Hi, I'm still alive.
It's finally time for my stereotypical writer moment of shit hitting the fan and thus being unable to write. But I'm back for now to bring you another chapter. Hope you enjoy it!
Sakura was kind of glad no one else was around on her achievement hunting trips. The first time she went out she was determined to tick off some of the easy achievements. However, Sakura wasn't allowed to stray too far from her home unsupervised so she had to improvise. A few of her earlier achievements were simple enough, purchase specific groceries from a specific grocery store, forage in someone's front yard (thank god nobody saw her), and learn the backstory of the old lady running the local bakery.
Next up were a few she was glad to leave on the backburner anyways, like standing on top of the Hokage monument and scream "I'm the king of the world!" for some ungodly reason.
So most of her time alone was spent training as much as she could in the parameters set out for her.
Sakura started out with running laps around the area, before going through some simple strengthening exercises like push-ups and sit-ups. Her agility would be trained by going through a homemade obstacle course and playing around in a local playground. Sakura also took her time to observe the few shinobi walking around to see what their tactics were. Many that came by were genin running errands so she didn't glean much information there.
So she decided to return to her place of comfort, the library.
The library had plenty of books and scrolls for budding shinobi, although most were locked behind genin status and up. Luckily, there were still some basics available to the general public.
While Sakura could technically unlock everything she wanted from the skill tree, learning the good old-fashioned way meant she didn't have to spend any skill points. The only skill she learned recently besides Medical and Foraging was the Reading skill. It seemed silly to most at first, but the more she levelled the skill the faster she could read and the better she could retain the information. It was ideal for her current situation.
Currently Sakura was zooming through books about basic anatomy, fascinated by the inner workings of the body. After she would finish the anatomy book, she had some first aid books lined up, along with a slightly more advanced biology book.
Sakura was so into her reading material, she missed the many incredulous stares from the adults passing by, shocked to see a six-year-old tackle such advanced reading material already.
Remembering she also needed some beginner taijutsu scrolls, Sakura got up from her spot at the reading table and walked towards the section. She internally let out a cry of frustration to see the scrolls on one of the higher shelves, a place she couldn't reach. She pondered asking for help before she decided on a more riskier method.
Remembering the basic chakra manipulation theory, Sakura slowly started probing her chakra and channelling it towards her feet. Surprisingly enough, it came quite easily to her. She carefully put her sandalled feet against a wider beam of the bookshelf, carefully walking up. As soon as she was close enough, she picked out the scrolls she needed and quickly jumped off again, crouching down to cushion her fall.
"I was gonna ask if you needed any help, but seems like that was unnecessary." an amused voice rang out. Sakura whipped around to see an unfamiliar boy standing there, hitai-ate shining on his forehead, holding back his curly black hair.
"Thank you for the offer." Sakura said beaming. She walked back towards her spot at the reading table thinking that was it, but the boy followed her. "So what's a little thing like you doing reading those books? And you already managed to walk on walls as well..." he trailed of inquisitively.
"Mom said it's polite to introduce yourself first before asking any personal questions." Sakura responded back, making the boy laugh. "Uchiha Shisui's the name," he said playfully, jabbing his thumb to point at himself "and I was just curious how a clanless kiddo could already do such things."
Sakura puffed out her cheeks defiantly "Civilians aren't idiots." she said simply. Shisui laughed again, clearly amused by her antics. "Tell you what kiddo, let me give you a piece of advice," his face took on a slightly more serious tone "try and be careful where you show off those powers, ok?" he said before going back to his usual smiling face. Sakura thought he reminded her very much of a fox.
"Anyways," Shisui's face was lit up with a mischievous smile "if you ever need big brother Shisui to help you, you can always call! Bye bye!" and with that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sakura sweat-dropped, wondering how she would even find him when he gave her no details.
Sakura ended up needing to check out some of her reading material, as closing time was fast approaching, but she didn't mind. It just meant more fun reading material before bed!
Next day Sakura found herself back at the Yamanaka compound, in the same old backyard that had seemingly become her second home in the last few weeks. Today Sakura and Ino decided to go forage in the dungeon, planning to harvest as many herbs as possible and see if there was anything else to loot.
It seemed like the Shika Glade was home to plenty of herbs and other many useful plants. While the herb Ino found was by sheer luck a medicinal herb, the majority of the herbs were useful for poisons and antidotes, making it paradise for beginning poison mistress Ino.
While Ino was having a field day experimenting with the many poisonous plant life, Sakura was trying to learn how to treat basic wounds. Propping up her book on Foraging along with Field First Aid, she cross-referenced between the two to see which herbs would be best to keep for a pinch, and which she could process further.
