Personally I'd probably put Sakura's father probably on par with a special jonin. He probably turned down any and all promotion attempts to stay in the village for his daughter. Just because someone is at a lower rank doesn't necessarily mean that is their skill level. Sakura's mother is probably at least a chunin level but retired after giving birth to Sakura. but just because they "retired" doesn't mean they didn't work to keep their skills from at least deteriorating.
Sakura Haruno The Gaming Addict, and Her Gamified Life [Naruto]
- Thread starter Sendicard
- Start date
Mirriam Grave
The Bemused. The Amused. The Unstable.
- Location
- The edge of a point.
Sakura's Tunnel Vision hampering her as always. XD
And Kakashi going around getting petted by little girls.
He is never living this down.
And I am certain that Ino will make sure that the entire village knows before the week is out.
Which just means she is going to get her ass kicked harder later, but it will be worth it.
And Kakashi going around getting petted by little girls.
He is never living this down.
And I am certain that Ino will make sure that the entire village knows before the week is out.
Which just means she is going to get her ass kicked harder later, but it will be worth it.
Chapter 130 - Arc 8 - Forest of Quest: Questioning Existence
New
Sendicard
Spreading Smiles
- Location
- New Mexico, USA
- Pronouns
- YouPick
Here we have the last full chapter in Book 4.
I wanna say 4? Could be 5, not sure where I'd place the proper book places. I know Arc 1 and 2 and 3 were the same book.
Then 4 and 5 was kind of a book? 6 Might be in that, but then if I consider 4 its own book - sure had its own arcs and length - 5 and 6 sorta work better combined?
7 and 8 is one- it's not important.
The point is this "Book" ends mid-way through next chapter, and then we have a whole new adventure. That's fun.
Enjoy the chapter! Patreon/Discord link: Sendicard/WitchAtTheEnd | Linktree
Despite being told to stay away, Ino's never ran faster in her life. That explosion couldn't have been Sakura. She's looked at her skills, she's been inside her body, nothing she's capable of could ever do that. So whatever she's up against can make the world shake and the sky disappear. Her legs move faster than any of her teammates can keep up with despite being the physically weakest of them. Tears stain her eyes and a branch cuts her as she darts past, but she doesn't care. The system can go fuck itself, if she can buy Sakura three seconds she'll be there. It's not even about love, she'd do the same for Shikamaru, Chouji, and even Naruto.
Kakashi tried to teach her not to get in the way, and she understood the lesson. She still has a scar from it, she'll never forget how much faster a backliner dies compared to a frontliner, and why they each have their own tactical place on the field. None of that matters, she'll become a frontliner for Sakura. She can't even hear their shouts anymore. She's not that far, how come no one's there yet? Are they all going about this tactically like it's not one of their own in danger? They are, aren't they? Every Jonin here is looking at the situation and waiting for the perfect time while Sakura suffers alone.
She can't even hate them, because if it wasn't someone essential she'd do the same. Sakura would too, she'd get mad at her for even thinking otherwise. Something truly powerful is up ahead and every tactical move needs to be made with weight and consideration beyond her years. That doesn't stop her feet from moving so fast she feels her bones creak in irritation.
"Don't let your guard down, he's not gone." She shouts out to them, watching Gaara land on the branch beside her, and seeing Sasuke nod his head with a slow determination. She can't help but notice that there's a squirrel on Gaara's head, and she hasn't heard any wet thumps or poofs from the one she substituted with. She doesn't have any time to think why Gaara saved the squirrel, but she's happy he's feeling better these days and crushing everything into bloody mulch isn't his first reaction. She'd love to get a real explanation for that though, from what she can tell his life was hell and she walked in and suddenly it's better without her doing a damn thing. That's weird, and probably related to the system. Before any more whimsical thought, she needs to see if that trait is relevant and then she needs to come up with a plan for how to survive the next three minutes.
Why even let her do it if it's going to punish her? It gave her the ability, it prompted her to use it, it- well it's a positive she wouldn't have gotten otherwise, it's not like it matters. Every day she questions this system a little more. If its motive is to make her strong, shouldn't it be rewarding her for random stuff? Why not just give her a hundred stat points for free because 'Mondays'?
Either she's wrong about its motivation, or something is heavily restricting it. Whatever the case, she doesn't have any time to think about it because a voice brings her eyes to a flaming tree across from them. "And how exactly did you know I wasn't dead?" His face is burnt, rotted flesh drips off of him to the ground below to reveal a new perfectly smooth skin that neglects to remember what even happened. A lot of his flesh is peeling like that, grossly sloughing off of his abused body. His clothes are untouched, meaning he was damaged conceptually and not with physical force. He really is undead, or at least so dark in nature the rules of the world can't discern the difference.
More importantly, he looks absolutely furious with her and she gets why. Rage burns in his eyes, fire doesn't so much simmer behind them as a blazing inferno thrashes around in an attempt to get out and devour her whole. She's probably left the peace making part of their engagement which means she's dead the moment he attacks. His sword is pointed at the dirt below, his free hand twitching with eagerness to tear her in half. Beyond the flame deep inside him she can see his shiny yellow eyes glow brightly and visibly despite the mid-day light beaming down on them from above. Three minutes, five seconds. They don't win this unless they do something stupid. So she takes a breath, and she answers him to buy an extra few moments of life. "The system hadn't informed me you were dead." She looks up at the timer with concern, and swipes open her inventory. It doesn't actually let her pull anything out, yet another weirdness that doesn't make sense if the sole motivation is to make her strong.
