Reina stared at the ceiling as she waited for the nurse to enter her examination room. She rested her hands on her disposable gown and sighed as she grew increasingly anxious. Though her health and the health of the baby growing inside her were essential, she had a plethora of work to do. Not only that but for the past two weeks that the Uzumaki clan had been in the village, Reina and Madara were expected to be present at each and every gathering that the Senju held for them. Reina knew she was fortunate to have such loving friends and family to be involved with, but the process was growing to be tiresome. Luckily, she had Madara by her side to calm her nerves and keep her at ease.

Madara held her hand and gently caressed it with the other. "Don't be impatient, Reina. You must try to relax. It's a busy day for the clinic."

"I know. I just want to be on top of my workload." Reina gave Madara's hand a gentle squeeze. "Thank you for coming with me."

"Like I'd ever miss an appointment." Madara smiled and kissed her hand. "This way I can learn what you're going through and be able to support you better."

Reina nodded and turned away as a blush crept on her face. "I-I appreciate it."

There was a knock on the door followed by it creaking open. "Hello, I'm so sorry for the delay!" A cheery doctor with faded blond hair and gray eyes stepped inside the room. She shut the door and walked over toward Reina and Madara to give a curt bow. "My name is Doctor Azami Yakushi. I'll be your prenatal doctor from here on out. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Reina, Lord Madara." Doctor Yakushi sat down on her stool and pulled out a clipboard. "Okay, let's see here. According to our records, you're about nine weeks pregnant. Does that sound correct?"

Reina shrugged. "I guess."

Doctor Yakushi pulled a pen out from behind her ear. "Okay, I'm just going to go over a few mandatory questions with you, and then we'll proceed with a check-up."

"That felt like an eternity," Reina grumbled while walking with Madara to the Hokage's tower.

"We were there for less than an hour." Madara chuckled. "I know how much you dislike the doctor's office, but your health and the baby's health are a priority."

The couple walked into the tower and up various flights of stairs until they made their way to Hashirama's office. Madara held the door open for Reina who simply marched inside. "I'm healthy!" She announced.

"Congratulations!" Hashirama cheered while Tobirama simply crossed his arms and gave a nod of respect. When the seal went up around the office, the four shinobi began discussing their concerns regarding the Miyashita clan. Eventually, the concerns turned toward Reina. Hashirama cleared his throat. "Reina, I understand you wish to be involved with the Miyashita case; however, don't you think it will be rather dangerous to continue now that you're nurturing a baby? Have you and Madara spoken about this?"

Reina took in a deep breath and exhaled so as not to get irritated with the statement. She understood Hashirama was coming from a good place, but she couldn't help but feel as if her strength was being undermined by the fact that she was pregnant. "Hashirama, we have discussed my future and I will continue to work on this case and help Tobirama with the formation of the tactical squad."

Madara interjected. "Hashirama, I understand your concern, but we cannot hold Reina back and discriminate against her simply because she's pregnant. I want to see her excel and contribute to society the way that she wants to. Yes, sometimes I worry as well, but we need to learn to have faith in one another."

Hashirama nodded. "Very well then. That's that."

Reina was sitting in the library, rubbing her stomach with her right hand in a circular motion. She glanced around the room, deep in thought. "The Miyashita clan can transport themselves to various locations." Reina sighed. "They stole a bunch of mirrors for a purpose unknown." She rested her hand on her stomach and leaned her head against her left hand as she propped it up on the arm of her chair. "They move at the speed of light." She jolted and her thoughts were interrupted as Madara knocked on the door.

"Dinner's ready!" Madara called from the other side of the door.

"Okay, I'll be right there!" Reina stood up from her chair and left the library. She shuffled into the dining room and smiled at the spread of food. "Ooooh, did I marry the best housewife in the village?" Reina grinned.

"Haha. Very funny." Madara pulled out a chair for her at the table. "Have a seat."

Reina sat down and eyed the food surrounding her. There was inarizushi, marinated beef, rice, veggies, and her favorite kind of tea. "Color me impressed."

"Thank you." Madara sat down with her.

"Thank you for the meal."

"Thank you for the meal." The two said in unison as they placed their hands together in prayer.

"This looks amazing. You've outdone yourself." Reina smiled before taking a sip of tea. "Mmm- yummy."

Madara smiled. "So, what were you reading today?"

"Oh, I wasn't reading." Reina ate a piece of inarizushi and looked at Madara with wide eyes. "Whoaaa, this is delicious."

Madara blushed. "Thank you. I tried my best to follow your recipe."

Reina grinned. "I'm honored." She sipped her tea. "Anyway, I was actually thinking about the Miyashita clan and how their jutsu might work. Ya' know?"

"Your mind really never stops, does it?" Madara ate some beef and took a moment to admire his own cooking.

Reina chuckled. "Never."

