The Shock of Rankings
Time passed quietly but relentlessly, and before anyone truly noticed, Ren turned six years old. With two full years of relentless training behind him, he officially entered his first year at the Ninja Academy.
From the very first week, the difference between him and the other children was obvious.
During Taijutsu evaluation, the rankings stunned nearly everyone in the class.
First place — Ren.
Second place — Hinata.
Third place — Sasuke and Ino.
A tie.
The murmurs that filled the training hall that day were impossible to ignore. Many parents and even some instructors had believed Sasuke would dominate his age group without question.
After all, he was an Uchiha.
But he was not first.
He was not even second.
Sasuke received the biggest shock of all.
During sparring assessment, Ren defeated him with overwhelming force and precise control. There was no wasted movement, no hesitation.
It was clean. Direct. Dominant.
Hinata defeated him next.
Her strikes were sharp and relentless. Her stance firm. There was no trace of the shy, trembling girl she once had been.
Sasuke could not break her guard.
Then came his match against Ino.
To his surprise, it ended in a tie.
She was a Yamanaka. A support-type shinobi by tradition.
She was not even supposed to specialize in Taijutsu.
Yet he tied with her.
His small pride cracked that day.
The classroom buzzed afterward.
"Did you see that?" one student whispered.
"Ren is a monster…"
"And Hinata too…"
"I thought Sasuke would win…"
Sasuke stood silently, fists clenched.
That night, he trained harder than ever before.
For the first time, his father, Fugaku Uchiha, showed visible approval.
"You were defeated," Fugaku said calmly, "but you did not break."
That alone meant something.
Even Itachi made time to train with him occasionally.
And to Sasuke, that felt like victory.
If he could not be first yet, he would climb.
---
As the Academy year progressed, Ren, Hinata, and Ino began training together regularly after classes.
What they did, however, could not be called ordinary children's exercise.
It was hellish.
Ino's daily routine consisted of:
Nine hundred push-ups.
Nine hundred squats.
Nine hundred pull-ups.
Nine hundred crunches.
Nine hundred frog jumps.
Fifty minutes of force stance.
Thirty rounds of running.
For a six-year-old, it bordered on insanity.
Yet she did it.
Hinata's training was even harsher.
Two thousand push-ups.
Two thousand squats.
Two thousand pull-ups.
Two thousand crunches.
Two thousand frog jumps.
One full hour of force stance.
Thirty rounds of running.
And she never reduced the numbers.
Ren's regime dwarfed them both.
Four thousand push-ups.
Four thousand squats.
Four thousand pull-ups.
Four thousand crunches.
Four thousand frog jumps.
One and a half hours of force stance.
Sixty rounds of running.
For six-year-olds, this was not training.
It was madness.
But two years of consistency had changed them.
Their small bodies had hardened.
Their minds had disciplined.
Their breathing patterns had stabilized.
Their recovery speed had improved dramatically.
Hinata, once hesitant, now carried herself with visible confidence. In sparring matches, her style reflected overwhelming dominance.
She did not retreat.
She pressed forward.
Her Gentle Fist strikes were decisive, flowing one into another with calculated aggression. Opponents often found themselves on the defensive within seconds.
Ino remained… Ino.
She still talked. Still teased. Still rolled her eyes dramatically.
But her fighting style had evolved differently.
Because of her clan training, her reaction speed had sharpened significantly. She leaned into that strength.
Her movements became agility-focused.
She darted in and out of range, striking and retreating fluidly. Her footwork was light, unpredictable.
If Hinata was a crushing wave, Ino was a shifting breeze that cut from blind spots.
Ren, however, was different entirely.
His perception and reaction speed were unmatched due to his Six Eyes. His awareness during combat bordered on unfair.
He could read muscle tension.
Predict weight shifts.
Calculate distance instinctively.
His physique, hardened by brutal repetition, allowed him to alternate styles mid-combat.
He would begin with blinding agility, overwhelming opponents with speed. Then, without warning, he would switch into a power-dominating approach.
Heavy strikes.
Explosive bursts.
Absolute pressure.
Switching between agility and power mid-fight confused nearly everyone who faced him.
Even instructors noticed.
Iruka watched one sparring session closely.
"These kids…" he muttered quietly. "They fight like genin already."
From the Hokage Tower, Hiruzen Sarutobi received periodic reports.
The Third Hokage exhaled smoke from his pipe thoughtfully.
"Six years old…" he murmured. "Such growth at that age is rare."
The clan heads were also aware.
Hiashi Hyuga observed his daughter from a distance more often now.
There was no longer disappointment in his gaze.
Only calculation.
And approval.
Inoichi Yamanaka watched his daughter return home exhausted every evening, her hands blistered and her legs trembling.
He never stopped her.
He allowed it.
Silently proud.
---
Ren and Ino had once tried to convince Sakura to join them.
"Sakura, you should train with us," Ino had insisted.
But Sakura waved her off.
"I don't need that much training. I'll just support Sasuke-kun!"
Ren had sighed.
Ino had sighed louder.
After that, they did not insist again.
Sometimes, however, other boys joined their training sessions.
Naruto would appear unexpectedly, full of loud energy.
"I'm gonna beat all of you someday!" he would declare.
Kiba joined out of competitiveness.
Shikamaru joined occasionally but complained the entire time.
"Troublesome…"
Choji came because Ino was there—and because training meant more appetite later.
Even Sasuke sometimes joined.
He said nothing when he did.
But his eyes burned with focus.
Training together sharpened all of them.
By fighting each other repeatedly, they gained real battle exposure. They learned spacing. Timing. Judgment.
They learned how their friends moved.
How they breathed when tired.
How they reacted under pressure.
This informal battlefield forged more growth than academy drills alone ever could.
During one sparring match, Naruto wiped dirt from his face and shouted at Ren:
"Why are you so strong?!"
Ren shrugged casually.
"Because I don't stop."
Naruto grinned fiercely.
"Then I won't stop either!"
Even Sasuke, standing nearby, said quietly:
"Next time… I'll win."
Hinata adjusted her stance silently.
Ino crossed her arms and smirked.
"We'll see about that."
---
What started as three children training in a backyard had turned into something much larger.
A foundation.
A silent rivalry.
A rising standard.
Iruka, the Hokage, and the clan heads tacitly allowed the intensity to continue. No one interfered.
They saw discipline, not recklessness.
They saw growth, not damage.
And in the quiet hours of early morning, when the village still slept, three small figures could be seen running through training grounds.
Their footsteps steady.
Their breathing synchronized.
Six years old.
Already far beyond ordinary.
And this was only the beginning.