Ayo it's ya boy again.
Going against my instincts and posting the chapter earlier than I would've done originally. Was just too excited to share it haha
Enjoy the mess
As Ino was bossing Sakura around, she couldn't decide if she was grateful for their friendship or not. While Ino was certainly turning out to be a great help, she had instantly turned Sakura into a guinea pig. While Sakura supposed it was fair, since it was her newly grown ability, she couldn't help but lament the fact that she was currently on her fifth lap around the backyard.
As she collapsed at Ino's feet, Sakura got a new pop-up in front of her.
【❀】YOUR ENDURANCE LEVELLED UP, ENDURANCE IS NOW LV. 1.【❀】
Another pop-up showed up.
【❀】UNLOCKED SKILL: CONDITION【❀】
Ino looked please with herself as she read that. "Seems like my theory is right." She said cheerily, pointing her finger at the pop-up screen. Sakura could not blame her fool-proof experiment. With this particular experiment they were testing the skilling system, which was described as just "Do it."
As Sakura started getting up again, another screen popped up.
【❀】UNLOCKED: SKILL TREE【❀】
At that both girls perked up. Immediately they went to open the newly unlocked Skill Tree, exploring the many options now available to them.
The Skill Tree was set up in simple categories, in which they dove further into suitable sub categories. It was a lot to take in, but for now they focused on the big lines, those being: Combat and Non-Combat. The categories were self-explanatory, skills that either had an immediate effect in combat, or skills that had no influence on combat or did so passively.
Ino had started running her own laps in the meantime to unlock her own Skill Tree, while Sakura kept scrolling through all the possibilities. She lamented the fact that she left her strategy notebook back at home, as it seemed like her video game strategies would work suitably in helping set up a build for them.
As Ino collapsed next to her, she decided to open Ino's stat screen.
【❀】YAMANAKA INO \\ LV.1【❀】
【RANK: CIVILIAN】
【OCCUPATION: NONE 】
【AGE: 6】
【TRAITS: THE OLEANDER \\ YAMANAKA】
【❀】STATS【❀】
【STRENGTH: 1】
【PRECISION: 1】
【ENDURANCE: 1】
【CHARISMA: 4】
【INTELLIGENCE: 2】
【AGILITY: 1】
【LUCK: 1】
Noticing that Ino also had a flowery title she decided to read its information.
【❀】TRAIT: THE OLEANDER【❀】
【 THE OLEANDER IS ONE OF THE BLESSED FLOWERS. THE OLEANDER IS KNOWN FOR THEIR ABILITY TO POISON AND SMOOTH TALK. THE OLEANDER IS THUS PERFECT FOR INFILTRATION JOBS. CHARISMA +2 \\ POISON SKILL APTITUDE 】
Sakura hummed, nudging Ino to show her. Ino begrudgingly got up but perked up after reading the information. "I'm just that awesome!" she said, proudly flipping her hair. Sakura, curious about her own flower trait, tapped on the information box.
【❀】TRAIT: THE CHERRY BLOSSOM【❀】
【 THE CHERRY BLOSSOM IS ONE OF THE BLESSED FLOWERS. THE CHERRY BLOSSOM IS KNOWN FOR THEIR INTELLIGENCE, ABLE TO SOAK UP ANYTHING. THE CHERRY BLOSSOM IS PERFECTLY SUITED FOR ANY PATH THEY WANT TO CHOOSE. INTELLIGENCE +2 \\ GENERAL LEARNING SPEED +15% 】
Ino huffed "Your's sounds way more powerful.". Sakura pat her back, before saying "You still have an advantage others don't have." Ino perked up at that. A new screen popped up shortly after.
【❀】UNLOCKED SKILL: SOCIAL【❀】
Ino couldn't help herself at the ridiculousness of it all and started cackling uncontrollably. Sakura joined her, both of them holding onto each other to try and contain the laughter.
After the laughing session they both returned to their studying of the weird ability. Sakura realised she hadn't yet checked out her other trait, and thus did so.
【❀】TRAIT: THE CHOSEN【❀】
【 THE CHOSEN IS A̵ ̶S̴P̷E̷C̵I̶A̴L̵ ̵T̷R̷A̷I̶T̶ GIFTED ONLY TO THE ONE ABLE TO FULLFIL Ț̵́Ĥ̸̗E̵͓͛ ̶̰̅C̷͚̆H̴̻̏Ä̵̧L̴̨̊L̵͇̃E̴͓͠N̴̺̐G̶̫̋Ě̸̮.
