AN: Chapter title: B&E

"We can use this!"

Whatever Ino's current plan was, it involved Choji's unexpected meeting with the Praefectus Castrorum. Somehow.

Beyond herself, no one was quite clear on how they were supposed to benefit from it.

"How?" Sakura's nap had done wonders for her. Unfortunately, she had woken up just in time to be dragged into Ino's latest scheme. The meeting was taking place in their shared office after all. "There's a dozen guards at the stairs alone. Even more at the office. We won't even get close."

"But they like Choji!" Ino grabbed the Akimichi's shoulder from where she had sat him down next to her. "If he does the same thing he's been doing, we'll get them away from that office and we can sneak in! I bet there's plenty of intel for us to find in there! Then we'll steal it all and sneak it out before Hinata can stop us!"

Her plan received some kickback.

"There's…a couple issues with that." Shikamaru had been thinking in silence for a few minutes now, thinking over everything he had seen Choji do while they had been at this mission. He couldn't come up with a reason as to why his friend had such a positive relationship with Naruto's bodyguards. And, privately, he could admit that fact alone worried him. The less he could understand the clones and the 'why' of why they acted the way they did, the less he could be sure of any plans he made, the less he could be sure of his predictions on how they'll behave. "First, we don't even know what Choji's been doing to get them to like him. Or if it can be replicated in the way you want." He finally turned dark eyes to his friend. "You've just been training with them, right?"

"Mostly." Choji had been doing his own thinking throughout the day. He had somewhat of an idea of what was going on. "I also talked to them. Before and after. They talked to me too." He didn't know when it changed but the Praetorians had just become more open with him after he had started working with them. "Sometimes they talked about their training, sometimes they talked about their orders, and a few times they talked about Karin or Sasuke."

"What did they say?" That had Shikamaru's attention, Ino's as well.

A Shinobi would have to be blind and deaf not to see how the clones acted around Sasuke, the threats and overt acts of violence he had used to enforce his authority over them.

"Not a lot that's useful." Choji could only shake his head. "They really just don't like him. They can't disobey him but they did admit to…taking different meanings from his orders. Not following them all the way."

"But they listen to him because of Naruto. They're not very rebellious, adhere to Naruto's chain of command, follow his orders if nothing else." Shikamaru pushed on. "What about when they talk about Karin?"

"They like her." Choji thought more on it, what he had seen from the Praetorians and the rest of the clones. "They want to keep her safe and they talk about her a lot, what she means to Naruto."

"Does he have any plans for her?" Sakura had to ask, had to know.

What Naruto had done to Hinata, what he had put her through when Team 7 started off, wasn't something she would wish on anyone.

At the question, Choji could only shake his head. "I don't know. They talk about her, about wanting to protect her, but they don't know about a lot of Naruto's plans. They've been assigned to guard her until he comes back but that's all they're willing to talk about. Sometimes they trade guard shifts, wager them when they spar or train. Some of them may like her more than the others? It's hard to tell them apart when they all look and sound the same." He tried to think back to dozens of half-heard conversations, of boasts. "I…I just don't know a lot about…all of this."

The Akimichi couldn't help but feel useless at the moment, feel like the weak link on the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio.

He always left strategy to Shikamaru or Ino, let them decide what to do, let them gather the information. He wasn't…

"Then we'll figure out more when he comes back. Whenever that is." Shikamaru's words cut through his thoughts. The Nara shared a look with his friend. "We don't have all the pieces about her but we have enough to figure something out." He went over the information available, thought about what else they could do with this unexpected opportunity. "Only Kiba could get her to talk and he's out of it today…Great, the one time he could help us out and he's…going through whatever he's going through."

Shikamaru was silent for a moment. He looked to Choji again.

"You said they talked to you about their training, brought you into it." At his nod, he continued. "What exactly can they do?"

That. That was a topic Choji knew more than enough to answer.

"A lot. Where do I even start?"

If nothing else, his days of training with them had let him learn a fair amount of what they could do.

"They're different from the rest of Naruto's army. They're stronger, faster, more disciplined than the rest. I only managed to hear a few things here and there but they're the unofficial trainers for the rest. Sasuke teaches them everything first, makes them perfect it, and then he sends the best ones out to train the rest of the army. They haven't done anything like master everything but, because of him and his Sharingan, they have the basics on the five Nature Transformations. Mostly C-Rank techniques you'd expect to see but they train to use them in groups, with each other, to make them stronger. The ones in charge of the others may know a few B-Rank techniques but they don't use them a lot."

"Cooperation Ninjutsu." If the situation was different, Shikamaru would almost dare to laugh. "Even if that's not what he's calling it, he's using the fundamentals of it. I guess he didn't ignore all the lessons from Iruka-sensei." His focus returned to Choji. "What else did you figure out?"

