Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters in any way, shape, or form
Chapter 6: Daimyo
The days following the funeral had proved uneventful for Sakura; now that Itachi's name was cleared so to speak and both he and Nagato were out of imminent danger, she had been essentially placed on house arrest for her to fully recuperate. Truth be told, she had been running on soldier pills and the steady stream of chakra her Sakura tree was providing for her ever since she had touched ground on Konoha soil. Without that, she doubted she would have been able to even stand, let alone heal her teammates.
But Shizune and Marika had taken over her work on Nagato, after she had left detailed instructions on his physical therapy (he would have to gain some fat and muscle mass before Sakura felt comfortable enough to approve him for surgery). As such, they were using hydrotherapy and a strict carbohydrate diet to gain as much weight, as quick as possible.
Itachi on the other hand had been easier to handle: in the coming week since he had arrived at the hospital and been relieved, he was gaining both weight and muscle as if he were a growing boy. Her expert eye could estimate he had easily gained ten pounds in the last two weeks. Her assessment had been that once he reached a comfortable BMI, they could begin a regular exercise regime and reintroduce his body to training (for now, Sakura had instructed Sasuke to walk with him at least one hour a day and to keep meticulous notes of his breathing and whether he seemed to feel any discomfort). In this way too, she would be able to closely monitor if he was feeling any pain or discomfort, a tell-tale sign that his disease had in fact either resurfaced or not disappeared entirely. But even this was becoming a diminishing concern; she estimated that the medication Itachi had previously been on was consumed copiously, which spoke to the insurmountable levels of pain he had been in. If it still existed, there was no way that Itachi would not have mentioned it, or had made an indication of it. She had thusly spoken to Sasuke and Mikoto about it, and assuaged their concerns of a relapse.
So as Sakura stayed home, often times with Mikoto and Himawari who were there simply to keep her company, Saki and Sasuke were out and about with Itachi, and sometimes Naruto. Sakura had insisted that aside from the exercise it provided him, it would be helpful to not just reintroduce him to Konoha, but for the villagers and shinobi alike to see him walking the streets so as to accustom them to it.
It had taken a week for Marika to come back to Sakura, nearing the end of her house arrest, although she didn't seem excited. In fact, it was because she knew that convincing Sakura of what was to come would be a hassle. So prior to meeting with her younger sister, she had Mikoto set tea on the table for the inevitable calming Sakura would need, and had Mikoto come on board to help her with the planning of Sakura's coronation, so to speak. "So, I've spoken to Tsunade-sama and the Daimyo about your coronation." Marika began, casual enough.
"Alright, what's in store for me, Marika-nee?" Sakura asked with a foreboding feeling at the pit of her stomach.
"Well, the Daimyo insists it be a big event..." There was a pregnant pause, Marika looking at her sister nervously, already seeing the twitch in her eye.
"...What do you mean big event?" Sakura scowled immediately.
"Well... to put it lightly, he wants this to be an elaborate festival... an occasion to have the Village part take in -maybe even the Allied Shinobi Nations-"
"No." Sakura almost immediately interjected. "What, he wants us to put on a play for him?" Sakura could have glared. Her becoming Clan Head was not an advertisement campaign for Konoha -and she absolutely refused to make it as such. "Absolutely not, we don't have time to organize that. Nope. No." the words sputtered out of her mouth, her irritation rising by the second. "We haven't even finished commemorating our fallen comrades -this is downright disrespectful." she added as an afterthought.
"-An act which will not take too long, because of you, Sakura. You know how many more would've died without you?" Marika interjected sternly. Maybe Sakura didn't quite understand the full impact of her Hanami technique in the war, having not been there to witness its full use (after all, she was too preoccupied in a battle with Sasuke and Naruto alongside her), but that could not be said for literally anybody else. Anything that was short of decapitation and an explosion had healed instantly, even puncture wounds to vital organs. And this occurred to thousands of shinobi over the course of hours. It was not a one-time life saving technique -it was a constant security blanket that not only protected them, but bolstered their morale and replenished their chakra. And all of this, Sakura was just completely trying to ignore? No, absolutely not.
Sakura may be her heir, but she was still her younger sister, and as such it was not above her to reprimand her. "Even if we won the war, its consequences fall heavy on the hearts of many, not to mention the revelation of Shisui and Itachi. They need a distraction, and the Daimyo thinks this is the best way to do it." she explained with a small frown. Truth be told, as much as she didn't like it, she understood the Daimyo's opinion that it was a necessity -and after laying out all the facts, she had to sonewhat agree. "The Daimyo wants to boost morale; show Konoha that even with the shinobi we have lost, we have hope for the future... we have you." Marika explained hesitantly. Although she could understand why Sakura wanted to keep it small and limit the audience to just her Haruno kinsmen, her Team 7 (which barely made the cut, mind you) and Tsunade, she also had to think of the potential benefits of making it an open event. "Not to mention that the further and faster we expand your prestige, the more hesitant Danzo will be to act. I know I don't need to tell you this. Kakashi-san explicitly told me to mention this point to you." Of course, this is because this had all been explained to her by Tsunade and Kakashi themselves, and they already knew that Sakura would be against the event to begin with.
