Naruto: The Crimson Error

11

Chapter 11: How Sasuke Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Boom

A few days had passed since the Great Orange Incident of Konoha, and life in the Hidden Leaf Village was slowly returning to normal. Well, as normal as things could be in a village where children learned to breathe fire before they learned long division.

In a secluded training ground, far from prying eyes (or so he thought), a red-haired boy sat cross-legged, his eyes closed in concentration. This was Sora, the five-year-old prodigy who had recently given the entire village an unasked-for citrus makeover. But today, he wasn't plotting any grand pranks or devising new ways to drive the Hokage to early retirement. No, today was all about self-improvement.

Sora opened his eyes and focused on the mental image of his stats, numbers floating in his mind's eye like the world's most bizarre calculator:

- Stealth: 267
- Chakra Control: 190
- Ninjutsu: 170
- Taijutsu: 40
- Genjutsu: 70
- Fuinjutsu: 230
- Intelligence: 30 (average is 10)
- Creativity: 21 (average is 10)
- Luck: 45 (average is 5)
- Prank Points: 470

He couldn't help but grin at his Stealth stat. It was already in Chunin range, which explained why he could sneak around the village without getting caught. His Chakra Control was almost there too, creeping up on that coveted 200 mark.

His Taijutsu, on the other hand, was abysmal. But hey, he was five. He could barely reach most people's kneecaps, let alone engage in hand-to-hand combat. And Genjutsu? Well, that was a work in progress. He made a mental note to practice making people see red spots or something equally annoying.

What really caught his eye, though, were his Intelligence, Creativity, and Luck stats. They were all well above average, especially his Luck. He still couldn't quite believe it had jumped from 27 to 45 after meeting Naruto. It was as if the universe itself had decided, "You know what? Let's make this kid's life interesting. More interesting than a rubber chicken full of explosive tags."

Sora sighed, remembering the ridiculous cost of improving these stats. It was like trying to buy a small country with pocket change. He'd spent nearly twenty thousand points on them already, and the costs just kept climbing. Ten thousand points per stat in the thirties, and a whopping hundred thousand per stat in the forties. At this rate, he'd need to paint the entire Fire Country orange just to afford a single-point increase.

But Sora wasn't one to be discouraged. No, he was a problem solver, a go-getter, a... well, a five-year-old with way too much time on his hands. So, he did what any self-respecting ninja-in-training would do: he got creative with his training.

Last Time, when he was training and got the tree walking on the first try, he got a whooping thousand points! yup, a thousand, such incidents have happened either when he performed very well or utilized all of his skills completely.

Mind you getting points by pranks these days has become increasingly hard, he had gotten around only three hundred points for that classroom prank he did in Prank Wars with Naruto-nichan.

First up on his list of "Totally Awesome and Not At All Ridiculous Training Exercises" was the Great Candle Blow-Out Challenge. Sora lit a candle and placed it a short distance away. Then, channelling his inner Big Bad Wolf, he began to blow.

Except instead of air, he was blowing chakra.

The first attempt was... less than successful. The chakra came out in a burst so weak it wouldn't have ruffled a feather, let alone extinguish a flame. Sora frowned, concentrating harder.

The second attempt was better. The flame flickered, dancing wildly, but stubbornly refused to go out. Sora glared at it as if his sheer willpower could snuff out the defiant little light.