Ch 1: Age to kill, age to marry.
The sun was at its highest point, the sky was clear and the wind was calm, too calm, it was an omen that something would change and that is precisely what was about to happen.
The Sunagakure council was gathered, looking at each other with concern and low spirits, no one seemed to have slept well in the last few days, especially the one leading this meeting, a tired-looking old man who was no more than the advisor of the kazekage, if the latter were alive.
- We have been deceived, we have lost valuable troops, we lost our Kage, we lost the trust of our Daimyo... we can only ask for forgiveness and try to rebuild our alliance with Konoha... - The old man's voice was only sorrowful.
- And even if we tried there's no guarantee that Konoha would accept our apology, in fact... Who's to say they're not preparing an attack on Suna? -said the honorable old lady puppeteer.
The room was in an almost sepulchral silence, it was true, there were no guarantees, even if they literally knelt before the new Hokage and her council it was totally uncertain that they would be forgiven... they would have to deliver the Village on a silver platter for this, Konoha may not be in its best moment but they are still strong enough to wipe out Suna if they set their minds to it and even more in the current state of the Village, they had lost hundreds of troops, while Konoha only a few dozen at most...
- Honestly... There are ways to ask for forgiveness... but many would only make us look weak and pathetic. I can only think of one way and it is perhaps the oldest way that exists between villages to ask for alliances and forgiveness - said one of the other councilors.
As old as civilization, an arranged marriage was undoubtedly the most common way for villages and towns to find an alliance or in this case to ask forgiveness from the winning village.
- That... can be useful if we put certain requirements to Konoha... not too strict or it will be seen as an offense... after all we were the biggest losers of this attack, what requirements should we ask for? -said the Elder.
- On our side I think everyone knows whose hand we should offer, our princess is our best choice, but who would be the husband? We can't ask for anything bold like the last Uchiha, I don't think the Hyuga clan would agree to have ties with a village that "let itself be manipulated", that would be dishonorable in their eyes, the other clans might hold a grudge against us for having lost members because of the invasion - Said the kage's advisor.
- I would say our best option would be a ninja with some renown... but I'm worried about one thing... usually renown comes from time served..." said a clan leader.
-That would mean marrying a grown man to a girl ... -A clan leader mentioned.
- That's very shady even by ninja standards, our lives are usually short, but we can't let children and adults get married over things like this, besides, if we want this to work it would be wise if Temari-san can get along better with someone close or equal in age," said the Elder Puppet Master.
Adults married with children, this practice was too questionable and was born out of the need to find an heir as quickly as possible or, failing that, because there was no one else suitable for such a marriage.
- That leaves us with few options or in the worst case, none at all... Unless..." said the old counselor thoughtfully.
The Elder had an idea, risky, but possibly his best option. He had read the report of what happened in the attack and knew that someone had defeated Shukaku and changed Gaara's mentality, someone who could do that had to be very skilled and good at understanding people.
- Who was the one who defeated Gaara when he released Shukaku? - The old man said seriously, looking at an assistant Jounin.
- As far as we know sir, the Genin Uzumaki Naruto was the one who defeated him. According to our sources, he is a young recent graduate of the Academy, he has just presented his first attempt at the Chunnin exams in which he defeated Hyuuga Neji who is the current prodigy of his clan.
Chiyo may have been an old woman who has seen a lot in her life, one of the few Ninjas who have lived to old age, a woman who is no longer easily surprised, but, hearing the name Uzumaki made her tired, old mind shoot a million miles an hour.
- By any chance... Does that young man have blood red hair? -said the elder Chiyo with visible astonishment.
- No ma'am, your hair is blond," said the Jounin handing her a picture of the genin.
The face in that photo made the already startled Chiyo open her eyes and smile in a way that left the other council members bewildered.
For Chiyo it was so obvious when looking at the face of that boy, it was undoubtedly the son of the yellow flash, it was almost a carbon copy, it differentiated him that rounder face and that particular whiskers. Uzumaki Naruto? Unless... If it has logic, I knew that the Fourth Hokage was knowledgeable of Fuinjutsu Uzumaki, I knew he was related to the Uzumaki Princess... So this is the son of the Fourth and the Bloody Havanese... A clan heir without his clan... it's... Perfect.
