Chapter 164: Getting Pegged by an Old Man (Meat Edition)

Chapter 164 - Getting Pegged by an Old Man (Meat Edition) Once out of the basement, Ren initially thought of cooking something himself, but then changed his mind. It would be better to just go out and eat. This time, however, his destination wouldn't be Ichiraku Ramen. Instead, he headed toward Yakiniku Q. There were two reasons. First, he had only been to the place once with his dad and never again after that. Second, he had seen a poster on the streets of Konoha that mentioned an eating competition being held there. It sounded like a good way to unwind after the grueling schedule he had followed for the past three months. Once the plan was decided, he didn't waste any time and marched straight to Yakiniku Q. The place was bustling with people. It looked like there might be some kind of reward for winning the competition, though Ren didn't know the exact details. Not that it mattered he was here to eat, and that's what he was going to do. Inside, a waiter approached him and asked, "Are you here to participate in the competition? If so, it's better if you sit this round out." Ren raised a brow. "Why so?" The waiter replied, "In this round, the boss is participating, and a few other members of the Akimichi clan are competing too. That's why not many people are signing up since the odds aren't great. But because of that, the rewards have been increased, so you can try your luck." Ren glanced ahead and saw tables being set up for the competition. At the center seat sat none other than Choza Akimichi, the head of the Akimichi clan, ready to demolish everything in front of him. Around him were a few more Akimichi members. Even with just six of them, the entire table already looked full. Ren's eyes lit up in excitement. "Alright! Let's go. I'll take your boss down in this round." The waiter blinked, stunned at Ren's words. And since Ren didn't bother to lower his voice, a number of people in the restaurant heard him. The whole place quieted until a hearty laugh echoed from the table. "HAHAHAHA! We've got a little challenger!" Choza bellowed with amusement. "Jin! Let him come! It's rare to get participants like this." The waiter, Jin, quickly led Ren to the main table. Ren took a seat right next to Choza, grinning at the large man. "You're strong, big man," he said immediately. Even though Choza's level was displayed as 79, the man made Ren's senses tingle. That meant he was strong, likely far stronger than what the number alone implied. Choza laughed again and patted Ren's small frame. "And so are you, little man." He could feel the pressure Ren gave off and it wasn't ordinary. Choza had a vague guess about who the boy was just from the blue hair. He figured he'd need to talk to a his smart friend soon. Shortly after, the competition was announced, and the feast began. ~ A little distance away, two men were standing among the crowd, watching the face-off between the Akimichi clan leader and the small boy. One of them had spiky black hair shaped like a pineapple; the other had light blond hair tied in a ponytail. Inoichi spoke first, eyes fixed on Ren as he devoured meat. "I don't think I can contend with him any longer and, he gives off an even more dangerous feeling than Choza." Shikaku gave a lazy "hmm" in response before adding, "Yoru gave his word that the boy would reach S-rank within the year. It's not impossible you're feeling threatened. He could already be at the limit of jonin level." Inoichi's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched Ren's small frame tear through trays of grilled meat like it was nothing. 'An eleven-year-old S-ranker?' As if reading his thoughts, Shikaku continued, "Whenever the village is in danger, the Senju blood shall save it. That old saying isn't just a saying. It's the truth, Inoichi." He continued, his voice steady and low. "The village can't survive without either of the founding clans. Both are needed to maintain the balance. The Uchiha give the sword to the village and the Senju give the wielder. One cannot function without the other. It was important that this boy gained strength or both the Senju and the Uchiha would've truly been finished." Inoichi glanced at him. "Isn't Lady Tsunade also great? Why is the boy needed so necessarily?" Shikaku yawned. "Lady Tsunade is strong, yes. But not in the way people think. Anyone in her situation might not have had the courage to remain standing at all so maybe I'm wrong, and she is strong. But she wouldn't be enough to tame the sword that is, the Uchiha." Inoichi sighed. There were parts of Shikaku's words that he didn't quite understand. But he knew better than to dismiss them. Even the Hokage wouldn't want to ignore the words of this man, that was how serious Shikaku's assessments were. Shikaku ignored his friend's sigh and continued with a more serious tone, "Choza is likely aware of Ren's strength too. I'll ask him to write a recommendation letter for Ren's jonin promotion. You do the same. I've already spoken to most of the other clan leaders and except for the Inuzuka clan, every other clan has agreed to support it." Inoichi was mildly surprised. "You mean, the Aburame aren't supporting the Hyuga anymore?" That was surprising. Since the founding of the village, the Hyuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame clans had almost always worked together. To hear that the Aburame had backed off was unexpected. Shikaku replied, "Their alliance status is still unclear, but at least the Aburame won't be opposing Ren's promotion. That leaves only the Hyuga, Inuzuka and Shimura and the Holy Trinity. They can be overwhelmed easily, now that the rest of the clans are on board." Inoichi sighed again. "Who would've thought a jonin promotion would involve so many clan leaders?" Shikaku didn't respond immediately. He just turned to leave. But as he walked away, he called back one last reminder. "Make sure you write the recommendation letter in the name of Ren Senju." ~~~ It was evening by the time the competition finally ended, and as expected, Choza Akimichi emerged as the winner. But no one belittled the young participant who had dared to challenge him. After all, Ren had managed to defeat five Akimichi clan members and even contend with the