A few hours later, Konoha was already busy. The village was being repaired from the damage caused by the joint invasion. Naruto had created an army Shadow Clones to assist the civilians in the reconstruction which was greatly appreciated by many.
Naruto stared out at Konoha from his spot on top of the Hokage Monument, he was standing on the stone head of the Fourth Hokage.
Meanwhile, two figures stood atop a small hill overlooking Konoha, both of them were wearing black cloaks with red clouds and straw hats on their heads.
"You know, for having come out of a war, they seem to be doing pretty good." The much taller figure said.
"Are you feeling nostalgic being back in your home village?" The shorter figure looked up after the taller man's question, revealing a pair of Sharingan with three tomoe in each.
"No."
.
.
Gaara blinked a few times as he continued staring at the ceiling of the jail cell he was in. It had been since he and his siblings were captured. It was boring but it gave him a lot of time to think about Naruto's words.
'I'm strong because I don't fight for myself. I fight to protect my precious people, my friends and those I consider family.' Gaara replayed one of the things Naruto told him during the end of their fight.
'Fighting for others....does it really make you that strong?' He wondered. The words Naruto had spoken had been on his mind for a while now.
The blonde had beaten him, a feat that no one had been able to accomplish before. His strength was obvious, yet Naruto said he fought for others, not himself.
'If I fight for others, could I gain that kind of strength?' Gaara asked himself before he looked around his cell. The walls were not very thick and he knew that both his siblings were with him.
Unlike them, he had been conscious when they had been taken into custody, so he knew they had been placed in a jail cell next to his.
Could they become his precious people? They were family, though he knew they were afraid of him. Yet at the same time they were the only ones who had stayed near him, even after he had threatened to kill him.
Besides that, if he wanted the kind of strength Naruto possessed he had to start somewhere right? Gaara ignored his beating heart as he opened his mouth to speak.
"Temari, Kankuro?" There was a short pause after Gaara spoke.
"Yes, Gaara?" Temari answered in a surprised voice.
"...I'm…sorry, for the way I treated you two. I shouldn't have done that...." Gaara apologized. These words felt foreign, but at least he had said them.
"... Don't worry about it Gaara..." Kankuro replied with a shocked tone. Gaara sighed, realizing this would be harder than he thought.
Still Naruto had never given up even when he was facing such difficulties. He had lived a life like Gaara's. If the blonde Jinchuriki could do it, then maybe he could too.
.
.
Sakura was wearing a surgeon outfit as she and a group of doctors and nurses were performing an operation on a chunin who got injured during the failed invasion.
This was her 13th sugery in the last hour, when one surgery was done she had to rush to another. The pink haired Genin was exhausted physically and mentally but she cannot just rest when other people are suffering. She abides by the four rules that govern medic-nin to heart.
'First rule. No medic ninja shall ever stop medical treatment until the lives of their party members have come to an end!' Sakura repeated the sentence for the 30th time in her head.
"Sakura-san. Why are you still healing him? If you keep going, this can disrupt his body's circulation, putting him into a comatose state. "
Sakura gasped and snapped out of it as she looked at the patient she was operating on. She looked to see that his vital signs are normal and that he is breathing normally.
She looked at her hands that was stained with blood. She stumbled back a little, gaining the doctors and nurses' attention on her.
Her eyes rolled back as she fell back, her body finally giving up. The last thing she heard was panicked screams and gasps before blacking out.
.
.
Satsuki was kneeling in front of a sea of graves. All of the graves had the same last name, which was Uchiha. She was currently looking at the graves of her parents, Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha.
She summoned two bouquets of flowers and placed each of them gently in front of her father and mother's graves.
"Hello mother, father. Why are we Uchiha so arrogant? Is what Lord Second said true, that we Uchiha are greatly devoted to love and friendship, yet we tend to conceal their more affectionate traits?" Satsuki asked but received no reply.
