Author Notes: Hello everyone! We've finally come to the end of this story after a year and a week. Enjoy the epilogue :)

General Warnings: Parody, self-insert, tongue in cheek humour and OOCness.

- Chapter Start -

A pair of round blue eyes opened and stared up at a familiar ceiling. Naruto Uzumaki sat bolt upright, grinning as he stretched his arms high above his head.

The Fourth Great Ninja War had ended exactly a year ago and the Five Great Nations were still enjoying their newfound alliance. Today was his eighteenth birthday, his parents were alive, he was dating the most wonderful girl in the world, and Sasuke had promised to return today.

Everything was perfect.

Naruto bounced out of bed and got dressed in a jiffy. Granny Tsunade's medical ninjutsu was truly awesome; he had gotten used to his artificial right arm in no time at all. It had the same chakra points as a normal arm and linked up to his own chakra network smoothly, making two handed jutsu a cinch!

Hearing familiar noises in the kitchen, Naruto grinned and headed there. He paused in the doorway, taking in the scene before him with a goofy smile.

Tou-chan was wearing his favourite pink apron and slicing vegetables at the counter. Kaa-chan was leaning on the counter and talking to him, a hand caressing the small swell of her stomach.

Naruto's smile turned even goofier. He couldn't wait for his baby sister to be born, but that would take another few months. Minato and Kushina saw him standing there and smiled.

"Happy birthday, Naruto," they chorused in unison.

"Thank you!" Naruto went to sling an arm around each of their shoulders, receiving a hair ruffle and a peck on the cheek in return.

"Breakfast will be ready soon," Minato said.

"So don't think of going anywhere," Kushina added.

Before she had said three words, Naruto was back at the doorway and waving at them.

"Sasuke's coming back from his latest trip with Itachi. I'll be back in time for breakfast, you know!"

He was out the front door and bounding down the apartment stairs before his parents could say anything. The three of them had moved into a new apartment complex a few months back. It was closer to the old Uchiha compound than Naruto's former apartment was.

Obito had rebuilt his old home for him and Rin to stay in when they returned, but it wasn't until Itachi and Shisui returned that the old Uchiha place was cleared up properly. As the new head of the Uchiha clan, Itachi decided to rebuild just a few houses, without the huge and imposing wall that had once kept his clan closed off from the rest of the village.

That wasn't the only notable change after his return, of course.

An emergency meeting of the five Kage had resulted in a joint statement released by the Five Great Nations. It stated that two outsiders whose identities would remain secret had performed an unknown and powerful jutsu to bring back several shinobi from the dead as far back as six years ago. Haku of of the Hidden Mist was the first one and the rest included missing-nin and even Akatsuki members. The fact that they were brought back showed they had been pardoned for their past crimes by a greater power, and their missing-nin status revoked. It might have seemed suspicious, but coming on the heels of victory of the Fourth Ninja War, the statement was collectively taken as good news, to the vast relief of all those involved.

Naruto - being Naruto - was just as relieved as those who had been given a second chance. One of the happiest moments of his life was when Gamakichi teleported him to an old hideout somewhere in Amegakure one day. Pervy Sage was there, but he wasn't alone. Naruto had been tackle hugged by his three siblings students Nagato, Konan and Yahiko, the latter whom he had last met and fought as the vengeful chakra receiver studded Pein.

Hearing someone call his name, Naruto looked up and waved at Inoichi Yamanaka, Shikaku Nara and Choza Akimichi sitting in a teashop near the Yamanaka Flower shop. Right after he and Sasuke ended the Infinite Tsukuyomi and woke up everyone, he had witnessed the heartwarming sight of Shikamaru and Ino screaming with joy as they raced to hug their respective fathers who were miraculously alive and whole.

A sudden yowling startled Naruto into taking a quick step back as a familiar brown cat with a pink ribbon on one ear streaked past him, hissing and spitting. Three genin followed in hot pursuit with Konohamaru running after them and hollering instructions. He tossed a bright grin in Naruto's direction before rounding a corner at full tilt.

