BAM! After five months I'm back with another story. For those of you are familiar with my other fics, they haven't been abandoned. I'm hoping to put all my stories on rotation, that way I always have something I feel like writing, you know? I'll get back to my other stories sooner or later.
For those of you who have absolutely no clue who I am, my name is Creamulon. I've been writing for nearly a year at this point and like many, Naruto fanfics were the first I'd ever read. Not gonna lie, most Naruto fics are complete ass, but the few that aren't are extraordinary. Kenchi618 immediately comes to mind.I have a life outside of making free content that I will likely never get paid for, so keep that in mind. My stories also tend to get a bit M-rated, but this fic will be nowhere near as smutty as my other stories are, if at all. If things do get steamy, however, I won't put a warning or anything. The fic is M-rated. That's all the warning you're gonna get.
Anyway, enjoy.
Waking up in a forest, hidden beneath his Disguise Jutsu was nothing new for Sora. As a roaming Mercenary Ninja, he was always on the move, looking for work wherever he could find it.
A twelve year old Yohei nin (Mercenary Ninja), Sora was a strange sight for many potential clients, being as young as he was. He never knew his parents, with them likely having been killed in the Third Shinobi war.
He grew up in an orphanage in Kawa no Kuni (Land of Rivers). With all the war orphans in the place, there simply wasn't enough of anything to go around, which eventually led Sora down the path of a street urchin, picking pockets and stealing goods for a living.
He was pretty skilled with his chakra from a young age, which led him to suspect a shinobi lineage of some kind. When he was younger he'd spend his free time thinking about his parents, whoever they were, and where they came from.
Were they shinobi that passed on their talent to him, or was he just some kind of anomaly? Were they important? From a clan perhaps? Was he secretly related to one of the five kage, or some other powerful ninja? Or were they just unfortunate victims caught up in the affairs of the shinobi world.
Sora had no clue, but he knew it would be a waste to ignore his talent, wherever it came from.
When he was eight years old, a blocky looking, almost puppet-like Missing-nin named Sadai came through looking for work. Sensing an opportunity, Sora approached him with all of the money he'd earned over the years from his ill-gotten gains and asked Sadai to teach him how to be a shinobi.
Sadai looked at the 30,000 Ryo (2,610 USD) he was being offered and almost immediately started laughing his ass off.
As it turned out, training people took a while, and a mere 30,000 was nowhere near enough money for a long term assignment like that.
He laughed Sora off and went on his way, looking for a gang of bandits led by a rogue Genin washout that had been shaking down caravans in the area.
Two days later, Sadai was still around, searching for his prey. Luckily for Sadai, Sora knew exactly where to find them, being a natural sensor.
So the two got to work, and by the end of that day, the bandits were turned in to the proper authorities.
Because a Shinobi was leading them, even if he was a Genin before going rogue, the mission paid out 75,000 Ryo, enough for a man to live on for a few months.
After taking his cut, an entire 15,000 Ryo, Sora once again made his offer; 45,000 Ryo in exchange for instruction in the ninja arts.
Sadai actually considered it this time, having grown to like the persistent brat, and made him a deal. He had already planned to stay in town for the next couple of months, and offered to teach Sora in between missions, leaving instructions for the child to follow while he was away.
Sadai would train Sora on his days off, and when he left for missions, he'd leave with a training plan and instructions for Sora to practice what he was taught. When Sadai returned, he reviewed whatever it was he taught the aspiring Shinobi, and if he performed well enough, they'd move on to the next lesson.
If he didn't meet Sadai's expectations, then Sora would be forced to take 'remedial' lessons, which were basically excuses for Sadai to kick Sora around until he mastered whatever it was he was supposed to learn.
After three months, a bit longer than Sadai intended to stay, he considered Sora ready to strike out on his own.
According to Sadai; at nine years old, Sora was firmly at a level where he could contend with Genin and come out on top, although Sadai admitted that Sora was Genin level in combat ability only.
