1,570Naruto quickly scarfed down his extremely light breakfast in a hurry, the brief feeling of guilt entering his gut, before being washed down by a chug of goodness that was milk.
Truth be told, even he wasn't going to eat breakfast, but the fight with Sasuke had seriously made him reconsider the fact entirely. Taijutsu was tiring. Naruto didn't know that, of course. The Taijutsu they taught at the academy didn't pertain to any style but more so just the basics of fighting in general.
But regardless of all that, Naruto was excited, giddy almost. While using the Uchiha Taijutsu, he felt cool, something which was usually only achieved by his epic pranks.
He looked at his newly upgraded stats avidly.
Name: Naruto Uzumaki
Title: The Gamer
Occupation: Academy Student
Level: LV5
HP: 100/100
MP: 100/100
Chakra: 2000/2000
STR: 6
VIT: 10
DEX: 5
INT: 4
WIS: 3
LUK: 1
Current Skills:
[Shadow Clone Jutsu Lvl 3]
Class: N/A
Attribute Points: 1
He noted his level with dismay. There was still a long way to go before he came to Sasuke's level, but he was getting there, at least. The number of attribute points he had was disappointing too, especially since he finally learned what they were after asking the system.
The points could increase once of his stats immediately, no hard work needed? Yes, please. But he wasn't exactly sure what to put it on. Considering he had an extremely important task in a few hours, he needed to do something quick.
And when in doubt, go with your gut instinct.
Was it really a surprise that the Jinchuriki would put his only attribute point on strength?
Hey, blue box. Put the point into strength. Naruto thought.
[Ding!]
[Attribute Point has been used. Strength has been increased by one point.]
Naruto grinned widely. Time to knock Kakashi down the humongous peg he was on.
{— -}
Naruto flexed his muscles, trying to see whether the strength attribute really did anything. For one, he couldn't feel anything at all, but did people really feel their muscles growing as they got stronger?
Could he really trust the system to power up his strength instantly?
Sakura scoffed as she looked away. "Not again, Naruto."
For once, the knucklehead ninja stayed silent.
The pink haired girl raised an eyebrow in surprise, before looking ahead again.
If Sasuke noticed the change in Naruto's behavior, he didn't mention it.
Some would say that Naruto had matured, and had seen the difference between him and Sasuke's level, thus making him determined to improve and prove himself in the test Kakashi would oppose them.
But the real reason Naruto was confusedly quiet was because of the Uchiha's stats.
Name: Sasuke Uchiha
Title: "Last Uchiha"
Occupation: Academy Student
Level: LV13
HP: 100/100
MP: 100/100
Chakra: 250/250
STR: 9
VIT: 7
DEX: 14
INT: 7
WIS: 4
LUK: 2
This bastard leveled up as well? Naruto thought, gritting his teeth in frustration.
What would it do to catch up for once? Was it really impossible to beat a prodigy like Sasuke? Were they really on two different levels?
Naruto brushed those thoughts aside. No, he will catch up to his rival, no matter what it takes.
And that started with beating Kakashi's training, and becoming a Genin for real.
"Good morning," Kakashi said, a peace sign in the air.
"YOUR LATE!" Sakura yelled with an accusing finger at their aloof sensei.
Gentle breezes of wind passed through the training sector, bringing along with it a cozy smell of pine. And the familiar sound of…bells?
"You'll have until noon to take these bells from me, which is why the clock is set up right here. Whichever of you are unable to get a bell will get no lunch either. Should've eaten breakfast, huh?"
Sakura's face twisted into newly found vengeance as she glared at Kakashi, hand on her stomach. Even Sasuke looked annoyed. Naruto just blinked.
"Since there's only two bells, one of you definitely will be tied to a tree stump here. Predictably, of course, the person without a bell fails immediately—back to academy lessons with your previous teachers. Fortunately, you are allowed to use your shuriken and other tools. I want you guys to come at me with the intention of killing."
[Ding!]
[New Quest: "Jingle Bells" Created]
[Quest Details: Manage to touch one of Kakashi's bells!
