Ren's scream pierced through the otherwise silent ANBU training ground. The other four Numbers, who had been nursing their injuries nearby, flinched. They had seen Ren fight hard before, but nothing like this, nothing that could drive him to such a visceral, agonized cry.
Within seconds, the ANBU medical team stationed on the perimeter moved in. Two of them flickered to Ren's side, already activating diagnostic jutsu. The lead medic barked a sharp order, "Stabilize his vitals. Priority is cerebral hemorrhage risk."
One of the medics pressed a glowing green palm over Ren's chest while the other placed two fingers on his forehead.
"Bleeding from the eyes, nose, and ears classic symptom cluster," the medic muttered. "Extreme neural strain. I'm reducing the pressure buildup now."
Ren's body shook uncontrollably. His breathing was erratic, his teeth clenched so tightly it looked like his jaw might snap. Blood continued dripping from his nose and ears even as the medics worked.
Yoru, still standing in the center of the field, observed without speaking.
Number 3, Itsuki, walked toward him cautiously. "Commander," she said quietly, "isn't this a bit too much? His brain might shut down if you push him again like this."
Yoru glanced at her slightly. A few months ago, she wouldn't have dared question him. But he didn't mind. In fact, he welcomed it. Growth wasn't only for Ren.
He looked toward the cause of all this and replied in a neutral tone, "If I didn't push him this far, he wouldn't have gotten the concept down. This is not a classroom. This is ANBU."
Itsuki frowned but didn't argue. There was no point.
Meanwhile, Ren's convulsions were easing. The bleeding had slowed, though it hadn't stopped entirely. The lead medic pulled a vial from his pouch, uncorked it, and gently poured a clear fluid into Ren's mouth.
"Neurological dampener," he explained. "It'll shut down excess synaptic firing."
A minute passed. Then another.
Ren's body finally stilled. His chest rose and fell in steady, deep breaths. His eyes remained closed, but it was clear the immediate crisis had passed.
"Will he be okay?" asked Number 2, who had silently walked over with 1 and 4.
The lead medic nodded. "He'll need a few hours. Maybe a day for full stabilization. His chakra network is intact. The brain isn't damaged, just overstimulated. Frankly, it's a miracle he stayed active that long."
As if on cue, Ren's eyes snapped open and spoke, "I feel like I died but even death couldn't contain my sheer brilliance, so it sent me back."
The others deadpanned at Ren's words but speak more.
Rem shot upright, sitting up with a gasp, clutching at his face. "Ugh! My eyes hurt so much."
The medic beside him barely dodged in time, falling on his rear. "How the hell did he get up so fast?" he muttered.
No one answered.
Ren rubbed his eyes, groaning in pain, and blinked rapidly before turning his head toward Yoru's general direction. "Commander, what was that?"
Yoru responded coolly, "That was a demonstration."
Ren frowned, then winced from the movement. "Demonstration of what?"
"Of what your body and mind are capable of," Yoru said. "Hyperfocus is a state very few shinobi ever enter. Even fewer learn to control it. You, you're almost there. But pushing it past your limit without preparation is suicide."
Ren blinked, then glanced down at his hands. "Wow! I haven't looked this yellow since my birth."
Yoru replied without skipping a beat, "You wouldn't and shouldn't know what you looked like at the time of your birth."
There was a short pause before Ren asked, "Boss-man, can I use the hyperfocus now? I would've tested it, but my ears are still ringing and my eyes are stinging."
"You might be able to. You might not," Yoru replied as he waved the medics off.
He continued, "From what just happened, you should be able to guess how to achieve it now, right?"
Ren nodded. "Yes. Aside from high reaction time, I need a massive quantity of information processed at breakneck speed. No blinking, enhanced hearing, scent analysis, skin pores opened to feel air pressure shifts, everything feeding into one awareness loop."
"Exactly," Yoru said. "In the end, it comes down to how much information your brain can process. Everyone has a natural limiter. Some have a higher one and they're called geniuses. Hyperfocus demands a state beyond even that, and that's just to access it."
