AN: Chapter title: Tower Work Part 3.
A piece of chalk struck Shikamaru Nara in the forehead.
"And that's number three." Anko Mitarashi shook her head as she caught the chalk as it bounced off the Nara's head. She pocketed the piece of chalk the same time she wrapped his 'PRINCIPAL' headband around her wrist just like she had done to the other two already. "And that's going to be another in the fail column."
Growls. Actual growls came from the ten red-eyed Praetorians surrounding him. And it only made the mocking smile on Mitarashi's face bigger.
"Don't get mad at me. You know the rules." The Nara wished she didn't make it a point to antagonize the Praetorians every time they failed, that she would at least let him get out of here before she started taunting them. "I've even made this easy for you at this point. Kind of out of pity. You just need to stop one tiny piece of chalk." She held it up for them all to see, Shikamaru rubbing at the blue dot now on his forehead. Hopefully it would come off soon.
Unlike when she had been dropping paint on them a few days ago. That had taken a full night of cleaning to get out of his clothes.
"You even get home field advantage since we stick to the tower now." She finally seemed done with the Praetorians, her yellow eyes meeting his. "As for you, you're done with the PPP for the day. Back to whatever you do as a Tribune." She shoo-ed him off with a wave of her hand, her eyes back on the Praetorians still glaring at her. "Now, let's talk about a good time for your latest bout of remedial training."
Shikamaru didn't need to be told twice to take this opportunity to escape, hurried off to get back to his Tribune "duties".
He was stepping through the door of the Tribune's Lounge a few minutes later. A glance around the room showed Choji, Ino, and Sakura were waiting for him.
"So Kiba and Shino were the other two?" None of the other three had a blue dot on their head, made the conclusion easy enough to draw.
"Kiba and Hinata." Ino corrected the Nara. A sleeping Sakura, once again, had her head in her lap and the Yamanaka Heiress was brushing one of her hands over her long pink hair. "Kiba went to find Karin after Mitarashi was done with him and Hinata…She's upset."
Ino considered it an understatement.
Last she saw her, Hinata locked herself in Sasuke's office and hadn't been out since.
"Crap." Shikamaru seemed to understand what his teammate wasn't saying, dropped into the seat they had saved for him. "So she's going to be in a mood for the rest of the day." He sighed, dragged a hand down his face as he leaned back in his seat. "Not that I can even blame her. Mitarashi's needling them at this point, making them mad on purpose."
Ino couldn't help but scoff, drew the eyes of both of her teammate to her. "They're always mad. Especially at me." Blue eyes flickered down to Sakura, the Genin still asleep in the Chunin's lap. "Sakura too."
"You two are outliers. Sakura rejected Naruto and you seemed to have gotten under his skin somehow. From the start of our time as Tribunes, they haven't liked either of you two." The Nara wished he knew what exactly Ino had done to, seemingly, be on the same level as Sakura to the clones. Once the pink-haired Genin had told him about the night her and Naruto's relationship had changed, it all made since.
"I wished I had gotten the chance to punch him in his face at least. It'll be worth having his whole army hate me." Courtesy of Ino, both had gotten the chance to see her deck Naruto firsthand. The blonde shook her head at the missed opportunity. "Any idea on why Mitarashi's doing all of this in the first place?"
"Doing what? Insulting them or the bodyguard practice?"
"How about both?"
"Easy enough. From what I've gathered, if we apply what we know, it comes together pretty quick. Our mission is to gather intelligence and hers is the same. We've been trying to find numbers, plans, anything we can think of for big picture. Mitarashi's small picture. Or more personal at least." Shikamaru gave a pointed look to the sleeping Genin. "There's a reason Sakura's going to be part of their 'final exam'."
At the reminder of what awaited her friend, Ino frowned.
"So she wants to see what they do when the clones like the person they're guarding and when they dislike them. She's trying to build a profile for his clones."
"At least the Praetorians. The rest of his clones are predictable enough. At least I think." His dark eyes turned to his otherwise silent teammate. "What do you think Choji?"
