SHINOBI: The RPG - New Game

The Following is a fan based work of fiction: Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden are owned by Shueisha, Viz Entertainment and Masashi Kishimoto. Please support the official release.

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Seal Learned: Storage Seals.

How does it work? It’s a mystery for the ages! No one quite knows...except for you. You can now create your own storage seals.

I mean, I could explain how it works right now, but I’ve got more reading material to get to. Those bombs aren’t going to learn how to make themselves.

Seal Learned: Explosive notes.

Add a little boom, a little pop, a little explosive energy to your combat encounters! You can now create your own explosive notes.

Again, really sad that I don’t get EXP from learning Jutsu but then, game balance really ruins things some times; if I could just get EXP from any jutsu I learn, especially if I could make them? I’d be a god before the end of the year.

I’m only halfway joking.

It took me several hours to read both of those scrolls and Kakashi still hadn’t shown. I mean, I knew he was going to be late, but this really is annoying.

“He’s seriously still not here,” I said, shaking my head.

“Nope,” Hisako replied with irritation. She had been spending the time with a whetstone, sharpening her kunai. Unusually, she carried two and I think she wanted to dual-wield them. Wasn’t going to turn my nose up at it, it wasn’t that impractical for a pair of knifes...but if she were going to dual wield swords, she and I were going to have a debate.

Intelligence Check Success: 10/5.

“Yeah,” Nichiren finally spoke up with a laugh; a short, light sound he made as if he were somewhat short on breath. He had been tightly holding his hands together, tight enough that his hands had gone white on several occasions that I could see. “I wonder what’s keeping him? Hope he’s okay.”

“Wait, Hatake Kakashi?” Hisako asked, her voice lighting up in recognition. “My parents told me a bit about him. Apparently, he’s late to everything and always comes up with the dumbest excuses.”

“Your parents used to work with him?” I asked curiously.

“Not with him,” Hisako clarified, pulling her red jacket tighter across her chest. “They just heard about him. They let him get away with it because he’s supposed to be amazing.”

“Well that’s good,” Nichiren said, adjusting his glasses with a smile that seemed...a little odd. Like it was too wide.

Charisma Check Failed: 4/5.

Well, at least the failures are getting less frequent. Still, I’m going to need to find Charisma improving items. As soon as I collect my first paycheck, I’m going on a shopping spree...no, I’m getting an apartment and then I’m going on a shopping spree.

Actually, wouldn’t I be able to figure out his deal by using Psychology?

Medicine Check Failure: 27/30.

Well, that’s annoying. Still, that opens up another avenue to solving problems. I like having more options to fix stuff; you get enough of them and your poor decisions don’t matter which is the whole point of RPG’s having checks everywhere: player convenience.

“Hey, are you okay?” Hisako asked with a frown. “You seem a little nervous.”

Thank you, that explains a lot.

“Nervous?” Nichiren’s voice got oddly high there for a moment. “No, no, I’m not nervous. Why would you think I’m nervous?”

“Because you obviously are,” Hisako pointed out, her lips pressed into a thin line. “And that’s making me nervous. So what’s the deal?”

“I’m just…” Nichiren took a deep breath. “Hoping to make a good first impression, you know? I’m the first Ninja in my family so I hope Kakashi Sensei likes me.”

I believed him.

Charisma Check Failed: 4/8.

Shut up, game. I guess I don’t. Or is the check to tell that he’s telling the truth and that there’s more to the story? See, failed checks don’t even tell me and that’s not even getting into the perception checks, which don’t tell you they failed until the thing you didn’t notice shows up and jump-scares you.

Hisako hummed. “Well, just take a deep breath and relax. Worrying about it isn’t going to help anyone.”

“Right,” Nichiren nodded, taking another breath. “Right, you’re right. This won’t help anyone.”

Nichiren was breathing and Hisako turned up to me. “Are you still reading up there?”

“Nah, I finished,” I replied, holding up the explosive note scroll. “You want to read it now? Learn how to make bombs?”

“Nah, I already know how,” Hisako answered with a smile. “Why don’t you come join us?”

“Can I read it?” Nichiren asked. “Maybe that’ll help sooth my nerves.”

“Sure,” I said, jumping up on my desk and skipping down to the front row where my two teammates were sitting. I took a seat next to Hisako and tossed Nichiren the scroll. “Here you go.”

Nichiren bungled the catch, causing the scroll to jump one, twice and then three times out of his grasp before he snatched it with both hands. “Thankyouverymuch.”

“Not a problem,” I replied. “It’s a library scroll, so be careful with it.”

“I will,” Nichiren said, rapidly unfurling the scroll and drinking in the contents with his eyes.

“So is that from the second floor?” Hisako asked with curiosity. “I haven’t been to the library since the exam yesterday.”

“That right,” I replied. “The one restricted to Genin and up.”

I honestly can’t wait to see what’s on the Chunin and Jounin floors. The number of skill books would probably make me start salivating.

“Figures,” Hisako nodded. “I don’t know how you lived there, they had nothing interesting on the public floor.”

“Well, their selection of fiction wasn’t that bad,” I debated. “They had some nice adventure novels in there.”

“I guess.” Hisako shrugged. She looked at the door, her pony tail swishing with the momentum and flipping back as she turned to me. “I’m not much of a fiction girl.”

“Oh, then what do you like to read?” I asked.

“Well I like…” She stopped for a second. “You know, I like training and stuff. No time to just read for the sake of it.”

Charisma Check Failed: 4/6.

Shut up game, it’s obvious she doesn’t want to talk about something. I just can’t quite see why and without that little bit of knowledge, I can’t get her to open up. It doesn’t really matter if she doesn’t want to tell me or not, though. She can have her secrets.

“What kind of training do you do?” I asked.

“I’ve been doing a lot of work with these,” Hisako answered, drawing her kunai, twirling them around her fingers before grasping them with a snap. A smile had painted itself across her lips. “Dual-wielding kunai.”

“Nice,” I nodded. “How does it work?”

“Well, it’s all about misdirection,” Hisako replied, standing up on the desk. She performed a few mock-swings with her blades held reverse-grip. “You perform an obvious strike with your off hand or block an attack and with your main hand, you go in for the kill.”