THE CHOSEN GAINS THE ABILITY Ṫ̴̥Ō̴̯ ̶̤̄L̷̢̀Ǐ̵͇V̷̖̑E̵ T̵̗͌͛̎H̸̤̜̃̆͌E̶̙̩̕̚Ḯ̷̡͈͇̇͘R̶̬͚̠̂̓̉ ̸̱͉̥̉̀̏L̵̹͌͠Ì̵͉̹̦F̸͍̤͍̆̈́E̴̼̅ ̸̟͑Ḻ̷͒̀̈I̵̺̤̠̾K̴͚̞̄E̶̛̜͚̩͛͌̚ͅ A̸̙̜͛͘ ̴̱̥̈́̍͛G̵̬̈́͋̔A̸̛̗̥͈M̵͔̙͘͘͠E̸̢̐ͅ.
T̷̢̋͛Ḣ̸̙͖I̶̩̱̎̈̚S̷͍̪͉̈́̈́͠ ̵̛̰̖̊ͅṖ̴̼O̴̧̠̘̼͒́̾Ẅ̷̤̮̯E̵̬̘͉̻̎̇̓Ŗ̵̛͈̝̇ ̵̙̆̆̍̚Ḩ̵͙͙͖͐̈́Ȍ̷̰̀̌W̵̡͖̝̲̌͛͑Ȇ̵̬͙V̸̡͓̓Ȩ̴̜͌̉͝R̴̛̪͍̖̂̽͛,̶ C̵͉̜̾͑̈́͋̽ͅỌ̶͑͑̃̈́͝M̸̯͓̲̘̉̐̾̐E̸̡̺͌́̆́̈́S̶̳͇͎̋͘͝ ̶̘̺̈̕͘Ẅ̵̜̳́͝Í̵̫͊Ṯ̸̢͕͔̺̐͒̾́̅̎͜H̸̤̙̗̞͂̃̔ ̴̛̞̭̓̈́̄̊̕G̶͓̼͚̱͛̆̏͝R̶͇̓͗̋̓È̷̺̖̟̘A̸̳͚̖͎̩̋Ț̴͖́̾͛̿̃̌͜ ̴̰̫͖̦̱̀̓͝D̵͉̩̹̟͑A̵̘͂N̸̩̪͈̓̐͂̊̿G̵̞̘̙̺̩͖̓́̄͝E̷̛̮̳͙͙̿ͅR̷̜͇̩̻͒́̏̏͜, A̶̺͈̪͒͊̆̂S̸͎̖̮͕̋͋͛̉̑͑̈́ ̵͖̮͖͒̄ͅO̶̢͚͕̙͔̎̎͐͆̉́̍̄Ṯ̵͂̿H̵̙̹͈̹͇͓̱̰̐̈́̃̎̾Ȇ̶̱̯͗͗̑̚Ŗ̷̫̩̞̖̅͊̂̚͝S̷̤̖̭͑̅͗ W̸̻̹͖̔̄͑͋I̸̳͖̯̼̬͖͐͒́̏ͅL̴̛̘̜͂́̋̈́̈̚L̷͎̘̠͉̞̝̞̄̈͂̅̈́̌̉̃͝ ̸̘͐͐̆̉̽̒͠Ȟ̸̢̡̖͙͕̲̎͒̃Ų̴̼̤̱̜́̿͆̊̚͜N̸̢̧̞̖̯̼̹̗̅ͅT̷̐͂͝-̧͚͖͈̳͕̹͇̖̌】
The interface abruptly closed before it could finish fully loading in. A silence suddenly lapsed across the clearing, a sudden seriousness that wasn't there before sitting in. While so far they had treated the newfound ability with a lightness and air of mischief, a sudden sense of dread filled the pair. Whatever they were playing around with had a danger they were wholly unaware of.
"Sakura..." Ino trailed off quickly, noticing the determined look on Sakura's face. Sakura turned to face Ino, a forced foxy smile on her face "I can now become the hero to my own story, just like Saki!". Ino huffed, still a bit shaken but amused by the seeming bravery of her friend. However, both girls still felt a bit uneasy. An unease that would not leave them for a long, long while.
