Chapter 25 – Upgrade

As the Chūnin responsible for these majority outsider group, observed Sakura crying to sleep, he felt awkward. He thought for a while, before choosing to ignore her. 

'She can survive until tomorrow morning.' The Chūnin concluded. 

On the other side of the forest, a boy adjusted his jacket and inquired, "Are we just going to sleep under this tree, with nothing else?" 

"We should have collected that grass." The girl from the side said with her soft low voice. "… I can even weave something."

"Quit complaining. We will get those straws and other things, first thing in the morning." The boy with blue scarf snapped, closing his eyes shut, trying his best to sleep. 

Another group. 

"Taka-chan, I am hungry." 

"Me too." 

"Fruits are not enough." 

"Sora, we will get more food tomorrow. It is already so dark, even if we want… Just sleep it off tonight." 

Another group. 

"I want to go home." 

"Hey, don't complain like a girl." A boy shouted, pressing the timid boy's head. 

"What do you mean!? You, big head." The girl who with the rock knife retorted. 

"Oi, you ugly." The rude boy not wanting to lose also retorted. 

The Chūnin observing the groups sighed heavily, massaging his temples. He questioned himself, "Am I really supposed to look after them?" 

Similar thoughts appeared on various Chūnins head, causing them to sigh endlessly. 

Hokage tower. 

"Most of them will definitely go to Genin corps or join other departments. It would be best for them to go basics all over again, in a more practical way. Some will need a little push, while these… some are only good at theory." Hiruzen looked at his crystal ball monitoring the training ground made comments regularly, but the more he spoke, the darker his face became. 

Hiruzen turned around facing Iruka, and sighed. "Do you see, Iruka? How we have failed them, so much lacking, so much…"

Iruka was standing in front of the desk, silently listening to the Hokage talking. As he kept listening, Iruka felt guilty.

"It is a brutal process of creating a hierarchy. Those who will be chosen, moves forward, and as for others, they will slowly lag behind, but even so…"

Opening the drawer, Hiruzen gave the file to Iruka. 

"Iruka, after this semester ends, implement these plans. Go." Hiruzen gave out a command and waved his hand, signaling Iruka to leave. 

[You have slept in a makeshift bed. HP and CP has been restored. Abnormal ailments and negative status have been cured.] 

Opening his eyes, Raito found himself under a rocky roof, smelling the damp soil. The blanket covering him was cold to touch, and only warmth was the Naruto beside him. The dry leaves and long grass had covered him, sticking on to his clothes. 

Raito observed his two teammates beside him, sleeping soundly. 

Facing upward, mouth wide open with drool coming out was Naruto. Next to him, in a fetal position, sleeping as though glued—not like glue, but more like paper to paper—was Hinata.

[TIME 5:03] 

'Perfect timing, again.' 

Raito gently removed the blanket and stood up, then walked to the entrance of the cave where a brisk breeze met him, urging him forward to embrace the wind. The forest resonated with insect noises, and a veil of fog obscured his vision.

Activating his chakra, Raito gathered water on his hand. Another hand-seal, a layer of water was peeled off, throwing whatever bad was mixed in it. Slightly excited, Raito used 'Observe' but the result disappointed him. 

[Water] 

Tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless water.

(Amount – 3 liter)

(Uses)

Raito cancel the technique then recreated before sighing, "I don't have that 'plus one' that like Hinata's." 

There was nothing he could do but to slowly level up. He put his face into the globe of water, wetting his head and face, the cold, making him shiver. 

Activating 'Water Condensation' once again, Raito tried to gather water from his head but could not. Pushing more chakra into the jutsu, Raito hoped that it would work but it did not.

Looking back at the two sleepy heads, Raito walked around the area, hoping for some things to be done.

After a while, Hinata woke up, rubbing her eyes, before scanning her surroundings. Naruto was sleeping by her side, but Raito, who was supposed to be sleeping by Naruto's other side, was not there. 

She stood up and looked outside than at Naruto. Shaking him for few moments, Hinata successfully managed to wake Naruto up. 

Still groggy, Naruto asked, "It's morning already?" 

"Mn, it's already morning. Raito-san has already left." Hinata replied as she folded the cloth. 

"What!?" Naruto exaggeratedly searched the small cave before cursing Raito. 

As Naruto surveyed the cave, he noticed hangers fashioned for their jackets. Placing his jacket on a hanger, Naruto hurried outside.

Raito was sitting on a rock, near the water, holding the stone, which was slowly turning into a cup. Hearing the noise at the background, Raito placed the stone cup down then watched the two come over. 

Grabbing the twigs, he passed it to Naruto and Hinata, "That's for brushing," then Raito returned his thoughts back to the stone cup.

"How did you make this cup?" Naruto asked with excitement. 

"Stop questioning and brush your teeth." Raito shouted when he noticed the two were daydreaming. Sighing, he answered, "Just like how I made the cave bigger, I also tried doing-"

"Another jutsu?" Naruto jumped forward, a bit too close to Raito. 

Pushing him aside, Raito answered, "It's just using same jutsu in creative way."