Out of all of them, the Akimichi had spent the most time with the clones. Even including the other Tribunes, there was perhaps only a handful of people in the village who had spent more time with the clones making up Naruto's Legion. Sasuke was at the top of the list, obviously, as Naruto's second in command, Tenten was next in line after him, and after her was Choji.
Since this had all started on the day Naruto had left the village, Choji's training with the Praetorians had begun to extend from them to Naruto's normal Legionnaires.
"It's hard to say anything for sure about them. I can only say what I've seen from who I've been training with. His Praetorians are probably the most devoted to him, want to get stronger because they want to fight for him with everything they've got. His Legionnaires, at least the ones I talk to, are only a little bit less devoted. But they're also hungry to prove themselves, want to show that they can keep up with the Praetorians when they get the chance to train with them. And the way they talk about everything…The way they seem to think…" The Akimichi couldn't find the right words. He could only shake his head and move on. "I don't know if you can call them predictable. If they think they can help Naruto, if they think he'll like it, they'll do just about anything."
"'Just about anything'? That's not very comforting." Shikamaru would need to think on this, go back through everything he knew about Naruto and his Legion, speak to his father about what he knew, and see if what Choji said could provide a worthwhile new perspective.
"It's not supposed to be if you think they're predictable. If you're looking for a word to describe them, I would pick fanatical. And I think that's why Naruto picked Sasuke to be his second-in-command." Choji earned a look from both Ino and Shikamaru.
It was identical: Explain.
"Just think about it. Before all of this started, if he came up to me, Shikamaru, or Kiba, we probably would've joined him. Before all of this." At the look from Ino, he reiterated what he said. "Not now. Not after we've seen how he acts. But, when we were all fresh out of the Academy, it would've been easy. Even after he wrecked all the Genin Exams with all the clones marching through them, shouting about an 'Uzumaki Empire', I probably would've said yes if he asked me. Especially if he asked Shikamaru first and he said yes."
"Can't disagree." At the glare from Ino, Shikamaru could only shrug his shoulders. "Before he really went, we were friends. If he had asked me, I probably would've thought Caesar was just a name he made up because Hokage didn't sound cool enough."
"Why does that make sense?" Ino's words were for herself, the blonde bringing her free hand to rub her forehead. "It definitely sounds like something he would start shouting about back in class."
Shikamaru couldn't help but laugh at the image in his head. "Yeah, he would've." The small grin on his face died as he came back to their reality. "You were saying Choji?"
"Yeah…" The Akimichi continued. "Before. I'm sure all three of us would've said yes and, from what Naruto said when he talked to you right before the promotion and what you figured out when you checked out his office," He nodded to Shikamaru and Ino respectively. ", he probably knew that too. But he didn't come to any of us. He offered it to Sasuke out of everybody he knew. Not any of us. Not the Third Hokage. Not somebody like Iruka-sensei. Sasuke. Why do you two think he did that?"
"One-sided rivalry?" Shikamaru gave his best guess after a moment.
"He wanted to impress Sakura?" Ino gave her guess after a little bit more thinking and a glance down to Sakura.
"I don't think it was either." Choji had been thinking about this for a while and it showed. "I think he offered it to Sasuke out of everyone because Naruto gets people more than he lets on. Even if he was always shouting about Sasuke being a jerk, that he could beat him in our practice spars, I don't think he ever came close to hating him. He disliked him at worst, saw him as a rival to get better than."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Ino honestly didn't get it. Sure, she – like a lot of the girls in their class, Sakura included – had a crush on the Uchiha, but it didn't make sense for Naruto to care about him. Sasuke had even ignored him throughout their entire time at the Academy, had ignored basically everyone. "If he was his rival, why put him in charge of his army? Is he just crazy?"
"No. Like I said, Naruto gets people. Even if he's different now, he still gets people."
"…So he understands how to use them?"
