Chapter 14: No Pain no Gain
Her arms hurt. Her back felt broken. Her legs burned like no tomorrow. And the pain radiating from her stomach forced her to stay curled up in a ball least its contents feed the nearby birds. All in all, Ino never felt more miserable in her life. The Yamanaka didn't bother looking for her fellow Genin kunoichi, or care how she was right now. Moving proved too painful. And it had barely been over an hour.
"Ohhh, boy, I've got my work cut out for me," Anko was disappointed, "You two barely lasted a little over half an hour."
Ino had to bite back a remark least she find herself going through that hell again. That it was only half an hour they completed only held her tongue back further. It felt way longer.
"Alright. Both of you get up. I've seen enough," and Anko thought it wasn't much, "Rest up for tomorrow cuz when we're not doing any missions, we'll be doing this pretty much everyday 'till you learn to love it."
"Naruto, too?" Ino hoped.
"Believe it or not, the Gaki's got a crazy amount of stamina. He can do this in his sleep," which was why she'd have him do different exercises compared to his teammates. While Ino and Hinata's stats were much more rounded compared to Naruto's, which went so far at one end of the spectrum, the gap between her newest trainees and her ward was nevertheless big.
Status Window
Name: Hyuga Hinata
Job: Genin
Level: 11 Next Level: 76%/100%
HP: 525
CP: 675
STR: 11
VIT: 21
END: 27
DEX: 32
INT: 47
WIS: 39
CHA: 13
LUK: 13
DEF: 10
Description: Hinata is a very kind but very shy young girl who comes from one of Konoha's four noble clans. Despite being trained in the art of the Gentle Fist at a young age, a renown and deadly taijutsu, Hinata's skill is lacking for reasons currently unknown. While not one of the best students in the academy Hinata is still one of the more intelligent students. While most of the girls in her class are infatuated with Sasuke, Hinata is attracted to someone else. Her love for cinnamon rolls is said to rival Uzumaki Naruto's love for ramen.
Attribute Points: 0
Common Perk Points: 0
Special Perk Points: 0
Status Window
Name: Yamanaka Ino
Job: Genin
Level: 12 Next Level: 43%/100%
HP: 425
CP: 525
STR: 10
VIT: 17
END: 21
DEX: 36
INT: 46
WIS: 35
CHA: 43
LUK: 18
DEF: 10
Description: Though not as intelligent as her rival, Sakura, Ino is still one of the top students at the academy. Ino is talented in her clan's teachings but due to her attitude and infatuation with Uchiha Sasuke, she isn't as far or as proficient as she should be. Ino is notorious for her gossip and fashion sense and love of shopping, very little happens in the academy that she doesn't know about.
Attribute Points: 0
Common Perk Points: 0
Special Perk Points: 0
"I really do have my work cut out for me," the woman fought back a sigh.
"So, can we go home?" all Ino wanted was to take a herb soaked bath until the aches went away.
"Nope," Anko dashed those hopes, "We've still got one more thing to do."
XxX
"Kanpai!" Anko cheered loudly before taking a swig.
"Kanpai!" imitated the bar's many patrons in return.
"This can't be happening," a saucer of alcohol in her hand was the last thing Ino thought would happen by the end of the day.
"Ano, A-Anko-sensei," to Ino's left, Hinata looked nervous, "A-are we allowed to do this?"
Finishing her drink, Anko gave released a loud satisfying sigh as she felt the nice burn going doing her throat, "The moment you earned your headband and the moment you passed my test was the moment you three kiddies became adults in the eyes of the village. So drink up! Kanpai!"
Eyeing their respective drink, all three chugged back with varying results. Naruto went first and sputtered like crazy, Ino followed suite and had the misfortune of having some go up her nostrils. The burn was unpleasant. Hinata being the most conservative of the Genin was the last one to drink the cup's contents and while she felt her eyes watering, she ultimately proved to be the most graceful drinker.
"Just don't go having babies," Anko added as they finished, "This isn't the Warring States Period after all. Save that 'till you're older," seventeen or older preferably. The last thing she wanted was a black mark on record because of a pregnant thirteen year old Genin.
"Eep!"
Thud.
"…Too far?" Anko asked and Ino nodded, "Ah, hell. Gaki pick her up… Gaki?"
"Blech!"
Looking at her ward, Anko saw him spitting out whatever it was he was eating like no tomorrow. Rookie mistake on his part, "This ramen is horrible! It's like used murky dish water you let sit over night," he wasn't even going to begin describing the meat.
"You've just learned a very important lesson, Gaki. When you go to a bar, you go for the booze not the food. Eight times outta ten it's shit" was Anko's imparted wisdom.
"Hey!" Was the insulted bartender's reply
"Prove me wrong!" Anko shot back and pointed at the bowl of rejected ramen. The bar employee did nothing but grab the rejected ramen - not that Naruto would call it that - and Anko looked smug.
After propping Hinata on a stool and waking her up with some smelling salts, of which Naruto told Ino it was better she didn't know why she carried them, Anko looked at all three of her Genin before speaking, "Now, you're probably asking yourselves, why is this sexy cool bitch doing this?"
"Take away sexy and cool and you're spot on," were Ino's private thoughts.
"I heard that!" Anko looked at the Yamanaka.
"I didn't say anything?" Was her nervous reply.
"You were thinking it," the woman said assuredly.
"Is she always like this?" Ino asked her fellow blond and wondered if it was too late to request being assigned to another team or go back to the academy for another year.
"This is a first for me," and it was true. Naruto had experienced many sides of Anko but he honestly never experienced a drinking Anko. Well, the woman wasn't drunk, so it could be a lot worse.
"Anyway, where was I?" Anko paused before she nodded, "Oh, yeah. I do this because it's tradition. When a Jonin passes a Genin team they take 'em out for their first cup of sake. Not many do it now-a-days. Pussies. And it goes all the way back since the Shodai Hokage's time. 'Course, he got drunk and started a bar fight."
"Hashirama-sama started a bar fight?" Hinata couldn't wrap her mind around the idea.
"The old farts from that time, at least the ones that can actually remember it, said it was a thing of beauty. He drank 'em all under the table with one hand and beat them with the other. I mean, he accidentally ended up destroying the place, but when you're Hokage and the strongest ninja of your era ya can get away with that sort of thing," the woman rambled a bit, "Anyways, you guys are too young for that. So don't bother trying it."
"Does this have a point?" Ino was honestly lost. Why were they doing this?
"Yes," Anko took a swig, "Drinking with your team is a way to unwind and relax and get close to them. Nothing gets your lips looser than by drinking. And that brings me to the other point: introductions."
"Introductions?" Was the collective though of the Genin.
"You know, my name is Uzumaki Naruto and I like dressing up in drag?" Anko said as an example and smirked at the stiffening Genin.
"You'll pay for that, Anko-sensei," there was a memory best left forgotten.
"Seriously?" Ino knew there was something juicy about that story.
"I can neither deny nor confirm… though I lean more towards the former," had it been possible, Anko would have combusted by now, "But that kind of intro. Who you are, what you wanna be, dreams, hobbies all that touchy personal feely crap."
"Tradition?" Hinata asked.
"Yep. I'll start," Anko said, "Name's Mitarashi Anko. Recently promoted Jonin and current torture and interrogation specialist. What I wanna be? To be remembered as Konoha's best torture and interrogation specialist. Dreams? To find a certain someone," ignorant of her past, Ino and Hinata thought the woman meant 'that special someone'. Naruto said nothing as it wasn't his story to share, "Hobbies. Eating dango, trying new dango flavours, coming up with new torture methods, and performing tea ceremonies."
