Shikaku gazed at the handful of men he had gathered around the long table in the Hokage Residence's meeting room. Behind him, a map of the shinobi continent was projected onto the wall, several red crosses marking the forward operating bases and strongholds that had fallen to the enemy. Curved red and blue lines traced the current fronts deep within the Land of Fire, uncomfortably close to the Hidden Leaf.
"Ladies, gentlemen, I won't mince words: the Hidden Leaf is facing an unprecedented crisis," he began solemnly. "The village is surrounded on all sides by enemies, and at this rate, our home will be a sea of flames by tomorrow afternoon."
Under normal circumstances, a reunion of such significance should have included the Jōnin Assembly, but owing to the fact that most of them were away at war, he had to make do with the three members of the Konoha Council; Jiraiya, Kakashi and Homura, the various clan elders too old to participate in the conflict, and the Daimyō's envoy.
"Are the rumours true?" asked the Hyūga clan's former patriarch, who already knew very well the answer to his question thanks to his prying eyes. "Has the Sixth Hokage perished in combat?"
Sakura's life-or-death status had been kept a secret from the general populace to avoid any loss of morale, but nurses tended to be rather gossipy, even under threat of capital punishment, and the fact that the Hokage hadn't shown her face in public for a week had done little to quell the rumours.
"The Sixth Hokage is nothing but resilient, thankfully," Shikaku replied uneasily. "Despite being cut in half, she is still somehow stubbornly clinging to life."
"Isn't there some way to placate the invaders?" a Shimura clan elder asked nervously. "This entire war began because they feared the Lady Sixth's potential… couldn't we… you know… hand her over?"
Jiraiya and Kakashi glowered at him, and the elderly man shrank back in fear.
"The Four Great Villages wouldn't have done anything if your man Danzō hadn't poked the hornet's nest in the first place," Jiraiya said lightly. "But seeing as we don't have the man in question to hand, why don't we offer up your entire clan instead and see if that appeases the other Gokage... all in favour?"
"Now's not the time for infighting," Shikaku said loudly. "Fortunately for us, Orochimaru has returned safely from behind enemy lines and brought the legendary Dr Shinnō and his apprentice with him... with a bit of luck, the Lady Sixth might pull through. Once she's awake, her jutsu should allow her to return to peak fighting strength immediately."
"Might?" someone echoed. "You mean there's no guarantee?"
Shikaku glanced in the direction of the voice.
The person who had spoken up was the Manyū clan's patriarch, Manyū Munakata, a new addition to the big family that was the Hidden Leaf. From what he'd heard, Sakura's bloodline originated from their clan, a tribe that had survived the tumultuous Warring States Era by repeatedly sending out their kunoichi to breed with powerful clans and steal the strength hidden within their blood.
"That's right, there is no guarantee the Lady Hokage will awaken from her coma any time soon," Shikaku said stiffly. "That's what the medics have told me."
"In exchange for moving our clan to the Hidden Leaf, we were promised the right to adopt Manyū Sakura's firstborn child and make her the inheritor to our secret techniques," Munakata said warningly. "The Breast Flow Kekkei Genkai must not die out, that is the condition for our continued support. The village must honour this arrangement, and we will have our due, one way or another..."
Kakashi's visible eye burned with cold fury as he stared down the Manyū clan's patriarch. Was he really implying that he would go to such lengths? To forcibly impregnate his comatose disciple, an innocent, seventeen-year-old girl, just to ensure the bloodline limit wouldn't die out... and after everything Sakura had done for him, saving his only child from eternal servitude under Danzō…!
…but then again, none of Munakata's woes would ever have come to pass, had the Hidden Leaf never discovered Tanimagakure, the Village Hidden in the Cleavage. They would have been stayed hidden away in their fragment world, safe from the war, and safe from vultures such as Danzō…
"Naturally, the Hidden Leaf Village considers the Manyū clan to be as much one of its own as any of its founding clans," Shikaku said firmly. "We cherish our relationship with the Manyū clan, and I think we'll be able to come to an agreeable... arrangement."
Shikaku beckoned for Munakata to come over, and the man strode up to his seat, where Shikaku whispered something in his ear. Pretending to scratch a persistent itch, Kakashi raised his forehead protector, revealing his scarlet eye...
"…pregnancy… extremely embarrassing situation for the village… it'll be quite the help, you'd be doing the Hidden Leaf a favour… yes, three fertilised eggs… you are naturally entitled to one, but in exchange… safe haven in your ancestral village… any particular surrogate mother in mind… ah, that's convenient, I'll give the order in a moment..."
Kakashi's Sharingan caught the subtle movements of their lips, allowing him to interpret their words, and the more he read, the more his heart filled with dread. The village's Acting Hokage was actively bargaining away one of Sakura's unborn children to negotiate with the Manyū clan, without even bothering to wait for her to wake up...
"Kakashi?" said Jiraiya, glancing sideways as Kakashi abruptly stood up from the table.
"I feel a bit under the weather," Kakashi said stiffly. "I need to take a walk… right, you can have my right of vote, Jiraiya-sama…"
Ignoring the strange looks he received for leaving in the middle of such an important meeting concerning the village's fate, a severely disillusioned Kakashi headed for the door on unsteady legs and walked out.
"Just how much are you going to make Sakura sacrifice for the village before you're satisfied...?"
As he stepped out under the midday sun outside the Hokage Residence, Kakashi failed to suppress a shudder. Once again, the village was stealing from the young; taking, and offering nothing back in return. Rin's face flashed before his mind's eye, and before he knew it, Kakashi found that he was putting one foot in front of the other, walking, jogging, then running towards Konoha General Hospital, where Sakura was recuperating.
…
"No one's allowed in the operating theatre while the surgery is in progress," Tatami Iwashi said, stepping forwards as Kakashi strode towards Sakura's ward. "Not even you, senpai—"
Now, only the Hokage Guard Platoon stood in his way. Shiranui Genma's pupils contracted as Kakashi accelerated his pace, raising his hands to perform hand seals.
"What are you playing at, Kakashi?" said Genma, a droplet of sweat running down his temple as he reached for a kunai behind his back. "This isn't funny—"
Lightning sparked to life in Kakashi's palm with the piercing tweeting of a thousand birds.
"Raikiri."