Following the Land of Iron mission, Utakata had allowed the members of Team 1 a month of free training, citing that he had to take a mission assigned to him and would not be available for a while. Due to this, Team 1 was free to train however they wanted for a month, but it wasn't really "whatever they wanted" for Yugao and Hitoshi.
Yugao had to study the scroll that Juichi gave her. Ren had tried to peek at the scroll multiple times, but Yugao never allowed it, so he just shrugged and left it alone. Hitoshi would also be training with his clan elders, so he too wasn't free to train what he wanted.
Since Ren wasn't given any specific training, he was the only one truly free. However, he also had many things to practice, so what he did was enter the Forest of Death.
The Forest of Death itself was also divided in two parts: one where the Chunin Exams took place, a relatively safer area, and the other, the restricted area, where no one was allowed to enter without permission.
Entering the restricted area wasn't much difficult for Ren. He was able to use Observe to figure out the location of the ANBU tasked with guarding the area and avoided them to directly enter the area.
There was a Fuinjutsu barrier guarding the perimeter; however, after a little work, he was able to disrupt it just enough that his entry was possible.
If there was someone who could still sense that someone had broken into the area, it would just be the Hokage. But Ren believed that he could find ways to make the old man drop the matter, if it ever even came up.
~~~
It was a day as peaceful as any in the village hidden in the leaves, with shinobi jumping across the rooftops on their way to collect or carry out missions involving manslaughter, arson, robbery, or anything else that happened to fall within the honorable scope of their job.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his office, grumbling about paperwork but still continuing to push through it. He read a report about there being unusual sounds in the restricted section of the Forest of Death, but without another thought, he burned it and moved onto the next.
As he continued going through each report, he suddenly paused and looked to the side. Then, without a word, he vanished from his chair.
A few kilometers away from his office, he appeared in a jungle thick with trees, where the canopy above was so dense it blocked out nearly all sunlight, making it look like nighttime. However, such things were hardly a challenge for a man of his caliber. Silently, he made his way deeper into the forest and stopped when he found the one he came for.
Before him was the small back of a boy with light blue hair. The boy was oozing bloodlust so thick that it would make most shinobi run in the opposite direction. But to Hiruzen, such killing intent was like a soft breeze in spring.
He watched the boy for a moment. The boy hadn't noticed yet that a predator stood behind him. Once Hiruzen made his decision, he stepped forward and spoke.
"Hoho, I believe that is enough for now. You aren't yet ready for what's beyond this."
When the voice reached Ren's ears, he reacted instantly, jumping up and spinning with a kick. But his leg was caught with ease, and before he could blink, he was flung across the clearing like a rag doll.
Ren groaned, rolling across the leaf-covered ground and coming to a crouch, now facing the intruder. When his eyes landed on the one who had thrown him, he saw none other than the Third Hokage himself, looking at him with a faint, amused smile.
Ren stared for a second. Hiruzen did the same.
Then, without a word, Ren launched himself forward.
He rushed with a basic Taijutsu combination of low sweep, straight jab, then a feint to an elbow strike. Hiruzen moved only his arms and legs, blocking each move like he was swatting a fly. The third's stance never even shifted, and his breathing remained calm.
Ren pivoted back and charged again, this time mixing his movement with chakra-enhanced feints. A stomp to distract, a side step to flank, and a fake knee to lead into a hook. Hiruzen calmly leaned aside and tapped Ren's leg with his hand, disrupting his footing just slightly before hopping back.
"You rely too much on raw speed making it predictable," Hiruzen said, gently.
Ren flipped back, narrowed his eyes, and activated the seal on his forehead. The moment he did, a thin glow flickered just beneath his skin.
[Gate of Opening]
Ren's muscles tensed and expanded, but there was no visible strain, no twitch of imbalance. His chakra flowed in tight control, and his breathing was eerily calm for someone using the Eight Gates.
He moved instantly, much faster than before, but Hiruzen still read the motion. Hiruzen dodged each strike with short, economic movements. Occasionally, he'd shift his head by centimeters, or block with just two fingers.