A shout of alarm and a crash brought Naruto around the same corner to see Konohamaru helping old man Hiruzen to his feet and apologising to him. Asuma-sensei stood beside them, arms flung out protectively in front of Kurenai-sensei who was carrying little Mirai in her arms. Naruto grinned as Konohamaru shouted 'Sorry, jii-chan, sorry Uncle Asuma, Aunty Kurenai!' before dashing off after his team again.

Not two minutes later, a large green and orange blur of a tornado whooshed past Naruto and a loud baritone shouted, "Fifty more laps and then we can take a dango break!" A smaller green and orange blur followed with Lee's voice yelling "Right behind you, Gai-Sensei!" Neji and Tenten were next, both of them running slow enough for Naruto to catch their exasperated looks.

"This is ridiculous, Neji. You're a jounin, you should be leading your own team," panted Tenten. "Hi, Naruto!"

"Good morning, Naruto," called Neji before smiling at his teammate. "Pick up the pace, Tenten. I'll buy you dinner tonight."

"Hey, I thought that was a given!"

Chuckling, Naruto walked on until he reached the main gates of the village. There was no one around except the two Chunin in the guardhouse, Izumo and Kotetsu. Naruto nodded to them and walked out the gates only to hear a rustling in one of the nearby bushes and a female voice saying, "Perfect! No one will see them here, daughter" and another saying, "I can't believe we got this close to the gates without anyone noticing, mother!"

Two females crawled out of the bushes on their hands and knees, each gripping a small bag in their mouths. They stood up and started brushing themselves off, but froze when they caught sight of Naruto staring at them. The bags dropped to the ground as their mouths fell open, eyes going round and shiny.

"I don't believe it," said the mother in an awed voice.

"It's really him," said the daughter in a similar voice.

"NARUTO UZUMAKI!" they shrieked at the same time, making Naruto take a step back and the two chunin in the guardhouse crane their necks in curiosity.

"Do I know you?" Naruto asked as he accepted a dogeared piece of paper from the daughter's shaking fingers. His eyes widened when he recognised his father's neat script.

"So you two are the ones behind all those miracles?!" he asked in a near shout.

"Shh! Yes, we are!" squealed the mother while the daughter nodded excitedly.

"And you brought back my parents, Pervy Sage and all the others?!" Naruto continued in the same loud tone.

"Shh! Yes, we did!" squeaked the daughter while the mother nodded excitedly.

"Awesome! I've been wanting to meet you, you know!" Naruto shook their hands with enthusiasm. "C'mon, I'll take you to my parents. Oh, there's Sasuke and Itachi!"

The two females spun around so fast they almost tipped over. They stared at the two figures in the distance.

"Is that really Sasuke Uchiha?" said the daughter in an awed voice.

"It is," said the mother in a similar voice. "And we get to see Itachi again."

The two brothers approached them, nodding at Naruto before turning their attention on the two females.

"Itachi-san, you look better than ever," gushed the daughter.

"Being alive suits you so much. And you let your lovely, lovely hair loose," gushed the mother.

"Ah. We meet again." Itachi gave a polite bow and ignored their earlier comments, raising a questioning eyebrow at Naruto.

"You know these two, nii-san?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.

The two females' round eyes got even rounder when Naruto grabbed Sasuke's shoulder and whispered something to him, putting his lips very close to Sasuke's ear.

"I think I'm going to faint," murmured the mother, fanning her red face.

"They're just friends," muttered the daughter, staring almost as avidly.

Itachi frowned, looking between them and his brother.

"Oh." Sasuke gave the two females an appraising look. "I guess the whole thing is true then."

"It is otherwise Shisui and I and many others wouldn't be here," Itachi reminded him.

"Glad you two are back. My parents are cooking breakfast so I'll bring them home with me," Naruto told them with an unmistakable note of pride in his voice. "See you two and Shisui this evening, you know!"

- o -

Izumo and Kotetsu, flustered at being called 'adorable' by the daughter and 'M.F.E.O' by the mother - registered them as the Yondaime's special guests for today before Naruto led them through the village, talking nineteen to a dozen.