What it does do is let her see all of the items she has on her person and let her mind race while Orochimaru is staring her down instead of attacking. He's cautious, concerned, what she just did hurt him and for the first time in the entire fight this isn't playtime. He's only hesitating to remove her head from her shoulders because he's worried she might be able to do that again, and when he realizes she can't he'll enjoy shoving his hand through her chest. She can feel the heart beating in her chest much stronger than she's ever felt it before, she's breathing one of her last breaths and her only hope is that whoever arrives next is enough to stall him for the person after them to arrive and so on. The worst part is she can feel a lot of their souls nearby, but not approaching. They're strategizing, trying to figure out the best approach and she's a sacrifice for that time.
She can't even be mad. The system's lying to her by telling her they'll be here soon, but it's doing its best and desperately screaming into the void, isn't it. It's just like her in that way. It wants to believe but unlike her it isn't restricted enough by reality to understand that if they don't move in it's just over. Was the five minute timer ever really important? It wasn't, was it, it was just there to give her hope, give her something to pay attention to. Just like what it did to Ino…
That's cute, in that she's about to die so everything's cute kind of way.
This is out of her hands, besides the next few seconds that is. Max level? What does any of that matter? He's too strong for her efforts to really make a difference, that's the only thing there that has any significance. Her eyes catch something in the inventory, and she reaches into her pouch and unseals her only hope. Something that'll matter so much in thirty seconds that it might save Sasuke's life. Probably not hers, but the system maybe revived her once right?
She's not a fool. It either won't let her die, or none of it matters anyway. Sasuke matters, Gaara matters, everyone coming to save her matters. She's pretty sure they're going to pepper in one after another so all she needs is to buy thirty seconds for the next person and she needs to hope that they can buy thirty seconds for the next person after that. "Run, now." She mumbles.
"I'm not leaving you." Sasuke shakes his head.
"You're planning something dumb, I will be there for it." Gaara grumbles at her.
"I'm serious guys, fucking run, now-"
Sasuke grabs her chin, makes her look at him right in his pretty almost girly eyes. Some find the Sharingan intimidating, she doesn't, and she can only think back to when he said the Uchiha find red eyes attractive. "No." He says with so much vehemence her system doesn't even need to tell her, and she ignores the prompt telling her that he's truly going to refuse. It almost looks like he's going to kiss her like Ino did, and it's their last moment so she's not going to ruin it by saying something. She feels her cheeks heat up just like they did when it was clear Ino was about to pull something. Is she actually lacking in romance or is she just stupid? Luckily, maybe unluckily? Who even knows, he lets her go and coughs into his fist.
This was an awkward moment for Orochimaru to stare at them through, she's grateful he appears to have taken something nostalgic and personal from the action. Gaara pats her shoulder in a much less weird display of standing by her side.
"It can tell something like that?" Orochimaru asks her, making her have to blink and think back to their exchange only a few seconds prior. His death, right, it told her he wasn't dead. His voice is thick with curiosity but also hatred. He's no longer more interested than he is bloodthirsty, without his hesitance she'd be dead. Without answering him she'd be a rotting corpse already smeared across the forest floor. She'd originally held back from calling him out but he's going to move in a second, Sasuke's going to get in the way, Gaara will be right behind him, and all three of them will die.
She needs to piss him off, focus everything he has on her, for the first time since this started she has a real tangible plan and hopefully the boys will get cold feet and leave because this is officially a sacrificial gambit..
"It knows how strong you are, it knows your name, it even knows why you're here." She explains, the man's grip on his sword causes his knuckles to become whiter as she talks. "Orochimaru, invading the exams to steal the Uchiha and-"
Instinct alone allows her to fall backwards just in time for him to fly over her with rage. A screech of pure fury fills the air with enough killing intent that only her acceptance that she's dead no matter what happens stops her from being stopped still in place. She's lucky he's still off balance from that explosion she'd probably have died from that strike otherwise.
Her brain shows her a thousand ways she'll die as his sword bisects the area her face just was, but the only detail worth taking in is the way reality shimmers for a second where his sword passes. It wasn't doing that before, and it confirms something she'd already suspected deep in the back of her brain where hope goes to die. A smile graces her lips, the system didn't just ask for help from those here, did it? She shoulda eaten more salt.
Abandon her? A mere fear tactic to push her to buy it time at all costs, it's ready and willing to sacrifice everything to ensure whatever goal it has in mind isn't ruined. The only reason her status would be redacted is because she's so dead it can't do anything to save her… She hopes.
She's gambled on worse odds.
Jiraiya left a shadow clone to wait around and wait for her call. He ordered it to stay there, firmly waiting until the message could get through no matter what while he finished up some tasks in Konoha proper, including a meeting with Sarutobi. Trials are for growing and she'd never grow if he just appeared beside her the moment there was trouble, he'd stunt Naruto's growth too simply by appearing in their time of need and making them expect it anytime they were in trouble. He could have sent a shadow clone to at least watch, but he's too soft-hearted and is well aware he'd spring in too early if they were in any danger.
There's a rough line in the sand between coddling and providing reasonable protection, and where that line lies is a matter of opinion that almost no one can agree on. He's of the opinion children should grow with guidance, but not a shield. Some will die, it's the unfortunate truth, but no matter what you do you can't save everyone from the ninja life they signed up for. Their odds of survival when he's not around go up if he doesn't ruin their chances at growth, and he's okay with that math. Odds were his old teammate's thing anyway, he just does what he feels is right. In a perfect world he would save every child, but he just can't do that, so he does his best and that means leaving a shadow clone in the forest and not waiting in the trees right outside her meeting point with his strongest Jutsu ready just because a Genin is a little scared.
