Summary: In the imperial capital of Konoha, it was the norm for men to reign supreme while wives and concubines lived in seclusion like elegant flowers inside a locked garden. However, everything changed when one pink-haired medic entered the capital. Ancient Chinese AU SakuraxMulti

Chapter 21: The Surprise Spar

It was a lovely morning where three maidens were sitting together drinking tea in the inner courtyard of the Yamanaka residence. In the previous day when Sakura was chatting with her teammates, a messenger suddenly arrived bearing an invitation from Ino to visit for tea. Sakura had eagerly accepted the invite, telling the messenger that she will be there. And now, she was sitting with Ino and Hinata as they enjoyed their jasmine tea.

Once all the pastries and refreshments were served, Ino told all of her handmaidens to leave.

"Tenten, just sit with us, no one's around now," Ino beckoned to the brunette that was standing behind Sakura.

While Tenten was flustered over how to respond, Sakura pulled her down onto an empty chair, "You are all acquainted?"

Hinata nodded her head, "Tenten-chan was with us at the Academy when we were young."

"Ahh, I see."

The Academy in Konoha was open to all nobility and upper class merchants who could afford the tuition. Even though it was expensive to attend, many flocked to the chance to go since it was the best way for networking and establishing connections at a young age with other nobility. A friendship in the Academy could mean a valuable ally in the government. For Tenten to be able to attend, she must have had a sponsor.

Sakura's curious gaze prompted Tenten to give an embarrassed laugh as she explained, "My father is the head blacksmith for the Imperial Palace. As a reward for making the emperor's favorite sword, I was allowed to attend the Academy for a better education."

"So that's why you're so good with weapons!" Sakura's smile was like an open flower, "You probably grew up around a lot of different weapons."

"Eh?" Tenten was flabbergasted. The princess already knew about her weapons?

Sakura giggled at poked Tenten's side, a metallic sound confirming her words, "I've carried hidden weapons myself quite a few times. I can see the tell-tale marks."

Tenten was so shocked that she felt like she could see stars. Busted… She was caught so easily… Tenten mentally apologized to Iruka-sensei whom entrusted her to this job.

"When did you…"

"Hm? I've known since I first met you." Sakura nibbled on a small cookie.

She never had a chance… Deep down, tears streamed down Tenten's eyes from the embarrassment.

"Yep, Tenten was the best in the Academy with weapons. She was even the highest ranked girl during the Genin tournament last year, reaching the semi-finals." Ino added as an input.

"Speaking of which, will you be attending Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked.

"That's right!" Sakura grinned, "I'll try my best! What about you three?"

One of the perks about the tournament was that it was open to all. As long as you wished to fight and represent your country, anyone rich or poor could join. There were even cases when someone from a poor village background shone in the tournament and was able to get recruited into the army or accepted as a disciple to a master martial artist.

It was also due to Tenten's wonderful performance in the tournament that she was hired to become Sakura's maid and bodyguard.

Ino gave a positively evil grin, ruining her beautiful looks, "Of course! Maybe I'll be able to fight you forehead."

Hinata gave a rueful smile, "I'm not strong enough to participate in the Chunin section. So I'll only be watching."

The three girls then turned to Tenten, who looked hesitant, "I'm not sure if I'm allowed to or if I have to stay by Sakura-hime's side. I'll have to ask."

Before the situation could get awkward, Ino gave a saucy wink, "During your time with Forehead girl here, what good looking suitors have you seen?"

"Ino!" Hinata gasped, looking horrified at her friend's scandalous words, "You're a noblewoman!"

"What? No one's around, I hate acting graceful and demure all the time!" Ino stuck out her tongue, "The Forehead princess here has the luxury of all the high class eye candy clamoring for her attention. I'm so jealous~"

Since Tenten was shocked speechless, Sakura was the only one who could reply, "I don't have that many suitors." And seeing Ino's sarcastic glance, Sakura immediately corrected her words, "I haven't met that many suitors face to face. Only a few."

"How is Neji-niisan as a suitor?" Hinata gave a worried look. She still remembered the time Neji came back to the compound looking uncharacteristically stressed.

