After reading a number of great Naruto SI fics, a teaspoon of caffeine doled out over 8 hours, and a lack of progress in my next chapter of New Game Plus, I give you my next project! Updates will be sporadic, as my muse is a fickle bitch with the attention span of a hummingbird.
The videogame part was inspired by Abel Sephaos' Project Konoha and 10000 Fists' Fractured Fate. If you like this, or some of the ideas in here, check out their stories.
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Also, unlike New Game Plus, I actually know something about the language the characters ostensibly speak. As such, I give you…
Japanese: A Primer for the Semi-literate
The only real Japanese words I'll be using are in names (people and places) and 'Jutsu'. Jutsu means 'technique', so it's basically a catch-all term added to the end of every ninja magic trick used in Naruto. Anything else I use, I'll either provide a translation, or expect the reader to already know. Like 'taijutsu', what self-respecting Naruto fanfiction reader doesn't know that?
In Japanese, family names are given before personal names. Referring to someone by their personal name implies closeness, disregard of etiquette, or being in close contact with people sharing the same last name.
In addition, honorifics are added to the end of a name, separated by a hyphen, to indicate the speaker's relationship to the speakee (spoken to?). Here's a short list.
-san: Respectful and polite, but not exactly what you'd use to speak to an emperor. You use this with people of similar status and age, strangers, and acquaintances.
-kun: More familiar. Used with classmates, students, the less-experienced, and friends.
-chan: A bit more complex. It's used to refer to the adorable, such as small children and pets. Can also be applied to inanimate objects. It also implies femininity, so it's really only applied to males in teasing or when they're young. Can be used to refer to any female at any age, though it implies closeness. Basically, it's kind of like a cute nickname.
-sama: Very respectful. It's like prefacing someone's name with 'Lord' or 'Most Honorable'. It canbe used in teasing, like calling someone "Master".
-dono: Even more respectful. Used when addressing the Emperor and other really important figures. Not really used in teasing.
-sempai/senpai: Used when speaking to person with more experience, like an upperclassman. '-senpai' is for female superiors.
-kohai: The opposite of '-sempai'. Used when speaking to those with less experience in your field.
-tan: Cute way of saying '-chan'.
-sensei: Used when speaking to a teacher. Can also be applied to doctors. It's also its own word, so someone can be referred to as just 'Sensei'.
Any new honorifics I decide to use will be mentioned in the chapter they appear, as well as appearing here in an update. Also, this gargantuan piece won't be showing up in future chapters.
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JESUS FUCK, THAT SMARTS! WHAT THE FUCK JUST HIT ME, A TRUCK!?
My memories filtered back grudgingly.
Oh. So I was. At least the groceries were saved. Now, where the fuck am I? Lying on the ground in some sort of park? Those are pretty big-ass trees, though. And equally big-ass braches.
Odd. I would've expected to be in a hospital. Or nowhere, if I died. But I can't be dead, I'm right here. Wherever I am. Eurgh.
I clawed my way to an upright position, barely noticing the rolled-up orange sleeves covering my forearms as I dealt with the agony racking my body. It felt as what I imagine swallowing lava would: intense burning in my core that radiated outwards until it reached my skin just weak enough to allow rational thought.
Pretty fucking painful, for those of you philistines who don't get imagery.
Anyway, I can deduce a couple things from my current state. First, I'm not dead. Second, with the orange jumpsuit, giant scroll plastered with 'Forbidden' (in kanji, no less. If I concentrate, I can see the actual writing, rather than the automatic translation), and the gigantic trees surrounding me, I would say I'm in Naruto. In the first episode, I believe, the one where Naruto (me, now) stole the Scroll because of Mizuki.
I'm not sure it this is a delusion caused by excessive morphine at the hospital, or an honest-to-god example of reincarnation, but I'm going to do my damnest to survive either way.
I'm adapting to this remarkably fast. Well, I suppose I'm either repressing an emotional response or just not that concerned about it. I'll bet on the former. Plus, wanting to live is a pretty healthy emotional response.
If I am in Naruto at the time I think I am, then Mizuki'll be by in a bit to take the scroll and kill me. I can't rely on Iruka to protect me like he did in the original series; that was almost entirely luck-based and I don't like plans that require a gamble to work.
