Orochimaru smiled wickedly as he watched the prince of Suna tied the knot, even laughing as the young prince Sasuke appeared on the television screen. It's been a while since he had been banished from his former homeland, Konoha. Long ago, he had been caught of his illegal experiments and was sent to jail. Not long after, the king of that time, Tobirama Senju, ordered for him to be sent to a largely isolated forest to die. But he did not. Since then he carefully planned his revenge.
Now, he is a king of a small village, Otogakure. It was once covered by trees and nature. One would think it's impossible to live in that kind of place. Slowly, he gained popularity among the tribes living there, making use of his knowledge in medicine to heal people. He continued his experiments without any interference and soon established houses and buildings for the people there. He gained their trust and become a king instantly.
But nothing comes easy. Unlike the previous Senju King, it does not cease to amaze the serpent how the Uchiha's bloodline to bore geniuses. He had been planning and scheming all this time only for Itachi to interfere with his drug trades. The crown prince had sent a few body guards to look closely to his movements. Soon after, young Sasuke also learned about his ordeals. But, he was always one step ahead of the Uchihas.
He called many of his soldiers, most of them came from his previous experiments. "My precious underlings, I have called you here to make an announcement." Orochimaru began as hundreds of men assembled on the throne room. "It will not take long and Konoha shall fall and with it, we will expand our territory. As soon as the people mistrust the Uchihas, we will step in and claim their ever superior lands."
Orochimaru laughed once again. One of his soldiers raised his sword in allegiance to their leader and creator. "Long live the king!" He exclaimed before the men did the same.
"It is time to go back, my precious home country." He smirked.
.
.
.
.
.
The prince and princess safely made it to the Palace two days after the grand celebration of Gaara's wedding. However, when they arrived, only staff and maids awaited them. Naruto opened the door for Sasuke and as soon as he stepped out of the car, he knew something was wrong. Sakura closely followed him as they entered the Palace.
As they went to the throne room, Shikamaru greeted them, bowing his head at their presence. "Your Highness, I am glad you safely returned home."
"Nara, what is going on?" Sasuke immediately questioned.
"I am afraid His Majesty was summoned by the parliament and the elders. He was questioned for not taking actions on what is transpiring in Otogakure. The elders believed it is now the King's responsibility to bring down Orochimaru. They also requested the presence of the crown prince for not sharing information on his investigations in Oto." Shikamaru regretfully informed.
Sakura gasped and put a hand over her mouth. She saw Sasuke became tense; he had his hands clenched into fists. "Then what are you doing here? Should you be present there as well?"
"The Crown Prince had tasked me to inform you as soon as you arrive. I will be presenting you more relevant information on this sudden summons by the parliament." Shikamaru paused before facing the princess. "Princess Sakura, the crown prince wishes you to stay with the Queen and Crown Princess Izumi for the time being. They are in the west side of the Palace. His Highness wanted you to ease their worries."
Sakura nodded before glancing worriedly at Sasuke. "Imperial Officer, can you leave us for a while? It will not be long." The princess requested after a minute. Shikamaru bowed his head in return and left the room with nothing but a sound of the door clicking.
As soon as the officer left, Sasuke began pacing back and forth across the room. "There must be something going on behind the scenes. I am sure my brother figured out everything by now." He muttered under his breath.
"It does not make sense. How can they just summon the King and the Crown Prince all of a sudden? The King of Oto has been enjoying his freedom for almost twenty years. Why do they choose to act now when all of the previous Kings had also failed to resolve this problem?" Sakura thought hard.
"This is most likely treason. Someone from the parliament or the elders must have started this. They figured out that we are onto Oto that is why they are making a move." Sasuke stopped walking and looked into his fiancee. "Sakura, do not leave the West not unless I said so. Be careful from now on. We do not know who to trust."
Sakura nodded in agreement. "Will you be okay?"
"I will. Father and brother need me here. Naruto is also here to safeguard me. Send my regards to Mother, tell her not to worry too much and everything will fall into place in no time."
Sakura walked towards the prince and held his hand. "Be safe as well." Sasuke nodded this time before pulling the princess into a hug. She took time to hold him, to feel safety in his arms before kissing him on the cheek goodbye.
The princess wished this was just a nightmare.
.
.
.
.
.
Murmurs echoed throughout the chamber as the King and the Crown Prince arrived. They were escorted by six armed men as they sat in the middle. The parliament was composed of different government officials, elders, religious sectors, political advisers and even leading businessmen. The room was old having been built ages ago. It has a high ceiling; tables and benches were made of fine wood except for the one in the center which was made of gold.
Danzo Shimura, a tall, stern-looking man who never smiles, is one of the elders. He was once an Imperial Officer who served Tobirama Senju. He looked disapprovingly at the father and son before addressing them. "King, there have been rumors regarding young Prince Sasuke's behaviors for the last few months. How did you address this?"
Fugaku was unfazed however and met the elder's eyes. "All of those rumors were nothing but rumors. Sasuke may not be perfect, but he is carrying out his responsibilities as a prince. He is assisting me and Itachi with the bilateral relations with other countries."
Danzo scowled. "What about the Princess's scandal? I heard she is not of royal standards and you and your queen continue to pamper her? How can you approve of her taking medicine?"
"I firmly believe it is about time we do not conform the women of royal family to a single purpose. Sakura has been doing her duties as well. All of her royal servants are qualified to continuously educate her on our protocols. She is to choose her field to gain more knowledge in her charity works." The King answered without a second thought.
The people inside the court room started whispering. Homura Mitokado, also one of the elders, confronted the Crown Prince to silence the crowd. "Let us discuss things that matter the most. Crown Prince, you carried out investigations on Otogakure unbeknownst to the parliament. Do you deny this?"