Yoru stepped forward, tone firm. "To use it freely, you must remove your limiter entirely. So far, no method has worked for everyone. It's up to you to figure yours out. You can receive help, but the breakthrough must come from within."
He continued, "Since we are on this topic let me add one more reminder, when you encounter the Raikage in the future don't underestimate his intelligence ever. The Raikage might look like a muscle brained idiot but that man has been using the Hyperfocus for even longer than your age, even I am not sure how much his brain could process so be cautious."
Ren took this in, nodding slowly, though he wasn't really encountering the Raikage right now it was still good to have that warning.
He glanced around, squinting slightly.
Then he blinked and suddenly frowned. "Wait a second Commander, you broke my sunglasses. Those were my favorite pair."
Before Yoru could respond, Ren raised a hand and caught something mid-air, it was one of the shattered arms of the sunglasses.
"Geez, Commander," Ren muttered, still holding the piece. "You get angry so easily."
Not wanting to push his luck, he quickly changed the topic. "So, you can use Hyperfocus too, right?"
Yoru nodded. "Mine is still basic, but it was enough to overpower you. That should tell you how far you still have to go."
Ren nodded again, this time more thoughtfully.
Yoru looked around, seeing the medics had cleared out and the other Numbers were beginning to rise to their feet.
"Alright," Yoru said. "Disperse."
With that, he flickered away, vanishing into the shadows of the base.
The other Numbers slowly began to leave as well, tossing glances at Ren, some curious, some impressed, some concerned. 3 lingered the longest, but eventually, even she turned away.
Ren was the last one remaining in the field. He reached for his cracked mask, now lying a few feet away, and picked it up.
He looked at the broken piece in his hand again and smiled faintly.
"Almost there," he whispered to himself, then turned to walk off the field.
~
Once Ren was inside his rest quarters, he immediately collapsed onto his bed, sinking into it with a deep sigh.
'Intelligence should be the stat that helps the most with Hyperfocus,' he thought as he closed his eyes. 'Once I hit 70 points in Strength, I'll start investing any points I get into Intelligence.'
As he idly opened the system interface to check his progress, he noticed a blinking notification. Curious, he raised a brow.
'What warrants a reward, O great system?'
A message popped up:
[CONGRATULATIONS, USER, FOR ACHIEVING YOUR FIRST S-RANK STAT]
"Huh?" Ren muttered as he quickly flipped over to the stats page.
His eyes widened in surprise when he saw it:
[VIT: 80]
A genuine smile spread across his face. 'Looks like constantly nourishing my body with yang chakra and the heavy healing I received after that fight with Yoru stimulated my vitality enough to push it through the 80-point threshold. My first S-Rank stat, huh?'
He opened the system reward. Just like when he'd crossed major thresholds in the past, he received free bonus points. This time, however, they were special.
[REWARD: 2 S-RANK LEVEL POINTS]
He considered his options for a moment. 'Previously, increasing Vitality raised my chakra stat passively. Let's try that again.'
He placed both points into Vitality.
[VIT +2] → [VIT: 82]
[CHA +1] → [CHA: 80]
There were no immediate physical changes, but Ren knew from experience that the system increased chakra gradually, not instantly. As expected, over the following weeks, he noticed a clear rise in his chakra, not only in quantity but also in quality. His jutsus had grown stronger, more efficient, and more stable.
[PRESENT DAY]
The match with Yoru had brought Ren many benefits. He'd tried to request another match after fully recovering, but Yoru always refused. 'Tch. Figures,' Ren thought, recalling the flat "No" he got every time.
Still, he couldn't deny the results.
He opened his stats panel to review his current state.
Strength: 69 (64 → 69)
Agility: 75 (70 → 75)
Intelligence: 72 (71 → 72)
Vitality: 83 (79 → 83)
Chakra: 80 (79 → 80)
Vitality had gone up by another point since the last time he checked, no doubt due to his continued use of yang chakra for healing and reinforcement. Chakra hadn't moved yet, but he wasn't disappointed. There were still ten days left before his 11th birthday, and his chakra level was already comparable to that of an S-rank ninja.
