Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto


Developments:

A month had passed since the children's disappearance, and the search had died down, much to the relief of Koharu and Danzo. The village just didn't have the resources to continue searching; although that didn't mean they still wouldn't be on the lookout or listen for any info on them.

The search dying down wasn't the only development that gave the two elders cause for celebration. The babies had begun showing signs they were talented beyond their age. For one, Naru had begun babbling something most infants didn't do until they were much older; when Koharu had learned this, she had ordered the Root agents to expose the girl to as many stimuli as possible. That entailed showing the girl flashcards with words, speaking to her more, and overall, encouraging her to speak.

As for the two children, Sasuke was alert and paying attention whenever someone spoke to him. Koharu took this as a good sign, and although he wasn't trying to talk like Naru, he was still showing signs that he had a high comprehension level. Shikamaru, however, was a different story.

The boy was showing signs he'd inherited his clans' high IQ with that being said, however; he was also starting to show signs that he'd also inherited their laziness. When Koharu had learned of this, she wasn't surprised, although she wasn't happy to hear the boy was starting to show a knack for being lazy. She had decided then that she was going to have to put a stop to that now.

She had talked to Danzo about what she could do to stop the child from turning into a typical lazy Nara. The war hawk had suggested she place the child in a highly stimulating environment. That sounded like the best option, so she'd ordered the Root operatives to give the boy more attention, "force him to play and interact with you, but whatever you do, don't let him sleep until nap time," she said.

The first week after she'd given her orders, she'd received a report from her operatives. Naru was now starting to try to form words, and on top of that, she was starting to crawl. Koharu smirked when she'd heard this. It seemed her initial assumptions on the girl were correct, the child had inherited her parents' genius. If the girl kept developing like she was now, she'd be ready to start training soon. That idea filled her with excitement.

The report had also stated that Sasuke had started paying attention to what Naru was doing and had started following her example, and by following her example that meant he'd started to babble and try to talk to. A lightbulb had gone off in Koharu's mind when she'd heard that; it dawned on her that Naru chan was starting to show signs of being a leader and if that was the case then she could use her to make the boys fall in line.

A small smile appeared on her face. It seemed her plan was working out better than she expected. Her smile vanished however when she read the rest of her report. Shikamaru was started to cause problems. According to her operatives, the boy wasn't happy about being denied his naps and had started throwing fits to voice this.

Koharu rolled her eyes at this, not surprised that he was upset; she didn't care though after all a child didn't know what was good for them. The boy would eventually get over it and if he didn't, then she'd have him disciplined.

Taking out a scroll, she began writing down her next orders. She told the operatives to continue working with Naru and Sasuke, and as for Shikamaru if he didn't get with the program they were to start denying him food. That would teach the brat, she thought as she rolled up the scroll and handed it to the waiting Root operative.

Looking at the time she realized she better start heading out; today Hiruzen had a meeting with the Fire Daimyo to discuss the missing children. A sad smile played on her lips thinking about her old teammate. The Daimyo had been giving him hell over this whole thing, which he deserved in her opinion; however, that didn't mean she wanted Danzo to be Hokage.

No Danzo belonged in the shadows and Hiruzen in the light. She hoped that this experience would make Hiruzen realized that just because this was peace times didn't mean the village needed to let their guard down. Whatever, she didn't have time to worry about that now. She had a show to put on.


Author's note: So here's chapter five of "The Black Widow of the Leaf," I hope you enjoy it. On to other news, I'm trying to decide if I want to do this story in small time skips or keep doing what I'm doing now. What do you think? As always thank you for reading, Nerdzone6.