That last remark threw all three off. Naruto especially given he felt it was too girly of an activity for Anko to enjoy, "Tea ceremonies!"
"What? It's relaxing," the looks they gave her never shifted, "Oh, whatever. Gaki! You're up."
"Pretty sure we already know," Ino interrupted, "He never shuts up about it."
"Oi!"
"Name: Uzumaki Naruto. Likes: ramen and fighting. Hobbies: pranks and learning ninjutsu. Dreams: becoming Hokage. Dislikes: Sasuke-kun and the amount of time it takes to make ramen," Ino finished, "Tell me I'm wrong?"
"…You gotta admit, she's pretty spot on, Gaki," Anko had no choice to admit that Ino's comments said it all, "Got anything else to add?"
Naruto merely humphed and pouted but said nothing.
"Blondie! You're next, and no interruptions," Anko added.
"Darn it," there went that idea, Naruto thought.
"I'm Yamanaka Ino. My likes are gardening and Sasuke-kun," Anko groaned when she heard that. Sure, if the kid was like his older brother he'd turn into a heartthrob when he got older, but the whole lone wolf thing Anko didn't really get.
"My hobbies are shopping and hanging out with my friends. My dreams… Hehehe," the girl giggled and Anko's eye began to twitch; she didn't need to read minds to know what the Yamanaka was thinking.
"Note to self: beat those thoughts out of her head," said the Jonin.
"Anko-sensei. Y-you said that out loud," Hinata revealed.
"So? I wasn't going for a soliloquy," was Anko's response. Ino shuddered and could only imagine what was in store for her.
"Pale Eyes! You're last."
"H-Hai!" Hinata bowed, "My name is Hyuga Hinata. I like cinnamon buns and- " here she glanced at Naruto but said nothing.
"Oh, I'm gonna have fun with you two," because unlike Naruto's superficial crush on Sakura and Ino's on the Uchiha, Anko had long since learned that Hinata's affections were much more genuine. But confidence issues or not, it wouldn't stop the purple haired kunoichi from pushing the girl. Anko didn't raise no half assed kunoichi.
"My hobbies are making healing salves and flower pressing. My dream is … my dream is to unite my clan," that bore a look of confusion from Naruto but Anko's look stopped him from interrupting, "My dislikes are shellfish," she finished.
"Okay, now that, that's out of the way. Let's drink!"
"A-ano, do we have to?" Hinata asked.
"It's either that or we go back to the field and train some more. And trust me, alcohol soaked grass doesn't look pretty the next day." Anko laughed when the contents of Ino's cup was instantaneously downed.
"So, before I call it a day, I'm gonna assign you all roles," stated the woman.
"Roles?" all three Genin chorused.
"Roles," Anko nodded, "Blondie! Given your clan's history for interrogation, sensory and plant growing, not to mention pot growing, and, yes, I know all about that dirty little secret," Ino's eyes couldn't get any bigger even if she wanted to, "You'll be learning under me very closely."
"Oh, crap!" Ino mentally weeped.
"Pale Eyes! Since you know how to make healing salves, you're now team medic. Trust me, this team's gonna need one unless you wanna go home sore everyday," Anko told her.
"What about me?"
"Team punching bag?" Anko laughed at Naruto's look, "Oh, I'm just busting your balls! Team muscle! When we're good and ready, your job will be to act as the vanguard. Clear out the worst of it and get the target's attention on you while these two strike 'em at the most opportune time."
"So, I'm team tank?" Naruto only received odd looks.
"…I'll take your word for it," Anko knew it was a video game term but not all that bothered not remembering what the exact definition was, "Well, that's about it."
"Arf!"
"Sorry, Poochie-Gaki. We've already got a team mascot," hissing was heard from the woman's clothing, in response to that, "Ow! I'm kidding! Fine you can be our nose in the field….and the emergency food."
"Hey!"
"Arf! Grr!"
"Sheesh! Tough crowd," Anko remarked.
"Terrible jokes," both blonds said in tandem, earning themselves the bird.
After finishing up for the night, while Ino and Hinata limped off home from the bar, Anko paid the tab and then both she and Naruto made their way towards his home. Once they were inside, Anko wasted no time saying what was on her mind, "You're gonna need to use your Gamer ability with those two."
"Come again?"
"Look, I know you're hesitant," she ignored his snorting, "but it's either that or we do nothing but D-Rank missions for the next four months, if we're lucky. Even with my training there's no way they'll be ready for a C-Rank one until then. You put in the time and effort but you can't deny that your ability accelerated your growth and had a part in all of this. You saw their stats."
Naruto couldn't and wouldn't deny it. It was true. And the only reason why he wasn't Rookie of the Year was due to his past performances and because it manifested partway into the new semester. There was also no disputing that their stats were also very much lower compared to his own, and while they were much more even, yes, the stats were still those of a recent graduate. And that was after months went by.
"But if you use your Gamer powers and bring 'em up to a decent level, get a bit of combat experience, we'll likely be able to do our first C-Rank mission in two, maybe one and a half months. Look it's up-"
"I'll do it," the boy said.
"-To you…Really?" the Jonin honestly expected a lot more hesitance.
"I'm seriously over D-Rank missions," both Naruto and Hotto nodded. They barely offered any experience and at this current rate it would take him forever to level up.
"Okay, sweet. So, first thing's first, aside from their stats, what are their perks like?"
"You couldn't see them?" Naruto asked. Didn't she know Observe?
"Don't think Gamer's Mentor works the same way Gamer does with you. That, or either my skill level's too low, or its tied to your preferences," was all Anko could say.
Naruto shrugged, "Maybe. Since your Gamer's Mentor ability is tied to myself it may be the case," the full description was too much at times unless he willed the full details, "Alright, let's see… oh, shit!"
"…Oh, fuck me," was all Anko could add.
|Gamer's Teammate|
Special circumstances have enabled to you to view your life as a video game (within certain boundaries)! Be forewarned, much like Gamer's Companion, and Gamer's Mentor, this special perk's ultimate authority falls under the jurisdiction of the Gamer himself, and his or her say in the preferences or how abilities work and viewed unless otherwise said so.
"Well, at least it says it won't become active until tomorrow!" months later and the damn thing still surprised him with the way it worked.
"Ever heard of easing someone into something?" that comment earned her a blank look, "Intense and unorthodox training and reality-space-time bending are two different things! When they wake up tomorrow fresh as a daisy instead of aching like crazy and the same thing happens the next day and the next, they're gonna know something's going on. They might even see a pop-up."
Okay, Naruto had to give her that, "Fine, I get it. I don't know exactly how it differs from my perk, but I do know that Ino's a gossip and likes to stick her nose into things," the only reason why she didn't for him as he began showing improvement was because she was too interested in Sasuke-teme. One of the few times he was glad the stuck up Uchiha had attention upon him.
"I read her profile, Gaki," Anko was fine with the snooping and information gathering, it was a good skill to have, but she was gonna have to teach Ino when and when not to blab. And while not how she would have liked them to learn this, life sometimes threw things at them outside their control, "Well, better to get it over and done with. But, first off, can you do something about that wake up pop up?" the woman hoped the answer was the one she wanted.
"Tried that a while back and no," Naruto dashed such hopes. Damn it!
"Alright, can you do anything about your Jinchuriki perk?" as a result of the reveal the special perk previously marked as [?] had changed to Jinchuriki: Kyubi. Best not to overwhelm either of them with more than one secret at a time.
