We've made it to lucky number 13! A big thanks to all the readers and reviewers who've stuck by this story so far.
I probably won't be able to update next week because of a massive load of schoolwork, so expect a new chapter during the second week of May.
With that said, enjoy the story.
There was a buzz of excitement in the school when Sakura arrived at school on a late October morning. From snatches of conversation, she had already figured out that some sort of event was going to take place after school later on in the week. Upper-years were whispering fervently in the halls. Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, she heard. The only who weren't going were ones who were planning to stay career genin, a third-year said.
Yet, she still had no clue what this event was. Her thoughts, which had previously been focused on half-seals, were now overtaken by curiosity.
The warning bell rang out. Only a few minutes before class. The halls quickly emptied, students still chatting about this mystery event. Great. Her only sources of information had left.
She trudged back to KHag, plopping down in her regular seat between Ino and Naruto. Tuning out the morning announcements, she turned her thoughts to ninjutsu training.
Assuming she could get the hang of a sealless Transformation within a few days, she would then move on to the Substitution and the Clone jutsu. With these basic ninjutsu under her belt, she would be ready to progress to basic elemental manipulation. Then again, there were so many aspects of these ninjutsu that she had yet to explore.
"I'd like to remind students that the Weapons Maintenance room is available for …"
She already knew that the Transformation could be used to permanently transform inanimate objects. The photos in Naruto's black book attested to that. But the intended use of the Transformation was to change the appearance of the user. Maybe she could tweak the jutsu a little so that she could change her own appearance without continuously having to feed more chakra into the jutsu.
"Weapons can be sharpened …"
And the Substitution. Mom had told her that it was possible to substitute with water. Would it be possible to substitute with air, too? Substitutions also left trace residues of chakra that could give away the user's location. Might she be able to find a way to remove these traces?
"Any trouble, and your privileges will be revoked …"
She had fewer ideas for the Clone jutsu, but she was excited to learn about water clones. Maybe earth clones, too. There was something to be said about strength in numbers.
Iruka-sensei cleared his throat, and Sakura's head snapped up. He only did that before truly important announcements.
"As you may have heard, an exciting event is occurring this Wednesday, right after the last period of the day. A ninjutsu expert from the Uchiha clan is giving a presentation in the training grounds right next to the building."
At this, the students burst into conversation, speculating on the identity of said Uchiha. Probably a veteran of the Second War, one student proposed. Maybe the heir, he's supposed to be a genius, right?
Sasuke had a smug grin on his face. He probably knew the identity of this mysterious ninjutsu expert.
"Quiet!"
The class fell silent, wary of Iruka-sensei's wrath.
"This presentation is only for second-years and up." His steely glare prevented all interruptions. "However, if you truly wish to attend, I can give you a pass. In fact, since most of you are probably itching to go, I already took the liberty of writing passes for all of you. I'll have them on my desk at the end of the day, and you can take one on your way out. If you lose it, you lose it. I'm not giving you another one."
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei," the class chorused. The man may have been strict, but no one could say he didn't care for his students.
Sakura looked to her right at the adjacent desk, where Shikamaru and Chōji were sitting. She raised an eyebrow in silent question. Chōji nodded enthusiastically, while Shikamaru gave a lazy shrug. Good. They were going.
She sat back in her chair. No doubt, Ino and Naruto would be going. They were already excitedly chatting about different types of fire jutsu. Sakura couldn't wait for Wednesday to come.
-X-
"You ready, Forehead?" The two Academy students faced each other solemnly in the center of the training ground, both decked out in sparring armor.
"Ready, Pig," Sakura replied as she held her hand up in the Seal of Confrontation.
"Begin!"
Sakura dashed into Ino's guard and would have landed a solid hit on her ribs if Ino hadn't used her elbow to block. The Yamanaka recovered and went on the offensive, forcing Sakura back.
It wasn't long before Sakura caught Ino's left fist, returning the favor with a left palm, aimed at the blonde's face. Ino moved her face out of the line of attack and retreated quickly with a sidewards jump.