Beyond the basics like E-rank Jutsu that every Shinobi ought to know, Sadai had taught him the Body Flicker and how to recognize and dispel Genjutsu.
There were gaps in his education to be sure. Three Months wasn't enough time to really get into the nitty gritty of being a Shinobi. When he started out, Sora barely knew a thing about tracking, but slowly learned it on his own over time.
Sadai gave him the tools he needed to grow on his own, which was more valuable than anything else.
Over the years, he'd developed as a Shinobi, excelling at espionage, Kenjutsu, Shurikenjutsu and wire string techniques.
Sora also occasionally picked up techniques from clients, often accepting Jutsu scrolls and manuals in place of money, which worked well for him so far. His weapon of choice, a Wakizashi from Tetsu no Kuni(Land of Iron) and a manual detailing a few Samurai chakra flow techniques also came from a client, a collector of Samurai paraphernalia, as a reward for rescuing his niece, who was being held hostage by a Chunin Missing-nin from Yukigakure.
The guy was a complete joke, being so far away from any source of ice or snow, all he had to fall back on was the basics, which he'd long neglected.
Sora, on the other hand, had a much better grasp of basic Ninjutsu and had more than that in his arsenal, so the match was decided before it even began.
With his work ethic and apparent talent for being a shinobi, Sora was able to master the few jutsu he received as payment for his missions, and built up an impressive repertoire for a twelve year old with no family or village to teach him.
With the nature of his work, waking up in a forest, or some other outdoor area was nothing new for Sora. It was just another day to him.
Waking up with memories of another life entirely, though?
That was new. That was definitely new.
Adding onto that was the fact that there was a certain series that stood out in those memories, about a boy who wanted to become Hokage.
Naruto.
Setting the fact that his entire world was a source of entertainment somewhere in the Multiverse (a concept Sora only knew of thanks to the foreign memories that infiltrated his brain overnight) aside, after sitting on it for about an hour and making sure he wasn't affected by some sort of Genjutsu, Sora was actually glad it happened.
Information that villages would have gone to war over was casually implanted in his brain overnight, just because some poor schmuck died.
Most of it wasn't immediately useful to Sora, but a few things stood out to him from the dead guy's memories.
Nature Transformation training, the Rasengan, more than a few Ninjutsu that Sora could likely perform given enough time to practice. But the thing he was most interested in at the moment?
Hoshigakure no Sato (Village Hidden in the Stars) and the Mysterious Peacock Method.
If he were anyone else, Sora wouldn't give a single solitary fuck about some shitty minor hidden village that barely qualified as such, but there were a few things to take into account.
With the information he now had, Sora could return to his employer right now and call it a success.
He was currently in the Land of Bears, collecting information on Hoshigakure's training methods for a wealthy spice merchant that was considering sending his third son there for shinobi training. If his memories of the anime were even remotely accurate, then there was no way in hell that he'd want to send his kid there.
Still, Sora would infiltrate the village, just to make sure his info was on the mark.
Yohei Ninja like himself generally weren't trusted. In most people's eyes they were barely a step above Missing-nin, and in many cases, Yohei nin were often treated as such due to the nature of their missions.
After all, Mercenaries are generally hired to take on jobs that most Shinobi villages wouldn't, at least for their clients.
Spy on another Hidden Village? You can't just go up to the mission assignment desk in Konohagakure or any other Hidden Village and make that kind of request. Not unless you had some serious authority, which most people simply don't. The paycheck isn't worth the diplomatic incident that the assignment was bound to cause, and that's not even mentioning the possibility that the whole thing was a set up to begin with.
It was either jobs like that, or they took jobs for clients that couldn't afford to pay for an entire Hidden Village team.
When your main source of income was guaranteed to piss someone off, you were gonna end up with a price on your head. Hence, the Missing nin treatment most Yohei Ninja's get.
Sora wasn't in a rush to piss off a Shinobi Village, even one as pathetic as Hoshigakure, and a rich client off at the same time. He also had a reputation to uphold, as meager as it was, and giving false intel to a client was a surefire way to ruin it.
