Chapter 8- Ren learns a new trick

Tsunade Senju POV

Sometimes, she hated working for her village.

No, make that most of the times.

But this time, working on behalf of the village has been particularly painful for her. As the research she was doing alongside Orochimaru and half a dozen other scientists of Konoha, was on cells that they'd acquired from the white flesh grafted into Rin Norhara's chest.

Cells that she was pretty damn sure belonged to her grandfather. Or were replicated from his flesh at least. The unsettling realization that some unidentified entity possessed access to her grandfather's cells weighed heavily on her.

And while the main reason for that dislike was that whoever did this, did it by desecrating her grandfather's body. The other reason were the various miraculous medicinal properties of these Cells.

Ever since getting these Cells, Rin Nohara's vitality has been improving at a rapid rate.

So much so that her body has now begun adapting to the Tailed Beast sealed inside her. Something that allowed Minato and Kushins to tighten the seal even more.

If this continued, then there would come a day when Rin would be able to use the full powers of her Tailed Beast without much backlash. Though that day was still far off for now.

And improved vitality was just one of the more obvious benefits.

The second benefit manifested in the form of enhanced chakra reserves. However, due to the presence of a Bijuu, accurately attributing the extent of Rin's increased chakra reserve to the Cells proved challenging for them.

Nevertheless, Orochimaru predicted that an individual with this quantity of Hashirama Cells (as they had come to term it) could expect their chakra to triple within a year before the rate of augmentation decelerated.

And that's where the third benefits of these cells came out.

They were chakra neutral. Meaning that you can theoretically take a chunk of this white flesh, and graft it into the body of someone else. And as long as the white flesh didn't overwhelm the host's body, it seamlessly integrate with it.

Meaning no chakra poisoning. Which is one of the reason why she couldn't simply take the body part of a dead enemy shinobi in the battlefield and replace it with the injured body part of her allies.

Unfortunately for her, Orochimaru had already informed the 4th Hokage that these Cells can be turned into limbs and other body parts for injured and crippled shinobi.

All of these endeavors were still in the testing phase. However, once they master the art of replicating these cells and crafting limbs from them, it is anticipated that Konoha will experience a boost in manpower, ranging from 15% to 25%. The majority of this additional force would comprise aging and previously injured shinobi who, thanks to newfound vitality, could now actively contribute to combat or those who had been incapacitated in the last two wars.

Upon discovering all these details, Minato approached her, seeking permission to conduct experiments with these cells. Recognizing the potential benefits for the village, she found herself unable to decline his request.

Especially as she knew that her grandfather would've gladly given away his own flesh for research if it meant helping the people in Konoha.

The only thing she asked for in return, were safeguards to be put in place before these Hashirama cells are handed out to other Konoha Shinobi.

Safeguards that would stop other villages from replicating the same thing if they ever got their hands on this. (Which they eventually would if they sent these recovered shinobi back into the field).

Minato had been all too happy to accept her request.

So happy in fact, that he had made her the head of this research.

Truly she hated working for this village sometimes.

Her musings were cut short when Minato immediately appeared beside her, a grave look on his face.

"It's time." He told her.

In the blink of an eye, the surroundings warped, and she appeared beside Kushina, who laid on a bed and seemed to be experiencing mild discomfort from the early birth contractions.

Rushing to Kushina's side, she reached out and gently grasped her arm, offering support. "Deep breaths, Kushina. Deep breaths."

And as Kushina listened to her instructions, she looked around and saw the various toads Jiraiya and Minato had roped in for Kushina's protection during her pregnancy.

And while she couldn't sense him, she knew that Jiraiya must be hiding here somewhere in his Sage Mode, along with the with two sage elders. Ready to erupt out any moment there is even a hint of attack on them.

Though considering how far away they were from Konoha, she found it unlikely that they'll still suffer an attack. Especially as Minato had already prepared a dozen decoys around Konoha. His primary goal being the safety of his wife and unborn child.

But if they did get attacked… then they had made many preparations to fight an intangible opponent as well.

Though whether those preparations will have any effect or not, only time will tell.

—————

Ren Uchiha POV

He stared into the moonlit night, a pit of worry in his stomach as he wandered around the courtyard aimlessly.

Minato had arrived a few hours ago and had taken Fugaku with him. Ready to make use of Fugaku's Mangekyo in order to subdue the Kyuubi in case the worst came to pass.

Or that's what he thought was plan at least. Being the academy student that he was, no one had seen it fit to tell him anything.

It was possible that Minato wasn't even aware of Fugaku's Mangekyo and had just taken him as added muscle for whatever plan he'd made to counter the 'masked stranger'.

The feeling of worry gnawed at him as he wondered whether his warnings had changed anything or not.