The two females just nodded nonstop, heads swiveling right and left as they tried to take in everything at once, and pointed out familiar sights and faces with glee. They pulled on Naruto's shirt to stop him when two orange and green tornadoes approached at top speed, the larger one snapping to a stop and morphing into the tall muscular form of Maito Gai. He greeted the mother and daughter with both thumbs up and a big smile complete with sparkle, thanked them once more for healing his damaged leg and said he would see them later at the party. Lee bowed politely to the two females before looking around for his missing teammates.

After Gai and Lee left to get dango, Naruto jerked his head at where Neji and Tenten were hiding behind a large tree and trying to shoo away a smirking Deidara. The mother looked longingly at Neji's lustrous, waist long hair while the daughter stared at Deidara's equally long blond ponytail.

"Hey, that's right," said Naruto. "You've met Neji and Deidara before. Shall I call them over?"

The mother and daughter blinked and shook their heads.

"It's fine, we'll meet them later," they said.

They continued walking and spotted Jiraiya and Tsunade slurping ramen at Ichiraku with a stack of empty bowls starting to pile up in front of them.

"Wow, those two can really pack it in," said the mother, looking envious. "Come to think of it-"

"Oh, you won't want to miss kaa-chan's cooking." Naruto hastily steered them along. He had spotted what looked like a hickey at the back of Granny Tsunade's neck and could make a good guess as to the cause of the two Sannin's hearty appetites this morning... at which point his brain screeched to a halt and refused to go any further.

- o -

Some six hours later...

Training Ground Three was the designated site for Naruto's open air birthday party. Fairy lights and colourful lanterns were strung between the trees and bunches of colourful balloons hung everywhere. A cool breeze had started up, blowing away the heat of the afternoon sun.

Minato and Kushina had arranged for a noted barbeque restaurant, a teashop and the famous Ichiraku Ramen to cater for the party, but many families still brought home cooked dishes to share. The Akimichi clan's contribution alone looked more than enough to feed everyone there.

The mother and daughter stood near the Memorial Stone, sipping their drinks as more and more people arrived. They had visited the local onsen earlier for a hot bath and a soak and were looking forward to meeting the rest of the shinobi they had brought back.

"Hello there! Naruto said you two would be here today!"

The mother and daughter beamed when they saw a beautiful young man approaching them, pulling a tall and muscular man by the hand.

"Oh, it's Haku and Zabuza," whispered the mother in reverent tones, her eyes sparkling.

"Oh indeed," muttered the daughter, eyeing the hand holding with askance.

After six years, Haku had grown more beautiful than ever, his face radiant with happiness.

"Hello, you two lovebirds! How wonderful to see you two again," greeted the mother warmly. "What have you two been doing since we last met?"

"We run an orphanage in the Land of Waves," Haku replied. "The villages have accepted us as one of them."

"Well, I'm glad to see the two of you taking your promise seriously," said the mother.

"So, Zabuza treating you alright then, is he?" asked the daughter, tapping a wooden ruler against her palm.

"I'm right here, you know," Zabuza growled.

Haku just laughed, his cheeks flushing pink.

"He treats everyone well, especially the children. We're very happy together," he confirmed.

"Prove it," challenged the mother.

"Prove what?" Zabuza demanded. "What is there to - mpff!"

Haku had pulled him down for a kiss, causing the mother to squeal happily and the daughter to make a face. Zabuza huffed and stomped off, pulling Haku along and grumbling about how there was a place and time for everything, and this was neither.

"Well, that explains why those two aren't in the bingo books anymore," someone said with a chuckle.

"They make a cute couple though!" said a female voice.

The two females turned to see the Gekko family standing there. Hayate introduced his wife Yugao and their small daughter Murasaki with a proud smile. He thanked the mother and daughter again for giving him the opportunity to continue serving his village as well as to become a husband and father. The mother smiled approvingly at Yugao's pregnant belly while the daughter reminded her to go back to Anbu duty after giving birth since there weren't enough kick-ass kunoichi around. They were happy to learn that the Leaf Academy had added kenjutsu and other weapons classes some six years ago and as a result, there were more proficient wielders of the Leaf Style Crescent Moon Dance in the village.

"Six years ago? Has it been that long?" someone else said.

The mother and daughter turned to see Hiruzen Sarutobi smiling at them with his signature pipe in hand. He nodded as Hayate and Yugao bowed and excused themselves.

