Chapter 24 – Surviving, Complexities

The once jovial smile transformed into an ugly and bitter frown. Just as Raito was singing his tune, he unknowingly accepted a challenge and had sealed his fate for the next week.

Challenge accepted 

Inventory locked until the end of survival exam. 

Reward: 500 points 

"Nononono, cancel challenge, Close, Stop, Damn." The blue rectangular tab hovered in front of Raito; the longer he looked at it, the angrier he became. 

Plopping down and sitting cross-legged, Raito tried out various methods to call out his inventory but was stopped on the very first step. No matter how he called, the window refused to materialize in front of him. 

Chōji looked at Raito, who was in front of him trying various hand movements; sometime Raito would call out 'inventory', and sometime Raito would stare at the space in front of him. Seeing Raito like that, he remembered the feeling was something like when he would finish the bag of chips and remember that it was the last one, "Raito, what happened?" 

Coming out of a daze, Raito looked at Chōji bitterly and said, "Nothing, just something happened….that inventory –." 

"Yoshizawa Raito, Akimichi Chōji, you two get in line." Iruka shouted at the top of his voice , looking in the direction where Raito and Chōji had strayed. 

The two lines in front of Iruka had already begun entering the cabins for search, but the two boys still had not joined the lines. 

After a couple of seconds, the two boys hurriedly came and joined the line. 

As Raito and Chōji joined the line, Raito glared at Shikamaru and asked, "Why didn't you call us?" 

"When did you two disappear? I thought you were right behind us," Shikamaru lied, seemingly uncaring. 

Hearing Shikamaru, Raito wanted to beat him into the ground but held himself back. On the side, Chōji asked, "Where's Naruto?" 

"Iruka sensei couldn't stand Naruto, so he was sent in early." Shikamaru replied. 

"Nara Shikamaru," Iruka called Shikamaru, after which he entered the door. 

"It's whatever." Raito switched with Chōji and stood at the last. Activating his 'Chakra Sense' Raito could see the inside; a fat man and thin man, trying to make Shikamaru angry. Raito had only one word for the poor act of the thin men – 'boring'. 

After some time, Raito walked inside and saw a Chūnin sitting in a chair. 

The Chūnin was a tanned, fat man and had a characteristic diamond-shaped beard and behind him, standing with a tray and plastic bags with sealing tape, was a thin Chūnin. 

"You will call me Eichiro. My team will be responsible for holding your belongings for the period of this survival test. I will be checking for anything you try to sneak in." After waiting for confirmation, for a second, the fat Chūnin continued. "Any weapons, water, food, books, ropes or compass you want to submit?" 

Smiling, Raito handed his weapon pouch to the Chūnin and waited. Eichiro checked the items inside and, after counting, handed it to the thin Chūnin behind. "One set of shuriken, five kunai, two sealing tags, and ten exploding talismans." When he said the exploding tags, he looked at Raito with a bit more serious expression. 

"Oh! Exploding talismans? Can a student buy them? This kid must have gotten them from the black market." The thin Chūnin said in exasperation as he inspected the talismans. 

Eichiro and Raito looked at the thin one with 'Are you stupid?' look. 

'A kid knowing black market in Konoha? Oh dear Kami, even if he knows, no one would dare sell him.' Eichiro glared at the thin one.

"What creativity, uncle. You are really… smart." Raito smirked, gave thumbs up to the thin Chūnin, a touch of sarcasm lacing his words.

"Stop talking. Jackets and shirts off." Eichiro commanded, and Raito obediently followed, handing over the clothing to the Chūnin behind. Eichiro grabbed Raito's face with one hand then with another hand-checked for anything etched on the face. 

The thin Chūnin also inspected the jacket, checking one side then another, then the collar and the borders. After a thorough examination, he revealed a big smile. "Found one," the thin Chūnin found a storage seal, passing chakra into it for quite a while. Failing to open the seal, he called Eichiro, "I can't open it, captain." 

Eichiro also passed chakra into it, and seeing it was of no use, he looked at Raito for a while and commanded, "You must be a seal master… open the seal." 

The thin Chūnin behind Eichiro, wore a disbelieving expression and spoke softly, "Captain, even if you say that…" 

"Keep quiet, Kenichi." Giving his subordinate a glare, Eichiro focused at Raito. 