I nodded, watching her go. “So are you going to have a ton of kunai on you at all times? You might have to throw a couple while we’re on mission.”

“Actually, I really don’t like throwing kunai,” Hisako replied, getting back down off her desk. “They’re slower than shuriken so it’s really only useful if you’ve got an explosive note tied to it and they’re distracted. Or you’re preparing a trap.”

“Right, but a kunai isn’t that good for cutting either, right?” I asked with interest.

“No, it’s not,” Hisako nodded in agreement. “I’d rather have a pair of actual knives.”

“Trench knives?”

“Yeah!” Hisako replied, nodding again, this time with more enthusiasm. “I saw a pair of really cool ones in the store when my Mom and I went window shopping, but Mom wants me to buy them with my mission money.”

Smart. Get her to value them by making her earn them. “How much were they?”

Hisako’s enthusiasm immediately faded, her shoulders slouching. “Over a hundred and twenty thousand ryo.”

I whistled. “Must be some knives.”

“Yeah,” Hisako nodded with a grin. “They had the same black steel we use in our kunai, but they had red leather on the grips and when they shined, it’s like I could hear the light coming off the tip. So cool!”

“Is red your favorite color?” I asked.

“Oh! Uh, yeah,” Hisako immediately looked a little taken aback. “Why do you ask?”

“You’re jacket’s red and the leather on the knives you want are also red,” I replied with a shrug. “Just curious.”

“Yeah, it’s my favorite,” Hisako replied. “What about you?”

“Blue,” I replied with a nod.

“How come you aren’t wearing it?” Hisako asked, looking at my wardrobe up and down.

Yeah, I was wearing a white t-shirt, a pair a light tan shorts and the blue sandals that everyone in Konoha wore, so they didn’t count. “I haven’t had the chance to go shopping yet.”

“Why not?” Hisako asked with a frown.

“No cash.”

She blinked. “Oh. Right, sorry. I forgot you were an orphan.”

“It’s okay,” I shrugged, a frown etching itself on my face. “Once I’ve done some missions, I’ll be able to afford some better stuff.”

I miss my old family.

Grieve later, Daisuke.

“Maybe we can go out shopping together?” Hisako offered, looking at me with her face pointed towards the floor.

Not on first paycheck, that’s already spoken for. But later? “Sure, maybe sometime.”

Charisma Check Failure: 4/7.

Shut up, game.

“Something wrong?” Hisako asked, looking concerned. “You look annoyed.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” I answered, a little flustered that I was being called out. “Just remembered that I have something to take care of as soon as possible.”

Speech Check Success: 30/20.

“Oh, yeah, I hate it when I forget stuff,” Hisako nodded. “Like yesterday, I forgot to tell Mom that I passed the exam when I got home because I was too excited.”

“Yeah, it’s annoying,” I agreed.

Actually, speaking of gear, I was going to need to get as heavily armored as I could as fast as possible. According to the game manual, the maximum Damage Reduction that I could get was 85%. So if I couldn’t find anything in the store that would bring me up to that standard, I was going to have to make my own. And fast. Before the C-rank curse kicks in and we get thrown into an A-rank mission for some reason.

Hisako looked over to the door and groaned in disgust. “Where is he?”

“Running late,” I replied.

“But this is ridiculous,” Hisako whined. “It’s been like an hour!”

“You think he’s going to cut into our lunch break?” Nichiren asked over his scroll.

“We’re not in school anymore,” I replied with a raised eyebrow. “You can have lunch whenever you want.”

“Oh.” Nichiren frowned and buried himself deeper in his scroll. “Okay.”

Charisma Check Failure: 4/5.

See, I actually do understand where I went wrong there; I wasn’t trying to use my Speech skill, so the game defaulted to Charisma and I wound up letting that out more harshly than I intended.

Skills are active, SPECIAL Stats are passive. I figured that out a while ago, but I apparently, I need the reminder.

Hisako kicked her feet up on the desk and leaned back in her chair. She dug out her whetstone and started sharpening her shuriken now that her kunai could split a hair down the middle.

As for me...I didn’t have any more reading material and I was starting to get bored. So I dug out my notebook and started making notes.

See, learning how to make a storage scroll gave me an idea. It stored things, so I wonder if you could put two things into the seal and then have them come out of the scroll mixed. Like putting iron ore and raw carbon into a scroll and have them come out as a steel alloy. Because if I could do that, then there’s some nutty stuff I’ll have in the pipeline.

First, I need to see if a mixture is possible, so obviously, the seal has to be centered around two input circles and an output circle. From there, the storage scroll...does...okay hang on.

No skill checks?

Hm. I guess that’s what the game manual meant when it said I had to do it the hard way.

I started making notes, possible set ups, methodology. Just working on putting two things together. Until...wait, that almost makes sense. I’m...no, I got it. A mixing seal.

Intelligence Check Success: 10/8.

Seal Learned: Mixing Seal.

With the power of invention, you invented a seal that adds two and two together! You can now create a seal that mixes things together.

Nice!

It was then that the door opened and in walked Hatake Kakashi.

He looked just how I remembered him, just in real life this time. Face mask, Jounin uniform. Hitai-ate over his Sharingan Eye. His hair stuck up.

“You must be Kakashi-sensei,” Nichiren stood up rapidly and bowed. “It’s good to finally meet you.”

Hisako pulled her feet off of her desk and also stood up, bowing. I followed suit, if only because I wanted to be polite to one of the coolest mentor figures I’ve ever known in the realm of fiction.

Of course, this wasn’t fiction any more.

“Well, it’s nice to meet all of you,” Kakashi replied with an eye-smile. “I’m Hatake Kakashi, and I’ve been assigned to be your Jounin-sensei. Now, if you’ll all follow me up to the top.”

He’s being oddly friendly.

We followed him up to the Academy’s roof. He sat us down on the AC unit, a crate and a pipe that went up over the roof while he took a seat on the wall. “Now, we’re going to introduce ourselves.”