"I am not inviting hundreds into our home to witness this like some spectacle at a circus." Sakura shook her head. "And quite frankly, I'm too exhausted to even meet the public. Do you know how annoying it is to have to even deal with Naruto's new fan girls?" Sakura scoffed. Not to mention that it was entirely getting to Naruto's head too, she decided as an afterthought.
"Hai, I understand, and I agree with you." Marika assuaged Sakura's anger, "I informed the Daimyo that this would probably be your stance; I don't particularly like it either." Marika nodded in agreement. "But you know how he gets, Sakura. Which is why Mikoto and I came up with and suggested an alternative."
Sakura gracelessly pounded her head onto the table. "Alright, what do you want me to do, Marika-nee?" My Kami, Sakura hated being politically correct -the shenanigans, formalities included now especially, could go to hell for all she cared.
"Relax, Sakura," Mikoto's soothing voice broke through as she placed a gentle hand on Sakura's own. "We have your best interest at heart, we promise. This won't be too inconvenient, and will still hold true to Haruno tradition. You will keep your customs."
-Which was perhaps Sakura's biggest concern, truth be told. She wanted to do things as her mother would have had them done. This was really the most important thing for her, and Mikoto and Marika understood this, so it was easy for them to be able to draw the line to the Daimyo's antics. "So what's this middle ground you guys came up with?" With a little more hope, Sakura looked up and stared at the two women before her.
"Well...-"
And so Marika and Mikoto explained to her the happy middle ground that the joint efforts of Marika, Mikoto, and Tsunade had come up with that would both appease the Daimyo and respect the Haruno traditions. They would have their own traditional coronation in private, but afterwards they would also have a formal one atop the Academy and make an official announcement, much like they had done for the funeral proceedings two weeks prior. They would give Sakura ample time to prepare herself mentally and all preparations to be completed, which Marika and Mikoto had assessed would take at least three weeks -a lie, but one that would buy Sakura more time, which they knew she would appreciate. After the official announcement was made, a festival would be thrown in her place, which would serve as not just a celebration for her, but also a celebration for the end of the Shinobi War, and would serve to entertain the notable guests that they would be inviting (primarily the Kages of the foreign regions).
"It sounds doable." Sakura admitted reluctantly after hearing Marika's explanation. "I'm not happy about it, but it's doable."
"Great." Marika smiled with relief. Truth be told, she had expected more push back from her sister -maybe she was just too tired to argue about it.
And just as she finished her sentence, there had been a small knock at the door, and moments later Sasuke opened the shoji door; Saki was alongside him with Itachi and Naruto shortly behind. "Hi Sakura-chan, Marika-chan!" he greeted, boisterous as ever.
"Hi everyone." Sakura and Marika greeted in unison, Sakura discreetly shifting uncomfortably at the sight of Itachi. She hadn't seem him at all in the past week, since her breakfasts were delivered to her room, and he was always out for lunch and dinner, as was part of the plan for Itachi's reintegration into society. And still, just the sight of him brought back the sensation of being punched in the gut, but she swallowed down her discomfort.
"Yo" Sasuke greeted casually, "you wanted to see me?". the group of shinobi approached then, Saki quickly running to embrace Sakura from behind; Itachi and Sasuke took residence around the empty spots in the table, and Naruto settled for leaning against the wall somewhere behind Saki and Sakura.
Sakura raised an eyebrow, staring from Sasuke to Marika, because she most certainly didn't call for him, so if was either Marika or Mikoto he was addressing.
"Hai... now that I have the both of you here, the Daimyo asked me to deliver this message to the two of you." As she spoke, she pulled out a scroll from one of her holster pockets.
"Why do I feel annoyed already?" Sakura muttered under her breath with yet another sigh.
"Because the Daimyo is annoying?" Sasuke scoffed, grabbing the scroll and opening it up without waiting for Sakura to do so; he could already tell she was in a sour mood.
It was a quick and concise message, and Sasuke skimmed it over quickly. "He's having a gathering between a handful of other Clan heirs, and wishes us to attend. It's in two days time, he'll be assembling a carriage to transport everyone there and back." he summarized, handing the letter over to Sakura in case she wanted to read it herself.
"Oh, great." Sakura could have rolled her eyes. "I wonder what he wants from us now."
Sasuke shrugged, not particularly caring. "Who else do you think is going?"
"My assumption would be Ino-pig, Hinata, Chouji, and Shikamaru at the very least." Sakura responded with a sigh. Perhaps more, if a whole carriage was being drawn to transport them, which seemed like an awful waste of time, given that they were all adept shinobi and simply traveling there by foot would be faster -but whatever, she didn't make the rules.
"Man, what if he's praising you guys for your efforts in the war? Shouldn't I be invited to?" Naruto complained indignantly. "I was a hero too, y'know?"
"Hai hai, we all know Naruto, don't worry." Sakura laughed, ruffling his hair childishly. "If you'd like you can take my place."
Marika laughed. "Sakura-chan stop being so cranky. You're acting like a cat."
"Why is it so much to ask for to be left in peace?" she merely sighed. "I guarantee you I'm going to come back from this meeting with another headache and more contempt for politics."
