Daimyô !

He was one of the most powerful beings that ever existed. He was one of those beings with the mention of fleeing on sight in the bingo book. He had changed the face of the world and the way it worked. He had razed cities and armies to the ground and his name was feared by all. So it was normal to feel small in front of this person.

— "Uchiha-dono, let me introduce you to those who in the future will work for this cause you and I are aiming for," Hashuba began before turning his arm towards Suzuki. "I believe you have already met my right-hand man Suzuki."

The designated one nodded respectfully in Madara's direction after he was introduced.

— "Indeed, your reputation precedes you Suzuki-san," Madara replied neutrally.

— "It is an honor to know that the great Uchiha Madara has heard of me," Suzuki added with a slight smile on his face.

— "To my left is Rômaji-sama," Hashuba continued, this time pointing to a man wearing a white kimono with yellow stripes down the neck. In his hand was a stick that was probably used as a stand. "He is, in my opinion, the wisest person among us and a close friend of the family."

Rômaji nodded very slightly, which was understandable given his age. The old man stroked his beard and seemed to be already thinking of a thousand and one possible scenarios because of this meeting with the famous Uchiha.

— "I must admit that I'm still having trouble getting used to the idea that you're still alive, Uchiha-dono," said the old man, who had done a lot of research on the battle of the shinobi gods at the Valley of the End.

— "Then that makes two of us, Rômaji-sama," Madara replied, aware that if it weren't for Sakura he would have been dead long ago. The dark-haired man didn't dwell on this memory as the Daimyô introduced another member of the council : they were introduced in order of importance.

— "This is Taisho Nakamura, it is thanks to him that we were able to finance the bulk of the expeditions," said the Daimyô, pointing to a hard-faced man. He was soberly dressed but had the build of someone who worked in business. And he must have been very rich to have started the project without Sakura's funds.

— "I must say you have a most loyal Daimyô-dono here, few men would agree to invest part of their fortune without some guarantee in return," Madara remarked as he stared at the man named Taisho, who greatly appreciated the concealed compliment. For yes, in politics, it was all about manipulation and the use of words.

— "Uchiha-dono," Taisho bowed.

— "Then we have Riku Koyabashi, who without him we would not have succeeded in establishing the foundations of Ta No Kuni," Hashuba explained, pointing to a man nearing fifty. He had a goatee and half his head was bald. He wore a kimono in shades of green and purple, his posture showed a person of nobility.

— "Tell me Koyabashi," Madara began without using an honorific suffix. "What could have caused a man like you to choose Hashuba Shôta over another during the Muromachi Wars ?"

It was a hidden accusation, showing that Madara was suspicious of this man. He was a nobleman, and very often nobles were just after power. If he was outraged by the accusation he showed nothing and instead remained in control of his emotions.

— "Between three fools, I preferred to join the one who wished to bring prosperity to my homeland," Riku answered wisely, and this answer seemed to suit Madara who inclined his head slightly in his direction.

— "You are not like other nobles I have met in my life Koyabashi-san," the clan leader continued, this time adding a suffix of respect.

— "I'm trying, Uchiha-dono," the noble bowed his head.

— "This is my son, Daiki Shôta," Hashuba pointed to a rather handsome man in his twenties, who bowed lower than his fellows. He might be the son of a Daimyô, but he was not the Daimyô himself and had to respect his superiors. He was dressed in a purple and orange kimono. "Unfortunately, he did not inherit my talent for fighting, but he knows how to manipulate numbers like no one else."

This remark slightly lightened the mood of the room and a slight smile appeared on several faces, including Madara's. Which was a good sign for the council.

— "Uchiha-dono," the son of the Daimyô said in a very respectful voice. However, Madara noticed that all along he had been casting discreet glances in Sakura's direction. It was understandable at the same time, if Madara demanded such respect from her, she must be one of a kind, and therefore of interest.

—" This is Tsubasa, he is the biggest rice producer in the country. We owe our neutral status to him and his production," said Hashuba, pointing to a rather strong man. He was dressed in the most basic of clothes, even though he was wearing a kimono you could tell he was a man who was used to working in the fields.

— "Uchiha-dono," Tsubana said, bowing low. He was not a nobleman, he was just a man who was successful in business and stood out from the rest by his success.

— "And this is Tanaka, my personal secretary," said Hashuba, pointing to a man who stood a little way off.

— "It is a great honor to meet you in real Uchiha-dono," the secretary said, bowing low as well. He seemed very impressed to be in her presence.