While Sakura was glad to get some medical experience in, she was less grateful it was because Ino had made a slight mistake handling some of the plants, causing her to get injured. Luckily Ino seemed to take it all in stride, too eager about her bountiful loot.
The girls also decided sparring against one another would be beneficial, as they would be fighting (hopefully) only humans in their career as shinobi. While the monsters were scary yet fun to fight, humans were a whole different story, evident from their previous tag team spar. It would also help them level up in taijutsu, a skill difficult to practice on the slimes because of their viscosity.
Dodging another swipe from Ino, Sakura ducked low and swung her leg out, knocking Ino over. Sakura quickly jumped at the opportunity to keep her down, forcing her to forfeit.
【❀】YOUR TAIJUTSU SKILL LEVELLED UP! TAIJUTSU IS NOW LV.3【❀】
Both girls got up again, stretching "That's another win for me!" Sakura cheered with a toothy smile. Ino pouted "It's not fair, I'm better with ranged combat! You could never beat me with a bow!" she triumphantly said. Sakura stuck her hand out, Ino shaking it to set their new bet.
"You two girls have been working hard!" Kizashi called, walking over with a tray of refreshments. The girls dug in, greedily drinking the water and eating the snacks. They finished simultaneously, leaning back with a sigh.
"You know," Kizashi started "I actually used to be a career genin back in the day!" Sakura looked over at her dad incredulously, making him boom with laughter. "It's a well-kept secret but it's true!" he laughed before continuing "But I used to wield the tanto, and I was wondering if you girls would like to learn it?" as he saw the twinkle in their eyes he elaborated "I only know the basics! And its been a while." he hummed, reminiscing.
The girls eagerly nodded, jumping at the chance to learn a new skill.
Kizashi soon took out his old practice tanto, handing it to the girls. While the tanto was just a short sword, it still felt a bit clumsy in the small hands of their six-year-old selves. Regardless, it was a good thing to start early, lending them more time to improve.
Soon their spars involved the wooden practice swords, a weapon they could safely use in sight. It gave Ino a melee weapon in case an enemy got too close, and gave Sakura a back-up in case her makeshift axe broke.
Which was another topic of discussion. Sakura knew there must be a mending skill somewhere in the skill tree, however it was currently locked behind unknown prerequisites. They sadly had nowhere to learn the skill from so they had to resign themselves to their weapons breaking and being lost forever. Luckily Ino's bow would last longer than Sakura's axe which was taking all damage directly from enemies, leaving Sakura to ponder what crafty solutions she could come up with.
Luckily in their foraging adventures, they came across plenty other useful materials, like more rocks and twigs. They also managed to find a pair of shedded deer horns, surprising the girls.
As far as they were aware the forest was filled with only slimes, but it did make sense after they stood still for a bit.
"All dungeons in Cherry Bomb have an end goal," Sakura began, carefully putting the deer antlers in her infinite storage, not being able to do anything with them yet "And it does seem like the slimes represent corruption." she finished. Ino nodded along thoughtfully "There seems to be no end to these slimes though! If we need to cleanse the forest it will take forever!" Ino whined.
Sakura hummed "It could be we may need to make a potion or antidote of some kind to truly kill all slimes. Did you ever notice there's always a pool of goo left behind when we kill them?" Ino nodded at Sakura's question "The end goal could be finding a solution to get rid of that goo after the kill." Sakura ended.
Finishing blows was a familiar concept to Sakura. Some monsters needed a bit more than just regular old damage, requiring a finishing method to kill them for good. It could very well be the case with the slimes they've been fighting.
"Let's try to forage some more materials and experiment with mixing some stuff up!" Sakura declared finally, making Ino pump her fist up into the air in excitement.
Sakura was disappointed to admit the potion mixture was taking a long time to develop. At least they were gaining more levels from it she mused.
It had been a few months since she gained her gamer ability in the summer, landing them in winter. December was a change of pace, having the added challenge of frost and snow to deal with. The dungeons also changed along with the seasons, the Shika Glade now being blanketed in a light coat of snow. It brought some new challenges for either side.
As Sakura and Ino were engaging in their first battle since the snow fall they noticed something peculiar.
"They're moving slower aren't they?" Ino asked Sakura after firing another arrow bullseye, her archery skill having landed at a solid 5. Sakura jogged over to Ino, wrapping her scarf around her a little tighter "It seems like they have an elemental weakness to ice." Sakura replied thoughtfully.
