vindication | noun | vin·di·ca·tion | proof that something or someone is right, reasonable, or justified | the act of clearing someone from blame or suspicion

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After nine years as the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure, Tsunade decides she has had enough. She has endured almost a decade of torture and now all she wants to do is go back to a life free of paperwork and full of booze and gambling. A life without spending countless sleepless nights worrying about the fate of her village and certainly without Shizune breathing down her neck for trying to catch up on a little sleep. It is almost unbelievable, but she actually prefers working in the hospital to this sort of life.

Besides, she never wanting this stupid job anyway. Just because Naruto managed to guilt her into it so many years ago does not mean she enjoys a single second of this torture. Tsunade feels she has done her time, and done it damn well by the way, but the position no longer suits her.

When she took over, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the acclaimed God of Shinobi, had died. Who was she to turn her back on the village that raised her? In the end, she became Hokage. She led her people. Konoha was in need when she stepped up to the mantle. It is still in need, but this time around it is of an entirely different nature. It is a need she can not fill.

In this case, Tsunade feels like a coward, running away from her troubles. The weight of so many lives in her hands does not sit well with her and, truth be told, it never has. It is a burden that even the passage of time can never lift from her shoulders. Unfortunately, this is only the beginning of the torturous things the Hokage must endure.

Changes are coming. She can feel it. She doubts her ability to handle these changes, though she has had no trouble in the years before. It is not that she is incapable. No, she was as strong a Kage as any of the other leaders of the hidden villages. Call it intuition, but Tsunade feels that it means the Hokage position demands new blood and she is just a passing phase. It needs new eyes to decipher new problems the likes of which they have never seen.

She is not a complete coward. This time around, she will stay in Konoha. Everything within her tells her to run away, but there is a leash that tethers her. It is the bonds she has made with her comrades. It is her loyalty to the village. It is her pride.

The Godaime decides she will not throw her successor to the hounds. It is her precious former apprentice, after all.

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Sakura is pouring herself tea when Tsunade tells her that she will be the Rokudaime. In response, she drops the teapot and stares at her shishou in abject horror. Luckily, she manages to recover herself in time to catch the ceramic pot just inches from shattering on the floor. Her hands are still shaking as she sits it back down on the safety of the table.

"Very funny, Tsunade-sama." She forces a small laugh and finishes pouring her cup before wiping away the spilled tea. With shaking hands, she puts two sugar cubes into her drink before deciding fuck it she need this and adding three more.

"I'm serious, Sakura. I've told the Council and I've done all the paperwork-Don't give me that look, yes I actually did the work!"

For the first time in a very long time, Sakura is speechless.

Well, very nearly so. It is not long before the arguments rise in her throat and she states every good reason why this is a bad idea.

The action is unprecedented and sends the Council of Elders into a fit of rage. Sakura herself does not know why Tsunade gives her the role instead of Naruto. It is his dream, after all, one he has been chasing his entire life. Accepting the position would be akin to stabbing him in the back and Kami knows he has gone through enough pain and suffering.

Besides, Sakura knows she is not the caliber of shinobi that is demanded of a Kage. She is strong, yes, and proud of it. Her position in ANBU and as head medic at the hospital are things she fought hard for. But this alone does not constitute this decision.

There are many others much more suited to take her place. Naruto, Kakashi, hell, even Shikamaru would be better choices than her! They have made names for themselves in the shinobi world and while she is somewhat known, it is mostly as "the Godaime's apprentice".

Both of these names ride the coattails of someone much more famous than her and if the bingo books do not consider her dangerous enough of her own volition, then what will other Kages when word reaches them? They will not respect her and weakness is not the reputation Sakura wishes to bring to Konoha. She brings up all these points immediately. They are quickly dismissed without care.

Being the stubborn woman she is, Tsunade does not accept any other answer besides a resounding yes. "You know the inner and outer workings of the position from working for me. I'm sure you've done more paperwork than I have at this point," Tsunade tells her, eyes leveled with a no-nonsense look about them, "You're loyal, committed, hard-working, intelligent, you get the point. I don't see why you can't."

"But, again, I'm not-"

"Like it or not, I've named you my successor and you should be proud. Now let's get to your training, you have a week before your inauguration and I'm not going to argue with you any more."

Sakura does not know how Tsunade manages to both override the Council and push the inauguration so early. Government workings are never quick. Politicians loved to argue and hear the sound of their own voices, so Tsunade must have really run them ragged for everything to go through.

