A/N: I'm considering putting the outtake chapter in as a separate story all together. Anyone have any strong opinions one way or another on that?
Sitting beside Mikoto, Sakura bit her tongue. Hiruzen-sama stood to officiate, but she could see him keeping an eye on the other Kage in the seats. Everything was running too smoothly for her tastes. As hasty as her preparations had been, the wedding was bound to have more than a few hiccups. So far, so good, but she didn't hold out much hope once the bar was opened.
Mikoto rubbed over her belly, even as Fugaku threaded his fingers through her other hand. The last few months, something had changed between the pair, and Sakura couldn't have said what it was. Between her recovery, planning two weddings, and clan meetings, she barely had time to fall into bed at the end of the day. Whatever had happened seemingly resulted in some sort of reconciliation between the pair. Sakura had known for some time now that Mikoto's rise to clan head had driven a wedge between the pair. Now, they sat as a united front - more or less. Fugaku still didn't like having to deal with as much of the village as he did. For some reason, he hung on to isolationist ideals from before the First Great Ninja War. Sakura had three guesses as to what - or rather who - had planted such thoughts in his head, and her bets were firmly on having already taken out the problem.
Itachi, she knew, was part of the ANBU guard secretly watching from the rafters. If Sakura didn't know any better, she would have assumed he had joined because of Rin's death. Of course, few knew his new position, but those that did assumed he was trying to ensure the tragedy that befell his dear Uncle Obito never happened again. Sakura found him in the rafters and gave the boy a slow, cat-like blink. The ANBU signal for a greeting.
With one final call from Hiruzen-sama, the Uzumaki pair led the way to the feast set out by a small-time catering company recommended by the Akamichi clan head. As a member of the family, Sakura followed next.
With a big wedding like this, the typical after party would be relegated to a separate venue. Considering the current political unrest, that would have been unwise at best. A separate section of the deceptively small building had been partitioned off to create a dining area. While the food was being served, genin teams would be rearranging the first hall into a dance floor while the entertainment set up on the dais. Sakura shook off her desire to double check that the previously agreed upon teams were working properly. She knew well from her own gennin days how easy it was to distract the youngsters, even with jounin supervision.
"I'm impressed." Mikoto elbowed Sakura as they sat for the meal. "I don't think even my own wedding ran this smoothly, and I had two years to get it in shape."
Sakura huffed, "I got lucky. So far."
She narrowed her gaze over the Iwa delegation where a vaguely familiar blue head kept twitching in her direction.
"Is that...?" Minato chuckled, eyes following Sakura's path. "It is. That jounin we had to practically ransom back to Tsuchikage-sama."
Sakura resisted the urge to thump her head against the table, but it was a close thing.
After almost a full six months, she had finally done it. Sakura finally had her chakra under control enough to walk up a damned tree. True, now that Kushina's wedding was over, she had more time to practice.
Anchoring her feet to the bottom of a sturdy branch, she pulled herself into position for a hanging leg raise.
Shikaku had promised her a slot in ANBU as soon as she had her chakra conditioned to a level where she could actively use it in combat. Between her crystals, Tsunade's seal, and Kakashi's dense, white chakra, she didn't have to worry about conservation of energy. What she didn't have was her fine control. As much as she would like to train herself back up to snuff as a medic, it felt as if she had already wasted too much time. She needed to be back on the field, to be setting up plans against the next major threat to Konoha or the world, which ever cropped up first.
In the mean time, she had been practicing the non-verbal signals ANBU used. She had already known a bastardized version. The Shinobi Forces had worked up a combination of every nations signals to both seed confusion in the enemy's ranks and better communicate with each other. Surprisingly, she had more difficulties learning Konoha Standard Sign. Mostly because some signs had widely different meanings based on nation of origin.
If she could get a few assassination techniques under her belt, she'd be in a better position. What better place to learn than among the elite of the elite?
