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 25: The Kages

The Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure, Yagura, gave a loud yawn as he slouched on the bamboo chair with silk cushions. He wasn't sure what was more boring: watching Madara lead the Raikage by the nose in the game of shogi, or listening to the Kazekage and Tsuchikage bicker about what type of liquor was the best.

All the Kages were currently together for the 'formal tea ceremony' hosted by the Konoha emperor, but it was really all just a front for the public. In actuality, they were just relaxing and hiding from their personal advisors to avoid doing work, their excuse being that they were busy building foreign relations. Over the years, the Martial Arts Tournament had made all friction between the countries gone and the rulers of the countries only considered it as a yearly vacation.

Just when Yagura was about to give in to another yawn, the Raikage A finally lost his temper with the shogi game and flipped the entire table in a fit of rage. The Konoha emperor didn't even blink as the wooden chess pieces flew in the air, one of them even smacking the Tsuchikage in the back of the head.

"Watch what you're doing you little punk!" Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage yelled as he leapt up from his seat. But the sudden exertion seemed too much as a cringe-worthy crack was heard and he suddenly paused and put his hands on source, "Ack! My back!"

The Raikage A luckily happened to be in a foul mood from the shogi game as he fearlessly yelled back, "Shut up old man! You should just retire already you sack of bones!"

"Ehhh? You dare insult me? I, your elder, will beat your ass since you've obviously didn't get enough discipline as a child!"

"I'd like to see you try old man!"

The bickering was obviously something that happened frequently as the rest of the rulers did nothing to stop them. As Onoki was going on in a rage about how stupid the younger generation of Kages have gotten, he suddenly stopped and turned a menacing look at the Konoha emperor.

"And you! What on earth were you thinking in giving away the title of Hokage! In all of history, the emperor and kage are one and the same until you got that farce of an idea on giving the title away to some nobody!"

The Uchiha emperor was unfazed by the sudden accusation, "Minato isn't some nobody. He's the head of the Uzimaki clan."

Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage frowned as he added his personal opinion, "The man you graciously gave the title of Hokage is nothing but a husband consort to the Uzimaki clan, marrying into the clan because there was no suitable male heir… I'm not criticizing your decision, but do you really understand the magnitude of what you have done?"

The Raikage A seemed to feel the same, "That's right! As a kage, you have full control of the country's military. As an emperor, you have the last word in the country's civil matters. To split both civil and military responsibilities is a mistake, you should take back the title of Hokage immediately!"

The look of disdain Madara gave the complaining Kages made the area around them suddenly seem ten degrees colder, "…Do you really think anyone would dare rebel against this king?" He asked with a small smirk in his lips.

While the tension was running high, there was another location with other young lords and ladies.

In a table not too far from the emperors, the younger members of the royalty were having their own tea party. Though the air surrounding them was much more relaxed.

Glancing at the bickering kings, Shisui leaned over and whispered in a secretive manner, "Ne, Itachi-chan, should we have a bet on who will win the argument?"

Temari, who was sitting across the table, excitedly leaned in, "Fifty silver on the Raikage. He looks angry enough to throw even more furniture around."

Kankuro frowned, "No love for your own father? Tsk tsk big sis. I'll bet that the Kazekage will win."

"Dad's not even a part of the argument!" Temari retorted before turning to her other younger brother, "What about you, Gaara?"

The redhead grunted, "Not betting. It's stupid."

"Spoilsport!"

Shisui grinned as the boring tea drinking was finally getting amusing. As he leisurely fanned himself, he gave his own opinion, "Just because the Konoha emperor is young, doesn't mean you should underestimate him. This prince will bet on our own country's ruler."

Itachi sighed as the betting pool was growing larger, "Does anyone know where Shi is?" Out of all the princes, the Kumo heir was missing.

"No idea." Temari shrugged, before suddenly lighting up, "What about the Konoha princess? I thought she would be attending this too."

Almost as if to answer the call, the two missing nobles suddenly appeared like a storm.