As Ino stretched out, she noticed a small pop-up appear in the distance. Approaching the pop-up, she squealed "Sakura, look!" Sakura quickly came running over, expecting trouble. Instead she was greeted by the sign of an entirely new mushroom growing on the frosted bark. Slowly touching the fungi, she read the pop-up.
【❀】FROST CAP【❀】
【 A MUSHROOM THAT ONLY GROWS IN COLD ENVIRONMENTS. ITS COOLING PROPERTIES ARE HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER IN HOTTER COUNTRIES.】
Sakura smiled brightly, turning towards Ino "This could be it!" Ino nodded excitedly, already starting to forage the mushrooms. Sakura joined her, changing their goals for the day towards foraging the new plantlife that had popped up.
They came across a few new plants. One was Frost Silk, a cotton like plant producing a light blue silk ideal for cold protective clothing. Another they found was Ice Bloom, a medicinal herb strong for treating infections. They had to look hard for their loot though, as the plants seemed to be quite rare and far removed from one another.
After having collected a sufficient amount of plants, they ran back to the entrance of the forest to the exit.
Before Sakura had even fully exited the dungeon, Ino was already gathering her foraged plants and comparing each property. Sakura smiled fondly at the girl's eagerness. Settling down next to Ino, Sakura took out her notepad to start writing down their findings.
"So I'm pretty sure Frost Cap is gonna be the core ingredient here," Ino started, making Sakura nod "And I'm thinking of going crazy and either adding a Melt Bud or some Spark Grass." Sakura stopped her scribbling to consider. "Let's try something less volatile first, maybe some Tree Balm or Sun Leaf." Responded Sakura, making Ino consider her offer before nodding.
Ino still went ahead and mixed her own two combinations, along with Sakura's, leaving them with 4 differently coloured substances. Conveniently, crafting potions, poisons, and antidotes came with free vials after the combination process. "Should we coat our weapons or put a drop on the pile of good?" Ino asked Sakura. "Let's put a drop on the piles first and try coating afterwards. We still don't know the effects of these potions." Sakura said after a bit.
It was the major downside to low level brewing. A low level brewer did not know the effects of their potions until it's been used successfully. Testing on either monsters or themselves was the only option, leaving Sakura to heal the both of them lots. It was good practice for her, but hell for both of their respective potion experiments.
After preparing for battle, the girls entered the forest again. Immediately they were ambushed by three purple slimes. Readying their weapons, they flew into battle.
With their experience gained from their few months of experimentations, the girls were able to take down the purple slimes infinitely quicker than before. Sakura smiled proudly, looking at their stat screens.
【❀】HARUNO SAKURA \\ LV.5【❀】
【RANK: CIVILIAN】
【OCCUPATION: NONE 】
【AGE: 6】
【TRAITS: THE CHERRY BLOSSOM \\ THE CHOSEN】
【❀】STATS【❀】
【 STRENGTH: 4】
【PRECISION: 3】
【ENDURANCE: 5】
【CHARISMA: 3】
【INTELLIGENCE: 6】
【AGILITY: 4】
【LUCK: 1】
【❀】YAMANAKA INO \\ LV.5【❀】
【RANK: CIVILIAN】
【OCCUPATION: NONE 】
【AGE: 6】
【TRAITS: THE OLEANDER \\ YAMANAKA】
【❀】STATS【❀】
【STRENGTH: 3】
【PRECISION: 6】
【ENDURANCE: 2】
【CHARISMA: 5】
【INTELLIGENCE: 3】
【AGILITY: 5】
【LUCK: 1】
Sakura pouted slightly looking at the luck stat. She hadn't found a way to bring up that stat in particular, but she assumed she'd find out eventually. Regardless, their Skills also levelled up significantly.
【❀】HARUNO SAKURA - SKILLS【❀】
【PHYSICAL POWER: LV.4】
【PERCEPTION: LV.3】
【CONDITION: LV.5】
【FLEXIBILITY: LV.3】
【TAIJUTSU: LV.2】
【BLUNT WEAPONRY: LV.3】
【SHARP WEAPONRY: LV.6】
↳【TANTO: LV.5】
【MEDICAL: LV.4】
【FORAGING: LV.5】
【CRAFTING: LV.3】
【READING: LV.5】
【SOCIAL: LV.3】
【❀】YAMANAKA INO - SKILLS【❀】
【PHYSICAL POWER: LV.3】
【PERCEPTION: LV.6】
【CONDITION: LV.3】
【FLEXIBILITY: LV.4】
【TAIJUTSU: LV.3】
【BLUNT WEAPONRY: LV.2】
【ARCHERY: LV.6】
↳【BOW: LV.6】
【SHARP WEAPONRY: LV3】
↳【TANTO: LV.4】
【POISON BREWING: LV.5】
【FORAGING: LV.5】
【READING: LV.2】
【SOCIAL: LV.5】
Sakura was proud of their achievements so far. The skills gradually needed more and more EXP before being able to level up, so them reaching Character Level 5 was a proudly held secret.
