It was another day in the Raikage household, but unlike most days, every member of the family was present. At the training grounds, Ron and Ay were engaged in a sparring session under the watchful gaze of the Third Raikage.
Ay, now a young man, stood at an imposing six feet, his physique a testament to years of rigorous training. Ron, at nearly eight years old, at seven years old, still had a long way to go before reaching such heights. However, given his lineage, it was only a matter of time. The Third Raikage, who was originally six feet seven inches tall, had undergone a remarkable transformation. Due to constant training under high gravity and the growth restarting effects of medical hibernation chambers, his body had surpassed even its natural limits, pushing him closer to a full seven feet. One of the side effects of this extreme conditioning, of the Medical Hibernation Chambers was the reactivation of his growth spurts in terms of height also. Even just the removal of deep-seated injuries/fatigue could contribute to a noticeable increase in height, something that ordinary people also experienced, albeit to a lesser degree.
At the moment, Ron and Ay were locked in combat, both wielding kunai as they clashed with relentless intensity. This wasn't their first bout of the day; they had previously engaged in pure taijutsu combat. The Third Raikage had observed that Ron fought with an almost mechanical precision, calculating every move and dodging with unnatural efficiency, as if he were an automated system that left no opening unaccounted for.
Initially, without weapons involved, Ron had performed exceptionally well, his taijutsu already at a level comparable to a seasoned jōnin. His mastery of Life Return allowed him to optimize his movements, while his absurd reaction speed let him counter Ay's strikes with ease. Since Ay had matched his own physical strength to Ron's level for fairness, the battle had remained evenly matched, despite Ay being a more experienced ninja, until Ay began exploiting a crucial weakness, blind spots, and especially blind spots created through the kicking up dust or even feint, and most importantly with higher speed.
Despite Ron's intelligence and raw ability, Ay's superior speed allowed him to move in ways that disrupted Ron's calculated defenses, attacking from angles that Ron struggled to track. It was the first time Ron had been genuinely caught off guard in a fight. In those moments, his usual passive awareness of his surroundings due to his sensory abilities failed him, not because he lacked the ability to sense his opponent, but because he had been too preoccupied with rationalizing every movement instead of instinctively responding to the flow of battle while sensing.
This was a common weakness among those who relied too much on logic over experience. True warriors, especially battle-hardened shinobi, fought with a blend of calculation and intuition. In life-or-death combat, the ability to stay calm under pressure was what separated mere prodigies from true monsters on the battlefield. Ron could usually sense his surroundings without trying, but this was the first time he was surprised and caught off guard so he did not use his abilities as he was supposed to. In a fight this is common, and that is why experienced ninjas, especially those who have experienced killing and can still remain calm, are true ninjas, who can portray their abilities fully.
Recognizing this, Ron quickly adapted. He stopped overanalyzing and began trusting his instincts, allowing his heightened senses to do their work.
The Third Raikage, seeing the need to push Ron even further, made a decision.
"Use kunai," he commanded.
Kunai were practically useless against those who had mastered the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, let alone someone like the Third Raikage himself, whose sheer durability rendered long-range kunai attacks ineffective even without activating his chakra armor. However, kunai proficiency was a fundamental skill for all shinobi. More importantly, it introduced an element of genuine danger. The added lethality of bladed weapons would force Ron to feel a real sense of threat, something he had yet to fully experience in controlled sparring sessions.
And so, with the stakes slightly raised, the battle continued, for an hour with Ron consistently being under pressure, which was the much-needed experience Ron needed.