"They don't quit. I've been practicing my techniques with them and no matter how many times I knock them down, they get back up. They're stubborn, determined. Just like Naruto when it comes to solving problems. Their Taijutsu isn't as good as his or Sasuke's now but they're always training to get better. I don't know how they handle Genjutsu but they don't travel alone. At minimum, it's always two of them doing something. They work like all the others really, 10 to a squad, 10 squads to a unit. They keep in constant contact with each other and some central command. I still don't know where exactly it is but it's not in the tower." Choji turned to Ino, clear worry in his eyes. "Sneaking into his office isn't going to be easy. The moment one sees you, it's over."

Ino only offered a confident smirk.

"I can get in. Trust me. You just need to keep them distracted."

"If you can do it, then I'll get you your chance. Just leave it to me."

'So they like people who fight them?' It was all the Nara had after the last two hours.

Choji's plan for a distraction had been to issue an open challenge to all of the Praetorians via the Praefectus Castrorum. A crowd of little more than a dozen out in a training space next to the tower had ballooned to what had to be a hundred in only a few short minutes since the clone in charge of Naruto's bodyguards had sent out the message. The clone had watched the resulting melee before leaving and Shikamaru didn't know where exactly the Praefectus Castrorum had gone off to. So far, Choji had been able to hold his own as the Praetorians came at him only with Taijutsu and one at a time.

'And they seem to have a sense of fairness to them.' They didn't use any tricks, didn't try to blindside Choji after he was done with one fight. They were eager to test themselves against the Akimichi but not impatient. 'This is…weird.'

A heavy blow from the latest Praetorian to step into the 'ring' didn't put Choji on the ground, the Akimichi having taken to doing his own training with his father since his failure in the Second Stage of the Chunin Exams. Shikamaru didn't need to be hit by it to know it was enough to put the Nara himself down on the ground, was impressed that Choji had improved enough that he was able to stay standing.

He did more than that, he delivered his own blow to the Praetorian while he was wide open from landing his punch. With the absence of the clone's armor, it was a direct shot to the gut and sent him stumbling back. Blue eyes met Choji's own, the copied face of Naruto in some mixture between a pained grimace and an eager grin. Even if he was still reeling from the blow, he charged towards Choji to keep the fight going.

'So far, it's just the Praetorians but their bosses haven't gotten involved yet.' The three Centurions that had arrived to the impromptu fight remained near the back. They were quietly conversing but Shikamaru could read lips well enough.

"He's stronger than I thought."

"Caesar wouldn't waste time with a weakling. He's weaker than the Legate but all of them all."

"The men are getting rowdy. We need to take charge."

The Centurion who had spoken had a hand laid on his shoulder, a grin coming from the Centurion next to him.

"This is the same as it always is. The Akimichi is strong enough to provide a challenge, let them enjoy this."

"Caesar will want the Praetorians to like him. Once this Tribune nonsense is over, he will make a fine addition to Caesar's Legion."

"If Caesar extends the offer. Caesar only approached the Nara after all."

"Don't doubt Caesar. Just look, Akimich is-"

A fresh wave of Praetorians blocked them from his sight, had seemingly just arrived from the tower. Shikamaru turned his eyes back to Choji, made sure his friend wasn't overdoing their distraction for Ino and Sakura.

Another heavy blow was enough to put the Praetorian on his back, a cheer going up among the crowd at Choji's clear victory. An Optio, one of three seemingly acting as referees, brought a halt to the fight with a raised hand.

"The winner of the match is Choji Akimichi!" He sent two Praetorians forward to gather up their fallen comrade, take him off to the side. Another Praetorian was eager to enter the ring, his armor discarded like the rest of the challengers and held by one of their comrades.

'This isn't random.' It had taken the Nara longer than he would like to admit but he had discovered that. 'If Naruto's Centuries work like he told me, they're coming up in groups of ten.' He focused on the crowd of Praetorians that seemed set to cheer the loudest for the latest challenger.

They numbered nine.

'So the guys fighting are either the Decanus of each or just the best fighter out of the ten.' Shikamaru didn't know which one was more likely, focused more on keeping an eye on Choji now.

The Akimichi noticed, gave him a thumbs up. He was taking the chance to catch his breath, keep himself in this fight for however long he could.

Shikamaru didn't look to the tower ahead of the two of them. He kept his eyes on Choji.

"The next match begins in five!"

"FOUR!" "THREE!" TWO!" "ONE!" The Optio may had started the count but the crowd took it over.

Swords struck shields, sandaled feet stomped on the ground, any way to make noise seemed to be the signal for the latest fight to start. The Optio brought his hand down and the Praetorian in the 'ring' sprang into action, Choji meeting him head-on to start the match in earnest.

'Hurry it up Ino. This is probably the best chance you're going to get.'

"Move over. This is taking too long."

"No. I've almost got it."

"Then hurry up."

"Geez. Have you always been this bossy?"

With a click, the door was unlocked.

"Huh. Good time."

