"GO!" Iruka shouted, dropping his hand.
Sasuke shot forward immediately, his footwork was textbook perfect as he closed the distance between them in seconds. Kintaro barely had time to raise his arms before Sasuke's first punch came flying toward his face.
Kintaro stumbled backward, his guard sloppy and uneven. He managed to deflect the blow with his forearm, but the impact sent a sharp jolt up his arm. Sasuke followed up instantly with a low kick aimed at his legs. Kintaro jumped back awkwardly, nearly tripping over his own feet.
"Seriously?" Sasuke said. "How did you even make it this far in the academy?" He pressed his advantage, throwing a combination of punches that forced Kintaro to keep retreating.
Kintaro's blocks were desperate and clumsy. His stance was all wrong, his feet positioned poorly for balance. Every defensive move left him more off-balance than before. Sasuke was clearly faster, stronger, and far more experienced. Each of his strikes was precise and hurt like a bitch, while Kintaro flailed around like he'd never thrown a punch in his life...which he hadn't.
'FUCK OFF!' Kintaro screamed in his mind as another one of Sasuke's punches grazed his shoulder. He tried to counter with a wild swing, but Sasuke easily ducked under it and landed a solid hit to Kintaro's ribs that made him gasp.
"This is embarrassing," Sasuke continued, circling him. "Are you even trying, or is this really the best you can do?"
Kintaro gritted his teeth, staying silent as he desperately tried to fend off the relentless assault. His breathing was already ragged, sweat dripping down his face as Sasuke's attacks kept coming. He raised his arms again, but his form was terrible....just horrible.
Sasuke saw the opening and moved in for what looked like the finishing blow, his fist cocked back for a decisive strike.
"Alright, you son of a bitch!" he grunted through gritted teeth.
[ACTIVATING LEAF HURRICANE SKILL]
As Sasuke charged in, Kintaro suddenly dropped low and launched himself upward, his body moving on its own as if guided by some deep instinct. His leg whipped around in a perfect roundhouse kick, catching Sasuke completely off guard. The blow connected square with Sasuke's jaw with a satisfying crack that echoed across the training ground.
Sasuke's head snapped to the side, his eyes going wide with shock. He stumbled backward, his legs wobbling as he fought to stay upright. For a moment, it looked like he might topple over completely, but at the last second, he flipped backward and landed on his feet, shaking his head as if waking up from a daze.
"Did he just land a roundhouse kick on Sasuke...?" someone in the crowd whispered, and immediately the class began to murmur among themselves, the whispers spreading like wildfire.
Kintaro landed on his feet, completely confused about what had just happened. "Woah..." he muttered, looking down at his legs. 'I wasn't expecting anything like that...' He was mesmerized, so to speak.
_____________
DING!!
_____
. . . .
You've shocked the entire class by landing a killer blow on Sasuke.
-REWARDS-
1000 SP
_______________
Sasuke held onto his jaw, looking just as confused as Kintaro about what had happened. He stood there stunned for a brief moment, his pride clearly wounded. Then his expression darkened, and he immediately charged in again, faster this time, with an angrier look burning in his eyes.
"That was just a lucky shot!" Sasuke yelled as he jumped into the air, aiming to deliver a devastating blow to Kintaro's face.
But at the last second, Kintaro simply jumped out of the ring, his feet hitting the ground outside the sparring area.
"I give up," he said simply, with a smile on his face.
The entire class just stood there stunned, especially Iruka who had a confused look on his face.
"Um... Sasuke wins?" he said uncertainly, pointing at Sasuke as the clear victor. Even Sasuke looked just as confused as everyone else, maybe even more.
'These guys must think I'm sick in the head if they expect me to just stand there and get my ass beat by Sasuke... there's no way I can win against him at my current level.' Kintaro rubbed at his ribs, already feeling a burning sensation there.
"Alright, that concludes today's lesson. Everyone grab your things from the classroom and get ready to go home," Iruka announced before heading back toward the building with the students following behind.
'Jeez, finally...' Kintaro thought, rolling his shoulders. 'I just wanna go home and sleep this off.' He brushed the dirt off his clothes and turned to follow the crowd.
Suddenly, he felt a hand slap down on his shoulder.
"Hold on, you bastard," a voice that Kintaro immediately recognized said.
'Ah, Here we go...' Kintaro sighed inwardly as he was spun around by none other than Sasuke, who looked severely pissed. Not that Kintaro could blame him.
Sasuke immediately grabbed him by the collar, pulling him closer to his face. Kintaro was far from comfortable with the close-up view of those angry dark eyes.
"You think you can just kick me in the face and run away? I'll beat your ass to a pulp next time you pull some shit like that..." Sasuke snarled before letting go of his collar and stomping off.
Kintaro just sighed and shook his head.
"Jeez, what's up his ass?" Choji asked, walking up beside Kintaro while munching on his chips.
Shikamaru appeared next to him with an especially sleepy expression and just shrugged. "Meh, I dunno... prideful guys and their egos." He turned to Kintaro with mild concern. "You good, man?"
