Marriage-Go-Round


"So, just to set this straight, you received a letter addressed to the Council asking for forgiveness from our ex-allies?" an elderly man questioned his fellow elderly peers. Said peers, most of them older than fifty, though some of them were younger, and no one was over sixty-five years old, sat in a triple layered semi-circle, in front of a ten foot tall, thirty foot long desk. Behind the desk sat two elderly people, one man and one woman. In the middle of the two large semi-circles of hard wooden desks, was a one armed man, who leaned on a cane to help stabilize him as he stood in front of the larger semi-circle.

"Yes." A man with long black, slightly graying hair confirmed. "However,"

"However, there is more." Interrupted the elderly woman who sat behind the one armed man. "We also received another letter from Suna, explaining their actions."

"What's more to know?" a large, shaggy haired man asked as he snaked on a bag of chips. "They attacked us and were beaten back. Now that we're planning a counter-strike, they act like the cowards they are and seek forgiveness. Hell, they barely used the word 'Sorry' in their letter stating how sorry they were for back stabbing us!"

The one armed man bowed his head in thought. This was what he would call cowardly indeed. Why would a nation, no matter how small they were in either landmass or army, who had just broken off their previous alliance with the country they had just attacked only to ask for another alliance? In his mind, there were only two reasons why Suna was trying to reform the newly broken alliance. One reason was the fact that they wanted to lure Konohagakure into a sense of false peace and content and then attack them again whilst they slept peacefully in their beds. The second reason was because they knew that they couldn't possibly stand against the massive, vengeance seeking army that Konohagakure would eventually send after them. They were scared that they would be destroyed. Either way, Suna was just trying to save their tanned hides.

"What kind of explanation did those cowards come up with?" the one armed man asked the elderly woman behind him.

"Feh, you'll like this excuse Danzo." The woman sniffed humorously. "They said that they were merely following the orders of the man they thought was the Kage."

"WHAT!?" the roaring voice of Chouza bellowed throughout the chamber, his outburst accompanied by a few other, though comparatively quieter outbursts. "They were following orders?!" the large man stressed, his mouth vacant of any kind of food whatsoever, a clear sign that the man was enraged. "Of the man that they thought was their Kage? How does a whole village, a whole village full of shinobi, go about their daily life without being able to tell if their Kage is actually their Kage? It's beyond me!"

"Chouza." Danzo spoke up; quelling the large man's fit almost instantly as he did so. "I know that most of us in this room are wondering about that very thing, you do not need to be so loud. This room, though large, echoes. I've already lost one arm, and my eyesight isn't what it once was…I would like to keep at least one observation sense." The large man's head fell slightly at his check. "Plus, I would love to find out, as would the rest of the people here, how a village full of shinobi fails to notice an impersonator merely using the image of their leader. Please, continue, Koharu."

"Thank you Danzo." The elderly woman thanked the man. "It says here that were deceived by their ally, Oto, for the invasion. It turns out, or at least that's the story that Suna is sticking to, that Orochimaru slew the Yondaime Kazekage a couple of weeks before the Chunin-Exam finals and peeled the man's skin off and proceeded to use it as a body mask." There were a few indigent sniffs from some of the members of the Council, as if scoffing at the notion of Orochimaru's skills. Danzo, however, was not one of them.

He remembered clearly of the young man's skills and…talents. Peeling the skin of his enemies was something the man had started doing during the First Great Shinobi War. Danzo had little doubt in his mind that the Hebi-Sannin would do such a thing.

"The only thing that makes me believe that Suna is telling us the truth about them following the wrong man into battle; is the fact that Orochimaru has the ability to do just as they proclaimed he can." Danzo stated, reminding some of the younger shinobi and council members of the greatest shinobi from their village to become a Nuke-nin, and his abilities. "Orochimaru has shown time and time again his willingness to kill, cripple or use anything or anyone that stands in his way to his ultimate goal. Immortality. Using Sunagakure's growing discontent for us and our clients, many of whom used to be Suna's clients up until the most recent switching of their Bijuu, the Shukaku. Because of their shinobi's means to get money to support themselves and their families, they were eager to show their old and future employers that they, though smaller than us, are just as capable as us and our shinobi. Orochimaru could have used this to fuel their desire to invade, as a means to gain another step towards his ultimate goal. The Sharringan."

