Further Preparation

Sasuke made observations of Naruko since discovering she's his fiancee.

She's the most serious trainer he's known as due to being a vampire, battling is in her blood.

Its said that there isn't a single cell in a vampire's body that doesn't know victory and defeat. But in her case, her body knows defeat too damn well because her mentor is one of the Three Dark Lords of the youkai world thus her vampire pride and arrogance inherent in her species in her is utterly crushed so she grew up never arrogant. But at age nine she's as strong as a Jounin already as a vampire's body heals fast she could train longer until she's dead tired. And because she is from a just-as-old bloodline the Uzumaki, she inherited the family traits which mixed well with her blood. Too well.

If not in training, she constantly wears simple but cute, modest dresses but hardly goes out due to her work as an author, sitting in her studio all day with a clone doing both writing and drawing. Socializing is also the last on her priority list as vamps tend to be loners out of instinct. But if they meet their one true love, they'd be the best spouse for each other and are said to be terribly doting and overprotective of their children. Anyone who messes with a vampire family really gets it.

So he has his own motivations in marrying her.

Naruko may have altered his mind but his new mindset is this.

He now wanted to become a vampire himself. He would get her love and her heart that she would want to turn him. If his family is strong and raised the children well with him and Naruko at the head of the family for a millennium, there would be no repeat of a homicide. That and she's a beautiful, serious kunoichi who knows her priorities and understood what's really important. She also has a good head on her shoulders with a moral compass of steel due to wanting her late parents to be proud if only posthumously, and her own upbringing in a proper youkai yakuza family.

To quote them, 'nobody is shit enough to be shit to our own'.

He likes that very much but her own worries are understandable but he wondered who'll win between them. Him courting and charming her or her resisting all a human's attempts of courting her because of her very-much-justified fears? All youkai feared Ghouls. Vampire Berserkers who lost their minds and can only think of killing and feeding without weaknesses of silver and water! If one Ghoul is spotted, despite species difference, rivalries or grudges, they would team up for the Greater Good and kill it. Besides, they'd be doing the poor sod a favor...living the life of a mindless animal is a sucky way of life and most likely a victim of an asshole vampire who turned the human just for kicks and laughs. But because of her good relationship with Kyuubi, Kyuubi cured her of Water Vulnerability while its very easy to avoid silver so the fox didn't bother.

He would take that risk and find his own way without her knowing.

xxx

'You wanted to court Naruko despite knowing the truth, huh?' Jiraiya mused as Sasuke stayed behind to talk with Jiraiya while the girls went home.

'Aa.' said Sasuke. 'Vampire or not, she has everything I wanted in a wife. The village girls on the other hand, are a disappointment. They fail in attitude alone.'

'Its not gonna be easy. Naruko is dead-set in her decision being a pragmatic realist.' Jiraiya told him wryly. 'In fear of ghouls while fully-aware of circumstances between your mothers, she decided not to pursue it and marry a fellow youkai instead which is normal. She values humanity very much that she would have zero respect for anyone who'd give up their humanity. Because of Konoha, she lost her humanity, retaining only her moral compass as a human while doomed to outlive everyone she knew by the time she turns over thirty...unless killed by an enemy stronger than she.' he said. 'She never blamed Akasha and Issa for her vampirism as the two of them are parents and did what any parent would do for a child in the only way they knew how. But she blamed Konoha for what led to her being a vampire. And she's a vampire that lives in a Ninja Village.' he deadpanned.

'Let me tell you this...all ninja villages have its light side, the light side you know, and its dark side only Jounin-above knows. Naruko, due to inheriting her parents' knowledge is fully-aware of that dark side so she doesn't trust easily. There are unsavory people in Konoha who would love to have her or a piece of her for power and huge experiments on poor victims will occur just to find a way to harness vampire powers so she has the old geezer's permission to kill em' all if necessary to prevent the power from falling to the wrong hands.' Jiraiya said darkly. 'That's why she doesn't trust easily and will do all means to keep her secret until its time for her to go.'

'Go?' Sasuke balked. 'Go where?!'

'She only returned here with Kyuubi because released or not, they still retained a bond that would fade in a few years' time. In our lands, there are nine bijuu and their existences alone maintain a delicate power balance. When Naruko was in 'the outside', the balance was slowly tipping over that in six years, she had to come back here with Kyuubi until their bond fades in time. Six years minimum equivalent to the time spent before the Power Imbalance and this is her third year or to be specific, two and half years.' Sasuke did a fast calculation in his head.

'So I have three and half years to change her mind?'