"How have you been, Hiruzen?" asked the mother. "You did a great job in the war with the other Hokage."

"Thank you. I'm grateful to you both for my second chance," Hiruzen replied. "I'm also grateful to Orochimaru for freeing the First, Second and Fourth Hokage from the Shinigami during the war. Hashirama and Tobirama are reunited with their loved ones in the afterlife, and so is Minato with Kushina and Naruto. And I will be with Biwako when I die."

"Not for many more years, we hope," said the mother.

"That is your first smoke of the day, right, jii-chan?" asked the daughter.

Hiruzen's smile turned a bit crafty.

"My second actually," he admitted. "But it's Naruto's birthday today. I deserve a little treat, don't you think?"

"Well, I suppose," said the daughter doubtfully.

"Asuma's birthday in about a week's time," continued Hiruzen, "so that means another treat for me."

"Now wait a minute," said the mother, catching on.

"And I believe Konohamaru's birthday is in December. I mustn't forget that."

As the two females sweatdropped, Hiruzen chuckled happily and wandered off.

"Why, that sneaky Sandaime," muttered the mother.

"Never mind him, mother. There's Deidara, look!"

They watched as the blond ninja went to greet two other young men bearing gifts before dragging them over to Naruto. One had wavy, shoulder length blond hair and the other had straight blue-grey hair and a thin face.

"Hey, isn't that Menma whom we rescued before? Who's that young man with him?"

"It's Sora, the young novice monk from the Fire Temple."

"My my, don't they look nice together?" said the mother with a happy sigh. "They arrived together too!"

The daughter rolled her eyes.

"That's because we told Menma to visit Naruto and the Hidden Leaf village at least twice a year and if he met Sora, to tell him to do the same."

"Oh, I bet they're-"

"Just friends, mother. Just friends."

"No, I bet they're more than friends! I bet they're also-"

"No. They are just friends."

That deep voice was unmistakable. The mother and daughter turned to see the Head Monk of the Fire Temple, Chiriku standing there in his Fire Temple robes. He bowed his bald head, a small enigmatic smile on his lips.

"How nice to see you again, Chiriku," said the mother without missing a beat. "You're looking very well."

"How is your new temple, Uncle Chiriku?" asked the daughter, keeping one eye on Deidara.

"It is better than before, thank you. The wards are also stronger and we have more and more monks in training join us every year."

"Oh, that's wonderful!"

"Yes, it is." Chiriku glanced at Asuma, Kurenai and Mirai who were approaching them before turning back to the two females.

"Asuma and I have also made a point to meet more frequently. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity. Just remember that Menma and Sora are just friends," he said and withdrew.

"Hmph. More's the pity," mumbled the mother while behind her, the daughter gave Chiriku the thumbs up sign.

"Welcome to the Hidden Leaf Village," said Asuma heartily. "It's great to see you two again."

"Thank you, Asuma-sensei!" chirped the daughter. "Hey, you helped Choji get his butterfly wings during the Fourth Shinobi War, that was awesome!"

"It was indeed. I'm proud of him and Shikamaru and Ino," replied Asuma. He glanced over his shoulder before leaning forward. "I saw the barbeque stand. Choji and I are going to put on all the weight we've managed to lose so far."

He patted his flat stomach and grinned.

"Well, a few pieces of barbecued meat won't do any harm," assured the mother.

"I agree," said Kurenai, smiling as she shook both the females' hands. "The most important thing is that he's alive and our Mirai will grow up with both her parents. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome!" said the daughter happily. "Asuma-sensei is awesome, of course we had to bring him back. And by the way, Kurenai-sensei, the Leaf Village needs more skilled kunoichi so make sure you remain on active duty!"

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten that," said Asuma. He thanked them again and headed for the barbeque stand with his wife and daughter.

"I'm so happy we rescued him, daughter," said the mother with a happy sigh.

"Me too, but I'm happier still we rescued him, mother," said the daughter, nodding at the person walking towards them with Naruto.

"Oh yes! He's the reason why we started this series!"

"Hello, we meet again," Neji greeted them with a polite bow.

"Hello, Neji! You look wonderful," said the mother, grinning from ear to ear.