All the while, Sakura had been analyzing the little political game that was going on. She had taken note of the two people in the room who were not to be insulted and who were to be shown the utmost respect by Madara's use of the suffixes -dono and-sama. Suzuki also seemed important to Madara, probably because of his past deeds. So did Riku Koyabashi, who after a threat had earned a modicum of respect from Madara. However, this was not the case for Taisho, even though he received a compliment from the dark-haired man.

— "Gentlemen, I present to you Haruno Sakura," Madara pointed his arm in the direction of the young woman who gently bowed her head. Only Suzuki didn't seem surprised by this announcement, he had seen what this woman was capable of. Especially since it had seemed like nothing at all to her.

— "So the great Madara owes his life to a simple woman ?" Rômaji said skeptically. After all, the clan leader had a reputation for denigrating the female gender.

— "Not just any woman, Romaji-sama," Suzuki defended Madara. "On our return trip, she was able to show extraordinary abilities."

This drew even more eyes to Sakura, as well as curiosity.

— "What kind of ability ?" Daiki asked, never taking his eyes off the young woman's face. He was becoming more and more intrigued by this woman who at first glance was very beautiful.

— "Art Shinobi," Madara answered immediately before Suzuki had time to respond. It was quite disturbing for Sakura to be the centre of the conversation and be talked about as if she wasn't there. "Nevertheless, could we start this Daimyô-dono meeting."

— "Absolutely !" Hashuba agreed, giving everyone permission to sit down. Cushions were set around a low rectangular table. "Well, Uchiha-dono, why don't you tell us in more detail exactly what you are proposing."

— "The unification of the elemental nations under one banner : ours," Madara explained smoothly.

— "That sounds like a plan of conquest by force," Suzuki remarked before pouring himself a large cup of tea. After such a journey, it would do him a world of good.

— "Not exactly," Madara said before turning his face to Sakura. He'd been reluctant to accept Sakura's plan for a long time, but since she'd saved his life, he agreed to bring peace in his own way... for now. Madara held out his hand to the young woman and gave an authorization that had never been given in a war council before. "Explain Sakura-san to them."

Giving a woman the right to participate in this kind of meeting was very rare, but giving a woman an equal say was unheard of.

— "Arigato Uchiha-dono," Sakura began, practicing protocol. "The era we are living in is only temporary, not everyone has your vision of the Daimyô-dono life : a life of calm and prosperity. Because of the newly established system, we are heading for a different kind of war."

— "What could be worse than what we have known ?" Asked Riku, who had sacrificed a lot for the country to unite.

— "A world-wide war, Koyabashi-san," Sakura answered calmly and seriously. "As Uchiha-dono pointed out to you earlier, you chose Daimyô-dono because you wanted the prosperity of your homeland. But how many people think like you ? Hardly any, so how long will it be before the rulers finally take an interest in their neighbours to expand their territory ?"

There was a long silence as everyone absorbed the young woman's words, which were unfortunately full of truth.

— "The leaders of other nations have more than dubious reputations. After all, power is created on the blood of our victims. It is the victors who write history, and many of those victors are far from being choirboys," Sakura added under Madara's watchful gaze as he found her to be an amazing woman in many ways. "And unfortunately, the onset of war is closer than we think."

— "Do you have any proof of what you are saying Haruno-dono ?" Taisho asked, using the form of respect Madara imposed on this woman : that of clan leader.

— "Like Uchiha-dono, I am a shinobi and information gathering is one of my specialties," Sakura explained as she looked each council member in the eye. "I'm a woman, and a hundred percent of the time, people won't be suspicious of what a woman is capable of. So I managed to get the right information from the right people."

— "Do you mean...," Daiki began and immediately thought of sexual methods, but was directly interrupted by Sakura.

— "That I slit a lot of throats to get this information," Sakura cut in with a bit of harshness in her tone. She was making it clear that she was probably of Madara Uchiha's caliber and at the same time she didn't appreciate Daiki's hint.

— "What is this information you have gathered ?" Rômaji asked, still stroking his beard.

— "Since Hashirama Senju's disappearance, troop movements have been seen in several countries. The excuse of military training has been used to cover our tracks, but exchanges have indeed taken place and the noose is slowly beginning to tighten," Sakura said before grabbing the tea set next to her.

The young doctor was in a very awkward situation, for in front of her were patriarchal men : they were in this room because they had fought for this honour. They had already proven themselves and to see a woman who had earned the respect of the famous Uchiha Madara was more than a little disconcerting. He himself had a reputation for being uncompromising when it came to women's place in the world. So Sakura had to play a subtle game and put her intelligence to the test. She had to show that she was a dangerous, powerful person, but without appearing superior to them. So, while talking to the others she poured herself a cup of tea in the female way.