Right, so the first order of business is to gather up the scroll and leave. Maybe I can trap it and leave, first? Or rip out the paper and hope Mizuki won't notice? I mean, his primary goal is to get the scroll and take it to Orochimaru, though that last part might just be fanon. I wasn't really a fan of the actual series, so almost all of my knowledge is derived from fanfiction of varying quality. Plus, my internet was crap and Toonami only played one episode at a time. Some of those fights take forever.
Hey, the scroll's open. And not to the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Something called 'Bodily Modification Jutsu'. And there's now a burnt hole where the details were. That's Deus Ex Machina for you, keeping the Protagonist from knowing vital information pertaining to his or her circumstances.
Joy. Oh, I can't lift my feet. More joy.
Eh? What's this?
How S.P.E.C.I.A.L. are you?
Oh god, I'm not just in a SI fic, I'm in a videogame fic, too! Well, this is good news, in a way. The original Naruto was optimized entirely for close combat. Seeing as how I wasn't trained to become a vicious little killer from age 6, I would prefer something a little more ninjutsu and stealth heavy. And now, that build's just a few point modifications away.
Unfortunately, I know I'm destined for the shinobi life. No village, not even bleeding heart Konoha, would sacrifice their Jinchuuriki to a civilian life. But maybe, just maybe, I could weasel my way into a less-combative position. Like medic, that doesn't sound so bad. Or… I don't know, infiltrator.
I tapped the screen that hovered in front of me and silently groaned. It's not like Fallout at all!
Choose your ancestry.
Uzumaki
Hmmm, I'm absolutely stunned by the wealth of options. Didn't it take Naruto a couple hours or so to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu? If so, assuming I've been unconscious for less than 1 hour and 45 minutes, I have plenty of time to choose my stats.
Choose your stats.
Strength: 6
Perception: 3
Endurance: 10
Charisma: 7
Intelligence: 3
Agility: 5
Luck: 8
Points: 0
Wow. I… really? No explanation of what choosing Uzumaki did? Fuck you too, game.
Well, I was right. Canon Naruto was a bruiser whose primary advantages were his ridiculous stamina, good luck, sunny disposition, and above-average strength. Well, that's not the way I want to go.
Let's put everything back to balance. Eh, extra points? 3 of them. Hmmm…
I bet those came from the Uzumaki heritage. 2 to Endurance, 1 to Luck? Or maybe Charisma? I can only speculate, since I'm too lazy to see how low each stat can go. Well, those points'll some in handy.
Right, Intelligence to 9, definitely. More skill points, possibly better calculative ability, what's not to love? Plus, I like to roleplay smarties. And the extra point can either be added with a permanent bonus or Intense Training.
Take Charisma down to 1; if I need to make someone like me, Speech's more useful. And everyone already dislikes Naruto, right? Well, except for the Sandaime, Teuchi, and Ayame, who probably won't mind the new attitude, so long as I'm not a total ass to them. Oh, and Hinata, whose fangirl crush probably wouldn't survive my new attitude anyway. I don't dislike her, but it seems kind of bitchy to stalk a guy who would give anything for a bit of acknowledgement, especially if the reason for your stalking is because he never gives up. Then again, she is 12, and pretty sheltered, besides. Eh, I'll judge her when I meet her.
Oh man, how am I gonna explain the personality change!? I can't act dopey and cheerful for 10 seconds without bursting out into laughter!
Gah, focus. Stat distribution is at hand.
Agility to 9. Speed is everything to a shinobi. Well, GOOD shinobi; none of those 'I counter your flashy Jutsu with a bigger, flashier Jutsu!' shinobi. Like Naruto was. Is. Would be. Gah. And the Stealth bonus is appreciated.
That's 4 more points, right? I guess I'll evenly split them between Perception and Luck. Noticing shit and being lucky enough for it to be good, benign shit is excellent.
Ah, then again, Endurance'll probably add to my Chakra pool. And I would like to be able to pull off some of that crazy stuff Naruto did in the later chapters, or in some of the fanfics I read. And, well, bad stuff happens to Naruto regardless of how high his Luck was, apparently. So Luck only governs critical chance, which I hope to overcome with sneak attacks, and adds a small amount to every skill, which I can cover with my high Intelligence. So I'll put Endurance to 9 with points from Luck.
