Hours had passed when the sun finally rose above Konohagakure. The streets were busy with who knows how many civilians walking the roads of the village hidden in the leaves while their ninja were already on the move to complete their job, or mission of the day. However, if you were a genin graduate, that was a different story.
Rise was one of them, sleeping away his time under the covers of his bed. Light was able to pour in past the smallest crack of his curtains, hitting him dead center over his eyes. However, that wasn't enough to wake him. Instead, what finally got his eyes to snap open was a loud ringing from his right. He jumped up in response, looking over to the commotion before spotting an alarm clock at the edge of his nightstand.
"Damn alarm," he grumbled before smacking the stop button next to the snooze in order to cease its wails.
Finally, the room went quiet. Rise released a yawn from his body before beginning his morning stretch. After a few seconds passed—with him giving out a satisfied moan—Rise smacked his lips while taking a look around his room. Then he noticed something was missing. Or rather, someone.
"Ayame-nee?" He questioned.
Seeing she wasn't in bed, he quickly hopped off his mattress. Part of his sheets hit the floor while he dashed out of his room, arriving in his living room within a matter of seconds only to see no one. Aside from himself, it was empty of her presence.
In the corner of his eye, Rise caught a singular sheet of paper. Note doubt from Ayame. He walked over to the coffee table before his house couch, picking it up out of curiosity, and a need for answers.
Good morning Rise. Sorry I'm not there to say it in person, but I had to leave for early to open up the stand. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to make you anything, but come to me once your exercise is over. Whatever you order will be on me. Also, I expect an answer on how you were able to make me—anyway, good luck my ototo.
"Love, Ayame." Rise smiled as his arm fell slowly to his side.
It was good to know she was ok and most likely at Ichiraku's by now, but she wasn't the only one who had work ahead of them. Knowing he didn't have time to waste, Rise sauntered back to his room. His eyes caught the time on the clock. Eight-thirteen in the morning.
He was supposed to be at the training ground at five on the dot, but was aware that it was a trap set by Kakashi. Well, not fully. However his current problem now happened to be the fact that the time was never specified when he shows up. Based off his memory from the anime, the time for when Kakashi began the test for team seven was...
"Around ten-ten, or ten-ten exact. It's one of the two if memory serves me right. Meaning I should be there before ten at the very least," Rise spoke before heading to the bathroom to get ready.
The usual routine was in order. Brushing his teeth, washing his face, cleaning his ears, etc. It took a few minutes before he could finally say he cleaned up nice. Stepping out from the bathroom, his current focus was on his wardrobe as he approached it and began pulling open a few drawers. After a moment or two scanning his shirts and pants, he was able to make a choice, pulling out a fresh shirt and some pants.
The shirt was mostly black with white short-sleeves, and a white V-neck collar. It had a stitched on baldric going across the left side of his shoulder, meaning it couldn't be any more perfect for today. His pants were just a plain gray, so there wasn't anything special there.
Rise took his time getting dressed, making sure his clothes were on right before heading over to his nightstand. He pulled the drawer open to reveal his shinobi pouches that he took off last night, grabbing both items to strap them to his right leg, and the back of his waist. The last thing he did was place his kendo sword on his back, then tied his hitai-ate around his forehead before placing on his shinobi sandals.
"Finally, done. Now I just need to take care of breakfast. Nexus did say the system was universal, so there's gotta be something I can pick up that'll be beneficial," Rise said before reaching into his shinobi pouch.
With a swift pull of his book, he brought it to eye level before flipping it open. The item shop opened up exactly where he wanted to be, pressing a finger against the third category for food. In doing so, a search tab came up along with a three-lined icon for filters. That was important, but he found his mouth watering at the amount of delicious meals gracing his vision.
Realizing what he was doing, he got himself under control and focused on the task at hand. Going to the search bar, he began to type in snacks. After hitting enter, a list of multiple snack types with different ranges from chips to pies, bars, crackers, and more popped up. He scrolled for for a bit, going down the list until his sight landed on something.
A white box containing twelve chewy granola chocolate bars with the name "Energy Up" circled twice by a red line. Rise clicked it for more information, getting a small summary of the product.