On it went, exchanging blows and dodging, until Sakura surprised her friend with a combo that left her reeling. Unbalanced, Ino was unable to avoid the leg sweep that sent her tumbling to the ground.
Sakura helped her friend up, and they formed the Seal of Reconciliation.
"I knew you could do it Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Thanks a lot Naruto-kun," she said with a beam.
"Don't gloat too much, Forehead. That's only the second time you've beaten me," Ino grumbled, taking off her helmet.
"I know, I know. I've got a long way to go, and you've helped me get where I am," Sakura replied with a grateful smile.
"So, who's next?"
"Me, me!" Naruto volunteered.
Ten minutes later, Naruto was victorious, with Sakura lying on the ground in a sweaty heap.
"Your stamina is really good, Naruto-kun," she complimented as he helped her up.
"Really? Thanks, Sakura-chan," he replied, rubbing the back of his head.
Shikamaru found it safe to walk over at this point.
"We need to adjust your training plan," he announced as he joined the group.
"Up to now, you've been focusing on improving your ranking. However, I believe you've made enough progress in that area, and can now shift your attention to skills and techniques that will help you in your spar against Neji."
"OK. What's your plan?" she inquired curiously.
"There are two general scenarios that I see playing out. The first scenario, close-range or mid-range combat, is more advantageous for Neji. In this scenario, Neji is getting close enough for his Gentle Fist to be a threat. You can't effectively keep him away because you're either running out of weapons, or you have some chakra points blocked. These factors will prevent you from escaping, and make it harder to keep Neji at a distance. If Neji does manage to get close, he can use his superior speed to quickly get into your guard and close off most of your chakra points, thereby ending the spar. Therefore, to prepare for this situation, you'll have to focus on get-away and keep-away techniques that don't require chakra. I suggest improving your speed and reaction time, as well as focusing on your skill with long-range or close-range weapons."
"And the other scenario?"
"The other scenario, long-range combat, is more advantageous for you. In this scenario, you have successfully managed to gain your distance from Neji. His Byakugan will make it impossible for you to hide from him, but he won't be close enough to finish you off with his Gentle Fist. To prevent this situation from turning into a mid-range or close-range combat scenario, you need to use get-away and keep-away techniques that wear down Neji. I recommend using more chakra-based techniques in this situation, as those techniques won't have a large impact on your physical stamina, stamina that you need to conserve. There is a limitation imposed by your chakra capacity, though. You might need soldier pills or some other strategy to replenish your chakra."
"So what techniques do you suggest I learn?"
"I thought you'd never ask." There was a devious glint in his eyes.
He took out a storage scroll and placed it on the ground, unsealing a few books. He smiled to himself. Sakura had gotten them all into the habit of using storage scrolls.
"You'll need to drastically improve your speed with the help of this book."
Sakura stared at the title of the green book Shikamaru was pointing to. Youthful Speed Training. She gave Shikamaru a look of disbelief.
"Just trust me on this one. It gives you a speed training regimen and a template for weight seals. I'd suggest only using leg weights for now."
She seemed placated by the mention of seals.
"I also recommend learning how to throw senbon. They're harder to block. And learn how to infuse your weapons with poison."
"Poison!?"
"Just a paralytic one. Harmless. Make some pepper bombs and flash-bangs, too. Low-level explosive tags also. They'll slow him down. The recipe for the poison and its antidote is in there," he explained, gesturing to a purple book.
"Now techniques that use chakra. How many seals do you need for the Substitution jutsu?"
"One and a half, sometimes one."
"Get it down to zero. The Body Flicker Technique will be useful. Possibly set up some traps. Do you know how to make solid clones?"
"No."
"Work on elemental clones, then," he took a deep breath. "That's all for now. I don't want to overwhelm you."
He sealed the books, then handed the storage scroll to a wide-eyed Sakura.
"You can take these to help you."
Naruto and Ino were staring at him in surprise. They had never seen him in serious planning mode before.
Sakura thanked him and quickly scampered away before he could assign her even more techniques.