Without another moment wasted, Ino pushed the door open. Sakura spent a moment longer putting her lockpicks away before joining her inside the once closed office. Her worry and anxiety was opposite Ino's subdued excitement at getting into the office.

The Genin still felt like they were risking too much with this.

"Alright!" Ino immediately headed over to the vacant desk. "Let's see what he's got in here." She almost laughed when she saw what was on the other side. "Unlocked drawers! My favorite!"

The first two had nothing interesting. Spare papers and empty scrolls, pens, half-filled papers and scrolls that had been discarded for whatever reason. The third had something much more interesting for her.

"Folders are always fun." She grabbed the two that looked the newest and tossed one to Sakura. "Let's see what he's hiding in these."

"…You're having too much fun with this." Sakura split her focus between the folder in her hand and the door. They still had no idea how long Choji and Shikamaru's plan could keep the Praetorians distracted. Neither the Nara or Akimichi had let either know exactly what it was, just to seize the chance to get inside when they could.

"He's lucky I'm not booby-trapping his door." Ino flipped through page after page on the desk in front of her as quick as she could read them over. "Besides, he should get better security."

'He does.' Sakura was anxious to be out before the Praetorians started on their way back. She didn't even want to think about what a mess they would get into if they were caught in here. 'We're lucky Sasuke's gone or else we would've never gotten up here.'

Even if it had only been a day, it seemed like the clones had gotten a bit lackadaisical since the Uchiha had left. They still patrolled but not as vigilantly, performed their roles but less thorough. Whatever Sasuke did while he was here, it kept Naruto's army of clones at work.

She finished with her folder. It wasn't what either of them were looking for. Suggestions for new weapons, prototypes Naruto must be having tested before he used them in full. The only concerning thing was that Tenten had been behind it, that her notes littered page after page.

"Oh. Now this is good." Ino took out a portable camera from her ninja pouch, set about photographing the papers in front of her. "He really does keep everything in here!" She was done in less than a minute, slipped the papers back in before going to the next drawer.

"Ugh, I hate sealed scrolls." She could reseal the simple wax seal keeping the scroll closed but it was too time-consuming to bother with right now. Even with a Fire Release Chakra Nature it was more a technique used when she was intercepting a message, had more time on her hands than she had now. "This one looks pretty old…"

She only thought for a moment before she took it with her. Whatever it was, it had to be important.

"I'll save you for later." She slipped it into her pouch, moved to the other side of the desk. She had to remember she was on a timer, had to work quickly and not waste time on curiosities. She pulled at the first drawer on the other side and it refused to move. "Alright Naruto, let's see if you brought cheap locks."

Her lockpick made short work of it.

"Cheap it is." She almost wanted to shake her head.

A handful of unsealed scrolls laid inside, were quickly unrolled one after another.

"So he really was planning to offer a job to Choji and Kiba." The same offer Shikamaru had shown her was laid out on the table in front of her. She could only shake her head at another clear sign of Naruto's arrogance, how easily he thought others would follow him. She pointedly didn't think about how well whatever his scheme involving her had worked on Hinata Hyuga. She took pictures of the scrolls, enough differences between the two of them and Shikamaru's for her to want to go over them in detail later. "Let's see who else he wanted to recruit."

Three more scrolls were unrolled and she couldn't help but be a little shocked at the names she found on each.

"Iruka-sensei? Anko and Neji too? What is this idiot even thinking?" She moved to the next drawer once she was done putting everything back into place. "This guy just doesn't make any sense." She moved on to the next drawer, this one actually locked. "This better be good."

Her lockpicks came out once again.

They made short work of the lock once again.

"What the?" There was nothing in the drawer.

"Ino!" Sakura whispered/shouted to the Chunin. "We've got incoming!"

"Just…" Ino quietly growled her frustration, the best way to express her anger at the moment. "I know this is important." She didn't want to leave without figuring out what exactly it was. "I need more time!"

"We don't have it!" Sakura barely held herself back from slamming the door shut when she closed it. "We need to leave. Now!"

"Not yet!" Ino was as loud as she dared to be in the office. She turned back to the open drawer in front of her. "Nobody locks a drawer with nothing." Chakra came to her fingertips, spread out as she pressed them against the wood. It was a trick she had picked up from her father, a miniscule amount of Chakra on her finger. It wasn't enough to trigger any seals but it could reveal them.

"Ino!" Sakura ripped her away from the desk, hastily put it back into place. "We need to go. Now!"

The pink haired Genin didn't actually leave it up to Ino any longer. She hoisted the blonde Chunin up onto her shoulders with hard earned strength and made a swift, if silent, break for the door.

She considered it lucky no one was outside to see Ino's fist pounding at her side, the blonde Kunoichi not shouting at her but clearly annoyed as she took off down the empty halls as quickly as she dared.

'I can't believe this actually worked.'

AN: Well, here's the annual update.

PM/review/adopt this story if you want.

Peace.