So one would expect that when Asuma's clone arrives with Shino's bugs they'd find him waiting on a log like he had planned, a small toad in his lap ready to give Sakura crap for needing to crawl to him for help. Just enough planned guilt that combined with the price he charged her - some fun posing training - she shouldn't just expect his help whenever. His clone should be more than enough to kill whatever Chunin snuck into the exam to mess with her anyway, or if it does happen to be a Jonin a clone would easily hold it off long enough for him to properly get there himself. The intent was to be there waiting, a smile on his wrinkled old artificial cloney face, but when Asuma's shadow clone touches down in the clearing he finds an empty log and pops himself to pass the message along.
The moment a plume of smoke erupted in the forest and Jiraiya's senses tingled all the way in Konoha proper, he knew he made a mistake by not already being in place. Sarutobi said she had anxiety and panic attacks in the academy, how was he supposed to know she meant Orochimaru was in the forest! Where was the panic, where was the fear in her eyes, why was a little discomfort able to override a very real and not exaggerated fear of certain death? He'd made her pose and that seemed to be the worst part of her day, why!?
He's heard of people growing quickly out of the academy before, graduating the academy very early isn't unheard of either. Minato did, and boy did Minato have baggage. But graduating the academy a perfectly normal girl and changing into someone so unphased by their own death they manage to trick him into thinking this isn't that serious? That's unheard of. Skills are one thing but the mindset of a ninja shouldn't just flip like a switch. Danzo's probably involved in this… he'll be telling the old man on the bastard.
He's made a lot of mistakes in his day, this might be up there in the book of top regrets he plans to write one day to teach the next generation what not to do. At least in this instance, the message that appeared in his vision telling him to go actually arrived after he started moving so he reacted faster than even the stupid system wanted him to.
"Kakashi!" His feet slam down next to the silver haired cyclops and kick off immediately to prevent slowing either of them down. He doesn't even allow the elite Jonin a moment of recognition before he's barking. "How interesting is that girl?"
"Why is that, hah, the question?" Kakashi's struggling to keep his breath steady, good, it means he doesn't have to stress the importance of a quick response. "She might be breaking records for how long I would have to list what's not normal."
"Good, then she probably has a few minutes. Full speed." Unfortunately for Kakashi, Jiraiya will be there first. He just hopes it's before they're forced to make graves - "What the fuck!?" His feet slam to a halt, taking in the world in front of him. It's not just him speaking without thought and halting, he finds Kakashi stopping right beside him. They both stand stock still, watching as the world explodes in the distance. A light surges into the sky, shattering the clouds and banishing all that dares to be aligned with the darkness.
"That wasn't from Orochimaru." Jiraiya gawks with eyes wide enough that they threaten to pop out of his skull.
"No, that was Sakura being interesting again." Kakashi allows himself a soft exhale, knowing that Sakura will probably be okay for a little longer. "If that much firepower is being thrown around we need to find the others and move in at once, trickling in will just get everyone killed."
Jiraiya doesn't like it, he's sure Kakashi doesn't either, but the Anbu Captain of the past speaks the truth. He probably has more experience acting in crisis than even the Sannin… okay maybe close. "You go, I can handle it." With that, Jiraiya kicks off and heads straight towards her as fast as he reasonably can without wasting resources he'll need to fight another Sannin. Hopefully whatever she's sensing that lets her know he's there isn't too fried by Orochimaru standing right in front of her, and she knows she just needs to hold on another minute. If it was a normal Jonin he'd already be there, he could easily have expended a ton of chakra and gotten there in seconds, but with the foe being Orochimaru that'd just leave him weak and easily picked off.
There's no point in showing up just to die.
The first dodge was luck, the second a group effort of Gaara's sand and a fireball from Sasuke to slow him down. The third is the happenstance of the right tree being in the right place.
The fourth? She wouldn't even call it a dodge. The magical crossbow she calls to her arms makes him hesitate for just long enough for her to shift to the side. Even that only buys her enough time that his slash only makes her lose her weapon. It sucks to lose a powerful tool like that but she has bigger concerns. He spends just enough time vengefully smashing the crossbow that hurt him into the dirt for her to whip out Hunger. He doesn't even properly look at her, instead he kicks the weapon beneath him hard enough to send wooden splinters flying into the air just as she shoves her sword through her arm. She doesn't care about a minute from now, what's it matter if she causes herself a little damage if it gives her the power to survive ten more seconds?
She's happy to watch the sword slide out of her flesh and seal most of the wound behind it. She's never tested it because stabbing herself is insane, but the confirmation that the damage mitigation from stabbing herself with her own sword is conceptual and not physical is important. It confirms what she already suspected, her body is less a real world object and more a projection of magic. When did that become fact? Was it when she died in Wave, or was it before that point?
Did she ever exist, or was she placed into a world without her, warping everything up to her graduation because some otherworldly force needed her here? Does Ino look the same in all of her old memories because she's bad at this, or because one day she poofed into existence and an entire simulation had to be run? If so, whoever came up with her pathetic backstory is an asshole.
Does the answer to any of that matter? It's funny how staring at death makes her question everything.
She moves forward while channeling her chakra enough the blood on Hunger glows. "Fatal slash!" She shouts at the top of her lungs, not even sparing a second before spawning a five elemental sword above her head. It spins with wind and sparks with lightning as she sends it off after the frantically moving Sannin. Hunger's bloody path of flaming vengeance is an afterthought for the god amongst men, as is the five elemental sword, so she's using the moisture in the air from the river nearby and entirely too much chakra to send a barrage of water shuriken before the constructed sword is even finished blowing up.
Another sword is sent before the shuriken are dodged, and another volley of water shuriken is sent before the sword is deflected. She stands her ground because focusing any of her energy on anything other than bursting everything she has out at top speed won't stop him for more than a second. A sand hand slams where Orochimaru just was and she curses that Gaara caught up so fast, half the point of throwing everything into this was to create a hostile enough space around her they would break away long enough that she could do what she needs to with the bag nestled in her kunai pouch. It's not just Gaara though, despite her best wishes ninja wire takes to the fray and ignites in a display that she would normally call beautiful if they weren't sealing their fates by following her.
