Ren Hibiki

Ren Hibiki (響連, Hibiki Ren) is a chūnin-level shinobi of Konohagakure and a member of Team Yoruha.

Background
Ren was born to Ranka Hibiki, an Anbu-level kunoichi from Kirigakure. When Ren was only five years old, his mother was killed during the Kirigakure coup d'état, leaving Ren orphaned. After the incident, Ren escaped from Kirigakure and was rescued by Jiraiya, who was in the middle of his travels, and was taken to Konohagakure, where Ren was given a house to live in and the Third Hokage guaranteed Ren he would be safe and become a great shinobi. When Ren enrolled at the Academy, he was distant from the other students, preferring stay alone because of his grief. However, Sawaii Hitomi, a girl who was also orphaned, began trying to interact with him, and Ren, feeling that Sawaii was "different" from the other kids, accepted her attempts and the two quickly became friends, with Ren always spending time with her.

Personality
Ren inherited most of his personality from his mother; He is not very talkative, and he is very focused on his missions and always seem to find perfection in it. He is also distant, not wanting to spend much time around others, preferring to stay alone, mostly because of the grief of losing his mother.

One of Ren's most prominent traits is his love-hate relationship with Sawaii Hitomi, being very protective of her since they were little kids, mostly because of them were orphans and experienced the pain of loss, but at many times both of them being at annoyed at each other for different opinions and/or not co-operating with one another in training, but despite this, they deeply care about one another. Their relationship became incredibly strained after Sawaii expressed her goal of exacting revenge on Orochimaru and not caring about anything else, and Ren simply stated he couldn't be around her anymore, but they make amends three years later after Sawaii returns to Konoha and Ren stated he forgave her and wanted to "make up for lost time" and spent a lot of time training together. In the following years, Ren begins having romantic feelings towards Sawaii, which Sawaii later goes on to share and the two declare their love for one another, and eventually get married.

Appearance
Ren has light brown hair and blue eyes, both traits of which he inherited from his mother. In Part I, Ren wore a blue sleeveless shirt and long pants of the same colour, and a dark short underneath his blue one. He also had dark gloves.

In Part II, much like his teammate Sawaii, Ren has two sets of clothes. His first outift consists of a blue high-collared zip-up sleevless top outlines with black designs. He wore a black belt and dark blue-green pants with black boots that were open at the top of his feet and toes.

His second outfit consists of a dark blue high-collared top that was open at the front and faded into a light blue color towards the bottom, the two shades of blue separated by a white design. Underneath his top his torso is bandaged. He wears a black belt and his forehead protector hung on his waist. He wears a dark blue-green pants and the black boots he wore with his first outfit. Ren also has long black gloves that extend above his elbows and held there with bandages. He carries his swords: Dokuganryu and Mugenki.

During the Fourth Great Shinobi World War, Rendons the standard uniform of the Alliance and a Konohagakure flak jacket.

Abilities
Ever since his days at the Academy, Ren was a very skilled shinobi, being excellent in shurikenjutsu and chakra control. He was also very decent in ninjutsu, being able to perform the Transformation Technique and Clone Technique without effort, and also impressing his superiors by infusing his chakra onto his sword.

Chakra and Physical Prowess
Ever since a young age, Ren was incredibly skilled in controlling his chakra, and throughout Part I, he was considered to be the strongest genin among the Konoha 11, such as that Neji Hyūga claimed that he had difficult in battling Ren even with the use of his Byakugan. Despite not using much, Ren was talented in taijutsu, being able to disarm and overwhelm Seimei in battle.

Nature Transformation
Ren proficient in using Fire Release and Wind Release. Ren is shown to be capable of using many powerful Fire-based techniques, such as the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique. He was also able to coat flame into his shuriken and kunai and launch into his opponents.

Ren's most reliable skills is his usage of Wind Release, being able to successfully infuse his chakra into his sword ever since a young age. Ren is also capable of creating powerful gusts and summon a swirling stream of wind, encasing the user and repelling incoming attacks. It can also be expanded to protect others near the user. Ren is described as one of the most skilled Wind-based techniques of Konoha.

