Chapter Text
The clouds above Konoha drifted lazily across the afternoon sky, their white forms shifting and reforming in patterns that held no meaning to anyone but those patient enough to truly observe them. From his position on the roof of the Nara clan compound, Shikamaru Nara watched their slow procession with the kind of focused attention that others might mistake for daydreaming. But his sharp mind was anything but idle.
Each cloud formation reminded him of strategic positions on a shogi board—pieces moving across a vast playing field, seemingly random but following predictable patterns of wind and pressure that, once understood, could be anticipated and perhaps even influenced. Today, however, the metaphor felt more ominous than usual. The clouds weren't the only things being moved by invisible forces.
A soft breeze rustled through his hair as he shifted position on the clay tiles, his hands clasped behind his head in his characteristic pose of contemplation. The village spread out below him, peaceful and oblivious to the seismic shifts that had been set in motion in the Hokage's office just a day before. Children played in the streets, merchants hawked their wares, and life continued its normal rhythm—completely unaware that the announcement made this morning would ripple through every aspect of Konoha's future.
Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata Hyuuga. The engagement of the last Uchiha to the former Hyuuga heiress.
Shikamaru had spent the better part of the afternoon running calculations in his head, mapping out the political implications like moves on an impossibly complex game board. The marriage itself was just the opening gambit—what came after would determine whether Konoha emerged stronger or found itself torn apart by the forces they were attempting to harness.
The Uchiha bloodline had always been a double-edged sword. Powerful beyond measure, but cursed with an emotional intensity that had led to some of the darkest chapters in the village's history. The Sharingan could copy any technique, see through any deception, cast illusions that could break minds—but it came with a price paid in madness and hatred that seemed to be passed down through the generations like a genetic inevitability.
Now they were proposing to mix that volatile legacy with the Byakugan, the all-seeing eye that could perceive chakra networks with perfect clarity, strike with precision that bordered on supernatural, and see through solid matter as if it were glass. The combination of abilities was theoretically staggering, but the human cost...
Shikamaru closed his eyes, letting the afternoon sun warm his face as he considered the variables. A child born with both bloodlines would be watched from the moment of conception, studied and trained and molded into whatever weapon the village deemed most necessary. They would never know a moment of true privacy, never be allowed to develop naturally, never have the luxury of choosing their own path. The very gifts that made them valuable would become the bars of their cage.
But that was assuming the child survived to adulthood at all. The human body wasn't designed to channel multiple bloodline limits simultaneously. The chakra strain alone could be fatal, and that wasn't even considering the psychological pressure of inheriting the emotional baggage of two of Konoha's most troubled clans. The Uchiha curse of hatred, the Hyuuga tradition of rigid hierarchy and branch family subjugation—what kind of mental landscape would emerge from that combination?
Then there were the political ramifications to consider. Other villages wouldn't simply stand by and allow Konoha to develop such a significant advantage. The moment news of this union spread beyond the village borders—and it would, despite any attempts at secrecy—every major hidden village would begin making their own plans. Some might attempt assassination, others would seek to corrupt or steal the child, and a few might decide that a preemptive war was preferable to allowing such a potential threat to mature.
Shikamaru had already identified at least twelve different scenarios that could lead to open conflict, and he hadn't even begun to seriously analyze the domestic implications. The Hyuuga clan would be split between those who saw this as an elevation of their status and those who viewed it as contamination of their bloodline. Other clans would jealous of the newfound prominence, or fearful of being marginalized by the emergence of a new power structure.
A particularly large cloud drifted across the sun, casting the compound in shadow and causing Shikamaru to open his eyes. The brief darkness felt symbolic somehow—a reminder that even the clearest day could be obscured without warning.
The most troubling aspect of the entire situation wasn't the political maneuvering or even the potential for violence.
It was the human element that nobody seemed to be seriously considering. Sasuke Uchiha was a man who had spent years consumed by hatred, who had betrayed everyone who ever cared about him in pursuit of revenge, who had only recently begun to find some measure of peace in imprisonment. Asking him to suddenly become a husband and father was like expecting a sword to become a plowshare through sheer force of will.
