Fifteen Years Later

The world knew peace. The world was at peace. War, while a memory, still played in people's minds. There were no more wars. No more major conflicts. The Kamikage had seen to that and had used his power to unify the continent into one standing nation. 

The Daimyo had attempted to stop him, but one glance into his eyes they followed his orders. His mystical eyes that once brought fear and terror to ones heart now spoke of love and compassion. He protected the world and it's people the best he could, and they thanked him for it. 

He was their ruler, their Emperor, but he preferred to be called a Kage, the one and only Kage, the Kamikage. Naruto Namikaze was a fair ruler who provided for his people, his fellow human. He was kind. Despite his past, he was loved by those he ruled and those who surrounded him. He had been forgiven for his sins, most of it was because of his older brother's actions on reviving those he had helped kill during the 4th Great Ninja War. 

Some were sad that the Hidden Stone nor the Hidden Mist, as well as a majority of the Hidden Cloud could not enjoy this peace. But things were never perfect, but the strive for perfection would always make humans better themselves as well as make shinobi work harder than the average person. 

Shinobi still existed, but their ways changed. They acted as guardians instead of deceivers. Peacekeepers instead of murderers. They protected all of the villages that the Kamikage ruled. They were admired by the children and thanked by the adults. To be a shinobi was now something to strive for and to admire rather than to scorn and to hate. 

They fought bandits and protected villages from wildlife. They helped the weak and assisted in making the strong. Some would say it was amazing, the progress the world had taken in just a decade and a half. Many thanked Naruto Namikaze and his Council of Advisors, who assisted the Kamikage in all of his duties in maintaining the peace. 

Many shinobi retired after Naruto had taken control, wanting to live their peaceful lives and just watch the newer generations mold into protectors, proud of what they had become. They had fought to live normal lives and Naruto Namikaze had granted them that life. They would be forever grateful to the successor of the Sage of Six Paths. 

Some shinobi, mainly young ones wanting to prove themselves, participated in tournaments. The prize was mainly fame, glory, and of course, money. To win a tournament was a testament of your hard work and will-power. Many who wanted to be acknowledged by the Kamikage participated, who would always watch from the balcony with a content smile on his face. 

If one were to go to far and attempt to kill the competition, he would swoop in and save the day in a flash. Usually that person was jailed and sent to see a therapist. No one was to die unless it was necessary. 

The Kamikage had not killed many people since he had become ruler of the lands. He had killed a few bandits here and there in the beginning to spread his name around. He had also killed a handful of those who wished to see him dead, trying to assassinate the Kamikage. He would only kill them if he thought they were irredeemable. 

Nowadays, an assassination attempt was rare. 

But the Kamikage survived. He would always survive. Nobody would reach his level of power even with all the training in the world. The closest people so far were Sasuke Uchiha and Ashura Otsutsuki, the latter not having been seen in public since the 4th Great Ninja War, but neither could still hold a candle to Naruto Namikaze's immense power. 

And today was the day his people would be reminded of that fact. 

Naruto sat on the balcony in his chair, his elbow propped up and his cheek leaning on his fist, a small smile on his face as he watched two thirteen-year-olds fight. One of them was the adopted son of Gaara, the former Fifth Kazekage, named Shinki. The other fighter was Naruto's grandson, Sai and Ino Yamanka's child, Inoichi. 

When Naruto had found out that Sai was going to let Ino named their child, he laughed, knowing full well that the first three letters would be Ino, copying her father, Inoichi. Sai had shrugged him off, but in the end the Kamikage had been right. 

Secretly Naruto wanted his grandson to win the battle. He didn't outwardly show favoritism, but everyone knew how much he loved his family. Speaking of family. . .

Naruto felt a soft hand grab his and he looked over and smiled, seeing Yugao there. Yes, he had married Yugao Uzuki just a year after the end of the war. He had indulged her before and had again, but this time he found himself falling in love with the ex-Anbu captain. 

"You're going to have finger marks all over your cheeks if you keep doing that," She chided lightly, her purple hair shining as the sun overhead provided light. Naruto disconnected his fist from his cheek and smiled softly at his wife. 

"I already have whiskers, what's a little red mark going to do?" He joked. She only shook her head as she looked down at the stadium, more so at their son who was sitting in the stands. Naruto followed her gaze and squeezed her hand lightly. "You worry too much, Yugao-chan. He's going to do fine." 

"He's facing Sasuke's little clone," She huffed and she crossed her arms. "That boy is a prodigy." Naruto shook his head.

