Chapter 9: Genius? Really?

Words : 1698 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 9 - Genius? Really? As Ren made his way to the hospital, he pulled up his status screen to check his progress. [ATTRIBUTES] Strength (STR): 8 (Steadily increasing—almost Genin level.) Agility (AGI): 9 (His speed and reflexes are improving.) Vitality (VIT): 9 (No gains, but his endurance is holding up well.) Intelligence (INT): 10 (He had an idea to increase it, but no need right now.) Chakra (CHA): 11 (No growth yet, but his reserves are still decent.) Ren nodded in approval. "No gains in VIT or CHA since those take time, but my physical growth is solid. I'm nearly at Genin-level stats, which is a good pace." However, his biggest gain wasn't in his stats—it was in his chakra control mastery. Focusing on it, he saw: [CHAKRA CONTROL MASTERY: 40% (Basic Level)] Ren smirked. "This is the real progress." Ren smirked. "This is the real progress." Leaf Balancing had stopped giving increases after 3 days, meaning he had fully mastered it since then he had moved on to Tree Climbing, and in just one week, it had increased by 13%. However, he knew that progress would slow down soon. "Chakra control training gets harder the further I go, but that's fine. If I keep up this pace, I might reach Intermediate Level before the Academy starts." Satisfied with his progress, Ren continued toward the hospital, ready to inform his father about the Academy reopening. As Ren walked into the hospital, he went straight to Juichi's room and casually dropped the news. "The Academy is reopening in two weeks." Juichi, who had been relaxing in bed, smirked but didn't look surprised. Instead, he gave Ren a knowing glance before casually responding— "That's nice and all... but you know you can't join even if it opened today, right?" Ren froze mid-step. "Wait... what?" Juichi chuckled at his stunned expression. "Did you really forget? The reopening is only for current students. New admissions—including you—won't start until next year." Ren's eye twitched. "I... I completely forgot." His excitement about entering the Academy blinded him to that very basic fact. Juichi grinned wider, clearly enjoying his son's reaction. "You were so focused on training that you skipped a simple detail. Guess you're not a genius in everything, huh?" Ren sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Damn it. That means I have three more months before I can even start Academy." But after the initial disappointment, another thought quickly formed in his mind. "Wait... three whole months of extra training? That's actually perfect." His mood shifted instantly. "I can use this time to get way ahead before even stepping into the Academy!" Juichi raised an eyebrow, watching as his son went from frustration to excitement in seconds. "You just realized it, huh?" Ren grinned. "Yeah... This might actually be an advantage." Instead of rushing to keep up with other students, he had three months to surpass them before they even became his classmates. After talking for a while, Juichi casually mentioned, "Oh, by the way, I'm getting discharged tomorrow." Ren's eyes lit up. "Seriously? That's great!" His father had been in the hospital for quite some time, and even though Ren had already come to terms with the fact that Juichi would continue working, it was still good to know that he was recovering well enough to leave. Since he had accepted that Juichi would return to work—albeit within the village—Ren asked, "So, when do you start working?" Juichi leaned back and replied, "An ANBU came by earlier and informed me that I'll be joining the Strategy and Planning Team under the Jōnin Commander." Ren raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. "Wait... you're working directly under the Jōnin Commander?" That was a pretty high-level position, especially during a time when the village was still recovering from the Nine-Tails' attack. A thought crossed his mind, and he narrowed his eyes slightly. "Did you pull some strings to get such a good position?" Juichi froze for a second before turning to look at his son, expression blank. "...Did you just doubt my skills?" Ren shrugged. "I mean, I just didn't think you had enough influence to land a spot on such an important team." For a solid five seconds, Juichi just stared at him. Then, with an exaggerated sigh, he reached out and furiously rubbed Ren's head, messing up his hair. "You brat! You think I have enough authority to mess with the village's military structure?" Ren ducked away, grinning. "I mean... you lost an arm, and now you're getting a high-ranking position. You have to admit, it's suspicious!" Juichi rolled his eyes. "I didn't 'pull strings,' idiot. The village is just short on experienced jōnin right now. Most of the higher-ups are dead or handling other missions, so they're reassigning skilled shinobi to more critical positions." Ren nodded, understanding now. "Makes sense. The village does need all the experienced people it can get right now." Juichi