Chapter 129 - Arc 8 - Forest of Quest: Breaking the Rules

Some Chekhov's guns went off here.
Possibly more than I realized... Either way, have fun.

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The trees are hard to move through for the sand siblings, growing up in a desert gives them an entirely different set of environmental movement training. They’re very good at channeling chakra underneath themselves in just the right way to fill in spaces and create a solid footing out of stray grains or unstable flooring, but they struggle with all this greenery and living environment. Konoha focuses on moving through rapidly changing forest environments, being able to dart across sand like it’s flat ground is a requirement for passing the Suna academy but it does almost nothing for this absolute overgrown nonsense.

Sticking to the trees is very unnatural and working through all this is very unpleasant. This area is clearly artificial and that just makes it worse, trees shouldn’t get this large and wildlife shouldn’t be this ferocious. Luckily Gaara has a lot to say in the process of silencing that wildlife. Dodging branches and leaves and wildlife as they practically fly above the ground is slowing them down enough that Gaara finds himself grunting in annoyance at their pace.

They estimated two minutes? It’s been over one and they’re not even close to Sakura!

[Hero Trait Activation Notice: Sakura Haruno would like to summon you to her side, would you like to answer the call and go to her? You have thirty seconds to decide, she will not get this ability back until tomorrow regardless of your choice.]

The sudden pop up almost makes him stop in place. Some disembodied words in the air telling him that Sakura needs him had an impact but if Shukaku wasn’t freaking out he would have gone merely on a just in case basis caused by anxiety alone. The odds were high it was a Genjutsu even with smoke rising into the air, he’s never been good at dealing with those and as he learned recently, neither is his sister.

Saying she needs him in particular, right now? That’s different. He feels his chest tighten, and he looks to his siblings. Not getting the ability back until tomorrow is a weird idea for him. He can’t think of any techniques that work that way, and without any more game knowledge than he could grasp from looking over Sakura’s shoulder while they were passing time together, the idea is completely foreign. It doesn’t matter though, the core meaning is clear; Sakura has a once a day summoning and in her time of need she’s used it to call on him.

The issue is the two struggling with their footing behind him. Can his siblings handle getting there alone, or would they be in danger in this forest? He’s never paid enough attention to them to know how strong they are. What if they’re walking entirely on his coattails and they die because he left them behind when he needed them most? He didn’t care before, but does it matter how he cared before? As someone recently given his own perspective on reality, he can’t help but wonder what actually matters. How much of what was matters when he’s a completely different person? A glance back at the screen and it’s timer shows that several seconds have passed, she’s in danger and he needs to go but… “Will you two survive if I disappear?” He asks, forcing the words out of his dry throat.

The reality is that he doesn’t care about them, but that doesn’t matter.

For some reason Shukaku is quiet and happy when Sakura is around. Because of her he’s entered a new world where emotions, attachments, and even caring about others is possible. Sakura says it takes effort to care, so he should put in the effort to get what he wants, and that makes sense to him. The strange thing is the Ichibi itself seems supportive of this new reality, as if it didn’t actually want to ruin his life up to this point. That doesn’t make sense, it hurts his head, and its current screaming for him to deny the teleport isn’t helping!

Amongst it all, all the pain and screaming and confusing swirling thoughts, he wants to care about his siblings and he wants them to care about him. So before he accepts this teleport, he waits. He watches them slowly nod, confused as to why he would ever just disappear.

“Yes.” He commands the box, taking their affirmative that they’ll survive as worth their weights in gold. Either they’re being honest with him, or they’ll quickly learn the price of lying to him when it matters.

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[Waiting for Confirmation from Gaara to call him to your side, would you like to force the issue?] What kind of question is that? Confirmation? Since when has her ability cared about confirmation? Up until this point it has done whatever it wanted and it's done it while intentionally creating as few ways for her to prove it even exists as possible. She doesn’t have an inventory and has to use scrolls because an inventory would be proof it exists. She has to call her money out of pockets and only in small amounts unless people aren’t looking because that would be proof it exists. She’s yet to get an item as a quest reward because suddenly popping out with a weapon or bag explosions out of nowhere would be a clear divergence from what is possible for anyone observing. She’s been trying to trigger a real party system for as long as she’s had the ability and it seems to be intentionally being dense about that idea.