If Minato still proceeded with the same plan as he'd done in canon. Or if he'd made more changes to it in order to combat the enemy.

He also wondered what actions Obito will take if he's unable to find Kushina.

Would he simply give up? Would he look for Ren? Would he find some other Tailed Beast to serve as an alternate to attack Konoha? Or would he simply give up?

He spread out his Chakra Sense once again in order do another scan of Konoha but was once again met with the same result.

Only Third Hokage, and a few anbu teams ready to face any attack Konoha might come under.

He was unable to sense any other powerful presence in Konoha. Meaning that the Sannin, Minato, and Kushina were not in Konoha anymore. Or out of his Chakra Sensing range at least.

Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes stretched into hours. After what felt like an eternity, he was at last welcomed by the early rays of dawn, prompting a sigh of relief to escape him.

If butterflies hadn't changed things too much, then Naruto should already be born by this point.

Given that there was no Kyuubi attack on Konoha, he deemed it safe to assume that Obito had either failed in his mission to abduct Kushina and unleash the Kyuubi from her seal, or perhaps he never attempted it at all.

Then he paused as he sensed a new charka suddenly appear in the middle of the Hokage tower and let out a sigh of breath.

Minato was still alive at least.

A few minutes later, Anbu squads were sent out in various directions, one of them approaching in his direction.

He ran toward the Hokage Tower and met that anbu halfway.

The anbu seemed surprised by his presence and came to an abrupt halt.

"Has the Hokage called for him?" He asked a bit impatiently. Minato might be safe but he was still worried about his teacher. And the child of the prophesy.

"Yes." The Anbu said before taking him by the hand and using Shunshin to quickly bring them over to the Hokage Tower.

There, he was hurried inside to meet Minato and he paused upon noticing the blood splatters on Minato's face.

The seals went up as soon as he entered Hokage's office.

"Yo Hokage-sama." he greeted with his customary salutation, but his tone lacked its usual cheer, sounding more somber and serious. "Is Kushina-san…"

"She is well. As is the baby." Minato said, focusing an unnervingly intense stare at him. "All thanks to you."

"So… I assume that the masked man did indeed launch an attack."

Minato continued to stare at him for a long moment before he nodded. "He did."

"And…?"

"And… the teams I prepared to defeat him failed. I was able to injure him but he managed escape in the end."

"That's disappointing."

"It is so. Following his escape and our complete inability to apprehend him, it has been determined that Kushina will be absent from Konoha for the next few months. I hope you can forgive me for depriving you of your Fuinjutsu teacher."

"Mah. As long as Kushina-Sensei is alright, I don't mind the wait." He said with a shrug.

"That's good to hear. And here." Minato said before throwing him a scroll.

He caught it and used Observe on it (having unlocked the skill along with Inventory and Title System a while ago) and found to his great surprise that it was none other than the scroll of Hiraishin.

"This is…"

"Hiraishin. I heard from Kushina that you wanted this. And I'm giving it to you in light of your great service to the village." Minato said and then softened his voice. "And for protecting my wife and daughter."

He was about to nod when he realised what Minato had just said and paused. "Daughter?" He wasn't sure why he was even surprised by this news, given that Sasuke had also transformed into Satsuki.

"Yeah. We named her Naruko. Naruko Namikaze." Minato said with a warm smile on his face.

...looks like the Universal Calibration is hard at work.

"Congratulations. On having a daughter and for being alive to enjoy your time with her."

Minato chuckled at his remarks before lapsing into silence once more. His demeanor shifted from seriousness to weariness. "Be cautious with the scroll. Destroy it once you've gleaned all you can from it."

"Your warning is unnecessary." He said as he unfurled the scroll and used his Sharingan to capture the view with his Picture Perfect memory.

…only for his Sharingan to fail him for the first time in his life as a Sealing formation of some kind stopped him from reading the scroll properly.

He glanced up at Minato who had an amused look on his face. As if he'd already expected something like this to happen.

Well… this was embarrassing.

"Hmph." He let out a scoff as he rolled up the scroll and pushed it inside his Inventory. "I'll learn this in no time old man. Then we'll see who's the fastest shinobi in the elemental nations."

"Hey! Who're you calling old, you little brat!"

"Who're you calling a little brat, you old man!"

And thus they bickered, happy and content with the knowledge that the people they cared for were alive and safe.

—————

"Can I go to the Clan's Jutsu Archives?" He asked Fugaku during breakfast the next day.

Fugaku paused while eating and turned to look at him. "Why?"

"Because I want to learn Earth Release Ninjutsu. Maybe Fire and Wind Release ones as well." He said, then paused and added. "I should probably learn Water Release Jutsu while I'm at it as well. And now that I've already planned to learn Jutsu from the other four Elements, I might as well learn a few Lighting Release Jutsu as well."