"No. He's not some master manipulator. At least I don't think he is. When I say he gets people, I'm trying to say he gets how they work, where they fit. Like when he used to call you his right hand man. You told me yourself that you didn't mind as long as you didn't have to be Hokage yourself. That's what I'm talking about. Naruto has this weird way of getting to know people, getting to know how they work. I don't even think he really knows about it."
"So what, he's got force of personality?" Just from her face alone, Ino was finding all of this hard to believe. But she wasn't ignoring what her teammate was saying. "Regardless, let's wrap it up: If Naruto gets people the way you say he does, how does that fit into why he made Sasuke his second in command?"
"Naruto's not dumb. The Praetorians always talk about how much they don't like Sasuke, talk about how they listen to him because Naruto told them to. But they also talk about how he trains them, how seeing him makes them want to do better, be better at everything they do because of him. Even if they don't say it as nicely. I think, after he made his army, Naruto thought about what kind of second-in-command he needed. He needed somebody smart, somebody strong, somebody who could fill the gaps he had and not make new ones he wasn't ready for, that he was the best fit for. And, because he gets people like he does, he knew Sasuke was the right pick." Ino wasn't the only one who seemed a little disbelieving at what he was saying by the time he was done, Shikamaru joining her.
Choji almost wanted to sigh. 'This is why I didn't want to say anything. It sounded crazy when I thought of it and it sounds crazy when I say it.' "OK. Think about it this way: What if Naruto asked Kiba to be in charge, be Legate?"
"They'll have an army of ninken with them too." Ino wasn't exactly joking but she wasn't seriously thinking about it either. The idea Choji was presenting was only so feasible.
"They would." Shikamaru agreed with her, knew what Kiba had done the first few days they had been in the tower. But he also thought more on it. "And him and Naruto would think a lot alike. Blunt. Focus on the immediate problems. And, if Kiba was Legate, I don't think any of us would've walked away from the gates after the invasion. If Kiba was in charge, he wouldn't have taunted us. He would've attacked us once he decided we were a threat. A lot like what Naruto does now."
"And what if Naruto went up to you first, if you were Legate?"
"I…I wouldn't have let us get that far. And, if you did get to my tent, I would have you escorted out. I would be focused on going over the intel Naruto's clones had on the invasion, planning the next few days out, working up to weeks and months." Shikamaru thought about it more. "I don't think the Praetorians would exist as a unit either. At least if Sasuke came up with them. They wouldn't be as strong as they are now. I would need to find specialized trainers, maybe even pick Sasuke for the role and try to get him to train them. He was always the strongest in the class, wasn't great at working with others but he usually knew what anyone else in the class could actually do."
Thinking about this hypothetical actually helped the Nara see things more clearly.
If he went over what he knew with the idea that Naruto had created his Legion with specific people in mind, it made more sense.
Slightly.
"So that explains some of the scrolls we found. Mine, yours, Kiba, and Iruka-sensei's. But what about Neji and Mitarashi? If Naruto "gets" people, then why would he have spots for the two of them?"
"Hey. I never said it was perfect. I'm giving my best guess."
"Alright. Then guess." Ino seemed to be coming around, would likely be leaning forward if Sakura wasn't asleep in her lap. Her hand was still brushing her hair but her eyes were focused on her teammate, her mind gradually piecing together the new theory he presented. "Let's start with Neji. We know those two didn't meet until the Chunin Exams so let's start there. From what I remember, Sasuke and Neji fought a little bit before we showed up. Naruto was probably behind it. After that, the next time they meet is when Naruto fights Neji for the Third Stage of the Chunin Exams. If he's such a good judge of people, why does he want Neji in his army? What hole is he filling?"
"…I haven't figured that out yet."
Ino could only shake her head at his answer. "Let's not report this tonight. Until we can at least place all those offers." She noticed the looks on both of her teammate's faces, contemplation on Shikamaru's and disappointment on Choji's. "This is still a good starting point. If we can figure out the way he thinks, we can start guessing on what he'll do next. We just have to connect the pieces before we tell everyone about it. All of us should keep looking into it, try and see if we can find anything supporting Choji's theory."
