Spar!

Another morning. Another three-hour wait for their perpetually late sensei.

Sasuke leaned against the wooden post, arms crossed, gaze cool and unreadable.

Naruto paced furiously, grumbling under his breath about how this time he was gonna deck Kakashi the moment he showed up. All his aura farming lessons had clearly been forgotten. 

Quite a shame.

And Sakura?

She sat atop the post, letting the wind blow against her hair.

Ding!

[Aura System]

+25 AP Gained.

(Farming Method: Looking Like You Own the Entire Training Field.)

Sasuke exhaled through his nose. "…Spar me."

Sakura tilted her head. "Oh?"

Naruto stopped pacing. "Huh?"

Sasuke pushed off the post, stepping forward. "We never fought seriously in the bell test."

Sakura smirked. "And?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "I want to see how strong you actually are."

Naruto grinned. "Ooooh, this is gonna be good."

Sakura jumped down effortlessly, landing with perfect posture. She turned to face Sasuke, raising a single hand.

"Fine," she said. "Let's see what the great Uchiha can do."

If this spar had been asked for weeks prior, than Sakura would have refused, but now?

[Physical]

Strength: [29 → 101] Low Chunin〈0/10〉[+]

Agility: [34→92] Elite Genin 〈0/10〉[+]

Endurance: [9→78] Elite Genin 〈0/10〉[+]

Now, her physical capabilities were similar to if not higher than those of Sasuke's!

Ding!

[Aura System]

+15 AP Gained.

(Farming Method: Unnecessary but Effective Taunt.)

Naruto immediately scrambled up a tree for a better view.

Sasuke moved.

A blur of speed… pure aggressiveness coupled with arrogance, his kunai flashing in the morning light as he closed the distance in an instant.

Sakura reacted.

She shifted just enough, slipping to the side like water, avoiding the blade by a hair's breadth.

She countered—her senbon snapping forward, aiming for the tender spot beneath his jaw.

Sasuke tilted his head, the needle barely missing his throat.

In an instant, he retaliated, his knee driving up.

Sakura twisted, flipping backward to dodge, but Sasuke was already in pursuit, pressing the advantage.

Kunai swung, Sakura blocked with an armour reinforced forearm.

Sasuke spun, Sakura ducked.

They clashed, blow for blow, their movements faster than the average Genin should have been able to handle.

Naruto's head turned back and forth like he was watching a tennis match on fast-forward.

Sakura leapt back onto the wooden posts, perching gracefully. She adjusted her hood slightly, letting the wind scatter her hair in an effortlessly cinematic way.

Ding!

[Aura System]

+15 AP Gained.

(Farming Method: Dramatic Wind Usage.)

Sasuke exhaled through his nose, not impressed, but definitely not unimpressed.

Then his fingers blurred through three hand seals.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Flames roared forward, heat distorting the air.

Naruto screeched. "OI, ARE WE REALLY DOING JUTSU NOW?!"

Sakura didn't move.

She stood her ground, waiting until the last moment before—

Phantom Flicker.

A blink.

She blurred, leaving behind a ghostly after-image, and then she was gone.

Sasuke's eyes widened for half a second before—

She was behind him.

Senbon in hand, she struck, aiming for a nerve cluster in his shoulder.

Sasuke spun just in time, narrowly dodging, twisting mid-air to send a brutal kick toward her ribs.

She blocked barely… skidding backward across the dirt.

Ding!

[Aura System]

+30 AP Gained.

(Farming Method: High-Speed Ninja Chess.)

Sasuke wasted no time, his hands flashing through more seals.

"Phoenix Fire Jutsu!"

Sakura's fingers twitched—

Her own chakra surged.

"Genjutsu: False Sound."

A subtle pulse of chakra rippled outward.

For a fraction of a second… just a fraction, Sasuke's hearing cut out.

The sound of his own flames, of the wind, of Naruto yelling in the background—gone.

His balance faltered.

And Sakura was already moving.

Her senbon flicked forward, aiming for the soft tendons of his wrist.

Sasuke's sharingan-less instincts screamed, forcing him to move purely on reaction. He twisted… too slow.

The senbon nicked his wrist, disrupting the flow of his seals.

The fireballs lost cohesion, dispersing into harmless embers.

Naruto lost his mind. "SINCE WHEN CAN YOU DO GENJUTSU?!"

Sakura ignored him.

Sasuke wiped the tiny bead of blood off his wrist, examining her with new eyes.

"…Not bad."

She smirked. "Not bad yourself."

Ding!

[Aura System]

+50 AP Gained.

(Farming Method: Mutual Ninja Respect.)

But they weren't done.

Sasuke charged again.

Sakura met him head-on.

They clashed once more—this time, faster, sharper.

Senbon against kunai.

Genjutsu against fire.

Physical prowess perfectly matched.

Naruto was now standing, too caught up in the fight to even remember his previous boredom.

It was beautiful.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity—

Sakura's senbon pressed against Sasuke's throat.

Sasuke's kunai was at her skull.

A perfect draw.

For a few moments, they just breathed.

Naruto jumped down. "Okay, okay, I gotta admit—that was awesome. But now what?"

Sasuke rolled his shoulders. "I'm not done training."

Sakura stretched. "Neither am I."

Naruto blinked. Then squinted. "Wait. Wait. WAIT. YOU'RE LOOKING AT ME, AREN'T YOU?"

Sasuke turned. "Naruto."

Sakura folded her arms. "Shadow clones."