And Hinata... Shikamaru had always respected her quiet strength, had seen how she'd grown from the timid girl who couldn't speak in class to the formidable kunoichi who had faced down Pain without hesitation. But this wasn't a battle that could be won through determination and courage alone. This was a lifelong commitment to someone who barely knew she existed, a promise to love and support a man whose emotional landscape was more scarred than most battlefields.
The strategic part of his mind whispered that it could work. Both of them understood duty, both had experienced loss and isolation, both had been shaped by expectations they couldn't fulfill. There was a compatibility there that went beyond political convenience—a shared understanding of what it meant to carry burdens too heavy for their shoulders.
But understanding and affection weren't the same thing, and affection wasn't love. A marriage could function on respect and shared purpose, could even find contentment in companionship and mutual support. But the village wasn't just asking for a functional partnership—they were demanding a child, a new generation to carry the hopes and fears of an entire political structure.
Shikamaru shifted position again, rolling onto his side to study the compound below. His father would have called this kind of extended contemplation "productive laziness"—the art of thinking through every possible angle before committing to action. But even Shikaku Nara might have been challenged by the sheer complexity of this particular puzzle.
The announcement had been carefully worded, emphasizing the voluntary nature of the engagement while subtly reminding the village of Sasuke's crimes and the mercy being shown in offering him this alternative to continued imprisonment. Public opinion would be divided, but most civilians would support anything that seemed to offer security and stability. The shinobi community would be more skeptical, understanding the political calculations involved, but they too would recognize the potential strategic advantage.
It was a masterful piece of political theater, really. Hiashi Hyuuga had managed to solve multiple problems with a single proposal: securing his daughter's future while removing her from the line of succession, ensuring the preservation of valuable bloodlines, demonstrating the village's capacity for mercy and redemption, and potentially creating a new generation of incredibly powerful shinobi. The fact that it required sacrificing the personal autonomy of two young people was apparently considered an acceptable cost.
A flock of birds suddenly took flight from a nearby tree, their wings beating in frantic unison as they wheeled across the sky before settling on a rooftop several blocks away. The disturbance that had startled them wasn't immediately obvious, but Shikamaru's trained senses picked up the approaching chakra signatures before his eyes registered the movement.
Two figures were racing across the rooftops toward the Nara compound, moving with the kind of urgency that suggested strong emotion rather than official business. Their chakra patterns were familiar—one blazing with the barely controlled intensity of the Nine-Tails' influence, the other precise and focused despite the underlying turbulence.
Naruto and Sakura. And they were clearly upset.
Shikamaru sighed deeply, watching their approach with the resignation of someone who had been expecting this confrontation since the moment the announcement was made. Of all the variables he had been calculating, the reactions of Sasuke's former teammates had been among the most predictable and the most troubling.
Naruto Uzumaki, the village's greatest champion of redemption and second chances, who had spent years declaring that he would bring Sasuke home no matter what it took. The boy who had seen something worth saving in every enemy he'd ever faced, who believed with absolute conviction that understanding and acceptance could overcome any obstacle. Learning that his best friend's freedom had been purchased at the cost of an arranged marriage would strike at the very foundation of his worldview.
And Sakura Haruno, whose feelings for Sasuke had defined much of her adolescence and early adulthood. The brilliant medical ninja who had trained under a legendary Sannin, who had grown from a girl obsessed with appearance and popularity into a woman capable of crushing boulders with her bare hands. She had waited for Sasuke through his betrayal, his crimes, his return—and now she would watch him marry someone else not out of choice, but out of political necessity.
They landed on the roof with less grace than usual, the impact of their arrival sending vibrations through the clay tiles. Shikamaru didn't bother to sit up or acknowledge their presence beyond a slight tightening around his eyes. Sometimes the best strategy was to let the enemy make the first move.
"SHIKAMARU!" Naruto's voice cracked across the afternoon air like a whip, loaded with enough anger and betrayal to make nearby birds take flight in alarm. "What the hell is this about Sasuke and Hinata getting married?!" There it was. Shikamaru had been wondering how long it would take for them to connect his presence at the council meeting to the announcement that had been made this morning. Naruto might not be the sharpest analytical mind in the village, but when it came to matters involving his friends, his instincts were unnaturally keen.
