Naruto: The Crimson Error

14

Chapter 14: The Great Genin Chase

Sora stood in his usual training ground, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips as he reviewed his stats:

- Stealth: 267 >> 423
- Chakra Control: 190 >> 370
- Ninjutsu: 170 >> 230
- Taijutsu: 40 >> 50
- Genjutsu: 70 >> 290
- Fuinjutsu: 230 >> 350
- Intelligence: 30 >> 32 (average is 10)
- Creativity: 21 >> 25 (average is 10)
- Luck: 45 >> 69 (average is 5)
- Prank Points: 210

"Not bad, not bad at all," he murmured, nodding to himself. His progress over the past few months had been nothing short of remarkable. His stealth was now at Jounin level, a fact that filled him with no small amount of pride. After all, what self-respecting prankster wouldn't want Jounin-level stealth?

His chakra control was nearing Jounin level too, just 30 points shy. Ninjutsu and Genjutsu had entered Chunin level, and his Fuinjutsu had seen a nice bump as well. He'd spent a whopping 4,000 Prank Points to increase his creativity and an eye-watering 20,000 points on Intelligence.

But the most astounding change was his Luck stat. It had increased by 24 points, a feat that should have been impossible. Sora knew that increasing a stat in the fifties required one million points, and in the sixties, it jumped to ten million points.

"Maybe the universe finally decided to cut me some slack," he mused, then snorted. "Nah, it probably just got tired of my shenanigans and figured it'd be easier to let me win sometimes."

As he pondered the mysteries of his inexplicable luck increase, he sensed a familiar presence approaching. Right on cue, Hanabi Hyuga stepped into the clearing, her white eyes narrowed in what Sora had come to recognize as her 'I'm-not-excited-to-see-you-but-I-am' look.

"You're late," Sora called out, grinning.

Hanabi huffed, crossing her arms. "A Hyuga is never late. Everyone else is simply early."

"Never mind," Sora waved it off. "Anyway, are you ready for today's adventure?"

Over the past four months, Sora and Hanabi had developed an odd sort of friendship, punctuated by frequent spars and increasingly elaborate schemes. Not that the prideful Hyuga would ever admit to enjoying Sora's company, of course.

"Adventure?" Hanabi repeated a mix of curiosity and wariness in her voice. "What are you planning this time, troublemaker?"

Sora's grin widened. "Today, my dear Hanabi, we're going to spy on the Genin test!"

Hanabi's eyes widened slightly. "The Genin test? But that's for the older students. My sister's class."

"Exactly!" Sora nodded enthusiastically. "Today's the day Konoha 9 graduates. Well, supposedly graduates. There's always a secret test given by the Jounin senseis to decide if the Genins are actually capable. And get this - it has a 66% failure rate!"

Hanabi's brow furrowed. "How do you know all this?"

Sora tapped the side of his nose. "I have my sources. So, what do you say? Want to see how your sister fares in this test?"

For a moment, Hanabi looked torn. On one hand, sneaking around and spying on official ninja business was probably against some stuffy Hyuga clan rule. On the other hand... it did sound intriguing. And she was curious about how Hinata would perform.

"Fine," she said, at last, trying to sound reluctant. "But only because I want to observe my sister's progress."

"Sure, sure," Sora nodded, not buying her act for a second. "And I'm just tagging along because I'm concerned about Naruto ni-chan's development. It has nothing to do with the potential for chaos and the opportunity to gather prime prank material."