(Author note: Hello everyone! This is my own personal interpretation of the Naruto World political structure from what I researched, I find it logical, you may find it AU if you wish. I hope you all enjoy the chapter!)
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The village of Tsuma-no-Sato appeared on the horizon as a collection of tiled roofs nestled against rolling hills. Under different circumstances, the picturesque setting might have been welcoming. Today, it only represented the end of a harrowing journey.
Team 11 approached the village gates with visible fatigue. Hayate led the way, his normally energetic stride reduced to a weary trudge.
Administrator Tenma walked close behind him, clutching his portfolio to his chest like a shield, his eyes darting nervously at every sound from the surrounding forest.
Indra and Sayaka followed, with Yua bringing up the rear, her vigilant gaze constantly scanning their surroundings.
The village guards - little more than farmers with spears - straightened at their approach, eyeing the bloodstained shinobi with trepidation.
"Konoha shinobi," Yua announced, stepping forward and presenting their mission scroll. "We're escorting Administrator Tenma for the land dispute resolution."
The guards exchanged glances before the older one nodded. "We were told to expect you yesterday. There was concern when you didn't arrive."
"We encountered... complications on the road," Yua replied neutrally.
The guards took in their disheveled appearance - the tears in their clothing, the dried blood, the haunted look in the younger ones' eyes - and wisely chose not to inquire further.
"The village headman has prepared accommodations for you at the main hall," the guard said, gesturing toward the center of the settlement.
"He requests that the administrator begin proceedings tomorrow morning, after you've had time to rest."
Tenma cleared his throat. "That would be... most appreciated."
As they made their way through the village, Indra noted the curious stares from locals.
Children peered from behind their mothers' skirts, while men paused in their work to watch the procession.
The tension in Tsuma-no-Sato was palpable - two distinct groups of villagers kept to opposite sides of the street, exchanging hostile glances.
"The Tsuma clan and the new settlers," Hayate murmured, noticing Indra's observation. "Administrator Tenma filled me in while we were hiding. The old clan thinks the newcomers are squatting on their ancestral lands."
Indra nodded absently, more concerned with Sayaka walking beside him.
Since their reunion with Yua and Hayate, she had maintained the facade of normalcy he had insisted upon, but he caught her stealing glances at him when she thought no one was watching.
To anyone else, it might appear as simple admiration or perhaps a crush - but Indra knew better. There was worship in those looks.
Before rejoining the others, he had been explicit: "Act normal around me. No reverence, no special treatment. If Yua-sensei suspects anything unusual, we'll both be in danger."
Sayaka had agreed readily enough, but controlling her newfound devotion seemed to require constant effort on her part.
The village headman - a thin, elderly man with a wispy beard - greeted them at the main hall, bowing deeply to Administrator Tenma.
"We are honored by your presence," he said formally. "Your rooms have been prepared, and a meal will be served shortly. We understand your journey was... difficult."
"Thank you for your hospitality," Tenma replied, some of his composure returning now that they had reached safety. "I look forward to beginning the mediation process tomorrow."
The headman led them to a wing of the hall that had been set aside for their use - a common area with a low table surrounded by cushions, and three adjoining rooms: one for Administrator Tenma, one for Yua, and a larger one for the three genin to share.
Once they had settled in and a simple but hearty meal of rice, grilled fish, and vegetables had been served, Yua dismissed the village servants with a polite but firm request for privacy.
The moment the sliding door closed behind them, she produced several small paper tags from her vest pocket, placing them at strategic points around the room.
"Silencing seals," she explained, activating them with a pulse of chakra. "What we discuss now stays between us."
The three genin exchanged glances as Yua settled back at the head of the table, her expression grave.
"I need a full accounting of what happened after we separated," she stated, her tone leaving no room for argument. "Specifically, I want to know why four A-rank missing-nin were targeting you, Sayaka."
Hayate's head snapped toward Sayaka, eyes wide. "Wait, what? They were after you? I thought they wanted Indra's Sharingan!"
Sayaka went rigid, her hands clenching in her lap. Indra maintained his composure, having already pieced together most of the story during their flight through the forest.
"I..." Sayaka began, her voice barely above a whisper. "I am not who you think I am."
"Clearly," Yua replied dryly. "Start at the beginning."
Sayaka took a deep breath, her perfect posture somehow becoming even straighter. "My true name is Tsukihana Sayaka.
I am the illegitimate daughter of Lord Renjirō of the Tsukihana Clan - one of the Five Great Noble Houses of the Land of Fire."
Hayate's jaw dropped. "You're... nobility?"
"I'm a disgrace," Sayaka corrected, echoing the words she had spoken to Indra earlier. "My mother was a servant who caught my father's eye. When her pregnancy was discovered, she was dismissed from service. She died giving birth to me."