"Welcome, Dog, to your home away from home." Deer pushed open the sterile steel doors in the upper levels of T&A. Shikaku's voice was distorted by the mask til it became generic. Neither feminine nor masculine, old nor young. A clever funnel near the mouth amplified a whisper to the sound of a normal speaking voice, which in turn imparted the monotone softness of a whisper to audible speech.
Sakura took in the clinical white room, some sort of common area for ANBU to mingle - and possibly eat, if the large cafeteria near by was any hint. ANBU uniforms meandered around, most with masks pushed down over their faces though some seemed to be flaunting the rules a bit. To be fair, Sakura didn't recognize any of them. If she had to guess, she'd bet they had no life outside ANBU. This was as much their home as the clan compound was hers.
"For the continued safety of families, it is highly recommended not to share your name around." Deer nodded to the unmasked group, "What they don't know, they can't reveal under torture. Same for you. Partners are assigned based on mission needs."
Sakura nodded idly. Now to find someone willing to share a few tips on becoming the best ANBU she could. Deer dismissed her with a cold nod, and Sakura approached a lone figure.
Her target was old. Gray hair was likely to be natural from birth among ninja, but salt and pepper in that beard spoke of age and survival.
He huffed at her arrival at his table, earning more than one sideways glance from the others.
"I'm not here to make friends, kid. Do your job, and we'll get along fine..."
"I intend to. Friends." she snorted, thinking on Kakashi, Sasuke, Naruto, Hinata, Ino... her own list of dead went on far too long, "I don't need a friend. I need advice."
"Well, aren't you a breath of fresh air." in spite of his words, the old man sat back in a display of distrust.
"I'd like to survive to see my mission done. You could help there."
He offered a vicious grin, "Seems like we'll get along fine, Uzumaki-sama. Just fine."
Sakura rubbed her eyes, mask pushed up over her hooded hair. She leaned against the far wall, vigilant yet constantly following Minato's work.
"You want me to do what?" she didn't bother masking the growing headache from her kage.
"Danzo is gathering more and more support." Minato reiterated, slowly as if explaining for a small child, "Kill his ROOT, disband the organization. That is my order."
"And if we do that, he goes underground." Sakura let her head thunk satisfyingly against the plaster wall she leaned against. "Wouldn't it be better to make it official? To have his doings under your own scrutiny rather than having a fringe group that could, and to be frank, would do anything necessary to cause a coupe?"
"What would you have me do? He's abducting Konoha's citizens and brainwashing them!" Minato growled, leaning over his desk.
"I don't know," Sakura hissed darkly, "Maybe create regulations on what he is and isn't allowed to do? Place a loyal ANBU in his ranks to observe his dealings, with the understanding that he is allowed to place a single loyal ROOT member on your staff? Cause unless you kill him, Danzo isn't going to just roll over and take it. He's a man of ambitions. He sees himself as the true Hokage that Konoha deserves, and everyone else is just too stupid to see that."
"And you?" Minato bit out, "You agree with him?"
"He's a scared, stupid little boy with the planning and forethought of a particularly smart sixteen year old." Sakura snorted. "But ROOT does serve a purpose. Officially, they aren't part of Konoha. Most villages use outside contractors like Sandaime used ROOT. You're lucky that Danzo is so enamored with the idea of absolute loyalty. Iwa pays a good 60,000 ryo a month for the information you could get from Danzo for free, if you just got off your high horse and used that asset."
"Jiraiya…"
"Is one man." Sakura walked over to lean on the desk, inches from her sister's husband, "No matter how good his spy network, you can't buy assassins like ROOT. And independently checked information always helps to create a better picture."
Minato sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Being Hokage is a lot more work that I imagined."
"It's only hard because you actually care so much." Sakura slipped the mask down again, "It's a good thing this is so hard."
Sakura stared down at the page of notes she had kept from Kushina's wedding. Somewhere in all this mess, she had the contact information for the catering company. She needed it now, as the Otomo matriarch wanted to see if they would be acceptable for a wedding fit for the Daimyo's court. On the one hand, it was certainly easier to plan with two minds taking on the task. On the other, Otomo Kaede was a harsh task master who seemed to need to micromanage every decision Sakura made.