He pointed to Nichiren. “Starting with you. I want to know what you like, what you hate, your dreams for the future, and any hobbies you have.”

“Uh,” Nichiren looked like he was going to break out in a cold sweat from his seat on the crate. “I’m Nakamura Nichiren. I like my parents and reading. And playing Shinobi’s and Shuriken.”

That sounds like a D&D analogue. Please let that be a D&D analogue. I miss D&D.

“What I hate?” Nichiren phrased, looking up like he was trying to find the answer in the clouds. “I don’t really hate...much. I don’t like being scared. And I want to be a Medic Nin! Way too many people die because they don’t have a doctor on hand!”

Kakashi was slowly nodding along, his eye half-closed. “Hobbies?”

“...I like reading and playing Shinobi and Shuriken,” Nichiren repeated, looking down.

“Right. You in red?” Kakashi pointed to Hisako.

She stood up from the AC unit. “My name is Yamada Hisako. I like my parents, training and using the Tree-Climbing technique. I don’t like that my dad is on a long term mission and I don’t like people who are tardy.”

Kakashi hummed and his eye-smile changed a little bit, but I can’t put my finger on how, exactly.

Charisma Check failed: 4/6.

Shut up, game.

“I want to join ANBU Black Ops,” Hisako finished, folding her arms with a nod. “So I need to be the best.”

“And what are your hobbies?” Kakashi asked with an odd cheer in his voice.

“Training,” Hisako replied with conviction.

“Work doesn’t count,” Kakashi chided. “Come on, what do you do when you’re not being a Shinobi?”

She looked down and then left to Nichiren, and then right to me. I just shrugged. “I, uh...I like...I like writing poetry.”

Her face was beet red.

“Maybe you could turn that into a career,” Kakashi offered, before turning to me. “How about you?”

“Name’s Shimoda Daisuke,” I began. “I like Chakra and I like figuring things out. I don’t like upsetting people or dying. Dreams for the future involve amassing a fortune and retiring comfortably.”

Speech Check failure: 30/35.

“You don’t like dying,” Kakashi chuckled. “Well, I think that’s something we all have in common, don’t we?”

Well, it’s better than failing at Charisma. Again.

Kakashi didn’t even stand up, his just narrowed slightly.

“I’m Hatake Kakashi,” He began and I felt a cold shiver run down my spine. “Things I like? Things I hate? I’m not going to tell you that. Dreams for the future? Never really thought about it. As for my hobbies? I’ve got a lot of hobbies.”

That was it. Hisako glared at Kakashi, but didn’t say anything. I was kind of annoyed too, I wanted to see how he’d justify reading the Icha Icha series.

“You may think that you’re Shinobi because you passed your exams like good little academy students,” Kakashi continued, that uncomfortable feeling getting stronger. “But you aren’t Shinobi. No, you’ve still got to pass my test. The bell test. So you’ll meet me tomorrow at training ground three. Be there at five AM sharp...and don’t eat breakfast. Because if you do...you’ll throw up.”

Then the feeling faded.

“See you tomorrow!” Kakashi bade us farewell with an eye-smile and a wave, before disappearing in a body-flicker.

Quest Updated: Shinobi, Assemble!

Completed: Meet your Jounin Sensei.

Pass the Bell Test.

Right. The bell test. See, I’ve got an unfair advantage here because I understand the test’s actual purpose but frankly, he annoyed me. So I’ll try to take the bells the hard way just so I can go ‘neener-neener, Kakashi, your test sucks’.

...well, I’ll only try like once. Maybe twice. Because the only way I’m actually going to be able to get the bells from him is because he’s going easy on us and if he doesn’t want me to get the bells solo, it’s going to be way harder.

Much easier to pass the test by going along with what it’s actually trying to do.

Still, what’s a game without a self-imposed challenge?
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Luckily for me, the Orphanage had leftovers. Some Beef Teriyaki, Shrimp and Noodles, stuff like that. I didn’t need to eat, but the other two did and Kakashi was going to be late. At least, it stood to reason that he was going to be late so we’ll be nice and hungry.

If I remember correctly, he always went to the memorial stone in training ground three, which made him late. Something about his Genin team? I don’t know, I never watched Shippuden, though I really wish I did.

Before I went home last night, I scouted the area. The memorial stone wasn’t even inside the Training Ground, and was far enough away from the entrance that I had felt comfortable doing what I was about to do. Which was good.

What I really wished I could do was come up with a seal that functioned as a proximity alarm. I could place it on the memorial stone and if someone were standing there, I’d get alerted. I’ve got no idea where I’d even begin if I wanted to make one, though.

I got there an hour early. The orphanage had some old survival supplies donated to help keep the kids alive in case of invasion and I was allowed to borrow them. The portable stove was really nice, as were the pans. I wanted to make another storage seal variant that warmed up it’s contents, but…

You do not know that jutsu.

The only way I could think of doing it was by sealing up a heating jutsu and then combining it with the meal, but I don’t know any fire techniques. The explosive notes don’t count, those are almost entirely smoke and shock-waves.

So here I was, pulling a portable stove out from a storage scroll I made and getting to work reheating the meals.

Something else I did last night was I gave myself a refresher on some of the tricks I came up with over the last few years. I remembered reading about the puppeteers from Suna, who used Chakra Strings to guide puppets around to fight for them.

Since I already had the strings, it gave me plenty of inspiration for a plan to get the bells, especially once I figured out how to turn them invisible; still a little annoyed I got no EXP from that but whatever.

Chakra: 84/85.

Chakra: 83/85.

I looked over my shoulder, looking for anything that might be watching. Any sign of Kakashi?

No perception check?

Obviously there’s a lot I’m not seeing. But...let’s just look for Kakashi.

Perception Check success: 5/5.

At least I can confirm that no, Kakashi is not here yet.

Something I knew I could do was I could use the storage scroll I had to keep the smell of the food heating back up contained by holding it up to the stove. I didn’t want it getting away.

After a while, the food was nice and reheated, though I’m going to learn a fire jutsu for next time because keeping the smell down was stressful. Just holding the scroll up and slowly storing the vapor inside while keeping a look out for masked ninja looking to ruin our day made it hard not to start hyperventilating or something.