The conversation could go on for hours, but there is no room for argument in Tsunade, not when her mind has been made up for so long. This is clearly expressed when she breaks her desk in two without spilling a drop of sake.

Sakura wishes to point out that she could do the exact same, but a glare sent her way is enough to shut her mouth and just accept that this will be the longest week of her life.

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The date of the inauguration arrives too quickly. The past few days have been a whirlwind of political terms and other social nonsense that Sakura already knows much about. After all, she is the one who stays up with Tsunade until four in the morning on weekends, trying to figure out the mountains of paperwork that never seem to let up.

Naruto, surprisingly, is not mad when he finds out. In fact, he congratulates her and hugs her the second he is informed of the news. But in true Naruto fashion, he then declares that she watch out for her job because he will surely be stealing it from her soon.

She would have nothing less.

Kakashi ruffles her hair affectionately. Sasuke does not seem to care. Sai somehow manages to insult her. And Yamato, the poor pacifist he is, tells her how proud he is and then berates the two dark haired boys for being, as he put it, "assholes".

She can not help but agree with him on that one.

Nevertheless, Team Seven stands beside her during the ceremony. They never falter from her side. Not that anyone else would ever know who they are. To the onlookers, they are simply the ANBU who now make up the new Hokage's Personal Guard. People who knew them well enough might guess their identities, but they know better than to separate Team Seven. Their story is too well known.

Boar stands in front of all of the rest of his team as the official captain, almost touching shoulders with her, but Sakura trusts in the skills of Monkey, Sheep, Lion, and Hawk just as much. After years of service together, she can not afford to not to put her absolute faith in them. Now, she will rely on them more than ever. It is not just for her protection. The gears have been turning in her head since Tsunade made her announcement.

Together, they have a long way to go. But with the other members of Team Seven at her side, they ease a bit of her fear and she feels might just survive her term in office.

Tsunade gives her resignation speech, short and sweet. Sakura expects nothing less from her Shishou, who always hated the formalities of her job and preferred to simply get them over with. Unfortunately, it also means that the acceptance speech is fast approaching. It is almost as short as Tsunade's because Sakura is not quite sure what to say.

There are confused faces in the crowd. She does not blame them, she is nearly as confused as them. But as the inauguration continues and she finishes talking, the very same looks of confusion are replaced with happiness and pride. Somehow, the people of Konoha have come to accept her and she will not let them down.

At the age of twenty two, Sakura Haruno simultaneously becomes the Rokudaime and the youngest Hokage. Her age is only two years shy of when the Yondaime himself had taken up the role. The robes do not fit her and her face looks strange etched forever in stone alongside those of her predecessors. Nevertheless, the crowd of citizens, her citizens, cheer uproariously when the hat is placed upon her head and the ceremony comes to a close.

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Sakura knows she is not a shinobi of legendary caliber, nor will she ever be. Her face may be etched among those of the greats, but she does not let it go to her head. Tsunade may claim she has nothing more to teach her, but the title of Sanin is still not yet within Sakura's grasp. The determination is strong within her, however, because it will be hers one day.

There is something that Tsunade has that Sakura does not, however. It is something unteachable. It is experience. The Sanin has many years on her and many of them have been war and other unspeakable tragedies. There are many happy memories in her experience as well, but most have not been favorable. But it makes all the difference.

Perhaps Sakura has grown to be a strong shinobi in her own right, but she will never stand equal grounds with the likes of ninjas such as Madara Uchiha or Hashirama and Tobirama Senju. She is simply not made for such things. No, she is a paper ninja. It takes her a while to come to terms with this and she even fights this fact in the beginning. Being teammates with powerhouses such as those of Team Seven, it is natural to want to be like them.

But Sakura comes to accept this about herself.

There is no kekkei genkai to her name, no secret or hidden abilities for her to uncover, no naturally endless supply of chakra, nor a tailed beast sealed inside her. Hell, she is from a civilian clan! The odds are stacked against her and it is already impressive she has survived for this long. So many factors weigh against her and her career as a shinobi. It is unfair. Life is always unfair.

The ninja in her tells her to even the playing fields.

The paper ninja in her knows exactly how to do it.

Slowly, Sakura realizes why she is given the title of Hokage and for the first time since the announcement, she embraces it, if only briefly. She can only hope that whoever stands in her way is prepared for the storm that she will bring because there has never been a Hokage who can understand, and even manipulate, the political game quite like her.

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There are many problems Sakura inherits as Hokage. This means there is no time for rest, even on the very day of her inauguration, even though it is officially set aside as a day of celebration. As such, there is a festival set up in her honor. It will run all weekend and, much to her displeasure, she isn't even allowed the pleasure of enjoying it. Because when the hell is there ever going to to be another festival in her honor again?

