Sakura Haruno Pt. 1

A/N: Just a reminder, new chapter here officially means new chapter over on the P atreon!

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Really, what was even the point of all of Jiraiya's training if Naruto was just going to do everything without thinking about it first? So yes, he decides, he will go and gather some intelligence on his new house guest. Yugao Uzuki was a fresh brand-new problem that he needed to deal with sooner rather than later, before she could fester into something worse than just being Tsunade's watch dog.

Of course, the way the Hokage had put her directly under Naruto's command made him suspect that Tsunade had other intentions in mind when she'd assigned Yugao to watch over him. The Fifth Hokage was intent on making this new clan of his work, wasn't she? Perhaps almost as intent on making it work as Naruto was.

Regardless, departing from the compound after making sure Hinata would be alright by herself, Naruto set about putting the more clandestine skills he'd learned under Jiraiya these past few years to work. Namely, he sets about using his Shadow Clone technique and his own special form of Henge to start poking around places that, as himself, he probably wouldn't be able to get away with poking around.

See, while any ninja worth their salt was trained to be able to see through the normal version of Henge, what Naruto did… was not normal. He'd never realized that of course, his time at the Academy hadn't exactly been filled with instructors who overflowed with a desire to give him one-on-one training. As much as Iruka had ultimately warmed up to him, before him had been a long string of teachers who hated Naruto for things outside of his control, and even Iruka hadn't given him much solo training.

Likewise, Kakashi had really only taught Naruto a couple of chakra control techniques and not much else, though admittedly, Naruto recognized that he'd been an irritating brat about it at the time, begging for 'cool jutsu' and not recognizing the value in said chakra control techniques at first. After all, even Jiraiya, after becoming his teacher, had started Naruto on water walking before anything else, yet another chakra control technique.

Still, Kakashi definitely spent more time one-on-one with Sasuko, to the point that if Naruto didn't know his first sensei as well as he did, he might have suspected something untoward going on there. But no, it was just because Sasuko had the sharingan, and so did Kakashi, so it made sense for her to get special treatment and personalized training since they were so alike.

At least, that was what Naruto liked to tell himself whenever he started feeling particularly bad vibes towards his first sensei. Kakashi… Kakashi wasn't the best teacher, at least compared to Jiraiya, but he'd kept them alive at least, which was more than some Jonin Sensei could say for their teams.

Regardless, once Naruto was off on his training trip with the Toad Sannin, things had really begun to pick up. And it was during that personal one-on-one training that Naruto and Jiraiya discovered he'd developed an entirely new technique as a kid. His 'Sexy no Jutsu' was supposed to just be a normal Henge… but much like Naruto couldn't pull off normal clones back in the Academy, he actually couldn't pull of a normal Henge either, thanks to his chakra situation.

Instead, he'd apparently brute forced some sort of shapeshifting technique that, rather than simply layering an optical illusion to fool the senses over one's body, resulted in a true transformation. Naruto had never considered it before, but he supposed when he DID transform into a girl, he COULD in fact feel up his own tits. They weren't just incorporeal fake breasts that his hands passed right through, or something.

Weird to think about now that he'd experienced his sexual awakening and realized he was through and through a straight guy who liked women, but it was what it was. Sexy no Jutsu might be shelved forever, but Naruto could still use his own 'Super Henge' to his advantage. And so, he does, sending out a dozen Shadow Clones across the village disguised as different people, seeking out information on his new ANBU house guest in a half dozen different ways.

After a few hours, his shadow clones all pop and Naruto finds himself sat on the edge of one of Konoha's taller buildings, soaking up the information that he's just acquired and assimilating it. Learning what it meant that he could remember everything his clones remembered, specifically in regard to his training, had definitely been a game changer for Naruto. But there was definitely a possibility of information overload, something he'd avoided in his youth by only really summoning masses of Shadow Clones in the same spot.

