AN: Sufficient Velocity and Space Battles are super far ahead, and the Pa tre on is on CH 119. You can find the link on my profile if you wanna just get there.
I'ma update this more often than normal for a couple of weeks to catch it up, but you know, go elsewhere if you want the chapters now. FFN formatting is pissing me off something fierce.
Yeah so saying the formatting of this chapter got fucked would be an understatement. I will not be surprised if there are countless errors caused by Fanfiction's shitty system. Anywhere else, seriously, this is updated purely to get people to go elsewhere. SV, SB, Go to Ao3 for all I care. Anywhere.
It's nice to be on the road with her team again. Two whole months of having to sit out missions has left her craving the open path and the constant sound of their footsteps on the dirt. They're antsy to get out on the road too. They had one C rank without her, but mostly it was in village D ranks and while she's grateful for their patience, they clearly hold the pause against her a little.
The odd remarks while they were stuck waiting for her were very obvious even to her, so hopefully that'll settle down now that Ino's said she's clear enough for missions. Apparently she still hates herself - whatever that means - but is no longer self destructive enough to be a 'liability.' She thinks Ino's just an overprotective friend, but when your friend can bar you from missions on a whim, you don't argue with them, you smile and nod and wave politely while leaving. If she does it again though, that'll be one hell of an argument. She might go to the Hokage himself if that happens.
Unfortunately, the time they've had without her does mean they've pulled ahead and left her feeling inadequate. Classes were held at the same time as team training, so most of her training was on her own with pointers from Kakashi, or with Gai at night.
That man is surprisingly willing to train with her at any time, day, night, three in the morning in the moonlight. Lee's been there too, so it's not like she's lacked enthusiasm in her life. She can safely call Lee a friend now, even if it's only in the context of training. Lee doesn't know what a video game is, and she's pretty sure Gai would smite her with some kind of youthful righteousness if she tried to taint him in her unwholesome ways. He's protective like that, and also frowns on entertainment that doesn't involve one's face in the dirt. She fears for his future children, but thankfully that's not her problem.
She's gotten stronger, but it doesn't feel like a lot. The percentile of her improvements is way down from when she first started, but then it'd be impossible to keep up that pace forever. She'd be a Jonin within a year, and while that sounds awesome, it would likely get her assassinated.
She takes a deep breath to calm her thoughts, and finds the crisp air outside of the village is nice and fulfilling. The lack of any industry whatsoever gives it a fresh feel that she exploits to the pleasure of her lungs. The air is not particularly bad in the village, but there's something noticeable outside its walls.
Her poor teammates have to walk while she gets to ride her giant undead monster, which is just an amazing feeling. "Hey, how's the ground down there?" She asks Sasuke, who rolls his eyes at her. It's not her fault they decided to train their butts off while she went to classes to gain the Mind needed for Necromancy. They obviously benefited from their training, so there's nothing wrong with enjoying the fruits of hers. Despite her efforts, necromancy is only level one. She has the experience now but she was prompted upon reaching the exp threshold that level two Necromancy requires 120 Mind. She was stunned by that revelation because it goes against how skills have worked previously. There being a prerequisite in the first place was strange, but with how powerful the ability is at level one and it having such stark requirements for level two, she's pretty damn sure it's more like a class path than a skill. It makes her wonder if she should seek out others and see how powerful things can get. Clearly, not all skills are created equal. Plus, the two months to get her mind up aren't wasted if mind is also the prerequisite of other kinds of magic.
"So this is rated as a B rank, right?" Sakura asks Kakashi.
"Mostly for political reasons," Kakashi answers her swiftly, "it is unlikely we see combat at all, but should we encounter enemies we are to cut them down as if they are a great threat."
"Because if harm comes to the Kazekage's children we're in trouble?" Sakura asks.
"Depending on the type of harm, the consequence ranges from a chewing out, to being the cause of a war." Kakashi confirms for her, "Be on your guard, Sakura, I know you're a little rusty."
"I've seen more life or death combat than those two." She points out.
Their C rank was to guard a caravan, it wasn't even attacked. "I fought a necromancer."
"Yes, and they are very jealous." Kakashi smiles at her with his eye in a way that always makes her feel a little unsettled. "If this mission goes oddly, I am blaming you. You are hereby at fault for everything weird."
"What? That's not, okay yeah that's fair." Maybe she'll see her second random encounter! She's pretty for it. Suna's far away right? Maybe she'll get to fight a giant monster! Maybe she can tame it with her Necromancy!
"Cooking is so much more fun out of the kitchen." Scavenging? Hunting? Burning it over a fire and having to pat it out before it turns to ash? It's so awesome!