Shikamaru's dark eyes flickered down to where Sakura was still asleep in Ino's lap. Throughout their entire discussion, she hadn't stirred once.
'If she was awake, I'm sure she'll be a goldmine on Naruto and what's he's thinking.' Shikamaru would keep that opinion to himself. Ino was adamant that Sakura needed a chance to actually get some sleep with what had to be long hours of late-night training. 'I'll talk to her later. Away from Ino.'
"Ow."
"Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. Mitarashi just throws that chalk really hard." Even as he spoke, Kiba couldn't help but rub at his sore forehead. "She hit me like four times today. I swear, she's taking this personally."
"Did you do something to her?"
"If I did, I wished I knew what. Maybe Kurenai-sensei told her about me asking her about if she was dating Asuma?"
"…And you're sure they're not dating?"
"Last time that I checked, yeah. No way Kurenai-sensei would date him."
Karin's expression shifted from a fair helping of disbelief back to concern. Kiba was a good friend even if he didn't seen to get certain things: Like the fact his teacher was dating the bearded Jonin.
"Does this Shinobi, Mitarashi, have to hit you so hard?" Karin fought against the urge to pull at her sleeve as Kiba sat next to her in her room. From what he had said, he had been the first taken out for the day.
"I think she just likes doing it." Kiba could only shake his head. "So, do you still want to head out today?"
"I…I think it'll be fun to see the ninken again."
"Awesome. We can head over anytime. With my sister gone on her mission, my mom put me in charge of the kennels."
From his place in his jacket, Akamaru let out a happy bark.
Karin giggled once Kiba had translated for her.
"Don't worry. You're still my favorite Akamaru." The ninken promptly leaped from Kiba to her arms, eagerly licked her face in gratitude. The Inuzuka couldn't help but smile at the sight, at how happy the girl was. The more he got to know her, the more he liked seeing her happy.
'I guess digging my own grave wasn't too bad in the end. Karin's pretty fun to hang out with.'
"Tribune Aburame." The Praetorians posted at the empty doorway hardly acknowledged him as he stepped past them. Shino offered them the same in a simple nod, headed into the room beyond.
Naruto's prisoners, Temari and Kankuro of the Hidden Sand Village, awaited him inside. Neither even looked up at him when he arrived, seemed more content to remain sitting together on the couch in their well-furnished cell. Against the wall, the newest addition to Naruto's Legion stood.
Shino felt the eyes of his once opponent settle on him.
"You're back again." Gaara was simply stating a fact as his eyes turned away from the Aburame and to his siblings. He merely continued to watch the two.
"I am." Shino didn't face Gaara as he spoke, didn't meet his stare even with his sunglasses in the way. "Is that a problem?"
"No." Gaara fell back into silence once he was done speaking. Shino knew he wouldn't speak any further, that the two rarely shared more words between them than this same conversation every day Shino visited this floor of the tower.
A part of Shino wanted to speak more but decided against it.
Gaara was unpredictable.
Gaara was dangerous.
And, most important of all, Gaara seemed utterly committed to Naruto's Uzumaki Empire. Anything he said could be directly reported to Sasuke or, even worse, directly to Naruto. The less he had to interact with the blonde, the better to the Aburame.
He turned his focus to the two prisoners instead. He took his usual seat across from them on another couch, merely observed them.
Neither seemed to be sleeping well.
Currently, that was the mystery he was attempting to unravel with these visits. Not too long ago, the two of them were at least able to sleep. They had remained motionless like now, didn't separate from each other, but they had slept like Shino assumed any other prisoner would. Now it was the complete opposite. If the two were getting any sleep, it was phenomenally little judging from the bags under their eyes, the exhaustion that all but screamed from their slouched forms.
'If this was a problem when Sasuke was here, he handled it without the others knowing.' Shino had thought it was rumors when he had heard the idle chatter from the Legion mentioning the Legate putting the two to sleep but it seemed to have been the truth. 'Did Hinata have something to do with this? She's replaced Sasuke since he left and if he was responsible for them then she's responsible for them now.'