You weren't as likely to suffer an aneurysm from summoning and then dispelling a thousand Shadow Clones if all of those clones were in the same spot and experiencing relatively similar events. Sure, it was still downright disconcerting, but it wasn't hellish. Twelve clones doing entirely different things and learning different information was about Naruto's limit before he started suffering from nose bleeds and having to rely on Kurama to heal any brain damage.

Regardless, his clones have done well all the same, and in his mind's eye, Naruto puts together the dossier he's now developed on Yugao Uzuki. Obviously, her time in ANBU wasn't necessarily up for grabs. He wasn't stupid enough to try and go hunting for that sort of sensitive information, that was how you got T&I hunting your ass as a potential foreign infiltrator.

But even if he didn't have the details of her time in ANBU, he could see it for what it was, a big blank space in her record that just read 'CLASSIFIED'. By mapping her life around that blank space, he could more easily get an idea of who Yugao Uzuki was, and what sort of approach she required.

From what he could tell, she was scouted at a rather young age. She didn't even make it out of the Academy before being selected to join ANBU. Honestly, Naruto hadn't realized they started training that young, but at the same time… it made sense, in a way. Still, that does leave the rest of her ninja career as part of that aforementioned blank spot.

So, he had to look to her personal life instead. ANBU were in fact allowed to have those, for all that they went on some of the hardest missions and suffered high casualty rates as a result. Finding out things like where Yugao lived and who she hung out with when she wasn't wearing the Cat mask was difficult but not impossible.

As it turned out, she apparently had a relationship with Kakashi. From what Naruto had gotten, they were friends, which in his mind likely meant that they'd been in ANBU together at one point. While Naruto couldn't be certain without stepping on toes he'd rather not step on, it was pretty damn obvious that their relationship ran deep, and the only place where Yugao could have met and befriended Kakashi in the first place would be ANBU. Easy enough to connect the dots there.

Beyond that, she had a few other friends among the Ninja Corps, some of whom might have also known her through ANBU. And then there was Hayate Gekko. Oddly enough, HE wasn't ANBU. Yugao's lover, a Special Jonin who died during those ill-fated Chunin Exams that had taken place right before Naruto left the village on his training trip.

The more he thought back to that time, the more he thought he remembered Hayate. He was supposed to be the Proctor for the Final Round of the Chunin Exam and had overseen the preliminary matches that decided who would advance to the final round. He'd been rather sick from what Naruto remembered. That was his most defining character trait from the short time Naruto had known him, that he coughed a lot.

Of course, he'd also had a sword at his side, and from what Naruto had been able to glean, that was how Hayate and Yugao had originally met. Judging by the slight difference in their ages, Hayate had likely been assigned to Yugao as her kenjutsu instructor. From there, it seemed that they'd gotten closer and closer until things had become serious enough for them to be called lovers by their small circle of friends and acquaintances.

Naruto had never thought very hard about why Hayate wasn't the Proctor for the actual official Final Rounds of the Chunin Exams. It'd been another guy instead, but at the time Naruto was so caught up in his own head that he hadn't really noticed. And of course, everything that had happened that day was just icing on the cake. He supposed in the back of his mind, if he'd even spared a thought for it, he'd believed Hayate to simply be too ill to perform his duties or something.

Now he knew better. The man had died a hero, his name now etched onto the memorial stone with all of Konoha's other fallen ninja. Naruto didn't know all the details of Hayate's death, but he could certainly imagine how it effected Yugao. At a guess, he suspected she'd only thrown herself into ANBU even harder afterwards. It was a wonder she was still alive; truth be told.

Now though, Naruto thought he had a pretty good understanding of who Yugao Uzuki was and who she'd become, influenced as she was by her life experiences. And his suspicions about what Tsunade wanted from him were almost certainly confirmed now as well. Yugao… Yugao was the final student of a particular set of kenjutsu skills, passed down from her master and lover, Hayate, to her.

If she was ever going to pass on those same skills… why not to a son or daughter? And if she was going to have a son or daughter in order to help secure Konoha's future anyways, why not have it with Naruto, given all the advantages he brought to the table?