Survival Check Success: 33/30.

Still, it was looking delicious and I couldn’t wait for my teammates to try it.

Finally, Hisako showed up.

“Daisuke?” She looked surprised. “Why did you bring breakfast? Do you want to throw up?”

Choose your words carefully, Daisuke. “I think Kakashi-sensei is going to be late again.”

Speech Check Success: 30/15.

Yes!

Hisako blinked. Then her eyes widened. “Wait, that actually makes sense. Get us hungry to make the test as hard as possible.”

“My thoughts exactly,” I replied. “Now grab what you want, but leave enough for Nichiren.”

“What about you?” Hisako asked.

“This is just leftovers, I had plenty last night,” I answered, keeping the scroll up.

“Last night?” Hisako asked in surprise.

Whoops. “Oh, uh...heh. Look, I have a kekkei-genkai. It lets me not eat for very long periods of time.”

Speech Check Success: 30/20.

Charisma Check Failure: 4/7.

“You have a kekkei-genkai?” Hisako asked with surprised, pulling up a seat and grabbing one of the plates I had. “How come you’ve never told me?”

“I don’t know, it just didn’t seem important,” I answered. “But seriously, since I’m not hungry, you and Nichiren need to keep your strength up.”

I handed her some chopsticks and she scooped up some of the delicious beef with some noodles.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

Soon after, Nichiren showed up.

“Wait, you guys are eating?” Nichiren asked, looking panicked. “Are you guys crazy? We’re going to get in trouble!”

“No, Kakashi-sensei just said we’d throw up,” Hisako pointed out. “Not that we weren’t supposed to. Besides, he’s going to be late to make the test harder.”

Nichiren froze for a second. “...you mean he told us not to eat breakfast so we’d be doing the test hungry?”

“Yup,” Hisako nodded.

“That’s just mean,” Nichiren pointed out, sitting down and taking the offered plate and chopsticks. He had the shrimp and beef, with the noodles. “Have you already eaten, Daisuke?”

“Yeah, I don’t need to eat,” I replied with a smile. “Seriously, dig in. This is for you guys.”

Speech Check Success: 30/15.

I’m assuming that the harder checks are when I’m trying to negotiate, with higher stakes bringing higher checks? Because so far, I haven’t really failed any speech checks...I can communicate like a normal human being.

“Wow,” Nichiren said. “Thank you.”

“I know, right?” Hisako replied. “Daisuke’s awesome.”

Well, now I’m blushing. “Thanks, guys. But eat fast, I don’t want there to be any evidence.”

They did, scarfing it down like rabid dogs who just got their first meal in days. They finished, and I stowed everything in the storage scroll, leaving not a trace.

“How long do you think he’ll be this time?” Hisako asked, yawning and stretching out her arms above her head.

“Hopefully a few hours so we have time to...” Nichiren was interrupted by just the biggest yawn. “To digest. You know?’’

We were right.

“Hello, students!” Kakashi eye-smiled, waving at us as he entered the Training Ground from the road. “Sorry I’m late, there was a cat stuck up a tree.”

“It took you six hours to help a cat stuck up in a tree?” Hisako asked incredulously.

“It had a death grip on that branch,” Kakashi responded shamelessly.

Come on, game. Even I know he’s lying to us.

Charisma Check Success: 4/1.

Shut up, game.

“Now, for the test,” Kakashi said, directing us further into the training ground.

We came to that famous spot with three wooden posts dug into the ground. It was here, that Team 7 proved themselves worthy to be Shinobi by demonstrating the teamwork necessary to fight as Shinobi of Konoha, by feeding a Naruto who got tied up at the post.

I don’t want anyone to get tied up at the post, so we’re going to get those bells.

“I have in my hand two bells,” Kakashi started. “The test is simple; get the bells from me. Anyone who fails to get the bells will never be Ninja.”

“There’s only two bells!” Nichiren pointed out with alarm.

“That’s right, Nichiren-kun.” Kakashi eye-smile, bouncing the bells into his palm. “So no matter what happens today, one of you is becoming a civilian. Forever.”

I know it’s a lie, but...I turned to Hisako. “Can he do that?”

“He can, actually,” Hisako said. “If Kakashi-sensei deems us completely unfit for service as Shinobi, we can be immediately discharged.”

Unfit like mentally ill and a danger to others and themselves? Makes sense.

“So you best try hard to get the bells,” Kakashi replied. “At noon, we’ll break for lunch.”

He held up two lunch boxes.

“So, who doesn’t get to eat?” I asked with a frown.

“The one who does the worst will be tied to that post,” Kakashi pointed to the post. “And will have to watch the others eat in front of them.”

“Well that sucks,” I said, folding my arms.

“Well, then I’d try not to be the one who gets tied to a post.”

How about we finish this test before noon?

“So,” Kakashi started, tossing the boxes on the ground next to the post. “Test starts now.”

Both Hisako and Nichiren ran off to opposite sides of the forest, hiding in the trees like we were instructed too in our tactics courses. I passed my tactics class with flying colors, thanks Intelligence. So while I didn’t just run off like they did...I had a plan.

Still pretty proud that I figured out those chakra strings from memory alone. They'll be very, very useful going forward, even if I never build a puppet.

“You seem confident,” Kakashi said, looking at me with a half-closed eye. “Then again, I suppose you would be for a Genin who graduated three years early.”

“I think I can get those bells from you, yeah,” I said with a grin. “I don’t think it’ll be that hard.”

I’m not trying to kill him, I’m just trying to get the bells from him.

Charisma Check Success: 4/4.

Wait, why? I wasn’t really trying to do anything, I was just saying...

“Oh you don’t,” Kakashi asked, taking a breath. “Then I guess I’ll have to use desperate measures.”

Crap.

He reached into his pocket and before I could even raise my hands to defend myself, he drew out...his Icha Icha book and opened it right in front of me. The horror.

I’m being sarcastic.

“Whenever you’re ready,” Kakashi said with a dramatic sigh.

Chakra: 80/85.