Sending the two away, Raito turned to look at the water vats and after which, he used 'Water Purification'.

[Skill Water Purification has leveled up.] 

[Skill Water Purification has reached level 5.] 

[Water Purification Lvl 5 (Active) CP Cost 30] 

# Remove dust and microbes. 

# Enhancement +1

(Use) 

Raito jumped and laughed loudly, his head raised to the sky, "I finally did it." 

Hinata and Naruto exchanged puzzled glances, trying to make sense of Raito's joy.

Raito ignored the two and continued gathering water then purifying them. Soon the vats were full and his chakra was near the end. Thinking for a while, Raito closed the lids of the two vats. Then with a jug made up of stone, he scooped the water and splashed it on the wall of the cave, which was much smoother than before under Raito's technique.

Afterwards, Raito and Hinata sat near the firewood, baking the wild potatoes and cleaning the raw vegetables. 

Looking at this, Raito felt a little bad, 'Only if I could use my inventory.' 

"Raito-san." 

"Hm?" 

"Um, that I-I." Being alone with Raito, who had an aura screaming 'NO' at all time, was little hard to talk to. 

Raito sighed, activating his chakra and said. "Calm down. I want you to breathe, in, and out." 

It was one of the techniques, Raito learned from Inoichi and Anko. A simple placating technique, used to calm down a person.

Deactivating his chakra, he waited. Seeing Hinata coming out of a daze, Raito asked, "What is it, Hinata-san?" 

"Raito-san, I found bamboo and tall grasses a distance away. I was thinking if we could make the cave big enough, with your jutsu. We could make a bed with those bamboos then using the grass and the blanket, we can even a pillow." Hinata voiced out her thoughts. With the help of Raito's skill, Hinata was not shuttering.

"Let's do that. I'll try and make the cave even bigger." Raito said, and when he saw Naruto coming, he cleaned the potato then tossed it towards Naruto.

Biting the potato, Naruto said, "If we could have…" 

Raito gave him a glare and said. "We have radish, tomato, onion, cucumber,-" 

"Stop, stop. I will go and catch some fishes." Naruto gave up asking Raito. Hungry for some meat, he decided to go fishing. 

Hinata activated her Byakugan for timed survey. "Ino-san, Chōji-san and Shikamaru-san, they are coming. If they are walking with that speed, it will take them for nearly two hours, no a little more than two hours." 

Raito and Naruto looked at each other. Raito was fine but Naruto, who was very bad with distance and all, pouted. 

Feeling the gaze, Hinata looked back to see the two boys, understanding what she did, she tried explaining. "Every member of the clan is taught things like this. Distance measuring, lip reading, multitasking, this type of knowledge is useful when used with Byakugan. So, most of us have learned these skills." 

"Ahh… Cheat, cheat." 

"I want to learn too." 

Raito and Naruto cried for unfairness. After eating, Naruto and Hinata left Raito alone to gather food and materials. 

_____+_+_+_+_+_+_+-=-__________________

Raito stretched his body. With a smile, Raito walked forward, activating his chakra. 

Ino-Shika-Cho 

"Ino, apple." 

"Thank you, Chōji." 

"Shika, how long do you think?" Chōji asked as he took a bite from the apple. 

Shika looked at the sun and then the river that they were walking by and answered. "An hour at the very least…. No, it should take even more time." 

Ino swallowed and said. "We have enough food. It is fine even if we don't find them today." 

"No, we will find them." Shikamaru paused for a while added. "We have a total of thirteen groups and we are tenth group, Raito and Sasuke's group will definitely be the last group. According to Hinata from the last year, the first group was the near the gate while the last group was at the end. They definitely have to be at one end and going by left and right beating, we are in same side and definitely near."

Shikamaru's eye followed the river, which curved in the front and the back. "This river is very long and curvy. A few meters away, there are fruits and vegetables. The animals are also abundant in number. With no carnivorous animals on the training grounds… it's definitely man-made." 

"You mean this training ground was made by someone?" Ino asked as she stopped biting into her juicy apple. 

"You should know about the high level elemental jutsu, Ino. With earth and water jutsu, it is really easy to create small hills and bend the river flow or even making a new one is really easy." Shikamaru said as he looked back at Ino. 

"Why wouldn't I know that, it's just that these trees… " Ino voiced out her questions. 

"Trees, it's not like there is no one that can control tree." Shikamaru said then was interrupted by Chōji's shout. 

"Look, Shika, Ino." Chōji shouted, calling the two over. 

"It's Naruto, alright." Ino laughed aloud as she looked at the chibi version of Naruto on the ground, making a 'v' sign.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go." Ino clearly in a hurry walked forward.

"We should catch some fishes as presents." 

"Mm." Chōji nodded and made a hand-seal. 

"Let me help you. If I help you guys, it will be faster." Shikamaru patted Chōji as his shadow started extending. 

Shocked, Ino and Chōji looked weirdly at Shikamaru before joining him. 

[Genius] Nara Shikamaru 

IWASAWA-RENJI-SAKURA 

"Instructor-san, we would like to quit the ninja program. Let us out." Renji spoke out as he raised his right hand. The scene looked quite comedic and Iwasawa, who was by the side, giggled.