"I bet dating Tenten is a part of that," added the daughter with a mischievous smile.

"It is," Neji admitted with a small smile. He turned his head as if to see where she was, his waist long hair swinging out.

"Ooh," said the mother and daughter together, twitchy fingers reaching out, only to have the silky strands snapping out of reach when Neji swung back abruptly.

"Oops," they said upon seeing the prominent veins around his pale eyes.

"The Byakugan has almost three hundred and sixty degree vision which I'm sure you know," Neji confirmed with a smirk.

"Yes, we know," sighed the mother.

"We know everything," sighed the daughter.

"What's that about?" Naruto wanted to know.

"Nothing!" they chorused in unison. "Just make sure you keep your hairstyle as it is! No buzz cut for you!"

"Oh." Naruto shrugged. "Alright."

"So you two are behind the numerous miracles we have experienced. My sincere thanks for bringing back my nephew, the next leader of the Hyuga clan," said a deep voice.

The two females turned to see Lord Hiashi standing there with Hinata and Hanabi.

"Wow, all these Hyuga good looks are making me envious," whispered the mother.

"I know, right," whispered the daughter.

"And Hinata's the prettiest of them all," whispered Naruto, putting his head between theirs and laughing when they jumped.

"Wait - shouldn't she be the next clan leader?" asked the mother with a frown.

Lord Hiashi shook his head.

"I have done away with the Main Branch and Side Branch distinctions in the Hyuga clan," he declared. "From now on, the most promising Hyuga will be selected as the next leader. As far as Hinata has come and as proud as I am of her," he paused to smile at his eldest, "Neji's skill is still superior."

"I agree wholeheartedly with father's decision," Hinata said, returning his smile. "Neji-nii-san is, after all, the prodigy of the Hyuga clan."

Neji just bowed, clearly moved by their words. The mother and daughter started sniffling especially when Lord Hiashi placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder.

Hanabi gave a mischievous grin.

"Besides, Hinata-nee-san just wants to be the wife of the future Hoka-ow!" She broke off and rubbed her side where a red faced Hinata had jabbed a tenketsu point.

The mother and daughter's sniffles turned to giggles as a blushing Naruto rubbed the back of his head while Lord Hiashi and Neji exchanged amused smiles.

There was a fwish and Minato appeared. After greeting the family that would one day be joined with his, he turned to the mother and daughter, his smile widening.

"Enjoying yourselves so far?" he asked. "Let's go say 'hi' to Kakashi, shall we? He's being anti-social again."

He reached out to hold their arms and teleported the mother and daughter mid-squawk, their drinks caught by Naruto before they could hit the ground.

"SQU-"

The three of them appeared in front of the silver haired Hokage, startling him into looking up from his Icha-Icha book.

"-AWK!"

"Now's not the time for reading, Kakashi," said Minato in a mild tone.

"Minato-sensei." Kakashi had the grace to look the tiniest bit abashed before his gaze shifted to the two females. "Oh. Hello."

"Kakashiiii!"

"Kakashi-senseiiii!"

Kakashi took a hasty step back only to bump into a broad chest.

"There you are, my youthful and eternal rival! I hereby challenge you to a dango eating contest!" Maito Gai declared. He threw an arm around Kakashi's shoulders and frowned in surprise as the mother squealed.

Kakashi quickly stuffed his book into his pouch.

"Lead the way, Gai," he said with an affable smile.

Gai - who looked a bit surprised at Kakashi's easy capitulation - did just that.

"Well, at least he's not reading anymore," sighed Minato and smiled at his pouting guests. "Have you tried our favourite ramen yet?"

A beaming Teuchi served two bowls of his signature dish to the mother and daughter whose eyes almost rolled back to the backs of their heads at the first taste of the piping hot broth. It was every bit as good as Naruto always proclaimed it was... and then some. Menma came over to thank them for his second chance in life and introduced Sora who - to both their surprise - also thanked them for making him visit the Leaf Village at least twice a year.

Kushina then brought her guests around the other stalls, laughing when the mother and daughter waved at familiar faces like Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka who nodded at them with similar knowing gleams in their eyes; and Ibiki Morino, Genma Shiranui, Raido Namiashi and Iruka Umino who just gave bemused smiles.

