Two days after getting back from foiling the coup, Sakura sat in her office. Her arms hung over the armrests as her head leaned against the back of her chair. She took in a deep breath through her nose before she opened her eyes, her head moving so she could see her desk.
Much had happened within the past four months. She had built a village, and she was sure it was the fastest village to ever be built. She held no illusions that it was perfect, nor that it was complete. On the contrary, there were new things coming up every day that needed her attention and she was surprised that she was able to deal with them so well.
She sat up in her chair and flipped through some of the papers on her desk.
A new culinary wing was being built in the teaching institute at the request of over a dozen people. She had already had someone track down the Yuka woman who had helped Isobu to ask her to attend the lessons with the chakra beast as a human mediator of sorts. The three-tails himself was growing rather fond of the village for his own reasons, but in the end, it made her happy he had someplace to be.
On another note, all the necessary paperwork for a new branch of the Nara Clan was in order, even having the full support of the current patriarch. But both he and Sakura believed it would be best to sort out the current state of affairs with Konoha before officially establishing it.
The same went for Kosai, who told her himself he wanted to go back and sort it out on his own after the chunin exams. Kakashi and Sai had heard about what he was planning to do and agreed they should do the same, no longer wanting to feel like they were in hiding. So a date was set and Kosai would return to being called Konohamaru for the trip before returning and having his name officially changed.
She sighed to herself. The overall situation was a clustered spider web of truths and secrets. One that she would have to unravel over the upcoming months if she were to avoid any kind of threat to her citizens.
It all cut off at the start of the new year. She had five months.
A knock on her door pulled her from her thoughts and she gave another sigh before she called for the person on the other side to come in. The door creaked open to reveal the Daimyo and a few of his men. They entered.
"Welcome," she smiled, standing up from her desk. He urged her to retake her seat before taking his own in a chair on the other side that Kakashi had forgotten to put back against the wall.
After short pleasantries, the man folded his hands in his lap and looked to a set of people who looked to be assistants. Sakura eyed both the woman and the elderly man behind him. Both people held boxes made from lacquered wood with gold latches. The man approached the desk first and placed down the box that had been in his hands before unlatching and opening it to show the double spindled scroll that sat inside.
"This is the official document with my signature stating I hand over my title, all benefits, and all duties to you," he explained as the elderly man pulled the scroll from the box and gracefully unfurled it. The woman's jade eyes read over the words on the parchment and then the six names at the bottom. She noted that five of them were witness signatures to the daimyo signing the document himself. She looked back up at him to say something about some words she had read, only to stop as he looked at the female assistant.
She approached the desk, the man picking up his now empty box and stepping back. She did the same as he did, placing the box on the wood of the desk before opening it. Inside sat a tama hair ornament made from a light wood. On the end, the ball was painted with waves and encrusted with large sea-foam-green gems the size of her fingernail around the circumference. A few of those present noticed her eyes grow slightly.
"This is the heirloom mentioned in the document. It was passed down for generations."
"Bird Tears..." she muttered, causing him to pause.
"Pardon me?"
"Sorry... Just... These gems are extremely rare," she muttered, eyes not leaving the pin. "Just like the one in the comb I wear, they originate from this island."
"Really? I've always thought there was something special about them," he murmured, staring at the comb in her hair before shaking his head lightly. "No matter. With the signing of that document, it becomes yours."
Her jade eyes finally left the ornament and she looked down at the parchment before taking a pen and placing it against the paper.
After a moment, the kanji of her name was complete and she placed down her pen. The man let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness... I thought you would refuse at the last second," he murmured. She cracked a grin looking over to the man and woman.
"You two."
"Yes, my Lady," they bowed in unison.
"May I know who you are?"
"I am Eyumi," the woman responded. "I oversaw the past lord's noble duties."
"I am Huang Po," said the man. "I headed a small team that ran the country since the past lord was lacking."
"You're both hired if you'd like," the Namikage smiled softly, resting her chin in her palm. They looked at her for a moment in confusion. "I've decided to merge the Daimyo and Namikage positions for the time being. I have my hands full and would love to have a team that I can already trust with the functioning of the country."
They both gave deep bows.
"Thank you!"
"For now, you can head down to the front desk and they'll call Shikamaru. He'll know better where to fit you and your teams in. I'm also dealing with something for the hospital at the moment so I don't have the time. Please have any questions ready for when you're called in for a meeting. You're both dismissed." They both gave one last bow before exiting the room.
Sakura rolled up the scroll and placed it back in the box before looking at one of the guards that seemed to be getting ready to stand outside her door. "One of you let the two people in the hall know that they can come in and then you can all rest for the day."
"B-But, my lady—"
"I say this politely; I already have someone who guards me whether I like it or not and I don't need any more." They gave nods before they exited the room. Only a moment later, Kakashi and Kirai entered the room, the young woman carrying a small stack of folders. "Are those all of them?"
"Yes, my Lady. The woman who had the worst injuries is recovering well now," Kirai stated as she placed the folders on the desk. Sakura hummed as she pulled them toward her and opened the first one, flipping through some of the pages.
"Kirai, take this box to the archive library and hand it over to Eri, please," the pinkette instructed, reaching out and tapping her pen lightly on the box that contained the document for the transfer of the title of Daimyo. The young woman nodded and picked up the box, hurrying out of the room before the Namikage tapped on the other box. "Take this to the hummingbird elders, Kakashi."
He gave a nod before picking up the box and exiting the room, shutting the door behind him.
"So," she started, not looking up from her files as she wrote something down on one before closing it and moving to the next. "What should I call you now?"
She glanced up at him and he smiled.
"Yue Baoyu."
"Yue, what were you planning on doing with the palace that you used to live in?" she asked, again writing something down after scratching something out.
"That's for you to decide, it's yours now."
"I'm thinking of moving it." The man across from her stayed silent as he tried to understand the meaning of what she said. To move a palace was not something that was usually talked about. "Nothing would be damaged."
"How would you even..."
"A person in this village has the capability," she paused. "I suppose Shukaku could do it as well though I trust him with it less... But once it's in Arashichi, what do you think about it being a museum and teaching institute?"
She was still focused on her papers, having gotten through most of the files by that point.
"That... sounds wonderful. What would they teach there?" he asked. From his voice, she could tell he had never thought about such a thing.
"We're lacking historical studies here on the island and some people have shown interest in biological studies that don't involve chakra," she started. "I hear you have a large collection of books, and I was wondering if you would be willing to donate them. A national library can be something that draws people from all over."
"Of course... I planned to hand those over as well since they hold large amounts of the country's history." She was unable to see his expression of wonder as he watched her finish her last file before straightening the papers. "Have you thought of all of this yourself?"
"The interests of the citizens come first. People who work here for me overhear things or are asked about things and they bring them back and put in suggestions. The same goes for normal citizens, they'll come in with ideas. If the idea shows enough promise or enough people suggest it, we look into it and see if we can go through with it. Recently a man with a large collection of books came and asked if there was a library he could become a part of. Apparently, he came from Wind Country after being chased off by younger people not caring much about history."
"Some people showed interest in learning the history of other nations as well as the history of the world," she continued. "So historical studies are in high demand right now. The more educated the people of this village and this nation, the more prosperous we can be to help each other and future generations, don't you agree?"
She finally looked up at him, only to receive a bobbing nod in response.