AN: This site is having issues, and trying to manage stories and see stats has been annoying. Regardless of FF tech issues, hope you guys enjoy this update. It's been two weeks, and I've been spending a lot of time just letting ideas bounce around in my head while I rewrite my other fic. It feels bad having not posted in a few weeks - so here is a little something. I wanted to include more in this chapter, but it was already getting long, so I figured I'd leave the other parts for chapter seven, to be released tomorrow - hopefully.
Team seven spent their time cycling through who would babysit the bridge builder and his workers while the rest of the team would train. Kakashi made sure to always have an extra shadow clone at the bridge to poof and relay the required information back to the team leader. The team operated on a strict "scout and relay" sense of teamwork. Whoever of the three of Team Seven was at the bridge would be with Anko and a clone of Kakashi. While that trio was at the bridge the other two students of Team Seven stayed back to work on more training exercises as well as chakra control basics. Anko and Kakashi took turns guiding the team's training. Kakashi would guide two students during the day to work on tasks like Taijutsu and other physical activities. Sakura was too weak for him to have her spar again either Naruto or Sasuke. Sasuke, while much more advanced than Naruto at this point in time, was still given good practice when Kakashi allowed Naruto to use his clones.
"Naruto, I really need you to focus here," Kakashi commented as he attempted to teach his student a proper fighting stance. "I mean sure, you could just keep overwhelming opponents with the brute force of your clones, but each one of these clones is going to be much more powerful when you actually know how to fight."
"I'm trying, and my form is not that bad!" Naruto yelled in response, his patience clearly being tested. The boy was sweating, and his clothing grew ragged from the constant training. Even with all his training, he was still much further behind his raven-haired teammate. Sasuke was not stronger or faster by any great means. He definitely did not have the stamina that Naruto did. No, instead Sasuke's power in battle, specifically his Taijutsu, originated from the boy's sharp mind. Sasuke picked up on fighting Kata quite quickly, and he had access to the Uchiha clan library. Even if he couldn't keep up with Naruto in strength, speed, or stamina (the notion of which simply being untrue) he would still hold the advantage in physical combat - his technique was simply too good for the blonde. To say Naruto is frustrated by this is an understatement.
"Yes, it is Naruto. Even Sakura has a better form than you. You've gotten to this point off of raw chakra reserves and resilience alone," At this point, Kakashi was getting annoyed, "You tell me you want me to teach you, and I finally put away my book to teach you, and you refuse to listen. I guess I'll just start reading again since-" Kakashi began to pull out his novel.
"Wait wait wait wait wait, no no no no no!" Naruto pleaded. "I'll listen I swear. Please Kakashi-sensei," his voice grew a bit quieter, "I don't want to lose to Sasuke." The sun beamed over the pair in the forest as Kakashi sighed and put his book back in his bag.
"Alright, just follow my movements carefully."
So the cycle continued. Kakashi handicapped his speed and strength as he properly show Naruto combat stances in real-time.
By the end of the first week, Naruto could finally keep up with Sasuke - somewhat. Sasuke was still holding back, he couldn't go all out if he wanted to keep up with Naruto in terms of stamina. While at the start of the week, Naruto couldn't even land a hit!
This idiot catches up quickly, it pisses me off, Sasuke thought as his breath began to stagger. And even more annoying, he just doesn't stay down. He noted as he saw Naruto rise for the sixth time this spar.
"Why can't you ever just stay down," Sasuke growled through his clenched teeth. He knew that if the two continued fighting until nightfall - as they had done the last two days when they spared - then he would eventually be the one on the ground. He's lucky that Kakashi doesn't want me to go all out, or use jutsu. He's lucky this is just training, or else I'd-
"C'mon, Sa" Naruto huffed, "suke. Don't you know, I never stay down. If you want me to stay down, then you'll have to knock me out yourself," he finally brought himself to his feet. There was a pause between the two as Sasuke continued his thoughts and Naruto looked at his stats.
As much as I hate losing to him, this has been really good training for my stats. I almost have enough Strength and Dexterity for that ability. Not to mention my Constituion always benefits from this sort of thing.