Quest Rewards: Exp. 600, Kakashi's respect, Sasuke's respect.]
[Failure: Stay as a weakling for the rest of your life.]
[Does Player Accept The Quest?]
[Yes/No]
That's an easy choice. Yes.
Touch one of his bells? Naruto didn't care how high of a level Kakashi was, he wasn't just going to touch them, he was going to take one for himself.
"Isn't that dangerous for you?" Sakura asked, voice laced with worry.
"Don't worry Sakura, I'll go easy on sensei," Naruto said, grinning.
"Naruto…"
Kakashi remained impassive. "It's often said that the weakest dog tends to bark the loudest, Mr. Dead-Last here is testament to that. You guys can start when—"
Naruto lunged at Kakashi with his kunai at point blank range, eager to cut up their sensei for the bells.
"I haven't said start yet."
Naruto's eyes widened as he realized there was no one in front of him.
Too fast!
"However, I like the eagerness in you trying to kill me. We'll be starting now. Ready? Start!"
The blond dashed a bit away, but not as much as Sakura and Sasuke who ended up hiding in the trees.
I need to get the bells and the EXP while I'm still at max capacity. No time like the present!
"I'm right here, sensei! Fight me if you can!" Naruto shouted, hands crossed in his arms.
Kakashi sighed. "You're…not like the other two, are you?"
"That's damn right! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the future Hokage!"
Naruto stopped talking before he blitzed towards the silver-haired Jonin, but immediately took a step back when he saw the man draw into his pockets.
"All right, Mr. Hokage. I know I'm not your sensei yet, but I'll give you some lessons for free. Ninja fighting lesson one, Taijutsu."
Kunai? Shuriken? Katana?
"A…book?" Naruto struggled to get out, eyebrows raised to their limit.
No…there has to be more, right? Maybe it's a book with a bunch of secret jutsus! Yeah, that's it. Observe.
[Observing…]
[Observation successful!]
[Item name: Ichi Ichi Paradise, Vol. 1]
[Item Details: Written by one of the Legendary Sannin, the gallant Jiraiya-sama, the Ichi Ichi Paradise series is a best-selling franchise known for its perverse and entertaining storytelling.]
Naruto felt his anger bloom instantly. "Y-you pervert! Put that down, you're fighting me!"
"Ahh. You recognize this book? Interesting…nonetheless, it will make no difference if I fight you reading or not."
Naruto pushed off his feet, lunging towards Kakashi with a kick. The man lazily lifted up one hand, catching his foot with a thud before ducking over the other kick Naruto sent his way, and at the same time flipping a page of his book.
Is this the difference between me and a Jonin? Naruto thought incredulously.
He needed Sasuke's Taijutsu again.
[Activating…]
[Skill: Uchiha Clan Taijutsu- Lvl 1 Activated!]
[Usage drains 20 MP Points each minute.]
He aimed another punch at Kakashi, only to realize he was missing.
"A ninja should never be caught from the back, idiot," Kakashi monotoned.
"Naruto, move! He's going to kill you!" Sakura yelled from somewhere among the trees.
Naruto didn't need to hear it twice. The moment he heard Kakashi's voice, he already started moving.
Kakashi's fingers touched the empty, cold air.
The blond had somersaulted right into a position behind Kakashi.
"Taijutsu? Do you really want Taijutsu? Here we go then, sensei!" Naruto yelled, getting into a stance.
Kakashi looked peeved that his attack missed. "Aww man. I seriously wanted to get you with that, brat. Wow, cool pose. I feel like I recognize that from somewhere…"
"The only thing you should recognize is my fist!" Naruto said, running towards the man.
"That was very corny—"
Naruto gave a leading punch to Kakashi's stomach, the Jonin, as always, caught it with his left hand, but was surprised when Naruto immediately issued a reverse roundhouse right after.
To Sakura, it seemed as if Naruto got faster, but that was about it. To Sasuke and Kakashi, they both knew that something had changed in Naruto's style completely. His movements were quicker, more fluid, and focused on the brute strength of each attack.