Fortune was kind to her as Naruto nodded, "Okay, good, one problem solved. Now then, tomorrow morning we collect both of 'em bright and early and hopefully before they notice. Pray that if they do they pass it off as their minds playing tricks on em. Now, with Hinata we don't have to worry too much So, we collect Miss Loudmouth first and foremost!"
(Early Next Morning)
The morning was much colder compared to yesterday. Winter in Hi no Kuni - pretty much all across the Elemental Countries - was unpredictable temperature wise and very erratic when it came to the weather, too. The previous day could be cold and snowy and the following day it could become warm and wet with slush.
"Ff-freaknin co-old," even with her cloak, Ino's teeth clacked loudly around her, "Ca-an't we w-w-ear something warm-mer?"
"Get used to it, Blondie," Anko told her charge, her warm breath visible in the air, "This is a good learning opportunity. There will come a time when you have no choice of when or where your fights will be. Ninja have to adapt and endure the shit that's thrown at them or face the consequences. You don't hear Hinata complaining."
"That's because she too nice to say anything," comparing herself to the kind bluenette wasn't fair. Stifling back a yawn, Ino looked up and groaned. The sky was dark and the sun had hardly risen and a few stars could still be seen.
"Alright, here's good," Anko ordered them to halt.
Confused as to what they were doing exactly, Hinata asked her instructor, "For wha-at, Ank-ko-sensei?"
Anko merely gave a cryptic reply, "I'll let the Gaki handle it from here. Trust me, you'll never forget this."
"I'll be-elieve it w-when I se-ee it," Ino grumbled.
"Yeah, well, seeing is believing," Naruto began and knew it was now or never. Best to get it over with quickly as the saying went, "Instant Dungeon: Zombie Dungeon V1.5!" he called out and prayed neither thought bad of him after this.
"Instant-" a bright flash blinded both her and Hinata and stopped whatever Ino was going to say, "What the hell!" a wide-eyed Ino blinked once, twice, thrice before she shook her head at the landscape that greeted her. A burning decrepit village similar to Konoha with echoed moans being heard nearby. Below the building she was on, Ino saw walking corpses walking aimlessly, dead birds cawing, and sinister looking cats darting from rooftop to rooftop, "Okay, decent horror movie illusion with a bad name but kind of useless really."
"Umm, Ino-chan," Hinata was about to speak up before her teammate held her hands up and performed the Genjutsu Kai (Illusionary Technique Disruption) to rid herself of the harmless technique.
"Okay, then… Oh, what the hell?" Ino frowned as the sight from before remained firmly in place.
"Really smooth, Naruto," Ino glared at him but the boy just stood there with his arms crossed. Hinata was about to talk to her teammate once more but she felt her teacher's arm rest on her shoulder. Anko merely shook her head and the Hyuga remained silent as Ino continued her doomed attempts. With each failure at dispelling the technique, Ino added more and more effort and power into ridding herself of the illusion, but each failure only further added to her frustration before it became too much for her.
"Okay, what the hell is going on!" Ino yelled, having had enough of this and wanting it to end. "How do you get rid of the damn thing?"
"You can't," Anko told her, "It's real."
"Bullshit!" Ino couldn't believe that, "How can any of this be real?"
"Bloodline limit," Naruto revealed, "Don't ask, I'm still trying to figure out how it all works. Short version, I have to live my life like a video game."
"Come again?" Ino thought she heard wrong.
"The answer's not gonna change, Ino. I have the ability to warp time, space, and reality to get stronger more quickly," said the Gamer.
"That's…Do you have any idea how powerful a bloodline limit that is?" Ino asked.
"Almost half a year ago, I was at level five and now I'm level twenty-four," he mentioned.
"Yeah, so?"
"You guys only went up a few levels," was the reveal.
Curious, Ino asked, "What's few?"
"You went from level eight or nine to eleven, give or take," he elaborated.
"…I'm dreaming, aren't I?" the Yamanaka simply stated.
"Huh?"
"Oh, fer fucks sakes," Anko groaned. Of course Ino wouldn't make this easy.
"Yep, this a dream. I'm still in bed with a sore body, and having a very weird Sasuke-less dream," Ino nodded sagely. It was the only explanation.
"Time to wake up," Ino pinched herself and flinched but her eyes greeted her with the same scenery, "Okay, a very weird and lucid dream."
Anko said nothing as she approached her charge and Naruto knew what was about to happen next and felt sorry for her, "This is gonna hurt," Naruto commented.
"Why?" Hinata asked.
SMACK!
Naruto winced, "That's why," and Hinata could only agree. Even she felt that.
"OWW! The fuck!" Ino felt her eyes beginning to water. The young girl winced and her vision blurred a bit as the stinging sensation began to be felt across her face.
"Can it, Ino!" Anko had enough and the other three members of the team knew the woman was being serious when she forwent the use of her nickname. "Shit like this will happen again in the future and you damn well better come to terms with it if you wanna make it as a kunoichi!"
"Like hell! Where the hell are we?!" Ino was seriously starting to freak out. Being from a ninja clan that went back generations, nearing five hundred years, Ino knew that as a ninja she'd have to expect for the unexpected like Anko said. But even this was pushing it to a whole other level.
"Relax-" Naruto began before was cut off by the Yamanaka.
"Don't tell me to relax, blondie!" was the girl's response. "Where the fuck are we and what did you do!? And don't think I won't pick apart that peanut sized brain of yours."
"Say what you want, but damn if this girl's got spunk," Anko was seriously going to have fun teaching some of her more 'fun and squeal like a pig' techniques to the Yamanaka.
"In a dungeon," Naruto told her.
"Dungeon?… What the hell are you talking about?" was her heated reply.
"Look, like I said before, I don't know how or actually care how I got it but I have the ability to live my life like a video game," he repeated.
"Right," Ino drawled, "… and Hinata here is secretly a sadist with a tight leather fetish who gives out spankings," Hinata blushed bright red at that.
"Hmm, didn't know you were kinky, Pale Eyes," Anko smirked and Hinata blushed even further and Anko could tell she was on the verge of fainting, "But the Gaki's telling the truth. It's a tight lip secret."
"If it's so tight lip, why are we being told?" Ino decided to humour them.
"Because as my teammates it's also affecting you guys," Naruto's reply brought any rebuttal Ino would have up short.
"Affect us?" Hinata asked.
"What do you mean?" Ino gave him a look.
"Apparently, as my teammates, you guys are being affected by my bloodline, too. You'll be able to live your lives like a video game within certain limits," he told them.
"Ano, how?"
"Did you guys realize you woke up without being sore?" Hinata nodded hesitantly but she honestly believed she was still too tired for her mind to properly register the pain.
"Well, yeah," Ino responded, "So, this is not me dreaming?"
"No!" Naruto shouted.
"This… this is a lot to take in," Ino didn't know what else to say. Honestly, she didn't know why she wasn't freaking out even more, "What are the other benefits?"
"Chakra and Health Point restoration," Naruto began, "You can be running on empty the previous day and the day after they'll be fully restored. Works for mental and physical fatigue, too."
"That's insane," Ino couldn't help but gawk. Unless one had a unique ability or bloodline limit, or family hidden method, and even then it wasn't perfect, a person's fatigue and chakra didn't recover that quickly.
"It's also incredibly useful," Ino couldn't help but mentally agree with Anko's statement.
"Um, is thi-s why you were accused, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.