[Strength: 13 | Intellect: 5 | Dexterity: 9 | Constitution: 36] [Points Avail: 0]
Sasuke noted the sun was almost set. Kakashi's words be damned - he would make this blonde would fail. Sasuke's pride simply refused him to take any sort of loss. In just a moment Sasuke sprinted towards Naruto, using full speed and full strength. The slight power-up caught Naruto off guard. Sasuke looked as if he would throw a punch aimed toward the face of Naruto. Naruto used his arms to block his face, making an 'x' with them. Sasuke smirked, expecting this block from his teammate. Sasuke instead brought his right arm that was in forward motion back behind him, utilizing the backward momentum of his upper body while simultaneously kicking the ground below with his left foot. His right shin accelerated into Naruto's midsection faster than the blonde could react.
Reaction - that was the key difference between the two. One would utilize real-time reaction to attempt to defend, strike, or counter. The other utilized anticipation - a skill that required experience, the intelligence of battle, as well as the proper kata and fighting style. The difference between raw power and dexterous skill.
With a thud, Sasuke's kick landed and Naruto gasped for breath. Sasuke took one more strike, ensuring to utilize the window of Naruto being stunned. Winding up his right fist he launched his teammate toward the ground. Naruto landed and didn't move. Sasuke huffed that last combo requiring the last bit of energy that he could muster up.
"Sasuke, that wasn't very fair now was it," Kakashi said with an eye smile. The energy behind this face contradicts everything that the eye smile would usually portray.
"Yeah..." Sasuke paused as he huffed to catch his breath, his hands on his knees and sweat dripping from his face collating to a pool below him. "I don't think making me hold back against this weakling for hours on end is very fair either. I mean seriously, what're you picking favorites or something." Sasuke said acusatorilly.
Kakashi paused, blinked, then blinked a few more times. He couldn't believe what he just heard. "Well, Sasuke, think of it like this. By making you hold back for so long you were able to go much longer. We both know you're stronger, and faster," Sasuke gave a little 'hn' of acknowledgment, "but," Kakashi's tone grew dark as his presence loomed over his student, "trust me when I tell you - if it were a marathon you wouldn't even have a chance. Naruto outclasses you in stamina, and we both know that. But by making you hold back and fight him for hours on end I know that this is going to increase your stamina, something you definitely need more than speed or strength right now."
Sasuke scowled, still feeling like he was not only being held back by his teammate but also not getting as much out of this training as his teammate was- a feeling that left his stomach sour.
"Well, then how about you start fighting me, so I can get stronger faster too!" Sasuke all but demanded.
Kakashi surprisingly agreed. "Sure, but first you need to take care of your teammate. You guys shouldn't just be comrades, you should be friends."
Sasuke frowned, refusing to believe he needed things like friends to get stronger - but if helping the blond made Kakashi help him get stronger then that was enough convincing for him.
By the time Sasuke was back in the training field the sun had almost fully set. There were maybe another twenty or thirty minutes of daylight left for him and Kakashi to spar.
"Is he taken care of?" Kakashi mused while reading his book.
Sasuke sighed and looked away, his face slightly blushing. "Yea, he is. Made sure to tuck him in too- so are we going to fight or not?" His tone turned aggressive. As the forest wind whispered through the leaves and the grass swayed in harmony, a solitary leaf broke free and floated down, marking the onset of a duel. With a gentle rustle, it touched the earth, triggering the sound of a book snapping shut and sending birds fluttering from the woods.
The day had just begun, and Naruto kept quiet as he tried to figure out what to do about his intelligence. His Spars with Sasuke proved to be extremely effective - although lately, he could tell that his teammate stopped holding back. It bothered Naruto to see how far he needed to catch up - but he knew if he could learn a few more spells then he would be good.
Of course, he was quiet in voice, but not in thought. I need to figure out a way to increase my intelligence stat Naruto grumbled as he sat staring at his screen. His mind's eye displayed to him the stats as followed:
Stats
[Strength: 13 | Intellect: 5 | Dexterity: 9 | Constitution: 36] [Points Avail: 0]
Naruto lagged in intelligence, and while the blonde would usually not care about the stat, the spell book in front of him had him changing his mind. I need at least 10 intelligence to learn another jutsu - or spell or whatever the hell this damn book calls it. And on top of that, I don't even know what to do to increase the stat. Ughhh. Naruto groaned. The last thing he wanted to do was dedicate time to increasing his intelligence. Why did learning jutsu from the book have to be so difficult?
"Hey, are you doing alright?" Sakura said, waving her hand in front of Naruto's face. The blonde jumped in his seat. "You've been spacing out since we came out here." The two were in the middle of the same makeshift forest training ground that Naruto and Sasuke had been training in previously. Now, however, the blonde was joined by his pink-haired teammate. Kakashi had told the two to practice their chakra control and to work on standard exercise training. To his students, this translated to him wanting to take the day off. The reality was that he was making preparations to ensure that the house the team was staying in would be safe by laying traps and setting proper seals.