Even with all of that in mind, Sora wasn't risking his life by infiltrating Hoshigakure purely out of professionalism.
See, from what he could remember from the frankly jumbled up mess of memories in his head, Hoshi-nin trained next to a meteorite, meditating near it in order to learn the Mysterious Peacock Method.
The Mysterious Peacock Method greatly enhanced the user's chakra and gave them the ability to shape it into constructs like chakra beasts, wings and shields.
There was a massive drawback to it though. The enhanced chakra gained from the meteorite was potentially deadly, eventually killing the user.
That would have been enough to turn Sora off completely, at least until he remembered something else.
Senjutsu.
The Mysterious Peacock Method was way too similar to Senjutsu to be a coincidence.
Meditate in a place full of strange energy, take it into yourself and use it to enhance your physical abilities and chakra, gaining strange new powers in the process?
That sounded like Sage Mode, which also ran the risk of killing, or otherwise causing irreparable damage to the user.
Hell, from what Sora remembered, the side effects of the Mysterious Peacock Method left markings on the body that looked almost exactly like the cursed seal markings Sasuke and Orochimaru's goons had in the anime.
The same cursed seals that used senjutsu chakra to function.
If he was right, then the Meteorite was likely full of natural energy, like the three sage regions, Mount Myoboku, Ryuchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest.
The drawbacks of the Mysterious Peacock Method also made a lot of sense. In order to safely take in Natural Energy, you have to sit completely still, which was way harder than it sounded.
Beyond that, you also need massive reserves of chakra to safely mix it with your own chakra to create senjutsu chakra.
Hoshi-nin meditate near their star, that's true, but are they really sitting completely still? Sora highly doubted that. A backwater village full of lackluster shinobi definitely didn't produce anyone with the chakra levels necessary to safely mix natural energy either.
Of course, all of that was assuming their village was anything like the anime to begin with.
Sora's new memories have proven fairly accurate so far, even filling in a few blanks.
The Kyubi incident being one of those blanks. Sora had heard of an incident that took a lot of lives in Konoha ten years ago, but up until today, he'd just assumed it was an attack of some kind from a rival.
That, among other things like the mercenary group Akatsuki, which he'd heard of from rumors, being composed entirely of S-rank Missing-nin, checked out.
Sora had a lot to unpack, which he'd totally get to at some point, but for now he'd just complete his mission, keep his head down, and train like hell because that's what was coming in less than a decade.
But thoughts of Hoshigakure and the Mysterious Peacock Method made Sora wonder…
The Hoshigakure arc was filler in the anime, but did that mean every filler arc was real here? What about the movies? Was the Vein of Gelel real? What about Sora No Kuni (Land of the Sky) and the Reibi (Zero tails)?
Shaking his head and ridding himself of unnecessary thought, Sora decided to get on with his mission.
Grabbing his wakizashi and leaving his travel pack underneath the roots of the massive tree he slept in, Sora went to a nearby stream to wash his face.
Glancing at his reflection in the water, Sora saw his own green eyes staring back at him. Taking the time to examine himself, he looked at his wild gray locks of hair.
His outfit was the same as ever, a sleeveless black compression shirt underneath a brown cloak, metal-plated black armguards, navy blue pants, a weapons pouch wrapped around his right thigh and black sandals.
Topped off with a white animal mask modeled after an owl.
He looked like the picture perfect example of a traveling shinobi, which was exactly what Sora was going for. Being twelve years old and all, most potential clients tended to question his ability, so going around looking like some sort of super elite killer was good for business in that regard.
It also made him look cool.
Tiger - Ram
"Earth Style: Earth Projection Jutsu!" Sora cast his new jutsu, which was part of his payment, and sunk into the ground, making his way to Hoshigakure. He'd slept during the day, so he could infiltrate the village at night. In less than 10 minutes, he was at the edge of the canyon that separated Hoshigakure from the rest of the country.
Surfacing, Sora found two thin, but sturdy looking trees, and quickly got to work.