Next day they found themselves back in the Yamanaka backyard. It seemed to be an unspoken rule between them, but the Gamer ability was a secret between the two of them. So they found themselves back in the shade of the trees, discussing their gameplan. Sakura had brought her strategy notebook with her and was ready to start planning their builds.
"So poison aptitude could lead you many ways, but seeing as you're a Yamanaka we need to take that into account as well." Sakura tapped the pen against her lip a few times before continuing her frantic writing "So I think you'd be best off becoming a long-ranged damage dealer, with a particular focus on sharp weapons of any kind. Maybe something cool like a crossbow on the side of kunai and shuriken?"
Ino nodded along sagely, trusting nerd brain Sakura with the planning. "As long as I look pretty, I'm good with it." Ino said, nodding proudly to herself. Sakura nodded along with her, taking the advice into account. "I'd probably just put you as an assassin role then, graceful and deadly. It's perfect for the poison as well." Ino seemed happy with that.
"As for myself... I don't know yet what I'd want so I'm going for an allrounder build, focusing on the frontline since I'll have to protect you from the big hits." Sakura nodded, noting it all down. For now she would lean a bit more tanky. Or become a fantastic dodger.
In the little bit of training they had done in the backyard, they learned a few things. Anything could be counted as a weapon if you brandished it right. Sakura had found a particularly sturdy twig and attempted some swings with it. It ended up with her unlocking the Blunt Weapon Skill. Ino eagerly went to look for her own stick, while Sakura was furiously fighting the air.
Sakura had also accidentally learned about the infinite inventory she possessed, as she tried to pick up a rock and it just disappeared. It was the perfect place to store any secret items (like her diary) and meant she didn't have to bring around a backpack with her anymore. She still did however carry things on her like normally, as to keep their secret a, well, secret.
When looking through the Skill Tree to decided the path they would take, they also came across some odd skills.
"Oooh! There's a romance branch!" Ino said excitedly, tapping away to see where it ended. "A.. Ha-Rem Ending? It's age-locked. Do you know what that is Sakura?" Sakura shook her head, curious as well. They let it slide, since they had to be 18 to view it anyways.
Next up Ino, found something more interesting. "Big Event? It's not a skill it seems." Sakura, curious, sat net to Ino.
【❀】BIG EVENT【❀】
【A ONE TIME USE ABILITY. WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOREVER. POINTS CAN BE CUMULATIVE BETWEEN MULTIPLE PEOPLE. 75 POINTS】
"Wait wait! Sakura, you can spend points together on this one." Sakura perked up at that, looking closer. Ino was right, they could save up points together to unlock it. It would mean they both had the singular use together, but that was concern for a later date. Obviously this had to be a super powerful ability right? They would be crazy not to get it!
So the girls continued racking up skill points, eager to reach the goal in front of them. Upon their adventures in the backyard however, they found another secret waiting for them.
They were currently playing tag to train their endurance and agility, when Sakura bumped into an invisible wall. She yelped, holding her now aching nose. Ino, who was close behind her, almost bumped into her. "What's up Sakura?" she asked.
Sakura looked up to see a new text box had popped up.
【❀】DUNGEON: SHIKA GLADE \\ RECOMMENDED FOR LV.2 - 10【❀】
Both girls gasped in excitement. A dungeon this early was an absolute steal for them. Even though they were one level under the recommended amount, they both ended up eagerly tapping the enter button.
Which they immediately regretted as they got bombarded by a ton of slimes, all crowding around them. Above their heads was visible they were a level 3 enemy. Sakura took one look at it and dragged them back out immediately.
"No." she said to Ino, who was beginning to protest "Absolutely not yet. We don't have infinite lives remember? And I don't want to find out if that statement is false any time soon." Ino pouted but relented.
For the time being, the girls trained using their personally created methods. Tag for the endurance and agility training, helping haul groceries for strength, throwing rocks at homemade targets for precision, talking with the adults for charisma, reading books for intelligence, and praying their luck stat would go up.
With the books, they yet again discovered another feature.
Yamanaka Inoichi was glad to see his daughter pick up her shinobi studies more seriously, as she had been resisting slightly before. He was thus happy to provide the two aspiring kunoichi with any materials they needed. When he gave the girls a book about chakra theory he expected to be able to get the book back.
He did not get the book back.
As Sakura picked up the book it exploded into a flurry of sakura petals, before a screen popped up once more.
