The cool sea breeze hit him like a soft whisper rustling his blonde hair, the feeling of the gentle sand beneath his feet made him sigh contently and the mere sight of the vast endless ocean was perhaps the most beautiful thing in the world. Just being in this place made him forget everything, all the things he had done and faced didn't matter, nor did his sins or good deeds matter anymore.
If this was heaven, then he thanked whichever god came up with the idea of building this 'Elysium'.
Even if he was idly sitting on top of the rocks, simply basking in the beauty of the ocean made him smile. Neither was he an emperor, or an Anbu captain, or a ninja, and many more things whose responsibilities he had shouldered all his life.
Now, he was simply Naruto...
And he was free.
A part of him did worry about the people he had left behind, especially his wife. But he knew he had made the right decision when he made his last stand, he had protected the people close to his heart. And maybe he was being selfish but he felt himself relaxing for the first time in his entire life.
His only regret would be his failure in fulfilling Haku's wish of having their child one day, but maybe this was for the best because Kami knew he would be a terrible father. Still, he could try to imagine what it would have been like if he ever became a father.
And right there he thanked Kami for letting him die, because he probably couldn't have done what he did if had a son waiting for him back home. And he would never sacrifice his child for anything, even the Reich and that would have conflicted with his duties as an emperor.
"No use thinking about what if's..." thought Naruto dismissively, it was done and as a man he now had to face the consequences of his actions.
"Quite a view, isn't it?"
Blinking in surprise he turned around to discover the offender who disturbed his peace. Whatever words he wanted to say died down in his throat, and he started laughing out hysterically much to the worry of new arrivals making them wonder about his sanity.
Naruto looked up at the sky and laughed again, but there was no humor in his voice.
"If this is your idea of karmic justice, then I'd say you are even more frakked up than me..." said Naruto with another laugh,
He didn't even react when the two of them came forward and sat beside him, each of them on either side. It was as if they feared he would run off at any moment, if only they knew that there was no running away in hell. He was wrong, because he was not in heaven...
"You're early, son..." said Minato calmly, and sighed on seeing his wife trembling while stealing short glances towards their grown up son. If not for his smooth, long blonde hair Naruto could have passed of for an exact shadow clone of his father.
Both the parents were struggling within themselves not to just reach out and hug the life out of him, to feel that he was real and this was not another one of their countless imagined reunions both him and his wife had envisioned for years.
"Well, the tickets for the underworld were running short. I booked an early ride..." replied Naruto sharply, and Minato had to bite his lip hard not to laugh out hard.
"He's definitely your son, Kushina..." thought Minato happily, and saw tears welling up in his wife's eyes. Naruto never looked at each of them and simply settled for staring at the ocean, a move which deeply hurt the people beside him.
"So, who's it gonna be? You or the silent movie here? Let's just get this over with..." said Naruto bitterly, his tone was condensing and sharper than any blade.
"What are you talking about, son?" asked Minato hesitantly,
"I'm really not in the mood. If you're gonna torture me then make up your frakking minds and get it over with..."
The older blonde winced on hearing that remark, and seeing his wife tear up made him sigh. He had known all along how this meeting was going to proceed, but Kushina was naive and held on to her hope that their merciful son would not be too hard on his creators. Apparently, she was wrong by a long shot.
"You really think that low of us? That we'll torture you, how could you even say that...sochi (son)" said Kushina in shock,
Minato tensed when he saw Naruto's fists clenching, he could feel the sea of anger bubbling inside his son. He was actually surprised by the level of restraint shown by Naruto, the boy's capacity for tolerance was quite good. But even that had its limits, and Kushina's final word which was said with so much love and affection was the last straw...
"You've already done it once before, Kushina. It wouldn't surprise me if you wanted to try it again..." said Naruto sharply,
It hurt.
Naruto saw his words had cut sharper than any blade in the universe. He could see the shock, pain, disbelief, regret in her eyes and in a twisted way it satisfied him.
"It's painful, isn't it? To have someone deny your existence? It hurts deeper than any wound, it tears you apart. And this pain never goes away..." said Naruto sadly,
He sighed on seeing the state his creators were in. It was actually pitiful, he had dreamed of this moment all his life. How he would scream, cry, resort to violence and so many more cruel ways but just looking at the pathetic state these two were in made him stop. It was no use torturing someone after death, all the emotional baggage must be left behind to start anew. That was what he believed...even for someone like them.
"You're too soft.."
He inwardly smiled as he could hear Sasuke still taunting him for a trait which his best friend considered to be a weakness. A trait which got the emperor killed in the first place, but how could Sasuke understand that this trait was a part of who Naruto Uchiha really was. And there was no use shrugging it off, because it was not possible.