"Spot on," Anko acknowledged the girl's insight, "The Gaki's ability lets him enter dungeons, alternate realities he uses to train and become stronger. Unfortunately, when the incident with the Scroll happened, he was in one for about two hours so it didn't exactly help his case when they went looking for him."
Ino would have asked why he simply didn't say anything to the Hokage beforehand. It was no village secret that the Sandaime and Naruto were close. But given that she was still having a hard time believing - and she was seeing it, too - she could guess why nothing was ever said despite their relationship. Revealing something as big as this likely wasn't easy. It was a lot to take in.
"Okay, fine. I don't like this," Anko scoffed, there was a shocker, "But why are we here?"
"I thought you were more than just a pretty blonde?" Anko's remark earned her a scathing look that she ignored, "To get you two up to speed. And, if you can't handle this, then how the hell do you expect me to think you can take on more challenging missions?"
Anko watched as Ino closed her eyes and watched as her newest ward took in deep breaths and massaged her forehead. Anko was curious to see her hand glow a very light blue before she realized it was chakra, "Must be that Yamanaka technique Inoichi uses."
Anko had only worked with the man on the very odd occasion compared to Ibiki but noted that during extremely stressful or traumatic situations he would perform the same thing. Anko surmised the technique helped the two calm down and start thinking rationally. No other clan she knew of had a deeper understanding of the mind than the Yamanaka Clan. However, despite their mental fortitude and resilience, they themselves were not immune to the psychological trauma that affected them. They had a greater tolerance for that sort of thing compared to others, but were not immune.
Releasing a breath, Ino looked up at her Jonin instructor and asked, "So, we're here to get better?"
"Yep. From now until I deem you two ready, we'll be spending most of our time doing this," Anko hoped the Yamanaka finally understood.
"But…but won't we have to do D-Rank missions?" Hinata asked, "Are we not supposed to do a certain amount before we qualify for our first C-Rank one?"
"Unfortunately," Anko hated that prerequisite, "Which is why we're fortunate that the Gaki's ability enables time dilation."
"Time dilation? You mean as in we age more quickly?"
"About an hour more, right?" Anko asked.
Naruto however, shook his head, "In instant dungeons it's one hour outside equals four hours in here and in natural dungeons it equals two hours,"
Both eyes of the newly made kunoichi couldn't get any larger, "Holy... Just how old are you?"
Naruto shrugged, "Dunno. Fourteen? Give or take a month. Lost track to be honest."
"How can you lose track of something so important!" Ino knew that the benefits were evident: Eight hours of training done in only two. Turning into a teenage heartthrob much earlier…Actually, those were the main two she could really think of when she really thought about it, "Uh, so, what else can we do here?"
"Well, you can die," Ino paled and Hinata looked alarmed, "But you get resurrected if you do. Unfortunately, you lose any EXP you earned that didn't result in a level up. You learn combat skills more quickly in dungeons compared to merely training outside of 'em. You get loot: items, skills, money-"
"Hold up! You earn money!"
"You get it from defeating a monster or by searching here and there. But, yeah, you earn monster loot. Though that's mostly from humanoid ones and if you beat the dungeon boss," Naruto finished.
"Dungeon boss?" Hinata asked, Ino however had ryo signs in her eyes, "Is that the leader of the dungeon?"
"They're pretty much the toughest and baddest monster here. You'll know 'em when you see 'em. Most times it's just one but some dungeons have two or they fight with subordinates. They're not easy to deal with unless you're at a decent level, and with your levels and stats this one's not gonna be easy for either of you," the sight of either of them getting stepped on despite not actually dying wasn't something either Naruto or Anko wanted to see any time soon…Well, not Naruto at least. Anko was give or take.
"Okay, got it. How do we do this?" contrast to her previous behaviour, Ino was now eager to go.
"Ooh, I'm getting a mini-me!" Anko's mental cackled sent a shiver down the spines of many unseen individuals, "It's pretty simple. You see an enemy, you kill the enemy, you grab the loot, and then rinse and repeat."
Ino blinked and gave her a blank stare, "I mean aren't you gonna give us any pointers?"
"Nope!" Anko smiled, "This is trial by fire. You two are gonna fight on your own while I assess from the roof tops. This is a learning opportunity for both of us. I'll learn how you two fight and determine what needs to be improved on and what I think you'll benefit from on the outside."
"And Naruto?"
"My level's too high for this place. I get loot but any EXP I'd get almost amounts to zero unless it's the boss," Naruto revealed.
"Hop to it! You both have one hour. Oh, and I'll be keeping tally of your progress. And just an FYI, if one of you dies, I'll make yesterday's torture session look like a freakin picnic when you get back."
"Well, that answer's that question," Naruto noted and watched as both Hinata and Ino took off. Off the side, Anko created a single Kage Bunshin that took off after Hinata while the original head off towards Ino. Naruto, on the other hand, merely sighed.
"Looks like it's just you and me Ho… Thanks, buddy," noticing his ninken was gone, Naruto sat down onto the building filled with walking dead.
(Three Weeks Later)
"This freakin blows!" Ino mentally shouted as she continued on with the mission of the day. Not only were her arms still sore and tender from the dungeon and the torture session Anko-sensei liked to call training that followed soon after, but she and her team were currently painting the house of another. And they were using a paint that Ino immediately knew clashed with the house's appearance. She was fairly certain the owner would ask another team to repaint in another D-Rank mission.
While Ino had never been the most physically gifted student in the academy, she liked to believe she was better than most. But Anko-sensei had since ripped that notion apart. Three weeks had passed, although thanks to the time dilation it was almost five, since the woman stated she had a while to go before she deemed her stamina and Taijutsu as acceptable. And Anko's standards and definition on what was deemed acceptable were much different than those of a Chunin instructor. And perhaps even normal Jonin.
Ino recalled how three weeks ago when she limped on home the moment she was done for the day. Just as soon as she entered her clan home was the young blonde Yamanaka greeted by her father, Inoichi. Ino loved Inoichi as any child would their parent but found the man a tad overbearing at times as he constantly fawned over her well being and made a point to let him know.
"Guess that's why he laughed when I talked about missions," she recalled how her father tried, and failed, to stifle a laugh when it came to her mission expectations. Her mother on the other hand merely smiled and didn't say a word but knew the woman was laughing inwardly.
Being from a ninja clan that had been a part of Konoha since its founding Ino knew that Genin would do D-Rank missions for the first little while before their teachers felt they were ready to take on more demanding tasks. Anko had even said so herself.
But even she didn't think it was going to be this bad. At the moment they had completed around thirteen D-Rank missions together, counting this one, and all of them sucked in Ino's mind. Some like weeding gardens and picking up groceries and supplies for the elderly she could tolerate as she did similar tasks for her family's floristry and apothecary.
Others such as babysitting whiny children, cleaning in and out of houses, or cleaning the Inuzuka kennels were not the kind of missions the girl tolerated. The Yamanaka knew both her teammates were just as peeved as she was when it came to these kind of missions. Naruto being the more vocal of them and while Hinata remained silent Ino could read the girl's facial expressions and knew she did not find these sort of missions thrilling either.
The only saving grace was that Naruto knew some solid clone technique so the process was taking less time than it would have normally taken them. But that only meant more torture sessions. Anko said they'd continue this routine until either of their stats increased to respectable levels and until their basic academy skills reached the [Mastered]. If all went well they'd accomplish one of those by the end of the day given how quickly they were able to complete this task than originally anticipated.
"Oh, God," Ino wanted to cry as the thought popped into her head.