Tiger - Boar - Tiger
'Wire Bind Jutsu!' Sora thought to himself, to aid in the process of molding his chakra.
Aiming at the trees with both hands, the wires he kept hidden underneath his arm guards shot out towards the trees, glowing dark purple, a sign that they were being manipulated by his chakra.
Making sure the wires were steady, and utilizing his innate sensory ability to make sure no one was nearby, Sora pulled, using all of his strength to pull the trees with him.
Sora then stopped pulling, letting the trees snap back to their original position, which sent him flying.
The fact that he wasn't surrounded by Hoshi-nin after slinging himself across a canyon spoke volumes about the quality of their shinobi, or lack thereof.
'Man, these guys suck.' Sora mused as he flew through the air. An unknown Shinobi soaring defenselessly through the air? You'd have to be an idiot to ignore the opportunity that presented.
Either that, or you simply weren't around to capitalize on it, which meant your entire village was full of idiots.
Sora had no doubt that most Hoshi-nin could kick his ass in a straight fight. That meteor of theirs almost guaranteed it, but they were lacking in almost every other area.
Using the Wire Bind Jutsu again to catch himself on a tree, Sora leapt off of a branch, activated the Earth Projection Jutsu mid-air, and sank into the ground just as he hit it.
(Hoshigakure no Sato)
It didn't take long for Sora to find the star. It was housed inside of a small building smack dab in the middle of a giant crater. He'd snuck around the village for a bit, using Genjutsu on the few shinobi he saw patrolling the area. As far as they knew, nothing was out of the ordinary and someone else was partolling the crater that housed their precious star.
From what little Sora overheard, the Third Hoshikage outlawed their star training seven years ago, and their shinobi were rapidly declining in effectiveness without the Mysterious Peacock Method amping them up. As it turned out, unless you were a master, the effects of the mysterious Peacock Method would wear off over time, which meant that most of the shinobi in the village were little better than fresh Genin.
Sora wasn't into the idea of growing dependent on some rock for power, especially if that rock could end up killing him. He's already seen enough of the village to conclude that no one in their right mind would want to tie themselves down to this place, especially if they had options.
Sora could safely head on back to his employer and let them know that Hoshi-nin were a bunch of chucklefucks and that the only reason their country hasn't been annexed and their village wiped off the map was because no one gave a shit about Kuma no Kuni.
And Sora would do exactly that… once he got a look at the star.
There were a few people in the barracks near the shrine, but they were fast asleep, Sora could tell that much. He simply walked up to the shrine housing the star and went inside, confident in his assessment that he was alone.
If his sensory probing hadn't already told him, then seeing the chakra visibly radiating from the star would have confirmed it.
That star held a massive amount of chakra. He was near the top of the crater when he first sensed it, and it nearly overwhelmed him. Up close, he could physically feel it. Just being near the thing was enough to energize him. It was like all of the chakra he used tonight was instantly replenished.
That thing was dangerous.
Sora wanted it.
'Should I…?' Sora asked himself, staring intently at the star. He always carried two sealing scrolls with him.
'Screw it.' Sora decided. He was taking that damn star. If those Hoshi-nin didn't completely suck, then they'd realize that someone was in their village and he'd likely never get an opportunity like this again. Unfurling a sealing scroll he kept with him for body storage, Sora took the star and sealed it away.
Swiftly exiting the shrine and moving underground, Sora ran like his life depended on it. Come tomorrow, every ninja in their village would be on his ass. Sora had to grab his shit and leave ASAP.
Sora made it back to the canyon in less than two minutes and as he was about to cross the divide, his senses screamed at him to move away.
Latching onto a tree with his wires, Sora pulled himself away from the tendril of pink chakra that would have skewered him had he not done so.
"Shit!" he exclaimed, looking towards the source of the tendril.
Standing in another tree was a shinobi wearing the blue flack jacket of Hoshigakure, black shorts and a gas mask that covered their entire head.
