jackpot_kun

[GUtW]—❈—38:: Hugs and Other Mushy Stuff

"The Nope Jutsu?" Sakura asks. "What kind of name is that?"

"Who cares about the name?" Naruto asks angrily. "Kakashi is teaching emo-brow such a powerful technique, meanwhile all I get is some stupid wind jutsu? How's that fair?"

Emo-brow?

… Wait, is that what this little shit calls me in his head?

"Don't call Sasuke names," Sakura fires, ge...

[GUtW]—❈—37:: The Nope Jutsu

Enjoy the chapter. 

Enjoy the chapter.

—❈—

Rarely, by which I mean once or twice in the week I've had them, the collection of otherworldly knowledge and experiences that I've termed "Caleb's Memories" seem to exhibit some level of awareness.

Almost sentience.

Merely an echo of it, of course, incapable, I thin...

[GUtW]—❈—36:: Trump Cards

Sorry for the delay, my life's been... hectic.

—❈—

I stare at my laid-back sensei, my thoughts roiling.

I'd known about The Chūnin Exams of course, it's hard not to considering it's held every year at the same time. However, even before I got Caleb's memories and my opinion of a lot of things had changed, I'd had no interest in rushing...

[GUtW]—❈—35:: Fish, Penguin & Chameleon

'When did my house become the designated meeting spot for the team?' I wonder as Naruto and Sakura show up at my door together, already embroiled in some nonsensical argument, about penguins of all things. 'And why the fuck did I ever agree to it?'

The argument continues even as they walk in, with Sakura barely taking a breath to say hey to me before returning t...

[GUtW]—❈—34:: All Wrapped Up with A Neat, Little Bow

We run back.

Kakashi suggests it, and no one argues with him on it. For one thing, it's faster and more engaging, and none of us really feel eager to spend the next two and a half days in a slow moving train marinating on what we've just done.

Plus, from a purely economical standpoint, it's cheaper to run back, and we need to save money where we can considering the village won't be ...

[GUtW]—❈—33:: The Bitter Taste of A Job Well Done

Within the bright green flames, whose uncomfortable heat I can feel from so far away, my sharingan just manages to make out Ken Ishimura.

I guess I know what the signal was now.

Or maybe not, I reconsider, as I note the expression on Kei's face; she doesn't look excited or relieved that her sensei's here to save the day, she looks upset.

The bright green flames around Ken Ishi...

[GUtW]—❈—32:: Signals

"Anyway," Kakashi says, carrying on the conversation, "if you're telling them, my advice would be for you to do it now, because I'm pretty sure Naruto's already making friends with the girl's brother."

My eyes close and I exhale a tired breath. Why is nothing ever easy?

Turning from Kakashi back to the Okinawa's house behind me, I see that, while everyone else has gone in, Sakura st...

[GUtW]—❈—31:: Nothing's Easy

Naruto rushes ahead to walk with the family, happily regaling them with one of his many wild and (I sometimes suspect) made-up stories.

Sakura moves to follow, but notices that I'm not walking too.

"Sasuke?" she asks, looking at me. She must notice that something is wrong from my expression, because she adds; "Is something wrong?"

"Go ahead," I say. "I need to talk to Kakashi....

Please Read This!

To whom it may concern:

As of this post, there are now three official tiers on my Patreon; Jackpot jr!!! Jackpot!!! And Jackpot sr!!!

Jackpot Jr costs two dollars and rewards you with one advanced chapter; Jackpot costs five dollars and rewards you with four advanced chapters; and Jackpot sr costs seven dollars and rewards you with six advanced chapters.

I'm announcing this fo...

[GUtW]—❈—30:: Sharingan Confirmation

Springtree is exactly what I'd expected, a small, rustic village out in the country, full of people who've known each other their entire lives; people who've likely never laid eyes on a ninja before.

Not knowingly at least.

Ergo, as I'd also expected, there's a lot of standing and staring being done by the locals as we make our way into the village.

No matter, we've prepared f...

[GUtW]—❈—29:: Rolling Hills and Broken Carts

Rolling green hills and a bright blue sky surround us for miles as we make our way down the little dirt road to Springtree.

According to our map and the last sign we saw, we should be less than three kilometers from the village, and we've already long since changed into our official uniforms as ninja of The Leaf.

Like with many things from the story, it had been a surprise to learn ...

[GUtW]—❈—28.1:: Interlude:: Ino-Shika-Chō

Ino Yamanaka

Three Months Ago

It actually takes a lot of effort to look like you're not putting in any effort.

In fact, many people would argue, and argue reasonably, that it takes significantly more effort than if you simply never bothered with the ruse in the first place.

These people would then go on to say that, consequent...

[GUtW]—❈—28:: Trains and Troublesome Teammates

"Woohoo! We're going on a mission! Yeah!" Naruto screams, uncaring of the attention his exuberance draws upon us as we walk down the street.

"Stop screaming," Sakura snaps, swatting the boy upside the head.

Obviously expecting it, Naruto ducks, his elation not dimming a single bit.

Sakura scowls like Naruto's simple act of self-preservation has personally upset her, and she ey...

[GUtW]—❈—27:: Dreams

This chapter was supposed to start Team 7's mission, but it kinda took on a life of its own and became this.

Please don't hate me if you don't like it.

—❈—

The dream begins as it always does, with me asleep.

In truth it is only technically a dream, in that it is a sequence of events playing out in my mind while I ...

[GUtW]—❈—26:: The Rookie 9

" …Well, I'm sure our mission's still gonna be cooler; it's a B-rank, and we're guarding cargo going all the way to Wave."

You can get acc" …Well, I'm sure our mission's still gonna be cooler; it's a B-rank, and we're guarding cargo going all the way to Wave."re our mission's still gonna be cooler; it's a B-rank, and we're guarding cargo going all the way to Wave."

'Wait, wh...