But Charisma will probably mean more in this game than it did in the previous Fallout games. I mean, below 5 is fine, but 1? That's pretty much misanthropic right there. But where to pull points from…
I brought Charisma to 3 with 1 point from Strength and 1 point from Endurance.
Choose your stats.
Strength: 4
Perception: 7
Endurance: 8
Charisma: 3
Intelligence: 9
Agility: 9
Luck: 3
Points: 0
Accept. Now, tagged skills, I presume.
Choose your tagged skills.
Barter: 10
Bukijutsu: 18
Capacity: 20
Control: 22
Fuinjutsu: 22
Genjutsu: 18
Kenjutsu: 12
Lockpicking: 18
Medicine: 22
Ninjutsu: 20
Science: 22
Sneak: 22
Speech: 10
Survival: 20
Tactics: 22
Taijutsu: 20
Tags Left: 3
Tags 0/3
I love it when I'm right. What's science doing there, though? Isn't it used to hack computers? Gah, fuck it. I need stuff that'll help me survive Mizuki. Or help escape him.
I want Sneak, definitely. Sneak attacks are king, and avoiding fighting a chunin would be great. Tag.
What do these other skills do, though? Bukijutsu is what? I tapped the screen, to be rewarded with nothing. Damn.
Alright, all things considered, I have amazing skills! I guess the trifecta of Intelligence, Endurance, and Agility gave me such high starting amounts in everything. Though my lower stats govern a lot of other things not on the list, like Carry Capacity and initial reaction modifiers.
Alright, Bukijutsu's obviously some shinobi thing. Capacity probably helps chakra capacity, while Control is chakra control. Science… I don't know why it's here. I guess as an actual skill that gives scientific knowledge, rather than something you use to hack computers.
Alright, what else to choose? Kenjutsu, while cool, relies on a weapon to be effective. Though I'm not sure if it's only swords or if it also covers things like hammers, scythes, staves, etc. I am sure, however, that it doesn't cover ranged weapons; I bet that's what Bukijutsu's for. And I don't want to be a male Tenten clone. Plus, I lack the tools required for such a thing.
Ninjutsu? Maybe. Throwing fireballs is nice, and being better at it is nicer. Yet I have no clue how to throw, or even spit, fireballs. Possible tag.
Genjutsu? Nah. I'm not much for illusions, though being better at detecting them wouldn't be amiss.
Taijutsu? Hopefully, I won't have to engage in hand-to-hand. Being better at it if I have to would be nice, but I could just do that later with skill points. Plus, I think that no amount of skill points would help me beat someone who's more than likely 10 levels higher than me. Or even worse, considering my total lack of martial arts training or fighting experience.
Survival? Ah, but that's more for living off the land and creating shit from said land.
Tactics? I assume that's the ability to keep track of multiple opponents in a fight, and be able to create a plan of attack in said fight. While important, I don't think it's applicable to my immediate circumstances. I can use the time between now and when Mizuki arrives to form a plan of attack.
Capacity? I don't exactly have any Jutsu right now. Well, except for the Forbidden Scroll, full of mysterious, powerful Justus locked away by the Hokages of ages past. And Shadow Clone Jutsu. Tag.
Control? It would help me get more clones, and help in my further endeavors into the world of chakra-manipulation. Tag.
Choose your tagged skills.
Barter: 10
Bukijutsu: 18
Capacity: 35 [ ]
Control: 37 [ ]
Fuinjutsu: 22
Genjutsu: 18
Kenjutsu: 12
Lockpicking: 18
Medicine: 22
Ninjutsu: 20
Science: 22
Sneak: 37 [ ]
Speech: 10
Survival: 20
Tactics: 22
Taijutsu: 20
Tags 3/3
Accept. Now, to grab the scroll and find Shadow Clone Jutsu!
Choose your traits. Some have already been selected and cannot be changed.
Built to Destroy
Chakra Monster
Control Freak
Genius of Hard Work
Good Natured
It's Elemental
Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi [ ]
Loner
Persuasively Tactless
Reckless Offensive
Skilled
Small Frame
Warped Coils
Way of the Samurai
Tags 1/3
Oh right, traits. I'll bet I already know what the Jinchuuriki one does, but what the hell, let's see it anyway. I tapped the screen. Nothing. Nothing? Wow, this game hates to give away free information, doesn't it?