"I don't doubt it." Marika snorted. "Anyway, I've done my due diligence, I'm going to go look for Himawari and Sayuri. Konan should be coming soon from the hospital, if you see her just let her know I'll be next door."
"Will do, Ja ne" Sakura gave her a thumbs up, before directing her attention towards the remaining members in the room. "So how was your guys's walk?"
"Great!" Naruto grinned. "We had to run away from fan girls for the first thirty minutes." he laughed bashfully, scratching the back of his head. "Also, we have a bunch of love letters for you Sakura-chan, what do you want us to do with it?"
Sakura rolled her eyes. "You're really reveling in this attention, neh? Throw them alongside Sasuke's, I have no desire to go through them." She simply dismissed with a wave of her hand.
"Guess you won't mind if I welcome myself to the chocolate then, right?"
Sakura snorted, noticing how even Saki's eyes lit up at the mention. "You and Saki can go crazy; but don't ruin your appetite, we haven't had dinner yet Saki-chan."
"Hai, Sakura-oneesama!" Her and Naruto high-fived each other -clearly they had assumed that Sakura would say this. Without a moments notice, or any hesitation from the two children (because that's what Naruto was: a child in a grown man's body), they both scurried out of the room nearly as quickly as they had come. A few moments later, they could both be seeing dragging in two trashbags full of chocolates and love letters. They set them down and began to go through them, low mutterings of "Oooh, that's my favorite, give me that one," and "Sakura-chan's the best!" being exchanged between them. Sakura rolled her eyes, as it seemed Sasuke did, before she once more averted her gaze back onto the Uchiha men before her. Aside from that banter, they sat contentedly next to each other, simply listening to the conversations, completely placated.
"Given that the fan girls were stalking you guys so fervently, I take it Itachi-san's socialization is going good?" she instead pivoted topics.
"Hn" Sasuke agreed with a grunt. "So long as we're with him it doesn't seem to be much of a problem; there are still looks and murmurs, but nobody seems openly contemptuous, at the very least."
"Well I would say that's a huge feat in and of itself." Sakura smiled widely. "Things will go back to normal in no time, if it keeps up like this. Speaking of which, we should probably have your health assessed, Itachi-san. I think you should be cleared to start physical therapy soon." her eyes moved from Sasuke onto Itachi, albeit with a little hesitation from her end.
"I am feeling well enough." Itachi affirmed. "Should I speak to Marika-san about scheduling me in?" he spoke politely.
"Iie, as it stands Marika will be busy focusing on planning this forsaken ceremony with Tsunade-shishou, Himawari, and Sayuri." Sakura declined with a shake of her head. Not to mention, Marika was also currently in charge of Konan's medical ninjutsu training, Nagato's wellfare, and of course paying enough attention to Shisui. Truly, she was picking up the load that would normally be hers to contend with. "I'll do it -and before you say anything," Sakura interjected herself, already seeing Sasuke about to speak up, "I've had more than enough rest. Don't worry about it."
"It's only been a week, Sakura-chan." Naruto frowned, not nearly as distracted by the chocolate as Sakura had thought him to be.
"What he said." Sasuke spoke with narrowed eyes.
"Yes, an entire week that my tree has been helping me." Sakura stressed. "My chakra reserves are not nearly as vast as yours, granted" she spoke, addressing her blonde teammate, "but my healing capabilities and chakra absorption rates are definitely no worse." Of course, she knew it would be hard to believe, given that the only reason Naruto had these traits was because of the Kyuubi, coupled on with his Uzumaki heritage. However, they didn't know Hashirama was her literal great grandfather, which made her healing abilities up to par with Naruto's, but whatever. "I'll truthfully say my reserves are not fully back, but its more than enough to run a simple health assessment, scouts honor." As if for added emphasis, she held up her hand as if taking a pledge.
Yes, it was true she had expended more chakra than three bijuu-wielding Naruto's could have in the war; but to be fair, half of that had been simply chakra she had extracted from either her summon, or her seal. If they were expecting her to be back to how she was before the war, they would need to wait literal months -and she would rather die than be confined to her house for that long.
Although Sasuke and Naruto exchanged worried looks at each other, as if speaking telepathically on whether or not they would actually believe their danger-prone teammate, they soon relented. "Fine." they both stated in unison. "But just the health assessment, nothing more." they once more repeated (since when did Naruto and Sasuke complete each other's sentences like this? It was weird).
"Wonderful" Sakura stated with a grin. She was just itching to get out of the house and be useful again. Her back was beginning to hurt from all the lying around she was doing. "If you're free right now, we can go ahead and do it." she suggested, turning to stare at Itachi for his response.
"Ahh," Itachi agreed. "Will this take long? I promised Saki to go to the training grounds with her."
"Nii-sama is going to critique my shuriken throwing." Saki said excitedly, between munches of her chocolate.
Sakura laughed. "The test itself shouldn't take more than thirty minutes, so taking into account travel and set up, maybe about an hour? Does that sound doable?"
"Hai!" Saki stated excitedly. "And if you're cleared soon enough we'll be able to spar together too~!" Saki was simply bubbling up with excitement at the thought, staring at Itachi with a wide grin.
It was a simple enough test, as Itachi had learned it to be.