'But, if that's the case, why hasn't she stepped in to fix this?'
The Aburame kept his thoughts to himself. His silence remained unbroken for several minutes longer as he went over what he knew.
"You two are unwell." Shino spoke the obvious. If the situation was different, the two might've responded to him. As things stood, they did nothing. "Are you sick?"
He didn't retrieve an answer from either.
"They're not." Gaara's voice came from across the room, the once Hidden Sand Shinobi remaining where he stood. "Tribune Hyuga had them examined by a Medical-nin a few days ago."
Shino rose an eyebrow behind his glasses.
'A Medical-nin was allowed in the tower?' This was his first-time hearing this and it was, in a way, frustrating. 'How much goes on here without any of us knowing?' It seemed like the more time they spent in Naruto's tower, the less they could figure out.
"Then it's not a physical reason. It's personal." Shino continued to examine the two, pushed the rest of his thoughts aside. He could be frustrated later tonight when he was going over Naruto's records. For now, he had a puzzle to work on.
Temari and Kankuro of the Sand had to be important if Naruto was keeping them in his tower. Something beyond being simple hostages and he had to figure it out.
"This. This can't be allowed to continue."
The wood of the desk in front of her was more comforting than looking up. The Hyuga couldn't drag her head up, could bear to do anything after yet another failure courtesy of Mitarashi.
The Praetorians had been defeated again, had failed to succeed at the Praetorian Protection Program.
And she had been embarrassed again.
A hand rubbed at the mark left on her forehead. Mitarashi was taking delight in humiliating her, in making it all the worse once Naruto-kun came back to the village. He would learn about his Praetorians failing under her watch, that they couldn't succeed under her, and he would learn he had been wrong to put his faith in her, that he had been wrong to believe in her.
"No. I can't let that happen. I can't." She grabbed at her hair, forced herself to sit up in her seat. "I can't let him think that. I can't let him think I'm like the others. I have to be better for him. I have to be strong for him. He can't."
The idea that Naruto could come back to this horrified her.
It terrified her.
He couldn't be allowed to see any of this.
He couldn't be allowed to hear any of this.
He couldn't.
She had to fix this. She had to do something.
"I-I have to come up with something. I have to fix this. For Naruto-kun. Naruto-kun deserves better. He can't come back to this. He can't. He can't."
But her mind was painfully blank of any ideas.
Everything she had tried against Mitarashi had failed. Time after time, there was nothing she could do against the Kunoichi's sheer skill. Every attempt at subterfuge, at new tactics, attempts at brute forcing a method to victory, had all failed.
Contuberniums failed no matter the number and an entire Century couldn't be allowed to do the same. Fifty Praetorians being put in the program was already a problem. The fact that they had failed so often at that number only made it worse for Naruto-kun's return.
"Naruto-kun can't see this. He can't." She tugged at her hair, wished the pain would gift her some revelation, some idea. "He can't know I failed. He can't see this. He can't."
If the situation was different, if it had only been a few months before, she would be sobbing.
She didn't now because she forced herself to focus, to find a solution.
"There has to be a way to beat her. To beat her and bury all these failures before the end."
Mitarashi's "final exam" couldn't be allowed to happen. Sakura Haruno couldn't be the only success of Naruto-kun's Legion, of his Praetorians. They couldn't only succeed with her.
"She can't be the one. She can't be." Hinata found another way to ignore her sorrow.
Her anger could ground her just as well.
The veins around her eyes bulged as her Byakugan took hold, as it allowed her to take in the entirety of the tower. Above all, her sight focused on the Chakra of Sakura Haruno. She was with Ino Yamanaka, the Chunin running a Chakra rich hand up and down her hair.
"She can't be the one."
AN: 4/4 chapters for this update. 1/3 months for the next update.
PM/review/adopt this story if you want.
Peace.