Kintaro sighed once more, but then a smile spread across his face. "Yeah... I've always wanted to do that. Now I'm glad I did." Kintaro had a thing for pretty boys, a natural born hatred for the lucky it seemed.
Shikamaru closed one eye and a lazy smirk appeared on his face. "Me too..." he said in his usual drowsy tone, before the smile dropped back to a flat line like smiling took too much effort. "Well, see you around... c'mon, let's go, Choji."
He headed back toward the classroom with Choji trailing behind, still munching away.
Kintaro watched as Shikamaru walked off. 'That guy is just as lazy as he was in the anime.'
[A SUDDEN QUEST HAS STARTED.]
"Another quest...?" he mumbled under his breath.
_______________________
[QUEST STARTED]
"DEFEAT THE UCHIHA PRODIGY..." Quest has started
Type: Main Quest
_____________
-QUEST INFO-
Sasuke Uchiha has challenged you, defeat Sasuke before the graduation Exams.
OBJECTIVES:
➤ Defeat Sasuke
[0/1]
-REWARDS-
[5000 SP]
[1x Gold Card]
[1x Silver]
_____________
TIME LIMIT: 7 Months
FAILURE CONDITION: The loss of Quests For A Year
_____
ACCEPT?
[Y/N]
. . . .
'Okay, doesn't seem too hard... but I don't know if I can get strong enough in 7 months to match Sasuke's stats. I guess I'll just have to earn a shit ton of SP if I wanna make that happen.' He rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
But as he looked over the rewards, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted. "A silver and a gold card...? Woah..." he muttered under his breath.
The silver card he'd gotten before was pretty decent, as it managed to push Sasuke back a bit and it was only E- rank, so there was still room for improvement. But he couldn't even imagine what a gold card might give him.
He accepted the quest and swiped away the status screen, placing his hands behind his head as he made his way back to class. 'Well, before I even think about that quest, I gotta finish the "back to the basics" one first. Only got a few more days left before the deadline, and if I fail that, I'm fucked. I haven't even been able to stand on water for more than ten seconds... I need to go train right after school.'
His mind made up, he headed back to grab his things and go home before hitting the training grounds.
. . . . .
"HOLY SHIT YESSS!!" Kintaro screamed at the top of his lungs, causing nearby birds to scatter in panic from the sudden loud noise.
Standing in the middle of the water stream, Kintaro stretched his arms high into the air, letting the sun warm his bare chest and legs. He was still wearing his shorts, but everything else was completely drenched in water and covered in moss from countless failed attempts.
It had taken him literal days of sleepless nights and a shit ton of chakra and stamina, but the bastard finally did it. He'd finally mastered water walking and became this world's ninja Jesus.
He was lucky too. He'd barely managed to nail the technique just one day before the deadline. The water walking itself wasn't that hard, it was basically the same principle as tree walking. But maintaining it? That was a whole different beast entirely.
With tree walking, you just had to use chakra to stick to the surface. But water walking? You had to use chakra to repel the water beneath your feet to stand on it. Simple concept, but a complete pain in the ass to master.
It took him forever to get the hang of it and do it naturally, to the point where it became effortless. But he'd finally pulled it off without breaking a sweat.
Well, except for all the actual sweat from days of training.
_____________
DING!!
_____
. . . .
[YOU'VE COMPLETED THE "BACK TO THE BASIC'S!" QUEST]
distrubting rewards...
_____________
-REWARDS-
[3000 SP]
[2x Bronze Card]
[1x Silver]
_______________
Jumping off the water's surface, Kintaro gave himself a quick stretch before deciding to accept his quest rewards. "After the hellish grind I just put in, I better get something good," he mused, licking his lips in anticipation.
"Give me something good for Papa..." he said, opening his arms wide as he pulled up his rewards.
Three separate cards appeared floating in the air before him. Two were brownish in color, and one had a silverish shine to it.
"Let's start with the worst ones first," he muttered, reaching out to touch both brown cards. They spun around, revealing their fronts.
╔═════════════════════╗
║ ( BRONZE ) ║ ║ ║ ║ [MASTER THIEF] ║
║[TYPE OF CARD: ║ ║ [ SUPPLEMENTARY] ║ ║
║ [-INFO-] ║║ You can steal a item from a person at random║ ║
║ ║ ║ -Press To Add Skill- ║ ║ ║
╚════════════════════╝
Kintaro's face instantly scrunched up. 'Ew, what good is that skill? I can't even choose what I steal and it's completely random... just complete bullshit.' He sighed but then shrugged. 'But there's an off chance this could become useful...might come in handy later.' he thought, moving onto the next card.
╔═════════════════════╗
║ ( BRONZE ) ║ ║ ║ ║ [SO THIS WILL MAKE MY CHAKRA BIGGER?] ║
║[TYPE OF CARD: ║ ║ [ONE TIME USE] ║ ║
║ [-INFO-] ║║ Upon using, it slightly increases you're chakra capacity ║ ║
║ ║ ║ -Press To Use- ║ ║ ║
╚════════════════════╝
"Perfect," he muttered. 'I'll definitely need this, especially for the three academy jutsu's and passing the graduation exams.'