"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, finally turning to face his visitors. "I was hoping for a few more hours of peace before having to deal with this." Naruto's blue eyes were blazing with the kind of righteous fury that had once convinced him he could single-handedly change the shinobi world through sheer force of will. His usually spiky blonde hair seemed even wilder than normal, as if his agitation was affecting his very appearance. His hands were clenched into fists at his sides, and the air around him practically vibrated with barely controlled chakra.
"Don't give me that lazy act!" he shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at the shadow user. "You were at that council meeting! You voted to make Sasuke marry Hinata-chan! How could you do that to them?!" Sakura stood slightly behind Naruto, but her pink hair and emerald eyes were no less intense. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and there was something in her expression that was more dangerous than Naruto's open anger—a cold, analytical fury that spoke to years of medical training and strategic thinking. She was evaluating him like a patient whose symptoms didn't add up, looking for the weakness that would allow her to extract the information she needed.
"Explain," she said simply, her voice carrying the kind of authority that came from being one of the village's most respected medical professionals. "Make us understand how forcing two people into marriage serves anyone's interests." Shikamaru sat up slowly, stretching muscles that had grown stiff during his extended contemplation. The conversation he had been dreading was about to begin, and he would need all his diplomatic skills to navigate it successfully. Naruto and Sakura weren't enemies to be defeated—they were friends whose trust he valued, even if they couldn't see the bigger picture.
"First of all," he said in his characteristic drawl, "nobody forced anything. Both Sasuke and Hinata agreed to the arrangement."
"Agreed?!" Naruto's voice jumped an octave higher, making him sound more like the hyperactive boy he had once been than the accomplished ninja he had become. "You call that agreeing? 'Marry this person or stay in prison forever'—that's not a choice, that's extortion!"
"Everything in the shinobi world is extortion when you get down to it," Shikamaru replied with brutal honesty. "We're all forced to make choices between bad options and worse ones. At least this time, the bad option comes with the possibility of something good growing out of it."
Sakura stepped forward, her medical training evident in the way she moved—precise, controlled, economical. "And what exactly is 'something good' about forcing Sasuke-Kun into a marriage he doesn't want with a woman he barely knows?"
"For starters, it gets him out of that cell," Shikamaru said, finally rising to his feet and brushing dust from his vest. "Unless you two had a better plan for convincing the council to release an international criminal without some kind of assurance that he wouldn't disappear again the moment he got the chance." The words hit their target with surgical precision. Both Naruto and Sakura flinched slightly, reminded of their own failure to find an alternative solution to Sasuke's situation. They had spent months visiting him, talking to council members, trying to find some path toward his freedom that didn't require such drastic measures—and they had failed.
"There had to be another way," Naruto said, but his voice lacked its earlier conviction. "Something that didn't involve... this."
"Really?" Shikamaru's tone remained conversational, but there was a sharp edge beneath the casual delivery. "Because I've been thinking about this problem for months, and I can't come up with one. The council was never going to simply release him on good faith. Too many people died, too much damage was done. They needed guarantees that he would stay loyal to the village."
"So they decided to use Hinata as a hostage," Sakura said flatly.
"They decided to give him a reason to stay," Shikamaru corrected. "There's a difference."
"Is there?" Naruto's chakra flared briefly, the air around him growing heavy with the Nine-Tails' influence before he brought it back under control. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks like they're using two of our friends as pawns in some political game!" Shikamaru studied his longtime friend, noting the way Naruto's hands shook slightly with suppressed emotion, the way his voice cracked when he mentioned Hinata. The Hinata's feelings for Naruto had been an open secret for years—everyone except Naruto himself seemed to recognize the way she looked at him, the way she had always believed in him even when he couldn't believe in himself.
"You're right," Shikamaru admitted, the simple acknowledgment causing both of his visitors to blink in surprise. "They are being used as pawns. Just like you were used as a pawn when you where made the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki. Just like I'm being used as a pawn by serving as the Hokage's strategic advisor. Just like Sakura is being used as a pawn by heading the medical division."
"That's different—" Naruto began, but Shikamaru cut him off with a gesture.
"Is it? We all serve the village's interests, Naruto. We all make sacrifices for the greater good. The only difference is that sometimes we get to choose which sacrifices we make, and sometimes the choice is made for us."