Well, I would assume the traits I recognize work in roughly the same way as they did in New Vegas. As for the ones I don't know, Way of the Samurai would do something to Kenjutsu. Warped Coils would make me like Lee, I imagine, while Genius of Hard work would… do something to Taijutsu? Or maybe it would be the opposite of Skilled? Chakra Monster and Control Freak are definitely opposites, I know it, either increasing or decreasing Chakra Capacity and Chakra Control. It's Elemental would probably do something to elemental affinities, Reckless Offensive would probably lower defense for attack potential, and Persuasively Tactless does… something. I have no idea what.
I think I should only choose traits that I roughly know the bonuses and penalties of.
Loner? No, definitely not with Hatake "Never abandon your teammates" Kakashi.
Small Frame? I like more Agility. But it's already at 9… but this… can I go back? There's no BACK button, so I'm assuming no. Damn.
Good Natured? Well, I'm expecting to make use of every combat skill at some point, so I would like all points in their respective places, thanks.
Skilled? It's +5 to every skill in exchange for -10% Experience earned. I… well, my Endurance's already ridiculous, isn't it? So I would probably have more Health and Chakra than people several levels above me. I wouldn't be oneshotted, so my extra skill points would matter in a fight. Tag.
Built to Destroy? Well, I'm not planning on using much more than kunai and shuriken, which are disposable ninja tools carried in large amounts. Thus, I don't really care if my kunai breaks in combat, since I can just grab another one. On the other hand, the extra Critical Chance would be nice in open combat. Tag.
Choose your traits. Some have already been selected and cannot be changed.
Built to Destroy [ ]
Chakra Monster
Control Freak
Genius of Hard Work
Good Natured
It's Elemental
Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi [ ]
Loner
Persuasively Tactless
Reckless Offensive
Skilled [ ]
Small Frame
Warped Coils
Way of the Samurai
Tags 3/3
Accept.
Ah, now I can move my feet. Let's just rush to the scroll and… I pause, almost tumbling to the ground. A thought occurs to me. Is there a Save/Load function? If there is, I would imagine it's voice activated.
"Ah, Save."
Nothing happened. Well, that's a bust.
Game saved
Or not! Hah, effective immortality, here I come! Orochimaru can blow me for all I care!
Now, to take the scroll and hide. After studying Shadow Clone Jutsu, of course.
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"Alright, Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Requirements: 50 Ninjutsu, 50 Capacity
Okay, I have no idea how Naruto managed this the first time. Last I checked, I only have those in the 20s and 30s. No clone spamming for me, it appears. Sigh. I even read through the section as carefully as possible!
Well, I can still get the fuck out of dodge, am I right? Just-
I collapsed on the ground, clutching at my back. It felt almost like a giant chunk of metal embedded itself in my lumbar region. Okay, just pull yourself up. GAH.
A foot crashed into my face.
"You've been one tricky brat to track down, you know. I think I'll kill you slowly, just to make me feel better."
Hah. Despite the agonizing pain, I grinned.
"Suck a dick. Load."
I heard a wild snarl before my world flashed to black.
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Damn, he's a pretty good tracker, to be able to find a Level 1 Genin running through the woods. Do I still remember the Shadow Clone Jutsu?
I searched desperately though my thoughts, only to find the handseal I remembered from the anime. Dammit, there goes my idea of reading though the scroll and remembering all the high powered Jutsu hidden in it. Then again, I do remember where the information was, if only because I can remember up until I started reading.
Okay, new plan. Only read through Shadow Clone Jutsu, then run like hell back to Konoha. I'll probably make it?
I picked up the Scroll and quickly rolled it up to where I needed, speed reading through the section. As I rushed through it, several of my former insights flashed back into consciousness. It felt pretty fucking weird. Apparently, there was more to the Jutsu than the handsign (shock). You needed to force a large amount of chakra through the handseal and, if you wanted decent clones, try to shape the released chakra into a body yourself. Otherwise, the chakra mass needed to form its own body, resulting in stupid clones. Oh, that's probably what Naruto did, come to think of it.
Mass Shadow Clone Jutsu learned.
Oh. So that is what he did. Nice. But I want intelligent clones, not mindless berserkers. Just finish the section quickly and run.