【❀】BASIC CHAKRA THEORY: MEMORISED【❀】
Sakura and Ino gaped at the spot where the book once was, now covered in petals. Ino looked at Sakura in panic, when Sakura's mind got flooded with all the information stored in the book. If she tried to think of a certain page, the page would mentally be pulled up and remembered. If she needed to know the summary of the book, it would appear like magic in her mind. Sakura snapped back into reality when Ino was shaking her frantically, asking how they would explain this to her dad.
While this was an incredibly powerful feature, they wouldn't be able to get much use out of it yet. All the books they currently had access to were borrowed, and could not be destroyed.
Ino luckily managed to tell a tall tale about what happened, and even though Inoichi was confused, he let them off lightly, making them promise not to destroy anything else.
One week after the destruction incident, the girls discovered the crafting system.
Sakura was pondering how they could get weapons when they were only six, as no adult in their right mind would even give them training ones unsupervised when she decided she'd make her own temporary ones.
Grabbing her trusty sturdy stick, she got out some cooking twine she had swiped from the kitchen cupboard and started attaching a particularly hefty rock to the top. Before she even had the time to start twisting the twine, the items magically combined with a pink cloud of dust. Fanning the dust away, she was greeted by the sight of a decidedly much sharper looking rock stuck to her stick. Prompting an information window, she read it.
【❀】MAKESHIFT AXE \\ DAMAGE: 10 - 15 \\ 100%【❀】
【 A MAKESHIFT AXE MADE OF SCAVENGED MATERIALS. GOOD IN A PINCH, BUT NOT VERY DURABLE.】
Sakura called over Ino to show the creation and she awed in wonder. "Give me your stick, I have an idea." Sakura said to Ino, holding her hand up. Ino handed over her own sturdy stick and watched Sakura combine a long piece of twine to hers. The cloud of dust popped up again, and under it laid a simple bow.
【❀】MAKESHIFT BOW \\ DAMAGE: 10 - 20 \\ 100%【❀】
【 A MAKESHIFT BOW MADE OF SCAVENGED MATERIALS. GOOD IN A PINCH, BUT NOT VERY DURABLE.】
Sakura hummed "Do you perhaps have feathers anywhere? We could make some arrows then." Ino nodded before racing inside. She came bounding out with a box of kid's crafting materials, in it some small colourful feathers.
Sakura went to work, creating arrows from some smaller rocks and pebbles along with thinner twigs and the feathers. She also managed to make a makeshift quiver out of some craft paper, the cooking twine, and some pipe cleaners. All in all, it made for a colourful set of archery supplies. Ino looked pleased with it. Deciding to make one last item for herself, she got some of the crafting paper and combined it with some pieces of cardboard. Praying it worked, she wafted the smoke away and was pleased to see it worked.
【❀】CRUDE SHIELD \\ DEFENCE: +1 \\ 100%【❀】
【 A ONE USE SHIELD MADE FROM CARDBOARD. WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD USE THIS?】
Nodding to herself satisfied, Sakura turned to Ino "I think we're ready to go into the dungeon now." Ino jumped up from her spot, excited. They were close to turning Character Level 2, so she was confident they could hold their own for now. If not, Sakura hoped she was able to drag them out as fast as possible again.
They cautiously entered the Shika Glade, careful not to get ambushed again. When they deemed themself to be in the clear, Sakura let out a sigh of relief. Slowly inching towards the edge of the forest she looked around for any enemies. Ino was slowly following behind her, eager but equally as cautious.
When they spotted the first slime, Sakura did a dramatic bow towards Ino "Ladies first.". Ino giggled softly, before aiming her bow towards the creature. Her first shot missed, but did alert the slime of their presence. Sakura stepped out from behind the tree, her makeshift shield strapped to her back in case of an emergency, and brandished her axe. As the slime hopped closer, she attempted a slash which struck, but did not kill. Ino in the meantime had reloaded her bow once more, and struck bullseye this time around. There was a moment of quiet as they took in their success.
【❀】ENCOUNTER FINISHED \\ EXP GAINED: 2.5 (EXP SHARE ON)【❀】
【❀】LOOT: 1X CORRUPTED GOO【❀】
【❀】SAKURA \\ SKILL GAINED: SHARP WEAPONERY【❀】
【❀】INO \\ SKILL GAINED: ARCHERY【❀】
The girls read the popups and cheered, before quickly quieting down realising they could attract more enemies to their location. After rechecking their safety, they silently high fived each other.