"Neji's such a stick in the mud!" Ino immediately retorted, "You should marry Shika. Even though he's a lazy ass, he'll make sure you're treated properly!"

"Shikamaru's not a suitor! He's just a friend!" Sakura's face became as pink as her namesake.

"Seriously? He isn't actively courting you?" Ino couldn't wait to tease her childhood friend about this. This was too good to be true.

Maybe it was the relaxed vibe in the air, but even Tenten brought up her own opinion, "I think the favorites are Prince Itachi and the Prime Minister Pein."

"So many good hunks twisted around your finger! I didn't know you had it in you. Who knew men liked big foreheads and pink hair?" Ino looked like a cat that was fed cream with the new gossip.

Even Hinata was blushing at the thought of Sakura being pursued by those two powerful and intimidating men.

Sakura's face was now as red as a tomato.

And so, the rest of the morning was filled with gossip and laughter between the four girls.

…

Sakura tried to catch her breath as she stared at the tree in front of her that was now missing quite a bit of bark, courtesy of her punches. She thought about her teammates words after they told her of the martial arts tournament.

"We should all do private training so that it'll be more fun during the tournament!" Naruto smiled, looking excited, "I'll make a new special technique!"

"Pulling out an erotic picture to give the opponent a nose bleed doesn't count," Sasuke retorted.

"Teme! I'll do better than that!" Was the immediate response.

Because all of the members of Team Seven decided to do their own training, Sakura decided to start immediately after the morning tea party at Ino's residence. Since her own courtyard was filled with pretty flowers and trees, it wasn't meant for the damage that would no doubt happen if Sakura trained seriously. So after asking Tenten about a more appropriate place for Sakura to train in, the princess was now in a small forested area in the back of the palace grounds.

Tenten was standing on the side with towels and some tea in case Sakura needed to take a break. A luxury that Sakura found funny since when she trained with Team Seven, nothing of the sort was prepared for them.

Shaking her head, the pink-haired princess concentrated on what she needed to do for the tournament.

A new martial arts move… Sakura honestly couldn't think of anything.

Sakura wasn't a much of a martial artist, but she could hold her own in spars between her teammates. What she was missing, was something special that the others had. Sasuke had the perks of a Sharingan. Naruto's Uzumaki lineage gave him a giant well of a chakra supply. And even though Sai never awoke his Sharingan, his skill and techniques were insanely fast, making his moves a blur.

But for Sakura… She honestly didn't have anything aside from her chakra-enhanced strength. It was good enough for her travels in fighting the occasional bandit, but against the best martial artists in all the countries that will participate, she felt like she didn't have much to offer.

Tsunade had been a lazy martial artist, relying on brute force for everything. Orochimaru only taught Sakura how to sneak around and hide, not confrontational head to head fighting. And Jiraiya was not someone you wanted teaching martial arts unless you wanted to be groped at random times.

Sighing, Sakura once again resumed her sequence of punches and kicks that Kakashi had taught them recently. It wouldn't hurt to at least familiarize herself with the basics. As she was aimlessly attacking the air, her right foot suddenly stopped and Sakura stared at the person who stopped her.

"What are you doing here?" Her mouth blurted out before she could stop herself.

A single eyebrow lifted up sardonically, "Am I not allowed in my own palace?"

The words were stuck in Sakura's throat as she stared at the man -no emperor in front of her still holding her leg.

The Uchiha emperor carelessly dropped his hold as Sakura observed the situation in front of her. Even though Sakura had been zoning out during her training, she hadn't been unguarded. She had always prided herself at her ability to detect chakra, which was further assured when she first noticed Kakashi guarding her. But to think that Madara was able to get so close to her without her detecting was shocking. And to even stop her kick that had used her full non-chakra strength so easily. The emperor was clearly a master of the martial arts.

"I'm training for the Martial Arts Tournament, if that is fine with your majesty?" Sakura instantly gave a slight curtsey as she remembered her manners.

"The tournament is open to all, so there is no need to ask for this king's permission." Madara coolly replied.

Sakura was once again speechless. These words are coming from the man who assigned so many guards to watch her every move! The least he could do would be to act- act…

She didn't know how she wanted him to act towards her.