"Are you sure, young miss?" The men, wearing Chūnin jacket appeared in front of them suddenly, and asked Iwasawa directly. 

"Yes." She spoke a word before handing over a letter, then took out a fan from her hip. 

The man kept the letter then looked at Renji and asked once again, "Are you sure, young man?"

"Yes." 

"I will escort you out and fill your forms as soon as possible."

His eyes wandered to Sakura. Walking in front of her, he asked, "And what about you, Haruno Sakura?"

As she was called out, Sakura shivered. She clutched the rations in her hand. Under the gaze, she felt small. With a small voice, she replied, "I-I want to stay." 

Renji raised his hand once more and asked the instructor, "Instructor-san, we are quitting the ninja program wholly but she is not. She should still be eligible to continue, am I correct?" 

The man looked at Iwasawa for confirmation. Only after she nodded her head, he replied, "Okay then. There are two groups gathering at the waterfall. (Pointing at a distance) One more person will not trouble them."

Iwasawa walked forward, nearing Sakura, glaring at her.

Sakura felt uncomfortable, but the man and Renji did not care much.

Iwasawa grabbed Sakura by her neck and whispered, "Pathetic little girl." Then her eyes turned golden, lasting for a few seconds. Sakura stood there in a daze, her eyes losing their luster. 

Grabbing Sakura, the man disappeared. 

Iwasawa turned around and looked at Renji. Then she said, "Until he returns, why don't you show me something entertaining." 

"Ugh." Renji groaned and took out a wooden sword strapped on his back then started performing. 

…. 

"I am ZERO." 

Looking back at the man wearing a Chūnin jacket, the ANBU looked back and asked in a muffled voice, "ZERO. What is it?"

"This girl is joining the six on the waterfall. Her teammates are quitting the ninja program." Pushing Sakura towards the ANBU, he added, "I am going."

Sakura watched the ANBU nervously. The ANBU focused on Sakura and passed a water bottle then said, "Clean yourself, now." 

After a short while, Sakura was presentable, except her face, which was a little pale and there were dark circle under her eyes. 

"Follow me." After commanding, the ANBU moved forward and Sakura followed him. 

Waterfall Area 

"Raito." Naruto's loud voice woke Raito from his meditation. Peeking his head from the entrance of the cave, Raito saw his team and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio with them. 

Coming out, Raito waved his hand and complained, "You guys are finally here. So slow, it's already past nine." 

"He sees us, and the first thing he does is complain." Ino huffed, feeling displeased at how Raito greeted her.

Raito filled the cups made from the stone with purified water from the vats. "Here, drink some water." 

They were all surprised it see the everyday items made up of rocks and stones. 

Shikamaru examined the cup and found that it was smooth to touch, abnormally so. He turned to Raito and asked, "Did you make this cup?" 

Tracing the characters on the cup with his name, Shikamaru continued, "And the name too?"

Raito grinned, pointing at the lined characters. "Yup, I even wrote your names there, see." 

"I found my name." Chōji traced the characters on the rock and shouted. 

Ino took a sip suspiciously but after taking a sip, she shouted, "Wow, delicious. Much better than what we had to drink." 

Chōji patted his chest and had a relieved expression. He brought out a stick where a few fishes were hanged and then a box. "We brought food." 

"Ah." Raito shouted in surprise, looking at the big fishes and the box. Hurriedly pulling Chōji inside the cave, Raito opened the lid of the box, revealing another box inside, surrounded by water. Placing fruits and vegetables down, he smiled satisfactorily. 

"Say Raito, is that still…" Chōji asked with a low voice. 

"Ugh… yeah. I still can't open it." Raito replied simply. 

Outside the cave, Shikamaru observed everything around. The stone steps, the water vats, table, chairs, bowls and plates, and asked rather stiffly, "What happened here?" 

"Uh, it like this… Raito did this everything." Naruto thought of explaining but in the end, pointed at Raito. 

"Raito-san used the camping jutsu – 'Earth Pit' and 'Earth Cover' at first but later he made all this." Hinata added, struggling to comprehend and explain.

"Cups and plates, flower pots and hangers. What the hell is he doing?" Shikamaru rubbed his chin and looked everywhere. Shikamaru felt like going crazy. Looking down he felt that the stone had quite a geometrical shape. His sharp gaze landed on Raito who was coming out of the cave with Chōji.

Without any delay, Shikamaru ran forward and grabbed Raito, "How did you do this all?" Shikamaru pointed at the things around the cave. 

"Isn't this simple, I used the camping jutsu." Raito answered simply. 

"Are you joking with me?" Shikamaru shouted and added, "It's not something that you can do with simple camping jutsu." 

"Calm down," Raito pushed Shikamaru and sighed, "No, I am not. I am just creative." 

Raito smiled, pulled everyone inside, and showed them the cave. The earlier sleeping area was now just a walking area. On the right, there were water vats and a box, similar to a medieval-age fridge. To the left, a rectangular room was in progress.

"The cave got bigger." Naruto said in amazement. 