— "Which countries will be involved ?" Suzuki asked before drinking her own cup of hot tea.

— "Probably all the big countries and their vassals," Sakura answered before turning her head towards Madara. "Uchiha-dono tea ?"

— "Hai," Madara replied.

With that simple gesture, Sakura had just shown deference to Madara and supported the fact that he was dominating her. Even if it was just an act, the others around the table didn't need to know about it yet.

— "Do you think we will be affected by this upcoming war ?" Asked the Daimyô this time.

— "If we don't do anything, yes," Madara confirmed, grabbing the cup of tea Sakura had handed him.

— "You must manage to keep your position as a neutral country at all costs, Daimyô-dono," Sakura added.

— "Why is that ?" Hashuba asked.

— "Because it's this world war that's going to make us powerful," Sakura answered with certainty.

— "How so ? Because excuse me Uchiha-dono, but as powerful as you are, it's not two people that are going to make our country a world power," Suzuki interjected, not seeing how they were going to become powerful by doing nothing.

— "What do you think the victims of the war will do knowing that there is a country where there is no war ?" Madara asked the assembly. "They will come and ask for asylum."

— "Of course we don't intend to wait quietly for them to come to us," Sakura added after Madara. "We intend, Uchiha-dono and I, to scour the battlefields and rally as many people as possible to our cause."

— "Hence the reason to start building so many new residences," Taisho said to himself, stroking his jaw in thought.

— "Right, but it won't just be civilians, we expect to gather shinobi, as well as entire clans," Sakura explained, taking a sip of her tea, which she had to admit was good.

— "Why would they join us ? What will make them loyal to us ?" Asked Riku Koyabashi.

— "Because they will all have something in common, they will be victims of the war. We will have saved them from death, we will have offered them a new home, a place to live, to work, to have a family away from war and misery," Sakura said passionately, letting her heart speak. "When a human being is at his lowest ebb, he'll grab any hand that's offered to put him out of his misery... it's the same principle as handing a piece of meat to a starving animal, after a while he'll let himself be stroked. And when it's Uchiha Madara himself who comes to protect you, you can only trust him."

— "Buying so many resources from other countries had a double purpose. To weaken them and to allow us to secretly take in people," Madara added, placing his empty cup on the table.

— "That's a dangerously knowledgeable person you have there, Uchiha-dono," said Hashuba, who couldn't refute the fact that she knew what she was talking about.

— "Oh believe me, she's not only dangerous in that area Daimyô-dono," Madara replied and that simple sentence sparked a soft laughter in the room. Inwardly Sakura was proud of herself, for if the attitude relaxed despite the fact that she was a woman, it was half-won.

— "How do you plan to finance such a project Uchiha-dono ?" Taisho Nakamura asked, knowing that wars are expensive, very expensive.

— "The information I'm about to give you is vital... or rather, the knowledge of this information alone is worth a fortune on the scale of the elemental nations," Madara began, suddenly having the attention of everyone in the room. Even the guards posted at each corner had been listening the whole time. It wasn't every day that you witnessed the beginnings of world peace. "And if anyone ever mentions this information outside this room, I will kill them without restraint."

The end of the sentence was said harshly as Madara let out a little bit of his killing intent into the room. Only Sakura and the Daimyô were not affected.

— "We understand, Uchiha-dono," Hashuba said after a few seconds as he saw the others become uncomfortable.

— "Sakura-san," Madara called as he turned to the woman in question who raised her arm above the table, palm down. Once she had everyone's attention she flashed a steady stream of coins for about ten seconds. She poured a hundred gold coins onto the table without stopping, as the council watched in amazement.

— "I could go on creating money for hours... no... for days," Sakura said, looking at the stunned men, most of whom had their mouths open. "I would like to add something else to Uchiha-dono's threat. Because of this skill, I am the richest person in all the elemental nations, so I will tell you this : If you ever intend to betray Uchiha-dono and myself for money, know that I will always pay more."

Madara wondered once again who this woman by his side really was. He had never met a female person like her. She was showing great intelligence at the moment.

She had all the qualities of a woman, beauty, being a housewife, but also the strength and skills of a man. Madara thought that he would probably be the only one to speak during this meeting, thinking that Sakura would be too impressed to react... but no. She was at ease, confident and even managed to make subtle threats. It was as if she had been doing this all her life.

Madara could see that her attitude was totally different from when it was just the two of them. He felt very lucky to know the other side of Sakura and couldn't help but find her even more attractive.

— "How ?" Taisho finally asked with his eyes as big as saucers.

— "I won't reveal that information."

— "Consider it payback for your investment Taisho Nakamura, for blindly supporting your Daimyô."