'Pretty much, twerp.' Jiraiya smirked. 'Naru-chan's a beautiful girl. Any guy would want her as a woman for many things. And once she's legal in both worlds...even men older than her would want to touch her on their beds because she's legal.' the mere thought of another man touching her caused the boy's eyes to turn red, but an incomplete activation to Jiraiya's amusement. Sasuke still doesn't know his Sharingan activated in training after all. 'Same goes for Sakura. If she turns 13 next year, she's just as legal and so are you.'

'...'

'Adult...huh?' Sasuke muttered. His birthday is in July. Currently he's only 12 but will be 13 soon. Naruko will be 13 in October and Sakura will be 13 next year, being the youngest out of them. 'Hey.'

'What now?'

'...what's the Adult Menu in the Massage Service in the Hot Springs?'

Upon smiling goofily, Jiraiya simply gave him Icha Icha and mentioned pages for him to read.

'After the typical massage...is a pleasure massage...and what usually follows, are the pages I told you about if the customers asked their masseuses for a 'Happy Ending'.' Jiraiya smirked. 'Get reading at home, brat. Come to think of it I have to give Naruko the talk too as her Legal Guardian.' and he was gone.

Sasuke stared at the small books on his hands and went home.

Needless to say he discovered what 'Adults Only' means now.

"And she'll be drawing THIS?!" and he could barely picture himself doing it with her as per his rights as her fiancee...but...

Its scary.

How could a man and woman easily do something like this while naked in the same room?!

xxx

Naruko swore she had a headache building up in her as Jiraiya gave her 'the talk' in preparation for her future job as an illustrator by using a pair of Kage Bunshin and made her watch them go at it.

At first they're fully-dressed, with Foreplay about to start...and underway through. Jiraiya was teaching her as the clones moved.

From start to finish.

'Well, that's one thing you must also know as a writer.' Jiraiya chuckled as the clones vanished after reaching the 'Finish Stage'. 'But sometime soon, you have to experience it for yourself otherwise you won't know what you're writing about. Humanity's third greatest pleasure other than food and sleep, is physical and sexual love. Love isn't just all about emotions you know.' he said. 'When you find a boyfriend worthy of you and has my approval someday, you'll understand.'

'...' Naruko just twitched before wanting a topic switch. 'So did you guys catch a piggy regarding the hostiles I sensed?'

Jiraiya went serious.

'Yes...which is why we took measures. I'll tell you three tomorrow at our Training Grounds.'

xxx

One night...

Naruko went out to train in the Training Grounds she's had permission for.

She had been increasing her speed, reaction time and reflexes by having her clones be more and more merciless to her in their programming. She intended to surpass Akua and surpassing Akua brings her a step closer to Fuhai's level as out of the three dark lords, he himself admitted he's the weakest in combat but the strongest and best skilled in magic. Mikogami Tenmei was second strongest and Akasha is the strongest. Even though she'd just be sixty steps away from him in a 100-step stairway. To reach Mikogami's level required fifty more steps above Fuhai, and Akasha's level...due to being a Shinso, is 100 more steps above Mikogami, being one of the most powerful beings in the world.

She did a lot of research on Akua with Huang Family Resources. She was the Miao Family's greatest assassin at just a mere 13 years of age before going to the Shuzens at age 14 with a high level of speed, reaction and reflexes because she has a very weak endurance compared to other Shuzen Sisters that Fuhai called her a 'Glass Cannon'. Because Naruko as Ming Zi belongs to the Huang Family, he made her stronger for the sake of the family as a Foil to Akua. She mastered Chinese Martial Arts that utilizes soft bodies with high flexibility levels, speed, agility, reaction time, reflexes, and a well-trained body as well as numerous assassination, stealth, infiltration and hacking skills. She also knows Barrier-Based Youjutsu and created her own inspired off Talisman Magic, creating and storing spells ahead of time so she has no worries of wrongly spending her own youki in fights and last longer in fights. This essentially made her a Talisman Sorceress in specialty and out of convenience.

But right now, her focus is mastery of the reason she is to be a Foil for the Huang Family.

The Jigentou.

Granted, Linlin also knows the Jigentou but her stamina is piss-poor due to the fact that she not only lacked training, but also because of her illness that not only degraded her body but also took her life. Her poor stamina carried on to her second life as a Kyonshi. A Kyonshi's body can never benefit from physical training other than gaining better movements compared to being typical stiff corpses through many mangical treatments in Linlin's case but they can still benefit off magical training. Linlin began to learn the Jigentou using the Cheat Code. But due to horrible stamina, she can only use it for a short while. She is thus a Warrant Officer that specializes in Strategy and Youjutsu Sorcery.