"Oh, I'm sorry Sakura. Just lost in thought haha," Naruto chuckled.
I can't believe he even thinks... She thought in response.
"Hey," Naruto continued, "you graduated number one in academics right," he asked.
Sasuke pumped her chest in pride, "Yeah, I did!" ChAAA, finally some recognition out here, her inner voice screamed.
"Could you... show me how to be smart," Naruto said sheepishly, in response Sakura almost fell over. She didn't even know where to begin.
"Naruto, I can't just show you how to be smart. It's just something to work on over time. You know, reading books and working on equations and-," at these suggestions Naruto began snoring.
"Booooring-" he yawned, "Isn't there like something fun we could do that would make me smarter?" Sakura's patience thinned.
"I swear, I am going to hit you if you just cut me off when I'm trying to help you."
"W-wait no I'm sorry. Sakura please," the boy tried salvaging the conversation. "Just, is there anything we could do that y'know exercises the mind that ISN'T boring?"
Sakura closed her mouth and gave a little 'hmm'. There was a brief pause between the two before she came to a realization. "Yknow, there might be one thing we could do. Here, follow me," She said as she grabbed his hand and ran back towards the house. Sakura usually wouldn't be so welcoming, but she would do anything to get out of traditional exercise training.
Kakashi surely won't get mad that we're not following his training advice right...?
That one-eyed scarecrow can suck it, CHA, I'm not sweating over this!
-break-
The sun shone through the window as Sakura sat Naruto down at a low table in the room she was staying in. She shushed him as he tried to speak and ran to her bag and dug out a small box. The word 'Shogi' was scribbled across it. She then sat across from Naruto and began instructing him on the rules.
Once Naruto was caught up with the basics the pair carefully arranged the pieces on the board, eyes locked in concentration. "You can this of this as a mental exercise," Sakura said as she made the first move. She was a fairly seasoned shogi player with years of experience, meanwhile, Naruto was a novice at best. Sure, Sakura may not have been
The first game began, and Sakura quickly took the lead, trapping Naruto's pieces one by one until he had nowhere to move. The game ended with Sakura's victory in just 10 moves.
Undeterred, Naruto set up the pieces for the next game. This time, he managed to hold his own for a bit longer, but Sakura was still too skilled for him. Naruto lost again, this time in 15 moves.
Oh, I love shogi!
The voice scared Naruto as he jumped in his seat and landed and flipped over. He looked over and saw Kurayami floating, half his lower half-smoke and the other half his bony and cloaked exterior.
Sakura giggled in response, not seeing Kurayami but just thinking that Naruto had decided to quit. "Naruto it is okay to lose you know. I don't expect you to win any of these games either. I've been playing with my family for years. My dad showed me how to play when I was younger. He's really the best though. I've only beaten him a handful of times, the first time I remember it was so amazing for me!" The girl said, then realized that amid her talking Naruto had regained his composure and began to look downtrodden. He must really hate losing… Sakura then remembered a conversation she had with Sasuke. A conversation that ended in him calling her annoying. She realized then that Sasuke was right - she had no idea what it was like to not have parents like Naruto. Oh jeez…
She comforted the blonde, resting a hand on his, and smiled at him. "Hey, we still can play more games. It'll be good for the mind. Besides, it's just for fun anyways!" She was genuinely trying to cheer him up, feeling extremely bad for the way she had just casually dropped those comments.
They played, game after game, with Sakura soundly defeating Naruto each time. The scores quickly piled up, 3-0, then 7-0, then 12-0. Naruto grew increasingly frustrated with each loss, while Sakura remained stoic, her eyes never leaving the board.
As the day wore on, the sun climbed higher in the sky, and the heat grew more intense. But still, they played, with Sakura winning game after game, never seeming to tire.
Finally, in the fifteenth game, Naruto managed to surprise Sakura with a clever move, trapping one of her pieces and putting her on the defensive. For a moment, it seemed like Naruto might finally get a win. But Sakura's experience and skill quickly came to the forefront, and she deftly maneuvered her way out of the trap. The game ended in another victory for Sakura. Naruto groaned.
You told me that move would work… Naruto told his hidden friend.
Look, I said that I loved shogi - not that I was good. Really thought we had her there, the shinigami laughed. He then thought of something and snapped his fingers. A scroll appeared in front of Naruto's face.