Energy Up! (Twelve Count): A tasty, chewy, chocolate drizzle granola energy bar sealed tightly in wrappers packaged inside a plain white box. Just as its name says, it gives a burst of energy once consumed, and is perfect for avoiding full meals when working out.
Side Effect(s): None.
Cost: 120 Ryo. Would you like to purchase?
"Side effects," he questioned, wondering what was the purpose behind it. That would be something to question for later.
Despite that, he made the purchase anyway. One-twenty was immediately taken from his back account before the code for his purchase began doing its thing. The left page began to erase itself, writing down information for him to read over.
The purchase has been finalized, and your item has been placed in your inventory. Your account is now at 21,832 yen. Thank you for shopping with us Mr. Summers.
"Thank you for the great service," was his only reply as he made way for the door. He had some distance to travel.
______
It was formerly quiet within training ground three, birds chirping as Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura could be seen in the clearing. Unlike the other two waiting in silence, Naruto was softly snoring in attempt to get some much needed shuteye. The look on Sakura's face wasn't discernable—hard to paint it clearly as concern or just being anxious. Sasuke stood in his usual brooding pose, arms folded over his chest with a bored expression.
All they did was wait, and wait, and wait some more. Except it wasn't just their sensei they were waiting on, but the delinquent as well.
"Yo! Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke!"
That was until his shout got their attention.
"About time! All of us here left out early to make sure we arrived on time, and here you are showing up hours late," Sakura said, anger showcasing itself as she was clearly upset.
"Eh? Isn't that the usual for him?" Naruto replied, earning Sakura's glare which seemed to be work in ridding him of any excess sleep his body might've needed.
"Usual or not, it's unfair to the rest of us. We showed up on time, but he looks like he got a full night's sleep."
Rise noticed the finger she was point at him, making the former roll his eyes since she followed up her action with "Don't you agree Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke only sent a glance towards Rise, showing a look of indifference. He looked him over from top to bottom, seeing that he did appear well rested. He wasn't focused on his rest though.
"Did you eat breakfast before coming here?" All eyes were on Sasuke as he asked the question, then Naruto and Sakura looked over to Rise for his answer.
"Of course not. Eating a meal before this exercise sounds like a death sentence," Rise answered before reaching into his shinobi pouch. Seconds later, he pulled out four energy-up bars, shocking the latter two before tossing one each to his teammates. "Instead, I packed some bars for us to boost our energy so neither of us would slow the others down."
"Alright! Finally, some food!" Naruto didn't think twice in ripping open the wrapper.
"Kakashi-sensei said not to eat anything or we'll throw up."
"Sure, Kakashi-sensei said so, but that only works if we would've begun the survival exercise on time," Rise retorted as he began ripping open his own wrapper. "I'm late by technicality, Kakashi-sensei's still late, and the three of you haven't had anything to chow down on since five this morning. I'm right, aren't I?"
"That's—Well..."
"Not to mention, it's just an energy bar meant to keep our levels up by giving us a boost. That, and it's only a snack. It'll tide us over without putting too much on our stomachs, or making us sick."
Sakura went silent for a moment after Rise's explanation. What he was saying made sense, and there wasn't much risk in breaking the order they were given. Factor that with Naruto having eaten his, along with Sasuke tearing his wrapper open, Sakura had no reason to go against the majority. Although reluctant, she tore open the wrapper and exposed the energy bar. Her lips parted before she took a bite, avoiding Rise's general direction to hide her appreciation.
The few seconds of them eating flew by and turned into minutes with all four of them standing beside one another. Naruto seemed annoyed as he remained sitting on the ground. Sakura was finding herself beginning to feel the same, a half-lidded glare making itself known. As for Rise and Sasuke, they were back to back with their arms folded. No one moved from their positions, but that was about to change.
"Yo. Good morning."
"You're late!" Came the in unison scream of Naruto and Sakura. Couldn't be helped I suppose.
"Well, a black cat crossed my path on the way here," Kakashi replied, the lie being obvious no matter how convincing his one-eyed smile seemed.
He was met with the baffled stares of his genin, sans Rise and Sasuke who were supporting annoyed expressions due to his lateness. The former only did it to play his part, knowing the real reason for his late arrival.