As the month flew by, Reina and Madara maintained a relatively busy schedule. They would train in taijutsu and conditioning for most of the morning followed by meetings with Hashirama and Tobirama. They would do their work and have time together during the rest of the day. As Reina trained harder, she became more comfortable around Madara. Not only that, but her progress was exponential.

"Well, you seem to have gotten a better handle on how your body functions during battle. Your taijutsu has improved astronomically." Madara crossed his arms. "Are you ready to progress?"

Reina nodded, covered in specs of dirt from their sparring match. "Yes. Anything to get stronger."

Madara smiled. "That's my wife."

Reina blushed and turned her head away. "Shut up."

Madara chuckled and crossed his arms. "We'll move on to teaching you how to hone your offensive ninjutsu and increase chakra control." He uncrossed his arms and pointed at her. "Because you're a powerhouse, you tend to expend more chakra than necessary just because you can. However, that's a terrible habit to maintain and will cost you in battle."

"I can't disagree with you there," Reina smirked. "When can we start?"

"Perhaps tomorrow. Jun will step in and help as well once in a while. That man can control chakra like no other. There's a reason he's a commander." Madara walked over to Reina and took her hand. "I'll speak to him today." He led her across the training field and inside their house.

Reina shyly smiled. "Thank you. I appreciate your efforts."

Madara brought her upstairs to their bedroom and into the bathroom. He turned on the shower and took his shirt off. As Reina stripped, he noticed the tiniest baby bump and couldn't help but grin. "How's the baby?"

Reina placed a hand on her naked stomach. "I feel it more. No movement really, but I notice it's there."

"I can only imagine." Madara opened their shower glass door for Reina to step in first. He followed in after and the two of them rinsed off under the warm water. Madara noticed Reina was rather tense. Her eyes stared into nothingness as her mind swarmed in a thousand places. "Reina."

Reina snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at Madara. "Yeah? Sorry, what is it?"

Madara placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned in, gently kissing her forehead. He tilted her chin up and looked deep into her eyes. "You need to relax. Don't stress yourself. It won't do you any good."

Reina sighed and nodded. "I know, I just want to get the ball rolling with this tactical project Tobirama and I are orchestrating. Also, we only have recovery teams helping villages and settlements that have fallen victim to the Miyashita clan's attacks, but no efforts are being made to actively stop them."

"These things take time." Madara held her face in his hands. "We can't pursue them if we don't know who they are, how they operate, and what they're after. Until we receive intel from other nations about their attacks, it's highly unlikely we'll be able to operate soon."

Reina clenched her jaw. "I know. I'm just impatient… by the time they attack other nations it might be too late."

Madara glided his hands past her shoulders and down her arms as he gripped her hands in his. "Reina, try your best to stay level-headed. This isn't like you."

"I'm sorry. I blame the pregnancy hormones." Reina looked down at her stomach. "It's not me, it's you."

Madara chuckled. "Are you going to tally this baby's wrongdoings so you can punish it when it's born?"

"Perhaps," Reina smirked. "I do tend to be cruel."

"And unusual." Madara blocked Reina's incoming suds attack. "Ah! Hey!" He flung suds back at her.

"Rude!" Reina giggled and reached for the shower nob. She turned it to cold and jumped out of the shower.

"Where are yo- ah! Cold!" Madara turned the water off. "So, you play to win, do you?"

Reina cackled and hurriedly wrapped herself in a towel. "Yes, and when I do I crush my opponents!" She stole Madara's towel and ran out of the bathroom.

Madara stepped out of the shower, shivering from the frigid water. He reached for where his towel would be but found nothing. "Where's my… REINAAAAA!" He rolled his eyes as he heard her laughter from a distance. Though he was cold and wet he couldn't help but smile.

Tobirama and Reina were in the underground prison where more construction was happening. Tobirama and Reina were wearing masks as they walked around the site. After they toured the renovations, they made their way back to the atrium of the structure.

Tobirama pulled his mask off. "So, I think I finally have a name for the tactical squad."

Reina yanked off her mask with an excited expression "Oh? What might that be?"

"They will be the Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushi Butai. It translates to Special Assassination and Tactical Squad." Tobirama crossed his arms. "What do you think?"

Reina pursed her lips. "It's accurate, but a mouth full." She scratched the back of her head. "What if we shortened it to ANBU? From Ansatsu and Butai?"

Tobirama nodded. "I like that. And since they're military-based and covert they are a black ops team. How about the ANBU Black Ops?"

"Perfect! It's catchy and sounds deadly." Reina smiled sweetly.

"By the way, have you concocted a method for selecting ANBU members?" Tobirama crossed his arms again. It was essentially his default stance.