Their tag teaming would continue for a few more slimes before they got overwhelmed. They had to flee as the sixth slime seemed to call in reinforcements, more than they could handle. This small victory was theirs though, and nobody could ever take it away.
For the week they had remaining, they found themselves continuously coming back towards Shika Glade. The snacks they previously ate instantly when received were now rationed to help them heal up after battle.
So far Sakura had not needed to use her emergency shield, for which she was grateful. It meant true danger was still a ways away. They had also finally gained their Character Level 2, so Sakura was confident in their abilities to take on the first part of the dungeon.
As they hacked away at another slime, Sakura noticed a slightly larger slime at level 5 coming into view, the colour a sickly purple instead of the usual dark green. She quickly finished off their current opponent before bouncing back towards Ino.
"What the-" she heard Ino mutter, before the slime let out a screech, purple goo shooting everywhere. The girls quickly dodged, and were shocked to notice the goo had acidic purposes. Looking at each other severely, they nodded confidently. The unspoken words were shared, they would try and flee if it got too much.
Ino started their counterattack by firing "Arrow Rain!" she yelled, a new ability she had picked up under the archery skill. The majority of the arrows impacted the beast, but it only scratched down about 10% of its health.
Sakura then ran up, launching up into the air "Air Smash!" she yelled, as she came down upon the slime. The hit managed to eliminate another 10% of its health bar.
Sakura jumped back, panting. As she landed next to Ino she noticed the determined look on her face. Ino would not back down easily this time, she was determined to take down this bigger threat. Sakura smiled softly before focusing back on the monster "Those two were our best attacks, what should we do next?" Ino looked over at Sakura, before responding sheepishly "I have no idea.".
Sakura gave her a deadpan look before reaching for her makeshift shield, attaching it to her left forearm "Let's go risky. I still have this shield for one hit and a few candies. You shoot, I distract, got it?" Ino looked ready to protest but after seeing the determination on Sakura's face she nodded.
As Ino drew back her next arrow, Sakura yelled "Hey ugly! Purple totally doesn't suit you!". While she hadn't unlocked any official taunts yet, yelling worked perfectly fine for the moment. Sure enough the slime focussed on her, so she started running.
And run she did. Ino's regular arrow attacks were only downing it's health by 2% each time, making for a slow grind to victory. When they got down to 60% total health, Sakura's special attack was off cooldown, so she quickly performed it.
However, the beast did not let her go as quickly as last time and fired a purple goo ball directly towards her. Sakura quickly held up her shield which shattered into a flurry of sakura petals, the damage shielded. The impact however very much came through, launching Sakura back a good bit. Sakura heard Ino yell but yelled back at her "Focus on the slime!".
Sakura quickly got up, dodging another attack. She saw Ino launch another Arrow rain, this time hitting it full on, causing the health to dip by 12%. "48% left!" Sakura yelled at Ino, dodging another ball of goo.
Sakura however, was quickly running out of stamina. As she tried to dodge another goo ball, a splatter hit her arm. Sakura quickly tried to rub it off, but the debuff had already latched on, draining her health by 2% each 5 seconds for a remaining minute. "We have to finish this quickly!" Sakura all but screamed at Ino, her health rapidly depleting. She was all out of food too, meaning that was it.
Sakura heard Ino yell something back, but she was too far away to hear it properly. She looked at the purple slime, it's health bar at 36% left. In theory they only need two more special attacks and a bit, but it was getting close, too close. Bounding back closer towards Ino, she finally heard what she was yelling "I have an idea!" she yelled. Sakura hoped the idea would save her hide because it was starting to look bleak.
As Ino drew another arrow she slapped on some herbs (wait where did she even get herbs?) and launched it towards the slime. The slime shrieked as its health plummeted to 25%. Sakura had no clue what Ino just did, but she wasn't about to look a gifted horse in the mouth. Instead, she gathered her last strength, jumping up to deliver her last Air Smash just as Ino fired off her herb coated Arrow Rain.
The purple monstrosity shrieked as its health bar ticked down until it reached zero. Sakura all but collapsed to the ground before the victory message popped up. She was expecting a mini boss reward but shrieked in frustration when she saw the regular message.