"Better. But you're rushing your weight transfer. That punch should've come from your hip, not your shoulder."
Ren grunted, immediately changing his technique mid-assault.
"And that uppercut, good power, but no follow-up to pressure me."
He corrected again, adjusting his rhythm as he attacked, absorbing every word. Even so, Hiruzen parried a hook with his palm and then pushed Ren back with a single palm strike to the chest.
"Impressive control," Hiruzen commented, pushing Ren back with a flick of his hand. "You stabilized the blood pressure in your brain. That seal on your forehead, it keeps your mind from fogging when you open the gate, doesn't it?"
Ren didn't answer. He was already back on the offensive, chaining together faster, tighter strikes.
He darted in again, aiming three precise palm thrusts at Hiruzen's chest, throat, and ribs. Hiruzen flicked his wrist and sent Ren spiraling again with a twist of momentum.
"Still, you'll have to do more than that to surprise me."
Ren flipped midair and landed in a crouch, breathing heavily.
And Hiruzen?
The Third stood there without a scratch, still smiling like this was just an afternoon walk.
"Come, Ren," he said, calmly. "Show me the next step."
Without a word, Ren closed the First Gate. The moment the seal on his forehead dimmed, he felt the tension in his muscles ease, his chakra flow stabilizing as it returned under his full control. His breathing slowed, but the sharpness in his eyes remained.
He dashed forward once again, but this time, just before striking, he created a shadow clone. The clone immediately propelled him upward with a focused palm strike to his back. As Ren soared above the clearing, the clone engaged Hiruzen with rapid taijutsu strikes, mimicking the same techniques Ren had used earlier.
Hiruzen, still calm, dispatched the clone with a swift palm to the chest, making it vanish in a puff of smoke. But by then, Ren had already begun his next move.
As he descended from above, he twisted his body mid-air and brought his fist crashing down, chakra condensing into his arm.
[Chakra-Enhanced Impact: Hollow Smash]
This was one of the many techniques mentioned in the Chakra Enhanced technique scroll.
The force of the blow shattered the ground below Hiruzen, roots burst apart, and stone cracked violently. A huge crater formed, and smoke and dust enveloped the entire area.
To any outside observer, it would seem like a reckless, brute-force technique meant for sheer destruction. But Hiruzen didn't move from his position. When the dust cleared, he stood perfectly still atop an earth platform he had created mid-explosion to elevate himself out of range.
He looked around once and narrowed his eyes. "Hmm, clever."
Without turning, he flicked a small wind bullet from his mouth into the far-left side of the crater. A chakra thread embedded in the broken rocks snapped instantly.
The earth under him shifted subtly as a dozen kunai loaded with explosive tags launched upward from a hidden crevice, created during the impact. With barely a motion, Hiruzen raised two fingers.
[Earth Style: Mud Wall.]
A dense slab of earth erupted from the ground and intercepted the kunai mid-air. They exploded against the wall with a muffled blast. This was the trap Ren had created in case a beast pushed him to a corner, but instead of an animal beast it was used on a human beast.
"Not bad," Hiruzen said as he stepped down from the wall, brushing dust from his robe. "But your setup took too long. In a real fight, I would have moved the moment I saw the initial impact. Try layering the explosive tags into your initial strike's recoil zone instead. That would reduce detection and add pressure."
Ren nodded and rushed again, chakra flaring around his fists. This time, each strike had more precision, less brute strength, more intent. He twisted his foot to feint left and delivered a hook that forced Hiruzen to block. But the moment his hand met the hand, Ren used his other arm to jab into the ground.
[Chakra-Enhanced Pulse.]
The earth cracked beneath Hiruzen's feet, not from an attack, but to disturb his footing. Still, Hiruzen leapt back without breaking rhythm. "You're starting to use your surroundings. That's good."
Ren skidded back, his hands already flying into signs.
[Wind Style: Gale Claw!]
Blades of wind in a claw-shape flew toward Hiruzen, their edge sharp enough to slice through trees. Hiruzen raised a single hand.
[Fire Style: Ember Palm.]