A silence fell over the dining room as its three occupants paused to look at him.

Finally, Fugaku asked. "What brought this sudden desire to learn the Jutsu of all 5 elements, Ren-kun?"

He shrugged. "Kushina-sensei will not be available to me for the next few months. So I decided to focus on Ninjutsu until she returns."

"…you are aware that learning Jutsu of so many different affinities is a difficult and time consuming task?" Fugaku asked.

"Mah. The 3rd Hokage was able to learn it. So how difficult could it be?"

Fugaku blinked and then simple stared at him for the next few seconds, not saying anything.

Then, Fugaku went back to eating.

"Um… Is that a yes or a no?" He asked.

"Yes." Fugaku said and then quickly finished his breakfast before leaving the dining room, not casting him a single glance during all this time.

"…was it something I said?" He asked once he sensed Fugaku leave the house.

He was met with silence.

—————

Itachi Uchiha POV

She stood on the side and watched as Ren brought out dozens of Earth Jutsu scrolls from the Uchiha Ninjutsu Archives and proceeded to learn them one by one.

He mastered most of them on the first attempt, but some of the more intricate ones demanded two or three tries before he succeeded.

His hand seals were executed so swiftly that all she perceived was a distinct blur before he had completed them.

When asked, Ren clarified that he had grasped the significance of Hand Seals at an early stage in life. Consequently, he devoted considerable effort to honing that skill, reaching a level of proficiency that accounted for his current speed.

Considering that he was only 5 years old right now, she wondered what he meant by 'early stages of my life'.

She also wasn't sure if he wasn't just that fast naturally. Especially since he has to use some rather heavy restriction seals these days to slow himself down while sparring with her.

"I'm starting to get the gist of it now." Ren explained after having learned all the Jutsu he'd brought from the archives within the span of a single hour. And while he had not mastered them, she knew that he would do so in a very short order.

So much for her father's warning.

"Gist of what?" She asked.

"I'm understanding the mechanics of Ninjutsu," Ren remarked. "The specific sequence of hand seals needed for each aspect of a Jutsu. The reasons behind one Jutsu allowing us to erect walls from the Earth while another permits us to create spikes. It's all quite fascinating, though I suspect I've only scratched the surface." Ren hummed to himself. "I believe I'm beginning to comprehend why Orochimaru is so fixated on mastering every Jutsu in the world."

"So… what are you going to do now?" She asked.

"Hmm… let me try something." Ren said and his face scrunched up in concentration before he create a few hand signs before slamming his palm into the ground.

A moment later, a large spike burst forth from the ground. But instead of a simple spike, like all other Earth Spikes had been till now, this spike was shaped like a drill.

Then, to her immense surprise, the drill began to rotate. It started off slowly, gradually gaining speed until it seemed capable of penetrating through any boulder or tree in its path.

However, the base of the drill eventually fractured, and the colossal spiked device crashed to the ground. It stirred up a cloud of dust before falling into silence.

"Haaah… haha. That was rather taxing on my chakra." Ren said as he huffed before he straightened himself up and turned look at her. "Did you see that Itachi, I just created a new Jutsu."

She lifted a skeptical eyebrow, although inwardly, she was genuinely impressed by this accomplishment. Nonetheless, Ren's ego did require a periodic reality check.

"And what does this Jutsu does?" She asked. "Raise a lot of dust. I think a few swipes with a broom would do a better job."

Ren squinted at her for a moment before he scoffed. "Meh. You're just saying that. You know what I did was impressive."

"I did. And your Jutsu would be an extremely efficient weapon. If your enemies were the insects living underground and not capable shinobi from other villages."

"Alright, alright. I understand. The initial demonstration wasn't particularly impressive. But I can enhance it," Ren stated. "Just picture it. Dozens of these drills emerging from the ground, spinning at maximum speed and pursuing enemies like the Fire or Water Dragon Jutsu."

That did sound impressive. And a bit scary if you were the enemy. But…

"Earth Release Jutsu is harder to manipulate once it has been put into effect unlike Fire and Water Ninjutsu." She pointed out to which Ren simply shrugged.

"I'll attempt something different then. It's not as if I'm fixated on just one idea. I mean, watch this." He then stood upright, hands at his sides, wearing a concentrated expression.

And proceeded to stand there for the next few seconds.

After almost an entire minute passed by and Ren continued to stand like that, she finally asked. "Ren, what am I supposed to see here?"

Ren didn't give a reply, though the focused expression on his face became even more intense.

Then, just as another minute was about to pass, the ground in front of Ren moved and a single unimpressive wall rose from the ground.