Kenjutsu
One of Ren's greatest skills is his use of kenjutsu and his signature sword. With his sword, Ren is able to use many Fire and Wind-based techniques with his sword, such as embue his sword with fire, before slashing in the direction of the desired enemy, resulting in the creation of large arcs of intense flame that follow the trajectory of the previous swing. He's also capable of swing his sword and a gust of wind is released in the arc that it was swung in. The technique is strong enough to stop projectiles that are thrown at the user.

Intelligence
Ren is very intelligent, mostly because of his mother being an Anbu kunoichi from Kirigakure, and is very sharp in battle, being to capable of quickly analyze his opponents' moves and predict their movements and counterattack. During battle, Ren is very calm and focusing, not getting distracted by things that were not of his matters.

Prologue — Land of Waves
Ren is first seen along with the rest of his fellow students the day they were to be assigned to their teams. Ren was assigned to Team 15, alongside Sawaii Hitomi and Seimei Izanami, under the leadership of Yoruha Shin. They are later seen as cameos during Naruto's D-rank missions.

Chūnin Exams
Ren and his team later took part in the Chūnin Exams, passing the written test in the first exam, with Ren having no trouble in answering the difficult questions. During the second stage of the exam, Ren and his team entered the Forest of Death, where they were separated when Team Oboro knocked Ren unconscious and attacked Sawaii and Seimei. Ren quickly regained consciousness soon after, and saved Sawaii from being killed by Kagari, and proceeded to confront Team Oboro, but they retreated, stating they had "other fish" to catch. Sawaii thanked Ren for saving her, and began patching her up, before heading to Seimei's side to heal him, as his injuries were more severe. Ren and his teammates successfully passed the first test.

During the preliminaries, Ren was paired up against Kabuto Yakushi, but before the match could even take place, Kabuto forfeited, claiming that he was too exhausted from the first exam and Ren was declared the winner, much to his dismay as he wanted to have a good fight. About a month later during the finals, Ren was seen alongside the other finalists, and was cheered on by Sawaii, who failed to head to the finals. Ren's match never took place as the Konoha Crush occured, and Ren was seen alongside Sawaii, helping other jōnin in battling against the invading Otogakure and Sunagakure shinobi. Ren was later present during the Third Hokage's funeral, and comforted Sawaii after she began crying at the loss of her grandfather.

Sasuke Recovery Mission
Ren was seen walking around the village with Sawaii, but Ren noticed Sawaii being way too quiet, and asked if something was bothering her. Ren became shocked when Sawaii said she wanted revenge on Orochimaru for killing her grandfather, and would exact her revenge no matter the cost. Ren became incredibly disappointed with Sawaii, saying he didn't recognized her, and couldn't be around her anymore, and walked away while a saddened Sawaii looked on.

A few days later, Ren was informed about Sasuke Uchiha's defection towards Orochimaru, and was also informed of Sawaii's disappearance, and Ren immediately assumed Sawaii had followed Sasuke, and immediately set out to chase after her. Ren eventually found himself at the Valley of the End, and witnessed Naruto and Sasuke's battle, but didn't see Sawaii anywhere, and continued to make his way to find her, ignoring their battle. Ren eventually encountered Sawaii, much to her shock, and demanded an answer from her, and Sawaii claimed she would join Orochimaru to find out wheather she wanted to exact revenge or not. Ren, however, told her if she continued to leave, she would be branded as a missing-nin, but Sawaii didn't seem to care, and asked Ren not to follow her. Ren, however, refused to listen and tried to physically stop her, but Sawaii encased him inside one of her crystals. Realizing Ren would escape eventually, Sawaii was forced to launch a crystal dragon towards Ren to knock him out unconscious. Sawaii looked at the unconscious Ren for a moment, before whispering her apology and continuing to make her way to Orochimaru. Ren woke up a few hours later, where he was saddened for not being able to stop Sawaii and sadly made his way back to Konoha, but stopped at the Valley of the End, where he encountered Kakashi Hatake, and after retrieving Naruto, they made their way back to Konoha. After they returned, Ren and Naruto informed Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, about Sawaii's actions, and Tsunade was forced to brand Sawaii as a missing-nin. Afterwards, Ren promised to bring Sawaii back to Konoha one day before walking back home.