"Killer B!" A sweet voice called out from outside the courtyard.

The Imperial General and bodyguard of the Raikage, nicknamed Killer B, had been standing guard at the front gate of the courtyard where the emperors and heirs were staying at. It was boring work, but he grinned as he caught a bundle of gray velvet and pink hair running towards him.

"Oh? If it isn't little Sakura!" The muscular man laughed as he caught the princess. To the surprise of all the onlookers, he suddenly did the unexpected and tossed the princess into the air like a kid.

Sakura giggled, "Higher!" she demanded and B complied, once again tossing her lightly into the air. But before he could catch her, a certain blonde prince pushed him away before catching Sakura into the princess carry.

"No more playing around," Shi said sternly. At those words, the princess and general had matching expressions of shock and disbelief.

"Stupid kid, I never raised you to act like this!" B pointed his finger indignantly.

"So mean… How could you ruin our fun," Crocodile tears shone on Sakura's face.

Shi sighed as he ignored the charges the princess and general gave him. Setting Sakura down, he pulled her hand into the courtyard where the emperors had long since stopped bickering due to the commotion.

Reaching the emperors, Shi quickly kneeled down while Sakura followed suite, "This prince apologizes for the late arrival. Along the way, I happened to meet my childhood friend Princess Sakura and we spent too long catching up that we lost track of time."

Onoki gave a laugh as he waved his hand, gesturing for the two to stand, "It's fine! Even though we needed you to reign in that stupid uncle of yours, everything sorted out in the end. It's good for the young'ins to mingle and build friendships, so go sit with the others."

The Raikage A's anger had finally simmered down as he noticed the dress Sakura was wearing, "Shi, you never told me that little Sakura was the one you wanted to marry! Giving her the betrothal gift already!"

"Eh?" All eyes suddenly landed on Sakura and Shi. It was at that moment when everyone realized that the clothes she was wearing were not the customary silks of Konoha, but the velvet and fur that was common in Kumogakure.

The silence that had occurred was broken with a small cracking noise.

"Betrothal gift?" Madara asked, a faint line running down his cup of tea, showing a hint of the anger that wasn't portrayed on his face.

Shi didn't look perturbed at all even while facing the hint of bloodlust from the Konoha emperor, "Your majesty, this prince wishes to marry the princess Haruno Sakura and will court her as per the orders of the imperial decree. As per Kumo custom, when a man wishes to marry a woman, he must personally procure the materials necessary for an engagement gift in dress form."

The Raikage boisterous laughter sounded out as he smacked his armrest with a fist, "True men must be able to face whatever dangers by themselves in order to impress the women they wish to court. Shi here has personally traversed the dangerous mountains to hunt the rare and elusive silver foxes for the fur trim on Sakura's dress and hat. He even used the softest parts of the mountain sheep to make the velvet in her dress. And finally, the silver bells were personally forged by Shi himself using the highest quality of ores."

Sakura's face was like a tomato as she confronted her childhood friend, "Big brother! You said this was just a random dress! I didn't know it was a betrothal gift!" She tried to get Shi to let go of her hand so that she could quickly run back to her rooms and change to normal clothes.

Shi stubbornly refused to let go of her hand, "If I told you the truth, you would never have worn it. Only this way can I show to everyone about how serious I am to get you to be my future wife." Shi gave a slightly arrogant glance at Itachi as he continued, "After all, I know you the best."

Itachi's face was impassive that only Shisui, who was sitting next to Itachi, noticed the slight clenching of Itachi's jaw.

Sakura was so embarrassed and mortified, but she didn't deny his last declaration. Finally using her chakra to break free from Shi's hands, she quickly bowed to the Kages and started backing away, "This princess is feeling a little too warm from the sun, please excuse me while I go back to rest."

And with graceful steps in a speed that can only be explained with chakra, Sakura quickly left the courtyard.