Tsunade tells her that if she ever ends a war or achieves anything else equally as awesome, there will definitely be another one.

"Right," Sakura sniffs indignantly, "Like I'm conceited enough to start a war just over that." She then glares at Sai, who is in the middle of opening his mouth to say something but quickly shuts it instead.

After the ceremony, there is much to be done, file to be transferred in her name, envoys to be sent to the other villages to announce the new Hokage, it is all a massive headache. But it must be done as quickly as possible to ensure a smooth transition, else her legitimacy be compromised in any way. A political scandal was the last thing that the village needed at the moment.

Her first night as Hokage is not spent in celebration like she had hoped. There's not even a bottle of alcohol on her desk as congratulations. Instead, the night passes with little fervor as she works until the glassy light of day breaks through the window and alerts her that she has effectively pulled the first all nighter of many to come.

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Sakura chooses Shikamaru as her assistant because while Shizune is great, she is Tsunade's assistant, not hers. When she informs him of her decision he snorts and blows a puff of smoke in her face.

"You're funny."

She crosses her arms and stares at him dead in the eyes, like she is issuing a challenge. "I'm serious."

"Unfortunately, I know," Shikamaru groans, dropping the half smoked cigarette and crushing the embers beneath his foot.

"C'mon, Shika, its a huge honor! Plus you're like, the smartest guy I know. I can't be going around making dumb errors and embarrassing myself in front of people."

"It's also a huge headache and a lot of work that you know I don't want to do. Can't you make my dad do it instead?"

"I don't want Shikaku," she snaps impatiently, crossing her arms with a huff, "I want you as my chief advisor, dammit!"

He sighs. "Jeez, what a drag."

Sakura scowls, issuing herself a tactical retreat as she goes silent for a moment. But the battle is far from over. An idea springs into her head and she bites the inside of her cheek to hide the smile that threatens to spill onto her lips. "If you beat me in shogi, I'll drop the issue entirely." She pauses. "But if I beat you, you accept, no questions asked."

His eyes light up, disregarding everything except the prospect of being able to play. Even though they have played many times before, he is entranced by the thought that not many people are able to say they can beat a Kage at, well, anything. "Deal," Shikamaru agrees much too quickly and sets up the board for their game.

In all honesty, Sakura never stood a chance. While she does better than he has ever seen her play, she even pulls a few moves he has never seen her play before, she still loses. He takes her king within the hour, despite her best efforts. He simply knows the game too well, the fundamentals and tactics are of second nature to him.

But instead of being devastated at the loss, she gives him a knowing smile.

It is his turn to scowl, even though he wins. Singlehandedly, she has just proven that there is no better pick for the job and he hates it when she is right. He already knows what she wants to say. It will probably go, "See? I almost got you! You know why? Because you know how to push me to achieve the best. That's why I want you for the job. And also you're super smart, but I already said that."

Shikamaru cuts her off before she can even open her mouth to speak. "Alright, jeez, fine. I'll fucking do it, troublesome woman."

Her smile turns into a grin. "You start on Monday at 8 in the morning. If you're late, you don't get any vacation days for a year."

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After a week in office, it becomes clear that Sakura can not just be a Hokage. There are certain qualities required of a Kage that she finds she is currently unable to fulfill. At least, unable to in the traditional manner. Since lacking these characteristics might question the legitimacy of her role, she is forced to meet these requirements in a rather non traditional method.

Instead of just the Hokage, she must be a politician. And not just any normal, sappy do-gooder who took up their job with pure and innocent intentions to help the people. While she most definitely works for her citizens, she is not afforded the luxury of going about things the pleasant way.

Sakura must be the sort of politician that plays dirty and ran secret deals outside of the closed door meetings with her coconspiritors. The sort to smile while twisting the metaphorical (or sometimes literal) knife into her enemy's sides and then perhaps laugh about it afterwords. It is not proud work. There is lying and bribery and backstabbing and all the worst kind of things one can imagine.

She thrives. It is perfect for her because hell, she may not be some sort of shinobi with insurmountable power, but the political field is an entirely different matter. Whoever has the more impressive ninjutsu or the rarest kekkei genkai is no longer the determining factor of the battle. It is mind games and manipulation and twisting words until they no longer hold any meaning. But most importantly, it is mentally degrading any who go against her until the mere thought of defying her brings physical pain.

