Gravity and Preparation
Years passed steadily as training, competition, and quiet growth shaped their childhood. Ren and the others were now ten years old, standing in their fourth year at the Academy.
Only two years remained before graduation.
Time had refined all of them.
Naruto had grown louder but stronger. Shikamaru had grown sharper despite his lazy complaints. Choji had built surprising stamina. Kiba's aggression had matured into controlled ferocity.
Even Sakura had changed.
After repeatedly watching Sasuke train relentlessly, she eventually began training seriously as well. Though she still admired him openly, she no longer skipped physical conditioning.
However, when it came to pure Taijutsu, two names remained unmatched.
Ren.
Hinata.
No one in their year could truly compete with them in close combat.
Sasuke came close through talent and discipline. Ino followed through agility and reaction speed. But when it came to overwhelming presence in battle, Ren and Hinata stood a tier above.
And Ren was preparing to widen that gap.
---
Inside his home, Ren sat cross-legged before a large sealing diagram drawn across the wooden floor. Ink brushes, chakra-infused formula sheets, and weighted metal bands were scattered around him.
What he was doing could be called dangerous.
But to Ren, with his Six Eyes, it was simply calculation.
Through years of observation, he had quietly learned more than most adults would suspect.
From his home, using Six Eyes perception, he had watched ANBU training sessions in distant compounds. Walls meant nothing to him.
Obstacles were transparent.
By observing chakra flow patterns at a microscopic level, he could analyze the structure of jutsu in real time. He studied hand seal sequences, chakra compression, elemental layering.
Then he recreated them.
His Six Eyes allowed nearly perfect chakra control.
Zero waste.
No unnecessary hand signs.
He had already mastered several mid-level jutsu simply by observation and reconstruction.
But ninjutsu was not his only interest.
Seals fascinated him.
He had observed the village barrier system from afar. He studied storage seals in shops, weighted gear seals used by elite shinobi, explosive tags, and even suppressed chakra containment scripts.
Each pattern was like code.
And his mind functioned like a supercomputer.
Now, he was creating something of his own.
A gravity-based weighted seal.
Unlike simple weighted clothing, this seal would distribute artificial gravitational pressure across his entire body. Not only externally, but internally as well.
Muscle.
Bone.
Organs.
Chakra pathways.
Everything would experience pressure.
He wanted it to strengthen his body from inside and outside simultaneously.
But that was not enough.
He aimed for automatic adjustment.
The seal would monitor the user's chakra reserves, regeneration rate, and physical durability. It would then increase or decrease gravitational pressure accordingly.
It had to be safe.
It had to be sustainable.
And it had to be easily activated or deactivated mid-combat.
That last requirement required intricate micro-layered scripting.
His Six Eyes processing power and microscopic chakra manipulation made the design possible. Even so, the project consumed an entire month.
One mistake in balance could crush organs.
One instability in script layering could cause chakra backlash.
He tested dozens of variations before settling on a stable version.
Finally, he engraved the completed seal into a pair of weighted training bands he had purchased from a shinobi equipment store.
He did not intend to appear suspicious.
He was not an idiot who believed no one would notice sudden changes in posture or gait. This was a village full of elite shinobi.
They would instantly detect altered walking patterns caused by gravity increase.
But if they saw weighted gear?
They would assume it was simple resistance training.
That was acceptable.
He activated the seal.
Instant pressure.
His body felt heavier—not crushing, but dense.
His breathing adjusted automatically.
His chakra pathways adapted.
He used Six Eyes to scan every layer of the seal repeatedly.
He monitored bone strain.
Muscle fiber tension.
Chakra circulation.
After a full day of internal analysis, he labeled it successful.
Then he created two more.
Of course, they were not for everyone.
He was not a saint.
Sealing required chakra ink, treated metal, high-grade formula paper, and time. He was comfortable financially, but not wealthy enough to hand out advanced seals to the entire class.
Only Hinata and Ino would receive them.
They were his students.
Even though the system had only given him one reward after accepting Ino — the Yin Release Talent Boost — which further enhanced his Six Eyes cognition and analytical capacity.
It had remained silent ever since.
"I'm still waiting for rewards for all those years of training Hinata and Ino," Ren muttered.
The system did not respond.
He clicked his tongue and went to sleep.
---
The next morning at the Academy, he met Hinata and Ino near the training grounds.
Without drawing attention, he handed them their weighted gear.
Their eyes sparkled immediately.
He had already explained the concept during spiritual training sessions, ensuring no one overheard.
"This is the best," Ino beamed as she fastened the band.
"Yah, it's going to make training shorter and more effective," Hinata said with a rare confident smile.
Ren nodded calmly.
"So adjust the training. No more hours of repetition."
Ino raised an eyebrow. "That sounds suspiciously kind coming from you."
"Don't misunderstand," Ren replied flatly. "Efficiency is better than suffering."
Hinata giggled softly.
Ren outlined the new regimen.
"Ino will do two hundred push-ups, sit-ups, squats, crunches, frog jumps, thirty minutes of force stance, and forty laps."
Ino blinked. "That's lower than before."
"With gravity active," Ren replied. "It's heavier."
He turned to Hinata.
"Hinata will do four hundred push-ups, squats, pull-ups, crunches, frog jumps, thirty minutes force stance, and forty laps."
Hinata nodded without hesitation.
"Fine," Ino and Hinata said together.
They activated the seals.
The shift in weight was immediate but controlled.
Not painful.
Not crushing.
Just heavy enough to challenge.
Exactly as designed.
As expected, several instructors noticed the subtle difference in their movement.
Iruka observed carefully during drills.
"They're moving differently," he murmured.
But when he spotted the weighted bands, he nodded in understanding.
Even the Hokage received reports.
"Weighted training at ten…" Hiruzen mused thoughtfully. "Disciplined children."
Other shinobi noticed too.
But seeing the visible equipment, they dismissed it as advanced physical conditioning.
Ren smiled slightly to himself.
"This isn't an anime where everyone becomes dumb," he thought. "It's real life. They are real ninjas who have fought and killed more than I can guess."
He continued training.
And continued researching seals.
His house was now layered with protective scripts.
Perception barriers.
Chakra disturbance detectors.
Sound distortion seals.
Even if a spy attempted to observe, they would find nothing but scrambled interference.
"Even that mama's boy Zetsu won't be able to spy in my house," Ren muttered with quiet confidence.
He had gone further.
Through Six Eyes, he had studied the Scroll of Seals stored in the Hokage's office. The scroll was heavily protected, sealed within layered barriers.
To normal eyes, it was unreachable.
To Six Eyes, it was an open book.
Among its contents was the Flying Thunder God technique.
FTG.
A space-time formula requiring extreme precision.
Ren reconstructed it.
Quietly.
Carefully.
He placed a marker on a merchant wagon leaving the village. Using FTG, he sent a shadow clone through the marker once the wagon traveled far enough.
The clone moved independently, placing additional hidden markers in remote areas.
Forests.
Abandoned clearings.
Mountain caves.
His clone searched for the perfect location.
A future safe house.
Because his training would soon reach the next level.
Gravity seals were only the beginning.
Ren stood in his yard that evening, weighted bands active, chakra flowing steadily.
He felt heavier.
Stronger.
Prepared.
He smiled faintly.
The next stage was coming.