Naruto: The Otherworldly Cultivator

Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.

Dialogue

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 147: The Official Proceedings

Sakura's funeral was held that same afternoon. She was buried in the ninja section of the village cemetery. Nothing elaborate, it was just a simple stone plaque with a few words inscribed on it.

Naruto had been told that her name would later be engraved on the Memorial Stone that commemorates all ninjas who fell in the line of duty, even though Sakura hadn't been on an official mission when she died.

After they ate, Kakashi brought Naruto here.

The Hokage was present, along with most of Sakura's former classmates, except for Kiba and Chouji, who were still under medical care.

For the first time, Naruto saw Sakura's parents. Their demeanor and posture suggested they weren't ordinary civilians, so they must have had some formal training at some point in their lives.

Her father ignored Naruto entirely, while her mother threw him a few harsh glances.

After the ceremony, her parents spoke briefly with Kakashi before returning to stand by their daughter's grave while they pretended that Naruto didn't exist.

"You think they blame me? Judging by the looks they were giving me," Naruto commented.

"Don't mind them," Kakashi replied. "Her parents never particularly liked you in the first place. If they blamed you for her death, they would have been very vocal about it, trust me."

Naruto couldn't remember ever meeting them before, so their dislike of him was likely based on the same reasons as the rest of the civilians, so as Kakashi suggested, he paid them no mind.

He wasn't sure how many details they'd been given about Sakura's death.

Naruto had given the Hokage a full recount of his encounter with Sasuke. But he'd left out the moment when, as Sakura stepped between him and Sasuke, he could have pushed her aside to save her life...though he'd have been struck by Sasuke's jutsu and might not have survived.

That wasn't a sacrifice he'd been willing to make, especially for someone he hadn't been close to.

He was never asked if he did everything that was in his hands to prevent this from happening, so he didn't have to lie at least.

'Maybe they should blame me after all,' Naruto considered.

Not that it would have changed his decision.

"Naruto…"

He turned and saw Ino looking at him with concern in her eyes.

"How are you holding up?" she asked.

Naruto didn't want to seem cold or detached, but it was clear to him that Ino was far more affected by Sakura's death than he was.

Since he had meet her, the pink haired girl had only shown interest in Sasuke and he was mostly treated like an annoyance that was in her way.

Naruto had not cared about this at all, but this also prevented him from growing closer to her.

"I'm fine, but what about you?" His eyes drifted to the left side of her face.

A deep scar on her left cheek served as a reminder of her deadly battle with Kidomaru. If it hadn't been for Shino, the outcome could have been far worse.

Ino noticed his gaze and used her hand to cover the scar.

Naruto gently moved her hand away. "There's no need for that."

"It's ugly…" she murmured.

He ran his fingers across her cheek. It was already healed, though the pink scar tissue contrasted sharply with her pale skin.

"Battle scars aren't ugly. They're marks of your experiences. Wear it with pride."

Ino smiled, her cheeks turning a little pink. "Thanks…" For a moment, she felt happy.

But then her smile faded as her mind returned to the reality of the situation. "I should get going..."

After the girl left the cemetery, Naruto stayed beside Kakashi, receiving condolences from several others. They were expected to receive them as her parents would. For a ninja, teammates were almost like family. Losing one was like losing a sibling.

"I'm so sorry!" Rock Lee stood before them, looking remorseful.

"I should have stopped her. I tried to…"

Naruto noticed that Lee was no longer using his cane, and he seemed to be in much better condition, though he still favored one leg.

"There's no need for that, Lee," Kakashi told him. "Sakura was a ninja just like you, and she made her choice to join the mission, knowing the risks. You weren't her caretaker."

"I know… Gai-sensei said something like that, but…" Lee glanced at Naruto.

Naruto shrugged. "No one blames you, Lee." He was tired of people apologizing for Sakura's death.

No one had even mentioned blaming Sasuke, though he was the one who had driven a fatal jutsu through her chest.

"I think I'll be taking my leave too," Naruto said. He wanted to get away before he ended up saying something he'd regret.

No one tried to stop him as he left the cemetery.

He wandered around the village, thinking about some of the words the Hokage had shared with him.

Tsunade had informed him that Sasuke's name was now in the Bingo Book as a B-rank missing ninja, though his bounty was marked as "Alive Only."

This seemed like a soft punishment for a ninja who had abandoned the village and killed a teammate, but the ninja council had likely forced Tsunade's hand. Sasuke was the last Uchiha, and they weren't willing to lose him just yet.

'Huh?...' Naruto stopped in the middle of an empty street. He had heard someone moving behind him.

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