"I don't." Itachi replied without batting an eye.
"Then, can you explain your motives on doing such? And as to why not inform us?"
"I believe it is within my powers to correct the mistake of having Orochimaru free of his crimes. His Majesty, on the other hand, had been coordinating with other countries to ensure everyone's safety from Otogakure. He is not doing nothing. We are merely doing our responsibility as the leaders of Konoha."
"I understand very well what you are saying, Crown Prince. But you must know it is highly important to inform the council of this." Homura continued to question.
"We know the limitations of our powers. We consulted to our most trusted experts with this task and I am confident enough it yielded positive results. We limited drug trades and movements coming from Otogakure. It is also important to remain the confidentiality of this operations as to ensure its success and the safety of our men in the field."
Itach did not miss how Danzo's scowl deepened.
For the next two hours, different officials questioned the royal family in which the King and the crown prince answered confidently and strategically, only giving out basic information. In the end, they were released and escorted back in the Palace.
.
.
.
.
.
Sakura continued to think of the parliament's motives in summoning His Majesty and Prince Itachi suddenly as she was escorted by three guards on their way to the West side of the Palace. Tenten was also by her side all the time. She arrived shortly and was alarmed to see the state of the Queen.
She was immediately by her side. "Your Majesty, please calm down. Everything will be alright." Sakura did not forget to curtsy before directing her gaze to Princess Izumi who looked as worried as the Queen.
Mikoto tried to smile, but failed nonetheless. She knew she has to be strong for she is the Queen of this country. She needed to support the King no matter what and reassure the two princesses of their current situation and continue to protect them at all cost. However, she felt restless. The royal family could not catch a break for the last few months.
"Sakura, my dear. I'm glad you're home. Where is Sasuke?" She put a hand on the younger princess's cheek.
"He is in the King's office, Your Majesty. He is with the Imperial Officer and Naruto. He wanted me to tell you to take it easy and rest properly."
"I certainly cannot, my dear. I have to make sure the press does not find out about this. There is already a big movement against the monarchy. I have to do something, but Fugaku warned me to not leave this place, not until they returned. It even makes me more anxious to wait."
Izumi had tried to reassure the Queen this time. "Your Majesty, let us trust them. I am certain Itachi knew what he was doing. Not only he is genius, but a competent leader Konoha is blessed upon."
"I trust my son with all my heart. However, being a mother and having your son in the next line of succession is never a good combination. There are too many enemies of our family. And with this happening, I am certain they are targeting the royal family. I am scared that I may not be able to protect my sons. And you two as well." The Queen added.
"I understand, Your Majesty. We just need to keep on praying for their safety. I also trust our men to do their jobs and keep them from any harm."
Sakura hoped any issues and allegations that are thrown into the royal family will just be a series of misunderstandings. She also realized the importance of the Queen's role in supporting the King. She could never imagine being in place of the Queen at the moment, having both her husband and son questioned that could even put an end of the Uchihas' reign.
A sudden thought plagued her mind as she placed her hand on top of the Queen's as her support. What could she do to help her now extended family? What will happen if the council is not satisfied with the King's answers?
.
.
.
.
Shikamaru proceeded to tell the young Prince Sasuke about Itachi's suspicions on Danzo. The prince was seated quietly on the King's office as Shikamaru continued to discuss the documents that his brother found out in their ancient archives.
Apparently, his brother did not only lead an investigation against Otogakure, but conducted several research on Danzo's ROOT organization as well. ROOT is an extremely strict and secretive organization that is founded and led by Danzo himself for the last few decades. It is said that most of its operations were carried out in the dark - autonomous of Konoha's authority.
Sai, one of the Palace guards assigned to Sakura, is a member of the ROOT. Sasuke was shocked to find out about this. Not only this Danzo is shady enough, it seemed like he is using this organization to keep an eye to the Uchihas. Shikamaru also mentioned the elder's baseless disfavor towards the Uchihas after they took over as the line of succession of Senjus put to an end years ago.
As Sasuke absorbs the newly information, he tries to connect the dots and think back. He was reminded of Sakura's picture with Prince Gaara. There is no way an outsider would know the princess's whereabouts at that time and spread the malicious pictures right away. It disturbed Sasuke that one of Sakura's personal guards is part of that questionable organization.
All of the royal family were expected to study history, but Itachi had even dug deeper. He also suspected that King Obito's sudden death may have something to do with this elder. It seemed like he heavily expressed his disapproval on a young king leading the Konoha back at that time.
Sasuke also learned that Itachi was working out on his connections with Orochimaru as the letter summoning the King and Crown Prince arrived in the Palace.
They have to be careful from now on, Sasuke thought. This Danzo is not a simple enemy, more so if he has an allegiance with Otogakure. It will also be hard to catch him off guard knowing he is a member of the parliament. He needed to talk to his brother and father soon. Naruto, on the other hand, also tried to supply facts on their discussion. The blonde even mentioned that his own father, Minato, had his own doubts towards the elder.
His brother is simply amazing, the prince concluded. Sasuke thought about how can Itachi thought that far ahead. If he could accomplish many things at this time, how much more could he do as the king. He realized he has definitely a long way to go catch up with his brother. For now, he will do everything he can to support him, the future King of Konoha.
.
.
.
.
.
A/N: I know it's been a long time. Honestly, I had a hard time continuing the story because I was unsure how to proceed. I researched a lot on the British royal family and even watched Goong once again. This chapter is the start of downhill and there will be more revelations in the upcoming chapters. It will not be long before this story comes to an end. Thank you for reading.