Chakra: 79/85.

So I let the invisible strings flow out across the grass and I started stepping forward, then to the side in an orbit around Sensei. Slow and steady. I wasn’t in a rush, the drain was just my chakra being outside my body and not being expended, per se.

The real question is, should I grab the bells? Sure, I could grab them and give them to Hisako and Nichiren but the point of the test was to demonstrate teamwork. If I just do it for them, would the point of the test be lost on them?

Maybe.

So...alright, fine.

But just to prove the point.

Chakra: 25/85.

Okay, I had very little chakra, but I was just going to be using Taijutsu. The strings were lightly touching the bells, now I just needed to distract him so I could seize them. Anything else I need to keep in mind?

Since my records from the Academy are from when I graduated three years ago, he has statistics from me when I was level 1. Now I’m level 5, so...I’ve got that going for me. I guess.

Chakra: 5/85.

With body flicker, I surged forward, delivering a spin kick to his head. As expected, he ducked and my invisible chakra strings snapped the bells right off of his belt and into my hand. I landed on the grass behind Kakashi, sliding on the grass and slowly spinning to face him.

“You’ll have to try harder than that,” Kakashi said with an eye-smile.

Did he get the bells from me? No. No, he did not. I brought them up where he could see them, letting them dangle from my fingers. “You sure?”

His eye was bugging out of its socket. “Well. Congratulations, you passed the test.”

...wait, I just had a fabulous idea. “Cool.”

I tossed the bells back to him.

He caught them. “What?”

“Now Nichiren and Hisako have a chance to get the bells too,” I replied with a grin.

“No they don’t,” Kakashi said.

“Sure they do,” I replied. “The test is to get the bells from you. It wasn’t to be the first to get the bells.”

Charisma Check Success: 4/4.

Speech Check failure: 30/40.

At least I’m getting a break here.

“You...can’t just…” Kakashi was actually speechless, trying to make words come from his mouth and failing.

That’s hilarious!

“Besides,” I said, sliding up to him and continuing in a low voice. “We both know that the test is on teamwork.”

Then I body-flickered out of sight.

​

* * *​

Survival Check Success: 33/30.

Tracking Hisako was proving to be a no-go. She liked using the Tree Walking technique so she didn’t leave tracks in the soil. But Nichiren’s footprints were clear, disturbing the dirt in clear sandal prints.

“Hey!” I looked up and there was Hisako, sticking to a tree-branch upside down.

“Hey, I’m glad I caught you!” I said with a smile and a wave.

“Yeah...what was that?” Hisako pointed at the clearing where I had fought Kakashi.

“What was what?” I asked.

“You got the bells from him!” Hisako demanded. “Then you gave them back! What gives?”

I can’t tell her what the test was on. That’s part of my unwritten agreement with Kakashi, the one that exists primarily in my head. “It wasn’t challenging enough. I kind of did something sneaky.”

“You’re a Ninja,” Hisako snapped incredulously, dropping from the branch to land in front of me. “Sneaky is what we do!”

“Yeah, but it didn’t feel fair,” I replied with a shrug.

Charisma Check Success: 4/4.

Speech Check Failure: 30/35.

Well, she bought it. But she wasn’t happy with it.

“Who cares if it’s fair?” She threw her hands up in the air.

“I do!”

“That’s just going to get you killed!”

“This isn’t a life or death situation.”

“But we’re training for life or death situations,” Hisako pointed out with a glare. “The training’s no good if you aren’t taking it seriously!”

I shrugged. “Point. Now lets find Nichiren.”

“Wait, but there’s two bells,” Hisako pointed out. “We can’t take him with us.”

“Why not?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. “He deserves a shot too.”

“Because of how nervous he is,” Hisako replied. “With how weak his mental state is, he’d probably freeze up the second we went into a real combat encounter and then he’d probably die.”

She had a point. “Yeah, but I’d bet all new Shinobi are like that. That’s what the training’s for, isn’t it?”

Charisma Check Failure: 4/5.

Speech Check Failure: 30/35.

“Not like that.” Hisako’s frustration had hit a peak. “He looked like he was going to pass out from being spoken to yesterday!”

“Okay, but he still deserves a shot to pass,” I replied. “Seriously, you can’t just make that decision for him. That’s Sensei’s call, not yours.”

Charisma Check Failure: 4/7.

Speech Check Success: 30/20.

She huffed in irritation. “Fine. Let’s go get him so he can fail on his own.”

“Thank you.”

She can be mad all she wants, but we either pass as a team or we fail as a team. I’m surprised she hasn’t picked up on that being the point of the exercise, but then, no one in Team 7 did either and only picked up on it when they fed Naruto against Kakashi’s instructions.

So I can shelve my own frustration. For now.

We did eventually catch up to Nichiren and the state we found him in...did not help his case at all.

He was curled up in a ball against a tree crying his eyes out. His glasses were on the ground next to him, so I picked them up and folded them up.

“Hey,” Hisako gently kicked him. “What’s the matter?”

“Wait,” Nichiren said, his unfocused eyes blinking. “You’re both alive?”

“Oh. Must’ve gotten hit with the Hell Viewing Technique,” I surmised with a nod. I did not know how to do the Genjutsu, but I have read about it. Extensively. Since the entire field of Genjutsu made me so uncomfortable, I think I’m mostly going to be creating defenses against it.

“That was a Genjutsu?” Nichiren asked, his jaw on the ground. “I can’t believe that I’d be so stupid!”

Hisako took a breath. “Yeah, it’s pretty bad. First time my Mom hit me with it, I didn’t come out of my room for a whole day.”

“What did you see?” I asked curiously.

“Just you two dead,” Nichiren said. “And it was my fault because I wasn’t ready to be a Ninja.”

“I think you should try to pass the test first,” I told him. “Then you’ll be able to tell for sure.”

“But,” Nichiren started, gulping. “That’s the thing. I’m not ready to be a Ninja.”

“Why would you think that?” Hisako asked sweetly.

“Because,” He took a deep breath. “Because I cheated. On my exams.”

Hisako and I looked at each other. Then back at him.

“How?” Hisako asked incredulously.