She can't blame them though, they're in the list of people she'd sacrifice for, she can't judge their list. "Get behind me! Now!" She shouts just as she hears Orochimaru growl and get serious, standing his ground instead of dodging. He's planning on killing her in the next strike, but that's fine. She gave up on surviving when he got serious, it doesn't bother her.
Her fingers reach into her pouch and grab the bag she released from the seal earlier. She feels the energy of a hundred souls contained within her hands, and that's all the confirmation she needs that she has the right object in her grasp. It was her reward for a job she didn't even know she was doing at the time and now it's the most important piece in a suicidal plan that she now needs to figure out how to make sure Gaara and Sasuke survive.
She pulls a big rock of salt she carries around for cooking out of a seal in her sleeve, and throws both the bag full of souls and the rock forward. Her energy charges, her magic swirls, and she casts forth a spell into the expanse between her and death, forcing her bidding on the aftermath of a massacre in another world. "Soul Explosion!"
Back when she was given the goblin souls her system had said that salt was the catalyst for the transfer to the rest point between worlds, and the scary woman had claimed enough power could tear open reality. She doesn't like putting her faith in others but just this once she'll gamble on the hope that she wasn't lied to. "Rollout!" She doesn't wait to find out what happens, she has to trust the system called out for help from every possible source. She has to trust that her jutsu is good enough, she has to trust that Orochimaru doesn't make it out in time to finish off her and her friends if she really does manage to save them.
She puts everything she has left into creating the strongest barrier she's ever even attempted. Gaara and Sasuke are right behind her and need her absolute best, they need a shield like nothing else she's ever even dreamt of. She asks for a miracle, she pushes everything into this. She begs the system to let her break the rules again, and finds no such prompt arriving when it matters.
She has just enough time to see light engulf the world for a second time in short order, before the ball closes around them, and she loses consciousness from Chakra exhaustion.
I wanna say 4? Could be 5, not sure where I'd place the proper book places. I know Arc 1 and 2 and 3 were the same book.
Then 4 and 5 was kind of a book? 6 Might be in that, but then if I consider 4 its own book - sure had its own arcs and length - 5 and 6 sorta work better combined?
7 and 8 is one- it's not important.
The point is this "Book" ends mid-way through next chapter, and then we have a whole new adventure. That's fun.
Enjoy the chapter! Patreon/Discord link: Sendicard/WitchAtTheEnd | Linktree
Despite being told to stay away, Ino's never ran faster in her life. That explosion couldn't have been Sakura. She's looked at her skills, she's been inside her body, nothing she's capable of could ever do that. So whatever she's up against can make the world shake and the sky disappear. Her legs move faster than any of her teammates can keep up with despite being the physically weakest of them. Tears stain her eyes and a branch cuts her as she darts past, but she doesn't care. The system can go fuck itself, if she can buy Sakura three seconds she'll be there. It's not even about love, she'd do the same for Shikamaru, Chouji, and even Naruto.
Kakashi tried to teach her not to get in the way, and she understood the lesson. She still has a scar from it, she'll never forget how much faster a backliner dies compared to a frontliner, and why they each have their own tactical place on the field. None of that matters, she'll become a frontliner for Sakura. She can't even hear their shouts anymore. She's not that far, how come no one's there yet? Are they all going about this tactically like it's not one of their own in danger? They are, aren't they? Every Jonin here is looking at the situation and waiting for the perfect time while Sakura suffers alone.
She can't even hate them, because if it wasn't someone essential she'd do the same. Sakura would too, she'd get mad at her for even thinking otherwise. Something truly powerful is up ahead and every tactical move needs to be made with weight and consideration beyond her years. That doesn't stop her feet from moving so fast she feels her bones creak in irritation.
| For damaging an enemy at the measurable level cap of 300, you have been awarded the trait Titan Slayer 1, the effects have been reduced as the rules were broken to achieve this accomplishment |
"Don't let your guard down, he's not gone." She shouts out to them, watching Gaara land on the branch beside her, and seeing Sasuke nod his head with a slow determination. She can't help but notice that there's a squirrel on Gaara's head, and she hasn't heard any wet thumps or poofs from the one she substituted with. She doesn't have any time to think why Gaara saved the squirrel, but she's happy he's feeling better these days and crushing everything into bloody mulch isn't his first reaction. She'd love to get a real explanation for that though, from what she can tell his life was hell and she walked in and suddenly it's better without her doing a damn thing. That's weird, and probably related to the system. Before any more whimsical thought, she needs to see if that trait is relevant and then she needs to come up with a plan for how to survive the next three minutes.
| Titan Slayer 1 - You've dealt at least 1 damage to someone at the trackable maximum, (600 in each stat) and as such your stats are now considered 25% stronger when acting against someone stronger than you. Obtained by Cheating: Effects are halved, this may be removed by simply obtaining the trait again within the rules. |
Why even let her do it if it's going to punish her? It gave her the ability, it prompted her to use it, it- well it's a positive she wouldn't have gotten otherwise, it's not like it matters. Every day she questions this system a little more. If its motive is to make her strong, shouldn't it be rewarding her for random stuff? Why not just give her a hundred stat points for free because 'Mondays'?
Either she's wrong about its motivation, or something is heavily restricting it. Whatever the case, she doesn't have any time to think about it because a voice brings her eyes to a flaming tree across from them. "And how exactly did you know I wasn't dead?" His face is burnt, rotted flesh drips off of him to the ground below to reveal a new perfectly smooth skin that neglects to remember what even happened. A lot of his flesh is peeling like that, grossly sloughing off of his abused body. His clothes are untouched, meaning he was damaged conceptually and not with physical force. He really is undead, or at least so dark in nature the rules of the world can't discern the difference.