Reina nodded. "Yes, you, Hashirama, and I will approach all shinobi in the village who we know have the talents we are looking for and can keep quiet. People who find ease in the darkness. Then, we will interview them with a set of questions and various psychological tests that will determine if they have the mental capacity to execute covert operations while maintaining interpersonal and intrapersonal solace. Afterward, those remaining will be tested so we can evaluate their physical skills and see which role they will fulfill in a tactical squad. Those who satisfy our requirements get added to the ANBU Black Ops."

Tobirama gave a nod of approval. "Sounds effective enough. Why must Hashirama accompany us, however?"

"As much as we like to think we are all important beings, Hashirama has the most power. He legitimizes and authorizes every operation, thus earning the trust of the villagers more effectively." Reina sighed. "Not as many people will volunteer for the Hokage's younger brother and sister as long as he stands in front of us. We need him because we stand in his shadow."

Tobirama closed his eyes with a sigh. "You do provide an excellent point. No matter how much influence we've had in the past, times have changed. Let's speak with him and aim to start hiring by next week at the latest. Do you think you can come up with a rigorous psychological test within that time frame?"

Reina smirked. "Absolutely."

Madara was sitting in his public office when there was a knock at his door. "Come in!"

The door slid open and Jun stepped inside. "Hello, Lord Madara." He shut the door behind him and bowed. "I heard you wanted to see me."

Madara nodded. "I was wondering if you were interested in resuming training with Reina. She has already displayed an exceptional aptitude for taijutsu and I would like for her to hone in on her ninjutsu. However, she needs to work on chakra control."

"I would be more than honored to train Lady Reina," Jun said with sincerity. "It would be my pleasure."

"I greatly appreciate your willingness to train her privately. I understand your schedule can be just as busy as mine." Madara smiled. "Do you think you'd be able to train her starting tomorrow?"

Jun bowed. "With all due respect, sir, I have a function to attend to tomorrow."

"Oh? What might that be if I may ask?" Madara raised a brow.

Jun cleared his throat as a small blush crept on his face. "I will be courting a woman, sir."

Madara grinned and began chuckling. "Jun! You're all grown up."

Jun stood straight and blushed even harder. "I want to keep the day open for her if I may, sir. I worked overtime to have availability tomorrow."

"I noticed." Madara stood up and walked over to his friend. He placed a hand on Jun's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You'll do fine. Enjoy your day tomorrow."

"Th-thank you, sir." A small smile crept onto Jun's face. "I will train with Lady Reina starting the following day."

Madara nodded. "That sounds perfect." He walked back over to his chair and sat down. "You may carry on with your day, Jun. Thank you for visiting me."

"Absolutely." Jun bowed and turned around to leave. As he was about to shut the door, he stopped when Madara called to him.

"Oh, and Jun!" Madara piped up.

"Yes, sir?" Jun turned to face him.

"If you ever need anyone to talk to about women, please, do not talk to me," Madara smirked. "However, feel free to approach Reina whenever you need."

Jun chuckled. "Thank you, Lord Madara. For everything." He bowed once again before shutting the door and taking his leave.

A week had passed and Reina came home during sunset. She sauntered into the entryway with grocery bags in hand. "I'm home!" She called while walking into the kitchen.

Madara came out of the library and met her in the kitchen. "Oh, I see you went shopping." He walked over to her and kissed her forehead. "Welcome home."

Reina smiled. "Thanks." She bent over the countertop and rested her head against the cold marble. "Oooh, this feels nice."

"Are you alright?" Madara rubbed her back.

"I'm fine. Just fatigued. Pregnancy makes me tired. And after literally speaking with every eligible shinobi in town for this ANBU Black Ops thing, I'm even more drained. So… tedious." Reina yawned. "Also, I brought home take-out ramen and other things for us since I knew I wouldn't be able to make dinner on time."

Madara bent over next to her and leaned in to give her a sideways kiss. "Thank you. You're always thinking about others. I appreciate that."

Reina smiled and managed to stand back up with her remaining strength. "Let's put the groceries away and then we'll eat."

"That sounds like a plan to me." Madara began putting the produce away while Reina put away rice and non-perishables. "So, how did the scouting go by the way?"

"Fine. Hashirama showed his face first and then Tobirama and I did the talking." Reina shrugged. "I think we have about 300 or more shinobi who are talented enough and interested in joining. Though it's dangerous, it's a fantastic job opportunity that pays well and has status. A lot of people were interested."

"That's fantastic. When will you start interviewing the applicants?" Madara shut their refrigerator and looked over towards his wife.

"Two days exactly. Starting at 8:00 PM." Reina pulled some bowls and plates out from the cabinets for their dinner.

"Why so late?" Madara raised a brow.

Reina smirked. "Since I am in charge of the interview process, I thought it would be more demanding if we force people to stay up late and conduct a psychological examination in the dark." She couldn't help but smile. "The things I have in store for these shinobi."

Madara grinned. "You're a rather wicked individual, Reina."

Reina chuckled. "You flatter me."