Shadow Clone Jutsu learned.
Alright, RUN!
I sprinted through the trees. At ground level, I'm not confident in my ability to jump from branch to branch.
Within 5 minutes, I started wondering about how easily I was adapting to all this. Even though I wasn't very attached to my family and friendly acquaintances (they weren't friends, really), I still kind of miss them. I suppose I'm treating this as a kind of game, almost. Well, it is. I'm just not going to be able to go home after the game ends. If it ends. Sigh.
Well, maybe if I win I'll go home?
But how do I win?
Hmm…
Become Hokage is my best guess. Oh, and also defeat Orochimaru, Akatsuki, Pain, Madara/Obito, and the Juubi. Sigh. I might never do that with my current skill set. Then again, everyone expects Jinchuuriki to be these frontliners who power though obstacles with grit and their Bijuu's chakra. So, as a probable assassin build, I'll take everyone by surprise. Well, until my preferences become known.
My thoughts were cut off when yet another pointy bit of metal took up residence in my spine.
"Heh. Thanks for running right to me. Let me guess, you realized this was a trick and hoped that by returning the Scroll, you'd be forgiven?"
It might just be my bias shining through, but I'm sure Mizuki's voice sounded like he was intentionally making it deeper for dramatic effect
"Oi, Sensei."
The effort of keeping an even tone was worth it. I'm pretty sure my fairly calm voice made him pause, not my words.
"Go back to your mistress and cry into her leather corset. Load."
I heard another snarl of rage before my world went to black.
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Alright, do I have a Menu of some kind?
"Menu."
Holy shit, I do.
Naruto: The Game
SAVE
LOAD
OPTIONS
MAIN MENU
Alright, OPTIONS. I'll explore MAIN MENU later, when I'm not in imminent danger.
OPTIONS
Difficulty: Hard
Subtitles: NO
Language: ENGLISH
ACCEPT BACK
Alright, change difficulty to Easy. Oh, it won't let me change it. WHY THE FUCK DO YOU PUT IT HERE, THEN?!
Subtitles are a no, I think. They're distracting, and I can understand the language just fine.
Thus, leave Language at ENGLISH.
ACCEPT. Now, what can I do regarding Mizuki? If I run away, he assumes I realized how transparent his story was and attacks me immediately. If I stay here… Iruka finds me right after Mizuki does. Then saves me from that damn mondo-shuriken.
Alright, I'll just sit here, study the scroll, and let this play out similarly to canon.
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Ugh, useless. Almost every Jutsu in here requires hard-to-find reagents or a bloodline to function. I've learned about several new bloodlines that used to exist in Konoha, but none of them are very pertinent to my situation. For example, there used to be some people who could use a bastardized version of Dead Bone Pulse, but they were killed by bounty hunters because they were psychopathic idiots who had a deluded sense of grandeur.
"Ah, Naruto-kun. You did it. Give me the scroll, then demonstrate your Jutsu, would you?"
Ah, Mizuki, you stupid bitch. Unfortunately, I don't know how to make explosive tags, so I couldn't stuff them in the Scroll. I pulled myself to my feet and dragged the Scroll in his direction. He seemed to sense something was off, maybe my expression, judging by the look on his face.
"Naruto-kun, don't listen to him!" And here's the cavalry I wish I didn't need. "He's trying to trick you!"
Thanks, Iruka. I needed that. I really did.
"You're too late, Iruka-kun! Did you really expect me to come unprepared?"
Not even trying to deny it, huh?
Mizuki threw that mondo-shuriken at me with a wicked sidearm, crossing the distance between us in less than half a second. Fortunately, I have a mobile human shield who, despite being perfectly capable of catching it, decides to take it in the back and spit blood on my face.
… I'm pretty nonchalant about this. Is this shock or a hidden sociopathy rising to the surface?
Either way, I seemingly took Iruka's advice and ran, but instead hid behind the first large tree I rounded. Why? Well, I could retry this at any time, so why not play a little risky? If he doesn't find me, I can pop out and head back to Konoha with Iruka on my shoulder.
"Hmph. As expected of the dead last."
So that name is canon! Or, used here, at any rate.
"Yep! Load."
This time, there was no rage howl as I faded to black.