“I made a soldier pill at home,” Nichiren answered. “I didn’t have enough time to train Taijutsu, so I used that to pass that portion of my exam. I only passed the shuriken exam because of luck.”

“You used a homemade soldier pill,” Hisako echoed.

“Yeah,” Nichiren replied. “My Taijutsu’s awful.”

Hisako looked at me and pointed at him. “He’s a genius.”

“I am?” Nichiren repeated in confusion.

“You are,” Hisako replied. “You snuck a soldier pill into the academy and used it to pass an exam with instructors who are trained to see this sort of thing. How did you do that?”

“It was a small thing,” Nichiren said. “Kept it hidden behind one of my teeth and crunched on it when I needed it. But I still cheated, so I don’t deserve to be Ninja.”

Hisako face-palmed. “Why do I have to keep explaining this?”

“Explain what?” Nichiren asked.

“Here’s your glasses, by the way,” I said, passing those onto him.

“Oh, thanks.”

“We’re ninja,” Hisako said with great emphasis. “Sneaky? Underhanded? Fighting Dirty? Cheating? That’s our job. That’s what we do. We. Are. Shinobi. Nichiren, you shouldn’t feel bad. By sneaking a Soldier Pill through the academy, you proved you were more Ninja than almost anyone else who graduated yesterday. More than Daisuke, anyway.”

“True,” I nodded. “Very true.”

“How is Daisuke not a Ninja?” Nichiren asked. “He graduated three years early. Three whole years!”

“He got the bells from Kakashi-sensei,” Hisako pointed out. “Then handed them back to him because he felt bad about using a dirty trick!”

“What was the trick?” Nichiren asked.

“I’ll tell you later,” I replied flatly.

“But...but…” Nichiren asked with his eyes looking even wider in those abnormally thick glasses. “I don’t understand...I mean...okay. Fine. Fine. Whatever. Another chance for us other two, I guess...but I’m confessing.”

“Why?” Hisako asked.

“Because the point of the test was to make sure I had could hold my own,” Nichiren replied. “Shinobi or not, I still need to be on the level with you two, or I’ll just hold you back.”

“You know we can do remedial training, right?” Hisako asked, her eyebrow raised and her hands on her hips. “Seriously, it’s not the end of the world.”

“But Sensei should know,” Nichiren replied. “So he knows that I need more training than you other two, or that I need to go back to the Academy.”

“Don’t they do tutors at the Academy?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Hisako shrugged. “But fine. Whatever. Just at least try to get the bells. Put that clever brain of yours to good use.”

“But you two earned the right to be here,” Nichiren said. “You shouldn’t be held back because of me.”

“If we lose to you, then we deserve to go back to the Academy,” Hisako replied, utterly deadpan.

“Okay. Daisuke, whatever you did, do you think it can work twice?”

“No,” I shook my head. “Because he’ll be keeping a hand on the bells this time.”

“Okay, well,” Nichiren began, adjusting his glasses and pushing them back up the bridge of his nose. “If that’s the case, the only way any of us get those bells is by working together.”

You’re a genius.

“But there’s only two,” Hisako pointed out with a glare.

Perception Check failure: 5/7.

Intelligence Check Success: 10/6.

“What’s the Will of Fire?” I asked her.

Charisma Check Failure: 4/8.

“The Will of Fire is Konoha,” Hisako replied with confusion, looking at me. “We’re like a massive family and we’re all trying to work together to protect our home and love each other.”

“What’s a part of loving each other?” I asked with a small smirk.

Charisma Check Failure: 4/6.

“Making sure we don’t get unqualified people killed,” Hisako folded her arms.

“Like me,” Nichiren piped up.

“No, you’re fine,” Hisako replied. “Well...the nervousness was just you not wanting to be found out, right?”

“Yeah,” Nichiren nodded.

“So, you’re fine.”

Come on, one more try?

“So do we give up on our teammates in the middle of a mission?” I pressed. “Do we abandon them and let them die if they can’t hack it?”

Speech Check Success: 30/15.

Charisma Check Failed: 4/5.

“No!” Hisako looked affronted. “We don’t leave anyone behind. Our comrades are a part of the village, so we do our best to protect them and help them accomplish the mission. What the heck is wrong with you, Daisuke?”

“What was that last part?” I asked, my smirk returning.

“We do our best to protect them and…” Hisako froze, her eyes growing as wide as dinner plates. “...help them accomplish the mission.”

She buried her head in her hands. “I’m such an idiot!”

“So this really is just a test of our teamwork?” Nichiren asked, blinking. “That...actually explains a lot about this test actually.”

“How did I not see that?” Hisako asked. “My parents always go on and on about protecting your teammates and making sure to never leave a man behind.”

“I guess letting Nichiren fail is one way to protect him,” I said with a shrug.

Charisma Check Failed: 4/6.

Hisako froze and glared at me. “Daisuke!”

“I’m just saying,” I replied more than a little annoyed that I failed yet another check. “You didn’t think he could make it so you thought the best way to not let him die would be to let him fail. You were trying to protect him.”

“But you didn’t have to say that in front of him!” Hisako barked, pointing at Nichiren, a little red in the cheeks.

Oh, I embarrassed her. Whoops.

“I am not offended,” Nichiren shook his head, standing up. “It makes complete sense and I’m glad you didn’t want me to die.”

“Sorry,” Hisako replied.

“No, no. It’s fine,” Nichiren said. “But now we need to worry about getting those bells.”

“Just one more thing,” Hisako stopped Nichiren right there, turning to me. “How did you know what the test was about?”

Ah crap. How...oh, wait. Duh.

Intelligence Check Success: 10/6.

“It was kind of obvious,” I replied with a shrug. “All the teams in Konoha are in threes. If this test actually played out the way Kakashi-sensei said it did, we’d have had a few cells running around as duos and that doesn’t happen because there is no way he is the only person to use this as a test.”

Hisako blinked. “Oh. Wait, yeah. That makes total sense.”

“Wow,” Nichiren shook his head. “It’s a pretty cool test, though. Not going to lie.”

