Summary: In the imperial capital of Konoha, it was the norm for men to reign supreme while wives and concubines lived in seclusion like elegant flowers inside a locked garden. However, everything changed when one pink-haired medic entered the capital. SakuraxMulti

Chapter 1: The Imperial Decree

"Tsunade, this king is eternally grateful for you saving my only brother."

A blonde haired woman gave a small smile as she slowly sipped her wine. Ahh… Nothing beats the fine liquors stored in the vaults of the imperial palace. She had twin pigtails, piercing hazel eyes, and was a busty woman dressed in a simple green robe. Even dressed so simply, she had this air of confidence, or maybe one could even call it arrogance, that most people – let alone women – typically did not have in front of the company that she was currently in.

As she continued to enjoy the alcohol, she turned to look at the man sitting across the table from her - the emperor of Konoha, Uchiha Madara. He was a tall young man at the age of 20 dressed in imperial robes. The cloth was made of the finest silk dyed to the color of midnight. Embroidered on his chest was a golden dragon, the symbol only the king could wear, that was coiled around a red and white fan symbolic of the Uchiha clan. He had long messy black hair and his eyes that were dark and unfathomable like a deep black well. However unchangingly black those eyes seemed at the moment, Tsunade remembered his eyes when she first walked in a scant few hours ago to heal his brother.

That time those eyes were full of rage and were red like fire. He had been yelling at the imperial physicians who were all on their knees in fear and helplessness. They were unable to cure his younger brother Izuna Uchiha who was bedridden and dying from disease. The physicians were the cream of the crop in Konoha, but even they couldn't cure a disease they had never seen before. At the time, Madara was close to executing the useless physicians until Tsunade stepped in.

"Your highness, there is no need to execute your imperial physicians. This one will heal your younger brother." She stated as she walked in and saluted Uchiha Madara. The blazing red eyes with three tomoe stared at her calm hazel eyes as if trying to pierce her soul. When Madara noted her unwavering stance that held no fear of him, he relented. He was willing to do anything, as long as his younger brother got better.

"This king will give you five hours. If my brother is not feeling better by then, I will have your head... But if you can cure him, you will be rewarded with anything you wish."

Tsunade smirked and started walking towards the bedchamber containing a very sick Izuna Uchiha. As she was followed by her aide Shizune, she calmly spoke to Madara, "All I need is three hours."

Now back at the present time, Madara glanced at the female doctor that was drinking his wine like a bottomless pit and signaled for a servant, "Get twenty jars of the finest wine in this king's cellar and pack them for the doctor to take with her when she leaves."

The servant bowed, "This servant will do so immediately."

When the servant left to do his bidding, they were alone in the room. He turned back towards the blonde woman, "This king will keep his promise. If there is anything you wish, it will be given." As Tsunade finally set her cup down, she calmly looked at the king, "What this doctor wants is but a simple imperial decree." Madara narrowed his eyes - imperial decrees were anything but simple, and she continued to talk, "The decree will have no effect on your ruling but is only to help a child that I have adopted."

"Explain in detail why you would wish to have an imperial decree. After all, this king is the only one who can write an imperial decree and once it has been written, no one – even this king himself – can refute it."

An imperial decree was dangerous and unchangeable. The power of the emperor of Konoha rested solely on his ability to write imperial decrees that could affect the fate of nations. Which was why the history of Konoha was spotted with incompetent rulers who used that power for their own sick self-satisfaction. One such king was Madara's father, whose ruling had caused Konoha to nearly fall to ruin, and thus was assassinated, allowing his eldest son Madara to obtain the crown at the young age of 15. However terrible of a ruler his father was, Madara was not. Within the past five years of his rule, Madara changed the entire base of the government of Konoha, executing the greedy and useless government officials left and right, and allowing those why were qualified to take their place. He was a ruthless ruler ascended his thrown in a path of blood, but the people in Konoha loved him, for he was a fair ruler who cared for the country and punished those who deserved punishment with an iron fist. As a good ruler, he was also very careful. In the five years of his reign, he had only made one imperial decree. The fact that Tsunade wanted an imperial decree from him did not sit well with him.

As Tsunade poured herself more wine, she gazed at the clear liquor and started talking.

"When I was young, I grew up with my best friend who was the beloved daughter of a minor noble. Her name was Mebuki and she was like a flower – beautiful, sweet, and caring. She was raised like a gem and everyone loved her and doted on her... However, when her father started losing his money and power due to the economic crisis in Konoha-"

Madara knew that while she did not state it explicitly, the economic crisis was caused by his late father.