Nodding, Raito sent out chakra, effortlessly unlocking the seal, from where a lighter appeared. Grabbing the lighter, Eichiro kept it in a plastic bag, and ordered Kenichi to search thoroughly. 

After a few minutes, Kenichi uncovered a total of five seals on the clothes. Eichiro glanced at Raito before dryly commenting, "It seems you can't draw seals on your body just yet." 

"Give the kid back his clothes and store the items." Eichiro commanded and left the cabin. 

Kenichi gave Raito his clothes back then started labeling, "Lighter, compass, rope, medicine kit, a knife." 

"You really came prepared, huh? Too bad I was in charge of checking." Kenichi gave a victorious smile and kept everything at the cabinet. "Top Fūinjutsu, a brainiac, but…. You are still stupid, hehe all this planning wasted… Do you think we will let you do as you want?" 

As Kenichi continued spouting nonsense, Raito ignored him and checked his status and everything. Everything was fine except for the inventory. 

"Oi… one more sissy."

Raito twitched as he watched Kenichi leaving the cabin. 

[Calm, Happy] 

Upon exiting, Raito cursed Kenichi, hundreds of time. His inventory and now, the sealed items were taken. Raito could only use the things he had learned to survive in the test. He continued trying to cancel the challenge and activate the inventory. 

Outside the cabin, the students gathered in groups of three, divided by Iruka. As Iruka saw Raito coming out he commanded, "Raito join Hinata and Naruto, you three will be team thirteen."

"They took my bandages." 

"Plastic bags." 

"Food, my food." 

"My needles, too." 

"Who the hell needs needles?" 

"You never know." 

Raito asked Naruto, a concerned expression on his face. The answer was 'everything', the same as his. 

"What about Inventory?" Chōji asked from the side, a concern grew on him from before, after seeing Raito's face.

Hearing Chōji, Raito's face turned ugly. Giving a bitter smile, he answered, "I cannot open the inventory." 

This revelation shocked and angered the group. The greatest anger was from Chōji. Grabbing Raito's collar, Chōji asked, "How? Why? That's a lie, right?" 

"C-Chōji, I am not lying. I-I… It was just after you gave me the chips." Raito was depressed right now, the tears from his eyes were just going to drop. 

"Chōji, stop." 

Shikamaru looked at Raito and asked, "What happened?" 

"I don't know but after Chōji gave me his chips to store, I couldn't open the inventory anymore." Raito answered, leaving about the 'challenge accepted' thing. 

"No way," Chōji seemed as he finally understood what was wrong. "I jinxed it."

"Did you do something?" Ino asked, an evil aura covering her. It concerned her beautiful hair and her good night sleep. 

Hearing the sweet poisonous tone of Ino, Chōji and Raito became even more afraid and stammered. 

"Groups, attention." Iruka's command interrupted the tense moment. The students hurriedly formed groups and stood at attention. 

"Masami Iwasawa.

Abarai Renji.

Haruno Sakura.

Enter."

They were approached by a Chūnin then the group entered the training ground. 

One after another, the teams would enter the training ground and Hinata would confirm the direction they were heading to. In the end, it was only Raito's team and Sasuke's that were left. 

After everyone left, Iruka approached the two and said, "Both groups have good tracking and scouting ability, so Hokage-sama thought that these two people will be able to hold their ground against you two." Iruka signaled the two men with ANBU mask. 

"Please". Iruka added before returning to the group of academy teachers. 

The group of students looked at the respective observers, standing in front of them. The two ANBU did not say anything but walked through the gate. The students looked at each other before following the ANBU. 

"Hey, hey, ANBU-san, what's your name? Is it CAT, DOG, SPARROW, BULL…?" Naruto asked but the ANBU remained silent, unfazed by Naruto's attempts at interaction.

The path they walked was flat with no foot trails. The deeper they went, the louder the sound of the animals became, but what surprised Raito was the absence of ferocious creatures. Chicken, duck, goose, rabbits, boar, deer – there was a mix of animals that seemed out of place. It resembled a textbook habitual land, with fruits and vegetables growing abundantly, interspersed with companion crops every 100 to 200 steps.