"Stop crying, Blondie," Anko called out. Ino knew the woman knew why she was saddened. Much as she disliked the hell she want through, the Yamanaka couldn't deny that Anko had gotten an effective schedule for them.
It varied to shaken things up, but the most re-occurring one was they'd get up early in the morning before most were awake - Ino and Hinata had since learned to go to sleep much earlier if they could - and do some combat sessions with the undead and then followed up with some training to get their blood pumping. On average that lasted almost eight hours, in the morning, then they'd do another four or five in the afternoon after completing a daily mission and lunch to refuel. It was repetitive and at times boring but Anko said they'd have to get used to it since that was expected of the ninja lifestyle.
Training as Anko liked to call it was hell for all of them, less so for Naruto and his ninken as they were familiar and used to them, "Anko-sensei wasn't kidding when she called him a stamina beast," compared to him…well, Ino had to begrudgingly admit that neither she nor Hinata came close. Nor did Anko-sensei, for that matter.
Which was why Ino and Hinata's training focused on the physical. The woman also taught both of them a few other little tricks she thought would be well suited for them as well. Anko did this because while their clan techniques were good and all, a shinobi needed to branch if they were to survive. Ino could attest to that. It wasn't widely known, but not all members in the Yamanaka, Akimichi and Nara clans got along with each despite popular belief.
"Okay, and that's that," Ino heard Naruto say and the Yamanaka inspected his work.
"Not the greatest job in the world but it could be worse," Ino scrutinized but it was not her problem. If the client wanted professional work done then they should have hired professionals instead of Genin.
After Anko was done inspecting the work of her Genin with the client the woman took out a scroll and received the person's signature as proof that the work was done to their satisfaction. "Hmm, still a little too early for lunch," Anko said as she looked at the sun's position in the sky. At the moment it was only ten after one.
"Change of venue, kiddoes. We're taking another mission today," Anko grinned as all three groaned.
"Just kill me now," Naruto moaned and wanted the torture to end. "If there's a merciful god out there please strike me down."
"Oh, no you don't! If Hinata and I have to endure this hell then so do you. Right, Hinata?" Ino looked at her fellow teammate and hoped the girl's crush on the blond idiot didn't win out.
"Hai, … it wouldn't be fair to us …Naruto-kun," Hinata blushed as she agreed with Ino. Like anyone Hinata did not care much for D-Rank mission and having one less person on the team meant more work for Ino and herself. Anko didn't participate in the actual grunt work of the mission, merely collecting payment and supervising them. Though even Ino realized that Hinata noticed their instructor's lack of desire to be there. The again, who wouldn't?
"Oi, Hinata! You coming!" Ino watched as Naruto's sudden call broke Hinata from whatever musings she was having and the Hyuga realized she had been lagging behind.
"H…Hai!" Hinata responded to her crush and jogged over till she was behind their sensei. The young Hyuga hiding her blushing face from her crush.
"Hey, Pale Eyes, quick question," the group heard Anko ask. Nearly five weeks together had Ino accept the unoriginal nicknames they were given was part of the woman's unique charm. Naruto was Gaki, Hottomaru was Poochie or Poochie-Gaki, Hinata was Pales Eyes, and Ino was Blondie. In hindsight, it could have been a whole lot worse as nicknames went. Unoriginal, they remained, but still could have been worse.
"Hai, Anko-sensei?" the young Genin wondered what she was going to ask.
"The Byakugan can see through anything, right?" Anko began and Hinata nodded, "Does that include clothes?"
All three stopped as they processed the meaning of it, "Huh?"
"Oh, don't act all innocent. We all know you have your eyes on a certain someone," Anko grinned as Hinata became embarrassed.
"Who?" Naruto asked much to Ino, Anko and even Hottomaru's embarrassment.
"How the hell did he improve so much but still be this clueless…Oh, right, low WIS," Ino had half a mind to just say it was him that Hinata was crushing on but for the Hyuga's sake she decided against it. Ino knew if she did the relationship between her and Hinata would be strained if she denied Hinata the right to say it herself.
"You wouldn't know him, gaki. He's a bit of an idiot," Anko along with Ino chuckled at the boy's cluelessness.
"That's not true," Hinata mumbled lowly, too low in fact to be heard by anyone.
"But you haven't answered my question. Ever get tempted to see what's beneath another's wardrobe?" she wiggled her eyes suggestively and Hinata began to fluster and blush like mad.
"Ah… Ano, I'd never… that's but," Hinata's stammered.
"Oh, come on. There's no shame in admiring another's body. Use Naruto as a guinea pig if you want," Anko grinned.
"What! Leave me out of this!" Naruto yelled.
Thud.
"Huh?" Naruto looked to his side and noticed Hinata had passed out cold on the ground. Anko's suggestion had proven too much for the girl and her mind had gone into overload from the suggestive thoughts that flowed through it. "Oi! Now look what you did!" Naruto accused his teacher and tried to wake up his unconscious teammate.
"Hmm, too far," Anko surmised she had gone a wee bit overboard again, "Meh! Still funny," she chuckled as Naruto tried to wake up Hinata. "Well, seeing as how you're the closest to her I guess you wont mind carrying her to the Hokage Tower," Ino had to give Anko points when it was do.
"She's crazy, but she's good," Ino realized and watched as Naruto hosted Hinata up with ease and started giving the girl a piggy back ride.
"Alright! Let's go!" both Anko and Ino watched with snickers on their faces as Naruto marched onward with their unconscious teammate.
"Man, I wish I had a camera," Anko cursed her luck. Having a photo of this would make for some great memories to look back on with fond nostalgia. The woman decided to invest in one when she had the time before her team headed towards the Hokage Tower for their next mission.
Minutes later, and one funny as hell way to wake up for Hinata, who fainted once more, and Team Eight arrived inside the Hokage Tower to great Hiruzen, "Back already Team Eight?" Hiruzen was surprised by how quick they finished the mission, more so as he saw Naruto and Hinata.
"Didn't know you two were this close, Naruto-kun," the man chuckled at the boy's embarrassed look.
"Jiji!" The boy's whine only served to make Ino, Anko, Iruka and Hiruzen laugh.
"Hmm," was all Hinata said as she snuggled more closely and comfortably on Naruto's back. The young male blushed lightly at the action.
"Oh, how I wish I had a camera right now," the man smirked and idly wondered how Hiashi would react. The Hyuga clan head had nothing against Naruto in terms of being the jinchuriki and was more cautious than anything but knew he'd be wanting answers if he saw his daughter's current predicament.
"Mission didn't take long thanks to the Shadow Clone Technique the Gaki pulled," the woman was kicking herself for not thinking of it sooner. Using this method they be able to do more D-Rank missions faster, leaving them more time to train and increase their skills. Ino would curse up a storm but she'd deal with it.
Hiruzen sighed as he heard that though, "Anko, the purpose of the D-Rank missions-"
"Are to promote teamwork among newly graduate Genin," she finished. "In all honesty, Hokage-sama that logic isn't very sound considering most D-Rank missions so far have involved my brats doing individual manual labour. Do you have anything more exciting and challenging?"
"Anko you're seriously suggesting they take a C-Rank mission?" Iruka asked her, "Certainly they've done slightly more than the other teams but they've only been out of the academy for only three weeks now. They're nowhere near ready."
"First of all, thanks for the redundant input, Umino, but last I recalled they're my students now, not yours," she sent the man a glare that stopped the man's next words. "Secondly, if you count the twenty odd D-Rank missions the Gaki did before he became a ninja then we technically have well over thirty accomplished missions."
