Authors Notes 1) I don’t own Naruto or its characters.

2) Please review this story, as it is the first one I have written, feedback would greatly help me improve.

3) Constructive criticism is perfectly fine, compliments are also nice.

4) Thank you to my friend Alex for his help.

Epilogue

Tsunade stood at the edge of the training ground, watching the four ninja. Naruto was sitting with Hinata, cycling through hand seals. His girlfriend was nodding, forming the hand seals, trying to commit them to memory. A small spark of lightning struck Naruto, knocking him off his feet. Immediately, Hinata dropped to his side, helping Naruto to sit up. The blond youth was rubbing his chest and laughing.

Shaking her head, the Hokage directed her attention to the other side of the field. Sakura was walking tentatively. Lee remained by her side, ready to grab hold of her at any moment. Reaching out, Sakura grabbed onto Lee’s shoulder, leaning on him to support herself.

Tsunade moved over to where Sakura and Lee were standing, no sense in making the injured shinobi walk over to the healthy one. Both jounin attempted to stand at attention as they saw the Hokage approach. Tsunade shook her head, and waved her hand dismissively.

“Sakura; Lee.” Tsunade nodded to both as she addressed them.

They responded in unison. “Hokage-sama.”

“I see you are doing better, Sakura. I would remind you, however, to be very careful. I would not want you to re-aggravate your wounds.”

“The same goes for you Lee.” No sense in warning one and not the other. Especially considering who the other one was. “I cannot stress how lucky you were not to sustain more severe injuries. Performing primary lotus against a cursed seal is one of the most dangerous ideas I can imagine.”

“Hey, Obaa-chan! What are you doing here?”

Tsunade ground her teeth as Naruto hurried across the field, Hinata close behind. Sakura and Lee could hear her muttering quietly to herself.

“If I killed him, Hinata would be upset. It would be wrong to upset Hinata right after she completed such an important mission.” The Hokage nodded to herself, as if confirming she had a reason to keep Naruto alive. She still cracked her knuckles as he approached, however.

“Well, what’s going on?” The blond-haired ninja was as persistent as ever. “Was there something you wanted to tell us, or is this visit just for Thick-Brows and Sakura-chan?”

A hand on her shoulder calmed her before Sakura had the chance to explode. Lee grinned as he spoke. “Now, now, Sakura-chan, it’s alright to call me by a nickname. Isn’t that right Fox-Face?”

In what was truly a rare occasion, Naruto had no ready response. As the others laughed at him, he took a moment to sulk. “Last time I ever explain anything to you.”

Tsunade cleared her throat, drawing the attention of the others back towards her. “I came to see how you all were. As Sakura and Lee are recovering from their wounds, I should also like to congratulate you all on preventing Sasuke from escaping.”

“What are we going to do with him?” Hinata glanced to the ground for a moment before once more looking straight at Tsunade.

“We’ll keep him around. Who knows if he may ever come in handy?” She nodded to Sakura approvingly. “After all, it’s not like he can see where he is going any longer. That ought to cut down the chances of any future escapes.”

“That’s about all that I wanted. Go out for dinner tonight. Wherever it is, just bill the Hokage’s office. We’ll call it one more well,deserved reward from the village.”

“Hey, thanks, Obaa-chan!”

Sakura slapped Naruto on the back of the head. “I don’t care what Lee-kun said, Naruto. It’s rude not to use a person’s proper name. Now apologize to Tsunade-sama.”

“All right, fine. I’m sorry, Tsunade-sama. Happy?”

Slowly nodding, Sakura grinned. “I certainly am, Fox-Face.”

Tsunade shook her head and shrugged. They were the future.

And so ends my story. The last bit was probably a little weak, but hopefully future works will be better. I want to thank everyone who reviewed. Your advice was most helpful, and I shall endeavor to utilize it in any further works I do.

Speaking of which, please tell me if either of these interest you: a Naruto/Hinata story that takes place even further into the future (unrelated to this story); or, also, a crossover with tossing an Ultimate X-Men character or two (not Cyclops or Jean Grey) into the Naruto world. I think it could be fun, although I have no idea who I would focus on from either storyline.

Also, since I am looking for small challenges, if anyone wants, I may do a couple of one-shot requests (not yaoi). I can’t promise anything, but I will try my best.

Thank you to everyone who read, and who reviewed. I hope I amused you, and can continue to do so. Delais Starlight