What’s different about right now that suddenly makes it not care about secrecy? Why is it suddenly asking people for their consent? Is it really so hopeless it’s giving up and letting others abandon her? Maybe it’s an overreaction, it’s just one prompt, but it's official proof that her ability exists in a way she’s never had before outside of taking people to a temporary dungeon. “No, let him decide.” She says to the box.

If even it can respect consent, so can she. Even if Orochimaru’s gaze definitely just flickered over to her and he knows exactly where they are. “He has our position.” She informs Sasuke who nods in understanding. His Sharingan spins to life brighter and redder than Hunger’s preferred cuisine. Black marks inside his eyes spin in an effect that almost feels illusory. It’s so strange seeing eyes spin, how does that even function on a biological level? Could her eyes do that one day if she tried hard enough? Is that the boundary of all this?

She looks away and watches an undead wolf she summoned recently get past the flying sword and lunge at their inhuman foe. It’s caught mid-air by Orochimaru who catches its jaw and the top of its mouth.With sickening snaps and a tearing sound she will never forget, she watches him pry it open and rip it in half with his bare hands. She’s struck with the thought that there was literally no reason for him to do that. That was purely to screw with her. That was the most fucked up thing she’s ever seen and it was for the lulz. “Come on… Gaara, please…”

She winces as another goes down in brutal fashion she’s sure she will remember for years to come. He’s taken to tearing through them while his sword spins around and creates its own battlefield of remains. She’s lost half her forces already, and they’re at three minutes and forty seconds left. The thought of running occurs to her. He’d catch her but he’s specifically after her, odds are he’d leave Sasuke alone, but is that just martyrdom again? How is she supposed to know what’s a noble sacrifice and what’s a problem? “They can probably buy another thirty to forty seconds unless he starts throwing around Jutsu.” Sakura advises Sasuke with a hitch in her throat, “then we need to survive three minutes without any help at all.”

“Three minutes for what?” A new voice at her side makes her eyes widen, and she lifts her sword just in time to block a pale palm strike that sends her flying off the tree despite spending all of its force on the side of her blade and her reinforcing her footing with as much chakra as she could in that split second. Of course Orochimaru would know Shadow clones, even she knows a water clone, why didn’t she expect that possibility? She rolls in the air, landing just right in between several pit traps. She’d like to feel cool for evading the danger but he even stole that from her, for she knows she landed exactly where he wanted her to. He’s still toying with her, even while Sasuke trades flaming blows up there. She can’t see the fight directly, but the tree’s on fire now and Sasuke’s darting around faster than her eyes can track. She needs better eyes, it’s a top priority if she survives this.

[Summoning confirmed]

There’s not much spectacle, all things considered. She expected a portal, or a giant hand, maybe for the sky to shatter and for him to be lowered on a pedestal of glowing light that tells her everything will be okay.

What actually happens is a light flashes in front of her, and Gaara spawns floating in the air as if he was always there. There’s less lingering effect than a bad henge, even as she watches Gaara fall - right into a pit. “Did you just summon me on top of spikes?” She hears from inside the hole.

“Not on purpose.” She can’t help the snicker that rises to her lips. Did Orochimaru somehow plan that too? No way, but it almost looks like it. Everything just works out when you’re a walking god, doesn’t it. “How are your siblings?”

“They are fine.” The small conversation creates a stark contrast to the explosions and flying monster limbs around her. Reality has dissonance even in the craziest of times, calms in the middle of a storm created by one moment of levity are precious. She should learn to savor these moments in her everyday life, who knows how many more of them she’ll get. Who knows, this might be her last one.

“We need to help Sasuke.” She says as the boy flies through the air on a ninja wire and shuriken he set up while she wasn’t looking. He’s being followed by a lightning jutsu which he narrowly evades because Orochimaru is a graceful man who’s merciful and nice to kids, apparently.