"Is this even possible?" Hinata felt the walls of the room. She remembered that just yesterday, this cave was so small they had to squeeze together, but now it became a nice looking room.

On the opposite side of the cave, the ANBU watched the students, and let out a deep breath. "Just this morning… from nothing to this."

Looking at the girl behind him, he said, "You will be with them. You will be scored accordingly." Grabbing her shoulder, the two of them disappeared. 

Ino clicked her tongue and looked at Raito, "We need to make bedding." 

"Bed… Hinata already has plans for that." Raito massaged his forehead and pointed at Hinata, which made everyone focus on Hinata.

As everyone sat in the circle, they made plans for the day. Before ending their discussion, Ino whispered, "My butts gone cold." 

"Naruto's clones will scout the area. What resources are available around us? Then Hinata and Naruto, prepare those bed materials. Shika and I will make sure that this place is more livable." 

"Hey what about me?" Ino asked as Raito excluded her from the work. 

Looking at a distance, Raito wore an unpleasant expression, "Ino, I think you can get ready. Go, shoo." 

"What the…." Ino was about to burst, but Raito ignored her. 

Raito lazily pointed outside, where there was ANBU and Sakura, walking towards them.

Although Sakura was well groomed, Ino's discerning eyes could see that Sakura was not having a good time. She had pale face, dark circle under her eyes, mud on her hair and clothes.

"Kami-sama, Sakura, what happened to you?" Ino grabbed Sakura, pulled her close, and gave her a look over. Although she asked Sakura, she secretly glared at the ANBU. 

"Renji Abarai and Masami Iwasawa have quit the ninja program, leaving Sakura with a choice. She chose to continue, thus, she is here." Giving the students a vague answer, the ANBU disappeared. 

Raito glared at the ANBU silhouette, before ignoring the situation altogether and started discussing with Shikamaru. 

Sitting on the ground, Sakura ignored everyone and started crying. Ino gave everyone a signal while crouching down. 

Ino sat by Sakura quietly, patting Sakura's back and using her clan's secret techniques, sending chakra to Sakura's body, calming her down.

A few minutes later, Sakura looked at Ino and said sorrowfully, "Ino, I am useless. Iwasawa and Renji, they could do everything, but I–I was not able to do anything. I am useless." 

Pausing for a bit, she gripped herself tighter and said, "I know how to make shelter, but I can't make one. I know how to make fire, but I could not make one. I even tripped, spoiling the food they gathered. I can't do anything right, I am so useless…." Her words were slow and carried hints of self-blame, the more she said the more her hold became tighter. 

"Hush, don't say anymore." Ino hugged the crying Sakura. 

As Ino consoled Sakura, Raito, who was quite a distance away, resentfully looked their way. "That ANBU just left her here." 

"Ignore," Shikamaru, who was by Raito's side, called him and asked, "So, what do you want my help with?" 

"I have never made a house before, so… everything." Raito sighed and raised his brows.

"Sob, Sob." Just as the two were discussing, Sakura's crying sounded once more, making Ino distressed and Shikamaru to look at their direction. 

[Quest – Cherry Blossom] 

'No,' Raito closed his eyes and sighed. Giving Shikamaru a look, Raito stood up and walked towards Sakura with mashed banana in a bowl and water. He crouched down; looking at Sakura then gave a look to Shikamaru and Ino. 

Focusing on Sakura, he called out to her, "Sakura, it is me, Raito."

"Calm down, okay." Raito stretched his hand, bringing food. "I brought you something to eat."

Seeing no response, he sighed. 'This girl is troublesome in so many ways. Damn it.'

Molding his chakra, Raito called out once again, "Sakura, it is me, Raito. Calm down and stop crying." 

Raito gave water and the bowl of mashed banana to Ino then crouched down.

Quickly after, Shikamaru brought a packet of compressed biscuits and passed it to Raito. Raito glared at him, for wasting food.

Ino snatched the biscuits and gave them a glare. 

The hate and alienation was very loud in Ino's eyes. 

Raito sighed. He really had to help Sakura, just because she was here.

Signaling Ino to use her jutsu, Raito molded his chakra and slowly called, "Sakura, tell me, what is the objective of the exam?" 

She sniffed once, hesitated, but eventually replied, "Survive for a week."

Raito smiled, whether it was because of the jutsu or because of Sakura's reply, only he knew. He quickly hid the simile and said, "Now I am going to ask you some question and you have to answer me either yes or no. Do you understand?" 

"I understand-" 

"Just yes or no." Raito stressed his words.

"Yes." 

Raito gave Ino and Shikamaru a glance before proceeding. "Good, first question, then. Do you still want to continue this test?" 

"Yes." 

"Do you want to fail this test?" 

"No." 

"Do you want to stay in the wild alone?" 

Sakura flinched and looked up at Raito's face. She had worry in face, feeling that they would actually abandon her. "…N-No." 

"Be clear,"

"No,"

"Would you like to join our group?" 

"I-that." 

Shikamaru shot a look to Ino. Understanding the signal, Ino placed her hand to Sakura's shoulder and gave her an encouraging smile. 