It wasn't long before another two people came up to the mother and daughter, making them squeal again.

"I'm Utakata. We meet again," said the Mist ninja before presenting his female companion. "And this is-"

"Hotaru, of course," gushed the mother. "You look beautiful, my dear. You two make a really cute-"

"How are you, Hotaru?" asked the daughter quickly.

"-couple. Are you two married already?" continued the mother.

"Motherrrrrr!" groaned the daughter as Utakata coughed while Hotaru giggled and poked him in the side.

"Not yet," Utakata said, giving Hotaru a glance that was meant to be exasperated, but looked mostly loving instead. "It's only been a year or so. We are still master and student."

"For now," Hotaru put in, batting her eyelashes at her master.

"Atta girl!" said the mother approvingly.

"Thank you again for my second chance, and for not leaving Hotaru alone. She insisted on meeting you two. Now, let's go wish Naruto a happy birthday." With a bow, Utakata led Hotaru away even though she glanced back to wink at the mother.

"At least Hotaru is on my side," said the mother.

"And Utakata is on mine," muttered the daughter. "Oh look, there's Shikamaru, Ino and Choji!"

The younger Ino-Shika-Cho trio were at the barbeque stand, the former two trying to persuade the latter to try ramen and the latter insisting that nothing could be better than grilled meat.

Then Minato appeared beside the mother and daughter again.

"The Kazekage has just arrived. Would you like to meet him?"

The mother and daughter's sparkly eyes were answer enough. Minato led them over to where the entourage from the Village Hidden in the Sand were greeting Naruto, each of them bearing gifts.

Gaara bowed and treated the mother and daughter with the respectful wariness reminiscent of Itachi. He ignored their compliments about his wind ruffled hair and reminders to keep it that way before introducing his siblings Kankurou and Temari.

The Honoured Siblings and Sasori were next. Granny Chiyo was her usual irrepressible self as she introduced her brother Ebizo. Sasori would assume leadership of the Puppet Corp of the Sand next year and Chiyo promised to the mother and daughter sotto voce to keep an eye on him to ensure he didn't experiment on human puppets ever again.

Sasori was soft spoken and polite. He smiled when he said he had made friends with a Leaf ninja, Deidara, even if most of their correspondence centered around a never ending argument on the true definition of art. True to his words, Deidara soon appeared and dragged him off, declaring he was going to win their argument over a bowl of ramen since there was no bakudan to be had.

"Oh, aren't they adorable!" said the mother with a happy grin.

"Who are?" asked Naruto who had come up to them after depositing his latest presents in a growing pile near the Memorial Stone.

"No one," muttered the daughter. "Look, that's Torune talking to Shino and his father, Shibi!"

Naruto nodded and grinned.

"Yup. Shino fought a reanimated Torune during the war - my clone went to help - so he's pleased to have his adopted brother back."

"There's Fu," added the daughter as a brown haired shinobi came up to the group and grabbed Torune by the shoulders. "And before you start, mother-"

"They're M.F.E.O.!" squealed the mother, making Naruto and the daughter wince.

"Hey, Naruto!" called a deep, familiar voice. "Get over here, birthday boy!"

"Pervy Sage!" This time, the volume of the combined voices of Naruto, the mother and the daughter made Jiraiya wince.

"Don't call me that!"

"My sibling students are here too," Naruto added happily.

Yahiko, Konan and Nagato came over. They shook hands with Naruto and Konan pecked him on the cheek before handing him more gifts. Then they greeted the mother and daughter.

"It's lovely to see you again," Konan said happily, linking arms with Yahiko. Nagato looked around and waved at Itachi and Shisui across the clearing.

"Likewise, my dear," said the mother, darting a non too subtle glance at Konan's slim midriff.

Konan just smiled.

"No good news yet, but I can tell you it's not for lack of trying," she disclosed candidly, making Yahiko blush while Nagato choked with silent laughter.

"But I see someone else has taken your advice to heart," Konan added, nodding at another couple approaching them.

"It's Obito and Rin," said the daughter. "They look very happy."

