Sakura was beginning to lose hope.
At long last, the morning of her departure for war had arrived, and still she hadn't heard a single word from Lady Tsunade, who had promised to help her find a way out of the village. At the rate things were going, the only way she was getting back home was the old-fashioned way, by waiting twenty years!
And so, as dawn broke, Sakura slipped from her bed and quietly eased open one of the guest room's windows. She began wriggling her large bust through the tight space, and as her breasts cleared the frame and popped free, the brisk morning air swept across her skin, tightening her nipples into stiff peaks. She shivered.
It was then that Sakura caught sight of three men making their way along the footpath towards the Uchiha clan head's mansion. She recognised at once the owner of the straw‑coloured hair walking ahead of his two companions, so she hastily drew herself back inside, snapping the window shut before hurrying down the stairs. To her surprise, Fugaku was already awake, sorting through his weapons and supplies in the living room just as a knock sounded at the door.
"Good morning, Fugaku," said Minato, as the man of the house opened the door. "We're here for Konan and Her Highness, Princess Sāra. The Hokage's given us permission to include them in our mission."
Minato handed Fugaku the Hokage's missive.
"What is the meaning of this?" said Fugaku stiffly, after giving the note a quick read. "I was instructed to assemble a team for the Land of Lightning front, and I selected Uchiha Konan as one of the participants. I've done precisely what was asked of me— taken the girl in, when none of you could be bothered to wait at the gates for even an hour— and now you mean to take her out of my hands?"
Minato opened his mouth to reply, but Fugaku hadn't finished yet.
"The Hokage has no right to interfere in the internal matters of the clan, those are the rules we have all agreed to live by," Fugaku added coldly. "If not for the separation of powers, the Hokage would be nothing more than a common tyrant. This order is illegal."
"I'd advise you to mind your tongue, Uchiha Fugaku," growled the heavyset man standing behind Minato. Judging by the armour he wore, embossed with the kanji for food, he was clearly of the Akimichi clan. "Your choice of words borders on insolence… some might even call it open rebellion."
The Hokage and their council, the noble bloodline clans, and the Jōnin Assembly— these three bodies formed the cornerstones of the Hidden Leaf's power structure, in that order of importance. The Hokage was ultimately the village's leader, but in the end, he or she had no authority over how the other two groups managed their internal affairs, provided they followed orders and abided by the village's rules and regulations.
"Is that truly advice a fellow member of a bloodline clan ought to be giving, Chōza?" said Fugaku coldly. "Tell me… are you speaking as the son of Torifu, fourteenth head of the storied Akimichi clan… or as the son of Torifu, the Second Hokage's direct disciple?"
"Can't it be both?" Akimichi Chōza spat. "Aren't we all comrades of the Hidden Leaf, bound by our common duty to the Hokage? Or do you Kekkei Genkai clan types truly think yourselves above the rest of us?"
"I'm sorry— is that not the case?" replied Fugaku coolly.
Fugaku despised the way the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans supported the Third Hokage in all things, often helping him push through policies that stripped power from the village's shinobi clans— laws that should have been to the common detriment of the clans, yet somehow always turned to their advantage in the end.
Cronyism is what it was, those class traitors!
"Fugaku, Chōza— please," said Minato peaceably, resting a hand on each of their shoulders as they squared off. "I give you my word, I'll bring Konan back myself once our mission's complete. It's just that her experience in Lōran could prove invaluable to us… and besides, she's still under an unfinished contract with Queen Sēramu of Lōran… isn't that right?"
Minato glanced over Fugaku's shoulder, who turned around to see Sakura standing in the stairs behind him. She nodded meekly at Minato's words.
"Very well," Fugaku sighed. "Your word is your bond, Namikaze-san— so I'll expect my disciple returned to me as soon as possible. Understood?"
"I promise," Minato said solemnly. "If I lie, I'll swallow a thousand needles."
Sakura gulped. Unfortunately, this was one promise the future Fourth Hokage would never be able to keep… and she could only hope this broken promise wouldn't lead to anything bad.
"KYAAAAH!!"
It was then that a terrible scream rang out from upstairs, startling everyone.
"I believe the princess has just found my message," said the man in the trench coat and sunglasses, who had stayed so silent throughout the conversation that Sakura had almost forgotten he was there. "She should be joining us shortly."
"Shibi, you didn't…" Chōza said reproachfully.
"Ordinary teenage girls don't tend to enjoy being woken up by swarms of… anything, really," Minato remarked. "In fact, I rather suspect no one does. Outside of the Aburame clan, I mean."
Aburame Shibi tilted his head in mild confusion. Since when had writing messages with Kikaichū forming the words gone out of fashion? That was how he'd proposed to his wife, and she'd been overjoyed— or at least, that was how it had looked like to him. For men, reading the emotions of women was difficult enough at the best of times, let alone reading those of women who always wore beige trench coats with the collar up to their nose, and who never removed their sunglasses.
And just like that, the matter was settled, and Team Minato departed for the Land of Wind with Sakura and Princess Sāra in tow. As for why Sāra had to accompany them back to Lōran, when her mother had asked Sakura to keep her safe in the Hidden Leaf…
"Only the royal line of the Kingdom of Lōran can manipulate the Ryūmyaku," Minato explained. "I don't particularly enjoy the idea of putting the young lady in danger, but if this Anrokuzan our spies have been hearing unpleasant rumours about decides he no longer has need of Queen Sēramu, we'll need Princess Sāra's abilities to shut down his puppet army at its source."