Unknown to both herself, Akua and Fuhai, Naruko began researching into the Jigentou's intangibility without knowing Akua can do it, and Fuhai, while aware of such a potential never bothered to because a Jigentou can stop another Jigentou. This was her aim to be a foil to her parents' killer using Kyuubi who can also be intangible. But Obito can be intangible for five minutes while the Jigentou can be continuous, but if deactivated, there is a forty-second opening time before it can be used again, and a lot can happen in those forty seconds alone.

So she has been working a way around it since mastering the Jigentou with Kage Bunshin while creating new youjutsu-martial arts attacks as a further edge against Obito and against Alucard.

She wants her revenge badly so she will do all means without going nuts over it.

xxx

Next day...Jiraiya came to them seriously.

'Alright you trio of twerps, listen up.' said Jiraiya. 'We have obtained two piggies from among our foreign delegates,' he said seriously that made two out of three gulp.

Piggies usually means captives for friendly unknowing ears.

'Piggies?' Sakura gasped out.

'Yes. After thoroughly cooking them, we discovered that there will be a joint-invasion. Suna and that new village Otogakure who wants our asses.'

'Eh?! But aren't we allies?!' Sakura spluttered out, wide-eyed indignantly.

'Sakura, alliances only exist in paper and through business or military deals or for a period of peace after war cost everyone both human, financial and material resources that take time to replenish.' Naruko quipped. 'But once the deal is off or over, that paper signed by two villages essentially becomes scrap paper. Worthless. In Suna's case as our ally, they probably decided there's no more worth in the relationship between our countries.'

'Naru's right but there's one more reason why Suna allied with Otogakure that's surprisingly none of the above.' said Jiraiya as his students stiffened. 'Their Daimyo, the Wind Daimyo is outsourcing missions meant for them to us, essentially crippling Sunagakure with poverty until they can no longer exist. Suna as a result, is desperate.' the three genins are surprised by this incredibly unusual but nasty development. 'This begun twelve years ago that they created a Jinchuuriki in hopes to regain the Daimyo's confidence in them back, but that ended in failure due to a shoddy sealing method that made him uncontrollable and that guy is in Konoha right now, a year older than you taking the Chuunin Exams as a front. By this year, things must be so bad that they're willing to ally with another village just to prove themselves superior and end their grief of poverty. They gambled with an unlikely person who offered them a way out. One of our Nukenin, Orochimaru.'

'WHAT?!'

Jiraiya looked grim indeed. It caused a field day on that council meeting.

'Orochimaru approached them at their peak of crisises, and that since his exile, built Otogakure with financial support of Rice Country's Daimyo. He has been amassing an army of his own as revenge on Sandaime who denied him the Yondaime post with a really justified good reason.' he said wryly. 'However due to security and changes of our village since Martial Law, not even he can go in as our new security alerts us to Nukenin sneaking back in. Trying to kill sensei aside and mess up our village while really using Suna as expendable human resources and as fallout patsies without them knowing, he is after another thing...' and he pointedly looked at Sasuke.

'Me?! What the hell for?!' Sasuke squawked out while pointing at himself.

'The Sharingan is essentially a copy-machine but yours isn't awakened yet.' Jiraiya lied. Sakura had to hold her tongue as she and Naruko knows its awakened but cannot say a word until their real sensei comes back. 'The idea is to approach and take advantage of your feelings regarding your family's massacre and seduce you with power.' Sasuke stiffened at that. 'But you already know the truth behind that so that won't work now but they don't know that. That, and you have no need of a man who uses shortcuts to power with high costs when your skills are getting good.' he scoffed disdainfully.

'Orochimaru took to human experimentation on himself and others to gain strength along with many kinjutsu and questionable drugs that require high maintenance or lose benefits.' he said. 'You and Sakura, with Naru for a sparring buddy are essentially the best fighters of your age group. The three of you are the strongest, even compared to last years' graduates with high level in teamwork in basics and ninja tools. But still, more room for improvement in your basics. People often forget that our bodies and the basics are our best friends in our line of work. Without basics, mastering advanced skills will either be difficult or forever beyond you. But for one who are virtuoso of basics, reaching peak mastery of basics at that, learning advanced and increasingly difficult skills will become easier for you, compared to others. Your bodies and chakra are much more mature with bigger capacities compared to that of your peers, but basics are basics. Your real sensei will start you on jutsu basics and other various ninja skills before moving to advanced ones. The faster you learn and master the more skills he'll dump on your lap until he runs out of stuff to teach you.'