"Pardon?" that was news to Iruka. "When did Naruto do D-Rank missions? He hasn't been a Genin for more than two weeks. So how-"
"A few months or so ago in exchange for kenjutsu lessons," Naruto answered as he shifted Hinata's weight a bit, "Jiji, said it was fine because D-Rank missions didn't really pose any healthy risks or anything."
A stunned Chunin instructor looked at his village leader and became shocked as he saw him nod. "Besides D-Rank missions are boring. So what if I used Kage Bunshin. It gets the job done faster and we do some more training."
Truthfully Naruto wished he had been able to use the training grounds for his dungeon abilities. But with him being the only one who truly understood how it all worked, the boy had only managed to do so once during his only day off. Anko had focused more of her attention on Ino and Hinata in order to get their levels and stats up so they could tackle the harder dungeons and had Naruto show them the ropes and give them the lowdown on the enemies they'd face in the future. Coupled with his continued kenjutsu lessons and Yugao, Naruto hardly had any free time at the moment. Anko had warned him that this would happen, though.
"Hokage-sama stated the reasons already, Naruto," Iruka sighed. The more things changed the more they stayed the same it seemed.
"But we're ninja. We do anything and everything to get the job done. I mean Jiji probably uses Shadow Clones to get his paperwork done quicker… right?" Naruto asked his surrogate grandfather.
"Naruto, as a village official I can't go about using such a technique to make my life easier. Would it cut my workload considerably, yes, but it's also about being professional and enduring the things one doesn't like," Hiruzen's words sounded sagely and Iruka couldn't help but agree with his leader's wisdom.
"… The clones didn't want to do the work did they, Jiji?" Naruto wasn't buying the bullshit speech one little bit.
"… Unfortunately, no," Hiruzen cracked a bit and both Ino and Iruka's jaws hit the floor as the man blatantly agreed with Naruto's deduction. "The damn things knew that paperwork never ends. I thought I found the solution long ago with the Shadow Clones but they ended up being a bust."
As the man known as the God of Shinobi look like he was ready to weep in front of them, Anko looked towards her senior student, "Still want to be Hokage, Gaki? I mean look at him. Sure, you get the prestige of being the strongest in the village and leader, but you're pretty much stuck behind a desk all day doing paperwork for Kami knows how well into the night. Kinda sad when you think about it."
"I'm starting to wonder that, too. Though if I find a way to beat paperwork I'll let you know," Naruto informed them.
"Trust me, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen butted in, "Wise and powerful men have said the exact same thing and failed. One of them was the very founder of Konoha's administrative offices and the creator of the Kage Bunshin."
"Okay, what the hell is going here? I thought we came to get another mission, not get into some weird debate," Ino honestly preferred doing a mission then having to endure one of Anko's torture sessions. It was the lesser of two evils.
"A-ano, Hok-kage-sama. Our mission request?" Hinata asked and got the conversation back on track. Her face still red from realizing she had been carried on Naruto's back.
"Right, pardon," Hiruzen became composed and mentally berated himself for losing it. Going over some scroll mission scrolls, Hiruzen came across one that he thought would be well suited for the team. "Well, though it may be early I think I've found a suitable mission for your team Granted it's a D-Rank one," Naruto groaned at that, "However, I believe it will demonstrate how well your Genin work as a team."
Upon seeing both their knowing looks, Anko did a near perfect imitation of her former mentor, "…Oh, no… Oh, God, no! Oh, please! Anything but that mission!" now was Anko's turn to weep.
"You did say you wanted a more challenging mission, Anko," Iruka gave the woman a smug look and the woman would have meet it with a look of her own had she not been dejected by the new mission. "On the plus side it pays much more."
"Fuck you, Umino!" Anko wanted to tell the man off and flip him the bird as well had Hiruzen not been present. The woman forcefully took the scroll from the man's hand, the action didn't bother the man in the least. After all, Anko's newest mission was the most infamous amongst Konoha D-Rank missions.
[QUEST ALERT!]
Capture Tora the Hell Cat
Main Quest: Capture Madam Shijimi's pet cat, Tora
Side Quest: Capture Tora under One, Two, or Three hours.
Second Side Quest: Capture Tora under half an hour
Potential Rewards
Main Quest Completion: 1500 EXP, 8000 Ryo, +100 Reputation [Madam Shijimi], [Konoha] -100 Reputation [Tora]
Side Quest Completion: Each hour leftover will result in an additional +250 EXP
Second Side Quest: Earn an 2000 Ryo, +500 EXP and +100 additional Reputation [Madam Shijimi]
Failure: 250 Exp, -100 Reputation with [Madam Shijimi], [Konoha], +100 Reputation [Tora]
"Okay, now I'm getting a bad feeling," Naruto muttered. Sure the pay was better than what they were used to but Naruto could not shake the bad vibe he was getting.
XxX
"This is Sexy Serpent to Blondie. Come in Blondie, over," Anko spoke softly into her radio transmitter.
"This is Blondie. I read you loud and clear… Sexy Serpent, over," Ino groaned. The young Yamanaka really wished her teacher had come up with better codenames, "Seriously, Sexy Serpent? Real original, Anko-sensei."
"Do you have eyes on the target? Over," Anko asked.
"Nothing on my end, Sexy Serpent, best ask Gaki and Pale Eyes. Over," Ino recommended.
"Will do, Blondie. Pale Eyes! Gaki! You two see anything yet? Over," she asked her other students.
"Nothing yet on my end… Sexy Serpent," Hinata bashfully said and continued to scout the area with her Bloodline Limit. A tiny part of her, one she did not know she had, continued to say she should take a peek on her crush who was no more than 100 yards away from her.
"Come on. You know you wanna," a tiny voice from the darkest recesses of her mind faintly echoed in her mind but Hinata shook her head in order to focus on the mission.
"Copy that, Pale Eyes. Gaki, what about you? Over," Anko asked her only male student.
"Nadda, Sexy Serpent. Permission to stop saying the codenames or chose our own, over," Naruto asked before he continued to use his Detection Skills to try and locate their target. From the quick look of his Observe did Naruto learn that the damn thing had ridiculous evasion and stealth enhancing perks and titles that explained why it had been able to avoid and give teams a heard time over the years.
"That's a negative, Gaki. Permission denied. Quit being a pussy and start looking for one. Over," Anko grinned as she heard the groans from both Naruto and Ino. Truthfully the mission would have been over much sooner if they used Midori and some Shadow Clones. However, unlike the previous D-Rank missions they took this one was designed to see how well the three Genin worked as a team. As such, Anko forwent the use of her familiar and the use of Shadow Clones to get a better idea. Their dungeon crawling and her training had them do some exercises as a team despite her focus being primarily being on the two kunoichi for the time being. And while they weren't the most well oiled machine, they were fairly decent for a newly formed team.
The group had been at it for over an hour, nearly two, and had spotted Tora at the odd time and given chase. But like the previous generations the damn creature was very fast and managed to escape. Part of Anko wondered if the damned thing had nekomata or ninneko blood in it for it to be so fast and elusive. The purpled haired Jonin knew both Ino and Naruto were becoming frustrated and while it was funny at first Anko was starting to get annoyed.
"Now I know why the other teams kept bitching about it… Hold on," hearing some rustling in the bushes a dozen yards on her left, Anko frowned and informed her team as quietly as she could, "Hold on. We got movement. Blondie, fourteen meters to your back left."