The door to her office flung open, Minato stumbling in drunk and grinning as he flung himself into the small seat across her desk. For a moment, Sakura felt more like a school principal than the clan head of a prestigious family. With his job as Hokage, Minato hadn't been able to take over the duties that Sakura still held. True, Kushina could claim headship, but in her own words Kushina had no desire to deal with all that bullshit anymore.
"Can I help you, Hokage-sama?" some how, she managed to make the honorific sound like an insult.
"I'm gonna be a daddy!" he flung himself over her desk, papers scattering in his wake, as he hugged the air out of her lungs.
Sakura's brain froze for a moment. Naruto.
Not long ago, she had spoken to Shikaku about the inevitability of meeting old friends as children. Children who wouldn't know her or the great deeds they had done in a future so bleak it necessitated such heroism. Here it was happening. Her dearest comrade, the only person who had joined her at the end of the world, would return.
"Congratulations." Sakura choked out, unable to say anything more.
"Danzo-sama." ANBU Dog knelt before the councilman.
"Remove your mask." he ordered.
"Your spies must be slipping if you didn't already know my identity." Dog snorted.
"For some reason," Danzo seemed perturbed by her existence, "I don't think I can trust my intel on you."
"Because you don't think Hokage-sama is strong enough to send his sister-in-law on suicide missions?" Sakura raised the dog mask with a snort.
"The man has more balls than I thought." Danzo's eye twitched.
"Minato-kun's just smart enough to listen to advice." Sakura rolled her eyes.
"I know you're the one who convinced him to put me on such a short leash." the man snarled.
"It was this, or complete destruction of your organization and life in prison for you." Sakura slid the mask down again, "That, of course, would bring Sandaime's tacit approval of your actions to light. There'd be riots in the streets."
"So you don't agree with his foolish Will of Fire nonsense?"
"I agree with only one thing in your philosophy." Dog snorted, the sound echoing behind the mask, "Sandaime-sama was too weak willed to be Hokage. But since the other option was you, I'm glad he was chosen."
Danzo didn't have to ask if Sakura spoke to the current Hokage this way. He knew she did, and it drove him up a wall, too.
"If I thought you'd give me a straight answer, I'd ask to whom your loyalties lie."
Even as Danzo spoke, he passed her a new, fresh mask. One built to distinguish between ROOT and ANBU.
"Konoha." Dog's voice was amused behind the mask, "Not your Konoha, the Nation of Shimura. Not Sandaime-sama's Will of Fire. Not one ninja, or the Ninja Way. All of Konoha's people."
"We must do something about this ROOT!" Inuzuka Tsume, newest member of the clan head council cried.
"We are." the Uzumaki head snorted. "Or do you honestly think the Hokage doesn't know about everything that goes on in Fire Country?"
"We don't even know where ROOT is based." Nara Shikaku raised an eyebrow.
Sakura shook her head. "We don't have to."
"One would almost think you approved of these kidnappings." Yamanaka Inoichi leaned on his fist, watching her.
Sakura took a deep breath, letting it out in a rush. "Whether or not I, personally, approve isn't up for debate. What is more interesting is the fact that you don't."
"Of course he doesn't!" Tsume, full of fire and vigor snarled.
"He should." Sakura pointed out. "ROOT is a rogue state, certainly, but it has it's uses."
"They kidnap kids!" she clutched her belly protectively. It was a well known fact that Tsume hated the idea of anything happening to kids. Her own daughter was attacked by ROOT not long before the Hokage came to some sort of closed-door agreement with the secretive head of ROOT.
"And if I thought anything was gonna happen to Konoha, I'd be the first one to rip ROOT from Fire Country and burn it to ashes." Sakura snarled back, "Or have you forgotten?"
It was an open secret that the Hokage's wife was pregnant. Only the members of the council knew, and only because the Hokage was so stinking happy he couldn't keep his mouth shut.