"I see sweet potatoes there." Raito made a comment, pointing in a direction.

"Fruits like apples and banana are also there." Hinata added and wanted to walk towards another direction. 

"I'll go," Naruto shouted, eager to take action, but his path was stopped by the ANBU in front. "Don't". 

The commanding tone of ANBU made Naruto flinch, and he dared not challenge. 

"Even if he can't, your clone definitely can." Raito said and made a signal to Naruto.

"Yeah." Naruto agreed, ready to conjure a Shadow Clone, yet once again stopped by the ANBU. "No deviation until we reach the destination point," he added, his expression completely concealed.

"Rule book." Raito directly gave the ANBU in front of him with a nickname, but the ANBU remained the same. 'Damn, ANBU mask. I don't know who you are but I will definitely not make you comfortable.'

Exchanging glances with Naruto and Hinata, Raito started speaking, "With that height of about 5 feet and about 6 or 7 inches, not even 6 feet. A typical short stature, and short brown hair; very, very common, no unique hairstyle. You must be currently…" Raito paused for an effect, "A total single."

The figure trembled, but Raito pressed on, "And with that attitude of the rule book, any girl dating him will definitely break up within 4 months, not lasting more than that." 

The ANBU felt a bit exposed hearing the kid. He wanted to turn and refuse those comments but found some truth. 'It's not because of my height, it's because of my job.'

'This, this….works?' Raito had used one of the techniques Inoichi had taught him. He was looking at the figure in front of him with a desire to laugh. "So troublesome, can't choose. Job or-" 

The trembling figure calmed down then interrupted, "Stop talking." 

After a few minutes of the silent treatment, Naruto grew bored, "Wasn't the ANBU with Sasuke's team Inu (DOG)? I remember him. He used to come to play with me. Although he didn't know how to play many games, he was a good person."

Raito gave Naruto a puzzled expression and asked, "Didn't you say DOG had white hair, like an old man?" 

"Nope, it was him alright. The smell is just the same." Naruto replied. 

"Who cares?" Raito ignored Naruto then stepped forward. He gathered the small pebbles from the ground. 

Seeing what Raito was doing, Hinata also started walking on the sides. Using her great chakra control, she broke the neck of the berries and started collecting.

Naruto saw the two and instantly felt dejected. Scanning the surroundings for things he could do. Naruto copied Hinata and went on the side, grabbing leaves and buds, he thought was something good. 

Hinata, who was grabbing the berries, saw Naruto plucking leaves and buds. Strangeness appeared on her face. "Naruto-kun, these are…" 

"Uh, these are herbs, I remember that this can be used to repel mosquitoes and insects if burned and this… um, this bud can be eaten, I think." Naruto said proudly, trying to show off his knowledge he has gotten from reading dozen of books. 

"Naruto-kun, these buds are not edible; they're poisonous. And this leaf will cause itching so, it's also a poison." Hinata replied, shattering Naruto's pride. 

"Those books, all wasted." Raito remarked from behind, an arrow hitting Naruto's heart.

"Ah, Future Hokage doesn't even knowing the things in his own village." Raito mournfully added. 

Raito exaggeratedly sighed and added, "Maybe, Hinata, who knows about the herbs, will become a better Hokage?" 

"N-No I don't want to… I-I… " Hinata quickly shook her head, looking at Naruto, "Naruto-kun, I don't. I really don't."

Naruto remained in his own world, ignoring Hinata and Raito. "But I read all those books….but still…." 

"You cannot learn everything from books." The ANBU walking in front interjected. "If you've have only read about those herbs from the text book then I advise you to be cautious."

"It requires practice, Naruto-kun. The field of herbology is big, so, it's natural to get confused. If you want, wy-why don't I help you?" Hinata explained then offered her help. 

"Then, how did you learn?" Naruto, unwilling to give up, asked again.

Raito sneered, "The Hyūga clan is a big clan of the village. Their resources are large and Hinata, herself, is also hardworking from when she was small, not like you reading books just for a couple of days." 

Raito was merciless but Naruto did not mind. He turned towards Hinata and asked for her help, "Hinata-chan help me learn." 