Pressing herself to the three nearest to her as best as she could, Ino suppressed her presence. The Yamanaka had learned that she had a knack for such skills and stealth. Chancing a peek in the direction indicated, sure enough she spotted their target and informed her team, "This is Blondie. I've got a visual on the target. Proceed as planned. Over."
"Finally," Naruto smirked as an opportunity presented itself. The damn feline wasn't getting away this time. Signalling his ninken over, both males quickly and as stealthily made their way towards their respective locations. "This is Gaki. Hotto and I are almost in position. Over."
"Good, keep low. Pale Eyes can you confirm that's our target? Over," Anko asked Hinata.
"Hai, I have a visual," Hinata responded and focused her attention on the cat. "Red ribbon in her ear, brown fur. It's Tora. Over."
"Good, whenever you're ready kiddoes," Anko would let them deal with the matter. She wouldn't always be there to babysit them after all and needing to development their own way.
"Blondie, Pales Eyes, are you two ready?" Naruto asked and got confirmation from both of them. "On my mark… now!"
Naruto suddenly burst forth from his hidden location and made a mad dash to the target. The blond haired ninja was determined not to let the annoying feline escape from them this time. However, Tora was just as determined not to be captured again and ran like the wind in the opposite direction at frightening speed that outmatched Naruto's.
"Not this time," Naruto snarled as he saw the cat speed up, "Hotto, now!"
"BAARRKKK," an enlarged Hottomaru pounced out from his location. A special technique he had learned a while back from Midori. The suddenness and incredible size of the potential predator before her deeply frightened Tora and forced her to run elsewhere. Hottomaru, however, gave chase and snapped at the annoying and frightened creature.
"Hotto, don't eat her!" Naruto's exclamation frightened the cat. Certainly he didn't care for the little pest and 'accidents' happened but with him only being a hundred points short of reaching level twenty-five, after five weeks of getting virtually no EXP, Naruto had no intention of failing this missing. No matter how satisfying it would be to get rid of the pain in the ass cat.
Tora continued to run away from her potential captors and adopted another tactic as she began to run up a tree. The cat thought the idea cleaver but didn't get far as she was soon blocked but a pale eyed and indigo haired girl.
Tora cursed herself as she remembered that ninja could easily climb trees as well as any cat. Once more she changed direction as the girl lunged at her. The cat narrowly evaded capture as she felt the girl's hand brush against her tail before she fell to the ground and into the blond boy's awaiting arms.
"BAAARRKKK!" the deep sound of the dog forced Tora to pump her legs even faster as she ran even faster. The ribbon wearing cat fled downwards onto the ground as the muscle bound brute sailed over her. With the Genin otherwise preoccupied or far behind her, Tora felt a sense of relief as she ran away to freedom.
"Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Switch Technique)!" Ino declared before her body slumped forward. The girl's mind subsequently entered that of the rebellious feline and overpowered the cat's will with her own as she took control. Ino-Tora remained still as her team surrounded the possessed cat. Naruto bound the cat's limbs as tightly as he could. As Ino left the body, Hinata delivered a minor Juken strike for added measure that would temporarily knock the feline out and give them enough time to bring her back to the Hokage Tower and to their client.
"Not bad, decent strategy if a tad flawed but not bad kiddies," Anko congratulated, "Is it bad for me to kinda wish Hotto ate her, though?"
"Arf!" the small ninken made a gagging motion. Chasing cats were one thing but eating them was not on his to do list. Way to moo much fur.
"I still can't believe this little guy can do that," Ino was still marvelled by how effective the ninken was despite Naruto not knowing any Inuzuku techniques. Seeing the small and cute little guy transform into a deadly and strong beast of a dog was something to see. But then, the ninken had saved her ass during her first dungeon crawl. Anko hadn't been happy by the interference of a valuable life lesson but the Ninken's instincts to protect overruled it.
"Good boy, Hottomaru-kun," Hinata smiled as she petted the dog. The little ninken all the while was loving the affection and praise.
"All right, enough touchy feely shit. Let's head back to the tower and get this over with," Anko's idea sounded good to them.
(Hokage Tower Sometime Later)
"Well done, Team Eight. And while one hour and fifty-six minutes isn't the fastest record, not many fresh out of the academy graduates can boast such an accomplishment when it comes to this mission," Hiruzen congratulated the three Genin, Jonin and ninken. All the while the pain of the mission was being smothered to death by it over affectionate owner. Its struggles proving fruitless.
"No wonder Tora runs away," all three Genin, one ninken, and a Jonin instructor thought as they observed the way the women 'handled' her pet.
"Oh, Tora-chan," Madam Shijimi gushed as she rubbed her check against her beloved squirming cat. "Thank you once again, Hiruzen," the woman graciously expressed her gratitude towards her long time friend as well as paying him. "Once again, Hibaku-kun invites you to the capital for tea when you get the chance."
"I'll visit when I can, Madam Shijimi," Hiruzen answered with a smile.
The Fire Daimyo's wife however had a sour look on her face, "Sarutobi Hiruzen, how many times have I told you to simply call me Shijimi?" she gave a mock glare before sighing, "Honestly, you never change."
"Apologies, Madam Shijimi," apologized with a bow towards the regal woman. Madam Shijimi merely shook her head at the man before she was on her way once more.
[QUEST COMPLETED!]
Capture Tora the Hell Cat
Main Quest: Capture Madam Shijimi's pet cat, Tora (Accomplished)
Side Quest: Capture Tora under One, Two, or Three hours. (Accomplished)
Second Side Quest: Capture Tora under half an hour (Failed)
Total Rewards
(2000 + 15% = 2300 EXP), 8000 Ryo, +200 Reputation [Madam Shijimi], +100. Reputation [Konoha], -100 Reputation [Tora]
|Congratulations!|
|As a result of reaching level 25, you can know choose a [Specialization]!|
|Congratulations! Your level has increased by one!|
Status Window
Name: Uzumaki Naruto
Job: Genin
Level: 25 Next Level: 2.3%/100%
HP: 9327.15 + [350] + [Perks] = 9694.65
CP: 17022.5 + [625] + [Perks] = 17710
STR: 67
VIT: 281 + [10] = 291
END: 379 + [15] = 394
DEX: 74 + [1] = 75
INT: 50
WIS: 31
CHA: 16
LUK: ?
DEF: 25
Attribute Points: 20 + [3] = 23
Ordinary Perk Points: 1
Special Perk Points: 1 + [1] = 2
Naruto was ecstatic on multiple fronts and it took all his willpower to not make a scene that would embarrass himself and the team, and Anko's ire in the process, and keep cool.
"Now then Team Eight, if you wish we have a few missions left for you to choose. Tsukiwa-san needs someone to look after her children for a few hours, Itsuki needs someone for manual labour around the house-"
"Tora-chan, come back!"
"… Madam Shijimi needs a team to recapture Tora," he chuckled.
"No…No, no, no, no, no, and hell no!" Naruto had enough of this. "I'm done. No more of this crap, Jiji! We're trained to be ninja yet all we've been doing are chores, chores, chores! How the hell are we gonna improve if we don't do anything challenging? I've done thirty D-Rank missions so technically speaking I'm allowed to take on a C-Rank mission now."
"Naruto, watch your tongue," Iruka admonished his student.
"Can't, sensei. It's in my mouth," he smirked and stopped the man from saying anything further.
"Lame," was what both Ino and Anko thought. It was quick and but it wasn't very good.
"Regardless of your accomplishments, Naruto, you're not ready. C-Rank missions-", Iruka began.
"Yeah, the Gaki's done that too, Umino. Took care of Onibuta a couple of months back," Anko revealed.