In fact, it surprised Sasuke even more than Kakashi. When Naruto first copied his style yesterday itself, he was inexperienced, and he didn't think too much of it. But then came the scary part.
Naruto was improving.
With every strike, punch, and kick…he was becoming more and more like the real thing. Maybe Sasuke should…
The roundhouse managed to hit Kakashi's shoulder, who grabbed onto his leg in response. Not wanting to get grappled to the ground, Naruto pushed off the Jonin's shoulder before his grasp could reach his ankles and hung in the air, making a hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Kakashi threw shuriken at the exact same time.
Smoke surrounded him, covering Kakashi's sight of Naruto. More clones appeared next to him, already knowing what to do. Grabbing both his legs, they pushed him directly towards Kakashi like a missile.
[Ding!]
[New Skill Achieved: Battle Strategics - Lvl 1]
"The bells are mine, sensei!"
Naruto's initial idea was to dive for the bells and pray to Kami he would catch Kakashi by surprise, but his body told him something different.
He feinted a hammerfist straight to the man's head, before ducking to his legs, and at the same time swiping his hand towards the bells.
A brief jingle was heard.
[Ding!]
[Quest: "Jingle Bells" Completed!]
[Rewards: Exp. 600, Kakashi's respect, Sasuke's respect.]
[Dexterity has increased by a level.]
[Skill: Taijutsu has increased by a level.]
[Taijutsu is now Lvl 4]
[Skill: Uchiha Clan Taijutsu is now Lvl 2]
Naruto rolled forward as Kakashi moved at the last second, completely negating his final drive to get the bells.
"Your file didn't mention any studies of Taijutsu, yet it's obvious you have some practice in it. I wonder where you learned it from. Well, I guess I can't go easy on you either, can I?" Kakashi asked, before running towards the blond with moderate speed.
Naruto panted as he brought himself back to position. He needed to get the bells no matter what.
"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!"
A torrent of hot, viscous fire erupted into the field before him, covering Naruto's entire vision with ruby reds, oranges, and yellow. His skin flared threateningly, the temperatures reaching dangerously high levels even though it wasn't too near him. The supply of fire eventually died out, leaving the scorched grass underneath it to mourn.
Kakashi was nowhere to be seen.
"Naruto," Sasuke said, appearing beside the blond.
"What was that?" Naruto asked, awed by the jutsu used by the Uchiha.
The raven-headed boy stared blankly ahead. "Hn…just a jutsu."
Why did Sasuke come?
"Why are—"
"This Jonin, he's too strong to beat right now. While it sounds pitiful to team up with the dead last, we need to if we want to win," Sasuke said, eyes lighting up in frustration.
"Eh? What about Sakura?" Naruto questioned.
"She's going to slow us down. It's best we don't—"
"SAKURA! WE'RE RIGHT HERE! COME QUICKLY! LET'S TEAM UP TO BEAT KAKASHI SENSEI!" Naruto yelled, putting his hands around his mouth.
Sasuke shook his head. Is this really the guy who I saw fighting just now? He thought with a grimace.
"You realize there's only two bells?" Sasuke challenged.
"Yeah, but I want her to also have an equal chance to get the bell while we can."
Naruto squinted his eyes, looking in every direction possible. "Where is Kakashi?" All he saw was the green expanse of grass which faded away into the forest of trees around them.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto said, summoning a dozen clones around him. "Six of you, stay put. The others go scout for Sakura and bring her here."
"You got it! What happens if she doesn't want to come?" One of his clones asked while saluting.
Naruto scratched his hair. "Uhh…oh! Just say Sasuke is here as well."
His clones dispersed after that. Sasuke felt his eye twitching, but ignored the sensation to focus on the situation at hand. His eyes widened as he heard the faintest of trembles underneath him.
"Jump!" Sasuke yelled.
Naruto did exactly that, dodging a hand that came out of the ground.
Kakashi was here.
"The number one of the village, Uchiha…you might be interesting."
Sasuke stared back, taking two steps to the front, staying silent.
"I might not be able to read while facing you two, a shame, I was just getting to the good part…"
"Ninja fighting lesson three, Ninjutsu."