Shi was calm as he watched his little puppy run away. It was fine for him. Sakura still needed time to digest his words, but his main goal had already been accomplished. Sakura's current suitors have seen how close he was with her, and there was nothing they could do. And by slowly leaking out rumors, the rest of Konoha will soon learn that their princess has a very close friendship with the prince of Kumo.

The blonde prince gave a cursory bow to the Kages as he proceeded to the table where the other princes and princesses were sitting at. Whether it was due to arrogance or rivalry, Shi chose to sit across from Itachi, "Hello… Prince Itachi."

Itachi nodded politely, black eyes clashing with black.

...

Sakura gave a loud huff of annoyance as she stared at the innocent grey dress that was now laid out on her dresser. After living in Kumogakure for a year, she obviously knew about the betrothal custom. Normally, the man will bring the dress along with many other gifts to ask for the bride's hand. Only if the bride agreed to the proposal, does she wear the dress the following day and the engagement is celebrated.

This stupid prince! He didn't say a word and the maids that put the dress on didn't tell Sakura either! She had only thought it was a normal dress due to her soaked state from the impromptu swim at the pond.

With a huff, Sakura walked out of her courtyard. She needed time to clear her mind, and an incognito stroll through the marketplace seemed a good idea.

"A princess like you shouldn't be wandering around alone," A voice made Sakura stop in her tracks right after she had jumped the walls of the imperial courtyard. Sakura turned her head in shock as she looked at the figure sitting on the walls that she had just climbed down from.

Sitting was a young man dressed casually in green robes with a Kirigakure headband tied around his waist. Tied behind his back was a long hooked pole with a green flower at the end. His eyes were of a pale pink that were only slightly different from her hair, and his gray hair made him look much older than his stature.

Even though Sakura didn't know him, she immediately bowed down, "This princess greets the Mizukage." She had recognized him as one of the Kages that were sitting together at the tea party.

Yagura gave a cheeky grin as he put his finger to his lips, "Shh… you're not the only one hiding from others. Act normal around me, like you do with your little boyfriend."

Sakura stuttered, her face showing red, "Prince Shi's not my boyfriend, just a childhood friend. He never even told me that the dress was a betrothal one…"

Yagura leapt down and stood in front of Sakura, their eyes perfectly level, "Oh? You still haven't decided on whom to marry? How about marrying me? I don't mind taking you as a wife."

"…"

"Just kidding."

Sakura almost coughed blood at the joke, "Your highness, please don't mess with my heart like that."

Yagura laughed at the sight of the embarrassed princess, "Alright then little girl, show me around your city. I was getting bored from the stupid tea party anyways."

Sakura paused, "What about your bodyguards?"

Amused pink eyes stared at the hesitant girl, "I'm the strongest person in Kirigakure, I can take care of myself little girl."

Sakura desperately wanted to retort, "we're the same height!" but she thankfully kept her mouth shut. If the Mizukage wanted her to show him around Konoha, there was nothing she could do but obey.

But unbeknownst to her, his presence effectively removed the gloom surrounding her after Shi's groundbreaking actions.

Hello Readers~

Ahh… What to say… Exams have been taking a toll on me that I can't seem to bring the story for this chapter out to type. With effort, I managed to finish the Sannin side story only to find out it was so unpopular. Made me want to cry but no tears would come out OTL. That feeling just made me feel even less motivated about posting.

But I finally finished my first year of grad school and with the extra free time, I'm going to try to post again on this fic. I've half-forgotten my plans for this story but I'll try my best.

A big thank you for the readers that occasionally review and tell me to come back. If it wasn't for you guys, I probably wouldn't have come back so quickly.

Best,

WhiteMint

Suitors: Itachi, Sasori, Deidara, Neji, Madara, Pein, Gaara, Shikamaru, Shi

Friendzoned: Haku, Kisame, Kakuzu, Zetsu, Lee, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Obito, Nagato, Kankuro, Yamato, Hidan, Genma, all parents

Maybe?: Kabuto, Kimimaru, Shisui, Toneri, Kiba, Yagura

Team 7 family forever: Sasuke, Naruto, Sai, Kakashi, Yamato