With one friend by her side, Sakura looked at Raito and nodded, "Yes." 

"But Sakura I cannot let anyone join the group." Raito, still smiling, uttered. 

[Status: Horror]

The gleam of hope in Sakura's eye lost as she bowed her head. Her small body trembled, ever so slightly.

Shikamaru elbowed Raito and a side-glance. Raito rolled his eyes and mouthed 'wait'. 

"Don't misunderstand me. For me, anyone, who is not willing to contribute to the group, destroys the harmony of the group are not worthy to join the group. If you want to join the group, it is very easy. You just have to help us, in any way you can, but more importantly, you cannot make trouble in the group."

Pausing for his words to sink in, Raito continued, "These are the rules so that we are able to safely pass the remaining days, pass this survival exam and continue our road to become shinobi. Can you do that, Sakura?"

It took quite a while for Sakura to answer. It looked like she was thinking, using all her WIS, in that small brain of hers. She opened her eyes, tightened her grip on Ino's hand and said, "I can do that." 

She then hurriedly added, "I promise to help and not create any problem." 

"Good. Now, clean yourself. We have a long day and lots of things to do." Saying that Raito walked back with Shikamaru, his face that had a smile, turned back to nothing. 

"Sakura-san, Ino-san." Hinata called out with her small cheerful smile. She came back with Naruto and his clones carrying tons of bamboo.

"Hinata?" Sakura checked the familiar-looking girl and asked. The Hinata she remembered was shy, timid and weak. Although Hinata defeated her last time, she reverted back to being the lovely meek girl she always was. From the very first year, she had seen Hinata being bullied by other students because of her eyes, of her clan, her huge background, and her kindness. 

"She has changed a lot, don't you think Sakura?" Ino whispered. She knew what her pink haired friend was thinking. The more you know a person, the more you can predict what they are going to do, say and eventually think, and for a simple person like Sakura, it was just too easy.

After looking enough at Hinata, Sakura looked at Ino for quite a while. Ino, who would vie with her for Sasuke, who would shout with her, stand in opposition in the clubs, looked a little different. She paused, hesitated and said, "You have changed too, Ino." 

Ino froze, recalling the recent adjustments to her schedule, which now brimmed with rigorous training sessions, the kind that didn't involve Sasuke. "Mm, I really want to become a Kunoichi, Sakura."

There was a pregnant silence before the slightly pale Sakura asked, "W-What about Sasuke-kun?" 

'Sasuke, it was never about him, Sakura.' Ino looked at Sakura, pulled her hand back then looked towards Hinata and Naruto, and said, "That… I don't know, but for now, I only want to focus on becoming Kunoichi first." Forcing Sakura to look at her, she asked. "What about you Sakura, do you want to be a Kunoichi?" 

"I…." Sakura froze and looked lost. Did she really want to become kunoichi? For her, it was never really about being kunoichi. It was just an impulse to join the academy, then it was her academic smarts that kept her in the academy, the praise by her parents, teachers and elders, and the most important was Sasuke, which fueled her daily life.

Ino knew answer to that question. For Sakura, she was just Sasuke's tail. Being kunoichi was never her goal. Even after that day when Kurenai used Genjutsu on them, Sakura held herself strong and appeared on the class that Monday, just for Sasuke.

"Hey Hinata, that bossy Raito has instructions for us." Ino swiftly changed her topic not wanting to dwell on the awkwardness. 

"Ino-san, let's do our best." Hinata nodded and smiled.

"Ah, a workaholic." Ino immediately labeled Hinata, sighing sorrowfully then stuck with Sakura for comfort. 

Outside the training grounds 

Iruka looked at the pair of Iwasawa and Renji then asked, "Where is Sakura?" 

"We decided to quit the shinobi program, so we asked our observer to ask her." Renji said plainly. 

"You two…" Iruka crossed their names from the paper then looked at the two. Both of them were talented individuals but the academy had severely limited them. One used poison and the other used sword, which were both forbidden in the academy.

'Sensei, academy is not so useful for shinobi' Iruka recalled.

Iruka already knew that this day would come but he did not know that it would be in the middle of survival test and they would even leave one member of their group behind. "Couldn't you have done it after or before the exams?"

Iruka called his accomplice Chūnin, handed him the clipboard with some instruction, before walking towards the Hokage tower with the two in tow. 

Waterfall 

Raito looked at the modified cave that looked more like a house then looked at Shikamaru with smile.

"Shika, I want to make a bath." Raito, who was following Shikamaru's instruction to make the cave better, suddenly voice his thoughts. 

"Sure….EH!?" Shikamaru, who was drawing lines with the help of charcoal, looked at Raito as if looking at an idiot. 

"Yeah two big one and about heating the water, we can use the heated stones or even use a smaller tub to boil the water." Raito explained Shikamaru about his plans. 

Raito was ignoring everything else Shikamaru had said. He looked at Raito then massaged his forehead. Even though it was troublesome, if he could really make this possible, it would be really…

Shikamaru slapped his forehead and sighed, "Troublesome, acting on your wishes… Oi, Raito, do you even have chakra left?" 