"You can relax, Yondaime. I'm not going to grant you mercy by hitting you. It would be too easy and besides I don't like hitting my elders..." said Naruto calmly,
With those words he got up and started walking away only to be stopped by his biological creator's desperate cry.
"Naruto, please just talk to me one last time..." pleaded Kushina, and he closed his eyes. It was taking all his willpower not to just crumble, that was the power this woman had over him despite being absent all his life and condemning him with a curse. And he cursed himself for this weakness...
Turning back towards them, he was relieved to see Minato knew exactly what his son was hinting at. Now, Naruto knew where he got that intelligence from and the emotional mess that was Kushina was a clear hint as to where he got his emotional vulnerabilities from.
"Love and forgiveness can't be bought by mere words, Kushina. For your sake, I hope you were not this delusional when you were alive. Each of us have to live with the consequences of our actions, just as I can't receive forgiveness from the people whose lives I've ruined; you also can't expect that pardon from me. Even my mercy has limits..." explained Naruto patiently, trying to make the message clear in the least painful way possible and hating himself for doing such a thing at the same time because somehow he didn't believe in the words he was saying.
Kushina wanted to say something more in her defense, when Minato's next words stopped both mother and son from getting into a futile emotional argument.
"The child is the father of the man..." said the Yondaime, a knowing smile arriving on his lips. One which was mirrored by his son...
"Huh, what do you know. The old man's smarter than he looks..." said Naruto sarcastically, eliciting a shy smile and faint blush from Minato. It was actually quite scary how both of them were so alike, but Naruto's thoughts were somewhere else.
"Do I always look that idiotic and blush like a school girl? No wonder Sasuke scolds me everytime, and Haku loves it by calling me cute..." thought Naruto curiously,
Kushina was actually quite shocked by the way things were happening. She had imagined Naruto getting well along with her, but apparently he was more of his father's son than his mother's. Even if there was bitterness and pain evident in Naruto's eyes, she also saw her son and Minato sharing understanding looks. It made her happy and jealous at the same time.
If this was not enough to rattle her, Minato's next move completely swiped the ground from beneath her feet.
The tall Hokage got back on his feet and walked towards his son, who didn't move or show any sign of retreat. There was a fraction of a second where Naruto's eyes softened and Minato seized it to wrap his arms around his son pulling him into a tight hug.
"I understand..."
That was all the father said to his son, the words barely more than a whisper but it meant everything. Naruto couldn't actually believe that this was happening, here was the man whom he resented the most in the world, even more than Danzo. And yet, this person understood him.
Better than Kushina, better than Kakashi, Tsunade, Haku, Kurenai and every other person in his life.
Minato Namikaze understood, he didn't ask for forgiveness since there was none to receive and neither did the man think he deserved it. He didn't make arguments like his wife, or scold/blast out at his son for destroying Konoha like a Hokage should have. Instead, he just said 2 words...
''I understand..."
Kushina's eyes literally popped out of their sockets when Naruto raised his arms and hugged his father back with equal affection. Tears were falling from his eyes, as he embraced the man even more tightly. Both gestures were repeated by Minato as he felt his own cheeks getting wet.
"I missed you, Dad.." said Naruto tearfully, as Minato gently rubbed his back.
"I missed you too, son. I'm not sorry for what I did but I'm proud of the man you became. All I wanted was my son to be the peacemaker who brings stability to our war torn world, and you did that. You overcame all the odds, never gave up despite the tragic life you had to live. No father could ever have a better son than you..." said Minato proudly, making Naruto smile as he felt the sincerity behind those words.
Being an emperor had made him finally understand the burden of leadership. The fact that he just gave his life to protect his people made him realize the choice Minato had to make as a leader himself. This feeling could only be understood by two leaders, and hearing his father say those words despite everything both of them had done gave him peace.
In this moment, he understood both of them were the same. Maybe Naruto couldn't do the same thing to his son, or maybe he could if the circumstances forced him to. He was no longer that naive teenage Otokage who saw the world in black and white colors, because there was another side. The shades of grey..
A place were nothing was absolutely right or absolutely wrong, just the right thing remained.
And Uchiha Naruto and Minato Namikaze were men of gray, people who made tough choices and stood by it no matter what. Neither of them had a right to judge each other or risk being proven as hypocrites. The final knot in the emperor's chest eased as he smiled, the emotional baggage he had carried his entire life was easing off and it made him happy.
Life was too short for grudges, and even then he had shown mercy to the villagers of Konoha who treated him worse than a stray dog. There were many among his supporters who had considered his move as foolish, if only they could understand that by doing so he was setting himself free.