Moving on, they watched as Kakashi reached into his bag after walking past them. What was pulled from inside happened to be a black alarm clock with two bells on the side, and one knob at the top. The time read ten-ten (we like her right?) on the dot. Kakashi placed it down on top of the smallest stump across from them, then placed his hand on top of the knob.
"The time has been set for noon, so you'll have less than two hours," Kakashi began, putting a pause in his sentence before removing three bells from his pockets. "To take these bells from me. That's your assignment."
All eyes were on the silver bells tied by red strings. Kakashi shook them once, the jingle hitting the ears of everyone there before his right eye sent a glance over to the timer.
"Those who fail to get one won't receive lunch, and will be tied to one of three posts where everyone else will eat their lunch in front of whoever fails."
'That's why he didn't want us to eat,' Sakura thought, casting her vision upon Rise who was standing in between Naruto and Sasuke. 'If it wasn't for Rise, our stomachs would probably be grumbling by now.'
A pink hue stained her cheeks to indicate her small blush. It was a little embarrassing to be saved (for now) by Rise of all people, but it's not like she wouldn't be thankful for it. She placed her attention back on Kakashi, unaware that his uncovered eye had been staring at her. Despite that, they let the information settle in before Sakura's eyes widened from realization.
"Wait a second. You said that we had to get the bells before noon, but there's only three of them, not four."
"Hmm. Only three are present because the fourth will be tied to the log. Meaning, one of you four will be disqualified for failing to get a a bell, and thus will be sent back to the academy as a result."
Naruto clicked his teeth with an irritated expression, and Sakura wasn't too far behind him. Sasuke was supporting his usual glare, and Rise stood there with an expression of indifference.
'Hook, line, and sinker,' Rise thought. 'Thanks to the threat of being sent back to the academy, the seed of self reliance was sown. All three of them in order to prove themselves didn't think about working together when the risk of never becoming a ninja was too high, so they overlooked it without a second thought.'
"It could be one of you, or it might be all of you," Kakashi spoke, tying the bells to the back of his person before saying "use any weapons at your disposal. You won't even reach me if your intent to kill me is nowhere to be found."
"Sensei, that's dangerous!" Sakura spoke up, going against the thought of trying to kill him naturally.
"Y-Yeah!" Naruto replied in response, trying to hide his discomfort around the subject of killing their jonin teacher. "Besides, you couldn't even dodge a chalkboard eraser!"
"Those who bark the loudest are usually the weakest of the group. I'm sure a loser like you could relate."
The loser comment hit his ears. Hard.
"You may begin on my signal the moment I say 'start.' So, give it your best effort—"
'Loser. Loser. Loser.' Naruto was seething with Rage, no one else but Rise having noticed it. However, the latter wasn't going to stop him.
His right hand went into the ninja tool pouch strapped to his right leg. A kunai was pulled out from it as he spun it around his middle finger before pointing it at Kakashi, then holding it tightly in his grip. "Haa" was the battle cry that escaped Naruto as he charged straight toward the Jonin. Naruto cocked his arm back before proceeding to swing with all his might.
Then it happened.
Naruto, who had been mid swing in his attack, now found himself locked in place. Dust kicked up from the ground in all direction. His right arm that was holding the Kunai was held tightly behind him, and the kunai was positioned at the back of his head. Kakashi stood behind him, towering over the blonde with a bored expression after easily stopping his attack.
"I didn't give the signal to start yet."
Naruto grunted sightly as he could feel a hand palming his head as well. The shock on Sakura and Sasuke's face from the display gave them an eye-opener of how strong their teacher actually was. Rise was the only one with a calm expression, but he couldn't hide how tense he was. Seeing it up close, actually being there to witness a smidge of Kakashi's true power in Naruto's world was something else, and he couldn't help but feel excited by it.
'No way.' Sakura took a step back, not sure how to feel in her stunned state.
'So THIS is a jonin,' Sasuke thought, gaining a stern expression as he watched Kakashi release his hold on Naruto.
"Still, you came at me with the intent to kill," Kakashi spoke before giving a small laugh, taking in the smiling expression of Naruto who seemed to be grateful for being acknowledged in his attempt. "I'm starting to like the four of you."
A slight breeze went by them, and Kakashi took a step back from before saying "Ready... Start," and watched them jump away from their previous locations. That left him all alone, giving them some time to secure their new positions as he thought over what he was going to be teaching them from this survival mission.