Upon hearing these words, Tanaka, who had only been writing down the conversation from the beginning, hurriedly got up with an empty box to fill it with the gold coins generated by Sakura.

— "I can see now why you place so much importance on her, Uchiha-dono," Rômaji remarked.

Madara said nothing at this remark, but after a moment he used his one good arm to shift his kimono. He revealed a small portion of his torso, showing those in front of him two large, slightly pink scars that stood out from the rest of his pale skin.

— "Let's just say that's not the main reason she has my respect, Rômaji-sama," Madara admitted, showing everyone why he was still alive. This woman was also a doctor, and probably a very good one at that, given the location of the two scars. After a moment Madara put his Kimono back on, hiding both scars.

— "A female doctor."

— "Hai, Daimyô-dono," Sakura replied, trying to keep her sense of pride contained. Since the beginning of the meeting, Madara had been nothing but praise for her, defending her and practically putting her on equal footing with him.

— "It's true that with an unlimited investment it changes a lot, Daimyô-dono," Tsubasa intervened for the first time.

— "I agree Tsubasa, the possibilities for Ta No Kuni are also endless," Hashuba confirmed, still struggling to manage the news. "You keep your commitments, Uchiha-dono, we have begun ours, what do you advise for the future ?"

— "Continue what you are doing for the moment, make reserves and above all hide them. Continue building new homes for the future victims of the war," Madara stated seriously. "It won't be long before you'll probably be canvassed to join a camp, you must keep your neutrality at all costs, even if it means paying for it."

— "Convincing the Land of Fire shouldn't be a problem," Suzuki intervened.

— "Why is that, Suzuki-san ?" Madara asked.

— "During my expedition to Konoha No Sato, I used the excuse that our crops had been affected by a disease, drastically reducing our reserves for the coming winter. You understand that with little food, we will not be able to contribute to a war effort," Suzuki explained before pulling out some numbers. "Moreover, we have no shinobi forces, our army does not exceed a thousand men for the entire country. Sure, it's still a thousand men, but a well-trained shinobi would make short work of our army."

— "Your argument stands, Suzuki-san, I still say you took a big risk by going directly to Konoha," the clan leader added.

— "He has always been a risk-taker when it comes to strategy," said Rômaji, remembering the old battle led by Suzuki. "A word of advice, Uchiha-dono, if you were to face him in the shoji, be careful."

— "Once war is declared, what should we do ?" Asked Daiki who had remained silent after being gently put in his place by Sakura.

— "Have you made any purchases of wood and stones ?" Madara asked, turning his gaze to the young man.

— "Yes, thanks to Rômaji-sama we managed to get some agreements with the land of lightning to have a constant supply of stone and another agreement was also made with a sawmill in the land of fire," Daiki answered as he read some scrolls placed in front of him.

— "We will have to start building a great wall for the capital. From what I've seen, your city is strategically located so that it can only be attacked from one side," said Madara, who on his way here had seen that the city was very well positioned. It was on the side of a mountain in a huge valley several kilometres long. There were many hills along this valley and you could only besiege this town from one side. This will not be seen as an aggression because a world war will have broken out... it will only be seen as prevention.

— "You want to make this city a stronghold, right ?" Suzuki asked.

— "Exactly, because hundreds... well, thousands of people will be pouring in because of the war, we have to be prepared to defend them in the future," Madara admitted.

— "I think we're going to have to set up a new father administrative system," Daiki said, realizing the workload ahead.

— "Why is that ?"

— "If thousands of potential workers come in, we'll have to manage them to find out what they're best at. The city will become an ever-changing anthill," Daiki explained seriously. "What would normally take us decades to do will probably take us a year at most."

— "The world begets the world," added Rômaji wisely.

— "Now I understand why you have your son as a Daimyô-dono advisor," Madara complimented, unable to take away the fact that his son had a sharp mind. "Nevertheless, your son is right and I advise you to put several architects on the project in order to have something impregnable."

— "Do you think that the war will still come here ?" Suzuki asked more out of confirmation than out of genuine questioning.

— "It's prevention for us and a warning against possible enemies. Because the world will think twice before breaking against a city that can hold its own against entire armies," explained the shinobi, who knew that the more powerful an opponent became, the more alliances were made against him.

— "What will you do if the shinobi come after us ?" Asked Tsubasa, who had never seen shinobi in action, but had heard the legends about them.

—" A more advanced military system will have to be put in place. Entire clans from the minor countries will flee their homes because of the war. None of them will have the guts to say anything because we will offer them sanctuary, but also because I will be the one to offer that sanctuary."

