Chapter 3

It has been a few months since Sasuke's last visit to her estate and Ino felt like she could finally breathe. The first month, Ino wouldn't fully relax because she didn't know when he would show up again.

After finalizing the breakup, Ino didn't want to lie to herself. She was heartbroken again, her feelings for the Prince wouldn't just go away even when he did all that in her past life. It didn't make matters easier when Ino thought about how the Sasuke she knew now was not the same Sasuke she knew in her past life. From his perspective, the breakup blindsided him.

If Sasuke had not let go of her so easily, there was a chance that Ino's resolve may waver.

But he hasn't made any move towards the young heiress since then, which made her think that maybe Sasuke had finally understood the reasons why they had to stop.

It hurt how quickly he just let her go and made Ino realize how easy it was for Sasuke to fall for Sakura might have been because he didn't love her enough.

It still hurt, but it was for the best.

Sunlight peeked into Ino's study.

It was the end of winter now and spring was about to come to the Uchiha empire.

To finally take the step in taking charge of her future, Ino busied herself within the last few months.

She was able to find the farmer with the farmland and they had exchanged a few letters talking about making a sale. Of course, the extra reward of a cottage and a store in the farmer's downtown made her offer the most tempting out of all the offers he had gotten from two other noble houses.

She read one of the reports given by Ken and saw that Baron Haruno had also made the attempt to buy the farmland from the farmer. However, with House Yamanaka's generosity and status, it was a very easy decision for him to make who to sell his land for.

With spring coming, Ken and Ino had plans to visit the small village to inspect and sign documents for the handover. Once that was done, Ino planned on checking out the plot to see of any signs of underground Jade that gave Baron Haruno enough wealth to move from the quiet countryside to the Capital.

Now that this opportunity had been taken away from them, there was a very small chance of them making it to the capital. Even if they had found other means, Sasuke and Ino were over. In the off chance that the Haruno's were able to move to the Capital and they were to meet, Sakura could have Sasuke for all she wanted.

Someone knocked on her door.

"Come in."

Ken walked into the room and bowed, "I've found the man you were looking for. He is currently getting prepared to come meet with you."

Ino placed the report down on her desk and stood up.

"Good. And has he had a comfortable stay?"

The elderly man nodded, "Yes. I still don't understand why you've brought him here, but I trust your judgment."

Ino smiled at the words, "I've seen him before and he has the potential of becoming one of the greatest swords to protect this land."

The man looked like he didn't fully believe the blonde, but he bowed his head in silence and trust. Whatever the lady requested, there must be a valid reason and Ken was not about to voice out his disagreement.

The Duke did not know of the new guest staying in their household, and Ino intended to sneak Naruto into Hinata's private estate in the East to start his formal training as a knight. She just had to find a suitable teacher, since Hiashi Hyuuga, the current Hyuuga head, would not be able to teach Naruto. The moment he sees Naruto, she knew he would report to her father directly. And she just could not pass up this chance of a lifetime.

In her first life, she also heard of the great feats Naruto had as a mage, having the ability to fully control the massive mana he had inside of him in addition to his exceptional sword fighting skills. From what she remembered, he was highly skilled in air mana. He was so skilled that he was able to win the decisive war in the South regarding the Island of Tea that had an abundant amount of coal and mana stones that was crucial in maintaining power in powerful empires. Especially the Sand and Fire empires.

There was a booklet in front of Ino that Ken had compiled for her.

That island was the key turning point and was the bloodiest part of the ongoing war with Suna the past two decades. The Uchiha and Sabaku empires had been in a cold war since before Ino was born, but with the recent unrest in the South, where the closest port from the Uchiha empire was to the Island, it will soon snowball into the big war that would bring many casualties to both the great empires.

If Itachi hadn't chanced upon Naruto fighting the bandits and assassins after him, he wouldn't have had enough support and power on the Uchiha side to shift the tide of the war. Without Naruto's help and power, the Uchiha may have lost one of its greatest colonies to their rivals and would have led to their subsequent loss of power.