Like a guardian? Or a suitor? Did she want him to care about her? Or would she prefer indifference?

The words the two shared numbered less than fifty. Even though her title made her technically one that should be close to the emperor, Sakura honestly didn't know the man in front of her. Aside from assuring her safety and comfort, the Uchiha emperor had done nothing else about her. Her strange actions such as forcing Kakashi to train her had always been ignored, giving her more courage to perform independent acts. But because she hasn't crossed the line, it just made Sakura more wary about how to act around the emperor.

Just what did he want?

Even though Madara told Sakura that he would join her for dinner more often, he never did after that one time. The indifference in his actions just made Sakura confused until she finally decided that he truly didn't plan on pursuing her and that his kiss was nothing more than a convoluted joke.

And now that he was standing in front of her, his phoenix black eyes staring at her messy state caused by training, Sakura had no idea on what to do. In the end, she always had her guard up around him.

The silence was broken – surprisingly – by him.

"Your last kick was done incorrectly."

Sakura blinked.

"In that sequence, it should be performed like this." And Madara proceeded to show her a flurry of punches and kicks, copying her moves but with a much smoother form.

Now she saw it. Her kick had been too high. And the mistake would have made the transition to the next punch more awkward and off on the timing. Something an opponent would no doubt take advantage of.

"Now you try," Madara commanded after finishing.

Blushing with embarrassment, Sakura once again performed the series of moves.

This time, he stopped her before she even reached the kick.

"Your left elbow should be tucked in at this step."

Over and over again, Sakura had to repeat her moves.

By the time Madara was finally satisfied with her performance, an hour had already passed and Sakura was dripping with sweat from the exertion.

By then, Tenten offered Sakura a towel which the princess gratefully accepted and wiped off her sweat from her face. Sakura looked at the emperor, who was now sitting on a log as if it was the most comfortable couch in the world. Even though he himself had to demonstrate many times to Sakura the proper method, he looked completely fine with not even a single strand of hair out of place. If someone told Sakura that he spent the past hour doing nothing but reading a book instead of martial arts, Sakura would have believed them.

The contrast between the two made Sakura feel like she lost somehow as a human being.

"Will your majesty be participating in the tournament?" Sakura tried to sound casual. It wouldn't hurt to try to have small talk with the emperor.

Madara's face was completely straight even though the words were far from modest, "This king has no need for the first place prize. There's no point in wasting this king's precious time."

Arrogant to the extreme! Sakura could feel a dark shadow on her head. This man seriously thought he was the strongest? There are some seriously strong competitors! Don't dismiss them so easily! And how on earth would he be so strong when he spends most of his day with his butt on the gold dragon throne?

"For you though, first place would be a far cry." Madara continued.

A vein popped up on Sakura's forehead as she forced the words out of her gritted teeth, "Your majesty hasn't sparred with me, so on what basis are you deciding my future placement in the tournament?"

Madara shrugged, indifference and arrogance in his demeanor like a God looking down on a poor mortal, "Based on how slowly it took for you to learn the simple martial arts sequence. But… If this princess wishes to spar, this king will be happy to oblige." And a smirk slowly formed on his face, making him look devastatingly handsome and arrogant.

Sakura threw down the towel, anger clearly written on her face, "Very well, this princess will have to trouble you." Before she ran at him with a chakra-enlaced punch even though he was still sitting at the log.

Emperor or not, she wanted to wipe that arrogance off his face.

One hour later, Sakura was now kneeling on the forest floor panting as sweat dripped down onto the ground. She was a complete mess and her entire body was burning with lactic acid. No matter what technique she used, whether it was through brute force or with hidden shots, Madara was able to counter them all.

And to make things worse, he never sat off from his seat on the log. That damn bastard.

Sakura looked up at the emperor who was currently looking down on her with his legs crossed and a fan that he used to leisurely fan himself.

He suddenly turned his fan around and graced Sakura's tired self with the cooling breeze of air. It felt very comfortable.

"Be grateful. This king doesn't fan just anyone."