Breaking away from the hug, both father and son shared understanding nods. With a short sigh and a shake of his head, he turned towards a trembling red head who had witnessed the entire scene with tears of joy and sorrow falling from her eyes.
"You need a special invitation, you miserable woman?" asked Naruto impatiently, but there was no anger in his voice.
He frowned when the woman lay still as a lifeless rock, looking at him with those beautiful violet eyes. It was only when he raised his arms did the message register in her brain, getting her out of shock. In a flash which would have put even the Yondaime to shame, she lunched forward and jumped straight into his arms.
Minato raised one of his eyebrows in surprise when Naruto caught Kushina easily within his arms, she had slammed into his chest so hard that would have made most men fall flat on their asses but the emperor had held his ground. It just showed that their son was more stronger than them, both physically and emotionally as well.
Naruto felt a little embarrassed and happy at the same time when his crying mother laid soft kisses all over his face. Making up for all the years they had been apart from each other, and joined together again by death.
"I'm really sorry, sochi. For everything I put you through, I don't deserve to be your mother but I've always loved you. Naruto, you are my child and I'll love you till the end of time even if you hate me. I wish I could take back everything, I'm so-"
Her emotional breakdown was stopped when he looked into her eyes before laying a soft kiss on her forehead that relieved her of the emotional trauma burning in her heart.
"It's okay. I forgive you, Mom..." said Naruto sincerely, knowing very well how important this action was for her soul. She needed this more than anything, and Naruto himself felt getting freed from his burden by saying those words to her.
With Minato it had been different, his father didn't need forgiveness since he did what a leader had to do and neither was Naruto in the mood to give forgiveness if the man ever asked. It was an unsaid pact between the two men, but Kushina needed this.
He smiled and cradled her affectionately as she cried openly in his arms. And if death was this beautiful, then he didn't mind dying at all.
"I'm home, mother.."
Tobi lazily moved his legs as he sat patiently on top of a boulder, below him copies of White Zetsu was mopping up the barely breathing forms of Yugito and Bee. A sly smile came on the Akatsuki leader's face as he had finally captured Kumo's Biju as well. And that too without any kind of effort on his part.
His eyes shifted towards the frozen corpse of Naruto, the boy was a mess of blood and guts spilled over. His entire body was barely kept in one piece due to the small wooden gasket he had been frozen in.
''Is he dead?" asked Black Zetsu nervously, making the older Uchiha laugh.
"By all means he should be, the boy was definitely suicidal when he made that move. Still, he exceeded my expectations by a very large margin..." said Tobi frankly, quite impressed with Naruto's powers. The boy was a naive fool but he was definitely not a pushover either.
"You saved his life, didn't you?" asked White Zetsu
Tobi merely smirked as he walked towards the boy who was currently hanging between life and death. It would be so easy to silence him right now, but he couldn't do that.
"He maybe an idiot, but I have a use for him. That usefulness is yet to end, so I saved his life for now. I'll take it back when I need it..."
"I sense people coming..." said White Zetsu worriedly,
"Take the Hachibi and Nibi to our secret base, we will seal them..." commanded Tobi,
"What about the Kyuubi? We can just take him with us too, it's not like he is in any position to resist..." argued Black Zetsu, and was surprised when Tobi shook his head.
"I fear all the resistance has done is awaken a sleeping giant, the empire will be out for blood. And I really don't want to get the Akatsuki involved in this mess, it's better if we stay out of the crosshairs of both sides while doing our work. When the time's right, we'll take both of them down. I doubt Naruto will ever wake up from his sleep, besides I already have a contigency plan in case he dies..." explained Tobi nonchalantly,
"If you say so..." said White Zetsu, as he instructed his fellow clone brothers to finish the assigned job.
"How long before we are ready for war, Zetsu?" asked Tobi seriously,
"Just a few more months. With Yamato's help our work has been greatly reduced and we are ahead of our deadline. You made a smart move by capturing him all those years ago..." complimented Black Zetsu, earning a nod from the Uchiha.
"The war between the empire and resistance will become more bloody now with this betrayal. Let them fight each other and weaken themselves, it'll only make our job much easier and less tedious.." instructed Tobi, as a sly smile arrived on Black Zetsu's face.
"I'm surprised neither side realized it till now..." said Black Zetsu bemusedly,
"And what would that might be, wise Zetsu?" asked Tobi innocently, but the look in his eyes was that of a cunning fox. And it was proven true by his comrade's next words.
"That with the exception of Kurenai Yuhi, the rest of the leaders of the resistance are your pawns. Waging a losing war on your orders..."
And in the darkness of the night, a pair of deadly Mangekyo sharingan came to life.