Tears – tears that Yagura had seemingly been holding in since his body had been taken over – finally fell from his eyes as he tightened his hug. "But, if it means I get to hold on to you like this again, then it's worth being alive."

Neither Mei nor Yagura said anything; the two seemed focused solely on their embrace. The only sound in the room was their sobbing.

Naruto remained still in the room, forgotten. A smile crossed his lips as he watched them together. A few seconds passed before he decided to walk out of the room. He closed the door, but neither Yagura nor Mei seemed to notice.

'I'll talk to them later. They need their time.' He told himself as he started to walk in the direction he came from.

Upon leaving the hospital, Naruto reunited with Hinata and headed back towards the inn together. They returned to the room only to bump into Anko, who was walking out of the room.

"Where are you going, Anko-sensei?" Hinata questioned. "Do you have plans or something?"

"Didn't I say anything earlier when we all met up after the funeral?" Anko questioned. Both Naruto and Hinata shrugged their shoulders, causing her to frown. "Could've sworn I did, but whatever. Zabuza asked me to come to some meeting. Said he's actually treat me and a few others to drinks after too, so I'll probably be back late and wasted." A grin then developed on her face. "Actually, scratch that. Hopefully I'll be back sometime tomorrow. I'm hoping to find some hot looking guy tonight. I could use a good fuck."

"Okay, we did not need to know that last bit!" Naruto grumbled, shaking his head.

"What? Whiskers, it's just sex. Lighten up. I've teased you two enough about it already." The jōnin said with a chuckle, causing both of her students' cheeks to brighten. "I haven't had any action since before I became your guys' senseis back when you all were genin. Believe me; I need this."

"Th-Then you go do what you need to do." Hinata mumbled in reply, her blush still present.

"Oh I will!" Anko winked. Her students blushed further, causing the jōnin to laugh loudly as she started to walk away. "Or, if I don't find somebody, at least I'll get a few good drinks and hopefully a laugh. Zabuza's good company."

With that, Anko walked off, heading in the direction of her meeting. Naruto and Hinata stood still for a moments before shaking their heads in an attempt to get rid of their blushes. They then proceeded to walk into the room.

"Anko-sensei sure can be… something… I guess." Naruto said with a chuckle.

"She's always open about herself. Never hides anything. I really respect that about her." Hinata admitted with a giggle herself. She was about to say something else about their former genin-sensei, but a thought entered her head, creating a look of confusion on her face. "That's interesting…"

"Hmm?" The Kyūbi jinchūriki gave his girlfriend a curious look. "What's interesting?"

"Anko-sensei is going to a meeting with Zabuza. That's precisely what Honoka-san is going to for the swordsman commencement." Hinata stated.

"What swordsman commencement?" Naruto continued to question.

Recalling exactly when Naruto left the bakery, Hinata proceeded to explain to Naruto how her conversation with Honoka went, starting with her appointment to the Seven Swordsman of Kirigakure.

"Back here again…" Anko mumbled as she entered the headquarters to the Seven Swordsmen of Kirigakure.

The jōnin entered the dojo-like entry room. She proceeded to go through the hallway to the left of the entrance. As she walked down the hallway, she saw a series of doors, each labeled with numbers on them. She pulled out a piece of paper and walked forward until she found the room with the correct number she was looking for. Upon finding it, she entered the room.

The new room was relatively small and seemed to be a conference room of sorts. There was a large, circular brown table in the center with ten chairs around it. There were no windows in the room; only sealing tags that kept the room illuminated. The walls of the room were decorated with ink paintings of waves and the ocean.

"Anko-san, I see you have arrived." Zabuza greeted her.

Anko immediately turned her attention towards the swordsman. Zabuza had gotten out of his chair and walked forward to greet her. The two shook hands.

"Sorry if I'm late." She informed him.

"You're on time, do not worry. Mostly everybody was just early. We are only waiting on Mei to arrive." Zabuza replied.

With that comment, Anko took the time to look around the room and see the other occupants. She recognized everyone in the room. She noticed Jiraiya instantly, and he appeared to be the only other Konoha shinobi. Chōjūrō, Uzumaki Honoka, and Hōzuki Suigetsu were also present.

Seeing the empty seats by Jiraiya, the Konoha jōnin walked over to take one o