Getting up and stretching his limbs, Ren left his quarters and made his way toward Yoru's office. Normally, after a mission, a Number would arrive with his next assignment within 12 hours. It had now been 16.
That meant it was time for a manual check-in.
This wasn't unusual. According to ANBU protocol, if 12 hours passed without an update or mission reassignment, Ren had to wait an additional four hours. If no Number came even after that, he was expected to report to the commander's office directly to collect his next mission.
He was used to it by now.
Still, as he walked the stone corridors of the ANBU command base, his mind wandered slightly. 'Ten days until I turn eleven, and I'm already pushing top-tier jonin in stats. I wonder how long it'll take before I push into kage territory.'
He smirked slightly at the thought.
His pace didn't slow. He had work to do.
Time to see what Yoru had planned next.
~
Ren knocked on the office door, and after receiving Yoru's signal, he stepped inside.
Yoru was seated at his desk, going over what looked like mission reports. Ren, understanding his commander's mood well by now, remained silent and stood at ease. Ten minutes passed before Yoru finally looked up and spoke.
"We'll be leaving for a mission in ten minutes. Get ready."
Ren blinked, slightly surprised. "We're going on a mission together, boss?"
Yoru gave a short nod and began explaining. "A prison belonging to the Cloud Village, located in Frost Country, was recently breached. Several prisoners escaped. Officially, Kumo claims they've contained the breach, but six A-level rogue shinobi managed to get out."
Ren scoffed. "Couldn't they at least make the cover story sound believable? Not even an academy kid would buy that this wasn't intentional."
Yoru didn't disagree. "We've confirmed through our operatives that the breach was indeed orchestrated by Kumo. However, they're trying to avoid international backlash, so they only released six. Out of those, one has already been killed near the border. The remaining five have regrouped and are currently in hiding. Their general location has been identified. Our mission is to find and eliminate them before they go too deep into the Land of Fire."
Ren nodded, then asked, "But why are you coming along? Are any of them considered S-rank?"
Yoru's tone turned a notch more serious. "There's an 80% chance that Kumo's new head ninja is leading the escapees. He's not a full-fledged S-rank, but strong enough that no jonin would be able to handle him. If he shows up, I'll handle him. Otherwise, this mission is yours."
Ren's eyes narrowed slightly, then lit up with a glint of interest. "You're letting me handle all five?"
"You'll deal with the A-rank rogues on your own," Yoru confirmed. "And for this mission, you're not allowed to use shadow clones. Consider it an opportunity to push your Hyperfocus to the next level. Use this chance wisely."
Ren grinned, excitement clear in his expression. His Hyperfocus had been progressing well in the past month. One more solid experience and he'd be able to initiate the state at will. He couldn't use it freely just yet, but the day when he could might not be far off.
Yoru stood up and began sealing up the documents on his table. "This is your first official S-rank mission in the ANBU," he added. "Do well."
Ren nodded sharply. "Understood."
With that, he turned and left the room, already preparing mentally for what was ahead.
The thought ran through his head as he moved through the hallway: 'My second S-rank mission. The first was in the Land of Iron. This one might not be as high-profile, but the rewards should be worth it.'
S-rank system points were rare. Even one of those would be a solid win. And with the chance to fight multiple strong opponents and push his limits, Ren couldn't ask for a better opportunity.
Ten minutes to departure.
Time to get ready.
~~~~~
{Hope that the Hyperfocus became more clear with this chapter and if not it would be explained in even more detail once he actually masters it.}
{Also, I originally planned to make a grand scene for S-Rank vitality and chakra but thought that it would be too cultivation style so I skipped it for now, we would have what I planned when he's at the Kage-level limit.}
{We'll be starting the 2nd S-Rank mission now, hope it goes better than the previous one, and as I said before, since the previous one was no fighting, this one would be completely combat oriented, you might also see Yoru truly in action, or maybe not. No promises.}
{Since the powerstones goal was shattered, ofcourse you'd get an additional chapter today, so enjoy.}
{If you want, you can support me on pat-reon.}
{ h t t p s : / / w w w . p a t r e o n . c o m / Z e e n o n }
{You know what else to do}
{STONES!!!!}