He pressed the card without hesitation, and it instantly evaporated into a bright blue light that completely enveloped his body. It felt like energy was rushing through his entire system under his skin, a weird but surprisingly comfortable sensation.
_______________________
[ NOTICE!]
_____________
[CHAKRA CAPACITY HAS INCREASED!]
[CHAKRA CAPACITY EVALUATION] ➤ E-
↓
[CHAKRA CAPACITY EVALUATION] ➤ E
(1000 CP - LOW GENIN...)
. . . . .
_____________
'Well, I wasn't expecting much anyway, but still good... horrible, but great for my current situation.' He shrugged before moving on to the final card, praying it was something decent.
╔═════════════════════╗
║ ( SILVER) ║ ║ ║ ║ [CHAKRA SIPHON] ║
║[TYPE OF CARD: ║ ║ [SUPPLEMENTARY] ║ ║
║ [-INFO-] ║║Absorbs ambient chakra from the surrounding air to gradually restore your own chakra reserves.║ ║
- +1 CP per second.
║ ║ ║ -Press To Add Skill- ║ ║ ║
╚════════════════════╝
'Pretty good, unlike the bronze cards. I mean, I really can't expect much from bronze cards, the silver cards are just better in general and definitely coming in clutch at the moment... this'll be useful for fights or sticky situations.'
He pressed on both remaining skill cards to add them.
[SKILL ADDED!]
[SKILL ADDED!]
'Now all that's left is my SP... which I'll spend on my stats.' He brought up his status interface.
[DISPLAYING CHARACTER INFORMATION!]
━─━─━─≪◈ STATS ◈≫─━─━─━
[NAME] ➤ Kintaro Sasaki
[AGE] ➤ 12
[PLOT RELEVANCE] ➤ Cannon Fodder(Destined to die off-screen)
◇───INFO───◇
[SP - STORY POINTS] ➤ 4826 SP
[SSP- STORY SIGNIFICANCE POINTS] ➤ 13 (Forgettable Named character)
-Overall Character Evaluation-
Uh, who is this guy again...?
◇───STATS───◇
[STRENGTH EVALUATION] ➤ E+
(21/50)
[SPEED EVALUATION] ➤ E
(0/25)
[ENDURANCE EVALUATION] ➤ E+
(12/50)
[DURABILITY EVALUATION] ➤ E-
(4/10)
[CHAKRA CAPACITY EVALUATION] ➤ E
(1000 CP - Low Genin...)
(0/25)
[CHAKRA CONTROL EVALUATION] ➤ D-
(4/75)
- - - - - -
[INTELLIGENCE EVALUATION] ➤ A+
(1/1200)
[POTENTIAL EVALUATION] ➤ C-
(1/200)
◇───NINJA STATS───◇
[TAIJUTSU EVALUATION] ➤ E-
[NINJUTSU EVALUATION] ➤ E-
[GENJUTSU EVALUATION] ➤ E-
[BUKIJUTSU EVALUATION] ➤ E-
◇───SKILLS───◇
[LEAF HURRICANE] ➤ E-
[CHAKRA SIPHON]➤ E-
[MASTER THIEF]➤ E-
◇───JUTSU'S───◇
[TRANSFORMATION JUTSU EVALUATION] ➤ E-
[BASIC CLONE JUTSU EVALUATION]➤ E-
[SUBSTITUTION JUTSU EVALUATION] ➤ E-
◇───CHAKRA AFFINITIES───◇
[WATER RELEASE EVALUATION] ➤ N/A [You have no training with this element...]
━─━─━─━─≪◆≫─━─━─━─━
'I think with the current amount of SP I have, I'll only have 48 stat points...' he thought, as he then converted his current SP to stat points.
_______________________
[ NOTICE!]
_____________
Converting 3800 SP...
↓
[STAT POINTS] ➤ 38
. . . . .
_____________
'Now, what should I invest in? I'm thinking I should focus on what I can level up right now... strength would be good, get it to D rank. But I could also level up my speed and chakra capacity, which are both pretty important.' He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. 'I think leveling up strength is better right now. All my stats are way too low...having at least one D-rank stat besides chakra control would be good. And having strength as my main advantage won't have any downsides. I'll just increase speed and chakra capacity later.'
_______________________
[ NOTICE!]
_____________
[STRENGTH HAS INCREASED!]
Consuming 30 stat points...
[STRENGTH EVALUATION] ➤ E+
↓
[STRENGTH EVALUATION] ➤ D-
. . . . .
[STAT POINTS] ➤ 18
_____________
'With the 18 left over, I can invest in a different stat... I'll just pump it into chakra capacity.' He put the remaining points into his chakra reserves. After one final stretch, he yawned and grabbed his clothes from nearby. "Time to go home. I've been training way too hard... I need some serious sleep, man."
He yawned again, licked his chapped lips, and ran his fingers through his damp hair before heading home to call it a day from grinding.
. . . . .
_________________________________
________________________________________________________
Hope you're enjoying the story so far...I hope you have a good day or night!