"They give that title freely nowadays," Sasuke's son, named Hiruzen Uchiha, was considered a prodigy. He had been training under his father ever since he could walk and was considered gifted. Naruto thought that it was just natural that a child be so good at being a ninja when having someone as talented as Sasuke teaching them, especially for as long as he has. "Besides, Obito is pretty strong. He's trained for the last few months with my clone." 

Yugao's lips curled downward slightly. "You should really spend more time with him, and I mean you," She pointed as she poked him in the chest. "Not a clone." 

"My clones give me the memory anyway," Naruto sighed in a defeated tone. He heard a chuckle from one of his guards and only slumped further in his seat. "Can't an old man just rest peacefully?" 

"You're thirty-seven," Yugao corrected him. "You are not old." Ah, that was a touchy subject. Despite Naruto being thirty-seven, he still looked the same as he did the day he had met Hagoromo. He blamed it on the Senju and Uzumaki DNA he had, including the Sage power he had inherited. 

Meanwhile Yugao, who was now fourty-two, looked as if she were thirty. She was still beautiful. Naruto had offered to give her some of his DNA to help preserve herself, but she refused. She had told him that unless he was ready to do that with everyone he cared about, he should not do that for her. He had gone silent and dropped the subject after that. 

But he still had a plan. He would just live long enough to find a successor and then live the rest of his life with his wife happily. A successor would be hard to find, and it may take several more decades, but he had time. 

He winced as Shinki's metallic sand hit Inojin right in the temple, knocking out the second-to-youngest Namikaze. The first youngest Namikaze was. . .

"Papa," A little girl with dark purple hair and bright blue eyes said as she shifted in her father's lap. "Is Obito-nii going to win?" Naruto looked at his daughter, who he had named Naomi. She was only four-years-old, but she was what Naruto considered to be a kind soul.

She was kind to everyone she met and didn't even hurt the house flies, often capturing them and keeping them as her pets. She sported two whiskers on each cheek and always had a smile on her face. She was often referred to as the 'Princess of the World', but whenever she was called Princess she would only smile bashfully and hide behind her father's leg. 

"I think so," Naruto replied honestly. "Obito has been training for a long time for this competition. I think Hiruzen or Shinki may be his biggest problems." She edged over to his knees and peered through the railing, the crowd cheering as they saw Shinki bow. 

"Aw, Shinki-san beat Inojin-nii." She said in a slight disappointed tone. "Oh well, I hope Inojin-nii is okay." Naruto patted the girl on her head twice. 

"He will be," He said as he looked at his son. "Obito has been training with papa for the last few months, if he doesn't win then that just means its my fault." 

"But you trained Uncle Sasuke?" Naomi said it in more of a question that a statement. "And he's super strong!" Naruto chuckled. 

"Yes he is, but he did a lot of training by himself too." It was true. After the war and learning the entire truth from Itachi, Sasuke journeyed for five years. In that time he had gotten stronger, mastering his Mangekyou Sharingan and honing his jutsu to perfection and even finding a woman he loved named Karin. He was one of the strongest shinobi in the nation, and Naruto was proud of his former student. 

And now. . . 

"Obito," Hiruzen called out as they both walked out into the stadium, the crowd cheering Obito's name, being the son of their beloved Kamikage. "I hope you don't let all that chanting go to your head." Hiruzen had black hair like his father with crimson red eyes like his mother. He had pale skin and wore traditional Uchiha garments, a blue shirt and black pants with the shirt having the Uchiha crest printed on the back. 

"Sounds like scared talk, let me guess, Uncle Sasuke told you to beat me, didn't he?" Obito looked exactly as Naruto did when he was younger. He had shaggy blonde hair that was pushed up by a red headband with sparkling sky-blue eyes with two whiskers on either cheek. He had a plain white t-shirt under a long-sleeved unzipped jacket with a pair of black pants and shinobi sandals along with a kunai pouch strapped to his left leg. 

Hiruzen scoffed. "Father didn't need to tell me to beat you, he already knew I was." Obito chuckled. 

"Well I'd like to see how the Uchiha train their children," He took out a kunai, the steel reflecting the sun. "And allow me to teach you how my father trains his!" He was about to charge but suddenly stopped as two shadows appeared on the stage floor. 

In an instant Naruto appeared on the arena floor. He quickly grabbed Hiruzen and Obito and jumped back as two figures landed, the concrete ground beneath them cracking. "I've been looking for you, the Jinchuuriki of all Tailed Beasts." 