Kakashi began weaving through a sequence of jutsus, his hands becoming a blur.
"Let's go, Sasuke!"
Naruto realized for the first time how fast the Uchiha was. He was running at his maximum speed, but Sasuke was already a few steps ahead of him.
"Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu!"
Cohesive balls of water collected together and threw themselves at Sasuke and Naruto, forcing the two to split apart to avoid the attacks. Okay, he dodged the attack. Now, Naruto wasn't sure what to do next—the academy never taught them to fight against ninjas of this caliber, let alone jutsus other than the basic clone.
But maybe that was all he needed.
"Sasuke! Naruto!" A voice yelled from behind them.
His clones disappeared with a poof, and the whole interaction with Sakura suddenly filled his head. How did that happen? Shaking his head, Naruto slowed down a bit so the girl could catch up.
Sakura came to him, panting and hands on her knees. "Ar-Are you an-and Sasuke teaming up?"
[Ding!]
[New Quest: "Prodigy" Created]
[Quest Details: Steal one of Kakashi's bells.
Quest Rewards: Exp. 1500, New Skill: "?", Title: "Prodigy of Konoha".]
[Failure: N/A]
[Does Player Accept The Quest?]
[Yes/No]
Hell yeah. Naruto thought with a grin. He had no idea what the title even meant, but "Prodigy of Konoha" sounded awesome. And the 1500 EXP was the highest reward he ever saw from a quest yet. Completing this quest would probably make him level up one more time, which also meant another attribute point.
This was all without mentioning the random skill he would receive. And to steal one of Kakashi's bells, he needed all the help he could get.
"Yeah, for now. We probably are gonna need to work together if we want to beat Kakashi, who cares about failing right now!" Naruto said, trying to inspire confidence in Sakura.
"I guess…but if we fail we're going back to the academy!" Sakura shuddered.
"Like I said, let's worry about that later, dattebayo!"
[Ding!]
[New Skill Achieved: Persuasion Lvl 1]
Naruto looked ahead, where Sasuke was engaging with the Jonin already. Crap, I need to go.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto repeated.
Eight or so clones appeared next to him, looking at their boss for orders.
"Sakura, listen. I'm going to have these clones henge as you, and enter the fight. You have to sneak in with them and once the chance comes, just take the bells," Naruto urged with a yanking motion of his hands.
[Battle Strategics increased by a level]
[Battle Strategics is now Lvl 2]
Sakura nodded, before her eyes widened as Naruto's clones became identical copies of her with one hand sign. Naruto could feel the physical strain the technique had on his chakra levels.
To keep the henge active for a long time, you had to maintain a physical transformation by supplying a continuous stream of chakra, something which was hard enough by itself. And now Naruto had to do with eight clones, all at the same time. For a regular Genin, or even a regular Jonin, this would be outright impossible to think about, and would immediately lead to chakra exhaustion—but Naruto was different.
"Follow me!" Naruto issued.
Both of Kakashi's eyebrows raised as he saw multiple Sakura's led by one Naruto running towards him, before he blocked another punch by Sasuke.
Naruto made his way into the fight. "UZUMAKI NARUTO IS HERE!"
The Sakura Army cried out at once, mimicking his actions. Naruto couldn't even tell that one of them was Sakura. Sasuke leaped back as he missed another kick to Kakashi, who honestly looked irritated at this point. His hands began moving in a quick succession.
"You kids…are seriously starting to get annoying. Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
A beast of water arose from the river behind Kakashi, shaping and transforming into a colossal dragon that glared at them angrily, the water body missing the serenity and calmness of an ocean entirely, instead similar to the rapid, relentless aggression of a speedy river.
The clones doubled back before they started running back in a vain attempt to escape, but the beast hunted its prey with precision, the power of the sheer amount of water immediately destroying the clones on contact.
Naruto could only gape as his plans turned immediately into shackles. But not yet…not all of it was ruined.
"To think I had to use that jutsu on clones—"
"SHUT UP!" Naruto shouted boldly, lunging for a kick at Kakashi.
