"So, what exactly is the plan here, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura. "March in there with our Black Ships and demand that the villagers pay taxes to a Daimyō they've never seen before? I don't see how that could go particularly well…"
Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi had left Chiriku and Koharu behind on the plateau overlooking Breast Valley, and were now making their way down into the valley itself, following the river that wound between the twin hills towards the thatched cottages just outside the castle town.
"Black Ships? What are you talking about?" Kakashi-sensei asked lazily, having long since grown used to Sakura's sometimes incomprehensible references. "Well, at any rate, we're not quite at that point yet. These are just preliminary talks, to let the Manyū know we exist."
Despite her remarkable powers, Sakura's mindset remained remarkably human. It hadn't even occurred to her that, with just the four of them, Team 7 could easily take over a small country, let alone a tiny village in the middle of nowhere. The delegation to Manyū Village was not without leverage— and the best kind of leverage, at that: the threat of pure, unadulterated violence.
"So, this is where Sakura's family came from?" asked Naruto flippantly, as he looked around the rice fields, walking with his hands tucked behind his head. "It's a good thing Pervy Sage didn't come along, you know…"
"The Uchiha clan is Sakura's family," retorted Sasuke. "…But yeah, I've noticed the— er— familial resemblance," he added, rather lamely. "From a distance."
As they made their way up the beaten path towards the village, passing a rice paddy on their left, Sakura looked up at a scarecrow standing stiffly amidst the golden stalks of rice, ripe for the autumn harvest. It wore a shinobi forehead protector on its brow in lieu of a straw hat, and it looked like someone had stuffed a few melons down its worn shirt.
"Oi, look over there, Sakura-chan," Naruto snorted, pointing at the busty scarecrow. "Is that your sister, Kakashi-sensei?"
Sakura stifled a giggle.
"Look sharp," Kakashi suddenly called out. "I see people."
Owing to her relatively short stature, Sakura hadn't noticed the men and women working knee-deep in water, harvesting rice amongst the tall, golden stalks. But as Team 7 passed by, the peasants looked up and saw them too, fear filling their eyes as they bowed low.
"Familial resemblance, my foot," said Naruto, turning to Sasuke once they were out of earshot. "I've seen cutting boards with more curves, ya know?"
Sakura frowned. The peasants didn't seem especially malnourished, and it looked like this year's harvest of rice would be a bumper crop. She'd seen plenty of fish in the river, too… so why were the women all flat as washboards?
"Those were obviously peasants, moron," snapped Sasuke. "It was still dark when I found this place. The kunoichi patrolling the territory were… er…"
Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi looked pointedly at Sakura.
At this point, Naruto and Sasuke were still in the dark about the full extent of her powers (namely her ability to copy Kekkei Genkai), but they did know her jutsu allowed her to steal other women's breasts.
"It's okay, you can say it," sighed Sakura. "The Manyū are probably not the nicest of people."
…
In the world of Manyū Hikenchō, the rule of law was that huge breasts equal justice…
But in the years following the death of Nobunaga Oda and during the rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Confucianism was becoming increasingly entrenched in Japanese society. The tenets of Confucianism promote social harmony through strict hierarchy, which, in practice, means no upwards mobility for those born into the lower classes.
This dichotomy between fanatical devotion to titties and extreme social rigidity was the very raison d'être of the Manyū clan, who used their mysterious techniques in service of the Bakufu to sever the breasts of women who attempted to use their charms to rise above their station.
And as an aside…
During the Warring States era, a certain Toyotomi Hideyoshi, nicknamed 'Saru,' served as a retainer under Nobunaga, the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven. He rose to become a Daimyō, then Imperial Regent and Chancellor of the Realm by seizing opportunity amidst the chaos of the times. Despite his humble origins, he would later go on to enact laws that made it impossible for other non-nobles and peasants like himself to rise to nobility as he had.
Effectively, kicking down the ladder once he'd climbed it!
Sakura's dear old Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, also nicknamed 'Saru,' shared more than a few similarities with that man, now that she thought about it. Just like Hideyoshi, Hiruzen had ingratiated himself with the true heroes of his world's Warring States era, but once Hashirama, Tobirama and Madara had all disappeared, he had rapidly taken over the still-young Konohagakure like a cancer.
From the very beginning, the Hidden Leaf Village had always been meant to be of the people, for the people, but somewhere along the way, it had transformed into the property of the Sarutobi and Shimura clans… and the position of Hokage had become unattainable to anyone outside the established master–disciple chain of succession.
…
After leaving the rice paddies and passing a few wooden houses, Team 7 arrived at the entrance to the castle town. The keep loomed overhead, rising behind the walls that divided the inner district from the peasants' quarters.
"Hey, wake up, Munekichi," hissed a male guard, jabbing his elbow into his comrade's side, who was sleeping upright by leaning against her naginata. "Intruders!"
The busty woman's snot bubble popped as she jolted awake. She raised her heavy polearm, looking around wildly with bleary eyes.
"Oi, who goes there!?" Munekichi shouted shrilly. "State your business!"
Kakashi stepped forwards.
"We've come from the Hidden Leaf Village to discuss important business," Kakashi called back. "Would you mind passing along this message to your leader?"
"You're… outsiders?" said Munekichi, her voice tinged with astonishment.
Sakura began to feel oddly self-conscious as the two guards stared openly at her enormous P-cup sweater puppies, much larger than that Munekichi woman's mere D-cups, completely ignoring the scroll Kakashi-sensei was trying to hand them.
…
Meanwhile, back at base camp, Koharu and Chiriku were calmly sipping on some tea.
"If you'll excuse me," said Koharu, inclining her head slightly. "My bladder isn't what it used to be…"
"Not at all, Benefactor," said Chiriku, pressing his palms together and bowing. "We shall resume our insightful conversation upon your return, Utatane-dono."
The old woman rose to her feet and slipped into the forest, away from prying eyes. Once she was certain the monk from the Fire Temple wasn't following her, she drew a scroll from her sleeve and unfurled it, revealing the intricate inscriptions of a summoning jutsu formula…