In Naruto's Footsteps: The Friends' Paths
Two years after Naruto leaves Konoha to train, Ren was seen alongside Shikamaru Nara and Temari, who were both congratulating Ren on being recently promoted to chūnin and claimed he was lucky on not having to take part of another Chūnin Exam. Ren is later seen slowly walking around Konoha thinking about Sawaii, and wondering what she was up to nowadays before shaking it off and heading back home.

Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission
After Naruto's return to Konoha after two-and-a-half years, Ren greets him following his return from rescuing the Kazekage Gaara from the Akatsuki, and asks him if he heard anything about Sawaii during his time away, and Naruto sadly informs him he heard nothing about her, but assured him she was okay, and she would change her mind and return to Konoha, raising Ren's mood in the process. Later, Ren was called to Tsunade's office, where she informed him of a mission involving Orochimaru, and told him that Team Kakashi was dispatched, but told Ren he couldn't be part of the mission because of his personal issues with Sawaii. Pleading to allow him take part in the mission, Tsunade granted him his wish, but would only be dispatched as a backup, only if necessary, and if he sneaked out of the village without permission, he would be demoted back to a genin. Ren accepted the terms and left the office.

A few days later, Naruto was battling against Orochimaru at Tenchi Bridge and was undergoing his Nine-Tails four-tailed state, and was causing a wreckage around the area. When the Four-Tailed Naruto attacked Sakura Haruno, and Yamato wasn't able to reach him in time to stop him, Ren arrived just in the nick of time to save her and allow Yamato to restrain Naruto and extract the Nine-Tails' influence from him. After Naruto recovered, Ren informed that Tsunade received an emergency signal from Yamato, and he was dispatched to their aid. Asking about Orochimaru's location, they informed him Orochimaru escaped, but would follow him back to his hideout, and Naruto told him they would bring back both Sasuke and Sawaii back to the village. Realizing he would only be a burden to them because of still not being ready to face Sawaii, Ren informed them he would return to Konoha, and begged Naruto to save Sawaii, and Naruto assured him he would bring her back to Konoha.

Later on, Ren greeted Naruto once he returned from the mission, and was extremely glad to see Sawaii with them, although he hid his happiness, and greeted Sawaii with a quiet tone, and he accompanied them to Tsunade's office. Once there, Tsunade was still suspicious of Sawaii despite her change of heart, and ordered her to be sent to jail for some time to be able to be investigated. Despite Ren's protests, Sawaii assured him Tsunade was doing the right thing because she deserved it and told she would be okay. Sawaii was soon released from jail and Ren greeted her, with Sawaii apologizing for abandoning him and the village. Ren assured her it was alright, but she had to make up for lost time and the two set out to train in the Training Fields.

Five Kage Summit
Ren is seen along with the rest of the Konoha 11 discussing Sasuke's recent invasion of the Five Kage Summit and his status as a international criminal, and agree that he is beyond salvation and are determined to eliminate him to prevent a war with Kumogakure. He later is along with her friends talking to Naruto about their decision, and, along with the rest of the Konoha 11, was shocked to hear that Naruto had battled Sasuke after the summit and wanted to know his strategy against him, but Naruto only told them to believe in him before walking away and leaving them confused and worried.

Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation
Ren participated in the Fourth Great Shinobi World War against the Akatsuki, and was assigned to the Second Division, which focused on close-range combat, something that Ren himself he preferred. In the anime, Ren battled against the reincarnated Sound Four along with Sawaii, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru and Chōji Akimichi, until the Sound Four trap the members of the Sasuke Recovery Team inside a powerful space-time ninjutsu. Ren was later seen watching Naruto arrive under his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and save the others from the Sound Four. Ren was later seen running alongside the rest of the Allied Shinobi Forces to Naruto, Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy's location, where they were fighting Tobi.

Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax
Ren and his friends later arrive at Naruto's location and help him fight off Obito Uchiha and Madara Uchiha. Ren was later standing alongside the Konoha 11, prepared to battle the Ten-Tails' miniature creatures, and used his sword to slice many of them in half.

Birth of the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki
After Obito became the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki, Ren was severely damaged by Obito's new powers and was brought to the brink of death, but recovered after being healed by Sawaii, Sakura and Tsunade simultaneously, but was still relatively weak to keep fighting head-on and remained mostly on the defense. Ren, along with the other Konoha 11, assist Naruto in removing the Tailed Beasts from Obito. Despite Obito being defeated, the Allied Shinobi Forces still had problems with another Zetsu overwhelming them. Ren watched as a barely alive was Naruto was brought to their location, and looked as Sawaii and Sakura climbed on Gaara's sand and made their way to another location, while Ren wished them luck. Ren, along with the rest of the world, was later trapped inside the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Kaguya Ōtsutsuki Strikes
In his dream, Ren was dating Sawaii and always were on amazing terms, with most of the villagers admiring their relationship and cheering them on, with the children of Konoha always asking Ren to train them in ninjutsu. Naruto and Sasuke eventually release the Infinite Tsukuyomi, freeing Ren and the rest of the world and thus ending the Fourth Shinobi World War.

The Last: Naruto the Movie
Two years after the Fourth Great Shinobi World War, Ren is protecting Konoha from the falling meteors by infusing his Wind-based chakra into his sword and slashing the meterors into many small peaces, allowing the other jōnin to easily destroy them with their ninjutsu. He is later seen attending Naruto and Hinata Hyūga's wedding, where he was seen holding hands with Sawaii, implying they were already on a romantic relationship.

Epilogue
Several years later, Ren was at the Hokage's office, telling Naruto, the Seventh Hokage, about the other Kage who had arrived for the Five Kage Summit, before they were informed about Naruto's son, Boruto Uzumaki, defacing the Hokage Rock with grafitti and later scolded Boruto for his actions, alongside his wife Sawaii.

Boruto: Naruto the Movie
Ren is seen being put in charge of the second stage of the Chūnin Exams, alongside Tenten and Shino Aburame, where Ren personally overlooked all of the teams competing, but remained a close look on Boruto, and quietly hoped that he would pass the exam and later looked on suspicious of Boruto after suddenly releasing a powerful Water Release technique, followed by a powerful Lightning Release technique, but passed him nonetheless. Ren was later seen saving many civillains during the finals after Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki and Kinshiki Ōtsutsuki invaded the arena and began destroying the area. He later was seen alongside Sasuke Uchiha and Shikamaru Nara, seeing Boruto put Sasuke's old scratched forehead protector and looking on proud as Boruto entered the portal to save Naruto from Momoshiki and Kinshiki.

Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie
Ren is first seen battling with her friends battling several Zetsu clones disguised as deceased Akatsuki members. Later on, when Naruto and Sakura are transported to an alternate world caused by Madara's genjutsu, a different version of Ren is present. The alternate world Ren was a complete coward, afraid of the most simple of things, such as height, bugs and hurting himself, and therefore, he was extremely weaker and unexperienced unlike his real world counterpart. Unlike the real world's Ren and Sawaii, the alternate versions of Ren and Sawaii couldn't stand one another, always bickering with each other and shouting that they hated each other.

Trivia

 * According to the databook(s):
 * Ren's hobbies include training and sleeping.
 * Ren's favorite foods are Okonomiyaki, and any kind of bread. His least favorite is sweet food.
 * Ren has completed 50 official missions in total: 15 D-rank, 12 C-rank, 14 B-rank, 10 A-rank, and 4 S-rank.

Quotes

 * (To Sawaii "Please, stand back and allow me to protect you..."
 * (To Sawaii after her defection) "This isn't you... Stop this and come home... otherwise, I'll be forced to MAKE you go back!"
 * (To himself about Naruto) "We will definitely stop this war. I will help you as best as I can, Naruto!"