"Ok, time to test the potions!" Ino exclaimed, uncorking one of the vials. As the light orange liquid hit the goo, it promptly exploded clouding their vision. After the dust settled, the goo was still there, now splattered around on the trees. Sakura face-palmed. She knew this would happen if they used Spark Grass.
Ino uncorked the next vial, this time a light purple. As the purple substance hit the goo, it promptly ate through it... as well as the ground, leaving the rest of the goo.
"Ino, please use mine." Sakura sweat-dropped. Ino was truly turning into a destruction loving girl. She knew those two options wouldn't work, but still did it for the thrill of the ensuing explosions. Sakura shook her head exasperatedly as Ino poured down the next substance, this time a light green. The goo froze, but nothing else happened.
With their last attempt, Ino uncorked the light yellow bottle, the liquid shining brightly. Slowly dropping down a bit, they waited with baited breath to see what would happen. Nothing did.
"At least the Tree Balm did something-" Ino got interrupted as the goo suddenly started shining, before evaporating in the air, leaving only the splatters on the tree behind. The girls paused before a new pop up appeared above them.
【❀】CORRUPTION LEFT: ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❙ 99.9%【❀】
Ino cheered, taking down Sakura in a hug. Sakura laughed, patting Ino on her head. "You could have easily made this solution yourself if you weren't such a pyro." Sakura sighed softly. Ino pouted "I know, but destruction is fun!" she said giggling.
As Sakura got up, holding out her hand for Ino she asked "Do you think you can combine those two potions?" Ino hoisted herself up on Sakura's outstretched hand, humming "It should be fine yes, if I use Green Palm as a stabiliser it should do just fine." Ino said.
So Ino went to work creating a bunch of the new concoction while Sakura cleaned up the splatters that had gone everywhere. Suddenly Sakura realised something.
"Hey Ino!" Sakura called out to Ino. Ino twisted around from her brewing "What's up?" Ino said after finishing off another vial "I think we're getting close to reaching the Big Event requirement." Sakura exclaimed.
Ino jumped at her excitedly "How many more do we need?" Ino all but yelled at Sakura. Sakura quickly did the math in her head before replying "I'm pretty sure it's about three points actually..." she trailed off thoughtfully. Ino in the meantime was having a field day.
"Let's go do some of those achievements right now! I get skill points right? So I can complete 3 more achievements and we'll be able to get it!" Ino yelled excitedly, dancing around Sakura. Sakura laughed nodding, feeling giddy herself as well.
The Big Event was going to "change their life forever" after all, who wouldn't be excited.
Ino pulled up her achievement system, Sakura peering over her shoulder to look. "Which three are easiest?" Ino hummed, scrolling through the options. "I guess the Hokage monument one is pretty easy... Oh! I haven't done Amai-obaa's backstory one yet. I really thought I did that already... anyways!" Ino exclaimed. Ino scrolled a bit further when Sakura stopped her "I guess we can try to find a free training ground and sit on top one of the training posts..." Sakura trailed off uncertain. The training grounds were officially off-limits for everyone but genin and up after all.
"Let's do it!" Ino decided for her. Sakura nodded, still hesitant but soon the excitement of finally unlocking the big event sunk in.
The next day the girls got the permission from their parents to travel out to the Hokage monument together. But first they quickly made their stop at Amai-obaa's bakery.
Sakura hid her laughter behind her hand as Ino basically interrogated the poor woman for her backstory. Luckily for Ino, Amai-obaa was eager to share her days of a secret kunoichi spy, before falling madly in love with Yato and god the woman had experienced a lot.
About an hour later, the girls were finally freed from the bakery's premises when the achievement pop-up showed up. The girls bought some sweets for the road before leaving.
Munching on some of the delightful snacks, Ino asked "Training grounds or Hokage monument?" making Sakura quickly reply "Hokage monument." Sakura was eager to put off the training ground achievement for a little while longer
Reaching the Hokage monument, they started their long trek up the stairs. When reaching the top, the girls were both out of breath, but luckily no one was around to witness their weird escapades.