"Oh… I'll recover in a bit." 

With an annoyed look, Shikamaru left.

'[Meditate]' 

[HP and CP recovery by 10 per second.] 

'[Chakra Sense]' activated. 

'[Fast Thinking]' activated. 

[Chakra consumption decreased by 50% in a meditative state.] 

Raito went on a stroll with his 'Chakra Sense'. Naruto was with Chōji grabbing all kinds of veggies, fruits and lots of things to eat. Sakura, Hinata and Ino were sitting in a circle, and cutting bamboos and weaving grasses to make ropes. 

[Chakra Sense Lvl 54 (Active/Passive) CP Cost 25 per minute] 

'It's leveling up slowly now.' 

[Earth Chakra Control Lvl 18 (active)] 

[Earth affinity 25] 

'The more complicated work it is, the faster it levels up.'

…. 

Shikamaru looked at the shovel in his hand then looked at Raito. 'You even made a shovel out of rocks. What are you going to do next, Raito?'

Of course, the shovel was not meant for digging. It was just made to look like they were going to work hard. In truth, it all depended on Raito's jutsu.

Shikamaru marked the area then explained Raito what should be done.

With '[Earth Control]', Raito manipulated the ground, reshaping it as necessary.

Whenever there was a big rock, underground, Raito changed its shape to make it look flat.

The ground had lost its layers, transforming the area into a large basin. 

Shikamaru jumped inside and using the shovel, drew a line, which was just enough for people to sit inside the pit. Jumping out, he watched, then jumped inside, and then changed some. Feeling satisfied with it, Shikamaru shouted. "Do it."

Raito, once again, activated his chakra, pressing the earth down. Unbeknownst to them, the compacted ground was now denser and stronger than before.

With constantly moving stones, Raito gained an increase in STR stat, but later with Shikamaru's advice he changed the rocks into round shaped, making the transportation much easier. The stones were finally moved into the pit. 

Under Raito's will the hard rock became soft like clay, the irregular shape became thick fluid-like, covering the pit surface, making it as flat as possible. "Done." 

"I should ask old man if this is possible." Shikamaru shook his head then looked at his surrounding, remembering his previous hypothesis. 'Why not?' 

Shikamaru hurried to Raito and said, "It should be slightly raised… like a ball."

"Shouldn't this be a little bigger?" 

"I feel like that too." 

"Hey, we didn't make a shower area." 

"You want a shower. Get lost." 

"If only I had a brush and ink, I could make a temperature-regulating seal." 

…

Raito looked at his masterpiece with a huge smile on his face. "Finally finished." 

Shikamaru looked and said, "It's more like a hot spring… except we don't have hot water."

The baths were made right next to the cliff. Two baths divided by the bamboos, which were fixed to the ground by wall of stone. There was a small area separated for bathing, filled with water vats. Multiple small channels connected the two baths for Raito's convenience.

The ANBU on the opposite side looked blankly at the students and sighed heavily, "If I didn't know, I would assume they were on the vacation." Quickly unsealing a camera, he took several pictures.

Back to Raito's group, Shikamaru and Raito took a bite from the apple and rested, but quickly went back to work

"What if this 'inventory' never comes back?" 

He then started cleaning the bath with water. After cleaning it with a water globe, Raito pushed all the dirt and bad things through a drain that is connected to the outside. Feeling satisfied, he started filling the bath with water then purified it.

Raito made an amateur packet and filled with different kinds of herbs then using earth control stuck it to the side of the bath.

After doing everything and ignoring Shikamaru for the whole time Raito answered, "I'll use storage seals." 

"That 'inventory' is like a big storage seal but you don't have to use chakra for it, right?' Shikamaru asked, strange twinkle in his eyes. 

"Yeah," Raito just answered. 

"What about-" 

"Shika." Raito raised his voice, startling Shikamaru. "There are alternatives."

After a long pause, Shikamaru replied, "I understand." and no longer asked. 

"Oi! We are back." Naruto shouted, with Chōji and girls following.

Naruto and Chōji carried a lot of bamboo sticks, ropes, and the grasses. 

The girls trailed behind, fatigue evident on their faces. Hinata and Ino were relatively fine when compared to Sakura, whose hair and clothes bore dirt stains. 

"So tired, if only I could take a bath." 

"I miss the hot springs." 

"..." 

By how Sakura was freely talking and had a smile on her face, Raito deduced that she had returned to being her usual, normal self but his gamer's ability said that she was still sad. Finding the things too complex and even more, the situation was about a girl that he did not like very much, Raito decided to put the matter to the side. 

"Oi!! Everyone." Raito waved, gaining attention. 

"Raito, we can use this rope and bamboo, to make bed." Naruto placed the bamboo, ropes, and foods inside the cave.

"I am going to make fish." Chōji announced and grabbed the fishes. When it came to food, Chōji had endless energy to make and eat food. 

"Wait! Chōji." Running inside, Raito brought out a knife made up of stone and gave it to Chōji. 

"A stone knife!?" Chōji held the knife and felt its weight. With a frown, he said, "Quite heavy, not very sharp… but still usable." 