More importantly, he looks absolutely furious with her and she gets why. Rage burns in his eyes, fire doesn't so much simmer behind them as a blazing inferno thrashes around in an attempt to get out and devour her whole. She's probably left the peace making part of their engagement which means she's dead the moment he attacks. His sword is pointed at the dirt below, his free hand twitching with eagerness to tear her in half. Beyond the flame deep inside him she can see his shiny yellow eyes glow brightly and visibly despite the mid-day light beaming down on them from above. Three minutes, five seconds. They don't win this unless they do something stupid. So she takes a breath, and she answers him to buy an extra few moments of life. "The system hadn't informed me you were dead." She looks up at the timer with concern, and swipes open her inventory. It doesn't actually let her pull anything out, yet another weirdness that doesn't make sense if the sole motivation is to make her strong.
What it does do is let her see all of the items she has on her person and let her mind race while Orochimaru is staring her down instead of attacking. He's cautious, concerned, what she just did hurt him and for the first time in the entire fight this isn't playtime. He's only hesitating to remove her head from her shoulders because he's worried she might be able to do that again, and when he realizes she can't he'll enjoy shoving his hand through her chest. She can feel the heart beating in her chest much stronger than she's ever felt it before, she's breathing one of her last breaths and her only hope is that whoever arrives next is enough to stall him for the person after them to arrive and so on. The worst part is she can feel a lot of their souls nearby, but not approaching. They're strategizing, trying to figure out the best approach and she's a sacrifice for that time.
She can't even be mad. The system's lying to her by telling her they'll be here soon, but it's doing its best and desperately screaming into the void, isn't it. It's just like her in that way. It wants to believe but unlike her it isn't restricted enough by reality to understand that if they don't move in it's just over. Was the five minute timer ever really important? It wasn't, was it, it was just there to give her hope, give her something to pay attention to. Just like what it did to Ino…
That's cute, in that she's about to die so everything's cute kind of way.
This is out of her hands, besides the next few seconds that is. Max level? What does any of that matter? He's too strong for her efforts to really make a difference, that's the only thing there that has any significance. Her eyes catch something in the inventory, and she reaches into her pouch and unseals her only hope. Something that'll matter so much in thirty seconds that it might save Sasuke's life. Probably not hers, but the system maybe revived her once right?
She's not a fool. It either won't let her die, or none of it matters anyway. Sasuke matters, Gaara matters, everyone coming to save her matters. She's pretty sure they're going to pepper in one after another so all she needs is to buy thirty seconds for the next person and she needs to hope that they can buy thirty seconds for the next person after that. "Run, now." She mumbles.
"I'm not leaving you." Sasuke shakes his head.
"You're planning something dumb, I will be there for it." Gaara grumbles at her.
"I'm serious guys, fucking run, now-"
Sasuke grabs her chin, makes her look at him right in his pretty almost girly eyes. Some find the Sharingan intimidating, she doesn't, and she can only think back to when he said the Uchiha find red eyes attractive. "No." He says with so much vehemence her system doesn't even need to tell her, and she ignores the prompt telling her that he's truly going to refuse. It almost looks like he's going to kiss her like Ino did, and it's their last moment so she's not going to ruin it by saying something. She feels her cheeks heat up just like they did when it was clear Ino was about to pull something. Is she actually lacking in romance or is she just stupid? Luckily, maybe unluckily? Who even knows, he lets her go and coughs into his fist.
This was an awkward moment for Orochimaru to stare at them through, she's grateful he appears to have taken something nostalgic and personal from the action. Gaara pats her shoulder in a much less weird display of standing by her side.
"It can tell something like that?" Orochimaru asks her, making her have to blink and think back to their exchange only a few seconds prior. His death, right, it told her he wasn't dead. His voice is thick with curiosity but also hatred. He's no longer more interested than he is bloodthirsty, without his hesitance she'd be dead. Without answering him she'd be a rotting corpse already smeared across the forest floor. She'd originally held back from calling him out but he's going to move in a second, Sasuke's going to get in the way, Gaara will be right behind him, and all three of them will die.
She needs to piss him off, focus everything he has on her, for the first time since this started she has a real tangible plan and hopefully the boys will get cold feet and leave because this is officially a sacrificial gambit..
"It knows how strong you are, it knows your name, it even knows why you're here." She explains, the man's grip on his sword causes his knuckles to become whiter as she talks. "Orochimaru, invading the exams to steal the Uchiha and-"
Instinct alone allows her to fall backwards just in time for him to fly over her with rage. A screech of pure fury fills the air with enough killing intent that only her acceptance that she's dead no matter what happens stops her from being stopped still in place. She's lucky he's still off balance from that explosion she'd probably have died from that strike otherwise.
Her brain shows her a thousand ways she'll die as his sword bisects the area her face just was, but the only detail worth taking in is the way reality shimmers for a second where his sword passes. It wasn't doing that before, and it confirms something she'd already suspected deep in the back of her brain where hope goes to die. A smile graces her lips, the system didn't just ask for help from those here, did it? She shoulda eaten more salt.
Abandon her? A mere fear tactic to push her to buy it time at all costs, it's ready and willing to sacrifice everything to ensure whatever goal it has in mind isn't ruined. The only reason her status would be redacted is because she's so dead it can't do anything to save her… She hopes.
She's gambled on worse odds.
Jiraiya left a shadow clone to wait around and wait for her call. He ordered it to stay there, firmly waiting until the message could get through no matter what while he finished up some tasks in Konoha proper, including a meeting with Sarutobi. Trials are for growing and she'd never grow if he just appeared beside her the moment there was trouble, he'd stunt Naruto's growth too simply by appearing in their time of need and making them expect it anytime they were in trouble. He could have sent a shadow clone to at least watch, but he's too soft-hearted and is well aware he'd spring in too early if they were in any danger.