The kick missed due to Kakashi quickly tilting to the side, but Naruto didn't stop there. He bent his torso downwards so that his hand could reach the ground, before pushing outwards so he could get the necessary acceleration to catch Kakashi's body in a deadlock with his open legs.
[MP has been drained.]
[Uchiha Style Taijutsu Lvl 2 disabled.]
Doesn't matter, I don't need it right now either way.
His legs clamped around Kakashi like a scissor on a piece of metal, trying its best to cut it open.
Sasuke came in at the right moment, sweeping Kakashi's leg with a kick of his own. Naruto felt himself tumble to the grassy floor with Kakashi, who struggled to get out of the lock with Sasuke on his legs and Naruto on his arms.
"Sakura, now!" Naruto screamed, the strain on his legs becoming unbearable.
Sakura appeared out of nowhere (presumably), and slid past Kakashi's body with her hand outwards, grasping the bells along the way.
"SHANNAROO!"
They did it! They beat a Jonin! An actual Jonin! Naruto laughed in joy as he let go of his hold on Kakashi, scrambling to his legs. The adrenaline that filled his blood didn't leave, pushing his excitement to even higher levels. Did his plan actually work?
"I told you Kakashi, I told you! I guess you're our sensei now after all, haha."
Kakashi patted his shoulders, swiping away a strand of grass that stuck to his uniform. "Congratulations, I didn't expect that, to be honest. Now, who will Sakura give the other bell to?"
Naruto's smile dissipated. It finally registered that the notification for completing his quest never popped up.
Kakashi continued mercilessly. "As I said, only two of you pass. Regardless of whether all three of you managed to work together or not. Sakura? What's your decision?"
Sakura's face looked extremely uncomfortable as she took a look at the bells in her hand. Her gaze softened when she saw Sasuke, who didn't even spare her a glance, preferring to look at the grass below him. Her face became even more worried as she looked at Naruto, who seemed just as equally uncomfortable.
"I-I can't make the decision, Kakashi sensei," she said at last.
"Why not?" Kakashi inquired.
"It's…wrong."
"In this type of field, we have to make decisions such as these to survive, Sakura. Did your academy not teach things like this? Facts? Sacrifices will be made in the middle of missions which were supposed to go on perfectly. And lives are sometimes the cost that makes sure a mission succeeds."
Kakashi's eyes hardened. "We aren't the keepers of peace or any childish notion you may have assumed during academy. We're Shinobi." Kakashi pointed to somewhere off in the distance. "Over there, there's a stone. Countless names of shinobi who were considered heroes of the village are carved on it, so it's not a normal stone by any means. My best friend's name is on it as well."
This…where is this going? Naruto thought sadly.
"My best friend…he sacrificed himself so that I could live. Do you really think you would be able to make such decisions on the battlefield? With that said, you guys shouldn't just give up on this training session, you should quit thinking of becoming a shinobi entirely."
"WHAT?" Naruto roared in outrage. What did they even do to deserve such a thing?
Poof.
Sakura yelped as the bells in her hand disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Kakashi was nowhere to be seen either.
Did we just get played? That was probably why the quest notification never came up. Naruto realized.
"Where the hell did the old man—"
"Boo!"
Naruto screamed as Kakashi' face poked out from underneath his legs. "You're not the only one who can use shadow clones, Naruto."
Kakashi quickly revealed himself entirely from the earth. "You guys..pass!"
What the…
Naruto wasn't sure whether he should be happy or just relieved at this point. Sakura seemed to think the same, her expression still looking scarred with the whole talk from Kakashi earlier.
"Truth be told…" Kakashi started, before chuckling immediately after.
"What?" Sakura asked feebly.
"Truth be told…you guys passed the moment Naruto appeared with his Sakura clones. A shinobi must see underneath the underneath. The whole point of this test was to test your teamwork, not whether you got the bells or not, which you obviously didn't. I think this is the fastest any team has passed the bell test, so congratulations!" Kakashi said, eyes narrowed into a smile.