【❀】ENCOUNTER FINISHED \\ EXP GAINED: 6 (EXP SHARE ON)【❀】
【❀】LOOT: 2X PURPLE CORRUPTED GOO【❀】
【❀】SAKURA \\ YOUR SHARP WEAPONRY SKILL LEVELLED UP! SHARP WEAPONRY IS NOW LV.2【❀】
【❀】INO \\ YOUR ARCHERY SKILL LEVELLED UP! ARCHERY IS NOW LV.2【❀】
Ino seemed to share her sentiment, as she let out her own noise of frustration. "I thought it was mini-boss or something, but it was just another regular enemy." Sakura muttered to herself between pants. Ino face palmed at their shared idiocy. As Ino helped Sakura get back up, she shrieked again startling Sakura. As Sakura managed to stand up again, she understood why. Three of the same purple slimes had just appeared at the edge of the clearing they were in.
Sakura didn't have to say anything as they both bolted towards the exit.
"So what was that attack?" Sakura panted out as they exited the dungeon. Ino looked over, equally as exhausted "I unlocked both the Poison and Foraging skills right?" Sakura nodded "When your shield broke I realised there were some plants bordering a few trees so I decided to pluck them. They're a level 1 herb so I could identify it as an ingredient for medical purposes." Ino said proudly. "I realised that if the slimes represented poison and toxicity, something medical would hurt them, and it worked!" Ino said excitedly. Sakura grinned back, proud at her friend.
"I was considering picking up the medical skill tree, so I guess now would be as good a time as any." Sakura responded back, making Ino nod in agreement.
Shortly after Sakura did so, also picking up the foraging skill for herself.
As the girls headed inside for some refreshments, they were surprised to see two boys along with their father having just entered the household. Ino sighed dramatically while Sakura looked on curiously, not having met them before.
"Sakura, these are the idiots, idiots, this is Sakura." Ino dramatically said, plopping herself down on the living room couch. One boy scoffed "The "Idiots" have a name." he looked over at Sakura, seemingly exhausted by the sheer idea of introductions "Name's Nara Shikamaru, and this is Akimichi Chouji."
"Nice to meet you." she responded taking in the shy boy next to Shikamaru, making her smile a bit softer as to not scare him off. Chouji looked back curiously.
"Ino," Inoichi started, having just returned from the hallway "It's time for your training again." he turned towards Sakura "You can stay to watch if you want to?" Sakura nodded gratefully. Even a civilian born like Sakura realised it was a special opportunity to watch clan children train, she would be foolish to turn this opportunity down. Plus, Ino seemed to appreciate her presence.
As she sat down on the engawa, she was joined by Ino's mom Hikari along with Shikamaru's father, Inoichi and Chouji's father leading the training of the day.
"Oh, Shikaku! You haven't met Sakura yet either have you? She's Ino's best friend!" Hikari said lightly. Shikaku turned towards Sakura, nodding in greeting. Sakura sweat dropped, it seemed like the Nara family was tired with life in general. Sakura missed the calculating glint in his eyes however.
Hikari took her time to explain to Sakura the connection the three families had, and the important bond the children would form once placed into teams. Sakura started sulking slightly, sad she already knew she wouldn't be on Ino's team.
It made her wonder about her own shaky future as a civilian. She had brought up the topic to her parents to become a shinobi herself. They had sat down with her and held a lengthy discussion to make sure she knew what she was signing up for, along with the difficulties civilian-borns faced. They also reassured her she could drop out any time she wanted to and join the family business. Sakura found it a bit silly herself, only seeing her being epic like Saki in the future. But besides that she had no clue. It made her wonder what her own future team would be like.
Sakura got snapped out of her musing's when she heard Ino's voice ring out, annoyed. She found herself giggling, joined by Hikari. Shikaku let out a sigh, face-palming.
"Sakura, would you care to join us really quickly?" Sakura heard Inoichi call out to her. Surprised, she quickly hopped down from the engawa and ran over to the middle of the backyard where the group was situated.
"Ok so, Sakura," she nodded, nearly saluting in her startled state "Ino here claims she can work well together if it's with you, so would you mind working together with her to spar against Shikamaru and Chouji?" Sakura looked shocked and whipped around to face Ino. Ino looked as confident as ever, challenging her to state otherwise. Sakura sighed before nodding shortly.
"Right then kids, each group to one side." Said Chouza (Hikari told her his name), the children following his orders. "Ready, set, go!".