There's a rough line in the sand between coddling and providing reasonable protection, and where that line lies is a matter of opinion that almost no one can agree on. He's of the opinion children should grow with guidance, but not a shield. Some will die, it's the unfortunate truth, but no matter what you do you can't save everyone from the ninja life they signed up for. Their odds of survival when he's not around go up if he doesn't ruin their chances at growth, and he's okay with that math. Odds were his old teammate's thing anyway, he just does what he feels is right. In a perfect world he would save every child, but he just can't do that, so he does his best and that means leaving a shadow clone in the forest and not waiting in the trees right outside her meeting point with his strongest Jutsu ready just because a Genin is a little scared.
So one would expect that when Asuma's clone arrives with Shino's bugs they'd find him waiting on a log like he had planned, a small toad in his lap ready to give Sakura crap for needing to crawl to him for help. Just enough planned guilt that combined with the price he charged her - some fun posing training - she shouldn't just expect his help whenever. His clone should be more than enough to kill whatever Chunin snuck into the exam to mess with her anyway, or if it does happen to be a Jonin a clone would easily hold it off long enough for him to properly get there himself. The intent was to be there waiting, a smile on his wrinkled old artificial cloney face, but when Asuma's shadow clone touches down in the clearing he finds an empty log and pops himself to pass the message along.
The moment a plume of smoke erupted in the forest and Jiraiya's senses tingled all the way in Konoha proper, he knew he made a mistake by not already being in place. Sarutobi said she had anxiety and panic attacks in the academy, how was he supposed to know she meant Orochimaru was in the forest! Where was the panic, where was the fear in her eyes, why was a little discomfort able to override a very real and not exaggerated fear of certain death? He'd made her pose and that seemed to be the worst part of her day, why!?
He's heard of people growing quickly out of the academy before, graduating the academy very early isn't unheard of either. Minato did, and boy did Minato have baggage. But graduating the academy a perfectly normal girl and changing into someone so unphased by their own death they manage to trick him into thinking this isn't that serious? That's unheard of. Skills are one thing but the mindset of a ninja shouldn't just flip like a switch. Danzo's probably involved in this… he'll be telling the old man on the bastard.
He's made a lot of mistakes in his day, this might be up there in the book of top regrets he plans to write one day to teach the next generation what not to do. At least in this instance, the message that appeared in his vision telling him to go actually arrived after he started moving so he reacted faster than even the stupid system wanted him to.
"Kakashi!" His feet slam down next to the silver haired cyclops and kick off immediately to prevent slowing either of them down. He doesn't even allow the elite Jonin a moment of recognition before he's barking. "How interesting is that girl?"
"Why is that, hah, the question?" Kakashi's struggling to keep his breath steady, good, it means he doesn't have to stress the importance of a quick response. "She might be breaking records for how long I would have to list what's not normal."
"Good, then she probably has a few minutes. Full speed." Unfortunately for Kakashi, Jiraiya will be there first. He just hopes it's before they're forced to make graves - "What the fuck!?" His feet slam to a halt, taking in the world in front of him. It's not just him speaking without thought and halting, he finds Kakashi stopping right beside him. They both stand stock still, watching as the world explodes in the distance. A light surges into the sky, shattering the clouds and banishing all that dares to be aligned with the darkness.
"That wasn't from Orochimaru." Jiraiya gawks with eyes wide enough that they threaten to pop out of his skull.
"No, that was Sakura being interesting again." Kakashi allows himself a soft exhale, knowing that Sakura will probably be okay for a little longer. "If that much firepower is being thrown around we need to find the others and move in at once, trickling in will just get everyone killed."
Jiraiya doesn't like it, he's sure Kakashi doesn't either, but the Anbu Captain of the past speaks the truth. He probably has more experience acting in crisis than even the Sannin… okay maybe close. "You go, I can handle it." With that, Jiraiya kicks off and heads straight towards her as fast as he reasonably can without wasting resources he'll need to fight another Sannin. Hopefully whatever she's sensing that lets her know he's there isn't too fried by Orochimaru standing right in front of her, and she knows she just needs to hold on another minute. If it was a normal Jonin he'd already be there, he could easily have expended a ton of chakra and gotten there in seconds, but with the foe being Orochimaru that'd just leave him weak and easily picked off.
There's no point in showing up just to die.
The first dodge was luck, the second a group effort of Gaara's sand and a fireball from Sasuke to slow him down. The third is the happenstance of the right tree being in the right place.
The fourth? She wouldn't even call it a dodge. The magical crossbow she calls to her arms makes him hesitate for just long enough for her to shift to the side. Even that only buys her enough time that his slash only makes her lose her weapon. It sucks to lose a powerful tool like that but she has bigger concerns. He spends just enough time vengefully smashing the crossbow that hurt him into the dirt for her to whip out Hunger. He doesn't even properly look at her, instead he kicks the weapon beneath him hard enough to send wooden splinters flying into the air just as she shoves her sword through her arm. She doesn't care about a minute from now, what's it matter if she causes herself a little damage if it gives her the power to survive ten more seconds?
She's happy to watch the sword slide out of her flesh and seal most of the wound behind it. She's never tested it because stabbing herself is insane, but the confirmation that the damage mitigation from stabbing herself with her own sword is conceptual and not physical is important. It confirms what she already suspected, her body is less a real world object and more a projection of magic. When did that become fact? Was it when she died in Wave, or was it before that point?