"You will have to undress from the waist up," Sakura began her instructions, pulling out several handfuls of electrodes. "I'll be placing these on your back, chest, arms, and a couple on your head, and then I will have you run on this treadmill for about ten minutes. The electrodes will be recording things such as pulse, brain activity, and muscle stimuli for me to assess. After your ten minutes are up, I will be doing a hands on examination with my chakra as well to see how your muscles are fairing with a small strain. Any questions?"
"Iie," Itachi responded promptly.
"Great, so I will just give you a second to undre-" before she could finish her sentence, in which she would indicate that she would step out to give him some privacy, he just took the shirt right off. A heated, embarrassed blush shot up her cheeks as she looked away. Itachi looked at her peculiarly -why would she look away if she had to be the one to place the electrodes on him anyway? What was it with doctors that left you with the privacy of undressing if they were about to see you anyway? He'd never understand it. "Never mind. Just please sit on the chair." she instructed. Itachi nodded and simply did as he was told, staring away from Sakura as she brought her swivel chair over, alongside a tray that had the electrodes.
"This will be a little cold," she merely warned, as she began the first unsticking of the electrode from it's pad.
Sakura was glad, at least, that he could not see her blushing face any longer. It wasn't that she was necessarily flushed just looking at him (although this was a factor), but it was the realization that this was the most... (undressed?) she had ever seen Itachi in this timeline. Yes, she had kissed him and all -that was obvious. But she had never seen him in any mild form of nude. Her thoughts were cut off as she noticed the goosebumps appearing on Itachi's back, clearly an involuntary response to the sticky pads being placed on his back. His muscles tightened, and it was at this point in which Sakura really allowed herself to look at the man before her.
He was definitely still leaner than he had been prior to his death, but not by much. It was remarkable how much he had gained in the past few weeks, but it was still shocking just to see him so... weak. She could still recall the feel of him when he had brought her into an embrace. The feel of his warmth, the way his muscles had tensed and tightened around her- would it still feel the same, if he were to do it now, she wondered?
Obtrusive thoughts, Sakura, obtrusive thoughts.
She could have sighed once more. "You've gained a significant amount of weight, Itachi-san. How has your stamina been while walking?" she instead spoke out -maybe if she was talking, her thoughts wouldn't derail as much. Of course, she kind of already knew the answer, because Sasuke had been keeping impeccable records for her to review at her behest, but nothing better than straight from the horse's mouth.
"Walking has not proved to be an issue, not since the first day." Itachi spoke. "We've been doing about three hours of walking without too many breaks in between every day." Itachi explained. "The first day my muscles were definitely tight and caused some discomfort. By the second day I could hardly feel it."
"That's good." Sakura smiled, finishing up her last electrode on his back. "Now if I could have you turn around-"
And he did so, and Sakura had to make sure to avert her eyes from his face. It was bad enough to stare at his bare chest, but if she so much as saw his face, it'd be over for her. 'You're a professional, Sakura.' she reprimanded herself, turning away from Itachi to gather some more electrodes. "This will be cold again," she warned once more, but did not wait for his response. When her fingertips lightly touched his chest, it took just about all her self-control to not blush. He was warm -it felt almost familiar to her. She had laid her head upon this very chest, of course.
"Given that you only felt muscle tightness the first day, it was probably because your muscles have spent the better part of a month bed-ridden. Although walking doesn't seem to be much of a problem, I suspect the running will prove a little more difficult. As such, if you start feeling any discomfort, please do not hesitate to notify me, and if it get's too hard we can stop the test early. Do not feel obliged to go the full ten-minutes, okay?"
"Ahh," Itachi once more responded.
"Before I have you hop on, I'm just going to check your breathing really quick," as she spoke, she turned from her swivel chair and moved towards her stethoscope. She ran her test, pleased to hear that Itachi's breathing was slow and steady, and once having the information she wanted, she once more moved away from Itachi.
"Alright, you can hop on the treadmill. We're going to start slow at a walking pace, and then gradually bump it up. The goal is going to be to maintain a full-sprint for ten minutes." she once more repeated.
"Hai."
"You're cleared to start physical therapy." Sakura stated, closing the file in front of her and staring up at Itachi with a small smile. "Your results were nothing if not perfect. Your recovery has been nothing short of miraculously quick." She stated honestly. She didn't know if it was due to Kikyou, or perhaps because of the copious amounts of Haruno chakra that helped to cure his body, or if it was Itachi's own dexterity, but he was doing great. "Your muscle mass seems to be your biggest deterrent as it stands, but that is not anything that can't be improved upon with some weights. What will hold particularly important will be to focus on your cardio regularly, in order to improve your stamina and continue the strengthening of your heart and lungs. To that end, I have devised a fitness plan," as she spoke, she handed Itachi a piece of paper, and allowed him to look at what was clearly a schedule of sorts, "for you to follow as closely as possible. I figured between Sasuke-kun, Saki, Naruto, and myself, we should be able to take turns and help you out."
Itachi took a moment to receive the paper, and glanced at its contents. In essence, the schedule she had created for him called for daily cardio, and weight-training every other day. "I am still under-weight." he concluded.