Hinata smiled happily and nodded. On the way, she helped Naruto pick up various leaves then she would explain their uses and how to differentiate them from their similar family.

After two hours of walking, Raito, who was at the back, gathering small pebbles, had now stopped and was provoking ANBU.

"Oi, ANBU-san, aren't we there, yet?" it was umpteenth time Raito had asked in the past hour. 

"We are here." The ANBU finally stopped his tedious walk, arriving at a small open area. In the middle of the open area, there was a small wooden box and on top of it, there was an A4 size paper.

Objective – Survival exams for four days. 

Open the box to accept the mission. 

Hinata read the content of the letter out loud, then looked at Raito and Naruto for an answer. 

"Hey, ANBU-san, do we-" as Naruto was about to ask, he paused, then looked around searching for the ANBU. 

"He's gone." After checking with his 'Chakra Sense', Raito found that the ANBU had truly gone, which was not possible. He was somewhat confused and amazed.

'Start Recording.' 'I should have done this from the beginning.'

Ratio gave a command, then looked at Hinata for confirmation. Hinata also checked for the ANBU but failed to do so. "He is not here." 

'Maybe.' after making a wild guess, Raito faced Hinata and said, "Hinata I can't sense through the ground, can you?" 

"I can." But even after a long time, she still replied the same. 

Naruto had already opened the box and gone through the stuff.

"Naruto?" 

"Compressed biscuits, some food pills and a bottle of water." Naruto replied blandly. 

"And?" Raito questioned, stretching his neck towards the box.

"Nothing else," 

Gathering in a circle, Raito, Hinata and Naruto sat, and made plans. 

"What do we need?" 

"Food, Shelter, water." Naruto replied in lightning fast. The books were doing good.

"And warmth." Hinata raised her voice. There was some things the books are always mission.

"Let's divide the work, for now. Hinata, Naruto, you two look for shelter and water." 

He looked at the two then added. "Listen to Hinata and let your shadow clones do the work, okay? I will gather the food."

Raito left them with a box in his hand

The two looked at Raito's fading back, then looked at one another.

With Hinata's help, Naruto started working. He made clones and sent them in the direction Hinata said had water.

Raito stood on top of a slope and looked down. "There are carrot and radish at the bottom, and tomatoes on top." 

"The apples were here." Running around, Raito quickly gathered food, mainly those that did not need cooking. Finding food was easiest for people like Raito, Hinata, Shino, and Kiba, who had the ability in scouting. 

The wooden box was completely filled and it felt a little heavy. Raito looked around and found that he had traveled quite a bit and guessed that the two were most probably heading opposite him. So, he started searched for the two before walking towards them. 

On his way, Raito saw many sources of protein like rabbits, chicken, and boar, which was truly suitable. "Lizard, bird and squirrel, it's best not to mention them. Girls will definitely not like them." 

Naruto and Hinata were in an open area. The trees around them had stab and slash markings, made by weapons. Luck on their side, chipped kunai and shuriken were littered everywhere, not the best but still usable. 

Gathering the kunai and shuriken, they found out that most of those were not usable. Only half of the bundle proved to be in good condition. 

"Raito-san is coming." Hinata, who was checking the surroundings, reported. 

"Raito, here~" Naruto called for Raito. Setting down the box filled with food, Raito lay down on the ground, panting heavily. 

"Look, we found some weapons." Naruto showed the weapons to Raito. 

"Only a few are usable. The rest can't be used." Raito checked with his skill and informed to the duo. There were some that looked usable but were on the verge of breaking. From the bundle, Raito selected some and in the end, only four kunai and three shurikens were usable. 

"Ano, Raito-san, Naruto-kun, there are more things up." Hinata, who was using her Byakugan, commented. 

"More?" Naruto and Raito both exclaimed. 

After deactivating her Byakugan, Hinata stood in front of the tree. Raising one foot, she placed it on the trunk, then another. She was defying gravity, her foot sticking to the trunk of the tree as if ready to walk on its surface. She raised her foot and made a step, then another and another. Within seconds, she walked to the halfway then jumped on a branch. On there, she lifted the wood look-like cloth and recovered a large bundle.