Did she ever exist, or was she placed into a world without her, warping everything up to her graduation because some otherworldly force needed her here? Does Ino look the same in all of her old memories because she's bad at this, or because one day she poofed into existence and an entire simulation had to be run? If so, whoever came up with her pathetic backstory is an asshole.
Does the answer to any of that matter? It's funny how staring at death makes her question everything.
She moves forward while channeling her chakra enough the blood on Hunger glows. "Fatal slash!" She shouts at the top of her lungs, not even sparing a second before spawning a five elemental sword above her head. It spins with wind and sparks with lightning as she sends it off after the frantically moving Sannin. Hunger's bloody path of flaming vengeance is an afterthought for the god amongst men, as is the five elemental sword, so she's using the moisture in the air from the river nearby and entirely too much chakra to send a barrage of water shuriken before the constructed sword is even finished blowing up.
Another sword is sent before the shuriken are dodged, and another volley of water shuriken is sent before the sword is deflected. She stands her ground because focusing any of her energy on anything other than bursting everything she has out at top speed won't stop him for more than a second. A sand hand slams where Orochimaru just was and she curses that Gaara caught up so fast, half the point of throwing everything into this was to create a hostile enough space around her they would break away long enough that she could do what she needs to with the bag nestled in her kunai pouch. It's not just Gaara though, despite her best wishes ninja wire takes to the fray and ignites in a display that she would normally call beautiful if they weren't sealing their fates by following her.
She can't blame them though, they're in the list of people she'd sacrifice for, she can't judge their list. "Get behind me! Now!" She shouts just as she hears Orochimaru growl and get serious, standing his ground instead of dodging. He's planning on killing her in the next strike, but that's fine. She gave up on surviving when he got serious, it doesn't bother her.
Her fingers reach into her pouch and grab the bag she released from the seal earlier. She feels the energy of a hundred souls contained within her hands, and that's all the confirmation she needs that she has the right object in her grasp. It was her reward for a job she didn't even know she was doing at the time and now it's the most important piece in a suicidal plan that she now needs to figure out how to make sure Gaara and Sasuke survive.
She pulls a big rock of salt she carries around for cooking out of a seal in her sleeve, and throws both the bag full of souls and the rock forward. Her energy charges, her magic swirls, and she casts forth a spell into the expanse between her and death, forcing her bidding on the aftermath of a massacre in another world. "Soul Explosion!"
Back when she was given the goblin souls her system had said that salt was the catalyst for the transfer to the rest point between worlds, and the scary woman had claimed enough power could tear open reality. She doesn't like putting her faith in others but just this once she'll gamble on the hope that she wasn't lied to. "Rollout!" She doesn't wait to find out what happens, she has to trust the system called out for help from every possible source. She has to trust that her jutsu is good enough, she has to trust that Orochimaru doesn't make it out in time to finish off her and her friends if she really does manage to save them.
She puts everything she has left into creating the strongest barrier she's ever even attempted. Gaara and Sasuke are right behind her and need her absolute best, they need a shield like nothing else she's ever even dreamt of. She asks for a miracle, she pushes everything into this. She begs the system to let her break the rules again, and finds no such prompt arriving when it matters.
She has just enough time to see light engulf the world for a second time in short order, before the ball closes around them, and she loses consciousness from Chakra exhaustion.
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Krazyfan1
Worrying for the future.
- Location
- Australia
BethofDeath
Girls just wanna have pun
- Location
- Kakistocratic Christofascist Oligarchy of America
- Pronouns
- She/Her
There's a joke in here about how Sakura gotta get that boom boom boom, somewhere.
What third boom, you ask? This whole situation is gonna blow up in the rumor mill!
What third boom, you ask? This whole situation is gonna blow up in the rumor mill!
Sendicard
Spreading Smiles
- Location
- New Mexico, USA
- Pronouns
- YouPick
That's not funny, a lot of people are dead.
Hehe
BethofDeath
Girls just wanna have pun
- Location
- Kakistocratic Christofascist Oligarchy of America
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yeah, but the Mad Science gets done, and Tenten makes a neat gun, for the people who are (and the dogs who aren't) still alive!
Sendicard
Spreading Smiles
- Location
- New Mexico, USA
- Pronouns
- YouPick
Yeah everytime someone mentioned the timer I wanted to say "it could say an hour, it literally doesn't matter."
But I don't want to ruin the story so a lot of the time I'd rather have people criticize me and say "my bad" than reveal something important and spoil shit.
Like if what I might spoil is a minor detail next chapter, I might hint, but "she's gonna blow everything to hell in a suicidal gambit way before the 5 minutes is up" uh... yeah fam shit on me for the big timer I aint saying shit.
Reader experience is ultimately far more important than my ego.
BethofDeath
Girls just wanna have pun
- Location
- Kakistocratic Christofascist Oligarchy of America
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Nah, but he may need to change his name to Ouchimaru.
Sendicard
Spreading Smiles
- Location
- New Mexico, USA
- Pronouns
- YouPick
It was actually more about trying to open the gate for her.
The hope was that something had caused the system to intentionally contact the scary lady or someone else from another dimension, and try to open a rift here to defend her.
The idea was "I can't fight Orochimaru but if I weaken him and summon a hero from another world..."
Of course she once again drastically underestimated just how powerful soul explosion is, especially with magic based entities instead of Chakra based entities.... you know the energy source the spell is meant for.
- Location
- Pale Blue Dot
...
Sooo, step one: "Blessed Hiroshima Sunrise". The blast in the middle of the Forest of Death was noticeable from Konoha, lit up the cloud cover from below with a blinding flash, aaaand there are observers from all the elemental nations in town.
That was not enough, so step two is obviously "Uholy Necromantic Fusion Minor Apocalypse!", and people are going to be trying to hold onto the floor in Konoha as the shockwave passes.