"Hai." Sakura confirmed, leaning back onto her chair. "This is not to mean you haven't made great progress, though. And to be fair, you do not seem to be too far under what you were originally." Sakura began hesitantly, "However, it is important to understand your previous affliction considerably affected your muscle mass and stamina to begin with. Given how much of a highly competent shinobi you are, we should be able to approximate that your muscle mass should be on par with Kakashi-sensei's or Naruto's, or Sasuke-kun's." In fact, even prior to the war, it was evident that Sasuke was significantly more muscular than Itachi was. Sakura now understood it to have been a result of his disease. Now with that off the table, Sakura knew Itachi would reach a peak in strength he had never before. Absent-mindedly, Sakura couldn't help but wonder how long Itachi had been living with this unknown, incurable disease. If he had been dealing with it since young, it could very well have affected his development -a reason why Sasuke was just the slightest bit taller and more muscular than him.
And Itachi was strong before -crippling pain and disease included. Without it? Sakura was confident enough to bet he could easily double in strength if he truly wished it so (granted, without taking the Mangekyou Sharingan into account, seeing as the chances of him obtaining that a second time in his life were nearly impossible).
"My family will be relieved to hear this." Itachi stated calmly, folding up the paper that Sakura had given to him and putting it in his pocket as he stood. "Am I free to return?"
"Hai. Let me just put my things away and we'll go back to the Haruno Compound together." Sakura instructed, knowing that up until now, Itachi had yet to venture out on the streets alone. It was still too soon for him.
"Ahh"
"Good morning Sakura." Hinata greeted them first with the brightest of smiles. "Sasuke, N-Naruto-kun."
"Ohayo, Hinata." Naruto and Sakura greeted in unison, with Sasuke merely nodding in her direction as they approached the group of shinobi, Kiba and Shino alongside her talking amongst each other. "Where's everyone else?" Sakura questioned. Although she knew not who everyone was, she knew at the very least Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino should at the very least be in attendance.
"Probably running late because of Shikamaru, I'd wager." Kiba shrugged. "What are you doing here, Naruto? You're not a clan head."
"What? I can't see my teammates off?" Naruto glared.
"Aww, did I hurt your feelings?" Kiba grinned, taunting the boy. "If you ask nicely I'm sure I can convince the Daimyo to let you in."
"Kiba." Hinata frowned. Why was it her teammate absolutely loved to rile up the blonde? "E-Excuse his behavior, Naruto-kun." she apologized quickly.
"It's fine. Can't let a pipsqueak like him hurt my feelings." he dismissed, taunting Kiba.
Sakura rolled her eyes, ignoring the antics of the two boys, settling instead for directing her attention on Hinata. She seemed to have grown a little bolder since the war had ended, and it was evident that she was trying her best to talk to Naruto more. It was nice to see, and it gave her hope that sometime soon, Naruto would finally understand the feelings of the heiress -and would hopefully reciprocate them. Ever since her own feelings towards Itachi had been made apparent, Naruto had begun to joke less and less about how he would one day marry her -and in fact, he was beginning to treat her more as a woman, rather than his childhood friend or teammate. He understood now that there was a difference, and he was beginning to respect it.
Then again, it probably didn't hurt that for the first time in his life, he was beginning to receive female attention by the literal hundreds.
"I wish you luck." Sakura commented with a small smile, placing her hand on Hinata's shoulder.
Hinata's cheeks reddened, as if understanding Sakura's insinuation, before she nodded and walked towards Naruto and Kiba. Hinata couldn't afford to waste time anymore: now that Naruro was revered as a hero, many women were now vying for his attention, and if Hinata waited too long, it could be too late.
Sakura stood alongside Sasuke, both mildly amused at seeing Hinata muster all her strength. "You think he'll get it in his head soon?"
Sakura scoffed. "For Hinata's sake, I hope so." Regardless, she went towards the carriage and plopped herself on it, not willing to stand for however long it would take for the Ino-Shika-Cho trio to make it. She would just take a nap. "Let's get this over with."
"Good evening, all of you." the Daimyo had started off calmly, eyeing each of the shinobi before him, bowing in his presence. They stood before him in a line, elbow to elbow. Sasuke was at one end, with Sakura alongside him, and Hinata to her left, followed by Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, and lastly Shino. "Please, stand at ease," he instructed, allowing them each to lift their heads. "It is good to see you all healthy. You are probably wondering why I called you all here today." None of them spoke, simply allowing the Daimyo the time to say what he needed to so they could get the hell out of there. "Aside from properly thanking all of you for the war effort, I did want to take some time discuss some important news, and the importance of your roles in Konoha moving forward."
Sakura and Sasuke exchanged looks; they had a feeling they weren't going to like this.
"First and foremost, I would like to announce that soon, we will be officially announcing the establishment of the Haruno Clan Leader." as he spoke, he turned his eyes to stare directly at Sakura. "Congratulations, Haruno Sakura."
"Arigatou," Sakura spoke politely, bowing once more.
"To that end, we will be opening up Konoha to many foreign diplomats and allies to witness her official ceremony. That will mean that in the coming weeks, all Clan Heads and their respective heirs will be in charge of the security details for Konoha. I will need each of you to work closely alongside each other to make sure the festivities run smoothly. The point of contact for all of you will be Haruno Marika, who has taken up the role of coordinator for the event. I have selected the Nara Clan to lead the security division."