"Dad? What's going on?" Obito whispered frantically as he looked over at the two strange looking men. "Who are they?" Naruto turned around and flashed both the Uchiha and his son a grin. 

"Don't worry guys, I got this." He turned around and walked forward, the stadium now a hush as he approached the two figures. The one on the left was a small-framed man with pale skin and pale blue hair that he had in a long pony tail that ran down his back with pale white eyes and two horns on his head. 

"My name is Momoshiki Otsutsuki." 

"And I am his guardian, Kinshiki Otsutsuki." The much larger one of the right said. He had pale skin with short spiky light blue hair with a full beard and a horn above his left eye. Both wore white clothing, the one on the left obviously being the noble and the other a guardian.

"We come for the Tailed Beasts you hold within your body. Relinquish them to us and we shall be on our way with destroying your puny colloseum," Momoshiki said with a small smirk. Naruto closed his eyes and took off the cloak that had been wrapped around his body. 

As it fell to the ground, it revealed Naruto wearing a dark purple long-sleeved shirt with red stitchings on the hems of the shirt with thin black dress pants and black shinobi boots. He jumped up and down for a few moments, loosening his body.

"You know, you both have a lot of nerve." He began, his words shocking both Otsutsukis. "You interrupt the tournament. You threaten to take away the friends I've made who entrusted this world to me. But most of all, you threatened to destroy the arena, meaning everyone within the arena would die." Suddenly all playfulness in his body language disappeared as his Sharingan sprung to life. 

"And that pisses me off the most," His voice was guttural, almost animalistic as he walked forward. Obito took a step back, not even recognizing the voice his father was speaking in. Was this the Kamikage everyone spoke about? Was this Naruto Namikaze? The Second Sage of Six Paths? 

He had heard stories, but he had chalked them up to exaggerated stories from biased people. "That's funny," Momoshiki laughed. "You say that as if you can do something." 

"Momoshiki-sama," Kinshiki whispered. "Something isn't right about this man. I sense the Tailed Beasts within his body, but he isn't using their chakra. It's just. . .him." Momoshiki raised an eyebrow as he stepped forward. 

"Do not doubt my power, Kinshiki. I don't like being told to be careful," He groaned as he popped a small pill in his mouth. He suddenly ascended into the air and raised his palm, a large black ball of energy the size of a mountain appearing above him. "Don't say I didn't warn you!" He called out mockingly. 

Naruto's Sharingan evolved into its Rinnegan form as he flashed into the air, appearing right in front of Momoshiki who's eyes widened suddenly as Naruto shoved his hand into the ball of chakra and absorbed it using his Rinnegan. "Do not threaten me." He grabbed Momoshiki by the throat and flung him down.

The Otsutsuki crashed into the concrete, the dust from the broken stone rising into the air as he suddenly felt a presence behind him. "I don't know who you are," Naruto spoke as a sword suddenly protruded from Momoshiki's chest. "But anyone who threatens the lives of my people and my son will die." 

"No!" Kinshiki shouted as he descended upon Naruto, the white-haired Sage easily dodging an axe made of red chakra with an invisible force field. 

"Almighty Push," Naruto whispered as Kinshiki was suddenly blasted away. Momoshiki grunted as he slid off of Naruto's sword. 

"Fool," He got out as he held up his hand. "You dare force me to use my trump card so quickly?" He looked at Kinshiki as he began absorbing him with the Rinnegan on his palm, only to stop as he found both of his hands falling to the ground unceremoniously. 

"Arrogance blinds you," Naruto said as he kneed Momoshiki in the stomach. "You thought you could waltz onto my world," He kicked him in the face. "Try and threaten my country," He used his Mangekyou ability to control Momoshiki's movements, forcing the man to his knees and making him meet his eyes. "Threaten my friends, my children. What you have done is unforgivable." 

"Momoshiki-sama!" Kinshiki cried out, only to stop as his head suddenly fell of his body, Sasuke suddenly appeared next to Naruto wearing a black cloak over his clothing. 

"He is gone." Sasuke confirmed. Naruto nodded, silently thanking his old student before turning his attention back on the fuming Momoshiki. 

"You are powerful, but only in terms of a regular shinobi. The average shinobi is about Chunin-level. You are easily Kage level, perhaps above that. Maybe if you were to absorb your friend over there you might have posed a small threat, but as you are now you are nothing to me." 

He placed his hand onto Momoshiki's face. "I'll be back, we will all be back." Momoshiki growled with a grin on his face. Naruto rose an eyebrow.

