Chapter Text
Hagaromo’s conversation with Naruto went exactly as expected, the boy was tenacious as he was stubborn and filled to the brim with hope for the future. It was what the world desperately needed.
Sasuke was another matter entirely, he was still so fuelled by rage that it was blinding him to his other emotions and possible consequences of the actions he planned to take.
But, if Hagaromo could fix that then he wouldn’t fail the world again. He just needed the right moment.
. . .
The exhaustion of the fight with Kabuto, the War, Kaguya and now Naruto was finally catching up with Sasuke, every inch of his body was screaming in pain but he couldn’t stop yet. He had a goal; to kill the Kage and trap the tailed beasts forever. There was only one thing in his way.
Naruto.
The blonde in front of him looked as bad as Sasuke felt and he knew in his heart that this move would be their last. Summoning every vestige of chakra he had left he channeled a chidori into his left hand, watching as Naruto mimicked him with the rasengan and they charged toward each other slowly bringing their hands forward until they were a second away from connecting. Then a pair of Rinnegan eyes flashed in his mind and his world fell black.
. . .
When he awoke he kept his eyes closed and took stock of his surroundings via his other senses or at least he tried to. There was no smell, or sound and whatever was beneath him didn’t seem to have any physical mass despite him lying on it. Even his body felt oddly weightless and pain free. His dark eyes snapped open and he shot upright and saw that he was in some sort of void that gave off no light and yet Sasuke could see perfectly. And what he could see was that he was not alone.
“Hagaromo. Where are we?” He asked sharply.
The sage of six paths cocked his head as if considering how to answer the question.
“Technically you are milliseconds away from
destroying your most precious person.”
Sasuke flinched involuntarily.
“But currently we are in a place where I can show you some of the outcomes of your current path.”
“I don't-”
“Understand? Yes I thought you wouldn’t but it would take too long to explain the technicalities behind this and we don’t have that time, I can only keep you frozen for a short while. All you need to do is observe.”
Sasuke scowled but nodded once and stood up, walking over to stand beside the sage, deciding it was simpler to oblige so he could get back to the more pressing matter he was dealing with.
“You see, Sasuke the future is not set in stone, one tiny decision can set an entirely different set of events into motion and that is what I want to show you. There are currently thousands of futures possible but these four are the most likely outcomes of your fight with Naruto, this being one of them.”
Suddenly there was a great tugging in his gut and the two were suddenly watching as himself and Naruto sped towards each other and collided in an impressive explosion of power. Then it was all over, the two boys lay beside each other as the sun set, each missing an arm and speaking in low voices.
“Why?” Sasuke heard himself ask the blonde, and if that wasn’t the strangest thing ever.
Naruto took a few beats to answer.
“Because you’re my friend.”
The response caused Sasukes chest to tighten painfully although he couldn’t say why, all he knew was that wasn’t the answer he’d wanted and going by his futures selfs face he felt the same. And then they were pulled forward again, images racing by.
They released the infinite tsukuyomi. Kakashi was made Hokage. He returned to the leaf and was incarcerated for a year. He was leaving again with only Sakura and Kakashi waving him off, something that left a dark pit in his stomach. He was saving the leaf from the moon (what?). Naruto and Hinata were getting married, the pit yawned wider. He impregnated Sakura and left again.
More time elapsed showing him a future where he was spending years at a time out of the village and bound in a loveless marriage with an estranged daughter he nearly killed once because he didn’t recognise her. His and Narutos interactions become business like and about nothing more than missions while the man himself spent more nights in his office than his own bed, ostracising his son who oddly seemed to idolise Sasuke over his father.
Despite the peace of this future it made Sasuke incredibly uncomfortable for reasons he couldn’t explain, Naruto did everything that he’d promised and set out to achieve and yet in the process their bond that even in the darkest times was present seemed to have weakened and the thought of that hurt more than the raven had thought it would.
Sasuke turned to Hagaromo who had been silent through everything and spoke.
“Enough. Show me the next.”
. . .
Future number two started out much the same as the first one with the two boys colliding but this time instead of a blast of power both boys hands went through the others chest and burst out the other end covering in blood and bits of flesh. The two fell to their knees, too exhausted to even disentangle themselves. Their breathing was ragged and they began to cough up blood. Then Naruto, with a speed that shocked the Sasuke who stood as spectator, wrenched his hand out of the raven and himself off the hand embedded in his own chest and caught their hands in the sign to release the infinite tsukuyomi.
“I told you.. we’d.. die together.” The blonde choked out before falling to the ground seconds before the other Sasuke followed suit, both chests still. Despite the finality of the moment Sasuke felt the rightness of this outcome compared to the last, no matter what they ended up doing things together.