But... Ren had made that wall without any hand seals. How?

She turned her gaze back to Ren, who now wore a smug expression. She swiftly concealed her impressed reaction behind a facade of nonchalance.

"That is a useful trick, if you want to bore your enemies to death." She said with an unimpressed drawl.

Ren scoffed once again. "You're fooling no one here Itachi-chan. I saw you looking impressed there for a second. Besides, your masks don't work on me."

She tilted her head imperiously and gave him a disdainful look. "Hn."

Ren chuckled at her antics before he spoke up. "Well then, I suppose you don't want to learn how I was able to use a Jutsu without any hand seals."

"…tell me."

"Not until you call me Ren-Senpai."

"Ren-senpai." She said with the most deadpanned expression she could make. But that only served to amuse Ren even more.

"Alright then, my dear little Kohai. Since you're requesting with such great respect, I shall enlighten you," Ren declared. "When we perform Hand seals, our chakra flows through a sequence of Tenketsu points, undergoing subtle transformations based on the specific Tenketsu it passes through."

"I know that."

"You probably do. You probably also know that once you become used to sending your chakra through those particular sequence of Tenketsu points, you can eventually do so without making any hand seals. This is how the more experienced Uchiha only need one or a few hand signs to use the Fire Release Ninjutsu that they use."

"Yes."

"Well… what I did is that I used my great Chakra control to send my Chakra through those Tenketsu points. And once that chakra has been primed, I sent it through my Chakra pathways to my legs and then transferred it into the ground through the sole of my feet."

That was… impressive. She had no idea what kind of crazy chakra control it takes to accomplish something like this. But considering that she'd never heard of anyone else doing what he did…

"You took too much time though. And the Ninjutsu you released was also very weak." She pointed out.

"That's because that was my first time. Boys don't perform very well on their first time, don't you know Itachi-chan. You need to be more gentle with us. More understanding." Ren said with a faux embarrassed look as he fanned his face like some delicate lady.

…she had a feeling that he was making some sort of innuendo right now. But she had no clue about its meaning.

"So… this'll get more impressive with time and practice?" She asked as she pointed at the disfigured and small Earth Wall.

"Of course. I already got a skill for it. Now I only need to grind it. Watch." Ren said before he stood completely still once again.

And half a minute later, another wall rose up from the ground. This one was still not impressive but it was a much better attempt than the first Earth Wall.

"Did you see that?" Ren asked in boyish excitement and she couldn't bring herself to puncture his ego anymore.

"Yes, it was impressive. Though you'll have to train a lot more before this skill can be used in battle."

"Yeah, I know that." Ren said before he paused and tilted his head, staring blankly into the distance.

"What?" She asked as he blinked and then turned to look at her with a huge smile on his face.

"I just broke through another threshold in my Earth Release affinity." Ren said and then cupped his chin. "Well… considering that I learned dozens of Earth Release Jutsu just now and figure out how to use some of them without any hand sign, it really shouldn't come as a surprise."

"So, what can you do now that you've broken past this threshold?" She asked, a bit curious about his new accomplishment.

Ren looked at her and his grin enlarged to the point that it made him look kinda scary.

"This." He said as he picked up a pebble, held it in his hand for a few seconds and then handed it over to her.

She took it, but the pebble was so heavy that she was forced to drop it the very next second.

She gazed at the pebble with bewilderment before crouching down to pick it up. However, the pebble stubbornly retained its weight, and she couldn't lift it even an inch.

Glancing up at Ren's Cheshire grin, she sighed. "How?" she asked in a defeated tone, recognising that she would have to endure an even more smug Ren for the next day or two.

"I increased the density of the pebble. Now watch this." Ren stated as he lifted a rock the size of a watermelon from the ground, infused it with his chakra, and then handed it to her.

She gave him a wary look. If he increased the density of that rock and it fell on her toes then she can bid them farewell.

"Don't worry, Itachi-chan. I won't harm you. It's my ninja creed not to harm children, girls, and the weak. And you happen to be all three," Ren reassured.

She glared at his attempt at a joke, knowing that he was merely goading her before with one final hesitation, she took the rock from him.

…and felt a wave of confusion go through her when it felt to her like she was holding a rock that weighed about as much as a flower petal. The weight was almost non-existent.

She dropped the stone and watched in astonishment as the rock gently floated to the ground, like a feather.

She looked up at Ren for an explanation.

"Of course, since I can now increase the density of an object, I can also decrease it and make it as light as feather. Or eventually, even lighter than air."

"Can something even be lighter than air?" She asked, feeling a bit confused by his words.

"Of course." Ren said and then gave her the smuggest grin she'd seen on his face till this day. "That's how Onoki, the 3rd Tsuchikage flies after all."