Leveling Shinobi: Chosen by Legacy

What he always dreamed of waking up to was, Sakura in a very cute dress, trying to wake him up. Since that was a dream far from possible, at least chirping birds would be good.

But every day, the wake up call was dogs barking near his apartment.

Naruto's ears started to be bombarded with the barks beneath his apartment. He sat up straight from the sudden barks, his eyes still half closed and hair disheveled as the headband lopsided on his left eye.

Naruto grumbled, feeling slight ache over his body. But yesterday entire fatigue had disappeared like miracle. And this was no first time. Even before if he got into fight with the older bullies or his peers, after a thorough beating, next day would be like the beating never happened.

Naruto considered it his prodigal talent or trait, to recover so quickly.

He pulled off the headband and rubbed his eyes. As his lids lifted, a white screen extended in front of his eyes out of nowhere. That very second, everything that happened yesterday jogged through his mind, but the shock of this white floating screen was much more. And the shock made him crash down on the floor.

A small squeal left his mouth as he stumbled to get up, because the screen now reappeared in front of his eyes again.

But he calmed down rather quickly. Naruto took deep breathes and closed his eyes. Upon opening his eyes, the screen still persisted.

This assured, that yesterday's happenings were not a dream.

"So,…what are you?" Naruto asked, surprised by his own calmness.

[ I am here for assistance. To assist you to leverage your full potential and also provide support. ]

The text appeared instantly. However, the answer only confused Naruto even more. But before he could ask anything further, the screen changed the text again.

[ All your confusion will have to remain as is for the time being. Only thing you need to know, is that I mean no harm. ]

Naruto started to feel a slight pain in his head from all the weird thoughts he was getting about this 'System'. He felt like this thing was suspicious, but it had indeed helped him yesterday. So, he didn't know what to consider.

He gave up on the excessive work of thinking and looked at the clock. There was still time till the group allocation. Naruto started his daily routine.

As he started to move, he began questioning the System.

"So, can I at least know what help I will be getting from you?" He asked as he struggled to strangle the toothpaste out of the tube. Since yesterday, all he knew about the system was that it had white color.

[ I am an assistant, guide. Even a mentor. I will help you to gain strength. Unleash your potential. ]

Naruto couldn't shake off the feeling that the way the System explained him things were like a scammer trapping others.

"And how do you intend to do so?" Naruto asked again, gargling and spitting in the bathroom.

[ For starters, you have daily training mission. Completing that will help you strengthening yourself. You will also be rewarded for completing the mission. Aside from that, you will also get missions to clear, which can be anything that improve you overall. Another factor would be, dungeons. ]

As Naruto read, the last word equipped his attention. 'Dungeons!' he thought.

Dungeons were the nests of monsters and demons. They were the base from where the monsters scouted human world and tried to invade.

Naruto had always wanted to enter one in his life.

[ Dungeons will not be available yet, as you are too below the level to begin Dungeon missions. ]

And, as soon as his excitement was rising, the System drenched it all. Naruto grumbled and went to the bath.

As he was about to enter, he suddenly halted. He looked at the screen and muttered, "You aren't a girl right?"

The system halted for a second and then replied, its answer a bit offensive this time.

[ I have no race, sex or body. I am not a lowly thing as you. ]

Naruto scratched his head and scoffed off the brutal remark. He wasn't really in a mood to fight with this monotonic text.

Naruto asked his actual question this time, as he prepared the water to take a bath. "Level? Whats that?"

[ Levels are numeric values used to define how powerful you are. Levels will help you understand how strong you or others are. ]

Naruto was yet again excited. This sounded extremely fun! He wanted to quickly check level of Sasuke. And as if to correct him, the system replied after reading his thoughts.

[ You do not have the ability to see others Statistics such as level or strength. ]

Naruto sighed. He took a good shower and wore his favorite orange jump suit. For a quick second, he felt like the System printed a disgusted face on the screen.

"So, what level am I right now?" Naruto asked. He expected the System to simply tell him a number, but another screen opened up beside the previous one. This one was taller and short in width.

The screen had mini him, standing just the way he was right now. The mini him would move just how he did. After playing around with mini him for a while, he looked at his stats.

[ Player Information -

Name: Naruto Uzumaki

Age: 12

Rank: Genin

Level: 8

Player Statistics -

Strength: 10 (9)

Stamina: 20 (10)

Speed: 15 (10)

Wisdom: 3 (8)

Chakra: 2000/2000 (600-800) ]

Naruto read it all, and he somewhat understood it. He knew these number showed how strong he was, but how would he compare it, to understand the exact prowess of his?

