jackpot_kun

[GUtW]—❈—38:: Hugs and Other Mushy Stuff

"The Nope Jutsu?" Sakura asks. "What kind of name is that?"

"Who cares about the name?" Naruto asks angrily. "Kakashi is teaching emo-brow such a powerful technique, meanwhile all I get is some stupid wind jutsu? How's that fair?"

Emo-brow?

… Wait, is that what this little shit calls me in his head?

"Don't call Sasuke names," Sakura fires, getting into the blonde's face. "And wasn't it you who was begging Kakashi-sensei to teach you that ju...

[GUtW]—❈—37:: The Nope Jutsu

Enjoy the chapter. 

Enjoy the chapter.

—❈—

Rarely, by which I mean once or twice in the week I've had them, the collection of otherworldly knowledge and experiences that I've termed "Caleb's Memories" seem to exhibit some level of awareness.

Almost sentience.

Merely an echo of it, of course, incapable, I think, of original thought or even proper speech, but more than capable of having opinions on certain ma...

[GUtW]—❈—36:: Trump Cards

Sorry for the delay, my life's been... hectic.

—❈—

I stare at my laid-back sensei, my thoughts roiling.

I'd known about The Chūnin Exams of course, it's hard not to considering it's held every year at the same time. However, even before I got Caleb's memories and my opinion of a lot of things had changed, I'd had no interest in rushing into them.

Unlike in the story where it was made to seem like The Chūnin Exams are the singu...

[GUtW]—❈—35:: Fish, Penguin & Chameleon

'When did my house become the designated meeting spot for the team?' I wonder as Naruto and Sakura show up at my door together, already embroiled in some nonsensical argument, about penguins of all things. 'And why the fuck did I ever agree to it?'

The argument continues even as they walk in, with Sakura barely taking a breath to say hey to me before returning to calling Naruto an idiot.

"You idiot," she says heatedly, "just because it can't fly doesn't ...

[GUtW]—❈—34:: All Wrapped Up with A Neat, Little Bow

We run back.

Kakashi suggests it, and no one argues with him on it. For one thing, it's faster and more engaging, and none of us really feel eager to spend the next two and a half days in a slow moving train marinating on what we've just done.

Plus, from a purely economical standpoint, it's cheaper to run back, and we need to save money where we can considering the village won't be making any from this mission, on account of the fact that our client would probably rather die than ...

[GUtW]—❈—33:: The Bitter Taste of A Job Well Done

Within the bright green flames, whose uncomfortable heat I can feel from so far away, my sharingan just manages to make out Ken Ishimura.

I guess I know what the signal was now.

Or maybe not, I reconsider, as I note the expression on Kei's face; she doesn't look excited or relieved that her sensei's here to save the day, she looks upset.

The bright green flames around Ken Ishimura vanish like they'd never been, and if it isn't for the literally scorched earth around him, it ...

[GUtW]—❈—32:: Signals

"Anyway," Kakashi says, carrying on the conversation, "if you're telling them, my advice would be for you to do it now, because I'm pretty sure Naruto's already making friends with the girl's brother."

My eyes close and I exhale a tired breath. Why is nothing ever easy?

Turning from Kakashi back to the Okinawa's house behind me, I see that, while everyone else has gone in, Sakura still waits outside, watching me and Kakashi with a pensive frown; she can tell that something's wrong...

[GUtW]—❈—31:: Nothing's Easy

Naruto rushes ahead to walk with the family, happily regaling them with one of his many wild and (I sometimes suspect) made-up stories.

Sakura moves to follow, but notices that I'm not walking too.

"Sasuke?" she asks, looking at me. She must notice that something is wrong from my expression, because she adds; "Is something wrong?"

"Go ahead," I say. "I need to talk to Kakashi."

Sakura looks from me to our sensei, who also hasn't moved from where he stands behind me, th...

Please Read This!

To whom it may concern:

As of this post, there are now three official tiers on my Patreon; Jackpot jr!!! Jackpot!!! And Jackpot sr!!!

Jackpot Jr costs two dollars and rewards you with one advanced chapter; Jackpot costs five dollars and rewards you with four advanced chapters; and Jackpot sr costs seven dollars and rewards you with six advanced chapters.

I'm announcing this for any of you who may consider upgrading your pledge.

Thank you. Love you. And take care all. 2023-06-30 23:53:57 +0000 UTC View Post

[GUtW]—❈—30:: Sharingan Confirmation

Springtree is exactly what I'd expected, a small, rustic village out in the country, full of people who've known each other their entire lives; people who've likely never laid eyes on a ninja before.

Not knowingly at least.

Ergo, as I'd also expected, there's a lot of standing and staring being done by the locals as we make our way into the village.