It was also around that time that Sasuke had taken over the Crown Prince position in case something happened to his brother. It was a mutual agreement between the brothers to ensure that the Uchiha continue their bloodline. Itachi Uchiha had bravely taken up the position to lead the war, just like his father when he was young, even if he was a pacifist.

In order to protect his family.

From what Ino heard from the Hyuuga knights when they came back from the war, Itachi and Naruto fighting together were like fire and wind, supporting each other, creating a wilder and powerful fire that burned a large portion of the Suna forces.

After that war, the Sabaku empire had lost more than half its power and its territory to the Uchiha empire.

It was also one of the periods that Ino remembered felt like she was happy. She spent time with Sasuke freely and in plain view of the nobles and the royal family, since her engagement with Itachi was transferred over to Sasuke once he officially took up the Crown Prince position.

That was, until Sakura had arrived in the Capital and the death of Itachi shortly after his glorious victory happened.

She had to make sure that Naruto reached his level at the Island of Tea war in the past life as soon as possible in this lifetime.

The bottom line was Itachi cannot be killed. Though he did win that war, there were conspiracies of how there was a civil war brewing within the Uchiha empire and that victory was the key.

Because of the civil unrest and fear of another war, no one questioned how the Yamanaka was accused of treason when evidence of Itachi's murder was found. Even if they were fabricated, Ino and her family were innocent.

Ino was flipping through the tutors, but nothing felt like they were the right fit.

The people here were either disloyal or were people who would not care about teaching Naruto properly. She came upon the profile of Orochimaru, the highest ranking person in the Judiciary pillar of their empire, the Grand Judge, and she felt chills and her heart started beating faster from anxiety.

Before Sasuke personally took over her torture, Orochimaru was the person who tortured her. He would drown her in a clear tank full of boiling hot water, delighting in seeing the well-loved and spoiled child of the Yamanaka Dukedom slowly descend into despair. He had considerable mana as well, but knowing his true nature disgusted the blond and she did not want someone like him teaching Naruto. He was also another person she would want to avoid in this lifetime.

None of them caught Ino's eye, until she flipped onto the last page.

Jiraya.

He was an orphan that was taken under the tutelage of the previous High General, Hiruzen Sarutobi from the Sarutobi clan. Before the Hyuuga family took over, the Sarutobi clan was the main family in charge of protecting the Imperial family. Just like that night when Naruto was born, they went over to the Namikaze Dukedom to help quell the unrest at the command of the emperor, but were also wiped out from the radiation that came from the mana explosion.

Now, there were only three people left from the Sarutobi clan, Asuma and his wife Kurenai, and their nephew, Konohamaru, who now run a humble weapon shop that supplies for the Hyuuga family. Hiruzen, unfortunately, sacrificed his life so that his grandson Asuma could escape and continue on the clan's bloodline. With much of their forces wiped out, they had no choice but to give up their position as the protector of the realm to the next strongest knight's family, the Hyuugas. Jiraya, a valued member of the family, soon gave up his general position and left the empire to travel the world.

Jiraya, whom Hiruzen treated as his own son, had learned the ways of the Sarutobi. He had won countless wars for the empire of Konoha, and was one of the reasons why their empire was prosperous and rich. Her gut was telling her that he was the best teacher for Naruto. He was, after all, the person who had taught and trained Naruto's own father.

"Perfect."

Ino immediately wrote a letter addressing the legendary general and summoned Ken to deliver the letter to Jiraya.

Ino sighed in happiness, things were slowly moving into places.

There was another knock that sounded to Ino's private study.

"Come in."

A young man with spiky blonde hair, clear blue eyes dressed in simple clothes entered her study.

He had his hands behind her, head bowed, as if showing respect to his benefactor. Ino had, after all, paid a huge sum to his mercenary company in order to buy his freedom.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

At those words, the blonde man raised his head.

Ino was startled at the fiery hatred he had towards her. He looked at her, assessing her before spatting out words, "Don't expect me to be grateful for what you did for me."

Ino expected this response.