As he said this, the remaining shinobi bowed their heads.
"Given that the Haruno heir is taking up her rightful role as leader, it would also behoove the Uchiha to have similar talks." He directed his statement towards Sasuke, but he did not so much as bat an eyelash at his statement. Because it seemed oddly ridiculous that the Daimyo had inadvertently designated him as heir, knowing fully well it wasn't even technically his title to take, but rather Itachi's. As such, he would not entertain the notion, especially because this had not even been discussed amongst his own family.
Whether the Daimyo was offended or not by Sasuke's lack of response, he didn't show it.
"The opening up of Konoha will be an important even that will lend itself to many opportunities of which we should take advantage of. As you are all aware, Konoha is in the midst of solidifying their alliances with each respective nation. In the future, it will be your duties to preserve this peace with your mutual cooperation and hard work. Furthermore, you guys are no longer children. Sometime very soon, many of you will need to start considering spouses-"
Yep, Sakura was right: she was most definitely going to come out of this meeting with a headache. She glanced at Sasuke, who stared at the Daimyo with scrutinizing, narrowed eyes.
"Peace treaties and alliances in the past have been shaky at best, and as such I am not nearly as optimistic as Tsunade is about their effectiveness. As such, I do believe that having political marriages outside of Konoha is not out of the question; and in fact, I strongly encourage it."
Congratulating them on the war effort was a pretense; this was clearly his true purpose. And why was it that he kept shooting glances at her and Sasuke more than everyone else?
She supposed she got her answer when seconds later, what had been not so subtle glancing in their directions had turned into a full on stare, his body turned slightly to talk to them directly. "The expansion of your clan's hold particular importance to Konoha's stability; I am sure I need not explain why. It would be wise for you and your remaining clan members' to look at potential spouses. There is no need to wait any further. Furthermore, you could look at this as a means of furthering alliances across nations."
The silence stretched on for several seconds. "Pardon, Daimyo-sama?" Sakura decided to speak up, knowing fully well that if she had left it up to Sasuke, that either he would not respond, or he would... with a string of condescending insults.
"If you are confused, I will reiterate. We should use the upcoming festivities to seek out potential partners from foreign nations to further develop our political alliances. Utakata for instance, has made his interest in you clear more than once, Haruno, as I have been informed. It would not be a bad match."
Sakura's lips parted for a solid second but she decided to bite her tongue instead of saying something remotely offensive to the Daimyo.
Why did he know about Utakata's interest in her?
Moreover, why was it any of his business?
But Sakura's silence had only allowed for Sasuke to just blatantly snort at the man. He parted his lips to speak, but Sakura quickly cut him off.
"I respectfully decline, Daimyo-sama. I have too many duties to attend to before even considering a partner." she tried to politely decline, her anger being held back by only a thread.
"This wasn't a suggestion, Haruno." he warned. "Your lineage, among others, holds especially important, seeing as you were the leading reason for the victory in this war. You need to start looking for a potential suitor -and if you cannot find one, we can do so for you."
Sakura's face grew red with defiance, and she knew it was radiating off of her in waves. And with his last comment, the last of her patience had crumbled. What year was it, for the Daimyo you think it entirely normal to demand Sakura, at only nineteen years of age, to just go get married and start popping out kids? "I am nineteen, Daimyo-sama." Sakura stated, as if clarifying something. "A suitor is the last thing on my mind; I will not concede to a marriage just because you are diluted into thinking you can force a suitor on me. Forced marriages may have been common practice in your day but make no mistake of it; Daimyo or not, you will not force my hand." Sakura's tone was far more aggressive than it probably should have been when speaking before him, but she could not help herself.
She could feel Hinata tense alongside her, as if she were scared at the Daimyo's response for her. "Is that so?" he seemed nearly amused by Sakura's outburst.
"Let me clarify something, Daimyo-sama. It is true this war was won primarily with my strength. What is not true, however, is that we are far from done dealing with the repercussions of this war." Who was he to even think to threaten the savior of the Shinobi Nations into a forced marriage? The thought was preposterous.
"A-Annou, Daimyo-sama…" Hinata spoke rather timidly, "I-I think that what Sakura is trying to say, is that p-perhaps now is not the t-time for such talks." she spoke courteously, her eyes glancing towards Sakura. She was used to such formalities; Sakura was not, and it would do her no good to put herself at odds with the Daimyo. "I-If this meeting is meant to discuss the future of Konoha, then we should focus first on its rebuilding, and on its future leaders -not their partners. You must understand that springing the topic of marriage now is a bit premature -for all of us." She clarified and included them all, if only to make sure Sakura was not isolated.
"Hinata is correct. We should first focus on arranging the Haruno ceremony above all else. Anything else comes secondary." Shikamaru spoke in support of Hinata.
The Daimyo frowned -displeased. But the Hyuga princess was right. "I rest my point here, Haruno, but do not think that I will drop the matter -and this extends to all of you. Your parents are in charge of marriage talks on your behalves. Sakura does not have that privilege, so I-"
"You've been doing a lot of incessant talking, Daimyo-sama." Sasuke's voice finally broke out, with a tone that had immediately made Hinata and Ino flinch -in fact, even the Daimyo seemed caught off guard. "If you have qualms about our private lives, you may discuss them with Okaa-sama. You will not, however, act as Sakura's guardian over the matter. Last I recall, she's had a mother raising her for over a decade that you're conveniently forgetting about."