'The perfect example of Basic Benefits...Naru told me that she told you to create jutsus that will help you in your roles in your first C-Rank Job Hokage-jiji authorized.' Jiraiya continued. 'And she gave you three weeks. So tell me, how fast did you master them? The hard part is planning and designing, but execution is the easiest...actually casting it as a jutsu I mean.' Sasuke and Sakura exchanged looks. 'A couple days when normally, it takes weeks to master a jutsu.' the Sannin smiled. 'That couple of days is because you have a pretty good level of chakra control.'

'You have until new year next year for you to further hone your basics and expanding your reserves. Once you raw ores are polished enough, what's difficult for others will be easier for you. Simple as that and patience has its rewards, rewards impatient morons will never get to enjoy.' Jiraiya finished. 'Now, We have until a week before the nobles come. Get training and exceed your current limits! Only you and your bodies itself will know when you'll reach your peak as no teacher in the world can tell for you! Once you reach your peak in all factors, you'd be a Jounin in everything but official rank!'

'Hai!'

And Jiraiya left them there.

xxx

'Jounin huh...?' Sakura mused thoughfully as when the day ended, they all lied down on the grass to rest a little before going home. 'Naru-san, you're closest to Jounin, right?' she asked Naruko.

'That's probably what Iruka-sensei said, but I call bull. I'm just hardworking that I showed results highly unlikely of a typical graduate student. I have yet to reach my peak.' Naruko scoffed. 'To be a Jounin...they say you have to have to reach the peak of your Chakra Reserve Developments your genetics and potential can afford you since birth. Absolute Mastery in two chakra elemental affinities. Mastery of the Ninjutsu and Genjutsu you possess. Mastery in some weapons suited to your abilities, Shurikenjutsu, Pyrotechnics, Poison and Counter-Poison, Traps, Sabotage, Guerilla Warfare, Assassination, Stealth and Infiltration. A Strong Swimmer. High Level to Master of Taijutsu. Years of experience in many A to S-Class jobs with plenty of success. You don't have to master everything I stated, one can only master so much in their lives that most Jounin only master what they're comfortable with, but the absolute must-have important requirement that no Jounin-Candidate must lack is the Elemental Chakra Masteries and a big number of successful jobs with clean records.' she snorted.

'As long as you master your preferred skillset and obtained success, you can still qualify to be a Jounin. By Mastering many stuff and have a number of mission successes with no negative remarks, you'll get famous in the village. The villagers will then send recommendations to the Hokage as to who their favorite is to become Jounin. The Kage will then recognize an individual based on qualities recognized by a great number of people. With high voting rapport, that lucky chosen individual will become Jounin.'

'Easier said than done!' Sakura sputtered at the absurdly long list. 'We can only do what we can!'

'We'll still qualify even with a few fields.' the blonde drawled.

From nearby, Sasuke can only snort.

Naruko who can live for a millennium or longer assuming nobody kills her yet before then, can definitely have all time in the damn world to master all that. Since the age of six, she was taught one style once she's finished learning and mastering the previous one. Styles that suited a woman's body and natural flexibility in External Arts, and all six Internal Arts. She would qualify as a Taijutsu Master and an Assassin Master as her role for her Family is an Assassin, she knows many skills required of such. She also must be working to master the knowledge left to her by her parents to qualify. But for Naruko to earn her rank, she must accomplish a lot of missions as a Chuunin and get a lot of public support as soon as she gets promoted.

So he has some catching up to do.

He hopes for his Sharingan to awaken soon to help him progress faster.

xxx

In a Training Ground, the craggy area Jiraiya and Naruko sparred in...

Jiraiya paid a visit to Kakashi who was sparring with a Naruko clone.

'So, got your shape back yet?' Jiraiya asked Kakashi.

'Aa. Made it on time too for the 'big day'.' said Kakashi. 'I can't believe how much I rusted.' he sighed as he let himself fall on his back on the ground, dead tired.

'For now, the 'big day' is getting closer. Rest for now. Get your shape back again after the chaos died down some.' Jiraiya advised.

'Hai hai...what about you?'

'Aa. I got my shape back too.' said Jiraiya. 'We're ready for ol' snake face. We'll be disguising as jiji's bodyguards on that day too.'

'That day eh...its been fifteen years since we were last in a war.' Kakashi mused thoughtfully. 'And now...here we go again.'

'Yep. Here we go again.' Jiraiya agreed rather exasperatedly. 'While we can't blame Suna for having a jackass Daimyo, this does NOT excuse HIM on the other hand.'