Bringing down the bundle, Hinata placed it down and quickly opened it. Upon opening the bundle of cloth, they found water bottle, clothes, money, some dried rations, and a box.

"We can use this cloth and the water bottle." Raito commented. 

Following Raito's suggestion, Hinata grabbed the cloth and the water bottle, placing them on the wooden box.

Naruto, curious, went to open the small box but was held back by Raito. Raito checked the box with 'Observe' and found that the owner of the box was Nara clan and was a stolen item. 

"Hinata, can you see what is inside that?" 

"There is a lab tube with… some kind of water." 

Naruto crouched down and pointed on a symbol on the box, "Hey, isn't that symbol from Shikamaru's house?" 

"From Nara clan." Hinata added from the side. 

"We can't keep it." Raito said then looking all around him he shouted, "ANBU-san". 

The hidden ANBU appeared from Raito's blind spot and suddenly entered Raito's 'Chakra Sense', making Raito turn around and take action. 

The backhand made by Raito was grabbed by the ANBU and then pushed away. 

"It's ANBU-san." Naruto stated the obvious and helped Raito. 

"You shouldn't attack randomly, moreover an ally." The ANBU said in his masked voice. 

"An ally whom I don't know much about, suddenly appearing on my back. I rather be cautious than be dead." Raito said in a somewhat angry tone. Although no HP was lost, he still felt a little bit of pain. 

Ignoring Raito, ANBU watched the other two and asked, "Why did you call? Does your team want to quit?" 

"No way." Naruto jumped in anger, pointing his fingers.

"ANBU-san." Hinata after getting the attention from ANBU said, "This, we wanted to give you this box. It looked like it was from Nara clan. It is a tube from lab with something inside it."

The ANBU looked at the box with Nara clan seal on it. Opening the box, he saw the tube and closed it. "I will see that Hokage-sama receives it." 

"Now?" Raito asked 

"Yes." Answering Raito's question, the ANBU disappeared 

"Yesh, not even thanks." Raito remarked.

After a quick rest and with the help of shadow clones, carrying became one of the least worrying things. The clones held varieties of foods, dry branches, and tall grasses, ready for the camping.

"AHA!" Shouting in surprise, Naruto drew the attention of Hinata and Raito. Looking towards him Hinata asked, "What happened, Naruto-kun?" 

"I found the waterfall and there is even a small cave for us to sleep for the night." Naruto replied excitedly. 

"How far is it?" Raito asked. 

"Not very far, about, about 1, 2… around half an hour away." Naruto tried explaining how far it was but struggled. He opted for the time needed to reach the destination. He always had trouble regarding numbers and estimating distance, things like that. Despite everyone being taught the same, it was especially difficult for Naruto.

The group walked towards the waterfall and every now and then Raito in spite, would ask Naruto how far it was. Initially, the cheerful Naruto answered, but now he felt that ignoring Raito was the best thing. He didn't think that he, himself, was this annoying when he did it; he only asked for information and had no ulterior motive.

"Naruto-kun, your clone is there waving at us." Hinata, who was picking herbs on the way, also used Byakugan frequently. Seeing the clone, she quickly informed them. 

"Oi, that's my clone." 

"Whose can it be, if not yours?" Raito rolled his eyes.

Uzumaki Naruto (Clone no. 4.2) 

Durability: 4/25 

CP: 40/80 

"Boss, I have been waiting for you all for a while now." After saying a single sentence, the clone disappeared. Naruto didn't take too long to absorb all the information the clone had. 

"Follow me." Naruto, with his clones, ran towards the area, leaving Hinata and Raito behind to follow.

Catching up to Naruto, they reached the waterfall. It was large but not overly so, with the surrounding cliffs and hills forming a crescent shape that left one side free for the water to flow. The mouth of the waterfall was sizable, and the rushing water produced a constant noise, accompanied by a cool breeze.

Naruto was in front of the so-called cave, staring at it with a strange expression. The structure before him hardly deserved the title of a cave; it was more of a gaping hole, just large enough to accommodate two people snugly. Moreover, it was already damp, rendering it unusable.

Raito caught up to Naruto and looked at the hole then rubbed his temples. It is easier to make a shelter then making use of this hole.