Sora remembered someone like that from the anime, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"It would be in your best interest to return the star." The enemy ninja said, their voice altered by the gas mask they wore.
"It WOuLd bE In yOur BesT inTeResT to retUrn ThE stAr." Sora mocked, with all the maturity of a twelve year old.
"Of course…" The enemy nin sighed before bursting into action.
"Ninja Art: Kujaku!" They made a hand seal, and an array of feathers made of the same pink chakra that the star radiated formed behind them.
Sora was on the move as soon as they made the hand seal, chakra beast constructs chasing him all the while.
He tried to find an opening, but Sora couldn't get a single moment to breathe. As soon as he hid behind a tree, it was knocked over by a chakra beast. If he threw a shuriken, it was blocked by a chakra feather.
"You ought to know when you're outmatched, kid." The absolute bastard mocked.
"And you oughta know when to shut your mouth!" Sora yelled from behind a tree, stalling while he made an Earth Clone.
Sora sank underground, leaving the Earth Clone as a distraction and it was at this point that he started to feel the drain on his chakra. The Earth Clone was noticeably slower and weaker than Sora himself was, but he'd perfected this strategy a while back.
The clone was playing it up by acting tired. Panting in exhaustion and lethargically throwing kunai at the Hoshi-nin, which were all blocked by their chakra feathers. Meanwhile, Sora surfaced a few meters behind the Hoshi-nin, safely hidden behind a bush.
Now that he had some time to think, Sora recognized the Hoshi-nin that came after him. Her name was Natsuhi, and she was one of Hoshigakure's few Jonin.
More than that, he also knew her weaknesses.
She can't move while she's using that Kujaku Jutsu, and she's also against her village's star training in the first place.
More than that, she has a young son.
'I can work with this.' Sora thought. His clone was still running around, doing his best to dodge Natsuhi's constructs, but he wouldn't last much longer.
Popping a food pill to replenish his chakra, Sora crossed the index and middle fingers of both his hands, hoping he could pull his next move off.
'Shadow Clone Jutsu!' Sora silently cast.
It was a lot like making a regular clone. Unlike what many in the dead guy's world thought, the Clone Jutsu wasn't a Genjutsu at all. It was an actual chakra construct, but it was more akin to an empty shell than anything else, which was why it didn't cast a shadow or make any sound.
A Shadow Clone, however, was much more substantial, but the method was pretty much the same.
It also helped that the special hand seal did a lot of the work for you.
In a puff of smoke, another Sora appeared beside the original. One clone was his limit, even with all of his chakra being replenished by the food pill, but it was enough for what he had planned.
Both Sora's cast their Wire Bind Jutsu and were slinging through the trees, in full view of Natsuhi.
Natsuhi was barely affected by his tactic, able to focus on both Sora's with little difficulty, but what she didn't know was that Sora had cast a Genjutsu, using the chakra reflecting off his and his clone's wires as a medium to catch Natsuhi in it.
The Genjutsu he used was one so minor and subtle that it didn't even have a name. The technique was simple, and not all that obvious, but with Genjutsu, the more subtle it was, the better.
In essence, Sora would use flashes of light, whether it be reflected off of his blade or wires, and after the target was ensnared, they'd become more receptive to what he had to say, making them emotionally vulnerable, which was a death sentence in the middle of a fight.
Sora briefly considered using the Temporary Paralysis Jutsu instead, but with all the chakra Natsuhi was throwing around, it likely wouldn't have any effect on her.
His Genjutsu had its weaknesses though. Sora noticed that he'd usually have to say something that would affect his target even if they weren't under the Genjutsu, which meant Sora couldn't just pull this jutsu out against some random enemy combatant he didn't know jack shit about.
In Natsuhi's case though? He knew exactly which buttons to push thanks to his newly acquired meta knowledge.
"You know, I don't get why this stupid thing is so important to you guys in the first place." One Sora began, pelting her with shuriken, which she was forced to block with her chakra feathers.