'... Masking your presence as a shinobi is a skill no ninja should ever be without. Whether it's being some distance away or in plain sight, remaining undetected is a matter of life and death even if it's simply just gathering information.'
His one eye slowly glanced around the area, unable to spot Sakura, Sasuke, and Rise from his current location after they all took off in separate directions. "They've hidden well so far" was the only thought he had before it was disturbed by him seeing Naruto suddenly appearing some distance away from him.
"Alright, let's do this! You and me fair and square!"
"Huh?" The amount of confusion coming off Kakashi could be measured in a beaker.
You're gonna let this part continue like normal?
'Of course. I need part of the canon to push the OG story properly after all.' Meanwhile, Rise was conversing with Nexus, the latter beginning to question him in regards to canon.
Hearing that, I do wanna ask you why. I know you're gonna be changing multiple aspects to the story now that you're here, but why are you letting the survival exercise continue like normal apart from your late arrival?
'Because I'm an anomaly. Pretty sure that's obvious,' Rise answered casually, turning his head to see Kakashi dodging a punch from Naruto as he continued reading which made Rise turn back to the textbox.
Ok, but that doesn't fully answer my question. I know you have more to say than just that.
'I do, actually. The story right now is about Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. I know how the story plays out, but I'm not the one who can 'teach' them how to grow up in regards to life that they are choosing. Kakashi's true strength after stopping Naruto was eye-opening for the three of them. Jumping in to make unnecessary changes won't help their growth or development, especially for what has yet to come. Then there's me—'
"Naruto, get out of there! He'll kill you!"
That shot from Sakura got Rise to stop speaking, turning his head to see Kakashi positioned behind him. Naruto, who was clueless, immediately looked back to see Kakashi, but his look of worry dropped into a delayed expression of queasiness. Then he was sent flying as a ear-piercing scream resounded throughout the area.
"A thousand years of death!"
Just seeing it in real time made Rise wince, turning his attention back to the textbox from the Nexus.
'As I was saying, then there's me, the anomaly. I was isekaid here to grant my wish, but I'm bound by the story for now despite this being my reality. Of course I could change everything, but doing so will come with consequences later on down the line. If I'm not careful, they could pay the price for it. Then I can't let anyone know how much I'm actually aware of unless I wanna be in danger. Too many unknown variables, but the biggest issue right now is myself. Just existing has already altered the story, and I'm not ready to find out just how much influence I could have this early on.'
Meaning you'll only make changes when necessary without hurting the story too much while you figure things out?
'More like I'm carefully planning around my new reality without affecting too much of the current storyline until later on. I've been granted a system that had me interact with Ibara and Tsubaki to seduce them, then I had sex with Ayame-nee. Those are decisions I've made that'll come back around to me no matter what, but there won't be any lasting effects on Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura for a while. It's not about what changes are necessary, but which ones will generate an impact that can't be ignored. Flirting with older women, fucking the woman I see as my onee-chan, and giving them an energy bar to avoid them getting too hungry won't do much. Not letting them grow because I know what the canon is, instead of letting them find themselves will shelter them from possibilities they never knew were possible.'
... Ha, haha... Hahahahahaha! I knew choosing you was the smartest decision I've ever made since. Not only do you have a brain, but you're aware just how much damage you COULD do. That, and you acknowledge yourself as an anomaly whose existence has already caused a few changes. Then again, I expected this as your response.
'You expected this?'
Yeah, because you have a brain and know how to use it. You don't wanna save canon down to the letter, but you don't wanna break it while viewing yourself as the protagonist. You wouldn't believe how big of an issue that is when it comes to thousands to even millions of universes that exist. Knowing that, it makes me happy beyond your wildest imagination.
'I'm glad to hear that then—'
"No way! Sasuke, you jerk! You're overdoing it!"
The sudden shout broke Rise free from his thoughts, turning around to see a dangling Naruto tied by his ankles, and Kakashi descending to the ground.
'Sasuke's making his move. Sorry Nexus, but I gotta...' His train of thought fell quiet as the textbox was no longer there, surprising Rise who had to shake himself free from its disappearance. He'd worry about that later. As of now, he had a Haruno and an Uchiha to focus on.