Chapter 23: The Wheel Turns
Ren watched Ino and Akane leave, a complex sigh escaping his lips. *Those two… they're really persistent.*
The night passed quietly.
The next morning, as soon as Sasuke left for the academy, Ren used the Flying Raijin to return to his secret training ground in the woods. His goal for the day: master the next step.
He was currently hanging upside down from a high branch, held in place solely by the chakra concentrated on the soles of his feet.
*The key is mental energy. You can't force it. You have to become one with the tree, focus on it naturally…* he mused, feeling the steady flow of chakra.
***Ding! Host has completed the mission: Master the Tree Climbing Exercise. Reward: 300 Points. Current points: 2,643.***
*Perfect. Just enough for the Shadow Clone Technique.* The value of the technique was immense. A shadow clone wasn't an illusion; it was a physical copy that divided the user's chakra. More importantly, any experience or training the clone underwent would be transferred to the user once it dispersed. It was the ultimate force multiplier for training. The Multi Shadow Clone Technique was forbidden for most due to the extreme chakra drain and physical exhaustion, but even a few clones could drastically accelerate his progress.
"System, exchange for the Shadow Clone Technique."
***Shadow Clone Technique. Type: Skill. Rank: B. Exchange Cost: 2,000 Points. Exchange?***
The now-familiar wave of knowledge and warmth washed over him. He performed the hand seals, focusing his chakra.
A puff of smoke erupted beside him, and an identical copy of himself materialized.
*Incredible,* Ren thought, feeling the strange, split awareness. *This is the real deal.* He pushed further, creating two more clones. A wave of immediate fatigue hit him. *Three… that's my current limit. And it's draining.* He dispelled one clone, settling for two. *One can practice water-walking, the other can drill taijutsu katas. I'll work on new ninjutsu.* Thɪs chapter is updated by novel•fire.net
He spent the day in a grueling cycle of training. When it was time, he teleported back home, took a quick shower, and only then, lying on his futon, did he dispel the two remaining clones.
The feedback was instantaneous and brutal. A crushing wave of exhaustion and muscle soreness from two full days of training slammed into him at once. *Ugh… just two clones… and I feel like I've been run over by a truck. Naruto's chakra reserves and stamina are just… monstrous.*
He fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, only waking when Sasuke returned and roughly shook him awake for dinner.
And so, a routine was established. Every day, after Sasuke left, Ren would teleport to the lab and train with his shadow clones. Day by day, week by week, month by month, his strength grew in secret. His chakra control became finer, his reserves deepened, and his mastery of the techniques he'd acquired became second nature.
**Two and a Half Years Later**
In the Hokage's office, a group of Jonin stood assembled, awaiting their orders. Among them were the future teachers of the Konoha 12: Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yuhi, Asuma Sarutobi, and others.
"Lord Hokage," one of them spoke up. "You called us here for an important mission?"
"Indeed," the Third Hokage said, taking a long draw from his pipe. "A new class of Genin is graduating from the academy today. As is tradition, they will be divided into three-person cells, each assigned to a Jonin sensei. You are all here to lead a team."
*A team?* Kakashi thought with internal dismay. *So much for my peaceful, solo-mission days. Well, it doesn't matter. I'll just give them an impossible test. They'll all fail, and I can go back to reading Icha Icha in peace.*
A stack of papers was passed around. Kakashi took his without looking and stuffed it into his pocket. *I'll show up late tomorrow. The other teams will have left. I'll just do a quick, pointless introduction, give them the test, and be done with it.*
"Any objections?" Sarutobi asked the room.
"Dismissed, then. Go and prepare."
The Jonin bowed and began to file out.
"Ah, Kakashi? A moment, if you please," the Hokage called out.
Kakashi paused, turning back. "Yes, Lord Hokage?"
"Did you look at your assignment list?" Sarutobi asked, exhaling a plume of smoke.
"Not yet," Kakashi admitted, pulling the paper from his pocket. His one visible eye scanned the names. It widened slightly. "Uchiha Sasuke… Uzumaki Naruto?" He looked up at the Hokage, his casual demeanor gone. "This is…"
"Yes," the Third said, his voice grave. "Their backgrounds are… significant. Sasuke Uchiha is the sole surviving heir of his clan. He is immensely talented, the top of his class. And Uzumaki Naruto… you know who he is."
"Obito's clan… and… the Fourth's son," Kakashi murmured, a rare flicker of emotion in his eye.
"Correct. Naruto is the son of Minato and Kushina. And he is the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails." Sarutobi's face was lined with old grief. "During Kushina's childbirth, a mysterious man attacked, freed the Nine-Tails, and set it upon the village. The cost was… catastrophic. In the end, Minato sacrificed himself to seal the beast within his newborn son."
Sarutobi walked to the window, looking out over the village he had led for so long. "Minato and Kushina wished for him to be seen as a hero. But…"
"But the village sees him as the demon fox itself," Kakashi finished, his voice cold. "He's been shunned and hated his whole life. And we were complicit by our silence."
"I could not reveal his parentage. For his safety. I issued a decree forbidding discussion of it, but… the damage was done. The scorn he endured… I have failed Minato. I have failed Kushina." The old man's shoulders slumped.
Kakashi was silent for a long moment, the weight of the past heavy in the room. He finally looked back at the list. "And the third? Haruno Sakura. Is there something special about her?"
"No," Sarutobi shook his head. "She is a civilian-born kunoichi. Talented in genjutsu and theory, but otherwise… unremarkable."
"I see." Kakashi's eye then narrowed slightly. "There was another Uchiha, wasn't there? A twin."
"Ah, yes. Uchiha Ren. Sasuke's brother."
"I heard rumors. They said his talent, before the tragedy, even surpassed Sasuke's."
"It did," Sarutobi confirmed with a sigh. "It truly did. But the trauma of that night… it shattered his mind completely. He regressed to an infantile state, unable to care for himself. He dropped out of the academy. Sasuke has been looking after him ever since. He is, for all intents and purposes, lost to us."
"Is that so…" Kakashi murmured, the information filing away in his meticulous mind. A prodigy broken by tragedy, and a container bearing the weight of a village's hatred and his father's sacrifice. *What a team I've been given.*
The wheels of destiny, set in motion long ago, had finally begun to turn. The new generation was about to step onto the stage, and Ren's long-awaited opportunity for change was drawing near.
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