The system, yet again replied before he even questioned.

[ The numbers in the (brackets) represent the stat of an average person in the same rank as you. So, in comparison with an average Genin, your Strength is one point higher. That fares as one punch more power. ]

"Crazy…" Naruto muttered as he tightened his sandals. "So I have this much more stamina than other Genins?"

[ Yes. However, why it is so, I do not know yet. I will need more time to analyze your body to come to a conclusion. ]

The system replied back. Naruto simply hummed. He quieted for a while and then asked the system again.

"I feel a lot calmer than usual. Why? Is it because of you? Did you do something?" Naruto asked. He had been bugged by this thought since he woke up, but despite all the unbelievable stuff happening since yesterday, he was not even much awestruck. He was simply,…going along with it.

[ In a way. After you passed the test and activated the system, you became a player. And a player, initially is gifted with a skill 'Calm mind'. Its an innate ability given to the player. It keeps developing the more you experience life. Just like any other ability of yours. ]

"Whoa,…that's amazing. So like,…I must look like Sasuke now. A calm and cold person, very calculative." Naruto scrounged his face, trying to imitate Sasuke.

[...]

[ I do not know. But it would be helpful if you could get rid of that disgusting look on your face. ]

Naruto stumbled hearing the remark and tried to punch the system, but his hand simply passed through it.

"Well, anyways. I should get going. Or else I'll be late." Naruto took out the bread and milk from the refrigerator and sat down on the chair to eat it.

[ Analyzing the surroundings…]

[ Alert!

The food is expired. Please refrain from consuming it. ]

Naruto looked at the system for a good while and then checked the carton of milk and bread packet. And just as the System mentioned, it had truly expired. He sighed and threw the packets in the trash. Naruto got out of his apartment and departed after locking it.

"What a bummer. I feel hungry." He sighed yet again. He got an apply on his way to academy, which was yet another head ache. Those hateful gazes didn't hurt as much now, but it still boiled his blood.

As he walked to the academy, Naruto was prompted with another Alert from the System.

[Alert!

Training Quest - Getting warmed up!

Time Limit - 12 hours

Goal

Push-Ups - [0/100]

Sit-Ups - [0/100]

Squats - [0/100]

Run - [0/10KM]

Caution - Failing to complete the Quest will incur a Penalty. ]

"Warm Up!!" Naruto halted in his track. The amount shown in the Quest panel was insane to call it a warm up. And to boot, he never even exercised, except the spars conducted in Academy.

"And what penalties? Will I get beaten up by you or something?" Naruto said half jokingly. Considering the System's behaviour, that might even be possible.

[ Worse ]

Naruto was irked. One by one, the system was bringing up idiotic stuff in his life. As he contemplated again, whether all this really was worth it, the System panel popped up.

[ Do not worry. Whatever I propose or state is anything but useless and idiotic. My purpose is, as you know, to unleash you potential. I will never bring harm. ]

Despite the silence of its words and no sound or emotions felt physically, this silent screen made him feel more human and cared for than anyone had ever done until now.

"Haha. Sounds very human of you to say that." Naruto scoffed off his worries and walked to the academy.

Naruto reached the class. In all his years of coming to the academy, he had never felt not nervous. The people's stares made him anxious and scared. Everything felt foreign and made felt inhumane.

However, this was the first time in forever that he felt really calm. His heartbeat was stable, his head didn't swirl with thoughts, his hands didn't itch, wanting to do any activity.

As if, his entire body had equally distributed the chakra in every part.

Naruto walked inside the classroom and suddenly the entire class went silent for a second. But soon enough, Kiba roared from the back of the class, joking about why a failed student was in their class.

Generally, Naruto would want to smash his face in. But now? He felt nothing. As if, Kiba's jokes,….heck, even Kiba wasn't worth it.

He walked towards Sasuke, the only guy in the entire class who looked everything except surprised to see him in the class. There was anger, annoyance, despise in his stare.

Naruto scoffed and sat on the bench, beside him

"Why are you here?" Sasuke asked in an irked whisper, barely audible to even him. Naruto looked at him, trying his best to think of a great answer that would slap Sasuke around the face and shut him up.

"Why do you care?"

'Aaaagh!! What am I? His girlfriend!?' Naruto cursed himself for coming with such a pathetic response even after thinking so hard about it.

But before Sasuke could respond and their banter could begin, a loud crash was heard. When the entire class looked outside, they could see a blur of pink and blonde on top of each other. As soon as the dust cleared out, two girls stood there, dusting themselves.

