c5: Weekly Task Updates
Konoha Year 39, June 7
Monday
In the last four days of the previous week, Yakumo had remained cautiously restrained. Ever since the unexpected encounter with Uzumaki Kushina and the subtle signs of ANBU surveillance, he had taken no unnecessary risks.
Morning runs through the Naka River path, absorbing Iruka-sensei's lectures during class, isolating himself in the library nook to study shinobi history and elemental theory, and finally, heading home at dusk to complete academy homework and train in the Suiton: Mizu Dangan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Bullet Technique).
〖Personal Panel〗
Name: Kurama Yakumo
Age: 7
Constitution: 3.9 (Stamina, illness resistance, wound recovery)
Strength: 2.6 (Physical load, striking force, endurance)
Agility: 3.8 (Reaction time, flexibility, movement speed)
Intelligence: 4.3 (Memory retention, analysis, Genjutsu resistance)
Chakra: 6 (10 points required to qualify as Genin)
〖Personal Skills〗
Passive: Chakra Refinement – "Acceleration"
Active: Water Bullet – Beginner, 48/100 – "Acceleration"
Gold Coins: 0
He had reached the point where he could perform the Water Bullet technique consistently. However, its impact remained unimpressive useful perhaps for knocking someone off balance, but far from lethal. Not enough chakra density or precision to break through even padded Academy armor.
Yet the daily training had not been in vain. His body, once frail from a childhood spent in hospital beds due to latent Kurama clan issues, was starting to visibly change. The light outlines of muscle now traced his shoulders and arms.
Today was Monday refresh day for the Weekly System Tasks.
Yakumo bypassed the standard daily missions and opened the tab he had been anticipating: [Weekly Tasks].
"Diligence Can Make Up for One's Clumsiness"
Borrow three books from the Konoha Shinobi Library within the week.
Read and summarize with no less than 5,000 words.
Reward: +0.5 INT, 150 Gold Coins
"A Gentleman Excels at the Sword"
Observe and replicate Kakashi Hatake's kenjutsu technique, recorded during basic sparring.
Achieve beginner-level proficiency.
Reward: +0.5 STR, 150 Gold Coins
"Three Daily Reflections"
Write a journal entry of no less than 500 words before bed for seven consecutive nights.
Reward: +0.5 AGI, 150 Gold Coins
Note: Complete all three tasks to unlock bonus: +0.5 Free Attribute Point and 500 Bonus Gold Coins
Yakumo stared at the screen in disbelief.
This system... was no mere gimmick. These tasks practically screamed Naruto-style grind arc. Three books, 15,000 words in analysis, 3,500 in diary reflections, plus classroom essays… that was nearly 14,000 words of written content in one week.
"Damn it, who in the world writes a diary every night!?"
Still grumbling, he forced down his breakfast, strapped on his sandals, and pushed open the door. Right on cue, Mori Masako stepped out of her house across the street. The two began their usual morning routine: a run around the training fields.
This time, Yakumo moved with extra energy. The vision of 500 gold coins and free stat points practically gave him chakra wings.
"Yakumo, did you even touch yesterday's homework?" Masako asked as they rounded the track near the Third Training Ground famously where Team 7 would one day spar.
"I didn't," Yakumo admitted between breaths. "I was up refining chakra, training Water Release, and writing up my class reflections. Where's the time for arithmetic?"
"I figured," she replied with a sigh. "So I wrote it for you. Used your handwriting and everything."
"Seriously? You're a lifesaver. Ramen at Ichiraku's on me later."
Yakumo didn't refuse Mori Masako's kindness. After all, if he continued skipping homework, he'd end up spending time explaining himself to Keisuke Shimizu, their homeroom teacher, whose sharp intuition rivaled that of a seasoned Chūnin. That would interfere with Yakumo's evening routine of chakra refinement and jutsu practice.
Conveniently, the end of their morning jog brought them to Ichiraku Ramen. The familiar scent of miso and grilled pork floated from the stand, and their slightly labored breathing quickly returned to normal after the cooldown stretch.
"No need to thank me…" Masako said offhandedly.
"If you insist, then I can't accept your help next time." Yakumo replied with a light grin, already memorizing how to repay the favor.