Most assume that the title of Hokage is simply based on raw strength. She had thought this is the beginning as well. But the truth unravels itself the longer she stays in power. While it certainly does not hurt to have the strength to back up threats, there is more than can be revealed through first glance. Not everything is revealed to her immediately, but with time and a whole lot of patience, she knows she will unravel the secret of office.

Begrudgingly, Sakura admits that Tsunade is a damn smart woman, picking her. While Sakura will always lack the traditional raw power of a Hokage, she makes up for it in her political consciousness. Things might just work out okay if she can play her cards right when the time comes, but she will cross that bridge when she gets there.

Who says paper ninja are completely useless?

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Shikamaru is scarily effective when he wants to be. Sakura learns this in the three days after he is officially established in his role as her assistant. If she thought she was working hard before, it is nothing compared to what she is accomplishing now. Papers are moving their way in and out of the office before she can go over them for a third time.

How the hell did Tsunade manage to be slacking off half the time?

Somehow, Shikamaru manages to be lazy and productive at the same time and while it is impressive, it is also a pain in the ass. But she supposes she did ask for this, after all.

A cup of coffee is placed on her desk, her second of the day, and she gulps it down eagerly.

"Better slow down, that's the last cup you're allowed to have today," Shikamaru says, raising an eyebrow at her. He sets down yet another stack of papers for her to go through. It is uncharacteristically hefty, the coffee is definitely to help her get through the entire thing by the end of the day.

"What are you, my mother?" she scowls, but listens anyway, stopping when the mug is half empty, "How much more needs to be done today?"

"This is the last thing, but make sure you read it carefully. It's reaffirmation of the trade deals with one of our grain suppliers. The old copies are in there too, you need to make sure they aren't trying to slip something in under the chaos of the new office."

Sakura groans loudly and opens her mouth to ask something, but is quickly cut off.

"And I'm not going to spike your coffee, so forget about asking. You're not Tsunade, so stop being an alcoholic already."

She groans louder.

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Since she was officially inducted, Sakura has not worn her robes or even her hat. Not once. Instead, they have been hanging on the coat rack in the corner, quietly collecting dust. It's a bit of a shame, since they were tailor made just for her and are of exceptional quality, but she can not bring herself to put them on.

To be fair, Tsunade never wore her robes either, but their reasons are very different. The older woman complained that there was no point in wearing them every day except to fuel her own ego. Besides, the bright red color clashes with some of the clothes she likes to wear.

Sakura, on the other hand, feels she does not deserve it, to wear clothes that so closely resemble the very ones that the Hokages before her. Despite whatever people say to convince her that she does deserve her position, it just doesn't feel right. The robes are supposed to be exactly her size, but no matter how she shifts them, it pinches and pulls, giving her no relief until they are off.

One day, when no one is looking, she lifts the garment from the hook that it has come to rest on. The fabric is heavy in her hands, like weights have been stitched into the very seams. She slides one arm in first, hesitantly, as if she is testing it to see if it will bite. When nothing happens, except for a bit of expected discomfort, she slides her other arm in. With the robe fully on, she stands there, as if in deep contemplation.

Suddenly, Sakura frowns and then sighs, collapsing into the chair behind her desk. "I don't know what I expected," she grumbles to herself, tugging at the collar and then at the sleeves. The familiar scratchy sensation is back and it is not relieved not matter how much she repositions its place on her body.

She looks up forlornly to see the hat still hanging off the rack. She figures she might as well go for it while she's at it and reaches for up to grab it. For a moment, she simply sits, fingering the free hanging cloth that drapes from the brim.

What she wouldn't give to feel as if she deserved to even bear resemblance to the greats before her. The very one who gave their all for Konoha and asked for nothing in return except for the simple privilege of being able to live there. Their determination, their resolve, their strength. It is everything that Sakura wishes for herself, and through her, her village.

She wants to protect Konoha just as they have.

"What can I do?" she asks in a whisper, tracing the red kanji for fire that is proudly displayed on the front, "I've got some large shoes to fill."

The hat has no response for her, leaving her in silence. She lets the quiet moment sit for a few more minutes, before she lifts the headdress to her head. It is lighter than she remembers, not weighing down like from the first time she wore it. The fabric sits light upon her and it feels almost as if it is taking some of the weight from her shoulders. For a brief moment, Sakura imagines that the everything fits just right.

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Two weeks after her inauguration, things finally seem to settle down and the amount of paperwork is actually at a somewhat reasonable level. Tsunade feels confident enough to leave Sakura to her own devices and takes up the head medic position Sakura has recently abandoned. Even Shizune moves on, feeling Shikamaru has appropriately tight reigns on the Rokudaime. She, unsurprisingly, joins the hospital force as well.