"….yeah but it's still better than using a kunai or not using anything." Raito mumbled. 

[Stone Knife] 

A knife made up of stone, using basic control to change stone to into a knife. Incomparable to a real knife. 

Made by – Yoshizawa Raito 

Special Characteristic - Made by chakra manipulation 

Durability – 40/40 

(Uses)

(Flaws)

(Improvement)

(Blueprint)

Ino looked at the bamboo wall and quietly walked towards it with Hinata and Sakura. There was even a door and such, so she opened the door and walked in to see the scene that she was dreaming of, 'A bath'.

The three girls were shocked for a long time before they came back to their senses.

"Awesome, right? I wanted to train my Earth Control, so I made this." Raito said proudly, watching the awe on Hinata, Ino and Sakura's faces. 

"Isn't element control for high level Chūnin?" Hinata asked. 

Raito let out a small, proud laugh, "It's all about chakra control. I read about it from the book that Hokage-Jiji gave me." Pausing it for a moment, he looked at them and added, "It wasn't an ordinary book, it came directly from Hokage-sama's library vault contained the notes regarding the training regimen of an earth elemental control." 

'There was lots of lies mixed in, but his gamer powers helped me much in this. Anyway, if they really wanted to learn about it, I can just ask them to look for jiji.'

"I did hear from my old man that Hokage-sama was a primary fire elemental but later on when he decided to go for other, his first choice was earth elemental." Shikamaru mumbled, letting everyone hear and feel a sense of surrealism. 

"Then the book that I got must be…." Raito exclaimed but waited for a moment. 

"Yeah, it's most probably his experiments and results on earth elementals." Shikamaru added his thoughts. "You're lucky." His whispers and exchanges with Raito made others look at the duo weirdly.

"Earth transforming into a shelter, a house. It already high level. I don't know even think a Chūnin can do anything like this." Hinata said softly, making it hard for anyone to hear. 

Raito felt satisfied as he watched the awed expression on everyone's faces. Failing to find Chōji among the crowd, he turned and saw that Chōji was going to chop the fish. In reflex, Raito shouted on top of his voice with arms stretched forward, "STOP!" 

Making a nasal sound, Chōji stopped and looked at the origin of the sound. In confusion, Chōji asked, "What happened?"

"Chōji, you were going to make a big mistake." 

Looking down Chōji saw the fish, then he said, "But I marked it at the right place."

"That's not it. We are going to take a bath first, then eat. You should read more, Chōji. It's clearly said that…." Raito went into explanation mode making the group's head spin. 

…

Shikamaru and Raito crouched, both completely naked. Each of them held a half ram seal in one hand while other hand extended towards water. 

'[Fire Spark]' Raito called.

"Fire Spark." Shikamaru followed.

"I don't think-" Shikamaru looked in shock as temperature raised and the water started boiling. "It shouldn't be."

"It can, you just have to double your chakra into the mold, then just gather the chakra at the hand, release the raw chakra." CP decreased considerably faster as the water started boiling.

In just a few minutes, the water started releasing vapor and herby aroma filled the surroundings.

Raito stopped the jutsu and looked at Shikamaru. "The trick is not to provide continuous stream but double or triple the chakra you input in one go."

"Where?"

"From Jii-chan's book." Raito smiled and added. "One small passage helped in such a way. I wonder what would happen if I read it whole."

"The bath water is hot and ready." Naruto shouted and dipped in.

Shikamaru went in and said. "If it's too hot then add water from the vats."

"Bathing in the middle of the training ground, it's like we are on a vacation." Ino played with water, leaning against the larger rocks.

"It's because of Raito-san." Hinata said as she patted the water on her face. 

"Yeah, he can do so much." Ino said softly then looking at the divider, she shouted, "Raito, thanks." 

"What? What did you say, Ino? I didn't hear you." Raito replied from the other side, feigning ignorance.

Ino harrumphed and closed her eyes.

Exiting the bath, Raito stretched a bit and used chakra to remove excess water from himself. His level was finally high enough to extract water. 

Looking at the wet clothes, Raito felt dissatisfied as he said, "I want a jutsu to help me with all this." 

"You want to fully rely on jutsus? That may be possible." Shikamaru, still in the bath, looked at Raito's development in awe. "With you doing things like this, it will be possible… in long future." 

"Nope, there must be someone lazy enough who has to have made it." Fully dressed, Raito turned towards them and said, "I'll go around and get something for myself. Kitchen utensils are inside on the right, kay?" 

In his hand a globe of water, after treated with purification jutsu and inside it, clothes.

"Okay, Raito. But if you find some wild chicken and boars, tell me later." Chōji said as Raito walked out.

"Okay." Agreeing to Chōji, Raito walked out, running behind the small hill. 

Walking around, he looked left and right, slowly surveying the area. Trees, trees and more trees, everything around was just tree and nothing else. Using the skill '[Observe]', Raito finally found what he was looking for. 

[???] 

'Hehe got you.' 