Naruto had grown up hated and ridiculed by the people at the capital. Even the slums were not open and welcoming to him. Narutally, he would have his guard up against everyone, especially towards the nobility.

He had every right to be cautious of her, a noble, one of the people who ridiculed him and made him feel more of an outcast. However, despite the hatred, he remained respectful in his stance and he did not immediately attack her. Which made Ino believe that he was just misguided and she wanted to be there to help him reach his maximum potential.

She knew, deep down, that he had a good heart.

He was one of the people who made her lonely stay in that dark cell slightly easier to bear.

Ino only smiled in response, "I don't expect you to be grateful at all."

She moved from behind her desk and walked towards the angry blonde.

Ino stood in front of the man and reached her hand out, "But, I do want to be your comrade."

Her hand was in mid-air, waiting for Naruto to shake her hands, but all he did was sneer and ignore her gesture.

Slowly, Ino put her hand back down.

"Look, I know that you have extraordinary abilities, in both swordsmanship and mana control. I want to help you reach your full potential so that you can finally be free of the ridicule and contemptuous looks from people in our society and actually gain enough power to be able to help the people who have been unkind to you. To finally be seen as a hero, instead of a monster that killed innocents."

Ino continued, "You might think that I do not understand, seeing as I grew up in such luxury, but I myself had experienced such injustice. I acknowledge the power I hold, and I do not intend to sit idly."

Her throat closed up, remembering the memories from her past life. She did not have enough power then, but she can start building it up now. She would become the wolf in sheep's clothing.

"You might not know this, but the person who has been helping the people of the slums is me. I have been making donations under a fake name in order to alleviate the burdens of the people in that part of the Capital, even if it's just a little."

The blonde's eyes shook at those words. "No. There is no way someone who's as spoiled and pampered as you would be generous enough to help common people like us."

Ino knew that although the slums were not kind to Naruto, he still felt some sort of camaraderie at the fact that they were all humans trying to survive to live the next day. And this gesture was something he did not expect from a haughty noble lady such as Yamanaka Ino.

He had heard of a secret benefactor who would send out meals every Sunday to the people of the slums and supplies during winter times. But he did not expect it to be the person standing in front of him.

Ino thought back to the past, this must have been one of the reasons why he was kind to her when she was at her worst in the past life.

He was able to find out about her alias from one of the prisoners. They were friendly with Naruto and had shared that he saw a woman with pale blonde hair walk past his cell, the same color of blonde that helped pass out food that one cold winter in the slums.

Ino did live a life of luxury, but this did not mean that she turned a blind eye to what was happening in the capital. This was one of the reasons why Emperor Fugaku believed the young and beautiful Yamanaka would be capable of being a right and just Empress. Just like the Empress Makoto. Of course, only the people closest to her knew of her charitable nature, so it was a shock to them when they found out that she had "murdered" the equally just and charitable Crown Prince Itachi.

Of course, since public opinion of the blonde plummeted to an all time low, they were unable to voice out doubts in case they get pulled into the politics.

Ino raised her hand towards him again, "So, it's up to you whether you would take this hand to gain enough power to help those people in need, or to simply walk away and keep doing whatever it is you're doing now. Meaningless and without purpose."

The hatred behind the blue eyes slowly faded away and Ino could tell that he was conflicted. His hands were still behind him, but she knew that the words she said resonated within him.

His whole purpose was to be the protector of people without protection. The people who were ostracized and unwanted by society.

When Naruto had dropped by her cell that one night, bringing fresh food to Ino who hadn't had a decent meal in weeks, they had a short conversation.

Naruto knocked on her cell door, "Ino, I've brought fresh porridge for you. It's not the best tasting one, but I tried."

Ino, who had been sitting on the lumpy mattress the past few hours with her arms wrapped around her bony legs, did not move.

There was another gentle knock, "Come on, open the lid up so I can pass you something to warm you up."

The blonde, who sat motionless, finally opened her dry mouth, "...why are you being nice to me."

It was silent for a few moments before Naruto spoke again, "My sole purpose in life..."