Naruto's eyes beamed and he grinned ear to ear. As if everything else melted into water, the surroundings splashed around and the only people in the vicinity seemed to be him and Sakura, the pink haired Kunoichi.

Naruto stared at the pinkette, as she set her hair and patted her dress. His eyes roamed on her face and pretty smile. Pretty…smile? Suddenly, her face looked almost like a monster. And, even worse,…she was walking towards him!

Her every stomp was crystal clear in his ears even in such a chaotic room. This all made one thing sure for him. Whatever the 'Calm Mind' was, didn't save him from his fear of Sakura. His heart and mind was a mess!

But, seemed like it did help him a bit. Before Sakura could reach him, he got up and stepped aside, which halted the girl in her place.

Now, usually, Naruto would need some rock-hard punches to get his butt moving. And this was universally known, that until Sakura busted him open, he wouldn't get things straight.

But maybe, the world was changing? How did he NOT hinder Sakura today?…is what Sakura was thinking when she saw the boy sit on the desk behind her, with Shikamaru.

'Well, my mind doesn't go blank as soon as I see her anymore. Guess that means this Clam mind thing is working?' Naruto thought, indirectly trying to assure it from the System.

[ Fears beyond your minds control cannot be suppressed entirely by this ability. ]

In short, Naruto was doomed to be scared of her either way. He sighed and banged his head lightly on the desk, startling the sleeping Nara.

Sakura still surprised by the blonde's antic had somewhat regained herself. She walked to Sasuke and sat close to him, maintaining enough distance to not trigger him.

"Sasuke-kun, wouldn't it be amazing if we are teamed together?" She asked, her voice chirpy, like a happy squirrel.

Sasuke looked at the girl for a few seconds and then looked away, grunting, showing his disapproval.

Though Sakura kept smiling and giggling, her face still reflected the hurt Sasuke always caused by his cold demeanor.

Naruto who was watching this from behind, clenched his fist, holding back his anger. 'This idiot! If it was me, I would have already gone to Iruka-sensei and requested to team me up with Sakura-chan!' Naruto tried his best not to hit Sasuke in the back of his head.

'Well, that's better for me though. As long as he keeps acting like this, I have a chance to win over Sakura-chan!'

"What are you looking at?" and his day-dreaming was stomped on as soon as Sakura grumbled. When he returned to reality, he cursed himself. He had been looking at Sakura for so long that she had noticed it.

"Huh!? Ah! Right! Wouldn't it be awesome if we both were in a team Sakura-chan? Of course, as long as this brat isn't with us." Naruto scowled as he glared at Sasuke, who did the same.

"Hmph, as if! I had rather quit being a Shinobi than team up with you alone. AND, Sasuke-kun is not a brat, you are!" Sakura hissed at Naruto who in response just sat down, accepting defeat.

'Hah….girls are so difficult!'

After a few more minutes, Iruka walked inside the room, the scroll containing their teams list in his hand. Everyone stood up and greeted up. Naruto was almost jumping on his feet, trying to keep calm regarding the teams.

To dissipate some of his energy, he decided to chat with Shikamaru beside him. "Who do you think your team is?" He asked.

Shikamaru looked at him with groggy eyes, sleep still lingering on his eye-lids.

"Its probably Ino and Choji. Our families have been teamed up for years now. Its like an unwritten rule."

"Must be nice to already know your team huh?" Naruto grunted.

After everyone settled down, Iruka gave a short speech as always. About how they should focus on their missions, be serious, not take anything for a joke anymore. How a shinobi's life is dangerous and they need to be prepared for it.

After that, the moment for which everyone was excited for followed. He opened the scroll and started reading the teams.

Naruto wished his team would be called out soon, but also not. The hope of getting a good teammate and Sakura was exciting. But being teamed with someone annoying was fearsome.

And as he clenched both his fist, Iruka called out Sakura's name under Team-7. Naruto's heartbeat increased and he started to sweat.

"Uzumaki Naruto" Naruto almost jumped out of the bench, but contained himself to only yell 'Hell Yeah!'.

Sakura, however, was slumped. But the next name cheered her up even more.

"Uchiha Sasuke." However, now it was Sasuke's turn to grunt. He had two idiots tag him in the team.

The rest of the teams were allocated, and as Shikamaru said, his team, Team-10 was with Ino and Choji. And neither seemed surprised.

