The Future: Naruto Fanfiction

Chapter 66 A BATTLE WITH NO WINNERS

 

The Battlefield

Hashirama feels the temptation to cry as he looks at the man who has fallen before him. Even for he, Uzumaki Naruto is a saviour, someone who protected what he loved when nobody else could. He wonders what could have possibly been a more important objective of his struggle here, than saving Naruto. Naruto, the most important person when it comes to the village moving forward, he accepts that even now. He believes the method misguided but judges the intention of the 7th Hokage to be purer than any of those who came before or after him.

He wonders, has he killed him, the man who he admires.

Then he sees it, the hint of a monster. A tiny spark of two blending, contrasting energies. One last bit of 'life' energy and one last bit of orange chakra. They flow into Naruto's body and give birth to just the smallest sign of hope for so many. It's faint, small enough that if you weren't looking for it you wouldn't see it. However, the Hokage's lungs move slightly, and air enters them once again.

He is alive.

Hashirama's relief is accompanied by shock. Naruto must have deliberately stashed away that one last piece of energy. Or could it be that he never realised he had it to begin with? Or was it forced out by Kurama? Whatever the reason, Hashirama now realises what he has been dealing with. No matter how they did it, the combined team of Naruto and the nine-tails survived the most powerful attack he has. While they haven't won the fight, they have shown that together they can survive even the most lethal element.

'What a monster' Hashirama finally says in his head. 'Is it impossible to kill this man?'.

The healer notices that his unconscious opponent is still in bad shape. He needs medical attention immediately. He stretches out his hand, hoping to help. In the end, even if Naruto completely rejects him, he will still try to save Naruto. For if the 7th Hokage is to die like this, would the village ever be the same again?

As Hashirama's hand moves forward he feels the stiffening of his body. Of course, he hasn't got anything left to give. To win that clash he had given absolutely everything to his attack. He miscalculated, as he has done so many times before. He swears to himself that this will be the last time. That when the Lead requires him again, he will not fail them.

Two people arrive at the sides of the two exhausted Hokage. Boruto at Hashirama's side, Sarada at Naruto's.

"Master!".
"Naruto!".

Boruto checks his master is OK quickly before turning to his fallen father. His tenseigan active, he notes immediately that his father is breathing. Signs of life, despite all that just got thrown at him. Naruto had been distracted that fight, desperately trying to protect Hinata against the strongest opponent he had ever faced. He had been struck twice in ways that should have killed him, then endured an all-out collision of energy with a mighty user of 'death'. Surviving shouldn't be doable, not even for him.

Looking at his father, the shadow Hokage wonders how he was ever expecting this to go. He hasn't held his father's ideals for a long time and they have argued a lot throughout their lives. However, since his father came to the future, he has always been able to rely on him. He has never betrayed Boruto, and the same thing cannot be said in reverse. Boruto wants to be sick, was he expecting to feel any different when he chose this path. He knew that he would need to see his father in this state to fulfil his ambitions. What hurts isn't the distant eyes of his family; eyes he is certain are burning furiously. What hurts is that he knows when his father wakes up, he won't hate him. There are some sins it feels wrong to be forgiven of.