"And then?" Yua prompted, her expression unreadable.
"I was raised in secret at a remote family estate until I was seven years old," Sayaka continued. "Then I was sent to Konoha with a fabricated identity and enrolled in the Academy."
"To die," Indra added quietly.
All eyes turned to him.
"What do you mean?" Hayate asked, confusion evident on his face.
"The Tsukihana Clan sent her to Konoha with the expectation that she wouldn't survive," Indra elaborated.
"They hoped she would die during training or on a mission as a genin corps member - a convenient disposal of an embarrassing reminder without directly staining their hands with her blood."
Sayaka nodded, a bitter smile touching her lips. "I wasn't supposed to graduate. I wasn't supposed to be assigned to a proper team. I was meant to fail, to die anonymously serving Konoha."
"But you didn't," Yua observed.
"No," Sayaka agreed. "I excelled instead. And now that I've reached thirteen - the age at which I could potentially make claims on family assets or reveal embarrassing secrets - they've decided on a more direct approach."
Hayate looked horrified. "They sent assassins after their own blood? That's... that's monstrous!"
"That's nobility," Yua corrected grimly. "The Five Great Noble Houses operate by different rules than common folk - or even shinobi.
Their bloodlines, their honor, their public image - these things are worth more than individual lives to them."
"So what happens now?" Hayate asked, looking between his teammates and sensei. "We can't just let them kill her!"
Yua leaned back, her expression thoughtful. "This complicates matters significantly. The missing-nin have been dealt with, but the threat remains. If the Tsukihana Clan wants Sayaka eliminated, they have the resources to keep trying until they succeed."
"Can't the Hokage protect her?" Hayate pressed. "She's a Konoha shinobi!"
"It's not that simple," Yua sighed. "The relationship between the Hidden Villages and the nobility is... complex."
"As an Uchiha, do I have any power to help her?" Indra asked, his tone carefully neutral. "The Uchiha name still carries weight, doesn't it? Even after everything that happened?"
Yua gave him a measuring look and sighed after a moment. "You're thinking like a shinobi, but this is a matter of politics. Let me explain how power actually works in our world."
She shifted, settling more comfortably on her cushion as her expression turned serious.
"The structure of power in the Land of Fire - and indeed, in all the great nations - is more complex than most shinobi ever learn.
At the top sits the Daimyō, the feudal lord who rules the entire country. He is the ultimate authority - not the Hokage."
"Wait," Hayate interrupted, "I thought the Hokage was in charge?"
"The Hokage leads Konoha, yes," Yua clarified, "but Konoha itself is essentially a military installation that serves the Land of Fire. The Daimyō is our employer, not our subordinate."
Indra leaned forward slightly, genuinely interested. This was information he had always been interested in in his past life.
He wondered if it aligned with his own theories and what he was able to research during his limited time in the Uchiha clan library before this mission.
"The Daimyō controls the country's finances, its civilian government, its regular military forces, and its diplomatic relations with other nations," Yua continued.
"The Hidden Village - Konoha, in our case - is essentially a specialized military contractor that handles missions requiring shinobi skills."
"But the Hokage is so powerful," Hayate protested. "The Third is called 'The Professor' and knows a thousand jutsu!"
"Power takes many forms," Yua replied patiently. "Yes, in direct combat, the Hokage could defeat the Daimyō in an instant.
But the Daimyō commands armies numbering in the hundreds of thousands - to millions -regular soldiers, not shinobi, but soldiers nonetheless. He controls our funding, our food supplies, our trade routes."
She paused, letting this sink in.
"If the Hokage were to defy the Daimyō directly, Konoha would find itself cut off from resources, labeled as traitors, and potentially facing not just the Land of Fire's armies but also shinobi from allied nations who would side with legitimate governmental authority."
"But in the shinobi wars-" Hayate began.
"The shinobi wars were conflicts between Hidden Villages, with the backing of their respective Daimyōs," Yua interrupted. "They weren't rebellions against the feudal system itself."
Indra processed this information carefully. It explained much about the world's power dynamics that had never been clear in the anime.
"Below the Daimyō," Yua continued, "are the Five Great Noble Houses - families like the Tsukihana who have served the royal court for generations.
They control vast territories, command significant portions of the national army, and have the Daimyō's ear in matters of state."
"And one of those houses wants Sayaka dead," Indra concluded.
"Precisely," Yua nodded.
"This isn't a simple matter of protecting a genin from assassination.
This is interfering with the internal affairs of one of the most powerful families in the Land of Fire - a family that could potentially pressure the Daimyō to reduce Konoha's funding or redirect missions to other villages if they felt sufficiently slighted."
Sayaka's shoulders slumped slightly. "So there's nothing that can be done."