"It would be foolish to…ignore what Suna has to say, especially since they truly believe that they were fooled by Orochimaru. Allying with Suna, yet again, will give us two gravely important advantages over Orochimaru when he comes to collect. One of those advantages if the fact that Sunagakure must know of at least one of Oto's bases or posts lie. The other would be vengeance."

"What do you mean by that?" a slightly tan man asked from the upper most row in the triple bleacher like semi-circle. "By 'vengeance' I mean," the man clarified.

"That's what I'd like to know too." Chouza agreed, again, his mouth void of any food whatsoever.

"It's easy to understand what Danzo-Sama means when he states that Suna would also like to extract revenge upon Orochimaru and Oto." The long haired brunette with slightly graying hairs spoke up. "It means that when it comes time, Suna will most likely aid us in annihilating Orochimaru and Oto for the murder of their Kage. Oto played them for fools, killed their leader and impersonated him for almost a month and a half and they didn't even notice. Oto has tarnished their honor and intelligence. Things like that aren't easily forgotten. Remember Kumogakure after their…attempted kidnapping of my daughter Hinata nine years ago. Their Kage has warped the story so that it looks like we insulted their honor and their intentions. If the Elemental Country's were to fall into war again, Kumo would most likely side with Iwa and what other nations who despise us just to pay us back for the injustice we dealt them nine years ago."

"Very well put, Hiashi-San." Danzo appraised the current head of the Hyuuga clan's Main Branch for his intellect. Seeing the faces on more than half of the Council members in the room, including the two members of the Sandaime's genin team, Danzo continued. "Of course, I am but one person, but I think that we should…take…Suna's offer of alliance. However, we will not be using simple ink and paper drafted documents to seal the deal this time." Every member the Council was looking at him now. "I propose that we make them send one of their own here to Konohagakure and held here for as long as they want the treaty to last. That person, shinobi or non-shinobi, will be no longer able to accept missions, and will be tethered to at least one member of the mainstream society for observation. If the person they send tries anything funny…their actions will be seen as a threat to the treaty and to Konoha and then that person will be immediately executed."

No one in the council chambers spoke, too shaken by the old general's words. They had all heard of similar things happening in other countries, mainly the smaller ones like Tea and Bird, but not in a major village.

For nearly ten minutes no one spoke. No one uttered a sound. No one sighed.

Then finally, Himura, the Sandaime's other genin teammate spoke, breaking the deafening silence.

"It's kind of funny that you said that Danzo-Dono." The elderly man started, earning every one's attention. "Suna has sent us an…unusual ultimatum." That caught the one armed man's attention. Why was the village, the one who had just pleaded for them to forgive them, given them an ultimatum?

"What…kind of…ultimatum, Himura?" Danzo asked slowly.

"Suna has sent yet another letter stating that they do not want to and will not sign a treaty with ink and paper, two things they stated are too easily destroyed in a number of manners. If we do not accept their terms, then they will pull out of the treaty talks and war will most likely ensue." Himura stated.

"Then how do they expect us to accept their apology and re-form our alliance with them?" The man with the slightly tanned face asked.

"With…blood." The noise level in the chambers escalated quickly. People were shouting over one another, trying to be heard. Then suddenly,

"ENOUGH!!" the room fell silent instantly, all eyes and heads turned towards the semi-handicapped man standing in the middle of the chamber. "I've already told Chouza that I would like to keep my hearing until the day that I die, and yet you still feel the need to shout and yell." Danzo's words were like ice, cold and sharp. "Now…I presume that there is more than just 'Blood' needed for this alliance of Suna's am I wrong?"

"No, you're not." Himura shook his head slightly as he answered the slightly younger man. "If I may continue, without further interruption I hope…" the council members nodded sheepishly, some member's faces red from embarrassment, Chouza's a beet red color that matched the coloring of a fresh, ripe tomato. "Thank you." Himura stood up from his chair and took a letter, a Suna emblem on the backside, and started to read.

We the people of Sunagakure are without leader, without Kage, just as you are. Because of this, we will not consent to a normal peace treaty, one signed with ink and paper. Instead, we wish to use something more…resilient, longer lasting; blood.