"What the hell? When did this happen?" Ino was known for her gossip and being up to date with rumours and whatever captured her fancy. For her not to know that Naruto accomplished such a task had her wonder if she was slacking up on her gossip gathering.
"But Umino's right. We ain't quite there yet," in a couple of weeks perhaps, but not right now, "Besides, there's a few things I wanna teach you three before we tackle a C-Rank mission."
All three could only gulp at her look and wondered what contest in hell did they unfortunately win.
Omake: TMI Madam Shimji
The Fire Daimyo's wife however had a sour look on her face, "Sarutobi Hiruzen, how many times have I told you to simply call me Shijimi?" she gave a mock glare before sighing, "Honestly, you never change."
"Apologies, Madam Shijimi," apologized with a bow towards the regal woman. Madam Shijimi merely shook her head at the man before she made to leave once more.
"Jiji!"
Hiruzen sighed, "Konohamaru, how many times do I..."
The occupants of the room were curious by the man stopping and a quick look at the Hokage's grandson answered why.
"Jiji, what's with this book I found at home? It's weird," said the Honourable Grandson of Konoha.
"Young man, you put that down right now!" poor choice of words on his part as Madam Shimji was the closest to Konohamaru and picked it up.
"Ooh! I know this edition! Hibaku-kun and I actually tried page sixty-nine," the woman had a blushing and gushing look as she recalled the memory.
Anko had the exact opposite look and the moment the Daimyo's wife left the room, she couldn't hold it in any longer, "Well, I'm off me fuckin dinner for the next bit."
"Why?" a confused Naruto asked.
"...Eh, what the hell," feeling particular evil, Anko snatched the book from Hiruzen's desk and flipped through the pages before she found the chapter Shimji mentioned, "Read here."
"Anko!"
"Shush you!" Anko barked at Iruka.
Naruto ignored both of them and from over his shoulders both Hinata and Ino read along with him. But as they finished the passage, Naruto instantly regretted not listening to his gut.
"Seriously! People do that!?" Ino's face was scarlet as her mind tried to comprehend what she just read.
"Ah..ah...eh," Hinata however could not articulate a proper thought. That she had not fainted was a miracle.
Naruto, however, had a much more vocal opinion, "That's just sick and wrong!" who the hell would defile ramen like that?! Why the hell would someone want to eat food that way?!
Anko merely snorted, "Say that again when you're older. And this is nothing. Trust me. You don't wanna know what they do to the cinnamon buns in the next page."
Hinata somehow managed to turn multiple shades of green, white, and red at the comment before her whole world went dark.
"I really should have expanded the selection process for new Jonin," Hiruzen could only lament the complaints he'd get from the Yamanaka and Hyuga Clans.
Status Window
Name: Hyuga Hinata
Job: Genin
Level: 11 Next Level: 76%/100%
HP: 525?
CP: 675?
STR: 11?
VIT: 21?
END: 27?
DEX: 32?
INT: 47?
WIS: 39?
CHA: 13?
LUK: 13?
DEF: 10
Special Perks:
Gamer's Teammate: So long as you are on the same team as the Gamer, you gain many of the same benefits. (This perk can be taken away if the Gamer wills it!)
Byakugan: +1 WIS per Lv, +20% EXP & Effectiveness towards [Medical Ninjutsu], [Detection Skills], +20% Increase towards [Critical Hit Chance], Allows the use of the [Byakugan Skill]
Perks:
Main Family Lineage: +1 INT & +1 END per Lv, +15% Effectiveness towards [Hyuga Clan Skills], +15% Reputation gain with Konoha and Konoha Allies, +15% EXP and Effectiveness towards [Bartering] with Konoha and Allies, +15% EXP, Power, Speed and Effectiveness towards [Taijutsu Skills]
Titles:
Novice Juken Practitioner: +1 END per Lv, +20% EXP & Effectiveness towards [Taijutsu Skills], and [Chakra Control Skills]
Novice Medical Practitioner: +1 WIS & +1 INT per level, +20% EXP, Power, and Effectiveness towards [Medical-Based Skills and Items] and [Herbalism Skills]
Flaws/Debuffs:
Diffidence [Lv 2]: -20% towards Attributes, -20% EXP, Power, Speed and Effectiveness towards Skills, Benefits of Titles and Perks reduced, Flaw may become permanent if progressed too far
Description: Hinata is a very kind but very shy young girl who comes from one of Konoha's four noble clans. Despite being trained in the art of the Gentle Fist at a young age, a renown and deadly taijutsu, Hinata's skill is lacking for reasons currently unknown. While not one of the best students in the academy Hinata is still one of the more intelligent students. While most of the girls in her class are infatuated with Sasuke, Hinata is attracted to someone else. Her love for cinnamon rolls is said to rival Uzumaki Naruto's love for ramen.
Attribute Points: 0
Common Perk Points: 0
Special Perk Points: 0
Status Window
Name: Yamanaka Ino
Job: Genin
Level: 12 Next Level: 63%/100%
HP: 425
CP: 525
STR: 10
VIT: 17
END: 21
DEX: 36
INT: 46
WIS: 35
CHA: 43
LUK: 18
DEF: 10
Special Perk:
Gamer's Teammate: So long as you are on the same team as the Gamer, you gain many of the same benefits. (This perk can be taken away if the Gamer wills it!)
Yamanaka Lineage (Heiress): +2 CHA per Lv, +25% Effectiveness towards [Yamanaka Clan Skills], +25% Reputation gain with Konoha and Konoha Allies, +25% EXP and Effectiveness towards [Bartering] with Konoha and Allies, +15% EXP, Power, Speed and Effectiveness towards [Lightning-Based Skills and Items], +25% towards [Mental-Based Tolerance], +5% EXP increase from quests
Perks:
Natural Grace: Lv 1: +1 DEX per Lv, +15% Effectiveness towards [Movement Speed] and [Evasion], +15% Effectiveness towards [Speed-Based Skills], +15% Effectiveness towards [Acrobatic Fighting Style]
Titles:
Journeyman Botanist: +1 WIS, 40% EXP & Effectiveness towards [Detection Skill: Locate Flora], +40% EXP & Effectiveness towards [Herbalism Skill], +20% Power and Effectiveness towards Skills when fighting [Flora-Based Monsters], +20% chance of [Double Loot Occurrence] when picking [Flora-Based] items
Future Femme Fatale: +1 CHA, +20% EXP and Effectiveness towards [Seduction Skills] and [Bartering Skills], +10% Power & Chance towards [Critical Hits]
Description: Though not as intelligent as her rival, Sakura, Ino is still one of the top students at the academy. Ino is talented in her clan's teachings but due to her attitude and infatuation with Sasuke she isn't as far or as proficient as she should be. Ino is notorious for her gossip and fashion sense, very little happens in the academy that she doesn't know about.
Attribute Points: 0
Common Perk Points: 0
Special Perk Points: 0
Just so you are aware, the more detailed status window of Ino and Hinata don't reflect their current levels that they've gained over the last three (five) weeks. That will be posted and brought up in the next chapter. D-Rank missions for people with levels such as Naruto and Anko offer little to no EXP except for the higher tier ones and even then that's not much. And, as we all know, when you're level is much higher than a monster you don't get any EXP at all (maybe 10 or 17 if you're lucky) and the amount of EXP needed to increase your level again is nuts, which takes a lot of time when all you're doing is helping to train others to get up to par. Being in groups has its benefits, but also its downsides, especially when they are newbies and ignorant.