She's cooked with Haku a few times, but he's so controlling that it ruins the vibe. Not to say he's not good at what he does, she respects his effort a ton and he makes amazing meals for her whole family twice a day, but there's something to be said about having creative freedom to do whatever she wants. She's cooking leaves. Leaves! They have a nutrition rating!
"Sakura, I don't want to eat this," Naruto has one of the first bowls, and his expression leaves much to be desired, "Kakashi, are we sure we can't bring Haku along?"
"Not until his year is up and he can apply for Genin status. Though if you're lucky you'll be Chunin by then, and he won't be joining you." Kakashi answers.
"Haku's not signing up as a Genin." Sakura shakes her head, maybe a twig will help… It looks tasty, she'd eat a well cooked twig boosted by her power to be a little tasty, not her fault Naruto's picky. "He's making fully active Chunin money as a streamer, and that's likely to grow. He enjoys his life, and since he does so much cooking, my parents aren't charging him rent. His savings are growing rapidly."
"Are you inferring that he isn't joining the Ninja program, or did you ask?" Sasuke asks her.
She shrugs, "inferring." She's pretty sure they've had a conversation about it but she can't remember it so maybe it was in her head. She is his manager though, if he wants to quit he needs to inform her and he hasn't said anything of the sort. "I haven't caught him training even once, he seems very content to let his skills atrophy and enjoy his life as is. I don't think he enjoyed being a ninja very much, he's got a very soft heart."
"Haku will do what Haku will do, but you will have to get used to eating Sakura's cooking." The cyclops enjoys sipping her second bowl through his mask. He doesn't seem to mind, though he would probably eat a bowl of twigs and leaves without her power boosting it and claim it was amazing. He has no standards. She'll go get some meat here in a minute, that way she doesn't have to see what Sasuke's complaining looks like.
"I've been meaning to ask for a while." She calls up into a tree. The two boys are asleep, and her monster dog is watching their tents to make sure they stay safe. He's such a good boy, and she just got done transferring her mana buildup for the day into his husk to keep him fresh and not a rotting mess. It's a way to keep up with her necromancy training even though she's at max exp, it keeps him happy, and it helps train her body to get used to making mana on its own. Currently she needs to rely on the rings she got from Fierro, which sucks.
Unlike the two boys her summon is watching over, Kakashi never sleeps on missions during travel. He can stay awake for a week straight if the need arises, and while she'd love to mock him for the hypocrisy, she understands it. She wouldn't trust a Genin on watch either, if she had seen what he has. "You aren't worried at all about my sword?"
"If I was, I would have taken it away from you." He says, prompting her to clutch its handle possessively. "I'm more worried that you know where I am right now. Am I slipping?"
"No." It's true she knows he's hidden deep inside a tree next to their camp, but it's not because her senses can detect him. "Necromancy gave me a form of sensing."
"It- seriously?" Sensing is an incredibly rare skill, it makes sense he'd be a little taken aback, but the incredulous tone to his voice makes her smile so it was worth waiting to spring it on him now. Her favorite choice would have been during a spar but he's avoided sparring with her recently.
"It's not the same. I can't sense Chakra use or jutsu or anything, but the stronger a soul is the further away I can feel it. I can feel the Hokage back in Konoha right now." That's not a statement on how powerful her skill is, by the way, that's just how strong the freaking Hokage is.
"So Naruto?" Kakashi asks.
"I dunno, the second soul is so strong that I've never felt Naruto's. I haven't felt Haku's, or Neji's, or my parents either. I don't think there's a place in this world where I couldn't track him." It also puts into perspective that aside from missions, Neji never seems to leave the house and neither does Haku. It's kind of concerning when she thinks about it, is she not the shut-in?
The Kyuubi is terrifying. It's possible nothing to have ever existed matches up to it in any form. That the forth was able to beat it and seal it inside Naruto is just outrageous. She has doubts that even with her ability, she will ever get near his power and skill. The growth curve to reach that level is unprecedented and not at all within the bounds of what her abilities have given her.
"And your sword?" He asks.
"Hunger has a soul, he's sentient," she answers with a confident chime to her full smile, "but it's hard for me to make him out easily when I'm anywhere away from him, unlike Naruto's which is so vibrant it's actually hard for me to make out anything when he's nearby, making the skill kind of worthless most of the time. Unless you want to know that a Kage has left their village.."
"Tell me if you ever feel anything like Naruto, okay?" Kakashi warns her with an oddly serious tone.
"Okay? Is that a real possibility?" She asks, her full smile taking on a nervous twitch.
"I get the feeling we'll be finding out shortly."