Naruto and Sakura were greeted with a veritable storm of flash photography as they strode into the banquet hall arm in arm.
"Her Ladyship the Sixth Hokage, Manyū Sakura, and her betrothed, Uzumaki Naruto, hero of the Hidden Leaf!"
Naruto flinched, but Sakura pulled him forwards, her hips swaying from side to side and revealing flashes of her thighs through the slits in her dress as she strode purposefully towards the centre of the ballroom, where the new Daimyō and his entourage were being regaled with old war stories by the First Hokage. The Third Hokage was there as well, listening intently from his wheelchair, as was Jiraiya, who was busy entertaining a gaggle of young, pretty noblewomen nearby.
Sakura's eyes drifted to the Fire Daimyō, dressed in his ceremonial imperial court robes… and standing tall at a mere 130 cm. He couldn't be older than eight, nine or ten at the maximum.
"Your Majesty," Sakura said respectfully, pressing a hand against Naruto's back to force him to bow as she did the same. "It's an honour to finally meet you."
The young boy's eyes widened like dinner plates as he fixed his gaze on Sakura's immense breasts, which hung pendulously from her rib cage, precariously held back by two delicate strips of black silk which did little to contain the generous swell of her bosom. The fabric bit deep into her soft flesh, carving valleys in each of her breasts, the lush meat bulging out from under the straps.
"You're just in time, Lady Sixth!" Hashirama said with a boisterous laugh. "I was just telling them of your exploits!"
Sakura's eyes narrowed as the young man standing behind the young lord placed a hand on his shoulder. She remembered him… he was none other than Gatō's son, the heir to the shipping magnate's empire… Tarutsu. Of all people, the future Daimyō had ended up as the ward of the worst capitalist she knew.
"Lady Sixth, I see your penchant for the flamboyant has not changed…" the young man said smoothly, extending his hand for a handshake, which Sakura reluctantly took. "In the future, I would respectfully ask you to moderate your appearance and refrain from offending the young lord's eyes with such immodest attire…"
"The kid doesn't seem to mind," Naruto said grumpily.
Naruto did not like how the brat was unabashedly staring at his girlfriend's chest.
"You will watch your tongue, peasant! You will either address me by Your Majesty, or by appending -heika to my name!" the Daimyō said shrilly. "Hinoura no Masakado Suigyōmatsu Unraimatsu Fūraimatsu the Eleventh, remember it!"
Naruto grumbled.
"I don't like him, ya know?" he whispered in Sakura's ear, but she ignored him.
"Lord Senju Hashirama here was just telling me about his revival from death!" Tarutsu said loudly, causing all the neighbouring nobles look their way. "And despite being over a hundred years old, he barely looks older than forty! Quite the miracle, isn't it?"
"I died at fifty-five, though…"
Sakura shot Hashirama a dirty look, but he could only shrug helplessly.
"I believe it goes without saying that one would be hard-pressed to find anyone amongst us tonight who does not deeply value the Hidden Leaf Village and the wonderful services it provides," Tarutsu went on. "However, the events of two years ago have called many things into question, including the Hidden Leaf Village's ability to provide security to the greatest nation in the world."
"That's not fair," Naruto piped up angrily. "It was four against one, ya know?"
Hushed voices filled the room as the assembled nobles and capitalists began whispering amongst themselves. Many of them had suffered heavy losses, had family members kidnapped for ransom, or had themselves been taken hostage by invaders, leaving them to deal with the disastrous aftermath of the Fourth Shinobi World War without Konoha's help. The question on all their minds was, what's the use in spending money on a hidden village that is just going to run away and hide again?
"It was the Hidden Leaf Village that began the war, and yet you, Hokage, decided to flee with your tail between your legs without so much as putting up a fight," Tarutsu went on. "You hid yourself from the world and left the rest of the Land of Fire to bleed and suffer for your actions…"
Even though Danzō had been the one to provoke the other Gokage, the nobles were quick to assign responsibility to Sakura and her administration, since he was a missing-nin of Konoha… and that was something Sakura could not refute.
It was certainly true that she could have looked for him a little harder, but at the time, her attention had mostly been focused on stopping the world from ending. To her credit, she had prevented the Ten-Tail's revival and Kaguya's resurrection, somehow… but the problem was that, since catastrophe had been completely averted, there was no way to claim credit for saving the world.
…and besides, there wasn't much money in the world-saving business. It was more of a pro bono kind of job.
"We fought tooth and nail during the war, even though we were severely outnumbered. Even after the governmental subventions stopped coming in, we of the Hidden Leaf have continued to fight and bleed for this country, free of charge," Sakura said coldly. "And after two years, have we not expelled all intruding nations from our borders and subjugated the bandits plaguing our lands?"
"The subventions stopped because you allowed your employer to die!" someone in the background yelled. "We couldn't collect taxes for months because of the occupation! Half the population of my prefecture had to turn to banditry because of your failure! Bunch of incompetents, still expecting to be paid after that!?"
"You expect to be commended for doing the bare minimum?" Tarutsu snorted. "In exchange for the privilege of operating within the Land of Fire's borders, you are expected to defend your country, come hell or high water, but here you hide in this strange place, operating as some kind of rogue entity within our borders… come to think of it, is the Hidden Leaf even still within the Land of Fire!?"
It was at that moment that Hashirama stepped in.
"Look, didn't you all come all this way because you wanted to renew the contract I forged with His Majesty, Masakado the Ninth?" he said peaceably. "Why don't we all simmer down, and—"
A look of pain briefly flashed across Hashirama's face, twisting his rugged features into a grimace.
"Lord First…?" Sakura said worriedly. "Are you feeling quite all right?"
Hashirama's expression quickly returned to normal, and he flashed her an easy smile, before turning to face Masakado Eleventh and the Lord Regent, Tarutsu.
"Even though we have become self-sufficient, we of the Hidden Leaf still wish to contribute to the Land of Fire, and you wish to make use of our services just as you used to before," the Third Hokage interjected. "The way I see it, we need each other, so why don't we enjoy this feast first, and once our bellies are filled with delicious food and drink, and our spirits have calmed, we can begin the negotiations?"
"What he said," Hashirama added.
The young lord's stomach growled, and he tugged at the hem of Tarutsu's sleeve.
"I'm hungry," he said plaintively.
"Very well," Tarutsu sighed. "Right this way, Your Majesty…"