It was also an open secret that Sakura would do anything for her unborn nephew. The first and only time anyone suggested that the child could be a useful tool for the nation, Sakura had to be contained by no less than three ANBU. Nobody forgot how she had nearly used her monstrous strength to rip Homura's tongue out of his mouth. He still slurred his words, in spite of the excellent medical care he received.
That silenced the Inuzuka, though she didn't look happy about it.
"I have it on good authority that part of the agreement between the ROOT leader and Yondaime-sama was letting an ANBU member keep close tabs on their activities." Sakura offered.
"I still don't trust this organization." Tsume covered the unborn Kiba
"Do you trust the Hokage?"
In the end, that was all that mattered.
As part of the Konoha-ROOT Accord, ROOT members were no longer allowed to use ANBU's animal theme. Instead, every mask was decorated with a running motif of a plant. On Konoha's ANBU, Cat reported to Danzo. Within ROOT, Yellow Tulip - the symbol of one-sided love - was meant for the Hokage's man. Some days Danzo wasn't quite sure which one of them he meant to assume was in love with the other.
"Tulip." Danzo rubbed the bridge of his nose until his eyes watered. Had he been a lesser man, the next words out of his mouth might have been a string of profanity. Instead he gestured helplessly at the mother and child huddled behind Sakura.
"Honookage-sama."
He could tell how freakishly much she adored saying that. It translated to Fire Shadow, just like Hokage, but held none of the weight of the position. The infuriating pink ninja had suggested it, since Danzo could never officially be tied to the position as the leader of ROOT. Hokage was a position of respect, a title earned. Honookage was just some upstart wannabe.
He ground his teeth in silent frustration.
"It has occurred to me that you've been remiss in your duties."
Killing her was political - and potentially actual - suicide. The more Danzo had to deal with the Hokage's only in law, the more he decided it was a ploy to kill him slowly. Probably through an aneurysm.
"Certainly we can save those poor children in Water."
Couldn't she get to the point?!
"But the adults are a veritable repository of knowledge and skills. Would they not be useful here as well? If not as fully cooperative ninja then as part of some breeding program?"
The mother and child behind her intimidating figure clung tighter, even as Danzo raised his head. For as much of a headache as she was, Uzumaki Sakura was smart. Smart and had a rather unexpected set of ethics, if she could even suggest what he thought she was suggesting. Even as he despaired of her ever being a useful ROOT member, she still managed to bring him such interesting ideas.
"As usual, you decided to act first and beg forgiveness later." he sighed, finally able to work out more than single syllables. "And - as usual - your solution is… adequate."
She had been the one to suggest that poaching Konoha's best and brightest wasn't very intelligent. She had suggested weakening other nations by stealing their bloodlines and children. She was just as ruthless as he was. If he had been the Hokage, he would consider passing the reins over to her.
On the other hand, she used her intellect and ruthlessness to fuck with him time and again. From giving him a title that was so close to what he wanted to tattling on him to the bratty little Hokage that was now in office, she existed to rub his fur the wrong way. He couldn't deny, though, that everything she did was for the village, just like him.
"Then I'll escort Yuki-san to the Hokage to fill out the paperwork." the tulip mask bobbed in a bow.
In a rage, he stood, hand slamming on the desk. His mouth worked furiously, though no sound emitted from his lips.
"Perhaps you should check the wording on your paperwork again." the infuriating brat gathered mother and child to exit the room.
Teeth clenched in a grimace that was causing a headache, Danzo pulled out the Accord again, glancing through the file.
"...All ninja operating within Fire Country's borders must be registered with the Office of Secret Council…" A given, considering the yellow brat wanted to keep Konoha shinobi under his own control. Danzo could almost respect that. Almost. "...Fully cooperative ninja above the age of 14, or children under the age of 6, or any child accompanied by a parent are to be admitted into the Konoha Shinobi Forces. Failure to comply…"
Wintersweet was there with two aspirin and a glass of water. Danzo chewed them before swallowing. Uzumaki Sakura wasn't going to give him a heart attack today. Maybe soon, but not today.