In the mirror, Ren appeared slender, with sharp, sword-like eyebrows and bright, star-like eyes. His entire demeanor was quite heroic. His sister, TenTen, wore a pink cheongsam skirt, modified to be more suitable for physical training. On her head, she sported two ball-shaped buns with panda ears, looking utterly charming.
"Let's go!"
After Ren and TenTen finished packing their things, they headed out together. Today was the opening day of the Ninja Academy!
At the academy's gate, many children and their parents had already gathered. They stood in line, waiting to be tested by ninjas one by one, to see if they possessed the talent to become ninjas. The test content wasn't difficult; it was mostly a physical assessment and a check for the potential to extract chakra.
Ren scanned the crowd. Since this wasn't the same generation as Naruto in the original story, he didn't spot any familiar faces. He only noticed some individuals wearing the symbols of clans like the Uchiha, Sarutobi, and Inuzuka. Ren quietly mused, if nothing else, he should eventually meet Neji Hyuga and Rock Lee, two characters who belonged to the original story's "Konoha 11."
Soon, it was his and TenTen's turn for the entrance test. This posed no problem for the siblings; they both passed quickly and were assigned to the same class.
As they walked into their assigned classroom, they immediately drew the attention of some of their classmates.
"Wow, that guy looks kind of handsome!"
"What's the use of being handsome? He doesn't look like he's from a ninja family; he has no future!"
"That's right! This year, it's definitely Young Master Neji from the Hyuga clan who's the top student. Not only is he handsome, but his strength is first-class!"
...
Hearing the whispers, TenTen curiously asked Ren, "Big brother, who's this Neji they're talking about? Is his strength stronger than yours?"
"Hyuga Neji, the young master of the Hyuga clan, the son of the current patriarch's younger brother," Ren briefly explained. Then, he smiled faintly, "As for strength... I don't know for now, but I think I should be stronger than him."
"Hehe, I also think big brother is the most powerful," TenTen giggled sweetly.
While Ren and TenTen chatted, a thick-browed child with a bowl-cut haircut walked up to them. "Um... can I sit in this seat next to you?"
"Yes," Ren nodded. He quickly recognized the boy as the incredibly hot-blooded character from the original series, Rock Lee.
"Hey, hehe... You, hello, my name is Rock Lee! Are you two also civilian ninjas? C-can I be friends with you?" Lee stammered, blushing and looking very nervous.
"Okay," Ren smiled, nodding. "My name is Ren."
"My name is TenTen, and I'm his sister!" TenTen introduced herself with a hearty smile. "My brother's friend is my friend!"
"Thank you! Thank you!" Rock Lee shouted loudly, looking incredibly excited. The sheer gratitude on his face surprised TenTen.
"It's not that big of a deal... just being friends..."
At that moment, the noisy classroom suddenly fell silent. Everyone's eyes seemed to be fixed on Rock Lee. Laughter drifted from a distance.
"Wow, does anyone actually want to be friends with that idiot Rock Lee?"
"What if he was lucky enough to extract chakra? He doesn't actually think he can become a ninja, does he?"
"That's right, they're just a bunch of commoners, and they want to become ninjas? Oh, ridiculous!"
...
"You're going too far!" TenTen couldn't hold back her temper. She slapped the table and stood up, her eyes wide and her face flushed red. No wonder Rock Lee had been so moved when he heard they were willing to be friends with him. Just because Rock Lee was born into a commoner family, did he deserve to be bullied and ridiculed like this?!
The few boys who had been laughing at Rock Lee were startled by TenTen's menacing stance. However, they quickly realized the other party was just a little girl from a civilian background. She had no backing whatsoever. What was there to fear?
"Why, are you not convinced you're untouchables? Not convinced enough to fight? Let us show you what a real ninja is!" The boys sneered even more.
"Ten... TenTen, forget it, don't argue with them. They've all received ninja training in their families; we can't beat them..." Rock Lee sighed.
At this moment, whoosh!
A figure flashed before Rock Lee's eyes. "Ren?" Lee was dumbfounded. "Hey, hey? Wait, wait a minute, Ren-kun! Didn't I just say they were strong?!"
And the very next second, Rock Lee was completely bewildered.
He saw Ren move towards those boys at an incredibly fast speed. Before anyone could react, Ren raised his fist.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three of them were sent flying instantly.
"Just this much strength? You're just trash," Ren said with a disdainful smile. At that moment, the entire classroom was silent. Everyone's eyes were fixed on Ren, who had been quiet just moments before. They swallowed hard. He hadn't said a word, just attacked and beaten up all three of them! This guy named Ren was truly ruthless!
"You, you sneak attacked us!" one of the Inuzuka clan boys yelled, covering half of his swollen face with his hands, glaring at Ren.
"That's because your reaction speed is too slow," Ren said with a light, calm smile, as if he hadn't been the one who had just struck them.
"You stinky brat, how dare you hit us?! Brothers, let's all go together and teach this guy a good lesson!" The beaten boys reacted, getting furious and scrambling up from the ground. Like tigers descending a mountain, they rushed towards Ren from different directions.
Seeing the three of them charging, Ren felt no panic. He didn't even reach for the kunai in his ninja kit. It was just a fight between children who had just entered school, with no technical content. Simply put, fists were power! Although these three boys had received physical training in their families, how could their strength compare to Ren's, who swung a hammer every single day?
Ren watched the closest boy rush him with a fist. Instead of retreating, Ren stepped forward, meeting the boy head-on. With that single step, Ren positioned himself beside the boy. At the same time, he extended his left hand and his right, instantly grabbing the arm that had thrown the punch. Like a rag doll, he swung the boy up in the direction of his attack, making him arc half a circle in the air before flinging him directly into the other two!
BOOM!
A loud thud. All three flew out in unison and slammed into the distant wall!