Side Quest Added: Beat Sakura In Shogi
Rewards:
+5 to Intelligence
+2 to Stat Points
Naruto almost lost his nerve. Hang on. Are you telling me that you're the one generating these quests…
Yeah, always have, always will Kurayami deadpanned
So are you telling me that you also are the one who is generating these rewards, setting my stats, giving me spells, and-
Yup
Naruto held back screaming. WHY DON'T YOU JUST GIVE ME THESE POINTS, AND JUTSU, AND TELL ME ABOUT-
Because, If I just simply let you borrow my power and you did not earn it, then what good would it be? I also cannot just THROW all my energy at you at once and expect you to not die from the sheer volume of it. Consider yourself lucky that I am giving you something at all.
Naruto stopped for a second and sighed. He then pulled up his stats screen and noticed something interesting.
[Strength: 13 | Intellect: 6 | Dexterity: 9 | Constitution: 36] [Points Avail: 0]
His intelligence actually ROSE a point from his constant defeats. This gave Naruto a newfound sense of resolve.
"Alright, guess I should stop complaining and start playing," he said, directing his energy toward Sakura. "If fact, I think I should be playing a lot more!" The boy made his signature hand sign and the room filled up with smoke. Four pairs of Naruto appeared in the room and between each pair sat another shogi board.
Alright, this is what we're gonna do. Since you're soOooO powerful how about you create your OWN shadow clones, and those can guide one side of my clones- this will make it look like I'm playing against myself when in reality I'm just playing against multiple forms of you.
Mmmm I like the way you think. I guess you finally read through all your abilities, didn't you?
Yup, I now realize how powerful shadow clones are in learning information. I should've done this from the start! I can have these clones practice with chakra or mental exercises and it'll expedite my training tenfold!
Luckily for the world, you're so brash and brute force with everything that you do - or else this tenfold would actually be a threat Kurayami snickered as he proved his power to Naruto in creating a set of his own clones.
The day continued, and match after match ensued. Finally, the sun began to no longer peak through the window of the building as Sasuke reentered the home. At this point Naruto was crestfallen, feeling defeated and embarrassed by his performance. Sakura, however, was gracious in her victory, even offering words of encouragement and advice to her defeated opponent. Sasuke entered the room and witnessed Sakura coaching Naruto playing against… Naruto? The other sets of clones had all already poofed back. Of course, the rapid information gained from hours and hours gave Naruto a horrendous headache.
"What's going on here?" Sasuke questioned as he pointed at the board. "Naruto is playing against… Naruto? Why? How come you guys aren't taking your training seriously? I'm so confused?" His questions barraged the pair.
Sakura smiled as she replied, "Oh, we are training! It's a mental exercise, something Naruto desperately needs." Sasuke scoffed in response.
"Sakura, you can't just skip on your training to help him out. Jeez, you really need to start taking this ninja thing seriously," his tone wasn't harsh like it usually would be. Sasuke sounded genuinely concerned before be finished his sentence and continued, "as much as you're both incredibly annoying, I'd rather not see any more death than I have to." Sasuke shut the door as he closed his mouth and continued to the room he was sharing with Kakashi and Naruto before clocking out for the night.
Sakura was a bit shaken up by his words, and Naruto's attempts at comforting her did very little to ease her stress. If he was being honest with himself, Naruto was pretty worried about the fight to come on the bridge. He knew what had happened before, and he didn't want to see the same thing happen…
[Strength: 13 | Intellect: 8 | Dexterity: 9 | Constitution: 36] [Points Avail: 0]
Anko spent most of her 'guiding' time on the bridge by giving her trainees a task and then 'meditating'. The reality of this meditation is that Anko was spreading out her sensory abilities in search of any enemy chakra signatures. So far so good, nothing out of the ordinary. Anko also enjoys meditating just for the sake of meditation. It allowed her to keep her thoughts clear, and ensure that she never lost control. Ever since being marked by the ever-so-infamous traitor of Konoha.
The tasks that she gave were always around the idea of the basics of the body. Thinks like lethal points and such. Luckily had a few spare scrolls that she could give whoever she was mentoring to read. However, when it came to Sakura, things were a bit different.
At the current moment, Sakura just finished reading the most recent scroll that Anko had provided. Anko was sitting cross-legged on the bridge, her eyes closed and her focus fully spent on spreading out her energy and attempting to trace chakra signatures. Tazuna and his men were in the process of building.