———
In class, Yakumo flipped open the homework notebook. The handwriting mimicked his so closely it was indistinguishable. Masako's ability to forge his style was unexpectedly precise. He had once written her off as a background character in his life, but apparently, his "mediocre little sidekick" had hidden skills.
He shook his head, mentally dismissing the thought before it inflated his ego.
Just then, a rough hand clamped onto his shoulder. The grip was firm but not injurious. Yakumo turned to see Hiratani Yuanchu one of the strongest civilian-born students in their year, his constitution nearly at 5.0, a budding Genin brute in the making.
"This today's homework?" Hiratani sneered. "I didn't do mine… So I guess this is mine now. Got a problem?"
His voice was a low threat, practically growled at Yakumo's ear.
"No…" Yakumo replied evenly, his face unreadable. He handed over the notebook without protest.
Just another iteration of shinobi schoolyard bullying.
"Pathetic." Hiratani muttered, taking the notes and strolling back to his seat. Around the classroom, students glanced at Yakumo with varying expressions some mocking, others tinged with pity.
Establishing dominance? Yakumo mused, but knew better. The real challenge wasn't Hiratani. It was dealing with the consequences later and figuring out how to approach Kakashi Hatake about learning kenjutsu.
Because of the homework theft, Yakumo was publicly scolded by Shimizu-sensei during homeroom. Some classmates looked at him with sympathy. Others, like Takuya Inuzuka and Kenji Aburame, snickered quietly from the back row.
At lunch, Yakumo stuck to his plan. He signed out three books from the Shinobi Reference Library: "On Medical Ninjutsu," "The Practical Applications of Medical Chakra," and "Basic Medical Knowledge." Given that he had both Suiton and Doton chakra natures well-suited for healing and support there was no reason to neglect medical ninjutsu.
Two of the books were authored by Tsunade Senju, the granddaughter of Hashirama, the God of Shinobi himself. As the world's most formidable medical ninja and a member of the Legendary Sannin, her writings were canon in the ninja medical curriculum.
Afternoon class was reserved for free training. Most students sparred in pairs or practiced their clan techniques at the academy's open training ground. Yakumo, however, perched on the stone steps near the tool shed, poring over Basic Medical Knowledge. The deeper he read, the more he realized how little he actually knew.
He was stunned to learn that a common roadside herb gōkika could be mashed into a powerful hemostatic paste during missions.
A short distance away, Hatake Kakashi stood alone, practicing forms with his unsharpened short blade. The rapid flashes of his strikes gleamed in the sun. Yakumo counted twenty-four distinct movements in the routine.
Twenty-four stances… Yakumo thought. If recombined strategically, they could create entirely new sword forms. How elegant.
But as Yakumo watched longer, he noticed Kakashi abandoning the original rhythm altogether. The elite Genin had reached a level where he could improvise deforming, recombining, flowing. His mastery surpassed pure repetition.
Yakumo tried to memorize the forms. By the end of the afternoon, he had barely retained four and even those were incomplete. Still, he committed them to memory. When the dismissal bell rang, most students scattered joyfully, their schoolbags flung over their shoulders. But Kakashi remained, absorbed in his relentless routine.
Yakumo seized the chance to observe more, but Masako, who had been silently sitting nearby, rose and vanished from sight.
"Oi, Kakashi, we're heading out!"
Uchiha Obito's voice cut through the air. He stood with Rin Nohara, the short-haired medic-in-training, both waiting with backpacks slung over their shoulders.
Kakashi halted mid-strike. Yakumo quickly looked down, pretending to study.
"You promised to play hide-and-seek today after class!" Obito complained.
Kakashi sighed. "Coming." He sheathed his dull blade and jogged toward them.
"Wait where's Masako?" Obito asked as they turned the corner.
———
In an alley adjacent to the Academy infamously dubbed the "Conflict Platform" by students Hiratani Yuanchu lay curled on the ground, face swollen, smeared with mud and shoe prints. His two lackeys groaned nearby, clearly beaten.
Mori Masako stood above them, calm and collected. From Hiratani's backpack, she retrieved Yakumo's stolen notebook, slid it into her schoolbag, then crouched beside him with a deceptively sweet smile.
"Hiratani-san," she said gently. "If you bully Yakumo again, I promise the next time... I won't hold back."
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