We are not asking for a piece of parchment with blood seals attached to a piece of paper, nor are we asking for a treaty to be completely written and signed in fresh blood. We are asking for something…no, demanding, something more resilient.

Marriage.

A political marriage between our two villages.

Respectfully yours,

The Elder's of Sunagakure,

The Grand Elder's of Sunagakure,

Chiyo and Ebizo.

No one in the chamber was expecting something like that, and in fact, most of the people in the chamber were quiet shocked. Konohagakure hadn't had an alliance set up like this in almost eighty years, before Konohagakure was even a planned position on any map.

As the Council members sat there thinking, Danzo couldn't help but smile. Suna had basically fallen into his plan without even having needed to result to force. Because, after all, a political marriage would mean that Suna would have to send one of their own to Konohagakure, and not only would that individual be stuck in Konohagakure for as long as the marriage or alliance lasts; they wouldn't be able to undertake any missions that took place outside the village walls. It was almost too good to be true.

--

In Sunagakure

--

A lone bird flew high up in the sky, soaring over a large circle of sand colored rock. As it made its way over the large rock, it looked down to find a large village sitting in the middle of the large circular rock formation and started its descent.

A lone chunin stood in the aviary coup, where birds came from every direction with letters tied to on their backs. He sighed tiredly as he looked at his feet. Why had he been saddled with the annoying and boring task of watching out for messenger hawks? Why not some genin loser? He nearly jumped out of his skin when a bell rung from behind him. Quickly dipping his hand in his kunai pouch, the man turned around and started to launch the weapon at…a hawk. A hawk with a Konohagakure emblem on the bird's message pouch had landed on a perch and was waiting for him to take the message out of the pouch so it could rest before heading back towards Konohagakure. Hesitantly, the chunin reached for the pouch, half expecting the bird to be some sort of bomb. As his fingers felt the pouch and made sure that nothing seemed or felt off about the pouch, he opened it and took out a regal looking scroll.

For the Elders only

The chunin thought about opening the scroll, but a shiver ran down his spine stopping him from doing so. He looked around and found that the hawk had narrowed its sharp, clever eyes on him. It was as if the bird was telling that if he opened the scroll, it would attack him.

The chunin gulped and slowly made his way towards the Village Elder's Chambers.

--

Baki sat in front of the Elders again, this time for reasons he didn't know. He watched as Chiyo and her brother Ebizo, made their way into the room and made their way to their large cushions. From behind her back, Chiyo produced a scroll bearing the emblem of Konohagakure on it with gold coloring. Baki felt his throat dry out almost instantly. He sat there for five minutes, in total silence, waiting for Chiyo to open and read the scroll. Then, as if it was nothing special, Baki found the scroll flying at his head. With his honed instincts, Baki caught the scroll and then looked back at the shriveled old woman who had tossed it at him.

She nodded slowly, giving him the okay to open and read the contents of the scroll. Obviously they had read it already.

We, the Council of Konohagakure herby

End


No, the page did not get cut off, and no, that wasn't a mistake, I wanted it to end like that. Ain't I a stinker? (The immortal words of my favorite 'wascally' rabbit, if you know who I'm talking about, then give yourself a high-five and then give me a twenty dollar bill, just kidding.)

I'd like to thank those of you who read my story and patiently awaited my update. Like I said last chapter, I DO NOT like the reviews that have no mentioning of whether or not you liked the story and only tell me to hurry up with the next chapter. I work six days a week and I am tired when I get home, I only write little bits of my stories at a time now and telling me to hurry up will NOT get you a faster update. This goes for everyone who reads any of my fics, not just one person and one story. And for your information, planning this story out so that the chapters at least fit together is not a cake walk. I scrapped four chapters to come up with this chapter, even going so far as to rip up my notebook (pen and paper) copy.

I would like to personally thank GreenSpudMonkey for finding the name of Chiyo's brother and telling me. From the depths of my mind, I thank you. Not knowing his name was somewhat disconcerting to me.

Anyways, the next chapter will take some TIME. Please give me the TIME I need to work on it, okay?

The next chapter will contain the Council's response and maybe, just maybe, a certain blonde's reaction to this whole mess.

Thanks for reading, review if you wish and good day, night, afternoon, week, month or year!

Ja!