How dare this man not just manipulate the situation into making it seem he was doing this for Sakura, because her parents were dead, but also conveniently ignore the fact that Sakura did very much have a guardian in the shape of Mikoto to help her with such matters? And not to mention, he was outright disrespecting Mikoto too; because at no point in time was Mikoto ever reached out to, even for his own marital affairs: and it had been done on purpose too.
Despite being the Uchiha matriarch, the Daimyo and elders had kept Mikoto out of politics ever since the massacre. They had sugar-coated it under the pretense that poor Mikoto could no longer bare the stress of it, but the truth of the matter was that she was the last Uchiha alive that grew up with the influence of the old Uchiha regime -with the exception of Itachi and Shisui now, of course. In fear that she still held on to those values, it was easier to just displace her completely and try to manipulate Sasuke, which was why they also invited Sasuke here as the quasi-heir instead of Itachi, the rightful heir.
As nice as Hinata had been to try to prevent such an outburst, the rage bubbled up inside of Sasuke could no longer be quelled, especially not at the mention of Sakura's parents, a topic he knew to be especially sensitive for his teammate. Idiotic remarks sent his way he could tolerate: but towards his teammate (and future sister-in-law), he would not.
"I-I suppose I had not considered that-" the Daimyo tried to brush off casually -because he knew the underlying threat in Sasuke's words.
You will not manipulate us.
"Surely not. As such, you will refrain from such frivolous talks and go through the proper channels. I will hear no more of it. And I will be informing Okaa-sama about how you seem to have forgotten her title and authority." Sasuke commanded with such authority it was almost frightening, turning around and completely disregarding the Daimyo. "Come, Sakura. I believe we've heard more than we need to." And this was truly a threat to not take lightly. Because things were different now than they had been twelve years ago. Mikoto had standing. She had influence. And she alone had raised nearly a dozen shinobi, between not just the Uchiha and Haruno, but also Naruto, who were now ranked within the strongest in Konoha -and some even amongst the entire Shinobi Nations. And they would each loyally stand beside her as her guard dogs. And if that weren't enough as it was, let's not forget that she had over a decade of earned sympathy and love from civilians and shinobi alike. It mattered not that she had raised the murderer of the Uchiha anymore (especially now, since he was deemed innocent), because people's emotions were no longer raw to the news. She was no longer the mother of an Akatsuki member, or even the wife of the man who nearly overthrew Konoha's government (to the few in society who knew this). She was a woman that had sacrificed her own happiness and future for not just her kids, but the kids of her sister clan (and her close friends Ayame and Kushina too, not to mention) and had arduously been raising these kids on her own without complaint.
Any slight made towards Mikoto would be taken personally by many -and even amongst the noble Clans among Konoha, she was dearly loved and respected.
And Sasuke had said all this and more in just the singular threat he had used against the Daimyo, and both of them knew it.
Sakura did not speak again, silently turning around and following behind Sasuke as he had ordered. They shut the door behind them and walked down the corridor to the Daimyo's palace, not speaking until they were finally outside of its confines, in front of the carriages that had brought them here.
"I hope I did not speak out of line for you." Sasuke finally said, peering down at Sakura who had a mixed expression of anger and confusion on her face.
"If you hadn't I might have just punched him." Sakura admitted, breaking out of her thoughts to stare up at her teammate.
"Ah, I figured as much." Sasuke sighed. "I suspected it would be easier to paint myself as the villain here instead of you." Ultimately, he could hide behind Mikoto. Given that Mikoto had never officially signed adoption papers, Sakura could only do so to an extent.
"Arigatou, Sasuke-kun." She smiled up at him. Sometimes, it was hard to remember that this was no longer the same Sasuke-kun that she had grown up with in her timeline, and especially hard to remember he also wasn't the Sasuke-chan she had helped to protect, coddled in her arms. He was a grown man who was often seen as utterly terrifying in the eyes of everyone but the ones that knew him well enough. And she, somehow, was the younger sister to this terrifying man that was coddled to death.
"Hn" he shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Maybe we should have brought Naruto." he sighed once more -he would have certainly put the Daimyo in his place.
Sakura only laughed.
They didn't have to wait long for the rest of their party to join them in front of the carriage; it seemed like the meeting had only lasted five more minutes after they had left.
"What is that old bag even thinking?!" Sakura could hear Ino screaming before she even saw the Pig -it made her scoff. From alongside her, Hinata could only help but sigh, a hand hovering over her heart. "I can't believe you told him off, Sasuke." Ino stated with a mixture of surprise and appreciation, as they group finally approached the two members of Team 7.
"For him to openly try to partner you with someone was a little bold of him." Shikamaru agreed with a sigh -even he hadn't had to deal with such a thing before.
"D-Don't take it to heart, Sakura," Hinata tried to soothe the Haruno heiress. "The Daimyo wants to use all of us for a political marriage, p-probably..." her thoughts lingered.