"I didn't say that," Yua corrected. "I'm explaining the reality so you understand what we're up against.
The worst-case scenario is that the Tsukihana Clan formally requests your return - not as a shinobi, but as their wayward daughter.
Once you cross the border of Konoha's jurisdiction, you would no longer be under our protection."
"And they'd kill me on the road home," Sayaka finished flatly.
"Most likely," Yua agreed. "They sent you to Konoha hoping you'd die as a shinobi because if foul play were suspected, it would reflect poorly on Konoha's ability to protect its own which no one would dare accuse without slighting the mightiest military in the nation.
But now, they may no longer care about such subtlety."
"There has to be a way," Hayate insisted, his fists clenched on the table. "We can't just... give up!"
Indra had been silent, absorbing the political lesson. Now he spoke carefully. "What about clan protection? The Uchiha were one of Konoha's founding clans. Does that status offer any leverage against noble houses?"
Yua sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Shinobi clans operate in a different sphere of influence than the noble houses.
We have authority within Konoha's walls and on shinobi matters, but limited reach in the broader political landscape of the Land of Fire."
She paused, considering. "The only way a shinobi clan could assert authority over someone claimed by a noble house would be if that person were no longer just part of their noble house, but had become part of the shinobi clan through marriage or formal adoption."
A heavy silence fell over the room as her words sank in.
Indra's mind raced, processing the implications of what he'd learned. The noble houses and the Daimyō wielded far more power than he had realized - power that would be incredibly useful in the coming conflicts he knew lay ahead.
The Fourth Shinobi World War, Madara's resurrection, the Infinite Tsukuyomi - how had these political forces factored into those events?
"Why is there no mention in the history books of the Daimyō intervening in the First, Second, or Third Shinobi World Wars?" he asked suddenly. "If they hold such authority, surely they would have played a significant role beyond simply financial support."
Yua looked surprised by the question. "That's... an insightful observation, Indra. The truth is complex.
The shinobi wars were primarily conflicts between Hidden Villages, but they occurred with the implicit or explicit approval of the Daimyōs involved."
She leaned forward, warming to the topic. "The First War began after the death of Hashirama Senju, when the balance of power he had established between villages began to crumble.
The Daimyōs initially tried to maintain peace through diplomatic channels, but when those failed, they authorized their respective villages to engage in open conflict."
"And the later wars?" Indra pressed.
"By the Second and Third Wars, the Daimyōs had learned that direct intervention in shinobi conflicts was counterproductive - our methods of warfare are too specialized, too different from conventional military engagements.
That is why Instead, they focused on setting political objectives and providing resources, leaving the actual fighting to the Hidden Villages."
Indra nodded slowly, pieces falling into place.
The Daimyōs weren't absent from these conflicts - they were the puppet masters behind them, using shinobi as their specialized weapons while maintaining plausible deniability.
The silence stretched as everyone absorbed this new information. Finally, Indra broke it, his decision made.
"I see a way forward," he said quietly. "An engagement between Sayaka and myself could provide the protection she needs."
Three pairs of eyes snapped to him in shock.
"What?" Hayate exclaimed.
"Explain," Yua demanded, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"You said it yourself - marriage or formal adoption into a shinobi clan would supersede a noble house's claim," Indra continued calmly.
"As one of only two remaining Uchiha, I carry a name with significant weight, despite our clan's... reduced circumstances.
When women marry, ultimate authority over them transfers to the husband's family. As her fiancé, I could refuse any attempt to recall Sayaka to her birth family."
Sayaka's face had turned a deep shade of red.
"The Tsukihana Clan might even agree to such an arrangement," Indra continued. "A connection to the legendary Uchiha, even in our diminished state, would hold value for them.
It would allow them to save face while removing the 'problem' of Sayaka's existence."
Yua's eyes narrowed further. "You've developed quite an appetite for political power, haven't you, brat? This isn't just about helping your teammate."
Indra neither confirmed nor denied the accusation. "Does that matter if the solution works?"
Yua studied him for a long moment before shrugging. "I suppose not. And honestly, I've never been fond of the current power structure myself.
There's no rule against a shinobi clan seeking to increase its influence or authority. The Hokage might even welcome it - a stronger foothold in the royal court would benefit Konoha as a whole."
"So it's possible?" Indra pressed.
Yua tapped her finger against her chin thoughtfully. "There are potential complications.
The Daimyō generally discourages connections between noble houses and major shinobi clans - an unspoken rule to maintain separation between political and military power.
But with the Uchiha reduced to just two members - children at that - he might not consider it a significant concern."
"But this can't be a fake engagement," she added, her tone serious. "An engagement with a noble house isn't something that can be broken without severe consequences.
When the daughter of a provincial governor refused to marry the nephew of one of the Five Noble Houses - the Kanō Clan, I believe - her entire family was wiped out as retribution.