Eventually the rest of the ninja world made it to where their bodies lay. Sakura promptly burst into tears and threw herself down by Naruto, her hands coated in a faint green glow despite knowing that it was too late. Kakashi had placed a hand on her shaking shoulders as if to silently tell her to stop, then he bent down to scoop up the lifeless blonde, cradled to his chest bridal style, head bowed low. The rest of the ninja stood silently and parted for the silver haired man, all mourning silently. Tsunade brought to her knees, Konoha 11 clutching each other, Sai expressing his first real emotion, grief, Gaara looking as if part of him had died with the blonde. The procession slowly followed Kakashi away from the spot where Naruto had fallen until only Sasuke remained, well his body. Left alone in the valley of the end as he’d once left Naruto there, fitting really.
The raven idly wondered where team taka were before concluding they’d either left in the chaos or been captured by the allied shinobi forces. Then the two spectral observers began to flash forward in the same way as before.
Things progressed well at first, Kakashi was once again Hokage but the man seemed hollowed out by the loss of yet another person. The shinobi once again enslaved the tailed beasts within human subjects to control as they pleased, the alliance began to crumble without Naruto at its helm, only Gaara's fierce devotion held it together until the man was assassinated by a rogue group of his own shinobi. The ninja world once again fractured into its separate parts, pioneered by mistrust, treachery and secrets. Fighting between nations became common again and more anger was born from the wreckage leading to another cycle of hatred and war.
Sasuke felt sick, nothing had changed, no lessons were learnt and the world suffered for it. If at least one of the boys had survived they could’ve changed this.
“If I was alive and able to complete my plan this wouldn’t happen, I’d make sure of it.” Sasuke knew this to be true, if there were no more Kage or tailed beasts and if he was around to keep things in line the future would be better.
Hagaromo raised an eyebrow as if to say ‘really?’ Which had Sasuke gritting his teeth in frustration. And then they were back where it began but this time only Sasuke's hand had penetrated the others chest although once again with his dying breath the blonde had manipulated their hands to release the jutsu. Before falling to the ground, eyes wide and unseeing. The future Sasuke blinked down at the body before stepping over it and walking away.
He couldn’t believe it, yes this was the outcome he wanted but he wouldn’t just.. dismiss the death of his friend like that, even now after having witnessed the death of Naruto once already he could feel his heart cracking open in his chest and he couldn’t help but want to scream at himself to turn around and acknowledge the blonde despite knowing he wouldn’t hear him.
Then the allied shinobi forces appeared in front of the other Sasuke and took in the scene. He could hear a few cries of grief but the majority of the crowd readied themselves for battle once more. He could feel his own disbelief, he’d known Naruto was loved but to see such an immediate readiness to avenge him shocked both the ravens.
“This does not need to be a battle. Give the five Kage and this can all be over.” Sasuke was beginning to hate his other self for the apathy laced through his words. But before he could express his displeasure an even greater shock jolted through his body as Sakura stepped forward, expression hardened and eyes glacial as she looked upon her first love.
“We will not submit to you, Uchiha.” The words were venomous, fashioned to wound. And as one the ninja raced forward towards the last Uchiha despite the exhaustion of all parties.
The battle was bloody and hard, Sasuke watched with muted horror as he ripped through people he used to care about. Shikamaru impaled, Kakashi beheaded, Sakura burnt to a crisp. After decimating two thirds of the remaining battalion he took his prizes and slaughtered them in front of their ninja.
“There are no more Kage and no more villages, anyone who defies this will answer to me.” His voice was cold and his blood red eyes crazed.
And then they were moving forward again. The villages burned, chaos spread, clans broke off on their own and suddenly they were right back in the warring era of Madara and Hashirama. Sasuke himself was hunted into hiding, greasy hair reaching his hips, face gaunt with grief and regret, his skin sallow; the man lived out the rest of his days in a cave. The floor surrounding him was littered with scrolls all bearing words addressed to the same person, Naruto.
“Naruto, I’m sorry.” He heard himself whisper into the darkness. “I’m sorry, I lo-“ his words were cut off by a strangled sob and then a scream of rage as he began tearing up the letters.
“Stop.” The present Sasuke whispered, eyes fixed upon his future self. “Just stop.” And for the fourth and final time they returned to the beginning. He was still reeling from the last future, he couldn’t believe it had gone so wrong, that he had been so wrong, again. That he’d nearly said.. that about Naruto. He was roughly brought out of his thoughts by a collision and he knew this time he’d see Narutos hand through his own chest again.
The blonde was sobbing and gurgling a litany of apologies as he gently lowered Sasuke's body to the ground and once again used their hands to release the infinite tsukuyomi, Naruto held the upper part of his body in his arms while the lower part lay against the ground. Then the blonde used his free hand to close the others eyes and leaned down, pressing their lips gently together and Sasuke felt all the wind leave his lungs in a great whoosh and he had a terrible yearning to know what those lips felt like against his own.