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Hmm… alright, Mizuki's not as incompetent as he was in canon. I wonder what else's different. Eh, I don't exactly have time to wonder about it right now.
I need to get to studying the Scroll, then try a different plan. Maybe I could charge Mizuki and stab him when he gets overconfident?
Sounds good.
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Alright, I got him! But then he got me back, with interest. Probably the closest to death I've gotten before Loading.
Hmm…
I absentmindedly rolled the Scroll open, speed reading through the sections that seem familiar and slowing down when I hit something new.
What else could I try… relying on canon? Ah, but that only worked because Naruto had that ridiculous ability to make over 100 Shadow Clones. I can't even make 1. And there's nothing in the Scroll so far that is even remotely usable other than Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Perhaps I could scare him away? Pretend to be the Kyuubi? Nah, I couldn't pull off the Killing Intent, nor do I think that would do anything other than make him kill me faster.
Still, it's worth a shot, I guess.
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I was right about Mizuki's reaction, unfortunately. Still, I distinctly remember getting about a quarter of the way through the Scroll. At this rate, it'll only take about a dozen more restarts to finish it. Well, more, since I'll have to skim through all the previous material.
Yay me.
It seems kind of small, though. Maybe it's the not-totally-restricted stuff that's here, and the Edo-Tensei shit's in a more heavily guarded location. That makes Naruto's theft easier to understand and believe. They should name it the Kinda-Forbidden Scroll.
Let's skip farther in to where I left off earlier; maybe I'll find something in there that I can actually use.
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Irritatingly, I was so wrapped up in the Scroll I didn't have a plan when Mizuki arrived. And that was the longest time I lasted, too!
I'm fairly sure I didn't find anything I could use, as I don't remember doing anything but running (Mizuki has low Agility, it seems). Still, it couldn't hurt to double check. After that, I figure out what to do to Mizuki.
…
Hmm, nope. Nothing. Damn. Alright, what can I do this time? Well… I could preempt the entire conversation. It would only take several tries before I had their responses down flat, and it might put him off balance enough to attack sloppily. Then, Iruka and I could take him down though teamwork.
Alright, let's give it a shot.
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Alright, Mizuki's here. Number 16's the lucky charm! Remembering the exact wording's a bitch.
"Ah, Naruto-kun. You did it. Give me the scroll, then demonstrate your Jutsu, would you?" I intoned monotonously.
Mizuki stopped short and stared at me before smiling winningly.
"How observant of you to guess my next words." I parroted.
His face twisted into a scowl as he opened his mouth.
"Stop that," I kept a blank expression, despite the amusement I got from this, "Give me th- STOP DOING THAT!"
It took a lot of effort to shout without making a face, but I managed it. And here's Iruka.
"Naruto-kun, don't listen to him!" I yelled tonelessly.
Iruka stopped again, staring at me, before speaking slowly and enunciating carefully.
"Mizuki is a traitor who-," I cut off for Mizuki's interruption.
"Give me the scroll!" I copied while simultaneously rolling away from the mondo-shuriken. It was easy to avoid when the almost exact same throw was made each time.
This kicked Iruka into gear, who engaged Mizuki in Taijutsu. Unfortunately, it seemed Mizuki was the more physically-oriented shinobi, as he was slowly but surely thrashing Iruka. I threw some kunai at him, but that only distracted him momentarily from the fight. Still, it was enough to keep them on an even keel for several minutes.
Here was the stalling point. Either Iruka died in the fight, or I killed myself trying to help. Iruka needed my assistance to win, yet doing much more than throwing kunai led to my death. It was frustrating, as one can imagine.
I could just run away from the fight with the Scroll, but there weren't any shinobi out here to help. Either that or they just didn't notice the pretty vicious fight going on here. And I wasn't willing to let Iruka die, not when I could save him.
Tricky, tricky…
You know, I never looked in the Inventory, did I?
"Inventory."
Inventory
[Weapons] Armors Jutsu Consumables Misc
12 Kunai
Oh, right. Jutsu. I feel like an idiot, I've been playing like a civilian all this time. Then again, all I have are the Clone, Replacement, and Disguise Jutsu. Well, those and whatever the hell I got from the Forbidden Scroll.
I paged over to Jutsu and let the library wash over me.