This leaves Sakura's Friday night free for the first time in a long while. As soon as the clock strikes seven, she wastes no time in grabbing Shikamaru by the arm and dragging him to the Sparrow's Nest. The members of the Konoha Twelve have been meeting there every Friday since they were legal to drink. For civilians, the age is 18, but shinobi are allowed two years earlier. Sometimes younger if the bartender that night is feeling generous.

It became an unspoken tradition for them. Their custom is never officially planned, but each of them faithfully show up at the same time and place whenever they are available. It is much needed stress relief in their unnecessarily hectic lives.

"Sakura! Haven't seen you in this place in ages!" Kiba barks, perking up at the sight of a familiar pink head that enters the bar, "Actually, haven't seen you out of your office much since you got promoted. How's life treating ya?" He pushes a half empty bottle of sake in her direction, not bothering to offer her a cup to pour it into. He knows better than that.

"Feel like I've been run over by an Akimichi," she groans, bringing the bottle to her lips and ignoring Shikamaru's mutters about her taking after Tsunade in more ways than one. Choji snorts at her joke at the expense of his family, but allows her a pass. Only this once though, because she looks like she has had a rough week, but any more will get her into trouble, Hokage or not. "Seriously, I think I'm ready to retire already."

"Drinks on us, then, Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheers, knocking her shoulders with his own and almost spilling whatever concoction is in his shot glass, "For you and Shikamaru because you tight asses haven't set foot out of the office or let us give you a proper congratulations." He waves the waitress over and orders enough to last them the whole night and, even with the generous income that comes with his new job, burn a hole in his wallet.

For once, she won't argue with his logic. Especially if that congratulations is in the form of hard liquor because tonight she wants to drink until she has trouble seeing five feet in front of her.

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As much as she wishes, the position of Hokage is not a nine to five with weekends free and two weeks paid vacation that she can call in when she likes. Much to Sakura's displeasure, she finds herself at her desk early Saturday morning with a stack of paperwork practically glaring her down.

Even though she would much rather be at home sleeping, she finds herself being not so gently shaken awake by an ANBU with a cat mask. She resists the urge to go back to sleep anyway and is in her office in fifteen minutes.

"Hangovers are a bitch, huh, Forehead?" Ino chirps happily, perching herself on the desk and crossing her legs, "I know you're excited about being let out of your cage and all, but I think you should have stopped after the seventh shot."

Sakura briefly looks up from her position, her forehead to the flat surface of the desk, and shoots the other woman a glare. "Have I ever told you how much I hate you?"

"Oh, don't be like that," Ino sighs and presses glowing green hands to Sakura's temple. The headache subsides quickly and the nausea rumbling in her stomach is quelled as well. "You know, you were head medic for four years, you could have just done that for yourself."

"Hey, when I'm hungover I don't even want to think about doing anything. Besides, I don't get the luxury of drinking enough to be hungover often. And not have to pay for it either" Sakura sits up and rolls her shoulder back slowly, hearing a satisfying pop as she does so. She picks up the papers and begins to glance over them.

"Mooooving on. I wanted you to look over the new T&I budget. We need some new facilities. Charcoal walls are so last season, it's all about Midnight now! And some new seats with restraints I guess, cause the old ones are falling apart. Almost had some guy get out yesterday!" At the memory, Ino lets a giggle slip from her lips. Sakura is not sure she wants to know exactly how the attempted escapee was punished.

"My, my, Yamanka-san," Sakura says as she flips through Ino's proposal without really reading it, "Using your good graces with the Hokage to push your agenda through? You know that can land you in some serious trouble."

Ino rolls her eyes dramatically. "Oh shut up, you like abusing your power more than I do. Besides, it's only a 8% increase from last year."

"Well, as long as you never tell anyone, I suppose there might be something I can do for you." Sakura grins, then signs her name and stamps her official seal on the document.

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Trying out a new writing style, how is it?

I love badass-and-can-kill-everyone Sakura fics, but I also think there is a lot of potential in her not being as strong as her teammates. Think of this as a different sort of exploration on her character as a political powerhouse instead of a traditional powerhouse.

Set in the Narutoverse, but I'm changing lots of event dates around. Team Seven sticks together for another two years, until they're 14, before Sasuke defects to give them a little more chance to bond. Naruto will be gone four years instead of two, which means he comes back when they're 18. This changes over events around too, but everything will be explain, I promise!

Thanks for reading!