"... is to be the protector of people without protection. I will do my best to protect every single person in this empire, believe it."

Slowly, Naruto brought his hands forward.

He raised his right hand and clasped the waiting hands of the girl who bought his freedom from the mercenary company.

Ino smiled, relieved that Naruto had believed in her.

He raised his head and in his clear blue eyes, Ino felt the determination.

"I won't give up. I will be the sword that will protect this realm, believe it."

"I believe you."

After her first meeting with Naruto, Ino immediately put her plans to transfer him to Hinata's estate in secret.

She was also overjoyed that Jiraya had accepted her proposal and was already on his way to Hinata's estate.

I would be honored to teach the son of the great Minato Namikaze.

When Ino read those lines, she knew that she had picked the perfect person. He would not abuse Naruto and would teach him the Sarutobi ways to the best of his abilities.

Then, Ino glanced down at the open letter she was holding.

It had the Imperial Family's seal.

She sighed and knew that she was being summoned by the Emperor, which meant that she would bump into Sasuke again.

She did not want to run into the Second Prince again, especially since he hasn't bothered her in months and she felt like she could finally breathe again. She just wanted to forget about him.

Her fingers started to pick at her nails again, a habit she picked up whenever she felt anxious when her life started crumbling down. Before she had died, her fingers became nubs with how often she would pick and bite at them. She looked down and saw that she still had picked at her fingers so much that it started bleeding.

"Ino! Are you ready? The carriage has been prepared."

Her mother entered her room, dressed in more official garb appropriate for an audience with the Emperor and the Empress.

"Coming, mother."

Ino said, dejectedly.

Her mother misunderstood her intention and said, "Don't worry daughter, Itachi is a fine young man and even though this is an arranged marriage, he will treat you right."

She came up to Ino and placed her arms on her shoulders, "Come on, darling. There's no need to feel sad about this. You're going to be Crown Princess!"

Her mother said excitedly, as they walked out of her room.

Ino, who was still anxious about going to the Palace, said, "Yes, mother."

It wasn't that she did not want to see Itachi, it was that she did not want to see Sasuke.

When they reached their carriage, their coachman approached the mistress of the house, "Duke Inoichi had gone to the Palace first on an urgent matter and will meet us there instead."

Kara nodded her head and went into the carriage first. Ino soon followed after.

Once the doors were closed, her mother, who sat opposite of her, started to look over Ino's outfit.

"Hmm.. you could've worn a more luxurious dress, my darling."

It was a simple light purple full length dress with an off-shoulder that showed Ino's bare shoulders. There were not many intricate beadings or designs, which was what Ino had intended. It was simply a meeting with the Emperor, but her mother fussed over her as if she was about to enter her coming-of-age ceremony.

Her mother had always been like this, wanting to keep us pretenses, but after the life Ino had lived in the past, she had stopped caring about these frivolous things.

"It's fine mother, I would wear a better dress next time, alright?"

"Hmph, you used to care so much about wearing the loveliest and prettiest dresses, what happened, dear? Are you going through something?"

Her mother asked, worriedly.

"If there's something bothering you, please let your mother know so I can help you with it."

Ino stayed silent.

How could she tell her mother what was bothering her? She would only think she was crazy.

"... I'm alright, mother. I just feel a bit tired."

Kara looked like she didn't believe her words, but she let it go. Once her daughter was ready, she would come forward with whatever it was that bothered her. But she did not miss the exhaustion behind her eyes and the dark circles that had to be covered by a thicker layer of makeup.

For a few months now, she had noticed her daughter losing more energy during the day, as if she was not able to sleep. There were a few instances where she would wake up in the middle of the night and saw that Ino was out in their garden, staring at the moon in deep contemplation.

Even now, Ino was looking out the window with empty eyes.

Kara opened her mouth, wanting to pry into her daughter's thoughts once again but their carriage stopped.

"Madam, we have arrived at the Imperial Palace."

Ino made a move to leave the carriage, "Let's go and get this over with, mother."

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review!