In completely unrelated news, Deidara just quit Akatsuki and is trying to join a certain household in Konoha.
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Sendicard
Spreading Smiles
- Location
- New Mexico, USA
- Pronouns
- YouPick
You'll find "noticed from Konoha" is an understatement.
I actually have the next chapter already edited for Public chapters so I am actually kinda suffering that I gotta stick to a schedule here or I'll regret it later. I want it out there so damn bad, mnnn!
One thing that is very important, and one of the reasons Sakura jumped the gun here on them not coming to help her. Is that the seeds of her not trusting adults are very old and very grown.
It actually started in one of the first chapters. She came to her parents with a real issue and they laughed at her, they made it feel like it was her fault.
It's really easy for even good parents to mess up like that sometimes, but it had a huge effect.
And then she got stuck with Kakashi, who she has a very bad opinion of - some of it unfair - because he's never tried to fix their relationship.
She's seen his opinion of her, it's low, she doesn't grasp that Kakashi has a low opinion of literally everyone and she's one of his most precious people.
She doesn't actually realize that Kakashi was over there screaming out a plan to approach and save his cute Genin as efficiently as quickly as possible. She sensed his and many other powerful adult souls standing there outside her range, just big enough to feel over Orochimaru but not much.
I didn't give it a lot of justice here because it wasn't really the place, but this was not one moment of her going "well they abandoned me"
She's felt abandoned since the start of the story, this was her accepting it.
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Dopplerdee
Accident Prone(Yes the caps are necessary)
- Location
- Happy Place
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yeah, even at the time I remember thinking that the way they talk about dumb daughter rules and Kakashi doing shit like using a stick to fuck with Sakura, while funny from the outside, was probably not super great for her mental state.
Sendicard
Spreading Smiles
- Location
- New Mexico, USA
- Pronouns
- YouPick
Yeah, and the funny part is that they always meant well.
Kakashi was responding to her request with the stick, he was trying to bring humor to her dark mood.
Her parents have created protocols because she was difficult, and is difficult, and they need to make sure they approach her with the right framework.
It's so easy to forget that your word, your actions, even your well-meaning intents do not have what you actually mean behind them.
Sakura didn't take Kakashi's nonsense as "he's trying to be funny" she took it as "I had a dumb moment and he's incessantly mocking me." Even Sasuke commented on it, and Kakashi actually stopped with the stick because of it.
But he didn't apologize, he didn't explain.
Her parents knew Kakashi wasn't actually intentionally abusing her in the beginning, for a lot of reasons, one of which being they fucking know Kakashi. Most people do; he's been around for a long time and his eccentricities are well know. So they were trying to say "seriously stop worrying about it and figure out what the dumbass means. If it's still really bad in a week we'll look into it."
But what she took was "Kakashi can do anything he wants to me and even my parents won't care."
And that's not to say her doing this is anyone's fault - maybe Orochimaru's - but it is important to realize that everything you do has an effect because there are hundreds of people in everyone's lives, even if tangentially, and those impacts however small do matter. Especially if someone trusts you, or is young.
She didn't basically commit suicide here in a gambit because she was like "my parents don't love me" or because "Kakashi's an asshole"
But she did jump to the conclusion that they are abandoning her because this'd be a somewhat understandable situation to abandon her in, and she already feels abandoned deep inside. She has for a long time.
Even the two months of house arrest, while 100% well meaning, told her that her ninja career can be discarded for the slightest problem.
So you have this preteen girl - almost 13 -, this bubble of emotions faced with certain death and she is already on "they're not really coming for me" before she even notices that they're not coming.
So does she really matter? Would taking out Orochimaru be enough if she did die here?
Probably yeah. Her value isn't zero but it is below "I killed Orochimaru"
So she pulls the trigger.
And I explain this because I guarantee people read this chapter and legitimately thought "Well that was out of nowhere wtf?"
- Location
- Land of Confusion
I've been told that's actually the hardest part of teaching someone. It's surprisingly easy to teach someone, but it's very, very hard to teach only the lesson you intended, and not some other thing you didn't intend at all, either in addition to the original lesson or replacing it.
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- Location
- France
I mean I can't even say that Sakura is wrong. It's not like it was a misunderstanding when she thought the adults that should save her were hanging out just out of range pointedly not saving her. We saw their perspective and they had good reasons and stuff, but it's not like this wasn't what they were doing.
The Stormbringer
Worm Fanfic & Crack Connoisseur
- Location
- Spaaaaace~!
Hopefully Gaara and Sakura's shields will be enough to keep them alive...
In the end its basically still true that unless she's causing trouble for somebody nobody interacts with her in a comprehensible way, and outside of her close personal friends, nobody meets her where she's a quarter of the way across either.
Really, she's prime isekai candidate. She'd miss a few people, but she might genuinely believe they'd be better off without a weirdo like her.
Really, she's prime isekai candidate. She'd miss a few people, but she might genuinely believe they'd be better off without a weirdo like her.
Mirriam Grave
The Bemused. The Amused. The Unstable.
- Location
- The edge of a point.
Oh shit... She killed Ino didn't she?
Fuck, no wonder the System warned that her death would cause the worst timeline and told her to stay away.
Here's to hoping it does drag the scary necromancer lady and she brings Ino back as a Vampire or similar. It isn't like Sakura isn't used to feeding her blood to her son, so why not her wife?
Yeah, she should have read the actual description rather than the numbers.
Can't even blame Kakashi at all, he is one of those people who has been failed by literally everyone in his life. Only some of it being Danzo's fault.
Worst part? If Kakashi had a meter that showed his relationship with himself, it would absolutely be in the negative considering how much he hates himself.
He only continues moving because of Duty. He is more walking corpse than Sakura's Dog is in the ways it matters.