"I didn't see it properly. I thought it would be big enough." Naruto admitted with a bit of guilt. 

[Quest created – Home sweet home – 1]

Expand the cave.

Quest reward – 50 Exp

Would you like to accept the quest?

[Yes | No]

"I can expand this cave?" Raito questioned himself aloud. 

"You can?" Naruto inquired. 

After a brief pause, Raito looked his skill list and confirmed, "I think I can." 

"Get more grass." 

"Are we having fish?" 

"This water is full of fish." 

"We also need a place to make fire." 

…. 

After the work was divided, Raito remained outside the hole, while Naruto and Hinata went out to get other things done. 

"[Earth release: Earth Pit]" 

Raito placed his hand at the back of the hole and activated his chakra. The wall inside the hole was gradually pushed back, making a small crater. Now on the natural, smooth, curved surface of the cave had a small circular crater with about a hand depth. 

[CP – 1850/2000]

Let's try 50 points of chakra. A new hole was made into the wall. Seeing the hole, Raito immediately placed his foot in it. "Whoa,"

After some time, there were holes everywhere, making it quite unsightly to look at. By the end, he wanted to level everything but he couldn't. Raito's chakra was already at its limit.

"Kami-sama," Crying at his low chakra, wishing for an increase in chakra. 

Meditating to recover chakra. 

"[Earth Pit]" 

The hole instantly became big, slightly off the mark. The jutsu made a big hole at the side of the entrance, making a small window. 

'Let's leave that for now.' While the jutsu was still active, his hands moved downward and the surface was also pushed backward. Chunks of rocks and soil were being pushed back, making a smoother area.

While the big hole changed into a small cave, the entrance was just too big because of his stupid use of technique. Even when he used about ten points of chakra, one new hole would be created.

Raito stretched his stiff body and touched the walls of the cave. The touch was far smoother than it had been previously.

"I have 300 points of chakra left. Expanding cost me less than I thought." 

[Skill 'Earth Release – Earth Pit' has reached level 7] 

"Hey, what's with this hole?" Naruto's loud voice entered Raito's ear, which made Raito cancel the jutsu.

"Holes?" Hinata didn't say much but hit the center with one word, making Raito depressed. 

"I tried to make the cave big using the camping jutsu, 'Earth release – Earth Pit'. But from this, I guess it will take a little bit more time." 

"Whoa the cave just got big." (Naruto) 

"It's not that big, you know." (Raito) 

"Just if there were no holes on the floor." (Hinata) 

"Ugh." Raito looked at the floor, then shifted his gaze to the walls. While the wall was smooth, the floor was pockmarked with holes. "We can use this as seats."

"…"

"If we all hug each other then it will be all comfy." Naruto sat on a spot then looked at his sides.

"Sure, sure." Raito sighed, sitting down in exhaustion and gazing at the floor.

"H-hug? Hugging Naruto-kun." Hinata got her brain fired as she fainted. 

Raito's lips twitched, "Really?" 

"Oi, Hinata, Hinata, what happened?" Naruto became frantic and shook Hinata. 

"Of course we are all sleeping together, after all, we have only one blanket." Naruto stated matter-of-factly. 

Raito looked at the fish then at the leaves then looked at the two coconuts at the side. Grabbing the coconuts, Raito shook them, hearing the milk in the inside moving. 

"Yeah, those coconuts. The tree was big but Hinata ran up grabbed few and… and it was so cool." Naruto said in a slightly awed voice, his eyes sparkling. 

"Naruto-kun, Raito-san, tree climbing is a chakra control exercise. I am good at them so… so if you don't mind, I can teach it to everyone." Hinata explained, offering her knowledge, her voice getting softer at the end. 

"Really!? Thanks, Hinata." (Naruto) 

Raito looked at the setting sun then looked at the fish and said, "I'll make the fish."

The area was cleared. The stones were in formation filled with dry grass and branches, and the sticks pointing at the circle. "Naruto keep the rest of dry grass on the cave." Raito instructed. Turning toward the dry grass and branches, Raito swiftly formed hand-seals and released chakra to his hand. "[Fire Release – Fire Spark]". 