smirked. "Damn right. Now stop questioning your old man's abilities." Ren chuckled. "Alright, alright. Just don't overwork yourself." Juichi snorted. "You sound like your mother." For a brief moment, the room fell into silence, but it was a comfortable one. Ren, still curious about his father's new role, leaned forward and asked, "So, what exactly does the Strategy and Planning Team do?" Juichi glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "Why do you wanna know?" Ren shrugged. "Just curious. If you're going to be working there, I might as well understand what it's about." Juichi sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Fair enough. But don't expect me to go too deep into it." He paused for a moment, then explained, "The Strategy and Planning Team is responsible for overseeing mission assignments, analyzing enemy movements, and organizing defense strategies for the village. Basically, we make sure Konoha doesn't get caught off guard." Ren nodded, processing the information. "So, it's more about planning than direct combat?" Juichi smirked. "Mostly, yeah. But don't think that makes it an easy job. Strategy is what keeps people alive. If a single decision is wrong, missions fail, shinobi die, and the village suffers." Ren thought about that for a moment. "That means the team must have access to a lot of classified information, huh?" Juichi gave him a look. "Nice try, but that's as much as I'm telling you." Ren chuckled. "Worth a shot." Juichi just shook his head, clearly amused. "You focus on your training, and I'll focus on making sure the village doesn't collapse. Deal?" Ren smirked. "Deal." After a brief pause, Ren asked, "So... how bad is the village, really? What's being rebuilt?" Juichi exhaled, leaning back against the hospital bed. "I don't know much since I've been stuck here, but from what I've heard, the repairs are going well. Within a month or two, the village should be back to normal—at least on the surface." Ren narrowed his eyes. "Normal for civilians, right? For shinobi, it must be hell out there since the situation isn't exactly ideal for the village." Juichi's eyes widened slightly, surprised at his son's insight. He studied Ren for a moment before nodding. "You're not wrong." He sighed, rubbing his temples. "The village took massive losses, and we're still recovering. Even if the buildings get repaired, we can't replace experienced shinobi overnight. That means everyone—from Genin to Jōnin—is under more pressure. Missions that would normally go to full teams are being handled by smaller squads, and some of the older Academy students will probably be rushed through training to fill the ranks." Ren nodded, filing the information away. "So Konoha looks fine on the outside, but we're stretched thin. That means other villages might try something." Juichi gave him a sharp look. "Exactly. That's why you don't talk about this with anyone else." Ren smirked. "Who would I even tell? It's not like I have friends to gossip with." Juichi chuckled, shaking his head. "Fair point. Just keep that sharp mind of yours to yourself for now." Ren nodded. He wasn't stupid enough to discuss village security issues with random people. But still... "The Academy is going to be interesting if they're really pushing students through faster. That means I need to get even further ahead." With that thought, he shifted gears, preparing for his next step. "Old man, do you think I should start running with weights right away, or should I take it normally first?" Ren asked. Juichi immediately shut that idea down. "Absolutely not. No weights until you're at least seven. If you start too early, you'll stunt your growth." Ren nodded without complaint. "Makes sense." It wasn't a problem—he had the system. He could monitor his progress directly, so he'd know exactly when normal running stopped being effective. "I'll stick to weightless endurance training for now. Once I turn seven, I can add weights gradually." With that settled, he left the hospital and returned home. Since it was noon, Ren decided to continue his chakra training in the backyard. He approached the same tree he had fallen from earlier and placed his hand on the bark. "Alright. Let's see how much progress I've made." He focused chakra into his feet and took his first step. Unlike before, when he had barely managed three steps, he now felt more stable. He took another step. Then another. This time, he reached about five steps before his chakra control wavered, and he jumped off before falling. "Not bad. I'm improving." As he rested for a moment, Ren thought about his overall training path. "Tree Climbing should get me to Intermediate Chakra Control eventually. After that, Water Walking should push me toward Advanced." But that was still far off. Right now, he needed to fully master Tree Climbing first. "No point thinking too far ahead. Step by step." With that, he stood up and continued training.

Chapter 9: Genius? Really?

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