"Uhhh, Miss Anko," Sakura began her sentence as Anko peeked an annoying glance at the girl.
"What is it, can't you see I'm busy?" The woman asked rhetorically.
"Well, it is just that," Sakura's face grew close in shade to her hair. She was embarrassed, and not sure of how to go about what to ask.
"Spit it out," Anko sounded flat, clearly becoming peeved.
"I finished the scroll you gave me... again, and you see I-" before she could continue Anko cut her off.
"Okay, summarize it for me then," Anko demanded.
Sakura gulped, took in a deep breath, then spoke a bit shakily. It was clear that Anko radiated a fearful aura when she wanted to. She reiterated the scroll that Anko had given her with surprising accuracy. The way that she soaked in information was impressive. Sakura could practically rewrite the scroll that Anko had given her. The subject matter is one of creating poisons through plants that were common in the Land of Fire. Poisons range in cause from sleep, paralysis, and even death. It shocked Sakura just what could be created in what is practically her backyard. At it took was a keen eye, careful grip, and a lot of chakra control.
"Well, I can't say I'm not impressed. You learn things pretty quickly," Anko complimented.
Sakura beamed at the compliment, feeling a bit less intimidated by the lady. "T-thank you. But I wasn't going to ask you for another scroll,"
"Good," Anko cut her off again. "Coz I don't have any more scrolls. Guess you're just gonna have to sit and-"
Sakura mustered up enough strength to cut the woman off. "No, I don't want another scroll. I want to ask you what it means to be a kunoichi!"
Anko paused, a trim smile starting on her face. "Ah, so you decided to try and take your training seriously, is that it?"
Sakura frowned. Why does everyone think I don't take this seriously?
CHA, it's really starting to piss me off! Her inner self punched forward viciously.
"I am serious about training, and about being a kunoichi. It's just that, I don't know who to go to for help. Sure, Kakashi-sensei is there, but he spends so much time helping Naruto and Sasuke. Not to mention he can't really help me much. All he says is I need to do more exercise, and that I need to work on improving my chakra pools. But aren't there other things I could do?"
Anko grunted, "Well, it is going to be harder for you to learn from him. For starters, Kakashi isn't exactly a generous teacher. On top of that, while he knows pretty much everything, his focus is on Ninjutsu. Sure, he's good with Taijutsu and his Genjutsu isn't bad - that Sharingan bastard - he is a much better tutor in the realm of Ninjutsu. Something that you won't pick up on quickly - not with your reserves at least. No, you're way more suited for Genjutsu."
"Why Genjutsu?" Sakura questioned.
"For someone so smart you really know how to be stupid," Sakura's face fell at the insult. "Someone with incredible chakra control and low reserves is perfect for a few things. Genjutsu, Medical-Ninjutsu, and Stealth / Recon jobs. I'm not a medical ninja, so you'll have to look for someone else. I may also not be the best with Genjutsu, but I could show you a thing or two. I also have a few good friends who might be able to help out. But stealth and recon, well now we're talking! That is my thing kid, and if you want help in how to resolve combat before it even begins well I'm your gal for that." Anko beamed. While the woman was quick to annoy, and Sakura had the impression that she wanted nothing to do with teaching, the truth was that Anko was fond of the idea of picking up an apprentice. In Anko's mind, she felt that she would never get the chance to pick up an apprentice due to her past. She also thought that due to her curse, she would never be able to have that sense of normalcy. An apprentice would change that - though in all of her years of serving the village not a single soul had been wanting to take under her tutelage. Sure, Sakura wasn't the best student - but she was incredibly smart, and she did learn quickly. Anko hummed a tune before playing coy, "Annnd I guess if you were looking for a kunoichi to help with your training, I could maybe find the time."
Sakura jumped at the bait. "Yes, Miss Anko, please! I'd love to learn under someone like you!" Sakura couldn't believe just how easy it was to 'convince' the woman.
Chaaaa, no more being 'annoying' or 'useless' I'll show Sasuke just how awesome I can be, and then he'll finally fall in love with me! The inner monologue of Sakura blazed a fire within her soul that could be seen in her eyes. Her motivations may be childish and immature, but at the very least she was motivated to finally make a change.
AN: I hope the scenes with Sakura didn't feel forced. I don't want to snap my fingers and magically make her useful, but I also cannot stand the way that her character was written for the first few arcs. On top of that, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Trying to finish the next one and make the pacing feel good. There will be implications due to the way this arc wraps up. Hopefully, it all works out nicely.