“I’m sorry Sasuke, I wish it had been me.” Naruto's voice was even rougher than usual and all Sasuke could think was ‘no it should never be you’.
“I should’ve told you, how much I loved you before-“ but he couldn’t finish the rest as sobs wracked his frame. Eventually Sakura and Kakashi appeared at the blonde's side, grief apparent on both their faces but also mixed with a layer of guilty relief.
Sasuke couldn’t blame them.
“We should bury him.” The blonde said, expression hardened and determination painted his tear streaked face.
They skipped forward a few years, Kakashi was once again hokage and the ninja world ushered in a new era of peace before the mantle was passed on to… Sakura?
Sasuke was confused but the more he looked the more he couldn’t see Naruto anywhere in the leaf's future despite his goals being achieved.
Abruptly they were pulled elsewhere, landing in the council room of the Kazekage, Gaara was older but much the same, tall and stoic with his shock of red hair falling untidily into his sea green eyes. He was discussing a budget expansion for the academy and implementing an exchange program between villages for young ninja. The room was littered with Anbu the closest of which stood directly behind him wearing a customary mask designed with the face of a devil. As the meeting adjourned the two left the room swiftly and Sasuke was pulled along with them into the Kazekages office.
“When we’re alone you can drop the mask.” Gaara said in his gravelly voice, eyeing the Anbu voice laced with amusement.
The Anbu in question slowly reached up and removed his mask and henge, revealing a shock of blonde hair, a whiskered face and the bluest eyes Sasuke had ever seen.
“Naruto.” He breathed out in confusion.
“Yes,” Hagaromo replied. “He always said that if he couldn’t save a friend he didn’t deserve to be the hokage and so he lives here as Gaara's advisor.”
“But why sand? Why not advise Sakura?!” Sasuke demanded but his question was answered quickly by the man himself. The raven had missed the exchange between the other two and now watched as Naruto pulled Gaara into a passionate embrace that the red head enthusiastically responded to if the moans were anything to go by. Sasuke felt as if he’d been sucker punched but he couldn’t rip his eyes away from the scene before him. Logically this was the best outcome, the world was at peace, a peace Naruto had brought about, Sasuke had been the end of the accursed Uchiha bloodline and Naruto had moved on. But his heart railed viciously against this turn of events as Naruto reverently began kissing the column of Gaara's neck and slowly stripping him of his clothes while the other man gasped and returned the favor. He wanted to rip the kazekage away from Naruto, he wanted to chidori him until nothing but lumps of flesh remained but he could do nothing but watch as the interaction proceeded to get more heated and Naruto backed Gaara against the wooden door leading to the office.
The two men were a writhing, moaning mess joined in the middle and at the lips, Naruto's powerful hips sending jolts of obvious pleasure through the redhead if the red welts following the trail of his fingernails were anything to go by. But none of this cut Sasuke quite as powerfully as Narutos next words, spoken with unfiltered adoration.
“I love you Gaara.”
Everything went black.
. . .
They were back in the void or pocket universe or whatever. Sasuke was pale and shaking, wanting to throw up but unable to, heart beating brokenly in his chest.
“I don’t want any of them.” He rasped not looking at the sage for fear his expression was too vulnerable.
“Then make a different choice.” Hagaromo replied before he was slammed back into his body, and had only a millisecond to make his choice and let the chidori die out, bending low to tackle Naruto around the waist. The two tumbled to the ground until Sasuke maneuvered himself so he was straddling the furious blonde.
“Bastard what the -“
“Do you love me?” Sasuke asked decisively and Naruto's complaints died in his throat as he spluttered, face coloring in an amusing way.
“Do you love me?” He asked again, voice tinged with desperation this time. And the boy beneath him quietened, blue eyes piercing intently into his own dark ones.
“Yes.” He whispered back as if it was a secret for just the two of them and Sasuke could hold back no longer. He pressed his lips to the others clumsily given that the last time he’d kissed someone it had been this oaf and it had been much less willing. But Naruto managed to bring them into a comfortable rhythm leaving Sasuke burning at the thought of where he’d learnt to do such a thing and lust at the expertise with which Naruto pried his mouth open and slipped his tongue in.
As the kissing got more heated Sasuke regrettably pulled away, panting slightly, more than a bit pleased that Naruto seemed no better. But there was a question all over his face; why?
“Because I love you too.” Sasuke said unsteadily but as Naruto began to practically glow with happiness he powered on. “But you’ve got to do it. You’ve got to become the hokage and make things right. Fix the world that they broke. If you do that I’ll stand by your side.”
Naruto raised a hand to Sasukes face and leaned in to give him such a soft kiss that it had his heart fluttering in his chest like a bird waiting to be set free.
“I promise.”