Descaling, removing the innards, cutting the fish into parts, and adding herbs, Raito placed them near the fire. With the help of Observe-sama, Raito threw the bad fishes away. 

Now, while waiting for the fish to cook, he washed the fruits and the vegetable to eat. Stunned as the bottle became empty, Raito realized his bad habit of washing vegetables properly in this improper time.

Hinata saw Raito's stunned look and quickly reassured him. "I know the Water Condensation and Water Purification Jutsu, Raito-san." 

Raito nodded. 

Sitting on the rocks, around the campfire, the three held fish on their hand. Raito held one coconut while another was held by Hinata. 

"Hey, where is mine?" Naruto looked around. 

Raito shrugged. 

"Give me half, Raito." Naruto pointed at Raito and said. 

"No way." Raito hid his coconut and glared. 

"I am not going to get any? I want to." Naruto complained.

"I will share with you Naruto-kun." Hinata said sweetly and handed him her coconut.

Naruto gave Raito a look, then smiled at Hinata. "Wah! Hinata you are so good… unlike certain someone here." 

"Hmph." 

Hinata and Naruto were surprised at how delicious the fish was. Raito on the other hand, felt it was not so delicious. 

"Wow, this fish taste so delicious." 

Hinata nodded vigorously, expressing her amazement. 

Taking a sip from her coconut, Hinata was stunned. She gave her coconut milk to Naruto, who also reacted with delight.

Taking a sip from his own coconut milk, Raito felt it was only ordinary. "It's not that great, just okay." 

Raito took a bite from the carrot, the taste was at another level, "Hey, this carrot is delicious." 

[Carrot (+1)] A normal carrot enhanced by pure water. 

[Coconut milk (+1)] Ordinary coconut milk mixed with pure water enhancing its taste. 

[Coconut] An ordinary Coconut. 

'What is this sweetness?' "Hey, Hinata what did you do to this carrot?" Raito asked his words felt like interrogation making Hinata nervous. 

"I washed them with the water… that's all." Hinata tried remembering if she had done anything else, then shook her head. 

Grabbing the bottle, Raito checked the water with his skill. 

[Pure water (+1)] 

Water containing trace amount of chakra. 

"Water purification Jutsu?" 

"Yes, I washed them with that and also added the water in coconut milk." Hinata again replied trying to explain herself. 

"Wow." Raito also exclaimed in surprise. He used [Observe] and found '+1' on some of them and upon asking, Hinata answered that she had used water jutsus for washing and other things. 

Removing all the worries from his mind Raito ate his fish, which was steaming.

Winds from the shore, 

Heat from the fire 

Crackling from the branches. 

Chewing the fish,

Drinking coconut milk.

Sleeping under the star.

A picture perfect, only if… 

Mixing the coconut milk with pure water, Raito drank everything in one gulp. 

CP +40 

"Wow, it had this effect." 

"Yup, it's really delicious." 

Taking out a cleaned kunai, Raito started taking out the coconut meat. 

After eating their fill, everyone sat on the stones, around the fire.

Just outside the cave, Raito placed his hand in front of the hole. Channeling his chakra, Raito called out, "[Earth cover]". 

The soil around the hole shifted, the hard rock stretched to join together, covering the hole altogether. Then Raito covered the holes on the ground and it was like a quack repair job. Tapping those places with holes, a sound was heard, indicating that there was space underneath.

[Earth affinity has leveled up.] 

[Earth affinity has reached level 10.] 

[Due to earth affinity being the primary affinity, a major skill has been unlocked.] 

[Earth Elemental Manipulation (Active/Passive) Lvl 1 Exp 0%] 

Users can shape and manipulate earth and 'earthen' elements including most solid objects (mountain, boulder, sand or dust), dirt, soil, etc.

- (+50%) efficient while using the skill with associated techniques.

Raito went into daze for a while as new information formed in his mind palace.

Naruto tapped Raito's shoulder from behind and asked worriedly, "Raito why are dreaming?" He looked at the wall and added. "The hole disappeared."

"Tomorrow, Naruto, I'll make this cave even bigger. Maybe add a nice door or a fireplace. I should also make water jars…" Raito was again lost in his thought, hundreds of ideas invading his mind. 

"The principle of Earth elementals is Stability."

