#put it under a readmore cause this is an intense amount of Naruto to throw at people early in the morning

[cappucino-commie]

  Okay but what about post-war Naruto in a fashion kind of similar to The Moomins? Not a real 1:1 but something like-

  Sasuke needs space. He needs to see the world, to get away from the blood stained walls of the village, to see real people untouched by the horrors and ideologies of the ninja world. He lives on the road, sleeps in the woods, and helps people wherever he goes. But he finds himself inextricably drawn towards Konoha, every year without fail.

   It’s usually the first truly hot day of summer, that Naruto feels his chakra in the forest outside Konoha. That Sasuke drops whatever he’s doing to rush out to meet Sasuke. To tell him he was gone for way too fucking long this time you bastard, how was your trip, are you okay, did you get me anything? And Sasuke scoffs like yea I spent the entire trip hunting for a souvenir for you (except yes he actually did).

   And they sit in the woods and Sasuke tells Naruto about his travels and all the people he’d met and small town life and people who’d never even met a ninja before he showed up. And Naruto talks about political reform, about how he’s raised the Academy’s graduation age and put a focus on ninja arts as helpful things and chakra based healing. How he helped Hinata and Neji remove the Caged Bird Seal from all the old Branch Clan Hyuuga. How he met with political representatives from places that used to pay tribute (protection money) to Konoha and now are working towards independence.

   Sasuke always stays with Naruto when he comes back, if he sleeps in a house at all. The old Uchiha compound is full of bad memories occupied by Team Taka and lots of war refugees anyways. They’re always excited to see Sasuke back, even though they know it’s never for more than a few months. Suigetsu got talked into teaching swordsmanship to snot nosed kids, and Juugo gardens, and Karin does medical research at the hospital.

  Sakura runs the hospital, with occasional help from her now-retired mentor (”Lady Tsunade you could still deck a mountain you don’t need to go into retirement” “Look after dealing with you kids and your prophecies and reincarnated gods I deserve retirement”), and is at constant odds with Karin. Sakura’s slowly figuring out her relationship with Ino cause neither of them really wanna make the first move but they do eventually get together (which Karin totally saw coming).

  Sarada is born eventually, and it’s pretty obvious to everyone who the father, but it’s also pretty clear that Sarada is Sakura’s kid first. She grows up with Sakura and Ino primarily, hangs around Auntie Karin and her weirdo friends sometimes to hear about her biological dad, and Sasuke does take her on small trips as she gets older. She wants to see the world, but also likes staying at home cause her best friends are here.

   Boruto, similarly, comes about because Naruto’s insecure. He knows Sasuke with his own soul, he trusts him with his life, he loves him more than words can ever express- but also he gets fucking lonely, ya know? When Sasuke’s off travelling the world and he’s cooped up in the Hokage’s tower trying to help detangle centuries of political struggle. And he starts hanging out with Hinata more, as part of helping the Hyuuga clan, and that slowly turns into dating. And it only takes a little while for them to realize that  uh, they don’t work together at all- but that’s more than enough time for Boruto to be conceived and Hinata to decide she wants to keep the kid even if Naruto won’t be involved. Which of course he is, just not romantically anymore. Boruto and Sarada exist in the same weird space of having primary parents but being communally parented. He and Sarada are best friends, and though they’re not related they have a sibling dynamic (by the time they’re 12, they know full well that their respective dads are in love and have a weird relationship).

   Naruto travels too. He goes to Cloud to visit Bee and convince A to take in more war refugees (Cloud always liked taking lost kids, they have a weird culture where all ninja are family by virtue of being ninja. Sometimes Naruto wishes he grew up there). He travels to Sand to visit Gaara and have political conferences. And the big thing he does that no other Kage can, is that he manages the relationship between the reformed Biiju and the Elemental Nations. Some of them want Jinchurriki, like Saiken, and they have to negotiate a strange legal status to prevent the system of human weapons from arising again. Some just want to be left alone, like Chomei. But regardless, the new ninja world has to learn to live in balance with the spirits of the land, and Naruto helps newly appointed ambassadors to this spiritual world.

   Naruto will run into Sasuke while he’s travelling sometimes. He’s always tempted to say something, to reach out to him. But he tries to respect the space that Sasuke needs. This has mixed results.

   When Sarada is four, Sasuke returns one summer with a small child- pale, with golden eyes. He refuses to discuss where he got them, but asks Karin (and the rest of Taka) to take care of them while he’s on the road. Everyone wonders, but no one presses the issue. Naruto quietly gathers reports about a fight that had happened in the Land of Grass- locals had described a storm god descending from the heavens to behead a giant snake, that wrathful Susanoo had cast a fire across the plains that had burned for 7 days and nights. Naruto knows Sasuke was just settling old business, and hopes that’s the last of it.

  And life just. Goes on. As the years pass, sometimes Sasuke will stay in the village for longer. He and Naruto still fight (Sakura threatened to break off Sasuke’s other arm after they needed stitches from a heated spar), but they have lots of cute domestic moments. He always leaves before winter truly sets in. He can’t stay in Konoha too long. And someday, when the political world is more settled and the kids are more grown up, Naruto plans to go with him- and who’s to say how long they’ll be gone then? Sasuke won’t feel drawn back to Konoha then, because he’ll already have what draws him there. Even wandering the world with nothing to their name, they’ll both be home.

#naruto #okay this is cheesy as hell but it's been bouncing around in my head #I wanted to write it out so I could go back to work #also someone posted about a 'good Sasuke stays in the village AU' and this is the closest I think it can get #I think he needs his space but could have a Snufkin dynamic where he returns home (back to Naruto) periodically #put it under a readmore cause this is an intense amount of Naruto to throw at people early in the morning #meme voice: Bro chill with the post war sasunaru you're scaring the h*es #Look I'm gay and I will not chill #Also watching She Ra gave me Naruto Feelings so here ya go