I also don't see why we would expect to hit S-rank ever, and certainly not in short order. I'm kind of dubious that we might even hit Jonin rank, actually.
Like, the last time our whole band, together, with an NPC helping, fought a Jonin she killed our squad leader without trying hard and the rest of us only lived so she could send a snarky message to our bosses.
We trained with Gai once (who is not S-rank, just a jonin), and it was so one sided the QM's montaged it, just us getting pummeled over and over.
The only fighting technique we have that is unique is our deception based fighting style that I honestly think hasn't been used for half the thread.
I guess that's all in the past, maybe we are fiercer now, but I think it has been less than a week since Noburi fought Hinata (who is weaker than Neji, who is weaker than Hiashi, who is weaker than an S rank), and he got utterly chumped. The idea that he is going to be S-rank in the near term strikes me as just, like, I don't even understand why it would be plausible. It feels like saying Iruka is about to be a Kage.
My basic read on 'powerhouse' status is that the villages are:
Villages that still have their Jinchuuriki > Leaf (we are just like the other villages minus half our Jonin but plus more Seal Scrolls than I think anyone else has) > Mist. (no Kage, no tailed beast, no Seal Scrolls we know of, big jonin losses)
Akatsuki is the spoiler. Each of them is a big factor, and if they all work together they are kingmaker in the coming war.
Another spoiler is that our aunt has the eyes from the leader of Akatsuki. If she gets the 'raise the dead' jutsu working it would of course be checkmate for everyone else in short order, but it isn't entirely clear how feasible that is.
My hope for us becoming a powerhouse would be that Inoue is heading off to make friends with an ex-Akatsuki member, or that there are synergies from one village having a half dozen summon scrolls that weren't obvious in the past.