Sakura's eyes narrowed dangerously. "So you're saying we should just accept this? That Hinata should sacrifice her chance at happiness because it's convenient for the village?"
"I'm saying that happiness isn't guaranteed to anyone," Shikamaru replied, his voice carrying a weariness that seemed beyond his years. "And maybe, just maybe, this arrangement gives both of them a better chance at finding it than the alternatives they were facing."
"How can you possibly believe that?" Naruto demanded, his voice raw with emotion. "Sasuke doesn't love her! He barely knows she exists! And Hinata..." He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
"And Hinata loves you," Shikamaru finished quietly, watching the way Naruto's face crumpled at the words. "Yeah, I know. Everyone knows, except apparently you. But here's the thing, Naruto—knowing someone loves you doesn't obligate you to love them back. And Hinata is smart enough to understand that." Naruto stared at Shikamaru as if he had been struck, his mouth opening and closing without producing sound. Sakura looked between them, her medical instincts clearly recognizing the signs of emotional shock in her teammate.
"That's..." Naruto's voice was barely above a whisper. "That's cruel."
"It's honest," Shikamaru replied without backing down. "And sometimes honesty is the kindest thing you can offer someone. Hinata spent years hoping you would notice her, and you never did. This marriage gives her a chance to build something real with someone who might actually appreciate what she has to offer."
"But she deserves someone who loves her!" Naruto's voice cracked with desperate sincerity. "She deserves to be happy!"
"She deserves a chance at happiness," Shikamaru corrected. "Which is what this marriage might give her, if both she and Sasuke are willing to work at it. Love doesn't always come first, Naruto. Sometimes it grows from respect and shared experience and simply choosing to care about someone every day."
Sakura had been quiet throughout this exchange, but now she stepped forward with the kind of purposeful movement that usually preceded either healing or violence. "And what about Sasuke? What does he deserve?" The question hung in the air like a challenge. Shikamaru met her green eyes steadily, recognizing the protective instinct that drove the question. Despite everything Sasuke had done, despite the pain he had caused her, Sakura still cared about his wellbeing she still loved him.
"Sasuke deserves a chance to become something other than a weapon," Shikamaru said carefully. "He's spent his entire life being shaped by other people's expectations, other people's hatred, other people's plans for revenge. This marriage gives him an opportunity to choose what kind of man he wants to be instead of simply reacting to what was done to him."
"By forcing him into another situation he didn't choose!" Sakura's voice rose sharply. "How is that better?"
"Because this time, he's choosing how to respond to it," Shikamaru replied. "He could have refused. He could have chosen execution over marriage. The fact that he didn't suggests that some part of him wants to try being something other than the last Uchiha carrying the weight of his clan's destruction."
Naruto was pacing now, his restless energy manifesting in sharp, agitated movements across the narrow rooftop. "This is insane," he muttered, running his hands through his hair. "There has to be something we can do. Some way to stop this."
"Stop what, exactly?" Shikamaru asked with genuine curiosity. "Stop Sasuke from being released from prison? Stop Hinata from making a choice she believes will help people she cares about? Stop the village from trying to ensure its security?"
"Stop them from being unhappy!" Naruto spun to face him, his blue eyes blazing with conviction. "Stop them from being trapped in a life they never wanted!"
"And replace it with what?" Shikamaru's voice remained maddeningly calm. "Sasuke stays in prison for the rest of his life, slowly going crazy from isolation and guilt? Hinata remains unmarried and childless, watching from the sidelines as her sister takes over the clan and her friends move on with their lives? You really think that's a better outcome? Also not to mention that she will then have to get the Hyuuga seal." The questions struck home with devastating accuracy. Both Naruto and Sakura fell silent, forced to confront the reality that their emotional objections didn't come with practical alternatives. The harsh truth was that the world rarely offered perfect solutions, only choices between different types of imperfection.
"There's something else you should consider," Shikamaru continued, his tone gentler now that he sensed their resistance beginning to crack. "Hinata and Sasuke aren't as incompatible as you might think. They both understand what it means to carry expectations they can't fulfill. They both know what it's like to be overshadowed by more talented siblings. They both have experience with isolation and the kind of loneliness that comes from being fundamentally misunderstood."