head of the clan himself. That alone was enough to earn the respect of everyone present, it was a tale worth telling on its own. Now walking through the streets of Konoha, Ren held a coupon in his hand the official reward for coming in second place. It granted him free dining for ten years, usable five times a year for a maximum of four people per use. He wasn't short on money by any means, but free stuff, especially free food, it was always welcome. Smiling to himself, he carefully tucked the coupon into the important section of his storage belt, where he kept a few important items. A photo with his father from his first day at the academy. The team 1 formation photo A few compact, tightly-sealed scrolls and that was it. Everything else even more important was kept in the safest place possible, his mind. Once he returned home, Ren made one more clone, this time with 99% of his chakra, since his reserves had fully recovered. He left it to train while he quietly headed to his room. As he lay down, a light sigh escaped him. This would be his first proper sleep in his own bed after such a long, exhausting stretch of training and combat. He sank into the mattress, pulled the blanket over himself, and within moments, sleep claimed him. ~~~ The next day arrived earlier than Ren would've liked. It felt like he had just pulled the blanket over himself when, somehow, morning had already come. Still, he didn't complain. He got up without delay, created a clone with 99% of his chakra, and headed out to train. By the time he reached the village gate, the morning was still fresh. The guards on duty greeted him casually one of them was even accepting money from another one, looking a little too excited. Ren was confused by the scene but didn't think too much about it as Rendo was the weird one. He had been training early mornings at the gate for years now and had gotten to know almost all the gate guards, at least the ones on the morning shifts. The rotations happened yearly and shift changed twice a day, two guards for the morning, two for the night. Only a few antisocial ones remained unfamiliar to him, but that never bothered him. He stretched his body out and activated his training seal, setting it to nearly 1000 kilograms of weighted pressure, and then began his daily run, scaling the village walls. Along the way, he ran into Might Guy, who greeted him with the usual bright grin and a firm thumbs-up. Ren returned it with the same wide grin and thumbs-up which was their established routine and the one they hadn't shared in nearly three months. His morning run lasted around three hours, as always. When it was over, he returned home for a bath and food, created another full-chakra clone, and went out again for more physical training. During this second round, he realized something interesting, when his chakra was nearly depleted, the physical strain on his body increased significantly and that was a good thing. It made him decide that from now on, he would always deplete his chakra before beginning physical training. It wasn't considered safe with near-zero chakra and an already fatigued body, most shinobi would be vulnerable to ambush but Ren didn't see a problem. He didn't truly get tired, his clones could instantly replenish his chakra, and his perfected Hyperfocus made sneak attacks nearly impossible. With all that combined, it was a viable and highly effective training method for him. After another three hours, he returned home for food again. He was just about to create another clone when an ANBU agent appeared at his house. "Ren Takahashi, you are being summoned by the Hokage." The ANBU didn't waste a second and flickered away instantly. As Ren heard this he paused briefly to think, 'Hmm, looks like they're ready for my Jonin promotion. Good. At least they're not dragging it out. If some pointless delay happened, I'd be bothered, and nobody would like that.' He shrugged and continued toward the Hokage building. On the way, he passed the same ANBU who had summoned him. Ren clicked his tongue. "Man, you need to train more. Even with a head start and a Body Flicker, I already passed you. If I were the enemy, you'd be dead." The ANBU was left blinking behind him as Ren picked up speed, vanishing ahead. When he arrived at the Hokage building, Ren's eyes casually scanned the sealing patterns around it. He noticed more of them than before, more complex, denser layers and for a moment, his fingers twitched at the thought of tearing them down. Then, without turning, he said aloud, "I'm really not planning on destroying the seals, Sensei. Believe me." Behind him stood Utakata, mouth slightly open, as if he'd been just about to say the same thing. Utakata stared at him, then said in his usual flat tone, "Like I'd even believe that claim." Ren grinned and turned. "That's pure slander, Sensei. If someone heard you, they'd think I'm a war criminal." Utakata raised an eyebrow. "You were planning to destroy the seals on the Hokage Tower. I think that qualifies as a war crime." Ren kept up the denial, completely unfazed. "Sensei, that's character defamation. I can sue you for this. Commander, you heard that, right? Be my witness." He looked over his shoulder and spoke to one of the shadows surrounding the building. Utakata narrowed his eyes and tried to locate Yoru, but couldn't pinpoint him. A voice came from the shadows, "Stop wasting time. The council has already gathered and don't cause too much chaos." Ren walked into the building, casually calling back, "Boss-man, you know I love messing with people who are too stiff and if the whole damn council's gathered, then chaos is bound to happen." Utakata sighed. He was used to this by now. Still, a small smile pulled at the corner of his lips as he watched Ren's small figure walk ahead. He could feel it. Ren had already surpassed him in strength. That realization, far from wounding his pride, filled him with quiet pride. 'Grow up to be the strongest,' he thought, 'just like you dream of.' ~~~~~ {A light Chapter after so many info dumps, also, a really fun scene would be coming in the next Chapters.} {If you want, you can support me on pat-reon} { h t t p s : / / w w w . p a t r e o n . c o m / Z e e n o n } {You know what else} {280 Stones = Extra Chapter} {STONES!!!!}