Chapter 5
March, Konoha Year 50
The dozing village was rudely awakened by a loud commotion.
Did a circus come to the village? Is it an invasion? Is there a revolution? Unfortunately, no.
The cacophony didn't alarm anyone while the onlookers simply shrugged and made way.
Swarms of parent-child duos quickly paced towards the Konoha Ninja Academy. The crowd easily outnumbered all ninja processions before.
They didn't wait around chatting, instead they took larger steps, with parents nagging their children to death.
The kids couldn't argue this time, many skipped around restlessly, gazing ahead expectantly.
Among the crowd was Mai, securely holding little Kei with an arm, the other grasping Ren's hand.
Unlike Kei, who squirmed around, Ren didn't fidget with his hands; instead, he walked with steady steps.
Unfortunately for other kids, parents unleashed verbal assaults, upon seeing a kid like Ren. The wounded kids stared at Ren with resentful eyes.
Mai looked at Ren walking and at the other parents, her lips curling up. Her stern demeanor nowhere to be seen.
In the past two months, Ren trained till he couldn't move, ate till his belly gave way and rested till he couldn't sleep.
The hostage incident didn't break him, it only spurred him forward.
During this time little Kei threw tantrums left and right, only calming when Ren played with him.
He triumphed over Mai without using a single legible word, every scream that assaulted her ears was in a league of its own. His potential in Wind style might even choke the Kazekage.
However now, little Kei bobbed his head around, staring at strangers till they gazed away. Upon his victory he would look at Mai with a wide smile.
Mai's now curled up lips, cracked, thinking of her lopsided defeat under this little gremlin.
By now the crowds had moved on till the gates of the Academy appeared.
It looked dull, unassuming even, but the vision of the people betrayed this notion.
In front of the gates stood three chunin, one held long lists, another jotted down names of eligible children present, and the last one verified details.
One by one, they let children in, denying parents entry. After an hour, only parents and family were left. Some looked thrilled to get rid of their children, even if it's just for half a day.
(POV Ren)
Ren stood in front of the chunins, his heart racing.
Despite standing tall, under the chunin's gaze, he moved closer to Mai.
The chunins checked his papers and signalled him to go in. Ren turned back and looked at Mai.
Her serious face had disappeared, replaced with a gentle smile. She looked back and nodded, assuring Ren.
Once again he walked steadily, passing the academy gates.
'Woah! Those chunins are so scary! Nothing like Rumo-san, that old man always tattled on me' thought Ren, comparisons running high.
He continued to walk, eventually catching sight of a horde of students.
Some paced around, a few talked while others remained silent, unaffected by the upcoming selection test.
Several children wore clan symbols on their backs, but the vast majority didn't have any clan symbols, like Ren.
'There are so many clan members here! Now I just need to beat them' Ren mentally declared, the challenge bringing a wide smile, to a normally calm Ren.
"Attention!" shouted a tall man. He radiated confidence, his smile blinding the children.
This caught the attention of everyone.
The crowd quietened, ears perked and children turned their heads towards the voice.
The disappearance of chatter, slowly replaced by the chirps of birds.
The man looked satisfied at the scene and finally continued.
"If you motley bunch want to become ninjas, then you need to pass three rounds of testing"
The children whispered, they looked at each other confused. The clan children didn't look pleased.
"Who do you think you are!" shouted Uchiha Gen, son of the Uchiha patriarch.
The rest of the clan members nodded along.
"Of course its an Uchiha" muttered Shinnosuke, the village was at war and the Uchiha had been instrumental in the mist warfront.
After their return from the battlefield, victory seemed to have gotten into their head. They used their name and prestige to cause trouble everywhere.
They wanted to show the civilians not fond of them, the weight of their name.
"My name is Sarutobi Shinnosuke, an elite leaf jonin" declared Shinnosuke.
The children were stunned, the face behind that name may not be well recognised but that name was unforgettable.
It was the name of the Hokage's eldest son. An able battle veteran at a young age, famed for his personal 'Ash style' jutsus.
The crowd went berserk. Uchiha Gen's face went red, embarrassed. He knew he kicked an iron plate today..
But there was unanswered question on his mind.
'What is he doing here!!'
Seeing the chaos of his introduction the Jonin's smile widened, and pointed his finger towards the field and explained.
"In the first round, we will test your physical condition. If you cover 30 rounds of that field in 30 minutes, you pass. If you can't then well..... tough luck, you can't become an awesome ninja like me!"
Whispers became shouts, the civilian children complained loudly while clan children looked annoyed.
Seeing the children react, Shinnosuke showed a mischievous grin.
"Those in the top hundred will get to see me doing some cool jutsu" shouted Shinnosuke.
The children grew excited but before the children could respond.
"The test begins now!" declared Shinnosuke.
The children's eyes widened, they scrambled to get on their feet as they pushed each other.
Chaos ensued as children fell on each other.
The clan children recovered the fastest, weaving through the crowd with immense agility.
'What the hell!' Ren shouted mentally, 'that guy is enjoying this!'
Fortunately Ren stood near the corner of the crowd. As others fell he simply sidestepped, before sprinting ahead at full throttle.
Ren approached the tracks, joining others in the test. His adrenaline surged, breath quickening. He adjusted himself to the rhythm of the run, aiming to finish the test with a solid standing.
He didn't need to be the fittest, just fit enough.
'Dad was right' Ren admitted, seeing the clan children getting ahead.
'He said that clan children get early training on techniques' Ren recollected, thinking about his Dad's rant.
Ren's dad, Taito Shen, was an experienced chunin.
Being a chunin he had access to intel regarding clans. They train their young children in techniques using methods that don't strain the body.
These techniques aren't available to civilian ninjas. Such methods were only born in clans with a long legacy. Exceptions were rare.
Ren watched as the children from clans got ahead. But he was determined.
'I can learn techniques in the academy, now let's finish the run' declared Ren.
Quickly emptying his mind Ren, picked up his pace.
'Dad told me to save stamina, and then try beating those clan kids in last few rounds'
Now this was a plan.
Ren grinned, his smile widening, something awakening within him, fighting spirit?....no... something far more...potent.