"Yeah." The other agreed, doing the same as the first. "I'm a Sensor, you know? This dumb rock was giving me all kinds of bad vibes." He said as he dodged Natsuhi's attacks.
At this point, Sora's Earth Clone had been destroyed, but not without making Natsuhi work for it, as evidenced by the labored breaths she was taking.
"I can't believe you guys grow up near this thing. That can't be good for you. I saw some kids meditating next to it today, you know?" Sora lied, not that Natsuhi knew it.
Natsuhi hesitated for a split second, her Jutsu fading, no doubt caused by her concern for her son. It presented him with a tiny opening, but it was one Sora was able to exploit with little trouble.
Before she could get her head back in the game, the original Sora's wires ensnared Natsuhi. Pulling the wires taut, he trapped Natsuhi in place, his clone following the original's lead by wrapping his wires around the Hoshi kunoichi.
Boar - Tiger
"Lightning Style: Lightning Net!" Sora's and his clone cast simultaneously through their wires, shocking the trapped woman.
The Lightning Net Jutsu usually worked as a beam of lightning, but could just as easily be channeled through his wires instead.
Sora's clone kept the jutsu up until it was completely out of chakra, only letting up when it dispelled.
Lightning Net was a C-ranked jutsu meant to temporarily paralyze and weaken an opponent by shocking their nervous system. As far as power went, it was subpar for a C-rank jutsu, but its speed and utility was enough to make it worth using.
A sustained full body shock, with two users keeping it up for as long as they did meant that Natsuhi wouldn't be able to properly move, let alone mold chakra for days.
With the adverse effects the star likely had on her body and chakra, maybe even weeks.
Not one to leave too big of a mess behind, Sora refrained from using his wires to slice the woman into pieces, instead choosing to finish her off the old fashioned way.
A slice to the throat.
Unsheathing his wakizashi, Sora manipulated his wires, using them to bring Natsuhi over to him.
Right as he was about to drag his blade across her throat, Natsuhi spoke up.
"Please… I'll do anything." She begged weakly.
Sora knew what this was. An attempt to buy time, with the end goal being his death.
Getting his rocks off simply wasn't worth it. Even as a twelve year old who just discovered his interest in the female form, he knew it wasn't the right move to make.
A slice across the throat later, and Sora tossed the corpse into the canyon.
The body wouldn't be found for years, if ever.
Now, Sora had a client to get back to.
(Udon no Kuni)
"Well," Sora's client, Soichi Abe, sighed. "That's disappointing. I'd heard about some super secret training method and their leader being a Kage and thought that Hoshigakure would be a good place for Daichi."
Soichi was a middle aged man, with a graying head of hair and a thick mustache and beard combo. His eyes were kind, but stern, betraying years of experience in the cut-throat business world belied by a gentle nature. He'd started out as a humble spice merchant, peddling his wares from village to village, but through smart investments and good fortune, was able to expand his small business into one of the most profitable in Udon no Kuni (Land of Noodles).
A real rags to riches story if there ever was one.
"It's no matter," He shrugged. "I suppose I can just hire a tutor and send him off to become one of the Daimyo's guards. I hear Shinobi guards are all the rage among Daimyo these days."
Soichi turned to his office's window, stroking his beard in thought.
"But where would I find a shinobi capable enough to teach my son, I wonder?" Soichi thought out loud. "If only there were a shinobi right here skilled enough to trust with my precious son's education." Soichi sighed in an exaggerated manner.
'Is he seriously…?' Sora thought, seeing right through the man's act.
"Ano… Soichi-san?" Sora asked, trying to grab the man's attention.
"Ah! Sora-kun, of course!" Soichi 'realized' that the answer was right in front of him all along. "You were able to infiltrate a hidden village and steal their secrets like it was nothing! You'd make an excellent tutor!"
'Was that his goal all along?' Sora wondered, realizing that he may not have given the man enough credit.
It was a win-win for him. If the shinobi village he was looking into wasn't good enough for his son, then he'd still have a shinobi capable of infiltrating a hidden village with impunity within arms reach. With the amount of money the man was prepared to throw around at a moment's notice, Sora would have to be a fool to not take the job.