“That’s why you gave Sensei the bells back,” Hisako stated, her eyes going wide. “Because you knew that wasn’t the real test!”

“That’s right,” I nodded. “But I felt the need to make a point.”

“So why didn’t you tell us about it?” Hisako asked with a frown.

“Because that would undermine the point of the test,” I replied. “And I wasn’t kidding, Hisako; I do care about what’s fair. I wanted you guys to actually pass the test fairly. We can be sneaky all we like, but if we can’t count on each other to watch our backs, then we’re not really Konoha Shinobi, then are we?”

Speech Check Success: 30/25.

Hisako got quiet, looking down on the ground and kicking the dirt.

Actually, to be honest, fairness is kind of subjective, isn’t it?

“And I think you guys passed it,” I continued. “Nichiren, you figured out that we needed to work together to get the bells and Hisako figured out that that was the point of the test. You got a plan for us, Nichiren?”

Nichiren adjusted his glasses. “Well, since this test is supposed to measure our teamwork, we all rush him and whoever gets the bells, if we do, passes them to the other two.”

“Good,” Hisako said, twirling her kunai and catching both of them with a snap. “Let’s finish this test and go home.”

​

* * *
​

The three of us quickly darted back to the clearing where we left Kakashi, and there he was, just standing there, reading his book.

“Ten ryo says that’s just a clone,” Nichiren whispered.

“If that’s just a clone, then the real one is looking for us somewhere,” Hisako whispered back.

Like right behind us?

Agility Check Failure: 5/8.

Perception Check Success: 5/5.

“There he is!” I pointed directly up since he was jumped up to the trees.

“There you all are!” Kakashi said with an eye smile. “I lost track of you, my cute little Genin.”

Perception Check Failed: 4/6.

I blinked, and pointed at the clone down on the valley. “Nichiren, go rush the clone.”

“Why?” He asked.

“Because we might be looking at a shadow clone,” I replied.

I couldn’t tell for sure.

Ninjutsu Check Failed: 29/65.

Charisma Check F-

Shut up, game.

“And you can’t tree climb,” Hisako pointed out.

“Good point,” Nichiren said, before running off to go do just that.

Hisako and I looked at each other and we both started running up the tree.

As he closed distance on Kakashi, he made to grab my punch, but I used body flicker to dive to the side. As I collided with the other tree, I noted that it was starting to bend. I used that motion to launch myself back at my Sensei, who just caught Hisako’s wrist and spun her off the tree trunk.

My breath caught, but she landed on a branch and started rushing back into the fight.

Lot of fight in that girl.

But as I came to Kakashi, I turned in mid-air to do a double kick right to his chest. He ducked, causing me to miss completely, but I collided with another truck, so I could jump right back at him like a pinball.

He jumped off the tree, and I caught the same, using chakra slide to spin around the trunk and then launch myself with the saved momentum back down at him. I passed Hisako on the way down, who simply jumped down from the branch.

With my fist cocked back, I prepared to lay one right into Sensei’s masked face. He...simply leaned back, sticking upside down to the same branch...while I landed top-first into the ground.

100/220 hitpoints.

Left Arm Crippled.

Torso Crippled.

Ow.

“Daisuke!” Hisako screeched, running over to me. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I said, breathless, noting that, yeah, I had broken ribs and a broken arm. Still stood up, even though it hurt like crazy. “I’m good. Landed wrong is all. Just need some rest.”

“Absolutely not,” Kakashi said, sounding deadly serious. “I heard those bones break, you’re going to the hospital.”

“Wasn’t there something about my healing factor in my record?” I asked with annoyance.

Kakashi blinked. “No, there wasn’t.”

“Hm, must’ve been forgot about,” I said with a shrug. “That’s fine, I guess.”

“How would they forget about something like that?” Kakashi asked.

“That last time I was in the hospital, the Kyuubi attacked,” I answered. “They were swamped and I was fine...even though I should have severe brain damage.”

Nichiren came running up to us. “Hey, you were right. That was a clone in the field. Wait, what happened?”

“Landed wrong and took a whole lot of fall damage,” I replied with a shrug. “It’s okay though, just need a nap. Did we pass the test?”

Kakashi blinked. “Yes, you passed the test. With flying colors.”

“Yes!” Hisako cheered with a fist pump. Then she almost hugged me, but stopped.

I appreciated that.

Quest Updated: Shinobi, Assemble!

Completed: Meet your Jounin Sensei.
Completed: Pass the Bell Test.
Listen to your Sensei’s lecture.

“So how long does your nap have to be?” Nichiren asked.

“Eh, about an hour,” I replied with a shrug. “I brought a bedroll just in case.”

“Where?” Kakashi asked seriously.

I took my other storage scroll from my belt and tossed it in the air, catching it on the flip.

“Okay,” Kakashi sighed. “You have one hour. After that, if your bones are still broken, you’re going straight to the hospital.”

“Thank you,” I said, unfurling the scroll and taking out the bedroll. “See you guys.”
​

* * *​

“So...you didn’t know about his healing factor, Sensei?” Hisako asked.

“No, I did not,” Kakashi replied with a sigh. “I knew he was strong, fast, very intelligent and that he graduated three years early, but being able to mend a broken bone with a nap? That’s...a new one.”

“So, Sensei,” Nichiren began. “Something you should know.”

“You cheated,” Kakashi said automatically.

“You overheard us in the forest?” Nichiren asked.

“I did,” Kakashi replied. “But the rule is that if you cheat and you aren’t caught, you keep your status as Genin.”

“Wait, seriously?” Nichiren asked.

“Yes,” Kakashi nodded. “We’re Ninja. We are supposed to operate in shadows and lies. If a cheater gets through our proctors, that speaks very well of him. So...good job, Nichiren.”

“Told you,” Hisako muttered under her breath.

“But I will be running you into the ground to get your Taijutsu up to snuff,” Kakashi warned with an eye-smile. “I hope you’re ready.”

“I am,” Nichiren nodded with a smile. “I feel so much better.”

“That’s good,” Kakashi looked over at the Genin sleeping on a blue bedroll, shaking his head. “I still don’t know how he got the bells from me. It didn’t look like he even tried to go for them.”