No matter, we've prepared for this, that's the whole point of all the planning, and why we bothered to come in uniforms; if our...

[GUtW]—❈—29:: Rolling Hills and Broken Carts

Rolling green hills and a bright blue sky surround us for miles as we make our way down the little dirt road to Springtree.

According to our map and the last sign we saw, we should be less than three kilometers from the village, and we've already long since changed into our official uniforms as ninja of The Leaf.

Like with many things from the story, it had been a surprise to learn that flak jackets were only given upon promotion to chūnin. In reality, I'd received two copies of ...

[GUtW]—❈—28.1:: Interlude:: Ino-Shika-Chō

Ino Yamanaka

Three Months Ago

It actually takes a lot of effort to look like you're not putting in any effort.

In fact, many people would argue, and argue reasonably, that it takes significantly more effort than if you simply never bothered with the ruse in the first place.

These people would then go on to say that, consequently, you are actually more productive when you don't try to hide the amount of effort you put in, as ...

[GUtW]—❈—28:: Trains and Troublesome Teammates

"Woohoo! We're going on a mission! Yeah!" Naruto screams, uncaring of the attention his exuberance draws upon us as we walk down the street.

"Stop screaming," Sakura snaps, swatting the boy upside the head.

Obviously expecting it, Naruto ducks, his elation not dimming a single bit.

Sakura scowls like Naruto's simple act of self-preservation has personally upset her, and she eyes the blonde, looking like she would very much like to try again.

I barely hold back a sigh. ...

[GUtW]—❈—27:: Dreams

This chapter was supposed to start Team 7's mission, but it kinda took on a life of its own and became this.

Please don't hate me if you don't like it.

—❈—

The dream begins as it always does, with me asleep.

In truth it is only technically a dream, in that it is a sequence of events playing out in my mind while I sleep. Because, while dreams are generally fictional constructs of an imaginative mind, my 'dream' i...

[GUtW]—❈—26:: The Rookie 9

" …Well, I'm sure our mission's still gonna be cooler; it's a B-rank, and we're guarding cargo going all the way to Wave."

You can get acc" …Well, I'm sure our mission's still gonna be cooler; it's a B-rank, and we're guarding cargo going all the way to Wave."re our mission's still gonna be cooler; it's a B-rank, and we're guarding cargo going all the way to Wave."

'Wait, what!?'

Okay, I need to look at this logically.

First of all, simply because Team Eig...

[GUtW]—❈—25:: Team 8

"You look homeless," Sakura observes as we follow Kakashi down the busy morning streets of the village.

Naruto looks at me, observes me for several seconds, then nods in agreement: "She's right, Sasuke; you look like a bum. It's cause of your hair; it's way too pointy."

I look pointedly at Naruto's own hair.

"Sure," I say.

"What do you mean his hair's way too pointy?" Sakura asks Naruto sounding offended, then to me, she says reassuringly; "Don't mind him, Sasuke, your...

[GUtW]—❈—24:: Mission: Birthday Party

I gave up on trying to come up with interludes for other characters. Maybe later.

—❈—

A lot more goes into a ninja mission than the average person might think, which is why, after agreeing to accept the Springtree mission (lovingly codenamed Birthday Party by Naruto), things don't just end there.

This is our first mission together. Our first mission as a team. There are certain details that need to be ironed out now, while still in th...

[GUtW]—❈—23.1:: Interlude:: A Heart Full of Determination

A Hinata POV chap no one asked for. Hope it's good at least.

—❈—

Hinata Hyūga

One Year Ago

Strength before all else, that was the tenet the Hyūga clan lived by. It was a principle that the Hyūga were willing to, and had died for. But, more importantly, it was one that the clan was willing to, and had killed for. Because, to the Hyūga, strength came before all else; before compassi...

[GUtW]—❈—23:: Team Training [IV]

I can't believe another week went by without me posting again. I'm sorry everyone. Here's the chapter.

—❈—

Kakashi tosses me a kunai and I snatch the weapon out of the air deftly.

"I'm guessing you've tried out the Shadow Clone Jutsu," Kakashi says, not really a question.

He's right, I have. The very day I copied it from Naruto in fact, during his brawl with Sakura on The Academy rooftop.

It had been a rather surreal exper...

[GUtW]—❈—22:: Team Training [III]

I wrote this half asleep. I apologize in advance.

—❈—

Naruto Uzumaki

"So, what's the wind jutsu you're going to teach me?" Naruto asked as he followed Kakashi's clone to a corner of the training yard. "It's something cool, right? Like the Whirlwind Jutsu. Ooh, or like the Wind Scythe Storm."

"You do know that if you try to practice either of those jutsu here, you will likely be leaving your teammate homeless, ri...