"Like hell." Sasuke scoffed, frowning slightly. "This was directly targeted at Sakura. And as if I'd ever let that happen." The day Sakura was ripped away from his nii-san would be the day Sasuke would defect for the sole purpose of bringing her back by force, he thought contemptuously.
"Don't let it get to you, Forehead. He can push all he wants but we know it'll never happen. At the end of the day Tsunade-sama will never agree to it. You just have to pretend to submit to his demands, it'll get hacked down further down the road."
"Have you guys ever had to deal with this?" Sakura raised an eyebrow; they seemed to know much about it.
"We've had formal meetings with potential suitors on behest of the Daimyo and our fathers before." Ino nodded. "In fact they damn near tried to set me up with Shikamaru." She snickered, pointing at said nin who was walking alongside her. Sakura's nose crinkled in slight disgust at the thought; that was like Ino dating her brother. They'd known each other since they were in diapers; any sort of romantic entanglement would just prove weird. "I know." Ino laughed, agreeing with Sakura's blatant disgust.
"Still," Shikamaru spoke up suddenly, completely disregarding the fact that they made him sound like last month's dinner, "there is a notable difference here that we should take into account. We are dealing with the Haruno and Uchiha lines respectively. The Haruno have a handful of people who could potentially wed; the Uchiha have four, and Saki's far from being at a courting age, and Itachi-san is well... under extenuating circumstances. The need for you two to partner, wed, and procreate is intrinsically tied to the power balance and stability of Konoha; ours is more pertinent to remaining Clan Heads. Given this, it's important we differentiate that our situation does not at all reflect Sakura's, or Sasuke's." he reasoned out calmly. "Despite the wonderful threat of Mikoto-sama protecting the both of you, I would not be surprised in the slightest to hear there will be pressure put on you both."
Sakura and Sasuke remained quiet, listening to Shikamaru's as-always correct summation. "What does that mean, then?" Sakura asked.
"It would mean, despite her reluctance to do so, Tsunade-sama probably has to allow some potential suitors to make their way to the both of you, if only because doing otherwise would show favoritism and could be seen as an act disfavoring the future of Konoha. And regarding Mikoto-sama, the Daimyo will have to make sure to treat carefully and not step on her toes. I'm sure he understands that above all, the Hyuga, Yamanaka, Nara, and Uchiha have become quite close over the years. It is a reasonable assumption to make that the Daimyo will not have the support of the noble clans to put pressure on you guys."
-And showing favoritism, especially now with Danzo looming in the background waiting for any and all opportunities for Tsunade to screw up, could land Tsunade in a precarious situation. Without Tsunade at the helm, who was to say what would happen to Itachi? To Mikoto, and to the relationships they had been building with the foreign nations? Kami knew Danzo had always frowned upon creating ties with them; he saw it as a sign of weakness.
The truth dawned on both Sasuke and Sakura at around the same time. They were doomed to the harassment that was the Daimyo, and whoever else that entailed.
"Look on the bright side," Chouji spoke up, from between munches of his chips, "The Daimyo can pick potential suitors, but only you can accept them. If you continually say no, he'll eventually run out of people to pair you with. And this'll give you the time you need to find your own partner." Chouji smiled his as-always goofy smile.
"True... however, at the snail's pace both of these move, they may be better off just marrying each other." Ino snorted. "At the very least you guys already live together; nothing will change."
Almost immediately, Sakura's face flushed with indignant refusal, and Sasuke flashed her a wicked glare. "I'd rather die." they spoke in unison.
"Whoa that's harsh, especially from you Sakura." Ino snickered. Considering they had at one point in time both fought for the affections of Sasuke, she couldn't understand it. Then again, she supposed things had changed a lot since Sakura had shared her home with the Uchiha family.
Sakura merely rolled her eyes at the Pig's chortle. She would not entertain her long-time friend trying to subtly hint that her and Sasuke should be together -because no, they shouldn't. Maybe the Sakura that had grown up in this timeline has similarly grown affections towards the nin, but the same could not be said for the very same Sakura that had traversed time and space; she could not blame Ino for not knowing her change in feelings.
"Y'know, I really don't like the Daimyo. Let's get out of here -Naruto will get a kick out of hearing what transpired today."
Sasuke scoffed in response. "You can say that again."
And although he would not admit it here, in front of everyone, perhaps in a more private setting he would let Sakura know that he (and Naruto) would stand up against any and all men who even so much as breathed in her direction, if it wasn't his nii-san. For himself, he didn't quite care; he could handle whatever the Daimyo tossed his way, because if he didn't want to pursue anyone, everyone would certainly stay out of his way. But Sakura? She was kind, warm, and likeable. People swarmed to her like moths to a flame -really it was quite nauseating how well liked she was. And perhaps worst of all, she was simply too nice to say no, even at her own expense. So he, and Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei, and whoever else he could commission, would be the wall to keep away whoever the Daimyo chose to send Sakura's way.
End of Chapter
Didn't spend too much time revising, so if anyone sees any typos let me know. Hope you all enjoy the new content. I did also post a new revised chapter in SNP (Ch. 26), so don't forget to check it out.
I estimate that next chapter, we will once more see Kisame, so stay tuned for that.