“Wait, seriously?” Hisako asked. “That’s crazy!”

“I know,” Kakashi replied, pulling his book. “So, since he’s sleeping, you guys have off time. Go ahead and eat lunch.”

On cue, Hisako’s stomach rumbled, but the two Genin looked at each other and then at Daisuke. “I don’t know, I think Daisuke should get lunch.”

“Yeah, same,” Nichiren nodded.

“That’s decent of you two,” Kakashi said with pride in his eye. “He is the reason you both passed.”

“Not just that, Sensei,” Hisako started. “He made us breakfast this morning.”

“He did?” Kakashi asked with a wide eye. “But I told you not to eat anything!”

“He kind of figured you’d be late again,” Hisako replied. “My parents heard about you and how you’re late to everything, then I told him and then he...guessed that you wouldn’t show for a while.”

“And he was right,” Nichiren nodded.

Kakashi rubbed his eye, thinking horrific curses upon his reputation.
​

* * *​

Ah, I feel refreshed!

I pulled my book out and yeah. Full health! Nice!

Need to not take fall damage ever again.

“Well, glad to see you’re awake,” Kakashi said happily. “How’s your arm?”

“Fantastic!” I replied, standing up quickly and giving it a good rotation and shadowboxed for effect. Then I thumped my ribs. “Good as new! Thanks for that.”

“No problem,” Kakashi’s eye was bugging out again. “You keep that bedroll on you for missions, you understand?”

“You got it!” I said, putting my book back in my pocket.

“That’s incredible,” Hisako breathed out.

“I wish I could do that when I broke my thumb,” Nichiren replied.

“You broke your thumb?” I asked curiously.

“I was five and dropped a box on it,” Nichiren explained.

“That sounds like it sucked.”

“It did!”

“Daisuke, if you’d put your bedroll away,” Kakashi started. “There’s something I need to show you.”

I put the roll away quickly and we all followed Kakashi to the memorial.

It was a large, obsidian thing, shaped like a kunai that stabbed its way out of the earth as a reminder of those who gave their lives for Konoha.

“This is Konoha’s memorial stone,” Kakashi introduced it. “On it are the names of every Shinobi who has died protecting their comrades.”

He said nothing and let us take in what we saw. I thought it was a nice touch that the stone was reflective. A way to say ‘this could be you’ or ‘you’re here because of them’. In a way, it’s true.

“That is why my Sensei used the bell test to measure us as Ninja,” Kakashi continued. “And his Sensei before him, and then his Sensei. Without teamwork, we are nothing. Those who would abandon their comrades are worse than trash and you are the first team that seemed to intrinsically grasp that concept.”

“Daisuke figured out it was a test, though,” Nichiren pointed out.

“Nichiren!” Hisako snapped.

“I’m just saying,” Nichiren replied. “It kind of undermines the secret teamwork test if someone knows about it already. Right, Sensei?”

“This is true, Nichiren-kun,” Kakashi nodded. “But you were going to confess to cheating because you didn’t want to drag your team down. Hisako, your desire to see Nichiren fail was more about protecting him than ensuring your own success. And Daisuke? Your stunt in giving your teammates breakfast softened the conditions of the test...which is something preparation can do for an actual mission. So, good job.”

“Thank you, Sensei.” They must’ve told him while I was out.

“So congratulations, my little Genin,” Kakashi told us with a thumbs up. “You’re shinobi. We’ll meet here again on Thursday, seven o’clock sharp.”

“So, around eleven?” I asked.

I got little spike of killing intent. Just a little. Provoking someone like twenty levels higher than me is a bad idea, just a little note to self.

“No. Seven. In the morning,” Kakashi said. “See you then.”

Then he disappeared.

Quest Completed: Shinobi Assemble!

3,000 / 12,000 EXP.​

* * *
​

Author’s Note: Third chapter. Again, all is going well. I haven’t posted anything at the time of this writing, so I’m going to celebrate. I took a very slow approach to writing this chapter, instead of trying to get it all done in like an hour or so, and I’m really happy with how it turned out.

Decided to elaborate on Team 13 passing the bell test. I was torn as to whether or not Daisuke could actually get the bells from Kakashi. I decided in favor, just because he had the Chakra Strings and had the control needed to turn them invisible. But that wasn’t the point of the test, so it really didn’t do that much good.

One of my goals for the second draft is to use Nichiren and Hisako more. Since Daisuke’s game abilities have been horrifically nerfed, I want to use them to do things that Daisuke could do normally in the first draft and let them be a much more coherent team.

For skills, 0-25 is Genin, 26-50 is Chunin, 51-75 is Jounin and 76-100 is Kage. Yes, I am saying Sakura has Kage-level chakra control to pull off Tsunade’s Megaton Punch. For levels, this goes 1-10 is Genin, 11-20 is Chunin, 21-30 is Jounin, 31-40 is Kage and 41-50 is Sage of Six Paths. If you’ll recall, Level 50 is when Daisuke achieved godhood by figuring out Creation release. Creation Release is now a perk, level 50, and requires the 5 basic elemental perks in order to learn.

Finally, the rules for Daisuke creating a new jutsu are as follows.
​

• No EXP for Jutsu.​
• He must put in the effort to actually develop the jutsu. Once the jutsu is developed, his skills let him learn it.​
• He has to actually know how the effect of the jutsu is achieved. The most obvious way to do that is to learn a jutsu with the desired affect.​
• No EXP for Jutsu.​
• Modifying a Jutsu to suit his purposes has a lower skill check than creating one out of whole cloth.​
• No EXP for Jutsu.​

I think that covers it.

Shout out too Melden V, Anders Kronquist, Ray Tony Song, Volkogluk, Aaron Bjornson, iolande, Martin Auguado, Julio, Hackerham, Tim Collins-Squire, Maben00, Ventari, PbookR, Seij, ChristobalAlvarez, Apperatus, EPiCJB19, Seeking Raven, Handwran, Russel Beatrous and Richard Whereat. Thank you for your continued support!

Until the next time!

~Fulcon​