A small burst of flame laced with chakra collided with the wind claw, disrupting the current midair and dispersing the jutsu without even igniting the surroundings.
Ren's hands blurred again.
[Wind Style: Cyclone Pierce!]
A concentrated spiraling wind bullet shot toward him, its path unpredictable due to sudden erratic shifts in air pressure. Hiruzen didn't use any jutsu this time. He simply stepped left and let the technique shoot past him.
"That one was A-rank. If you're going to burn that much chakra, make sure your target has fewer movement options first."
Ren didn't stop. He slid into another stance.
[Wind Style: Crescent Barrage!]
Three wide-arc wind slashes came from three different directions. Hiruzen moved quickly this time, both hands forming a short sequence.
[Water Style: Ripple Dome.]
A film of water burst upward, surrounding him in a spinning barrier. The wind blades met it and split around it harmlessly, the chakra dispersion caused by the spinning water neutralizing the cutting edge of the wind.
Ren's eyes narrowed.
'So that's how he breaks them, water against sharp dispersion, fire for current disruption, and minimal evasion when the output is inefficient.' he thought.
'I'm throwing power, but he's countering with balance. Every jutsu, every movement, optimized. Damn! The old man's fighting with more efficiency than I've ever seen.'
Hiruzen gave him a nod, as though hearing the thought.
"Your chakra control is excellent, and your jutsu execution speed is far above genin level. But don't forget: it's not always about how strong your technique is, it's about how you apply it when it matters most."
Ren exhaled slowly, his muscles relaxed but his heart raced. He knew Hiruzen hadn't even tried yet.
Ren thought for a moment, then dashed forward once again with renewed focus, chakra gathering in his limbs. Hiruzen watched calmly as he intercepted yet another chakra-enhanced strike, allowing it to crash into the ground nearby, splintering it apart.
'Hmm, excellent for his age,' Hiruzen mused, deflecting Ren's blow with practiced ease. 'But would that be it?'
Ren suddenly jumped back and began forming clones again. This time, he created several low-chakra Earth Clones, E-rank level, fragile enough to crumble on impact. They scattered around Hiruzen, some rushing forward clumsily, drawing attention. Meanwhile, a single shadow clone formed near Hiruzen, launching another feinting assault, forcing him to stay mobile.
Hiruzen easily evaded a clone's kick and parried another's half-hearted strike with a flick of his hand, raising a brow, 'Testing the reaction, is he?'
At that moment, Ren stood silently atop a tall tree just above Hiruzen.
His palm turned outward as he slowly formed a glowing orb of chakra and made the Rasengan, but he didn't stop there.
His fingers twitched slightly as thin threads of wind chakra layered over the sphere. The Rasengan began to hiss, its edges blurring into a buzz of slicing wind. It spun faster, its form starting to stretch and distort.
Up until now, Ren had never been able to fully throw the Rasenshuriken. Like Naruto once experienced, the unstable form would always collapse mid-air or damage the user.
But since learning chakra-enhanced strength and improving his chakra control, he had found a solution. He still couldn't "throw" it like a shuriken, but he could toss it with enough control that it wouldn't collapse.
On the ground, Hiruzen, who was still toying with the clones, suddenly paused.
Below, Hiruzen's eyes widened. 'Did he?'
In that instant, the clones surrounding him dissolved as Hiruzen released a quick pulse of chakra, breaking them down into dust. His body moved on instinct, flickering from his position with a blur of speed.
At that exact moment, Ren let go.
The Rasenshuriken spun violently as it was tossed downward, tearing through the air with a sound like dozens of high-pitched blades slicing in unison. Ren's arm snapped back from the weight of the shuriken, but atleast it held the shape.
The spinning sphere of chakra plummeted directly onto the space where Hiruzen had just been.
A split-second of eerie silence followed then,
BOOM!!
~~~~~
{Not saying anything for now, you gotta wait for the next chapter.}
{Also, the poll ends now. Alternate days option won so that's what we'll do.
So, no chapter tomorrow, I hope you guys go mad waiting for the chapter and then just give me all the stones.}
{Anyway, you know what else to do}
{STONES!!!!}