The only question left was… did Yugao feel the same way as the Fifth Hokage? Tsunade clearly had it all planned out in her head, but Naruto refused to force anyone to do anything they didn't want to do. Just because Tsunade put her under his command didn't mean Naruto was going to order Yugao to sleep with him. Even if Kurama felt disapproving in the back of his head right now, like the great big fox just wanted Naruto to pin her down and have his way with her. He wouldn't do it unless Yugao WANTED him to do it.

That still left the matter of how he was going to approach her from here though-

"Naruto! There you are!"

Blinking at the familiar voice of the only teammate he has left in the village, Naruto swings around to see Sakura approaching with her hands on her hips and a mulish look on her face. And yet, in spite of the amount of attitude in her forward presenting march, Naruto thinks he detects a hint of uncertainty in the pink-haired kunoichi. She's not feeling nearly as confident as she wants him to think she is.

"Sakura… what's up?"

Scowling, Sakura crosses her arms over her chest with a frown.

"What's up? What's up?! That's all you have to say to me?!"

Rising to his feet, Naruto shrugs.

"Uh, yeah I guess so? Was there something you needed? I assume you talked to Tsunade, but that was days ago so…"

A flush passes across Sakura's face and she glances away for a moment in embarrassment. As he suspected, she had indeed talked to Tsunade days ago, and upon hearing something she didn't want to hear, his teammate had waffled about, not knowing how to approach him again without it being awkward. Well, it was still very awkward right now, that was for sure. And yet, after everything that had happened with Ino and Anko, after what had happened with Shizune and Hinata… ESPECIALLY with Hinata, Naruto found himself at ease.

He didn't need to pine after Sakura anymore. He hadn't needed her approval or validation in a long time, in fact.

"I d-did talk to Tsunade. I know you're restarting your clan. So… so you're just going to have a harem, is that it? Knock up a bunch of girls, and leave it at that?"

Shaking his head, it's Naruto's turn to frown.

"Any woman who joins me for the purposes of jumpstarting my clan becomes my wife, full stop. I'm not looking for a harem, but one is going to be foisted upon me anyways, so it would seem. I… I guess all I can say is I'm going to try and treat every girl who I marry with the same love and respect as the others."

That… seems to take a lot of the wind out of Sakura's sails. She doesn't look sure about whether she wants to be angry… or nervous.

"A-And I hear Ino's already signed up, yes?"

Naruto inclines his head in acknowledgment of that fact. He has nothing to hide, after all, and sees no reason to try to deceive Sakura.

"Ino, Anko, Shizune, and Hinata. Those four… so far."

Reeling as if his words have struck a literal blow, Sakura murmurs under her breath, repeating his words.

"S-So far…"

Staring at her curiously, Naruto presses his lips together, giving the pinkette a second to gather her thoughts. She's so much stronger now than she was back when they were still kids. She was tougher and had learned as much under Tsunade's tutelage as he'd learned with Jiraiya, or so it seemed. But right now, she was acting completely off, and he wasn't sure what to do about it.

"Look, Sakura, I've kind of got clan business I need to take care of back at the compound. If you want, we could maybe do lunch tomorrow and talk then? This isn't a good time."

Before he can leave however Sakura lunges forward, grabbing him by his shirt.

"W-Wait! What about me t-then? All those women… didn't you ask me first?"

He had, technically. He'd definitely propositioned Sakura first thing out of the Hokage's Tower. He'd FUCKED Tsunade first of course, but he still wasn't entirely sure where he stood with the Fifth Hokage. He wasn't sure she could even join his clan as his wife without thoroughly upsetting the balance of power within Konoha, or something shitty and political like that.

Still, Sakura had been the first one he'd propositioned, and while she hadn't taken him seriously at the time, it looked like she was taking him seriously now. The only question was… what did Naruto want? Sakura stares at him challengingly, but with a hint of desperation in her eyes. He needs to decide how he's going to approach this…

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