"You seem to not have heard me." He bent down, meeting Momoshiki's eye level. "I'm sure I said you are weak compared to someone like me. To me you are but a civilian playing ninja. I only had to use my ocular prowess to beat you down and even then it didn't put a dent on my chakra reserves." He bent down to Momoshiki's ear and whispered so only the man would hear. 

"Your people can send an entire army, but I am the God of this world. I am immortal. I cannot die unless I so choose. So when your army comes, when your people step a foot on this planet, I will know and I will kill them just as I did you. I want you to spend your last moments knowing that you coming here will be your greatest and final mistake." He stood up, enjoying the look of pure terror that had crossed upon the Otsutsuki's face. 

He took Momoshiki's soul, using his Rinnegan to absorb it before creating a clone to take care of both bodies. He turned around to address the crowd. "As you just saw, these two men came here and threatened our way of life. As your Kamikage and ruler, I promised to protect you all with my life. These threats were prevented thankfully, but we need to be more careful. If anybody sees any more individuals that looked like these two, please inform me immediately. If they are to appear then they have no good deeds planned." 

He then looked over to Obito and Hiruzen with a smile, the two boys looking at the Kamikage with shock and admiration on their faces. "After I smooth out and repair the arena, you two can duke it out, alright?" 

"Y-Yes sir!" Hiruzen shouted with a tiny salute. Naruto waved him off.

"It's uncle to you, you know this." He said with a chuckle. He looked over to Obito. "Do me proud, okay?" Obito nodded.

"Yes dad!" 

"Hey, Hiruzen," Sasuke called out. Hiruzen looked up and saw his father standing next to him with a small smile on his face. "Kick his ass." Obito glared at his uncle-figure. Sasuke only chuckled and ruffled the blond's hair.

Naruto flashed next to Yugao, who had been holding Naomi protectively. "Well that was anti-climatic," Naruto admitted. "Where's the fun in fighting if you always beat everyone so easily." Yugao rolled her eyes.

"You gave me a heart attack you idiot," Naomi crawled from her mother's lap to her father's.

"I'm glad you're alright, Papa, mommy was worried about you a lot." Naruto smiled at his daughter and planted a small kiss on her forehead while moving a few strains of hair out of her face. 

"I know baby girl, but daddy is super strong. Nothing can hurt me," He said in a whisper, getting a small giggle from Naomi as she hugged her father. Naruto leaned over and pecked Yugao on the lips with a smile on his face.

He had his hardships. He had his struggles. He had his regrets. But ending the war was not one of them. Everything he did after the war there was not a single regret. He had his family, he had his friends, and most importantly, he had himself. 

Not many people could claim they had journeyed into the darkness and came out. Once someone walked into the darkness, they were usually swallowed by it. Turned into something horrible and inhuman.

Naruto was like that once. He had been a monster. 

But he had found his light. He had found his salvation. From the moment he took his first steps he was walking to this point in time. A time where peace was the new normal, where love was spread throughout the world, and where hate had diminished into the tiniest of flames. 

Things may not be perfect. New challenges could arise at any moment. But Naruto knew he could handle them, and if he could not, he had an amazing family he could rely on for help. He held wonderful friends he could lean on. He was grateful for the chance to create this world. 

His dream had been realized. He had brought peace to the world. And now, as he sat watching his son fight Sasuke's son with a grin on his face, he knew he was right. It assured him that he was on the correct path. 

Perhaps this was the path he was always taking, but many paths that lead to beautiful forests and oceans are often filled with numerous mountains to climb over. He just had to climb over those mountains to get where he was. 

He smiled at the thought. He was genuinely happy. 

And to think that this all began. . .

With a smile. 

The End

HOLY SHIT! Okay, I know the Momoshiki and Kinshiki vs. Naruto fight wasn't great but honestly I made Naruto too OP for them to even pose a threat so EZ GG! 

But yeah. This is by far the longest and best fanfiction I've ever written. I'm thankful for all of you who have stuck by me for the last, *checks date* holy fuck, year and a half? I made the first chapter in September of 2019! Wow, to think I would have gotten this far and the story had developed in such a way. 

Thank you all for reading Just Smile, it was very fun to write and think of. I know I stole a lot of themes from Star Wars but that's because Star Wars is the goat okay? But yes. This story was very fun to write and I enjoy seeing everyone's comments. 

For my next story I'm doing a thing about Naruto being raised by the Akatsuki sort of deal. It'll be pretty good lol

But yeah, thank you all for reading! 

Until we meet again, my lil demons!