"Your team leaders will be announced after a short break. So be back after this break." Iruka said and smiled at them. Before leaving, he gave a short look to Naruto and muttered 'Best of Luck', which Naruto grasped rather quickly.

Everyone left to eat their lunch. Naruto however, followed Sasuke quietly. As if walking on thorns, he was very light on his feet. The system had asked him to rather train than doing something stupid again, but he kicked off the suggestion.

Naruto followed Sasuke until the Uchiha had begun eating.

'Gotcha!!' Naruto threw the rope around Sasuke's body, which startled the boy. But he still tried to escape. Sasuke threw his sandwich at Naruto, hoping at least something would enter his eye and there might occur a chance to break free.

But Naruto was safe and he pushed Sasuke down, tying him by the rope and pushing him on the floor.

And then, right in front of him, Naruto transformed in Sasuke himself.

"Ugh! Damnit! Naruto, don't do anything stupid and release me now!" He glared at the blonde. Naruto looked at the boy for a while and then chuckled,…just how Sasuke would do, and left the place.

[ What do you even wish to achieve by doing this? ]

The system asked Naruto,…now Sasuke, as he walked towards the park of their academy.

"Maybe Sakura-chan hides how she feels about me whenever I am with her. So I want to know if she really likes Sasuke. And if she doesn't, what does she think of me?" Naruto said excitedly.

[ But what if she does hate you? ]

"Well, I won't say she hates me. But even if she dislikes me, I will try my best impress her and like me." Naruto spoke with confidence.

Naruto had arrived at the park, and there sat Sakura. Her eyes staring at the blue sky, trying to find something.

Naruto, yet again was mesmerized by the girl he liked. He walked to her, making sure he behaved just like Sasuke. When Sakura noticed him, she started to fidget and blush. She was smiling at him.

Naruto felt weird. This was the first time Sakura had ever smiled in front of him, but it didn't feel as good. Since he was 'Sasuke' right now, Sakura smiling at him made him more jealous than happy.

He sat down beside her. As soon as he sat down, she got a little closer to him. When she did, he could smell a sweet scent from her, like a flower.

"Sasuke-kun, did you eat your lunch?" she asked, feeling delighted that Sasuke had taken a seat beside her on his own. He was even looking at her differently. She couldn't pick out what it was, but his gaze didn't make her feel like an annoyance.

"Yeah, I did." Naruto replied, trying his best to act and sound like Sasuke.

"Then,…do you want to go on a date today?" Sakura asked, without wasting any other moment.

However, she already knew the answer. As usual, his reply would always be a No, she just always tried out her luck, but kept no hopes.

"Hn,…if you are paying." Naruto said. 'Making Sasuke agree for a date with condition that Sakura-chan pays will obviously make him look bad in her eyes.' He thought as he nodded.

So when he said yes, Sakura was blown away, as if something impossible had happened. Like,…Naruto not bothering her, or not fighting with Sasuke. Sakura was in a stupor.

"Sakura,…" He spoke, trying his best not to utter 'chan' right after, and woke Sakura from her headspace, blissful that Sasuke was finally accepting a date. She didn't care about stuff like paying for the date if it was going to be with Sasuke.

"Hm?" Sakura responded eagerly. This was the first time Sasuke had ever talked to her by his own too. This day was unveiling a lot of firsts of Sasuke and Sakura.

"What do you think of Naruto?" Naruto asked, rounding his hands in a fist, hoping to get a positive response.

For a second, Sakura felt like the entire planet rotated in a jerk and she flew before landing right at her place. The question Sasuke had asked was something so out of the world. Not because he was even TALKING about someone else to someone else. But it was about 'Naruto'. That's weirder than her ever liking Naruto.

She looked at him. Sakura never really thought much about that boy. She always did her best to ignore him. But he would do something so stupid and irritating, that she just couldn't let him be.

And as she continued to think about it, she felt annoyed. And words started to pour out.

"He is really annoying…" Sakura spoke. Naruto's heart throbbed, like someone was holding it. He did expect her to say something similar, but it hurt more than he imagined.

"He never understands me. Always acts rash and like a pervert. "He never understands me. Always acts rash and like a pervert. He irritates me, has fun seeing me struggle. Always tries to get in the way of my love." Every word Sakura spoke made him sad. Some points didn't even make sense to him. Why did she think he was a pervert? All he did was be honest with her about his feelings, nothing else. He never enjoyed seeing her struggle!

"All he ever does is getting into fights with you or others." Naruto still kept calm, not letting the sadness wash his facade away. But the next lines hit him so hard, it felt like the world was collapsing.