Inventory
Weapons Armors [Jutsu] Consumables Misc
Clone Jutsu
Disguise Jutsu
Replacement Jutsu
Shadow Clone Jutsu
Mass Shadow Clone Jutsu
Wow, nothing else? Everything I've been reading was for my own benefit? Fuck you, too.
Can I replace myself with either of the combatants? I… I think that'll just get me killed. And Disguise Jutsu won't do shit. Perhaps I could rush him with clones while throwing kunai at the prick? It would make him pay more attention to me so he could dodge the projectiles that he can't see. Maybe it'll allow Iruka to get some good hits in.
Ah, that feels weird. Oh hello, red metal spike. How are you?
Mizuki panted before spitting at me, "I don't know why you were stopping here, but I guess it's my lucky day!"
I turned around and literally spat in his face.
"Go die in a house fire. Load."
Snarl of rage, fade to black, the works.
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"Give me the scroll!"
I stopped my repetition dodged the weapon toss, noting that it was a bit wilder than it was previously. I guess my impersonation's working better?
Iruka led with a fist that was absorbed the Mizuki's block before the melee began in earnest. I ran my hand through the short handseal sequence a few times before actually channeling chakra.
Nothing happened. Oh, I bet I need to do voice commands again. Better whisper, then.
"Clone Jutsu."
Three doppelgangers popped into existence with a puff of smoke and ran their way toward Mizuki. I guess my intentions at the time of creation guide their subsequent actions.
"Clone Jutsu. Clone Jutsu."
I did it twice more, then waited until the first wave reached Mizuki. His arms were in a block, but he whipped one fist around to throw a brace of regular shuriken at them. I countered with a couple kunai.
Unfortunately, he managed to stop them, but they still dug into his arm rather painfully, allowing Iruka to get in a few hits.
The rest of the fight was rather lackluster, with my throwing kunai hidden by the clones and Iruka landing some pretty nasty blows that eventually knocked Mizuki out. Iruka then whipped out some wire and tied up the comatose body with efficient movements.
"Yay, we did it!"
It would look far too out of character if I didn't have some whimsy. Plus, I ACTUALLY DID IT! It took over 20 restarts, but I finally did it! Oh, what's this?
Quest completed
Oh, right. That was probably a quest. And I beat him!
Level up!
Cool. I'll just put that off, for now.
"Na-ru-to." Uh oh, I don't like that tone, "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!"
"Gah, lemme go. Child molesting pervert!"
He sprang off me pretty quickly and peered into my eyes.
"Are you feeling alright, Naruto-kun? Mizuki's just knocked out."
Ah shit, he's suspicious. Better think of something fast.
"Who're you?"
Faked amnesia: 66% of the time, it works every time.
xxXXxxXXxxXXxx
Just a little plot bunny that wouldn't go away while I was writing New Game Plus. I'll probably continue it, but reviews would expedite the process. Anyway, to preempt some questions…
Yes, save scumming will be both prevalent and necessary. Canon's going to be often used, for reasons to be explained later. Suffice to say, my Naruto's going to face situations that the canon version faced, but at a higher difficulty and with a build completely opposite of canon Naruto. He had such trouble kicking Mizuki's ass because he had no Shadow Clones, unlike original Naruto.
No, I'm not going to work out every little kink in how to translate character abilities into game statistics. Just know that a jonin with a Strength of 1 would be able to overpower Naruto just through the level difference. And that Naruto's never going to become another Lee.
Yes, yes he is remarkable blasé about this, thank you for noticing. Not only am I currently unable to write convincing angst, he's also holding off emotional reactions until after this is over. Or he's in a place where he isn't feeling watched, whichever comes first.
Naruto's Stats
Strength: 4
Perception: 7
Endurance: 9
Charisma: 3
Intelligence: 9
Agility: 9
Luck: 3
Barter: 15
Bukijutsu: 23
Capacity: 57
Control: 21
Fuinjutsu: 27
Genjutsu: 23
Kenjutsu: 17
Lockpicking: 23
Medicine: 27
Ninjutsu: 27
Science: 27
Sneak: 42
Speech: 15
Survival: 27
Tactics: 27
Taijutsu: 27
And, yes, I know these're different from what it is in the chapter. The trait bonuses weren't calculated, yet. His Control was really shot, though.