Naruto raised his hand. "So everything you said before…"
"Is the complete truth. We shinobi are tools for our village to use freely. However, Sakura's decision, or lack thereof, isn't to be condemned. In the shinobi world, those who break the rules are scum, that's true. But those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."
The silence after his words hung in the almost tangible tension in the air.
Damn, he's seriously cool. Naruto thought, awe filling his eyes. I'm gonna be like that someday, though!
Kakashi raised a thumbs up to the air. "Nice! Starting from tomorrow, Team 7 will debut as an official shinobi team!"
[Ding!]
[Quest: "Prodigy" Failed!]
[Quest: "First Step to Greatness" Completed!]
[Rewards: Exp. 1000, become a true ninja.]
Naruto could only grin as he was flooded with notifications. I guess I didn't level up?
[Congratulations! You leveled up! Player is now LV6.]
Nevermind.
[One attribute point gained.]
[New Title: "Genin of Konoha" Achieved!]
[Title: "Genin of Konoha" increases all stats by 5% while doing missions assigned by Konoha.]
Naruto had a lot, lot more learning to do all over again.
{—-}
"And then I dashed towards Kakashi, and trapped him between my legs, then BOOM! Sasuke comes and sweeps him to the floor, and Sakura comes in the end to take the bells in one sweep!" Naruto finished telling his tale to the other Genin around him.
Everyone looked to Sakura, who shyly nodded in confirmation.
"Aww man…you guys seemed to have a cool test, all we did was fight for a bit and Asuma sensei made us pass," Choji said, chowing down on the barbecue, or what was remaining of it.
Shikamaru sighed. "Yeah, it was troublesome."
"It's not like you did much anyways," Ino quipped back.
"Where's Sasuke?" Kiba asked pointedly.
Naruto shrugged. "He said he couldn't come."
He had tried persuading the Uchiha, but his persuasion level was only at a mere level one for now. To celebrate all of the Genin passing, Kiba had announced a party at his family owned restaurant, "Inuzuka Grill". Naruto was just glad he didn't need to pay—his wallet was already suffering from the ramen he bought without Iruka to pay for him.
"Well, if Sasuke isn't here, I'm calling total 'BS' on that whole scene you narrated, Naruto!" Kiba said, crossing his arms. Akamaru barked in agreement before returning to the oiece of meat below him.
"What? You have to believe me, man. I was so cool! Shino, you believe me right?"
Shino stayed quiet as always, before he shrugged his shoulders.
"I-I be-believe you Naruto," Hinata said, her voice as timid as ever.
"Thank you, Hinata! Finally, someone with a brain in your team."
Hinata blushed before going back to her food.
The rest of the party went along swiftly, everyone enjoying the food and the company as well. With missions and the whole workload that came with being a shinobi, they probably won't see each other at once again for a long time.
Just as all the teams started to leave, with Kiba staying, of course, Naruto called for a specific someone.
"Shikamaru!"
The spiky-haired boy looked back, before telling his teammates goodbye. Naruto led him to a place a bit far away from the restaurant, but not anymore to look suspicious.
"What?" Shikamaru asked, putting his hands into his pockets.
Okay, now that that's done. How do I break this to him?
"Fine, listen here. There's this scenario…okay, this isn't working. Ummm…how do I explain this?"
Shikamaru yawned. "Look, Naruto. I'm super tired already, make it quick, man."
"Let's first assume you can categorize a person's…characteristics? Yeah, characteristics, into numbers. So, like strength into a four or six, speed into eight or nine, and more."
Shikamaru's eyes lightened a bit. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but I can infer a bit. What are the types of characteristics?"
"It's…related to battle, mostly. There's strength, vitality, intelligence, wisdom, and luck, and I think, speed."
"Interesting. What is this all for?"
Naruto expected this question to come. "It's for a game, a game I'm trying to make."
"A…game?"
"Yeah."
Shikamaru looked at him incredulously. "Alright. So where do you think I would scale on intelligence, in your 'game'?"
Observe.
[Observing…]
[Observation successful!]