"Lord Second calls it the Curse Of Hatred and claims it's our clan's ninja way. When the object of one's affection is lost, an Uchiha's love can instantaneously turn into hatred. Is that what happened with Itachi when he lost Shisui? "
" Is that why he massacred everyone? So that he could achieve his personal ambitions and show his superiority to everyone, regardless of the consequences and repercussions of his actions?" Satsuki whispered while clenching her fists tightly.
"If the Curse Of Hatred affected him that much, what would happen to me? I lost you two. What would happen to me if I lose my friends?" Satsuki asked with a scared tone.
"Lord Second said that's when the Uchiha's Sharingan manifests. The Mangekyo Sharingan is even worse, I don't want to be consumed by darkness." She whispered, not even caring about how weird it is that she's talking to graves.
"He also said that's why he founded Konoha's Military Police Force, so that he could keep our Clan's emotions in check and have the village benefit from their dedication at the same time. "
" But he also said that some of the Uchiha came to believe that this is a way to ostracize the clan from the village, having built the police station next to a prison, as well as distancing the Uchiha from taking part in the actual governing of Konoha. "
" Is it that hard for the clan to leave the tendency to only think about themselves and instead think of the village as a whole?" Satsuki started getting up.
" I will not be like the rest of the clan. I will not be like Madara or even Itachi. I will dedicate my life to protecting Konoha from the shadows when the idiot becomes Hokage. The Curse Of Hatred ends here!" She declared seriously before bowing at her parents' graves.
" Goodbye for now, mother, father. I love you..."
.
.
In the Hokage's Office....
" You wanna be the Hokage eh?" Hashirama asked Naruto while he was rubbing his chin. Naruto nodded back and grinned.
" Yup! I'm gonna be Hokage and surpass all of the previous ones!" He declared, making Hashirama laugh loudly.
" Really? Interesting...." Hashirama mumbled.
"What will you do when you become Hokage? Uzumaki Naruto?" Tobirama asked seriously.
" Make the world a better place. No more wars, only peace." Naruto replied immediately. Tobirama raised a brow at him.
" You do know that's impossible right? Every nation has their own interests and they will do anything to accomplish it. Take it from someone experienced."
" And you don't sound serious about it too. Do you truly want peace between the Five Great Nations or do you want something else? Your heart knows the truth. "
" Tobirama, you're being too harsh. He's just a child—
"Don't 'Tobirama' me elder brother, the Hokage is an extremely important position! If he wants to become Hokage he should be planning what to do right now when he has the time. The future is unpredictable and extremely dangerous, who knows what he'll be thrown into as he gets older?"
" Tobirama is right, dear. Even though he's just a child he's still a Shinobi with a dream. He's also the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki and the heir to the Uzumaki Clan. If he doesn't make plans for the future now, it'll be too late if he actually successfully becomes Hokage." Mito added. Hashirama sighed and nodded. Naruto listened to them silently, taking their advice to heart.
" I don't what else to say but I can give you some advice. Do you know the Will Of Fire?"
Naruto snorted at Hashirama's question." Of course I do! It's what makes me strong in the first place! I fight and get stronger for my precious people so that they will remain safe!" Naruto replied confidently. Hashirama nodded with a small smile on his face.
" I hope that when you become Hokage, you will spread this philosophy to everyone in this world to make it a better place to live in. Love is the key to peace, maybe this will help you out. " Hashirama advised. Mito stepped towards him and put her right hand on his forehead.
Suddenly, seals spread throughout every inch of his body. It disappeared a second later. Naruto looked at Mito with a confused expression as she stepped away from him.
"It's a seal that allows you to enter the security barrier around Uzushio. From birth, members of the Uzumaki Clan had this seal sealed onto them so that they could leave or enter the country without difficulty. If a person without this seal tries to enter Uzushio, they die immediately." Mito explained ominously, making Naruto gulp. She then smiled at him.
"I hope that you will make the clan flourish again, Naruto. With your looks and the CRA being legal, the clan will he revived soon enough." Mito and the Senju brothers started collapsing into ashes.
" Good luck, Naruto. We'll be watching. "
To be continued...