-Tell me, is this young man an orphan? -said the anchorwoman with an excited smile.
- As far as we know, we don't know who their parents are," said the Jounin a little nervously.
- Sato-san, we have just found the perfect candidate who can assure us that we will have ties with someone very important.
Everyone in the council was confused and shocked that the honorable old lady was acting and talking so animatedly about an orphan boy.
- Chiyo, what makes you say that? -asked the councilor Elder.
- Look at this picture, doesn't it remind you of a certain blond too smart for his own good? -said the old woman, showing the picture of the young man.
The councilman simply looked and almost instantly took the photo from the old woman's hand, this looking more and more at the photo was almost moot as to why Chiyo of all people would be excited, he himself just understood the reasoning just by looking at the boy's face.
- Oh Chiyo... You are a cunning old woman, now, we already have the one who will be the husband, but we need the requirements. -said Councilman Sato.
The Wind was blowing in the cold desert night.
The silence was almost total.
The perfect time to look at the sky and let your mind free to think about everything and nothing.
Temari simply wanted to be alone so she could process everything, her father had been killed, her brother had gotten out of control... she was defeated by a lazy asshole...
The worst thing was that, even if they didn't tell her, her position as "princess" of Suna was obvious that she would end up being part of some political movement of Suna with Konoha, it seemed logical to her to be some kind of ambassador that would promote peace in Konoha, maybe they would make her stay there permanently to be part of the ranks of Konoha, She did not want to rule out arranged marriage, but she saw it as not very viable with the way things were going, many clans lost members, the emo Uchiha was too pretentious, and she was sure that there was no one who was not from a clan that had the prestige to be married to the daughter of a Kage and possibly the best Kunoichi of Suna.
Sitting there looking at the night scenery, I was able to be calm enough to put my mind to everything.
I just wanted everything to be better for him from now on.
And with that thought the kunoichi fell asleep leaning against the window.
If Temari hated anything, it was being woken up too early, yes, she knew it was inevitable if she was on a mission or it was something important, and gods know this time at least it was something important and not another time Kakuro waking her up because he forgot how to turn the stove back on.
Right now she was a bit irritated and quite sleepy but still she was going straight to the Suna council room, they had summoned her too early for her taste, hell, they didn't even bother to wait for the sun to fully rise.
- I hope this is worth my hours of sleep... - Said the young Kunoichi irritated to proceed to enter.
The sight that greeted her was somewhat... curious, before her stood the counselor and the honorable elder Chiyo, it was rare, but not unusual for these two people to be present right now.
- Sato-san, Chiyo-san, you wanted to talk to me? -said the blonde in a bow.
-Good morning, Temari. Yes, we have summoned you to talk about something extremely important for the future of the village," said the old man looking seriously at the young woman.
- What you are about to hear may not be to your liking, but I will stress that this is for the good of the Village and if it were not for the invasion and defeat, we would have no reason to do this.
Yes... It was what she expected, it is almost certain that now she will work as the ambassador in Konoha and try to make Konoha feel satisfied with the submission of Suna... there are worse jobs, at least she will get rid of the heat of the desert, although on the bad side she will stop seeing her brothers often... a hard price to pay for peace and for her people to stand on their feet.
- After days of discussion and searching, the Suna Council has decided that Sabaku No Temari will enter into a political marriage with a Shinobi from Konoha in order to raise a new alliance with Konoha and show our submission to the winning village. - Said the old man looking seriously at the girl.
The world could easily have stopped.
Her? Marrying someone she didn't know?
Yes... maybe some of this was partly expected, but honestly no one is prepared to be told something like this out of the blue, maybe yes, her position as the Kage's daughter and most promising kunoichi put her as the best choice for an arranged marriage, but that didn't make the impact that her life will now have to be lived with a man she doesn't know and maybe in the worst case scenario, treat her like a trophy wife.
Like every girl she hoped one day to marry who she believed was the right person, not to have someone imposed on her, plus now she would have to stay almost all the time in Konoha.
I could only swallow bitterly, take a deep breath and move on, and so with a bow.