Name: Shikamaru Nara
Title: N/A
Occupation: Genin of Konoha
Level: LV6
HP: 100/100
MP: 100/100
Chakra: 150/150
STR: 3
VIT: 4
DEX: 3
INT: 13
WIS: 6
LUK: 6
Naruto noted with glee that Shikamaru was level six just like him.
"You would be around thirteen, I guess," Naruto stated.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "And you?"
"Five…" Naruto whispered with shame.
"Modest. I'm also surprised you're so certain about the numbers."
"I've thought of it before." I definitely don't have anything telling me all of this.
"Hm. So the game is some kind of…role-playing thing? I've seen something like it before, I think. But regardless, why did you call me here? It certainly wasn't to boost my ego."
The blond nodded. "Alright. So the player gets a card which allows them to automatically increase one of their stats by one point from time to time. Which stat would you increase?"
"Stat as in one of the characteristics? Okay…I would increase my intelligence."
Damn. I should've done that instead of putting the other one in strength. But at least I know what to do with this attribute point.
Shikamaru hummed thoughtfully. "But if the character is a shinobi, it would certainly be better to have a balanced approach, no?" Naruto looked up hopefully. "Since the card comes from time to time as you put it, it would be more useful to branch the card out to all characteristics, rather than hyper-focusing on one."
"How so?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious.
"Think about it, we're shinobi. We get stuck in all types of positions in any mission. Say we do increase our intelligence to a genius level, but will our strength be available to support us during a one on one fight? With too much strength, on the other hand, how do we make plans to use that ability? We require intelligence. Theoretically, the best shinobi would have the highest and the most balanced 'stats' as you say. So it would be better to increase the stats you're low in at the start, and work from there."
This guy is seriously smart. Naruto thought, impressed by his thought process.
"Ah, thanks, Shikamaru, you seriously helped me out!" Naruto said, grinning.
Shikamaru shrugged. "No problem, but you owe me now."
"Damn right!"
Naruto waited until he was sure no one was around him before he opened his status window.
Name: Naruto Uzumaki
Title: The Gamer
Occupation: Genin of Konoha
Level: LV6
HP: 100/100
MP: 100/100
Chakra: 2000/2000
STR: 6
VIT: 10
DEX: 6
INT: 4
WIS: 3
LUK: 1
Current Skills:
[Shadow Clone Jutsu Lvl 3]
Class: N/A
Attribute Points: 1
Hmmm…Shikamaru said to balance it out, My vitality is high already…my luck is really low, but increasing that is just boring. Wisdom…I'm already wise enough, right? Best to go with…INTELLIGENCE!
[Attribute Point has been used. Intelligence has been increased by one point.]
"This is so…amazing." Naruto whispered between chuckles, a sudden urge to laugh in celebration overcoming him.
He pointed at the stone monument overlooking the entire village. Their carved faces made to inspire and fuel the Will of Fire among the citizens of Konoha during the darkest of times.
"Forget surpassing the old man…I'm gonna surpass all of you! The First, the Second, the Third, and the Fourth! Naruto Uzumaki, the Fifth Hokage, believe it!"
[New Skill Achieved: Will of Fire - Lvl 1]
…
[End]
Yo!
Hope y'all are doing well.
Insane response from the first chapter, I really appreciate it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed it, it really helped get this chapter out, like seriously.
Pairings: I'll ask you again. The previous reviews were a bit mixed so I'm still not sure, please review and tell me!
Question #1: Would you like it if Naruto gets any other chakra nature rather than wind? If so, which one would you prefer? I do have an idea but I want to listen to the general audience first.
Question #2: Y'all like the character of Sakura? Genuine question. I know the hate she gets in the anime fandom (obviously) but I'm assuming it would change in the fanfiction department. If not, who's your favorite character in fanfiction?
This question format is taken by the author of Game of Shadows, Adrian King1, so kudos to that. Awesome story, by the way.
Give me some more ideas of what to do with this gamer ability to make it different from other fics in the reviews, please!
Update Schedule: Every Tuesday, timings may vary.
Thank you, and review! All criticism is accepted. I really enjoyed reading the reviews for the first chapter.
Expect the next chapter by next Tuesday, similar timings. Cya' there.