The noble houses consider such breaches of promise an unforgivable insult to their honor."
Indra's mind flashed through images of the enemies he knew lay in wait -
Danzō with his stolen Sharingan eyes, Orochimaru and his twisted experiments, the Akatsuki with their plan to capture all Tailed Beasts,
Obito manipulating the Fourth Mizukage, Black Zetsu pulling strings from the shadows, and finally, Madara himself - his own great-great-grandfather, whose power and ambition dwarfed anything else besides the Otsutsuki themselves.
To face such threats, he would need every advantage possible. Political power, the backing of nobility, access to resources beyond what a shinobi clan alone could provide - these could prove very, very useful.
He won't let them waste such valuable manpower as millions on the sidelines again, while eighty thousand shinobi walk into their own deaths and those 'noble' bastards fatten themselves from the deaths of others.
Normal soldiers or not, he doubts that those damn houses don't have their own secretly trained shinobi from talented people spread across the nation that aren't from the Hidden Villages.
That plus the influence they have probably on the trading, especially the special metals from the land of Iron.
Indra internally almost salivated from how much he could do with such a power in his hands.
And all he needed was to marry in the future a girl who already is practically worshipping him?
Sign him up!
"I'm sure," he stated firmly.
Yua turned to Sayaka, who had been silent throughout the exchange, her face still flushed. "And you? This concerns your life most directly. Are you willing to enter into an engagement with Indra? Understanding that it cannot be broken without severe consequences?"
Sayaka's eyes met Indra's briefly before she lowered her gaze. When she spoke, her voice was soft but resolute. "I want to live. If this is the path to survival, then yes, I accept."
"Just like that?" Hayate asked incredulously. "You're both thirteen! And you barely know each other!"
"Age matters little in arrangements between noble houses," Sayaka replied, some of her composure returning.
"Many engagements are settled when the parties are still infants. And noble marriages are rarely about... affection."
"But you're not just nobles now," Hayate argued. "You're shinobi! You should have freedom to-"
"Freedom is a luxury," Indra cut in. "Survival comes first."
Hayate looked like he wanted to argue further but fell silent at the looks of his teammates faces - showing that they have made their decision.
"Very well," Yua said after a moment. "When we return to Konoha, I'll help you formalize the arrangement.
It will require the Hokage's approval, as well as Sasuke's, as the head of the Uchiha Clan.
And we'll need to prepare for the Tsukihana Clan's reaction - they may resist initially, or they may see it as an elegant solution to their problem."
She fixed Indra with a intense look. "I hope you understand what you're committing to, Indra. This isn't just a tactical move - it's a life-altering decision for both of you."
"I understand," Indra replied evenly.
Yua nodded slowly. "Then we should all get some rest. Tomorrow, we still have a mission to complete - Administrator Tenma's land dispute won't resolve itself.
We can discuss the engagement details further on our return journey to Konoha."
As they prepared for bed, Hayate continued to cast bewildered glances at his teammates, clearly struggling to process the dramatic turn of events.
Sayaka maintained her composure, though her eyes occasionally darted toward Indra when she thought no one was watching.
Later, as Hayate's soft snores filled their shared room, Sayaka whispered in the darkness, "Did you mean what you said? About the engagement?"
Indra still awake and starting at the ceiling, was silent for a moment, making sure Yua-sensei was asleep. Once confirmed he replied quietly, "Yes. It serves both our purposes."
"Our purposes," she repeated softly. There was a question in her tone, an invitation to elaborate.
Indra chose his words carefully. "You get protection. I gain... opportunities."
"Political connections," she surmised. "Access to the noble courts through my family."
"Among other things."
A brief silence followed before Sayaka spoke again, her voice barely audible. "I will serve you well, Indra-sama. Not just as a political connection, but as one who knows what you truly are."
The reverence in her tone still made Indra uncomfortable, but he recognized its utility. Having someone so unquestioningly loyal could prove valuable in the days to come.
"Sleep, Sayaka," he said finally. "Tomorrow is another day."
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(Author note: And this here, is why I am since before the first chapter, I put the harem tag.
Political marriages are insanely useful!
I always found it ridiculous that the Daimyōs had no true focus on them or their court in the anime, since they hold basically all the power.
You can't convince me that they beyond the villages and the known army, have their own private shinobi armies.
The Kages could probably together kill millions upon millions of soldiers - who probably have chakra metal weapons and samurai training, not as good as the Land of Iron, but still strong - but eventually would tire out from no food, drink or rest, like the Third Raikage did and die.
Same thing with the rest of the jonin and all that, this not counting their own private shinobi armies.
Well, I hope you all liked the chapter, and the deeper lore, and world building, and I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)