— "And your reputation precedes you Uchiha-dono," Hashuba added, having heard of clans being destroyed because they had not kept their commitments to Madara Uchiha.

— "Know one thing Daimyô-dono, for the time being my presence will be required in many different places and even more so when war is declared. But take note that we will have to review the way we govern together," Madara blurted out in a crude manner. "I'm not talking about removing you from your position as Daimyô, quite the opposite, but if we achieve what Sakura-san and I want, a new and more sophisticated system of governance will have to be put in place. For unfortunately, corruption and power scar the mind, and there is no way that I will see all these efforts go to waste for the sake of trifles."

— "Will it endanger our positions ?" Asked Riku, who, as a noble, was not very fond of giving up his position to anyone.

— "No, it won't."

— "Could you give me an example of the type of hierarchy you would set up, Uchiha-dono," Hashuba demanded curiously.

— "Power divided in two. A Daimyô for all administrative matters, nobility and management of the country. A Kage, to manage all that concerns the military aspect, shinobi and their respective clans. These two people would have power over the country, and would in turn be advised by a triumvirate that brings the two parties together," Madara revealed using figurines placed at his disposal on the council table. "Two men or even five cannot run an empire as we see it. So this same triumvirate will in turn be advised by a larger council. This will allow for a better balance of power and above all a better control. But this would not only be for the management of such an empire, it is especially that we will not be eternal Daimyô-dono and the next generation will perhaps be venal. So this system allows us to elect internally the future leaders... those who will have our vision of peace !"

Sakura could no longer be mistaken as she watched Madara speak with such passion. The Rikudô Sennin was right about this man, he wanted world peace more than anything. If she wasn't in such a place, she would shed a tear at the man Madara had become. Unless he had always been like this, but no one had taken the time to really know him.

— "You seem to have given the matter some thought, Uchiha-dono," Rômaji said with great concentration.

— "Let's just say I'm learning from my mistakes, Rômaji-sama," Madara replied, lowering his eyes ever so slightly as he thought about his past mistakes.

— "Mistakes ?" Romaji asked.

— "Konoha was a mistake on my part, it cost me my entire clan and almost cost me my life." There was a silence in the council chamber, for Madara very rarely admitted that he had made a mistake. "Do you have any demands of me Daimyô-dono ?"

— "You have already fulfilled it by making a blood signature," Hashuba replied immediately, knowing by now that Madara was serious about his ambitions.

— "I will have one last demand, or rather my friend here will have one," Madara added.

— "We're listening," Hashuba said, looking at the young woman in front of him. If she had asked for something on her own, she would have gotten nothing, but this request also came from Madara.

— "I would like you to set up a building dedicated to medicine and healing. Unfortunately a lot of people die because this path is not developed enough, so I would like to see such a place set up and training offered," Sakura said before conjuring up a small stack of books in a smoking pouf and placing them on the table. "These books are unique in the world and will change the way lives are saved in your country."

Tanaka rose once more to pick up the four stacked books before presenting them to her Daimyô, who looked at each cover.

— "If I didn't have the evidence before my eyes of what you did to Uchiha-dono, I would have refused," Hashuba said after a moment. "But I am willing to be generous."

— "Arigato Daimyô-dono. Could you allow women to attend this training as well," Sakura thanked, bowing her head.

— "Why ?" Demanded the Daimyô, who did not understand why he should include women in such a program.

— "Every living thing is made up of chakra, women by nature have less chakra than a man. The less chakra you have the more precise you are with it," Sakura explained before conjuring a kunai in a puff of smoke. The four guards and Suzuki immediately put their hands to their swords at such a gesture. However, Sakura ignored this and raised her other arm before making a large cut. She placed the bloody weapon back on the table before activating her Iryô Ninjutsu.

With a soft green glow, the wide slash slowly closed before the astonished eyes of the audience. Then after a moment, the wound was gone, the skin was perfectly smooth as if it had never suffered anything.

— "A properly trained person can do what I did... but women, because of their condition of having less chakra will always be better at something like this," Sakura finished as she wiped the blood off her arm. Madara had the answer to one of her questions at the same time : she didn't have Kekkei Genkai, it was just a different chakra manipulation.

— "I take it you don't expect to part with such a rare gem Uchiha-dono ?" Hashuba asked after seeing such talent.

Having a doctor with that kind of power to survive was very appealing.

— "If you're talking about marrying her off, I'm totally against it," Madara said bluntly, which disappointed Daiki immensely, who was becoming more and more interested in this woman.

— "Well, I think this meeting is over," Hashuba finally concluded. "Will you stay for dinner with us tonight ?"

It was an invitation that could not be refused, unless one wanted to insult one's host.

— "I'd love to."