The Lost Heir

Finale

"Over there!" Lady Tsunade shouted. She ran over to the unconscious Itachi and Gaara, and quickly applied medical ninjutsu. Within moments, they began to stir once more.
"Lady Tsunade." Itachi said the moment his eyes opened.
"They headed off to the village." Tsunade nodded.
"Those who are attending to the wounded, stay here. The rest of you follow me!" She shouted.

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There was nothing but silence. Temari opened her eyes and looked around her. The Akatsuki were all frozen - petrified. She grimaced and stood up. Her chakra seals had absorbed all the nature chakra and broken, thus leaving her unaffected and free. Takomatsu slowly stood up as well, and Temari's face flushed with relief. Crying tears of joy, she wrapped her arms around her little blond son and hugged him tightly. She then looked up at the statue of Naruto. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she slowly stood up and placed her right hand on his frozen cheek.

"Naru..." she whispered. She gave Takomatsu a sweet and gentle smile. Biting her thumb, she formed a few hands seals and placed her right hand on the ground. There was a puff of smoke as Temari managed to summon her fan to her. She opened it fully and swiped her bloody thumb across the three moons. Forming a tiger hand seal, she released the seal she'd kept here, and a small scroll fluttered to the ground. On the scroll, was a simple character: 狐 (fox).
"Naruto... I'm returning what you once gave me..." she whispered as she placed the scroll on the statue. Golden light began to shine from the scroll and envelope the statue. She took a step back and so did Takomatsu. She could hear the sound of approaching ninja but she knew they were Lead Ninja because she'd heard Lady Tsunade earlier.

A fierce wind began to whip around all of the village, and everyone had to shield their eyes as the chakra in the air suddenly became more dense and violent. And then all of a sudden it was gone. As soon as it had come. And in their place, the Uzumaki clan members were all slowly coming back to life.

"Karin!" Kiba's hoarse voice shouted out as he bolted towards her. She fell into his arms and they hugged each other tightly.
"T-Temari..." Naruto whispered, as he hugged her. "I'm so sorry..." he eyed his son with a longing look.
"Hello little boy." He said as he ruffled Takomatsu's hair. He giggled and hugged Naruto.
"Daddy!" He exclaimed childishly. Naruto looked up to see Gaara smiling, and Lady Tsunade suspiciously dabbing at her eyes with her sleeve.

"Welcome home." Temari said with a smile.
"I'm glad to be home." Naruto replied before he kissed her.

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Temari sighed as she sat by the window and looked out below her. The village was in full colour as the festival drew nearer. She could hear Takomatsu running out the door.
"Our son just keeps growing up..." she murmured. She sighed again and gently rubbed her swollen stomach.
"I hope you aren't as energetic as your brother." She said. "I don't think I can keep up with you two otherwise."
"And neither can I." Naruto said as he wrapped his arms around her. "Good morning my sweet. How's my wife today?"

Temari looked up at his face.
"Never better."

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Fin
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An ending note. Thanks to all my readers for being patient (those that are still here). Life has been busy, I'll admit, and I didn't find the time nor the motivation to write for quite a while. But I'm back. As for new stories, I don't think I will pursue fan fiction for a while yet. I've been thinking about this for a long time, but I want to write my own story. And maybe, just maybe, you'll get to come along for the ride.