No, it’s more likely she’s lost his interest and he’s now fascinated with Sasuke instead. That means Sasuke’s going to get bit unless she does something. They need to destroy his shadow clone before the original is out of summons to slaughter. “There’s a shadow clone chasing Sasuke, I need you to help him.”

“I am here to help you, not him.” Gaara asserts from the hole in the ground that now belongs to him and his open gourd spilling out sand. He’s looking quite miffed with crossed arms and a tick on his bare forehead. His short red hair, almost like a puff, shifts a little from the powerful winds flying around from the original Orochimaru’s shockwave inducing attacks on her undead forces. She spent several days collecting them but she doubts she’ll have any left by the end of this. She’ll be surprised if she has any left by the three minute mark. She’s glad she didn’t form any emotional attachements amongst that crowd, she’d be a weeping mess if she had. Naruto wanted to name a few of them, she’s glad she told him no.

“Well I’m going, so.” With that she’s moving and before her next breath she’s darting up a tree. She finds Gaara’s right behind her, floating up on a river of sand. She figured he would be there, he’s temperamental but he’s a good guy.

[Quest Updated:

More forces have answered the request than expected, reinforcements should begin trickling in shortly. Sasuke is now the target, should Sasuke be bitten the Bad End route will be started and Player Status will be Revoked]

“What?” That last line shocks her whole body enough she almost falls off the tree. Gaara’s sand comes up behind her to keep her steady, and she’s moving back up it a quarter of a second later. That wasn’t in the list before, was that secretly always the punishment for failing this quest? What is a bad end anyway, and why does Sasuke getting bitten matter that much? She’s beginning to think her power can see the future or something, but if it can do that, why didn’t it tell her to never come into this forest in the first place?

Unless that’s what the delivered video to Hunger was… but that’s super vague, how was she supposed to be expected to get ‘Orochimaru is in the forest’ from that!?

She decides it doesn’t matter because if him getting bitten is that bad she needs to stop it at all costs. The penalty is a side matter, unimportant compared to a member of her secondary family being in that much danger. She’d sacrifice the system for Sasuke and Naruto, that keeping it involves saving him might as well not be a detail in the first place.

She always thought she was the only person that mattered to her system but that was clearly a lie. Would it have gone to one of them if she was less worthy, or had failed the exam? Her feet land on the branch she needs and she runs along the side of it. Orochimaru and Sasuke are flying around like they have a jutsu for it and she’s got them locked in her sight but they’re too far and too fast for her plan which means it’s time to change plans entirely.

Which means she needs to get up higher for a better vantage. “Gaara!” She shouts, channeling as much of her chakra as she can to her feet and using the branch beneath her as a launch pad to soar. The impromptu technique exhibits enough force to send pain through her ankles and send a shock flowing through her body. She’d planned for the pain to be completely nullified by her combat trait and therefore be later Sakura’s problem, but the system must not think she’s in combat right now because she’s been out of it for so long.

Her body flies farther than she expected into the air and she takes the time flowing through it to pull a scroll from her kunai pouch, unsealing it she discards the scroll - not enough hands in this moment - and grabs the quiver and crossbow that appear in the air in front of her. Gaara grabs the discarded scroll with some sand before it falls out of sight, he’s a good boy, but now’s not the time to think about that. Sliding the quiver onto her side where she had a leather slot made, she has just enough time to pull out a bolt that’s tipped with a glowing yellow power and slot it into her crossbow before she starts to fall. She needs the shot to be fast enough to hit him or at least make him dodge instead of deflecting it so Sasuke can have a chance to disengage, and lightning magic should help with that.

Falling messes up her aim a little, but she feels something support her beneath her feet and stop her descent, thank you Gaara.

[Opportunity: Due to Otherworlder title and Purger of Undead Trait, all lightning bolts in your scrolls can be converted to turn the bolt in your Crossbow into the Holy element which would be extra effective against your target. Switch to Otherworlder Title and make the exchange?]