[GUtW]—❈—21:: Team Training [II]

This chapter was supposed to have the POV of all the three Team Seven members.

Naturally, Sakura took up the whole thing. Greedy girl.

—❈—

Sakura Haruno

"So, um," Sakura began, trying not to let her trepidation show as Naruto and Sasuke walked off with Kakashi-sensei's clones, "will we be fighting today, sensei?"

"Us? Nah, that's for those two," he said gesturing in the general ...

[GUtW]—❈—20:: Team Training [I]

"Kakashi," I say, "please put down my teammate."

"Okay," the jōnin agrees, and promptly dumps the bound and gagged Naruto on the hard ground.

Sakura winces in sympathetic pain. I let out a slow, controlled breath.

On the ground, Naruto keeps wriggling, trying furiously and unsuccessfully to get loose.

I walk up to the boy.

"You bastard," Naruto screams as soon as I pull the sleeping hat from his mouth. "You kidnapped me."

"Kidnap is such a strong word," Ka...

[GUtW]—❈—19:: Run and Talk

Happy new month, everyone.

—❈—

Kakashi had said for us to meet at my house at 07:00 A.M. today; I'm ready by 06:15.

This is because, the last time my teammates had been told to come to my house at seven (which was only just the day before yesterday), Sakura had shown up at 06:30.

Of course, it's only until I'm ready and waiting with almost an hour to go that I realize that, with how things ended between us yesterday, there's a g...

[GUtW]—❈—18:: Ramen Conversations

Damn, a whole week without posting. It won't happen again, I promise.

—❈—

Naruto Uzumaki

That big-headed bastard, Naruto fumed as he stomped down a street in the shopping district.

Who the hell did he think he was? Making Sakura sad.

I mean, sure, what he'd said hadn't exactly been a lie, Sakura did treat Naruto how Sasuke treated her, and Naruto had been aware of it himself before now, even though he neve...

[GUtW]—❈—17:: A Girl and her Sensei

Sakura Haruno

Her walk home was quiet and uneventful so far, and Sakura Haruno was glad for it; she didn't think she could handle any sort of excitement right now.

Within her, her emotions swelled and ebbed, Sasuke's last question to her before she'd apologized and walked away repeating in her head over and over again: "How is it different?"

And really, how was it different? How was the way Sasuke treated her any different from how she treated Naruto?

...

[GUtW]—❈—16:: The Truth Sucks

What if he wasn't lying? I wonder. What if Kakashi wasn't lying about what he said of the village wanting us as candidates for a new Sannin team?

He'd said he was lying, true, but Kakashi is exactly the sort of troll who would get off on making someone believe that the truth is a lie, only so that he can turn around later and say 'ha, got ya!' Or some other such childish line.

Also, while what he'd said about how the village wouldn't want a team of fresh genin fo...

[GUtW]—❈—15:: Cute, Little Genin

"Well," Kakashi says, "the higher-ups think that you three have the potential to be the next great thing. You know, like The Sannin were.

"So, uh…" He gives us a thumbs up. "No pressure."

"No pressure?" Sakura asks in disbelief. "You can't just tell us something like that and then say 'no pressure'. That's very pressureful."

"I don't think that's actually a word," Kakashi says.

"Not the point, sensei," the girl argues.

"Why us?" I ask. "Why not Ino-Shika-Cho? O...

[GUtW]—❈—14:: No Pressure

"Guys," I say, "let's kick his fucking ass."

My teammates concur.

Honestly, fuck the bell. I just want to land one punch on his stupid, smug face.

—❈—

Fifteen minutes later, I can barely stand.

I have a dislocated shoulder, a sprained ankle, at least three broken ribs, more bruises than I care to count, and my left eye is swollen shut; my teammates don't look much better.

To be honest, all of this would be fine, more than worth it, i...

[GUtW]—❈—13:: Sweat More Now, Bleed Less Later

And here's that fight scene I promised you guys forever ago.

Hope you enjoy it.

—❈—

"Naruto," I say, "no more clones."

The words come out brisker than intended, but we're all a little tense from the bloody lesson Kakashi just imparted.

Fortunately, while Naruto looks very unhappy, it's directed at our jōnin-sensei and the boy nods in agreement with my request.

"What's the plan, Sasuke?" Sak...

[GUtW]—❈—12:: Bloody Lessons

Sorry for going AWOL the last few days; updates should increase now.

Enjoy.

—❈—

There are many advantages to being a ninja from a clan. Or at least one from a family with a pre-existing ninja presence.

Companinship, support, familiarity, these are all things that someone from a civilian family (like Sakura, for example) is unlikely to have.

The best thing about being from a ninja family though, is access t...