"-he had no choice but to affiliate with a powerful family in order to survive. While he didn't want to marry his gem of a daughter off to someone undeserving, she was the one who volunteered to marry into a rich clan for her family's sake. He initially refused, but once there was no hope for his small family, he finally succumbed and let her marry into the Haruno clan as the main wife, regretting it every step of the way. The clan head who married Mebuki did not care for her at all, and only wanted to be the one to own Mebuki as if she was some pet, for she was known at the time for her famed beauty and grace. The only time he was with her was on the wedding night, which resulted in the birth of a single daughter. Aside from that one night, he preferred to stay with his many concubines and left her alone to live her life in solitude. While there are many things that I can cure, I could not help my best friend who wanted nothing but to die. She, who grew up loved by her family and friends, was treated as nothing within the Haruno clan because her husband treated her as nothing. Concubines hated her for the title she held as main wife while the servants didn't treat her well because they could get away with it. She spent her life locked away within the walls of the Haruno household with enemies everywhere and only her newborn daughter that she protected with the little power that she had."

Tsunade then glanced up at Madara, "When your majesty came to rule, one of your first acts was to destroy the corrupted Haruno clan. One of the most vile and corrupted clans of the time lost their heads along with their power and blood money. At the loss of her husband, my best friend was able to go back to her family along with her daughter Sakura. However, her life of misery being married to the Haruno clan made her weak and she died quickly to leave her daughter without parents at the tender age of 5. I have adopted her daughter to take as my own daughter and student. Once I leave the palace, I plan to travel around the world with Sakura and Shizune so that she can learn the art of medicine."

Madara was starting to understand where Tsunade was getting at and spoke, "Even though Sakura is now considered your daughter, she is still of noble blood, and while the Haruno's have fallen due to this king, there is no doubt that her ancestry will be one that will make her yet another chess piece once she comes to be of marriageable age."

Tsunade nodded, "My best friend could not avoid the politics that all women face once it is time to marry. Families practically sell their daughters to husbands for money and politics. And once married to a husband, the household is filled with murder and plots among the women where the wife and concubines are bloodthirsty and cruel in order to gain their husband's affection in order to increase their status. If it hadn't been known that Mebuki's unborn child was going to be a daughter, my best friend would have undoubtedly been poisoned for either a miscarriage or killed, all to prevent Mebuki from gaining any power if she happened to carry a Haruno heir. This cruel lifestyle is one I do not want Sakura to face. I have lost my best friend due to her marriage, and I do not wish to lose her daughter just because of an unloved marriage. While I cannot do anything about this, your majesty can." And she looked meaningfully at Madara.

Madara gave a smirk of acknowledgement, "Come, we will go to my office." When they reached his office that was filled to the brim with documents that needed his signature, he took out a key that only he carried and opened a small compartment under his desk. Within the compartment were empty scrolls. However, the scrolls were not just simple ones made of paper, but ones made of fine threads of gold and silver with the embroidery of a dragon in the back. With such expensive material for making the scroll, it was obvious that such scroll were meant only for one thing – imperial decrees. Madara then opened a blank scroll, picked up his brush, and started writing.

"This imperial decree declares that Haruno Sakura will be granted the title and privilege of First Princess of the Imperial Family in the highest rank. Those who wish to marry her may only do so at her consent. She will also be able to divorce her husband on her own free will should she ever choose to."

Madara then signed the scroll and stamped it with the imperial stamp. "Will this do?" He addressed Tsunade.

Tsunade smiled gratefully and accepted the scroll with a bow, "Yes, this one is grateful."

Madara sat down on his chair and studied Tsunade who was holding the imperial decree like a treasure, "There is no need to announce this to the general public now. Once the time comes where Sakura will be of marriageable age, she may use the decree whenever she wishes."

Tsunade nodded her head to his words. While the decree did not hold much power politically, it was one that would change the society completely once it was known that Sakura, currently a small child at the age of 5, held a power that no woman has ever had in history, the power to choose her own husband.

When Madara watched Tsunade leave the palace along with her aide, he contemplated the imperial decree that he had just written with a slight smile on his face. His eyes held a tinge of red from his excitement. Oh, he looked forward to the turmoil that will definitely occur once the young Sakura will grow older. With her new status as First Princess and her power to choose who to be with, she will no doubt be a storm that will destroy the complacent society of Konoha.

He chuckled at the thought of what will happen in the future.

But even he, the emperor, could not predict that he himself will be involved in the future turmoil.

WhiteMint: I know I should be working on my other series but this idea wouldn't leave my head and I felt like I absolutely had to write it. The background is very similar to ancient China back when it was ruled by an imperial family but I tweaked things around and just called it Konoha. In ancient China, the king always referred to himself as "zhen" which was reserved only for the king and basically meant "this king". So instead of saying "I approve", it would be "this king approves". I always thought of this as pretty cool so in my story, Madara will be the only one to use this form of address. Also, other forms of address are basically different ways of saying "I" depending on who you are speaking to. For example, if a servant addressed the master or any other noble, it would be as "this servant". If you are curious on the background of the story, there's this Chinese drama called Scarlet Heart (you should be able to find it with subtitles somewhere. I found it on youtube) that was the muse for me to want to write this fanfic. Though rest assured, none of the characters have half-shaved heads. I always thought that was ugly.