Happily evers and afters... this is a ~little bit~ passive aggressive, isn't it :)))

A collection of fanworks I made soon after the Naruto manga's... ending? (is this series ever going to end?)
to vent my disappointment at problems and potential I would have been more interested in seeing addressed
getting brushed aside in favor of a tally of who birthed how many babies with which heterosexual partner. :)

Sakura, Ino and Karin are married to each other. Sakura is the head of Konoha hospital and the 6th
(co-)Hokage, and is working on research at home today. Ino is head of the Intelligence Assessment Force, formerly known as Torture and Interrogation Force since nowadays there’s no torture and much less interrogation done. Karin’s work as a tokubetsu jounin and her talents as a sensor and chemist often bring her in collaboration with one or both of her wives.

Together they have so far one child, who lost her birth parents in the war (how long ago was it again? who remembers) but loves her three adoptive mommies who make sure that even with their busy lives at least one of them will always have time for her.

Hinata grows up to be the head of the Hyuuga clan.

After the war she finds it less scary to confront her father about the way he has treated her, and besides a long overdue apology, that’s one of the things that comes out of that. Hinata is strong, both as a ninja and as a person, and she is wise and kind and more than qualified for an active role in shaping a better future. Finally without any buts, Hiashi admits both this and that as fond of tradition as the clan is, there is much room for change, too.

One of the first changes Hinata brings about is making Neji her equal and ending the division to main and branch families for good. She is so glad her brother survived the war. A brother is what she has always considered him, too, which Neji didn’t let himself appreciate while still misguidedly considering her an enemy, but the fact is that for as long as he has been out about his gender, she has made a point in this way to refer to him by it. She understands well the importance, after all, from her own experience. They have supported each other in their shared struggles including training, battle, and transition, and will continue to have each other’s backs while looking after the clan together.

Hanabi couldn’t be happier about this. Both because her siblings are getting the recognition they deserve and she always hated her own accomplishments being used as a weapon against people she loves and respects, and because being a leader was never something she wanted for her own life. She prefers the type of responsibility she has as one of the 6th Hokages’ - Naruto and Sakura’s - bodyguards. She doesn’t much care for being the center of attention, except for attention from her girlfriend.

Pictured: cute trans ladies in love.
Hinata and Karui met during the war when they were assigned to the same division.

Himawari Hyuuga is Hinata and Hanabi’s nth cousin biologically, and becomes legally their little sister after being orphaned by the last war while still a baby. She thinks of Hinata, Hanabi, and Neji more as parental figures due to their age difference, but addresses them as siblings, although sometimes she slips up and calls Hinata “mom”. Hinata doesn’t mind. Hiashi, while her legal guardian, is more like a grandfather to her, and while he has learned from how badly he messed up with his treatment of Hinata and Hanabi, Himawari is mostly raised by her adoptive siblings and their (date)friends.

The only person she consistently calls by parental terms is her favorite from the latter category: Naruto becomes a parent (and cries a lot) the day she first calls them “dad”, and later she calls her “mom” a lot, too. Naruto is still a teenager at the time, so it doesn’t change things officially, and Himawari still lives with the Hyuugas. But they consider each other parent and child and Naruto loves their daughter who chose them as her parent so much, and she’s always welcome to stay at Naruto’s, and later Naruto and Gaara’s place. She’s most of all Naruto and Hinata’s child, but her being the first kid of anyone from Konoha12+, they’re all more or less her parents.

Well-being of children is extremely super most important to 6th co-Hokage Naruto and 5th Kazekage Gaara. This is reflected in their policies as kage as well as volunteer work outside it, and after lots of careful consideration and overcoming anxieties about what their own childhoods do and don’t mean for their capability to be good parents themselves, children of their own are also part of their plans for the future of their family. They are already co-parents with several of their datefriends (such as Lee, who has by now found and of course taken under their wing the next bushy-brows), and Naruto and Himawari in particular have always considered each other parent and child despite the bond not being official or biological, but Naruto and Gaara are not any child’s primary guardians, so it’s still a big step.

The kid says to call them Bolt. Naruto thinks it’s awesome the two of them even have the last two syllables of their names in common. Whether their name was Bolt before hearing Naruto’s name isn’t brought up because it’s not like that would matter in whether it’s their real name. Bolt lives in an orphanage for now, but they’re not actually an orphan. In any case, they’re not going back to their birth parents.
Though Naruto is a bit nervous to introduce Gaara and the kid they kind of already imprinted on behind Gaara’s back, Gaara makes sure Bolt knows they are welcome and wanted and heard, and both of them never stop making sure their child knows that, even while they’re still getting used to each other. Naruto and Gaara never just assume Bolt wouldn’t be able to understand something, and always do their best to take what they communicate into consideration. And Bolt communicates a lot, and all the time and quite loudly, but notices things like how Naruto lowers their voice when talking to or around Gaara, and does the same. Bolt needs help staying focused a lot of the time, and Naruto and Gaara know how to provide that because it’s the same for Naruto and they’ve learned together ways to deal with that.

Bolt doesn’t actually grow up to be a kage, or for that matter a ninja (which people don’t nowadays start seriously training for until they’re old enough to make the decision themselves while knowing the risks), but that’s okay, they find something else that makes them happy, and Naruto and Gaara are happy for them.

Naruto doesn't have to magically grow a new arm, because being disabled is not incompatible with being a hero.

*Seven kages, because Naruto shares the Hokage title with Sakura (Tsunade stayed in office until they were ready for the job), and also there’s the Amekage, Konan. Kakashi retired from ninjaing as soon as the war ended. Gai still hasn’t.

**Naruto and Gaara only technically live in different villages after Naruto learns the Flying Thunder God technique. Gaara wears one of the seals as a necklace.

When Naruto and Gaara adopt Bolt, who comes to live with them permanently and is legally adopted as their child, Himawari feels jealous about that for a while, but Naruto makes sure to not neglect her, and though things are awkward for a while, she and Bolt start getting along and thinking of each other as siblings (and calling each other “sis” and “sib” a lot to underline that).

Sasuke, of whom I also have no relevant picture, never has children, but finds it matching his definition of rebuilding his clan to eventually go on to be an advisor to his now-Hokage teammates, and work with kids, especially the troubled ones, to change the godawful shinobi system.

Things get better, and people live happily without everyone having to be straight and cisgender. :)