"And Rin's pregnant," said the mother in a smug tone. "Their child will be the same age as Hayate and Yugao's second child-"

"And my baby sister," reminded Naruto.

"Isn't it wonderful?" said the mother happily.

"Why is every female I see pregnant?!" groused the daughter, rolling her eyes.

"Tsunade isn't," pointed out the mother as she spied the bosomy Fifth Hokage at the barbeque stand.

"That's because she and Pervy Sage are in their fifties!" huffed the daughter while Naruto turned red.

"Excuse me, I see the Mizukage's just arrived with her husband," he said and hurried off to greet them.

"Why, so she has," said the mother with a blinding grin. "And look, daughter, she's pregnant too!"

The daughter gave a rather unladylike snort.

"Lord Ao hasn't wasted any time, that's for sure," she said and returned Lord Ao's wave.

"And that's the entourage from the Hidden Cloud!" said the mother, seeing another group approach Naruto with more gifts. They listened to the distant rapping of a birthday greeting from Killer B and grinned.

"At least Mabui isn't pregnant," muttered the daughter.

"I'm sure she will be at some point," said the mother, surveying the arm Darui put around Mabui's waist with satisfaction.

- o -

A couple of hours later...

Naruto's birthday cake was an enormous confection decorated in chocolate and vanilla frosting... in the shape of a huge bowl of miso ramen. His delighted laughter ran out across the clearing as soon as the cakeshop owner wheeled it out on a trolley.

The crowd surged forward, children crowding around the trolley while Genma and Raido tried to instill order. The mother and daughter stood to one side, enjoying the sight of all the beaming faces, dear and familiar, and most important of all, healthy and alive. Happiest of all was Naruto's face as he stood flanked by Hinata and Sasuke, his parents and the rest of the Konoha Thirteen.

The mother and daughter clapped along when the birthday song was sung with great enthusiasm. Amidst shouts of 'Make a wish, Naruto!', all eighteen candles were blown out. The resultant cheers were deafening.

Obito sent a shower of fiery sparks high into the night sky, Sasuke followed with a huge burst of lightning sparks, and Kakashi sent an army of tiny water dragons to ensure there was no lasting mischief.

The mother and daughter smiled at the shouts of laughter and good natured teasing that followed.

"Isn't this so much better than canon, daughter?" asked the mother happily. "All our favourite characters alive and living happily ever after, the way they should be."

"Indeed it is, mother," agreed the daughter. She saw something out of the corner of her eye and looked down to see a long white snake slithering into a nearby bush. It looked familiar to her, but she shrugged and dismissed it as unimportant.

- o -

The mother was more than a little tipsy by the time she and the daughter shook hands with Minato in farewell. Kushina kissed them on both cheeks and then Naruto escorted them to the main gates of the village.

"Thank you again," he said in a serious tone, the constant smiles from the past few hours vanishing. "Our victory wouldn't have been as complete if you hadn't brought back our loved ones and comrades, you know."

"You're most welcome," the mother told him and squeaked when Naruto gave her an impulsive hug.

"It's been fun!" said the daughter and was hugged by Naruto as well.

"Wait - we almost forgot to give you our present!"

"Oh, you don't have to," Naruto protested. "You've already given me the best gift ever, the lives of my parents and friends!"

"Nope. We insist," said the daughter and held out a tiny glass bottle. Inside was a single pink ball.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, peering at it.

"A peach pill. A cure all for any injuries sustained or illnesses contracted. Efficient even if you are at death's door," explained the mother. "Keep it for when you really need it, alright?"

Naruto nodded solemnly and pocketed the bottle.

"I'm glad I got to meet you two in person," he said and was taken aback when they grinned at him.

"Hold that thought!" they said before hurrying to the bushes where he had first seen them. They crawled inside and pulled something out with an effort - a trolley crammed high with luggage, all strapped together in a rather haphazard fashion.

"You're going to see us everyday," they chorused in unison, "because we have decided to make our home here in the Village Hidden in the Leaves!"

THE END

A/N: Thank you for reading this monster of a chapter! It's been quite the challenge tying all the loose ends together. We hope you've enjoyed our zany, tongue-in-cheek humour. And if you did... please leave a review :)