-X-
"Kotetsu-san! Teach me how to make a water clone!", Sakura yelled, running towards the two gate guards.
"You're late today, Sakura-chan," Kotetsu deflected. "On Mondays, you're supposed to get here about 10 minutes earlier."
"So are you going to teach me or not?" Sakura pressed, undeterred. "Don't avoid my question."
He was prepared for this day. He took a scroll out of a pocket of his vest, and unsealed a thick book.
"This is a book on water manipulation. It will not tell you how to form a water clone." At this, the excited grin fell off her face. "However, if you finish learning a few specific techniques, I'll consider teaching you the water clone jutsu. I've included the list of techniques on a piece of paper inside. Show the techniques to me within three weeks or I won't teach you about water clones. And don't tell anyone I gave you this book. You got it?"
She was already running away. "I got it! Thanks for the book, Kotetsu-san! I'll see you within three weeks!" she called over her shoulder.
Kotetsu sighed. "Kids these days have so much energy."
"Careful there, Kotetsu. You're making us sound old," Izumo cut in. "By the way, you didn't give her a book from the chūnin section of the library, did you?" he asked suspiciously.
Kotetsu's silence was telling enough.
"You know we could get in serious trouble for that. What if she's a spy, sent to steal village secrets?"
"She's no spy. I looked up her records. She was born in Konoha, and her parents are Konoha-nin. What's the real reason for your worries?" Kotetsu turned to look at his partner.
"She's learning all this at such an early age. If she makes a name for herself, there's no doubt that she's going to be recruited into Anbu. We're turning children into killers." There was a conflicted look in Izumo's lone visible eye.
"No, we're turning them into shinobi. We're helping her grow strong. You know she'll need all the help she can get if she's going to survive. It's a bloodbath out there. No place for unprepared kids in Konoha's system. The next war comes along, those who can't make it big become cannon fodder."
"I know," Izumo finally relented. "But I also know I'm not the only one who wishes it didn't have to be this way."
-X-
Sakura settled down on her bed, her trusty Takeshi-kun by her side. Before her was a pile of books. All of which she needed to take advantage of if she wanted to beat Neji. She began sorting the books into two categories: chakra and no chakra.
In the chakra pile she found the Body Flicker Technique, a book on the theory behind the Clone jutsu, Kotetsu's book on water manipulation, scrolls on half-seal theory written by the Nidaime Hokage, a few manuals on fūinjutsu traps, and her own notes on chakra control exercises.
In the no chakra pile she found a book about senbon, a scroll showing how to infuse weapons with poison, the purple book of poison recipes, a book about poisonous plants around Konoha, and last but not least, Youthful Speed Training.
She would first add water manipulation to her ninjutsu training, as she had a time limit of three weeks to learn those techniques. She took Kotetsu's book and placed it to the side. As for the techniques without chakra, she would work on senbon in the morning, and turn her attention to speed training in the afternoon.
Her priorities decided, she flipped to the table of contents in Youthful Speed Training. She might as well take a look at the weight seal while she had time.
Wow. This was genius. A circuit in the seal converted chakra into mass, and increased the density of the weight as more chakra was added. Another circuit converted the mass back into chakra. There were a few other strokes that she didn't fully understand, but she knew the seal was extremely well-designed. There was a certain elegance to its efficiency. She glanced at the footnotes. These seal designs were youthfully provided by my eternal rival, who youthfully requested that his identity be kept secret.
A rival of the author? Intrigued, Sakura turned to the back cover of the book to find the author's identity. She clapped her hands over her eyes. The cover was so bright! Were those supposed to be teeth? When she peeked between the gaps of her fingers, the blinding light had faded away to tolerable levels, leaving her wondering if it was possible or legal to cast genjutsu on books. She could now make out a man with a bowl cut giving a big thumbs-up, but he was obviously using a pseudonym. He called himself the Green Beast of Konoha. She frowned. Who, exactly, was the author?
Elsewhere in the village, Gai sneezed.
"Ah, you have bested me this time, my rival!" he lamented dramatically.
"You've never been able to beat me in staring contests, Gai."