"Well, he hasn't had a normal childhood. He doesn't have parents, so there is no one to get on his case. That's why he misbehaves so much. He is lucky he can act like that, if I did so, my parents would be so angry!"

"But enough about that brat. All I want is for you to acknowledge me Sasuke-Kun." She whispered to him.

But Naruto had already lost it. His senses were dimming. His eyes were wet, and he had lost his composure. His chakra was unstable, and he was having trouble maintaining the henge.

When Sakura looked up, she was surprised from what she saw. She was seeing Sasuke crying. It was weird as is, but his eyes held raw emotions. A mixture of sadness, hopelessness, anger and…hate. Now, she had been familiar with Sasuke's hateful gazes, but this look was new.

It was so raw, she was scared that she had lost him forever. "Sa-…" she was about to begin speaking,…but then what she saw stupified her even more. Behind Sasuke,…stood Sasuke.

'Wh..what!?' She stood up in a jerk. "Whats happening here?" She stood there, not knowing who the real Sasuke was? And who even was the other guy trying to fake Sasuke…?

The Sasuke on the bench stood up, hands rubbing his tearful eyes. He stood still for a few seconds and then looked at Sakura. All those raw emotions were no gone as if they never existed.

What she saw now, was a calm and an uninterested stare. And before she could even speak again, the person disappeared behind a screen of smoke. When the smoke vanished, she saw the boy. The very person she had berated.

Naruto stood there, his eyes still the same.

"Sorry…" He said to her. Generally she would be ecstatic to make him apologize, but now it felt weird. As if someone was tugging on her heart.

"Na-…" yet again, without her speaking, he walked away. Sakura stood there, anxious, worried and lost. When her eyes met Sasuke's, she was horrified by how angry and hateful his eyes seemed.

"...You are annoying." He said one simple line and walked away, her world almost crashing down.

In a single hour, she had fallen in the eyes of both her teammates, and she couldn't think of a way to recover herself. Unbeknownst to herself, she shed tears.

Another half hour went by quickly and almost every team was taken by their teacher.

At the end, even Kiba's team was guided by Kurenai. Kiba moved away with his team after making fun of Naruto and team. However, there was no shouting behind them from Naruto like usual.

The classroom now only had them three. The environment was chilly and heavy. As if even a simple shift in the atmosphere would pierce needles through them all.

Naruto sat really calm, too cam for NARUTO. His head was being weird. It surely throbbed and hurt, but it also felt light. As if, he was floating.

[ I warned beforehand to not do this. As you are now, others perception of you matter to you and might hurt you, potentially stopping you from progressing. ]

Naruto sort of felt annoyed, that the system was only saying this so he doesn't lack in getting stronger. But even that monotonous voice made sense now.

'You are right. No matter what I do,…. I will always be a misbehaving, unruly orphan to her.' Naruto looked at Sakura, more sadness and hurt in his eyes than anger.

Sakura on the other hand, was constantly shifting her eyes from Sasuke to Naruto, looking at both of them time to time.

Her heart still hadn't calmed down. It weight heavy as if something was pulling it in all directions.

Usually, she wouldn't care about Naruto after saying a ton of insults and curses. But that was true only then, because he never got hurt.

'Or, he didn't show it…' Sakura thought, her gaze travelling to Naruto again. Unlike before, Naruto was now looking at her. For a split second, she could swear she saw that unbearable hurt and sadness in his eyes. But he stood up as soon as she looked at him.

Her heart tucked down again. It raced, anticipating his next move. She felt hyperconcious of him.

"I will be at the roof top. It seems our Sensei is runing late." there was still a hint of cheerfulness in his tone, but it was almost pressed under a heavy pain. For a second, she just wished to walk to him and apologize. But she couldn't move.

'If I go and apologize, Sasuke-Kun would think I am interested in Naruto.' she thought. Suddenly, a roar crashed in her mind.

Inner sakura belowed, warning her. The warfare of her two sides kept raging. But before there could be any conclusion, Naruto had walked out of the class room.

Now that he wasn't there, she felt a bit light. However, the guilt was still there.

Sakura looked at Sasuke, who was staring at the door, since Naruto left. Sakura had already understood why Sasuke was so angry.

'How could I say anything like that in front of Sasuke-Kun!?' She cursed herself. How could have she forgotten, that Sasuke also didn't have his parents with him.

"Sas-…" she began, but Sasuke placed his head on his hands on the bench, facing the ground. He was now openly ignoring her without even a glance.

She almost felt like crying. This…was a bad start to a team.