Chapter 22: Getting pegged by the old man (Part-2)

Chapter 22 - Getting pegged by the old man (Part-2) Another week passed, and Ren had finally reached a point where he could perform all of his jutsu without hand seals. Among them, the hardest to master was Body Flicker. Eliminating the last hand sign was only possible because he had skipped an entire day of regular training to focus exclusively on Body Flicker. Even though his speed wasn't instantaneous, it was still far faster than before, making it an extremely valuable technique in his arsenal. By their third sparring session, Ren and Itachi's fights had extended even longer before Utakata had to step in and stop them. This time, neither of them was trading accidental fatal blows. They had both adjusted their strength, making their fights more refined and strategic. Ren knew Itachi was holding back, but the same could be said about himself. As much as he was growing, there was still a clear gap between them. During this time, Ren had also spent a lot of time with Eiji. Eiji had started asking him questions about improving his strength, and Ren had no problem answering. If anything, he actually preferred it. Eiji was the only person Ren could truly call a friend in this world. From his past life, Ren understood that people were social creatures—they weren't meant to walk alone forever. His goal had always been to become stronger, but he knew the path ahead was dangerous. If he could have people willing to walk alongside him, he would gladly welcome it. Seeing Ren's progress with ninjutsu, Eiji had also wanted to start learning some. However, Ren advised him to first improve his chakra control before attempting any jutsu. And since Ren was one of the strongest and smartest people Eiji knew, he took the advice seriously. Since then Eiji had fully mastered Tree Walking and had moved on to Water Walking. His strength had also improved significantly. At this point, both he and Hitoshi had reached level 12, making them the strongest after Itachi and Ren. Itachi was still the undisputed strongest at level 30 and Ren had reached level 18. Even though Itachi's level was far ahead, Ren was catching up steadily. (At night in Ren's home) Tonight was the night. Ren had waited three long weeks since the academy started, completing every requirement his father had set for him. He had mastered the necessary jutsu, refined his combat abilities, and improved his physical strength. Now, he would finally claim his reward—the Shadow Clone Jutsu. After finishing his afternoon and evening training, Ren sat at the dinner table, waiting for his father. Juichi entered the house soon after, his single arm carrying a bag as he glanced at Ren. The boy was eating his dinner stiffly, his expression far too serious, as if he was marching into battle. Juichi chuckled and shook his head. "Relax. Why are you so tense today?" Ren put his spoon down and met his father's gaze. "I want the Shadow Clone Jutsu." Juichi nodded immediately, as if he had been expecting it. "Sure. But first, let's have some exercise after dinner." Ren nodded, already prepared for whatever test was coming next. Once dinner was finished, both of them headed to the basement, standing face-to-face in the dimly lit underground room. Juichi's calm expression gave nothing away. "Alright," he said, rolling his only shoulder loosely. "Come at me with all your strength. Don't hold back." Then, a smirk appeared on his lips. "And don't worry—losing an arm hasn't made me weak. I can still handle most Jonin out there, so you definitely aren't a problem." Ren's eyes sharpened, and without another word, he rushed forward. Ren closed the distance in a blink, throwing a fast right jab aimed at Juichi's ribs. Juichi didn't even move his feet—he simply tilted his upper body slightly, letting Ren's fist graze past him. Before Ren could retract his punch, Juichi flicked his wrist with two fingers, sending a sharp sting up Ren's arm. "Too slow." Ren grit his teeth and immediately twisted his body, bringing up his left leg for a high kick. Juichi took half a step back, dodging the attack so effortlessly that it felt like Ren was moving in slow motion. As Ren landed, he threw a low sweeping kick aimed at Juichi's ankle, attempting to disrupt his balance. Juichi didn't even look down—he simply lifted his foot at the last second, avoiding the sweep entirely. "Predictable." Ren gritted his teeth. It didn't matter how fast he was—Juichi was always a step ahead. Realizing that close combat was useless, Ren immediately pulled out three shuriken from his thigh holster and flicked them toward Juichi. Juichi tilted his head slightly, and the first shuriken whizzed past his ear. The second and third were casually dodged, barely even grazing his clothing. But then— The moment the shuriken passed him, they all suddenly changed direction, veering straight toward his back. Ren smirked. "Projectile Control Technique." But just as he thought he had an opening— Juichi twisted his body effortlessly, stepping aside as all three shuriken flew past him once again. "Nice try." Ren didn't waste time. His hands flicked sharply, and the shuriken suddenly changed direction again—this time flying back toward Juichi from multiple angles. A nearly invisible string glinted under the dim