Ino grabbed Sakura's hand, leading her to stand upon one of the heads together. They counted down before simultaneously screaming "I'm the king of the world!". Sakura quickly jumped back, covering her head in shame. Ino merely laughed at the dramatics.
"There's more embarrassing ones like this as well" Sakura lamented. "If this is the most embarrassing one, I guess it's not that bad after all!" Ino cackled.
Luckily for their sore legs, the training grounds were close to the monument. Sadly, it meant first traversing the steps again. Before Sakura could take a single step, Ino suddenly jumped on her back, startling her "How about carrying me downstairs for some strength training?" Ino said with a twinkle in her eye. Sakura sighed before relenting, realising she did have a point. Sort of.
When finally downstairs however, Sakura nearly collapsed to the floor in exhaustion when Ino jumped off. Ino gave a peace offering in the form of another treat from the bakery. Sakura begrudgingly accepted it.
Ino was kind enough to lend an arm to Sakura to help her walk towards the training grounds. Soon enough they arrived.
"What are you two kiddos up to?" Came a very familiar voice to Sakura. She turned her head to be faced with the smiling face of Shisui.
"Just about to change the world forever." Ino responded with the aptly timed hair flip. Sakura sweat-dropped at her friend's boldness. Shisui laughed before plopping down in front of a tree "Sure, show me." he said flippantly. Ino's eyes took on a mischievous gleam, rising to the challenge.
Ino dragged over to the training posts, easily scaling it to sit atop it. Sakura followed suit taking her own seat at the top as well. When the achievement screens popped up, Sakura reached for Ino's hand while navigating the skill tree, syncing them up for the collective point system to take place. Ino in the meantime was already gloating her victory "Just you wait curly face! You'll be bowing down soon enough!" she said triumphantly. Shisui smirked back in challenge "We'll see soon, blondie!" he said back in an equally smug tone.
As Sakura's finger hovered above the "Learn" button, she got a sudden bout of nervousness. This would change their lives forever, but how? Ino shoved her in the side to get her to hurry up, so Sakura clicked the button before she could think about it. Ino jumped up, ready to activate the skill as they agreed upon.
As Ino reached her hands up in the air, the appendages glowing a light red, growing in intensity. Sakura looked on, a sudden feeling of dread going through her. Were they doing the right thing?
Shisui's look quickly took on a serious tone, the boy rushing over "Wait!-" he said but it was too late.
A dark red ripple went through the training grounds, rippling on till far past the treelines. The trio waited with bated breath to see what would happen.
Sakura slowly slipped down the pillar, anxious at what would wait for them. As Ino landed next to her Sakura realised a fair bit of time must have passed.
"Nothing...?" Ino muttered, disappointed. Sakura shared her sentiment. Their six months of saving up points gone all for nothing?
In the meantime, Shisui had started snickering, not having seen the ripple effect "You... You made a flashlight?" Shisui started cackling, bowing down "Oh great blondie, please shine your flashlight hand upon me." He said mockingly. Ino fumed about to leash her frustration, but Sakura held her back, trying to calm her down. Meanwhile, she was struggling to keep down her own disappointment and frustration.
Unbeknownst to the girls, deep in the darkest part of Konoha a man suddenly coughed, his lungs hacking up blood. Soon the blood was replaced by the petals of a purple oleander, branches growing out his back spearing his body. The branches soon grew fresh sakura flowers despite the cold season, an unbelievable oddity.
As the man fell from his chair screaming, his guards ran into the room and tried to help the man in vain. In their rush to get him they knocked over a bookcase, spilling many scrolls and books containing the man's dirtiest secrets all over the floor, unlocking through his spilt blood on the ground.
The coincidences didn't stop there, as a squad of ANBU tracking down missing orphans came across the entrance to the dark lair, coming across the crime scene with all the evidence strewn over. They soon reported back to their Hokage, bringing the grave news, along with the now sealed evidence. The Hokage swore them to silence, but a single Uchiha in the squad brought the intel back home, telling his clan leader what they stumbled upon. The Uchiha clan leader only shared the news with his most trusted associates.
Danzo was declared dead the next day, death by heart attack. The Uchiha clan was reinforced as a major clan, slowly giving them back their freedom and status in the village. Many orphans were saved before they could be submitted to a terrible fate, freeing the many scarred in the process.
And for some odd reason unbeknownst to everyone, the Uchiha clan gained a love for sakura blossoms and oleander flowers, requesting a ton to be delivered every new year's festival.
Danzo can burn, me thinks.