- I accept for the sake of the village - Said the young woman using the bow as a way to hide her teary eyes.
The two elders nodded their heads as a twinge of guilt gnawed at them, they had to practically tell a young girl to give up her future for the good of her people, something that is not easy for anyone with any morals to do, especially knowing that she was practically a child being asked to do so.
The girl looked firmly and teary-eyed at the elders in front of her.
- W-who will be my fiancé?
Waiting for someone at least decent.
-NARUTO?!
It was the cry that was heard throughout the Hokage tower, more than one ANBU stood on full alert waiting for an attack after such a cry that left many bewildered. The scream was not from anyone but Senju Tsunade, the Quitan Hokage who took her position only 3 days ago, 3 days that made it clear that from now on her life will have many headaches that will not be produced by alcohol, hell, she preferred the hangover to having to deal with the paperwork.
Currently in his hands he had nothing more and nothing less than the alliance treaty proposed by Sunagakure, some requirements for both parties that sincerely analyzing them was a lot to gain for Konoha and on the other hand... the cherry on the cake, a marriage proposal arranged with the Daughter of the Kazekage and the most promising Kunoichi of Suna... the deal was too good to be true... and it was until he saw who they were asking to be the fiancé.
- Why on earth did they ask Naruto of all people? -said the older woman.
- Maybe it's because he was the one who defeated the ichibi? -said Shizune, the loyal assistant.
- Yes... I think I can see the reasoning... Naruto defeated the one who was supposed to be the ace in the hole of suna... They would have assumed that many clans would reject such a proposal... The council would say that the last Uchiha would be too good for them... renown is the only thing they would have left, but...
- Naruto is the only one who would fit for the position... if we go by that way of thinking, Tsunade-sama," the assistant said with mild astonishment.
- pitifully, yes, but still, why be sure about Naruto? I mean, they could have asked directly and thus be sure of the part of the clans or see if some other young man was suitable. -Said the blonde thoughtfully.
A gentle breeze told Tsunade something quite important.
-Tell me, what do you think about this... Jiraya," said the blonde woman looking to her right.
Tall, older, white hair, kabuki suit. Jiraya was staring at the ground thoughtfully, processing everything.
- Hime, something smells like a cat in the bag... Suna knows something else, something that tells them that, even though they are handing themselves to us on a silver platter, they are still earning something good enough... tell me, any closure that says something about an heir? Seriousness showed on the man's face.
The woman read the document again and...
- Yes, there is a closure that indicates that the first-born of the couple will be an emissary between the villages and that he can take missions from any of the villages if he is present in them... - Summarized the blonde.
- Now it makes sense... they somehow know about Naruto's heritage, or, at least they believe enough to risk it... yes... I think Suna is doing us a favor, Hime - A smile appeared on the man's face.
Jiraya's tone told the women that the avowed pervert had come up with something.
- Jiraya, what the hell did you come up with? -questioned the Hokage.
- Naruto has lived alone and without knowing anything about his family all his life because of the law that Sensei created, he forbade me to take the boy under my protection with the excuse that I could not leave behind my spy network to focus on taking care of the boy, besides, the council and above all ...Danzo, want Naruto to be nothing more than a weapon for the people.
- I think I know what you're getting at... go on -said the blonde, listening attentively.
- Well, the point is, Sensei would tell Naruto everything when he turns 16 and/or ascends to Chunnin, the fact that Suna wants Naruto as a Fiancé makes me think... In the eyes of the law, upon marriage, Naruto will be considered a full adult, he will be fully entitled to receive all his inheritance and know the whole truth... or do you expect the boy to have his wife living in a crumbling apartment in the red-light district of the village? -A sly smile was on the veteran's face.
-Damn it, Jiraya, with that mind you're the one who should be the Hokage... but yes, he's right and... I was considering promoting him to Chunnin anyway, the one who has learned the Rasengan, the one who can summon the Toad Boss and defeat the Ichibi, tell me Jiraya, how can I not promote him to Chunnin? -said the blonde woman with another sly smile.
- I guess age to kill is age to marry," said a jet-haired woman somewhat distracted from the conversation...