As Chouza's go rang out, Sakura was surprised to see how fast Shikamaru was able to move, having only seen the boy slouching around. Sakura quickly dodged towards her left, letting Ino place a counterstrike from her right. Chouji seemed more hesitant, but when he realised Sakura wasn't as fragile as she seemed he jumped into the fray as well, keeping up the frontline.
Sakura however, was having a hard time keeping up. The two boys obviously had more training than her, and she couldn't whip out her axe unless she wanted a ton of questions. Ino and Sakura were trying their best to work together but Chouji's defence was strong, and Shikamaru always seemed one step ahead.
Sakura had gained a few bruises already and was having trouble dodging Chouji's strikes. Feeling cornered, she looked over at Ino who gave her a signal for her to use the Air Smash. Sakura gave her a questioning look, how was she able to do that after all without her axe? But when Ino pointedly looked at her arms and legs she got the memo. As Ino dodged another strike from Chouji, Sakura used that opportunity to launch herself in the air, slamming her leg down first "Air Smash!" she whisper yelled as to attract less attention.
Chouji, not expecting Sakura to pull out such a move, got caught squarely in the shoulder. He winced, falling down to his knees holding his shoulder. As Ino was ready to leap over her to reach Shikamaru he simply sighed "I forfeit.".
Ino screeched in indignation feeling like she hadn't gotten to show off, while Shikamaru looked at her exasperatedly who was starting to help Chouji get up again.
【❀】YOUR TAIJUTSU SKILL LEVELLED UP! TAIJUTSU IS NOW LV.1【❀】
Sakura swiped the window away quickly, walking over to Chouji feeling concerned. She had never used her skills on another human yet after all. "Are you alright?" she asked, fidgeting. Chouji gave her a strained smile "You have a mean kick. I'll be fine, just a bit of food and I'm good to go again." he responded.
"A mean kick indeed." Shikaku had gotten down from the engawa, approaching the group. "Where did you learn to do such a thing?" Shikaku enquired, the calculating glint at full force. Sakura couldn't tell him she learned it automatically through unlocking the skill with her magical gaming powers, so she settled for the simpler "Ino and I train a lot together!".
"That it seems you do." Shikaku then turned towards Ino who froze like a deer caught in headlights "And your punches have more strength behind them as well." Shikaku hummed in thought.
Shikaku then turned towards Inoichi and Chouza, going to discuss the results of the spar. Sakura rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, turning towards Shikamaru and Chouji "Sorry?" is all she managed to utter.
"You don't have to apologise!" Chouji quickly stammered, while Shikamaru muttered "Troublesome."
The adults returned shortly, Inoichi speaking up gravely "Ino." Ino turned around, sensing she was in trouble. "If you don't put that much effort into the clan training, you can't hang out with Sakura anymore." Inoichi said sternly. Ino gaped at her father, before reluctantly agreeing. Sakura squeezed her hand gently.
Ino continued to complain for a few more weeks before she finally started easing into it, claiming Shikamaru and Chouji weren't all that bad after all. It did however mean Ino had less time to hang out with Sakura, but Sakura ensured her it was fine. She'd just have to learn to efficiently train on her own.
Another thing Sakura learned about shortly after gaining the gaming powers, was the achievement system. The Achievement system was a weird one. While Ino's achievement system showed rewards as skill points, Sakura's showed a whole new point system called System points. These points had a separate interface window where she could exchange them. It seemed to be upgrades mainly to her core gamer skill. It had upgrades for party size, party distance, maximum skill amounts and many many more. Completing these achievements would become an important part of her regimen, and a thing she could do on her own while separated from Ino.
She was familiar with achievement hunting, as she had fully completed Cherry Bomb after all, so she was familiar with the ridiculousness of some of the achievements. Sakura giggled, thinking about prideful Ino completing the more sillier ones.
But for now, Sakura booted up her gaming console once more. Today gave her the revelation that her future was an unsure one. As such, some of her strategy planning had to change. She didn't know who she would end up on a team with after all, so she had to train well to give them as many advantages and to stay as open ended as possible. That, or becoming an all-star.
The medical skill had caught her attention, thinking it was a good thing to always have a healer on the team. However, she did not just want to become the healer all the way at the back. She wanted to be up front just like Saki. So as Cherry Bomb loaded in, she continued her all-rounder character, adding a larger focus to healing.
As Sakura noted down her research, she came to the conclusion she would become the most epic combat healer ever.