She was being pitied! Any happiness she felt from the cool breeze immediately evaporated. If anything, it made Sakura feel even worse…

Sakura sighed as she gave up and plopped down on the roots of a nearby tree. Princess title be damned, she was in no mood to look graceful. Especially since her princess self was dirty with twigs and leaves in her hair.

"Would you like a suggestion?" Madara gave Sakura an amused look. If the court officials were around, every single one would have broken out in cold sweat at the hint of a smile of Madara's face. The Uchiha emperor was one that never showed a smile of any sort, so for Sakura to see any form of affection - sadistic or not - was a once in a lifetime chance. Even though she did not know it to appreciate it.

"What?" Sakura curtly responded. She was annoyed with him, but his strength was obvious and any advice would probably be incredibly helpful with her training.

"This king has once seen Tsunade cut a person with her chakra on her hands," Madara decided to omit that the person was his own younger brother, "Can you do the same?"

"Yes," Sakura replied, confused, "Chakra scalpel. What about it?"

In fact, when fighting Madara, she had tried doing it to cut his nerves but was unsuccessful.

The emperor got up and used his fan to wipe non-existent dust from his robes, "If you can do the same on your feet, you might be able to advance further in the tournament."

Her feet? Sure she used chakra to enhance her kicks, but a chakra scalpel? Sakura blinked at the thought. Since she only used chakra scalpels for surgeries and rarely used them for fighting, she had never considered forming them at her feet. But if she did, it would probably lengthen the range of her kicks. And if opponents were unaware and only tried to barely dodge her kicks, she'd be able to nick them with a scalpel…

This was it.

The secret move that she could use for the tournament.

She felt excitement surge through her body, and she was eager to test it out immediately.

Sakura lifted her head as she was about to thank Madara, but to her surprise, the emperor was already gone.

"Eh?" Sakura turned her head left and right. But he was nowhere to be seen.

"Sakura-hime!" It was Tenten rushing back with some clean towels and a small cape. After seeing Sakura's messy state, Tenten had left after the spar to get items so that Sakura's walk back to her courtyard would not be in her disgracefully messy state.

As Tenten combed Sakura's hair free of any leaves, Sakura absentmindedly wiped her face with the damp towel, refreshing herself.

Why did the emperor come see her practice? It surely wasn't out of boredom. Since the Konoha was hosting the Martial Arts Tournament, everyone in court was practically swimming in work. Pein had even sent her a message apologizing and stating that he wouldn't be able to visit until at least after the tournament was over due to insufficient free time. And Sakura was sure the emperor was equally, if not more, busy.

It was most likely why the emperor never visited again for dinner even though he said he would.

So was it his way of apologizing?

Sakura gave an unladylike snort, surprising Tenten in her brushing.

Impossible. There was no way the emperor was the type to do that. Sakura decided to dismiss the idea and no longer gave it a thought.

…

Pein was extremely agitated even though his face was as blank as always. Where on earth did the emperor disappear to? As he tried to make order among the officials scurrying around, he could feel a headache forming.

"I need the emperor's approval for the foreign merchants that wish to set up temporary shops in Konoha for the tournament!"

"No! I was here first! I need to talk to the emperor about the city security plans for the tournament!"

"My issue is more important! There are some foreign kings and dignitaries that are arriving earlier than scheduled! We need to immediately prepare appropriate accommodations for them!"

Pein ignored the temptation to rub his temples. It would only be showing a sign of weakness. That damn man. How come the minute Madara disappears the court is filled with issues that requires the imperial seal to resolve?

Before Pein could order another servant to look for Madara, the man appears, calm and cold as always as he goes to sit on the throne.

"Your majesty was gone for a long time," Pein couldn't hide the bitterness in his voice.

Madara smoothly replied, "This king was just out on a walk."

"Now," Madara's voice addressed the court as everyone fell silent, "One at a time, state the issues."

Hello my dear readers,

As promised, I wrote the next chapter as fast as possible! Since different people wanted different characters, I ultimately took up sakura souzen's challenge and had Madara be the one to spar with Sakura :)

The next chapter will introduce Gaara~ And yes, the tournament is just a grand setting for all the other characters to appear that people are hoping for.

Cheers,

WhiteMint