light of the basement. "Shuriken Wire Manipulation." This time, Ren was sure he had him. But Juichi's smirk only widened. At the last moment, he simply tilted his head and shifted his weight, letting all the shuriken miss him by mere centimeters. Not a single one landed. Ren gritted his teeth in frustration. Switching tactics, Ren suddenly vanished in a blur—activating Body Flicker to reposition himself behind Juichi. As he reappeared, he launched a powerful kick, aimed directly at Juichi's back. But before the attack could land— Juichi vanished. The next second, a sharp flick landed on the back of Ren's head. "Too predictable." Ren spun around, but Juichi was already gone again. Before he could react— A tap landed on his shoulder. "Too slow." Ren threw a wild punch in frustration, only to hit nothing but air. Juichi was playing with him. "Come on, Ren." Ren continued his relentless assault, throwing everything he had at Juichi. His attacks were sharp, his movements precise, and his strategies well-planned—but nothing seemed to work. No matter what tricks he used, Juichi evaded, countered, or simply outmaneuvered him with ease. It was like fighting a mountain—immovable, untouchable, and always one step ahead. Then, without warning, everything changed. Juichi shifted from defensive to offensive in an instant. Ren's instincts screamed at him—if even one strike landed, he was done for. His father was no longer playing around. A fist shot toward him like a bullet, and Ren barely managed to twist away. Another strike came, then another. He dodged, flickered back, sidestepped, and weaved through them all, but the pressure was overwhelming. His body was moving purely on instinct now, and he didn't even have the time to think about countering. In a desperate move, Ren activated Earth Armor, slapping his arm as the hardened earth wrapped around it. The very next moment, Juichi's fist collided against the armor, sending a violent shock through his entire arm. He flickered immediately, vanishing just as another strike was about to land— But something was different. Juichi's eyes flickered with something that could only be described as amusement. Ren had no time to process it as he buried into the ground, using his Earth Military Movement Technique to escape. At the same time, an Earth Clone took his place. Juichi's wide smile was the only warning before he punched the clone into the floor. The entire ground exploded outward, sending debris flying as if a bomb had gone off. Ren shot up from the ground, flickering away from the destruction. But as soon as he reappeared mid-air, a stone was flying toward him at an impossible speed. There was no way to dodge. His eyes widened, instincts screaming once again, but before his brain could even process the situation— His legs split apart instinctively, dropping him into a full 180-degree split as the stone whizzed past his face. His hands pressed against the floor as he panted heavily, sweat dripping from his forehead. Juichi flickered in front of him. Ren tightened his grip on his kunai, preparing for another round— But Juichi suddenly raised a hand. "Stop. That's enough." Ren froze, still breathing heavily. "You did really good. I wasn't expecting this much." Ren let out a breathless chuckle, then collapsed onto his back, sprawled out on the floor. "Thanks." Juichi stood in front of him, looking down at him with an approving nod. "You did well getting the jutsus combat-ready. If you hadn't, I would have been disappointed." Ren sighed in relief, knowing his guess had been right. His father had wanted to see if he could use ninjutsu in real combat, not just as flashy techniques. "Your taijutsu is improving, and your speed is excellent and your reaction speed is also very good." Saying this Juichi's expression was quite peculiar but ren didn't notice, he continued "Your defensive jutsu are solid, but you need more offensive ninjutsu. Right now, you're already above almost all genin, and many chunin would struggle against you. But a jonin? They'd still take you down easily." Ren absorbed the words carefully, knowing they weren't meant to discourage him—just a realistic evaluation of where he stood. Then, Juichi pulled out a scroll and tossed it to him. "Here's your reward." Ren's hand snatched it out of the air instantly, pocketing it quickly just in case his father changed his mind. Juichi chuckled, stepping forward to ruffle his hair. "Don't try it today. Get some rest, and test it out tomorrow." Ren nodded, still lying flat on the floor. "I assessed your chakra during the fight. You can easily make one clone and push for two, but there's no need for that yet. Stick to one for now." With that, Juichi flickered out of sight, leaving Ren alone in the basement. For a long moment, Ren just lay there, staring at the ceiling. His body was aching, his muscles sore, but there was a small grin on his lips. He had finally earned the Shadow Clone Jutsu. The exhaustion hit him like a wave. Without even bothering to clean up, he dragged himself upstairs, collapsed onto his bed, and fell asleep almost instantly. Tomorrow, a new phase of training would begin. But for now, he would rest. {A/N:- Write some reviews guys, I'll do an extra Chapter if we get to 10 reviews we have 3 right now so only 7 to go. Do it.}