On top of the jutsu he learned, Sora was being paid 500,000 Ryo (43,431 USD) for the mission he just took.
It was rare for a Yohei nin to get paid what the assignment was actually worth. Infiltrating a foreign village and stealing their secrets would have been marked as an A-rank mission in a shinobi village, and that's not even mentioning the fact that people like Soichi simply couldn't make that kind of request in a shinobi village.
Realistically, a mission like this would run close to a million ryo, but Sora wasn't about to scoff at 500,000. With that kind of money, alongside what he already had saved up from his other jobs, Sora could kick back for a good while if he really wanted to, which is what he initially planned to do if he made it back alive.
But now he could do that, and get paid while living in the lap of luxury, just by teaching some brat.
Easy money.
Not just that, but the entire reason Soichi wanted a shinobi in the family in the first place was because he'd recently come into possession of over a dozen jutsu scrolls, courtesy of Yugakure's leader.
As they'd moved away from the traditional hidden village structure, Yugakure no Sato (Village Hidden in Hot Water) had no problem giving away a few jutsu scrolls to a business partner.
The Earth Projection Jutsu was just one of those techniques.
On top of everything Sora had locked away in his memories, which were almost clear as day to him despite being nothing more than a fuzzy recollection in his other life, he'd have actual jutsu scrolls to study.
"I have a few conditions, but I'd be willing to take the job." Sora offered.
"Excellent!" Soichi smiled.
Okay, so I went back and forth with myself over Sora's age before settling on 12. He was originally 11 and then 14. I'm not sure how often I'll update this fic, so don't hold your breath.
As you might have been able to tell from the fact that Sora didn't take Natsuhi up on her offer, this won't be like my other fics. That isn't to say that there won't be any smut, but it won't be an every chapter thing like in Restrictive.
Stat Corner
Stats will be graded on a scale of 0.5-5. Stats aren't the most effective at gauging someone's ability in a fight.
You can have a 3.5 in Ninjutsu, but that doesn't mean you're some sort of destructive jutsu slinging expert that knows how to manipulate multiple elements, or that you know a few high ranking techniques.
Hell, it could mean you're just really good at Barrier Ninjutsu and/or have some kind of sensory ability. Or maybe that your Shurikenjutsu is just that good.
Idk man, Ninjutsu is confusing. It's not like there's a Shurikenjutsu or Fuinjutsu stat, so all that shit just falls under Ninjutsu.
Some stats measure multiple things at once, like Stamina for instance. The Stamina stat will measure physical endurance as well as chakra capacity.
The Genjutsu stat will similarly measure one's ability to identify and break out of Genjutsu, and the ability to perform Genjutsu as well.
Let's say you don't know a single Genjutsu technique, but you always know when you're under one and have never encountered one you couldn't break out of; You'd probably have a Genjutsu stat around 2-3.
Having a superior stat total, or having a bigger number than someone else doesn't guarantee superiority in any way.
If you're a Ninjutsu expert with a 4 in the stat, but the 3 you're going up against just so happens to hard counter everything in your arsenal, then tough titties.
So, each set of numbers will give you a general idea about where the character in question falls in terms of ability.
0.5-1: Academy level.
1.5-2: Genin - Near-Chunin level.
2.5-3: Chunin.
3.5-4: Jonin
4.5-5: Kage. by the time you reach a 5 in any stat, your ability is beyond a number rating.
And stat totals will give you a general idea about their overall effectiveness as Shinobi.
0-6: Man, you ain't shit. For real. The average civilian going about their peaceful life has a stat total in this range.
6.5-10: Your stat total isn't even in the double digits yet? Grow up, bro. Academy students and some of the weaker Genin fresh from the academy would be placed here.
EX: Part 1 Konohamaru.
10.5-15: Most Genin level Shinobi fall here. If you're a newer Genin approaching or surpassing 14, then you're considered rather talented. If you're a grown ass adult, however, you're likely going to be an eternal Genin, and not the Kosuke Maruboshi, or Maito Dai kind.