The foundational and basic knowledge quickly filled his mind. After a while, Raito came out of a daze. Naruto had filled the cave with grass and a blanket on top.

INO-SHKIA-CHO 

"They are not here." Ino looked at the river upstream and voiced her thoughts. 

"Whatever happens, move to waterfall, huh?" Shikamaru poured the water, dowsing the fire. 

"We'll follow the river tomorrow, after breakfast." Shikamaru added. 

"You have to live the remaining days without your shampoo." Chōji from the side revealed the point. 

Ino growled, "I am a Kunoichi, I can handle this." 

"Even if we reach there, Raito can't use 'Inventory'." Chōji said, his mood depressed. 

"That's not final, maybe he can use now." Shikamaru thought aloud. 

SASUKE-KIBA-SHINO 

"Cave on one-sided, fishes on the river, we are so lucky." Kiba said as he bit on the fish and letting Akamaru take another bite. 

"Sasuke-san, should we move to a new location to find other and team up… or stay?" Shino asked, looking out of the cave. 

"….We are fine here." 

"Oi, Sasuke, tomorrow after we collect food, you and me, let's fight. Simply surviving is stupid; we should go wild." 

"Hn." Sasuke took a bite from a tomato, making a small sound for confirmation. 

IWASAWA-RENJI-SAKURA 

"Renji, should we quit tomorrow?" the purple-clad girl asked, her charming countenance looked at Renji. 

The boy with a wooden sword had a stiff expression, nodded and said, "Okay, why not? My father has also decided that it's time to leave Konoha." Pausing to look at the girl sitting on the rock, there was a hint of admiration in his eyes. 

Hesitating for a bit Renji asked, "Can I ask for your origin, miss?" 

"I am afraid I cannot answer your question." The girl then watched the wooden sword and said, "Your sword dance is very fun to watch." Her eyes were glittering, "Especially the formless sword formation." 

"Thank you for the praise." 

"Pick up your sword." Iwasawa commanded, and Renji obeyed. He praised his wooden sword and began to move. 

Iwasawa looked at the plain sword technique dance and smiled brilliantly, pausing a bit she let out a string of words, which felt sharp. 

"The path of the sword is limitless. A razor of wind, a thousand cuts, flower blossoms, flower withers—yet the cycle continues. Time passes, the sun and moon change, but the art of the sword remains supreme. Remaining at the top, looking down from the peak, pointing at the heavens, always alone, always aloof.' 

The gentle wind turned sharp and slash marks appeared at the ground. The wind swirled around Renji and moved according to his movements. With a wave, a sword mark would appear and with a stab, stone will be pierced, all the way through.

"How amusing, Chakara… is really amusing." 

Closing her eyes, she went into meditation. 

If we zoomed out, we could see her cross-legged on a rock slab, which had a smooth surface, and one the side, was another piece of stone which would fit perfectly on the first rock slab. 

Outside the cave, Sakura did not dare to enter inside. She was trying to light a fire using the sticks and stones. 

"It's cold, cold." She trembled. 

When the survival exams started, Sakura, along with Iwasawa and Renji, were brought to the area. After that, the Chūnin disappeared. Renji and Iwasawa teamed up, being from the same section. They quickly adapted to each other. 

As for Sakura, she was the odd one out. Despite Iwasawa's instructions, Sakura repeatedly failed. Her natural intelligence and her vast theoretical knowledge failed her. Her lack of strength and stamina was the main problem. She could not catch up with the two and naturally lagged behind. 

Unable to break branches, lift stones, catch animals or fishes, and even collect foods. Worse was her personality, she would complain after every task and suggest moving towards other places to team up with others. She would complain about water being cold, trees being too high, the rock being heavy and animal and fishes being too fast. 

Iwasawa could not take it anymore. She had seen people, many, many people, but what she despised the most were people like Sakura.

Without any hesitation, she directly asked Sakura to leave the group. Renji did not question or took a side. 

Sakura, angered, swung at Iwasawa, but before she knew it, she was thrown out of the cave. Whenever she tried entering, something invisible would block her from entering. 

 Alone, hungry, cold, and in danger, a painful teardrop fell on the ground, before she cried herself to sleep.