Disclaimer: I hold no claim to any of the characters or situations of Naruto.

AN: This is the continuation of "The Theory".


Tsunade

Tsunade stared suspiciously at the seemingly harmless container of sake standing innocuously on the center of her paper laden desk beside a colossal stack of unfiled mission reports. The hokage's amber eyes narrowed from above the interlaced fingers upon which her chin was cradled.

'Something suspicious is going on here,' the busty blonde sensed as she glanced warily around her once more. 'There's no way Shizune would allow sake to be in my office when I'm supposed to be working.'

"I have to find out what's going on," Tsunade mused. "Oh well, there's no use letting good sake go to waste."

With no further ado, she pulled out a ceramic cup from one of the lower drawers in her sagging desk. Lifting up the white bottle, she poured the sake into her cup and brought it before her face. Swirling the clear fluid, she stared meditatively into the small vessel before shrugging and downing the shot of potent liquor with a satisfied sigh.

'That's good stuff. This must have cost a fortune,' she thought as she poured herself another generous cup and knocked it back. "You two can come out now."

"Hello Tsunade-sama," Ino chirped as she and Sakura jumped through the open window where they were lurking and into the room. Her partner in crime scratched the back of her head sheepishly as she smiled.

"To what do I owe the honor of your presence?"

"Well," Ino began, "it has to do with a trivial matter that Sakura and I were discussing yesterday…"

"Hardly trivial if you are willing to go so far as bribing me with good sake," Tsunade interrupted wryly as she sipped at said bribe from the newly replenished cup.

"Well, perhaps not so trivial," Ino conceded. "You see, we came up with this theory and we've decided that it needs to be tested."

"The problem is," Sakura continued, "there could be a few difficulties in doing so."

"That is where you come in," Ino finished.

"Should I be worried?"

"Of course not," Ino gasped theatrically. "It is simply a matter of assuaging our curiosity."

"And the process of acquiring this knowledge could also be beneficial in the additional information gained," Sakura added.

"You've got me intrigued," Tsunade admitted. "So, just what is this theory?"

"You know how there are so few kunoichi in relation to the number of male shinobi?" Ino asked.

"Yes."

"Well," Ino said primly, "it occurred to us that due to this unequal distribution regarding gender that it was highly likely that the male shinobi's sexual appetites would have to be allayed by those of like dispositions resulting from a lack of female companionship."

Tsunade blinked. "What?"

"Now," Sakura took over, "with perseverance it is easy enough to monitor the sexual inclinations of the shinobi here in our own village. The difficulty lies with discovering if our theory holds true with shinobi who lie outside of the hidden village system and the squads consisting of one kunoichi for every two male shinobi."

"For our test subjects we have chosen the Akatsuki," Ino relayed.

"Before you reject this you should hear the rest of our plan," Sakura continued blithely as Tsunade opened and closed her mouth with a skeptical look. "Obviously there is a certain element of danger involved with observing such dangerous and unpredictable characters. For this we have decided to utilize what human elements we have at our disposal and that are willing to undergo such a high risk endeavor to gather data."

"However," Ino interrupted, "there is an equal amount of gain involved. In addition to either supporting or rejecting our theory, the details gathered could also be advantageous to Konoha since we would be obtaining potentially valuable information that is extraneous to our theory but could be of assistance to later taking down this highly iniquitous organization and protecting the whole of the shinobi world."

"It would also be an excellent test of the deductive reasoning of all the shinobi involved," Sakura pointed out as her mentor sipped at her sake with a disbelieving stare. "Not to mention, the select few included in research retrieval will also have ample opportunity to hone all of the skills necessary for reconnaissance missions."

"You two really thought this out didn't you?" Tsunade murmured.

"Naturally," Ino answered as she and Sakura waited with bated breath for their answer.

"And for what reason do you need my assistance?"

"Well, we wouldn't want anyone we involve in this to get in any trouble for going out for information," Sakura said seriously.

"It would be much easier if we had your cooperation," Ino agreed with equal gravity.

"Naturally we don't want to make the Akatsuki suspicious of our intentions," Sakura mentioned. "Therefore we wouldn't be able to send people out constantly or in substantial numbers. Everything would have to be done inconspiciously. There should be no negative impact on the defensive abilities of the village."

"These are also peaceful times, if you don't count the threat posed by the Akatsuki," Ino supplemented. "So the extra work would keep us prepared and in top form."

"So you want me to find people to send on these pseudo-missions?"

"No, of course not!" Sakura objected. "We would find volunteers who would be willing to assist us in our quest for answers. We're not asking you to send people out like that."

"Just to give them permission to gather information," Tsunade speculated.

"Yes," the two hopeful kunoichi chorused.

"I'm not so sure about this," Tsunade trailed off as the conspirators waited on tenterhooks.

"It is an interesting proposition," a new voice said from the window. "However, I have my doubts that you would find any information to support your theory."

With this, Jiraiya appeared crouching on the windowsill, blocking the waning light from the room. All three women started, settling down after they recognized the intruder.

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked suspiciously with another sip of sake as she grumbled about people not recognizing the reason for doors.

"The plan for going about proving or disproving this theory is quite good, but I can already tell you that it will be disproved."

"And why do you say that?" Ino inquired.

"What shinobi would chase after his own kind when there are so many exquisite examples of feminine beauty around him to sample?" Jiraiya grinned.

Tsunade lifted her brow. "So you think they're wrong."

"I'd be willing to bet that they are," Jiraiya proclaimed.

"I accept that bet," Tsunade said with a smirk as she threw back the rest of her sake. "Same terms as usual?"

"Naturally," Jiraiya grinned as he rubbed his hands together. "I do so love doing business with you, my dear Tsunade."

"You won't win this time," Tsunade growled competitively, a light flush adorning her face from alcohol consumption.

"So you say," Jiraiya responded, waving his hand and leaping down into the city.

"I will do everything at my disposal for you to prove your theory," Tsunade said to the two kunoichi standing before her. "You two had better win me this bet. Dismissed!"

Sakura and Ino swiftly retreated from the room, through the door this time. The two rushed down the stairs and out into the warmth of the evening sunshine before embracing each other with squeals of jubilation. Elated grins lit upon their faces as they bounded down the street towards their base of operations, more commonly known as Ino's room.

"So everything worked out to plan," Jiraiya said as he popped out of the shadows, startling the kunoichi.

"Yes!" Ino grinned madly as she bounced giddily on the balls of her feet.

"We can't thank you enough for agreeing to help us convince Tsunade to allow this," Sakura smiled as she bowed gracefully in gratitude.

"No problem," the toad sage responded. "Just keep me updated on how things are going and we'll call it even. Remember not to skimp on any juicy details. This might just be the inspiration I need to write my next book."

Ino tilted her head. "So you're going to venture into the unknown?"

"Perhaps," Jiraiya mused. "Well, I'd better be off to do some more research for the latest installment of my Icha Icha series."

With this, the Sannin vanished into the shadows from whence he came, leaving two cynical kunoichi trying not to wonder about the dubious nature of their unlikely partner's behavior.

"Think we can use that to enlist Kakashi's assistance?" Ino asked of her longtime friend.

"Maybe, but not quite yet," Sakura answered. "We want to get this started before we involve him."

"Sounds like a good idea."

"So, any ideas as to whom we recruit first?"

"Let's wait until we're firmly ensconced in headquarters before discussing our possibilities. We don't want prying ears to be privy to information of such a delicate nature."