She doesn’t have a lot of time to comprehend that. It’s funny, she’s made fun of games for doing ass-pulls but when she’s staring down at Orochimaru about to destroy their lives, she’s grateful it’s cliche enough the system’s doing it too. She aims, readies herself, takes in the duo fighting and watches as Orochimaru does something weird and his neck distends towards Sasuke- “Yes!” She screams for the system to do the exchange and hopes it understands. She fires in a panic before the word is even fully out of her mouth. She doesn’t know what that is or if a clone can bite him but she’s not letting anything happen to Sasuke! Martyrdom be damned, she’ll destroy this world for them!

Time seems to stop as the bolt fires out of her magical crossbow. It glows with a light so brilliant it dwarfs anything she’s ever seen and defies description. Something powerful envelops her entire body and she feels some sort of construct sprout from her back and wrap her in a blanket of otherworldly warmth. Her energy flows from her feet to her scalp, and leaves her with prominence to channel itself at the end of her springing bolt. All her doubts flow away as she’s enveloped in a feeling of peace she’ll later be unable to fully recall no matter how hard she tries. The universe’s explosion in front of her takes her vision from her and her mother’s embrace forms around her in its place.

For a brief moment, all her anxieties don’t matter, all her doubts, struggles, and trials are unimportant. For this one second, she knows everything will be okay.

[Purger of Undead Has Taken Effect as Target is at least partially Undead.]

[Player Status enhances Damage and Accuracy against Corrupted Entity]

The bolt descends and all darkness is banished from the forest. The smoke from the flames disappears in an instant, the shadows are eliminated with enough prejudice she worries any stray Nara in the area may have an identity crisis, and a glow erupts in a repeating circular shockwave that makes her think this is probably what a tornado looks like from the inside. Waves of light travel in a segmented glowing aura that splits off into the next fluffy looking layer every hundred milliseconds. Time slows even further for her and she still can’t take it in. It becomes increasingly apparent what she actually let off was not a holy bolt, but a descending star.

The otherworlder title can change her items? The system will prompt her when it’s relevant? Why is it showing so much more of its hand right now, are all the rules a lie to be modified on a moment’s notice? The title said that she could bend the rules but she didn’t take it seriously! She doesn’t have time to answer her own questions, even if she could, because the attack strikes down and the world shifts around her. Everything she’s ever known is bathed in so much light that she’s adamant; if that didn’t work nothing she could ever have done would have stopped Sasuke from getting bitten.

Her vision is foggy with tears she doesn’t remember shedding, and a glance beneath her finds that nothing is holding her up. Gaara had just enough time to send exactly what was needed and nothing else, his reliability chokes her up but the question of why she’s still floating catches her off guard. As the light dissipates, she wipes her eyes and finds Sasuke is standing on a branch panting harshly but looking otherwise fine, a frenzied squirrel is racing in circles around his feet and Orochimaru is nowhere to be seen.

“Shit, I just used a holy wave.” The thought barely occurs to her before she’s looking to where her horde and Orochimaru were duking it out and sure enough the landscape is wiped clean. Absolutely none of her summons are left. Even their bodies have been disintegrated, the bloodbath straight out of a horror movie is gone, swept away as if it never existed. The only signs there was even a fight is the fire from her opponent's scorching wave and all the slash marks scarring the ground for years to come.

[Summons in Forest reduced to 1]

That would be the dog, she’s glad she left it behind with Sasuke and Naruto, it was too important to her to drag into a fight like this and it’s important enough to the Inuzuka that she’d feel terrible about accidentally destroying it like that.

She feels a sharp pain, and looking behind her she sees long white wings, feathery and full. She witnesses them just in time to watch them crumble into dust, and with that, she’s suddenly descending towards the ground faster than her bolt made the world disappear.

She bites her lip hard enough to draw blood, and she’s standing next to Sasuke.

“Eeeeeeeeee-” She ignores the sound of the squirrel flailing and screeching through the air. Hopefully it’s a Naruto clone being dramatic, but she doesn’t have the time right now, the timer is still ticking down and the quest hasn’t notified her that they won.

Three minutes twenty seconds. Her summons didn’t last as long as she wanted, but at least Orochimaru is missing for the moment.