"Hey ANBU-san, come out. I know you are there. Come out or I will start attacking." Hearing no response and seeing that the ANBU was not reacting to his threat, Raito weaved through a set of hand seals and activated his chakra. "[Earth Release – Rock Fist]" 

Rocks covered Raito's hand, the rocks had a black color with shiny hue. "Sigh, it looks like I have to really do it." 

Moving in front of a tree, he punched through, making a hole in the tree. "See that, ANBU-san. Next, I will hit where you are hiding."

Moving in front of the tree that had questions, Raito raised his hand, ready to strike, but his hand was caught, making him unable to move. The ANBU grabbed Raito's hand. Sighing lightly, he asked, "What do you want?" 

Angrily retracting his hand, he asked, "Why is Sakura here?" 

"Because her team members have quit-" 

"No, I am just asking why is she here and not anywhere else? Why do you have to bring her here?" 

Staring at the boy in front of him, the ANBU sighed, "There was no reason." 

Raito scrutinized the ANBU for a long time before turning around. Raito walked away huffing and puffing. Using chakra to reinforce his body, he quickly disappeared from the area. 

The ANBU stayed still for full 10 minutes before moving.

Sensing that Raito had gone a considerable distance, the ANBU made a hand seal and activated his chakra. Slowly, wood emerged from his shoulder, forming a similar looking wooden puppet. Color slowly filled the wooden puppet and the clone gained consciousness. Nodding at each other, one integrated with the tree and the other one followed Raito.

"[Stop]"

The video ended, and Raito woke up from his meditation. Glancing around he noticed no one, and jumped off from the stone, walking forward, ignoring everything else. 

'Is he a Senju? Only the first Hokage had Wood release, even his brother, the Second Hokage, did not have wood release. Then maybe brother or cousin of the Sannin, Senju Tsunade.' Raito thought inwardly coming to various conclusions but by the end of his though discussion to no one, the WIS stat did not increase by a single point. Meaning that whatever theories he had made were false. 

[Quest: Finding the Senju]

'You are probably not a Senju.'

…

"Everyone, fish is ready. Set the table." 

There were two bananas, a bowl of mixed roasted vegetable, a baked sweet potato and fish, and for some extra energy, there were some wild nuts that according to Raito were safe to eat. One plate had all this things. 

They were sitting on the chair made up of rock and a small cushion like made up of straws. Everyone clapped hands and prayed for the food, "Thank you for the food." 

Everyone ate fast, even the girls. They hadn't had much besides fruits from morning till noon.

Burping, Naruto and Chōji happily patted their stomach. Throwing the chopsticks at the fireplace, everyone rinsed their plates. 

"Shika, Ino, did you guys learn about Tree-Climbing Chakra Control Exercise?" Raito asked, aware that Ino and Shika would need more chakra control than the others. 

"Yeah, for our jutsus, we need more control so…" 

"So, how are you faring?" Raito asked, cutting the bamboo in half, making two semi-circles, and then cutting it in half again.

"Just so-so, I only learned it a few days ago." Shikamaru said, cutting all the uneven parts and lumps and threw them on the floor.

"So, you know something about it?" 

"Yeah, you could say that." Raising his eyebrows, Shikamaru stared at Raito and asked, "Why are you asking so much?" 

"We will be learning tree climbing tomorrow." Raito said as he placed the bamboo on the elevated floor.

"Tree climbing?" Chōji walked in with branches then dumped them in the chamber, opposite to the bed.

Safely built heater for a small room, using earth elemental manipulation. Since fire was going to be used it was extra thick. You obviously need air for fire to keep burning, but inside is a no-no, so the mouth was facing outwards. The pipes from the heater are under the beds then directly to the opposite side of the small hill.

"It's just perfect." Raito made it so that the bamboo was firmly attached. 

Raito looked at the hinge and the bolts and hoped that it would work. He then pulled the door and like a perfect fit, closed the connection to the outside world. 'It's a little dark here.'

'[Lightning Hand]'

Little lightning snakes surrounded Raito's hand, illuminating the room. Everyone looked at him, but no one asked except for Shikamaru who turned his head towards Ino.

"I have started the fire, so the bed should be warm soon." Raito sat on his corner and waited. "Are you sure this works, Shikamaru?"

"I don't know." Shikamaru answered. A bed made up of bricks and concrete then an integrated gas or water chamber is connected with the stove or with an electric system and the bed. He read that they use this kind of thing in the cold part of the iron country but that was it. It was just like those old-fashioned hot baths found in his clan houses, outside Konoha. "It's just an experiment."

Shikamaru closed his eyes, deciding not to hear any kind of request anymore. He would no longer jump into Raito's idea.

"I think we did great." Naruto spoke up and gave a big smile to Hinata. "Clean water to drink, food to eat, bath to bathe and this warm bed."

"I don't think anyone is doing better than us." Ino added, then pulled Sakura closer. Like every other civilian student, Sakura had decided to wear her everyday clothes when coming to the test.

Luckily Ino decided to wear extra, otherwise she would be wearing the same clothes.

 "From tomorrow onwards, it's full on training." Raito said then closed his eyes, lying on the small straw mat.