EX: Pre-Exams Hinata, Pre-Exams Choji, Pre-Exams Naruto, etc
15.5-17.5: Now you're getting somewhere. You're just starting to come into your own at this stage. Maybe you're looking to take the Chunin exams and finally get that promotion. Experienced/talented Genin fall under this category.
EX: Pre-Exams Tenten, Dosu Kinuta.
18-20.5: Solid Chunin material. You're nothing special in the grand scheme of things, but your abilities might warrant that promotion you've been aiming for, so long as you have something to show for those numbers. Hell, you just might get one if there's a war going on, even if you don't really deserve it.
EX: Pre-Exams Sasuke, Shikamaru.
21-24: High tier Chunin fall here. You've been at it for a while, or you're just that good, and you barely fall short of Jonin level. Maybe you aren't the sharpest tool in the shed, or you suck ass at Genjutsu. Hell, maybe you can't throw hands in a Taijutsu match for shit.
Bottom line? There's no way you're completely worthless at this point, even if you're complete ass in one or two areas.
EX: Yashamaru
24.5-28: Jonin. You aren't just some goon anymore. You're pretty good at most things, maybe you're excellent in one particular area. Most B-ranked Shinobi fall in this area.
EX: Anko Mitarashi, Hayate Gekko, Jonin Neji, Post timeskip Naruto
28.5-31: You're an elite. Most ninja with a stat total like this are solid A rankers, if not Kage level.
EX: Kazekage Gaara, Shizune, Kurenai Yuhi, Hizashi Hyuga
31.5-34.5: Kage. If you aren't a Kage with a stat total like this, then you'd definitely be considered at or near that level. If you're at the lower end of this tier, then your village would have to be pretty desperate to consider you in the running for the title, but hey, at least you made it!
At the higher end, you're pretty much beyond Kage level.
EX: Kakashi Hatake, Asuma Sarutobi, Maito Gai, most of the Akatsuki, Old Hiruzen
35+: Beyond Kage. At this point, it kind of stops mattering. You did it. You won. No one in their right mind is fucking with you unless they have some badass motherfuckers in your tier ready to jump you on their side.
The difference between people with a stat total like this can range from near non-existent, to astronomical.
EX: The Sannin, Itachi Uchiha
Lots of characters will have slightly different stats than they did in canon. If I feel like the canon databook stats don't make sense, then I'll be tweaking them.
Chapter 1 stats
(Yohei-nin)
Sadai
Ninjutsu: 3.5
Taijutsu: 3
Genjutsu: 2
Intelligence: 3
Strength: 3.5
Speed: 3.5
Stamina: 3.5
Hand Seals: 3
Total: 25
Sora (Vs Natsuhi)
Ninjutsu: 3
Taijutsu: 2
Genjutsu: 2.5
Intelligence: 3.5
Strength: 2
Speed: 3
Stamina: 2.5
Hand Seals: 3
Total: 21.5
(Hoshigakure)
Natsuhi
Ninjutsu: 4
Taijutsu: 3
Genjutsu: 2
Intelligence: 3
Strength: 2
Speed: 3
Stamina: 3
Hand Seals: 3
Total: 23
Now, it should go without saying that you can be a 26 and absolutely kick the shit out of a 31. If you're just that powerful in one area, but completely lacking in another, like hand seals or something, then you're not gonna have a stat total.
You can have a pretty substantial stat total, but not have the right abilities to back it up.
These stats are fun, but they don't mean much in a fight. They're just meant to give you a general idea of someone's ability.
GENERAL IDEA.
I can not stress that enough. I've been on the internet long enough to know that some of you are… Not all there, you know?
The lights are on, but no one's home. You have to be reminded not to drool on yourself sometimes.
Especially in this fandom. I've been reading Naruto fics for years at this point and I can't go a single day without seeing a summary with like, seven spelling mistakes or grammatical errors.
~Get Creamed On~