Naruto pointed aggressively. "I KNEW IT."

Sasuke cracked his knuckles. "Make them fight us."

Naruto scowled. "I'm not your personal training dummy—"

Sakura smirked. "Are you scared?"

Naruto gasped. "HOW DARE YOU?"

Ding!

[Aura System]

+10 AP Gained.

(Farming Method: Gaslighting Naruto Into Doing Your Training for You.)

Naruto stomped forward, cracking his fingers.

"Fine. You wanna fight? I'LL GIVE YOU A FIGHT."

He clapped his hands together.

"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

The training field exploded with puffs of smoke.

And then?

The battle began.

Sasuke and Sakura stood back to back as the first wave of clones charged.

Sasuke moved first, kunai flashing… cutting through the air, dispelling clones left and right.

Sakura followed—flowing like water, dodging attacks, countering with precise strikes.

Naruto, watching from the trees, cackled.

"YOU ASKED FOR THIS, YOU TWO!"

And then he spawned more.

More clones.

More enemies.

More chances to farm aura.

Sakura smirked.

This?

This was the perfect morning.

***

The mission for the day was cleaning a house.

Naruto was one step away from losing his mind.

Sasuke was one step away from throwing Naruto out of a window.

And Kakashi?

He was one step away from finishing his latest chapter of Icha Icha Paradise.

Sakura, as usual, was on another level entirely.

She stood on the rooftop of the client's house, arms folded, high collared shirt billowing, one foot planted dramatically on the ledge. 

Of course her fit was immaculate. It was new, purchased from the store purely for this purpose.

And besides… fit repeating? Such auraless behaviour.

The sunset light scattered across her face, casting flawless shadows that framed her features just right.

She was a monument of coolness.

She was a temple of pure aura.

She was—

"Sakura, are you even gonna help?!" Naruto yelled, waving a mop around like he wanted to stab someone with it.

Ding!

[Aura System]

+25 AP Gained.

(Farming Method: Having Peasants Do the Work While You Stand There Like a God.)

Sakura smirked.

And then Naruto truly snapped.

"WHY ARE WE EVEN DOING THIS?!" he demanded, dropping the mop dramatically. "This isn't ninja stuff! This is—this is CIVILIAN WORK! I'm gonna be Hokage, not a janitor!"

Sasuke sighed so hard his soul nearly left his body.

Kakashi, without looking up, turned a page in his book.

But then.

Sakura spoke.

"You're wrong, Naruto."

Her voice was calm. Too calm.

The kind of calm that said, I'm about to educate you and make you look like a fool in front of everyone.

Naruto shut up.

Even Kakashi's book lowered slightly.

Sakura turned her head just enough for the wind to hit her collar at the perfect angle.

Ding!

[Aura System]

+30 AP Gained.

(Farming Method: Dramatic Speech Entrance.)

"The purpose of D-rank missions isn't just to 'do chores,'" she said, eyes glinting in the sunlight. "It's training."

Naruto blinked. "Huh?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

Kakashi flipped a page, but he wasn't reading anymore.

Sakura uncrossed her arms, walking slowly, purposefully along the roof's edge.

"Manual labor?" she continued. "That strengthens the body. Strengthening the body increases physical energy. And what is physical energy?"

"…Half of chakra," Sasuke said before he could stop himself.

Sakura nodded, pleased.

Ding!

[Aura System]

+15 AP Gained.

(Farming Method: Making Sasuke Answer Like a Good Student.)

"Babysitting missions?" she continued. "Protection detail. The first step in bodyguard work. Learning to react to situations without immediately resorting to violence."

Naruto frowned. "…But grocery shopping missions… "

"Pursuit of multiple objectives under a strict time limit," Sakura interrupted smoothly. "Prioritization. Decision-making under pressure."

Kakashi blinked.

But she wasn't done.

"And do you know why civilians are willing to pay so much for these simple tasks?" she said, eyes gleaming. "Because it puts money back into Konoha's economy. A strong economy means a strong village."

Silence.

Even Naruto looked… slightly convinced.

But Sakura wasn't finished.

She stopped walking, turning her head just slightly, the shadows framing her face perfectly.

"And most importantly," she murmured. "It humanizes us."

Everyone stilled.

"Civilians don't like child soldiers, Naruto," she said, voice barely above a whisper. "We fight. We kill. And we die young. To them, we're weapons. Tools of war. But when we help them? When we do something as simple as cleaning their homes? We stop being killers."

Ding!

[Aura System]

+100 AP Gained.

(Farming Method: Dropping Cold, Hard Facts with Maximum Coolness.)

Naruto stared at her, mouth slightly open.

Sasuke was still thinking about that last line.

Kakashi… sighed.

This was his life now.

He was a Jonin.

A respected veteran ninja.

He was supposed to be the cool one.

And yet.

His Genin was cooler than he was.

"…Well," Kakashi finally said, closing his book with a soft snap. "That's a pretty solid explanation."

Naruto groaned, rubbing his temples. "Ughhh, fine, I get it. But I still hate it."

Sasuke simply grunted.

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Basically a slice of life chapter, along with a personal opinion on what d-ranks are for.

And if you're reading this, you've probably read enough Naruto fanfiction to knows what's gonna happen next.

Stones!

And also I need y'all to answer a question. Apart from Piccolo, who are the strongest aura farmers of fiction? (I need non-Naruto answers, so no Itachi or Madara)

Feel free to come support me on my Patreon where you can read up to 7 extra chapters!

Patreon: Teddartic