"That's not enough to build a marriage on," Sakura protested, but there was less conviction in her voice than before.
"It's more than a lot of successful marriages have started with," Shikamaru replied. "And they have something else that might matter even more—they both genuinely want to do right by other people, even when it costs them personally. That kind of character is rare."
Naruto had stopped pacing and was now staring out at the village below, his expression troubled but thoughtful. "What if... what if it doesn't work? What if they try and it just makes both of them miserable?"
"Then they'll be miserable together instead of miserable apart," Shikamaru said with characteristic bluntness. "Look, I'm not saying this is going to be easy for them. Marriage is hard even under the best circumstances. But they're both strong enough to handle difficult situations, and smart enough to adapt when things don't go according to plan."
"And if their child..." Sakura began, then stopped, unable to finish the thought.
"Their child will be whatever they choose to raise," Shikamaru said firmly. "Not what the village wants them to be, not what political necessity demands, but what Sasuke and Hinata decide is best for their family. That's the part everyone seems to be forgetting—this arrangement gives them power too, not just obligations." The three of them stood in silence for several minutes, watching the clouds continue their slow journey across the sky. The afternoon was growing late, painting the village in shades of gold and amber that made even the most mundane buildings look beautiful. Somewhere below, people were going about their daily lives, completely unaware of the conversation taking place above their heads.
"I still don't like it," Naruto said finally, his voice quiet but stubborn. "I still think there should have been another way."
"Maybe there should have been," Shikamaru agreed. "But there wasn't. And now we have to deal with the situation as it exists, not as we wish it could be."
Sakura crossed her arms again, her medical training evident in the analytical way she approached the problem. "What can we do? To help them, I mean. If this is really happening, if there's no way to stop it, then what can we do to make it easier for them?" The question revealed the fundamental difference between opposition and acceptance. Naruto and Sakura were beginning to shift from trying to prevent the marriage to trying to support their friends through it—a change that Shikamaru recognized as both inevitable and necessary.
"Be their friends," he said simply. "Don't treat them like victims or martyrs. Don't constantly remind them of what they're giving up. Just... be there for them as they figure out how to make this work."
"That's it?" Naruto's voice carried a note of frustration. "That's all we can do?"
"Sometimes being a good friend means accepting that other people have to make their own choices, even when you don't agree with them," Shikamaru replied. "Sasuke and Hinata are both adults. They both understand what they're agreeing to. The best thing you can do is respect their decision and support them as they try to build something meaningful out of it." The conversation was winding down, the initial fury and shock giving way to a reluctant acceptance of reality. Shikamaru could see it in the way their postures relaxed slightly, in the way Naruto's chakra settled back to normal levels, in the way Sakura's analytical mind began working through the practical implications rather than the emotional objections.
"They're meeting tomorrow," he said quietly. "Sasuke requested a chance to talk to Hinata before the wedding. If you really want to help, maybe you could make sure she knows she has friends who support her, whatever she decides to do."
Naruto nodded slowly, his expression still troubled but more focused. "Yeah. Yeah, I can do that."
"And Sasuke?" Sakura asked. "Someone should make sure he knows the same thing."
"I think Kakashi-sensei has that covered," Shikamaru replied. "But knowing that his teammates don't completely hate him for accepting this arrangement would probably mean a lot to him." As the sun began to set over Konoha, painting the sky in brilliant shades of orange and red, the three friends stood together in contemplative silence. The future stretched out before them, uncertain and complicated, but no longer quite as dark as it had seemed when they first learned of the engagement.
Change was coming to their village—change that would reshape relationships, bloodlines, and the balance of power for generations. But perhaps, Shikamaru thought as he watched another cloud drift across the darkening sky, change didn't always have to be a catastrophe. Sometimes it could be an opportunity, if people were brave enough to embrace it.
The wind picked up, carrying with it the sounds and scents of the village below—cooking food, distant conversations, children playing in the streets. Life continuing its eternal rhythm, adapting to new circumstances as it always had, as it always would. Tomorrow would bring the meeting between Sasuke and Hinata, the first tentative step toward a future none of them could fully imagine. But tonight, three friends had found a way to move from opposition to acceptance, from fear to cautious hope.